APOLLINAIREmFrench (Rare)French form of
APOLLINARIS. It was adopted as a surname by the Polish-French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who based it on his Polish middle name Apolinary.
APOLLINARISmAncient GreekAncient Greek name derived from the name of the god
APOLLO. This was the name of several early saints and martyrs, including a bishop of Ravenna and a bishop of Hierapolis.
APOLLOmGreek Mythology (Latinized)From Greek
Απολλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to Indo-European *
apelo "strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means "father lion" or "father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
απολλυμι (apollymi) meaning "to destroy". In Greek mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
APOLLONIOSmAncient GreekFrom an ancient Greek personal name which was derived from the name of the Greek god
APOLLO. It was borne by a Greek poet of the 3rd century BC. Several saints have also had this name.
ARELImBiblicalMeans "lion of God, hero" in Hebrew. This was the name of a son of Gad in the Old Testament.
ARIELm & fHebrew, English, French, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans "lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי ('ari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare used it as the name of a spirit in his play 'The Tempest' (1611), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Walt Disney film 'The Little Mermaid' (1989).
ASLANmTurkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, CircassianFrom Turkic
arslan meaning "lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The name
Aslan was later used by the author C. S. Lewis for the main protagonist (a lion) in his 'Chronicles of Narnia' series of books, first appearing in 1950.
BABURmUrduFrom a Persian word meaning "tiger". This was the nickname of Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, the 16th-century founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
BASTfEgyptian MythologyPossibly means "fire, heat" or "ointment jar" in Egyptian. In Egyptian mythology Bast was a goddess of cats, fertility and the sun who was considered a protector of Lower Egypt. She was often depicted with the head of a lioness or a house cat. As her role in the Egyptian pantheon diminished, she was called
Bastet.
BASTETfEgyptian MythologyVariant of
BAST. This form of the name, a diminutive, was given to her after the similar goddess Sekhmet (protector of Upper Egypt) became more important.
BORISmBulgarian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Georgian, GermanFrom the Turkic name
Bogoris, perhaps meaning "short" or "wolf" or "snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century King Boris I of Bulgaria who converted his country to Christianity, as well as two later Bulgarian emperors. The name was popularized in the Slavic world due to the 11th-century Saint Boris, who was a Russian prince martyred with his brother Gleb. His mother may have been Bulgarian. Another famous bearer was the 16th-century Russian emperor Boris Godunov, later the subject of a play of that name by Aleksandr Pushkin.
CATf & mEnglishDiminutive of
CATHERINE. It can also be a nickname from the English word for the animal.
FELIXmGerman, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom a Roman cognomen meaning "lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned Saint
Paul.
... [more] GARFIELDmEnglishFrom a surname meaning "triangle field" in Old English. A famous bearer was American president James A. Garfield (1831-1881). It is now associated with the cat in Jim Davis's cartoon strip 'Garfield'.
GRIFFINmEnglishLatinized form of
GRUFFUDD. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρυψ (gryps).
HARImHinduism, Indian, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, NepaliMeans "brown, yellow, tawny" in Sanskrit, and by extension "monkey, horse, lion". This is another name of the Hindu god
Vishnu, and sometimes of
Krishna. It is also borne by the son of the Garuda, the bird-like mount of Vishnu.
JASPERmEnglish, Dutch, Judeo-Christian LegendFrom Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer", derived from Persian
ganzabara. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
LEANDERmGreek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Λεανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λεων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ανηρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ανδρος). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
LEOmGerman, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Croatian, Late RomanDerived from Latin
leo meaning "lion", a cognate of
LEON. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), a Russian novelist whose works include 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. Leo is also the name of a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
LEÓNmSpanishSpanish form of
LEON.
León is also the name of a province in Spain, though the etymology is unrelated.
LEONmEnglish, German, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Dutch, Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
λεων (leon) meaning "lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin cognate
Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), a Russian Communist revolutionary.
LEONARDmEnglish, Dutch, German, Ancient GermanicMeans "brave lion", derived from the Germanic elements
lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and
hard "brave, hardy". This was the name of a 5th-century Frankish saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The Normans brought this name to England, though it did not become common there until the 19th century.
LEONARDOmItalian, Spanish, PortugueseItalian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
LEONARD. A notable bearer was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an Italian artist and scientist of the Renaissance. He is also known as the inventor of several contraptions, including flying machines, as well as the painter of the 'Mona Lisa'. Another famous bearer was Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician. A more recent bearer is American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (1974-).
LEONHARDmGermanGerman form of
LEONARD. Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician who made many important contributions to calculus, number theory, geometry and theoretical physics.
LEONIDASmGreek, Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
λεων (leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix
ιδης (ides). Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.
LEONTIOSmAncient GreekDerived from Greek
λεων (leon) meaning "lion". This was the name of various early saints and martyrs. It was also borne by a 7th-century Byzantine emperor.
LEOPOLDmGerman, Dutch, English, Slovene, PolishDerived from the Germanic elements
leud "people" and
bald "bold". The spelling was altered due to association with Latin
leo "lion". This name was common among German royalty, first with the Babenbergs and then the Habsburgs. Saint Leopold was a 12th-century Babenberg margrave of Austria, who is now considered the patron of that country. It was also borne by two Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, as well as three kings of Belgium. Since the 19th century this name has been occasionally used in England, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's uncle, a king of Belgium, after whom she named one of her sons. It was later used by James Joyce for the main character, Leopold Bloom, in his novel 'Ulysses' (1920).
LEV (1)mRussianMeans "lion" in Russian, functioning as a vernacular form of
Leo. This was the real Russian name of both author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).
LEVONmArmenianArmenian form of
LEON. This was the name of several kings of Cilician Armenia, including the first king Levon I the Magnificent.
LLYWELYNmWelshPossibly a Welsh form of the old Celtic name
Lugubelenus, a combination of the names of the gods
LUGUS and
BELENUS. Alternatively it may be derived from Welsh
llyw "leader". This was the name of several Welsh rulers, notably the 13th-century Llywelyn the Great who fought against England.
OSCARmEnglish, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish MythologyPossibly means "deer friend", derived from Gaelic
os "deer" and
cara "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name
OSGAR or its Old Norse cognate
ÁSGEIRR, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet
Oisín and the grandson of the hero
Fionn mac Cumhail.
... [more] OTHNIELmBiblicalMeaning uncertain, possibly "lion of God" or "strength of God" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is a nephew of
Caleb who becomes the first of the ruling judges of the Israelites.
PANTALEONmAncient GreekDerived from the Greek elements
παν (pan) meaning "all" (genitive
παντος) and
λεων (leon) meaning "lion". This was the name of a 2nd-century BC king of Bactria. It was also borne by Saint Pantaleon (also called
Panteleimon), a doctor from Asia Minor who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century. He is a patron saint of doctors and midwives.
RUSLANmRussian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, CircassianForm of
YERUSLAN used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem 'Ruslan and Ludmila' (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.
SHERmUrdu, PashtoMeans "lion" in Persian. A famous bearer of this name was Sher Shah, a 16th-century Mughal ruler.
SIMBA (2)mEastern African, SwahiliMeans "lion" in Swahili. This is the name of the main character in the Disney movie 'The Lion King' (1994), about a lion cub who exiles himself after his father is murdered.
SINGHmIndian (Sikh)From Sanskrit
सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his male Sikh followers the surname
Singh, and it is now a very common surname or a middle name. The female equivalent is
Kaur.
TIGERmEnglish (Rare)From the name of the large striped cat, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
τιγρις (tigris), ultimately of Iranian origin. A famous bearer is American golfer Tiger Woods (1975-).
YERUSLANmFolkloreFrom Tatar
Uruslan, which was possibly from Turkic
arslan meaning "lion". Yeruslan Lazarevich is the name of a hero in Russian and Tatar folktales. These tales were based on (or at least influenced by) Persian tales of their hero
Rostam.