ALEX m & f English, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, RussianShort form of
ALEXANDER,
ALEXANDRA, and other names beginning with
Alex.
ALEXANDRA f English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek, Greek MythologyFeminine form of
ALEXANDER. In Greek mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
ALICE f English, French, Portuguese, ItalianFrom the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) and 'Through the Looking Glass' (1871).
BRANDON m EnglishFrom a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English. It is sometimes also used as a variant of
BRENDAN.
CALEB m English, BiblicalMost likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning "dog". An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כָּל (kal) "whole, all of" and
לֵב (lev) "heart". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by
Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and
Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.
... [more] CASSANDRA f English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek name
Κασσανδρα (Kassandra), derived from possibly
κεκασμαι (kekasmai) "to excel, to shine" and
ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive
ανδρος). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
... [more] CECILIA f English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish, GermanLatinate feminine form of the Roman family name
Caecilius, which was derived from Latin
caecus "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd- or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.
... [more] CHARLIE m & f EnglishDiminutive or feminine form of
CHARLES. A famous bearer is Charlie Brown, the main character in the comic strip 'Peanuts' by Charles Schulz.
CLAY m EnglishFrom an English surname that originally referred to a person who lived near or worked with clay. This name can also be a short form of
CLAYTON.
CLAYTON m EnglishFrom a surname which was originally derived from various English place names, all meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.
DUNCAN m Scottish, EnglishAnglicized form of the Gaelic name
Donnchadh, derived from Gaelic
donn "brown" and
cath "battle". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' (1606).
ELAINE f English, Arthurian RomanceFrom an Old French form of
HELEN. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation 'Le Morte d'Arthur' Elaine was the daughter of Pelleas, the lover of
Lancelot, and the mother of
Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the appearance of Tennyson's Arthurian epic 'Idylls of the King' (1859).
ELLIOTT m EnglishFrom an English surname which was derived from a diminutive of the medieval name
ELIAS.
ERIC m English, Swedish, German, SpanishFrom the Old Norse name
Eiríkr, derived from the elements
ei "ever, always" and
ríkr "ruler". A notable bearer was Eiríkr inn Rauda (Eric the Red in English), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. This was also the name of several early kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
... [more] FELIX m German, 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] GLENN m Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname which was derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". A famous bearer of the surname is American astronaut John Glenn (1921-).
HAMZA m ArabicPossibly derived from Arabic
hamuza meaning "strong, steadfast". This was the name of the uncle of the Prophet
Muhammad who was killed in battle.
HARRY m EnglishMedieval English form of
HENRY. In modern times it is used as a diminutive of both
Henry and
HAROLD. A famous bearer was American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972). It is also the name of the boy wizard in J. K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series of books, first released in 1997.
HENRY m EnglishFrom the Germanic name
Heimirich which meant "home ruler", composed of the elements
heim "home" and
ric "power, ruler". It was later commonly spelled
Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like
Haganrich, in which the first element is
hagan "enclosure".
... [more] JASON m English, French, Greek Mythology (Anglicized), BiblicalFrom the Greek name
Ιασων (Iason), which was derived from Greek
ιασθαι (iasthai) "to heal". In Greek mythology Jason was the leader of the Argonauts. After his uncle Pelias overthrew his father
Aeson as king of Iolcos, Jason went in search of the Golden Fleece in order to win back the throne. During his journeys he married the sorceress
Medea, who helped him gain the fleece and kill his uncle, but who later turned against him when he fell in love with another woman.
... [more] LAURA f English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Late RomanFeminine form of the Late Latin name
Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
... [more] LEÓN m SpanishSpanish form of
LEON.
León is also the name of a province in Spain, though the etymology is unrelated.
LOUISA f English, German, DutchLatinate feminine form of
LOUIS. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of 'Little Women'.
MARK m English, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, BiblicalForm of
MARCUS. Saint Mark was the author of the second gospel in the New Testament. Though the author's identity is not certain, some traditions hold him to be the same person as the John Mark who appears in the Book of Acts. He is the patron saint of Venice, where he is supposedly buried. Though in use during the Middle Ages,
Mark was not common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when it began to be used alongside the classical form
Marcus.
... [more] MARSHALL m EnglishFrom a surname which originally denoted a person who was a marshal. The word
marshal originally derives from Germanic
marah "horse" and
scalc "servant".
MATTHEW m English, BiblicalEnglish form of
Ματθαιος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name
מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) meaning "gift of
YAHWEH". Matthew, also called
Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the New Testament. He is considered a saint in many Christian traditions. The variant
Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle. The name appears in the Old Testament as
Mattithiah.
... [more] MAXINE f EnglishFeminine form of
MAX. It has been commonly used only since the beginning of the 20th century.
MAXWELL m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname meaning "Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
MAGNUS, combined with Old English
wella "stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
MICHAEL m English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron saint of soldiers in Christianity.
... [more] MIRANDA f English, DutchDerived from Latin
mirandus meaning "admirable, wonderful". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play 'The Tempest' (1611), about a father and daughter stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearian character.
NATALIE f English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, NorwegianFrom the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant "Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
PAUL m English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, BiblicalFrom the Roman family name
Paulus, which meant "small" or "humble" in Latin. Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. According to Acts in the New Testament, he was a Jewish Roman citizen who converted to Christianity after the resurrected
Jesus appeared to him. After this he travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a missionary. His original Hebrew name was
Saul. Many of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him.
... [more] PETER m English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Slovene, Slovak, BiblicalDerived from the Greek
Πετρος (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name
Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle
Simon by
Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.
... [more] REBECCA f English, Italian, Swedish, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
רִבְקָה (Rivqah) from an unattested root probably meaning "join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of
Isaac and the mother of
Esau and
Jacob in the Old Testament. It came into use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the Puritans in the 17th century.
ROSS m Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish and English surname which originally indicated a person from a place called
Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was Sir James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.
RYAN m Irish, EnglishFrom an Irish surname which was derived from
Ó Riain meaning "descendant of Rían". The given name
Rían probably means "little king" (from Irish
rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix).
SEBASTIAN m German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, RomanianFrom the Latin name
Sebastianus which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστος (sebastos) "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
... [more] SHELBY m & f EnglishFrom a surname, which was possibly a variant of
SELBY. Though previously in use as a rare masculine name, it was popularized as a feminine name by the main character in the movie 'The Woman in Red' (1935). It was later reinforced by the movie 'Steel Magnolias' (1989) in which Julia Roberts played a character by this name.
SIMON (1) m English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom
Σιμων (Simon), the New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁמְעוֹן (Shim'on) which meant "he has heard". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεων, in many translations of the Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
SIMON (2).
... [more] SITA f Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, NepaliMeans "furrow" in Sanskrit. Sita is the name of the Hindu goddess of the harvest in the 'Rigveda'. This is also the name of the wife of
Rama (and an avatar of
Lakshmi) in the Hindu epic the 'Ramayana'. In this story Sita is rescued by her husband from the demon king Ravana.
SUSAN f EnglishEnglish variant of
SUSANNA. This has been most common spelling since the 18th century. A notable bearer was the American feminist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906).
THOMAS m English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekGreek form of the Aramaic name
תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma') which meant "twin". In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that
Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.
... [more] WILL m EnglishShort form of
WILLIAM or other names beginning with
Will. A famous bearer is American actor Will Smith (1968-), whose full name is Willard.