Viatrix's Personal Name List

Ada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AY-də(English) A-dha(Spanish) A-da(Polish) AW-daw(Hungarian) AH-dah(Finnish)
Rating: 59% based on 42 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide or Adelina that begin with the element adal meaning "noble". Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.
Adara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַדָרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 47% based on 19 votes
Means "noble" in Hebrew.
Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Rating: 50% based on 36 votes
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz). Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-dee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 66% based on 41 votes
Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Rating: 58% based on 39 votes
Form of Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after 40-year absence.
Adelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Аделина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-deh-LEE-na(Italian) a-dheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 60% based on 39 votes
From a Germanic name that was derived from the element adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz).
Adina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֲדִינָא(Ancient Hebrew) Ἀδινά(Ancient Greek) עֲדִינָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 41% based on 23 votes
From Hebrew עֲדִינָא ('adina') meaning "delicate". This name is borne by a soldier in the Old Testament. It is also used in modern Hebrew as a feminine name, typically spelled עֲדִינָה.
Adlai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עַדְלָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AD-lay(English)
Rating: 32% based on 17 votes
Contracted form of Adalia. This is the name of the father of one of King David's herdsmen in the Old Testament.
Adoniram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲדֹנִירָם(Ancient Hebrew) Ἀδωνιράμ(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 21% based on 16 votes
Means "my lord is exalted" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of an overseer of tribute under the kings David, Solomon and Rehoboam. He was stoned to death when the Israelites revolted.
Alasdair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Rating: 58% based on 36 votes
Scottish Gaelic form of Alexander.
Alastair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Rating: 70% based on 41 votes
Anglicized form of Alasdair.
Albert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, French, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Albanian, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Альберт(Russian)
Pronounced: AL-bərt(English) AL-behrt(German, Polish) AL-BEHR(French) əl-BEHRT(Catalan) ul-BYEHRT(Russian) AHL-bərt(Dutch) AL-bat(Swedish) AWL-behrt(Hungarian)
Rating: 49% based on 36 votes
From the Germanic name Adalbert meaning "noble and bright", composed of the elements adal "noble" and beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. The Normans introduced it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Æþelbeorht. Though it became rare in England by the 17th century, it was repopularized in the 19th century by the German-born Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.

This name was borne by two 20th-century kings of Belgium. Other famous bearers include the German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), creator of the theory of relativity, and Albert Camus (1913-1960), a French-Algerian writer and philosopher.

Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 73% based on 44 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Alfred
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Polish, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: AL-frəd(English) AL-FREHD(French) AL-freht(German, Polish) AHL-frət(Dutch)
Rating: 47% based on 40 votes
Means "elf counsel", derived from the Old English name Ælfræd, composed of the elements ælf "elf" and ræd "counsel, advice". Alfred the Great was a 9th-century king of Wessex who fought unceasingly against the Danes living in northeast England. He was also a scholar, and he translated many Latin books into Old English. His fame helped to ensure the usage of this name even after the Norman Conquest, when most Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. It became rare by the end of the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 18th century.

Famous bearers include the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), the Swedish inventor and Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), and the British-American film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980).

Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 70% based on 44 votes
From 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 among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).

Alison
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AL-i-sən(English) A-LEE-SAWN(French)
Rating: 48% based on 37 votes
Norman French diminutive of Aalis (see Alice) [1]. It was common in England, Scotland and France in the Middle Ages, and was later revived in England in the 20th century via Scotland. Unlike most other English names ending in son, it is not derived from a surname.
Alma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: AL-mə(English) AL-ma(Spanish)
Rating: 46% based on 36 votes
This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".
Aloisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: a-LOI-zya
Rating: 39% based on 18 votes
German feminine form of Aloysius.
Aloysius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-o-ISH-əs
Rating: 42% based on 17 votes
Latinized form of Aloys, an old Occitan form of Louis. This was the name of a 16th-century Italian saint, Aloysius Gonzaga. The name has been in occasional use among Catholics since his time.
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 58% based on 19 votes
From the Greek name Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek ἄλθος (althos) meaning "healing". In Greek myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.
Amara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Western African, Igbo
Rating: 53% based on 18 votes
Means "grace" in Igbo.
Amira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַמִירָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-MEER-ah
Rating: 49% based on 18 votes
Feminine form of Amir 2.
Angus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ANG-gəs(English)
Rating: 48% based on 18 votes
Anglicized form of Aonghus.
Anna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Scottish Gaelic, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Άννα(Greek) Анна(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Church Slavic) Աննա(Armenian) Ἄννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-ə(English) AN-na(Italian, Polish, Icelandic) A-na(German, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Czech) AH-na(Dutch) AHN-na(Norwegian) AHN-nah(Finnish) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan)
Rating: 67% based on 39 votes
Form of Channah (see Hannah) used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Anne 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, Basque
Pronounced: AN(French, English) A-neh(Swedish) A-nə(Danish, German) AHN-neh(Finnish) AH-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 61% based on 35 votes
French form of Anna. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.

The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London. This is also the name of the heroine in Anne of Green Gables (1908) by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.

Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 61% based on 38 votes
Combination of Anne 1 and Liese.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: AHR-thər(English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
Rating: 68% based on 39 votes
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *artos "bear" (Old Welsh arth) combined with *wiros "man" (Old Welsh gur) or *rīxs "king" (Old Welsh ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name Artorius.

Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.

The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).

Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Rating: 57% based on 36 votes
Means "happy, blessed" in Hebrew. Asher in the Old Testament is a son of Jacob by Leah's handmaid Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in Genesis 30:13.
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-trid(Swedish, English) AHS-tree(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French)
Rating: 65% based on 42 votes
Modern Scandinavian form of Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 65% based on 38 votes
Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 62% based on 36 votes
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.

As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.

Augusta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, English, German, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-ta(Italian) ə-GUS-tə(English) ow-GUWS-ta(German)
Rating: 58% based on 36 votes
Feminine form of Augustus. It was introduced to Britain when King George III, a member of the German House of Hanover, gave this name to his second daughter in the 18th century.
Augustus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-toos(Latin) aw-GUS-təs(English) ow-GHUYS-tuys(Dutch)
Rating: 55% based on 33 votes
Means "exalted, venerable", derived from Latin augere meaning "to increase". Augustus was the title given to Octavian, the first Roman emperor. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who rose to power through a combination of military skill and political prowess. In 26 BC the senate officially gave him the name Augustus, and after his death it was used as a title for subsequent emperors. This was also the name of three kings of Poland (August in Polish).
Avia
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 35% based on 23 votes
Modern Hebrew form of Abijah.
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Rating: 42% based on 34 votes
Feminine variant of Aviv.
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Rating: 59% based on 34 votes
Italian form of Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEH-ya-triks(Dutch) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Rating: 64% based on 34 votes
Probably from Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator meaning "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.

In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-).

Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 56% based on 33 votes
From the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Bernard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Polish, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: bər-NAHRD(American English) BU-nəd(British English) BEHR-NAR(French) BEHR-nahrt(Dutch) BEHR-nart(Polish, Croatian, Czech)
Rating: 39% based on 31 votes
Derived from the Old German element bern "bear" combined with hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Beornheard. This was the name of several saints, including Saint Bernard of Menthon who built hospices in the Swiss Alps in the 10th century, and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th-century theologian and Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include the Irish playwright and essayist George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and the British World War II field marshal Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976).
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 60% based on 37 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name Brighid, Old Irish Brigit, from old Celtic *Brigantī meaning "the exalted one". In Irish mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Bronwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: BRAWN-wehn
Rating: 59% based on 18 votes
Seemingly derived from Welsh bron "breast" and gwen "white, blessed", though it has sometimes occurred as a variant spelling of the legendary name Branwen [1]. It has been used as a given name in Wales since the 19th century. It is borne by a character in Richard Llewellyn's 1939 novel How Green Was My Valley, as well as the 1941 movie adaptation.
Calixta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese (Rare)
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Calixtus.
Callum
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: KAL-əm
Rating: 58% based on 30 votes
Variant of Calum.
Camilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: kə-MIL-ə(English) ka-MEEL-la(Italian) kah-MEEL-lah(Danish) KAH-meel-lah(Finnish) ka-MI-la(German)
Rating: 58% based on 35 votes
Feminine form of Camillus. This was the name of a legendary warrior maiden of the Volsci, as told by Virgil in the Aeneid. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Fanny Burney's novel Camilla (1796).
Camille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-MEE(French) kə-MEEL(English)
Rating: 64% based on 35 votes
French feminine and masculine form of Camilla. It is also used in the English-speaking world, where it is generally only feminine.
Carolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Swedish
Pronounced: ka-ro-LEE-na(Italian, Spanish) ka-roo-LEE-nu(European Portuguese) ka-ro-LEE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) kar-ə-LIE-nə(English)
Rating: 51% based on 36 votes
Latinate feminine form of Carolus. This is the name of two American states: North and South Carolina. They were named for Charles I, king of England.
Catharina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(Dutch)
Rating: 52% based on 26 votes
Dutch and Swedish form of Katherine.
Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 67% based on 38 votes
French form of Katherine, and also a common English variant.
Cécile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-SEEL
Rating: 47% based on 31 votes
French form of Cecilia.
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian)
Rating: 63% based on 36 votes
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus meaning "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.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.

Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 29 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of Cecilia.
Ceres
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: KEH-rehs(Latin) SIR-eez(English)
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
Derived from the Indo-European root *ker- meaning "grow, increase". In Roman mythology Ceres was the goddess of agriculture, equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Rating: 49% based on 30 votes
Possibly from cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh cwrr "corner") combined with ben "woman" or gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard Taliesin.

This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".

Charles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: CHAHRLZ(English) SHARL(French)
Rating: 58% based on 15 votes
French and English form of Carolus, the Latin form of the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a word meaning "man" (Proto-Germanic *karlaz). However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element *harjaz meaning "army".

The popularity of the name in continental Europe was due to the fame of Charles the Great (742-814), commonly known as Charlemagne, a king of the Franks who came to rule over most of Europe. His grandfather Charles Martel had also been a noted leader of the Franks. It was subsequently the name of several Holy Roman emperors, as well as rulers of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary (in various spellings). After Charlemagne, his name was adopted as a word meaning "king" in many Eastern European languages, for example Czech král, Hungarian király, Russian король (korol), and Turkish kral.

The name did not become common in Britain until the 17th century when it was borne by the Stuart king Charles I. It had been introduced into the Stuart royal family by Mary Queen of Scots, who had been raised in France. Two other kings of the United Kingdom have borne this name, including the current monarch.

Other famous bearers include naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution, novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote such works as Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, French statesman Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), and American cartoonist Charles Schulz (1922-2000), the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.

Charon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Χάρων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KEHR-ən(English)
Rating: 38% based on 14 votes
Possibly means "fierce brightness" in Greek. In Greek mythology Charon was the operator of the ferry that brought the newly dead over the River Acheron into Hades.
Chaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חַיָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: KHA-ya
Rating: 31% based on 29 votes
Feminine form of Chaim.
Cianán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Rating: 33% based on 14 votes
Diminutive of Cian. This was the name of a 5th-century Irish saint.
Ciarán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEE-ran(Irish)
Rating: 50% based on 26 votes
Diminutive of Ciar. This was the name of two 6th-century Irish saints: Ciarán the Elder, the founder of the monastery at Saighir, and Ciarán the Younger, the founder of the monastery at Clonmacnoise.
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
Rating: 63% based on 34 votes
French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 68% based on 36 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

Clare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHR, KLAR
Rating: 51% based on 31 votes
Medieval English form of Clara. The preferred spelling in the English-speaking world is now the French form Claire, though Clare has been fairly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.

This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish clár meaning "plank, level surface".

Clemence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHM-əns
Rating: 41% based on 28 votes
Feminine form of Clementius (see Clement). It has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it became rare after the 17th century.
Clémentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN-TEEN
Rating: 66% based on 30 votes
French feminine form of Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).
Clio
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Italian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Κλειώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KLEE-o(English, Italian) KLIE-o(English)
Rating: 50% based on 30 votes
Latinized form of Kleio.
Clíodhna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KLYEE-nə(Irish)
Rating: 39% based on 27 votes
Meaning unknown. In Irish legend this was the name of a beautiful goddess. She fell in love with a mortal named Ciabhán and left the Land of Promise with him, but when she arrived on the other shore she was swept to sea by a great wave.
Clíona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KLYEE-nə
Rating: 46% based on 29 votes
Variant of Clíodhna.
Conall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1], Irish Mythology
Rating: 43% based on 12 votes
Means "rule of a wolf", from Old Irish "hound, dog, wolf" (genitive con) and fal "rule" [2]. This is the name of several characters in Irish legend including the hero Conall Cernach ("Conall of the victories"), a member of the Red Branch of Ulster, who avenged Cúchulainn's death by killing Lugaid.
Conor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Rating: 55% based on 27 votes
Anglicized form of Conchobar (or the Modern Irish form Conchúr).
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 69% based on 33 votes
From Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles [1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.

The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).

Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Rating: 60% based on 32 votes
Italian feminine form of Cosimo.
Cosmo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: KAWZ-mo(Italian) KAHZ-mo(English)
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
Italian variant of Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.
Cybele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Near Eastern Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυβέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIB-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 47% based on 20 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly from Phrygian roots meaning either "stone" or "hair". This was the name of the Phrygian mother goddess associated with fertility and nature. She was later worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
Rating: 65% based on 32 votes
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Dalia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Baltic Mythology
Pronounced: du-LYEH(Lithuanian)
Rating: 54% based on 13 votes
From Lithuanian dalis meaning "portion, share". This was the name of the Lithuanian goddess of weaving, fate and childbirth, often associated with Laima.
Dalia 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: דַּלְיָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
Means "hanging branch" in Hebrew.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
Rating: 63% based on 28 votes
From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.

Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
Rating: 62% based on 29 votes
From the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew דּוֹד (dod) meaning "beloved" or "uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament, Jesus was descended from him.

This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.

Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).

Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Rating: 60% based on 27 votes
Anglicized form of Irish Deaglán, Old Irish Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.

In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).

Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
French form of Delphina.
Desmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: DEHZ-mənd(English)
Rating: 50% based on 21 votes
Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Diana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Armenian, Georgian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Диана(Russian, Bulgarian) Діана(Ukrainian) Դիանա(Armenian) დიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: die-AN-ə(English) DYA-na(Spanish, Italian, Polish) dee-U-nu(European Portuguese) jee-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) dee-A-nə(Catalan) dee-A-na(German, Dutch, Latin) dyee-AH-nu(Ukrainian) DI-ya-na(Czech) DEE-a-na(Slovak)
Rating: 60% based on 30 votes
Means "divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin dia or diva meaning "goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *dyew- found in Zeus. Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). A notable bearer was the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.

Doran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 36% based on 26 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Deoradháin, from the byname Deoradhán, derived from Irish deoradh meaning "exile, wanderer" combined with a diminutive suffix.
Dorothy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWR-ə-thee, DAWR-thee
Rating: 51% based on 30 votes
Usual English form of Dorothea. It has been in use since the 16th century. The author L. Frank Baum used it for the central character, Dorothy Gale, in his fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and several of its sequels.
Edana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Rating: 33% based on 12 votes
Latinized form of Étaín. This was the name of an early Irish saint.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 36% based on 15 votes
Possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן ('eden) meaning "pleasure, delight", or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Edgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, German
Pronounced: EHD-gər(English) EHD-GAR(French)
Rating: 52% based on 13 votes
Derived from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, Edgar the Peaceful. The name did not survive long after the Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), which tells of the tragic love between Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton [1]. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish)
Rating: 43% based on 29 votes
From the Old English name Eadgyð, derived from the elements ead "wealth, fortune" and guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.
Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Rating: 59% based on 29 votes
Means "rich protection", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.

Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Rating: 37% based on 24 votes
Diminutive of Eilionoir, also taken to be a Gaelic form of Helen.
Eirian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 38% based on 24 votes
Means "bright, beautiful" in Welsh [1].
Elaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)
Rating: 46% based on 29 votes
From 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 Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).
Elanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 53% based on 29 votes
Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 77% based on 34 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English, Medieval Slavic
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Church Slavic) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 30 votes
Form of Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Елена (see Yelena).
Eleri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: eh-LEH-ri
Rating: 42% based on 26 votes
From the name of a Welsh river, also called the Leri, of unknown meaning. This was also the name of a 7th-century Welsh saint (masculine).
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Rating: 51% based on 12 votes
Means "ascension" in Hebrew. In the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.

Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).

Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Eastern African, Amharic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 29 votes
Form of Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 32 votes
From the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ ('Eliyyahu) meaning "my God is Yahweh", derived from the elements אֵל ('el) and יָה (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and Moses appear next to Jesus when he is transfigured.

Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.

Elinor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 63% based on 30 votes
Variant of Eleanor.
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 65% based on 30 votes
German and Dutch form of Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament.
Elizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 66% based on 31 votes
From Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath", derived from the roots אֵל ('el) referring to the Hebrew God and שָׁבַע (shava') meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.

Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).

Ellen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EHL-ən(English) EHL-lehn(Finnish)
Rating: 60% based on 14 votes
Medieval English form of Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form Helen also became common.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 66% based on 31 votes
From the Old French name Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil meaning "healthy, whole" and wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.

There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.

Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 59% based on 31 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Émeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-MU-LEEN
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
French form of Emmeline.
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) ehn-MYEE-lya(Polish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 59% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of Iago.
Emrys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-ris
Rating: 53% based on 12 votes
Welsh form of Ambrose. Emrys Wledig (or Ambrosius Aurelianus) was a Romano-British military leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Tales of his life were used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to help shape the early character of Merlin, whom he called Merlinus Ambrosius in Latin.
Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Rating: 59% based on 28 votes
Latinate form of Estelle. This was the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Rating: 57% based on 29 votes
Form of Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the New Testament, while Hava is used in the Latin Old Testament. The name appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.

This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).

Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 62% based on 28 votes
From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (chawah) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.

Evelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
Rating: 62% based on 29 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to Eve and Evelina.

This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.

Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 30 votes
Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Faye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
Rating: 57% based on 27 votes
Variant of Fay.
Felicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Late Roman
Pronounced: fə-LEE-shə(English) feh-LEE-cha(Italian) feh-LEE-thya(European Spanish) feh-LEE-sya(Latin American Spanish) feh-LEE-chee-a(Romanian) feh-LEE-see-a(Dutch) feh-LEE-see-ah(Swedish)
Rating: 47% based on 13 votes
Feminine form of the Latin name Felicius, a derivative of Felix. As an English name, it has occasionally been used since the Middle Ages.
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 30 votes
From 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.

Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).

Ferdinand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, English, Slovak, Czech, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: FEHR-dee-nant(German) FEHR-DEE-NAHN(French) FEHR-dee-nahnt(Dutch) FUR-də-nand(English) FEHR-dee-nand(Slovak) FEHR-di-nant(Czech)
Rating: 42% based on 27 votes
From Fredenandus, the Latinized form of a Gothic name composed of the elements friþus "peace" (or perhaps farþa "journey" [1]) and nanþa "boldness, daring". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth.
Finlay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: FIN-lee(English)
Rating: 55% based on 26 votes
Anglicized form of Fionnlagh. This spelling is more common in Scotland, though in England and Wales the variant Finley has been more popular since 2007.
Finnán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish
Rating: 43% based on 11 votes
Older form of Fionnán.
Finola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 45% based on 26 votes
Anglicized form of Fionnuala.
Fionnuala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Rating: 37% based on 25 votes
Means "white shoulder" from Old Irish finn "white, blessed" and gúala "shoulder". In Irish legend Fionnuala was one of the four children of Lir who were transformed into swans for a period of 900 years.
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese)
Rating: 54% based on 29 votes
Derived from Latin flos meaning "flower" (genitive case floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of Fionnghuala.
Francis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
Rating: 59% based on 27 votes
English form of the Late Latin name Franciscus meaning "Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), and the explorer and admiral Sir Francis Drake (1540-1595).

In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.

Franco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: FRANG-ko
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
Italian form of Frank, also used as a short form of the related name Francesco.
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
Rating: 62% based on 19 votes
English form of an Old German name meaning "peaceful ruler", derived from fridu "peace" and rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.

The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.

Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAHB-ree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 65% based on 30 votes
From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Gavriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: גַּבְרִיאֵל(Hebrew)
Rating: 41% based on 22 votes
Hebrew form of Gabriel.
Geoffrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JEHF-ree(English) ZHAW-FREH(French)
Rating: 56% based on 13 votes
From a Norman French form of a Frankish name. The second element is Old German fridu "peace", while the first element could be *gautaz "Geat" (a North Germanic tribe), gawi "territory" or walah "foreigner". It is possible that two or more names merged into a single form. In the later Middle Ages Geoffrey was further confused with the distinct name Godfrey.

The Normans introduced this name to England where it became common among the nobility. Famous medieval literary bearers include the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth and the 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer, writer of The Canterbury Tales. By the end of the Middle Ages it had become uncommon, but it was revived in the 20th century, often in the spelling Jeffrey.

George
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Indian (Christian)
Other Scripts: ജോർജ്ജ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JAWRJ(English) JYOR-jeh(Romanian)
Rating: 59% based on 27 votes
From the Greek name Γεώργιος (Georgios), which was derived from the Greek word γεωργός (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γῆ (ge) meaning "earth" and ἔργον (ergon) meaning "work". Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Cappadocia who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art.

Initially Saint George was primarily revered by Eastern Christians, but returning crusaders brought stories of him to Western Europe and he became the patron of England, Portugal, Catalonia and Aragon. The name was rarely used in England until the German-born George I came to the British throne in the 18th century. Five subsequent British kings have borne the name.

Other famous bearers include two kings of Greece, the composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732-1797), and the Pacific explorer George Vancouver (1757-1798). This was also the pen name of authors George Eliot (1819-1880) and George Orwell (1903-1950), real names Mary Anne Evans and Eric Arthur Blair respectively.

This name is also used by Christians in India, notably Saint Thomas Christians in the state of Kerala in the spelling ജോർജ്ജ് (Jorjj).

Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 56% based on 28 votes
Means "feller, hewer" in Hebrew. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
Giles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIELZ
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
From the Late Latin name Aegidius, which is derived from Greek αἰγίδιον (aigidion) meaning "young goat". Saint Giles was an 8th-century miracle worker who came to southern France from Greece. He is regarded as the patron saint of the crippled. In Old French the name Aegidius became Gidie and then Gilles, at which point it was imported to England. Another famous bearer was the 13th-century philosopher and theologian Giles of Rome (Egidio in Italian).
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Rating: 56% based on 29 votes
Italian form of Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning "juniper".
Godfrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHD-free
Rating: 57% based on 12 votes
From the Germanic name Godefrid, which meant "peace of god" from the Old German elements got "god" and fridu "peace". The Normans brought this name to England, where it became common during the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was Godfrey of Bouillon, an 11th-century leader of the First Crusade and the first ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 65% based on 18 votes
From the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.

Gregory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GREHG-ə-ree
Rating: 51% based on 12 votes
English form of Latin Gregorius, which was from the Late Greek name Γρηγόριος (Gregorios), derived from γρήγορος (gregoros) meaning "watchful, alert". This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important saints including Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (3rd century), Saint Gregory the Illuminator (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (4th century), and Saint Gregory of Tours (6th century). It was also borne by the 6th-century pope Saint Gregory I the Great, a reformer and Doctor of the Church, as well as 15 subsequent popes.

Due to the renown of the saints by this name, Gregory (in various spellings) has remained common in the Christian world through the Middle Ages and to the present day. It has been used in England since the 12th century. A famous bearer from the modern era was American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003).

Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Rating: 65% based on 29 votes
Possibly means "white ring", derived from Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed" and dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle [1]. Geoffrey later used it in Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name Guendoleu by Geoffrey [3].

This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).

Gwendolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin
Rating: 58% based on 29 votes
Variant of Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.
Gwenllian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwehn-SHEE-an
Rating: 39% based on 25 votes
Derived from the Welsh elements gwen meaning "white, blessed" and possibly lliain meaning "flaxen, made of linen" or lliant meaning "flow, flood". This name was used by medieval Welsh royalty, notably by a 12th-century princess of Deheubarth who died in battle with the Normans. It was also borne by the 13th-century daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last prince of Gwynedd.
Gwyneira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwi-NAY-ra
Rating: 40% based on 25 votes
Means "white snow" from the Welsh element gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Rating: 56% based on 26 votes
Probably a variant of Gwynedd. It has been common in Wales since the 19th century, perhaps after the Welsh novelist Gwyneth Vaughan (1852-1910), whose real name was Ann Harriet Hughes. A modern famous bearer is the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).
Harriet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee-it, HEHR-ee-it
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 65% based on 32 votes
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Helen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHL-ən(English)
Rating: 53% based on 29 votes
English form of the Greek Ἑλένη (Helene), probably from Greek ἑλένη (helene) meaning "torch" or "corposant", or possibly related to σελήνη (selene) meaning "moon". In Greek mythology Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose kidnapping by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War. The name was also borne by the 4th-century Saint Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, who supposedly found the True Cross during a trip to Jerusalem.

The name was originally used among early Christians in honour of the saint, as opposed to the classical character. In England it was commonly spelled Ellen during the Middle Ages, and the spelling Helen was not regularly used until after the Renaissance. A famous bearer was Helen Keller (1880-1968), an American author and lecturer who was both blind and deaf.

Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German) heh-LEH-nah(Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 35 votes
Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Helene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: heh-LEHN(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) heh-LEH-nə(German) HEH-LEH-NEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 66% based on 16 votes
Ancient Greek form of Helen, as well as the modern Scandinavian and German form.
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 67% based on 32 votes
From the Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and rih "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 hag "enclosure".

Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.

The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).

Hera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἥρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-RA(Classical Greek) HEHR-ə(English) HEE-rə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 28 votes
Uncertain meaning, possibly from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior"; ὥρα (hora) meaning "period of time"; or αἱρέω (haireo) meaning "to be chosen". In Greek mythology Hera was the queen of the gods, the sister and wife of Zeus. She presided over marriage and childbirth.
Hermes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek, Spanish
Other Scripts: Ἑρμῆς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEHS(Classical Greek) HUR-meez(English) EHR-mehs(Spanish)
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
Probably from Greek ἕρμα (herma) meaning "cairn, pile of stones, boundary marker". Hermes was a Greek god associated with speed and good luck, who served as a messenger to Zeus and the other gods. He was also the patron of travellers, writers, athletes, merchants, thieves and orators.

This was also used as a personal name, being borne for example by a 1st-century saint and martyr.

Hezekiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: חִזְקִיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: hehz-ə-KIE-ə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name חִזְקִיָהוּ (Chizqiyahu), which means "Yahweh strengthens", from the roots חָזַק (chazaq) meaning "to strength" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name was borne by a powerful king of Judah who reigned in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Also in the Old Testament, this is the name of an ancestor of the prophet Zephaniah.
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
Rating: 52% based on 26 votes
From the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact Íñigo.
Ingrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ING-rid(Swedish) ING-ri(Norwegian) ING-grit(German) ING-greet(German) ING-ghrit(Dutch)
Rating: 65% based on 29 votes
From the Old Norse name Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god Ing combined with fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
Iona 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: ie-O-nə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 26 votes
From the name of the island off Scotland where Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from ey meaning "island".
'Ira'
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עִירָא(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 36% based on 11 votes
Biblical Hebrew form of Ira 1.
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Rating: 65% based on 30 votes
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
Isidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese (Rare), Italian (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Исидора(Serbian, Russian) Ἰσιδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-see-DHO-ra(Spanish) ee-zee-DAW-ra(Italian) iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 27 votes
Feminine form of Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian saint and hermitess.
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 63% based on 30 votes
Anglicized form of Iseabail.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 63% based on 29 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Jacob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יַעֲקֹב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-kəb(English) YA-kawp(Dutch) YAH-kawp(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish)
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
From the Latin Iacob, which was from the Greek Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov). In the Old Testament Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".

The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.

In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages [1], though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.

A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 64% based on 27 votes
English form of the Late Latin name Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form Iacobus, from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov (see Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the New Testament. The first was Saint James the Greater, the apostle John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of Jesus.

This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.

Famous bearers include the English explorer Captain James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.

Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Rating: 74% based on 19 votes
Medieval English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John). This became the most common feminine form of John in the 17th century, surpassing Joan. In the first half of the 20th century Joan once again overtook Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.

Jean 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: JEEN
Rating: 47% based on 27 votes
Medieval English variant of Jehanne (see Jane). It was common in England and Scotland during the Middle Ages, but eventually became rare in England. It was reintroduced to the English-speaking world from Scotland in the 19th century.
Jeremiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִרְמְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jehr-i-MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
From the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ (Yirmiyahu) meaning "Yahweh will exalt", from the roots רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Jessica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHS-i-kə(English) ZHEH-SEE-KA(French) YEH-see-ka(German, Dutch) JEH-see-ka(German) YEHS-si-ka(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish)
Rating: 45% based on 26 votes
This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name Iscah, which would have been spelled Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).
John
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Biblical
Pronounced: JAHN(American English) JAWN(British English) YAWN(Swedish, Norwegian) GYAWN(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 23 votes
English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ἰωάννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "Yahweh is gracious", from the roots יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and חָנַן (chanan) meaning "to be gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the Old Testament (spelled Johanan or Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles Peter and James (his brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.

This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians in the Byzantine Empire, but it flourished in Western Europe after the First Crusade. In England it became extremely popular, typically being the most common male name from the 13th to the 20th century (but sometimes outpaced by William). During the later Middle Ages it was given to approximately a fifth of all English boys. In the United States it was the most common name for boys until 1923.

The name (in various spellings) has been borne by 21 popes and eight Byzantine emperors, as well as rulers of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary. It was also borne by the poet John Milton (1608-1674), philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), American founding father and president John Adams (1735-1826), and poet John Keats (1795-1821). Famous bearers of the 20th century include author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and musician John Lennon (1940-1980).

The forms Ian (Scottish), Sean (Irish) and Evan (Welsh) have also been frequently used in the English-speaking world, as has the medieval diminutive Jack.

Jonas 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἰωνᾶς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: YOO-nas(Swedish) YO-nas(German) JO-nəs(English)
Rating: 50% based on 24 votes
From Ἰωνᾶς (Ionas), the Greek form of Jonah. This spelling is used in some English translations of the New Testament.
Joseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Ancient Hebrew) ജോസഫ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JO-səf(English) ZHO-ZEHF(French) YO-zehf(German)
Rating: 59% based on 26 votes
From Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add", from the root יָסַף (yasaf). In the Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the first with his wife Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.

In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.

This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).

Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 66% based on 29 votes
English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.
Josiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יֹאשִׁיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jo-SIE-ə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 25 votes
From the Hebrew name יֹאשִׁיָהוּ (Yoshiyahu) meaning "Yahweh supports". In the Old Testament this is the name of a king of Judah famous for his religious reforms. He was killed fighting the Egyptians at Megiddo in the 7th century BC. In England this name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Josias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Rating: 40% based on 12 votes
Latinized form of Josiah used in some English versions of the Old Testament.
Julia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ə(English) YOO-lya(German, Danish, Polish) YOO-lee-ah(Swedish, Finnish) KHOO-lya(Spanish) YOO-lyi-yə(Russian) YOO-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 55% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the New Testament. It was also borne by a few early saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).

Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 63% based on 26 votes
From the Roman name Iulianus, which was derived from Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from Juliana, eventually becoming Gillian).
Juliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: yuy-lee-A-na(Dutch) yoo-lee-A-na(German) joo-lee-AN-ə(English) joo-lee-AHN-ə(English) khoo-LYA-na(Spanish) YOO-lee-a-na(Slovak)
Rating: 56% based on 27 votes
Feminine form of Iulianus (see Julian). This was the name of a 4th-century saint and martyr from Nicomedia, and also of the Blessed Juliana of Norwich, also called Julian, a 14th-century mystic and author. The name was also borne by a 20th-century queen of the Netherlands. In England, this form has been in use since the 18th century, alongside the older form Gillian.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 65% based on 28 votes
Anglicized form of Giulietta or Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Julius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Finnish, Lithuanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: YOO-lee-oos(Latin, Swedish) JOO-lee-əs(English) YOO-lee-uws(German) YOO-leews(Finnish) YUW-lyuws(Lithuanian) YOO-lyoos(Danish) YOO-li-yuws(Czech)
Rating: 54% based on 23 votes
From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Greek ἴουλος (ioulos) meaning "downy-bearded". Alternatively, it could be related to the name of the Roman god Jupiter. This was a prominent patrician family of Rome, who claimed descent from the mythological Julus, son of Aeneas. Its most notable member was Gaius Julius Caesar, who gained renown as a military leader for his clever conquest of Gaul. After a civil war he became the dictator of the Roman Republic, but was eventually stabbed to death in the senate.

Although this name was borne by several early saints, including a pope, it was rare during the Middle Ages. It was revived in Italy and France during the Renaissance, and was subsequently imported to England.

June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 62% based on 27 votes
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Rating: 56% based on 13 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.
Katharina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(German, Swedish)
Rating: 61% based on 15 votes
German form of Katherine.
Katherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KATH-ə-rin, KATH-rin
Rating: 67% based on 31 votes
From the Greek name Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek αἰκία (aikia) meaning "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρός (katharos) meaning "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.

The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel. The saint was initially venerated in Syria, and returning crusaders introduced the name to Western Europe. It has been common in England since the 12th century in many different spellings, with Katherine and Catherine becoming standard in the later Middle Ages. To this day both spellings are regularly used in the English-speaking world. In the United States the spelling Katherine has been more popular since 1973.

Famous bearers of the name include Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century mystic, and Catherine de' Medici, a 16th-century French queen. It was also borne by three of Henry VIII's wives, including Katherine of Aragon, and by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great.

Kathryn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KATH-rin
Rating: 48% based on 27 votes
Contracted form of Katherine.
Lancelot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: LAN-sə-laht(English)
Rating: 34% based on 12 votes
Possibly an Old French diminutive of Lanzo (see Lance). In Arthurian legend Lancelot was the bravest of the Knights of the Round Table. He became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere, ultimately causing the destruction of Arthur's kingdom. His earliest appearance is in the works of the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes: briefly in Erec and Enide and then as a main character in Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart.
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 53% based on 15 votes
Feminine 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.

As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.

Laurence 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əns
Rating: 62% based on 14 votes
From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "from Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor. Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in the Christian world (in various spellings).

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England, partly because of a second saint by this name, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury. Likewise it has been common in Ireland due to the 12th-century Saint Laurence O'Toole (whose real name was Lorcán). Since the 19th century the spelling Lawrence has been more common, especially in America. A famous bearer was the British actor Laurence Olivier (1907-1989).

Lenora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 59% based on 26 votes
Short form of Elenora.
Lenore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-NAWR
Rating: 60% based on 26 votes
Short form of Eleanor. This was the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven (1845).
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Danish, Finnish) LEH-yo(Dutch) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 65% based on 26 votes
Derived 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 the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
Léon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AWN
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
French form of Leon (used to refer to the popes named Leo).
Leon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λέων(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-ahn(English) LEH-awn(German, Polish, Slovene)
Rating: 56% based on 25 votes
Derived from Greek λέων (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 the Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is Лев in Russian.
Leona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Czech
Pronounced: lee-O-nə(English) LEH-o-na(Czech)
Rating: 54% based on 25 votes
Feminine form of Leon.
Leonard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: LEHN-ərd(English) LEH-o-nahrt(Dutch) LEH-o-nart(German) leh-AW-nart(Polish)
Rating: 47% based on 24 votes
Means "brave lion", derived from the Old German elements lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of a 6th-century Frankish saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The Normans brought this name to England, where it was used steadily through the Middle Ages, becoming even more common in the 20th century.
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
Italian short form of Eleanor.
Leopold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Polish
Pronounced: LEH-o-pawlt(German, Dutch) LEE-ə-pold(English) LEH-o-polt(Czech) LEH-aw-pawld(Slovak) leh-AW-pawlt(Polish)
Rating: 56% based on 26 votes
Derived from the Old German elements liut "people" and bald "bold, brave". 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 (1922).
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Rating: 54% based on 26 votes
Possibly means "joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers Moses and Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the New Testament, where it is another name for the apostle Matthew.

As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Lilian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən(English) LEE-LYAHN(French)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
English variant of Lillian, as well as a French and Romanian masculine form.
Liliane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEE-LYAN
Rating: 46% based on 25 votes
French form of Lillian.
Lilias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 47% based on 23 votes
Form of Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century [1].
Lillia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ə
Rating: 55% based on 15 votes
Short form of Lillian or an elaborated form of Lily.
Lillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən
Rating: 61% based on 26 votes
Probably originally a diminutive of Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of Lily, from the Latin word for "lily" lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 63% based on 31 votes
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
Rating: 53% based on 25 votes
From the Greek name Λίνος (Linos) meaning "flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.
Liora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 54% based on 25 votes
Strictly feminine form of Lior.
Loïc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: LAW-EEK(French)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Breton form of Louis.
Lois 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Λωΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LO-is(English)
Rating: 42% based on 12 votes
Possibly derived from Greek λωίων (loion) meaning "more desirable" or "better". Lois is mentioned in the New Testament as the mother of Eunice and the grandmother of Timothy. As an English name, it came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In fiction, this is the name of the girlfriend of the comic book hero Superman.
Louis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: LWEE(French) LOO-is(English) LOO-ee(English) loo-EE(Dutch)
Rating: 54% based on 24 votes
French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. This was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne. Others include Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (called the Sun King) who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. It was also borne by kings of Germany (as Ludwig), Hungary (as Lajos), and other places.

Apart from royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common.

The Normans brought the name to England, where it was usually spelled Lewis, though the spelling Louis has been more common in America. Famous bearers include French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), Métis leader Louis Riel (1844-1885), who led a rebellion against Canada, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).

Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 69% based on 29 votes
Latinate feminine form of Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of Little Women.
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Rating: 66% based on 13 votes
Latin form of Greek Λουκᾶς (see Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.

This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).

Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Rating: 60% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.
Lucille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: LUY-SEEL(French) loo-SEEL(English)
Rating: 49% based on 24 votes
French form of Lucilla. A famous bearer was American comedienne Lucille Ball (1911-1989).
Lucina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KEE-na(Latin) loo-SIE-nə(English) loo-SEE-nə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 25 votes
Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 51% based on 13 votes
An elaboration of Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek) Лѷдіа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German)
Rating: 65% based on 28 votes
Means "from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king Lydos. In the New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 64% based on 28 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband Ailill fought against the Ulster king Conchobar and the hero Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 66% based on 29 votes
Latinate form of Magdalene.
Magdalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mak-da-LEH-nə(German) MAG-də-lin(English)
Rating: 56% based on 27 votes
From a title meaning "of Magdala". Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered Madeline, while Magdalene or Magdalen is the learned form.
Maia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
Other Scripts: Μαῖα(Ancient Greek) მაია(Georgian)
Pronounced: MIE-A(Classical Greek) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English) MIE-ya(Latin) MAH-EE-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 57% based on 14 votes
From Greek μαῖα (maia) meaning "good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Her son by Zeus was Hermes.
Máirtín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 40% based on 11 votes
Irish form of Martin.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 61% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name מַלְאָכִי (Mal'akhi) meaning "my messenger" or "my angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Rating: 56% based on 23 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Máel Coluim, which means "disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Margaret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-grit, MAHR-gə-rit
Rating: 66% based on 29 votes
Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language. Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.

As an English name it has been very popular since the Middle Ages. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, but it declined in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of Gone with the Wind, and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-). Others include American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

Margery
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-jə-ree
Rating: 56% based on 13 votes
Medieval English form of Margaret.
Marguerite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GU-REET
Rating: 51% based on 13 votes
French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Marianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: MA-RYAN(French) mar-ee-AN(English) ma-RYA-nə(German) MAH-ree-ahn-neh(Finnish)
Rating: 61% based on 13 votes
Originally a French diminutive of Marie. It is also considered a combination of Marie and Anne 1. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Mariella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ma-RYEHL-la
Rating: 44% based on 24 votes
Italian diminutive of Maria.
Marietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Greek, Hungarian, German, Polish
Other Scripts: Μαριέττα(Greek)
Pronounced: MAW-ree-eht-taw(Hungarian)
Rating: 41% based on 24 votes
Diminutive of Maria.
Marlena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, English
Pronounced: mar-LEH-na(Polish) mahr-LEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 25 votes
Latinate form of Marlene.
Marlene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: mar-LEH-nə(German) MAHR-leen(English) mahr-LEEN(English)
Rating: 43% based on 24 votes
Blend of Maria and Magdalene. It refers, therefore, to Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament. The name was popularized by the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich.
Martina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Hungarian, English, Swedish, Dutch, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Мартина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: mar-TEE-na(German, Italian, Spanish) mər-TEE-nə(Catalan) MAR-kyi-na(Czech) MAR-tee-na(Slovak) MAWR-tee-naw(Hungarian) mahr-TEEN-ə(English) mahr-TEE-na(Dutch)
Rating: 44% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Martinus (see Martin). Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.
Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English) MAR-ee(English)
Rating: 65% based on 27 votes
Usual English form of Maria, the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names Μαριάμ (Mariam) and Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of Moses in the Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love".

This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.

Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.

This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.

The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.

Mathilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MA-TEELD(French) ma-TIL-də(German, Dutch)
Rating: 59% based on 16 votes
Form of Matilda in several languages.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 63% based on 30 votes
From the Germanic name Mahthilt meaning "strength in battle", from the elements maht "might, strength" and hilt "battle". Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.

The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.

Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
Rating: 61% based on 26 votes
English form of Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) meaning "gift of Yahweh", from the roots מַתָּן (mattan) meaning "gift" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. 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.

As an English name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led a delegation to Japan. A famous modern bearer is American actor Matthew McConaughey (1969-).

Maud
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
Medieval English and French form of Matilda. Though it became rare after the 14th century, it was revived and once more grew popular in the 19th century, perhaps due to Alfred Tennyson's 1855 poem Maud [1].
Maude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Rating: 50% based on 14 votes
Variant of Maud.
Max
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, Catalan
Other Scripts: Макс(Russian)
Pronounced: MAKS(German, English, Czech, Russian, Catalan) MAHKS(Dutch)
Rating: 48% based on 25 votes
Short form of Maximilian (or Maxwell in English). It is also an alternate transcription of Russian Макс (see Maks).

This name is borne by the title character in the Mad Max series of movies, starting 1979. It also coincides with the informal English word max, short for maximum.

Maximilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: mak-see-MEE-lee-an(German) mak-sə-MIL-yən(English)
Rating: 56% based on 24 votes
From the Roman name Maximilianus, which was derived from Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
Rating: 50% based on 25 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning "Mack's stream", from the name Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, combined with Old English wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.

As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].

Melchior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, French (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHL-kee-awr(English) MEHL-KYAWR(French) MEHL-khee-awr(Dutch)
Rating: 30% based on 24 votes
Possibly from the Hebrew roots מֶלֶכְ (melekh) meaning "king" and אוֹר ('or) meaning "light". This was a name 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. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 56% based on 27 votes
Possibly derived from Latin mens meaning "intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Mira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Other Scripts: मीरा(Hindi, Marathi) മീര(Malayalam) மீரா(Tamil) ಮೀರಾ(Kannada)
Rating: 56% based on 24 votes
Means "sea, ocean" in Sanskrit. This was the name of a 16th-century Indian princess who devoted her life to the god Krishna.
Mira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Polish
Other Scripts: Мира(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: MYEE-ra(Polish)
Rating: 55% based on 24 votes
Short form of names containing the Slavic element miru meaning "peace" or "world".
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English)
Rating: 60% based on 28 votes
Derived from Latin mirandus meaning "admirable, wonderful". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father Prospero are 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 Shakespearean character.
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Rating: 65% based on 30 votes
Hebrew form of Mary. It is used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 71% based on 16 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Morwenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
Rating: 43% based on 26 votes
From Old Cornish moroin meaning "maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word morwyn [1]). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint, said to be one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
Rating: 63% based on 28 votes
From the Hebrew name נָעֳמִי (Na'omi) meaning "pleasantness". In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be Mara because of her misfortune (see Ruth 1:20).

Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).

Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 54% based on 27 votes
Variant of Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling Nathanael is found in most versions of the New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Nehemiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: נְחֶמְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nee-hi-MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 29% based on 12 votes
Means "Yahweh comforts" in Hebrew, derived from נָחַם (nacham) meaning "to comfort" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. According to the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament he was a leader of the Jews who was responsible for the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Nerys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 43% based on 13 votes
Probably a feminized form of Welsh nêr meaning "lord".
Nevan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: NEHV-ən(English)
Rating: 37% based on 11 votes
Anglicized form of Naomhán.
Niall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: NYEEL(Irish)
Rating: 42% based on 25 votes
Irish form of Neil.
Niamh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYEEW(Irish) NYEEV(Irish)
Rating: 45% based on 26 votes
Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisín, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 68% based on 15 votes
From the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two czars of Russia.

Nikolaus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: NI-ko-lows, NEE-ko-lows
Rating: 48% based on 11 votes
German form of Nicholas.
Niles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIELZ
Rating: 44% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Neil.
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 56% based on 27 votes
From the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noach) meaning "rest, repose", derived from the root נוּחַ (nuach). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.

A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).

Nora 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English) NO-ra(German)
Rating: 63% based on 27 votes
Short form of Honora or Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play A Doll's House (1879).
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 58% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Octavian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, Romanian
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ən(English)
Rating: 43% based on 23 votes
From the Roman name Octavianus, which was derived from the name Octavius. After Gaius Octavius (later the Roman emperor Augustus) was adopted by Julius Caesar he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 49% based on 26 votes
From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.
Olga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ольга(Russian, Ukrainian) Олга(Serbian, Bulgarian) Όλγα(Greek)
Pronounced: OL-gə(Russian) AWL-ga(Polish, German) AWL-ka(Icelandic) OL-gaw(Hungarian) OL-gha(Spanish) OL-ga(Czech)
Rating: 37% based on 25 votes
Russian form of the Old Norse name Helga. The 10th-century Saint Olga was the wife of Igor I, the ruler of Kievan Rus (a state based around the city of Kyiv). Like her husband she was probably a Varangian, who were Norse people who settled in eastern Europe beginning in the 9th century. Following Igor's death she ruled as regent for her son Svyatoslav for 18 years. After she was baptized in Constantinople she attempted to convert her subjects to Christianity, though this goal was only achieved by her grandson Vladimir.
Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(English) AW-LEEV(French)
Rating: 48% based on 25 votes
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Rating: 66% based on 28 votes
From Old French Olivier, possibly derived from a Germanic name, perhaps Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro). The spelling was altered by association with Latin oliva "olive tree". In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier was a friend and advisor of the hero Roland.

In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), which was about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.

Olwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: OL-wehn(English)
Rating: 40% based on 24 votes
Means "white footprint" from Welsh ol "footprint, track" and gwen "white, blessed". In the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen she was a beautiful maiden, the lover of Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry.
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Rating: 47% based on 25 votes
Feminine form of Olympos.
Oona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Finnish
Pronounced: OO-nə(English) O-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
Anglicized form of Úna, as well as a Finnish form.
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
Rating: 49% based on 27 votes
From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Oriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: o-RYA-na
Rating: 47% based on 27 votes
Possibly derived from Latin aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish oro or French or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight Amadis.
Orla 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: AWR-lə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 26 votes
Anglicized form of Órlaith.
Oscar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AHS-kər(English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-KAR(French)
Rating: 63% based on 29 votes
Possibly means "deer friend", derived from Old Irish oss "deer" and carae "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 Cumhaill.

This name was popularized in continental Europe by the works of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson [1]. Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson, and he suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, who eventually became king of Sweden as Oscar I. Other notable bearers include the Irish writer and humourist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012).

Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German) AHT-o(English) OT-to(Finnish)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
Later German form of Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with the Old Frankish element aud, Old High German ot meaning "wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great. Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 64% based on 28 votes
Anglicized form of Owain.
Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 66% based on 27 votes
From the Latin name Patricius, which meant "nobleman". This name was adopted in the 5th-century by Saint Patrick, whose birth name was Sucat. He was a Romanized Briton who was captured and enslaved in his youth by Irish raiders. After six years of servitude he escaped home, but he eventually became a bishop and went back to Ireland as a missionary. He is traditionally credited with Christianizing the island, and is regarded as Ireland's patron saint. He is called Pádraig in Irish.

In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.

Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL
Rating: 51% based on 28 votes
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 67% based on 29 votes
Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.

It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.

Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEE-tər(English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Rating: 62% based on 27 votes
Derived from Greek Πέτρος (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.

Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].

Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.

Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 29 votes
Feminine form of Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Philip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Pronounced: FIL-ip(English) FEE-lip(Dutch)
Rating: 65% based on 15 votes
From the Greek name Φίλιππος (Philippos) meaning "friend of horses", composed of the elements φίλος (philos) meaning "friend, lover" and ἵππος (hippos) meaning "horse". This was the name of five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great. The name appears in the New Testament belonging to two people who are regarded as saints. First, one of the twelve apostles, and second, an early figure in the Christian church known as Philip the Deacon.

This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians, though it came to the West by the Middle Ages. It was borne by six kings of France and five kings of Spain. It was regularly used in England during the Middle Ages, although the Spanish king Philip II, who attempted an invasion of England, helped make it less common by the 17th century. It was revived in the English-speaking world in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Elizabethan courtier and poet Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) and the American science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick (1928-1982).

Philippa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), German
Pronounced: FI-li-pə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 15 votes
Latinate feminine form of Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.
Phineas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פִּינְחָס(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 56% based on 27 votes
Variant of Phinehas used in some English versions of the Old Testament.
Pierce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PEERS
Rating: 38% based on 13 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Piers. In America this name slowly started to grow in popularity in 1982 when actor Pierce Brosnan (1953-) began starring on the television series Remington Steele.
Polly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHL-ee
Rating: 32% based on 15 votes
Medieval variant of Molly. The reason for the change in the initial consonant is unknown.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
Rating: 48% based on 24 votes
French form of the Roman name Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Rafiq
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Urdu
Other Scripts: رفيق(Arabic) رفیق(Urdu)
Pronounced: ra-FEEK(Arabic)
Rating: 29% based on 14 votes
Means either "friend" or "gentle" in Arabic.
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Rating: 49% based on 25 votes
Means "behold, a son" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is the eldest son of Jacob and Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the Protestant Reformation.
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 53% based on 25 votes
From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.
Robert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Catalan, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Роберт(Russian)
Pronounced: RAHB-ərt(American English) RAWB-ət(British English) RAW-BEHR(French) RO-beht(Swedish) RO-behrt(German, Finnish, Czech) RO-bərt(Dutch) RAW-behrt(Polish) RO-byirt(Russian) roo-BEHRT(Catalan)
Rating: 46% based on 26 votes
From the Germanic name Hrodebert meaning "bright fame", derived from the elements hruod "fame" and beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English cognate Hreodbeorht. It has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century. In the United States it was the most popular name for boys between 1924 and 1939 (and again in 1953).

This name has been borne by two kings of the Franks, two dukes of Normandy, and three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce who restored the independence of Scotland from England in the 14th century. Several saints have also had the name, the earliest known as Saint Rupert, from an Old German variant. The author Robert Browning (1812-1889) and poets Robert Burns (1759-1796) and Robert Frost (1874-1963) are famous literary namesakes. Other bearers include Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), the commander of the Confederate army during the American Civil War, and American actors Robert Redford (1936-), Robert De Niro (1943-) and Robert Downey Jr. (1965-).

Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Rating: 58% based on 28 votes
Means "little seal", derived from Old Irish rón "seal" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Rosa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English
Pronounced: RO-sa(Spanish, Dutch) RAW-za(Italian) RAW-zu(European Portuguese) HAW-zu(Brazilian Portuguese) RAW-zə(Catalan) RO-za(German) RO-zə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 13 votes
Generally this can be considered to be from Latin rosa meaning "rose", though originally it may have come from the unrelated Germanic name Roza 2. This was the name of a 13th-century saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind
Rating: 58% based on 26 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hros meaning "horse" and lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy As You Like It (1599).
Rosamund
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-mənd, RAHZ-ə-mənd
Rating: 55% based on 26 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hros "horse" and munt "protection". This name was borne by the wife of the Lombard king Alboin in the 6th century. The Normans introduced it to England. It was subsequently interpreted as coming from Latin rosa munda "pure rose" or rosa mundi "rose of the world". This was the name of the mistress of Henry II, the king of England in the 12th century. According to legends she was murdered by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Rosanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: ro-ZAN-na(Italian) ro-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 25 votes
Combination of Rosa 1 and Anna.
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 67% based on 31 votes
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rosemarie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree(English) ROZ-mehr-ee(English) RO-zə-ma-ree(German)
Rating: 56% based on 13 votes
Variant of Rosemary.
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 61% based on 27 votes
Combination of Rose and Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Eastern African, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) san-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 25 votes
From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el) meaning "name of God", from the roots שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being שָׁמַע (shama') meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor David.

As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 52% based on 27 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sarai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew, Spanish
Other Scripts: שָׂרָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEHR-ie(English) sə-RIE(English)
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
Means "my princess" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, this was Sarah's name before God changed it (see Genesis 17:15).
Serafina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Rare)
Pronounced: seh-ra-FEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 27 votes
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Seraphina.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 59% based on 27 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant "fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.

This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.

Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
Rating: 55% based on 27 votes
From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin serenus meaning "clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).
Seth 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Σήθ, Σέθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English) SEHT(English)
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
From Σήθ (Seth), the Greek form of Egyptian swtẖ or stẖ (reconstructed as Sutekh), which is of unknown meaning. Seth was the Egyptian god of chaos and the desert, the slayer of Osiris. Osiris's son Horus eventually defeats Seth and has him banished to the desert.
Sidney
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SID-nee
Rating: 43% based on 26 votes
From the English surname Sidney. It was first used as a given name in honour of executed politician Algernon Sidney (1622-1683). Another notable bearer of the surname was the poet and statesman Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586).

As a given name, it has traditionally been more masculine than feminine. In America however, after the variant Sydney became popular for girls, Sidney was used more for girls than boys between 1993 and 2019.

Sigismund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ZEE-gis-muwnt(German)
Rating: 33% based on 24 votes
Form of Sigmund in which the first element is sigis, an extended form of sigu. Saint Sigismund was a 6th-century king of the Burgundians. This was also the name of kings of Poland and a ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
Sigmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Norwegian, English, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: ZEEK-muwnt(German) SIG-mənd(English)
Rating: 40% based on 24 votes
Derived from the Old German elements sigu "victory" and munt "protection" (or in the case of the Scandinavian cognate, from Old Norse sigr and mundr). An early variant of this name was Sigismund, borne by a 6th-century saint and king of the Burgundians. In the Norse Völsungasaga Sigmund is the hero Sigurd's father, the bearer of the powerful sword Gram. A notable bearer was the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the creator of the revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis.
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Silvius. Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled Sylvia in the English-speaking world.
Síomha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: SHEE-wə, SHEE-və
Rating: 27% based on 12 votes
Modern Irish form of Síthmaith.
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 59% based on 27 votes
Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.

In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).

Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 29 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Susanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Dutch, English, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Сусанна(Russian, Ukrainian) Սուսաննա(Armenian) שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew) Сꙋсанна(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-na(Italian) soo-ZAN-nə(Catalan) suy-SAN-na(Swedish) SOO-sahn-nah(Finnish) suw-SAN-nə(Russian) suw-SAN-nu(Ukrainian) suy-SAH-na(Dutch) soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 27 votes
From Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshannah). This was derived from the Hebrew word שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian sšn "lotus". In the Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a woman who ministers to Jesus.

As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.

Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 31 votes
Form of Susanna found in some versions of the Old Testament.
Svenja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: SVEHN-ya
Rating: 50% based on 12 votes
German feminine form of Sven.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 60% based on 28 votes
Variant of Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 16 votes
Means "gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the New Testament was a woman restored to life by Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as Dorcas (see Acts 9:36). As an English name, Tabitha became common after the Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr
Rating: 67% based on 28 votes
From the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of god" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.

This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).

Theresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English) teh-REH-za(German)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
From the Spanish and Portuguese name Teresa. It was first recorded as Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek θέρος (theros) meaning "summer", from Greek θερίζω (therizo) meaning "to harvest", or from the name of the Greek island of Therasia (the western island of Santorini).

The name was mainly confined to Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. After the 16th century it was spread to other parts of the Christian world, due to the fame of the Spanish nun and reformer Saint Teresa of Ávila. Another famous bearer was the Austrian Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), who inherited the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession.

Thérèse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TEH-REHZ
Rating: 50% based on 27 votes
French form of Theresa. It was borne by the French nun Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church.
Therese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English
Pronounced: teh-REH-zə(German) teh-REHS(Swedish) tə-REES(English)
Rating: 53% based on 26 votes
German and Scandinavian variant of Theresa.
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAHS(Greek)
Rating: 55% based on 25 votes
Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma') meaning "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.

In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.

Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).

Tiberius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: tee-BEH-ree-oos(Latin) tie-BEHR-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 41% based on 22 votes
Roman praenomen, or given name, meaning "of the Tiber" in Latin. The Tiber is the river that runs through Rome. Tiberius was the second Roman emperor, the stepson of Emperor Augustus. He was born Tiberius Claudius Nero, but was renamed Tiberius Julius Caesar after he was designated as the heir of Augustus.
Ursula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: UR-sə-lə(English) UR-syoo-lə(English) UWR-zoo-la(German) OOR-soo-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 46% based on 27 votes
Means "little bear", derived from a diminutive form of the Latin word ursa "she-bear". Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.
Valentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Romanian, German, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish
Other Scripts: Валентин(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: VA-LAHN-TEHN(French) va-lehn-TEEN(Romanian) VA-lehn-teen(German) VA-lehn-kyin(Czech) və-lyin-TYEEN(Russian)
Rating: 43% based on 24 votes
Form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1) in several languages.
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 27 votes
Feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Вера(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) ვერა(Georgian)
Pronounced: VYEH-rə(Russian) VEE-rə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 49% based on 28 votes
Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
Rating: 37% based on 26 votes
From the English word meaning "verity, truth", from Latin verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.
Veronica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: və-RAHN-i-kə(American English) və-RAWN-i-kə(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 26 votes
Latin alteration of Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase vera icon meaning "true image". This was the name of a legendary saint who wiped Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the 17th-century Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani. As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Viatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 24% based on 27 votes
Earlier form of Beatrix.
Victor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late Roman
Pronounced: VIK-tər(English) VEEK-TAWR(French) VEEK-tor(Romanian)
Rating: 43% based on 26 votes
Roman name meaning "victor, conqueror" in Latin. It was common among early Christians, and was borne by several early saints and three popes. It was rare as an English name during the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the French writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who authored The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Rating: 66% based on 16 votes
Means "victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from North Africa.

Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.

Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Rating: 52% based on 13 votes
Means "violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke Orsino, she attempts to convince Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 68% based on 31 votes
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Virginia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Βιργινία(Greek)
Pronounced: vər-JIN-yə(English) veer-JEE-nya(Italian) beer-KHEE-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 25 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.

This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).

Vivian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
From the Latin name Vivianus, which was derived from Latin vivus "alive". Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of Bébinn or a variant of Vivien 2.
Viviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Late Roman
Pronounced: vee-VYA-na(Italian) bee-BYA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 52% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Vivianus (see Vivian). Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.
Vivien 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 44% based on 23 votes
French form of Vivianus (see Vivian).
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 64% based on 28 votes
French form of Viviana.
Walter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: WAWL-tər(English) VAL-tu(German) VAL-tehr(Swedish, Italian)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
From the Germanic name Waltheri meaning "power of the army", from the elements walt "power, authority" and heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably Waltharius by Ekkehard of Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Wealdhere.

A famous bearer of the name was the English courtier, poet and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). It was also borne by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish novelist who wrote Ivanhoe and other notable works.

Wilhelm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: VIL-helm(German) VYEEL-khelm(Polish)
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
German cognate of William. This was the name of two German emperors. It was also the middle name of several philosophers from Germany: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716), who was also a notable mathematician.
Wilhelmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare), English
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-na(Dutch, German) wil-ə-MEEN-ə(English) wil-hehl-MEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 27 votes
Dutch and German feminine form of Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Wilhelmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-nə
Rating: 46% based on 13 votes
German feminine form of Wilhelm.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 63% based on 27 votes
From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

Winston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIN-stən
Rating: 38% based on 27 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Wynnstan. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ξανθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 42% based on 12 votes
Derived from Greek ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek mythology.
Zadok
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: צָדוֹק(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 25% based on 13 votes
Means "righteous" in Hebrew. This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament, most notably the high priest of Israel during the reigns of David and Solomon. Solomon was anointed by Zadok.
Zelda 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHL-də
Rating: 53% based on 27 votes
Short form of Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).
Zephyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 31% based on 12 votes
Latinized form of Zephyros (see Zephyr).
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