clouds's Personal Name List
Abby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AB-ee
Rating: 27% based on 9 votes
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: 48% based on 9 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-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 45% based on 8 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.
Adeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DU-LEEN(French) AD-ə-lien(English)
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
French and English form of
Adelina.
Aenor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized)
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
Probably a Latinized form of a Germanic name of unknown meaning. This was the name of the mother of
Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Agatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀγαθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-ə-thə(English) a-GHA-ta(Dutch)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀγαθή (Agathe), derived from Greek
ἀγαθός (agathos) meaning
"good".
Saint Agatha was a 3rd-century martyr from Sicily who was tortured and killed after spurning the advances of a Roman official. The saint was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). The mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a famous modern bearer of this name.
Ailbhe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AL-vyə(Irish)
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
From Old Irish
Ailbe, possibly derived from the old Celtic root *
albiyo- "world, light, white" or Old Irish
ail "rock". In Irish legend this was the name of a female warrior of the Fianna. It was also the name of a 6th-century masculine
saint, the founder of a monastery at Emly.
Aislin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Alban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Albanian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-ban(German) AL-BAHN(French) AL-bən(English) AWL-bən(English)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Albanus, which meant
"from Alba". Alba (from Latin
albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by
Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. Another 4th-century martyr by this name was Saint Alban of Mainz.
As an English name, Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.
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: 69% based on 8 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.
Alby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 23% based on 7 votes
Anglicized masculine form of
Ailbhe.
Alessia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-LEHS-sya
Rating: 55% based on 8 votes
Alessio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-LEHS-syo
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Alexei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Алексей(Russian)
Pronounced: u-lyi-KSYAY
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Alfie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-fee
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
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: 84% based on 9 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).
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Rating: 71% based on 7 votes
Alva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: AL-va(Swedish)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Amabilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
From the Late Latin name
Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name
Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning
"immortal".
Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(English)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words
μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or
μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek
mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
Anja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, German, Dutch
Other Scripts: Ања(Serbian)
Pronounced: AN-ya(Swedish, Croatian, Serbian, German) AHN-yah(Finnish) AHN-ya(Dutch)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Form of
Anya in several languages.
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, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
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-nah(Norwegian, Finnish, Armenian) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan) ahn-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 81% based on 8 votes
Form of
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.
Annelie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish
Pronounced: A-nə-lee(German)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Anniken
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Aoife
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: EE-fyə(Irish)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
From Old Irish
Aífe, derived from
oíph meaning
"beauty" (modern Irish
aoibh). This was the name of several characters in Irish legend, including a woman at war with
Scáthach (her sister in some versions). She was defeated in single combat by the hero
Cúchulainn, who spared her life on the condition that she bear him a child (
Connla). Another legendary figure by this name appears in the
Children of Lir as the jealous third wife of
Lir.
This name is sometimes Anglicized as Eve or Eva.
Apolline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-PAW-LEEN
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Arielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-RYEHL(French)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
French feminine form of
Ariel, as well as an English variant.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(English)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek
ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning
"safe" or
ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning
"a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of
Apollo and the daughter of
Zeus and
Leto. She was known as
Diana to the Romans.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AHR-thər(English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 5 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).
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Possibly means
"healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the
Old Testament.
Asha 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: आशा(Hindi, Marathi) ಆಶಾ(Kannada) ആശാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
आशा (āśā) meaning
"wish, desire, hope".
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". 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.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of the Greek
Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning
"star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-strid(Swedish) AHS-tri(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French) AS-trid(English)
Rating: 70% based on 10 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.
Atlas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Possibly means
"enduring" from Greek
τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek
mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 77% based on 9 votes
Aurelio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lyo
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Aurore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-RAWR
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
Rating: 60% based on 8 votes
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Azure
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AZH-ər
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
From the English word that means "sky blue". It is ultimately (via Old French, Latin and Arabic) from Persian
لاجورد (lājvard) meaning "azure, lapis lazuli".
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: 90% based on 7 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: 71% based on 7 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-).
Beckett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHK-it
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".
Belle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Isabella or names ending in
belle. It is also associated with the French word
belle meaning "beautiful". A famous bearer was Belle Starr (1848-1889), an outlaw of the American west, whose real given name was Maybelle.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 48% based on 4 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.
Bennett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-it
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Medieval form of
Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname
Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.
Berenice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Βερενίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: bər-NEES(English) behr-ə-NIE-see(English) behr-ə-NEE-see(English) beh-reh-NEE-cheh(Italian)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of
Βερενίκη (Berenike), the Macedonian form of the Greek name
Φερενίκη (Pherenike), which meant
"bringing victory" from
φέρω (phero) meaning "to bring" and
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". This name was common among the Ptolemy ruling family of Egypt, a dynasty that was originally from Macedon. It occurs briefly in Acts in the
New Testament (in most English Bibles it is spelled
Bernice) belonging to a sister of King Herod Agrippa II. As an English name,
Berenice came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Bill
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Short form of
William. This spelling was not commonly used before the 19th century. The change in the initial consonant may have been influenced by an earlier Irish pronunciation of the name. Famous bearers include basketball player Bill Russell (1934-2022), comedian Bill Cosby (1937-), American president Bill Clinton (1946-), and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955-), all of whom were born with the name
William.
Billie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Bonnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAHN-ee
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Means "pretty" from the Scottish word bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French bon "good". It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century, and it became especially popular after the movie Gone with the Wind (1939), in which it was the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.
Bram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: BRAM(English) BRAHM(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Short form of
Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote
Dracula.
Brigitte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BREE-ZHEET(French) bree-GI-tə(German)
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
French and German form of
Bridget. A famous bearer is the French model and actress Brigitte Bardot (1934-).
Britannia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From the Latin name of the island of
Britain, in occasional use as an English given name since the 18th century. This is also the name of the Roman female personification of Britain pictured on some British coins.
Brontes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Βρόντης(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means
"thunderer" in Greek. In Greek
mythology (according to Hesiod), this was the name of one of the three Cyclopes, who were the sons of
Uranus and
Gaia.
Bronwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: BRAWN-wehn
Rating: 34% based on 7 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.
Bruna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Croatian
Pronounced: BROO-na(Italian)
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Bruno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Croatian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BROO-no(German, Italian, Spanish, Czech) BROO-noo(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese) BRUY-NO(French) BROO-naw(Polish, Slovak)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Derived from the Old German element
brunna meaning
"armour, protection" (Proto-Germanic *
brunjǭ) or
brun meaning
"brown" (Proto-Germanic *
brūnaz).
Saint Bruno of Cologne was a German monk of the 11th century who founded the Carthusian Order. The surname has belonged to Giordano Bruno, a philosopher burned at the stake by the Inquisition. A modern bearer is the American singer Bruno Mars (1985-), born Peter Gene Hernandez.
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Callisto 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιστώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-to(English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of
Kallisto. A moon of Jupiter bears this name.
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: 71% based on 7 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).
Cara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From an Italian word meaning "beloved" or an Irish word meaning "friend". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, though it did not become popular until after the 1950s.
Carbrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: KAHR-bree(English)
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
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: 55% based on 4 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.
Caroline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: KA-RAW-LEEN(French) KAR-ə-lien(English) KAR-ə-lin(English) ka-ro-LEE-nə(German, Dutch) ka-ro-LEEN(Dutch)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 71% based on 7 votes
Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.
Cass
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Cassie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS-ee
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
Cassiopeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-ee-ə-PEE-ə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κασσιόπεια (Kassiopeia) or
Κασσιέπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning
"cassia juice". In Greek
myth Cassiopeia was the wife of
Cepheus and the mother of
Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.
Cassius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-oos(Latin) KASH-əs(English) KAS-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Roman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
cassus meaning
"empty, vain". This name was borne by several early
saints. In modern times, it was the original first name of boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), who was named after his father Cassius Clay, who was himself named after the American abolitionist Cassius Clay (1810-1903).
Catarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Occitan, Galician
Pronounced: ku-tu-REE-nu(European Portuguese) ka-ta-REE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese, Galician)
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Portuguese, Occitan and Galician form of
Katherine.
Cate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KAYT
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Kate. A famous bearer is Australian actress Cate Blanchett (1969-).
Cateline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
French form of
Katherine, and also a common English variant.
Cecil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEE-səl, SEHS-əl
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
From the Roman name
Caecilius. Though it was in use during the Middle Ages in England, it did not become common until the 19th century when it was given in honour of the noble Cecil family, who had been prominent since the 16th century. Their surname was derived from the Welsh given name
Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name
Sextilius, a derivative of
Sextus.
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: 66% based on 8 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.
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
English form of
Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 79% based on 9 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.
Charles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: CHAHRLZ(English) SHARL(French)
Rating: 68% based on 8 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.
Charlie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAHR-lee
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Diminutive or feminine form of
Charles. A famous bearer was the British comic actor Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977). It is also borne by Charlie Brown, the main character in the comic strip
Peanuts by Charles Schulz.
Charlot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SHAR-LO
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 74% based on 8 votes
French feminine
diminutive of
Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of
Jane Eyre and
Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.
Ciara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-rə
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Ciar. This is another name for
Saint Ciar.
Ciarán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEE-ran(Irish)
Rating: 45% based on 6 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.
Cissy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIS-ee
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
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: 73% based on 6 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.
Claude
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLOD(French) KLAWD(English)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
French masculine and feminine form of
Claudius. In France the masculine name has been common since the Middle Ages due to the 7th-century
Saint Claude of Besançon. It was imported to Britain in the 16th century by the aristocratic Hamilton family, who had French connections. A famous bearer of this name was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Clémence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHNS
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
French feminine form of
Clementius (see
Clement).
Clemency
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KLEH-mən-see, KLEH-mənt-see
Rating: 12% based on 6 votes
Medieval variant of
Clemence. It can also simply mean "clemency, mercy" from the English word, ultimately from Latin
clemens "merciful".
Clémentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN-TEEN
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
French feminine form of
Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).
Cleo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEE-o
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Conor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Rating: 79% based on 7 votes
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of
Kore. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel
The Last of the Mohicans (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of
Cordula,
Corinna and other names beginning with a similar sound.
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 84% based on 8 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).
Corin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 18% based on 6 votes
Cornelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Romanian, Italian, Dutch, English, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: kawr-NEH-lya(German) kor-NEH-lya(Italian) kawr-NEH-lee-a(Dutch) kawr-NEE-lee-ə(English) kor-NEH-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 83% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Cornelius. In the 2nd century BC it was borne by Cornelia Scipionis Africana (the daughter of the military hero Scipio Africanus), the mother of the two reformers known as the Gracchi. After her death she was regarded as an example of the ideal Roman woman. The name was revived in the 18th century.
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
Italian feminine form of
Cosimo.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 72% based on 6 votes
Form of
Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play
Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English
dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.
Danaë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δανάη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-NA-EH(Classical Greek) DAN-ay-ee(English)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From
Δαναοί (Danaoi), a word used by
Homer to designate the Greeks. In Greek
mythology Danaë was the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. It had been prophesied to her father that he would one day be killed by Danaë's son, so he attempted to keep his daughter childless. However,
Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of
Perseus. Eventually the prophecy was fulfilled and Perseus killed Acrisius, albeit accidentally.
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Darcy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Means
"delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament she is the lover of
Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the
Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Delphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-fee-ə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Possibly from the name of the Greek city of Delphi, the site of an oracle of
Apollo, which is possibly related to Greek
δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". It was used in the play
The Prophetess (1647), in which it belongs to the title prophetess.
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Desiree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: dehz-i-RAY
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
English form of
Désirée. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by the movie
Désirée (1954).
Dora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, English, German, Dutch
Other Scripts: Ντόρα(Greek) Дора(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: DO-ra(Spanish, Croatian, Serbian, Dutch) DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Ebba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: EHB-ba(Swedish)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Echo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠχώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-ko(English)
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
From the Greek word
ἠχώ (echo) meaning
"echo, reflected sound", related to
ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek
mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by
Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with
Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.
Eddie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHD-ee
Rating: 39% based on 8 votes
Edie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-dee
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish)
Rating: 65% based on 4 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.
Edmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Albanian
Pronounced: EHD-MAWN(French)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
French and Albanian form of
Edmund. A notable bearer was the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), for whom Halley's comet is named.
Eleanora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehl-ə-NAWR-ə
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from
ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning
"amber". In Greek
myth she was the daughter of
Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra and the sister of
Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish, German) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Form of
Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
Yelena).
Elinor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
Eliza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Hungarian, Georgian
Other Scripts: ელიზა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-LIE-zə(English) eh-LEE-za(Polish) EH-lee-zaw(Hungarian)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Elizabeth. It was borne by the character Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play
Pygmalion (1913) and the subsequent musical adaptation
My Fair Lady (1956).
Ella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Norman name, originally a short form of Germanic names containing the element
alles meaning
"other" (Proto-Germanic *
aljaz). It was introduced to England by the
Normans and used until the 14th century, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the American singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996).
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
Elody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), French (Modern, Rare), Italian (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: EL-ə-dee(English) EL-o-dee(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Em
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
irmin meaning
"whole" or
"great" (Proto-Germanic *
ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian
saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).
In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
From Old French
Emeline, a
diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal meaning
"unceasing, vigorous, brave". The
Normans introduced this name to England.
Erica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Italian
Pronounced: EHR-i-kə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Eric. It was first used in the 18th century. It also coincides with the Latin word for
"heather".
Erik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, German, Dutch, English, Spanish
Pronounced: EH-rik(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, German, Dutch) EH-reek(Finnish, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Spanish) EHR-ik(English)
Rating: 13% based on 4 votes
Scandinavian form of
Eric. This was the name of kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. King Erik IX of Sweden (12th century) is the patron
saint of that country.
Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Latinate form of
Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
Eugénie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-ZHEH-NEE
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
French form of
Eugenia. This was the name of the wife of Napoleon III.
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, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
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: 50% based on 4 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. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also 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).
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-VAN-dər(English) ə-VAN-dər(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning
"good of man", derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Roman
mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evander 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: ee-VAN-dər(English) ə-VAN-dər(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Means
"good news" from Greek
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem
Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.
Evie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-vee, EHV-ee
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Fae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Fallon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 24% based on 8 votes
From an Irish surname that was an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Ó Fallamháin, itself derived from the given name Fallamhán meaning "leader". It was popularized in the 1980s by a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Faye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Fern
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FURN
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Fionn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYIN(Irish) FYUWN(Irish) FYOON(Irish) FIN(English)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
From the Old Irish name
Finn, derived from
finn meaning
"white, blessed". It occurs frequently in Irish history and legends, the most noteworthy bearer being Fionn mac Cumhaill, the central character of one of the four main cycles of Irish
mythology, the Fenian Cycle. Fionn was born as
Deimne, and acquired his nickname because of his fair hair. He grew all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon, and later became the leader of the Fianna after defeating the fire-breathing demon Áillen. He was the father of
Oisín and grandfather of
Oscar.
Flore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: FLAWR
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Florence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
From the Latin name
Florentius or the feminine form
Florentia, which were derived from
florens "prosperous, flourishing".
Florentius was borne by many early Christian
saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname
Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie
Tangled in 2010.
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Italian and Catalan feminine form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Francis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
Rating: 65% based on 2 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), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).
In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.
Freida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREE-də
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Frej
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: FRIE(Danish) FRAY(Swedish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Danish and Swedish form of
Freyr.
Frey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Pronounced: FRAY(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Frida 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Originally a short form of names containing the Old German element
fridu meaning
"peace" (Proto-Germanic *
friþuz). A famous bearer was the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).
Frieda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: FREE-da(German) FREE-də(English)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Gaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Italian
Other Scripts: Γαῖα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GIE-A(Classical Greek) GIE-ə(English) GAY-ə(English) GA-ya(Italian)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
From the Greek word
γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of
γῆ (ge) meaning
"earth". In Greek
mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of
Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.
Galena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Галена(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Bulgarian and Macedonian feminine form of
Galenos (see
Galen).
Garnet 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-nət
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From the English word garnet for the precious stone, the birthstone of January. The word is derived from Middle English gernet meaning "dark red".
Geneviève
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHU-NU-VYEHV, ZHUN-VYEHV
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
From the medieval name
Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *
kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *
wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *
genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by
Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Georgie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAWR-jee
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Gertrude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German
Pronounced: GUR-trood(English) ZHEHR-TRUYD(French) gehr-TROO-də(German)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Means
"spear of strength", derived from the Old German elements
ger "spear" and
drud "strength".
Saint Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century nun and mystic writer from Thuringia. It was probably introduced to England by settlers from the Low Countries in the 15th century. Shakespeare used the name in his play
Hamlet (1600) for the mother of
Hamlet. Another famous bearer was the American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Old German element
gisal meaning
"hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *
gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of
Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.
The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.
Giulietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: joo-LYEHT-ta
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Gracie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAY-see
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Greta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Polish, English
Pronounced: GREH-ta(German, Italian, Swedish, Polish) GREHT-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Margareta. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990).
Gretchen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: GREHT-khən(German) GRECH-ən(English)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of
Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Guenièvre
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(English)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
From the Norman French form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar meaning
"white phantom", ultimately from the old Celtic roots *
windos meaning "white" (modern Welsh
gwen) and *
sēbros meaning "phantom, magical being"
[1]. In Arthurian legend she was the beautiful wife of King
Arthur. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, she was seduced by
Mordred before the battle of Camlann, which led to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur. According to the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, she engaged in an adulterous affair with Sir
Lancelot.
The Cornish form of this name, Jennifer, has become popular in the English-speaking world.
Gwendolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 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-).
Harry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee, HEHR-ee
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
Medieval English form of
Henry. In modern times it is used as a
diminutive of both
Henry and names beginning with
Har. Famous bearers include the American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), who was named after his uncle Harrison, and the British royal Prince Harry (1984-), who is actually named Henry. It is also the name of the boy wizard in J. K. Rowling's
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hecate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑκάτη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHK-ə-tee(English)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
From the Greek
Ἑκάτη (Hekate), possibly derived from
ἑκάς (hekas) meaning
"far off". In Greek
mythology Hecate was a goddess associated with witchcraft, crossroads, tombs, demons and the underworld.
Hedvig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian
Pronounced: HEHD-veeg(Hungarian)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Scandinavian, Finnish and Hungarian form of
Hedwig.
Hedwig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: HEHT-vikh(German)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From the Old German name
Hadewig, derived from the Old German elements
hadu "battle, combat" and
wig "war". This was the name of a 13th-century German
saint, the wife of the Polish duke Henry the Bearded. It was subsequently borne by a 14th-century Polish queen (usually known by her Polish name
Jadwiga) who is now also regarded as a saint.
Heidi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, English
Pronounced: HIE-dee(German, English) HAY-dee(Finnish)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
German
diminutive of
Adelheid. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel
Heidi (1880) by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.
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, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(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: 70% based on 6 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Henrik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Low German, German, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Հենրիկ(Armenian)
Pronounced: HEHN-rik(Swedish, Norwegian, German) HEHN-rag(Danish) HEHN-reek(Hungarian) hehn-REEK(Eastern Armenian) hehn-REEG(Western Armenian)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Form of
Heinrich (see
Henry) in several languages. A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 73% based on 4 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), American-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: 65% based on 6 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.
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god
Hermes. In Greek
myth Hermione was the daughter of
Menelaus and
Helen. This is also the name of the wife of
Leontes in Shakespeare's play
The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hero 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἡρώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HIR-o(English)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Derived from Greek
ἥρως (heros) meaning
"hero". In Greek legend she was the lover of
Leander, who would swim across the Hellespont each night to meet her. He was killed on one such occasion when he got caught in a storm while in the water, and when Hero saw his dead body she drowned herself. This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's play
Much Ado About Nothing (1599).
Hester
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: HEHS-tər(English, Dutch)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Latin form of
Esther. Like
Esther, it has been used in England since the
Protestant Reformation. Nathaniel Hawthorne used it for the heroine of his novel
The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester Prynne, a
Puritan woman forced to wear a red letter
A on her chest after giving birth to a child out of wedlock.
Hestia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑστία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHS-TEE-A(Classical Greek) HEHS-tee-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Derived from Greek
ἑστία (hestia) meaning
"hearth, fireside". In Greek
mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.
Hollis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-is
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
Idris 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Means
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Ileana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ee-LYA-na(Romanian) ee-leh-A-na(Spanish)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Possibly a Romanian variant of
Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
Imogene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IM-ə-jeen
Rating: 18% based on 5 votes
Io
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-AW(Classical Greek) IE-o(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. In Greek
mythology Io was a princess loved by
Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from
Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.
Ira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Ира(Russian)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Irina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Georgian, Finnish, Estonian
Other Scripts: Ирина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ირინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-RYEE-nə(Russian) EE-ree-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Form of
Irene in several languages.
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: 70% based on 5 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.
Isa 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: EE-za(German) EE-sa(Dutch, Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 88% based on 4 votes
Latinate form of
Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called
Isabel).
In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.
A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Isis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἶσις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IE-sis(English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Greek form of Egyptian
ꜣst (reconstructed as
Iset,
Aset or
Ueset), possibly from
st meaning
"throne". In Egyptian
mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of
Osiris and the mother of
Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess
Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
German form of
Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem
Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera
Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Means
"nocturnal journey" in Arabic, derived from
سرى (sarā) meaning "to travel by night". According to Islamic tradition, the
Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet
Muhammad.
Iðunn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Pronounced: I-dhuyn(Icelandic)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Probably derived from the Old Norse prefix
ið- "again, repeated" and
unna "to love". In Norse
mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth.
Jacqueline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: ZHAK-LEEN(French) JAK-ə-lin(English) JAK-wə-lin(English) JAK-ə-leen(English)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
French feminine form of
Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.
Jana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Јана(Serbian)
Pronounced: YA-na
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Croatian and Serbian variant of
Ana.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian
ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Jem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHM
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Joan 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JON
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Medieval English form of
Johanne, an Old French form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna). This was the usual English feminine form of
John in the Middle Ages, but it was surpassed in popularity by
Jane in the 17th century. It again became quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, entering the top ten names for both the United States and the United Kingdom, though it has since faded.
This name (in various spellings) has been common among European royalty, being borne by ruling queens of Naples, Navarre and Castile. Another famous bearer was Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France (where she is known as Jeanne d'Arc). She was a 15th-century peasant girl who, after claiming she heard messages from God, was given leadership of the French army. She defeated the English in the battle of Orléans but was eventually captured and burned at the stake.
Other notable bearers include the actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and the comedian Joan Rivers (1933-2014), both Americans.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 70% based on 5 votes
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Judas. It is used in many English versions of the
New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world,
Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the
Protestant Reformation.
Jules 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUYL
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
French form of
Julius. A notable bearer of this name was the French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905), author of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and other works of science fiction.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 66% based on 5 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).
Julien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUY-LYEHN
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
French form of
Iulianus (see
Julian).
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 88% based on 4 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.
Julio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: KHOO-lyo
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
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) YUY-lee-uys(Dutch) YOO-li-yuws(Czech)
Rating: 40% based on 5 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.
July
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: juw-LIE
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
From the name of the month, which was originally named for Julius Caesar.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 68% based on 4 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.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 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.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Karen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, English, German
Pronounced: KAH-rehn(Danish) KAR-ən(English) KEHR-ən(English) KA-rən(German)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Danish short form of
Katherine. It became common in the English-speaking world after the 1930s.
Katalin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Basque
Pronounced: KAW-taw-leen(Hungarian) ka-TA-leen(Basque)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Kate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Croatian
Pronounced: KAYT(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Katherine, often used independently. It is short for
Katherina in Shakespeare's play
The Taming of the Shrew (1593). It has been used in England since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer is the British actress Kate Winslet (1975-).
Katya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Катя(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: KA-tyə(Russian)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Keira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEER-ə
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Ciara 1. This spelling was popularized by British actress Keira Knightley (1985-).
Kendra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drə
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Kiki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek
Other Scripts: Κική(Greek)
Pronounced: KEE-kee(English) kee-KEE(Greek)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Diminutive of names beginning with or containing the sound
K.
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Anglicized form of
Cillian, also used in France.
Kit
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Kitty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT-ee
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Klara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Клара(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Polish) KLA-rə(Russian)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Form of
Clara in various languages.
Klaus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KLOWS(German, Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
German short form of
Nicholas, now used independently.
Lana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Russian, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian
Other Scripts: Лана(Russian) ლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAHN-ə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Alana (English) or
Svetlana (Russian). In the English-speaking world it was popularized by actress Lana Turner (1921-1995), who was born Julia Jean Turner.
Laure
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAWR
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(English)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Leandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: leh-AN-dra(Spanish)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Lee
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEE
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From a surname that was derived from Old English
leah meaning
"clearing". The surname belonged to Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In his honour, it has been used as a given name in the American South. It is common as a middle name.
Leila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, Georgian
Other Scripts: لیلا(Persian) ليلى(Arabic) لەیلا(Kurdish Sorani) ლეილა(Georgian)
Pronounced: lay-LAW(Persian) LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English) LEE-lə(English) LIE-lə(English) LAY-LA(French)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Layla, and the usual Persian transcription.
This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in The Giaour (1813) and Don Juan (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Leni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEH-nee
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
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: 71% based on 7 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.
Léontine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AWN-TEEN
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Lex
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: LEHKS
Rating: 15% based on 4 votes
Lili
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, French, Hungarian
Pronounced: LI-lee(German) LEE-LEE(French) LEE-lee(Hungarian)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
German, French and Hungarian
diminutive of
Elisabeth and other names containing
li. It is also sometimes connected to the German word
lilie meaning
"lily".
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 66% based on 8 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-).
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Linnet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: li-NEHT, LIN-it
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Either a variant of
Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.
Llywelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: shəw-EH-lin(Welsh) loo-EHL-in(English)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Probably a Welsh form of an unattested old Celtic name *
Lugubelinos, a combination of the names of the gods
Lugus and
Belenus, or a compound of
Lugus and a Celtic root meaning "strong". Alternatively it may be derived from Welsh
llyw "leader". This was the name of several Welsh rulers, notably the 13th-century Llywelyn the Great who fought against the English.
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means
"little fierce one", derived from Old Irish
lorcc "fierce" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.
Lotta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: LOT-tah(Finnish)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Louis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: LWEE(French) LOO-is(English) LOO-ee(English) loo-EE(Dutch)
Rating: 68% based on 6 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), French actor Louis de Funès (1914-1983), 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).
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Luce
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, French
Pronounced: LOO-cheh(Italian) LUYS(French)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Italian and French variant of
Lucia. This also means "light" in Italian.
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Romanian and English form of
Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Lucilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Lucille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: LUY-SEEL(French) loo-SEEL(English)
Rating: 85% based on 6 votes
French form of
Lucilla. A famous bearer was American comedienne Lucille Ball (1911-1989).
Lucius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical, English
Pronounced: LOO-kee-oos(Latin) LOO-shəs(English) LOO-si-əs(English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which was derived from Latin
lux "light". This was the most popular of the praenomina. Two Etruscan kings of early Rome had this name as well as several prominent later Romans, including Lucius Annaeus Seneca (known simply as Seneca), a statesman, philosopher, orator and tragedian. The name is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament belonging to a Christian in Antioch. It was also borne by three popes, including the 3rd-century
Saint Lucius. Despite this, the name was not regularly used in the Christian world until after the Renaissance.
Lucretia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KREH-tee-a(Latin) loo-KREE-shə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Lucretius, possibly from Latin
lucrum meaning
"profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Ludvig
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: LUYD-vig(Swedish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Ludwig
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LOOT-vikh
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the Germanic name
Hludwig meaning
"famous in battle", composed of the elements
hlut "famous, loud" and
wig "war, battle". This was the name of three Merovingian kings of the Franks (though their names are usually spelled as
Clovis) as well as several Carolingian kings and Holy Roman emperors (names often spelled in the French form
Louis). Other famous bearers include the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) and the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), who contributed to logic and the philosophy of language.
Lula 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-lə
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 8 votes
Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
Lyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Maddalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mad-da-LEH-na
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 80% based on 7 votes
Maëlys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-EH-LEES
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of
Mailys.
Maggie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAG-ee
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
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: 48% based on 6 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.
Maike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Frisian, German
Pronounced: MIE-kə(German)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Màiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MA-ryi
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Scottish Gaelic form of
Maria (see
Mary). The form
Moire is used to refer to the Virgin Mary.
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Maja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Маја(Serbian)
Pronounced: MA-ya(German, Polish)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Form of
Maia 1 in various languages.
Marcelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-SEHL
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Marcie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-see
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Margareta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Romanian, Slovene, Finnish, Croatian
Pronounced: mar-ga-REH-ta(German) MAHR-gah-reh-tah(Finnish)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Margaux
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Margot influenced by the name of the wine-producing French town. It was borne by Margaux Hemingway (1954-1996), granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway, who had it changed from
Margot.
Margo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-go
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(English) MAHR-ta(Dutch) MAR-ta(German)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
From Aramaic
מַרְתָּא (marta) meaning
"the lady, the mistress", feminine form of
מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the
New Testament this is the name of the sister of
Lazarus and
Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to
Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.
The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).
Martin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Finnish
Other Scripts: Мартин, Мартын(Russian) Мартин(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MAHR-tin(English) MAR-TEHN(French) MAR-teen(German, Slovak) MAT-in(Swedish) MAHT-tin(Norwegian) MAH-tseen(Danish) MAR-kyin(Czech) MAWR-teen(Hungarian) mar-TIN(Bulgarian) MAHR-teen(Finnish)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the Roman name
Martinus, which was derived from
Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god
Mars.
Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.
An influential bearer of the name was Martin Luther (1483-1546), the theologian who began the Protestant Reformation. The name was also borne by five popes (two of them more commonly known as Marinus). Other more recent bearers include the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), and the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese (1942-).
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 67% based on 6 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.
Maya 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIE-ə, MAY-ə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Maia 1. This name can also be given in reference to the Maya, an indigenous people of southern Mexico and parts of Central America whose civilization flourished between the 3rd and 8th centuries. A famous bearer was the American poet and author Maya Angelou (1928-2014).
Medea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Georgian
Other Scripts: Μήδεια(Ancient Greek) მედეა(Georgian)
Pronounced: mə-DEE-ə(English) MEH-DEH-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
From Greek
Μήδεια (Medeia), derived from
μήδεα (medea) meaning
"plans, counsel, cunning". In Greek
mythology Medea was a sorceress from Colchis (modern Georgia) who helped
Jason gain the Golden Fleece. They were married, but eventually Jason left her for another woman. For revenge Medea slew Jason's new lover and also had her own children by Jason killed.
Meg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHG
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Meiriona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Merrin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Although the exact origin and meaning of this name are unknown, many modern-day academics believe this name to be the (possibly Anglicized) Cornish form of
Morien.
Its variant Merryn was the name of a Cornish saint.
In the English-speaking world, all forms have been occasionally used from the 19th century onwards.
Mia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, English
Pronounced: MEE-ah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) MEE-a(Dutch, German, Italian) MEE-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of
Maria. It coincides with the Italian word
mia meaning
"mine".
This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names Maria and Mariel respectively.
Milla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MEEL-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Short form of
Camilla and other names that end in
milla.
Millicent
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-i-sənt
Rating: 22% based on 6 votes
From the Gothic name *
Amalaswinþa, composed of the elements
amals "unceasing, vigorous, brave" and
swinþs "strong". Amalaswintha was a 6th-century queen of the Ostrogoths. The
Normans introduced this name to England in the form
Melisent or
Melisende. Melisende was a 12th-century queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Baldwin II.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 90% based on 2 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.
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Form of
Mary 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.
Mirren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: MI-ren
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Misha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Миша(Russian)
Pronounced: MYEE-shə
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Montgomery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mənt-GUM-ə-ree, mənt-GUM-ree
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
From an English surname meaning
"Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Morgane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAWR-GAN
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Narcissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: nahr-SIS-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Natalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Ναταλία(Greek) ნატალია(Georgian) Наталия(Russian, Bulgarian) Наталія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: na-TA-lya(Polish, Italian, Spanish) na-ta-LEE-a(Italian) na-TA-lee-a(Romanian) nə-TAHL-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Latinate form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Medieval
diminutive of names beginning with
El, such as
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 or
Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase
mine El, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nel.
Nereus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Νηρεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-REWS(Classical Greek) NIR-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
νηρός (neros) meaning
"water". In Greek
myth this was the name of a god of the sea, the father of the Nereids. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament, belonging to a Christian in Rome. This was also the name of a Roman
saint of the 1st century, a member of the army, who was martyred with his companion Achilleus because they refused to execute Christians.
Niamh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYEEW(Irish) NYEEV(Irish)
Rating: 50% based on 4 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.
Nicola 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: NI-ko-la(German) NIK-ə-lə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Nicholas. In the English-speaking world this name is more common outside of America, where
Nicole is more usual.
Nissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Océane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-SEH-AN
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Derived from French océan meaning "ocean".
Octave
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AWK-TAV
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
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: 65% based on 4 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.
Octavio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ok-TA-byo
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 70% based on 2 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.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Odile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEEL
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Odilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1][2]
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old German element
uodil meaning
"heritage" or
ot meaning
"wealth, fortune".
Saint Odilia (or Odila) was an 8th-century nun who is considered the patron saint of Alsace. She was apparently born blind but gained sight when she was baptized.
Ola 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: AW-la
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
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: 68% based on 6 votes
From Old French
Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin
oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse
Áleifr (see
Olaf) or Frankish
Alawar (see
Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic
La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to 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), 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.
Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish) o-LEE-vee-ya(Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time
[1] that may have been based on
Oliva or
Oliver, or directly on the Latin word
oliva meaning
"olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke
Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually
Viola in disguise.
Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.
A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).
Olivier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Dutch, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: AW-LEE-VYEH(French) O-lee-veer(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
French and Dutch form of
Oliver. This is also a French word meaning "olive tree".
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
From the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning
"help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem
Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play
Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of
Polonius and the potential love interest of
Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.
Orpheus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὀρφεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: OR-PEWS(Classical Greek) AWR-fee-əs(English)
Rating: 73% based on 4 votes
Perhaps related to Greek
ὄρφνη (orphne) meaning
"the darkness of night". In Greek
mythology Orpheus was a poet and musician who went to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. He succeeded in charming Hades with his lyre, and he was allowed to lead his wife out of the underworld on the condition that he not look back at her until they reached the surface. Unfortunately, just before they arrived his love for her overcame his will and he glanced back at her, causing her to be drawn back to Hades.
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(English) OT-to(Finnish)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Later German form of
Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish
aud or 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).
Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Means
"all gifts", derived from a combination of Greek
πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". In Greek
mythology Pandora was the first mortal woman.
Zeus gave her a jar containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind now knows, and told her not to open it. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it, unleashing the evil spirits into the world.
Pax
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: PAKS(Latin, English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means
"peace" in Latin. In Roman
mythology this was the name of the goddess of peace.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL
Rating: 48% based on 4 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: 62% based on 6 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.
Percy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PUR-see
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a Norman town
Perci, which was itself perhaps derived from a Gaulish given name that was Latinized as
Persius. The surname was borne by a noble English family, and it first used as a given name in their honour. A famous bearer was Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), an English romantic poet whose works include
Adonais and
Ozymandias. This name can also be used as a short form of
Percival.
Peregrine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ə-grin
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the Late Latin name
Peregrinus, which meant
"traveller". This was the name of several early
saints.
Persephone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεφόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEH-PO-NEH(Classical Greek) pər-SEHF-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown, probably of Pre-Greek origin, but perhaps related to Greek
πέρθω (pertho) meaning "to destroy" and
φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". In Greek
myth she was the daughter of
Demeter and
Zeus. She was abducted to the underworld by
Hades, but was eventually allowed to return to the surface for part of the year. The result of her comings and goings is the changing of the seasons. With her mother she was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at the city of Eleusis near Athens.
Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
Rating: 82% based on 6 votes
From the Greek
Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from
φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning
"bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of
Theseus in Greek
mythology.
Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson
Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Piper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PIE-pər
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series
Charmed, which debuted in 1998
[1].
Polly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHL-ee
Rating: 48% based on 4 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: 45% based on 4 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-).
Quirina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of
Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel
Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
French form of the Latin name
Remigius, which was derived from Latin
remigis "oarsman, rower".
Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.
Rhea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Ῥέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: REH-A(Classical Greek) REE-ə(English) REH-a(Latin)
Rating: 70% based on 4 votes
Ria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: REE-a
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
River
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Romilly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name
Romilius.
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: 68% based on 4 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. Famous bearers include the Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Simply from the name of the precious stone (which ultimately derives from Latin
ruber "red"), which is the traditional birthstone of July. It came into use as a given name in the 16th century
[1].
Sabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Sabine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Danish
Pronounced: SA-BEEN(French) za-BEE-nə(German) sa-BEE-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
French, German, Dutch and Danish form of
Sabina.
Saffron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAF-rən
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
From the English word that refers either to a spice, the crocus flower from which it is harvested, or the yellow-orange colour of the spice. It is derived via Old French from Arabic
زعفران (zaʿfarān), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".
Sam 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAM
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Short form of
Samuel,
Samson,
Samantha and other names beginning with
Sam. A notable fictional bearer is Sam Spade, a detective in Dashiell Hammett's novel
The Maltese Falcon (1930). In J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954 novel
The Lord of the Rings (1954) this is a short form of
Samwise.
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sapphire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAF-ie-ər
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
From the name of the gemstone, typically blue, which is the traditional birthstone of September. It is derived from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros), ultimately from the Hebrew word
סַפִּיר (sappir).
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 93% based on 3 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
Rating: 73% based on 4 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-).
Sévérine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Sigrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Estonian, Finnish (Archaic)
Pronounced: SEE-grid(Swedish) SEEG-reed(Finnish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From the Old Norse name
Sigríðr, which was derived from the elements
sigr "victory" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved".
Silje
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) SEEL-vyu(European Portuguese) SEEW-vyu(Brazilian Portuguese) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-ya(Dutch) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 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.
Síofra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEE-frə
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Means "elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Sofia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek) София(Russian, Bulgarian) Софія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: saw-FEE-a(Greek) so-FEE-a(Italian) soo-FEE-u(European Portuguese) so-FEE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) soo-FEE-ə(Catalan) suw-FEE-a(Swedish) zo-FEE-a(German) SO-fee-ah(Finnish) su-FYEE-yə(Russian)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Form of
Sophia used in various languages.
Sofie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: zo-FEE(German) so-FEE-ə(Danish) suw-FEE(Swedish) so-FEE(Dutch) SO-fi-yeh(Czech)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Form of
Sophie in several languages.
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Sonya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Соня(Russian)
Pronounced: SO-nyə(Russian) SON-yə(English) SAWN-yə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Russian
diminutive of
Sophia. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1869, English translation 1886).
Sören
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, German
Pronounced: SUU-rehn(Swedish) ZUU-rən(German)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Swedish and German form of
Søren.
Søren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SUUW-ən
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Danish form of
Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet 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.
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
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: 84% based on 5 votes
From
Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshanna). 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.
Sybella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: si-BEHL-ə
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Sybil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.
Sybilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Late Roman
Pronounced: si-BEEL-la(Polish)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Polish form and Latin variant of
Sibylla.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SIL-vee-ya(Dutch) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Sylvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: SEEL-VEE(French) SIL-vi-yeh(Czech)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
French and Czech form of
Silvia.
Tate
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAYT
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name
Tata.
Tatiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, French, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Greek, Georgian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Τατιάνα(Greek) ტატიანა(Georgian) Татьяна(Russian) Татяна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ta-TYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish, German) TAH-tee-ah-nah(Finnish) ta-TYAHN-ə(English) tu-TYA-nə(Russian)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of the Roman name
Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name
Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as
Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.
Tea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovene, Finnish, Georgian
Other Scripts: თეა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TEH-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Tess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Short form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891).
Thea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: TEH-a(German) THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Thomasina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: tahm-ə-SEE-nə
Rating: 73% based on 4 votes
Medieval feminine form of
Thomas.
Tilly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIL-ee
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Tora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Torin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.
Tristram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TRIS-trəm
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Úna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Medieval Irish [1]
Pronounced: OO-nə(Irish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Probably derived from Old Irish úan meaning "lamb". This was a common name in medieval Ireland.
Ursa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Ursus. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
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: 60% based on 5 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.
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 3 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.
Valerie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Czech
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree(English) VA-lə-ree(German)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
English and German form of
Valeria, as well as a Czech variant of
Valérie.
Valkyrie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: VAL-ki-ree(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Means
"chooser of the slain", derived from Old Norse
valr "the slain" and
kyrja "chooser". In Norse
myth the Valkyries were maidens who led heroes killed in battle to Valhalla.
Vasilisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Василиса(Russian)
Pronounced: və-syi-LYEE-sə
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, 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: 70% based on 2 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.
Verena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Late Roman
Pronounced: veh-REH-na(German)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Possibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
Berenice.
Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Verna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VUR-nə
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of
Vernon, sometimes associated with the Latin word
vernus "spring". It has been in use since the 19th century.
Verona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From the name of the city in Italy, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Vesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEHS-ta(Latin) VEHS-tə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Probably a Roman
cognate of
Hestia. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
Victor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late Roman
Pronounced: VIK-tər(English) VEEK-TAWR(French) VEEK-tor(Romanian) VIK-tawr(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 3 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.
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: 40% based on 5 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 5 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.
Violetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Виолетта(Russian)
Pronounced: vyo-LEHT-ta(Italian) vyi-u-LYEHT-tə(Russian) VEE-o-leht-taw(Hungarian)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Italian, Russian and Hungarian form of
Violet.
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: 80% based on 2 votes
Dutch and German feminine form of
Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Will
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Short form of
William and other names beginning with
Will. A famous bearer is American actor Will Smith (1968-), whose full name is Willard.
Willem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: VI-ləm
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Dutch form of
William. Willem the Silent, Prince of Orange, was the leader of the Dutch revolt against Spain that brought about the independence of the Netherlands. He is considered the founder of the Dutch royal family. In English he is commonly called William of Orange.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Winifred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: WIN-ə-frid(English)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
From Latin
Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name
Gwenfrewi (maybe influenced by the Old English masculine name
Winfred).
Saint Winifred was a 7th-century Welsh martyr, probably legendary. According to the story, she was decapitated by a prince after she spurned his advances. Where her head fell there arose a healing spring, which has been a pilgrimage site since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has been historically more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 70% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Ylva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".
Ysabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Archaic)
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Medieval Spanish form of
Isabel.
Yves
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EEV
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Medieval French form of
Ivo 1. This was the name of two French
saints: an 11th-century bishop of Chartres and a 13th-century parish priest and lawyer, also known as Ivo of Kermartin, the patron saint of Brittany.
Yvette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: EE-VEHT(French) ee-VEHT(English) i-VEHT(English)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
French feminine form of
Yves.
Zelda 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHL-də
Rating: 93% based on 3 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).
Zenaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηναΐδα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Apparently a Greek derivative of
Ζηναΐς (Zenais), which was derived from the name of the Greek god
Zeus. This was the name of a 1st-century
saint who was a doctor with her sister Philonella.
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian) THO-eh(European Spanish) SO-eh(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Means
"life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of
Eve. It was borne by two early Christian
saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.
As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).
Zoé
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Hungarian
Pronounced: ZAW-EH(French) ZO-eh(Hungarian)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
French and Hungarian form of
Zoe.
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