Eleanor's Personal Name List
Aaliyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Other Scripts: عالية(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘A-lee-yah(Arabic) ə-LEE-ə(English) ah-LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of
Aali. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by the singer Aaliyah Haughton (1979-2001), who was known simply as Aaliyah. This name received a boost in popularity after she released her debut album in 1994, and also in 2001 after her untimely death in an airplane crash.
Adam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: Адам(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian) Αδάμ, Άνταμ(Greek) אָדָם(Hebrew) آدم(Arabic) ადამ(Georgian) Ἀδάμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AD-əm(English) A-DAHN(French) A-dam(German, Polish, Czech, Arabic) A-dahm(Dutch) AH-dam(Swedish) u-DAM(Russian, Ukrainian) ə-DHAM(Catalan)
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
This is the Hebrew word for
"man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew
אדם ('adam) meaning
"to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian
adamu meaning
"to make".
According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew אֲדָמָה ('adamah) meaning "earth"). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result they were expelled from Eden to the lands to the east, where they gave birth to the second generation, including Cain, Abel and Seth.
As an English Christian name, Adam has been common since the Middle Ages, and it received a boost after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Form of
Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.
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: 55% based on 12 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.
Agnes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἁγνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-nis(English) AK-nəs(German) AHKH-nehs(Dutch) ANG-nehs(Swedish) OW-nes(Danish)
Rating: 67% based on 9 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἁγνή (Hagne), derived from Greek
ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning
"chaste".
Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin
agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.
As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.
Aida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Albanian, Literature
Other Scripts: عائدة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘A-ee-dah(Arabic) ah-EE-də(English)
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Ayda. This name was used in Verdi's opera
Aida (1871), where it belongs to an Ethiopian princess held captive in Egypt.
Alban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Albanian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-ban(German) AL-BAHN(French) AL-bən(English) AWL-bən(English)
Rating: 39% based on 11 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.
Alec
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ik
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
Aleksander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, Slovene, Estonian, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Polish)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Aleksandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Александра(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ალექსანდრა(Georgian)
Pronounced: u-lyik-SAN-drə(Russian) a-lehk-SAN-dra(Polish) u-lyehk-SAN-dru(Lithuanian)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
Alessandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dro
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Italian form of
Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 78% based on 13 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant
"defending men" from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
mythology this was another name of the hero
Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the
New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.
The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.
Alexandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αλεξάνδρα(Greek) Александра(Russian, Ukrainian) Ἀλεξάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-drə(English) a-leh-KSAN-dra(German, Romanian) a-lehk-SAHN-dra(Dutch) A-LUG-ZAHN-DRA(French) a-leh-KSAN-dhra(Greek) u-li-SHUN-dru(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dru(Brazilian Portuguese) A-lehk-san-dra(Czech, Slovak) AW-lehk-sawn-draw(Hungarian) A-LEH-KSAN-DRA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 70% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Alexander. In Greek
mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian
saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
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: 67% based on 10 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: 47% based on 9 votes
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Rating: 48% based on 11 votes
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Amir 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Malay, Indonesian, Bosnian
Other Scripts: أمير(Arabic) امیر(Persian, Urdu) Әмір(Kazakh) Әмир(Tatar, Bashkir) Амир(Russian)
Pronounced: a-MEER(Arabic)
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Means "commander, prince" in Arabic. This was originally a title, which has come into English as the Arabic loanword emir.
Amira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أميرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: a-MEE-rah
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of
Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian
saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Anderson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dər-sən
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
From a surname meaning
"son of Andrew".
Andrés
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Icelandic
Pronounced: an-DREHS(Spanish) AN-tryehs(Icelandic)
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
Spanish and Icelandic form of
Andrew.
Andres
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
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: 46% based on 7 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.
Angelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Armenian
Other Scripts: Ангелина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian) Αγγελίνα(Greek) Անգելինա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ang-jeh-LEE-na(Italian) an-jə-LEE-nə(English) un-gyi-LYEE-nə(Russian) ang-kheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Latinate
diminutive of
Angela. A famous bearer is American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-).
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, 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) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan)
Rating: 67% based on 9 votes
Form of
Channah (see
Hannah) used in the Greek and Latin
Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the
Hannah spelling instead of
Anna. The name appears briefly in the
New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of
Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin
Mary.
In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.
The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.
Annabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Amabel, with the spelling altered as if it were a combination of
Anna and French
belle "beautiful". This name appears to have arisen in Scotland in the Middle Ages.
Anne 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, Basque
Pronounced: AN(French, English) A-neh(Swedish) A-nə(Danish, German) AHN-neh(Finnish) AH-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
French form of
Anna. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant
Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.
The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London. Another notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne (Annelies) Frank, a young victim of the Holocaust in 1945. This is also the name of the heroine in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 70% based on 9 votes
Anthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἄνθεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-thee-ə(English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From the Greek
Ἄνθεια (Antheia), derived from
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning
"flower, blossom". This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Hera.
Anton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, Croatian, Romanian, Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, English
Other Scripts: Антон(Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Macedonian) ანტონ(Georgian)
Pronounced: AN-ton(German) un-TON(Russian) AHN-tawn(Dutch) un-TAWN(Ukrainian) an-TON(Belarusian, Slovene) AHN-ton(Finnish) AN-TAWN(Georgian) AN-tahn(English)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Form of
Antonius (see
Anthony) used in various languages. A notable bearer was the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904).
Antonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Αντωνία(Greek) Антония(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: an-TO-nya(Italian, Spanish, German) an-TO-nee-ə(English) ahn-TO-nee-a(Dutch) an-TO-nee-a(Latin)
Rating: 29% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of
Antonius (see
Anthony).
Aoife
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: EE-fyə(Irish)
Rating: 34% based on 8 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.
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(English)
Rating: 48% based on 8 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.
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
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: 46% based on 8 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).
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: 47% 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.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 71% based on 10 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of
Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.
As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 54% based on 7 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: 49% based on 10 votes
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
Rating: 76% based on 8 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Ava 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: A-va(German)
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
awi, of unknown meaning. This was the name of a 9th-century Frankish
saint. It was also borne by a 12th-century poet from Melk, Austria.
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
Rating: 42% based on 6 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.
Aveza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Bailey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAY-lee
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From an English surname derived from Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.
Already an uncommon masculine name, it slowly grew in popularity for American girls beginning in 1978 after the start of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which featured a character with this name. Though it remained more common as a feminine name, it got a boost for boys in 1994 from another television character on the drama Party of Five. In the United Kingdom and Australia it has always been more popular for boys.
Bastien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BAS-TYEHN
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
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: 54% based on 9 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.
Becca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHK-ə
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Bella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL-ə
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Short form of
Isabella and other names ending in
bella. It is also associated with the Italian word
bella meaning
"beautiful". It was used by the American author Stephenie Meyer for the main character in her popular
Twilight series of novels, first released 2005, later adapted into a series of movies beginning 2008.
Ben 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BEHN
Rating: 44% based on 9 votes
Short form of
Benjamin or
Benedict. A notable bearer was Ben Jonson (1572-1637), an English poet and playwright.
Benjamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Biblical
Other Scripts: בִּנְיָמִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-jə-min(English) BEHN-ZHA-MEHN(French) BEHN-ya-meen(German) BEHN-ya-min(Dutch)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name
בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin) meaning
"son of the south" or
"son of the right hand", from the roots
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son" and
יָמִין (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the
Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of
Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named
בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-'oni) meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother
Rachel, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see
Genesis 35:18).
As an English name, Benjamin came into general use after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.
Benson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-sən
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that originally meant
"son of Benedict".
Bianca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: BYANG-ka
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Italian
cognate of
Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in
The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and
Othello (1603).
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid, Old Irish
Brigit, from old Celtic *
Brigantī meaning
"the exalted one". In Irish
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god
Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by
Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Brook
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWK
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that denoted one who lived near a brook.
Bryson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE-sən
Rating: 24% based on 8 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Brice". Starting in the 1970s this name began steadily growing in popularity, likely because it features the same popular sounds found in other names such as
Brice and
Tyson.
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 41% based on 10 votes
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: 50% 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).
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: 47% based on 6 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.
Carter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-tər
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Caspar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Rating: 57% based on 9 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: 43% 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: 39% based on 7 votes
Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 79% based on 10 votes
French form of
Katherine, and also a common English variant.
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: 50% based on 9 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: 45% based on 8 votes
English form of
Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Possibly from
cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh
cwrr "corner") combined with
ben "woman" or
gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the
Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard
Taliesin.
This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".
Charles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: CHAHRLZ(English) SHARL(French)
Rating: 67% based on 10 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: 51% based on 10 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.
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: 58% based on 10 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.
Chase
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAYS
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning "chase, hunt" in Middle English, originally a nickname for a huntsman.
Circe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κίρκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SUR-see(English)
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κίρκη (Kirke), possibly from
κίρκος (kirkos) meaning
"hawk". In Greek
mythology Circe was a sorceress who changed
Odysseus's crew into hogs, as told in Homer's
Odyssey. Odysseus forced her to change them back, then stayed with her for a year before continuing his voyage.
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
Rating: 65% based on 10 votes
French form of
Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by
Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 66% based on 10 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.
Clark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAHRK
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning "cleric" or "scribe", from Old English clerec originally meaning "priest". A famous bearer of the surname was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer of the west of North America. As a first name it was borne by the American actor Clark Gable (1901-1960), as well as the comic book character Clark Kent, the mild-mannered alter ego of Superman, first created 1938.
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: 47% based on 6 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.
Clement
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHM-ənt
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
English form of the Late Latin name
Clemens (or sometimes of its derivative
Clementius), which meant
"merciful, gentle". This was the name of 14 popes, including
Saint Clement I, the third pope, one of the Apostolic Fathers. Another saint by this name was Clement of Alexandria, a 3rd-century theologian and church father who attempted to reconcile Christian and Platonic philosophies. It has been in general as a given name in Christian Europe (in various spellings) since early times. In England it became rare after the
Protestant Reformation, though it was revived in the 19th century.
Colin 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: KAHL-in(English) KOL-in(English)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish
Cailean.
Cooper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOO-pər
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From a surname meaning "barrel maker", from Middle English couper.
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 42% 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.
Coral
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: KAWR-əl(English) ko-RAL(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From the English and Spanish word
coral for the underwater skeletal deposits that can form reefs. It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
κοράλλιον (korallion).
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Form of
Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play
Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Rating: 67% based on 6 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.
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
Rating: 59% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).
Dante
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: DAN-teh(Italian) DAHN-tay(English) DAN-tee(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Medieval short form of
Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the
Divine Comedy.
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: 49% based on 9 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.
David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew
דּוֹד (dod) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the
Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the
New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.
Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).
Dawson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAW-sən
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of David". As a given name, it was popularized in the late 1990s by the central character on the television drama
Dawson's Creek (1998-2003). In the United States the number of boys receiving the name increased tenfold between 1997 and 1999. It got another boost in 2014 after it was used for a main character in the movie
The Best of Me.
Dean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEEN
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
From a surname, see
Dean 1 and
Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of Irish
Deaglán, Old Irish
Declán, which is of unknown meaning.
Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.
In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).
Diana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Armenian, Georgian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Диана(Russian, Bulgarian) Діана(Ukrainian) Դիանա(Armenian) დიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: die-AN-ə(English) DYA-na(Spanish, Italian, Polish) dee-U-nu(European Portuguese) jee-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) dee-A-nə(Catalan) dee-A-na(German, Dutch, Latin) dyee-AH-nu(Ukrainian) DI-ya-na(Czech) DEE-a-na(Slovak)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
Means
"divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin
dia or
diva meaning
"goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *
dyew- found in
Zeus. Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess
Artemis.
As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). A notable bearer was the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.
Diane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: DYAN(French) die-AN(English)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
French form of
Diana, also regularly used in the English-speaking world.
Dominik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian
Pronounced: DAW-mee-nik(German) DO-mi-nik(Czech) DAW-mee-neek(Slovak) daw-MEE-nyeek(Polish) DO-mee-neek(Hungarian)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Form of
Dominic used in various languages.
Dunstan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Anglo-Saxon
Pronounced: DUN-stən(English)
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
From the Old English elements
dunn "dark" and
stan "stone". This name was borne by a 10th-century
saint, the archbishop of Canterbury. It was occasionally used in the Middle Ages, though it died out after the 16th century. It was revived by the Tractarian movement in the 19th century.
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
From the Welsh prefix
dy meaning "to, toward" and
llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of
Arianrhod and the twin brother of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle
Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.
Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.
Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
Means
"rich protection", from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two
saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the
Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.
Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.
Edward
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-wərd(English) EHD-vart(Polish)
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
Means
"rich guard", derived from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
weard "guard". This was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings, the last being
Saint Edward the Confessor shortly before the
Norman Conquest in the 11th century. He was known as a just ruler, and because of his popularity his name remained in use after the conquest when most other Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. The 13th-century Plantagenet king Henry III named his son and successor after the saint, and seven subsequent kings of England were also named Edward.
This is one of the few Old English names to be used throughout Europe (in various spellings). A famous bearer was the British composer Edward Elgar (1857-1934). It was also used by author Charlotte Brontë for the character Edward Rochester, the main love interest of the title character in her novel Jane Eyre (1847).
Eira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AY-ra
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.
Elaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)
Rating: 41% based on 9 votes
From an Old French form of
Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation
Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of
Pelles, the lover of
Lancelot, and the mother of
Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic
Idylls of the King (1859).
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 85% based on 12 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name
Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named
Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase
alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.
The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.
Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Form of
Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
Yelena).
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Means
"ascension" in Hebrew. In the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young
Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.
Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Rating: 51% based on 10 votes
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ ('Eliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the elements
אֵל ('el) and
יָה (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
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: 53% based on 6 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: 50% 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).
Elizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 76% based on 8 votes
From
Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning
"my God is an oath", derived from the roots
אֵל ('el) referring to the Hebrew God and
שָׁבַע (shava') meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the
Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of
Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the
New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of
John the Baptist.
Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.
Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Elsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: EHL-za(German) EHL-sah(Finnish) EHL-sa(Italian, Spanish) EHL-sə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Elisabeth, typically used independently. Elsa von Brabant is the lover of
Lohengrin in medieval German tales, and her story was expanded by Richard Wagner for his opera
Lohengrin (1850). The name had a little spike in popularity after the 2013 release of the animated Disney movie
Frozen, which featured a magical princess by this name.
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Emiliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: eh-mee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Emilie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lyə(German) eh-MEE-lee-eh(Norwegian) EHM-i-lee(Swedish)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
German, Scandinavian and Czech feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily).
Emily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-lee
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
English feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emil). In the English-speaking world it was not common until after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century; the princess Amelia Sophia (1711-1786) was commonly known as
Emily in English, even though
Amelia is an unrelated name.
This name was moderately popular through most of the 20th century, and became very popular around the turn of the 21st century. It was the highest ranked name for girls in the United States from 1996 to 2007, attaining similar levels in other English-speaking countries around the same time.
Famous bearers include the British author Emily Brontë (1818-1848), known for the novel Wuthering Heights, and the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).
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(German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Rating: 58% based on 11 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-).
Emmerson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
Emmet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Emmett. It is used in Ireland in honour of the nationalist and rebel Robert Emmet (1778-1803).
Enzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, French
Pronounced: EHN-tso(Italian) EHN-ZO(French)
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
The meaning of this name is uncertain. In some cases it seems to be an old Italian form of
Heinz, though in other cases it could be a variant of the Germanic name
Anzo. In modern times it is also used as a short form of names ending in
enzo, such as
Vincenzo or
Lorenzo.
A famous bearer was the Italian racecar driver and industrialist Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988).
Erin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: EHR-in(English)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Anglicized form of
Éireann. It was initially used by people of Irish heritage in America, Canada and Australia. It was rare until the mid-1950s.
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(English, Dutch) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Possibly means
"star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess
Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the
Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor
Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin
Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was
Hadassah.
This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].
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: 48% based on 6 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).
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word
חָוָה (chawah) meaning
"to breathe" or the related word
חָיָה (chayah) meaning
"to live". According to the
Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and
Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of
Eden.
Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Means
"help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the
Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Farah
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay
Other Scripts: فرح(Arabic, Persian, Urdu)
Pronounced: FA-rah(Arabic)
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
Means "joy, happiness" in Arabic.
Faris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian
Other Scripts: فارس(Arabic)
Pronounced: FA-rees(Arabic)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Means "horseman, knight" in Arabic.
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
From a Roman
cognomen meaning
"lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an
agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the
New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned
Saint Paul.
Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
Fergus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FUR-gəs(English)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Means
"man of vigour", derived from the Old Irish elements
fer "man" and
guss "vigour, strength, force". This was the name of several early rulers of Ireland and Dál Riata, as well as many characters from Irish legend. Notably it was borne by the hero Fergus mac Róich, who was tricked into giving up the kingship of Ulster to
Conchobar. However, he remained loyal to the new king until Conchobar betrayed
Deirdre and
Naoise, at which point he defected to Connacht in anger. The name was also borne by an 8th-century
saint, a missionary to Scotland.
This is the Old Irish form of the name, as well as the usual Anglicized form of Modern Irish Fearghas or Fearghus.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English)
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Fiona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: fee-O-nə(English)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Fionn. This name was (first?) used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in his poem
Fingal (1761), in which it is spelled as
Fióna.
Fionn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYIN(Irish) FYUWN(Irish) FYOON(Irish) FIN(English)
Rating: 23% based on 10 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.
Fitzroy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FITS-roi
Rating: 20% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning "son of the king" in Old French, originally given to illegitimate sons of monarchs.
Flanagan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FLAN-ə-gən
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Flannagáin, itself from the given name
Flannagán, which was derived from Irish
flann "blood red" and a
diminutive suffix.
Fletcher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLECH-ər
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.
Forest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWR-ist
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Forrest, or else directly from the English word
forest.
Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Francis. The distinction between
Francis as a masculine name and
Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century
[1]. A notable bearer was
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
English form of an Old German name meaning
"peaceful ruler", derived from
fridu "peace" and
rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.
The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAHB-ree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the
Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the
New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to
Muhammad.
This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.
Gabriela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, German, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Габриела(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: gab-RYEH-la(Polish) ga-BRYEH-la(Spanish) ga-bree-EH-la(German) GA-bri-yeh-la(Czech) GA-bree-eh-la(Slovak)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Geneva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEE-və
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Possibly a shortened form of
Genevieve. It could also be inspired by the name of the city in Switzerland. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.
Giulietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: joo-LYEHT-ta
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
From the English word
grace, which ultimately derives from Latin
gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the
Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.
This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.
Greta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Polish, English
Pronounced: GREH-ta(German, Italian, Swedish, Polish) GREHT-ə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
Short form of
Margareta. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990).
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 69% based on 9 votes
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Rating: 45% based on 6 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).
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Possibly means
"white ring", derived from Welsh
gwen meaning "white, blessed" and
dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form
Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle
[1]. Geoffrey later used it in
Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet
Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name
Guendoleu by Geoffrey
[3].
This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Rating: 30% 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-).
Hala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: هالة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HA-lah
Rating: 26% based on 7 votes
Means
"halo around the moon" in Arabic. This was the name of a sister-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Hana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian
Other Scripts: هناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-NA(Arabic)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Means "bliss, happiness" in Arabic.
Hannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, German, Dutch, Arabic, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַנָּה(Hebrew) حنّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HAN-ə(English) HA-na(German) HAH-na(Dutch) HAN-nah(Arabic)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
חַנָּה (Channah) meaning
"favour, grace", derived from the root
חָנַן (chanan). In the
Old Testament this is the name of the wife of
Elkanah. Her rival was Elkanah's other wife
Peninnah, who had children while Hannah remained barren. After a blessing from
Eli she finally became pregnant with
Samuel.
As an English name, Hannah was not regularly used until after the Protestant Reformation, unlike the vernacular forms Anne and Ann and the Latin form Anna, which were used from the late Middle Ages. In the last half of the 20th century Hannah surged in popularity and neared the top of the name rankings for both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Harith
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: حارث(Arabic)
Pronounced: HA-reeth
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Means "plowman, cultivator" in Arabic.
Harper
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Harris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-is, HEHR-is
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Harry.
Harrison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-i-sən, HEHR-i-sən
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that meant
"son of Harry". This was the surname of two American presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). As a given name it reached a low point in America in 1977 before it was revived by the career of actor Harrison Ford (1942-), who starred in such movies as
Star Wars in 1977 and
Indiana Jones in 1984.
Heath
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEETH
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that denoted one who lived on a heath. It was popularized as a given name by the character Heath Barkley from the 1960s television series
The Big Valley [1].
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: 76% based on 11 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 70% based on 10 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).
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 52% based on 9 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.
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the
Normans.
Ilyas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إلياس(Arabic)
Pronounced: eel-YAS
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Iona 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: ie-O-nə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
From the name of the island off Scotland where
Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from
ey meaning "island".
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: 53% based on 9 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.
Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 10 votes
Medieval Occitan form of
Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.
This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.
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: 59% based on 9 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: 51% based on 9 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: 34% based on 7 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.
Iskandar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: إسكندر(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-KAN-dar(Arabic)
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Arabic, Indonesian and Malay form of
Alexander.
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: 33% based on 9 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.
Ivan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, English, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian
Other Scripts: Иван(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Іван(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: i-VAN(Russian) ee-VAN(Bulgarian, Romanian) ee-VAHN(Ukrainian) yee-VAN(Belarusian) EE-van(Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Slovak, Slovene, Italian) I-van(Czech) IE-vən(English) ee-VUN(Portuguese)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Newer form of the Old Church Slavic name
Іѡаннъ (Ioannŭ), which was derived from Greek
Ioannes (see
John). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote
Fathers and Sons, and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
Derived from
Jackin (earlier
Jankin), a medieval
diminutive of
John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name
Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms
jack-o'-lantern,
jack-in-the-box,
lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as
Jack and the Beanstalk,
Jack and Jill,
Little Jack Horner, and
Jack Sprat.
American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.
In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.
Jacqueline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: ZHAK-LEEN(French) JAK-ə-lin(English) JAK-wə-lin(English) JAK-ə-leen(English)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
French feminine form of
Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.
Jade
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAYD(English) ZHAD(French)
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.
Jamal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, African American
Other Scripts: جمال(Arabic)
Pronounced: ja-MAL(Arabic) jə-MAHL(English)
Rating: 20% based on 9 votes
Means
"beauty" in Arabic, from the root
جمل (jamala) meaning "to be beautiful".
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 78% based on 8 votes
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Ya'aqov (see
Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the
New Testament. The first was
Saint James the Greater, the apostle
John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of
Jesus.
This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.
Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Medieval English form of
Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of
Iohannes (see
John). This became the most common feminine form of
John in the 17th century, surpassing
Joan. In the first half of the 20th century
Joan once again overtook
Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer", derived from Persian
ganzabara. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Jo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Norwegian
Pronounced: JO(English)
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Jonas 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: YO-nus
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
Jonas 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, French, Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἰωνᾶς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: YOO-nas(Swedish) YO-nas(German) YO-nahs(Dutch) JO-nəs(English)
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
From
Ἰωνᾶς (Ionas), the Greek form of
Jonah. This spelling is used in some English translations of the
New Testament.
Joseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Ancient Hebrew) ജോസഫ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JO-səf(English) ZHO-ZEHF(French) YO-zehf(German)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
From
Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek
Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name
יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning
"he will add", from the root
יָסַף (yasaf). In the
Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of
Jacob and the first with his wife
Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, belonging to
Saint Joseph the husband of
Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.
In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.
This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 71% based on 10 votes
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 44% based on 9 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.
Julia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ə(English) YOO-lya(German, Danish, Polish) YOO-lee-ah(Swedish, Finnish) YUY-lee-a(Dutch) KHOO-lya(Spanish) YOO-lyi-yə(Russian) YOO-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor
Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of
Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the
New Testament. It was also borne by a few early
saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 44% based on 9 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).
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 79% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Julius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Finnish, Lithuanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: YOO-lee-oos(Latin, Swedish) JOO-lee-əs(English) YOO-lee-uws(German) YOO-leews(Finnish) YUW-lyuws(Lithuanian) YOO-lyoos(Danish) YOO-li-yuws(Czech)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Greek
ἴουλος (ioulos) meaning
"downy-bearded". Alternatively, it could be related to the name of the Roman god
Jupiter. This was a prominent patrician family of Rome, who claimed descent from the mythological Julus, son of
Aeneas. Its most notable member was Gaius Julius Caesar, who gained renown as a military leader for his clever conquest of Gaul. After a civil war he became the dictator of the Roman Republic, but was eventually stabbed to death in the senate.
Although this name was borne by several early saints, including a pope, it was rare during the Middle Ages. It was revived in Italy and France during the Renaissance, and was subsequently imported to England.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 65% based on 6 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: 48% based on 5 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: 43% based on 7 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: 42% based on 5 votes
Kara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Karim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tatar
Other Scripts: كريم(Arabic) کریم(Persian) Карим(Tajik, Uzbek, Kyrgyz) Кәрім(Kazakh) Кәрим(Tatar)
Pronounced: ka-REEM(Arabic)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Means
"generous, noble" in Arabic, from the root
كرم (karuma) meaning "to be generous". In Islamic tradition
الكريم (al-Karim) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Karolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Lithuanian, German
Other Scripts: Каролина(Macedonian)
Pronounced: ka-raw-LEE-na(Polish) ka-ruw-LEE-na(Swedish) KAW-ro-lee-naw(Hungarian) ka-ro-LEE-na(German)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Kate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Croatian
Pronounced: KAYT(English)
Rating: 61% based on 7 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-).
Katherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KATH-ə-rin, KATH-rin
Rating: 77% based on 7 votes
From the Greek name
Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name
Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from
ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning
"each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess
Hecate; it could be related to Greek
αἰκία (aikia) meaning
"torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning
"my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek
καθαρός (katharos) meaning
"pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from
Katerina to
Katharina to reflect this.
The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel. The saint was initially venerated in Syria, and returning crusaders introduced the name to Western Europe. It has been common in England since the 12th century in many different spellings, with Katherine and Catherine becoming standard in the later Middle Ages. To this day both spellings are regularly used in the English-speaking world. In the United States the spelling Katherine has been more popular since 1973.
Famous bearers of the name include Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century mystic, and Catherine de' Medici, a 16th-century French queen. It was also borne by three of Henry VIII's wives, including Katherine of Aragon, and by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great.
Katya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Катя(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: KA-tyə(Russian)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Keila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lə
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
Kendra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drə
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Kenneth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: KEHN-əth(English)
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of both
Coinneach and
Cináed. This name was borne by the Scottish king Kenneth (Cináed) mac Alpin, who united the Scots and Picts in the 9th century. It was popularized outside of Scotland by Walter Scott, who used it for the hero in his 1825 novel
The Talisman [1]. A famous bearer was the British novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), who wrote
The Wind in the Willows.
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Kira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кира(Russian) Кіра(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KYEE-rə(Russian)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Russian feminine form of
Cyrus.
Konrad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Slovene
Pronounced: KAWN-rat(German, Polish)
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
German, Scandinavian, Polish and Slovene form of
Conrad.
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Laurus, which meant
"laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr
Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 62% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Le'ah), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לְאָה (le'ah) meaning
"weary". Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Leif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: LAYF
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From the Old Norse name Leifr meaning "descendant, heir". Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer who reached North America in the early 11th century. He was the son of Erik the Red.
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, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 8 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: 52% based on 9 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.
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 68% based on 10 votes
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
From the Greek name
Λίνος (Linos) meaning
"flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god
Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of
Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after
Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip
Peanuts.
Liv 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: LEEV
Rating: 24% based on 7 votes
Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Loki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Pronounced: LO-kee(English)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly derived from the Germanic root *
luką meaning
"lock". In Norse
mythology Loki was a trickster god associated with magic and shape shifting. Loki's children include the wolf
Fenrir, the sea serpent
Jörmungandr, and the queen of the dead
Hel. After he orchestrated the death of
Balder, the other gods tied him to a rock below a snake that dripped venom onto his face. It is told that he will break free during Ragnarök, the final battle, and slay and be slain by
Heimdall.
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 33% based on 7 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.
Louis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: LWEE(French) LOO-is(English) LOO-ee(English) loo-EE(Dutch)
Rating: 73% based on 9 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).
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Latinate feminine form of
Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of
Little Women.
Louise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LWEEZ(French) loo-EEZ(English) loo-EE-sə(Danish) loo-EE-zə(German)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
French feminine form of
Louis.
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
Romanian and English form of
Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Luciana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHA-na(Italian) loo-THYA-na(European Spanish) loo-SYA-na(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
Lucius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical, English
Pronounced: LOO-kee-oos(Latin) LOO-shəs(English) LOO-si-əs(English)
Rating: 24% based on 7 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.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 78% based on 10 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
English form of Latin
Lucas, from the Greek name
Λουκᾶς (Loukas) meaning
"from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy (of uncertain meaning). Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the
New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a
saint by many Christian denominations.
Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 54% 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.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 6 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).
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Late Latin name meaning
"great". It was borne by a 7th-century
saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after
Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name
Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Mairead
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MA-ryəd
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 30% 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.
Malik 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ملك(Arabic)
Pronounced: MA-leek
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Means
"king" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الملك (al-Malik) is one of the 99 names of Allah. This can also be another way of transcribing the name
مالك (see
Maalik).
Marcel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German
Pronounced: MAR-SEHL(French) mər-SEHL(Catalan) mar-CHEHL(Romanian) MAR-tsehl(Polish, Czech, Slovak) mahr-SEHL(Dutch) mar-SEHL(German)
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Form of
Marcellus used in several languages. Notable bearers include the French author Marcel Proust (1871-1922) and the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968).
Margaret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-grit, MAHR-gə-rit
Rating: 76% based on 9 votes
Derived from Latin
Margarita, which was from Greek
μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning
"pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language.
Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.
As an English name it has been very popular since the Middle Ages. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, but it declined in the latter half of the 20th century.
Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of Gone with the Wind, and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-). Others include American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Maria
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μαρία(Greek) Մարիա(Armenian) Мария(Russian, Bulgarian) Марія(Ukrainian) Маріа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: ma-REE-a(Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Romanian, Basque) mu-REE-u(European Portuguese) ma-REE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) mə-REE-ə(Catalan, English) mah-REE-ah(Norwegian, Danish) MAR-ya(Polish) MAH-ree-ah(Finnish) mu-RYEE-yə(Russian) mu-RYEE-yu(Ukrainian)
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
Latin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
Mary).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.
Marie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: MA-REE(French) MA-ri-yeh(Czech) ma-REE(German) mə-REE(English)
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
French and Czech form of
Maria. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.
A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.
In France it is occasionally used as a masculine name in pairings such as Jean-Marie.
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, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 48% 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.
Maris 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-is, MAR-is
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Means
"of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".
Marta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Swedish, Icelandic, Latvian, Estonian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Марта(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian) მართა(Georgian)
Pronounced: MAR-ta(Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German) MAR-tu(European Portuguese) MAKH-tu(Brazilian Portuguese) MAR-tə(Catalan) MAHR-TAH(Georgian)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Form of
Martha used in various languages.
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(English) MAR-ta(German)
Rating: 31% based on 9 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-tin(Swedish) MAHT-tin(Norwegian) MAH-tseen(Danish) MAR-kyin(Czech) MAWR-teen(Hungarian) mar-TIN(Bulgarian) MAHR-teen(Finnish)
Rating: 33% based on 9 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-).
Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English) MAR-ee(English)
Rating: 81% based on 7 votes
Usual English form of
Maria, the Latin form of the
New Testament Greek names
Μαριάμ (Mariam) and
Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of
Moses in the
Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including
"sea of bitterness",
"rebelliousness", and
"wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from
mry "beloved" or
mr "love".
This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.
Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.
This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.
The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.
Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 49% based on 8 votes
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
Rating: 49% based on 8 votes
English form of
Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name
מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) meaning
"gift of Yahweh", from the roots
מַתָּן (mattan) meaning "gift" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Matthew, also called
Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the
New Testament. He is considered a
saint in many Christian traditions. The variant
Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle. The name appears in the
Old Testament as
Mattithiah.
As an English name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led a delegation to Japan. A famous modern bearer is American actor Matthew McConaughey (1969-).
Matthias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ματθίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(German) MA-TYAS(French) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
From Greek
Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of
Ματθαῖος (see
Matthew). This form appears in the
New Testament as the name of the apostle chosen to replace the traitor
Judas Iscariot. This was also the name of kings of Hungary (spelled
Mátyás in Hungarian), including Matthias I who made important reforms to the kingdom in the 15th century.
Max
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan
Other Scripts: Макс(Russian)
Pronounced: MAKS(German, English, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan) MAHKS(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Short form of
Maximilian or
Maxim. In English it can also be short for
Maxwell, and it coincides with the informal word
max, short for
maximum.
Famous bearers include the German intellectual Max Weber (1864-1920) and the German physicist Max Planck (1858-1947). This name is also borne by the title character in the Mad Max series of movies, starting 1979.
Maximilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: mak-see-MEE-lee-an(German) mak-sə-MIL-yən(English)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
From the Roman name
Maximilianus, which was derived from
Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see
Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from
Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a
diminutive of
Mary,
Margaret or
Mabel.
Maya 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Other Scripts: माया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali)
Pronounced: MAH-yah(Sanskrit)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Means
"illusion, magic" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the mother of Siddhartha Gautama (the
Buddha). This is also another name of the Hindu goddess
Durga.
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Michael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: מִיכָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Μιχαήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MIE-kəl(English) MI-kha-ehl(German, Czech) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish) MEE-kah-ehl(Norwegian) mee-KA-ehl(Latin)
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning
"who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see
Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the
New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron
saint of soldiers in Christianity.
The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).
In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.
Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Mira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Other Scripts: मीरा(Hindi, Marathi) മീര(Malayalam) மீரா(Tamil) ಮೀರಾ(Kannada)
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Means
"sea, ocean" in Sanskrit. This was the name of a 16th-century Indian princess who devoted her life to the god
Krishna.
Mireille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-RAY(French)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Mary, now often used independently. It developed from
Malle and
Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel
Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Myrtle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-təl
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Simply from the English word
myrtle for the evergreen shrub, ultimately from Greek
μύρτος (myrtos). It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century
[1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-)
[2].
Naira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Aymara
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
From Aymara nayra meaning "eye" or "early".
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
נָעֳמִי (Na'omi) meaning
"pleasantness". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of
Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be
Mara because of her misfortune (see
Ruth 1:20).
Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).
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, Spanish) na-ta-LEE-a(Italian) na-TA-lee-a(Romanian) nə-TAHL-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Latinate form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Natalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NAT-ə-lee(English) NA-ta-lee(German)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant
"Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr
Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
Nathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: נָתָן(Hebrew) Ναθάν(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NAY-thən(English) NA-TAHN(French)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
נָתָן (Natan) meaning
"he gave". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a prophet during the reign of King
David. He chastised David for his adultery with
Bathsheba and for the death of
Uriah the Hittite. Later he championed
Solomon as David's successor. This was also the name of a son of David and Bathsheba.
It has been used as a Christian given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Nathan Hale (1755-1776), an American spy executed by the British during the American Revolution.
Nathanael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Ναθαναήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling
Nathanael is found in most versions of the
New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Neve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Niamh.
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 59% based on 9 votes
From the Greek name
Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
λαός (laos) meaning "people".
Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch
Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
Nikolai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Николай(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: nyi-ku-LIE(Russian)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
Nina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Нина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian) Ніна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: NYEE-nə(Russian) NEE-na(Italian, German, Slovak) NEE-nə(English) NEE-NA(French) NEE-nah(Finnish) nyi-NU(Lithuanian) NYEE-na(Polish) NI-na(Czech)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Short form of names that end in
nina, such as
Antonina or
Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).
A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).
Noa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: נוֹעָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-a(Spanish)
Rating: 32% based on 9 votes
Modern Hebrew form of
Noah 2, the daughter of
Zelophehad in the Bible. It is also the form used in several other languages, as well as the spelling used in some English versions of the
Old Testament.
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
נֹחַ (Noach) meaning
"rest, repose", derived from the root
נוּחַ (nuach). According to the
Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of
Shem,
Ham and
Japheth.
As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.
A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).
Nora 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English) NO-ra(German)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Honora or
Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play
A Doll's House (1879).
Norah 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 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: 69% based on 9 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.
Omar 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Kazakh, Malay, English, Spanish, Italian
Other Scripts: عمر(Arabic) Омар(Kazakh)
Pronounced: ‘OO-mar(Arabic) ‘O-mar(Egyptian Arabic) O-mahr(English) o-MAR(Spanish)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
عمر (see
Umar). This is the usual English spelling of the name of the 12th-century poet Umar Khayyam. In his honour it has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world, notably for the American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).
Oscar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AHS-kər(English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-KAR(French)
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Possibly means
"deer friend", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer" and
carae "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name
Osgar or its Old Norse
cognate Ásgeirr, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet
Oisín and the grandson of the hero
Fionn mac Cumhaill.
This name was popularized in continental Europe by the works of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson [1]. Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson, and he suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, who eventually became king of Sweden as Oscar I. Other notable bearers include the Irish writer and humorist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012).
Oskar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Basque
Pronounced: AWS-kar(German, Swedish, Polish) OS-kar(Basque)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Form of
Oscar in several languages. A famous bearer was Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), who is credited for saved over 1,000 Polish Jews during World War II.
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
Anglicized form of
Owain.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 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.
Patricia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, German, Late Roman
Pronounced: pə-TRISH-ə(English) pa-TREE-thya(European Spanish) pa-TREE-sya(Latin American Spanish) pa-TREE-tsya(German)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Patricius (see
Patrick). In medieval England this spelling appears in Latin documents, but this form was probably not used as the actual name until the 18th century, in Scotland
[1].
Paweł
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: PA-vew
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
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: 68% based on 10 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.
Persephone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεφόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEH-PO-NEH(Classical Greek) pər-SEHF-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 45% based on 6 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.
Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEE-tər(English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek
Πέτρος (Petros) meaning
"stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the
New Testament of the name
Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle
Simon by
Jesus (compare
Matthew 16:18 and
John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.
Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].
Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.
Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 5 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.
Philip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Pronounced: FIL-ip(English) FEE-lip(Dutch)
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
From the Greek name
Φίλιππος (Philippos) meaning
"friend of horses", composed of the elements
φίλος (philos) meaning "friend, lover" and
ἵππος (hippos) meaning "horse". This was the name of five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great. The name appears in the
New Testament belonging to two people who are regarded as
saints. First, one of the twelve apostles, and second, an early figure in the Christian church known as Philip the Deacon.
This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians, though it came to the West by the Middle Ages. It was borne by six kings of France and five kings of Spain. It was regularly used in England during the Middle Ages, although the Spanish king Philip II, who attempted an invasion of England, helped make it less common by the 17th century. It was revived in the English-speaking world in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Elizabethan courtier and poet Philip Sidney (1554-1586) and the American science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick (1928-1982).
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 67% based on 10 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Φοίβη (Phoibe), which meant
"bright, pure" from Greek
φοῖβος (phoibos). In Greek
mythology Phoibe was a Titan associated with the moon. This was also an epithet of her granddaughter, the moon goddess
Artemis. The name appears in
Paul's epistle to the Romans in the
New Testament, where it belongs to a female minister in the church at Cenchreae.
In England, it began to be used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately common in the 19th century. It began to rise in popularity again in the late 1980s, probably helped along by characters on the American television shows Friends (1994-2004) and Charmed (1998-2006). It is currently much more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand than the United States.
A moon of Saturn bears this name, in honour of the Titan.
Piper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PIE-pər
Rating: 40% based on 6 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].
Quinn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name
Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series
Glee.
Rachel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: רָחֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: RAY-chəl(English) RA-SHEHL(French) RAH-khəl(Dutch) RA-khəl(German)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
רָחֵל (Rachel) meaning
"ewe". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of
Jacob. Her father
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister
Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid
Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of
Joseph and
Benjamin.
The name was common among Jews in the Middle Ages, but it was not generally used as a Christian name in the English-speaking world until after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately popular in the first half of the 20th century, but starting in the 1960s it steadily rose, reaching highs in the 1980s and 90s. The character Rachel Green on the American sitcom Friends (1994-2004) may have only helped delay its downswing.
Notable bearers include American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), British actress Rachel Weisz (1970-), and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams (1978-).
Raffaele
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: raf-fa-EH-leh
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Raisa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Раиса(Russian) Раїса(Ukrainian) Раіса(Belarusian)
Pronounced: ru-EES-ə(Russian)
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
Probably a Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of
Herais.
Raoul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Italian
Pronounced: RA-OOL(French)
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
French form of
Radulf (see
Ralph).
Raphael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Biblical
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל, רְפָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: RA-fa-ehl(German) RAF-ee-əl(English) RAF-ay-ehl(English) rah-fie-EHL(English)
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
רָפָאֵל (Rafa'el) meaning
"God heals", from the roots
רָפָא (rafa') meaning "to heal" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named
Azarias and accompanies
Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father
Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the
New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in
John 5:4.
This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Renaissance master Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael.
Rebecca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רִבְקָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: rə-BEHK-ə(English) reh-BEHK-ka(Italian)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
רִבְקָה (Rivqah), probably from a Semitic root meaning
"join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of
Isaac and the mother of
Esau and
Jacob in the
Old Testament. It came into use as an English Christian name after the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the
Puritans in the 17th century. It has been consistently used since then, becoming especially common in the second half of the 20th century.
This name is borne by a Jewish woman in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), as well as the title character (who is deceased and unseen) in Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca (1938).
Reed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English read meaning "red", originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Unconnected, this is also the English word for tall grass-like plants that grow in marshes.
Regina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: ri-JEE-nə(English) ri-JIE-nə(English) reh-GEE-na(German, Polish) reh-JEE-na(Italian) reh-KHEE-na(Spanish) ryeh-gyi-NU(Lithuanian) REH-gi-na(Czech) REH-gee-naw(Hungarian)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means
"queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century
saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin
Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.
Reid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From a surname, a Scots variant of
Reed.
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: 51% based on 8 votes
Rhett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHT
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From a surname, an Anglicized form of the Dutch de Raedt, derived from raet "advice, counsel". Margaret Mitchell used this name for the character Rhett Butler in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936).
Riley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RIE-lee
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
From a surname that comes from two distinct sources. As an Irish surname it is a variant of
Reilly. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning
"rye clearing" in Old English.
Before 1980, this was an uncommon masculine name in America. During the 1980s and 90s this name steadily increased in popularity for both boys and girls, and from 2003 onwards it has been more common for girls in the United States. Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, it has remained largely masculine.
Riva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: רִיבָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
Rating: 62% 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".
Robert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Catalan, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Роберт(Russian)
Pronounced: RAHB-ərt(American English) RAWB-ət(British English) RAW-BEHR(French) RO-beht(Swedish) RO-behrt(German, Finnish, Czech) RO-bərt(Dutch) RAW-behrt(Polish) RO-byirt(Russian) roo-BEHRT(Catalan)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
From the Germanic name
Hrodebert meaning
"bright fame", derived from the elements
hruod "fame" and
beraht "bright". The
Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English
cognate Hreodbeorht. It has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century. In the United States it was the most popular name for boys between 1924 and 1939 (and again in 1953).
This name has been borne by two kings of the Franks, two dukes of Normandy, and three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce who restored the independence of Scotland from England in the 14th century. Several saints have also had the name, the earliest known as Saint Rupert, from an Old German variant. The author Robert Browning (1812-1889) and poets Robert Burns (1759-1796) and Robert Frost (1874-1963) are famous literary namesakes. Other bearers include Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), the commander of the Confederate army during the American Civil War, and American actors Robert Redford (1936-), Robert De Niro (1943-) and Robert Downey Jr. (1965-).
Roksana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Polish
Other Scripts: Роксана(Russian)
Pronounced: raw-KSA-na(Polish)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Russian and Polish form of
Roxana.
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
From the Late Latin name
Romanus meaning
"Roman". This name was borne by several early
saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
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: 30% based on 6 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).
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German) RO-zə-lee(English)
Rating: 89% based on 7 votes
French, German and Dutch form of
Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie
Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 76% based on 10 votes
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name
Hrodohaidis meaning
"famous type", composed of the elements
hruod "fame" and
heit "kind, sort, type". The
Normans introduced it to England in the forms
Roese and
Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower
rose (derived from Latin
rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Rating: 81% based on 7 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].
Rudy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-dee
Rating: 21% based on 7 votes
Rufus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Biblical
Pronounced: ROO-foos(Latin) ROO-fəs(English)
Rating: 19% based on 9 votes
Roman
cognomen meaning
"red-haired" in Latin. Several early
saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of
Paul's epistles in the
New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the
Protestant Reformation.
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Rating: 49% based on 8 votes
Saga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Swedish, Icelandic
Pronounced: SAH-gah(Swedish) SA-gha(Icelandic)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From Old Norse
Sága, possibly meaning
"seeing one", derived from
sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to
Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word
saga "story, fairy tale, saga".
Salma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
Other Scripts: سلمى(Arabic) سلمیٰ(Urdu) সালমা(Bengali)
Pronounced: SAL-ma(Arabic)
Rating: 23% based on 8 votes
Means
"safe", derived from Arabic
سلم (salima) meaning "to be safe".
Samantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: sə-MAN-thə(English) sa-MAN-ta(Italian)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of
Samuel, using the name suffix
antha (possibly inspired by Greek
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show
Bewitched.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
Rating: 60% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el) meaning
"name of God", from the roots
שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being
שָׁמַע (shama') meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SA-ra(Danish, Dutch) SA-rah(Arabic)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Means
"lady, princess, noblewoman" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of
Abraham's wife, considered the matriarch of the Jewish people. She was barren until she unexpectedly became pregnant with
Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally
Sarai, but God changed it at the same time Abraham's name was changed (see
Genesis 17:15).
In England, Sarah came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was consistently popular in the 20th century throughout the English-speaking world, reaching the top of the charts for England and Wales in the 1970s and 80s.
Notable bearers include Sarah Churchill (1660-1744), an influential British duchess and a close friend of Queen Anne, and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelat)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Selene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Σελήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-LEH-NEH(Classical Greek) si-LEE-nee(English)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Means
"moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess
Artemis.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin
serenus meaning
"clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early
saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).
Seth 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: שֵׁת(Ancient Hebrew) Σήθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Shaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: שיינאַ(Yiddish)
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Simeon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Bulgarian, Serbian
Other Scripts: שִׁמְעוֹן(Ancient Hebrew) Симеон(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: SIM-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
From
Συμεών (Symeon), the
Old Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
Shim'on (see
Simon 1). In the Old Testament this is the name of the second son of
Jacob and
Leah and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the
New Testament the Greek rendering
Σίμων (Simon) is more common, though
Συμεών occurs belonging to a man who blessed the newborn
Jesus. He is recognized as a
saint in most Christian traditions.
This name was also borne by a powerful 10th-century ruler of Bulgaria who expanded the empire to its greatest extent.
Simon 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Симон(Macedonian) სიმონ(Georgian) Σίμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-mən(English) SEE-MAWN(French) SEE-mawn(Danish, Dutch, Macedonian) ZEE-mawn(German) SHEE-mon(Hungarian)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
From
Σίμων (Simon), the
New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁמְעוֹן (Shim'on) meaning
"hearing, listening", derived from
שָׁמַע (shama') meaning "to hear, to listen". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the
Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
Simon 2.
In the New Testament Simon is the name of several characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Most importantly however it was borne by the leading apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus).
Because of the apostle, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became more rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Skye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of
Sky.
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Sophie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: SAW-FEE(French) SO-fee(English) zo-FEE(German) so-FEE(Dutch)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Sören
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, German
Pronounced: SUU-rehn(Swedish) ZUU-rən(German)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Swedish and German form of
Søren.
Spencer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SPEHN-sər
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English)
Rating: 51% based on 7 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.
Susan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SOO-zən
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
English variant of
Susanna. This has been most common spelling since the 18th century. It was especially popular both in the United States and the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1960s. A notable bearer was the American feminist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906).
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: 62% based on 9 votes
From
Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshannah). This was derived from the Hebrew word
שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning
"lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means
"rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian
sšn "lotus". In the
Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet
Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the
New Testament belonging to a woman who ministers to
Jesus.
As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Means
"gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the
New Testament was a woman restored to life by
Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as
Dorcas (see
Acts 9:36). As an English name,
Tabitha became common after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show
Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Taddeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Rating: 11% based on 9 votes
Talia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Means
"dew from God" in Hebrew, from
טַל (tal) meaning "dew" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God.
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Talya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Tamara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Тамара(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian) თამარა(Georgian)
Pronounced: tu-MA-rə(Russian) TA-ma-ra(Czech, Slovak) ta-MA-ra(Polish, Spanish, Italian) TAW-maw-raw(Hungarian) tə-MAR-ə(English) tə-MAHR-ə(English) TAM-ə-rə(English) tu-mu-RU(Lithuanian) TA-MAR(Georgian)
Rating: 23% based on 8 votes
Russian form of
Tamar. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It rapidly grew in popularity in the United States starting in 1957. Another famous bearer was the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).
Teresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Polish, Lithuanian, Finnish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English
Pronounced: teh-REH-sa(Spanish, Polish) teh-REH-za(Italian, German) tə-REH-zə(Catalan) tyeh-ryeh-SU(Lithuanian) TEH-reh-sah(Finnish) tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Form of
Theresa used in several languages.
Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish nun who reformed the Carmelite monasteries and wrote several spiritual books. It was also borne by the Albanian missionary Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor in India. She adopted the name in honour of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the patron of missionaries.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Theo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: THEE-o(English) TEH-o(German) TEH-yo(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Theodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: thee-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 71% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of
Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name
Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
θεός (theos) meaning "god" and
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name
Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several
saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.
This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).
Theodosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδοσία(Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-O-DO-SEE-A(Classical Greek) thee-ə-DO-see-ə(English) thee-ə-DO-shə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAS(Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 8 votes
Greek form of the Aramaic name
תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma') meaning
"twin". In the
New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that
Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.
In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.
Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).
Thor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: THAWR(English) TOOR(Norwegian, Swedish) TOR(Danish)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From the Old Norse
Þórr meaning
"thunder", ultimately from Proto-Germanic *
Þunraz. In Norse
mythology Thor is a god of storms, thunder, war and strength, a son of
Odin. He is portrayed as red-bearded, short-tempered, armed with a powerful hammer called Mjölnir, and wearing an enchanted belt called Megingjörð that doubles his strength. During Ragnarök, the final battle at the end of the world, it is foretold that Thor will slay the monstrous sea serpent
Jörmungandr but be fatally poisoned by its venom.
Tia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEE-ə
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Short form of names ending with
tia. It has been suggested that its use since the 1950s is the result of the brand name for the coffee liqueur Tia Maria
[1]. In the brand name,
Tia is not a given name; rather, it means "aunt" in Spanish or Portuguese.
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Greek form of
Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the
Old Testament. It relates how
Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel
Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the
Protestant Reformation.
Tomasz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: TAW-mash
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Tyler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIE-lər
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From an English surname meaning "tiler of roofs", derived from Old English tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
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 7 votes
Feminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, 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: 53% based on 9 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.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Means
"victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from North Africa.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
Vincent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak
Pronounced: VIN-sənt(English, Dutch) VEHN-SAHN(French) VEEN-tsent(Slovak)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
From the Roman name
Vincentius, which was derived from Latin
vincere meaning
"to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many
saints. As an English name,
Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
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: 33% based on 9 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: 76% based on 11 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: 42% based on 10 votes
Italian, Russian and Hungarian form of
Violet.
Walter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: WAWL-tər(English) VAL-tu(German) VAL-tehr(Swedish, Italian)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
From the Germanic name
Waltheri meaning
"power of the army", from the elements
walt "power, authority" and
heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably
Waltharius by Ekkehard of
Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The
Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Wealdhere.
A famous bearer of the name was the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). It was also borne by Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish novelist who wrote Ivanhoe and other notable works.
Will
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL
Rating: 64% based on 9 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.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 71% based on 10 votes
From the Germanic name
Willehelm meaning
"will helmet", composed of the elements
willo "will, desire" and
helm "helmet, protection". An early
saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of
Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the
Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with
John,
Thomas and
Robert).
This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).
In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(English) ig-ZAY-vyər(English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Derived from the Basque place name
Etxeberria meaning
"the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest
Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Zahra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء, زهرة(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic) ZAH-rah(Arabic)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
From Arabic
زهراء (zahra), the feminine form of
أزهر (azhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatimah.
It can also be an alternate transcription of Arabic زهرة (see Zahrah), a name derived from a related root.
Zain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زين(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIEN
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
زين (see
Zayn).
Zia
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ضياء(Arabic)
Pronounced: dee-YA
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
ضياء (see
Ziya).
Zina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Зина(Russian)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Zofia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ZAW-fya
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
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