Niiv's Personal Name List

Variant of Alice.

Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי ('ari) meaning "lion" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).

From the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.

Form of Charmion used by Shakespeare in his play Antony and Cleopatra (1606).

Derived from Gaulish epos meaning "horse" with the divine or augmentative suffix -on. This was the name of a Gaulish goddess of horses and fertility. She was worshipped not only in Gaul, but elsewhere in the Roman Empire.

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.

Variant of Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word isla meaning "island".

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.

French feminine form of Louis.

English form of Noël or Noëlle (rarely). It was fairly popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in the middle of the 20th century. It is occasionally written with a diaeresis, like in French. A famous bearer is British musician Noel Gallagher (1967-).

Short form of Honora or Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play A Doll's House (1879).

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.

From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name Gwynedd [1]. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel Venetia (1837).