Behind the Name: arieleden's Personal Name List

Golda

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Yiddish

Other Scripts: גאָלדאַ, גאָלדע(Yiddish) גּוֹלְדָּה(Hebrew)

From Yiddish גאָלד (gold) meaning "gold". This is the name of Tevye's wife in the musical Fiddler on the Roof (1964). It was also borne by the Israeli prime minister Golda Meir (1898-1978).

Philomena

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)

Other Scripts: Φιλουμένη(Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-nə(English)

From Greek Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning "to be loved", an inflection of φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word φιλουμένη, not a name.

Zenobia

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Ancient Greek [1]

Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)

Means "life of Zeus", derived from Greek Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of Zeus" and βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.

Zinnia

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English (Rare)

Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə

From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.

Zoya

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian

Other Scripts: Зоя(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian)

Pronounced: ZO-yə(Russian)

Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Bulgarian form of Zoe.