Vela's Personal Name List
Adah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עָדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-də(English)
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Means
"adornment, ornament" in Hebrew. This was the name of the wives of both
Lamech and
Esau in the
Old Testament.
Adair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-DEHR
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Edgar.
Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
Adeliza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English, Old Swedish
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Medieval English and Old Swedish form of
Adelais. The second wife of Henry I of England bore this name.
Ailsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AYL-sə(English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From Ailsa Craig, the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland, which is of uncertain derivation.
Albert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, French, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Albanian, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Альберт(Russian)
Pronounced: AL-bərt(English) AL-behrt(German, Polish) AL-BEHR(French) əl-BEHRT(Catalan) ul-BYEHRT(Russian) AHL-bərt(Dutch) AL-bat(Swedish) AWL-behrt(Hungarian)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the Germanic name
Adalbert meaning
"noble and bright", composed of the elements
adal "noble" and
beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Æþelbeorht. Though it became rare in England by the 17th century, it was repopularized in the 19th century by the German-born Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
This name was borne by two 20th-century kings of Belgium. Other famous bearers include the German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), creator of the theory of relativity, and Albert Camus (1913-1960), a French-Algerian writer and philosopher.
Aleida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: a-LAY-da
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Alessandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dra
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 73% based on 3 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.
Alexis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French, English, Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Αλέξης(Greek) Ἄλεξις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SEE(French) ə-LEHK-sis(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning
"helper" or
"defender", derived from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several
saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name
Ἀλέξιος or
Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors.
In the English-speaking world this name is more commonly given to girls. This is due to the American actress Alexis Smith (1921-1993), who began appearing in movies in the early 1940s. It got a boost in popularity in the 1980s from a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Aliona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Алёна(Russian) Альона(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: u-LYUY-nə(Russian)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Amarantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek
ἀμάραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading".
Ἀμάραντος (Amarantos) was also an Ancient Greek given name.
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amarysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αμαρυσια(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
An epithet or title of the Greek goddess
Artemis meaning "of Amarynthus", Amarynthus being a town in Euboea (according to Stephanus of Byzantium, Euboea itself). The place name may be related to the Greek personal name
Amarantos (see
Amarantha). Under the surname Amarysia or
Amarynthia, Artemis was worshipped in Amarynthus and also in Attica.
Amice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Medieval name derived from Latin amicus meaning "friend". This was a popular name in the Middle Ages, though it has since become uncommon.
Amicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English (Latinized)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of
Anne 1 or
Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera
Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant
Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as
Anaitis or
Athénaïs.
A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.
Angus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ANG-gəs(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Annika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, German, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AN-ni-ka(Swedish) AH-nee-ka(Dutch) AHN-nee-kah(Finnish) A-nee-ka(German) AN-i-kə(English) AHN-i-kə(English)
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of
Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin
orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.
Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron
saint of Lucena, Spain.
Arianwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: ar-YAN-wehn
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Derived from Welsh
arian "silver" and
gwen "white, blessed". This was the name of a 5th-century Welsh
saint, one of the supposed daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Ariel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֲרִיאֵל(Hebrew) Ἀριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-ree-EHL(Hebrew) EHR-ee-əl(English) AR-ee-əl(English) A-RYEHL(French) a-RYEHL(Spanish) A-ryehl(Polish)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
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).
Ariela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Albanian, Croatian, Italian (Rare), Polish
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Hebrew variant of
Ariella, Polish feminine form of
Ariel, Italian feminine form of
Ariele as well as a Croatian and Albanian borrowing of the Italian name.
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: 60% based on 3 votes
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *
artos "bear" (Old Welsh
arth) combined with *
wiros "man" (Old Welsh
gur) or *
rīxs "king" (Old Welsh
ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name
Artorius.
Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.
The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew. Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Atarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֲטָרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AT-ə-rə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"crown" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament Atarah is a minor character, the wife of Jerahmeel.
Augustin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Romanian, Czech, German (Rare)
Pronounced: O-GUYS-TEHN(French)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Form of
Augustinus (see
Augustine 1) in several languages.
Augustine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-gə-steen, aw-GUS-tin
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the Roman name
Augustinus, itself derived from the Roman name
Augustus.
Saint Augustine of Hippo was a 5th-century Christian theologian and author from North Africa. For his contributions to Christian philosophy he is known as a Doctor of the Church. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world. It became popular in England in the Middle Ages partly because of a second saint by this name, Augustine of Canterbury, a 6th-century Italian monk sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons.
Aurea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Late Latin name that was derived from
aureus "golden". This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint from Ostia (near Rome), as well as an 11th-century Spanish saint.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Avdotya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Авдотья(Russian)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Ayla 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֵלָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew
אֵלָה (see
Ela 3).
Barnaby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: BAH-nə-bee(British English) BAHR-nə-bee(American English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
English form of
Barnabas, originally a medieval vernacular form.
Bảy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Vietnamese
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Means "seven" in Vietnamese.
Bay
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Medieval English, English
Pronounced: BAY(Middle English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the Middle English personal name
Baye, from Old English
Beaga (masculine) or
Beage (feminine).
A diminutive of Baylee, or any name containing the element or sound -bay-.
May also be given in reference to the English word "bay," from the Middle English baye, from the Old English beġ 'berry', as in beġbēam 'berry-tree'.
Beckett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHK-it
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".
Bella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL-ə
Rating: 55% based on 2 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.
Belle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Isabella or names ending in
belle. It is also associated with the French word
belle meaning "beautiful". A famous bearer was Belle Starr (1848-1889), an outlaw of the American west, whose real given name was Maybelle.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
From the Late Latin name
Benedictus, which meant
"blessed".
Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Bertram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BUR-trəm(English) BEHR-tram(German)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means
"bright raven", derived from the Old German element
beraht "bright" combined with
hram "raven". This name has long been conflated with
Bertrand. The
Normans introduced it to England, and Shakespeare used it in his play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Bethia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Latin, Scottish, English
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Form of
Bithiah used in some versions of the Old Testament, including the Douay-Rheims Bible. This name was popular in Scotland from the 17th century as an Anglicised form of Gaelic
Beathag. It has occasionally been used as a Latinized form of
Beth (a short form of
Elizabeth).
Bijou
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French (African)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Means "jewel" in French. It is mostly used in French-speaking Africa.
Blaine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYN
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name
Bláán.
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Most likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog". An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כָּל (kal) meaning "whole, all of" and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart". In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by
Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and
Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.
As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.
Calista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese (Rare), Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-tə(English) ka-LEES-ta(Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Callistus. As an English name it might also be a variant of
Kallisto.
Calixta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese (Rare)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of
Calixtus.
Callisto 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: kal-LEE-sto
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Callisto 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιστώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-to(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of
Kallisto. A moon of Jupiter bears this name.
Calluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From the genus name of common heather, a flowering shrub. It comes from the Greek verb καλλύνω
(kalluno) meaning "to beautify, sweep clean", ultimately from καλός
(kalos) "beautiful".
Carissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kə-RIS-ə
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KAHR-is
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Celesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-LEST-ə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Latinization of
Celeste. In some cases it might also be considered a contracted form of
Celestina.
Céleste
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-LEST
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
French feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis.
Celeste
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Celestina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: theh-lehs-TEE-na(European Spanish) seh-lehs-TEE-na(Latin American Spanish) cheh-leh-STEE-na(Italian)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Célestine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-LEHS-TEEN
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Celestine
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHL-ə-steen
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
English form of
Caelestinus. It is more commonly used as a feminine name, from the French feminine form
Célestine.
Cerys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Claribel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHR-ə-behl, KLAR-ə-behl
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Combination of
Clara and the common name suffix
bel, from Latin
bella "beautiful". This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590; in the form
Claribell) and by Shakespeare in his play
The Tempest (1611). Alfred Tennyson also wrote a poem entitled
Claribel (1830).
Clarissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian
Pronounced: klə-RIS-ə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Latinate form of
Clarice. This is the name of the title character in a 1748 novel by Samuel Richardson. In the novel Clarissa Harlowe is a virtuous woman who is tragically exploited by her family and her lover. Another literary character by this name is Clarissa Dalloway from the novel
Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf.
Clémentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN-TEEN
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
French feminine form of
Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From
Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles
[1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King
Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of
Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.
The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Form of
Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play
Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
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: 70% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).
David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew
דּוֹד (dod) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the
Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the
New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.
Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).
Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Irish
Deaglán, Old Irish
Declán, which is of unknown meaning.
Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.
In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From the Late Latin name
Dominicus meaning
"of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several
saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It is primarily used by Catholics.
Dougal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name
Dubhghall meaning
"dark stranger", from Old Irish
dub "dark" and
gall "stranger". This name was borne by a few medieval Scottish chiefs.
Douglas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUG-ləs
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From a Scottish surname that was from the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water. It means "dark river", derived from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period. The Gaelic form is Dùghlas or Dùbhghlas. It has been used as a given name since the 16th century.
Edgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, German
Pronounced: EHD-gər(English) EHD-GAR(French)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, Edgar the Peaceful. The name did not survive long after the
Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Walter Scott's novel
The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), which tells of the tragic love between Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton
[1]. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).
Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Rating: 68% based on 4 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.
Ekaterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian
Other Scripts: Екатерина(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian)
Pronounced: yi-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian) i-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Eliana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: eh-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish) ehl-lee-AN-ə(English) ehl-lee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Éliane.
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: 27% based on 3 votes
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament.
Eliezer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֱלִיעֶזֶר(Hebrew) Ἐλιέζερ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ehl-ee-EHZ-ər(English) ehl-ee-EE-zər(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From Hebrew
אֱלִיעֶזֶר ('Eli'ezer) meaning
"my God is help". This is the name of several characters in the
Old Testament, including a servant of
Abraham and one of the sons of
Moses (see
Exodus 18:4 for an explanation of the significance of the name).
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 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.
Eliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 17% based on 3 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: 27% based on 3 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).
Elliot
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
Rating: 88% based on 4 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Elliott.
Ellis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: EHL-is(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Elis, a medieval vernacular form of
Elias. This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Welsh
Elisedd.
Elysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ee-ə(English) i-LIS-ee-ə(English) i-LEE-zhə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From
Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman
mythology, which means
"blissful".
Erica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Italian
Pronounced: EHR-i-kə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Eric. It was first used in the 18th century. It also coincides with the Latin word for
"heather".
Eseld
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Eugenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐγένεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-JEH-nya(Italian) ew-KHEH-nya(Spanish) eh-oo-JEH-nee-a(Romanian) ew-GEH-nya(Polish) yoo-JEE-nee-ə(English) yoo-JEEN-yə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Eugenius (see
Eugene). It was borne by a semi-legendary 3rd-century
saint who escaped persecution by disguising herself as a man. The name was occasionally found in England during the Middle Ages, but it was not regularly used until the 19th century.
Evaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
In Arthurian tales, Evaine is the sister of Lancelot's mother
Elaine, wife of King Bors of Gaul and mother of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors the Younger. Her character first appears in the Old French prose
Lancelot of the Lake (c.1215–20), which was incorporated into the Vulgate
Lancelot.
The name suffix -vain appears in this and other Arthurian names such as Yvain and Agravain.
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-VAN-dər(English) ə-VAN-dər(English)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning
"good of man", derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Roman
mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 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.
Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Everard.
Evgenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Ευγενία(Greek) Евгения(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: yiv-GYEH-nyi-yə(Russian) iv-GYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Evie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-vee, EHV-ee
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yechezqel) meaning
"God will strengthen", from the roots
חָזַק (chazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name,
Ezekiel has been used since the
Protestant Reformation.
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: 60% based on 4 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).
Feya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FAY-uh
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Variant of the Scottish name
Fia.
It is given a different pronunciation in order to differentiate it from the sound of the word "fear" as said in an Australian accent, and also because Fia is sometimes interpreted as "dark fairy" - hence "fey".
It can therefore also be seen as a a variant of Fay.
Finlay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: FIN-lee(English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of
Fionnlagh. This spelling is more common in Scotland, though in England and Wales the variant
Finley has been more popular since 2007.
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Derived from Old Irish
finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish
saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Means
"flower" in French.
Saint Fleur of Issendolus (
Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels
The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Flóra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: FLO-raw
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Florá
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Florentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: flo-rehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname
Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie
Tangled in 2010.
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Italian and Catalan feminine form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
Rating: 47% based on 3 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: 55% based on 4 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.
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Gilbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: GIL-bərt(English) ZHEEL-BEHR(French) GHIL-bərt(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Means
"bright pledge", derived from the Old German elements
gisal "pledge, hostage" and
beraht "bright". The
Normans introduced this name to England, where it was common during the Middle Ages. It was borne by a 12th-century English
saint, the founder of the religious order known as the Gilbertines.
Grant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GRANT(English)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
From an English and Scottish surname that was derived from Norman French grand meaning "great, large". A famous bearer of the surname was Ulysses Grant (1822-1885), the commander of the Union forces during the American Civil War who later served as president. In America the name has often been given in his honour.
Gregor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Scottish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: GREH-go(German) GREH-gawr(Slovak)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
German, Scottish, Slovak and Slovene form of
Gregorius (see
Gregory). A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
From the Norman French form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar meaning
"white phantom", ultimately from the old Celtic roots *
windos meaning "white" (modern Welsh
gwen) and *
sēbros meaning "phantom, magical being"
[1]. In Arthurian legend she was the beautiful wife of King
Arthur. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, she was seduced by
Mordred before the battle of Camlann, which led to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur. According to the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, she engaged in an adulterous affair with Sir
Lancelot.
The Cornish form of this name, Jennifer, has become popular in the English-speaking world.
Gus 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GUS
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From Welsh
gwen, the feminine form of
gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of
Gwendolen,
Gwenllian and other names beginning with
Gwen.
Hector
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Arthurian Cycle
Other Scripts: Ἕκτωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHK-tər(English) EHK-TAWR(French)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Ἕκτωρ (Hektor), which was derived from
ἕκτωρ (hektor) meaning
"holding fast", ultimately from
ἔχω (echo) meaning "to hold, to possess". In Greek legend Hector was one of the Trojan champions who fought against the Greeks. After he killed
Achilles' friend
Patroclus in battle, he was himself brutally slain by Achilles, who proceeded to tie his dead body to a chariot and drag it about. This name also appears in Arthurian legends where it belongs to King
Arthur's foster father.
Hector has occasionally been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, probably because of the noble character of the classical hero. It has been historically common in Scotland, where it was used as an Anglicized form of Eachann.
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Old German form of
Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and
Les Misérables.
Idony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Medieval English vernacular form of
Idonea.
Ilaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Inessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Инесса(Russian) Інесса(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: i-NEHS-sə(Russian)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Russian and Ukrainian form of
Inés.
Iseult
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-SOOLT(English) i-ZOOLT(English) EE-ZUU(French)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
The origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, from a hypothetical name like *
Ishild, composed of the elements
is "ice" and
hilt "battle".
According to tales first recorded in Old French in the 12th century, Yseut or Ysolt was an Irish princess betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. After accidentally drinking a love potion, she became the lover of his nephew Tristan. Their tragic story, which was set in the Arthurian world, was popular during the Middle Ages and the name became relatively common in England at that time. It was rare by the 19th century, though some interest was generated by Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).
Isidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese (Rare), Italian (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Исидора(Serbian, Russian) Ἰσιδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-see-DHO-ra(Spanish) ee-zee-DAW-ra(Italian) iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian
saint and hermitess.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
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: 43% based on 4 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.
Ivar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian
Pronounced: EE-var(Swedish) EE-vahr(Norwegian)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Scandinavian form of
Ivor.
Ivo 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Czech, Italian, Portuguese, Estonian, Latvian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EE-vo(German, Dutch, Italian) EE-fo(German) I-vo(Czech) EE-voo(Portuguese)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Germanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the element
iwa meaning
"yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a
cognate Celtic element
[2]. This was the name of
saints (who are also commonly known as Saint
Yves or
Ives), hailing from Cornwall, France, and Brittany.
Ivo 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Иво(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: EE-vo(Serbian, Croatian)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Jacob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יַעֲקֹב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-kəb(English) YA-kawp(Dutch) YAH-kawp(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
From the Latin
Iacob, which was from the Greek
Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name
יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov). In the
Old Testament Jacob (later called
Israel) is the son of
Isaac and
Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother
Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning
"holder of the heel" or
"supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see
Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like
יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning
"may God protect".
The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.
In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages [1], though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.
A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 88% based on 4 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.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 4 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.
Jedidah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְדִידָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jə-DIE-də(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From Hebrew
יָדִיד (yadid) meaning
"beloved, friend". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the wife of King Amon of Judah and the mother of
Josiah.
Jessamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEHS-ə-min
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From a variant spelling of the English word
jasmine (see
Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.
Jessamy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romani
Pronounced: JEH-sə-mi(English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
While in modern times this name is sometimes considered a blend of
Jessa and
Amy, it is actually an old form of
Jasmine which was used from the late 1700s onwards.
Jonas 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: YO-nus
Rating: 53% based on 4 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: 55% based on 4 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: 80% based on 4 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: 70% based on 4 votes
Joshua
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHSH-oo-ə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshu'a) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and
יָשַׁע (yasha') meaning "to save". As told in the
Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of
Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was
Hoshea.
The name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshu'a), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 92% based on 5 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.
Kallisto
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Καλλιστώ(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Derived from Greek
κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning
"most beautiful", a derivative of
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek
mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by
Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by
Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.
Keir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Kerr.
Kerr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from a word meaning "thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.
Kezia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-ZIE-ə(English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Ksenya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Pronounced: KSYE-nya
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Larisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovene, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Лариса(Russian, Ukrainian) Λάρισα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lu-RYEE-sə(Russian) lu-ryi-SU(Lithuanian)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Possibly derived from the name of the ancient city of Larisa in Thessaly, which meant
"citadel". In Greek legends, the nymph Larisa was either a daughter or mother of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the mythical Pelasgians. This name was later borne by a 4th-century Greek martyr who is venerated as a
saint in the Eastern Church. The name (of the city, nymph and saint) is commonly Latinized as
Larissa, with a double
s. As a Ukrainian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Larysa.
Larissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Portuguese (Brazilian), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λάρισα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lə-RIS-ə(English) la-RI-sa(German)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Larisa. It has been commonly used as an English given name only since the 20th century, as a borrowing from Russian. In 1991 this name was given to one of the moons of Neptune, in honour of the mythological character.
László
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: LAS-lo
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Hungarian form of
Vladislav.
Saint László was an 11th-century king of Hungary, looked upon as the embodiment of Christian virtue and bravery.
Laudine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Possibly a derivative of
Lot 2 (or derived from the same place name). It was used by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for a character in his romance
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion. Also called the Lady of the Fountain, Laudine married
Yvain after he killed her husband.
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(English)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Leilani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Leinani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means "beautiful child" from Hawaiian lei "wreath" (by extension "child", carried on the shoulders like a lei) and nani "beauty". This name was popular in Hawaii from 1900-1939.
Leviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon (Latinized)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Lewis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-is
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Medieval English form of
Louis. A famous bearer was Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the author of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This was also the surname of C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), the author of the
Chronicles of Narnia series.
Líadan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: LYEE-dən
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Possibly from Old Irish
líath meaning
"grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century
saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.
Lilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лилия(Russian) Лілія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LEE-lya(Spanish) LYEE-lyi-yə(Russian)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Italian form of
Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Лилия or Ukrainian
Лілія (see
Liliya).
Liliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, English
Pronounced: lee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) lil-ee-AN-ə(English) lil-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Lilias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Form of
Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century
[1].
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Livia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIV-ee-ə
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Liviya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Ливия(Bulgarian, Russian) Лівія(Ukrainian)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian form of
Livia 1.
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 25% based on 2 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.
Lota
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovene, Estonian
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Croatian and Slovene form and Estonian variant of
Lotta.
Lotus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LO-təs
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From the name of the lotus flower (species Nelumbo nucifera) or the mythological lotus tree. They are ultimately derived from Greek
λωτός (lotos). In Greek and Roman
mythology the lotus tree was said to produce a fruit causing sleepiness and forgetfulness.
Louis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: LWEE(French) LOO-is(English) LOO-ee(English) loo-EE(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 3 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).
Lowenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Latin form of Greek
Λουκᾶς (see
Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.
This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 87% based on 3 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.
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Means
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the
Protestant Reformation.
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Rating: 57% based on 3 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.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name
מַלְאָכִי (Mal'akhi) meaning
"my messenger" or
"my angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Máel Coluim, which means
"disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing
Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father
Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy
Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Mariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Мариана, Марияна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: mu-ree-U-nu(European Portuguese) ma-ree-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ma-RYA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Roman feminine form of
Marianus. After the classical era it was frequently interpreted as a combination of
Maria and
Ana. In Portuguese it is further used as a form of
Mariamne.
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: 27% based on 3 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-).
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 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: 58% based on 4 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: 48% based on 4 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.
Maxim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech
Other Scripts: Максим(Russian, Ukrainian) Максім(Belarusian)
Pronounced: muk-SYEEM(Russian) MAK-sim(Czech)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Maximus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: MAK-see-moos
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Roman family name that was derived from Latin
maximus "greatest".
Saint Maximus was a monk and theologian from Constantinople in the 7th century.
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].
Melesina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps a form of
Millicent. It was borne by the Irish writer and socialite Melesina Trench (1768-1827).
Melica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Iranian
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Mélisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
French form of
Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play
Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).
Melusina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare, Archaic), English (Rare), Provençal (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Melusine. This was the name of Petronilla Melusina von der Schulenburg (1693-1778), an illegitimate daughter of George I of Great Britain.
Melusine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mythology
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Meaning unknown. In European folklore Melusine was a water fairy who turned into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She made her husband, Raymond of Poitou, promise that he would never see her on that day, and when he broke his word she left him forever.
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: 50% based on 2 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-).
Mimosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French, Spanish, Danish, Filipino, Italian
Pronounced: MI-maw-sah(Finnish) Mim-osa(French) mee-MO-sah(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From Mimosa, a genus of plants that are sensitive to touch. The best known plant from that genus is the Mimosa pudica, better known in English as the touch-me-not. The plant genus derives its name from Spanish mimosa, which is the feminine form of the Spanish adjective mimoso meaning "cuddly".
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Mireya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Morrígan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Means either
"demon queen" or
"great queen", derived from Old Irish
mor "demon, evil spirit" or
mór "great, big" combined with
rígain "queen". In Irish
mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.
Morven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: MAWR-vehn
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the name of a region in western Scotland, also called Morvern or in Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne, meaning "the big gap". This is the location of Fingal's kingdom in James Macpherson's 18th-century poems.
Morvoren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: mor-VOR-ən
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Derived from Cornish morvoren "mermaid" (ultimately from Cornish mor "sea" and moren "maiden"). This was the bardic name or pseudonym of a member of the Gorsedh Kernow (Katherine Lee Jenner, 1904). It is also associated with the mermaid of Zennor, which is the subject of Cornish folklore (perhaps due to its use by Cornishman Philip Cannon, 1929-, in his two-act opera 'Morvoren', 1964). In Britain, this has been used as a given name at least 11 times.
Myles 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Natalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Ναταλία(Greek) ნატალია(Georgian) Наталия(Russian, Bulgarian) Наталія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: na-TA-lya(Polish, Spanish) na-ta-LEE-a(Italian) na-TA-lee-a(Romanian) nə-TAHL-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Latinate form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 80% based on 4 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.
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 80% based on 3 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.
Nieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Oksana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Оксана(Ukrainian, Russian)
Pronounced: uk-SA-nə(Russian)
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Olesia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Олеся(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: oh-LESS-yah
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Variant transcription of
Olesya.
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: 87% based on 3 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.
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: 50% based on 3 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).
Parisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پریسا(Persian)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means
"like a fairy" in Persian, derived from
پری (pari) meaning "fairy, sprite, supernatural being".
Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
From the Latin name
Patricius, which meant
"nobleman". This name was adopted in the 5th-century by
Saint Patrick, whose birth name was Sucat. He was a Romanized Briton who was captured and enslaved in his youth by Irish raiders. After six years of servitude he escaped home, but he eventually became a bishop and went back to Ireland as a missionary. He is traditionally credited with Christianizing the island, and is regarded as Ireland's patron saint. He is called
Pádraig in Irish.
In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.
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: 63% based on 3 votes
Probably derived from Greek
πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from
πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of the wife of
Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.
It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.
Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEE-tər(English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Rating: 55% based on 2 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.
Phineas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פִּינְחָס(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
French form of the Roman name
Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The
Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Quinton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN-tən
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Quentin, also coinciding with an English surname meaning "queen's town" in Old English.
Rafe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAYF
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Ralph. This form became common during the 17th century, reflecting the usual pronunciation.
Ralph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish
Pronounced: RALF(English, German) RAYF(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Contracted form of the Old Norse name
Ráðúlfr (or its Norman form
Radulf). Scandinavian settlers introduced it to England before the
Norman Conquest, though afterwards it was bolstered by Norman influence. In the Middle Ages it was variously spelled
Rauf,
Rafe or
Ralf reflecting the usual pronunciation. The
Ralph spelling became more common in the 18th century. A famous bearer of the name was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel
Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means
"behold, a son" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament he is the eldest son of
Jacob and
Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine
Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the
Protestant Reformation.
Rex
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHKS
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From Latin rex meaning "king". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Roderick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish, Welsh
Pronounced: RAHD-ə-rik(English) RAHD-rik(English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means
"famous ruler" from the Old German elements
hruod "fame" and
rih "ruler, king". This name was in use among the Visigoths; it was borne by their last king (Gothic form *
Hroþireiks, also known by the Spanish form
Rodrigo), who died fighting the Muslim invaders of Spain in the 8th century. It also had cognates in Old Norse and West Germanic, and Scandinavian settlers and
Normans introduced it to England, though it died out after the Middle Ages. It was revived in the English-speaking world by Walter Scott's 1811 poem
The Vision of Don Roderick [1].
This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Scottish Ruaridh or Welsh Rhydderch.
Rohese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Rohesia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English (Latinized)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of the medieval name
Rohese (see
Rose).
Roksana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Polish
Other Scripts: Роксана(Russian)
Pronounced: raw-KSA-na(Polish)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Russian and Polish form of
Roxana.
Ronald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: RAHN-əld(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Scottish form of
Ragnvaldr, a name introduced to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders. It became popular outside Scotland during the 20th century. A famous bearer was the American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). It is also associated with Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot for the McDonald's chain of restaurants, first appearing in 1963.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 67% based on 3 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-).
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hros meaning "horse" and
lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The
Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase
rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy
As You Like It (1599).
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Rufus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Biblical
Pronounced: ROO-foos(Latin) ROO-fəs(English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 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.
Rupert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: ROO-pehrt(German) ROO-pərt(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
German variant form of
Robert, from the Old German variant
Hrodperht. It was borne by the 7th century
Saint Rupert of Salzburg and the 8th-century Saint Rupert of Bingen. The military commander Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a nephew of Charles I, introduced this name to England in the 17th century. A notable bearer is the Australian-American businessman Rupert Murdoch (1931-).
Sabina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Сабина(Russian)
Pronounced: sa-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) SA-bi-na(Czech)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Sabinus, a Roman
cognomen meaning
"a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early
saints.
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
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: 63% based on 3 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).
Sarai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew, Spanish
Other Scripts: שָׂרָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEHR-ie(English) sə-RIE(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Seda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Means "voice, echo" in Turkish.
Seda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Seffora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Latin
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Sepphora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Σεπφώρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Sirena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Derived from Spanish sirena "mermaid". The Spanish dramatist Jacinto Benavente used this name in his play 'Los intereses creados' (1907), where it belongs to a poor widow and matchmaker called Doña Sirena.
Sirène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Belgian, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Sirona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Celtic Mythology, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: si-RO-na(Celtic Mythology)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
The name of a Celtic goddess mainly worshipped in middle Europe and the region of the Danube. She was associated with healing, wolves, and children.
The name comes from a combination of Gaulish roots - ser- or ster- meaning "star" (cognate with the first element in Welsh Seren) plus the -ona termination common to the names of female deities (as in Epona, Angerona.)
The Gaulish goddess of astronomy, and goddess of the Mosel Valley.
Solomon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Jewish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: שְׁלֹמֹה(Hebrew) Σολομών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAHL-ə-mən(American English) SAWL-ə-mən(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name
שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomoh), which was derived from Hebrew
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". As told in the
Old Testament, Solomon was a king of Israel, the son of
David and
Bathsheba. He was renowned for his wisdom and wealth. Towards the end of his reign he angered God by turning to idolatry. Supposedly, he was the author of the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.
This name has never been overly common in the Christian world, and it is considered typically Jewish. It was however borne by an 11th-century Hungarian king.
Sorley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: SAWR-lee(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Thaddeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Θαδδαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-əs(English) tha-DEE-əs(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From
Θαδδαῖος (Thaddaios), the Greek form of the Aramaic name
Thaddai. It is possibly derived from a word meaning
"heart", but it may in fact be an Aramaic form of a Greek name such as
Θεόδωρος (see
Theodore). In the Gospel of Matthew, Thaddaeus is listed as one of the twelve apostles, though elsewhere in the
New Testament his name is omitted and
Jude's appears instead. It is likely that the two names refer to the same person.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 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).
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr
Rating: 67% based on 3 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).
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: 67% based on 3 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.
Varvara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Greek, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Варвара(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαρβάρα(Greek)
Pronounced: vur-VA-rə(Russian)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Russian, Greek, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of
Barbara.
Viviane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Portuguese
Pronounced: VEE-VYAN(French)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
French form of
Viviana, as well as a Portuguese variant. It is also the French form of
Vivien 2.
Vivien 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Hungarian
Pronounced: VEE-vee-ehn(Hungarian)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Used by Alfred Tennyson as the name of the Lady of the Lake in his Arthurian epic
Idylls of the King (1859). Tennyson may have based it on
Vivienne, but it possibly arose as a misreading of
Ninian [1]. A famous bearer was British actress Vivien Leigh (1913-1967), who played Scarlett O'Hara in
Gone with the Wind.
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Wilfred
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-frəd
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"desiring peace" from Old English
willa "will, desire" and
friþ "peace".
Saint Wilfrid was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop. The name was rarely used after the
Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 19th century.
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: 83% based on 3 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.
Yvaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Various
Pronounced: ee-VAYN(Literature)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
It is most probable that it is the feminine form of the name
Yvain. Though, it is commonly thought of as a combination of
Yvonne and
Elaine.
The name is most popularly recognized as the name of the fallen star in Neil Gaiman's novella 'Stardust'.
Zacchaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Ζακχαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: zə-KEE-əs(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From
Ζακχαῖος (Zakchaios), the Greek form of
Zaccai. According to the
New Testament, Zacchaeus was a tax collector who climbed a tree in order to catch a glimpse of
Jesus, then gave half of his possessions to charity.
Zacharias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek, Greek
Other Scripts: Ζαχαρίας(Greek)
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-əs(English) za-kha-REE-as(Late Greek)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Greek form of
Zechariah. This form of the name is used in most English versions of the
New Testament to refer to the father of
John the Baptist. It was also borne by an 8th-century pope (called
Zachary in English).
Zaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زينة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIE-nah
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
زينة (see
Zayna).
Zayna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زينة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIE-nah
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
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.
Zinovia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Modern Greek transcription of
Zenobia.
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