Behind the Name: nilamalin's Personal Name List

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)

Other Scripts: Αλεξανδρος (Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: al-əg-ZAN-dər (English), ah-lek-SAHN-der (German), ah-lək-SAHN-dər (Dutch)

Rating: 72% based on 25 votes

Latinized form of the Greek name Αλεξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek αλεξω (alexo) "to defend, help" and ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος). 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 Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian

Pronounced: AL-is (English), a-LEES (French), ah-LEE-che (Italian)

Rating: 75% based on 25 votes

From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) and 'Through the Looking Glass' (1871).

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)

Other Scripts: Αλθαια (Ancient Greek)

Personal note: Altea

Rating: 48% based on 8 votes

From the Greek name Αλθαια (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek αλθος (althos) "healing". In Greek myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Late Roman

Rating: 41% based on 18 votes

Derived from Latin amanda meaning "lovable, worthy of love". Saint Amandus was a 5th-century bishop of Bordeaux. It was also borne by a 7th-century French saint who evangelized in Flanders.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: French, Portuguese

Pronounced: awn-DRAY (French), an-DRE (Portuguese)

Rating: 34% based on 21 votes

French and Portuguese form of Andreas (see ANDREW).

Gender: Masculine

Usage: German

Pronounced: BAHS-tee-ahn

Rating: 51% based on 21 votes

Short form of SEBASTIAN

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Ancient Germanic (Latinized)

Rating: 35% based on 19 votes

Latinized feminine form of BERENGAR. This name was borne by a 13th-century queen of Castile.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian

Rating: 30% based on 21 votes

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Late Roman

Rating: 22% based on 21 votes

Latin form of BONIFACE

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Late Roman

Personal note: sp. Celestis

Rating: 24% based on 11 votes

Late Latin name which meant "of the sky, heavenly".

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Roman Mythology

Pronounced: kən-KAWR-dee-ə (English)

Rating: 28% based on 17 votes

Means "harmony" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of harmony and peace.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Spanish, Late Roman

Rating: 43% based on 23 votes

Feminine form of DESIDERIO. This was the Latin name of a 19th-century queen of Sweden, the wife of Karl XIV. She was born in France with the name Désirée.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Croatian

Pronounced: do-ro-TE-ah (Italian, Spanish)

Rating: 56% based on 22 votes

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, German, Polish

Pronounced: ED-mənd (English), ED-muwnt (German, Polish)

Rating: 58% based on 19 votes

Means "rich protector" from Old English ead "rich, blessed" and mund "protector". 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 Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Croatian

Pronounced: e-le-o-NO-rah (German), e-le-aw-NAW-rah (Polish)

Rating: 65% based on 24 votes

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Spanish

Pronounced: el-BEE-rah

Rating: 42% based on 23 votes

Spanish form of a Visigothic name, possibly composed of the Germanic elements al "all" and wer "true".

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Various

Rating: 48% based on 6 votes

From Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman mythology, which means "blissful".

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Roman Mythology

Rating: 33% based on 21 votes

Means "good luck, fortune" in Latin. In Roman mythology the goddess Felicitas was the personification of good luck.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin

Pronounced: FE-liks (German), FAY-liks (Dutch), FEE-liks (English)

Rating: 52% based on 24 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).

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Spanish (Rare)

Rating: 37% based on 9 votes

Feminine form of FIDEL

Gender: Masculine

Usage: German, Polish, French

Pronounced: FLO-ree-ahn (German), FLAWR-yahn (Polish)

Rating: 47% based on 21 votes

From the Roman name Florianus, a derivative of FLORUS. Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, is the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Late Roman

Rating: 35% based on 8 votes

Feminine form of FORTUNATO

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Swedish, Finnish

Pronounced: fred-REE-kah (Swedish)

Rating: 53% based on 22 votes

Swedish and Finnish feminine form of FREDERICK

Gender: Masculine

Usage: French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek

Other Scripts: גַּבְרִיאֵל (Ancient Hebrew), Γαβριηλ (Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: ga-bree-EL (French), GAHP-ree-el (German), GAH-bryel (Spanish), GAY-bree-əl (English), GAHP-ryel (Polish)

Rating: 67% based on 25 votes

From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "strong man of God". Gabriel was one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition. He appears in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, where 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 Qur'an 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.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Hungarian

Pronounced: EEM-re

Rating: 46% based on 22 votes

Hungarian form of EMMERICH. This was the name of an 11th-century Hungarian saint, the son of Saint Istvan. He is also known as Emeric.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Rating: 58% based on 23 votes

Variant of ISIDORA. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).

Gender: Masculine

Usage: German, Russian, Macedonian

Other Scripts: Исидор (Russian, Macedonian)

Pronounced: EE-see-dawr (German)

Rating: 53% based on 22 votes

German, Russian and Macedonian form of ISIDORE

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English (Rare), German, Celtic Mythology

Pronounced: i-ZOL-də (English), i-SOL-də (English), ee-ZAWL-du (German)

Rating: 62% based on 26 votes

The origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, perhaps from a hypothetic name like Ishild, composed of the elements is "ice" and hild "battle".

In Arthurian legend she was an Irish princess betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. She became the lover of his knight Tristan, which led to their tragic deaths. The story 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).

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman

Rating: 61% based on 9 votes

Feminine form of JUNIUS. This was the name of an early Christian mentioned in the New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a man or a woman).

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish

Pronounced: KAHS-per (Polish), KAHS-pər (Dutch)

Rating: 54% based on 20 votes

Polish, Dutch and Scandinavian form of JASPER

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Late Roman

Pronounced: LAWR-ə (English), LOW-rah (Spanish, Italian, Polish, German, Dutch)

Rating: 53% based on 23 votes

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.

As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. A famous bearer was Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)

Other Scripts: Λεανδρος (Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: lee-AN-dər (English)

Rating: 60% based on 26 votes

From the Greek Λεανδρος (Leandros) which means "lion of a man" from Greek λεων (leon) "lion" and ανδρος (andros) "of a man". 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.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: German

Pronounced: LE-o-nee

Rating: 36% based on 5 votes

German feminine form of LEONIUS

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Spanish, Portuguese

Rating: 62% based on 22 votes

Spanish and Portuguese form of ELEANOR. It was brought to Spain in the 12th-century by Eleanor of England, who married king Alfonso VIII of Castile.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Icelandic, Finnish

Rating: 59% based on 22 votes

Icelandic and Finnish cognate of LILY

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Romanian, Ancient Roman

Pronounced: LEE-vyah (Italian)

Rating: 55% based on 23 votes

Feminine form of LIVIUS. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman

Pronounced: loo-CHEE-ah (Italian), LOO-tsee-ah (German), LOO-shə (English), loo-SEE-ə (English)

Rating: 59% based on 22 votes

Feminine form of LUCIUS. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th-century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, German, Finnish, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek

Other Scripts: Λυδια (Ancient Greek), Лѷдіа (Church Slavic)

Pronounced: LID-ee-ə (English), LUY-dee-ah (German)

Rating: 68% based on 23 votes

Means "from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor. 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.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Polish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Romanian, Finnish, English

Other Scripts: Магдалена (Bulgarian, Macedonian)

Pronounced: mahk-dah-LE-nah (German), mahg-dah-LE-nah (Polish), mag-da-LAY-na (English)

Rating: 59% based on 22 votes

Latinate form of MAGDALENE

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Finnish

Personal note: sp. Mariatta

Rating: 37% based on 22 votes

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Swedish, Norwegian

Rating: 60% based on 21 votes

Swedish and Norwegian form of MATTHEW, used to refer to the evangelist and apostle also known as Levi.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Iranian

Other Scripts: مینو (Persian)

Rating: 27% based on 20 votes

Means "heaven, paradise" in Persian.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Japanese

Other Scripts: 美桜, 美緒 (Japanese)

Rating: 36% based on 20 votes

From Japanese 美 (mi) "beautiful" combined with 桜 (ou) "cherry blossom" or 緒 (o) "thread".

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: mə-RAN-də

Rating: 52% based on 23 votes

Derived from Latin mirandus meaning "admirable, wonderful". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play 'The Tempest' (1611). It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Dutch, German, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian

Other Scripts: Мирјам (Serbian)

Pronounced: MIR-yahm (German)

Rating: 43% based on 20 votes

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Roman Mythology

Rating: 33% based on 20 votes

Means "incantation, dirge" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of funerals.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Late Roman

Pronounced: nah-TAH-lyah (Polish, Italian, Spanish)

Rating: 47% based on 20 votes

Polish, Italian, Spanish and Romanian form of NATALIE

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin

Other Scripts: Νικοδημος (Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: nik-ə-DEE-məs (English)

Personal note: sp. Nikodemus

Rating: 61% based on 22 votes

From the Greek name Νικοδημος (Nikodemos) which meant "victory of the people" from Greek νικη (nike) "victory" and δημος (demos) "the people". This is the name of a character in the New Testament who helps Joseph of Arimathea entomb Jesus.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Scottish, Irish, Ancient Celtic

Rating: 27% based on 21 votes

Meaning unknown. It appears in a Latinized form Niniavus, which could be from the Welsh name NYNNIAW. This was the name of a 5th-century British saint who was apparently responsible for many miracles and cures. He is known as the Apostle to the Picts.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Spanish, Italian

Pronounced: o-FE-lyah

Rating: 50% based on 23 votes

Spanish and Italian form of OPHELIA

Gender: Masculine

Usage: French, German, Dutch

Pronounced: pas-KAHL (French), pahs-KAHL (Dutch)

Rating: 33% based on 22 votes

From the Late Latin name Paschalis, which meant "relating to Easter" from Latin Pascha "Easter", which was in turn from Hebrew פֶּסַח (pesach) "Passover". Passover is the ancient Hebrew holiday celebrating the liberation from Egypt. Because it coincided closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the same Latin word was used for both. The name Pascal can also function as a surname, as in the case of Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, mathematician and inventor.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Biblical

Pronounced: fi-LEE-mən (English), fie-LEE-mən (English)

Personal note: sp. Filemon

Rating: 47% based on 23 votes

Means "affectionate" in Greek. Philemon was the recipient of one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: French, English

Pronounced: pro-SPER (French), PRAHS-pər (English)

Rating: 15% based on 6 votes

From the Latin name Prosperus, which meant "fortunate, successful". This was the name of a 5th-century saint, a supporter of Saint Augustine. It has never been common as an English name, though the Puritans used it, partly because it is identical to the English word prosper.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Swedish

Rating: 34% based on 23 votes

Swedish variant of REBECCA

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, English

Pronounced: RO-sah (Spanish, Dutch), RAW-zah (Italian), RO-zə (English)

Rating: 42% based on 9 votes

Generally this can be considered a Latin form of ROSE, though originally it may have come from the Germanic name ROZA (2). This was the name of a 13th-century saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. A famous bearer was civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Biblical

Pronounced: ROO-fəs (English)

Rating: 49% based on 21 votes

Roman cognomen which meant "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.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Norse Mythology, Swedish

Pronounced: SAH-gah (Swedish)

Rating: 50% based on 22 votes

Possibly means "seeing one" in Old Norse. This was the name of the Norse goddess of poetry and history, sometimes identified with the goddess Frigg. This is also a modern Swedish word meaning "story, fairy tale".

Gender: Masculine

Usage: French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek

Other Scripts: Σαλωμων (Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: sa-lo-MAWN (French)

Rating: 36% based on 20 votes

French, Scandinavian, Finnish and Polish form of SOLOMON

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish

Pronounced: SAHN-dər (Dutch)

Rating: 31% based on 21 votes

Dutch and Scandinavian short form of ALEXANDER

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Dutch, German

Pronounced: ZAHS-kee-ah (German)

Rating: 47% based on 21 votes

From the Germanic element sachs "Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word sahs meaning "knife".

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Norwegian

Rating: 38% based on 22 votes

Norwegian form of SINDRI

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: STEL-ə

Rating: 55% based on 24 votes

Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets 'Astrophel and Stella'. It was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Norwegian

Rating: 47% based on 23 votes

Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Dutch, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic

Other Scripts: Сусанна (Russian), שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Ancient Hebrew), Сѹсанна (Church Slavic)

Pronounced: soo-ZAHN-nah (Italian), soo-ZAN-ə (English)

Rating: 56% based on 24 votes

From Σουσαννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshannah). This was derived from the Hebrew word שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian sšn "lotus". In the Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a woman who ministered to Christ.

As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English

Pronounced: sil-VES-tər

Rating: 38% based on 21 votes

Medieval variant of SILVESTER. This is currently the usual English spelling of the name. The actor Sylvester Stallone (1946-) is a famous bearer.

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian, Macedonian

Other Scripts: Теодора (Bulgarian, Macedonian)

Pronounced: te-o-DAW-rah (Italian), te-o-DHO-rah (Spanish), te-aw-DAW-rah (Polish)

Rating: 53% based on 8 votes

Feminine form of Theodoros (see THEODORE).

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman

Rating: 47% based on 21 votes

Feminine form of Tullius (see TULLIO).

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian

Other Scripts: Валентин (Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)

Pronounced: VAH-len-teen (German), vah-lyen-TEEN (Russian), vah-leen-TEEN (Russian)

Rating: 72% based on 23 votes

Form of Valentinus (see VALENTINE (1)).

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Swedish

Rating: 41% based on 22 votes

Swedish feminine form of WENDEL

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Swedish, Finnish, Lithuanian

Rating: 51% based on 23 votes