GLAMandGORE's Personal Name List
Aamina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Somali
Other Scripts: آمنة(Arabic)
Pronounced: A-mee-na(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
آمنة (see
Amina 1), as well as the Somali form.
Abra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ewe
Pronounced: AB-RAH
Means "Tuesday-born girl" in Ewe.
Adam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Malay, Indonesian, Dhivehi, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: Адам(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian) Αδάμ, Άνταμ(Greek) אָדָם(Hebrew) آدم(Arabic) ადამ(Georgian) އާދަމް(Dhivehi) Ἀδάμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AD-əm(English) A-DAHN(French) A-dam(German, Polish, Czech, Arabic, Indonesian) A-dahm(Dutch) AH-dam(Swedish) u-DAM(Russian, Ukrainian) ə-DHAM(Catalan)
This is the Hebrew word for
"man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew
אדם (ʾaḏam) meaning
"to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian
adamu meaning
"to make".
According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew אֲדָמָה (ʾaḏama) meaning "earth"). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result they were expelled from Eden to the lands to the east, where they gave birth to the second generation, including Cain, Abel and Seth.
As an English Christian name, Adam has been common since the Middle Ages, and it received a boost after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Form of
Hadrianus (see
Hadrian) used in several languages. Several
saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
Adriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Адриана(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-dree-A-na(Italian, Dutch) a-DHRYA-na(Spanish) a-DRYA-na(Polish) ay-dree-AN-ə(English) ay-dree-AHN-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Adrian. A famous bearer is the Brazilian model Adriana Lima (1981-).
Adrienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DREE-YEHN(French)
French feminine form of
Adrian.
Aja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: اجا(Arabic)
Pronounced: A-juh
To drive, propel.
Alba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Catalan
Pronounced: AL-ba(Italian, Spanish) AL-bə(Catalan)
This name is derived from two distinct names,
Alba 2 and
Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter,
alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
Alessandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dra
Alessandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dro
Italian form of
Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.
Alessia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-LEHS-sya
Personal remark: ah-LESS-sia
Alessio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-LEHS-syo
Alexa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Hungarian
Pronounced: ə-LEHK-sə(English) AW-lehk-saw(Hungarian)
Alexandre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Pronounced: A-LEHK-ZAHNDR(French) u-li-SHUN-dri(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dree(Brazilian Portuguese) a-leh-SHAN-dreh(Galician) ə-lək-SAN-drə(Catalan)
Form of
Alexander in several languages. This name was borne by the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), who wrote
The Three Musketeers.
Alexandrie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SAHN-DREE
Alia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: علياء, عالية, عليّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘al-YA, ‘A-lee-ya, ‘a-LEE-ya
Alina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, German, Italian, Spanish
Other Scripts: Алина(Russian) Аліна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: a-LEE-na(Romanian, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish)
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Amaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).
Amalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Αμαλία(Greek)
Pronounced: a-MA-lya(Spanish, Italian, German) a-MA-lee-a(Dutch)
Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal. This element means
"unceasing, vigorous, brave", or it can refer to the Gothic dynasty of the Amali (derived from the same root).
This was another name for the 7th-century saint Amalberga of Maubeuge.
Amara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igbo
Personal remark: ah-MAHR-ah
Means "grace" in Igbo.
Amari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-MAHR-ee(English)
Personal remark: ah-MAHR-ie
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from Arabic
Ammar. This name has risen in popularity in America at the same time as similar-sounding names such as
Jamari and
Kamari.
Amarias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀμαρίας(Ancient Greek)
Greek form of
Amariah, as it first appeared in the Septuagint.
Amaris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Pronounced: a-MARE-iss, OM-er-is
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
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.
Amber
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AM-bər(English) AHM-bər(Dutch)
From the English word
amber that denotes either the gemstone, which is formed from fossil resin, or the orange-yellow colour. The word ultimately derives from Arabic
عنبر (ʿanbar) meaning "ambergris". It began to be used as a given name in the late 19th century, but it only became popular after the release of Kathleen Winsor's novel
Forever Amber (1944).
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
From the Late Latin name
Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name
Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning
"immortal".
Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amethyst
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-ə-thist
From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix
ἀ (a) and
μέθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness. It is the traditional birthstone of February.
Ami 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 亜美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-MEE
Personal remark: AH-mee
From Japanese
亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Amira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Malay
Other Scripts: أميرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: a-MEE-ra(Arabic)
Ana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Slovene, Bulgarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Fijian, Tongan
Other Scripts: Ана(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) ანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: A-na(Spanish, Romanian) U-nu(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese) AH-NAH(Georgian)
Personal remark: AHN-ah
Form of
Anna used in various languages.
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
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.
Anastasie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Romanian (Rare)
Pronounced: A-NAS-TA-ZEE(French)
Andre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, African American
Pronounced: AHN-dray(English)
Andreas
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: German, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Welsh, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Ανδρέας(Greek) Ἀνδρέας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: an-DREH-as(German, Swedish) ahn-DREH-ahs(Dutch) AN-DREH-AS(Classical Greek)
Ancient Greek and Latin form of
Andrew. It is also the form used in Modern Greek, German and Welsh.
Andres
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian
Andros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek (Cypriot, Rare), Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ανδρος(Greek)
From an element ανδρος (
andros), a genitive form of ανηρ (
aner). In Greek mythology, he was the son of
Anius and grandson of
Apollo.
Angelica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: an-JEHL-i-kə(English) an-JEH-lee-ka(Italian)
Derived from Latin
angelicus meaning
"angelic", ultimately related to Greek
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger". The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1483 and 1532), where she is the love interest of both
Orlando and
Rinaldo. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.
Angelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Armenian
Other Scripts: Ангелина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian) Αγγελίνα(Greek) Անգելինա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ang-jeh-LEE-na(Italian) an-jə-LEE-nə(English) un-gyi-LYEE-nə(Russian) ang-kheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
Latinate
diminutive of
Angela. A famous bearer is American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-).
Ani 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Georgian, Romanian, Spanish
Other Scripts: Ани(Bulgarian) ანი(Georgian)
Pronounced: A-nee(Spanish)
Personal remark: AHN-ee
Annalise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, English (Modern)
Personal remark: AHN-ah-lees
Antoinette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-TWA-NEHT
Feminine
diminutive of
Antoine. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər
From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Ariel
Gender: 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)
Personal remark: AWE-ree-el
Means
"lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל (ʾel) 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).
Arun
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Thai
Other Scripts: अरुण(Hindi, Marathi) অরুণ(Bengali) అరుణ్(Telugu) அருண்(Tamil) അരുൺ(Malayalam) અરુણ(Gujarati) ਅਰੁਣ(Gurmukhi) อรุณ(Thai)
Pronounced: O-roon(Bengali) a-ROON(Thai)
Modern masculine form of
Aruna.
Ash
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Ashen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sinhalese
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". 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.
Asia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Italian (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-zhə(English) A-zya(Italian)
From the name of the continent, which is perhaps derived from Akkadian asu, meaning "east".
Astra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-trə
Means
"star", ultimately from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster). This name has only been (rarely) used since the 20th century.
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-strid(Swedish) AHS-tri(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French) AS-trid(English)
Modern Scandinavian form of
Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of
Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Atlas
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
Possibly means
"enduring" from Greek
τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek
mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Personal remark: AY-vah
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Avan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Sanskrit, Indian, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali, Sinhalese, Indian (Sikh), Bengali
Other Scripts: अवन(Sanskrit, Hindi, Nepali)
Pronounced: Av-one(Sanskrit) avan(Sanskrit)
Meaning, "favour, preservation, protection,(= तर्पण) satisfaction , joy, pleasure, desire, speed, preserving, a preserver."
Axel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, French, English
Pronounced: A-ksehl(Swedish) A-ksəl(German) A-KSEHL(French) AK-səl(English)
Axelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-KSEHL
Azura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-ZHUWR-ə, AZH-rə
Bae
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 배(Korean Hangul)
Means ''inspiration''. Can be used as standalone name.
Beck
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BEHK
From a surname of English, German or Scandinavian origins, all derived from related words meaning
"stream". As a feminine name, in some cases it is a short form of
Rebecca. A noted bearer is the American rock musician Beck Hansen (1970-), born Bek David Campbell, who goes by the
stage name Beck.
Behati
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Afrikaans
Pronounced: bay-AH-tee
Possibly an Afrikaans variant of
Beata. It is the name of Namibian fashion model Behati Prinsloo (b. 1989).
Bellamy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
From an English surname derived from Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
Bellatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: bə-LAY-triks(English) BEHL-ə-triks(English)
Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
Bethany
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BETH-ə-nee
From the name of a biblical town,
Βηθανία (Bethania) in Greek, which is probably of Aramaic or Hebrew origin, possibly meaning "house of affliction" or "house of figs". In the
New Testament the town of Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. It has been in use as a rare given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, in honour of Mary of Bethany. In America it became moderately common after the 1950s.
Bleta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Personal remark: be-LET-ah
Derived from Albanian
bletë "bee". According to Albanian folk belief, the bee is a sacred animal: when an animal ceases to live, Albanians predominantly use the verb ngordh while when a bee ceases to live, the verb vdes is used (which is used to refer to human death), alluding that bees are beings of a higher caste, comparable to humans.
A famous bearer of this name is Bleta "Bebe" Rexha (b. 1989), an Albanian-American singer and songwriter.
Bryant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE-ənt
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Brian.
Cairo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ro
From the name of the city in Egypt, called
القاهرة (al-Qāhira) in Arabic, meaning "the victorious"
[1].
Caitríona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: kə-TRYEE-nə, KAT-ryee-nə
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Most likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of"
[2] and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart"
[3]. 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.
Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning
"beauty".
Callie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ee
Camila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: ka-MEE-la(Spanish)
Personal remark: kah-MEE-lah
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Camilla.
Camille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-MEE(French) kə-MEEL(English)
French feminine and masculine form of
Camilla. It is also used in the English-speaking world, where it is generally only feminine.
Campbell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-bəl
From a Scottish surname meaning "crooked mouth" from Gaelic cam "crooked" and beul "mouth".
Carina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Pronounced: ka-REE-na(Swedish, German)
Carmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian, German
Pronounced: KAR-mehn(Spanish, Italian) KAHR-mən(English)
Medieval Spanish form of
Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word
carmen meaning
"song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera
Carmen (1875).
Caroline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: KA-RAW-LEEN(French) KAR-ə-lien(English) KAR-ə-lin(English) ka-ro-LEE-nə(German, Dutch) ka-ro-LEEN(Dutch)
Carter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-tər
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Cason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
An invented name, based on the sound of names such as
Mason and
Jason. It also coincides with the English surname
Cason.
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Personal remark: kah-SAHN-dra
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Celeste
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cinder
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: SIN-der(American English)
Representing the residue of combustion; ashes.
Circe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κίρκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SUR-see(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Κίρκη (Kirke), possibly from
κίρκος (kirkos) meaning
"hawk". In Greek
mythology Circe was a sorceress who changed
Odysseus's crew into hogs, as told in Homer's
Odyssey. Odysseus forced her to change them back, then stayed with her for a year before continuing his voyage.
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
French form of
Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by
Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian), Literature
Pronounced: KLAY-ə(English) KLEE-ə(English)
Latinate form of
Cleo apparently coined by British novelist Lawrence Durrell for a character in his
Alexandria Quartet. A known bearer is American actress Clea DuVall (1977-).
Cleo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEE-o
Colton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"Cola's town". It started being used as a given name in the 1980s. Likely in some cases it was viewed as an elaborated or full form of
Cole or
Colt.
Crimson
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
From the English word for the purplish-red color. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose.
The word came from Late Middle English cremesyn, which came from obsolete French cramoisin or Old Spanish cremesin, which by itself came from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz), ultimately from Persian کرمست (kirmist), which came from Middle Persian; related to Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš. Cognate with Sanskrit कृमिज (kṛmija).
According to the USA Social Security Administration, 70 girls and 44 boys were named Crimson in 2016. Also in 2012, 59 girls and 32 boys in the USA were named Crimsion.
Cruz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KROOTH(European Spanish) KROOS(Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese) KROOSH(European Portuguese)
Means "cross" in Spanish or Portuguese, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
Dagny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: DAHNG-nuy(Swedish)
From the Old Norse name
Dagný, which was derived from the elements
dagr "day" and
nýr "new".
Damaris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δάμαρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAM-ə-ris(English)
Probably means
"calf, heifer, girl" from Greek
δάμαλις (damalis). In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul.
Damon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Δάμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAY-mən(English)
Derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.
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)
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.
Dante
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: DAN-teh(Italian) DAHN-tay(English) DAN-tee(English)
Medieval short form of
Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the
Divine Comedy.
Dario
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Croatian
Pronounced: DA-ryo(Italian) DA-ree-o(Croatian)
Dash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DASH
Probably inspired by the English word
dash meaning "run, sprint". In some cases it can be a short form of
Dashiell, as in the animated movie
The Incredibles (2004) where it belongs to a speedy young superhero.
Davi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: da-VEE
Portuguese form of
David.
December
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: dis-EM-bər, DEE-səm-bər
Derived from the Latin word decem, meaning "ten". December is the twelfth month on the Gregorian calendar. This name is used regularly in America, mostly on females.
Deja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-zhə(English)
Means "already" from the French phrase déjà vu meaning "already seen". It received a popularity boost in 1995 when a character named Deja appeared in the movie Higher Learning.
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Delta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-tə
From the name of the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet,
Δ. It is also the name for an island formed at the mouth of a river.
Demetra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Romanian (Rare), Greek
Other Scripts: Δήμητρα(Greek)
Demetria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English
Other Scripts: Δημητρία(Ancient Greek)
Demi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Δήμη, Ντίμι, Ντίμη(Greek)
Pronounced: də-MEE(English) DEHM-ee(English)
Alternate transcription of Greek
Δήμη or
Ντίμι or
Ντίμη (see
Dimi), as well as a short form of
Demetria. A famous bearer is American actress Demi Moore (1962-), and it is because of her that the name rose in popularity in the United States in the late 1980s. Though some sources claim Moore's birth name is Demetria, the actress herself has said she was born as Demi and named after a makeup product. The name received a further boost after 2008 with the release of the debut album by the singer Demi Lovato (1992-), who pronounces the name differently than the older actress. Lovato's birth name is Demetria.
Desiree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: dehz-i-RAY
English form of
Désirée. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by the movie
Désirée (1954).
Desmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: DEHZ-mənd(English)
Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Destry
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture, English
Pronounced: DES-tree(Popular Culture)
English form of
Destrier, a French surname derived from the Anglo-Norman word
destrer meaning "warhorse". This name was popularized by the western novel 'Destry Rides Again' (1930, by Max Brand) and two subsequent identically-named film adaptations (1932 and 1939).
Devin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHV-in
From a surname, either the Irish surname
Devin 1 or the English surname
Devin 2.
Diego
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: DYEH-gho(Spanish) DYEH-go(Italian)
Spanish name, possibly a shortened form of
Santiago. In medieval records
Diego was Latinized as
Didacus, and it has been suggested that it in fact derives from Greek
διδαχή (didache) meaning
"teaching".
Saint Didacus (or Diego) was a 15th-century Franciscan brother based in Alcalá, Spain.
Other famous bearers of this name include Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona (1960-2020).
Din
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bosnian, Croatian, Arabic
From Arabic دين (
dīn) "religion, faith". It may also be a short form of names ending in
din, such as
Aldin,
Bernardin, or
Ajdin, or it may be a variant of
Dino.
Dominick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
Donovan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHN-ə-vən
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Donndubháin, itself derived from the given name
Donndubán. This name is borne by the Scottish folk musician Donovan Leitch (1946-), known simply as Donovan.
Drake
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DRAYK
From an English surname derived from the Old Norse byname
Draki or the Old English byname
Draca both meaning "dragon", both via Latin from Greek
δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent". This name coincides with the unrelated English word
drake meaning "male duck". A famous bearer is the Canadian actor and rapper Drake (1986-), who was born as Aubrey Drake Graham.
Draven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: DRAY-vən(English)
From a surname (of unknown meaning) that was used in the movie The Crow (1994).
Draymond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: DRAY-mənd
Drayton
Drayton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England.
Dre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Short form of
Andre. A famous bearer is the American rapper and music producer Dr. Dre (1965-), born Andre Young.
Easton
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EES-tən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.
Echo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠχώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-ko(English)
From the Greek word
ἠχώ (echo) meaning
"echo, reflected sound", related to
ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek
mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by
Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with
Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.
Eden
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight"
[1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
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)
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from
ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning
"amber". In Greek
myth she was the daughter of
Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra and the sister of
Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Elia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-LEE-a
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (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.
Elisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Finnish, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za(Italian, German) eh-LEE-sa(Spanish) EH-lee-sah(Finnish) ə-LEE-sə(English)
Elisabetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-lee-za-BEHT-ta
Elisaveta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Елисавета(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Elle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHL
Diminutive of
Eleanor and other names beginning with
El. This name can also be given in reference to the French pronoun
elle meaning "she".
Already growing in popularity due to Australian model Elle Macpherson (1964-), this name received a boost in the United States after the release of the 2001 movie Legally Blonde featuring the main character Elle Woods. In the United Kingdom the name was already fairly common at the time the movie came out, and it actually started declining there shortly afterwards. A famous bearer is American actress Elle Fanning (1998-).
Ellie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee
Diminutive of
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 and other names beginning with
El. This name became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, being ranked second for girls in 2003.
Elsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: EHL-za(German) EHL-sah(Finnish) EHL-sa(Italian, Spanish) EHL-sə(English)
Short form of
Elisabeth, typically used independently. In medieval German tales Elsa von Brabant was the lover of the hero
Lohengrin. Her story was expanded by Richard Wagner for his opera
Lohengrin (1850). The name had a little spike in popularity after the 2013 release of the animated Disney movie
Frozen, which featured a magical princess by this name.
Ember
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-bər
From the English word ember, ultimately from Old English æmerge.
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek
σμάραγδος (smaragdos).
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Eris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἔρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHR-is(English)
Means
"strife, discord" in Greek. In Greek
mythology Eris was the goddess of discord. She was the sister and companion of
Ares.
Esmée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: EHZ-may(British English) EHZ-mee(British English) ehs-MEH(Dutch)
Estelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL(English) EHS-TEHL(French)
From an Old French name meaning
"star", ultimately derived from Latin
stella. It was rare in the English-speaking world in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due to the character Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
Eura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South, Archaic)
Possibly a short form of names beginning with the element Eur-.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Personal remark: EE-vah
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
Means
"good news" from Greek
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem
Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
From the Hebrew name
חַוָּה (Ḥawwa), which was derived from the Hebrew word
חָוָה (ḥawa) meaning
"to breathe" or the related word
חָיָה (ḥaya) 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.
Ever
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ər
Simply from the English word ever, derived from Old English æfre.
Evie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-vee, EHV-ee
Faye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
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)
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).
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
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).
Florence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
From the Latin name
Florentius or the feminine form
Florentia, which were derived from
florens "prosperous, flourishing".
Florentius was borne by many early Christian
saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Italian and Catalan feminine form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
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) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) 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.
Gabrielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) gab-ree-EHL(English)
French feminine form of
Gabriel. This was the real name of French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
Gaël
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: GA-EHL(French)
Form of
Gael using French orthography.
Garrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-it, GEHR-it
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Gerald or
Gerard. A famous bearer of the surname was Pat Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid.
Gemini
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Astronomy
Pronounced: GEH-mee-nee(Latin) JEHM-i-nie(English)
Means
"twins" in Latin. This is the name of the third sign of the zodiac. The two brightest stars in the constellation,
Castor and
Pollux, are named for the mythological twin sons of
Leda.
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Genesis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-sis
Means
"birth, origin" in Greek. This is the name of the first book of the
Old Testament in the Bible. It tells of the creation of the world, the expulsion of
Adam and
Eve,
Noah and the great flood, and the three patriarchs.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Gia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: JEE-a
Gianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Greek, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Γιάννα(Greek)
Pronounced: JAN-na(Italian) YA-na(Greek) jee-AHN-ə(English) JAHN-ə(English)
Italian short form of
Giovanna and a Modern Greek variant of
Ioanna.
Its use in America started increasing in the late 20th century. It spiked in popularity in 2020 after the death of Gianna Bryant and her father, the basketball player Kobe Bryant, in a helicopter crash.
Gio
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Italian, Dutch, Spanish
Pronounced: JO(Italian) KHEE-oh(Dutch) GEE-oh(Dutch)
Italian variant of
Giò, which is a short form of
Giovanni (masculine) and
Giovanna (feminine) and of some other Italian given names starting with
Gio-.
Outside of Italy, the name Gio is usually a short form of only Giovanni (and its variants) and Giovanna (and its variants), as those names have also gained hold in other countries. It should be noted, though, that Gio is much more commonly found on males than on females there.
Known bearers of this name include the Italian architect Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (1891-1979), the Italian-American computer scientist Giovanni "Gio" Wiederhold (b. 1936), the Dutch retired soccer player Giovanni "Gio" van Bronckhorst (b. 1975) and the Mexican soccer player Giovani "Gio" dos Santos (b. 1989).
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Grant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GRANT(English)
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.
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Greyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Latinized form of
Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Gyan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian
Pronounced: Gyan
Personal remark: GUY-in
"knowledge"
Halsey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-zee
From Old English, meaning "from Hal's island". The name is probably given in honour of the American war hero Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, Jr. (1882-1959).
Halston
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAWL stun
Transferred use of the surname
Halston. May also be a variation of
Halsten.
Harlow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lo
From an English surname derived from a place name, itself derived from Old English
hær "rock, heap of stones" or
here "army", combined with
hlaw "hill". As a name for girls, it received some attention in 2008 when the American celebrity Nicole Richie used it for her daughter.
Havana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: hə-VAN-ə
From the name of the capital city of Cuba (see
Havana). The 2017 song
Havana by Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello caused this name to gain some popularity, along with its similarity in sound to
Savannah.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Hector
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Arthurian Cycle
Other Scripts: Ἕκτωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHK-tər(English) EHK-TAWR(French)
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.
Hendrix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HEHN-driks
From a Dutch surname that was derived from the given name
Hendrik. A famous bearer of the surname was the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970).
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)
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.
Hunter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUN-tər
From an English occupational surname for a hunter, derived from Old English hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).
India
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-dee-ə(English) EEN-dya(Spanish)
From the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit
सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river". India Wilkes is a character in the novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell.
Indra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Nepali, Indonesian
Other Scripts: इन्द्र(Sanskrit, Nepali) इन्द्र, इंद्र(Hindi)
Pronounced: IN-drə(English) EEN-dra(Indonesian)
Means
"possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit
इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and
र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing". Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain, frequently depicted riding the elephant Airavata. He is the chief god in the
Rigveda.
Ines
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Slovene, Croatian
Italian, Slovene and Croatian form of
Inés.
Isa 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: EE-za(German) EE-sa(Dutch, Spanish)
Isabela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEH-la(Spanish)
Isabeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: ee-za-BEH-lee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Isidore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Georgian (Rare), Jewish
Other Scripts: ისიდორე(Georgian)
Pronounced: IZ-ə-dawr(English) EE-ZEE-DAWR(French)
From the Greek name
Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning
"gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess
Isis combined with Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift".
Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.
Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Jade
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAYD(English) ZHAD(French)
From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.
Jadis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: JAY-dis(English)
Used by the author C. S. Lewis as the proper name of the White Witch, the antagonist in his novel
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950). He may have based it on French
jadis meaning
"long ago, of old" or Persian
جادو (jādū) meaning
"magic, witch".
Jagger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAG-ər
From an English surname meaning "carter, peddler". It is used as a given name in honour of the British musician Mick Jagger (1943-), the lead vocalist of the Rolling Stones.
Jaime 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KHIE-meh(Spanish) ZHIE-mi(European Portuguese) ZHIE-mee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Personal remark: HIE-me
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Iacomus (see
James).
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (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.
Jamison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYM-ə-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of James".
Janel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEHL
Jasmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Јасмина(Serbian, Macedonian)
Form of
Jasmine in several languages.
Jasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAZ-min(English) ZHAS-MEEN(French)
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian
یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans
[1]. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie
Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.
Jeremy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JEHR-ə-mee(English) JEHR-mee(English)
English form of
Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the
New Testament.
Jessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHS-ə
Jessamin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Jessamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEHS-ə-min
From a variant spelling of the English word
jasmine (see
Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.
Jett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JEHT
From the English word jet, which denotes either a jet aircraft or an intense black colour (the words derive from different sources).
Jinn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: JIN
Jocelin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French) JAHS-lin(English) JAHS-ə-lin(English)
Joel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-əl(English) JOL(English) kho-EHL(Spanish) ZHWEHL(European Portuguese) zho-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) YO-ehl(Swedish, Finnish)
From the Hebrew name
יוֹאֵל (Yoʾel) meaning
"Yahweh is God", from the elements
יוֹ (yo) and
אֵל (ʾel), both referring to the Hebrew God. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel, which describes a plague of locusts. In England, it was first used as a Christian name after the
Protestant Reformation.
Jordana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Macedonian, Serbian, English (Rare)
Other Scripts: Јордана(Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: khor-DHA-na(Spanish) jawr-DAN-ə(English)
Josette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAW-ZEHT
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Kalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Means "the flower wreath, the beloved" in Hawaiian.
Kalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Калина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ka-LEE-na(Polish)
Means "viburnum tree" in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish.
Kasumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 霞, 花澄, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かすみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-SOO-MEE
From Japanese
霞 (kasumi) meaning "mist". It can also come from
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" combined with
澄 (sumi) meaning "clear, pure". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Katerina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian, Albanian, Russian, Bulgarian, Greek, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Катерина(Macedonian, Russian, Bulgarian) Κατερίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian)
Katrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: kaht-REE-neh(Danish)
Danish and Norwegian contracted form of
Katherine.
Keith
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: KEETH(English)
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of a place in East Lothian, itself possibly derived from the Celtic root *kayto- meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, becoming fairly common throughout the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
Kemp
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEMP
From a surname derived from Middle English kempe meaning "champion, athlete, warrior".
Kendrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drik
From a surname that has several different origins. It could be from the Old English given names
Cyneric "royal power" or
Cenric "bold power", or from the Welsh name
Cynwrig "chief hero". It can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname
Mac Eanraig meaning "son of
Henry".
As an American given name, it got a boost in popularity in 2012 after the rapper Kendrick Lamar (1987-) released his debut album.
Kendris
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare)
Kendrix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
A variant of
Kendrick, influenced by the sound of names like Hendrix.
Kenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Khai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Kiersey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: KEER-see(American English)
Transferred use of the surname
Kiersey.
A notable bearer of this name is the American actress Kiersey Clemons (b. 1993).
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Anglicized form of
Cillian, also used in France.
Kingston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KINGZ-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's town" in Old English. This name rose significantly on the popularity charts after musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale used it for their son born 2006.
Kinna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIN-ah, KEEN-ah
Personal remark: KIN-ah
Kit
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Kol
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: KOL
Variant of
Cole, and short form of
Nikolai,
Nikola 1, and other names beginning with Nikol.
Kol Mikaelson is the name of one of the original vampires on the TV show The Vampire Diaries.
Kriselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KRIS-elle
Ksenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSEH-nya(Polish) KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Polish form of
Xenia, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Ксения or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Ксенія (see
Kseniya).
Laís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: la-EES(Brazilian Portuguese)
Lalita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Thai
Other Scripts: ललिता(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) ลลิตา(Thai)
Pronounced: la-lee-TA(Thai)
Means
"playful, charming, desirable" in Sanskrit. According to the
Puranas this was the name of one of the gopis, who were milkmaids devoted to the young
Krishna. Additionally, in Shaktism, this is the name of a goddess who is also called Tripura Sundari.
Lalitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu
Other Scripts: லலிதா(Tamil) ലളിത(Malayalam) లలితా(Telugu)
Southern Indian form of
Lalita.
Lana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Russian, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian
Other Scripts: Лана(Russian) ლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAHN-ə(English)
Short form of
Alana (English) or
Svetlana (Russian). In the English-speaking world it was popularized by actress Lana Turner (1921-1995), who was born Julia Jean Turner.
Landon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAN-dən
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "long hill" (effectively meaning "ridge"). Use of the name may have been inspired in part by the actor Michael Landon (1936-1991).
Landry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
French form of
Landric. This name was borne by a few French
saints, including a 5th-century bishop of Sées and a 7th-century bishop of Paris.
Leighton
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-tən
Variant of
Layton. It jumped in popularity as a feminine name after 2007, when actress Leighton Meester (1986-) began appearing on the television series
Gossip Girl.
Lenka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: LENG-ka
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Leonore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: leh-o-NO-rə
Leven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Frisian (Rare)
Masculine variant and one of the feminine forms of
Leve. As a masculine, is has been recorded since the 16th century, as a feminine name since the 17th century.
Leven coincides with the Dutch word for "life".
American actress Leven Rambin (born 1990) is a famous bearer.
Levy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew
Liat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאַת(Hebrew)
Means "you are mine" in Hebrew.
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lilliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: lil-ee-AN-ə, lil-ee-AHN-ə
Lillias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Lima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 力馬, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: LEE-MAH
Combination of the names
Li 1 and
Ma.
Logan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LO-gən
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Ayrshire meaning
"little hollow" (from Gaelic
lag "hollow, pit" combined with a
diminutive suffix). This name started slowly rising on the American popularity charts in the mid-1970s, perhaps partly inspired by the movie
Logan's Run (1976). The comic book character Wolverine, alias Logan, was also introduced around the same time.
The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since end of the 20th century. In the United States it reached a high point in 2017, when it ranked as the fifth most popular name for boys.
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
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)
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).
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
An elaboration of
Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel
Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play
The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Luck
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kashubian
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Ludivine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-DEE-VEEN
Possibly from a feminine form of
Leutwin. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the French miniseries
Les Gens de Mogador.
Luma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Lumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LOO-mee
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
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.
Lux
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Lynx
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Lynx is a constellation in the northern sky, introduced in the 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is named after the lynx, a genus of cats.
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Means simply
"lyric, songlike" from the English word, ultimately derived from Greek
λυρικός (lyrikos).
Maari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Rare), Estonian (Rare)
Madalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: mu-du-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) mu-da-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Personal remark: mad-ah-LAY-nah
Madden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Transferred use of the surname
Madden.
Maddox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAD-əks
From a Welsh surname meaning
"son of Madoc". It was brought to public attention when the actress Angelina Jolie gave this name to her adopted son in 2002.
Madelaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Personal remark: mad-ah-LANE
Madlenka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Maël
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: MA-EHL(French)
French form of Breton
Mael meaning
"prince, chieftain, lord".
Saint Mael was a 5th-century Breton hermit who lived in Wales.
Maëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: MA-EHL(French)
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Maia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
Other Scripts: Μαῖα(Ancient Greek) მაია(Georgian)
Pronounced: MIE-A(Classical Greek) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English) MIE-ya(Latin) MAH-EE-AH(Georgian)
From Greek
μαῖα (maia) meaning
"good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of
μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman
mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione. Her son by
Zeus was
Hermes.
Malek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Malay
Other Scripts: مالك(Arabic) مالک(Persian)
Pronounced: MA-leek(Arabic) maw-LEHK(Persian)
Alternate transcription of Arabic مالك (see
Maalik), as well as the usual Persian form and a Malay variant.
Malia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ma-LEE-a(Hawaiian) mə-LEE-ə(English)
Hawaiian form of
Maria. This name experienced a spike in popularity in 2009, due to the eldest daughter (born 1998) of the new American president Barack Obama.
Mallory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-ree
From an English surname that meant "unfortunate" in Norman French. It first became common in the 1980s due to the American sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989), which featured a character by this name.
Mara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1], Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Other Scripts: מָרָא(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAHR-ə(English) MAR-ə(English) MEHR-ə(English) MA-ra(Spanish)
Personal remark: MAHR-ah
Means
"bitter" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is a name that
Naomi calls herself after the death of her husband and sons (see
Ruth 1:20).
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Maris 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-is, MAR-is
Means
"of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".
Marrakesh
From Arabic
مرّاكش (Marrākush), possibly from Berber
Murt n Akush meaning
"land of God". This is the name of a city in
Morocco.
Mattea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-a
Maven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish (Anglicized)
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
From the English word
melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with
ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".
Memphis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHM-fis
From the name of an important city of ancient Egypt, or the city in Tennessee that was named after it. It is derived from a Greek form of Egyptian mn-nfr meaning "enduring beauty".
Mia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, English
Pronounced: MEE-ah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) MEE-a(Dutch, German, Italian) MEE-ə(English)
Diminutive of
Maria. It coincides with the Italian word
mia meaning
"mine".
This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names Maria and Mariel respectively.
Michaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, English, Czech, Slovak, Greek
Other Scripts: Μιχαέλα(Greek)
Pronounced: mi-kha-EH-la(German) mi-KAY-lə(English) MI-kha-eh-la(Czech) MEE-kha-eh-la(Slovak)
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
Personal remark: MEE-lah
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Milan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: Милан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MI-lan(Czech) MEE-lan(Slovak, Serbian, Croatian) MEE-lahn(Dutch)
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. It was originally used in Czech, Slovak, and the South Slavic languages, though it has recently become popular elsewhere in Europe.
A city in Italy bears this name, though in this case it originates from Latin Mediolanum, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin meaning "middle of the plain". In some cases the city name may be an influence on the use of the given name.
Milani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
From the name of the Italian city of
Milan, as in the name of the American cosmetics company founded in 2002. It could also a variant of
Melanie.
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of
Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
Maria and
Elena.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Mina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-nə(English) MEE-na(Dutch)
Short form of
Wilhelmina and other names ending in
mina. This was the name of a character in the novel
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker.
Ming
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 明, 铭, etc.(Chinese) 明, 銘, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: MEENG
From Chinese
明 (míng) meaning "bright, light, clear" or
铭 (míng) meaning "inscribe, engrave", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Minka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Swedish, Slovene
Pronounced: MING-kah(Finnish) MEEN-kah(Hungarian)
Diminutive of
Mina 1, a short form of
Vilhelmina,
Wilhelmina,
Hermine,
Romina and other names containing
mina or
mine. In Sweden its earliest documented usage is 1799. Finnish name day is on April 11.
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English) mee-RAHN-da(Dutch)
Derived from Latin
mirandus meaning
"admirable, worthy of being admired". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play
The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father
Prospero are stranded on an island. 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, named after the Shakespearean character.
Monaco
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: mo-nə-ko(English) maw-nə-ko(English) MO-NA-KO(French)
This is the name of a sovereign city-state and microstate bordering France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on one side.
The name is derived from Monoikos, a name Ligurians used for a nearby 6th century BC Phocaean Greek colony. Monoikos is made up from Greek words monos meaning "alone, single" and oikos meaning "house," which results in the meaning of Monoikos as "single house."
Morgiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Form of
Marjanah used in some versions of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', one of the tales of 'The 1001 Nights', where it is the name of a clever slave girl. It was also used by Shinobu Ohtaka for a character in her manga 'Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic' (2009-), based loosely on 'The 1001 Nights'.
Munira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: منيرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: moo-NEE-ra
Naari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: נַעֲרַי(Ancient Hebrew)
Variant transcription of
Naarai.
This transcription is used in the Lexham English Bible and God's Word Translation of the Bible.
Nahla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: نهلة(Arabic)
Pronounced: NAH-la(Arabic) NAH-lə(English)
Possibly means "a drink of water" in Arabic. It is sometimes associated with the Arabic word نَحْلَة
(naḥla) meaning "bee".
This name gained some popularity in the United States after it was used by American actress Halle Berry for her daughter born 2008; in this case it could also be variant of Nala 2.
Nahri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Arabic (Rare)
Other Scripts: ناهري(Arabic)
Pronounced: NA-hri
Transferred use of the surname
Nahri.
Naia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NIE-a
Means "wave, sea foam" in Basque.
Najarra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Basque
Toponym of medieval origin, linked to repopulation of the lands of Segovia in the 11th century, that describes a gentle descent in a sector of the Guadarrama mountains in the area called the “Espaldar of the Najarra" (massif and peak) in Madrid province, Spain.
Natassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian (Anglicized)
Pronounced: NA-ta-see-a, Na ta ssia
Nathália
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Portuguese form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Nathalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NA-TA-LEE(French) NA-ta-lee(German)
French form of
Natalie, as well as a Dutch, German and Scandinavian variant.
Nellie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish
Pronounced: NEHL-ee(English) NEH-li(Swedish)
Nerys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Probably a feminized form of Welsh nêr meaning "lord".
Nia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: NEE-a
Welsh form of
Niamh. The Welsh poet T. Gwynn Jones used it in his long poem
Tir na n-Óg (1916), referring to the lover of
Oisín.
Nico
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: NEE-ko(Italian, Dutch, Spanish)
Nicola 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: NI-ko-la(German) NIK-ə-lə(English)
Feminine form of
Nicholas. In the English-speaking world this name is more common outside of America, where
Nicole is more usual.
Nicoletta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: nee-ko-LEHT-ta
Nicolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: nee-ko-LEE-na
Nikia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: ni-KEE-ə
Combination of the phonetic elements
nee,
kee and
ya, inspired by
Nikki and
Nakia. Like Nakia, Nikia saw a boost in its usage in the United States in 1974, thanks to the short-lived television police drama series 'Nakia,' which aired in that year.
Nikolai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Николай(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: nyi-ku-LIE(Russian)
Nina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Нина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian) Ніна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: NYEE-nə(Russian) NEE-na(Italian, German, Slovak) NEE-nə(English) NEE-NA(French) NEE-nah(Finnish) nyi-NU(Lithuanian) NYEE-na(Polish) NI-na(Czech)
Short form of names that end in
nina, such as
Antonina or
Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).
A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).
Noel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NOL, NO-əl
English form of
Noël or
Noëlle (rarely). It was fairly popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in the middle of the 20th century. It is occasionally written with a diaeresis, like in French. A famous bearer is British musician Noel Gallagher (1967-).
Noelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: no-EHL
Noir
Means "black" in French, originally used in Northern France as an ethnic nickname for someone from Southern France, Spain, Italy or North Africa. It also may have been used for someone who wore dark clothing or for someone who had an occupation during the night or was associated with the night.
Nova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-və(English) NO-va(Swedish, Dutch)
Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Obsidian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare), Popular Culture
Pronounced: ahb-SID-ee-yən
Derived from
obsidian, the English name for a specific type of volcanic glass. The name is ultimately derived from Latin
obsidianus meaning "of Obsidius", after the Roman (also called Obsius in some instances) who supposedly was the first to discover this type of volcanic glass. The name Obsidius is possibly a corruption of
Opsidius, which is apparently a very obscure Roman nomen gentile.** Etymologically, Opsidius may be a more elaborate form of
Opsius. It could also be Oscan in origin, in which case it may have been derived from Oscan
úpsed meaning "worked, laboured" (which would thus make the name related to
Oppius). Last but not least, if the discoverer's name was Obsius rather than Obsidius, then his name was probably a corruption of
Opsius. In either case the etymology is very similar. Finally, in popular culture, Obsidian is the name of a character in the "Transformers" franchise as well as a character in a comic published by DC Comics.
** Please see page 638 of the book "The Italic Dialects" written by Robert Seymour Conway.
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
October
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ahk-TO-bər
From the name of the tenth month. It is derived from Latin octo meaning "eight", because it was originally the eighth month of the Roman year.
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of
Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of
Odysseus.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Odeya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אוֹדֶיָּה(Hebrew)
Derived from a Hebrew phrase meaning "I will thank God", which is said to consist of Hebrew
ode "I will thank, praise" (compare the Hebrew name
Odelia 2) combined with Hebrew
ya,
yah "Yahweh". It is borne by Israeli-American actress Odeya Rush (1997-).
Odin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern)
Pronounced: O-din(English)
Anglicized form of Old Norse
Óðinn, which was derived from
óðr meaning
"inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *
Wōdanaz. The name appears as
Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as
Wuotan,
Wotan or
Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.
In Norse mythology Odin is the highest of the gods, presiding over war, wisdom and death. He is the husband of Frigg and resides in Valhalla, where warriors go after they are slain. He is usually depicted as a one-eyed older man, carrying two ravens on his shoulders who inform him of all the events of the world. At the time of Ragnarök, the final battle, it is told that he will be killed fighting the great wolf Fenrir.
Olesya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Олеся(Ukrainian, Russian)
Personal remark: oh-LES-ee-ah
Ukrainian
diminutive of
Oleksandra. This was the name of an 1898 novel by the Russian author Aleksandr Kuprin.
Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish) o-LEE-vee-ya(Dutch)
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time
[1] that may have been based on
Oliva or
Oliver, or directly on the Latin word
oliva meaning
"olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke
Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually
Viola in disguise.
Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.
A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).
Omar 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Kazakh, Malay, English, Spanish, Italian
Other Scripts: عمر(Arabic) Омар(Kazakh)
Pronounced: ‘OO-mar(Arabic) ‘O-mar(Egyptian Arabic) O-mahr(English) o-MAR(Spanish)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
عمر (see
Umar). This is the usual English spelling of the name of the 12th-century poet Umar Khayyam. In his honour it has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world, notably for the American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).
Omari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swahili
Personal remark: oh-MAHR-ie
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Swahili variant of
Umar.
Omni
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Mormon
Pronounced: AHM-nie
This occurs in the Book of Mormon as the name of a prophet. It coincides with the Latin prefix omni, from omnis "all, every".
Onyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHN-iks
From the English word for the gemstone (a variety of chalcedony), which can be black, red or other colours. It is derived from Greek
ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning "claw, nail".
Oona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Finnish
Pronounced: OO-nə(English) O-nah(Finnish)
Anglicized form of
Úna, as well as a Finnish form.
Ora 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Strictly feminine form of
Or.
Orion
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
Orlando
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: or-LAN-do(Italian, Spanish)
Italian form of
Roland, as used in the epic poems
Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the continuation
Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. In the poems, Orlando is a knight in
Charlemagne's army who battles against the invading Saracens. A character in Shakespeare's play
As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
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.
Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Personal remark: PEHT-rah
Feminine form of
Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Pom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Korean
Pronounced: POM
Variant transcription of
Bom and
Beom.
A famous bearer is Pom Klementieff (1986-), a half-Korean French actress.
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Pranpriya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: ปราณปรียา(Thai)
Pronounced: pran-pree-YA
From Thai ปราณ (pran) meaning "breath" and ปรียา (priya) meaning "darling, beloved".
Prim
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature
Pronounced: Prim
Priya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Other Scripts: प्रिया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) பிரியா(Tamil) ప్రియ(Telugu) പ്രിയാ(Malayalam) ಪ್ರಿಯಾ(Kannada) প্রিয়া(Bengali)
Means
"beloved" in Sanskrit. It appears briefly in the
Puranas belonging to a daughter of King
Daksha.
Priyanka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Other Scripts: प्रियंका, प्रियङ्का(Hindi) प्रियांका(Marathi) ప్రియాంక(Telugu) பிரியங்கா(Tamil) പ്രിയങ്ക(Malayalam) ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ(Kannada) প্রিয়াঙ্কা(Bengali)
Quinn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name
Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series
Glee.
Ra
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology
Pronounced: RAH(English)
From Egyptian
rꜥ meaning
"sun" or
"day". Ra was an important Egyptian sun god originally worshipped in Heliopolis in Lower Egypt. He was usually depicted as a man with the head of a falcon crowned with a solar disc. In later times his attributes were often merged with those of other deities, such as
Amon,
Atum and
Horus.
Rafi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Various, Jewish, Spanish
Pronounced: rah-fee(Jewish)
Raia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Рая(Bulgarian)
Variant transcription of
Raya.
Raiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese Mythology
Other Scripts: 雷電(Japanese Kanji) らいでん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: RA-EE-DEHN(Japanese)
From Japanese
雷 (rai) meaning "thunder" and
電 (den) meaning "lightning". This is a regional epithet of the Japanese god
Raijin.
Raissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Раиса(Russian) Раїса(Ukrainian) Раіса(Belarusian)
Pronounced: ru-EES-ə(Russian)
Rami
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: رامي(Arabic)
Pronounced: RA-mee
Means "archer, marksman" in Arabic. This is the Arabic name for the constellation Sagittarius.
Ramsey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAM-zee
From an English and Scottish surname that was derived from a place name meaning "garlic island" in Old English.
Raphael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Biblical
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל, רְפָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: RA-fa-ehl(German) RAF-ee-əl(English) RAF-ay-ehl(English) rah-fie-EHL(English)
From the Hebrew name
רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning
"God heals", from the roots
רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named
Azarias and accompanies
Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father
Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the
New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in
John 5:4.
This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.
Raven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY-vən
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English
hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god
Odin.
Remy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
English form of
Rémy, occasionally used as a feminine name.
Rin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 凛, etc.(Japanese Kanji) りん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REEN
From Japanese
凛 (rin) meaning "dignified, severe, cold" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Rio 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Various
Means "river" in Spanish or Portuguese. A city in Brazil bears this name. Its full name is Rio de Janeiro, which means "river of January", so named because the first explorers came to the harbour in January and mistakenly thought it was a river mouth.
Rodrigo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Galician
Pronounced: ro-DHREE-gho(Spanish) roo-DREE-goo(European Portuguese) ho-DREE-goo(Brazilian Portuguese) ro-DREE-go(Italian)
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Galician form of
Roderick, via the Latinized Gothic form
Rudericus. A notable bearer was Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, also known as El Cid, an 11th-century Spanish military commander.
Roma 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From the name of the Italian city, commonly called Rome in English.
Rome
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
May be used on its own or as a contractive nickname for
Ramone.
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Simply from the name of the precious stone (which ultimately derives from Latin
ruber "red"), which is the traditional birthstone of July. It came into use as a given name in the 16th century
[1].
Rumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 留美, 瑠美, 流美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) るみ(Japanese Hiragana) ルミ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: ROO-MYEE
From Japanese 留
(ru) meaning "detain, fasten", 瑠
(ru) meaning "lapis lazuli", or 流
(ru) meaning "current, flow" combined with 美
(mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Rune
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Derived from Old Norse
rún meaning
"secret lore, rune".
Ryder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIE-dər
From an English occupational surname derived from Old English
ridere meaning
"mounted warrior" or
"messenger". It has grown in popularity in the 2000s because it starts with the same sound found in other popular names like
Ryan and
Riley.
Sabrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: sə-BREEN-ə(English) sa-BREE-na(Italian, Spanish) za-BREE-na(German) SA-BREE-NA(French) su-BREE-nu(European Portuguese) sa-BREE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Latinized form of
Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque
Comus (1634).
The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.
Sabriyya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: صبريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: sab-REE-ya
Sahar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: سحر(Arabic, Persian)
Pronounced: SA-har(Arabic) sa-HAR(Persian)
Means "dawn" in Arabic.
Salem 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAY-ləm
From the name of a biblical town,
שָׁלֵם (Shalem) in Hebrew, meaning
"complete, safe, peaceful". According to the
Old Testament this was the town where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with
Jerusalem. Many places are named after the biblical town, most in America, notably a city in Massachusetts where the infamous Salem witch trials occurred in 1692.
Samaire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: sə-MEE-rə
In the case of American actress Samaire Armstrong (1980-) it is most likely an invented name, though she has claimed it means "dawning sun" in Gaelic: 'My first name is Gaelic and means "dawning sun". It's pronounced Sah-mee-rah. My dad read 'Conan the Barbarian' when my mom was pregnant with me. That's where he got my name.' It may have been inspired by the Irish river name Samair, Samhair, about which Adolphe Pictet (1799-1875) wrote: '...in the colloquial Irish of the people the old name Samhair was corrupted to Camhair; and as this word signifies the first appearance of daylight or the break of day, so they translated it into "Morning Star"'; or it may have been influenced by the fictional place name Cimmeria, the homeland of Conan the Barbarian in the works of Robert E. Howard.
Samar 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سمر(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA-mar
Means
"evening conversation" in Arabic, from the root
سمر (samara) meaning "to talk in the evening".
Samara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Personal remark: sah-MAHR-ah
Possibly derived from the name of the city of Samarra (in Iraq) or Samara (in Russia). The former appears in the title of the novel
Appointment in Samarra (1934) by John O'Hara, which refers to an ancient Babylonian legend about a man trying to evade death. Alternatively, this name could be derived from the word for the winged seeds that grow on trees such as maples and elms.
The name received a boost in popularity after it was borne by the antagonist in the horror movie The Ring (2002).
Samari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Personal remark: sah-MAHR-ie
Samina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: ثمينة(Arabic) ثمینہ(Urdu)
Pronounced: tha-MEE-na(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
ثمينة (see
Thamina), as well as the usual Urdu transcription.
Samira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: سميرة(Arabic) سمیرا(Persian)
Pronounced: sa-MEE-ra(Arabic) sa-mee-RAW(Persian)
Sanaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-NA
Personal remark: sa-NAH
Means
"brilliance, radiance, splendour" in Arabic, derived from the root
سنا (sanā) meaning "to gleam, to shine".
Santiago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: san-TYA-gho(Spanish) sun-tee-A-goo(European Portuguese) sun-chee-A-goo(Brazilian Portuguese) sahn-tee-AH-go(English) san-tee-AH-go(English)
Means
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
James, the patron saint of Spain. It is the name of the main character in the novella
The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Sapphire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAF-ie-ər
From the name of the gemstone, typically blue, which is the traditional birthstone of September. It is derived from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros), ultimately from the Hebrew word
סַפִּיר (sappir).
Sarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English (Modern)
Pronounced: sa-REE-na(Dutch)
Saris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Jewish, Jewish (Archaic)
Sasha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, English, French
Other Scripts: Саша(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: SA-shə(Russian) SASH-ə(English) SAH-shə(English) SA-SHA(French)
Satori
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 沙都里, 悟理, 咲藤李, 聡, 智凜, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SAH-TO-ṘEE
From Japanese 沙 (sa) meaning "sand", 都 (to) meaning "capital (city)" combined with 里 (ri) meaning "village". Other combinations of kanji characters are also possible.
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
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)
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.
Selena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Σελήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: seh-LEH-na(Spanish) sə-LEEN-ə(English)
Latinized form of
Selene. This name was borne by popular Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla (1971-1995), who was known simply as Selena. Another famous bearer is the American actress and singer Selena Gomez (1992-).
Selita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Senna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: せんな(Japanese Hiragana) 茜菜, 茜奈, 仙菜, 仙奈, 千菜, 千奈, 扇菜, 扇奈, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SEN-NAH
From Japanese 茜 (sen) meaning "deep red, dye from the rubia plant", 仙 (sen) meaning "immortal, transcendent, celestial being, fairy", 千 (sen) meaning "thousand" or 扇 (sen) meaning "fan (folding fan)" combined with 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" or 奈 (na) meaning "apple tree". Other kanji combinations are possible.
A famous female bearer is Senna Matsuda, a Japanese model and actress
Seth 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שֵׁת(Ancient Hebrew) Σήθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English)
Shahrazad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian (Rare), Arabic
Other Scripts: شهرزاد(Persian, Arabic)
Pronounced: shahr-ZAWD(Persian) shah-ra-ZAD(Arabic)
Possibly means
"noble lineage" from Persian
چهر (chehr) meaning "lineage, origin" and
آزاد (āzād) meaning "free, noble"
[1]. Alternatively, it might mean
"child of the city" from
شهر (shahr) meaning "city, land" combined with the suffix
زاد (zād) meaning "child of". This is the name of the fictional storyteller in
The 1001 Nights. She tells a story to her husband the king every night for 1001 nights in order to delay her execution.
Shane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAYN(English)
Anglicized form of
Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie
Shane (1953).
Shaun
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAWN
Anglicized form of
Seán. This is the more common spelling in the United Kingdom and Australia, while
Shawn is preferred in the United States and Canada (though it got a boost in America after the singer Shaun Cassidy released his debut album in 1976).
Shay 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAY(English)
Anglicized form of
Séaghdha, sometimes used as a feminine name.
Shoshana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Hebrew)
Shrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Other Scripts: श्रेय(Hindi, Marathi) શ્રેય(Gujarati)
Derived from Sanskrit श्रेयस् (śréyas) meaning "excellent, better, best".
Sienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHN-ə
From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
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).
Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German) see-MO-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Sinclair
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sin-KLEHR
From a Scottish surname that was derived from a Norman French town called "
Saint Clair". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).
Sinna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SIN-nah
Sirus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: سیروس(Persian)
Pronounced: SEEROOS
Sky
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
Simply from the English word sky, which was ultimately derived from Old Norse ský "cloud".
Sol 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SOL(Spanish) SAWL(European Portuguese) SOW(Brazilian Portuguese)
Means "sun" in Spanish or Portuguese.
Soledad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: so-leh-DHADH
Means
"solitude" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María de la Soledad, meaning "Mary of Solitude".
Soleil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: SAW-LAY(French)
Means "sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Sonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish
Pronounced: SON-yə(English) SAWN-yə(English) SAW-nya(Italian) SO-nya(Spanish)
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Soraia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Soren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Sparrow
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Sri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Telugu, Tamil, Indonesian
Other Scripts: శ్రీ(Telugu) ஸ்ரீ(Tamil)
Pronounced: SHREE(Telugu, Tamil) SREE(Indonesian) sə-REE(Indonesian)
Indonesian and southern Indian form of
Shri. It is sometimes a short form of longer names containing this element.
Stefan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Стефан(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: SHTEH-fan(German) STEH-fan(Swedish, Polish, Serbian) STEH-fahn(Dutch)
Form of
Stephen used in several languages. Famous bearers include the Serbian rulers Stefan Nemanja, Stefan Nemanjić, and Stefan Lazarević, who are all considered
saints in the Orthodox Church.
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Stormie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: STAWR-mee
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Sune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Danish
Taissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian (Rare), English (American, Rare)
Other Scripts: Таисса(Russian)
Pronounced: TAY-sə(American English) tə-IS-ə(American English)
Extremely rare Russian variant of
Taisa as well as an anglicized form (or variant transcription) of the name.
A well-known bearer of this name is the Ukrainian-American actress Taissa Farmiga (b. 1994).
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Personal remark: tah-LEETH-ah
Means
"little girl" in Aramaic. The name is taken from the phrase
talitha cumi meaning "little girl arise" spoken by
Jesus in order to restore a young girl to life (see
Mark 5:41).
Talon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAL-ən
From the English word meaning "talon, claw", ultimately derived (via Norman French) from Latin talus "anklebone".
Tam 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: תָּם(Hebrew)
Means "honest, innocent" in Hebrew.
Tamar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: תָּמָר(Hebrew) თამარ(Georgian)
Pronounced: TA-MAR(Georgian) TAHM-ahr(English) TAY-mahr(English)
Means
"date palm" in Hebrew. According to the
Old Testament Tamar was the daughter-in-law of
Judah and later his wife. This was also the name of a daughter of King
David. She was raped by her half-brother
Amnon, leading to his murder by her brother
Absalom. The name was borne by a 12th-century ruling queen of Georgia who presided over the kingdom at the peak of its power.
Tamara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Тамара(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian) თამარა(Georgian)
Pronounced: tu-MA-rə(Russian) TA-ma-ra(Czech, Slovak) ta-MA-ra(Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian) TAW-maw-raw(Hungarian) tə-MAR-ə(English) tə-MAHR-ə(English) TAM-ə-rə(English) tu-mu-RU(Lithuanian)
Russian form of
Tamar. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It rapidly grew in popularity in the United States starting in 1957. Another famous bearer was the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).
Taran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Pictish
Means
"thunder" in Welsh, from the old Celtic root *
toranos. It appears briefly in the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi [1]. The name is
cognate to that of the Gaulish god
Taranis. It was also borne by the 7th-century Pictish king Taran mac Ainftech.
Tasnim
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: تسنيم(Arabic)
Pronounced: tas-NEEM
From the name of a water spring in paradise, according to Islamic tradition.
Tatiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, French, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Greek, Georgian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Τατιάνα(Greek) ტატიანა(Georgian) Татьяна(Russian) Татяна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ta-TYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish, German) TAH-tee-ah-nah(Finnish) ta-TYAHN-ə(English) tu-TYA-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of the Roman name
Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name
Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as
Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.
Tatienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Tessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS-ə(English) TEH-sa(Dutch)
Thaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], French
Other Scripts: Θαΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TA-EES(French)
Possibly means
"bandage" in Greek. This was the name of a companion of Alexander the Great. It was also borne by a 4th-century
saint from Alexandria, a wealthy socialite who became a Christian convert, though in her case the name may have had a distinct Coptic origin. She has been a popular subject of art and literature, including an 1891 novel by Anatole France and an 1894 opera by Jules Massenet.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
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).
Thane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: THAYN
From the Scottish and English noble title, which was originally from Old English thegn.
Theo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: THEE-o(English) TEH-o(German) TEH-yo(Dutch)
Thomasin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare, Archaic), Cornish (Archaic)
English vernacular form of
Thomasina. This was one of the most popular English girls' names in the 16th century. It was used by Thomas Hardy for a character in his novel
The Return of the Native (1878).
Tran
Simplified variant of
Trần.
Trent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRENT
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who lived by the River
Trent. A famous bearer is the American musician Trent Reznor (1965-).
Trent is also a city in Italy, though the etymology is unrelated.
Trenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TREHN-tən
From the name of a New Jersey city established in the 17th century by William Trent. It means "
Trent's town".
Trey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAY
From an English nickname meaning "three".
Troian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian, Modern, Rare), English (American, Modern)
Possibly a transferred use of the surname.
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Valentine 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
From the Roman
cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Vanessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch
Pronounced: və-NEHS-ə(English) VA-NEH-SA(French) va-NEHS-sa(Italian) vu-NEH-su(European Portuguese) va-NEH-su(Brazilian Portuguese) ba-NEH-sa(Spanish) va-NEH-sa(German) vah-NEH-sa(Dutch)
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem
Cadenus and Vanessa [1]. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of
Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
Vaughn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAWN
From a Welsh surname, a variant of
Vaughan.
Vega 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
The name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Wāqiʿ) meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Vivica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Swedish (Rare), German (Modern, Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: VIV-ee-kah(English, Swedish)
Variant of
Viveca. A famous bearer is actress Vivica Fox.
Wilder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From an English surname meaning "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", from Old English wilde.
Wilhelmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare), English
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-na(Dutch, German) wil-ə-MEEN-ə(English) wil-hehl-MEEN-ə(English)
Dutch and German feminine form of
Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Willa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-ə
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Wrenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Pronounced: REN-ə
Elaborated form of
Wren. It coincides with Old English
wrenna meaning "(male) wren".
Xan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZAN
Short form of
Alexandra,
Alexander,
Xanthe and other names containing
xan. A known bearer is American actress and director Alexandra 'Xan' Cassavetes (1965-), the daughter of actor-director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands.
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) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)
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.
Xenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξένια(Greek) Ξενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-nya(Spanish)
Means
"hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of
ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
Xia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 夏, 霞, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: SHYA
From Chinese
夏 (xià) meaning "summer, great, grand",
霞 (xiá) meaning "rosy clouds", or other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Yael
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יָעֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ya-EHL(Hebrew)
Yara 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Yuna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, Japanese
Pronounced: YUN-A(Japanese) YUUN-A(Japanese) YOU-NA(Japanese)
Yuna is a supporting character in the videogame Final Fantasy X as well as the main character of Final Fantasy X-2. She was the High Summoner who defeated Sin and brought the Eternal Calm. She was named for
Yunalesca, who was the first Summoner to defeat Sin according to the franchise mythology.
Yvaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Various
Pronounced: ee-VAYN(Literature)
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'.
Yvette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: EE-VEHT(French) ee-VEHT(English) i-VEHT(English)
French feminine form of
Yves.
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
From Arabic
زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of
أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatima.
See also the related name Zahra 2.
Zaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Personal remark: ZIE-ah
Zaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زينة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIE-na
Personal remark: ZAY-nah
Alternate transcription of Arabic
زينة (see
Zayna).
Zara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: ZAHR-ə(English)
Personal remark: ZAHR-ah
Used by William Congreve for a character in his tragedy
The Mourning Bride (1697), where it belongs to a captive North African queen. Congreve may have based it on the Arabic name
Zahra 1. In 1736 the English writer Aaron Hill used it to translate
Zaïre for his popular adaptation of Voltaire's French play
Zaïre (1732).
In England the name was popularized when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981. Use of the name may also be influenced by the trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara.
Zendaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: zən-DAY-ə(English)
Borne by the American actress Zendaya Coleman (1996-), known simply as Zendaya. Her name was apparently inspired by the Shona name
Tendai.
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