aussiechic04's Personal Name List

Aaron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Finnish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אַהֲרֹן(Hebrew) Ἀαρών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHR-ən(English) AR-ən(English) A-RAWN(French) A-rawn(German) AH-ron(Finnish)
Rating: 54% based on 18 votes
From the Hebrew name אַהֲרֹן ('Aharon), which is most likely of unknown Egyptian origin. Other theories claim a Hebrew derivation, and suggest meanings such as "high mountain" or "exalted". In the Old Testament this name is borne by the older brother of Moses. He acted as a spokesman for his brother when they appealed to the pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. Aaron's rod produced miracles and plagues to intimidate the pharaoh. After the departure from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai, God installed Aaron as the first high priest of the Israelites and promised that his descendants would form the priesthood.

As an English name, Aaron has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. This name was borne by the American politician Aaron Burr (1756-1836), notable for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

Abraxas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology, Gnosticism, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: ΑΒΡΑΞΑΣ(Greek)
Pronounced: ə-BRAK-səs(English)
Rating: 31% based on 11 votes
From a word thought to have originated with the Gnostics or the Egyptians, found on many amulets during the last years of the Roman Empire. Abraxas was used by the Basilideans, a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century, to refer to the Supreme Being or god whom they worshipped; they believed it to be a name of power because it contained the seven Greek letters which, computed numerically, equal the number 365 (the number of days in the year). However, older mythologists placed Abraxas among the Egyptian gods, while some demonologists cite him as a demon with the head of a king and serpents forming his feet. He has been represented on amulets with a whip in his hand. The mystic word abracadabra is supposedly derived from his name (itself perhaps derived from Aramaic avra kedabra "what was said, occurred" or "I will create as I speak"). Many stones and gems were cut with his capricious symbolic markings, such as a human body having a fowl's or lion's head, and snakes as limbs, which were worn by the Basilideans as amulets. Gnostic symbols were later adopted by many societies devoted to magic and alchemy, therefore it is likely that most "abraxas-stones" made in the Middle Ages that contained kabbalistic symbols were talismans.

According to some sources this was an alternative name of one of the four immortal horses of the Greek sun god Helios. It was used by author J. K. Rowling in her 'Harry Potter' series of books for a minor character, the grandfather of Draco Malfoy.

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, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: Адам(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian) Αδάμ, Άνταμ(Greek) אָדָם(Hebrew) آدم(Arabic) ადამ(Georgian) Ἀδάμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AD-əm(English) A-DAHN(French) A-dam(German, Polish, Czech, Arabic) A-dahm(Dutch) AH-dam(Swedish) u-DAM(Russian, Ukrainian) ə-DHAM(Catalan)
Rating: 66% based on 15 votes
This is the Hebrew word for "man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew אדם ('adam) 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 ('adamah) 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 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).

Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Rating: 52% based on 14 votes
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz). Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
Adelys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Hispanic variant of Adelissa (compare Adelise).
Áedán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish [1]
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
Old Irish form of Aodhán.
Aja
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Indian
Other Scripts: अज, अजा(Hindi)
Pronounced: AY-zha(English)
Rating: 32% based on 10 votes
From Sanskrit अज (aja) or अजा (ajā), respectively the masculine and feminine word for "goat".
Alannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-LAN-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
Variant of Alana. It has been influenced by the affectionate Anglo-Irish word alannah, from the Irish Gaelic phrase a leanbh meaning "O child".
Alastríona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ə-ləs-TRYEE-nə, A-ləs-tryee-nə
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of Alastar.
Alcyone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλκυόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-SIE-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Latinized form of Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning "kingfisher". In Greek myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, supposedly the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.
Alethea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-ə-THEE-ə, ə-LEE-thee-ə
Rating: 54% based on 11 votes
Derived from Greek ἀλήθεια (aletheia) meaning "truth". This name was coined in the 16th century.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 84% based on 19 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 81% based on 16 votes
From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).

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, German, Italian, Spanish) a-LYEE-na(Polish)
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
Short form of Adelina, Albina and names that end in alina.
Aliyah 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֲלִיָּה(Hebrew)
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew עֲלִיָּה (see Aliya 2).
Alodia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gothic (Latinized)
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
Possibly from a Visigothic name, maybe from Gothic elements such as alls "all" or aljis "other" combined with auds "riches, wealth". Saint Alodia was a 9th-century Spanish martyr with her sister Nunilo.
Amadea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, German, Italian, Sicilian, Hungarian, Galician, Polish, Slovene
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Late Roman and German feminine form of Amadeus, Italian and Galician feminine form of Amadeo, Sicilian feminine form of Amadeu, Hungarian and Polish feminine form of Amadeusz and Slovene variant of Amadeja.
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ahm-ə-DAY-əs(English) ahm-ə-DEE-əs(English)
Rating: 44% based on 12 votes
Means "love of God", derived from Latin amare "to love" and Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Rating: 64% based on 10 votes
Derived from Greek ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning "to sparkle". This was the name of a heroine in Virgil's epic poem Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
Old German form of Emmeline.
Anara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh, Kyrgyz
Other Scripts: Анара(Kazakh, Kyrgyz)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
From Kazakh and Kyrgyz анар (anar) meaning "pomegranate", a word ultimately derived from Persian.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 72% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Anemone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-NEHM-ə-nee
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
From the name of the anemone flower, which is derived from Greek ἄνεμος (anemos) meaning "wind".
Anniston
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Derived from the name of the city of Anniston in the state of Alabama. The city was founded in the late 19th century by Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, who named the city after the latter's daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler. As a result, the meaning of the name is literally "Annie's town".

In some cases, Anniston as a given name can also be a variant spelling of Aniston.

A known bearer of this name is the youngest daughter of American actress Chyler Leigh (b. 1982) and her husband Nathan West (b. 1978).

Antigone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀντιγόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-TEE-GO-NEH(Classical Greek) an-TIG-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" and γονή (gone) meaning "birth, offspring". In Greek legend Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. King Creon of Thebes declared that her slain brother Polynices was to remain unburied, a great dishonour. She disobeyed and gave him a proper burial, and for this she was sealed alive in a cave.
Anwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Means "very beautiful" in Welsh, from the intensive prefix an- combined with gwen "white, blessed".
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 50% based on 12 votes
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər
Rating: 50% based on 9 votes
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.
Archidamus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), History
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Latinized form of Archidamos. This name was borne by five kings of Sparta (Greece).
Archimedes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀρχιμήδης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AR-KEE-MEH-DEHS(Classical Greek) ahr-ki-MEE-deez(English)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Derived from the Greek elements ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master" and μήδεα (medea) meaning "plans, counsel, cunning". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek mathematician, astronomer and inventor.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
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.
Arianwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: ar-YAN-wehn
Rating: 56% based on 9 votes
Derived from Welsh arian "silver" and gwen "white, blessed". This was the name of a 5th-century Welsh saint, one of the supposed daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: AHR-thər(English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
Rating: 64% based on 11 votes
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *artos "bear" (Old Welsh arth) combined with *wiros "man" (Old Welsh gur) or *rīxs "king" (Old Welsh ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name Artorius.

Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.

The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).

Arwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 48% based on 13 votes
Means "noble maiden" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Arwen was the daughter of Elrond and the lover of Aragorn.
Asha 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: आशा(Hindi, Marathi) ಆಶಾ(Kannada) ആശാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 40% based on 12 votes
Derived from Sanskrit आशा (asha) meaning "wish, desire, hope".
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Rating: 51% based on 17 votes
Means "happy, blessed" in Hebrew. Asher in the Old Testament is a son of Jacob by Leah's handmaid Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in Genesis 30:13.
Asherah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Pronounced: ə-SHEER-ə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 12 votes
Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.
Astoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: as-TAWR-ee-ə
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of Astor. This is also the name of several American towns, after the businessman John Jacob Astor.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
Latinized form of the Greek Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 81% based on 9 votes
Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.

The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.

Audeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian), Haitian Creole
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
French diminutive of Aude.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 69% based on 14 votes
Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.

As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.

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)
Rating: 66% based on 15 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Austen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AWS-tin
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
Variant of Austin.
Avery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names Alberich or Alfred.

As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).

Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Rating: 25% based on 11 votes
Feminine variant of Aviv.
Azalais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Occitan
Rating: 37% based on 9 votes
Variant of Azalaïs.
Azalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-ZAY-lee-ə
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".
Barton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Transferred use of the surname Barton. In popular culture, Barton Fink is the name of a playwright in the 1991 film "Barton Fink".
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Rating: 67% based on 12 votes
Italian form of Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Benjamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Biblical
Other Scripts: בִּנְיָמִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-jə-min(English) BEHN-ZHA-MEHN(French) BEHN-ya-meen(German)
Rating: 62% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin) meaning "son of the south" or "son of the right hand", from the roots בֵּן (ben) meaning "son" and יָמִין (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-'oni) meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother Rachel, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see Genesis 35:18).

As an English name, Benjamin came into general use after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.

Bennett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-it
Rating: 53% based on 12 votes
Medieval form of Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.
Benson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-sən
Rating: 25% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that originally meant "son of Benedict".
Blessing
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: BLEHS-ing
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
From the English word blessing, of Old English origin. This name is most common in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa.
Boaz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Dutch, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: בֹּעַז(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BO-az(English)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Means "swiftness" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with Jachin).
Bracken
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
Transferred use of the surname Bracken.
Braith
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Australian, Rare)
Pronounced: BRAYTH
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from Welsh brith, braith meaning "speckled".
Brandon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAN-dən
Rating: 49% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English.

Already beginning to rise on the American charts, this name got a further boost when child actor Brandon Cruz (1962-) debuted on the sitcom The Courtship of Eddie's Father in 1969 [1]. After cresting in popularity in the 1980s the name began to decline, but this was turned around by the arrival of the character Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990 [1]. The name peaked in America ranked sixth in 1992.

Brandur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic, Faroese
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
Icelandic and Faroese form of Brandr.
Brenn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
A diminutive of names with the element or sound of -bren-, such as Brenna or Brendan.
Brianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: bree-AN-ə, bree-AHN-ə
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
Variant of Briana. This is currently the more popular spelling of the name.
Bruno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Croatian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BROO-no(German, Italian, Spanish, Czech) BROO-noo(Portuguese) BRUY-NO(French) BROO-naw(Polish, Slovak)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Derived from the Old German element brunna meaning "armour, protection" (Proto-Germanic *brunjǭ) or brun meaning "brown" (Proto-Germanic *brūnaz). Saint Bruno of Cologne was a German monk of the 11th century who founded the Carthusian Order. The surname has belonged to Giordano Bruno, a philosopher burned at the stake by the Inquisition. A modern bearer is the American singer Bruno Mars (1985-), born Peter Gene Hernandez.
Cabe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Cadence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dəns
Rating: 39% based on 11 votes
From an English word meaning "rhythm, flow". It has been in use only since the 20th century.
Caelius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KIE-lee-oos
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Roman family name that was derived from Latin caelum meaning "heaven".
Calais
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κάλαϊς(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of Greek Κάλαϊς (Kalais), which meant "turquoise" or "chrysolite" (being the name of "a precious stone of a greenish blue"). In Greek myth Calais and his twin brother Zetes, together known as the Boreads (being sons of Boreas, god of the north wind), were Argonauts.
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Calix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: KAY-liks
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
Short form of Calixtus.
Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
Rating: 58% based on 14 votes
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".
Callista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-tə
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
Variant of Calista.
Camber
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, Anglo-Saxon Mythology
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Camber, or Kamber, was the legendary first king of Cambria, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth in the first part of his influential 12th-century pseudohistory Historia Regum Britanniae. According to Geoffrey, Cambria, the classical name for Wales, was named for him.
Cambria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: KAM-bree-ə(English)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Latin form of the Welsh Cymru, the Welsh name for the country of Wales, derived from cymry meaning "the people". It is occasionally used as a given name in modern times.
Cameo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-ee-0
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
It is of Italian and Middle French origin, and the meaning is "skin". From Italian cammeo which refers to a gem portrait carved in relief.
Candace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: KAN-dis(English) KAN-də-see(English)
Rating: 42% based on 11 votes
From the hereditary title of the queens of Ethiopia, as mentioned in Acts in the New Testament. It is apparently derived from Cushitic kdke meaning "queen mother". In some versions of the Bible it is spelled Kandake, reflecting the Greek spelling Κανδάκη. It was used as a given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 20th century by a character in the 1942 movie Meet the Stewarts [1].
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Cara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
From an Italian word meaning "beloved" or an Irish word meaning "friend". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, though it did not become popular until after the 1950s.
Caralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kahr-ə-LEE, ker-ə-LEE
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Variant of Carolee, or else a blend of Cara and Coralie (or Aurélie).
Carbry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: KAHR-bree(English)
Rating: 28% based on 9 votes
Anglicized form of Cairbre.
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KAHR-is
Rating: 44% based on 10 votes
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Cassander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κάσσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of Greek Κάσσανδρος (Kassandros), the masculine form of Cassandra. This was the name of a 3rd-century BC king of Macedon.
Cassarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-SEHR-ə, kə-SAR-ə, KAS-ə-rə
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
Recently created name intended to mean "what will be, will be". It is from the title of the 1956 song Que Sera, Sera, which was taken from the Italian phrase che sarà sarà. The phrase que sera, sera is not grammatically correct in any Romance language.
Cassilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Rare), American (Archaic)
Pronounced: kə-SIL-də(American)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Variant of Casilda. It appears in 'The King in Yellow' (1895), a book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers.
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian)
Rating: 64% based on 13 votes
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus meaning "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd- or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.

Chalcedony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure (Modern)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
A rare purple semi-precious stone.
Chantal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAHN-TAL(French) shahn-TAHL(English, Dutch) shahn-TAL(English)
Rating: 28% based on 10 votes
From a French surname that was derived from a place name meaning "stony". It was originally given in honour of Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, the founder of the Visitation Order in the 17th century. It has become associated with French chant "song".
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 71% based on 16 votes
French feminine diminutive of Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of Jane Eyre and Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.

Chrysanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Χρυσάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of Chrysanthos.
Ciel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Means "sky" in French. It is not used as a given name in France itself.
Circe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κίρκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SUR-see(English)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
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.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

Cohen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-ən
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
From a common Jewish surname that was derived from Hebrew כֹּהֵן (kohen) meaning "priest". This surname was traditionally associated with the hereditary priests who claimed descent from the biblical Aaron.
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 15 votes
From Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles [1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.

The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).

Corentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: ko-REHN-teen(Breton) KAW-RAHN-TEHN(French)
Rating: 22% based on 11 votes
French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.
Corisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, French
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
Meaning uncertain, from the name of a character in medieval legend, possibly first recorded by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Perhaps it was derived from an older form of Spanish corazón "heart" (e.g., Old Spanish coraçon; ultimately from Latin cor "heart", with the hypothetic Vulgar Latin root *coratione, *coraceone) or the Greek name Chrysanthe. As a nickname it was used by a mistress of King Henry IV of France: Diane d'Andoins (1554-1620), la Belle Corisande. Some usage may be generated by Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera 'Amadis' (1684; based on Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo), in which it belongs to the lover of the prince Florestan. The name was also used by Benjamin Disraeli for a character in his play 'Lothair' (1870).
Corran
Usage: English, Irish (Anglicized)
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of Ó Corraidhín.
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Italian feminine form of Cosimo.
Crescentia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Late Roman
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Crescentius. Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Cyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κῦρος(Ancient Greek) 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: SIE-rəs(English)
Rating: 71% based on 7 votes
Latin form of Greek Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning "young" or "humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".

The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.

Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
Rating: 71% based on 14 votes
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Darcy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
D'Artagnan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Means "from Artagnan" in French, Artagnan being a town in southwest France. This was the name of a character in the novel The Three Musketeers (1884) by Alexandre Dumas. In the novel D'Artagnan is an aspiring musketeer who first duels with the three title characters and then becomes their friend.
Dathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: דָּתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Possibly means "fountain" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the conspirators against Moses.
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Dion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, English
Other Scripts: Δίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-ahn(English)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Short form of Dionysios and other Greek names beginning with the Greek element Διός (Dios) meaning "of Zeus". This was the name of a 4th-century BC tyrant of Syracuse. It has been used as an American given name since the middle of the 20th century.
Drea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Short form of Andrea 2.
Dresden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
From the name of the city in Germany, which is derived from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning "people of the riverside forest".
Eben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Short form of Ebenezer.
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish)
Rating: 70% based on 9 votes
From the Old English name Eadgyð, derived from the elements ead "wealth, fortune" and guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.
Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Rating: 65% based on 13 votes
Means "rich protection", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.

Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 82% based on 14 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English, Medieval Slavic
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Church Slavic) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 11 votes
Form of Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Елена (see Yelena).
Eleni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελένη(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-LEHN-ee
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Modern Greek form of Helen.
Eleri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: eh-LEH-ri
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From the name of a Welsh river, also called the Leri, of unknown meaning. This was also the name of a 7th-century Welsh saint (masculine).
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Rating: 56% based on 11 votes
Means "ascension" in Hebrew. In the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.

Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).

Eliana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֶלִיעַנָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 68% based on 11 votes
Means "my God has answered" in Hebrew.
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
French form of Alodia.
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Émeric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EHM-REEK
Rating: 40% based on 8 votes
French form of Emmerich.
Emerson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From an English surname meaning "son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.
Emlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-lin
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
From the name of an ancient region of southwestern Wales, its name meaning "around the valley" from Welsh am "around" and glyn "valley". It has also been suggested that this name is a Welsh form of Latin Aemilianus (see Emiliano), though this appears to be unfounded.
Emmanuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, French, English
Other Scripts: עִמָּנוּאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EH-MA-NWEHL(French) i-MAN-yoo-ehl(English)
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name עִמָּנוּאֵל ('Immanu'el) meaning "God is with us", from the roots עִם ('im) meaning "with" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". This was the foretold name of the Messiah in the Old Testament. It has been used in England since the 16th century in the spellings Emmanuel and Immanuel, though it has not been widespread [1]. The name has been more common in continental Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal (in the spellings Manuel and Manoel).
Emrys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-ris
Rating: 41% based on 10 votes
Welsh form of Ambrose. Emrys Wledig (or Ambrosius Aurelianus) was a Romano-British military leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Tales of his life were used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to help shape the early character of Merlin, whom he called Merlinus Ambrosius in Latin.
Ennis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname that was derived from inis meaning "island".
Era
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Derived from Albanian erë meaning "wind".
Ernest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Catalan, Polish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: UR-nist(English) EHR-NEST(French) ər-NEST(Catalan) EHR-nest(Polish)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Derived from Old High German ernust meaning "serious, earnest". It was introduced to England by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century, though it did not become common until the following century. The American author and adventurer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was a famous bearer of the name. It was also used by Oscar Wilde for a character in his comedy The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
Esmé
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Rating: 62% based on 12 votes
Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.
Esra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Possibly a Turkish form of Asra.
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(English, Dutch) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
Possibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was Hadassah.

This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].

Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Derived from Greek εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning "sweetly-speaking", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Euthalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Εὐθαλία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means "flower, bloom" from the Greek word εὐθάλεια (euthaleia), itself derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and θάλλω (thallo) meaning "to blossom".
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of Ifan, a Welsh form of John.
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-VAN-dər(English) ə-VAN-dər(English)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Variant of Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning "good of man", derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Roman mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of Euanthe.
Evelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eh-BEH-lya
Rating: 39% based on 10 votes
Elaborated form of Eva.
Evelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Εβελίνα(Greek) Эвелина(Russian) Евелина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ehv-ə-LEE-nə(English) eh-veh-LEE-na(Italian, Swedish)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Latinate form of Aveline. It was revived by the author Fanny Burney for the heroine of her first novel Evelina (1778). It is often regarded as a variant of the related name Evelyn or an elaboration of Eve.
Evenor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of Euenor. This name was borne by a Greek painter from the 5th century BC.

In Greek mythology, this is the name of several characters, one of which is the ancestor of the kings that ruled the legendary island of Atlantis.

Ever
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ər
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Simply from the English word ever, derived from Old English æfre.
Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
Rating: 65% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Everard.
Everild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Rating: 39% based on 8 votes
Latinized form of Eoforhild. This was the name of a 7th-century English saint.
Everina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Meaning uncertain, perhaps a feminine form of Everard. This was borne by Clara Everina Wollstonecraft (1765-1841), a younger sister of English philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft.
Everwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Possibly a variant of Eoforwine.
Eviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Evren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
Means "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Evron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew (Rare)
Other Scripts: עֶבְרוֹן(Hebrew)
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
From a biblical place name, also called עַבְדּוֹן ('Avdon) meaning "servile", for which it may be a clerical error.
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
Rating: 60% based on 11 votes
From the Hebrew name יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yechezqel) meaning "God will strengthen", from the roots חָזַק (chazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name, Ezekiel has been used since the Protestant Reformation.
Ezilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norman, French (Cajun), Louisiana Creole
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Norman feminine name of unknown etymology, possibly linked to the given name Isolde.
Fable
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY-bel
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Derived from the word for a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are given human qualities, and that illustrates a moral lesson.
The word "fable" comes from the Latin fabula (a "story"), itself derived from fari ("to speak") with the -ula suffix that signifies "little".
Fáelán
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Irish [1]
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Old Irish form of Faolán.
Farley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FAHR-lee
Rating: 26% based on 5 votes
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "fern clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer of this name was Canadian author Farley Mowat (1921-2014).
Fatima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bosnian
Other Scripts: فاطمة(Arabic) فاطمہ(Urdu)
Pronounced: FA-tee-mah(Arabic)
Rating: 44% based on 12 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic فاطمة (see Fatimah), as well as the usual Urdu and Bosnian form.
Fenley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FEN-lee
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Transferred used of the surname Fenley.
Fenn
Usage: English
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Fenris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Literature
Rating: 20% based on 6 votes
Short form of the Old Norse Fenrisúlfr (literally "Fenrir-wolf"). The form Fenris Ulf was used for a talking wolf (originally named Maugrim) in the now defunct American edition of C. S. Lewis' 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'.
Finley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Rating: 42% based on 12 votes
Variant of Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.
Florence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Rating: 72% based on 10 votes
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.

The name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). She was a nurse in British hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.

Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 47% based on 10 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie Tangled in 2010.
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
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)
Rating: 72% based on 10 votes
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.

Friday
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: FRIE-day
Rating: 39% based on 9 votes
From the English word for the day of the week, which was derived from Old English frigedæg meaning "Frig's day". Daniel Defoe used it for a character in his novel Robinson Crusoe (1719). As a given name, it is most often found in parts of Africa, such as Nigeria and Zambia.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAHB-ree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 66% based on 12 votes
From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Gabrielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) gab-ree-EHL(English)
Rating: 59% based on 11 votes
French feminine form of Gabriel. This was the real name of French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
Gaetano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ga-eh-TA-no
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Italian form of the Latin name Caietanus, which meant "from Caieta". Caieta (now called Gaeta) was a town in ancient Italy, its name deriving either from Kaiadas, the name a Greek location where prisoners were executed, or else from Caieta, the name of the nurse of Aeneas. Saint Gaetano was a 16th-century Italian priest who founded the Theatines.
Galilea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare), English (Modern)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Galileo.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 58% based on 10 votes
English form of Geneviève.
Georgiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romanian
Pronounced: jawr-JAY-nə(English) jawr-jee-AN-ə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 10 votes
Feminine form of George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.
Gerard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Catalan, Polish
Pronounced: ji-RAHRD(American English) JEHR-əd(British English) GHEH-rahrt(Dutch) zhə-RART(Catalan) GEH-rart(Polish)
Rating: 47% based on 9 votes
Derived from the Old German element ger meaning "spear" combined with hart meaning "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This name was borne by saints from Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy. The Normans introduced it to Britain. It was initially much more common there than the similar name Gerald [1], with which it was often confused, but it is now less common.
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Rating: 59% based on 12 votes
Italian form of Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning "juniper".
Gregory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GREHG-ə-ree
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
English form of Latin Gregorius, which was from the Late Greek name Γρηγόριος (Gregorios), derived from γρήγορος (gregoros) meaning "watchful, alert". This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important saints including Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (3rd century), Saint Gregory the Illuminator (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (4th century), and Saint Gregory of Tours (6th century). It was also borne by the 6th-century pope Saint Gregory I the Great, a reformer and Doctor of the Church, as well as 15 subsequent popes.

Due to the renown of the saints by this name, Gregory (in various spellings) has remained common in the Christian world through the Middle Ages and to the present day. It has been used in England since the 12th century. A famous bearer from the modern era was American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003).

Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
Possibly means "white ring", derived from Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed" and dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle [1]. Geoffrey later used it in Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name Guendoleu by Geoffrey [3].

This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).

Hagen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: HA-gən(German)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old German element hag meaning "enclosure" (Proto-Germanic *hagô). In the medieval German saga the Nibelungenlied he is the cunning half-brother of Gunther. He killed the hero Siegfried by luring him onto a hunting expedition and then stabbing him with a javelin in his one vulnerable spot.
Hala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: هالة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HA-lah
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Means "halo around the moon" in Arabic. This was the name of a sister-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
Harrison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-i-sən, HEHR-i-sən
Rating: 60% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that meant "son of Harry". This was the surname of two American presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). As a given name it reached a low point in America in 1977 before it was revived by the career of actor Harrison Ford (1942-), who starred in such movies as Star Wars in 1977 and Indiana Jones in 1984.
Hart
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: HAHRT
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
Either a short form of Hardy, Hartmann, or other name beginning with the element hart or hard, "hardy, strong"; or from the Old English heorot or Middle Low German harte, a male deer. A famous bearer is Hart Crane, the 20th century poet.
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German) heh-LEH-nah(Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 12 votes
Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 76% based on 13 votes
From the Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like Haganrich, in which the first element is hag "enclosure".

Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.

The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).

Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Old German form of Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Hunter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUN-tər
Rating: 44% based on 10 votes
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).
Idalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1], Greek Mythology, Polish (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ἰδαλία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Probably from a Germanic name derived from the element idal, an extended form of id possibly meaning "work, labour" [1]. Unrelated, this was also an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, given because the city of Idalion on Cyprus was a center of her cult.

This name was borne by the heroine of the Polish writer Juliusz Słowacki's play Fantazy (1841, published 1866).

Idonea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of Iðunn. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century [1].
Idris 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Means "ardent lord" from Old Welsh iudd "lord" combined with ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Ignatia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Ignatius.
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact Íñigo.
Ilithyia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εἰλείθυια(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From the Greek Εἰλείθυια (Eileithyia), which was derived from εἰλήθυια (eilethyia) meaning "the readycomer". This was the name of the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery.
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 64% based on 11 votes
The name of the daughter of King Cymbeline in the play Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended. Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Indigo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
From the English word indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".
Iolanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: ie-o-LAN-thee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Probably a variant of Yolanda influenced by the Greek words ἰόλη (iole) meaning "violet" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This name was (first?) used by Gilbert and Sullivan in their comic opera Iolanthe (1882).
Irene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εἰρήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-REEN(English) ie-REE-nee(English) ee-REH-neh(Italian, Spanish) EE-reh-neh(Finnish) ee-REH-nə(German, Dutch)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
From Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the Ὥραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.

This name has traditionally been more popular among Eastern Christians. In the English-speaking world it was not regularly used until the 19th century.

Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִצְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
Rating: 65% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (Yitzchaq) meaning "he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from צָחַק (tzachaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of Esau and Jacob with his wife Rebecca.

As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).

Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 74% based on 14 votes
Variant of Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word isla meaning "island".
Israel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: יִשְׂרָאֵל(Hebrew) Ἰσραήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IZ-ray-əl(English) IZ-ree-əl(English) eez-ra-EHL(Spanish)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra'el) meaning "God contends", from the roots שָׂרָה (sarah) meaning "to contend, to fight" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.
Ithai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אִתַּי, אִיתַי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ITH-ie(English)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Variant of Ittai.
Ivar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian
Pronounced: EE-var(Swedish) EE-vahr(Norwegian)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Scandinavian form of Ivor.
Jacinta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: kha-THEEN-ta(European Spanish) kha-SEEN-ta(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Hyacinthus.
Jadon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יָדוֹן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAH-dən(English) JAY-dən(English)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Possibly means either "thankful" or "he will judge" in Hebrew. This name is borne by a minor character in the Old Testament.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 77% based on 13 votes
English form of the Late Latin name Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form Iacobus, from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov (see Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the New Testament. The first was Saint James the Greater, the apostle John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of Jesus.

This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.

Famous bearers include the English explorer Captain 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.

Jamesina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of James.
Janara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Brazilian
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Medieval English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John). This became the most common feminine form of John in the 17th century, surpassing Joan. In the first half of the 20th century Joan once again overtook Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.

Jared
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יָרֶד, יֶרֶד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAR-əd(English)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name יָרֶד (Yared) or יֶרֶד (Yered) meaning "descent". This is the name of a close descendant of Adam in the Old Testament. It has been used as an English name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popularized in the 1960s by the character Jarrod Barkley on the television series The Big Valley [1].
Jaron 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: יָרוֹן(Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew יָרוֹן (see Yaron).
Jasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAZ-min(English) ZHAS-MEEN(French)
Rating: 52% based on 10 votes
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 (yasamin), 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.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 72% based on 13 votes
From Latin Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer", derived from Persian ganzabara. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Javor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Јавор(Serbian)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Means "maple tree" in South Slavic.
Jesse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Finnish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
From Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name יִשַׁי (Yishai), which possibly means "gift". In the Old Testament Jesse is the father of King David. It began to be used as an English given name after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.
Joachim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Polish, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: YO-a-khim(German) yo-A-khim(German) ZHAW-A-KEEM(French) yaw-A-kheem(Polish) JO-ə-kim(English)
Rating: 39% based on 9 votes
Contracted form of Jehoiachin or Jehoiakim. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of the Virgin Mary. Due to his popularity in the Middle Ages, the name came into general use in Christian Europe (though it was never common in England).
Jocasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ἰοκάστη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: jo-KAS-tə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name Ἰοκάστη (Iokaste), which is of unknown meaning. In Greek mythology she was the mother Oedipus by the Theban king Laius. In a case of tragic mistaken identity, she married her own son.
Jocelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(English) JAHS-ə-lin(English) ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French)
Rating: 52% based on 11 votes
From a Frankish masculine name, variously written as Gaudelenus, Gautselin, Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element *gautaz, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Geats, combined with a Latin diminutive suffix. The Normans brought this name to England in the form Goscelin or Joscelin, and it was common until the 14th century. It was revived in the 20th century primarily as a feminine name, perhaps an adaptation of the surname Jocelyn (a medieval derivative of the given name). In France this is a masculine name only.
Johanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: yo-HA-na(German) yuw-HA-na(Swedish) yo-HAHN-nah(Danish) yo-HAH-na(Dutch) YO-hawn-naw(Hungarian) YO-hahn-nah(Finnish) jo-HAN-ə(English) jo-AN-ə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Latinate form of Greek Ioanna (see Joanna).
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name יוֹנָה (Yonah) meaning "dove". This was the name of a prophet swallowed by a fish, as told in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach in Nineveh, but instead fled by boat. After being caught in a storm, the other sailors threw Jonah overboard, at which point he was swallowed. He emerged from the fish alive and repentant three days later.

Jonah's story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the Hellenized form Jonas was occasionally used in England. The form Jonah did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Jonathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHN-ə-thən(American English) JAWN-ə-thən(British English) ZHAW-NA-TAHN(French) YO-na-tan(German)
Rating: 70% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonatan), contracted to יוֹנָתָן (Yonatan), meaning "Yahweh has given", derived from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and נָתַן (natan) meaning "to give". According to the Old Testament, Jonathan was the eldest son of Saul. His relationship with his father was strained due to his close friendship with his father's rival David. Along with Saul he was killed in battle with the Philistines.

As an English name, Jonathan did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who wrote Gulliver's Travels and other works.

Jones
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: JONZ(English)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Derived from the given name Jon, a medieval variant of John.
Jordana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Macedonian, Serbian, English (Rare)
Other Scripts: Јордана(Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: khor-DHA-na(Spanish) jawr-DAN-ə(English)
Rating: 29% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of Jordan.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 79% based on 13 votes
English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.
Joshua
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHSH-oo-ə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshu'a) meaning "Yahweh is salvation", from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and יָשַׁע (yasha') meaning "to save". As told in the Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hoshea.

The name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshu'a), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.

Josiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יֹאשִׁיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jo-SIE-ə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name יֹאשִׁיָהוּ (Yoshiyahu) meaning "Yahweh supports". In the Old Testament this is the name of a king of Judah famous for his religious reforms. He was killed fighting the Egyptians at Megiddo in the 7th century BC. In England this name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Jovan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Јован(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: YO-van(Serbian) YAW-van(Macedonian)
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Serbian and Macedonian form of John.
Joy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOI
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
Simply from the English word joy, ultimately derived from Norman French joie, Latin gaudia. It has been regularly used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 81% based on 15 votes
Anglicized form of Giulietta or Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Kalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Калина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ka-LYEE-na(Polish)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Means "viburnum tree" in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish.
Kamaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Eastern African, Comorian
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
From Arabic qamar meaning "moon", also the root of the name of the island country of the Comoros.
Kelila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כְּלִילָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
From Hebrew כְּלִיל (kelil) meaning "crown, wreath".
Kerenza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
Variant of Kerensa.
Keziah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-ZIE-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name קְצִיעָה (Qetzi'ah) meaning "cassia, cinnamon", from the name of the spice tree. In the Old Testament she is a daughter of Job.
Kiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: kee-AHR-ə
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Variant of Ciara 1 or Chiara. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie The Lion King II (1998).
Kinborough
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Middle English form of Cyneburg.
Kinneret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כִּנֶּרֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From the name of a large lake in northern Israel, usually called the Sea of Galilee in English. Its name is derived from Hebrew כִּנּוֹר (kinnor) meaning "harp" because of its shape.
Kiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means "skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).
Kirsten
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: KEEWS-dən(Danish) KHEESH-tehn(Norwegian) KUR-stən(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Danish and Norwegian form of Christina.
Kısmet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
Means "fate" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic.
Kite
Usage: English
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From the name of the bird of prey, derived from Middle English Kete and Old English Cyta.
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
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.
Laertes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λαέρτης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LA-EHR-TEHS(Classical Greek) lay-UR-teez(English)
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Means "gatherer of the people" in Greek. This is the name of the father of Odysseus in Greek mythology. It was later utilized by Shakespeare for a character in his tragedy Hamlet (1600), in which he is the son of Polonius. His ultimate duel with Hamlet leads to both of their deaths.
Laurentia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 11 votes
From the Hebrew name לֵאָה (Le'ah), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word לְאָה (le'ah) meaning "weary". Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian littu meaning "cow". In the Old Testament Leah is the first wife of Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.

Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.

Leocadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of Leucadia or from Greek λευκός (leukos) meaning "bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name). Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Leofric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1]
Rating: 20% based on 6 votes
Derived from the Old English element leof "dear, beloved" combined with ric "ruler, king".
Leopold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Polish
Pronounced: LEH-o-pawlt(German, Dutch) LEE-ə-pold(English) LEH-o-polt(Czech) LEH-aw-pawld(Slovak) leh-AW-pawlt(Polish)
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
Derived from the Old German elements liut "people" and bald "bold, brave". The spelling was altered due to association with Latin leo "lion". This name was common among German royalty, first with the Babenbergs and then the Habsburgs. Saint Leopold was a 12th-century Babenberg margrave of Austria, who is now considered the patron of that country. It was also borne by two Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, as well as three kings of Belgium. Since the 19th century this name has been occasionally used in England, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's uncle, a king of Belgium, after whom she named one of her sons. It was later used by James Joyce for the main character, Leopold Bloom, in his novel Ulysses (1922).
Lewin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Leofwine.
Líadan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: LYEE-dən
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Possibly from Old Irish líath meaning "grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.
Liliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, English
Pronounced: lee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) lil-ee-AN-ə(English) lil-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 74% based on 11 votes
Latinate form of Lillian.
Lincoln
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LING-kən
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was originally from the name of an English city, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This name is usually given in honour of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Louis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: LWEE(French) LOO-is(English) LOO-ee(English) loo-EE(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. This was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne. Others include Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (called the Sun King) who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. It was also borne by kings of Germany (as Ludwig), Hungary (as Lajos), and other places.

Apart from royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common.

The Normans brought the name to England, where it was usually spelled Lewis, though the spelling Louis has been more common in America. Famous bearers include French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), Métis leader Louis Riel (1844-1885), who led a rebellion against Canada, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).

Lowenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Variant of Lowena.
Luca 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: LOO-tsaw
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Hungarian form of Lucia.
Lucasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
This name was first used by the poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems called Lucasta (1649). The poems were dedicated to Lucasta, a nickname for the woman he loved Lucy Sacheverel, whom he called lux casta "pure light".
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Romanian and English form of Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Luciana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHA-na(Italian) loo-THYA-na(European Spanish) loo-SYA-na(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Lucianus.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
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).
Lumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LOO-mee
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Lyrica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Pronounced: LI-ri-kə
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Elaborated form of Lyric.
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 79% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
English form of Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
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.
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Latinate form of Magdalene.
Maialen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MIE-a-lehn, mie-A-lehn
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Basque form of Magdalene.
Mairwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Combination of Mair and Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed".
Makeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
Rating: 29% based on 9 votes
Possibly means "greatness" in Ethiopic. This was the name of an Ethiopian queen of the 10th-century BC. She is probably the same person as the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon in the Old Testament.
Margalit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מַרְגָלִית(Hebrew)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Means "pearl" in Hebrew, ultimately from Greek μαργαρίτης (margarites).
Marissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mə-RIS-ə
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
Variant of Marisa.
Marsena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
One of the seven nobles of Persia. Meaning "worthy."
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(English) MAR-ta(German)
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
From Aramaic מַרְתָּא (marta') meaning "the lady, the mistress", feminine form of מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the New Testament this is the name of the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.

The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).

Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English) MAR-ee(English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Usual English form of Maria, the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names Μαριάμ (Mariam) and Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of Moses in the Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love".

This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.

Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.

This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.

The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.

Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 73% based on 12 votes
From the Germanic name Mahthilt meaning "strength in battle", from the elements maht "might, strength" and hilt "battle". Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.

The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.

Mattea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-a
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Italian feminine form of Matthew.
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
Rating: 68% based on 11 votes
English form of Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) meaning "gift of Yahweh", from the roots מַתָּן (mattan) meaning "gift" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Matthew, also called Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the New Testament. He is considered a saint in many Christian traditions. The variant Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle. The name appears in the Old Testament as Mattithiah.

As an English name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led a delegation to Japan. A famous modern bearer is American actor Matthew McConaughey (1969-).

Maxen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: MAK-sən(English)
Rating: 9% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of Macsen.
Maya 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מַיָּה(Hebrew)
Rating: 59% based on 11 votes
Derived from Hebrew מַיִם (mayim) meaning "water".
Mercedes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mehr-THEH-dhehs(European Spanish) mehr-SEH-dhehs(Latin American Spanish) mər-SAY-deez(English)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Means "mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity" [1].
Merit 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-it
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Either a variant of Merritt or else simply from the English word merit, ultimately from Latin meritus "deserving".
Merrigan
Usage: Irish
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Irish: Anglicized Form Of Gaelic Ó Muireagáin ‘Descendant Of Muireagán’-'The son of the descendant of Mary'/or/ A Personal Name Derived From Muir ‘Sea’.
Merryn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. This was the name of an early Cornish (male) saint.
Meyer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מֵאִיר(Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew מֵאִיר (see Meir). It also coincides with a German surname meaning "mayor, leader".
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Contracted form of Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Micaiah
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: מִיכָיָהוּ, מִיכָיְהוּ, מִיכָיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mi-KIE-ə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Means "who is like Yahweh?" in Hebrew. This name occurs in the Old Testament in a variety of Hebrew spellings, belonging to both males and females. It is the full name of Micah, both the prophet and the man from the Book of Judges. As a feminine name it belongs to the mother of King Abijah (at 2 Chronicles 13:2), though her name is listed as Maacah in other passages.
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)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Michael.
Mikasa
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
A Japanese battleship built in 1902, named after Mount Wakakusa, aka Mount Mikasa in Nara (literally: “three bamboo hats”). Mikasa Ackerman is a character in Attack on Titan.
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Мила(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian) MI-la(Czech)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Originally a diminutive of Slavic names containing the element milu "gracious, dear".
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English)
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
Derived from Latin mirandus meaning "admirable, wonderful". 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.
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Rating: 70% based on 10 votes
Hebrew form of Mary. It is used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.
Monet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
From a French surname that was derived from either Hamon or Edmond. This was the surname of the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Morgan 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 35% based on 10 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Moriah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Other Scripts: מֹרִיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: maw-RIE-ə
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
From Hebrew מֹרִיָה (Moriyah) possibly meaning "seen by Yahweh". This is a place name in the Old Testament, both the land where Abraham is to sacrifice Isaac and the mountain upon which Solomon builds the temple. They may be the same place. Since the 1980s it has occasionally been used as a feminine given name in America.
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Variant of Nadya 1 used in western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century [1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci (1961-) [2].
Nadira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نادرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: NA-dee-rah
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of Nadir.
Nahla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arabic (Egyptian), Indian
Other Scripts: نهله(Arabic)
Pronounced: NAH-lə(English) NAH-la(Egyptian Arabic)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Means "a drink of water" in Arabic or a variant of Nala.
Naia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NIE-a
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means "wave, sea foam" in Basque.
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name נָעֳמִי (Na'omi) meaning "pleasantness". In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be Mara because of her misfortune (see Ruth 1:20).

Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).

Nara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South, Rare, Archaic)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Possibly a variant of Nora. It might, however, also be a simplified spelling of Naarah.
Nasrin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Bengali
Other Scripts: نسرین(Persian) নাসরীন(Bengali)
Pronounced: nas-REEN(Persian)
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
Means "wild rose" in Persian.
Nathanael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Ναθαναήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name נְתַנְאֵל (Netan'el) meaning "God has given", from the elements נָתַן (natan) meaning "to give" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". It is borne by several minor characters in the Old Testament, typically spelled Nethanel or Nethaneel. In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle, probably another name of the apostle called Bartholomew.
Nava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: נָאוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 24% based on 9 votes
Means "beautiful" in Hebrew.
Nayeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous American, Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".
Nazli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: نازلی(Persian)
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
Means "delicate, beautiful, coy" in Persian.
Neith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Νηΐθ(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Greek form of Egyptian nt, possibly from nt "water" or nrw "fear, dread". This was the name of an early Egyptian goddess of weaving, hunting and war. Her character may have some correspondences with the goddesses Tanith, Anat or Athena.
Nekoda
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: נְקוֹדָא(Ancient Hebrew) Νεκωδά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nə-KO-də(English) NEH-ko-də(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means "marked" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the head of a family of temple servants.
Neroli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
Pronounced: NEHR-ə-lee(Australian English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From the name of an essential oil distilled from orange blossom, which was derived from the Italian place name Nerola, itself probably meaning "strong" or "brave" from Sabine nero (compare Nero). Neroli oil was named after the princess of Nerola, Anne Marie Orsini (1642-1722), who popularized the essence of bitter orange tree as a perfume, making it fashionable by the end of the 17th century. A known bearer of this name is Neroli Meadows (b. 1985 or 1986), an Australian sports journalist.
Neva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Short form of Geneva.
Nevena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Невена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
Derived from South Slavic neven meaning "marigold".
Nevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Turkish form of Nawra.
Niamh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYEEW(Irish) NYEEV(Irish)
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisín, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 70% based on 10 votes
From the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two czars of Russia.

Nicodemus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Νικόδημος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nik-ə-DEE-məs(English) nee-ko-DEH-moos(Latin)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name Νικόδημος (Nikodemos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people". This is the name of a character in the New Testament who helps Joseph of Arimathea entomb Jesus.
Nila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil, Indian, Hindi
Other Scripts: நீலா(Tamil) नीला(Hindi)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Means "dark blue" in Sanskrit.
Noa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: נוֹעָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-a(Spanish)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Modern Hebrew form of Noah 2, the daughter of Zelophehad in the Bible. It is also the form used in several other languages, as well as the spelling used in some English versions of the Old Testament.
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 62% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noach) meaning "rest, repose", derived from the root נוּחַ (nuach). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.

A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).

Noble
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NO-bəl
Rating: 22% based on 9 votes
From an English surname meaning "noble, notable". The name can also be given in direct reference to the English word noble.
Nora 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English) NO-ra(German)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Short form of Honora or Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play A Doll's House (1879).
Nova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-və(English) NO-va(Swedish)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
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.
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
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.
Odilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1][2]
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Old German element uodil meaning "heritage" or ot meaning "wealth, fortune". Saint Odilia (or Odila) was an 8th-century nun who is considered the patron saint of Alsace. She was apparently born blind but gained sight when she was baptized.
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Rating: 71% based on 12 votes
From Old French Olivier, possibly derived from a Germanic name, perhaps Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro). The spelling was altered by association with Latin oliva "olive tree". In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier was a friend and advisor of the hero Roland.

In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), which was about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.

Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
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 from the Latin word oliva meaning "olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman who is wooed by Duke Orsino but instead 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).

Ophira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אוֹפִירָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew אוֹפִירָה (see Ofira).
Oriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: o-RYA-na
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Possibly derived from Latin aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish oro or French or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight Amadis.
Orlando
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: or-LAN-do(Italian)
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
Italian form of Roland, as used in the epic poems Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. A character in Shakespeare's play As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 73% based on 9 votes
Anglicized form of Owain.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
Means "all gifts", derived from a combination of Greek πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". In Greek mythology Pandora was the first mortal woman. Zeus gave her a jar containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind now knows, and told her not to open it. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it, unleashing the evil spirits into the world.
Paris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PA-REES(Classical Greek) PAR-is(English) PEHR-is(English)
Rating: 44% based on 10 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly of Luwian or Hittite origin. In Greek mythology he was the Trojan prince who kidnapped Helen and began the Trojan War. Though presented as a somewhat of a coward in the Iliad, he did manage to slay the great hero Achilles. He was himself eventually slain in battle by Philoctetes.
Parthenope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παρθενόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: pahr-THEHN-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Means "maiden's voice", derived from Greek παρθένος (parthenos) meaning "maiden, virgin" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek legend this is the name of one of the Sirens who enticed Odysseus.
Pascale
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: PAS-KAL
Rating: 17% based on 10 votes
Feminine form of Pascal.
Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
From the Latin name Patricius, which meant "nobleman". This name was adopted in the 5th-century by Saint Patrick, whose birth name was Sucat. He was a Romanized Briton who was captured and enslaved in his youth by Irish raiders. After six years of servitude he escaped home, but he eventually became a bishop and went back to Ireland as a missionary. He is traditionally credited with Christianizing the island, and is regarded as Ireland's patron saint. He is called Pádraig in Irish.

In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.

Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
Penrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Transferred use of the surname Penrose.
Peredur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: peh-REH-dir(Welsh)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Meaning uncertain. It possibly means "hard spears" from Welsh peri "spears" and dur "hard, steel" [1]. In early Welsh poetry and histories, the brothers Peredur and Gwrgi were chieftains in Cumbria who defeated Gwenddoleu at the Battle of Arfderydd. This name was later used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Latin form Peredurus for an early (fictitious) king of Britain. Entering into Arthurian romance, Peredur is an aspiring knight in the 14th-century Welsh tale Peredur son of Efrawg (an adaptation or parallel of Chrétien de Troyes' hero Percival).
Perla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: PEHR-la
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Italian and Spanish cognate of Pearl.
Persia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PUR-zhə
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the name of the Middle Eastern country Persia, now referred to as Iran. Its name is derived from Avestan Parsa, the ancient tribal name of the people ruled by Cyrus the Great.

As a given name, it has been occasionally found in the English-speaking world from the early 19th century onwards.

Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
From the Greek Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning "bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of Theseus in Greek mythology. Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Piera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PYEH-ra
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Italian feminine form of Peter.
Poet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
From the English word meaning "someone who writes poems". From the Old French poete, from Latin poēta 'poet, author', from Ancient Greek poiētēs (ποιητής) 'creator, maker, author, poet', from poieō (poieō) 'I make, compose'.
Pomona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: po-MO-na(Latin)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From Latin pomus "fruit tree". This was the name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees.
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Promise
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: PRAHM-is
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the English word promise, from Latin promissum. It is currently most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.
Ptolemy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Other Scripts: Πτολεμαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAHL-ə-mee(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek πολεμήϊος (polemeios) meaning "aggressive, warlike". Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a Greek astronomer.
Rafferty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAF-ər-tee
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the given name Rabhartach meaning "flood tide".
Ramsey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAM-zee
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
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)
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafa'el) meaning "God heals", from the roots רָפָא (rafa') meaning "to heal" and אֵל ('el) 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 16th-century Renaissance master Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael.

Regan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: REE-gən(English)
Rating: 35% based on 10 votes
Meaning unknown. In the chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth it is the name of a treacherous daughter of King Leir. Shakespeare adapted the story for his tragedy King Lear (1606). In the modern era it has appeared in the horror movie The Exorcist (1973) belonging to a girl possessed by the devil. This name can also be used as a variant of Reagan.
Remiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Variant of Jeremiel appearing in some versions of the Old Testament.
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
Means "behold, a son" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is the eldest son of Jacob and Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the Protestant Reformation.
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ree-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *Rīgantonā meaning "great queen" (Celtic *rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix -on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish Epona. As Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married Pwyll instead. Their son was Pryderi.

As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 70% based on 9 votes
From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.
Rivalen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Romance
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Medieval form of Rhiwallon used in the early German versions of the Tristan legend, where it belongs to Tristan's father, the king of Parmenie.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
Rating: 48% based on 10 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Roan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element hraban meaning "raven".
Rohan 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 29% based on 9 votes
From the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, where it is a place name meaning "horse country" in the fictional language Sindarin.
Rohana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sanskrit
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Means "sandalwood" in Sanskrit.
Rohesia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English (Latinized)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Latinized form of the medieval name Rohese (see Rose).
Romilly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name Romilius.
Ronen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: רוֹנֶן(Hebrew)
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Derived from Hebrew רֹן (ron) meaning "song, joy".
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German) RO-zə-lee(English)
Rating: 84% based on 12 votes
French, German and Dutch form of Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind
Rating: 62% based on 10 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hros meaning "horse" and lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy As You Like It (1599).
Rosamund
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-mənd, RAHZ-ə-mənd
Rating: 69% based on 10 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hros "horse" and munt "protection". This name was borne by the wife of the Lombard king Alboin in the 6th century. The Normans introduced it to England. It was subsequently interpreted as coming from Latin rosa munda "pure rose" or rosa mundi "rose of the world". This was the name of the mistress of Henry II, the king of England in the 12th century. According to legends she was murdered by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Rosanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ro-ZAN-thee
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Presumably an altered form of Rhodanthe, using the Latin element rosa (compare Rose) as opposed to the Greek rhodon (compare Rhoda). The name was (first?) used by Welsh writer Ann Julia Hatton for a character in her popular Gothic novel 'Deeds of Olden Times' (1826). It was also used by Eliza Rennie in her poetic sketch 'The Myrtle Branch' (1828).
Rosenwyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: roz-EN-win
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Combination of Rosen and Cornish gwynn "fair, white, blessed". This is a modern Cornish name.
Roswitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: raws-VEE-ta
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hruod "fame" and swind "strong". This was the name of a 10th-century nun from Saxony who wrote several notable poems and dramas.
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements hroð "fame" and wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements ron "spear" and gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel Ivanhoe (1819).
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Latin form of Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *rauxšnā meaning "bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel Roxana (1724).
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
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].
Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
Derived from Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune".
Ruslan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Circassian, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: Руслан(Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar) Руслъан(Western Circassian, Eastern Circassian)
Pronounced: ruws-LAN(Russian)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Form of Yeruslan used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.
Saffron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAF-rən
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
From the English word that refers either to a spice, the crocus flower from which it is harvested, or the yellow-orange colour of the spice. It is derived via Old French from Arabic زعفران (za'faran), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".
Safira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: sa-FEE-ra
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
From Esperanto safiro meaning "sapphire".
Safiyyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: صفيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-FEE-yah
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of Safi. This was the name of one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad.
Saga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Swedish, Icelandic
Pronounced: SAH-gah(Swedish) SA-gha(Icelandic)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From Old Norse Sága, possibly meaning "seeing one", derived from sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word saga "story, fairy tale, saga".
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Sahara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Other Scripts: صَحَارَى(Arabic)
Pronounced: sə-HAHR-ə, sə-HAR-ə
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
From the name of the world's largest hot desert, which is derived from Arabic صَحَارَى‎ (ṣaḥārā) meaning "deserts".
Salome
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: სალომე(Georgian) Σαλώμη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-LO-mee(English)
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
From an Aramaic name that was related to the Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". According to the historian Josephus this was the name of the daughter of Herodias (the consort of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee). In the New Testament, though a specific name is not given, it was a daughter of Herodias who danced for Herod and was rewarded with the head of John the Baptist, and thus Salome and the dancer have traditionally been equated.

As a Christian given name, Salome has been in occasional use since the Protestant Reformation. This was due to a second person of this name in the New Testament: one of the women who witnessed the crucifixion and later discovered that Jesus' tomb was empty. It is used in Georgia due to the 4th-century Salome of Ujarma, who is considered a saint in the Georgian Church.

Samara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
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).

Samiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سامية(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA-mee-yah
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of Sami 2.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Eastern African, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) san-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
Rating: 63% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el) meaning "name of God", from the roots שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being שָׁמַע (shama') meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor David.

As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Sana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-NA
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic سناء (see Sanaa).
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)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
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.
Sarai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew, Spanish
Other Scripts: שָׂרָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEHR-ie(English) sə-RIE(English)
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Means "my princess" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, this was Sarah's name before God changed it (see Genesis 17:15).
Saranna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-RAN-ə
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Combination of Sarah and Anna, in occasional use since the 18th century.
Sariah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mormon
Pronounced: sə-RIE-ə(English)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Possibly from an alternate reading of Hebrew שׂריה (see Seraiah). In the Book of Mormon this is the name of Lehi's wife.
Šárka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: SHAR-ka
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown. In Czech legend Šárka was a maiden who joined other women in declaring war upon men. She tricked the men by having herself tied to a tree, and, after they came to her rescue, offering them mead laced with a sleeping potion. After the men fell asleep the other women slew them.
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From the Old German element sahso meaning "a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Savannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
From the English word for the large grassy plain, ultimately deriving from the Taino (Native American) word zabana. It came into use as a given name in America in the 19th century. It was revived in the 1980s by the movie Savannah Smiles (1982).
Sawyer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər, SAW-yər
Rating: 58% based on 9 votes
From an English surname meaning "sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Very rare as an American given name before 1980, it increased in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It got a boost in 2004 after the debut of the television series Lost, which featured a character by this name.

Saxon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAK-sən
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of the Germanic tribe the Saxons, ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *sahsą meaning "knife". This name can also be given in direct reference to the tribe.
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
Rating: 60% based on 9 votes
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 (saqrelat)). 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.
Schuyler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKIE-lər
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
From a Dutch surname meaning "scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) [1].
Sean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAWN(English)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Anglicized form of Seán. This name name, along with variants Shawn and Shaun, began to be be used in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland around the middle of the 20th century.
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Rating: 72% based on 10 votes
From the Latin name Sebastianus, which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.

Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.

Selah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: סֶלַה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
From a Hebrew musical term that occurs many times in the Old Testament Psalms. It was probably meant to indicate a musical pause.
Selma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic
Pronounced: SEHL-mə(English) ZEHL-ma(German)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly a short form of Anselma. It could also have been inspired by James Macpherson's 18th-century poems, in which it is the name of Ossian's castle.
Senara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Pronounced: ze-NAH-rah
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From the name of the patron saint of Zennor, a village in Cornwall, which is of obscure origin. Conceivably it may be derived from the Breton name Azenor or the old Celtic Senovara. According to local legend Saint Senara was originally Princess Azenor of Brest in Lower Brittany, the mother of Saint Budoc. She is also said to have been a mermaid before her conversion (though even after becoming a Christian, "she continued to pine for the sea"). This name was given to 52 girls born in England and Wales in the years 1916-2005.
Séraphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-RA-FEEN
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
French form of Seraphina.
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 47% based on 9 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Serenity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: sə-REHN-ə-tee
Rating: 47% based on 9 votes
From the English word meaning "serenity, tranquility", ultimately from Latin serenus meaning "clear, calm".
Shaelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SHAY-lin
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Elaboration of Shae using the popular name suffix lyn.
Shai
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שַׁי(Hebrew)
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Either from Hebrew שַׁי (shai) meaning "gift" or else a Hebrew diminutive of Isaiah.
Shaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), Arabic
Pronounced: SHIE-ə(Hebrew, English)
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
A modern English feminine variant of the Hebrew masculine name Shai.
Shaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: שיינאַ(Yiddish)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Alternate transcription of Yiddish שיינאַ (see Shayna).
Shakira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شاكرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SHA-kee-rah
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of Shakir. A famous bearer is the Colombian singer Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (1977-), known simply as Shakira.
Shekinah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 20% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew word שׁכִינה (shekhinah) meaning "God's manifested glory" or "God's presence". This word does not appear in the Bible, but later Jewish scholars used it to refer to the dwelling place of God, especially the Temple in Jerusalem.
Sheldrake
Usage: English
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From a medieval nickname for a dandyish (showy) or vain man, from Middle English scheldrake, the male of a type of duck with brightly-coloured plumage (itself from the East Anglian dialect term scheld "variegated" combined with drake "male duck").
Shiloh
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From an Old Testament place name possibly meaning "tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.

This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.

Shiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁירי(Hebrew)
Rating: 26% based on 9 votes
Means "my song" in Hebrew.
Shoshannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 39% based on 8 votes
Biblical Hebrew form of Susanna.
Siân
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SHAN
Rating: 19% based on 8 votes
Welsh form of Jane.
Sienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHN-ə
Rating: 57% based on 10 votes
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.
Silvana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: seel-VA-na
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Italian feminine form of Silvanus.
Simeon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Bulgarian, Serbian
Other Scripts: שִׁמְעוֹן(Ancient Hebrew) Симеон(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: SIM-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
From Συμεών (Symeon), the Old Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name Shim'on (see Simon 1). In the Old Testament this is the name of the second son of Jacob and Leah and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the New Testament the Greek rendering Σίμων (Simon) is more common, though Συμεών occurs belonging to a man who blessed the newborn Jesus. He is recognized as a saint in most Christian traditions.

This name was also borne by a powerful 10th-century ruler of Bulgaria who expanded the empire to its greatest extent.

Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German)
Rating: 52% based on 10 votes
French feminine form of Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Siran
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Սիրան(Armenian)
Pronounced: see-RAHN
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
Short form of Siranush.
Siri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: SEE-ree(Swedish)
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Short form of Sigrid.
Sofía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Galician
Pronounced: so-FEE-a(Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 8 votes
Spanish and Galician form of Sophia.
Solomon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Jewish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: שְׁלֹמֹה(Hebrew) Σολομών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAHL-ə-mən(American English) SAWL-ə-mən(British English)
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomoh), which was derived from Hebrew שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". As told in the Old Testament, Solomon was a king of Israel, the son of David and Bathsheba. He was renowned for his wisdom and wealth. Towards the end of his reign he angered God by turning to idolatry. Supposedly, he was the author of the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.

This name has never been overly common in the Christian world, and it is considered typically Jewish. It was however borne by an 11th-century Hungarian king.

Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
Rating: 82% based on 5 votes
From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements sól "sun" and veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt (1876).
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Sonnet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SAHN-it
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Diminutive of Italian sonetto - song, sound; little song. Also the term for a short lyric poem, usually with eight line stanzas, followed by six line
stanzas.

The sonnets of William Shakespeare, on the other hand, are typically three Sicilian quatrains, followed by an heroic couplet.

Sophronia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Late Greek
Other Scripts: Σωφρονία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of Olindo.
Soraya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Spanish, French, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Other Scripts: ثریا(Persian)
Pronounced: so-ray-YAW(Persian) so-RA-ya(Spanish)
Rating: 29% based on 9 votes
Persian form of Thurayya. It became popular in some parts of Europe because of the fame of Princess Soraya (1932-2001), wife of the last Shah of Iran, who became a European socialite.
Søren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SUUW-ən
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Danish form of Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.
Starling
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-ling
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the type of bird. It is commonly associated with the name Star.

It is the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor.

Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Sunniva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Form of Susanna found in some versions of the Old Testament.
Suvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SOO-vee
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Means "summer" in Finnish.
Svea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: SVEH-ah
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Syler
Usage: German
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Altered spelling of German Seiler.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 65% based on 10 votes
Variant of Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Taavi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian, Finnish
Pronounced: TAH-vee(Finnish)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Estonian and Finnish form of David.
Tahnee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TAW-nee
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Variant of Tawny.
Taimi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: TIE-mee(Finnish)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From Finnish taimi meaning "sapling, young tree" or Estonian taim meaning "plant" (words from a common origin).
Taj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: تاج(Arabic)
Pronounced: TAJ
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Means "crown" in Arabic.
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
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).
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Tamar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: תָּמָר(Hebrew) თამარ(Georgian)
Pronounced: TAHM-ahr(English) TAY-mahr(English)
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
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.
Tamsin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TAM-zin
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Contracted form of Thomasina. It was traditionally used in Cornwall.
Tanith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Other Scripts: 𐤕𐤍𐤕(Phoenician)
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
Meaning unknown. This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of Ba'al Hammon.
Tarquin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: TAHR-kwin(English)
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
From Tarquinius, a Roman name of unknown meaning, possibly Etruscan in origin. This was the name of two early kings of Rome.
Teague
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: TAYG(English) TEEG(English)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of Tadhg. This name is also used as a slang term for an Irish Catholic.
Teal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEEL
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the type of duck or the greenish-blue colour.
Tennyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHN-ə-sən
Rating: 32% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that meant "son of Tenney", Tenney being a medieval form of Denis. A notable bearer of the surname was the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), commonly called Lord Tennyson after he became a baron in 1884.
Tesla
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TES-la
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Transferred use of the surname Tesla. This was the surname of Serbian-American inventor, physicist, and engineer Nikola Tesla (1856-1943). He was the first to harness, control, direct, and manipulate electricity. His inventions and research laid the groundwork for the modern alternating current electricity supply system. His work was all but forgotten after his death, but he started to gain recognition in the 1990's.
Tesni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Means "warmth" in Welsh.
Thaddea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Filipino (Rare), German (Rare)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Thaddeus.
Thaddeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Θαδδαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-əs(English) tha-DEE-əs(English)
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
From Θαδδαῖος (Thaddaios), the Greek form of the Aramaic name Thaddai. It is possibly derived from a word meaning "heart", but it may in fact be an Aramaic form of a Greek name such as Θεόδωρος (see Theodore). In the Gospel of Matthew, Thaddaeus is listed as one of the twelve apostles, though elsewhere in the New Testament his name is omitted and Jude's appears instead. It is likely that the two names refer to the same person.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from θάλλω (thallo) meaning "to blossom". In Greek mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or Χάριτες (Charites).
Theia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θεία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Possibly derived from Greek θεά (thea) meaning "goddess". In Greek myth this was the name of a Titan goddess of light, glittering and glory. She was the wife of Hyperion and the mother of the sun god Helios, the moon goddess Selene, and the dawn goddess Eos.
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr
Rating: 84% based on 11 votes
From the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of god" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.

This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).

Theresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English) teh-REH-za(German)
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
From the Spanish and Portuguese name Teresa. It was first recorded as Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek θέρος (theros) meaning "summer", from Greek θερίζω (therizo) meaning "to harvest", or from the name of the Greek island of Therasia (the western island of Santorini).

The name was mainly confined to Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. After the 16th century it was spread to other parts of the Christian world, due to the fame of the Spanish nun and reformer Saint Teresa of Ávila. Another famous bearer was the Austrian Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), who inherited the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession.

Thisbe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Θίσβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEEZ-BEH(Classical Greek) THIZ-bee(English) TEES-beh(Latin)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
From the name of an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, itself supposedly named after a nymph. In a Greek legend (the oldest surviving version appearing in Latin in Ovid's Metamorphoses) this is the name of a young woman from Babylon. Believing her to be dead, her lover Pyramus kills himself, after which she does the same to herself. The splashes of blood from their suicides is the reason mulberry fruit are red.
Thorben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, German
Pronounced: TAWR-bən(German)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Variant of Torben.
Thurstan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: THUR-stən
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Norse name Þórsteinn (see Torsten).
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-ahs(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Rating: 67% based on 9 votes
Greek form of Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the Old Testament. It relates how Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation.
Traeger
Usage: German
Pronounced: TRAY-gur
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Derived from the German word Trager which means "Someone who carries something." Traeger could also mean "gift of God."
Trevelyan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tri-VEHL-yən
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
From a surname that was derived from a Cornish place name meaning "homestead on the hill".
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Tuesday
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TYOOZ-day, TOOZ-day, CHOOZ-day
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the day of the week, which derives from Old English tiwesdæg meaning "Tiw's day".
Ùna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic
Pronounced: OO-nə
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Scottish Gaelic form of Úna.
Valora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: va-LO-ra
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Means "valuable" in Esperanto.
Vaughan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: VAWN(English)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
From a Welsh surname that was derived from bychan (mutated to fychan) meaning "little".
Vendelín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: VEHN-deh-leen
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Czech and Slovak form of Wendelin.
Verena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Late Roman
Pronounced: veh-REH-na(German)
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Possibly related to Latin verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name Berenice. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Victor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late Roman
Pronounced: VIK-tər(English) VEEK-TAWR(French) VEEK-tor(Romanian)
Rating: 40% based on 8 votes
Roman name meaning "victor, conqueror" in Latin. It was common among early Christians, and was borne by several early saints and three popes. It was rare as an English name during the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the French writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who authored The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Vienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: vee-EHN-ə
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
From the name of the capital city of Austria, Vienna.
Virva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VEER-vah
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Possibly derived from Finnish virvatuli meaning "will o' the wisp". In folklore, will o' the wisp is a floating ball of light that appears over water.
Vissarion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian (Archaic), Greek
Other Scripts: Виссарион(Russian) Βησσαρίων(Greek)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Russian form and Modern Greek transcription of Bessarion.
Viviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Late Roman
Pronounced: vee-VYA-na(Italian) bee-BYA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
Feminine form of Vivianus (see Vivian). Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 74% based on 8 votes
French form of Viviana.
Vladan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Владан(Serbian)
Pronounced: VLA-dan(Czech)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Short form of Slavic names beginning with the element vladeti meaning "rule".
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

Winslet
Usage: English
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
A notable bearer is the actress Kate Winslet.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 69% based on 10 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Wystan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From the Old English name Wigstan, composed of the elements wig "battle" and stan "stone". This was the name of a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon saint. It became rare after the Norman Conquest, and in modern times it is chiefly known as the first name of the British poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973).
Xavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Modern feminine form of Xavier.
Xylia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: ZIE-lee-ə
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From xylo, a Greek root meaning "wood".
Zachariah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-ə(English)
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Variant of Zechariah. This spelling is used in the King James Version of the Old Testament to refer to one of the kings of Israel (called Zechariah in other versions).
Zahrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زهرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZAH-rah
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Derived from Arabic زهرة (zahrah) meaning "blooming flower", from the root زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine".
Zakhar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Захар(Russian)
Pronounced: zu-KHAR
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Russian form of Zacharias.
Zakkai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: זַכָּי(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Hebrew form of Zaccai.
Zala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
Diminutive of Rozalija.
Zebadiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: זְבַדְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: zehb-ə-DIE-ə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Means "Yahweh has bestowed" in Hebrew. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.
Zebedee
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Ζεβεδαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHB-ə-dee(English)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaios), the Greek form of Zebadiah used in the New Testament, where it refers to the father of the apostles James and John.
Zebulon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: זְבוּלֻן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZEHB-yə-lən(English)
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
Variant of Zebulun.
Zedekiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: צִדְקִיָּהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: zehd-ə-KIE-ə(English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name צִדְקִיָּהוּ (Tzidqiyyahu) meaning "justice of Yahweh", from צֶדֶק (tzedeq) meaning "justice" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of the last king of Judah.
Zenaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηναΐδα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Apparently a Greek derivative of Ζηναΐς (Zenais), which was derived from the name of the Greek god Zeus. This was the name of a 1st-century saint who was a doctor with her sister Philonella.
Zendaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Borne by the American actress Zendaya Coleman (1996-), known simply as Zendaya. Her name was apparently inspired by the Shona name Tendai.
Zephyr
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(English)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
From the Greek Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning "west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zhenya
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Женя(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ZHEH-nyə(Russian)
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
Russian diminutive of Yevgeniya or Yevgeniy or a Bulgarian diminutive of Evgeniya.
Zidane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic (Maghrebi)
Other Scripts: زيدان(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZEE-DAN(French)
Rating: 14% based on 7 votes
Alternate transcription of Zaydan chiefly used in Northern Africa.
Zimri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: זִמְרִי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZIM-ree(English) ZIM-rie(English)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Means "my praise" or "my music" in Hebrew. This was the name of a king of Israel according to the Old Testament. He ruled for only seven days, when he was succeeded by the commander of the army Omri. Another Zimri in the Old Testament was the the lover of the Midianite woman Cozbi.
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Rating: 75% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name צִפּוֹרָה (Tzipporah), derived from צִפּוֹר (tzippor) meaning "bird". In the Old Testament this is the name of the Midianite wife of Moses. She was the daughter of the priest Jethro.
Ziva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זִיוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Ziv.
Zlatan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Златан(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ZLA-tan(Croatian, Serbian)
Rating: 10% based on 5 votes
Means "golden", a derivative of the Slavic word zlato "gold".
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
Means "life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of Eve. It was borne by two early Christian saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.

As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).

Zoraida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: tho-RIE-dha(European Spanish) so-RIE-dha(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Perhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel Don Quixote (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.
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