delphine'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: 43% based on 6 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.

Aidan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən(English)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as Braden and Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.
Ailís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: A-lyeesh
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Irish form of Alice.
Aina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: IE-nah(Finnish) IE-na(Swedish)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Variant of Aino. It also means "always" in Finnish.
Áine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: A-nyə(Irish)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Means "radiance, brilliance" in Irish. This was the name of a goddess of love and fertility in Irish legend, thought to dwell at the hill of Cnoc Áine in Limerick. It has sometimes been Anglicized as Anne.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 82% based on 5 votes
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Rating: 73% based on 10 votes
Variant of Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.

Anwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Means "very beautiful" in Welsh, from the intensive prefix an- combined with gwen "white, blessed".
Anya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Аня(Russian)
Pronounced: A-nyə(Russian) AN-yə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Russian diminutive of Anna.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning "safe" or ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning "a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was known as Diana to the Romans.
Arwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 58% based on 4 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.
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 83% based on 6 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.

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: 80% based on 7 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.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Bénédicte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BEH-NEH-DEEKT
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
French feminine form of Benedict.
Brendan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Breton
Pronounced: BREHN-dən(English) BREHN-dahn(Breton)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From Brendanus, the Latinized form of the Old Irish name Bréanainn, which was derived from Old Welsh breenhin meaning "king, prince". Saint Brendan was a 6th-century Irish abbot who, according to legend, crossed the Atlantic and reached North America with 17 other monks.
Brenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ə
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Possibly a variant of Brenda or a feminine form of Brennan.
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname Braonán, itself from Irish braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to Brendan or Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.
Caitria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Possibly a form of Caitríona.
Cara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Rating: 52% based on 5 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.
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KAHR-is
Rating: 75% based on 4 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.
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.

Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
French form of Katherine, and also a common English variant.
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of Cecilia.
Céline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-LEEN
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
French feminine form of Caelinus. This name can also function as a short form of Marceline.
Chantal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAHN-TAL(French) shahn-TAHL(English, Dutch) shahn-TAL(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 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".
Charis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek
Other Scripts: Χάρις(Ancient Greek) Χάρης, Χάρις(Greek)
Pronounced: KA-REES(Classical Greek) KHA-rees(Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Ancient Greek feminine form of Chares. This was the word (in the singular) for one of the three Graces (plural Χάριτες).

This is also a Modern Greek transcription of the masculine form Chares.

Christian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KRIS-chən(English) KRISH-chən(English) KREES-TYAHN(French) KRIS-tee-an(German) KRIS-ti-an(Swedish) KRIS-ti-ahn(Norwegian) KREHS-dyan(Danish)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
From the medieval Latin name Christianus meaning "a Christian" (see Christos 1 for further etymology). In England it has been in use since the Middle Ages, during which time it was used by both males and females, but it did not become common until the 17th century. In Denmark the name has been borne by ten kings since the 15th century.

This was a top-ten name in France for most of the 1940s and 50s, while in Germany it was the most popular name for several years in the 1970s and 80s. In the United States it peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Famous bearers include Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the Danish author of such fairy tales as The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor's New Clothes, and the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).

Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clio
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Italian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Κλειώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KLEE-o(English, Italian) KLIE-o(English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Latinized form of Kleio.
Connor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Variant of Conor, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name. This is currently the most common way of spelling it in the English-speaking world, apart from Ireland.
Coralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-RA-LEE
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Either a French form of Koralia, or a derivative of Latin corallium "coral" (see Coral).
Crispin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KRIS-pin
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the Roman cognomen Crispinus, which was derived from the name Crispus. Saint Crispin was a 3rd-century Roman who was martyred with his twin brother Crispinian in Gaul. They are the patrons of shoemakers. They were popular saints in England during the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since that time.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.

Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Means "laurel" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew דּוֹד (dod) meaning "beloved" or "uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament, Jesus was descended from him.

This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.

Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).

Delphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-fee-ə
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Possibly from the name of the Greek city of Delphi, the site of an oracle of Apollo, which is possibly related to Greek δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". It was used in the play The Prophetess (1647), in which it belongs to the title prophetess.
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
Rating: 78% based on 4 votes
From the Late Latin name Dominicus meaning "of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It is primarily used by Catholics.
Duncan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUNG-kən(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Donnchadh, derived from Old Irish donn "brown" and cath "battle". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1606).
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 90% based on 6 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.

Eliana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֶלִיעַנָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Means "my God has answered" in Hebrew.
Éliane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LYAN
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Probably from Aeliana, the feminine form of the Roman name Aelianus, which was derived from the Roman family name Aelius. This was the name of an obscure early saint and martyr from Amasea.
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Form of Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament.
Eliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 77% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of Elior.
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
French form of Alodia.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From the Old French name Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil meaning "healthy, whole" and wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.

There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.

Emily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-lee
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
English feminine form of Aemilius (see Emil). In the English-speaking world it was not common until after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century; the princess Amelia Sophia (1711-1786) was commonly known as Emily in English, even though Amelia is an unrelated name.

This name was moderately popular through most of the 20th century, and became very popular around the turn of the 21st century. It was the highest ranked name for girls in the United States from 1996 to 2007, attaining similar levels in other English-speaking countries around the same time.

Famous bearers include the British author Emily Brontë (1818-1848), known for the novel Wuthering Heights, and the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).

Evelyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
Rating: 87% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to Eve and Evelina.

This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.

Fabian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: FA-bee-an(German) FA-bee-ahn(Dutch) FA-byan(Polish) FAY-bee-ən(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From the Roman cognomen Fabianus, which was derived from Fabius. Saint Fabian was a 3rd-century pope.
Fiona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: fee-O-nə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Fionn. This name was (first?) used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in his poem Fingal (1761), in which it is spelled as Fióna.
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese)
Rating: 83% based on 7 votes
Derived from Latin flos meaning "flower" (genitive case floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of Fionnghuala.
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
English form of an Old German name meaning "peaceful ruler", derived from fridu "peace" and rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.

The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.

Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Medieval form of Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Geneviève
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHU-NU-VYEHV, ZHUN-VYEHV
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
From the medieval name Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.
Ian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: EE-ən(English)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Iain, itself from Latin Iohannes (see John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 80% based on 5 votes
English form of the Late Latin name Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form Iacobus, from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov (see Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the New Testament. The first was Saint James the Greater, the apostle John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of Jesus.

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

Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.

Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 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.

Kara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Variant of Cara.
Kari 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Norwegian short form of Katarina.
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of Ciarán.
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Cillian, also used in France.
Lára
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Pronounced: LOW-ra
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Icelandic form of Laura.
Léonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AW-NEE
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
French feminine form of Leonius.
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Italian short form of Eleanor.
Lilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лилия(Russian) Лілія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LEE-lya(Spanish) LYEE-lyi-yə(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Italian form of Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Лилия or Ukrainian Лілія (see Liliya).
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 55% based on 4 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.
Liv 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: LEEV
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Latin form of Greek Λουκᾶς (see Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.

This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).

Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
French form of Magdalene.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 84% based on 7 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.
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Late Latin name meaning "great". It was borne by a 7th-century saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Marguerite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GU-REET
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Maximilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: mak-see-MEE-lee-an(German) mak-sə-MIL-yən(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From the Roman name Maximilianus, which was derived from Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.
Melina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Μελίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: mə-LEE-nə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Elaboration of Mel, either from names such as Melissa or from Greek μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". A famous bearer was Greek-American actress Melina Mercouri (1920-1994), who was born Maria Amalia Mercouris.
Nathalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NA-TA-LEE(French) NA-ta-lee(German)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
French form of Natalie, as well as a Dutch, German and Scandinavian variant.
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From Old French Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero Roland.

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

Oriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: o-RYA-na
Rating: 60% based on 3 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.
Paget
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PAJ-it
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From a French and English surname that meant "little page" (see Paige).
Pascal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: PAS-KAL(French) pas-KAL(German) pahs-KAHL(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the Late Latin name Paschalis, which meant "relating to Easter" from Latin Pascha "Easter", which was in turn from Hebrew פֶּסַח (pesach) meaning "Passover". Passover is the ancient Hebrew holiday celebrating the liberation from Egypt. Because it coincided closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the same Latin word was used for both. The name Pascal can also function as a surname, as in the case of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the French philosopher, mathematician and inventor.
Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 75% based on 4 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.

Paul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Romanian, Biblical
Pronounced: PAWL(English, French) POWL(German, Dutch)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From the Roman family name Paulus, which meant "small" or "humble" in Latin. Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. According to Acts in the New Testament, he was a Jewish Roman citizen who converted to Christianity after the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. After this he travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a missionary. His original Hebrew name was Saul. Many of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him.

Due to the renown of Saint Paul the name became common among early Christians. It was borne by a number of other early saints and six popes. In England it was relatively rare during the Middle Ages, but became more frequent beginning in the 17th century. In the United States it was in the top 20 names for boys from 1900 to 1968, while in the United Kingdom it was very popular from the 1950s to the 80s. It has also been heavily used in Germany and France and continues to be popular there, though it is currently on the decline in the English-speaking world.

A notable bearer was the American Revolutionary War figure Paul Revere (1735-1818), who warned of the advance of the British army. Famous bearers in the art world include the French impressionists Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and the Swiss expressionist Paul Klee (1879-1940). It is borne by actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) and the musicians Paul Simon (1941-) and Paul McCartney (1942-). This is also the name of the legendary American lumberjack Paul Bunyan and the fictional Paul Atreides from Frank Herbert's novel Dune (1965).

Phillip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIL-ip
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Variant of Philip, inspired by the usual spelling of the surname.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
French form of the Roman name Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Rhea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Ῥέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: REH-A(Classical Greek) REE-ə(English) REH-a(Latin)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to ῥέω (rheo) meaning "to flow" or ἔρα (era) meaning "ground". In Greek mythology Rhea was a Titan, the wife of Cronus, and the mother of the Olympian gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Also, in Roman mythology a woman named Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.
Ríona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Either a variant of Ríoghnach or a short form of Caitríona.
Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Means "little seal", derived from Old Irish rón "seal" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Ryan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RIE-ən
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Riain. This patronymic derives from the given name Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean "little king", from Irish "king" combined with a diminutive suffix.

In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity through the 1950s and 60s. It shot up the charts after the release of the 1970 movie Ryan's Daughter. Within a few years it was in the top 20 names, where it would stay for over three decades. Famous bearers include the Canadian actors Ryan Reynolds (1976-) and Ryan Gosling (1980-).

Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Sara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Catalan, Galician, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Macedonian, Polish, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Σάρα(Greek) Сара(Serbian, Macedonian) שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic) سارا(Persian)
Pronounced: SA-ra(Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Icelandic, Polish) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SAH-rah(Finnish) SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-rah(Arabic)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Form of Sarah used in various languages.
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.

In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).

Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Thaddeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Θαδδαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-əs(English) tha-DEE-əs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 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.
Thea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: TEH-a(German) THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
Short form of Dorothea, Theodora, Theresa and other names with a similar sound.
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAS(Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma') meaning "twin". In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.

In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.

Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).

Wyatt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIE-ət
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Wyard or Wyot, from the Old English name Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.
Yannick
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: YA-NEEK(French)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Diminutive of Yann or Yanna 2.
behindthename.com   ·   Copyright © 1996-2024