gingrbred...x's Personal Name List

French form of Amy.

Variant of Alicia.

Diminutive of Alfred.

Variant of Alicia. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with λύσσα (lyssa) meaning "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.

From the name of the anemone flower, which is derived from Greek ἄνεμος (anemos) meaning "wind".

Feminine variant of Ashley.

From an English surname that was originally derived from place names meaning "ash tree clearing", from a combination of Old English æsc and leah. Until the 1960s it was more commonly given to boys in the United States, but it is now most often used on girls. It reached its height of popularity in America in 1987, but it did not become the highest ranked name until 1991, being overshadowed by the likewise-popular Jessica until then. In the United Kingdom it is still more common as a masculine name.

From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.

Diminutive of Rebecca.

Diminutive of Bill. It is also used as a feminine form of William.

Variant of Brandy.

Anglicized form of Brígh. It can also be a short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri.

From a Middle English surname meaning "a Breton", referring to an inhabitant of Brittany. A famous bearer is the American football quarterback Brett Favre (1969-).

From the name of the region of Brittany in the northwest of France, called in French Bretagne. It was named for the Britons who settled there after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons.

As a given name, it first came into common use in America in the early 1970s, reaching the third ranked spot for girls by 1989. This was an extraordinary increase over only two decades, though it has since fallen almost as dramatically as it climbed.

From an English surname that denoted one who lived near a brook.

Variant of Brook. The name came into use in the 1950s, probably influenced by American socialite Brooke Astor (1902-2007). It was further popularized by actress Brooke Shields (1965-).

Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".

Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Cathasaigh, a patronymic derived from the given name Cathassach. This name can be given in honour of Casey Jones (1863-1900), a train engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers. In his case, Casey was a nickname acquired because he was raised in the town of Cayce, Kentucky.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Caiside), which is derived from the byname Caiside. Very rare as a given name before the 1970s, it established itself in the 80s and then surged in popularity during the 90s.

Meaning uncertain. It could come from the name of the Ceri River in Ceredigion, Wales; it could be a short form of Ceridwen; it could be derived from Welsh caru meaning "to love".

Variant of Carys.

From the English word meaning "personal magnetism", ultimately derived from Greek χάρις (charis) meaning "grace, kindness".

Variant of Charisse.

Diminutive of Francisco.

Feminine form of Ciar. This is another name for Saint Ciar.

Masculine or feminine diminutive of Jacob.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of both Irish Gaelic Ó Cuidighthigh meaning "descendant of the helpful one" and Mac Óda meaning "son of Odo". A famous bearer of the surname was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).

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.

From the English word crystal for the clear, colourless glass, sometimes cut into the shape of a gemstone. The English word derives ultimately from Greek κρύσταλλος (krystallos) meaning "ice". It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.

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).

From a surname, see Dean 1 and Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.

Combination of Deon and the common phonetic suffix tay.

Feminine form of Dion.

Variant of Emily.

From the Old Norse name Finnr, which meant "Sámi, person from Finland".

Old French form of Wido. The Normans introduced it to England, where it was common until the time of Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), a revolutionary who attempted to blow up the British parliament. The name was revived in the 19th century, due in part to characters in the novels Guy Mannering (1815) by Walter Scott and The Heir of Redclyffe (1854) by C. M. Yonge.

Simply from the English word honey, ultimately from Old English hunig. This was originally a nickname for a sweet person.

Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.

In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Variant of Janet.

Short form of Jesse or Jessica.

Short form of Joseph. Five famous sports figures who have had this name are boxers Joe Louis (1914-1981) and Joe Frazier (1944-2011), baseball player Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999), and football quarterbacks Joe Namath (1943-) and Joe Montana (1956-). It is also borne by the American president Joe Biden (1942-).

Lithuanian form of John.

Variant (typically feminine) of Cameron.

Variant of Candy.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Catháin, derived from the given name Cathán.

German and Scandinavian form of Charles. This was the name of seven rulers of the Franks and the Holy Roman Empire. It was also borne by a beatified emperor of Austria (1887-1922), as well as ten kings of Sweden. Other famous bearers include the German philosophers Karl Marx (1818-1883), one of the developers of communism, and Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), an existentialist and psychiatrist.

Variant of Cassidy.

Combination of the popular phonetic elements kay and la. Use of the name greatly increased after 1982 when the character Kayla Brady began appearing on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives [1].

Variant of Keely.

Variant of Keely.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caolaidhe, itself derived from the given name Caoladhe, from Irish caol "slender".

Variant of Kayla.

Variant of Kieran.

Variant of Kelsey.

Feminine form of Kenneth.

Short form of Mackenzie.

Variant of Kirsten.

From Japanese 菊 (kiku) meaning "chrysanthemum", as well as other kanji characters that are pronounced the same way.

Diminutive of Keziah. This particular spelling was repopularized in the late 1970s by a character in the book and miniseries Roots (1977).

Short form of Kristian, Kristoffer and other names beginning with Kris.

From a surname that was a variant of Lee.

Variant of Layton. It jumped in popularity as a feminine name after 2007, when actress Leighton Meester (1986-) began appearing on the television series Gossip Girl.

From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Coinnich, itself derived from the given name Coinneach. As a feminine given name it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-), especially after she began appearing on the television comedy One Day at a Time in 1975. In the United Kingdom it is more common as a masculine name.

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.

French, Catalan and Welsh form of Marcus (see Mark). This name was borne by the Russian-French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985).

German and Dutch diminutive of Maria.

From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron saint of soldiers in Christianity.

The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).

In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.

Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).

From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with 桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom" or 緒 (o) meaning "thread". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

Diminutive of Melissa.

From Japanese 百 (momo) meaning "hundred" or 桃 (momo) meaning "peach" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be constructed from other kanji combinations as well.

French form of Monica.

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-).

From the Irish name Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly connected to the old Celtic root *nītu- "fury, passion" or the (possibly related) Old Irish word nia "hero" [1][2]. A derivation from Old Irish nél "cloud" has also been suggested. This was the name of a few early Irish kings, notably Niall of the Nine Hostages, a semi-legendary high king of the 4th or 5th century.

In the early Middle Ages the name was adopted by Norse raiders and settlers in Ireland in the form Njáll. The Norse transmitted it to England and Scotland, as well as bringing it back to Scandinavia. It was also in use among the Normans, who were of Scandinavian origin. A famous bearer of this name was American astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), the first person to walk on the moon.

Short form of Nicholas. It is borne by the comic character Nick Bottom in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595).

Finnish form of Nicholas, as well as a Croatian, Slovene, Georgian and German short form.

Diminutive of Randall, Randolf or Miranda.

From Japanese 鈴 (rei) meaning "bell", 麗 (rei) meaning "beautiful, lovely" or 玲 (rei) meaning "the tinkling of jade". This name can also be formed by other kanji with the same pronunciation.

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.

From a surname that comes from two distinct sources. As an Irish surname it is a variant of Reilly. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English.

Before 1980, this was an uncommon masculine name in America. During the 1980s and 90s this name steadily increased in popularity for both boys and girls, and from 2003 onwards it has been more common for girls in the United States. Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, it has remained largely masculine.

From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".

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].

Means "fire" in Persian (from an earlier Iranian root meaning "black"). This is the name of a hero in the 10th-century Persian epic the Shahnameh.

Variant of Chanté.

Welsh form of Jane.

Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.

Simply from the English word sky, which was ultimately derived from Old Norse ský "cloud".

Variant of Stephanie.

Diminutive of Stephen or Stephanie. A famous bearer is the American musician Stevie Wonder (1950-).

From Japanese 鈴 (suzu) meaning "bell" or other kanji having the same pronunciation.

From Japanese 多 (ta) meaning "many", 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" and 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are also possible.

Variant of Tiffany.

Swedish feminine form of Ulrich. This was the name of two queens of Sweden.

From Japanese 梅 (ume) meaning "apricot, plum" (referring to the species Prunus mume) and 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Short form of William and other names beginning with Will. A famous bearer is American actor Will Smith (1968-), whose full name is Willard.

From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.

From Japanese 安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet", 康 (yasu) meaning "peaceful" or 坦 (yasu) meaning "flat, smooth, level", as well as other kanji that are pronounced the same way.

Variant of Zoe.