AGATHA

Latinized form of the Greek name Αγαθη (Agathe), derived from Greek αγαθος (agathos) meaning "good". Saint Agatha was a 3rd-century martyr from Sicily who was tortured and killed after spurning the advances of a Roman official. The saint was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). The mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a famous modern bearer of this name.

ANTIGONE

Derived from Greek αντι (anti) "against, compared to, like" and γονη (gone) "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.

AVELINE

From the Norman French form of the Germanic name Avelina, a diminutive of AVILA. The Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century.

CECILY

English form of CECILIA. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.

CERRIDWEN

Variant of CERIDWEN.

CHARLOTTE

French feminine diminutive of CHARLES. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. A notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of 'Jane Eyre' and 'Villette'.

CLAUDIE

French feminine variant of CLAUDE.

CRESSIDA

Medieval form of CHRYSEIS. Various medieval tales describe her as a woman of Troy, daughter of Calchus, who leaves her Trojan lover Troilus for the Greek hero Diomedes. Shakespeare's play 'Troilus and Cressida' (1602) was based on these tales.

DELPHINE

French form of DELPHINA.

ÉLODIE

French form of ALODIA.

ESPERANZA

Spanish form of the Late Latin name Sperantia which was derived from sperare "to hope".

ESTELLE

From an Old French name which was derived from Latin stella, meaning "star". It was rare in the English-speaking world in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due to the character Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens' novel 'Great Expectations' (1860).

EVREN

Means "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish.

GINEVRA

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".

GWENAËLLE

Feminine form of GWENAËL.

GWYNEIRA

Means "white snow" from the Welsh element gwyn "white, fair, blessed" combined with eira "snow".

HELIODOROS

Greek form of HELIODORO.

LÍADAN

Means "grey lady" in Irish Gaelic. In Irish legend she was a poetess who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief.

MACARIA

Feminine form of MACARIO.

MAEVE

Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. Her fight against Ulster and the hero Cúchulainn is told in the Irish epic 'The Cattle Raid of Cooley'.

MAIALEN

Basque form of MAGDALENE.

MARGALIT

Means "pearl" in Hebrew, ultimately from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites).

MEHITABEL

Variant of MEHETABEL.

NEVENA

Derived from South Slavic neven meaning "marigold".

NIAMH

Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisín, son of Fionn.

NIOBE

Meaning unknown. In Greek mythology Niobe was the daughter of Tantalos, a king of Asia Minor. Because she boasted that she was superior to Leto, Leto's children Apollo and Artemis killed her 14 children with poison arrows. In grief, Niobe was turned to stone by Zeus.

NOA (1)

Hebrew form of NOAH (2).

SAOIRSE

Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic.

SASKIA

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

SHOSHANA

Variant transcription of SHOSHANNAH.

TEOFILA

Italian and Polish feminine form of THEOPHILUS.

ZÉPHYRINE

French feminine form of Zephyrinus (see ZEFERINO).

ZINOVIA

Modern Greek form of ZENOBIA.

ZIPPORAH

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.