Aleksey m RussianRussian form of
Alexius. This name was borne by a 14th-century Metropolitan of Kiev who is regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church. It was also the name of a 17th-century tsar of Russia.
Alessandro m ItalianItalian form of
Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.
Antonin m FrenchFrench form of
Antoninus. This name was borne by the French playwright Antonin Artaud (1896-1948).
Arran m ScottishFrom the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.
Brody m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.
Caleb m English, BiblicalMost likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog". An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of" and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by
Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and
Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.
... [more] Clyde m EnglishFrom the name of the River Clyde in Scotland, from Cumbric
Clud, which is of uncertain origin. It became a common given name in America in the middle of the 19th century, perhaps in honour of Colin Campbell (1792-1863) who was given the title Baron Clyde in 1858.
Colton m English (Modern)From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"Cola's town". It started being used as a given name in the 1980s. Likely in some cases it was viewed as an elaborated or full form of
Cole or
Colt.
Corentin m Breton, FrenchFrench 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.
Deepak m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, NepaliAlternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi/Nepali
दीपक, Bengali
দীপক, Gujarati
દીપક, Gurmukhi
ਦੀਪਕ, Malayalam
ദീപക്, Kannada
ದೀಪಕ್, Tamil
தீபக் or Telugu
దీపక్ (see
Dipak).
Dillon m EnglishVariant of
Dylan based on the spelling of the surname
Dillon, which has an unrelated origin.
Dinesh m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Nepali, SinhaleseModern form of
Dinesha.
Dustin m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
Þórsteinn (see
Torsten). The name was popularized by the actor Dustin Hoffman (1937-), who was apparently named after the earlier silent movie star Dustin Farnum (1874-1929).
Dylan m Welsh, English, Welsh MythologyFrom the Welsh prefix
dy meaning "to, toward" and
llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi, Dylan was a son of
Arianrhod and the twin brother of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle
Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.
... [more] Elijah m English, Hebrew, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
... [more] Emil m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, EnglishFrom the Roman family name
Aemilius, which was derived from Latin
aemulus meaning
"rival".
Ezra m English, Hebrew, BiblicalMeans
"help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Filip m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Romanian, FinnishForm of
Philip in various languages.
Gaetano m ItalianItalian 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.
Garrett m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the given name
Gerald or
Gerard. A famous bearer of the surname was Pat Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid.
Hatim m ArabicMeans
"determined, decisive" in Arabic, derived from
حتم (ḥatama) meaning "to decree, to decide".
Hayden m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as
Braden and
Aidan.
Imad m ArabicMeans
"support, pillar" in Arabic, a derivative of
عمد (ʿamada) meaning "to support".
Ismail m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Chechen, Avar, Albanian, DhivehiArabic form of
Ishmael, also used in several other languages. According to the Quran and Islamic tradition Ismail was a prophet and the founder of the Arab people.
Jakub m Polish, Czech, SlovakPolish, Czech and Slovak form of
Jacob (or
James). In Polish and Slovak this refers to both the Old Testament patriarch and the New Testament apostles, while in Czech this is used only for the apostles (with
Jákob for the patriarch).
Kaveh m Persian, Persian MythologyMeaning unknown. In the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh Kaveh is a blacksmith who leads a rebellion against the evil ruler Zahhak.
Kendall m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwestern England meaning
"valley on the river Kent". Originally mostly masculine, the name received a boost in popularity for girls in 1993 when the devious character Kendall Hart began appearing on the American soap opera
All My Children.
Lemuel m Biblical, Mormon, Biblical HebrewMeans
"for God" in Hebrew, from the proposition
לְמוֹ (lemo) combined with
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This was the name of a king briefly mentioned in Proverbs in the Old Testament. In the Book of Mormon it is the name of a rebellious son of
Lehi and
Sariah. It is also borne by the hero of Jonathan Swift's novel
Gulliver's Travels (1726).
Mikhail m Russian, Belarusian, BulgarianRussian and Belarusian form of
Michael, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Михаил (see
Mihail). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841), the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), and the Latvian-Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948-).
Murphy m & f EnglishFrom a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Murchadha, itself derived from the given name
Murchadh. As a given name, it has been borne by female characters on the American television series
Murphy Brown (1988-1998) and the movie
Interstellar (2014).
Narek m ArmenianFrom the name of a 10th-century Armenian saint, Grigor of Narek, who came from the town of Narek (formerly in Armenia, now in eastern Turkey).
Nestor m Greek Mythology, Russian, Portuguese, FrenchMeans
"returner, homecomer" in Greek, from
νέομαι (neomai) meaning "to return". In
Homer's
Iliad this was the name of the king of Pylos, famous for his great wisdom and longevity, who acted as a counselor to the Greek allies.
Oleg m Russian, GeorgianRussian form of the Old Norse name
Helgi (see
Helge). The Varangians brought this name from Scandinavia to Eastern Europe: it was borne by a 9th-century Varangian ruler who conquered Kyiv and made it the capital of the state of Kievan Rus.
Pele f Polynesian MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire who is said to live in Kilauea. She is considered the creator of the Hawaiian Islands.
Raven f & m EnglishFrom the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English
hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god
Odin.
Roscoe m EnglishFrom an English surname, originally derived from a place name, itself derived from Old Norse
rá "roebuck" and
skógr "wood, forest".
Saskia f Dutch, GermanFrom 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.
Stavros m GreekMeans
"cross" in Greek, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
Sydney f & m EnglishFrom a surname that was a variant of the surname
Sidney. This is the name of the largest city in Australia, which was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney in 1788. Formerly used by both genders, since the 1980s this spelling of the name has been mostly feminine.
Tanner m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"one who tans hides".
Tyler m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"tiler of roofs", derived from Old English
tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
Valentin m French, Romanian, German, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Danish, FinnishForm of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1) in several languages.
Walid m ArabicMeans
"newborn" in Arabic, derived from
ولد (walada) meaning "to give birth". This was the name of the Umayyad caliph who conquered Spain in the 8th century.
Xavier m English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, SpanishDerived from the Basque place name
Etxeberria meaning
"the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.