Browse Names - Behind the Name

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Aisha f Arabic, Urdu, Hausa, Swahili, Kazakh, African American
Means "living, alive" in Arabic. This was the name of Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. Her name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.... [more]

Amichai m Hebrew
Means "my people are alive" in Hebrew.

Chaya f Hebrew
Derived from Hebrew חָיָה (chayah) meaning "living", considered a feminine form of Chaim.

Haruki m Japanese
From Japanese 晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather" or 陽 (haru) meaning "light, sun, male" combined with 輝 (ki) meaning "brightness" or 生 (ki) meaning "living". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Idir m Berber
Means "alive" in Tamazight.

Mei 2 f Japanese
From Japanese 芽 (me) meaning "bud, sprout" combined with 依 (i) meaning "rely on", 生 (i) meaning "life" or 衣 (i) meaning "clothing, garment". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Nnamdi m Igbo
Means "my father is alive" in Igbo. This name is given to a child when it is believed that he is a reincarnation of his grandfather.

Pranee f Thai
Means "living being, one that breathes" in Thai, of Sanskrit origin.

Sanjib m Bengali
Bengali form of Sanjiv.

Sanjiv m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada
Derived from Sanskrit संजीव (sanjiva) meaning "living, reviving".

Tural m Azerbaijani
Means "to be alive" in Azerbaijani.

Vivian m & f English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From the Latin name Vivianus, which was derived from Latin vivus "alive". Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of Bébinn or a variant of Vivien 2.

Yūki m & f Japanese
From Japanese 優 (yū) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" or 悠 (yū) meaning "permanence" combined with 希 (ki) meaning "hope", 輝 (ki) meaning "brightness" or 生 (ki) meaning "living". Other combinations of kanji can form this name as well.

Zhivko m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Bulgarian form of Živko, as well as an alternate transcription for Macedonian.

Živa f Slavic Mythology, Slovene, Serbian
From the Old Slavic word živŭ meaning "alive, living". According to the 12th-century Saxon priest Helmold, this was the name of a Slavic goddess possibly associated with life or fertility.

Živko m Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian
Derived from the South Slavic word živ meaning "alive, living".

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