Browse Names - Behind the Name

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Ayaan 1 m Hindi
From Sanskrit अयान (ayana) meaning "not moving" or "natural disposition" or अयन (ayana) meaning "path" or "precession".

Budi m Indonesian
Means "reason, mind, character" in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit बुद्धि (buddhi) meaning "intellect" (related to Buddha).

Denag f Middle Persian
Derived from Middle Persian 𐭣𐭩𐭭 (den) meaning "character, conscience, religion". This was the name of several queens consort of the Sasanian Empire.

Doğa f & m Turkish
Means "nature" in Turkish.

Dzhokhar m Chechen
Possibly from Persian گوهر (gohar) meaning "jewel, essence" or جوهر (johar) meaning "essence, ink" (which comes from the same root, but via a loan to Arabic and retransmission to Persian).

Essence f English (Modern)
From the English word essence, which means either "odour, scent" or else "fundamental quality". Ultimately it derives from Latin esse "to be".

Haluk m Turkish
Means "good nature" in Turkish.

Hiʻiaka f Polynesian Mythology
Means "held essence", derived from Hawaiian hiʻi meaning "hold, carry" and aka meaning "essence, image, embryo". This is the name of a Hawaiian goddess, the youngest sister of the volcano goddess Pele. To help her sister, Hiʻiaka volunteered to retrieve Pele's lover Lohiʻau from a neighbouring island, as long as Pele promised to protect her sacred grove of trees and her lover Hōpoe in her absence. The task took longer than expected and Pele grew impatient, destroying Hiʻiaka's grove and killing her lover.

Jing m & f Chinese
From Chinese 静 (jìng) meaning "quiet, still, gentle", 精 (jīng) meaning "essence, spirit", 晶 (jīng) meaning "clear, crystal" or 京 (jīng) meaning "capital city". Other characters can also form this name.

Nihad m Bosnian, Azerbaijani
Bosnian and Azerbaijani form of Nihat.

Nihat m Turkish
Possibly from Persian نهاد (nehad) meaning "nature, disposition".

Sari 2 f Indonesian
Means "essence" in Indonesian.

Seong-Min m & f Korean
From Sino-Korean 成 (seong) meaning "completed, finished, succeeded" or 性 (seong) meaning "nature, character, sex" combined with 敏 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp" or 旻 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp". Many other hanja character combinations are possible.

Shila f Marathi
Derived from Sanskrit शील (shila) meaning "conduct, disposition, character".

Sushila f & m Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Means "good-tempered, well-disposed", derived from the Sanskrit prefix सु (su) meaning "good" combined with शील (shila) meaning "conduct, disposition". This is a transcription of both the feminine form सुशीला and the masculine form सुशील. This name is borne by wives of the Hindu gods Krishna and Yama.

Themis f Greek Mythology
Means "law of nature, divine law, custom" in Greek. In Greek mythology this was the name of a Titan who presided over custom and natural law. She was often depicted blindfolded and holding a pair of scales. By Zeus she was the mother of many deities, including the three Μοῖραι (Moirai) and the three Ὥραι (Horai).

Themistocles m Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Θεμιστοκλῆς (Themistokles) meaning "glory of the law", from θέμις (themis) meaning "law of nature, divine law, custom" (genitive θέμιστος) and κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". This was the name of an Athenian statesman and general who was victorious over the Persians in the Battle of Salamis.

Xquenda f & m Zapotec
From Zapotec guenda "spirit, soul, essence" combined with the possessive prefix x-.

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