Browse Names

Wawatam m Ojibwe
Possibly means "little goose" in Ojibwe. This was the name of an 18th-century chief of the Ottawa people.

Wilbur m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English. This name was borne by Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), one half of the Wright brothers, who together invented the first successful airplane. Wright was named after the Methodist minister Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839). A famous fictional bearer is the main character (a pig) in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

Wolf m German, Jewish, English (Rare), Germanic
Short form of Wolfgang, Wolfram and other names containing the Old German element wolf meaning "wolf" (Proto-Germanic *wulfaz). It can also be simply from the German or English word. As a Jewish name it can be considered a vernacular form of Zeev.

Wolfdietrich m Literature, German (Rare)
Compound of Wolf and Dietrich. Wolfdietrich is the title hero of a 13th-century Middle High German epic poem. By some traditions he is the grandfather of the more famous hero Dietrich von Bern.

Wolfgang m German, Germanic
Derived from the Old German elements wolf meaning "wolf" and gang meaning "path, way". Saint Wolfgang was a 10th-century bishop of Regensburg. Two other famous bearers of this name were Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and German novelist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832).

Wolfhard m German
Derived from the Old German element wolf meaning "wolf" combined with hart meaning "hard, firm, brave, hardy".

Wolfram m German
Derived from the Old German element wolf meaning "wolf" combined with hram meaning "raven". Saint Wolfram (or Wulfram) was a 7th-century archbishop of Sens. This name was also borne by the 13th-century German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, the author of Parzival.

Wren f English (Modern)
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.

Wrenlee f English (Modern)
Variant of Wrenley.

Wrenley f English (Modern)
Elaboration of Wren using the popular name suffix ley.

Wulfflæd f Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and flæd, possibly meaning "beauty".

Wulfgifu f Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and giefu "gift".

Wulfila m Gothic (Hypothetical)
Means "little wolf", from a diminutive of the Gothic element wulfs. This was the name of a 4th-century Gothic bishop and missionary. He translated the New Testament into Gothic.

Wulfnoð m Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and noð "boldness, daring". This name became rare after the Norman Conquest.

Wulfric m Anglo-Saxon
Old English name meaning "wolf ruler", from the elements wulf "wolf" and ric "ruler, king".

Wulfrun f Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and run "secret lore, rune". This was the name of a 10th-century English noblewoman who founded the city of Wolverhampton.

Wulfsige m Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and sige "victory".

Wulfstan m Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and stan "stone".

Wulfwynn f Anglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and wynn "joy".

Xanthippos m Ancient Greek
From the Greek elements ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow" and ἵππος (hippos) meaning "horse". This was the name of a 5th-century BC Athenian general.

Xbalanque m Mayan Mythology
Possibly from Classic Maya balam "jaguar" and k'in "sun" or kej "deer". In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya, Xbalanque and his twin brother Hunahpu avenge their father's death at the hands of the underworld gods.

Xochiquetzal f Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Derived from Nahuatl xōchitl "flower" and quetzalli "quetzal feather, precious thing". This was the name of the Aztec goddess of love, flowers and the earth, the twin sister of Xochipilli.

Yaen f Hebrew
Means "ostrich" in Hebrew.

Yemọja f Yoruba Mythology
Means "mother of fish" in Yoruba, derived from iye "mother", ọmọ "child" and ẹja "fish". In traditional Yoruba religion she is the goddess of the Ogun River, pregnancy and motherhood.

Yeruslan m Folklore
From Tatar Уруслан (Uruslan), which was possibly from Turkic arslan meaning "lion". Yeruslan Lazarevich is the name of a hero in Russian and Tatar folktales. These tales were based on (or at least influenced by) Persian tales of their hero Rostam.

Ylva f Swedish, Norwegian
Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".

Yonaguska m Cherokee
Means "drowning bear" from Cherokee ᏲᎾ (yona) "bear" and possibly ᎫᏂᏍᎧ (guniska) "drown". This was the name of a 19th-century Eastern Cherokee chief.

Yōsuke m Japanese
From Japanese 陽 (yō) meaning "light, sun, male" or 洋 (yō) meaning "ocean" combined with 介 (suke) meaning "help, assist". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji characters.

Zarathustra m History
From Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬚𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀 (Zarathushtra), in which the second element is 𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀 (ushtra) meaning "camel". Proposed meanings for the first element include "old", "moving", "angry" and "yellow". Zarathustra was an Iranian prophet who founded the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism around the 10th century BC. He is also called Zoroaster in English, from the Greek form of his name Ζωροάστρης (Zoroastres).

Zeev m Hebrew
Means "wolf" in Hebrew, an animal particularly associated with the tribe of Benjamin (see Genesis 49:27).

Zhulong m Chinese Mythology
From Chinese 烛 (zhú) meaning "candle, torch, light" and 龙 (lóng) meaning "dragon". In Chinese mythology this was the name of a giant scarlet serpent, also called the Torch Dragon in English.

Zibiah f Biblical
Means "gazelle" or "doe" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother of King Joash of Judah.

Zipporah f Biblical, Hebrew
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.

Zitkala f Sioux
From Lakota zitkála meaning "bird".

Zorro m Literature, Popular Culture
Means "fox" in Spanish. This is the name of a masked vigilante created by writer Johnston McCulley in 1919 for a series of books, later adapted into movies and television.

Zsombor m Hungarian
Possibly of Turkic origin meaning "bison, wisent".