Browse Names - Behind the Name

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Bethel f English
From an Old Testament place name meaning "house of God" in Hebrew. This was a town north of Jerusalem, where Jacob saw his vision of the stairway. It is occasionally used as a given name.

Dallas m & f English
From a surname that could either be of Old English origin meaning "valley house" or of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George M. Dallas (1792-1864).

Domagoj m Croatian
Derived from the Slavic elements domŭ "home" and gojiti "grow, heal, foster, nurture". This name was borne by a 9th-century duke of Croatia.

Ea 1 m Semitic Mythology
Meaning unknown, perhaps from Sumerian meaning "house of water", or perhaps of Akkadian or Hurrian origin. This was the Akkadian, Assyrian, Hurrian and Babylonian name of the Sumerian water god Enki.

Egypt f & m English (Modern)
From the name of the North African country, which derives from Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aigyptos), itself probably from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ meaning "the house of the soul of Ptah", the name of the temple to the god Ptah in Memphis.

Eun-U m & f Korean
From Sino-Korean 恩 (eun) meaning "kindness, mercy, charity" combined with 宇 (u) meaning "house, eaves, universe" or 祐 (u) meaning "divine intervention, protection". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.

Gonzalo m Spanish
From the medieval name Gundisalvus, which was the Latin form of a Germanic (possibly Visigothic or Suebi) name composed of gunda "war" and maybe salba "salve, ointment", salo "dark, dusky" or sal "house, hall" (with the spelling perhaps influenced by Latin salvus "safe"). Saint Gonzalo was an 11th-century bishop of Mondoñedo in Galicia, Spain.

Guanyu m & f Chinese
From Chinese 冠 (guān) meaning "cap, crown, headgear" combined with 宇 (yǔ) meaning "house, eaves, universe". Other character combinations are possible.

Hall m English
From a surname that was derived from Old English heall "manor, hall", originally belonging to a person who lived or worked in a manor.

Hathor f Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Greek form of Egyptian ḥwt-ḥrw (reconstructed as Hut-Heru) meaning "the house of Horus", derived from Egyptian ḥwt "house" combined with the god Horus. In Egyptian mythology she was the goddess of love, often depicted with the head of a cow.

Ji-U f & m Korean
From Sino-Korean 芝 (ji) meaning "sesame" or 志 (ji) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" combined with 雨 (u) meaning "rain" or 宇 (u) meaning "house, eaves, universe". Other combinations of hanja characters can form this name as well.

Nephthys f Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Greek form of Egyptian nbt-ḥwt (reconstructed as Nebet-Hut) meaning "lady of the house", derived from nbt "lady" and ḥwt "house". This was the name of an Egyptian goddess associated with the air, death and mourning. She was wife of the desert god Seth.

Nikita 2 f Marathi, Hindi
Derived from Sanskrit निकेत (niketa) meaning "house, habitation".

Nikitha f Telugu, Tamil
Southern Indian variant of Nikita 2.

Shrinivas m Marathi
Means "the abode of Shri" from the name of the Hindu goddess Shri combined with Sanskrit निवास (nivasa) meaning "abode, house".

Srinivas m Telugu, Kannada, Tamil
Southern Indian form of Shrinivas.

U-Jin m Korean
From Sino-Korean 宇 (u) meaning "house, eaves, universe" or 佑 (u) meaning "help, protect, bless" combined with 眞 (jin) meaning "real, genuine" or 鎭 (jin) meaning "town, market place". Other combinations of hanja characters can form this name as well.

Woodrow m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "row of houses by a wood" in Old English. It was borne by the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), who was given his mother's maiden name as his middle name (his first name was Thomas). During his candidacy and presidency (1912-1921) the name became popular, reaching the 44th rank in 1913, though it quickly declined after that.

Xavier m English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Derived 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.

Yu f & m Chinese
From Chinese 玉 (yù) meaning "jade, precious stone, gem", 愉 (yú) meaning "pleasant, delightful" or 雨 (yǔ) meaning "rain". Other characters can form this name as well.

Zebulun m Biblical
From Hebrew זְבוּל (zevul) meaning "exalted house". In the Old Testament Zebulun is the tenth son of Jacob (his sixth son by Leah) and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Genesis 30:20 connects the name to the related verb זָבַל (zaval), translated as "exalt, honour" or "dwell with" in different versions of the Bible, when Leah says my husband will exalt/dwell with me.

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