Browse Names - Behind the Name

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Avalokiteshvara m Buddhism
Means "the lord who looks down" in Sanskrit, derived from अवलोक् (avalok) meaning "to look down" and ईश्वर (ishvara) meaning "lord, god". The original form of the name may have been अवलोकितस्वर (Avalokitasvara), with the final element being स्वर (svara) meaning "sound, tone" (as evidenced by the Chinese form Guanyin). In Buddhist belief this is the name of a bodhisattva associated with compassion.

Blodeuwedd f Welsh Mythology
Means "face of flowers" in Welsh. According to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, she was created out of flowers by Gwydion to be the wife of his nephew Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Originally she was named Blodeuedd meaning simply "flowers". She was eventually transformed into an owl by Gwydion after she and her lover Gronw attempted to murder Lleu, at which point he renamed her Blodeuwedd.

Caíndelbán m Old Irish
Derived from Old Irish caín "handsome" and delb "form, image" (with a diminutive suffix).

Elioenai m Biblical
Means "my eyes look to God" in Hebrew. This was the name of several minor characters in the Old Testament.

Epifanio m Spanish, Italian
From the Latin name Epiphanius, which was from the Greek name Ἐπιφάνιος (Epiphanios), itself derived from the Greek word ἐπιφάνεια (epiphaneia) meaning "appearance, manifestation". This name was borne by a few early saints. It is associated with the event known in English as the Epiphany (Spanish Epifanía, Italian Epifania, Latin Epiphania), the coming of the three Magi to visit the infant Jesus.

Kala 1 f Tamil
Means "art form, virtue" in Sanskrit.

Nîga f Kurdish
Means "look, gaze" in Kurdish, of Persian origin.

Oébfinn f Old Irish
Old Irish form of Aoibheann.

Penjani m & f Tumbuka
Means "seek for, look for" in Tumbuka.

Pratik m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali
Means "look, appearance" in Sanskrit.

Presentación f Spanish
Means "presentation, appearance" in Spanish. This name commemorates the tale of the presentation of the young Virgin Mary at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Rong f & m Chinese
From Chinese 荣 (róng) meaning "glory, honour, flourish, prosper", 融 (róng) meaning "fuse, harmonize" or 容 (róng) meaning "appearance, form" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well.

Rupa f Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Nepali
Means "shape, form" in Sanskrit.

Rupinder m & f Indian (Sikh)
Means "greatest beauty" from Sanskrit रूप (rupa) meaning "beauty, form" combined with the name of the Hindu god Indra, used here to mean "greatest".

Sona 1 f Hindi
Means "gold" in Hindi, derived from Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvarna) meaning literally "good colour".

Sonal f Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
From Hindi सोना (sona), Marathi सोन (son) or Gujarati સોનું (sonum) meaning "gold", all derived from Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvarna) meaning literally "good colour".

Sovann m & f Khmer
Means "gold" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvarna).

Sovanna f & m Khmer
Variant of Sovann.

Swaran m & f Punjabi
Punjabi form of Swarna.

Swarna m & f Telugu, Hindi
Means "good colour" or "golden", a contraction of the Sanskrit prefix सु (su) meaning "good" and वर्ण (varna) meaning "colour". This is a transcription of both the masculine form स्वर्ण and the feminine form स्वर्णा (spelled with a long final vowel).

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