Browse Names - Behind the Name

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Ivalu f Greenlandic
Means "sinew, tendon, thread" in Greenlandic. It was used by the Danish explorer and author Peter Freuchen for the heroine of his novel Ivalu, the Eskimo Wife (1930).

Kiran f & m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, Urdu
Derived from Sanskrit किरण (kirana), which can mean "dust" or "thread" or "sunbeam".

Mao f Japanese
From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or 舞 (mai) meaning "dance" combined with 央 (o) meaning "center", 緒 (o) meaning "thread" or 桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Mio f Japanese
From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with 桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom" or 緒 (o) meaning "thread". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

Nao f & m Japanese
From Japanese 直 (nao) meaning "straight, direct" or from a combination of 奈 (na), a phonetic character, and 央 (o) meaning "center". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.

Penelope f Greek Mythology, English
Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.... [more]

Rio 2 f Japanese
From Japanese 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or 里 (ri) meaning "village" combined with 央 (o) meaning "center", 緒 (o) meaning "thread" or 桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom". Other kanji combinations are also possible.

Saori f Japanese
From Japanese 沙 (sa) meaning "sand" or 早 (sa) meaning "already, now" combined with 織 (ori) meaning "weaving". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.

Sayaka f Japanese
From Japanese 沙 (sa) meaning "sand" or 紗 (sa) meaning "thread, silk" with 也 (ya) meaning "also" or 耶 (ya), an interjection, combined with 香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" or 加 (ka) meaning "increase". This name can also be composed of other kanji combinations. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.

Tuyến f Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 線 (tuyến) meaning "thread, line, ray".

Vashti f Biblical
Possibly means "thread" in Hebrew, but it is most likely of Persian origin. In the Old Testament this is the name of the first wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia before he marries Esther.

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