Browse Names

Ammar m Arabic
Means "one who lives a long life, one who builds" in Arabic, from the root عمر ('amara) meaning "to live long, to thrive". Ammar ibn Yasir was an early companion of the Prophet Muhammad. After Muhammad's death he supported Ali.

Angrboða f Norse Mythology
Means "she who brings grief" in Old Norse, derived from angr "grief" and boða "to forebode, to proclaim". According to Norse mythology Angrboða was a giantess (jǫtunn) and the mother of three of Loki's children: Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel.

Asherah f Semitic Mythology
Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.

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.

Basit m Arabic
Means "one who enlarges" in Arabic.

Carter m English
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).

Dexter m English
From an occupational surname meaning "one who dyes" in Old English. It also coincides with the Latin word dexter meaning "right-handed, skilled".

Faruq m Arabic
Means "person who can tell right from wrong" in Arabic. This was the name of the last king of Egypt (1920-1965).

Goyaałé m Apache
Means "one who yawns" in Chiricahua Apache. This was the real name of the Apache leader Geronimo (1829-1909), who fought against Mexican and American expansion into his territory.

Guanyin f Buddhism
Means "one who observes sounds", from Chinese 观 (guān) meaning "to observe, to see" and 音 (yīn) meaning "sound, tone", referring to prayers. This is the Chinese name of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion (who is regarded as female in China). It originated as a calque of Sanskrit अवलोकितस्वर (Avalokitasvara), an earlier form of Avalokiteshvara's name.

Haji m Arabic
Refers to a person who has participated in the حَجّ (hajj), the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetimes.

Hiawatha m History, Iroquois (Anglicized)
Meaning uncertain, of Iroquois origin, possibly meaning "he who combs". This was the name of a Mohawk or Onondaga leader who founded the Iroquois Confederacy around the 15th century. He was later the subject of a fictionalized 1855 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Izanagi m Japanese Mythology
Probably means "male who invites" in Japanese, from 誘 (izana) meaning "invite, lure, attract". In Japanese mythology the god Izanagi was the husband of Izanami. When she died he unsuccessfully journeyed to the underworld to retrieve her. In the purifying rites that followed his return, the gods of the sun, moon and wind were created.

Izanami f Japanese Mythology
Probably means "female who invites" in Japanese, from 誘 (izana) meaning "invite, lure, attract". In Japanese mythology she was a creator goddess, the wife of Izanagi. She died giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the god of fire.

Kaneonuskatew m Cree (Anglicized)
Means "he who walks on four claws" in Cree, derived from ᓀᐅᐧ (newo) "four" and the root ᐊᐢᑲᓯᕀ (askasiy) "claw". This was the name of a 19th-century Plains Cree chief in Saskatchewan, also known as George Gordon.

Kirtida f Hindi
Means "one who bestows fame" in Sanskrit.

Menes m Ancient Egyptian (Hellenized)
Greek form of Egyptian mnj probably meaning "he who endures", derived from mn "to endure". According to tradition, Menes was the Egyptian pharaoh who first united Upper and Lower Egypt around the 31st century BC. He is probably the same as the pharaoh known as Narmer; Menes could have been his throne name.

Meshach m Biblical
Possibly means "who is what Aku is?" in Akkadian, Aku being the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament this is the Babylonian name of Mishael, one of the three men cast into a blazing furnace but saved from harm by God.

Micaiah m & f Biblical
Means "who is like Yahweh?" in Hebrew. This name occurs in the Old Testament in a variety of Hebrew spellings, belonging to both males and females. It is the full name of Micah, both the prophet and the man from the Book of Judges. As a feminine name it belongs to the mother of King Abijah (at 2 Chronicles 13:2), though her name is listed as Maacah in other passages.

Michael m English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron saint of soldiers in Christianity.... [more]

Mukami f Kikuyu
Possibly means "the one who milks the cows" in Kikuyu.

Mumbi f Kikuyu
Means "she who shapes" in Kikuyu. In Kikuyu mythology Mumbi was the wife of Gikuyu and the mother of his nine daughters.

Onuphrius m Egyptian Mythology (Latinized), Late Roman
Latinized form of Greek Ὀνούφριος (Onouphrios), derived from Egyptian wnn-nfr meaning "he who is good, he who is happy". This was an epithet of the god Osiris. It was later used by an Egyptian saint and hermit from the 4th or 5th century.

Onyebuchi m Igbo
Means "who is equal to God?" in Igbo.

Onyekachi m & f Igbo
Means "who is greater than God?" in Igbo.

Onyekachukwu m & f Igbo
Means "who is greater than God?" in Igbo (a variant of Onyekachi using Chukwu as the second element).

Pipaluk f Greenlandic
Means "sweet little thing who belongs to me" in Greenlandic.

Qasim m Arabic, Urdu
Means "one who divides goods among his people", derived from Arabic قسم (qasama) meaning "to share" or "to divide". This was the name of a son of the Prophet Muhammad who died while young.

Saddam m Arabic
Means "one who confronts" in Arabic. It was borne by the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (1937-2006).

Sanjar m Uzbek, Medieval Turkic
Turkic name meaning "he who pierces, he who thrusts". Ahmad Sanjar was an 11th-century sultan of the Seljuq Empire.

Scout f & m English (Modern)
From the English word scout meaning "one who gathers information covertly", which is derived from Old French escouter "to listen". Harper Lee used this name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).

Serket f Egyptian Mythology
From Egyptian srqt, possibly meaning "she who lets throats breathe", from srq meaning "to open the windpipe, to breathe" and a feminine t suffix. In Egyptian mythology she was the goddess of scorpions as well as the healing of poisonous stings and bites. Eventually she came to be identified with Isis, becoming an aspect of her over time.

Siddhartha m Sanskrit, Buddhism, Bengali
Means "one who has accomplished a goal", derived from Sanskrit सिद्ध (siddha) meaning "accomplished" and अर्थ (artha) meaning "goal". Siddhartha Gautama was the real name of the Buddha.

Tafari m Amharic (Rare)
Possibly means "he who inspires awe" in Amharic. This name was borne by Lij Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975), also known as Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. Rastafarians (Ras Tafari meaning "king Tafari") revere him as the earthly incarnation of God.

Tanner m English
From an English surname meaning "one who tans hides".

T'Challa m Popular Culture
The real name of the superhero Black Panther from Marvel comic books, debuting in 1966. In a 2018 issue it was revealed that his name means "he who put the knife where it belonged" in the fictional Wakandan language.

Tekakwitha f Mohawk
Means "she who bumps into things" or "she who puts things in place" in Mohawk. Tekakwitha, also named Kateri, was a 17th-century Mohawk woman who has become the first Native American Catholic saint.

Thetis f Greek Mythology
Possibly derived from Greek θέτης (thetes) meaning "one who places", a derivative of τίθημι (tithemi) meaning "to set, to place". This was the name of one of the Nereids in Greek mythology. With Peleus she was the mother of Achilles.