Iya f RussianMeaning unknown. This name was borne by Saint Ia of Persia, a 4th-century martyr who is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Jaala m BiblicalMeans
"wild goat" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a servant of
Solomon.
Jacira f TupiMeans
"honey moon" in Tupi, from
îasy "moon" and
yra "honey".
Jada 1 f EnglishElaborated form of
Jade. This name came into general use in the 1960s, and was popularized in the 1990s by actress Jada Pinkett Smith (1971-).
Jada 2 m BiblicalMeans
"he knows" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Jada is a son of Onam.
Jadwiga f PolishPolish form of
Hedwig. This was the name of a 14th-century ruling queen of Poland who has recently been canonized as a saint.
Janaka m Hinduism, SinhaleseMeans
"father" in Sanskrit. According to the Hindu epic the
Ramayana he was the king of Videha in northeastern India. He was the father of
Sita.
Jarmila f Czech, SlovakDerived from Czech
jarý "young, fresh" and
milý "kind, dear". This is the name of a character in the Czech poem
Máj (1836) by Karel Hynek Mácha.
Jaya f & m Hinduism, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, MarathiDerived from Sanskrit
जय (jaya) meaning
"victory". In Sanskrit this is a transcription of both the feminine form
जया (long final vowel) and the masculine form
जय (short final vowel), both of which are used as names or epithets for several characters in Hindu texts. As a modern personal name, this transcription is both feminine and masculine in southern India, but typically only feminine in the north.
Jayadeva m SanskritMeans
"divine victory" from Sanskrit
जय (jaya) meaning "victory" and
देव (deva) meaning "god". This was the name of a 12th-century Indian poet.
Jayendra m HindiMeans
"lord of victory" from Sanskrit
जय (jaya) meaning "victory" combined with the name of the god
Indra, used here to mean "lord".
Jefimija f SerbianSerbian form of
Euphemia. This name was adopted by a 14th-century Serbian poet (born Jelena Mrnjavčević).
Jehosheba f BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יְהוֹשֶׁבַע (Yehoshevaʿ) meaning
"Yahweh is an oath", derived from
יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and
שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) meaning "oath". In the Old Testament she is the daughter of King
Jehoram of Judah. With her husband Jehoiada she rescued the future king
Joash, her nephew, from a purge.
Jemima f Biblical, EnglishTraditionally said to mean
"dove", it may actually be related to Hebrew
יוֹמָם (yomam) meaning
"daytime". This was the oldest of the three daughters of
Job in the Old Testament. As an English name,
Jemima first became common during the Puritan era.
Jenna f English, Finnish, FrenchVariant of
Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series
Dallas.
Jescha f BiblicalForm of
Iscah found in the medieval Wycliffe Bible. This name was probably the basis for Shakespeare's created name
Jessica.
Jessica f English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, SpanishThis name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of
Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name
Iscah, which would have been spelled
Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by
Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).
Ji-A f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
智 (ji) meaning "wisdom, intellect" or
智 (ji) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" combined with
雅 (a) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" or
娥 (a) meaning "good, beautiful". Other combinations of hanja characters can also form this name.
Jia m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
佳 (jiā) meaning "good, auspicious, beautiful",
家 (jiā) meaning "home, family", or other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Jitka f CzechOld Czech variant of
Judith. This name was borne by an 11th-century duchess of Bohemia, a German noblewoman who was abducted by her husband Duke Bretislav.
Joanna f English, Polish, BiblicalEnglish and Polish form of Latin
Iohanna, which was derived from Greek
Ἰωάννα (Ioanna), the feminine form of
Ioannes (see
John). This is the spelling used in the English New Testament, where it belongs to a follower of
Jesus who is regarded as a saint. In the Middle Ages in England it was used as a Latinized form of
Joan (the usual feminine form of
John) and it became common as a given name in the 19th century.
Jolánka f Hungarian (Rare)Created by the Hungarian writer András Dugonics for the main character in his novel
Jólánka, Etelkának Leánya (1803). He may have based it on Hungarian
jóleán meaning "good girl" or possibly on the name
Yolanda.
Jorma m FinnishFinnish (allegedly Karelian) form of
Jeremiah. This was the name of a character in Juhani Aho's novel
Panu (1897).
Joshua m English, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshuaʿ) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save". As told in the Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of
Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was
Hoshea.
... [more] Jovita f Spanish, PortugueseSpanish and Portuguese feminine form of the Roman name
Iovita (masculine), which was derived from the name of the god
Jove. This was the name of an early saint and martyr, the brother of Faustinus.
Juana f SpanishSpanish form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna), making it the feminine form of
Juan 1. This name was borne by Juana the Mad, a 16th-century queen of Castile.
Juda m ArabicMeans
"goodness, excellence" in Arabic, derived from
جاد (jāda) meaning "to be excellent, to be generous".
Judda f GermanicProbably derived from the name of the Germanic tribe the Jutes, who originated in Denmark and later invaded and settled in England. The name of the tribe, recorded in Latin as
Iutae and Old English as
Eotas, is of uncertain origin.
Jugurtha m Ancient Berber (Latinized), BerberLatinized form of Berber
Yugurten meaning
"he surpassed them, he overcame them". Jugurtha was a 2nd-century BC king of Numidia who fought against the Roman Republic. He was eventually captured and executed in Rome.
Julia f English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, BiblicalFeminine form of the Roman family name
Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor
Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of
Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the New Testament. It was also borne by a few early saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
... [more] Juliana f Dutch, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovak, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Iulianus (see
Julian). This was the name of a 4th-century saint and martyr from Nicomedia, and also of the Blessed Juliana of Norwich, also called Julian, a 14th-century mystic and author. The name was also borne by a 20th-century queen of the Netherlands. In England, this form has been in use since the 18th century, alongside the older form
Gillian.
Junia f Biblical, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Junius. This is the name of an early Christian mentioned in
Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a woman
Junia or a man
Junias).
Juta f Estonian, LatvianEstonian and Latvian form of
Jutta. This is the name of a character in the Estonian legend
Lake Endla and Juta (1852) by Friedrich Robert Faehlmann.
Jutta f GermanProbably a medieval Low German form of
Judith. It might also derive from an Old German name such as
Judda.
Kaguya f LiteratureMeans
"bright, shining" in Japanese. It is spelled with the kanji
赫 (kagaya) meaning "bright" and
映 (ya) meaning "reflect". The name originates from the old Japanese folktale
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, about a bamboo cutter who finds a tiny baby in a bamboo stalk and names her
Kaguya-hime "shining princess". When she grows up she rejects all proposals for marriage (including that from the Emperor) and eventually returns to her true home on the moon.
... [more] Kahina f BerberDerived from Arabic
الكاهنة (al-Kāhina) meaning
"the diviner, the fortuneteller". This was a title applied to the 7th-century Berber queen Dihya, who resisted the Arab expansion into North Africa.
Kaimana m & f HawaiianFrom Hawaiian
kai "ocean, sea" and
mana "power". It is also Hawaiian meaning "diamond", derived from the English word
diamond.
Kaleva m Finnish, Finnish MythologyFrom the name of the mythological ancestor of the Finns, which is of unknown meaning. The name of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala means "the land of Kaleva".
Kalidasa m SanskritMeans
"servant of Kali" from the name of the Hindu goddess
Kali 1 combined with Sanskrit
दास (dāsa) meaning "servant". Kalidasa (or Kālidāsa) was a 4th-century Indian poet and dramatist, the author of the
Abhijnanashakuntalam and other works.
Kalyna f Ukrainian (Rare)From the Ukrainian word for a type of shrub, also called the guelder rose (species Viburnum opulus).
Kama m HinduismMeans
"love, desire" in Sanskrit. Kama is the Hindu god of love and pleasure, typically depicted as a young man armed with a bow and riding on the back of a giant parrot. His wife is
Rati.
Kamala f & m Hinduism, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, NepaliMeans
"lotus" or
"pale red" in Sanskrit. In Sanskrit this is a transcription of both the feminine form
कमला and the masculine form
कमल, though in modern languages it is only a feminine form. In Tantric Hinduism and Shaktism this is the name of a goddess, also identified with the goddess
Lakshmi.
Kamaria f ComorianFrom Arabic
qamar meaning
"moon", also the root of the name of the island country of the Comoros.
Kanata m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
奏 (kana) meaning "play music, complete" and
多 (ta) meaning "many", as well as other combinations of kanji that have the same pronunciation.
Kandaĵa f EsperantoMeans
"made of candy" in Esperanto, a derivative of
kando meaning "candy, rock sugar".
Kanna f JapaneseFrom Japanese
栞 (kan) meaning "bookmark" and
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Kanta f & m Hindi, BengaliFrom Sanskrit
कान्त (kānta) meaning
"desired, beautiful". The feminine form has a long final vowel, while in the masculine form it is short.
Kantuta f AymaraMeans
"cantua flower" in Aymara (species Cantua buxifolia).
Kapila m Hinduism, SinhaleseMeans
"reddish brown" in Sanskrit, derived from
कपि (kapi) meaning "monkey". According to Hindu tradition this was the name of a sage who founded Samkhya philosophy. He is sometimes considered an incarnation of
Vishnu.
Kapua f & m HawaiianMeans
"the flower" or
"the child" from Hawaiian
ka, a definite article, and
pua "flower, offspring".
Kára f Norse MythologyProbably from Old Norse
kárr meaning
"curly, curved". In Norse legend this was the name of a valkyrie.