Abla f ArabicMeans
"full-figured" in Arabic. The 7th-century Arab poet Antara dedicated much of his poetry to a woman named Abla.
Adela f English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, GermanicOriginally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz). Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
Adisa m & f YorubaMeans
"bundled up and set to dry" in Yoruba.
Adva f HebrewMeans
"small wave, ripple" in Hebrew.
Aella f Greek MythologyMeans
"whirlwind" in Greek. In Greek myth this was the name of an Amazon warrior killed by
Herakles during his quest for Hippolyta's girdle.
Afra 1 f Late Roman, ItalianOriginally used by the Romans as a nickname for a woman from Africa. This was the name of two early saints.
Afua f AkanMeans
"born on Friday" in Akan.
Aija f LatvianOf uncertain meaning, possibly related to Latvian
aijāt meaning
"to rock, to lull". It was used by the Latvian writer Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš for the title character of his novel
Aija (1911).
Ailsa f ScottishFrom
Ailsa Craig, the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland, which is of uncertain derivation.
Aina 3 f JapaneseFrom Japanese
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" and
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens", as well as other character combinations.
Aiza f UrduMeaning unknown, possibly of Arabic origin.
Akira m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
昭 (akira) meaning "bright",
明 (akira) meaning "bright" or
亮 (akira) meaning "clear". Other kanji with the same pronunciation can also form this name. A famous bearer was the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), given name written
明.
Akiva m HebrewFrom an Aramaic form of
Yaakov. Akiva (or Akiba) ben Joseph was a prominent 1st-century Jewish rabbi.
Akua f AkanMeans
"born on Wednesday" in Akan.
Alaba f & m YorubaMeans
"second child after twins" in Yoruba.
Alaia 2 f English (Modern)Probably a variant of
Alayah. It is likely also influenced by the fashion brand Alaïa, named for the Tunisian-French designer Azzedine Alaïa (1935-2017). His surname in Arabic is
عليّة (ʿAlayya), meaning "lofty".
Alaya f English (Modern)Variant of
Alayah. It coincides with a Buddhist term (meaning "dwelling" in Sanskrit), which refers to the eighth level of human consciousness.
Alba 1 f Italian, Spanish, CatalanThis name is derived from two distinct names,
Alba 2 and
Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter,
alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
Alba 3 f GermanicOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
alb meaning
"elf" (Proto-Germanic *
albaz).
Aleta f EnglishPossibly a variant of
Alethea. This was the name of the wife of the title character in the comic strip
Prince Valiant, which first appeared in 1937.
Alfia f Bashkir, TatarPossibly derived from Arabic
ألْف (ʾalf) meaning
"thousand". Alternatively, it may be of Turkic origin.
Aliya 2 f HebrewMeans
"ascent" in Hebrew, a derivative of
עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend, to climb". This is also a Hebrew word referring to immigration to Israel.
Alma 1 f English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, CroatianThis name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin
almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning
"the soul".
Alma 3 m MormonMeaning unknown. According to the Book of Mormon, this was the name of two prophets, father and son. Alma the Elder was a corrupt priest who repented after meeting the prophet Abinadi. Alma the Younger rebelled against the church, but repented and become a missionary and prophet.
Alpha f & m EnglishFrom the name of the first letter in the Greek alphabet,
Α.
Alta f VariousPossibly from Latin
altus or Italian/Spanish
alto meaning
"high".
Alva 2 m EnglishVariant of
Alvah. A famous bearer of this name was the inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
Amaia f BasqueMeans
"the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel
Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (
Amaya in the Spanish original;
Amaia in the Basque translation).
Amika f EsperantoMeans
"friendly" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin
amicus "friend".
Amina 1 f Arabic, Bosnian, Tatar, Bashkir, Chechen, Ingush, Kazakh, Urdu, Swahili, HausaDerived from Arabic
أمن (ʾamina) meaning
"safe, secure". This was the name of the Prophet
Muhammad's mother, who died when he was young.
Anara f Kazakh, KyrgyzFrom Kazakh and Kyrgyz
анар (anar) meaning
"pomegranate", a word ultimately derived from Persian.
Anaya f English (Modern)Meaning unknown, possibly from the Spanish surname
Anaya (itself from the name of a Spanish town), used because of its similarity to
Amaya.
Anima 1 f HindiMeans
"minuteness" from Sanskrit
अणिमन (aṇiman). In yoga texts, this is the name of the ability to make oneself infinitely small so to be invisible.
Anima 2 f English (Rare)Means
"soul, spirit" in Latin. In Jungian psychology the anima is an individual's true inner self, or soul.
Anita 1 f Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Slovene, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Latvian, HungarianSpanish, Portuguese, Croatian and Slovene diminutive of
Ana.
Anna f English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Scottish Gaelic, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicForm of
Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the
Hannah spelling instead of
Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin
Mary.
... [more] Anona f EnglishMeaning unknown. It was possibly inspired by an American song by this name written by Vivian Grey in 1903 and recorded by musician Vess Ossman. The lyrics tell of a Native American woman named Anona from Arizona.
Ansa f FinnishDerived from Finnish
ansio "virtue" or
ansa "trap".
Aphra f Various (Rare)Meaning uncertain; possibly a variant of
Afra 1, or possibly a variant of
Aphrah, a biblical place name meaning "dust". This name was borne by the English writer Aphra Behn (1640-1689).
Arata m JapaneseFrom Japanese
新 (arata) meaning "fresh, new". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
Arda m TurkishPossibly means
"marker, stake" in Turkish.
Aria 1 f English (Modern)Means
"song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama
Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Arja f FinnishVariant of
Irja. The Finnish poet Eino Leino used it in his poem
Arja and Selinä (1916), though belonging to a male character.
Aruna m & f Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, HindiMeans
"reddish brown, dawn" in Sanskrit. The Hindu god Aruna (
अरुण) is the charioteer who drives the sun god
Surya across the sky. The modern feminine form
अरुणा (spelled with a final long vowel) is also transcribed as
Aruna, however the modern masculine form is
Arun.
Arwa f ArabicMeans
"female ibex, mountain goat" in Arabic. This name was borne by some relatives of the Prophet
Muhammad. It was also the name of a 12th-century queen of Yemen.
Arya 1 m & f Persian, Hindi, MalayalamFrom an old Indo-Iranian root meaning "Aryan, noble". In India, this is a transcription of both the masculine form
आर्य and the feminine form
आर्या. In Iran it is only a masculine name.
Arya 2 f LiteratureCreated by author George R. R. Martin for a popular character in his series
A Song of Ice and Fire, published beginning 1996, and the television adaptation
Game of Thrones (2011-2019). In the story Arya is the second daughter of Ned Stark, the lord of Winterfell.
Asena f TurkishPossibly of Scythian origin meaning
"blue". In Turkic mythology Asena was a grey wolf who gave birth to the ancestor of the Ashina tribe of Turks.
Asiya f Arabic, UrduPossibly from Arabic
أسي (ʾasiya) meaning
"to be distressed, to be grieved". According to Islamic tradition this was the name of the wife of the pharaoh at the time of
Moses. She took care of the infant Moses and later accepted monotheism.
Asma f Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, MalayMeans
"supreme, higher" in Arabic, a derivative of the root
سما (samā) meaning "to be high". This was the name of a daughter of
Abu Bakr, the first caliph of the Muslims.
Asuka f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
明日 (asu) meaning "tomorrow" and
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance", or from
飛 (asu) meaning "to fly" and
鳥 (ka) meaning "bird". Other kanji combinations can be possible as well.
Audra 2 f EnglishVariant of
Audrey, used since the 19th century. It jumped in popularity in the United States after the debut of the television series
The Big Valley (1965-1969), which featured the character Audra Barkley.
Aurea f Late RomanLate Latin name that was derived from
aureus "golden". This was the name of a 3rd-century saint from Ostia (near Rome), as well as an 11th-century Spanish saint.
Avila f GermanicDerived from the Old German element
awi, of unknown meaning. Rarely, this name may be given in honour of the 16th-century mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila,
Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.
Ayaka f JapaneseFrom Japanese
彩 (aya) meaning "colour" combined with
花 (ka) or
華 (ka) both meaning "flower". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Ayda f Arabic, Persian, TurkishMeans
"returning, visitor" in Arabic. In Turkey this is also associated with
ay meaning "moon".
Ayla 3 f Literature, English (Modern)Created for the novel
Clan of the Cave Bear (1980) by author Jean M. Auel. In the novel Ayla is an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl adopted by Neanderthals.
Ayla is the Neanderthal pronunciation of her real name, which is not given.
... [more] Aýna f TurkmenMeans
"mirror" in Turkmen, ultimately from Persian
آینه (āyneh).
Baba m AzerbaijaniFrom a nickname or honorific meaning
"old man" in Azerbaijani.
Baia f GeorgianFrom the Georgian name for the buttercup flower (or any flowering plant from the genus Ranunculus).
Béla m HungarianThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. It could be derived from Hungarian
bél meaning
"guts, bowel" or Old Slavic
bělŭ meaning
"white". This was the name of four Hungarian kings. It was also borne by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945).
Běla f CzechDerived from the Old Slavic word *
bělŭ meaning
"white".
Bella f EnglishShort form of
Isabella and other names ending in
bella. It is also associated with the Italian word
bella meaning
"beautiful". It was used by the American author Stephenie Meyer for the main character in her popular
Twilight series of novels, first released 2005, later adapted into a series of movies beginning 2008.
Bhima m HinduismMeans
"terrible, formidable" in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata this is the name of the second son of
Pandu, and thus one of the five Pandavas. His true father was the wind god
Vayu. He was known for his terrific strength and skill as a warrior.
Bleda m HistoryPossibly from a Turkic root meaning
"wise". According to other theories the name was of Gothic origin, or was a Gothicized form of a Hunnic name. This was the name of the brother of
Attila.
Bora 1 m TurkishMeans
"storm, squall" in Turkish, ultimately related to Greek
Βορέας (Boreas), the name of the god of the north wind.
Borja m SpanishFrom a Spanish surname, used as a given name in honour of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Borja (1510-1572). The surname, also spelled Borgia, is derived from the name of a Spanish town, ultimately from Arabic
برْج (burj) meaning "tower".
Borna m CroatianDerived from the Slavic element
borti meaning
"fight, battle". This was the name of a 9th-century duke of Croatia.
Breda 2 f SloveneMeaning unknown. It was used by the Slovene author Ivan Pregelj for the title character in his novel
Mlada Breda (1913).