HAZEL f EnglishFrom the English word
hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English
hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century.
HE f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
河 (hé) meaning "river, stream",
和 (hé) meaning "harmony, peace", or
荷 (hé) meaning "lotus, water lily" (which is usually only feminine). Other characters can form this name as well. A famous bearer was the 15th-century explorer Zheng He.
HEATHER f EnglishFrom the English word
heather for the variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers, which commonly grow in rocky areas. It is derived from Middle English
hather. It was first used as a given name in the late 19th century, though it did not become popular until the last half of the 20th century.
HEBE f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
‘ηβη (hebe) meaning "youth". In Greek mythology Hebe was the daughter of
Zeus and
Hera. She was a goddess of youth who acted as the cupbearer to the gods.
HECATE f Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
‘Εκατη (Hekate), possibly derived from
‘εκας (hekas) meaning "far off". In Greek mythology Hecate was a goddess associated with witchcraft, crossroads, tombs, demons and the underworld.
HEDDA f Norwegian, SwedishDiminutive of
HEDVIG. This is the name of the heroine of the play 'Hedda Gabler' (1890) by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen.
HEDWIG f GermanFrom the Germanic name
Hadewig, derived from the Germanic elements
hadu "battle, combat" and
wig "war". This was the name of a 13th-century German saint, the wife of the Polish duke Henry the Bearded. It was subsequently borne by a 14th-century Polish queen (usually known by her Polish name
Jadwiga) who is now also regarded as a saint.
HEIDE f GermanGerman diminutive of
ADELHEID. It also coincides with the German word meaning "heath".
HEIDI f German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, EnglishGerman diminutive of
ADELHEID. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel 'Heidi' (1880) by Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.
HEIDRUN f Norse Mythology, GermanDerived from Old Norse
heiðr meaning "bright, clear" and
rún meaning "secret". In Norse mythology this was the name of a goat that would eat the leaves from the tree of life and produce mead in her udder.
HEIRANI f TahitianFrom Tahitian
hei "crown, garland" and
rani "heaven, sky".
HEKLA f IcelandicFrom the name of an active Icelandic volcano, derived from Old Norse
hekla meaning "cloak".
HEL f Norse MythologyIn Norse mythology this was the name of the daughter of Loki. She got her name from the underworld, also called Hel, where she ruled, which meant "to conceal, to cover" in Old Norse (related to the English word
hell).
HELAH f BiblicalMeans "rust" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name is mentioned as one of the wives of Asher.
HELEDD f WelshMeaning unknown. This was the name of a semi-legendary 7th-century Welsh princess.
HELENA f German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinate form of
HELEN.
HELLE (2) f Greek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek mythology Helle was the daughter of Athamus and Nephele. She and her brother Phrixus escaped sacrifice by fleeing on the back of a golden ram, but during their flight she fell off and drowned in the strait that connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which was thereafter called the Hellespont ("the sea of Helle").
HEMERA f Greek MythologyMeans "day" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified the daytime. According to Hesiod she was the daughter of
Nyx, the personification of the night.
HENG m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
恒 (héng) meaning "constant, persistent", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.
HERA f Greek MythologyUncertain meaning, possibly from either Greek
‘ηρως (heros) "hero, warrior";
‘ωρα (hora) "period of time"; or
‘αιρεω (haireo) "to be chosen". In Greek mythology Hera was the queen of the gods, the sister and wife of
Zeus. She presided over marriage and childbirth.
HERAIS f Ancient GreekAncient Greek personal name that was probably derived from the name of the Greek goddess
HERA.
HERLEVA f Ancient GermanicGermanic name, possibly a derivative of
hari "army",
era "honour", or
erla "noble" (or their Old Norse cognates). This was the name of the mother of William the Conqueror, who, according to tradition, was a commoner.
HERMIA f LiteratureFeminine form of
HERMES. Shakespeare used this name in his comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (1595).
HERMIONE f Greek MythologyDerived from the name of the Greek messenger god
HERMES. In Greek myth Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. This is also the name of the wife of Leontes in Shakespeare's play 'The Winter's Tale' (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
HERO (1) f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
‘ηρως (heros) meaning "hero". In Greek legend she was the lover of Leander, who would swim across the Hellespont each night to meet her. He was killed on one such occasion when he got caught in a storm while in the water, and when Hero saw his dead body she drowned herself. This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's play 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1599).
HERODIAS f Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFeminine form of
HEROD. This was the name of a member of the Herodian ruling family of Judea, a sister of Herod Agrippa and the wife of Herod Antipas. She appears in the New Testament, where she contrives to have her husband Antipas imprison and execute John the Baptist.
HERTHA f GermanForm of
NERTHUS. The spelling change from
N to
H resulted from a misreading of Tacitus's text.
HESTER f English, Biblical LatinLatin form of
ESTHER. Like
Esther, it has been used in England since the Protestant Reformation. Nathaniel Hawthorne used it for the heroine of his novel 'The Scarlet Letter' (1850), Hester Prynne.
HESTIA f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
‘εστια (hestia) "hearth, fireside". In Greek mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.
HIKARI f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
光 (hikari) meaning "light". Other kanji can also form this name. It is often written with the hiragana writing system.
HIKARU m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
光 (hikaru) meaning "light" or
輝 (hikaru) meaning "brightness". Other kanji can also form this name.
HILA f HebrewMeans "halo, aura" in Hebrew, from the root
הָלַל (halal) meaning "to praise, to shine".
HILARY f & m EnglishMedieval English form of
HILARIUS or
HILARIA. During the Middle Ages it was primarily a masculine name. It was revived in Britain at the beginning of the 20th century as a predominantly feminine name. In America, this name and the variant
Hillary seemed to drop in popularity after Hillary Clinton (1947-) became the first lady.
HILDRED f & m EnglishPossibly from the Old English masculine name
Hildræd, which was composed of the elements
hild "battle" and
ræd "counsel". This name was revived in the late 19th century, probably because of its similarity to the popular names
Hilda and
Mildred.
HILJA f FinnishDerived from Finnish
hiljaisuus meaning "silence".
HILLA f FinnishShort form of names beginning with
Hil. It also means "cloudberry" in Finnish.
HILLARY f EnglishVariant of
HILARY. A famous bearer of the surname was Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first man to climb Mount Everest.
HILTRUD f GermanMeans "strength in battle", derived from the Germanic elements
hild "battle" and
thrud "strength".
HINA f JapaneseFrom Japanese
陽 (hi) meaning "light, sun, male" or
日 (hi) meaning "sun, day" combined with
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations are possible.
HINATA f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
日向 (hinata) meaning "sunny place",
陽向 (hinata) meaning "toward the sun", or a non-standard reading of
向日葵 (himawari) meaning "sunflower". Other kanji compounds are also possible. Because of the irregular readings, this name is often written using the hiragana writing system.
HIND f ArabicPossibly means "group of camels" in Arabic. Hind bint Abi Umayyah, also known as Umm Salama, was one of the wives of the Prophet
Muhammad. This is also the Arabic name for the country of India.
HİRANUR f TurkishFrom
Hira, from Arabic
حراء (Hira), the name of the cave where the Prophet
Muhammad received his first revelation, combined with Arabic
نور (nur) meaning "light".
HIROKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
寛 (hiro) meaning "tolerant, generous",
裕 (hiro) meaning "abundant" or
浩 (hiro) meaning "prosperous" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
HIRUNE f BasqueMeans "trinity" in Basque, derived from
hiru meaning "three".
HITOMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
瞳 (hitomi) meaning "pupil of the eye". It can also come from
史 (hito) meaning "history" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", as well as other kanji combinations. This name is often written with the hiragana writing system.
HJÖRDIS f SwedishSwedish form of the Old Norse name
Hjǫrdís meaning "sword goddess", derived from the elements
hjǫrr "sword" and
dís "goddess".
HLA m & f BurmeseMeans "pretty, favourable" in Burmese.
HODEL f Yiddish (Rare)Diminutive of
HODE. This is the name of Tevye's second daughter in the musical 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1964), based on late 19th-century stories by Sholem Aleichem.
HOKULANI f HawaiianMeans "heavenly star" from Hawaiian
hōkū "star" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
HOLLIS m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Middle English
holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
HOLLY f EnglishFrom the English word for the holly tree, ultimately derived from Old English
holen.
HONEY f English (Rare)Simply from the English word
honey, ultimately from Old English
hunig. This was originally a nickname for a sweet person.
HONG m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
虹 (hóng) meaning "rainbow",
弘 (hóng) meaning "enlarge, expand, great" (which is usually only masculine) or
鸿 (hóng) meaning "wild swan, great, vast" (also usually only masculine). Other characters can also form this name.
HONOKA f JapaneseFrom Japanese
和 (hono) meaning "harmony" (using an obscure nanori reading) and
花 (ka) meaning "flower", as well as other combinations of kanji that have the same pronunciation. Very often it is written using the hiragana writing system.
HONORINE f FrenchFrench form of
Honorina, a feminine form of the Roman name
Honorinus, a derivative of
HONORIUS. Saint Honorina was a 4th-century martyr from the Normandy region in France.
HONOUR f English (Rare)From the English word
honour, which is of Latin origin. This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century. It can also be viewed as a form of
HONORIA or
HONORATA, which are ultimately derived from the same source.
HOPE f EnglishFrom the English word
hope, ultimately from Old English
hopian. This name was first used by the Puritans in the 17th century.
HOSANNA f BiblicalFrom the Aramaic religious expression
הושע נא (Hosha' na') meaning "deliver us" in Hebrew. In the New Testament this is exclaimed by those around
Jesus when he first enters Jerusalem.
HOSHI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
星 (hoshi) meaning "star" or other kanji with the same pronunciation.
HOSHIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
星 (hoshi) meaning "star" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
HUA f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
华 (huá) meaning "splendid, illustrious, Chinese" or
花 (huā) meaning "flower, blossom" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well.
HUAN f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
欢 (huān) meaning "happy, pleased", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
HUANG m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
煌 (huáng) meaning "bright, shining, luminous" (which is usually only masculine) or
凰 (huáng) meaning "phoenix" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
HUỆ f VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
慧 (huệ) meaning "bright, intelligent" or
蕙 (huệ) meaning "orchid".
HUI f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
慧 (huì) meaning "intelligent, wise" (which is usually only feminine),
辉 (huī) meaning "brightness", besides other characters that are pronounced similarly.
HULDAH f BiblicalMeans "weasel, mole" in Hebrew. This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to a prophetess.
HUNTER m & f EnglishFrom an occupational English surname for a hunter, derived from Old English
hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).
HWAN m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
煥 (hwan) meaning "shining, brilliant, lustrous" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character.
HYACINTHA f HistoryLatinate feminine form of
HYACINTHUS, used to refer to the 17th-century Italian saint Hyacintha Mariscotti (real name Giacinta).
HYE-JIN f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
慧 (hye) meaning "bright, intelligent" or
惠 (hye) meaning "favour, benefit" combined with
珍 (jin) meaning "precious, rare". This name can be formed by a variety of other hanja character combinations as well.
HYEON m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.
HYEON-JEONG f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or
炫 (hyeon) meaning "shine, glitter" combined with
廷 (jeong) meaning "court" or
貞 (jeong) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
HYEON-JU f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" and
珠 (ju) meaning "jewel, pearl". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
HYPATIA f Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
‘υπατος (hypatos) meaning "highest, supreme". Hypatia of Alexandria was a 5th-century philosopher and mathematician, daughter of the mathematician Theon.
IARA f Native American, TupiFrom Tupi
y "water" and
îara "lady, mistress". In Brazilian folklore this is the name of a beautiful river nymph who would lure men into the water. She may have been based upon earlier Tupi legends.
IBEN f Danish, NorwegianPossibly a feminine form of
IB. It is associated with Danish
ibenholt meaning "ebony".
IBOLYA f HungarianMeans "violet" in Hungarian, ultimately from Latin
viola.
IDA f English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Ancient GermanicDerived from the Germanic element
id meaning "work, labour". The Normans brought this name to England, though it eventually died out there in the Middle Ages. It was strongly revived in the 19th century, in part due to the heroine in Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'The Princess' (1847), which was later adapted into the play 'Princess Ida' (1884) by Gilbert and Sullivan.
... [more] ÍDE f IrishPossibly derived from Old Irish
ítu "thirst". This was the name of a 6th-century Irish saint.
IDONEA f English (Archaic)Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of
IÐUNN. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin
idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century.
IDOYA f SpanishFrom the Spanish place name
Idoia, possibly meaning "pond" in Basque, an important place of worship of the Virgin
Mary.
IDRIL f LiteratureMeans "sparkle brilliance" in Sindarin. In the 'Silmarillion' (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband
Tuor and sailed with him into the west.
IEVA f Lithuanian, LatvianLithuanian and Latvian form of
EVE. This is also the Lithuanian and Latvian word for a type of cherry tree (species Prunus padus).
IGRAINE f Arthurian RomanceMeaning unknown, from
Igerna, the Latinized form of Welsh
Eigyr. In Arthurian legend she is the mother of King
Arthur by Uther Pendragon and the mother of
Morgan le Fay by Gorlois. The Welsh form
Eigyr or
Eigr was rendered into Latin as
Igerna by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth.
İLAYDA f TurkishPossibly derived from the name of a Turkish water sprite.
ILEANA f Romanian, Spanish, ItalianPossibly a Romanian variant of
ELENA. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
İLKAY f & m TurkishMeans "new moon" in Turkish, derived from
ilk "first" and
ay "moon".