LYNETTE f EnglishForm of
LUNED first used by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem 'Gareth and Lynette' (1872). In modern times it is also regarded as a diminutive of
LYNN.
LYNN f & m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Welsh
llyn meaning "lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of
LINDA or names that end in
lyn or
line.
LYRA f AstronomyThe name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus.
LYS f FrisianFrisian diminutive of
ELISABETH. It also coincides with the French word for "lily".
LYSSA (2) f Greek MythologyMeans "rage, fury, anger" in Greek. In Greek mythology Lyssa is a goddess associated with uncontrolled rage.
MABEL f EnglishMedieval feminine form of
AMABILIS. This spelling and
Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's novel 'The Heir of Redclyffe' (1854), which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).
MABELLE f EnglishVariant of
MABEL. It also coincides with the French phrase
ma belle meaning "my beautiful".
MABYN f WelshMeans "youth" in Welsh. This was the name of an obscure 6th-century Welsh saint. She was one of the daughters of Saint Brychan.
MACARENA f SpanishFrom the name of a barrio (district) in Seville, which got its name from a temple that may have been named for a person named
Macarius (see
MACARIO). The Virgin of Macarena, that is
Mary, is widely venerated in Seville.
MACKENZIE f & m EnglishFrom the Gaelic surname
Mac Coinnich, which means "son of
COINNEACH". A famous bearer of the surname was William Lyon MacKenzie (1795-1861), a Canadian journalist and political rebel. As a feminine given name, it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-).
MACY f EnglishFrom an English surname that was from various towns named
Massy in France. The towns themselves were originally named from a Gallo-Roman personal name that was Latinized as
Maccius. This is the name of a chain of American department stores founded by Rowland Hussey Macy (1822-1877).
MADARA f LatvianFrom the Latvian name for a type of flowering plant, known as cleavers or bedstraw in English.
MÄDCHEN f VariousMeans "girl" in German. It is not used as a name in Germany itself.
MADE m & f Indonesian, BalineseFrom Sanskrit
मध्य (madhya) meaning "middle". This name is traditionally given to the family's second-born child.
MADELINE f English, FrenchEnglish form of
MAGDALENE. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
MADINA f Kazakh, Avar, ChechenFrom the name of the city of Medina, Arabic
المدينة (al-Madinah), which means "the city". The Saudi city is considered an Islamic holy site because the Prophet
Muhammad was based there for a period.
MADISON f & m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning "son of
MAUD". It was not commonly used as a feminine name until after the movie 'Splash' (1984), in which the main character adopted it as her name after seeing a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City. A famous bearer of the surname was James Madison (1751-1836), one of the authors of the American constitution who later served as president.
MADONNA f EnglishFrom a title of the Virgin
Mary meaning "my lady" in Italian. A famous bearer of the name is American singer Madonna Ciccone (1958-), known simply as Madonna.
MAE f EnglishVariant of
MAY. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
MAEVA f Tahitian, FrenchMeans "welcome" in Tahitian. It gained popularity in France during the 1980s.
MAEVE f Irish, Irish MythologyAnglicized form of the Gaelic name
Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. Her fight against Ulster and the hero
Cúchulainn is told in the Irish epic 'The Cattle Raid of Cooley'.
MAGDA f German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian, Romanian, Portuguese, GreekShort form of
MAGDALENA.
MAGDALENA f Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, EnglishLatinate form of
MAGDALENE.
MAGDALENE f German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom a title meaning "of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala - a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
MAGNHILD f NorwegianDerived from Old Norse
magn "mighty, strong" and
hildr "battle". This was the name of a novel by the Norwegian author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
MAGNOLIA f EnglishFrom the English word
magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
MAHA f ArabicMeans "oryx" in Arabic. The oryx is a variety of antelope that is said to represent beauty.
MAHALA f EnglishVariant of
MAHALAH or
MAHALATH. It has occasionally been used as an English Christian name since the Protestant Reformation.
MAHLAH f & m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
מַחְלָה (Machlah), possibly from
חָלָה (chalah) meaning "weak, sick". This name is used in the Old Testament as both a feminine and masculine name. In some versions of the Bible the masculine name is spelled
Mahalah.
MAHULENA f CzechPossibly inspired by
MAGDALENA. The Czech author Julius Zeyer created it for a character in his play 'Radúz and Mahulena' (1898).
MAI (1) f VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
梅 (mai) meaning "plum, apricot" (refers specifically to the species Prunus mume).
MAI (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
舞 (mai) meaning "dance" or
麻衣 (mai) meaning "linen robe". It can also come from
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
MAIA (2) f Roman MythologyProbably from Latin
maior meaning "greater". This was the name of a Roman goddess of spring, a companion (sometimes wife) of
Vulcan. She was later conflated with the Greek goddess
Maia. The month of May is named for her.
MAILE f HawaiianFrom the name of a type of vine that grows in Hawaii and is used in making leis.
MAIRE f FinnishDerived from Finnish
mairea "gushing, sugary".
MAIRWEN f WelshCombination of
MAIR and Welsh
gwen meaning "white, fair, blessed".
MAJA (2) f Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Czech, SlovakDiminutive of
MARIA.
MAKEDA f HistoryPossibly means "greatness" in Ethiopic. This was the name of an Ethiopian queen of the 10th-century BC. She is probably the same person as the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon in the Old Testament.
MAKOTO m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
誠 (makoto) meaning "sincerity", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.
MALAI f ThaiMeans "garland of flowers" in Thai.
MALALAI f PashtoMeans "sad, grieved" in Pashto. This was the name of a Pashtun woman who encouraged the Afghan forces during the 1880 Battle of Maiwand against the British.
MALLORY f English (Modern)From an English surname that meant "unfortunate" in Norman French. It first became common in the 1980s due to the television comedy 'Family Ties', which featured a character by this name.
MALVINA f Scottish, English, LiteratureCreated by the poet James MacPherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossian poems. He probably intended it to mean "smooth brow" in Gaelic.
MAMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or
麻 (ma) meaning "flax" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other combinations of kanji can form this name as well.
MANAIA f & m MaoriFrom the name of a stylized design common in Maori carvings. It represents a mythological creature with the head of a bird and the body of a human.
MANAMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
愛 (mana) meaning "love, affection" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" or
海 (mi) meaning "sea, ocean". Other kanji combinations are possible.
MAO (1) f JapaneseFrom 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.
MAR f Spanish, CatalanMeans "sea" in Spanish and Catalan. It is from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María del Mar.
MĀRA f Latvian, Baltic MythologyThis was the name of a Latvian mother goddess. Her name is possibly derived from
MARIA, identifying her with the Virgin Mary. In modern times this name is used as a variant of
MARIJA.
MARA (1) f BiblicalMeans "bitter" in Hebrew. This is a name taken by
Naomi in the Old Testament (see Ruth 1:20).
MARAL f Azerbaijani, ArmenianMeans "deer" in Azerbaijani and Armenian, referring to the Caspian Red Deer, derived from Persian
مرال (maral).
MARAMA f Polynesian MythologyMeans "moon" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian mythology she was the goddess of the moon and death.
MARGANITA f HebrewFrom the name of a type of flowering plant common in Israel, called the scarlet pimpernel in English.
MARGARET f EnglishDerived from Latin
Margarita, which was from Greek
μαργαριτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", probably ultimately a borrowing from Sanskrit
मञ्यरी (manyari). Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.
... [more] MARGAUX f FrenchVariant of
MARGOT influenced by the name of the wine-producing French town. It was borne by Margaux Hemingway (1954-1996), granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway, who had it changed from
Margot.
MARGHERITA f ItalianItalian form of
MARGARET. This is also the Italian word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
MARGRIET f DutchDutch form of
MARGARET. This is also the Dutch word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
MARGUERITE f FrenchFrench form of
MARGARET. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
MARI (1) f Welsh, Breton, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishWelsh, Breton, Estonian and Finnish form of
MARIA, as well as a Hungarian diminutive of
MÁRIA. It is also a Scandinavian form of
MARIE.
MARI (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" or
里 (ri) meaning "village". Many other combinations of kanji characters can form this name.
MARI (3) f MythologyPossibly from Basque
emari "donation" or
amari "mother". This was the name of a goddess of the weather and fertility in Basque mythology.
MARÍA f & m Spanish, Galician, IcelandicSpanish, Galician and Icelandic form of
MARIA. It is occasionally used as a masculine middle name (or the second part of a double name) in Spanish-speaking regions.
MARIA f & m Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicLatin form of Greek
Μαρια, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
MARY).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
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