NIMUE f Arthurian RomanceMeaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have
Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French 'Lancelot-Grail' cycle.
NINA (1) f Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, SerbianShort form of names that end in
nina, such as
ANTONINA or
GIANNINA. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning "little girl".
NINA (2) f Near Eastern MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of a Babylonian and Assyrian fertility goddess who was identified with
Ishtar. She was the patron goddess of the city of Nineveh. Her name was written using a character representing a fish surrounded by a character representing a house.
NINEL f RussianReversal of the name
Lenin. Lenin was the founder of the former Soviet state. This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
NING f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, calm, serene", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
NIOBE f Greek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek mythology Niobe was the daughter of Tantalos, a king of Asia Minor. Because she boasted that she was superior to
Leto, Leto's children
Apollo and
Artemis killed her 14 children with poison arrows. In grief, Niobe was turned to stone by
Zeus.
NITYA f & m Indian, HindiMeans "always, eternal" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form
नित्या (an epithet of the Hindu goddess
Durga) and the masculine form
नित्य.
NJERI f Eastern African, KikuyuMeans "travelling one" in Kikuyu. Njeri (or Wanjeri) is the name of one of the nine daughters of
Mumbi in the Kikuyu origin legend.
NNENNA f Western African, IgboMeans "father's mother" in Igbo. This name is sometimes given to a child when it is believed that she is a reincarnation of her paternal grandmother.
NNENNE f Western African, IgboMeans "mother's mother" in Igbo. This name is sometimes given to a child when it is believed that she is a reincarnation of her maternal grandmother.
NOA (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
乃 (no), a possessive particle, and
愛 (a) meaning "love, affection". This name can also be constructed from other kanji or kanji combinations.
NOAH (2) f BiblicalDerived from the Hebrew name
נֹעָה (No'ah) meaning "motion". In the Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of Zelophehad.
NOAM m & f HebrewMeans "pleasantness" in Hebrew. A famous bearer is Noam Chomsky (1928-), an American linguist and philosopher.
NOELANI f HawaiianMeans "heavenly mist" from Hawaiian
noe "mist" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
NOKOMIS f New World MythologyMeans "my grandmother" in Ojibwe. In Anishinaabe mythology this is the name of
Nanabozho's grandmother. It was used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for the grandmother of
Hiawatha in his poem 'The Song of Hiawatha' (1855).
NOLWENN f BretonFrom the Breton phrase
Noyal Gwenn meaning "holy one from Noyal". This was the epithet of a 6th-century saint and martyr from Brittany.
NON f WelshPossibly derived from Latin
nonna meaning "nun". This was the name of the mother of Saint David.
NONA (1) f Roman MythologyDerived from Latin
nonus meaning "ninth", referring to the nine months of pregnancy. This was the name of a Roman goddess of pregnancy. She was also one of the three Fates (or Parcae).
NORIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
法 (nori) meaning "law, rule" or
典 (nori) meaning "rule, ceremony" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
NORMA f English, Italian, LiteratureCreated by Felice Romani for the main character in the opera 'Norma' (1831). He may have based it on Latin
norma "rule". This name is also frequently used as a feminine form of
NORMAN.
NOVA f EnglishDerived from Latin
novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
NUAN f ChineseFrom Chinese
暖 (nuǎn) meaning "warm, genial" or other characters with a similar pronunciation.
NUBIA f VariousFrom the name of the ancient region and kingdom in Africa, south of Egypt. It possibly derives from the Egyptian word
nbw meaning "gold".
NURAY f TurkishMeans "bright moon" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic
نور (nur) meaning "light" and Turkic
ay meaning "moon".
NURGÜL f TurkishMeans "radiant rose" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic
نور (nur) meaning "light" and Persian
گل (gol) meaning "flower, rose".
NÚRIA f Catalan, PortugueseFrom a Catalan title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nostra Senyora de Núria, meaning "Our Lady of Nuria". Nuria is a sanctuary in Spain in which there is a shrine containing a famous statue of Mary.
NURIT f HebrewMeans "buttercup flower" in Hebrew (genus Ranunculus).
NYALA f VariousFrom the name of a type of African antelope, ultimately derived from the Bantu word
nyálà.
NYDIA f English (Rare), Spanish, LiteratureUsed by British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton for a blind flower-seller in his novel 'The Last Days of Pompeii' (1834). He perhaps based it on Latin
nidus "nest".
NYOMAN m & f Indonesian, BalinesePossibly from a Balinese word meaning "end, remainder". This name is traditionally bestowed upon the third-born child.
NYSSA f VariousFrom the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor where Saint Gregory was bishop. Nyssa is also the genus name of a type of tree, also called the Tupelo.
NYX f Greek MythologyMeans "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
OANEZ f BretonDerived from Breton
oan "lamb" (ultimately from Latin
agnus) and used as a Breton form of
AGNES.
OBDULIA f SpanishMeaning unknown. This was the name of a saint from Toledo, Spain. The details of her life are unknown.
OCEAN m & f English (Rare)Simply from the English word
ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ωκεανος (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.
OCTAVIA f English, Spanish, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
OCTAVIUS. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
ODELL m & f EnglishFrom a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "woad hill" in Old English. A woad is a herb used for dying.
ODESSA f VariousFrom the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea. This name can also be used as a feminine form of
ODYSSEUS.
ODETTE f FrenchFrench diminutive of
ODA or
ODILIA. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet 'Swan Lake' (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
ODHARNAIT f IrishMeans "little pale green one", derived from Irish
odhra "pale green, sallow" combined with a diminutive suffix.
ODILIA f Ancient GermanicDerived from the Germanic element
odal meaning "fatherland" or
aud meaning "wealth, fortune". Saint Odilia (or Odila) was an 8th-century nun who is considered the patron saint of Alsace. She was apparently born blind but gained sight when she was baptized.
OENONE f Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek
Οινωνε (Oinone), derived from
οινος (oinos) meaning "wine". In Greek mythology Oenone was a mountain nymph who was married to Paris before he went after Helen.
OFRA m & f HebrewHebrew form of
OPHRAH. Originally it was a masculine name, but it is now used for females too.
OLGA f Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian, GreekRussian form of
HELGA. The Varangians brought it from Scandinavia to Russia. The 10th-century Saint Olga was the wife of Igor I, Grand Prince of Kievan Rus (a state based around the city of Kiev). Following his death she ruled as regent for her son for 18 years. After she was baptized in Constantinople she attempted to convert her subjects to Christianity.
OLIVA f Late RomanLate Latin name meaning "olive". This was the name of a 2nd-century saint from Brescia.
OLIVE f EnglishFrom the English word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin
oliva.
OLIVETTE f LiteratureFeminine form of
OLIVER. This was the name of the title character in the French opera 'Les noces d'Olivette' (1879) by Edmond Audran.
OLIVIA f English, Italian, Spanish, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishThis name was first used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy 'Twelfth Night' (1602). Shakespeare may have based it on
OLIVER or
OLIVA, or perhaps directly on the Latin word
oliva meaning "olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman who is wooed by Duke Orsino but instead falls in love with his messenger Cesario.
... [more] OLWEN f WelshMeans "white footprint" from Welsh
ol "footprint, track" and
gwen "white, fair, blessed". In Welsh legend Olwen was a beautiful maiden, the lover of
Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry, and Culhwch was successful with all of them.
OLYMPIAS f Ancient GreekFeminine form of
OLYMPOS. This was the name of the mother of Alexander the Great. It was also borne by a 4th-century saint.
OMEGA m & f VariousFrom the name of the last letter in the Greek alphabet,
Ω. It is often seen as a symbol of completion.
ONEIDA f EnglishFrom the name of a Native American tribe, perhaps meaning "standing rock".
OPAL f EnglishFrom the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
OPHELIA f English, LiteratureDerived from Greek
οφελος (ophelos) meaning "help". This name was probably created by the 15th-century poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem 'Arcadia'. It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play 'Hamlet' (1600), in which it belongs to
Hamlet's lover who eventually goes insane and drowns herself. In spite of this, the name has been used since the 19th century.
OPRAH f VariousIn the case of television personality Oprah Winfrey, it was a childhood mispronunciation of her real name
ORPAH that became permanent.
ORA (1) f & m EnglishPerhaps based on Latin
oro "to pray". It was first used in America in the 19th century.
ÓRFHLAITH f IrishMeans "golden princess" from Irish
ór "gold" combined with
flaith "princess". This was the name of a sister of the Irish king
Brian Boru.
ORIANA f Italian, SpanishPossibly derived from Latin
aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish
oro or French
or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight Amadis.
ORINDA f English (Rare)Probably an elaboration of Spanish
oro "gold". This was the pseudonym of the English poet Katherine Philips (1631-1664).
ORINTHIA f LiteraturePossibly related to Greek
ορινω (orino) meaning "to excite, to agitate". George Bernard Shaw used this name in his play 'The Apple Cart' (1929).
ORNELLA f ItalianCreated by the Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio for his novel 'La Figlia di Jorio' (1904). It is derived from Tuscan Italian
ornello meaning "flowering ash tree".
ORPAH f BiblicalMeans "back of the neck" in Hebrew. Orpah was Naomi's second daughter-in-law in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament.