MÒR f ScottishMeans "great" in Scottish Gaelic. It is sometimes translated into English as
Sarah.
MORANA f Slavic Mythology, CroatianFrom a Slavic root meaning "death, plague". In Slavic mythology this was the name of the goddess of winter and death.
MORGAN (1) m & f Welsh, English, FrenchFrom the Old Welsh masculine name
Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh
mor "sea" and
cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America
Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of
Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
MORGAN (2) f Arthurian RomanceModern form of
Morgen, which was used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century for the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, who was unnamed in earlier stories. Geoffrey probably did not derive it from the Welsh masculine name
Morgan, which would have been spelled
Morcant in his time. He may have based it on the Irish name
MUIRGEN.
MORIAH f English (Modern)From Hebrew
מֹרִיָה (Moriyah) possibly meaning "seen by
YAHWEH". This is a place name in the Old Testament, both the land where
Abraham is to sacrifice
Isaac and the mountain upon which
Solomon builds the temple. They may be the same place. Since the 1980s it has occasionally been used as a feminine given name in America.
MORIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
森 (mori) meaning "forest" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
MORRIGAN f Irish MythologyDerived from Irish
Mór Ríoghain meaning "great queen". In Irish myth she was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.
MORVEN f ScottishFrom a Scottish place name meaning "big gap". This was the name of Fingal's kingdom in James Macpherson's poems.
MORWENNA f Cornish, WelshMeans "maiden" in Cornish (related to the Welsh word
morwyn). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint.
MU m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
慕 (mù) meaning "admire, desire",
木 (mù) meaning "tree, wood", or other characters with similar pronunciations.
MUADHNAIT f IrishMeans "little noble one", derived from Irish
muadh "noble, good" combined with a diminutive suffix.
MÜGE f TurkishMeans "lily of the valley" in Turkish (species Convallaria majalis).
MUIRGEL f IrishMeans "bright sea", derived from Gaelic
muir "sea" and
geal "bright".
MUIRGEN f Irish, Irish MythologyMeans "born of the sea" in Gaelic. In Irish legend this was the name of a woman (originally named
Líban) who was transformed into a mermaid. After 300 years she was brought to shore, baptized, and transformed back into a woman.
MUMBI f Eastern African, KikuyuMeans "she who shapes" in Kikuyu. In Kikuyu mythology Mumbi was the wife of Gikuyu and the mother of his nine daughters.
MUNA f ArabicMeans "wishes, desires", from the plural of Arabic
منية (munyah).
MURIEL f English, French, IrishMedieval English form of a Celtic name that was probably related to the Irish name
MUIRGEL. The Normans brought it to England from Brittany. In the modern era it was popularized by a character from Dinah Craik's novel 'John Halifax, Gentleman' (1856).
MYEONG m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
明 (myeong) meaning "bright, light, clear" or other hanja characters with the same pronunciation. Although it does appear rarely as a single-character name, it is more often used in combination with another character.
MYEONG-SUK f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
明 (myeong) meaning "bright, light, clear" combined with
淑 (suk) meaning "good, pure, virtuous, charming". Other hanja combinations are possible.
MYFANWY f WelshMeans "my woman" from the Welsh prefix
my "my" combined with
banw "woman".
MYRA f EnglishCreated by the 17th-century poet Fulke Greville. He possibly based it on Latin
myrra meaning "myrrh" (a fragrant resin obtained from a tree). Otherwise, he may have simply rearranged the letters from the name
MARY. Although unrelated etymologically, this is also the name of an ancient city of Anatolia.
MYRTLE f EnglishSimply from the English word
myrtle for the evergreen shrub, ultimately from Greek
μυρτος (myrtos). It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
NA f ChineseFrom Chinese
娜 (nà) meaning "elegant, graceful, delicate" or other characters pronounced similarly.
NAAMAH f BiblicalMeans "pleasant" in Hebrew. This name is borne in the Old Testament by both a daughter of
Lamech and a wife of
Solomon. Some later Jewish texts give Naamah as the name of
Noah's wife, even though she is not named in the Old Testament.
NAENIA f Roman MythologyMeans "incantation, dirge" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of funerals.
NAGORE f BasqueFrom the name of a Basque village where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary.
NAHID f PersianModern Persian form of
ANAHITA. This is also the Persian name for the planet Venus.
NAIARA f BasqueFrom the Basque name of the Spanish city of Nájera, which is Arabic in origin. In the 12th century there was a reported apparition of the Virgin
Mary in a nearby cave.
NAIDA f CroatianMeaning uncertain, possibly derived from Greek
Ναιαδ (Naiad), a type of water nymph in Greek mythology.
NAILA f ArabicFeminine form of
NAIL. This was the name of the wife of
Uthman, the third caliph of the Muslims. She tried in vain to prevent a mob from murdering her husband, and had several fingers cut off in the process.
NAJA f Native American, Greenlandic, DanishMeans "boy's younger sister" in Greenlandic. It was popularized in Denmark by the writer B. S. Ingemann, who used it in his novel 'Kunnuk and Naja, or the Greenlanders' (1842).
NALANI f & m HawaiianMeans "the heavens" or "the chiefs" from Hawaiian
nā, a definite article, and
lani "heaven, sky, chief".
NAN f EnglishOriginally a diminutive of
ANN. It may have originated with the affectionate phrase
mine Ann, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nan. It is now also used as a short form of
NANCY.
NANA (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and/or
奈 (na), a phonetic character. The characters can be in either order or the same character can be duplicated, as indicated by the symbol
々. Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also be used to form this name.
NANA (3) f GeorgianMeaning unknown. This was the name of a 4th-century queen consort of Georgia who is regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church.
NANAKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" duplicated and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible as well.
NANAMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
七 (nana) meaning "seven" and
海 (mi) meaning "sea". It can also come from
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" duplicated and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
NANCY f EnglishPreviously a medieval diminutive of
ANNIS, though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of
ANN. It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source.
NAOKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
NAOMI (1) f English, Hebrew, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
נָעֳמִי (Na'omi) meaning "pleasantness". In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of
Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be
Mara (see Ruth 1:20).
... [more] NAOMI (2) f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" (usually feminine) or
己 (mi) meaning "self" (usually masculine). Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
NARCISSE m & f FrenchFrench masculine and feminine form of
NARCISSUS. This is also the French word for the narcissus flower.
NARELLE f English (Australian)Meaning unknown. It was borne by the wife of Umbarra, who was a 19th-century leader of the Yuin, an Aboriginal people.
NATALIA f Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Late RomanLatinate form of
Natalia (see
NATALIE).
NATALIE f English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, NorwegianFrom the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant "Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
NATASHA f Russian, EnglishRussian diminutive of
NATALYA. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel 'War and Peace' (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
NATSUKI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and
月 (tsuki) meaning "moon". Alternatively, it can come from
夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and
希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.
NATSUKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
NATSUMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". It can also come from
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and
摘 (tsumi) meaning "pick, pluck". Other kanji combinations are possible.
NAZ f TurkishMeans "coy" in Turkish, of Persian origin.
NAZARET f & m Spanish, ArmenianFrom Nazareth, the town in Galilee where
Jesus lived. This name is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Armenian.
NEASA f Irish, Irish MythologyMeaning uncertain. In Irish legend she was the mother of
Conchobhar, king of Ulster. According to some versions of the legend she was originally named
Assa meaning "gentle", but was renamed
Ni-assa "not gentle" after she sought to avenge the murders of her foster fathers.
NEFERTARI f Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
Nfrt-jrj meaning "the most beautiful". This was the name of an Egyptian queen of the New Kingdom, the favourite wife of Rameses II.
NEFERTITI f Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
Nfrt-jytj meaning "the beautiful one has come". Nefertiti was a powerful Egyptian queen of the New Kingdom, the principal wife of
Akhenaton, the pharaoh that briefly imposed a monotheistic religion centered around the sun god
Aton.
NELDA f EnglishPossibly an elaboration of
NELL using the popular name suffix
da.
NÉLIDA f Literature, SpanishCreated by French author Marie d'Agoult for her semi-autobiographical novel 'Nélida' (1846), written under the name Daniel Stern. It was probably an anagram of her pen name
DANIEL.
NELL f EnglishMedieval diminutive of names beginning with
El, such as
ELEANOR,
ELLEN (1) or
HELEN. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase
mine El, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nel.
NEMESIS f Greek MythologyMeans "distribution of what is due, righteous anger" in Greek. In Greek mythology Nemesis was personification of vengeance and justice.
NEPHELE f Greek MythologyFrom Greek
νεφος (nephos) meaning "cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by
Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like
Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.
NEPHTHYS f Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)Greek form of Egyptian
Nebt-Het meaning "lady of the house", derived from Egyptian
nbt "lady" and
hwt "house". This was the name of an Egyptian goddess associated with the air, death and mourning. She was wife of the desert god
Seth.
NEREIDA f SpanishDerived from Greek
Νηρειδες (Nereides) meaning "nymphs, sea sprites", ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god
NEREUS, who supposedly fathered them.
NERGÜI m & f MongolianMeans "no name" in Mongolian. This name was traditionally given in order to mislead bad spirits.
NERISSA f LiteratureCreated by Shakespeare for a character in his play 'The Merchant of Venice' (1596). He possibly took it from Greek
Νηρεις (Nereis) meaning "nymph, sea sprite", ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god
NEREUS, who supposedly fathered them.
NERTHUS f Germanic MythologyLatinized form of
Nerþuz, the Germanic (feminine) equivalent of
Njǫrðr (see
NJORD). Nerthus was a Germanic goddess of fertility as described by the Roman historian Tacitus in the 1st century.
NERYS f WelshPerhaps an elaboration of Welsh
ner "lord", with the intended meaning of "lady".