ANAH f & m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeans
"answer" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name belongs to one female character and two male characters.
ANARA f Kazakh, KyrgyzFrom Kazakh and Kyrgyz
анар (anar) meaning
"pomegranate", a word ultimately derived from Persian.
ANASTASIA f Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient GreekFeminine form of
ANASTASIUS. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
ANAT (1) f Semitic MythologyPossibly derived from a Semitic root meaning
"water spring". Anat was a goddess of fertility, hunting and war worshipped by the Semitic peoples of the Levant. She was the sister and consort of the god
Hadad.
ANATOLIA f Late RomanFeminine form of
ANATOLIUS. This was the name of a 3rd-century Italian saint and martyr. This is also a place name (from the same Greek origin) referring to the large peninsula that makes up the majority of Turkey.
ANDRASTE f Celtic MythologyPossibly means
"invincible" in Celtic. This was the name of a Briton goddess of victory who was invoked by
Boudicca before her revolt.
ANDREA (2) f English, German, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Croatian, SerbianFeminine form of
ANDREW. As an English name, it has been used since the 17th century, though it was not common until the 20th century.
ANDROMEDA f Greek MythologyMeans
"to be mindful of a man" from the Greek element
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός) combined with
μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
ANDY m & f EnglishDiminutive of
ANDREW or sometimes
ANDREA (2). American pop artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a famous bearer of this name.
ANFISA f RussianRussian form of the Greek name
Ἀνθοῦσα (Anthousa), which was derived from Greek
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning
"flower". This was the name of a 9th-century Byzantine saint.
ANGEL m & f English, Bulgarian, MacedonianFrom the medieval Latin masculine name
Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger"). It has never been very common in the English-speaking world, where it is sometimes used as a feminine name in modern times.
ANGELA f English, Italian, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Slovak, Russian, Macedonian, Late RomanFeminine form of
Angelus (see
ANGEL). As an English name, it came into use in the 18th century.
ÁNGELES f SpanishMeans
"angels", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, meaning "Our Lady the Queen of the Angels".
ANGELICA f English, Italian, RomanianDerived from Latin
angelicus meaning
"angelic", ultimately related to Greek
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger". The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1483 and 1532), where it belongs to
Orlando's love interest. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.
ANGERONA f Roman MythologyPossibly from Latin
angor "strangulation, torment" or
angustus "narrow, constricted". Angerona was the Roman goddess of the winter solstice, death, and silence.
ANH m & f VietnameseThis name is frequently combined with a middle name to create a compound name; the meaning of
Anh changes depending on the Sino-Vietnamese characters underlying the compound. It is often from Sino-Vietnamese
英 (anh) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero", though in compounds it often takes on the meaning "intelligent, bright".
ANI (2) f ArmenianFrom the name of an old Armenian city, of unknown meaning. Now in eastern Turkey, in the 10th and 11th centuries it was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, though it was later abandoned and is now only ruins.
ANIMA (1) f Indian, HindiMeans
"minuteness" from Sanskrit
अणिमन (animan). 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.
ANISSA f EnglishThis name was first brought to public attention in 1966 by the child actress Anissa Jones (1958-1976). In her case it was a transcription of the Arabic name
أنيسة (see
ANISA), given to honour her Lebanese heritage. Other parents who have since used this name may view it simply as an elaboration of
ANNA using the popular name suffix
issa.
ANITA (1) f Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Slovene, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, LatvianSpanish, Portuguese, Croatian and Slovene diminutive of
ANA.
ANN f English, ManxEnglish and Manx form of
ANNE (1). In the English-speaking world, both this spelling and
Anne have been used since the late Middle Ages. Currently
Ann is less popular than
Anne (and both are less popular than their relatives
Anna and
Hannah).
ANNA f English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekForm of
Channah (see
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] ANNAGÜL f TurkmenDerived from Turkmen
anna "Friday" and
gül "flower, rose".
ANNE (1) f French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, BasqueFrench form of
ANNA. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant
Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.
... [more] ANNUNZIATA f ItalianMeans
"announced" in Italian, referring to the event in the New Testament in which the angel Gabriel tells the Virgin
Mary of the imminent birth of
Jesus.
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".
ANTIGONE f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" and
γονή (gone) meaning "birth, offspring". In Greek legend Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. King Creon of Thebes declared that her slain brother Polynices was to remain unburied, a great dishonour. She disobeyed and gave him a proper burial, and for this she was sealed alive in a cave.
ANTIOPE f Greek MythologyDerived from the Greek elements
ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". This was the name of several figures in Greek mythology, including a daughter of
Ares who was one of the queens of the Amazons. She was kidnapped and married by
Theseus.
ANTOINETTE f FrenchFeminine diminutive of
ANTOINE. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.
ANTONIA f Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Antonius (see
ANTHONY).
ANUSH f ArmenianMeans
"sweet" in Armenian. This was the name of an 1890 novel by the Armenia writer Hovhannes Tumanyan. It was adapted into an opera in 1912 by Armen Tigranian.
AOI f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
葵 (aoi) meaning "hollyhock, althea" or an adjectival form of
碧 (ao) meaning "green, blue". Other kanji with the same reading can form this name as well.
AOIBHEANN f IrishMeans
"beautiful, pleasant, radiant" in Irish Gaelic. This was the name of the mother of Saint Enda. It was also borne by Irish royalty.
AOIDE f Greek MythologyMeans
"song" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was one of the original three muses, the muse of song.
AOIFE f Irish, Irish MythologyMeans
"beauty" from the Irish word
aoibh. In Irish legend Aoife was a warrior princess. In war against her sister Scathach, she was defeated in single combat by the hero
Cúchulainn. Eventually she was reconciled with her sister and became the lover of Cúchulainn. This name is sometimes used as a Gaelic form of
EVE or
EVA.
APARECIDA f PortugueseMeans
"appeared" in Portuguese, taken from the Brazilian title of the Virgin
Mary Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, meaning "Our Lady of the Conception Who Appeared". It refers to a statue of the Virgin Mary that was said to have been pulled from a river by fishermen in the 18th century. Our Lady of Aparecida is regarded as the patron saint of Brazil.
APHRA f VariousMeaning 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).
APHRODITE f Greek MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly of Phoenician origin. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, identified with the Roman goddess
Venus. She was the wife of
Hephaestus and the mother of
Eros, and she was often associated with the myrtle tree and doves. The Greeks connected her name with
ἀφρός (aphros) meaning
"foam", resulting in the story that she was born from the foam of the sea. Many of her characteristics are based on the goddess known as
Ashtoreth to the Phoenicians and
Ishtar to the Mesopotamian Semitic peoples, and on the Sumerian goddess
Inanna.
APPHIA f BiblicalGreek form of a Hebrew name that possibly meant
"increasing". This is a name mentioned in
Paul's epistle to
Philemon in the New Testament.
APRIL f EnglishFrom the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin
aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
ARABELLA f EnglishMedieval Scottish name, probably a variant of
ANNABEL. It has long been associated with Latin
orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer".
ARACELI f SpanishMeans
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.
ARACHNE f Greek MythologyMeans
"spider" in Greek. In Greek myth Arachne was a mortal woman who defeated
Athena in a weaving contest. After this Arachne hanged herself, but Athena brought her back to life in the form of a spider.
ARAMINTA f English (Rare)Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy
The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by Sir John Vanbrugh in his comedy
The Confederacy (1705). This was the real name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
ARAN (1) f & m IrishFrom the name of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland.
ARANTZAZU f BasqueFrom the name of a place near the Spanish town of Oñati where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. Its name is derived from Basque
arantza "thornbush".
ARAX f ArmenianFrom the name of an Armenian river, also called the Aras.
ARCADIA f VariousFeminine form of
ARCADIUS. This is the name of a region on the Greek Peloponnese, long idealized for its natural beauty.
ARDATH f EnglishFrom the name of a plain that appears in the apocryphal book of 2 Esdras (verse 9:26) in some versions of the Old Testament. This place name was used by Marie Corelli for the title of an 1889 novel, which is probably the reason it gained some currency as a given name just after this time.
ARDEN m & f EnglishFrom an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning
"high".
ARETHA f EnglishPossibly derived from Greek
ἀρετή (arete) meaning
"virtue". This name was popularized in the 1960s by American singer Aretha Franklin (1942-).
ARETHUSA f Greek Mythology (Latinized)From Greek
Ἀρέθουσα (Arethousa) meaning
"quick water", which is possibly derived from
ἄρδω (ardo) meaning "water" and
θοός (thoos) meaning "quick, nimble". This was the name of a nymph in Greek mythology who was transformed into a fountain.