Sini f FinnishMeans
"blue" in Finnish. More specifically,
sini is a poetic term for the colour blue.
Sita f Hinduism, Hindi, NepaliMeans
"furrow" in Sanskrit. Sita is the name of the Hindu goddess of the harvest in the
Rigveda. This is also the name of the wife of
Rama (and an avatar of
Lakshmi) in the Hindu epic the
Ramayana. In this story Sita is abducted by the demon king
Ravana, with her husband and his allies attempting to rescue her.
Skye f English (Modern)From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of
Sky.
Soma 2 m & f Hinduism, Bengali, HindiFrom Sanskrit
सोम (soma), the name of a ritual drink appearing in the Vedas. It is probably derived from an Indo-Iranian root meaning "to press out, to extract". As a Vedic god, Soma is a personification of this drink. He is sometimes equated with the moon god
Chandra.
... [more] Sora f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
空 (sora) or
昊 (sora) both meaning "sky". Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also form this name.
Spes f Roman MythologyMeans
"hope" in Latin. In Roman mythology this was the name of the personification of hope.
Star f EnglishFrom the English word for the celestial body, ultimately from Old English
steorra.
Suad f & m Arabic, Bosnian, AlbanianMeans
"happiness, luck" in Arabic, from the root
سعد (saʿida) meaning "to be happy, to be lucky". In Arabic it is typically feminine, while in Bosnia and Albania it is typically masculine.
Suha f ArabicMeans
"forgotten, overlooked" in Arabic.
Al-Suha (also called
Alcor) is the name of a star in the constellation Ursa Major.
Suna f TurkishFrom the Turkish word for a type of duck, the shelduck (genus Tadorna).
Suzu f JapaneseFrom Japanese
鈴 (suzu) meaning "bell" or other kanji having the same pronunciation.
Svea f SwedishFrom a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of
Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is
Sverige, a newer form of
Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Tara 1 f EnglishAnglicized form of the Irish place name
Teamhair, which possibly means
"elevated place". This was the name of the sacred hill near Dublin where the Irish high kings resided. It was popularized as a given name by the novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939), in which it is the name of the O'Hara plantation.
Tara 2 f Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, NepaliMeans
"star" in Sanskrit. Tara is the name of a Hindu astral goddess, the wife of Brhaspati. She was abducted by
Chandra, the god of the moon, leading to a great war that was only ended when
Brahma intervened and released her. This name also appears in the epic the
Ramayana belonging to the wife of Vali and, after his death, his younger brother Sugriva. In Buddhist belief this is the name of a bodhisattva associated with salvation and protection.
Taru f FinnishMeans
"legend, myth" in Finnish. It is also used as a diminutive of
Tarja.
Teal f English (Rare)From the English word for the type of duck or the greenish-blue colour.
Tess f English, DutchShort form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891).
Tiên f VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
仙 (tiên) meaning
"immortal, transcendent, celestial being, fairy".
Tiiu f EstonianEstonian variant of
Tiia, possibly in part from an archaic dialectal form of the word
tihane "titmouse".
Tina f English, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, GeorgianShort form of
Christina,
Martina and other names ending in
tina. In addition to these names, it is also used in Dutch as a short form of
Catharina, in Swedish and Croatian as a short form of
Katarina, and in Georgian as a short form of
Tinatin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.
Ting f ChineseFrom Chinese
婷 (tíng) meaning "pretty, graceful", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.
Toby m & f EnglishMedieval form of
Tobias. It was sometimes used as a feminine name in the 1930s and 40s due to the influence of American actress Toby Wing (1915-2001).
Tola 1 m & f KhmerMeans
"October" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit
तुल (tula), referring to the constellation Libra.
Tuba f Arabic, TurkishFrom the name of a type of tree that is believed to grow in heaven in Islamic tradition. It means "blessedness" in Arabic.
Tyra f Swedish, English, African AmericanFrom the Old Norse name
Þýri, a variant of the Norse names
Þórví or
Þórveig. Use of the name in the English-speaking world (especially among African Americans) may be in part from the Swedish name, though it is probably also viewed as a feminine form of
Tyrone or
Tyree. A famous bearer is the American model and actress Tyra Banks (1973-).
Uche m & f IgboMeans
"wisdom, sense, mind" in Igbo.
Umay f Mythology, TurkishFrom a Turkic word meaning
"womb" or
"placenta". This was the name of a Turkic and Mongolian goddess associated with childbirth.
Unni f NorwegianPossibly a modern coinage based on the Old Norse elements
unnr "wave" or
unna "to love" combined with
nýr "new".
Uria m & f HebrewModern Hebrew form of
Uriah, also used as a feminine name.
Ursa f Late RomanFeminine form of
Ursus. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Uxue f BasqueFrom the Basque name of the Spanish town of Ujué where there is a church dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. Its name is derived from Basque
usoa "dove".
Uzma f ArabicMeans
"supreme, greatest" in Arabic, a derivative of
عظم (ʿaẓuma) meaning "to be great".
Vəfa f & m AzerbaijaniMeans
"loyalty" in Azerbaijani, ultimately from the Arabic root
وفى (wafā) meaning "to fulfill, to live up to a promise".
Vega 1 f SpanishMeans
"meadow, plain" in Spanish. It is taken from a title of the Virgin
Mary,
La Virgen de la Vega, meaning "The Virgin of the Meadow". She is the patron saint of several Spanish municipalities, such as Salamanca.
Vega 2 f AstronomyThe name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Wāqiʿ) meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
Vera 1 f Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, GeorgianMeans
"faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word
verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Vida 2 f SloveneSlovene feminine form of
Vid. Lepa Vida ("beautiful Vida") is a character in Slovene tradition and later romantic poetry (notably by France Prešeren).
Wafa f ArabicMeans
"loyalty, faithfulness" in Arabic, a derivative of
وفى (wafā) meaning "to fulfill, to live up to a promise".
Wren f English (Modern)From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English
wrenna.
Xena f Popular CultureProbably a variant of
Xenia. This was the name of the main character in the 1990s television series
Xena: Warrior Princess.
Xene f Late GreekVariant of
Xenia. This was occasionally adopted as a monastic name during the Byzantine era.
Yafa f HebrewDerived from Hebrew
יָפֶה (yafe) meaning
"beautiful, pleasant".
Yami f HinduismMeans
"twin" in Sanskrit. According to the Vedas this was the name of the first woman, the twin sister of
Yama, later equated with the river goddess
Yamuna.
Yang m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
洋 (yáng) meaning "ocean" or
阳 (yáng) meaning "light, sun, male" (which is typically only masculine), as well as other Chinese characters pronounced similarly.
Yasu 1 f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet",
康 (yasu) meaning "peaceful" or
坦 (yasu) meaning "flat, smooth, level", as well as other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Ying f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
英 (yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero",
颖 (yǐng) meaning "clever", or
影 (yǐng) meaning "image, shadow", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Yōko f JapaneseFrom Japanese
陽 (yō) meaning "light, sun, male" or
洋 (yō) meaning "ocean" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
Yong m & f Chinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
勇 (yǒng) meaning "brave" or
永 (yǒng) meaning "perpetual, eternal". This can also be a single-character Korean name, for example from the hanja
勇 meaning "brave". It can be formed by other characters besides those listed here.
Yuan m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
元 (yuán) meaning "first, origin",
原 (yuán) meaning "source, origin", or
媛 (yuàn) meaning "beautiful woman" (which is usually only feminine). Other characters are also possible.
Yūka f JapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yū) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" and
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom". It can also be composed of different kanji that have the same pronunciations.
Yuka f JapaneseFrom Japanese
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" combined with
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" or
佳 (ka) meaning "good, beautiful". It can also be formed from different kanji that have similar pronunciations.
Yūki m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yū) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" or
悠 (yū) meaning "permanence" combined with
希 (ki) meaning "hope",
輝 (ki) meaning "brightness" or
生 (ki) meaning "living". Other combinations of kanji can form this name as well.
Yuki f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
幸 (yuki) meaning "happiness" or
雪 (yuki) meaning "snow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" combined with
貴 (ki) meaning "valuable" or
紀 (ki) meaning "chronicle". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
Yūko f JapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yū) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness",
悠 (yū) meaning "permanence" or
裕 (yū) meaning "abundant" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be formed of different kanji characters as well.
Yuko f JapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yu) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other combinations of kanji.
Yume f JapaneseFrom Japanese
夢 (yume) meaning "dream, vision". It can also come from
裕 (yu) meaning "abundant, rich, plentiful" and
芽 (me) meaning "bud, sprout", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.
Yu-Mi f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
有 (yu) meaning "have, possess" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other hanja character combinations can also form this name.
Yumi f JapaneseFrom Japanese
弓 (yumi) meaning "archery bow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause",
友 (yu) meaning "friend" or a nanori reading of
弓 (yu) meaning "archery bow" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
Yūna f JapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yū) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" or
柚 (yū) meaning "grapefruit, pomelo, citrus fruit" combined with
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" or
奈 (na), a phonetic character. Other combinations of kanji are also possible.
Yūri f JapaneseFrom Japanese
悠 (yū) meaning "permanence" and
里 (ri) meaning "village". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji.
Yuri 2 f JapaneseFrom Japanese
百合 (yuri) meaning "lily". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can also form this name.
Zane 2 f LatvianLatvian form of
Susanna. The Latvian playwright Rainis used it for a character in his play
Pūt, vējiņi! (1913).
Zara 1 f Literature, EnglishUsed by William Congreve for a character in his tragedy
The Mourning Bride (1697), where it belongs to a captive North African queen. Congreve may have based it on the Arabic name
Zahra 1. In 1736 the English writer Aaron Hill used it to translate
Zaïre for his popular adaptation of Voltaire's French play
Zaïre (1732).
... [more] Zena f EnglishMeaning unknown. It could be a variant of
Xenia or a diminutive of names featuring this sound, such as
Alexina,
Rosina or
Zenobia. This name has occasionally been used since the 19th century.
Zhen f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
珍 (zhēn) meaning "precious, rare",
真 (zhēn) meaning "real, genuine",
贞 (zhēn) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
Zhou m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
舟 (zhōu) meaning "boat, ship", in addition to other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Živa f Slavic Mythology, Slovene, SerbianFrom the Old Slavic word
živŭ meaning
"alive, living". According to the 12th-century Saxon priest Helmold, this was the name of a Slavic goddess possibly associated with life or fertility.
Zola 1 f EnglishMeaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. It has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. It coincides with an Italian surname, a famous bearer being the French-Italian author Émile Zola (1840-1902).
Zola 2 f & m XhosaFrom the Xhosa root
-zola meaning
"calm".
Zona f VariousMeans
"girdle, belt" in Greek. This name was made popular by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet Zona Gale (1874-1938).
Zula 2 f EnglishMeaning unknown. It has been in use since the 19th century. It is possibly related to the name of the African tribe that lives largely in South Africa, the Zulus. In the 19th century the Zulus were a powerful nation under their leader Shaka.