Browse Names - Behind the Name

Asra f Arabic
Means "travel at night" in Arabic. It is related to Isra.

Blake m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.

Blakely f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland clearing".

Charna f Yiddish (Rare)
From a Slavic word meaning "black".

Chausiku f Swahili
Means "born at night" in Swahili.

Ciar m & f Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish
Derived from Irish ciar meaning "black". In Irish legend Ciar was a son of Fergus mac Róich and Medb, and the ancestor of the tribe of the Ciarraige (after whom County Kerry is named). As a feminine name, it was borne by an Irish nun (also called Ciara) who established a monastery in Tipperary in the 7th century.

Inola f Cherokee
Derived from Cherokee ᎢᏃᎵ (inoli) meaning "black fox".

Itzal f Basque
Means "shadow, protection" in Basque.

Kali 1 f & m Hinduism, Bengali, Tamil
Means "the black one" in Sanskrit. The Hindu goddess Kali is the fierce destructive form of the wife of Shiva. She is usually depicted with black skin and four arms, holding a severed head and brandishing a sword. As a personal name, it is generally masculine in India.

Lamya f Arabic
Derived from the poetic Arabic word لمى (lama) meaning "dark red lips".

Layla f Arabic, English
Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.

Li 1 f & m Chinese
From Chinese 理 (lǐ) meaning "reason, logic", 立 (lì) meaning "stand, establish", 黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn", 力 (lì) meaning "power, capability, influence" (which is usually only masculine) or 丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.

Lilith f Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Derived from Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.

Melaina f Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek μέλαινα (melaina) meaning "black, dark". This was the name of a nymph in Greek mythology.

Melanie f English, German, Dutch
From Mélanie, the French form of the Latin name Melania, derived from Greek μέλαινα (melaina) meaning "black, dark". This was the name of a Roman saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Her grandmother was also a saint with the same name.... [more]

Miyako f Japanese
From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", 夜 (ya) meaning "night" and 子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be formed from other combinations of kanji as well.

Nila f Tamil, Hindi
Means "dark blue" in Sanskrit.

Nilam f & m Hindi, Marathi
Means "dark blue, sapphire" in Sanskrit.

Nilima f Marathi, Hindi, Telugu
Means "dark blue" in Sanskrit.

Nisha f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Nepali
Means "night" in Sanskrit.

Nox f Roman Mythology
Means "night" in Latin. Nox is the Roman goddess of the night, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Nyx.

Nyx f Greek Mythology
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.

Pittiulaaq f & m Inuit
Means "black guillemot" in Inuktitut (a guillemot is a type of sea bird; species Cepphus grylle).

Pomare m & f Tahitian
Means "night cough", from Tahitian pō "night" and mare "cough". This name was borne by four kings and a queen of Tahiti. The first king adopted the name after his child died of a cough in the night.

Rajani f & m Hinduism, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Nepali
Means "the dark one" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Kali or Durga.

Ratree f Thai
From the name of a variety of jasmine flower, the night jasmine, ultimately from a poetic word meaning "night".

Sable f English (Modern)
From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.

Senka f Serbian, Croatian
Means "shadow, shade" in Serbian and Croatian. It can also be a diminutive of Ksenija.

Shyama m & f Hinduism, Hindi
Derived from Sanskrit श्याम (shyama) meaning "dark, black, blue". This is a transcription of the masculine form श्याम, which is another name of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as the feminine form श्यामा, one of the many names of the wife of the god Shiva. It is also the name of a Jain goddess.

Shyamala f Tamil, Telugu, Marathi
Feminine form of Shyamal.

Tuta f Quechua
Means "night" in Quechua.

Zhansaya f Kazakh
From Kazakh жан (zhan) meaning "soul" and сая (saya) meaning "shadow, shade, protection, comfort" (both of Persian origin).

Initial	clear
Start	clear
End	clear
Substring	clear
Pattern	clear help?
the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name * is a wildcard that matches zero or more letters example: oo matches names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that matches exactly one letter example: __z matches names which have two letters and then z

Meaning	clear help?
	expand search to include grammatical forms
	expand search to include close synonyms
	expand search to include subclasses
	expand search to related names
separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
Description	clear help?
	ignore name meanings
the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

Pronunciation	clear help?
	case sensitive
see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee matches names which end with the sound lee* _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation example: __z matches names which have two letters and then a z (s) matches exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)ra matches names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) matches a consonant (k) matches a consonant or consonant cluster (v) matches a vowel (p) matches a plosive or stop consonant (f) matches a fricative consonant (n) matches a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
Syllables	clear help?
syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results

Related name	clear
Relationship	clear help?
	expand search to ancestral names
the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

Usage	clear
Language	clear
Place	clear

List	clear
Year	clear
Rank	clear

Country	clear
Month	clear
Day	clear

Sort	clear
Display	clear