Browse Names - Behind the Name

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Candace f English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
From the hereditary title of the queens of Ethiopia, as mentioned in Acts in the New Testament. It is apparently derived from Cushitic kdke meaning "queen mother". In some versions of the Bible it is spelled Kandake, reflecting the Greek spelling Κανδάκη. It was used as a given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 20th century by a character in the 1942 movie Meet the Stewarts.

Ece f Turkish
Means "queen" or "beautiful woman" in Turkish.

Ereshkigal f Sumerian Mythology
Means "lady of the great earth", from Sumerian 𒊩𒌆 (ereš) meaning "lady, queen" combined with 𒆠 (ki) meaning "earth" and 𒃲 (gal) meaning "great, big". In Sumerian mythology she was the goddess of death and the underworld.

Hammoleketh f Biblical
Means "the reigning one, queen" in Hebrew, a derivative of מָלַךְ (malaḵ) meaning "to reign". In the Old Testament, this is the name of the sister of Gilead.

Malika f Arabic
Means "queen" in Arabic, the feminine form of Malik 1.

Malka f Hebrew
Means "queen" in Hebrew.

Milcah f Biblical
From the Hebrew name מִלְכָּה (Milka), derived from מַלְכָּה (malka) meaning "queen". This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to both the wife of Nahor and the daughter of Zelophehad.

Morrígan f Irish Mythology
Means either "demon queen" or "great queen", derived from Old Irish mor "demon, evil spirit" or mór "great, big" combined with rígain "queen". In Irish mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.

Queen f English
From an old nickname that was derived from the English word queen, ultimately from Old English cwen meaning "woman, wife".

Raine f & m English (Rare)
From a surname derived from the Old French nickname reine meaning "queen". A famous bearer was the British socialite Raine Spencer (1929-2016), the stepmother of Princess Diana. In modern times it is also considered a variant of Rain 1.

Rajni f Hindi
Means "queen" in Sanskrit.

Rani 1 f Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Urdu, Indonesian
From Sanskrit राणी (rāṇī) meaning "queen".

Ratu f Indonesian
Means "queen" in Indonesian.

Regina f English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Means "queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.

Reina 1 f Spanish
Means "queen" in Spanish.

Reine f French
Means "queen" in French, ultimately from Latin regina.

Rhiannon f Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *Rīgantonā meaning "great queen" (Celtic *rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix -on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish Epona. As Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the Mabinogi as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married Pwyll instead. Their son was Pryderi.... [more]

Ríghnach f Irish Mythology
Variant of Ríoghnach.

Ríoghnach f Irish Mythology
Derived from Old Irish rígain meaning "queen". According to some sources, this was the name of a wife of the semi-legendary Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Taguhi f Armenian
Means "queen" in Armenian.

Teuta f Albanian
Possibly from an Illyrian word or title meaning "queen, lady of the people". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Illyrian queen. After the death of her husband Agron, she ruled as the regent for his young son Pinnes.

Thema f Akan
Means "queen" in Akan.

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