Browse Names - Behind the Name

Aïchatou f Western African
Form of Aisha used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Aïssatou f Western African
Form of Aisha used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Aminatou f Western African
Form of Amina 1 used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Arezou f Persian
Means "desire" in Persian.

Bijou f & m French (African)
Means "jewel" in French. It is mostly used in French-speaking Africa.

Chou f Japanese (Rare)
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 蝶 (see Chō).

Emmylou f English (Rare)
Combination of Emmy and Lou.

Fatimatou f Western African
Form of Fatima used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Fatou f Western African
Short form of Fatoumata.

Kadiatou f Western African
Form of Khadija used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Kyou m & f Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 協 or 京 or 郷 or 杏 (see Kyō).

Lilou f French
Either a diminutive of French names containing the sound lee or a combination of Lili and Louise.

Liubou f Belarusian
Belarusian form of Lyubov.

Lou f & m English, French
Short form of Louise or Louis. Famous bearers include the baseball player Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) and the musician Lou Reed (1942-2013).

Lylou f French
Variant of Lilou.

Malou f Danish
Short form of Marie-Louise.

Marilou f French, English, Spanish (Philippines)
Combination of Maria and Louise. In the Philippines it is usually a combination of Maria and Lourdes.

Mary Lou f English
Combination of Mary and Lou.

Marylou f English
Combination of Mary and Lou.

Milou f Dutch
Short form of Marie-Louise. This is the name of a (male) dog in the French-language Belgian comic series The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, first appearing in 1929. He is named Snowy in the English version and Bobbie in the Dutch version.

Nou f Hmong
Means "sun" in Hmong.

Oumou f Western African
Form of Umm used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Seynabou f Western African
Form of Zaynab used in parts of West Africa (mostly Senegal).

Zhou m & f Chinese
From Chinese 舟 (zhōu) meaning "boat, ship", in addition to other characters that are pronounced similarly.

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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

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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
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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

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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

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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

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