Browse Names

Alcmene Ἀλκμήνη f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
From Greek Ἀλκμήνη (Alkmene), derived from ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength, prowess" combined with μήνη (mene) meaning "moon" or μῆνις (menis) meaning "wrath". In Greek mythology Alcmene was the wife of Amphitryon. She was the mother of Herakles by Zeus, who bedded her by disguising himself as her absent husband.

Alcyone Ἀλκυόνη f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning "kingfisher". In Greek myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, supposedly the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

Alkmene Ἀλκμήνη f Greek Mythology
Ancient Greek form of Alcmene.

Alkyone Ἀλκυόνη f Greek Mythology
Ancient Greek form of Alcyone.

Andromeda Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη f Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". 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.

Asteria Ἀστερία f Greek Mythology
Feminine form of Asterios (see Asterius). In Greek mythology Asteria was a daughter of the Titans Phoebe and Coeus.

Astraea Ἀστραία f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.

Astraia Ἀστραία f Greek Mythology
Greek form of Astraea.

Callisto 2 Καλλιστώ f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Kallisto. A moon of Jupiter bears this name.

Cassiopeia Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Κασσιόπεια (Kassiopeia) or Κασσιέπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning "cassia juice". In Greek myth Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.

Halcyone Ἀλκυόνη f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Ἀλκυόνη (see Alcyone), via the misspelled variant Ἁλκυόνη (Halkyone). The spelling variation was due to a false association with ἅλς (hals) meaning "salt, sea".

Halkyone Ἁλκυόνη f Greek Mythology
Greek variant (or misspelling) of Halcyone.

Helen Ἑλένη f English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
English form of the Greek Ἑλένη (Helene), probably from Greek ἑλένη (helene) meaning "torch" or "corposant", or possibly related to σελήνη (selene) meaning "moon". In Greek mythology Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose kidnapping by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War. The name was also borne by the 4th-century Saint Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, who supposedly found the True Cross during a trip to Jerusalem.... [more]

Helena Ἑλένη f German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).

Helene Ἑλένη f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Ancient Greek form of Helen, as well as the modern Scandinavian and German form.

Io Ἰώ f Greek Mythology
Meaning unknown. In Greek mythology Io was a princess loved by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.

Kallisto Καλλιστώ f Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning "most beautiful", a derivative of καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.

Maia 1 Μαῖα f Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
From Greek μαῖα (maia) meaning "good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Her son by Zeus was Hermes.

Ourania Οὐρανία f Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek οὐράνιος (ouranios) meaning "heavenly". In Greek mythology she was the goddess of astronomy and astrology, one of the nine Muses.

Selena Σελήνη f Spanish, English, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Selene. This name was borne by popular Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla (1971-1995), who was known simply as Selena. Another famous bearer is the American actress and singer Selena Gomez (1992-).

Selene Σελήνη f Greek Mythology
Means "moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess Artemis.

Urania Οὐρανία f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Ourania.