CYRUS m English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek (Latinized)From
Κυρος (Kyros), the Greek form of the Persian name
Kūrush, which may mean
"far sighted" or
"young". The name is sometimes associated with Greek
κυριος (kyrios) meaning "lord". It was borne by several kings of Persia, including Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.
DA m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
达 (dá) meaning "achieve, arrive at, intelligent" (which is usually only masculine),
大 (dà) meaning "big, great, vast, high", or other characters with a similar pronunciation.
DACIAN m RomanianDerived from
Dacia, the old Roman name for the region that is now Romania and Moldova.
DACRE m English (Rare)From a surname that was originally derived from a place name in Cumbria, of Brythonic origin meaning
"trickling stream".
DAEDALUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek
Δαιδαλος (Daidalos), which was derived from
δαιδαλλω (daidallo) meaning
"to work cunningly". In Greek myth Daedalus was an Athenian inventor who was banished to Crete. There he designed the Labyrinth for King
Minos, but he and his son
Icarus were eventually imprisoned inside it because he had aided
Theseus in his quest against the Minotaur. Daelalus and Icarus escaped using wings fashioned from wax, but Icarus fell from the sky to his death.
DAE-JUNG m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
大 (dae) meaning "big, great, vast, large, high" combined with
中 (jung) meaning "middle". Other combinations of hanja characters can form this name as well. A notable bearer was South Korean president Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009).
DAE-SEONG m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
大 (dae) meaning "big, great, vast, large, high" combined with
成 (seong) meaning "completed, finished, succeeded". Other combinations of hanja characters can also form this name.
DAFYDD m WelshWelsh form of
DAVID. This name was borne by Dafydd ap Gruffydd, a 13th-century Welsh ruler, and Dafydd ap Gwilym, a 14th-century poet.
DAGDA m Irish MythologyMeans
"good god" in Celtic. In Irish myth Dagda (called also The Dagda) was the powerful god of the earth, knowledge, magic, abundance and treaties, a leader of the Tuatha De Danann. He was skilled in combat and healing and possessed a huge club, the handle of which could revive the dead.
DAGON m Semitic MythologyPerhaps related to Ugaritic
dgn meaning
"grain". This was the name of a Semitic god of agriculture, usually depicted with the body of a fish.
DAI m WelshDerived from the old Celtic word
dei meaning
"to shine". This name is also used as a Welsh diminutive of
DAVID.
DAICHI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
大 (dai) meaning "big, great" combined with
地 (chi) meaning "earth, land" or
智 (chi) meaning "wisdom, intellect". Other kanji combinations are possible.
DAIKI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
大 (dai) meaning "big, great" combined with
輝 (ki) meaning "brightness",
樹 (ki) meaning "tree" or
貴 (ki) meaning "valuable". Other combinations of kanji can also form this name.
DÁIRE m Irish, Irish MythologyMeans
"fruitful, fertile" in Irish. This name is borne by many figures in Irish legend, including the Ulster chief who reneged on his promise to loan the Brown Bull of Cooley to
Medb, starting the war between Connacht and Ulster as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
DAISUKE m JapaneseFrom Japanese
大 (dai) meaning "big, great" and
輔 (suke) meaning "help". Other kanji combinations are possible.
DÁITHÍ m IrishPossibly means
"swift" in Irish. It is sometimes used as an Irish form of
David.
DAKOTA m & f English (Modern)Means
"allies, friends" in the Dakota language. This is the name of a Native American people of the northern Mississippi valley.
DÁLACH m IrishDerived from Irish
dál meaning
"assembly".
DALE m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that originally belonged to a person who lived near a dale or valley.
DALER m TajikFrom Tajik
далерӣ (daleri) meaning
"courage", ultimately from Persian
دلاور (delaver) meaning "brave, valiant".
DALEY m Irish, English (Rare)From an Irish surname that was derived from
Ó Dálaigh meaning
"descendant of Dálach". The name
Dálach means "assembly" in Gaelic.
DALLAS m & f EnglishFrom a surname that could either be of Old English origin meaning
"valley house" or of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning
"meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George M. Dallas (1792-1864).
DALTON m EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"valley town" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was John Dalton (1766-1844), the English chemist and physicist who theorized about the existence of atoms.
DAMHÁN m IrishMeans
"fawn" from Gaelic
damh "stag, ox" combined with a diminutive suffix.
DAMIAN m English, Polish, DutchFrom the Greek name
Δαμιανος (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμαζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame". Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother Cosmo in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
DAMOCLES m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Δαμοκλης (Damokles), which was derived from
δαμος (damos) meaning "the people", a Doric Greek variant of
δημος (demos), and
κλεος (kleos) meaning "glory". In Greek legend Damocles was a member of the court of Dionysius the Elder, the king of Syracuse. Damocles expressed envy of the king's station so Dionysius offered to switch roles with him for a day. To illustrate to Damocles the peril of a man in his position he suspended a sword over the throne.
DAMODARA m HinduismMeans
"rope around the belly", derived from Sanskrit
दाम (dama) meaning "rope" and
उदर (udara) meaning "belly". This is another name of the Hindu god
Krishna, given to him because his foster-mother tied him to a large urn.
DAMON m Greek Mythology, EnglishDerived from Greek
δαμαζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.
DANA (2) m & f EnglishFrom a surname that originally belonged to a person who was Danish. It was originally given in honour of American lawyer Richard Henry Dana (1815-1882), the author of
Two Years Before the Mast.
DANE m EnglishFrom an English surname that was either a variant of the surname
DEAN or else an ethnic name referring to a person from Denmark.
DANIEL m English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
... [more] DANTE m ItalianMedieval short form of
DURANTE. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri, the 13th-century Italian poet who wrote the
Divine Comedy.
DAR f & m HebrewMeans
"mother-of-pearl, nacre" in Hebrew.
DARA (1) m IrishFrom the Irish
Mac Dara, which means
"son of oak". This was the name of a 6th-century saint from Connemara. It is also used as an Anglicized form of
DÁIRE.
DARA (2) f & m KhmerMeans
"star" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit.
DARBY m & f EnglishFrom an English surname, which was derived from the name of the town of
Derby, meaning "deer town" in Old Norse.
DARCY f & m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Norman French
d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from Arcy in France. This was the surname of a character in Jane Austen's novel
Pride and Prejudice (1813).
DARDAN m AlbanianFrom the name of the Dardani, an Illyrian tribe who lived on the Balkan Peninsula. Their name may derive from an Illyrian word meaning "pear". They were unrelated to the ancient people who were also called the Dardans who lived near Troy.
DARIN m EnglishVariant of
DARREN. This was the adopted surname of the singer Bobby Darin (1936-1973), who was born Robert Cassotto and chose his stage name from a street sign.
DARIUS m English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical LatinRoman form of
Δαρειος (Dareios), which was the Greek form of the Persian name
Dārayavahush meaning
"possessing goodness", composed of the elements
dâraya "to possess" and
vahu "good". Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
... [more] DARNELL m EnglishFrom a surname, possibly derived from Old French
darnel, a type of grass. Alternatively it may be derived from Old English
derne "hidden" and
halh "nook".
DARRELL m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Norman French
d'Airelle, originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France.
DARREN m EnglishThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. It could be from a rare Irish surname or it could be an altered form of
DARRELL. It was first brought to public attention in the late 1950s by the American actor Darren McGavin (1922-2006). It was further popularized in the 1960s by the character Darrin Stephens from the television show
Bewitched.
D'ARTAGNAN m LiteratureMeans
"from Artagnan" in French, Artagnan being a town in southwest France. This was the name of a character in the novel
The Three Musketeers (1884) by Alexandre Dumas. In the novel D'Artagnan is an aspiring musketeer who first duels with the three title characters and then becomes their friend.
DARWIN m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the Old English given name
DEORWINE. The surname was borne by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the man who first proposed the theory of natural selection and subsequently revolutionized biology.
DASHIELL m English (Rare)In the case of American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) it was from his mother's surname, which was possibly an Anglicized form of French
de Chiel, of unknown meaning.
DATHAN m BiblicalPossibly means
"fountain" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the conspirators against
Moses.
DAUMANTAS m LithuanianFrom Lithuanian
daug "much" and
mantus "intelligent". This name was borne by a 13th-century Lithuanian ruler of Pskov who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
DAVID m English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew
דּוֹד (dod) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
... [more] DAVIS m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the given name
DAVID. A famous bearer of the surname was Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), the only president of the Confederate States of America.
DAWSON m EnglishFrom a surname meaning
"son of DAVID". This name was popularized in the late 1990s by the television drama
Dawson's Creek.
DAX m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived either from the town of Dax in France or else from the Old English given name
Dæcca (of unknown meaning).
DAYTON m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from a place name, which possibly meant either
"dairy town" or
"ditch town" in Old English.
DAZHDBOG m Slavic MythologyPossibly means
"the giving god" in Slavic. He was a Slavic god of the sun and light, a son of Svarog. In some myths he is the ancestor of the Russian people.
DEACON m English (Modern)Either from the occupational surname
Deacon or directly from the vocabulary word
deacon, which refer to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek
διακονος (diakonos) meaning "servant").
DEBDAS m BengaliBengali form of
DEVADAS. This is the name of a 1917 novel by the Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
DECEBAL m RomanianMeans
"powerful, brave" in Dacian. This was the name adopted by Diurpaneus, a 1st-century king of Dacia. For many years he successfully resisted Roman expansion into his territory but was finally defeated by the forces of Emperor Trajan in 106.
DECLAN m IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Deaglán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to Ireland.
DEE f & m EnglishShort form of names beginning with
D. It may also be given in reference to the
Dee River in Scotland.
DEEMER m English (Rare)From an English and Scottish surname meaning
"judge", from Old English
demere.
DEEPAK m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, NepaliAlternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi/Nepali
दीपक, Bengali
দীপক, Gujarati
દીપક, Gurmukhi
ਦੀਪਕ, Malayalam
ദീപക്, Kannada
ದೀಪಕ್, Tamil
தீபக் or Telugu
దీపక్ (see
DIPAK).
DEFOREST m EnglishFrom a French surname meaning
"from the forest". It was originally given in honour of American author John Deforest (1826-1906).
DEIMOS m Greek MythologyMeans
"terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god
Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name.
DELAIAH m BiblicalMeans
"YAHWEH has drawn up" in Hebrew. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.
DELANO m EnglishFrom a surname, recorded as
de la Noye in French, indicating that the bearer was from a place called La Noue (ultimately Gaulish meaning "wetland, swamp"). It has been used in honour of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), whose middle name came from his mother's maiden name.
DELBERT m EnglishShort form of
ADELBERT. As an American name it was first used in the New York area by people of Dutch ancestry.
DELL m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that originally denoted a person who lived in a dell or valley.
DELMAR m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Norman French
de la mare meaning
"from the pond".
DELSHAD m & f Persian (Rare)Means
"happy heart, cheerful" in Persian, from
دل (del) meaning "heart" and
شاد (shad) meaning "happy".
DELWYN m WelshMeans
"pretty and white" from Welsh
del "pretty" combined with
gwyn "fair, white, blessed".
DEMETRIUS m Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Δημητριος (Demetrios), which was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
DEMETER (1). Kings of Macedon and the Seleucid kingdom have had this name. This was also the name of several early saints including a Saint Demetrius who was martyred in the 4th century.
DEMOSTHENES m Ancient GreekMeans
"vigour of the people" from Greek
δημος (demos) meaning "the people" and
σθενος (sthenos) meaning "vigour, strength". This was the name of both an Athenian general of the 5th century and an Athenian orator of the 4th century.
DENEB m AstronomyDerived from Arabic
ذنب (dhanab) meaning
"tail". This is the name of a star in the constellation Cygnus.
DENHOLM m English (Rare)From a surname that was originally taken from a place name meaning
"valley island" in Old English.
DENIS m French, Russian, English, German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Romanian, CroatianFrom
Denys or
Denis, the medieval French forms of
DIONYSIUS. Saint Denis was a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul and the first bishop of Paris. He was martyred by decapitation, after which legend says he picked up his own severed head and walked for a distance while preaching a sermon. He is credited with converting the Gauls to Christianity and is considered the patron saint of France.
... [more] DENTON m EnglishFrom a surname, originally from a place name, which meant
"valley town" in Old English.
DENVER m EnglishFrom an English surname that was from a place name meaning
"Dane ford" in Old English. This is the name of the capital city of Colorado, which was named for the politician James W. Denver (1817-1892).
DENZEL m English (Modern)Possibly a variant of
DENZIL. This spelling of the name was popularized by American actor Denzel Washington (1954-), who was named after his father.
DENZIL m EnglishFrom a surname that originally denoted a person from the manor of Denzell in Cornwall. This given name was borne by several members of the noble Holles family starting in the 16th century, notably the statesman Denzil Holles (1599-1680). They were named for John Denzel, an ancestor whose home was Denzell.
DEREK m EnglishFrom the older English name
Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of
THEODORIC. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
DERVİŞ m TurkishFrom a Turkish word, which exists in English as
dervish, for a Sufi ascetic. It is ultimately from Avestan
drigu meaning "needy, poor".
DERYA f & m TurkishMeans
"sea, ocean" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian.
DESIDERATUS m Late RomanDerived from Latin
desideratum meaning
"desired". This was the name of a 6th-century French saint.
DESIDERIUS m Late RomanDerived from Latin
desiderium meaning
"longing, desire". It was the name of several early saints. It was also borne in the 8th century by the last king of the Lombard Kingdom.
DESMOND m English, IrishFrom an Irish surname that was derived from
Deasmhumhain meaning
"South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from that region in Ireland.
DEUSDEDIT m Late RomanLatin name meaning
"God has given". This was the name of two popes (who are also known by the related name
Adeodatus).
DEVEREUX m English (Rare)From an English surname, of Norman French origin, meaning
"from Evreux". Evreux is a town in France.
DEVON m & f EnglishVariant of
DEVIN. It may also be partly inspired by the name of the county of Devon in England, which got its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe.