COSMO m Italian, EnglishItalian variant of
COSIMO. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici.
COURTNEY f & m EnglishFrom an aristocratic English surname that was derived either from the French place name
Courtenay (originally a derivative of the personal name
Curtenus, itself derived from Latin
curtus "short") or else from a Norman nickname meaning "short nose". As a feminine name in America, it first became popular during the 1970s.
COY m EnglishFrom a surname that meant
"quiet, shy, coy" from Middle English
coi.
CRAIG m Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
creag meaning
"crag" or
"rocks", originally indicating a person who lived near a crag.
CRAWFORD m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"crow ford" in Old English.
CREE m & f English (Rare)From the name of a Native American tribe of central Canada. Their name derives via French from the Cree word
kiristino.
CREIGHTON m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from a place name, originally from Gaelic
crioch "border" combined with Old English
tun "town".
CRESCENTIUS m Late RomanLatin name that was a derivative of the name
CRESCENS. This was the name of a few early saints, including a child martyred in Rome during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
CREW m English (Rare)Either from a surname that was derived from the English town of Crewe (from Old Welsh
criu meaning
"weir"), or from the English vocabulary word for a group of people.
CRISPIN m English (Rare)From the Roman cognomen
Crispinus, which was derived from the name
CRISPUS. Saint Crispin was a 3rd-century Roman who was martyred with his twin brother Crispinian in Gaul. They are the patrons of shoemakers. They were popular saints in England during the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since that time.
CROFTON m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"town with a small enclosed field" in Old English.
CRONUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek
Κρόνος (Kronos), possibly derived from the Indo-European root *
ker- meaning
"to cut". Cronus was the Titan who fathered the Greek gods. As his wife
Rhea gave birth to the gods, Cronus swallowed them fearing the prophecy that he would be overthrown by one of his children. However Rhea hid
Zeus, her last child, who eventually forced his father to disgorge his siblings. Cronus and the rest of the Titans were then defeated by the gods and exiled.
ČRTOMIR m SloveneDerived from the Slavic elements
črt "hatred" and
miru "peace, world". This is the name of the hero in the Slovene national epic
Baptism on the Savica (1835) by France Prešeren.
CRUZ f & m Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"cross" in Spanish or Portuguese, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
CSABA m HungarianPossibly means either
"shepherd" or
"gift" in Hungarian. According to legend this was the name of a son of
Attila the Hun.
CSANÁD m HungarianDerived from the old Hungarian name
Csana, of unknown meaning. This was the name of an 11th-century ruler, also known as
Cenad, of the Hungarian region that came to be called Csanád County (now split between Hungary and Romania).
CSONGOR m HungarianPossibly from a Turkic root meaning
"falcon". The Hungarian poet and dramatist Mihály Vörösmarty used it in his play
Csongor és Tünde (1830).
CTIRAD m CzechDerived from the Slavic elements
chisti meaning "honour" and
rad meaning "happy, willing". In Czech legend this was the name of one of the men tricked by
Šárka.
CUÁN m IrishMeans
"little wolf" or
"little hound" from the Irish element
cú meaning "wolf, hound" combined with a diminutive suffix.
CUAUHTÉMOC m Indigenous American, NahuatlMeans
"descending eagle" in Nahuatl. This was the name of the last Aztec emperor, ruling until he was captured and executed by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in the year 1525.
CÚCHULAINN m Irish MythologyMeans
"hound of Culann" in Irish. This was the usual name of the warrior hero who was named Sétanta at birth, given to him because he took the place of one of Culann's hounds after he accidentally killed it. Irish legend tells of Cúchulainn's many adventures, including his single-handed defense of Ulster against the army of Queen
Medb.
CUIMÍN m IrishPossibly from Celtic
cam meaning
"bent, crooked". This was the name of a 6th-century Irish saint.
CULHWCH m Welsh, Welsh MythologyMeans
"hiding place of the pig" in Welsh. In Welsh legend he was the lover of
Olwen the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Before the giant would allow Culhwch to marry his daughter, he insisted that Culhwch complete a series of extremely difficult tasks. Culhwch managed to complete them, and he returned to marry Olwen and kill the giant. This tale appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth.
CUNOBELINUS m BrythonicPossibly means
"hound of Belenus" from the old Celtic element
koun "hound" combined with the name of the god
BELENUS. This was the name of a 1st-century king of southeast Britain.
CUPID m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)From the Latin
Cupido meaning
"desire". This was the name of the Roman god of love, the son of
Venus and
Mars. He was portrayed as a winged, blindfolded boy, armed with a bow and arrows, which caused the victim to fall in love. His Greek equivalent was
Eros.
CURTIS m EnglishFrom an English surname that originally meant
"courteous" in Old French.
CUSTODIO m SpanishMeans
"guardian" in Spanish, from Latin
custodia "protection, safekeeping".
CUTHBERT m English (Rare)Derived from the Old English elements
cuþ "famous" and
beorht "bright". Saint Cuthbert was a 6th-century hermit who became the bishop of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of England. He was known as performer of healing miracles. Because of the saint, this name remained in use in England even after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was (briefly) revived in the 19th century.
CYNWRIG m Ancient WelshDerived from Welsh
cyn meaning "chief" and
gwr meaning "hero, man", plus the suffix
ig indicating "has the quality of".
CYPRIAN m Polish, English (Rare)From the Roman family name
Cyprianus, which meant
"from Cyprus". Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage and a martyr under the emperor Valerian.
CYRANO m LiteraturePossibly derived from the name of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, which was located in North Africa. Edmond Rostand used this name in his play
Cyrano de Bergerac (1897). He based his character upon a real person, Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, a French satirist of the 17th century.
CYRIACUS m Late RomanLatinized form of the Greek name
Κυριακός (Kyriakos), which meant
"of the lord" (derived from Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord"). This was the name of a few early saints.
CYRUS m English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek (Latinized)From
Κῦρος (Kyros), the Greek form of the Persian name
Kūrush, which may mean
"far sighted" or
"young". The name is sometimes associated with Greek
κύριος (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
Δαίδαλος (Daidalos), which was derived from
δαιδάλλω (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)From the name of the Native American people of the northern Mississippi valley, or from the two American states that were named for them: North and South Dakota (until 1889 unified as the Dakota Territory). The tribal name means
"allies, friends" in the Dakota language.
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 & f 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
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame". Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas 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
Δαμοκλῆς (Damokles), which was derived from
δᾶμος (damos) meaning "the people", a Doric Greek variant of
δῆμος (demos), and
κλέος (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
δαμάζω (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] DANISH m UrduFrom Persian
دانش (danesh) meaning
"knowledge, learning".
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
Δαρεῖος (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.
DAUID m Biblical GreekForm of
DAVID used in the Greek Old Testament. Some versions of the Greek New Testament also use this form, while others (the Textus Receptus) use
Δαβίδ (Dabid).
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.
DAVITI m GeorgianForm of
DAVIT with the nominative suffix, used in Georgian when the name is written stand-alone.
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 refers to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek
διάκονος (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.