HIFUMI m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
一 (hi) meaning "one",
二 (fu) meaning "two" and
三 (mi) meaning "three".
HIKARI f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
光 (hikari) meaning "light". Other kanji can also form this name. It is often written with the hiragana writing system.
HIKARU m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
光 (hikaru) meaning "light" or
輝 (hikaru) meaning "brightness". Other kanji can also form this name.
HILAL m & f Arabic, TurkishMeans
"crescent moon" in Arabic, also referring to the new moon on the Islamic calendar. As a given name it is typically masculine in Arabic and feminine in Turkish.
HILARIUS m Ancient RomanRoman name derived from Latin
hilaris meaning
"cheerful". Alternatively, it could be derived from the Greek name
Ἱλαρός (Hilaros) also meaning "cheerful" (the Greek word
ἱλαρός was the source of the Latin word
hilaris). Saint Hilarius was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Poitiers. This was also the name of a 5th-century pope.
HILARY f & m EnglishMedieval English form of
HILARIUS or
HILARIA. During the Middle Ages it was primarily a masculine name. It was revived in Britain at the beginning of the 20th century as a predominantly feminine name. In America, this name and the variant
Hillary seemed to drop in popularity after Hillary Clinton (1947-) became the first lady.
HILDRED f & m EnglishPossibly from the Old English masculine name
Hildræd, which was composed of the elements
hild "battle" and
ræd "counsel". This name was revived in the late 19th century, probably because of its similarity to the popular names
Hilda and
Mildred.
HILLEL m Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical HebrewDerived from Hebrew
הָלַל (halal) meaning
"praise". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament as the father of the judge Abdon. It was also borne by the 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Hillel the Elder.
HINATA f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
日向 (hinata) meaning "sunny place",
陽向 (hinata) meaning "toward the sun", or a non-standard reading of
向日葵 (himawari) meaning "sunflower". Other kanji compounds are also possible. Because of the irregular readings, this name is often written using the hiragana writing system.
HIRAH m BiblicalMeans
"splendour" in Hebrew. This was the name of a companion of Judah in the Old Testament.
HIRAKU m JapaneseFrom Japanese
拓 (hiraku) meaning "expand, open, support". Other kanji can also form this name.
HIRAM m Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, EnglishProbably of Phoenician origin, though it could be from Hebrew meaning
"exalted brother". This was the name of a king of Tyre in the Old Testament. As an English given name,
Hiram came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where it gained some currency.
HIROKI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
大 (hiro) meaning "big, great" and
輝 (ki) meaning "brightness" or
樹 (ki) meaning "tree". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
HIROSHI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
寛 (hiroshi) meaning "tolerant, generous",
浩 (hiroshi) meaning "prosperous", or other kanji and kanji combinations that are read the same way.
HIROTO m JapaneseFrom Japanese
大 (hiro) meaning "big, great" or
博 (hiro) meaning "command, esteem" combined with
人 (to) meaning "person",
翔 (to) meaning "soar, glide" or
斗 (to), which refers to a Chinese constellation. Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
HISHAM m ArabicMeans
"generous" in Arabic, ultimately from
hashama "to crush". The meaning derives from the traditional Arab act of crushing bread into crumbs in order to share it. This was the name of an 8th-century caliph of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain.
HLA m & f BurmeseMeans
"pretty, favourable" in Burmese.
HOEBAER m LimburgishLimburgish form of
HUBERT. Its spelling has been influenced by the French pronunciation of Hubert.
HOLDEN m English (Modern)From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel
The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Holden Caufield.
HOLLIS m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Middle English
holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
HOMER m English, Ancient Greek (Anglicized)From the Greek name
Ὅμηρος (Homeros), derived from
ὅμηρος (homeros) meaning
"hostage, pledge". Homer was the Greek epic poet who wrote the
Iliad, about the Trojan War, and the
Odyssey, about
Odysseus's journey home after the war. There is some debate about when he lived, or if he was even a real person, though most scholars place him in the 8th century BC. In the modern era,
Homer has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world (chiefly in America) since the 18th century. This name is borne by the cartoon father on the television series
The Simpsons.
HONG m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
虹 (hóng) meaning "rainbow",
弘 (hóng) meaning "enlarge, expand, great" (which is usually only masculine) or
鸿 (hóng) meaning "wild swan, great, vast" (also usually only masculine). Other characters can also form this name.
HONORATUS m Late RomanLate Latin name meaning
"esteemed, distinguished". This was the name of at least seven saints, including a 5th-century archbishop of Arles and a 6th-century bishop of Amiens who is the patron saint of bakers.
HONORIUS m Late RomanLate Latin name meaning
"honour". This was the name of an emperor of the Western Roman Empire. It was also borne by a few early saints and four popes.
HORACE m English, FrenchEnglish and French form of
HORATIUS, and the name by which the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus is commonly known those languages. In the modern era it has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, in honour of the poet.
HORATIO m EnglishVariant of
HORATIUS. It was borne by the British admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), famous for his defeat of Napoleon's forces in the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he was himself killed. Since his time the name has been occasionally used in his honour.
HORATIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
hora meaning
"hour, time, season", though the name may actually be of Etruscan origin. A famous bearer was Quintus Horatius Flaccus, a Roman lyric poet of the 1st century BC who is better known as Horace in the English-speaking world.
HOREA m RomanianFrom Romanian
horă, a type of circle dance. This was the nickname of Vasile Ursu Nicola (1731-1785), a leader of a peasant rebellion in Romania. He was eventually captured, tortured and executed.
HORSA m Ancient GermanicFrom the Germanic element
hros or
hors meaning
"horse". According to medieval chronicles, Horsa and his brother
Hengist were the leaders of the first Saxon settlers to arrive in Britain. Horsa died in battle with the Britons.
HORST m GermanMeans
"wood, thicket" in German. Alternatively, it may derive from the Germanic element
hros or
hors meaning "horse".
HORUS m Egyptian Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of
Ὧρος (Horos), the Greek form of Egyptian
Hrw (reconstructed as
Heru) possibly meaning
"falcon" or
"high". In Egyptian mythology Horus was the god of light, often depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. The son
Osiris and
Isis, he avenged his father's murder by killing
Seth.
HOSEA m BiblicalVariant English form of
HOSHEA, though the name is spelled the same in the Hebrew text. Hosea is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Hosea. Written in the northern kingdom, it draws parallels between his relationship with his unfaithful wife and the relationship between God and his people.
HOSHEA m Biblical, Biblical HebrewFrom the Hebrew name
הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshe'a) meaning
"salvation", from the root
יָשַׁע (yasha'). In the Old Testament at
Numbers 13:16,
Moses gives the spy Hoshea the new name
Yehoshu'a (see
JOSHUA), which has a related origin. This name was also borne by an 8th-century BC king of Israel, who was the last ruler of that state before it was conquered by Assyria.
HOUSTON m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname meaning "
HUGH's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow, but this is also the name of a city in Texas, named after the Texas president Sam Houston (1793-1863).
HOWARD m EnglishFrom an English surname that can derive from several different sources: the Anglo-Norman given name
Huard, which was from the Germanic name
HUGHARD; the Anglo-Scandinavian given name
Haward, from the Old Norse name
HÁVARÐR; or the Middle English term
ewehirde meaning "ewe herder". This is the surname of a British noble family, members of which have held the title Duke of Norfolk from the 15th century to the present. A famous bearer of the given name was the American industrialist Howard Hughes (1905-1976).
HOYT m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Middle English
hoit "stick", originally a nickname for a thin person.
HRÓARR m Ancient ScandinavianOld Norse name, derived from the element
hróðr "fame" combined with either
geirr "spear" (making it a relation of
HRÓÐGEIRR),
arr "warrior" or
varr "vigilant, cautious". This is the name of a legendary Danish king, the same one who is featured in the Anglo-Saxon poem
Beowulf with the name
Hroðgar.
HROÐGAR m Anglo-SaxonOld English cognate of
Hrodger (see
ROGER). The name became unused after the Normans introduced
Hrodger after their invasion. In the Old English poem
Beowulf this is the name of the Danish king.
HUA f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
华 (huá) meaning "splendid, illustrious, Chinese" or
花 (huā) meaning "flower, blossom" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well.
HUAN f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
欢 (huān) meaning "happy, pleased", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
HUANG m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
煌 (huáng) meaning "bright, shining, luminous" (which is usually only masculine) or
凰 (huáng) meaning "phoenix" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
HUANGDI m Chinese MythologyFrom Chinese
黄 (huáng) meaning "yellow" and
帝 (dì) meaning "god, emperor". This is the Chinese name for the Yellow Emperor, a mythical ruler and deity who is said to have reigned in the 3rd millennium BC. He is regarded as the ancestor of the Chinese people.
HUANGLONG m Chinese MythologyFrom Chinese
黄 (huáng) meaning "yellow" and
龙 (lóng) meaning "dragon". This is the Chinese name for the Yellow Dragon, who is considered the animal form of the mythical Yellow Emperor
Huangdi.
HUBERT m English, German, Dutch, French, Polish, Ancient GermanicMeans
"bright heart", derived from the Germanic elements
hug "heart, mind" and
beraht "bright". Saint Hubert was an 8th-century bishop of Maastricht who is considered the patron saint of hunters. The Normans brought the name to England, where it replaced an Old English cognate
Hygebeorht. It died out during the Middle Ages but was revived in the 19th century.
HUCKLEBERRY m LiteratureFrom the name of the variety of shrubs (genus Vaccinium) or the berries that grow on them. It was used by author Mark Twain for the character of Huckleberry Finn in his novels
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).
HUDSON m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"son of HUDDE". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
HUGH m EnglishFrom the Germanic element
hug, meaning
"heart, mind, spirit". It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of
Aodh and
Ùisdean.
HUGO m Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Ancient Germanic (Latinized)Latinized form of
HUGH. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre Dame and
Les Misérables.
HUI f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
慧 (huì) meaning "intelligent, wise" (which is usually only feminine),
辉 (huī) meaning "brightness", besides other characters that are pronounced similarly.
HUITZILOPOCHTLI m Aztec and Toltec MythologyMeans
"southern hummingbird" or
"left-handed hummingbird" in Nahuatl. In Aztec mythology he was the god of the sun and war. He was a patron deity of the city of Tenochtitlan (at the site of modern Mexico City).
HUMBERT m French, German (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient GermanicMeans
"bright warrior", derived from the Germanic elements
hun "warrior, bear cub" and
beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it has always been uncommon there. It was borne by two kings of Italy (called Umberto in Italian), who ruled in the 19th and 20th centuries.
HUMPHREY m EnglishMeans
"peaceful warrior" from the Germanic elements
hun "warrior, bear cub" and
frid "peace". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate
Hunfrith, and it was regularly used through the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the American actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), who starred in
The Maltese Falcon and
Casablanca.
HUNOR m HungarianDerived from the ethnic term
Hun, which refers to the nomadic people from Central Asia who expanded into Europe in the 4th century. The word
Hun is from Latin
Hunnus, which is possibly of Turkic origin. According to medieval Hungarian legend, the brothers Hunor and Magor were the ancestors of the Huns and the Magyars (Hungarians) respectively.
HUNTER m & f EnglishFrom an occupational English surname for a hunter, derived from Old English
hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).
HURI m BiblicalMeans
"linen weaver" in Hebrew. This was the name of the father of Abihail in the Old Testament.
HUSAM m ArabicMeans
"sword" in Arabic, a derivative of the verb
حسم (hasama) meaning "to sever, to finish, to decide".
HUSAYN m ArabicDiminutive of
HASAN. Husayn ibn Ali (also commonly transliterated
Hussein) was the son of
Ali and the grandson of the Prophet
Muhammad. His older brother was named
Hasan. The massacre of Husayn and his family was a major event in the split between Shia and Sunni Muslims, which continues to this day. In more recent times this was the name of a king of Jordan (1935-1999).
HUXLEY m English (Modern)From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English
leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be
hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer of the surname was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
HWAN m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
煥 (hwan) meaning "shining, brilliant, lustrous" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character.
HYACINTHUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ὑάκινθος (Hyakinthos), which was derived from the name of the hyacinth flower. In Greek legend Hyakinthos was accidentally killed by the god
Apollo, who mournfully caused this flower to arise from his blood. The name was also borne by several early saints, notably a 3rd-century martyr who was killed with his brother Protus.
HYE m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
慧 (hye) meaning "bright, intelligent" or other characters that are pronounced in the same way. Although it does appear rarely as a single-character name, it is more often used in combination with another character. A notable bearer was a 6th-century king of Baekje.
HYEON m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.
HYEON-JEONG f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or
炫 (hyeon) meaning "shine, glitter" combined with
廷 (jeong) meaning "court" or
貞 (jeong) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
HYEON-JU f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" and
珠 (ju) meaning "jewel, pearl". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
HYEON-U m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or
顯 (hyeon) meaning "manifest, clear" combined with
祐 (u) meaning "divine intervention, protection" or
雨 (u) meaning "rain". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
HYPERION m Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning
"over". In Greek myth this was the name of a Titan who presided over the sun and light. By
Theia he was the father of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
HYRUM m English (Rare)Variant of
HIRAM. This name was borne by Hyrum Smith (1800-1844), an early leader within the Mormon Church.
HYWEL m WelshMeans
"eminent" in Welsh. This was the name of a 10th-century king of Wales.
IACOB m Romanian, Biblical LatinRomanian form of
JACOB (or
JAMES). This is also the form of
Jacob found in the Latin Old Testament (and the New Testament when referring to the patriarch).
IAGO m Welsh, Galician, PortugueseWelsh and Galician form of
Iacobus (see
JAMES). This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603).
IAH m Egyptian MythologyMeans
"moon" in Egyptian. In Egyptian mythology this was the name of a god of the moon, later identified with
Thoth.
IAKOB m Biblical Greek, GeorgianForm of
JACOB used in the Greek Old Testament, as well as in the Greek New Testament when referring to the patriarch. This is also the Georgian form of the name (referring to the two apostles named James as well as the patriarch).
IARFHLAITH m IrishComposed of the Irish elements
ior, of unknown meaning, and
flaith "lord". Saint Iarfhlaith was a 6th-century bishop from Galway, Ireland.
ICARUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
ICHABOD m BiblicalMeans
"no glory" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is the grandson of
Eli and the son of
Phinehas. This name was also used by Washington Irving for Ichabod Crane, the main character in his short story
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820).
ICHIRŌ m JapaneseFrom Japanese
一 (ichi) meaning "one" and
郎 (rō) meaning "son". This was traditionally a name given to the first son. Other combinations of kanji characters are also possible.
IDDO m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
עִדּוֹ ('Iddo), possibly derived from
עָדָה ('adah) meaning "to pass, to continue". This is the name of a few characters in the Old Testament, including an obscure prophet who lived during the reign of
Solomon and the grandfather of the prophet
Zechariah.
IDRIS (1) m ArabicPossibly means
"interpreter" in Arabic. In the Quran this is the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
IDRIS (2) m WelshMeans
"ardent lord" from Welsh
udd "lord, prince" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic, impulsive".
IDWAL m WelshMeans
"lord of the wall", derived from Welsh
udd "lord, prince" combined with
gwal "wall, rampart".