RUDOLF m German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Russian, ArmenianFrom the Germanic name
Hrodulf, which was derived from the elements
hrod "fame" and
wulf "wolf". It was borne by three kings of Burgundy, as well as several Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. Anthony Hope used this name for the hero in his popular novel
The Prisoner of Zenda (1894).
RUDOLPH m EnglishEnglish form of
RUDOLF, imported from Germany in the 19th century. Robert L. May used it in 1939 for his Christmas character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
RUDYARD m English (Rare)From a place name meaning
"red yard" in Old English. This name was borne by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), the author of
The Jungle Book and other works, who was named after Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire.
RUFUS m Ancient Roman, English, BiblicalRoman cognomen meaning
"red-haired" in Latin. Several early saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of
Paul's epistles in the New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the Protestant Reformation.
RUGGIERO m ItalianItalian form of
ROGER. This is the name of a Saracen knight in the epic poems
Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and
Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto, as well as several operas based on the poems.
RUMPELSTILTSKIN m LiteratureFrom German
Rumpelstilzchen, possibly from German
rumpeln meaning "make noise" and
Stelze meaning "stilt", combined with the diminutive suffix
-chen. It has been suggested that it was inspired by a children's game
Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart mentioned in Johann Fischart's 1577 book
Geschichtklitterung. This name was used by the Brothers Grimm in an 1812 fairy tale about a magical little man (Rumpelstiltskin) who saves a miller's daughter in exchange for her firstborn child. In order to undo the deal, she must guess the man's name. The Grimm's story was based upon earlier European folk tales (which have various names for the little man).
RUNAR m NorwegianDerived from the Old Norse elements
rún "secret lore" and
arr "warrior". This name did not exist in Old Norse, but was created in the modern era.
RUPERT m German, Dutch, EnglishGerman variant form of
ROBERT. The military commander Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a nephew of Charles I, introduced this name to England in the 17th century.
RUPINDER m & f Indian (Sikh)Means
"greatest beauty" from Sanskrit
रूप (rupa) meaning "beauty, form" combined with the name of the Hindu god
INDRA, used here to mean "greatest".
RUSLAN m Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Circassian, Indonesian, MalayForm of
YERUSLAN used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem
Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.
RUSSELL m EnglishFrom a surname meaning
"little red one" in French. A notable bearer of the surname was the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), who wrote on many subjects including logic, epistemology and mathematics. He was also a political activist for causes such as pacifism and women's rights.
RUSTY m EnglishFrom a nickname that was originally given to someone with a rusty, or reddish-brown, hair colour.
RUY m Portuguese, SpanishMedieval Portuguese and Spanish short form of
RODRIGO. It is another name of the 11th-century Spanish military commander Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, also known as El Cid.
RYAN m Irish, EnglishFrom an Irish surname that was derived from
Ó Riain meaning
"descendant of Rían". The given name
Rían probably means
"little king" (from Irish
rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix).
RYDER m English (Modern)From an English occupational surname derived from Old English
ridere meaning
"mounted warrior" or
"messenger".
RYKER m English (Modern)Possibly a variant of the German surname
Riker, a derivative of Low German
rike "rich". It may have been altered by association with the popular name prefix
Ry.
RYLAN m English (Modern)Possibly a variant of the English surname
Ryland, which was originally derived from a place name meaning
"rye land" in Old English.
RYO m JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
涼 or
遼 or
諒 (see
RYŌ).
RYŌ m JapaneseFrom Japanese
涼 (ryō) meaning "cool, refreshing",
遼 (ryō) meaning "distant" or
諒 (ryō) meaning "reality", as well as other kanji that have the same pronunciation.
RYŌICHI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
良 (ryō) meaning "good" or
亮 (ryō) meaning "clear" combined with
一 (ichi) meaning "one". Other kanji combinations are possible.
RYŌTA m JapaneseFrom Japanese
涼 (ryō) meaning "cool, refreshing",
亮 (ryō) meaning "clear" or
良 (ryō) meaning "good" combined with
太 (ta) meaning "thick, big". This name can also be formed of other kanji combinations.
RYOU m JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
涼 or
遼 or
諒 (see
RYŌ).
RYŪ m JapaneseFrom Japanese
竜, 龍 (ryū) meaning "dragon", as well as other kanji with the same pronunciation.
RYŪJI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
竜, 龍 (ryū) meaning "dragon" or
隆 (ryū) meaning "noble, prosperous" combined with
二 (ji) meaning "two" or
司 (ji) meaning "officer, boss". This name can also be formed using other kanji combinations.
RYŪNOSUKE m JapaneseFrom Japanese
竜, 龍 (ryū) meaning "dragon" or
隆 (ryū) meaning "noble, prosperous" combined with
之 (no), a possessive marker, and
介 (suke) meaning "forerunner, herald". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
RYUUJI m JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
竜二 or
龍二 or
隆二 or
竜司 or
龍司 or
隆司 or
竜次 or
龍次 or
竜児 or
龍児 (see
RYŪJI).
SABAS m SpanishFrom the Greek name
Σάββας (Sabbas), which was derived from Hebrew
סַבָא (sava') meaning
"old man". Saints bearing this name include a 4th-century Gothic martyr, a 5th-century Cappadocian hermit, and a 12th-century archbishop of Serbia who is the patron saint of that country.
SABURŌ m JapaneseFrom Japanese
三 (sabu) meaning "three" and
郎 (rō) meaning "son". This was traditionally a name for the third son. Other kanji combinations are possible as well.
SACHEVERELL m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from a Norman place name. It was occasionally given in honour of preacher Henry Sacheverell (1674-1724).
SA'D m ArabicMeans
"fortune, good luck" in Arabic. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas was a military commander during the early years of Islam, serving under the Prophet
Muhammad and his successor
Umar.
SAFAA f & m ArabicMeans
"pure", from Arabic
صفا (safa). As-Safaa is the name of one of the two sacred hills near Mecca. This can also be an alternate transcription of Arabic
صفاء (see
SAFAA').
SAGE f & m English (Modern)From the English word
sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
SAHAK m ArmenianArmenian form of
ISAAC. This was the name of a 5th-century patriarch of the Armenian Church.
SA'ID m ArabicMeans
"happy, lucky" in Arabic. This was the name of a companion of the Prophet
Muhammad.
SAJJAD m ArabicMeans
"kneeling in prayer, prostration" in Arabic.
SAKCHAI m ThaiDerived from Thai
ศักดิ์ (sak) meaning "power, honour" and
ชัย (chai) meaning "victory".
SAKHR m ArabicMeans
"solid rock" in Arabic. This name appears in the poems of the 7th-century poetess Al-Khansa.
SALAH AL-DIN m ArabicMeans
"righteousness of religion" from Arabic
صلاح (salah) meaning "righteousness" combined with
دين (din) meaning "religion, faith". A famous bearer of this name was the sultan Salah al-Din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub, known in the western world as Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt in the 12th century. He recaptured Jerusalem from the crusaders and repelled the invaders of the Third Crusade. Salah al-Din was an honourific; his birth name was Yusuf.
SALIH m Arabic, BosnianMeans
"virtuous" in Arabic. According to the Quran this was the name of an early Arabian prophet.
SALIM m ArabicMeans
"safe, sound, intact" in Arabic, derived from the root
سَلِمَ (salima) meaning "to be safe". This transcription represents two different Arabic names.
SALVADOR m SpanishSpanish form of the Late Latin name
Salvator, which meant
"saviour". A famous bearer of this name was the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
SALVIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name derived from Latin
salvus meaning
"safe". This was the family name of the short-lived Roman emperor Otho. It was also borne by several early saints.
SAM (3) m LiteratureThe name of a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel
The Lord of the Rings (1954). His full given name was
Samwise meaning
"half wise" in Old English (the language used by Tolkien to represent the old hobbit speech).
SAMAEL m Judeo-Christian LegendMeans
"severity of God" in Hebrew. This is the name of an archangel in Jewish tradition, described as a destructive angel of death.
SAMO m Slovene, Medieval SlavicMeaning uncertain. This was the name of a 7th-century ruler of the Slavs, who established a kingdom including parts of modern Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. He was possibly of Frankish origin.
SAMSON m Biblical, English, French, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
שִׁמְשׁוֹן (Shimshon), derived from
שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) meaning "sun". Samson was an Old Testament hero granted exceptional strength by God. His mistress
Delilah betrayed him and cut his hair, stripping him of his power. Thus he was captured by the Philistines, blinded, and brought to their temple. However, in a final act of strength, he pulled down the pillars of the temple upon himself and his captors.
... [more] SAMUEL m English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el), which could mean either
"name of God" or
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
... [more] ŞAN m & f TurkishMeans
"fame, reputation" in Turkish.
SANCHO m Spanish, PortuguesePossibly a Spanish and Portuguese form of the Late Latin name
Sanctius, which was derived from the word
sanctus meaning
"saintly, holy". Alternatively,
Sancho and
Sanctius may be derived from an older Iberian name. This was the name of a 9th-century saint who was martyred by the Moors at Cordoba. It was also borne by several Spanish and Portuguese kings. Miguel de Cervantes used it in his novel
Don Quixote (1605), where it belongs to the squire of Don Quixote.
SANDALIO m SpanishSpanish form of
Sandalius, a Latinized form of the Gothic name
Sandulf meaning
"true wolf", derived from
sand "true" and
ulf "wolf". This was the name of a 9th-century Spanish saint martyred by the Moors.
SANDEEP m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, NepaliAlternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi
संदीप, Bengali
সন্দীপ, Gurmukhi
ਸੰਦੀਪ, Gujarati
સંદિપ, Kannada
ಸಂದೀಪ್, Malayalam
സന്ദീപ്, Telugu
సందీప్, Tamil
சந்தீப் or Nepali
सन्दीप (see
SANDIP).
SANDIP m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, NepaliMeans
"blazing" in Sanskrit.
SANFORD m EnglishFrom an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant
"sand ford" in Old English.
SANG m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
常 (sang) meaning "common, frequent, regular" or other characters that are pronounced similarly.
SANG-HUN m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
尚 (sang) meaning "still, yet" combined with
勛 (hun) meaning "meritorious deed, rank". Other hanja characters can form this name as well.
SANI m ArabicMeans
"brilliant, splendid" in Arabic.
SANJAY m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, NepaliModern form of
SANJAYA.
SANJAYA m HinduismMeans
"completely victorious, triumphant" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a royal official in the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata.
SANTIAGO m Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
JAMES, the patron saint of Spain. This is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
SANTO m ItalianMeans
"saint" in Italian, ultimately from Latin
sanctus.
SARAVA m VariousFrom a phrase used by members of the Candomblé religion (an African religion that was taken to Brazil by African slaves), which means
"good luck".
SARDAR m Persian, Urdu, PashtoFrom a title meaning
"chief, leader", derived from Persian
سر (sar) meaning "head, authority" and the suffix
دار (dar) meaning "possessor".
SARGON m Akkadian (Anglicized), Biblical, Biblical HebrewFrom the Hebrew form
סַרְגּוֹן (Sargon) of the Akkadian name
Sharru-ukin, from
šarru meaning "king" and
kīnu meaning "legitimate, true". This was the name of the first king of the Akkadian Empire, beginning in the 24th century BC. It was also borne by the 8th-century BC Assyrian king Sargon II, who appears briefly in the Old Testament. The usual English spelling of the name is based on this biblical mention, applied retroactively to the earlier king.
SARPEDON m Greek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek legend Sarpedon was the son of
Zeus and Laodamia, and the king of the Lycians. He was one of the chief warriors who fought against the Greeks in defense of Troy, but he was killed by
Patroclus. Another Sarpedon was the son of Zeus and
Europa.
SATAN m Theology, Biblical, Biblical HebrewDerived from Hebrew
שָׂטָן (satan) meaning
"adversary". This is the Hebrew name of the enemy of the Judeo-Christian god. In the New Testament he is also known by the title
Devil (
Diabolos in Greek).
SATCHEL m English (Rare)From a surname derived from Old English
sacc meaning
"sack, bag", referring to a person who was a bag maker.
SATISHA m HinduismMeans
"lord of Sati" from the name of the Hindu goddess
SATI combined with
ईश (isha) meaning "ruler". This is another name for the Hindu god
Shiva.
SATURN m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)From the Latin
Saturnus, which is of unknown meaning. In Roman mythology he was the father of
Jupiter,
Juno and others, and was also the god of agriculture. This is also the name of the ringed sixth planet in the solar system.
SATURNINUS m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen derived from the name of the Roman god
Saturnus (see
SATURN). This was the name of several early saints.
SAUL m Biblical, Jewish, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
שָׁאוּל (Sha'ul) meaning
"asked for, prayed for". This was the name of the first king of Israel, as told in the Old Testament. Before the end of his reign he lost favour with God, and after a defeat by the Philistines he was succeeded by
David as king. In the New Testament, Saul was the original Hebrew name of the apostle
Paul.
SAVELIY m RussianRussian form of the Latin name
Sabellius meaning
"a Sabine". The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy.
SAVITR m HinduismMeans
"rouser, stimulator" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu sun god, sometimes identified with
Surya.
SAWYER m English (Modern)From a surname meaning
"sawer of wood" in Middle English. Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
SAXON m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from the name of the Germanic tribe the Saxons, ultimately deriving from the Germanic word
sahs meaning "knife". This name can also be given in direct reference to the tribe.
SAYYID m ArabicMeans
"lord, master" in Arabic. A famous bearer was the Egyptian musician Sayyid Darwish (1892-1923).
SCEVOLA m ItalianItalian form of the Roman cognomen
Scaevola, which was derived from Latin
scaevus "left-handed". The first bearer of this name was Gaius Mucius Scaevola, who acquired it, according to legend, after he thrust his right hand into a blazing fire in order to intimidate the Etruscan king Porsenna, who was blockading the city of Rome.
SCHUYLER m & f EnglishFrom a Dutch surname meaning
"scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804).
SCOTT m English, ScottishFrom an English and Scottish surname that referred to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic. It is derived from Latin
Scoti meaning "Gaelic speaker", with the ultimate origin uncertain.
SEACHNALL m IrishPossibly an Irish form of
SECUNDINUS. This was the name of a 5th-century Irish saint, also known as Secundinus.
SEBASTIAN m German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, CzechFrom the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
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