ARATAmJapaneseFrom Japanese
新 (arata) meaning "fresh, new". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
ARAWNmWelsh MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of the god of the underworld, called Annwfn, in Welsh mythology.
ARCHERmEnglishFrom an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin.
ARCHIBALDmScottish, EnglishDerived from the Germanic elements
ercan "genuine" and
bald "bold". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element
αρχος (archos) meaning "master". The Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages.
ARCHILmGeorgianMeaning unknown, of Persian origin. This was the name of an 8th-century Georgian noble who was executed for refusing to convert to Islam.
ARDASHIRmPersianFrom the Middle Persian form of
Artakhshathra (see
ARTAXERXES). This was the name of a 3rd-century king of Persia who defeated the Parthians and founded the Sassanid Empire. He also established Zoroastrianism as the state religion.
ARDENm & fEnglishFrom an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
ARDGHALmIrishMeans "high valour", derived from the Irish elements
ard "high" and
gal "valour".
ARELImBiblicalMeans "lion of God, hero" in Hebrew. This was the name of a son of Gad in the Old Testament.
ARESmGreek MythologyPerhaps from either Greek
αρη (are) "bane, ruin" or
αρσην (arsen) "male". The name first appears as
a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the blood-thirsty god of war in Greek mythology, a son of
Zeus and
Hera.
ARETASmBiblicalGreek form of an Aramaic name, of unknown meaning. This was the name of four Nabataean kings of Petra in Jordan, including the first king (2nd century BC). King Aretas IV is mentioned briefly in the New Testament.
ARGIDERmBasqueDerived from Basque
argi "light" and
eder "beautiful".
ARGUSmGreek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
Αργος (Argos), derived from
αργος (argos) meaning "glistening, shining". In Greek myth this name belonged to both the man who built the Argo and a man with a hundred eyes.
ARIDAImBiblicalMeaning unknown, possibly of Persian origin. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the ten sons of
Haman killed by the Jews.
ARIELm & fHebrew, English, French, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans "lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי ('ari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare used it as the name of a spirit in his play 'The Tempest' (1611), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Walt Disney film 'The Little Mermaid' (1989).
ARIESmRoman MythologyMeans "ram" in Latin. This is the name of a constellation and the first sign of the zodiac. Some Roman legends state that the ram in the constellation was the one who supplied the Golden Fleece sought by
Jason.
ARISTOTLEmAncient Greek (Anglicized)From the Greek name
Αριστοτελης (Aristoteles) which meant "the best purpose", derived from
αριστος (aristos) "best" and
τελος (telos) "purpose, aim". This was the name of a Greek philosopher of the 4th century BC who made lasting contributions to Western thought, including the fields of logic, metaphysics, ethics and biology.
ARJUNAmHinduismMeans "white, clear" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a hero in Hindu texts, the son of the god
Indra and the princess Kunti.
ARKADIOSmAncient GreekFrom an ancient Greek name meaning "of Arcadia". Arcadia was a region in Greece, its name deriving from
αρκτος (arktos) "bear". This was the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr.
ARKADIYmRussianRussian form of
ARKADIOS. This is the name of one of the main characters in Ivan Turgenev's 'Fathers and Sons' (1862).
ARKEmFrisianOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
arn meaning "eagle".
ARLIEf & mEnglishFrom a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "eagle wood" in Old English. This name can also be a diminutive of
ARLENE.
ARLOmEnglishMeaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, which is Gaelic meaning "between two highlands".
ARLOTTOmMedieval ItalianMedieval Italian name, recorded in Latin as
Arlotus. It is possibly from Old French
herlot meaning "vagabond, tramp".
ARMASmFinnishMeans "beloved" in Finnish (an archaic poetic word).
ARMELmFrenchFrom the old Welsh name
Arthfael, which was composed of the elements
arth "bear" and
mael "prince". This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany.
ARMINIUSmAncient Germanic (Latinized)Latinized form of a Germanic name which was probably derived from the element
ermen meaning "whole, universal". Other theories claim that it is related to
HERMAN. Arminius was a 1st-century ruler of the Cherusci who led a rebellion against the Roman Empire.
ARNFINNmNorwegianNorwegian form of
Arnfinnr, which was derived from the elements
arn "eagle" and
Finnr "Sámi, person from Finland".
ARNOLDmEnglish, German, Dutch, Ancient GermanicFrom a Germanic name meaning "eagle power", derived from the elements
arn "eagle" and
wald "power". The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate
Earnweald. It died out as an English name after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century.
... [more] ÁRPÁDmHungarianFrom Hungarian
árpa meaning "barley". This was the name of a 9th-century Magyar ruler who led his people into Hungary. He is considered a Hungarian national hero.
ARRANmScottishFrom the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.
ARSENIOSmAncient GreekMeans "virile" in Greek. Saint Arsenius was a 5th-century deacon who was tutor to the two sons of the Roman emperor Theodosius. The two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, divided the empire into eastern and western halves upon their father's death.
ARTAXERXESmAncient Persian (Hellenized), BiblicalGreek form of the Persian name
Artakhshathra meaning "righteous ruler". This was the name of several Achaemenid Persian rulers. It was also borne by the founder of the Sassanid Empire, usually known by the Middle Persian form
Ardashir.
ARTEMIDOROSmAncient GreekMeans "gift of Artemis" from the name of the goddess
ARTEMIS combined with Greek
δωρον (doron) "gift". This was the name of a Greek author of the 2nd century who wrote about the interpretation of dreams.
ARTEMIOSmAncient GreekFrom an ancient Greek name which was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
ARTEMIS. This was the name of a 4th-century general in the Roman army who is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church.
ARTHURmEnglish, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian RomanceThe meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements
artos "bear" combined with
viros "man" or
rigos "king". Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name
Artorius. Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (some possibly as early as the 7th century) but his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth.
... [more] ARWYNmWelshFrom the Welsh intensifying prefix
ar- and
gwyn meaning "white, fair".
ARYAm & fPersian, Indian, Hindi, MalayalamFrom an old Indo-Iranian root meaning "Aryan, noble". In India, this is a transcription of both the masculine form
आर्य and the feminine form
आर्या. In Iran it is only a masculine name.
ASAPHmBiblicalMeans "collector" in Hebrew. This name belongs to several minor characters in the Old Testament.
ASENmBulgarianMeaning unknown, probably of Turkic origin. This was the name of a 12th-century Bulgarian emperor (Ivan Asen I) and several of his successors.
ASGERmDanishFrom the Old Norse name
Ásgeirr, derived from the elements
áss meaning "god" and
geirr meaning "spear".
ASHm & fEnglishShort form of
ASHLEY. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
ASHANTIf & mVariousFrom the name of an African people who reside in southern Ghana. It possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.
ASHLEYf & mEnglishFrom an English surname which was originally derived from place names meaning "ash tree clearing", from a combination of Old English
æsc and
leah. Until the 1960s it was more commonly given to boys in the United States, but it is now most often used on girls.
ASHOKAmSanskritMeans "without sorrow" in Sanskrit. This name was borne by Ashoka the Great, a 3rd-century BC emperor of India.
ASHTONm & fEnglishFrom a surname which was originally derived from a place name which meant "ash tree town" in Old English.
ASHURmSemitic MythologyFrom the name of the city of
ASHUR, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which is of unknown meaning. Ashur was the patron deity of the city and the chief god of Assyria.
ASHURBANIPALmAncient Assyrian (Anglicized)From Akkadian
Ashur-bani-apli meaning "
ASHUR is creator of a son". This was the name of one of the final kings of the Assyrian Empire, reigning late in the 7th century BC. He appears in the Old Testament under the name
Asnappar.
ASIFmArabicPossibly means "forgiveness" in Arabic.
ASKmNorse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
askr "ash tree". In Norse mythology Ask and his wife
Embla were the first humans created by the gods.
ASKLEPIOSmGreek MythologyPossibly means "cut up" in Greek. Asklepios (Aesculapius to the Romans) was the god of healing and medicine in Greek mythology.
ASLANmTurkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, CircassianFrom Turkic
arslan meaning "lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The name
Aslan was later used by the author C. S. Lewis for the main protagonist (a lion) in his 'Chronicles of Narnia' series of books, first appearing in 1950.
ASSEmFrisianOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
asc meaning "ash tree" or
ans meaning "god".
ASTAROTHmLiteratureFrom
Ashtaroth, the plural form of
ASHTORETH used in the bible to refer to Phoenician idols. This spelling was used in late medieval demonology texts to refer to a type of (masculine) demon.
ASTONm & fEnglish (Rare)From a surname which was originally derived from either a place name meaning "east town" in Old English or from the given name
ÆÐELSTAN.
ASTROPHELmLiteratureProbably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek
αστηρ (aster) "star" and
φιλος (philos) "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets 'Astrophel and Stella'.
ASUKAf & mJapaneseFrom Japanese
明日 (asu) meaning "tomorrow" and
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance", or from
飛 (asu) meaning "to fly" and
鳥 (ka) meaning "bird". Other kanji combinations can be possible as well.
ATHALIAHf & mBiblicalPossibly means "
YAHWEH is exalted" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is both a feminine and masculine name. It was borne by the daughter of
Ahab and
Jezebel, who later came to rule Judah as a queen.
ATHANARICmAncient GermanicFrom the Gothic name
Athanareiks, derived from the Germanic element
athana meaning "year" combined with
ric meaning "power, ruler". Athanaric was a 4th-century ruler of the Visigoths.
ATHOLm & fScottishFrom the name of a district in Scotland which was derived from Gaelic
ath Fodhla "new Ireland".
ATLASmGreek MythologyPossibly means "enduring" from Greek
τλαω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
ATONmEgyptian MythologyMeans "solar disk" in Egyptian. Aton was an Egyptian god of the sun, depicted as a solar disk with long rays extending downwards. The worship of Aton was especially extensive during the reign of the pharaoh
Akhenaton, who proclaimed Aton was the only god.
ATSEmFrisianOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
adal meaning "noble".
ATTICUSmLiteratureFrom a Roman name meaning "from Attica" in Latin. Attica is the region surrounding Athens in Greece. The author Harper Lee used this name in her novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1960).
ATTILAmHistory, HungarianPossibly means "little father" from Gothic
atta "father" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 5th-century leader of the Huns, a nomadic people from Central Asia who had expanded into Eastern Europe by the 4th century.
Attila was the name given to him by his Gothic-speaking subjects in Eastern Europe; his real name may have been Avithohol.
ATTILIOmItalianItalian form of the Roman family name
Atilius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. Marcus Atilius Regulus was a Roman consul and hero of the First Punic War.
ATUMmEgyptian MythologyMeans "completion" in Egyptian. This was the name of an Egyptian creator god. He was first prominently worshipped in Heliopolis during the Old Kingdom.
AUBREYm & fEnglishNorman French form of the Germanic name
ALBERICH. As an English masculine name it was common in the Middle Ages, and was revived in the 19th century. Since the mid-1970s it has more frequently been given to girls, due to Bread's 1972 song 'Aubrey' along with its similarity to the established feminine name
Audrey.
AUDLEYmEnglishFrom a surname which was taken from a place name meaning "
EALDGYÐ's clearing" in Old English.
AUGUSTINE (1)mEnglishFrom the Roman name
Augustinus, itself derived from the Roman name
AUGUSTUS. Saint Augustine of Hippo was a 5th-century Christian theologian and author from North Africa. For his contributions to Christian philosophy he is known as a Doctor of the Church. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world. It became popular in England in the Middle Ages partly because of a second saint by this name, Augustine of Canterbury, a 6th-century Italian monk sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons.
AUGUSTUSmAncient Roman, DutchMeans "great" or "venerable", derived from Latin
augere "to increase". Augustus was the title given to
Octavian, the first Roman emperor. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who rose to power through a combination of military skill and political prowess. This was also the name of three kings of Poland.