Rokurō m JapaneseFrom Japanese
六 (roku) meaning "six" and
郎 (rō) meaning "son". This name was traditionally given to the sixth son. Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
Roland m English, French, German, Swedish, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Albanian, Georgian, Medieval FrenchFrom the Old German elements
hruod meaning "fame" and
lant meaning "land", though some theories hold that the second element was originally
nand meaning "brave".
... [more] Rolf m German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, EnglishFrom the Old German name
Hrolf (or its Old Norse cognate
Hrólfr), a contracted form of
Hrodulf (see
Rudolf). The Normans introduced this name to England but it soon became rare. In the modern era it has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world as a German import.
Rollo m EnglishLatinized form of
Roul, the Old French form of
Rolf. Rollo (or Rolf) the Ganger was an exiled Viking who, in the 10th century, became the first Duke of Normandy. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.
Roman m Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, EnglishFrom the Late Latin name
Romanus meaning
"Roman". This name was borne by several early saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
Romeo m Italian, RomanianItalian form of the Late Latin
Romaeus or Late Greek
Ρωμαῖος (Romaios), which meant
"from Rome" or
"Roman". Romeo is best known as the lover of
Juliet in William Shakespeare's tragedy
Romeo and Juliet (1596). Shakespeare based his play on earlier Italian stories by Luigi Da Porto (1524) and Matteo Bandello (1554), which both featured characters named Giulietta and Romeo.
Romuald m French, Polish, GermanicFrom the Germanic elements
hruom meaning "fame, glory" and
walt meaning "power, authority". This was the name of an 11th-century Italian saint who founded the Camaldolese order.
Ronald m Scottish, English, Dutch, GermanScottish form of
Ragnvaldr, a name introduced to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders. It became popular outside Scotland during the 20th century. A famous bearer was the American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). It is also associated with Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot for the McDonald's chain of restaurants, first appearing in 1963.
Ronaldinho m PortugueseDiminutive of
Ronaldo. A famous bearer is the retired Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (1980-), who is usually called simply Ronaldinho.
Ronaldo m PortuguesePortuguese form of
Ronald. A notable bearer is the retired Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (1976-), who is commonly known only by his first name.
Rónán m Irish, Old IrishMeans
"little seal", derived from Old Irish
rón "seal" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Rong f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
荣 (róng) meaning "glory, honour, flourish, prosper",
融 (róng) meaning "fuse, harmonize" or
容 (róng) meaning "appearance, form" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well.
Roosevelt m EnglishFrom a Dutch surname meaning
"rose field". This name is often given in honour of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) or Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Rory m & f Irish, Scottish, EnglishAnglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Rosario f & m Spanish, ItalianMeans
"rosary", and is taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora del Rosario meaning "Our Lady of the Rosary". This name is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Italian.
Roscoe m EnglishFrom an English surname, originally derived from a place name, itself derived from Old Norse
rá "roebuck" and
skógr "wood, forest".
Rosendo m SpanishSpanish form of the Visigothic name *
Hroþisinþs, composed of the Gothic elements
hroþs "fame" and
sinþs "time". This was the name of a 10th-century Galician saint, also known as Rudesind.
Ross m Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish and English surname that originally indicated a person from a place called
Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was Sir James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.
Rostam m Persian, Persian MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly from Iranian roots *
rautas "river" and *
taxma "strong". Rostam was a warrior hero in Persian legend. The 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi recorded his tale in the
Shahnameh.
Roswell m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning
"horse spring".
Rotem m & f HebrewFrom the name of a desert plant (species Retama raetam), possibly derived from Hebrew
רְתֹם (retom) meaning "to bind".
Rover m & f PetFrom an English word, the agent noun of the verb
rove meaning "roam, wander". This a stereotypical name for a dog.
Rowan m & f Irish, English (Modern)Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Roy m Scottish, English, DutchAnglicized form of
Ruadh. A notable bearer was the Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy (1671-1734). It is often associated with French
roi "king".
Royal m & f EnglishFrom the English word
royal, derived (via Old French) from Latin
regalis, a derivative of
rex "king". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century.
Royce m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Royse, a variant of
Rose.
Roydon m English (Rare)From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"rye hill", from Old English
ryge "rye" and
dun "hill".
Royle m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"rye hill" from Old English
ryge "rye" and
hyll "hill".
Royston m English (British)From a surname that was originally taken from an Old English place name meaning
"town of Royse". The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose.
Ru m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
儒 (rú) meaning "scholar",
如 (rú) meaning "like, as, if", or other characters with similar pronunciations.
Ruadh m Medieval Irish, Medieval ScottishIrish and Scottish Gaelic byname meaning
"red", often a nickname for one with red hair. This was the nickname of the Scottish outlaw Raibeart Ruadh MacGregor (1671-1734), known as Rob Roy in English.
Ruadhán m IrishFrom Old Irish
Rúadán, derived from
rúad "red" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of the founder of the monastery of Lorrha in the 6th century.
Ruaidhrí m IrishFrom Old Irish
Ruaidrí meaning
"red king", from
rúad "red" combined with
rí "king". This was the name of the last high king of Ireland, reigning in the 12th century.
Ruarc m IrishFrom Old Irish
Ruarcc. It was possibly an early borrowing from the Old Norse name
Hrǿríkr. Alternatively it might be derived from Old Irish elements such as
rúad "red" and
arg "hero, champion". This was the name of a 9th-century king of Leinster.
Rubens m Portuguese (Brazilian)Possibly from Latin
rubens "being red", participle of
rubeo "to be red". It may also be inspired by the 17th-century Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Rudolf m German, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Dutch, Russian, ArmenianFrom the Germanic name
Hrodulf, which was derived from the elements
hruod meaning "fame" and
wolf meaning "wolf". It was borne by three kings of Burgundy and a king of West Francia, 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, rune" and
herr "army, warrior". This name did not exist in Old Norse, but was created in the modern era.
Rupert m German, EnglishGerman variant form of
Robert, from the Old German variant
Hrodperht. It was borne by the 7th century Saint Rupert of Salzburg and the 8th-century Saint Rupert of Bingen. 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 an English surname, of Norman origin, meaning
"little red one" (a diminutive of Old French
rous "red"). 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.
... [more] Rusticus m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen derived from Latin
rusticus meaning
"rural, rustic", a derivative of
rus meaning "open land, countryside". This name was borne by several early saints.
Rusty m EnglishFrom a nickname that was originally given to someone with a rusty, or reddish-brown, hair colour.
Ruud m DutchDutch short form of
Rudolf. This name is borne by retired Dutch soccer player Ruud Gullit (1962-).
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.
Ry m EnglishShort form of
Ryan and other names beginning with
Ry.
Ryan m EnglishFrom a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Riain. This patronymic derives from the given name
Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean
"little king", from Irish
rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix.
... [more] Ryder m English (Modern)From an English occupational surname derived from Old English
ridere meaning
"mounted warrior" or
"messenger". It has grown in popularity in the 2000s because it starts with the same sound found in other popular names like
Ryan and
Riley.
Ryker m English (Modern)Possibly a variant of the German surname
Riker, a derivative of Low German
rike "rich". As a modern English name, it has become popular because it shares the same trendy sounds found in other names such as
Ryan and
Ryder.
Ryland m English (Modern)From an English surname, 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.
Ryōsuke m JapaneseFrom Japanese
亮 (ryō) meaning "clear" combined with
介 (suke) meaning "help, assist". Other combinations of kanji having the same reading can also form this name.
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, great". 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 or 龍 (ryū) meaning "dragon", as well as other kanji with the same pronunciation.
Ryūji m JapaneseFrom Japanese
竜 or 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 or 龍 (ryū) meaning "dragon" or
隆 (ryū) meaning "noble, prosperous" combined with
之 (no), a possessive marker, and
介 (suke) meaning "help, assist". 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, grandfather". 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 now extinct English surname that was derived from a Norman place name. It was occasionally given in honour of the English preacher Henry Sacheverell (1674-1724), especially by the Sitwell noble family.
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.
Sadiq m Arabic, UrduMeans
"true, sincere, loyal" in Arabic, derived from the root
صدق (sadaqa) meaning "to tell the truth".
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 ad-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 ad-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 ad-Din was an honourific; his birth name was
Yusuf.
Salambek m ChechenDerived from Arabic
سلام (salam) meaning "peace" combined with the Turkic military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master".
Salem 2 f & m English (Modern)From the name of a biblical town,
שָׁלֵם (Shalem) in Hebrew, meaning
"complete, safe, peaceful". According to the Old Testament this was the town where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with
Jerusalem. Many places are named after the biblical town, most in America, notably a city in Massachusetts where the infamous Salem witch trials occurred in 1692.
Salih m Arabic, Turkish, 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:
سليم, in which the second vowel is long, and
سالم, in which the first vowel is long.
Salisu m Western African, HausaFrom Arabic
ثالث (thalith) meaning
"third", sometimes added to a shared given name to indicate the third sibling bearing it.
Salvador m Spanish, Portuguese, CatalanSpanish, Portuguese and Catalan form of the Late Latin name
Salvator, which meant
"saviour", referring to
Jesus. 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 1 m & f English, LiteratureShort form of
Samuel,
Samson,
Samantha and other names beginning with
Sam. This is the name of a detective in Dashiell Hammett's novel
The Maltese Falcon (1930). In J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954 novel
The Lord of the Rings (1954) this is a short form of
Samwise.
Sam 2 m Persian, Persian MythologyMeans
"fire" in Persian (from an earlier Iranian root meaning "black"). This is the name of a hero in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.