Aali m ArabicMeans
"high, lofty, sublime" in Arabic, from the root
علا (ʿalā) meaning "to be high".
Aang m Popular CultureThe hero of the American animated television series
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008). When his name is shown in written form, it is composed of the Chinese characters
安 (ān) meaning "peace, quiet" and
昂 (áng) meaning "raise, lift".
Abel m English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning
"breath". In the Old Testament he is the second son of
Adam and
Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother
Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the Puritan era.
Adam m English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Malay, Indonesian, Dhivehi, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Biblical HebrewThis is the Hebrew word for
"man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew
אדם (ʾaḏam) meaning
"to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian
adamu meaning
"to make".
... [more] Adei m BasqueMeans
"respect, consideration, grace" in Basque.
Adin m BosnianMeaning unknown, possibly from Turkish
ad meaning
"name".
Adir m HebrewMeans
"strong, mighty" in Hebrew. This word is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe God.
Æsc m Anglo-SaxonMeans
"ash tree" in Old English. This was the nickname of a 5th-century king of Kent, whose birth name was Oeric.
Afif m ArabicMeans
"chaste" in Arabic, from the root
عفّ (ʿaffa) meaning "to refrain, to be chaste".
Afon f & m Welsh (Rare)Means
"river" in Welsh. This is a Welsh name of recent origin.
Agni 1 m Hinduism, HindiMeans
"fire" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Vedic Hindu fire god, typically depicted as red-skinned with three legs, seven arms, and two faces, and riding on the back of a ram.
Ahab m Biblical, Biblical LatinMeans
"uncle" in Hebrew, from the combination of
אָח (ʾaḥ) meaning "brother" and
אָב (ʾav) meaning "father". This was the name of a king of Israel, the husband of
Jezebel, as told in the Old Testament. He was admonished by
Elijah for his sinful behaviour. Herman Melville later used this name in his novel
Moby-Dick (1851), where it belongs to a sea captain obsessively hunting for a white whale.
Aike m FrisianDiminutive of names beginning with the Old German element
ekka meaning
"edge, blade" or
adal meaning
"noble".
Aimé m FrenchFrom Old French
Amé, the masculine form of
Amée (see
Amy).
Aiur m BasqueDerived from Basque
ainuria or
aiuria meaning
"howl".
Ajax m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek name
Αἴας (Aias), perhaps deriving from Greek
αἰαστής (aiastes) meaning
"mourner" or
αἶα (aia) meaning
"earth, land". In Greek mythology this was the name of two of the heroes who fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War: the son of
Telamon and the son of Oileus. When the armour of the slain hero
Achilles was not given to Ajax Telamonian, he became mad with jealousy and killed himself.
Akif m Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, UrduMeans
"devoted, focused" in Arabic. It refers to one who practices
اعتكاف (iʿtikāf), which is seclusion inside a mosque for a period of time to worship.
Akio m JapaneseFrom Japanese
昭 (aki) meaning "bright, luminous" combined with
夫 (o) meaning "man, husband",
男 (o) meaning "male, man" or
雄 (o) meaning "hero, manly". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Akli m BerberMeans
"slave, servant, black" in Tamazight.
Ákos m HungarianPossibly of Turkic origin meaning
"white falcon". This was the name of a medieval Hungarian clan.
Alan m English, Scottish, Breton, French, PolishThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. It was used in Brittany at least as early as the 6th century, and it possibly means either
"little rock" or
"handsome" in Breton. Alternatively, it may derive from the tribal name of the Alans, an Iranian people who migrated into Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries.
... [more] Aldo m Italian, GermanicOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
alt meaning
"old" (Proto-Germanic *
aldaz), and sometimes also with
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Aled m WelshFrom the name of a Welsh river, of uncertain meaning.
Alex m & f English, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Czech, RussianShort form of
Alexander,
Alexandra and other names beginning with
Alex.
Alin m RomanianPossibly a Romanian masculine form of
Alina. Alternatively it may derive from Romanian
alina "to soothe".
Alix f & m FrenchMedieval French variant of
Alice, also sometimes used as a masculine name. This is the name of the hero (a young Gaulish man) of a French comic book series, which debuted in 1948.
Alma 3 m MormonMeaning unknown. According to the Book of Mormon, this was the name of two prophets, father and son. Alma the Elder was a corrupt priest who repented after meeting the prophet Abinadi. Alma the Younger rebelled against the church, but repented and become a missionary and prophet.
Alte 2 m FrisianOriginally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
alt meaning
"old".
Alun m WelshWelsh form of
Alan. It is also the name of two rivers in Wales.
Alva 2 m EnglishVariant of
Alvah. A famous bearer of this name was the inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
Amir 1 m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Malay, Indonesian, BosnianMeans
"commander, prince" in Arabic. This was originally a title, which has come into English as the Arabic loanword
emir.
Amit 1 m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, NepaliFrom Sanskrit
अमित (amita) meaning
"immeasurable, infinite".
Amon m Egyptian Mythology (Anglicized)From
Ἄμμων (Ammon), the Greek form of Egyptian
jmn (reconstructed as
Yamanu) meaning
"the hidden one". In early Egyptian mythology he was a god of the air, creativity and fertility, who was particularly revered in Thebes. Later, during the Middle Kingdom, his attributes were combined with those of the god
Ra and he was worshipped as the supreme solar deity
Amon-Ra.
Amos m English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Biblical HebrewFrom Hebrew
עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning
"load, burden". Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name,
Amos has been used since the Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the Puritans.
Amse m FrisianOriginally a short form of
Adelmar (and other names starting with the Old German element
adal "noble" and a second element beginning with
m).
Anah f & m BiblicalMeans
"answer" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name belongs to one female character and two male characters.
Anan 1 m & f AkanMeans
"fourth born child" in Akan.
Andy m & f EnglishDiminutive of
Andrew or sometimes
Andrea 2. American pop artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a famous bearer of this name.
Ange m & f FrenchFrench masculine and feminine form of
Angelus (see
Angel).
Anil m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, NepaliDerived from Sanskrit
अनिल (anila) meaning
"air, wind".
Anis m ArabicMeans
"friendly, friend" in Arabic, from the root
أنس (ʾanisa) meaning "to be friendly".
Anne 2 m FrisianShort form of names beginning with the Old German element
arn meaning "eagle".
Anso m GermanicShort form of Germanic names beginning with the element
ansi meaning
"god" (Proto-Germanic *
ansuz).
Ante 2 m FrisianShort form of names beginning with the Old German element
anto "zeal".
Anuj m Hindi, MarathiFrom Sanskrit
अनुज (anuja) meaning
"born later, younger". This name is sometimes given to the younger sibling of an older child.
Aodh m Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
Áed, which meant
"fire". This was a very popular name in early Ireland, being borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings. It has been traditionally Anglicized as
Hugh.
Aqil m Arabic, UrduMeans
"intelligent, wise, reasonable" in Arabic, from the root
عقل (ʿaqala) meaning "to have intelligence, to be reasonable". Aqil ibn Abi Talib was the name of a cousin of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Aram 2 m ArmenianMeaning uncertain. According to the 5th-century Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi this was the name of an ancient ancestor of the Armenian people. A famous bearer was the composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978).
Aran 1 m & f IrishFrom the name of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland.
Aran 3 m & f CatalanFrom the name of a mountainous region in the north of Catalonia where the Occitan language is spoken, originally derived from Basque
haran meaning "valley".
Arda m TurkishPossibly means
"marker, stake" in Turkish.
Areg m ArmenianMeans
"sun, bright" in Armenian (a poetic word).
Ares m Greek MythologyPerhaps from either Greek
ἀρή (are) meaning
"bane, ruin" or
ἄρσην (arsen) meaning
"male". The name first appears as
a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the bloodthirsty god of war in Greek mythology, a son of
Zeus and
Hera.
Arlo m EnglishMeaning 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, meaning "between two highlands".
Arya 1 m & f Persian, 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.
As'ad m ArabicMeans
"happier, luckier" in Arabic, from the root
سعد (saʿida) meaning "to be happy, to be lucky".
Asen m BulgarianMeaning unknown, probably of Turkic origin. This was the name of a 12th-century Bulgarian emperor (Ivan Asen I) and several of his successors.
Asif m Arabic, UrduPossibly derived from the Hebrew name
Asaph. In the Quran
27:40 an unnamed person magically transports the Queen of Sheba's throne to Solomon's court. According to some Islamic traditions, the person's name was Asif (or Asaf) and he was Solomon's vizier.
Asse m FrisianOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the elements
asc meaning
"ash tree" or
ansi meaning
"god".
Aştî f & m KurdishMeans
"peace, tranquility" in Kurdish.
Atif m Arabic, UrduMeans
"affection, kindness" in Arabic, derived from the root
عطف (ʿaṭafa) meaning "to incline, to be fond of".
Aton m Egyptian MythologyFrom Egyptian
jtn meaning
"solar disk". 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 14th-century BC reign of the pharaoh
Akhenaton, who proclaimed Aton was the only god.
Atuf m ArabicMeans
"affectionate, loving" in Arabic, a derivative of
عطف (ʿaṭafa) meaning "to incline, to be fond of".
Atum m Egyptian MythologyFrom Egyptian
jtm or
tmw, derived from
tm meaning
"completion, totality". This was the name of an Egyptian creator god. He was first prominently worshipped in Heliopolis during the Old Kingdom.
Awee f & m NavajoFrom Navajo
awéé' meaning
"baby".
Ayan 1 m BengaliMeans
"road, path, solar path" in Bengali, from Sanskrit
अयन (ayana) meaning
"path, progress".
Ayan 2 f & m Azerbaijani, KazakhMeans
"clear, obvious, revelation" in Kazakh and Azerbaijani, from Arabic
عيان (ʿiyān) meaning "witnessing, seeing, clear", a derivative of
عاين (ʿāyana) meaning "to see". It is feminine in Azerbaijan and masculine in Kazakhstan.
Ayaz m Turkish, Azerbaijani, UrduFrom Turkish and Azerbaijani
ayaz meaning
"frost" or
"dry and cold air". This was the name of a slave and later companion of the 11th-century sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.
Azel m BiblicalMeans
"reserved" in Hebrew. This is both the name of a minor character and a place name in the Old Testament.
Aziz m Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Indonesian, MalayMeans
"powerful, respected, beloved" in Arabic, derived from the root
عزّ (ʿazza) meaning "to be powerful" or "to be cherished". In Islamic tradition
العزيز (al-ʿAzīz) is one of the 99 names of Allah. A notable bearer of the name was Al-'Aziz, a 10th-century Fatimid caliph.
Ba'al m Semitic Mythology, Biblical HebrewHebrew form of Semitic root
bʿl meaning
"lord, master, possessor". This was the title of various deities, often associated with storms and fertility, who were worshipped by the Canaanites, Phoenicians, and other peoples of the ancient Near East. It was particularly applied to the god
Hadad.
Baba m AzerbaijaniFrom a nickname or honorific meaning
"old man" in Azerbaijani.
Babe m & f EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"baby", also a slang term meaning
"attractive person". As a feminine name, in some cases it is a diminutive of
Barbara.
Baer m LimburgishShort form of
Albaer and other Limburgish names ending in
baer, often derived from the Germanic element
beraht meaning "bright".
Bakr m ArabicMeans
"young camel" in Arabic.
Abu Bakr was a father-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammad and the first caliph of the Muslim world.
Baqi m ArabicMeans
"eternal" in Arabic. This was the pen name of a 16th-century Turkish poet.
Bård m NorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Bárðr, which was derived from the elements
bǫð "battle" and
friðr "peace".
Batu m MongolianMeans
"strong, firm" in Mongolian. Batu Khan was a 13th-century Mongol leader, the founder of the Golden Horde.
Bear m English (Modern)From the English word for the animal, derived from Old English
bera, probably derived from a root meaning "brown".
Beau m & f English, Dutch (Modern)Means
"beautiful, handsome" in French. It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. In Margaret Mitchell's novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) this is the name of Ashley and Melanie's son.
... [more] Beck m & f English (Rare)From a surname of English, German or Scandinavian origins, all derived from related words meaning
"stream". As a feminine name, in some cases it is a short form of
Rebecca. A noted bearer is the American rock musician Beck Hansen (1970-), born Bek David Campbell, who goes by the stage name Beck.
Bede m History (Ecclesiastical)Modern form of the Old English name
Baeda, possibly related to Old English
bed "prayer". Saint Bede, called the Venerable Bede, was an 8th-century historian, scholar and Doctor of the Church.
Béla m HungarianThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. It could be derived from Hungarian
bél meaning
"guts, bowel" or Old Slavic
bělŭ meaning
"white". This was the name of four Hungarian kings. It was also borne by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945).
Beli m Welsh MythologyProbably a Welsh derivative of
Belenus. Beli Mawr was a Welsh ancestor deity who established several royal lines in Wales.
Biff m English (Rare)From a nickname that was based on the English word
biff, which means
"punch, hit, strike".
Bile m Irish MythologyPossibly an Irish form of
Belenus, though it may derive from an Irish word meaning
"sacred tree, scion, hero". In Irish mythology this was the name of one of the Milesians who was drowned while invading Ireland.
Bill m EnglishShort form of
William. This spelling was not commonly used before the 19th century. The change in the initial consonant may have been influenced by an earlier Irish pronunciation of the name. Famous bearers include basketball player Bill Russell (1934-2022), comedian Bill Cosby (1937-), American president Bill Clinton (1946-), and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955-), all of whom were born with the name
William.
Blue m & f English (Rare)From the English word for the colour, derived via Norman French from a Frankish word (replacing the native Old English cognate
blaw). Despite the fact that this name was used by the American musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2012 for their first daughter, it has not come into general use in the United States.
Boaz m Biblical, Hebrew, Dutch, Biblical HebrewMeans
"swiftness" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries
Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with
Jachin).
Bode m Low GermanFrom the Germanic name
Bodo, derived from the Old High German element
bot, Old Saxon
bod meaning
"command, order" (Proto-Germanic *
budą). Saint Bodo, also called Leudinus, was a 7th-century bishop of Toul in northern France.
Bora 1 m TurkishMeans
"storm, squall" in Turkish, ultimately related to Greek
Βορέας (Boreas), the name of the god of the north wind.
Bors m Arthurian CycleFrom French
Bohort, probably from Old French
behort or
bohort meaning
"jousting" or
"jousting lance". First appearing in the 13th-century
Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Bors was one of Arthur's knights who quested for the Holy Grail. His father, the king of Gaunnes, was also named Bors.
Boyd m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was possibly derived from the name of the island of Bute (
Bód in Gaelic).
Brad m EnglishShort form of
Bradley,
Bradford and other names beginning with
Brad. A famous bearer is American actor Brad Pitt (1963-).
Bram m English, DutchShort form of
Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote
Dracula.
Brân m Welsh MythologyMeans
"raven" in Welsh. According to the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi, Brân the Blessed (called
Bendigeidfran) was a giant king of Britain. He was the son of the divine figure
Llŷr. After his sister
Branwen was mistreated by her husband the Irish king Matholwch, Brân led an attack on Ireland (the text says that he was so big he was able to wade there). Although victorious, the British lost all except seven men with Brân being mortally wounded by a poisoned spear. He asked the survivors to cut of his head and return with it to Britain. The head continued to speak for many years until it was buried in London.
Bran 1 m Irish, Irish Mythology, Old IrishMeans
"raven" in Irish. In Irish legend Bran mac Febail was a mariner who was involved in several adventures on his quest to find the Otherworld.
Bror m SwedishFrom the Old Norse name
Bróðir meaning
"brother".
Bryn m & f Welsh, English (Modern)Means
"hill, mound" in Welsh. In Wales it is almost always a masculine name, though elsewhere in the English-speaking world it can be unisex (see
Brynn).
Buck m EnglishFrom an English nickname meaning simply "buck, male deer", ultimately from Old English
bucc.
Bugs m Popular CultureFrom the slang term
bugs meaning
"crazy, unstable". Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon rabbit originally developed in the 1930s by staff at Leon Schlesinger Productions. He was named for the animator Ben "Bugs" Hardaway.
Buzz m EnglishFrom a nickname derived from the onomatopoeic word
buzz meaning
"buzz, hum, murmur". A notable bearer is American astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-), one of the first people to walk on the moon. The character Buzz Lightyear from the movie
Toy Story (1995) was named after Aldrin.
Cade m EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally derived from a nickname meaning
"round" in Old English.
Cáel m Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
cáel meaning
"slender". In Irish legend Cáel was a warrior of the Fianna and the lover of Créd.
Cain m Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
קָיִן (Qayin) possibly meaning
"acquired", from the root
קָנָה (qana) meaning "to acquire, to purchase". In Genesis in the Old Testament Cain is the first son of
Adam and
Eve. He killed his brother
Abel after God accepted Abel's offering of meat instead of his offering of plant-based foods. After this Cain was banished to be a wanderer.
Carl m German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, EnglishGerman and Scandinavian variant of
Karl (see
Charles). Noteworthy bearers of the name include the Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who founded modern taxonomy, the German mathematician Carl Gauss (1777-1855), who made contributions to number theory and algebra as well as physics and astronomy, and the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961), who founded analytical psychology. It was imported to America in the 19th century by German immigrants.