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.
Andor 1 m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Arnþórr, derived from the element
ǫrn "eagle" combined with the name of the Norse god
Þórr (see
Thor).
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).
Angel m & f English, Bulgarian, MacedonianFrom the medieval Latin masculine name
Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger"). It has never been very common in the English-speaking world, where it is sometimes used as a feminine name in modern times.
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".
Anish m Hindi, MarathiMeans
"supreme, paramount, without a ruler", from the Sanskrit negative prefix
अ (a) and
ईश (īśa) meaning "ruler, lord".
Anker m DanishFrom the Old Danish name
Ankarl, of uncertain meaning, possibly a combination of Old Norse
ǫrn "eagle" and
karl "man".
Anne 2 m FrisianShort form of names beginning with the Old German element
arn meaning "eagle".
Ansar m Arabic, UrduMeans
"helpers" in Arabic, referring to those who helped the Prophet
Muhammad when he came to Medina.
Ansel m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the given name
Anselm. A famous bearer was American photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984).
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".
Anton m German, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, Croatian, Romanian, Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, EnglishForm of
Antonius (see
Anthony) used in various languages. A notable bearer was the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904).
Anuj m Hindi, MarathiFrom Sanskrit
अनुज (anuja) meaning
"born later, younger". This name is sometimes given to the younger sibling of an older child.
Anwar m Arabic, Urdu, IndonesianMeans
"brighter, more luminous" in Arabic, related to
نور (nūr) meaning "light". This name was borne by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), who was assassinated three years after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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".
Arash m Persian, Persian MythologyFrom Avestan
𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬑𐬱𐬀 (Ərəxsha), of uncertain meaning, possibly from a root meaning
"bear". In Iranian legend Arash was an archer who was ordered by the Turans to shoot an arrow, the landing place of which would determine the new location of the Iran-Turan border. Arash climbed a mountain and fired his arrow with such strength that it flew for several hours and landed on the banks of the far-away Oxus River.
Arata m JapaneseFrom Japanese
新 (arata) meaning "fresh, new". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
Arawn m Welsh MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of the god of the underworld, called Annwfn, in Welsh mythology.
Arda m TurkishPossibly means
"marker, stake" in Turkish.
Arden m & f EnglishFrom an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning
"high".
Ardit m AlbanianMeans
"golden day" in Albanian, from
ar "gold" and
ditë "day".
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.
Argus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
Ἄργος (Argos), derived from
ἀργός (argos) meaning
"glistening, shining". This name was borne by several characters from Greek myth, including the man who built the Argo and a giant with one hundred eyes.
Ariel m & f Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans
"lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play
The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem
The Rape of the Lock (1712), 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 Disney film
The Little Mermaid (1989).
Aries m AstronomyMeans
"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.
Arius m Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἄρειος (Areios), derived from the name of the Greek god
Ares. Arius was a 4th-century Christian theologian, the founder of the doctrine known as Arianism (which was condemned as heretical in his lifetime).
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".
Armas m FinnishMeans
"beloved" in Finnish (an archaic poetic word).
Armel m Breton, FrenchBreton and French form of the Old Welsh name
Arthmail, which was composed of the elements
arth "bear" and
mael "prince, chieftain". This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany.
Árpád m HungarianFrom 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.
Arran m ScottishFrom the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.
Artak m ArmenianOld Armenian name, probably derived from Old Persian
𐎠𐎼𐎫 (arta) meaning
"truth", perhaps originally a short form of names beginning with that element.
Artur m Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German, Estonian, Swedish, Albanian, ArmenianForm of
Arthur in several languages.
Aruna m & f Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, HindiMeans
"reddish brown, dawn" in Sanskrit. The Hindu god Aruna (
अरुण) is the charioteer who drives the sun god
Surya across the sky. The modern feminine form
अरुणा (spelled with a final long vowel) is also transcribed as
Aruna, however the modern masculine form is
Arun.
Arwyn m WelshFrom the Welsh intensifying prefix
ar- and
gwyn meaning
"white, blessed".
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".
Asahi m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
旭 (asahi) or
朝日 (asahi) both meaning "morning sun". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
Asaph m BiblicalMeans
"collector" in Hebrew. This name belongs to several minor characters in the Old Testament.
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.
Asger m DanishFrom the Old Norse name
Ásgeirr, derived from the elements
áss meaning "god" and
geirr meaning "spear". It is a cognate of
Ansgar.
Ashot m ArmenianMeaning uncertain, possibly related to Armenian
աշխարհ (ashkharh) meaning
"world, land", or possibly of Persian origin. This name was borne by several medieval Armenian kings, including the 9th-century Ashot the Great who restored the monarchy after a period of Arab domination.
Ashur m Semitic 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.
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.
Aslan m Turkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian, LiteratureFrom 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 author C. S. Lewis later used the name
Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his
Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.
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.
Aston m & f English (Rare)From a surname that was originally derived from either a place name meaning "east town" in Old English or from the given name
Æðelstan.
Astor m English (Rare)From a German and French surname derived from Occitan
astur meaning
"hawk". The wealthy and influential Astor family, prominent in British and American society, originated in the Italian Alps.
Asuka f & m JapaneseFrom 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.
Athol m & f ScottishFrom
Atholl, the name of a district in Scotland, from Scottish Gaelic
Athall, possibly derived from Old Irish
ath Fhotla "new Ireland".
Atif m Arabic, UrduMeans
"affection, kindness" in Arabic, derived from the root
عطف (ʿaṭafa) meaning "to incline, to be fond of".
Atlas m Greek MythologyPossibly means
"enduring" from Greek
τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
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.
Audie m & f EnglishIn the case of the famed American soldier Audie Murphy (1925-1971), it is of uncertain meaning. As a feminine name, it can be a diminutive of
Audrey.
Aulus m Ancient RomanPossibly from Latin
avulus meaning
"little grandfather", though it could be from the Etruscan name
Aule, which was possibly derived from
avils meaning "years". This was a Roman praenomen, or given name. Folk etymology connects it to Latin
aula meaning "palace".
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.
Ayele m AmharicMeans
"become strong, become powerful" in Amharic.
Ayhan m & f TurkishDerived from Turkish
ay meaning "moon" and
han meaning "khan, ruler, leader".
Ayman m ArabicMeans
"right-handed, blessed, lucky" in Arabic, a derivative of
يمين (yamīn) meaning "right hand".
Ayrat m Tatar, BashkirMeaning uncertain, possibly from Arabic
خيرات (khayrāt) meaning
"good deeds". Alternatively it could be from the name of the Oirat people, a western Mongol tribe.
Aytaç m & f TurkishDerived from Turkish
ay meaning "moon" and
taç meaning "crown" (of Persian origin).
Ayumu m JapaneseFrom Japanese
歩 (ayu) meaning "walk, step" and
夢 (mu) meaning "dream, vision". It can also be written with
歩 alone, or with other combinations of kanji.
Azel m BiblicalMeans
"reserved" in Hebrew. This is both the name of a minor character and a place name in the Old Testament.
Aziel m Biblical, Biblical HebrewPossibly means
"God comforts" in Hebrew, from the roots
עוּז (ʿuz) meaning "to take refuge" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Otherwise it might a variant of
Uzziel. This is the name of a musician (also called Jaaziel) 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.
Azure f & m English (Rare)From the English word that means "sky blue". It is ultimately (via Old French, Latin and Arabic) from Persian
لاجورد (lājvard) meaning "azure, lapis lazuli".
Baako m & f AkanMeans
"first born child" in Akan.
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.
Babak m PersianFrom Middle Persian
𐭯𐭠𐭯𐭪𐭩 (Papak) meaning
"little father". This was the name of the father of
Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian Empire in Persia. It was also borne by the 9th-century resistance leader Babak Khorramdin.
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.