Aali m ArabicMeans
"high, lofty, sublime" in Arabic, from the root
علا (ʿalā) meaning "to be high".
Aamir 1 m Arabic, UrduMeans
"prosperous, substantial, populated" in Arabic, related to the root
عمر (ʿamara) meaning "to live long, to thrive".
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".
Aarni m FinnishFinnish form of
Arne 1, also associated with the archaic word
aarni meaning
"treasure".
Aaron m English, French, German, Finnish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
אַהֲרֹן (ʾAharon), which is most likely of unknown Egyptian origin. Other theories claim a Hebrew derivation, and suggest meanings such as
"high mountain" or
"exalted". In the Old Testament this name is borne by the older brother of
Moses. He acted as a spokesman for his brother when they appealed to the pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. Aaron's rod produced miracles and plagues to intimidate the pharaoh. After the departure from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai, God installed Aaron as the first high priest of the Israelites and promised that his descendants would become the priesthood.
... [more] Aarre m FinnishMeans
"treasure" in Finnish. It may also be used as a variant of the uncommon older name
Aaretti, itself from a Low German form of
Arnold.
Aatto m FinnishFinnish form of
Adolf. It also means
"eve, evening before" in Finnish, as the day before an important holiday.
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.
Ba'al Hammon m Semitic MythologyFrom Phoenician
𐤁𐤏𐤋 (baʿl) meaning "lord" prefixing another word of uncertain meaning. This was the name of the supreme god worshipped in the Phoenician city of Carthage, alongside his consort
Tanith.
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.
Babur m UrduFrom a Persian word meaning
"tiger". This was the nickname of Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, the 16th-century founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
Babylas m Late Greek, French (Rare)Derived from the name of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. Saint Babylas was a 3rd-century patriarch of Antioch who was martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius.
Bademus m History (Ecclesiastical)Latinized form of a Persian name of unknown meaning. Saint Bademus was a 4th-century Persian martyr who was a victim of Shapur II's persecutions.
Baer m LimburgishShort form of
Albaer and other Limburgish names ending in
baer, often derived from the Germanic element
beraht meaning "bright".
Bagadata m Old PersianOld Persian name derived from
𐏎 (baga) meaning "god" and
𐎭𐎠𐎫 (data) meaning "given". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Persian satrap under the Seleucid Empire.
Baggi m Old NorseByname derived from Old Norse
baggi meaning
"bag, pack".
Bahadır m TurkishTurkish form of Persian
بهادر (bahādor), itself from Turkic
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior".
Bahadur m Hindi, NepaliFrom Persian
بهادر (bahādor), itself from Turkic
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior". This was the name of rulers of the Mughal Empire.
Bahman m Persian, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of Avestan
𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵 (Vohu Manah) meaning
"good mind". This was the name of a Zoroastrian god (one of the Amesha Spenta) associated with domestic animals. The eleventh month of the Iranian calendar was named for him.
Bahram m Persian, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of Avestan
𐬬𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬖𐬥𐬀 (Vərəthraghna) meaning
"victory over resistance". This was the name of a Zoroastrian god (one of the Amesha Spenta) associated with victory and war. It was also borne by several Sasanian emperors. It is also the Persian name for the planet Mars.
Bai m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
白 (bái) meaning "white, pure",
百 (bǎi) meaning "one hundred, many" or
柏 (bǎi) meaning "cypress tree, cedar" (which is usually only masculine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well. This name was borne in the 8th century by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, whose given was
白.
Baihu m Chinese MythologyFrom Chinese
白 (bái) meaning "white, pure" and
虎 (hǔ) meaning "tiger". This is the Chinese name of the White Tiger, associated with the west and the autumn season.
Bailey m & f EnglishFrom an English surname derived from Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.
... [more] Baishan m ApacheMeans
"knife" in Apache. This was the name of a 19th-century chief of the Tchihende Apache.
Bakari m SwahiliFrom the Swahili name for the constellation Boötes.
Baker m English (Modern)From an English occupational surname derived from Old English
bakere meaning
"baker".
Bakır m TurkishTurkish form of
Baqir. It coincides with the Turkish word
bakır meaning "copper".
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.
Balam m MayanMeans
"jaguar" in Mayan (Yucatec Maya
báalam; K'iche' Maya
balam).
Balarabe m HausaMeans
"born on Wednesday" in Hausa, derived from
Laraba "Wednesday", from Arabic
الأربعاء (al-ʾarbiʿāʾ), itself derived from
أربعة (ʾarbaʿa) meaning "four".
Balarama m HinduismFrom Sanskrit
बल (bala) meaning "strength, might" combined with the name
Rama 1. According to the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata he was the elder brother of
Krishna. He was associated with agriculture and used a plough as a weapon.
Balbus m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen meaning
"stammerer" in Latin. This was a family name of the mother of Emperor Augustus, Atia Balba Caesonia.
Balder m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Baldr meaning
"hero, lord, prince", derived from
baldr meaning "brave, bold". In Norse mythology Balder was the handsome son of
Odin and
Frigg. Because of the disturbing dreams he had when he was young, his mother extracted an oath from every thing in the world that it would not harm him. However the devious god
Loki learned that she had overlooked mistletoe. Being jealous, he tricked the blind god
Hoder into throwing a branch of mistletoe at Balder, which killed him.
Baldilo m GermanicOriginally a diminutive of names containing the Old German element
bald meaning
"bold, brave" (Proto-Germanic *
balþaz).
Baldric m English (Archaic)Derived from the Old German elements
bald "bold, brave" and
rih "ruler, king". It was borne by a 7th-century Frankish saint, the founder of the monastery of Montfaucon. The Normans introduced this name to Britain, and it was common in the Middle Ages.
Baldwin m English, GermanicMeans
"bold friend", derived from the Old German elements
bald "bold, brave" and
wini "friend". In the Middle Ages this was a popular name in Flanders and among the Normans, who brought it to Britain. It was borne by one of the leaders of the First Crusade, an 11th-century nobleman from Flanders. After the crusaders conquered Jerusalem, he was crowned as the king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Balfour m English (Rare)From a Scottish surname, originally from various place names, themselves derived from Gaelic
baile "village" and
pòr "pasture, crop, cropland".
Balor m Irish MythologyMeaning uncertain. In Irish mythology Balor was a giant king of the Fomorians. He had an evil eye that could destroy opposing armies, though it took four men to pull open the eyelid. In battle with the Tuatha Dé Danann he slew their king
Nuada, but was himself killed when the hero
Lugh shot a stone into his eye.
Balthazar m Judeo-Christian-Islamic LegendVariant of
Belshazzar. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia. This name was utilized by Shakespeare for minor characters in
The Comedy of Errors (1594) and
The Merchant of Venice (1596).
Bandar m ArabicMeans
"harbour, port" in Arabic (of Persian origin).
Banks m English (Modern)From an English surname that that was given to a person who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.
Banquo m LiteratureMeaning uncertain, possibly derived from Scottish Gaelic
bàn "white" and
cù "dog, hound". This is the name of a character in William Shakespeare's semi-historical tragedy
Macbeth (1606). He earlier appears in
Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), one of Shakespeare's sources for the play.
Bao f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
宝 (bǎo) meaning "treasure, jewel, precious, rare",
褒 (bāo) meaning "praise, honour" or
苞 (bāo) meaning "bud" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are possible as well.
Baptiste m FrenchMeans
"baptist" in French, originally deriving from Greek
βάπτω (bapto) meaning "to dip". This name is usually given in honour of Saint John the Baptist, and as such it is often paired with the name
Jean.
Baqi m ArabicMeans
"eternal" in Arabic. This was the pen name of a 16th-century Turkish poet.
Baqir m ArabicMeans
"opener, discoverer" in Arabic, from the root
بقر (baqara) meaning "to split open". Muhammad al-Baqir was the fifth imam of the Shia Muslims.
Barack m VariousIn the case of the former American president Barack Obama (1961-), he was named after his Kenyan father. His father had Anglicized it from the original spelling
Baraka.
Baran f & m Persian, Turkish, KurdishMeans
"rain" in Persian. It is typically feminine in Persian and masculine in Turkish and Kurdish.
Barclay m English (Rare)From a Scottish and English surname that was derived from the English place name
Berkeley, itself from Old English
beorc "birch" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Bård m NorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Bárðr, which was derived from the elements
bǫð "battle" and
friðr "peace".
Barlaam m Judeo-Christian-Islamic LegendMeaning unknown. In Christian legends Barlaam (recorded as Greek
Βαρλαάμ) was a 3rd-century hermit who converted Josaphat, the son of an Indian king, to Christianity. The story is based on that of the Buddha. This name was also borne by two saints.
Baron m EnglishFrom the noble title, derived from Latin
baro (genitive
baronis) meaning "man, freeman", probably ultimately of Frankish origin.
Barrett m EnglishFrom a surname probably meaning
"quarrelsome, deceptive" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Bartholomew m English, BiblicalEnglish form of
Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning
"son of Talmai". In the New Testament
Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle
Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.
Baruch m Biblical, Biblical Latin, HebrewFrom the Hebrew name
בָּרוּך (Baruḵ) meaning
"blessed". In the Old Testament this is the name of a companion of the prophet Jeremiah, acting as his scribe and assistant. The deuterocanonical Book of Baruch was supposedly written by him. A famous bearer was Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch-Jewish rationalist philosopher.
Basajaun m Basque MythologyMeans
"lord of the woods" from Basque
baso "woods" and
jaun "lord". This is the name of a character in Basque folklore, the Old Man of the Woods.
Basil 1 m EnglishFrom the Greek name
Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from
βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning
"king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
Basir m ArabicMeans
"wise" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
البصير (al-Baṣīr) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Bassanio m LiteratureUsed by Shakespeare for the friend of
Antonio and suitor of
Portia in his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596). It is probably from the Latin word
bassus meaning
"thick, low", or from the related Roman cognomen
Bassianus (borne by a 4th-century saint who was a bishop of Lodi).
Batraz m Ossetian, Caucasian MythologyPossibly from Turkic
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior, brave". This is the name of the leader of the superhuman Narts in Caucasian mythology.
Batu m MongolianMeans
"strong, firm" in Mongolian. Batu Khan was a 13th-century Mongol leader, the founder of the Golden Horde.
Batuhan m TurkishCombination of
Batu and Turkish
han meaning "khan, ruler, leader", referring to the 13th-century Mongol ruler Batu Khan.
Batyr m TurkmenTurkmen form of the Turkic word
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior".
Baudilio m SpanishFrom
Baudilius, a Latinized form of a possibly Frankish name formed of the element
bald "bold, brave". Saint Baudilius (or Baudilus) was a 3rd or 4th-century saint who was martyred at Nîmes in France.
Baxter m EnglishFrom an occupational surname that meant
"(female) baker", from Old English
bæcere and a feminine agent suffix.
Bayard m Carolingian CycleDerived from Old French
baiart meaning
"bay coloured". In medieval French poetry Bayard was a bay horse owned by Renaud de Montauban and his brothers. The horse could magically adjust its size to carry multiple riders.
Baylor m & f English (Modern)From a surname, possibly an Americanized form of the German surname
Beiler, derived from Middle High German
beile meaning
"measuring stick".
Cade m EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally derived from a nickname meaning
"round" in Old English.
Cadell m Welsh (Rare)From Old Welsh
Catell, derived from
cat "battle" and a diminutive suffix. This was the name of two early kings of Powys in Wales.
Caden m English (Modern)Sometimes explained as deriving from the Irish surname
Caden, which is an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Mac Cadáin, itself from the given name
Cadán (of unknown meaning). In actuality, the popularity of this name in America beginning in the 1990s is due to its sound — it shares its fashionable
den suffix sound with other trendy names like
Hayden,
Aidan and
Braden.
Cadeyrn m Welsh (Rare)From Old Welsh
Catigirn meaning
"battle king", derived from
cat "battle" and
tigirn "king, monarch". This was the name of a 5th-century king of Powys in Wales, the son of
Vortigern.
Cadfael m Welsh (Rare)From Old Welsh
Catmail meaning
"battle prince", from
cat "battle" and
mael "prince". This was apparently the birth name of Saint Cadoc. It was used by the British author Ellis Peters for the main character in her books
The Cadfael Chronicles, first released in 1977.
Cadfan m Old WelshFrom an Old Welsh name, recorded in Latinized forms such as
Catamanus, meaning
"battle peak" from
cat "battle" and
bann "peak". Saint Cadfan, from Brittany, was a 6th-century missionary to Wales.
Cadmus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek
Κάδμος (Kadmos), of uncertain meaning. In Greek mythology Cadmus was the son of the Phoenician king
Agenor. He was sent by his father to rescue his sister
Europa, who had been abducted by
Zeus, although he did not succeed in retrieving her. According to legend, Cadmus founded the city of Thebes and introduced the alphabet to Greece.
Cadoc m Old WelshFrom an Old Welsh name, recorded in Latinized forms such as
Catocus, derived from
cat meaning
"battle". This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who was martyred by the Saxons.
Cadwaladr m WelshFrom Old Welsh
Catgualatr (also recorded in many other spellings) meaning
"leader of the battle", from
cat "battle" and
gwaladr "leader". This was the name of a 7th-century king of Gwynedd. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth he was the last king of all of the Britons. This name was also borne by a 7th-century Welsh saint.
Cadwgan m Welsh (Rare)From Old Welsh
Catguocaun (and many other spellings) meaning
"glory in battle", from
cat "battle" and
guocaun "glory, honour". It appears briefly in the medieval Welsh tale
The Dream of Rhonabwy.
Caecilius m Ancient RomanOriginal Latin masculine form of
Cecilia. Saint Caecilius was a 1st-century missionary to Granada, Spain. It was also part of the full name of Saint
Cyprian, Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus.
Caedmon m History (Ecclesiastical)Meaning unknown, though the first element is likely connected to Brythonic
kad meaning "battle". Saint Caedmon was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon poet who supposedly received his poetic inspiration from a dream. Our only knowledge of him is through the 8th-century writings of the historian Bede.
Cáel m Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
cáel meaning
"slender". In Irish legend Cáel was a warrior of the Fianna and the lover of Créd.
Caelestis m Late RomanLate Latin name meaning
"of the sky, heavenly", a derivative of Latin
caelum "heaven, sky".
Caesar m Ancient RomanFrom a Roman cognomen that possibly meant
"hairy", from Latin
caesaries "hair". Julius Caesar and his adopted son Julius Caesar Octavianus (commonly known as Augustus) were both rulers of the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC.
Caesar was used as a title by the emperors that came after them.
Caeso m Ancient RomanRoman praenomen, or given name, that was probably derived from Latin
caesius meaning
"blue-grey". This praenomen was only used by a few families.
Çağatay m TurkishFrom the Mongolian name
Tsagadai (of unknown meaning), which was borne by the second son of
Genghis Khan, known as
Chagatai in English.
Çağrı m & f TurkishMeans
"invitation" or
"falcon" in Turkish.
Cahir m IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Cathaoir, possibly meaning
"battle man" from Old Irish
cath "battle" and
fer "man".
Cailean m Scottish GaelicMeans
"whelp, young dog" in Scottish Gaelic. This name was borne by Cailean Mór, a 13th-century Scottish lord and ancestor of Clan Campbell.
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.
Cairbre m IrishMeans
"charioteer" in Irish. This was the name of two semi-legendary high kings of Ireland.