Browse Names - Behind the Name

Aiman 2 m Arabic, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic أيمن (see Ayman), as well as the usual Malay form.

Arwyn m Welsh
From the Welsh intensifying prefix ar- and gwyn meaning "white, blessed".

Ayman m Arabic
Means "right-handed, blessed, lucky" in Arabic, a derivative of يمين (yamīn) meaning "right hand".

Barack m Various
In 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.

Barak 2 m Arabic
From Arabic بركة (baraka) meaning "blessing".

Barouch m Biblical Greek
Biblical Greek form of Baruch.

Barra m Irish
Diminutive of Finbar or Bairrfhionn.

Barrie m English
Variant of Barry.

Barry m Irish, English
Anglicized form of Barra.

Baruch m Biblical, Biblical Latin, Hebrew
From 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.

Barukh m Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Baruch.

Bendigeidfran m Welsh Mythology
From Welsh bendigaid "blessed" combined with the lenited form of the name Brân. This is another name for Brân the Blessed.

Benedick m Literature
Variant of Benedict used by Shakespeare in his comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599).

Benedict m English
From the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.

Benedictus m Late Roman, Dutch (Rare)
Original Latin form of Benedict. This is also the official Dutch form, used on birth certificates but not typically in daily life.

Bennett m English
Medieval form of Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.

Berwyn m Welsh
Means "white top" from the Welsh elements barr "top, head" and gwyn "white, blessed". This is the name of a mountain range in Wales.

Caerwyn m Welsh
Derived from the Welsh elements caer "fortress" and gwyn "white, blessed".

Dalitso m & f Chewa
Means "blessing" in Chewa.

Delwyn m Welsh
From Welsh del "pretty" combined with gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used as a given name since the start of the 20th century.

Dilwyn m Welsh
From Welsh dilys "genuine" and gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used since the late 19th century.

Eirwyn m Welsh
Masculine form of Eirwen.

Eymen m Turkish
Turkish form of Ayman.

Finnén m Old Irish
Variant of Finnian.

Finnian m Irish
Derived from Old Irish finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).

Fionn m Irish, Irish Mythology
From the Old Irish name Finn, derived from finn meaning "white, blessed". It occurs frequently in Irish history and legends, the most noteworthy bearer being Fionn mac Cumhaill, the central character of one of the four main cycles of Irish mythology, the Fenian Cycle. Fionn was born as Deimne, and acquired his nickname because of his fair hair. He grew all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon, and later became the leader of the Fianna after defeating the fire-breathing demon Áillen. He was the father of Oisín and grandfather of Oscar.

Gwendal m Breton
Derived from Breton gwenn meaning "white, blessed" and tal meaning "brow, forehead".

Gwenneg m Breton
Derived from Breton gwenn meaning "white, blessed" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Gwenneg was an 8th-century monk of Brittany.

Gwyn m Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Means "white, blessed" in Welsh. In Welsh legend Gwyn was a king of the Otherworld and the leader of the Wild Hunt. He appears in the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen, where he is one of the many who help Culhwch hunt the monstrous boar Trwyth. The story also tells of his rivalry with Gwythyr for the beautiful Creiddylad.

Gwynfor m Welsh
Derived from the Welsh element gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with maur meaning "great, large". This name was created in the 19th century.

Gwynn m Welsh
Variant of Gwyn.

Heddwyn m Welsh
Derived from Welsh hedd "peace" and gwyn "white, blessed". This name has been given in honour of the poet Ellis Humphrey Evans (1887-1917), who used Hedd Wyn as his bardic name.

Helge m Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German, Finnish
From the Old Norse name Helgi, derived from heilagr meaning "holy, blessed".

Kari 2 m Finnish
Form of Macarius (see Macario) used by the Finnish author Juhani Aho in his novel Panu (1897).

Macario m Spanish
Spanish form of the Latin name Macarius, derived from the Greek name Μακάριος (Makarios), which was in turn derived from Greek μάκαρ (makar) meaning "blessed, happy". This was the name of several early saints.

Macarius m Late Greek (Latinized)
Latin form of Macario.

Madalitso m & f Chewa
Means "blessings" in Chewa.

Makarios m Late Greek
Greek form of Macario.

Mubarak m Arabic
Means "blessed" in Arabic, from the root برك (baraka) meaning "to kneel down, to be blessed".

Phúc m & f Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 福 (phúc) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing".

Sibusiso m Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele
Means "blessed" in Zulu, Swazi and Ndebele, from busisa "to bless".

Svatopluk m Czech
Means "sacred people", derived from the Slavic elements svętŭ "sacred, holy" and pŭlkŭ "people, host, army". Svatopluk the Great was a 9th-century ruler of Great Moravia, a region centered around the modern Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Wyn m Welsh
Derived from Welsh gwyn meaning "white, blessed".

Wynn m Welsh
Variant of Wyn.

Wynne 1 m & f Welsh
Variant of Wyn, sometimes used as a feminine form.

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