KEAHI f & m HawaiianMeans
"the fire" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
ahi "fire".
KEALA f & m HawaiianMeans
"the path" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
ala "path".
KEALOHA f & m HawaiianMeans
"the loved one" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
aloha "love".
KEANU m & f HawaiianMeans
"the cool breeze" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
anu "coolness". This name is now associated with Canadian actor Keanu Reeves (1964-).
KEI m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
慧 (kei) meaning "intelligent",
圭 (kei) meaning "gemstone" or
慶 (kei) meaning "congratulate". This name can also be formed from other kanji or kanji combinations.
KELLY m & f Irish, EnglishAnglicized form of the Irish given name
CEALLACH or the surname derived from it
Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
KELSEY f & m EnglishFrom an English surname that is derived from town names in Lincolnshire. It may mean "Cenel's island", from the Old English name
Cenel "fierce" in combination with
eg "island".
KENDALL m & f EnglishFrom a surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwest England meaning
"valley on the river Kent".
KENNEDY f & m English, IrishFrom an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Cinnéidigh meaning
"descendant of CENNÉTIG". The name is often given in honour of assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
KEONE m & f HawaiianMeans
"the homeland" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
one "sand, homeland".
KERRY m & f EnglishFrom the name of the Irish county, called
Ciarraí in Irish Gaelic, which means "
CIAR's people".
KETUT m & f BalinesePossibly from a Balinese word meaning
"small banana". This name is traditionally given to the fourth child.
KHAMPHET m & f LaoFrom Lao
ຄຳ (kham) meaning "gold" and
ເພັດ (phet) meaning "diamond, gem".
KHURSHID m & f Persian, Urdu, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of Avestan
Hvare Khshaeta meaning
"shining sun". In Zoroastrianism this was the name of a Yazata (or angel) who was associated with the sun.
KIM (1) f & m EnglishAt the present it is usually considered a short form of
KIMBERLY, but it in fact predates it as a given name. The author Rudyard Kipling used it for the title hero of his novel
Kim (1901), though in this case it was short for
KIMBALL. In her novel
Show Boat (1926) Edna Ferber used it for a female character who was born on the Mississippi River and was named from the initials of the states Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi. The name was popularized in America by the actresses Kim Hunter (1922-2002) and Kim Novak (1933-), both of whom assumed it as a stage name.
KIRAN f & m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, UrduDerived from Sanskrit
किरण (kirana), which can mean
"dust" or
"thread" or
"sunbeam".
KIRBY m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning
"church settlement" in Old Norse. This name briefly spiked in popularity for American girls in 1982 after the character Kirby Anders Colby was introduced to the soap opera
Dynasty.
KOMANG m & f BalineseMeaning unknown. This name is traditionally given to the third-born child in Balinese families.
KULAP f & m ThaiMeans
"rose" in Thai (of Persian origin).
KUN f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
坤 (kūn) meaning "earth, female", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.
KYO m & f JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
協 or
京 or
郷 or
杏 (see
KYŌ).
KYŌ m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
協 (kyō) meaning "unite, cooperate",
京 (kyō) meaning "capital city",
郷 (kyō) meaning "village",
杏 (kyō) meaning "apricot", or other kanji with the same pronunciation.
KYOU m & f JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
協 or
京 or
郷 or
杏 (see
KYŌ).
KYRIE m & f English (Modern)From the name of a Christian prayer, also called the
Kyrie eleison meaning "Lord, have mercy". It is ultimately from Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning
"lord". In America it was popularized as a masculine name by basketball player Kyrie Irving (1992-), whose name is pronounced differently than the prayer.
LACY f & m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from
Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name that was Latinized as
Lascius.
LAKE m & f English (Rare)From the English word
lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin
lacus.
LAKSHMI f & m Hinduism, Indian, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi, OdiaMeans
"sign, mark" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu goddess of prosperity, good luck, and beauty. She is the wife of
Vishnu and her symbol is the lotus flower, with which she is often depicted.
LAN (1) f & m Chinese, VietnameseFrom Chinese
兰 (lán) meaning "orchid, elegant" (which is usually only feminine) or
岚 (lán) meaning "mountain mist". Other Chinese characters can form this name as well. As a Vietnamese name, it is derived from Sino-Vietnamese
蘭 meaning "orchid".
LAUREN f & m EnglishVariant or feminine form of
LAURENCE (1). Originally a masculine name, it was first popularized as a feminine name by actress Betty Jean Perske (1924-), who used Lauren Bacall as her stage name.
LAVERNE f & m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from a French place name, ultimately derived from the Gaulish word
vern meaning
"alder". It is sometimes associated with the Roman goddess
Laverna or the Latin word
vernus "of spring".
LEE m & f EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from Old English
leah meaning
"clearing". The surname belonged to Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In his honour, it has been commonly used as a given name in the American South.
LEI (2) m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
磊 (lěi) meaning "pile of stones" (which is typically masculine) or
蕾 (lěi) meaning "bud" (typically feminine). Other characters can also form this name.
LEILANI f & m HawaiianMeans
"heavenly flowers" or
"royal child" from Hawaiian
lei "flowers, lei, child" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
LEITH m & f English (Rare)From a surname, originally from the name of a Scottish town (now a district of Edinburgh), which is derived from Gaelic
lìte "wet, damp". It is also the name of the river that flows though Edinburgh.
LENNON m & f English (Modern)From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Leannáin, which means
"descendant of Leannán". The name
Leannán means "lover" in Irish. This surname was borne by musician John Lennon (1940-1980), a member of the Beatles.
LENNOX m & f Scottish, English (Modern)From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms".
LESLIE f & m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from a Scottish place name, probably derived from Gaelic
leas celyn meaning
"garden of holly". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century. In America it was more common as a feminine name after the 1940s.
LI (1) f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
理 (lǐ) meaning "reason, logic",
立 (lì) meaning "stand, establish",
黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn",
力 (lì) meaning "power, capability, influence" (which is usually only masculine) or
丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
LIAN (2) m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
莲 (lián) meaning "lotus, water lily",
濂 (lián) meaning "waterfall", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
LIN m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
林 (lín) meaning "forest" or
琳 (lín) meaning "fine jade, gem". Other characters can also form this name.
LINDSAY f & m English, ScottishFrom an English and Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of the region
Lindsey, which means "
LINCOLN island" in Old English. As a given name it was typically masculine until the 1960s (in Britain) and 1970s (in America) when it became popular for girls, probably due to its similarity to
Linda and because of American actress Lindsay Wagner (1949-).
LINDY m & f EnglishOriginally this was a masculine name, coming into use in America in 1927 when the dance called the Lindy Hop became popular. The dance was probably named for aviator Charles Lindbergh. Later this name was used as a diminutive of
LINDA.
LING f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
灵 (líng) meaning "spirit, soul",
铃 (líng) meaning "bell, chime", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
LIRON m & f HebrewMeans
"song for me" or
"joy for me" in Hebrew.
LOGAN m & f Scottish, EnglishFrom a surname that was originally derived from a Scottish place name meaning
"little hollow" in Scottish Gaelic.
LONDON f & m English (Modern)From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).
LORETO f & m Italian, SpanishFrom the name of a town in Italy, originally called
Lauretum in Latin, meaning "laurel grove". Supposedly in the 13th century the house of the Virgin
Mary was miraculously carried by angels from Nazareth to the town.
LOU f & m English, FrenchShort form of
LOUISE or
LOUIS. Famous bearers include the baseball player Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) and the musician Lou Reed (1942-2013).
LUX f & m VariousDerived from Latin
lux meaning
"light".
LYNN f & m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of
LINDA or names that end in
lyn or
line.
MAACAH f & m BiblicalFrom Hebrew
מָעַך (ma'akh) meaning
"to press, to crush". This name is borne by both male and female characters in the Old Testament.
MACKENZIE f & m EnglishFrom the Gaelic surname
Mac Coinnich, which means
"son of COINNEACH". A famous bearer of the surname was William Lyon MacKenzie (1795-1861), a Canadian journalist and political rebel. As a feminine given name, it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-). In the United Kingdom it is more common as a masculine name.
MADE m & f BalineseFrom Sanskrit
मध्य (madhya) meaning
"middle". This name is traditionally given to the family's second-born child.
MADISON f & m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"son of MAUD". It was not commonly used as a feminine name until after the movie
Splash (1984), in which the main character adopted it as her name after seeing a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City. It was ranked second for girls in the United States by 2001. This rise from obscurity to prominence in only 18 years represents an unprecedented 550,000 percent increase in usage.
... [more] MAHLAH f & m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
מַחְלָה (Machlah), possibly from
חָלָה (chalah) meaning
"weak, sick". This name is used in the Old Testament as both a feminine and masculine name. In some versions of the Bible the masculine name is spelled
Mahalah.
MAITLAND m & f English (Rare)From an English surname that was from a Norman French place name possibly meaning
"inhospitable".
MAKOTO m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
誠 (makoto) meaning "sincerity", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.
MALONE m & f English (Rare)From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Maoil Eoin meaning
"descendant of a disciple of Saint JOHN".
MANAIA f & m MaoriFrom the name of a stylized design common in Maori carvings. It represents a mythological creature with the head of a bird and the body of a human.
MARIA f & m Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicLatin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
MARY).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
... [more] MARIE f & m French, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, DutchFrench and Czech form of
MARIA. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.
... [more] MARLEY f & m English (Modern)From a surname that was taken from a place name meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the Jamaican musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
MARLOWE f & m English (Modern)From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"remnants of a lake" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).
MASAMI f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
成 (masa) meaning "become" or
正 (masa) meaning "right, proper" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji.
MATIJA m & f Slovene, Croatian, SerbianSlovene, Croatian and Serbian form of
MATTHIAS, used to refer to the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. It is occasionally used as a feminine name.
MĀUI m & f Hawaiian, Polynesian MythologyMeaning unknown. In Hawaiian mythology Māui was a trickster who created the Hawaiian Islands by having his brothers fish them out of the sea. He was also responsible for binding the sun and slowing its movement.
MCKINLEY f & m EnglishFrom a surname, the Gaelic form of which is
Mac Fhionnlaigh meaning
"son of FIONNLAGH". A famous bearer was the assassinated American president William McKinley (1843-1901).
MEADE m & f English (Rare)From an English surname that indicated one who lived on a meadow (from Middle English
mede) or one who sold or made mead (an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey; from Old English
meodu).
MEGA f & m IndonesianMeans
"cloud" in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit
मेघ (megha).
MEHR m & f Persian, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of
MITHRA. As a Persian vocabulary word it means
"friendship" and
"sun". It is also the name of the seventh month of the Persian calendar. All these derive from the same source: the Indo-Iranian root *
mitra meaning "oath, covenant, agreement".
MEREDITH m & f Welsh, EnglishFrom the Welsh name
Maredudd or
Meredydd, possibly meaning
"great lord" or
"sea lord". Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).
MERLE f & m EnglishVariant of
MERRILL or
MURIEL. The spelling has been influenced by the word
merle meaning "blackbird" (via French, from Latin
merula).
MERLYN m & f EnglishVariant of
MERLIN, sometimes used as a feminine form. It has perhaps been influenced by the Welsh word
merlyn meaning "pony".
MICAIAH m & f BiblicalMeans
"who is like YAHWEH?" in Hebrew. This name occurs in the Old Testament in a variety of Hebrew spellings, belonging to both males and females. It is the full name of
Micah, both the prophet and the man from the Book of Judges. As a feminine name it belongs to the mother of King
Abijah (at
2 Chronicles 13:2), though her name is listed as
Maacah in other passages.
MICKEY m & f EnglishDiminutive or feminine form of
MICHAEL. This was the name that Walt Disney gave to Ub Iwerks' cartoon character Mickey Mouse, who was originally named Mortimer Mouse. Another famous bearer was the American baseball player Mickey Mantle (1931-1995).
MIN m & f Chinese, KoreanFrom
敏 (mǐn) meaning "quick, clever, sharp",
民 (mín) meaning "people, citizens", or other Chinese/Sino-Korean characters that are pronounced similarly.
MINATO m & f Japanese (Rare)From Japanese
港 (minato) meaning "harbour", as well as other combinations of kanji having the same pronunciation.
MING m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
明 (míng) meaning "bright, light, clear" or
铭 (míng) meaning "inscribe, engrave", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.
MIN-JUN m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
敏 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp" or
旼 (min) meaning "gentle, affable" combined with
俊 (jun) meaning "talented, handsome". Other hanja combinations are possible.
MINORU m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
実 (minoru) meaning "to bear fruit", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations with the same pronunciation.
MIN-SU m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
民 (min) meaning "people, citizens" or
旼 (min) meaning "gentle, affable" combined with
秀 (su) meaning "luxuriant, beautiful, elegant, outstanding" or
洙 (su), which refers to a river in China. Other hanja combinations are possible.
MITRA (1) m & f Hinduism, Indian, HindiMeans
"friend" in Sanskrit, a cognate of
MITHRA. This is a transcription of both the feminine form
मित्रा and the masculine form
मित्र, which is the name of a Hindu god of friendship and contracts who appears in the Rigveda.
MOANA f & m Maori, Hawaiian, TahitianMeans
"ocean, wide expanse of water, deep sea" in Maori and Hawaiian (as well as in other Polynesian languages).
MOHANA m & f HinduismMeans
"bewitching, infatuating, charming" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form
मोहन (an epithet of the Hindu gods
Shiva,
Krishna and
Kama) and the feminine form
मोहना.
MONET f & m VariousFrom a French surname that was derived from either
HAMON or
EDMOND. This was the surname of the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
MONROE m & f Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname meaning
"from the mouth of the Roe". The Roe is a river in Ireland. Two famous bearers of the surname were American president James Monroe (1758-1831) and American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
MONTANA f & m English (Modern)From the name of the American state, which is derived from Latin
montanus "mountainous".
MORGAN (1) m & f Welsh, English, FrenchFrom the Old Welsh masculine name
Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh
mor "sea" and
cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America
Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of
Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
MU m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
慕 (mù) meaning "admire, desire",
木 (mù) meaning "tree, wood", or other characters with similar pronunciations.
MUMTAZ m & f Arabic, UrduMeans
"distinguished" in Arabic. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631).
MYEONG m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
明 (myeong) meaning "bright, light, clear" or other hanja characters with the same pronunciation. Although it does appear rarely as a single-character name, it is more often used in combination with another character.
NĀLANI f & m HawaiianMeans
"the heavens" or
"the chiefs" from Hawaiian
nā, a definite article, and
lani "heaven, sky, chief".
NAO f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight" or from a combination of
奈 (na), a phonetic character, and
央 (o) meaning "center". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.
NAOMI (2) f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" (usually feminine) or
己 (mi) meaning "self" (usually masculine). Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
NARCISSE m & f FrenchFrench masculine and feminine form of
NARCISSUS. This is also the French word for the narcissus flower.
NAZARET f & m Spanish, ArmenianFrom Nazareth, the town in Galilee where
Jesus lived. This name is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Armenian.
NERGÜI m & f MongolianMeans
"no name" in Mongolian. This name was traditionally given in order to mislead bad spirits.
NEVADA f & m EnglishFrom the name of the American state, which means
"snow-capped" in Spanish.
NIKEPHOROS m & f Ancient Greek, Greek MythologyMeans
"carrying victory" from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
φέρω (phero) meaning "to carry, to bear". This name was borne by several Byzantine emperors, including the 10th-century Nikephoros II Phokas. Besides being a masculine personal name, it was also a title borne by the goddess
Athena.
NING f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, calm, serene", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
NITYA f & m Indian, HindiMeans
"always, eternal" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form
नित्या (an epithet of the Hindu goddess
Durga) and the masculine form
नित्य.
NJINGA m & f Central African, MbunduPossibly from a Bantu root meaning
"to twist, to wrap" (
kujinga in Kimbundu), alluding to the wrapping of the umbilical cord around the neck of the newborn. This name was borne by kings and queens of the African kingdoms of Ndongo and Kongo, notably a 17th-century queen of Ndongo who resisted the Portuguese.
NOAM m & f Hebrew, FrenchMeans
"pleasantness" in Hebrew. A famous bearer is Noam Chomsky (1928-), an American linguist and philosopher.
NOGA f & m HebrewModern Hebrew transcription of
NOGAH, usually used as a feminine name.
NYOMAN m & f BalinesePossibly from a Balinese word meaning
"end, remainder". This name is traditionally bestowed upon the third-born child.
OAKLEY m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was from various place names meaning
"oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
OCEAN m & f English (Rare)Simply from the English word
ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.
ODALIS f & m Spanish (Latin American)Possibly an elaboration of
ODILIA used in Latin America. In most countries it is a feminine name, but in the Dominican Republic it is commonly masculine.
ODELL m & f EnglishFrom a surname that was originally from an English place name, itself derived from Old English
wad "woad" (a plant that produces a blue dye) and
hyll "hill".
OFRA m & f HebrewModern Hebrew form of
OPHRAH. Originally it was a masculine name, but it is now used for females too.
OMEGA m & f VariousFrom the name of the last letter in the Greek alphabet,
Ω. It is often seen as a symbol of completion.
OMER m & f HebrewMeans
"sheaf of wheat" in Hebrew.
ORA (1) f & m EnglishPerhaps based on Latin
oro "to pray". It was first used in America in the 19th century.
PACEY m & f English (Rare)From an English surname that was derived from the French place name
Pacy, itself derived from Gaulish given name of unknown meaning.
PADERAU f & m WelshMeans
"beads" or
"rosary" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.
PADMA f & m Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, TeluguMeans
"lotus" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form
पद्मा and the masculine form
पद्म. According to Hindu tradition a lotus holding the god
Brahma arose from the navel of the god
Vishnu. The name Padma is used in Hindu texts to refer to several characters, including the goddess
Lakshmi and the hero
Rama.