Browse Names - Behind the Name

Zan f & m Chinese
From Chinese 赞 (zàn) meaning "help, support", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.

Zanokuhle f & m Xhosa, Zulu
Means "come with goodness" in Zulu and Xhosa, from the roots za "to come, to approach" and hle "beautiful, good".

Zawadi f & m Swahili
Means "gift" in Swahili, derived from Arabic زواد (zawād) meaning "provisions".

Zedong m & f Chinese
From Chinese 泽 (zé) meaning "moist, grace, brilliance" combined with 东 (dōng) meaning "east", as well as other character combinations. A notable bearer was the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong (1893-1976).

Zhen f & m Chinese
From Chinese 珍 (zhēn) meaning "precious, rare", 真 (zhēn) meaning "real, genuine", 贞 (zhēn) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.

Zheng m & f Chinese
From Chinese 正 (zhèng) meaning "right, proper, correct" or 政 (zhèng) meaning "government", as well as other hanja characters with a similar pronunciation.

Zhenya f & m Russian, Bulgarian
Russian diminutive of Yevgeniya or Yevgeniy or a Bulgarian diminutive of Evgeniya.

Zhi m & f Chinese
From Chinese 志 (zhì) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" or 智 (zhì) meaning "wisdom, intellect", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.

Zhihao m & f Chinese
From Chinese 志 (zhì) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" or 智 (zhì) meaning "wisdom, intellect" combined with 豪 (háo) meaning "brave, heroic, chivalrous". Many other character combinations are possible.

Zhong m & f Chinese
From Chinese 中 (zhōng) meaning "middle" or 忠 (zhōng) meaning "loyalty, devotion". Other characters can form this name as well.

Zhou m & f Chinese
From Chinese 舟 (zhōu) meaning "boat, ship", in addition to other characters that are pronounced similarly.

Zhyrgal m & f Kyrgyz
Alternate transcription of Kyrgyz Жыргал (see Jyrgal).

Zihan f & m Chinese
From Chinese 子 (zǐ) meaning "child" or 梓 (zǐ) meaning "catalpa tree" combined with 涵 (hán) meaning "contain, include". Other character combinations are possible.

Zikomo m & f Chewa
Means "thank you, greeting" in Chewa.

Ziv m & f Hebrew
Means "bright, radiant" in Hebrew. This was the ancient name of the second month of the Jewish calendar.

Zohar m & f Hebrew
Means "light, brilliance" in Hebrew.

Zola 2 f & m Xhosa
From the Xhosa root -zola meaning "calm".

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the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name * is a wildcard that matches zero or more letters example: oo matches names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that matches exactly one letter example: __z matches names which have two letters and then z

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separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
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the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

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see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee matches names which end with the sound lee* _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation example: __z matches names which have two letters and then a z (s) matches exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)ra matches names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) matches a consonant (k) matches a consonant or consonant cluster (v) matches a vowel (p) matches a plosive or stop consonant (f) matches a fricative consonant (n) matches a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
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the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

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