Browse Names

Babe m & f English
From a nickname meaning "baby", also a slang term meaning "attractive person". As a feminine name, in some cases it is a diminutive of Barbara.

Babs f English
Diminutive of Barbara.

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.

Barb f English
Short form of Barbara.

Bart m English, Dutch
Short form of Bartholomew or Bartholomeus. This name is borne by a mischievous cartoon boy on the television series The Simpsons.

Baz m English (British)
Chiefly British diminutive of Barry or Basil 1.

Bea f English, Hungarian, Dutch
Short form of Beatrix or Beáta.

Bear m English (Modern)
From the English word for the animal, derived from Old English bera, probably derived from a root meaning "brown".

Beau m & f English, Dutch (Modern)
Means "beautiful, handsome" in French. It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. In Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind (1936) this is the name of Ashley and Melanie's son.... [more]

Beck m & f English (Rare)
From a surname of English, German or Scandinavian origins, all derived from related words meaning "stream". As a feminine name, in some cases it is a short form of Rebecca. A noted bearer is the American rock musician Beck Hansen (1970-), born Bek David Campbell, who goes by the stage name Beck.

Bee f English
Short form of Beatrix and other names beginning with B.

Bell f English
Either a variant of Belle or from an English surname: see Bell 1 or Bell 2.

Belle f English
Short form of Isabella or names ending in belle. It is also associated with the French word belle meaning "beautiful". A famous bearer was Belle Starr (1848-1889), an outlaw of the American west, whose real given name was Maybelle.

Ben m English, German, Dutch
Short form of Benjamin, Benedict and other names beginning with Ben. In Dutch it can also be short for Bernhard. A notable bearer was Ben Jonson (1572-1637), an English poet and playwright.

Benj m English
Short form of Benjamin.

Bert m English, German, Dutch
Short form of Albert and other names containing the element bert, often derived from the Old German element beraht meaning "bright".

Bess f English
Diminutive of Elizabeth.

Beth f English
Short form of Elizabeth, or sometimes Bethany.

Bette f English
Diminutive of Elizabeth. A famous bearer was American actress Bette Davis (1908-1989).

Bev f English
Short form of Beverly.

Biff m English (Rare)
From a nickname that was based on the English word biff, which means "punch, hit, strike".

Bill m English
Short form of William. This spelling was not commonly used before the 19th century. The change in the initial consonant may have been influenced by an earlier Irish pronunciation of the name. Famous bearers include basketball player Bill Russell (1934-2022), comedian Bill Cosby (1937-), American president Bill Clinton (1946-), and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955-), all of whom were born with the name William.

Blaine m English
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name Bláán.

Blair m & f Scottish, English
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.... [more]

Blaire f English (Modern)
Variant of Blair.

Blake m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.

Blanch f English
Variant of Blanche.

Blanche f French, English
From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.

Blaze m English (Modern)
Modern variant of Blaise influenced by the English word blaze.

Blue m & f English (Rare)
From the English word for the colour, derived via Norman French from a Frankish word (replacing the native Old English cognate blaw). Despite the fact that this name was used by the American musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2012 for their first daughter, it has not come into general use in the United States.

Blythe f & m English (Rare)
From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.

Bo 3 f & m Dutch (Modern), English (Modern)
Variant of Beau.

Bob m English, Dutch
Short form of Robert. It arose later than Dob, Hob and Nob, which were medieval rhyming nicknames of Robert. It is borne by the character Bob Cratchit in Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol (1843). Other famous bearers include American folk musician Bob Dylan (1941-) and Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).

Boone m English
From an English surname that was either derived from Old French bon meaning "good" or from the name of the town of Bohon, France.

Boyce m English
From an English surname that was derived from Old French bois "wood".

Boyd m English
From a Scottish surname that was possibly derived from the name of the island of Bute (Bód in Gaelic).

Brad m English
Short form of Bradley, Bradford and other names beginning with Brad. A famous bearer is American actor Brad Pitt (1963-).

Braith m English (Australian, Rare)
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from Welsh brith, braith meaning "speckled".

Bram m English, Dutch
Short form of Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote Dracula.

Brand m English (Rare)
From a surname, a variant of Brant.

Brandt m English
From a surname, a variant of Brant.

Brant m English
From an English surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name Brandr. This is also the name for a variety of wild geese.

Bree f English
Anglicized form of Brígh. It can also be a short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri.

Brent m English
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, perhaps derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".

Bret m English
Variant of Brett.

Brett m English
From a Middle English surname meaning "a Breton", referring to an inhabitant of Brittany. A famous bearer is the American football quarterback Brett Favre (1969-).

Brice m French, English
From the name Bricius, which was probably a Latinized form of a Gaulish name meaning "speckled". This was the name of a 5th-century saint, a disciple of Saint Martin of Tours.

Brie f English
Short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri.

Brock m English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger".

Brook m & f English
From an English surname that denoted one who lived near a brook.

Brooke f English
Variant of Brook. The name came into use in the 1950s, probably influenced by American socialite Brooke Astor (1902-2007). It was further popularized by actress Brooke Shields (1965-).

Brooks m English
From an English surname, a variant of Brook.

Bruce m Scottish, English
From a Scottish surname, of Norman origin, which probably originally referred to the town of Brix in France. The surname was borne by Robert the Bruce, a Scottish hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland. It has been in use as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in the 1940s and 50s. Notable bearers include Chinese-American actor Bruce Lee (1940-1973), American musician Bruce Springsteen (1949-), and American actor Bruce Willis (1955-). It is also the real name of the comic book superheroes Batman (Bruce Wayne), created 1939, and the Hulk (Bruce Banner), created 1962.

Bryce m English
Variant of Brice.

Bryn m & f Welsh, English (Modern)
Means "hill, mound" in Welsh. In Wales it is almost always a masculine name, though elsewhere in the English-speaking world it can be unisex (see Brynn).

Brynn f English (Modern)
Feminine variant of Bryn. It was brought to limited public attention in 1978 when the actress Brynn Thayer (1949-) began appearing on the American soap opera One Life to Live.

Brynne f English (Rare)
Variant of Brynn.

Buck m English
From an English nickname meaning simply "buck, male deer", ultimately from Old English bucc.

Bud m English
Short form of Buddy.

Burke m English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English burg meaning "fortress".

Burt m English
Short form of Burton.

Butch m English
From the English slang word butch meaning "manly, masculine", itself from the word butcher. This is typically a nickname. A famous bearer was the American outlaw Butch Cassidy (1866-1908), born Robert LeRoy Parker.

Buz m Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Means "contempt" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of Abraham's brother Nahor in the Old Testament.

Buzz m English
From a nickname derived from the onomatopoeic word buzz meaning "buzz, hum, murmur". A notable bearer is American astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-), one of the first people to walk on the moon. The character Buzz Lightyear from the movie Toy Story (1995) was named after Aldrin.

Byrne m English (Rare)
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Broin, which was derived from the given name Bran 1.

Bysshe m English (Rare)
From an English surname, a variant of the surname Bush, which originally indicated a person who lived near a bush. This was the middle name of the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822).