AISTĖ f LithuanianFrom the name of the Baltic tribe of the Aesti, mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus, called the
Aisçiai in Lithuanian.
AITANA f SpanishFrom the name of a mountain range in Valencia, eastern Spain. The Spanish poet Rafael Alberti used it for his daughter in 1941.
AITOR m Basque, SpanishPossibly means
"good fathers" from Basque
aita "father" and
on "good". This was the name of a legendary ancestor of the Basques.
AIVARS m LatvianLatvian form of
IVAR. The Latvian author Vilis Lācis used it for a character in his novel
Uz Jauno Krastu (1952).
AIZA f UrduMeaning unknown, possibly of Arabic origin.
AJAX m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek name
Αἴας (Aias), perhaps deriving from Greek
αἰαστής (aiastes) meaning
"mourner" or
αἶα (aia) meaning
"earth, land". In Greek mythology this was the name of two of the heroes who fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War, the son of Telamon and the son of Oileus. When the armour of the slain hero
Achilles was not given to Ajax Telamonian, he became mad with jealousy and killed himself.
AJAY m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, TamilMeans
"unconquered", from Sanskrit
अ (a) meaning "not" and
जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest".
AKAKIOS m Greek, Ancient GreekFrom a Greek word meaning
"innocent, not evil", derived from
ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with
κάκη (kake) meaning "evil". This was the name of three early saints, two of whom were martyred.
AKANE f JapaneseFrom Japanese
茜 (akane) meaning "deep red, dye from the rubia plant". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name as well.
AKARI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
明 (aka) meaning "bright" or
朱 (aka) meaning "vermilion red" combined with
里 (ri) meaning "village" or
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
AKEMI f JapaneseFrom Japanese
明 (ake) meaning "bright" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are possible.
AKHENATON m Ancient EgyptianMeans
"effective for ATON" in Egyptian. Akhenaton was a 14th-century BC Egyptian pharaoh of the New Kingdom, who is best known for promoting the monotheistic worship of the sun god
Aton. He changed his name from
Amenhotep IV in order to honour the god. After his death, polytheism resumed.
AKI (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal",
明 (aki) meaning "bright" or
秋 (aki) meaning "autumn". It can also come from
亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" combined with
希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name too.
AKIHIKO m JapaneseFrom Japanese
明 (aki) or
昭 (aki) both meaning "bright" combined with
彦 (hiko) meaning "boy, prince". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
AKIHITO m JapaneseFrom Japanese
明 (aki) or
昭 (aki) both meaning "bright" combined with
仁 (hito) meaning "compassionate". Other kanji combinations are possible. Akihito (1933-), name written
明仁, was the emperor of Japan from 1989 to 2019.
AKIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal",
明 (aki) meaning "bright" or
秋 (aki) meaning "autumn" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.
AKIMITSU m JapaneseFrom Japanese
昭 (aki) meaning "bright" and
光 (mitsu) meaning "light". Other combinations of kanji can also form this name.
AKIO m JapaneseFrom Japanese
昭 (aki) meaning "bright, luminous" combined with
夫 (o) meaning "man, husband",
男 (o) meaning "male" or
雄 (o) meaning "hero, manly". Other kanji combinations are possible.
AKIRA m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
昭 (akira) meaning "bright",
明 (akira) meaning "bright" or
亮 (akira) meaning "clear". Other kanji with the same pronunciation can also form this name. A famous bearer was the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), given name written
明.
AKIVA m HebrewFrom an Aramaic form of
YAAKOV. Akiva (or Akiba) ben Joseph was a prominent 1st-century Jewish rabbi.
ÁKOS m HungarianPossibly of Turkic origin meaning
"white falcon". This was the name of a medieval Hungarian clan.
AL m EnglishShort form of
ALBERT and other names beginning with
Al. A notable bearer is American actor Al Pacino (1940-).
ALA m ArabicMeans
"excellence, elevation" in Arabic.
ALA AL-DIN m ArabicMeans
"excellence of religion" from Arabic
عَلَاء ('ala) meaning "excellence, elevation" combined with
دين (din) meaning "religion, faith". This was the name of several sultans of Delhi.
ALADDIN m LiteratureAnglicized form of
ALA AL-DIN. This is the name of a mischievous boy in one of the tales of
The 1001 Nights. A magician traps him in a cave, but he escapes with the help of a genie.
AL-AMIR m Arabic (Rare)Means
"the commander, the prince" in Arabic. This was the name of a 10th-century Fatimid imam.
ALAN m English, Scottish, Breton, FrenchThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. It was used in Brittany at least as early as the 6th century, and it possibly means either
"little rock" or
"handsome" in Breton. Alternatively, it may derive from the tribal name of the Alans, an Iranian people who migrated into Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries.
... [more] ALANIS f English (Rare)Feminine form of
ALAN. Canadian musician Alanis Morissette (1974-) was named after her father Alan. Her parents apparently decided to use this particular spelling after seeing this word in a Greek newspaper.
ALANNAH f English (Modern), IrishVariant of
ALANA. It has been influenced by the affectionate Anglo-Irish word
alannah, from the Irish Gaelic phrase
a leanbh meaning "O child".
ALARIC m Ancient GermanicFrom the Gothic name
Alareiks, which meant
"ruler of all", derived from the Germanic element
ala "all" combined with
ric "ruler". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.
ALBA (1) f Italian, Spanish, CatalanThis name is derived from two distinct names,
ALBA (2) and
ALBA (3), with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter,
alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
ALBAER m LimburgishLimburgish form of
ALBERT. Its spelling has been influenced by the French pronunciation of Albert.
ALBAN m German, French, Albanian, English (Rare)From the Roman cognomen
Albanus, which meant
"from Alba". Alba (from Latin
albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. As an English name,
Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.
ALBENA f BulgarianCreated by Bulgarian writer Yordan Yovkov for the heroine in his drama
Albena (1930). He may have based it on
ablen, the name of a type of peony (a flowering plant).
ALBERICH m Ancient Germanic, Germanic MythologyDerived from the Germanic elements
alf "elf" and
ric "ruler, mighty". Alberich was the name of the sorcerer king of the dwarfs in Germanic mythology. He also appears in the
Nibelungenlied as a dwarf who guards the treasure of the Nibelungen.
ALBERT m English, French, Catalan, German, Polish, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Romanian, Hungarian, Ancient GermanicFrom the Germanic name
Adalbert meaning
"noble and bright", composed of the elements
adal "noble" and
beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. The Normans introduced it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate
Æðelberht. Though it became rare in England by the 17th century, it was repopularized in the 19th century by the German-born Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
... [more] ALBINA f Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Slovene, Polish, German, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
ALBINUS. This was the name of a few early saints, including a 3rd-century martyr from Caesarea.
ALBINUS m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen that was a derivative of
ALBUS. Saint Albinus (also called Aubin) was a 6th-century bishop of Angers in Brittany.
ALBORZ m PersianFrom the name of a mountain range (of unknown etymology) in northern Iran.
ALCIBIADES m Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλκιβιάδης (Alkibiades), derived from
ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength" and
βία (bia) meaning "force" with the patronymic suffix
ἴδης (ides). This was the name of a notable Greek statesman and general during the Peloponnesian War. He changed allegiance from Athens to Sparta and back again during the course of the war.
ALCYONE f Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek
Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word
ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning
"kingfisher". In Greek myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, the seven stars in the constellation Taurus.
ALDARA f GalicianGalician form of the Visigothic name
Hildiwara, which was composed of the Germanic elements
hild "battle" and
war "vigilant, cautious". This was the name of the mother of Saint
Rosendo (10th century).
ALDEBRAND m Ancient GermanicGermanic name derived from the elements
ald meaning "old" and
brand meaning "sword" or "fire". Saint Aldebrand was a 12th-century bishop of Fossombrone in Italy.
ALDEGUND f Ancient GermanicGermanic name, derived from the elements
ald "old" and
gund "war". Saint Aldegund (or Aldegundis) was a 7th-century Frankish abbess.
ALDONA f Lithuanian, PolishMeaning unknown. This was the name of a 14th-century Polish queen, the daughter of a Grand Duke of Lithuania.
ALDOUS m English (Rare)Probably a diminutive of names beginning with the Old English element
eald "old". It has been in use as an English given name since the Middle Ages, mainly in East Anglia. The British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was a famous bearer of this name.
ALE (2) m FrisianOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
adal meaning
"noble".
ALED m WelshFrom the name of a Welsh river, of uncertain meaning.
ALEJANDRO m SpanishSpanish form of
ALEXANDER. This was the most popular name for boys in Spain from the 1990s until 2006 (and again in 2011).
ALEKSANDRA f Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Estonian, Latvian, LithuanianForm of
ALEXANDRA in several languages.
ALESSANDRO m ItalianItalian form of
ALEXANDER. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.
ALETA f EnglishPossibly a variant of
ALETHEA. This was the name of the wife of the title character in the comic strip
Prince Valiant, which first appeared in 1937.
ALETHEA f EnglishDerived from Greek
ἀλήθεια (aletheia) meaning
"truth". This name was coined in the 16th century.
ALEX m & f English, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Czech, RussianShort form of
ALEXANDER,
ALEXANDRA, and other names beginning with
Alex.
ALEXANDER m English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant
"defending men" from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero
Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.
... [more] ALEXANDRA f English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek, Greek MythologyFeminine form of
ALEXANDER. In Greek mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
ALEXANDRIA f EnglishFeminine form of
ALEXANDER. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.
ALEXIS m & f German, French, English, Greek, Ancient GreekFrom the Greek name
Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning
"helper" or
"defender", derived from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name
Ἀλέξιος or
Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors. In the English-speaking world it is more commonly used as a feminine name.
ALEXIUS m Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξιος (Alexios), a derivative of
Ἄλεξις (see
ALEXIS). This was the name of five Byzantine emperors. It was also borne by a 5th-century Syrian saint who is especially venerated in the Eastern Church.
ALF (1) m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
alfr meaning
"elf". In Norse legend this was the name of king, the suitor of a reluctant maiden named Alfhild. She avoided marrying him by disguising herself as a warrior, but when they fought she was so impressed by his strength that she changed her mind.
ALFHILD f Norwegian, SwedishFrom the Old Norse name
Alfhildr, which was composed of the elements
alfr "elf" and
hildr "battle". In Scandinavian legend Alfhild was a maiden who disguised herself as a warrior in order to avoid marriage to King Alf. Her life was perhaps based on that of a 9th-century Viking pirate.
ALFONSO m Spanish, ItalianSpanish and Italian form of a Visigothic Germanic name, probably meaning
"noble and ready", from the element
adal "noble" combined with
funs "ready". Other theories claim the first element is
hadu or
hild (see
ILDEFONSO), both of which mean "battle". It is possible that two or more names merged into a single form. This was the name of six kings of Portugal and kings of several ancient regions of Spain.
ALFRED m English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Polish, DutchMeans
"elf counsel", derived from the Old English name
Ælfræd, composed of the elements
ælf "elf" and
ræd "counsel". Alfred the Great was a 9th-century king of Wessex who fought unceasingly against the Danes living in northeast England. He was also a scholar, and he translated many Latin books into Old English. His fame helped to ensure the usage of this name even after the Norman Conquest, when most Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. It became rare by the end of the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 18th century.
... [more] ALGAR m English (Rare)Means
"elf spear" from Old English
ælf "elf" and
gar "spear". This Old English name was rarely used after the Norman Conquest, being absorbed by similar-sounding names and Norman and Scandinavian cognates. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
ALGERNON m EnglishOriginally a Norman French nickname, derived from
aux gernons "having a moustache", which was applied to William de Percy, a companion of William the Conqueror. It was first used a given name in the 15th century (for a descendant of William de Percy).
ALGIRDAS m LithuanianPossibly from the Baltic elements
al "each" and
girdas "rumour, news". This was the name of a 14th-century Grand Duke of Lithuania.
ALHAJI m Western African, HausaMeans
"the pilgrim" in Hausa, a derivative of Arabic
حَجّ (hajj) meaning "pilgrimage, hajj". It is typically a title, not a name.
ALI (1) m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Avar, Kazakh, Dhivehi, Albanian, BosnianMeans
"lofty, sublime" in Arabic. Ali ibn Abi Talib was a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammad and the fourth caliph to rule the Muslim world. His followers were the original Shia Muslims, who regard him as the first rightful caliph.
... [more] ALICE f English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, CzechFrom the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
... [more] ALIKHAN m KazakhCombination of the name
ALI (1) and the Turkic title
khan, which means "ruler, leader".