ANSA f FinnishDerived from Finnish
ansio "virtue" or
ansa "trap".
ANSALDO m ItalianItalian form of a Germanic name composed of the elements
ans "god" and
wald "power, leader, ruler".
ANSEL m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the given name
ANSELM. A famous bearer was American photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984).
ANSELM m German, English (Rare), Ancient GermanicDerived from the Germanic elements
ans "god" and
helm "helmet, protection". This name was brought to England in the late 11th century by Saint Anselm, who was born in northern Italy. He was archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church.
ANTE (2) m FrisianShort form of names beginning with the Germanic element
and "wrath, zeal".
ANTHELM m Ancient GermanicFrom the Germanic element
and "wrath, zeal" combined with
helm "helmet, protection". Saint Anthelm was a 12th-century bishop of Belley in France.
ANTHONY m EnglishEnglish form of the Roman family name
Antonius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. The most notable member of the Roman family was the general Marcus Antonius (called Mark Antony in English), who for a period in the 1st century BC ruled the Roman Empire jointly with Augustus. When their relationship turned sour, he and his mistress Cleopatra were attacked and forced to commit suicide, as related in Shakespeare's tragedy 'Antony and Cleopatra' (1606).
... [more] ANTIGONE f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
αντι (anti) "against, compared to, like" and
γονη (gone) "birth, offspring". In Greek legend Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. King Creon of Thebes declared that her slain brother Polynices was to remain unburied, a great dishonour. She disobeyed and gave him a proper burial, and for this she was sealed alive in a cave.
ANTIOCHUS m Ancient Greek (Latinized)From the Greek name
Αντιοχος (Antiochos), derived from Greek
αντι (anti) "against, compared to, like" and
οχη (oche) "support". This was the name of several rulers of the Seleucid Empire. It was also borne by a 2nd-century Christian martyr, the patron saint of Sardinia.
ANTIOPE f Greek MythologyDerived from the Greek elements
αντι (anti) "against, compared to, like" and
οψ (ops) "voice". This was the name of several figures in Greek mythology, including a daughter of
Ares who was one of the queens of the Amazons. She was kidnapped and married by
Theseus.
ANTOINETTE f FrenchFeminine diminutive of
ANTOINE. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.
ANTON m German, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Slovene, Macedonian, Croatian, Romanian, Estonian, Finnish, EnglishForm of
Antonius (see
ANTHONY) used in various languages.
ANTONIA f Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Antonius (see
ANTHONY).
ANTONÍN m CzechCzech form of
Antoninus (see
ANTONINO). A famous bearer was the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904).
ANTONIN m FrenchFrench form of
Antoninus (see
ANTONINO). This name was borne by the French playwright Antonin Artaud (1896-1948).
ANTONINO m ItalianItalian form of the Roman name
Antoninus, which was derived from
Antonius (see
ANTHONY). There were several early saints named Antoninus, including the patron saint of Sorrento. This was also the name of a 2nd-century Roman emperor.
ANTONIO m Spanish, Italian, CroatianSpanish and Italian form of
Antonius (see
ANTHONY). A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance painter Antonio Pisanello (c. 1395-1455). It is also the name of the main character in 'The Merchant of Venice' (1596) by William Shakespeare.
ANTONY m EnglishVariant of
ANTHONY. This was formerly the usual English spelling of the name, but during the 17th century the
h began to be added.
ANUBIS m Egyptian Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of
Ανουβις (Anoubis), the Greek form of Egyptian
Inpw (reconstructed as
Anapa) possibly meaning "royal child". Anubis was the Egyptian god who led the dead to the underworld. He was often depicted as a man with the head of a jackal.
ANUJ m Indian, Hindi, MarathiMeans "born later, younger" in Sanskrit. This name is sometimes given to the younger sibling of an older child.
ANUSH f ArmenianMeans "sweet" in Armenian. This was the name of an 1890 novel by the Armenia writer Hovhannes Tumanyan. It was adapted into an opera in 1912 by Armen Tigranian.
ANWAR m ArabicMeans "brighter, more luminous" in Arabic. This name was borne by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), who was assassinated three years after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
ANZOR m Georgian, ChechenPossibly derived from the Georgian noble title
აზნაური (aznauri), ultimately from Middle Persian
aznawar meaning "noble".
AODH m Irish, Scottish, Irish MythologyFrom the old Irish name
Áed, which meant "fire". This was a very popular name in early Ireland, being borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings. It has been traditionally Anglicized as
Hugh.
AODHÁN m Irish, Scottish, Irish MythologyFrom the old Irish name
Áedán, a diminutive of
Áed (see
AODH). This was the name of an Irish monk and saint of the 7th century. It was also borne by several characters in Irish mythology.
AOI f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
葵 (aoi) meaning "hollyhock, althea" or an adjectival form of
碧 (ao) meaning "green, blue". Other kanji with the same reading can form this name as well.
AOIBHEANN f IrishMeans "beautiful, pleasant, radiant" in Irish Gaelic. This was the name of the mother of Saint Enda. It was also borne by Irish royalty.
AOIDE f Greek MythologyMeans "song" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was one of the original three muses, the muse of song.
AOIFE f Irish, Irish MythologyMeans "beauty" from the Gaelic word
aoibh. In Irish legend Aoife was a warrior princess. In war against her sister Scathach, she was defeated in single combat by the hero
Cúchulainn. Eventually she was reconciled with her sister and became the lover of Cúchulainn. This name is sometimes used as a Gaelic form of
EVE or
EVA.
AONGHUS m Irish, Scottish, Irish MythologyPossibly meaning "one strength" derived from Irish
óen "one" and
gus "force, strength, energy". Aonghus (sometimes surnamed
Mac Og meaning "young son") was the Irish god of love and youth. The name was also borne by an 8th-century Pictish king and several Irish kings.
APHRA f VariousMeaning uncertain; possibly a variant of
AFRA (1), or possibly a variant of
Aphrah, a biblical place name meaning "dust". This name was born by the English writer Aphra Behn (1640-1689).
APHRODITE f Greek MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly of Phoenician origin. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, identified with the Roman goddess
Venus. She was the wife of
Hephaestus and the mother of
Eros, and she was often associated with the myrtle tree and doves. The Greeks connected her name with
αφρος (aphros) "foam", resulting in the story that she was born from the foam of the sea. Many of her characteristics are based on the goddess known as
Ashtoreth to the Phoenicians and
Ishtar to the Mesopotamian Semitic peoples, and on the Sumerian goddess
Inanna.
APOLLINAIRE m French (Rare)French form of
APOLLINARIS. It was adopted as a surname by the Polish-French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who based it on his Polish middle name Apolinary.
APOLLINARIS m Ancient GreekAncient Greek name derived from the name of the god
APOLLO. This was the name of several early saints and martyrs, including a bishop of Ravenna and a bishop of Hierapolis.
APOLLO m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From Greek
Απολλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to Indo-European *
apelo "strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means "father lion" or "father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
απολλυμι (apollymi) meaning "to destroy". In Greek mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
APOLLONIOS m Ancient GreekFrom an ancient Greek personal name that was derived from the name of the Greek god
APOLLO. It was borne by a Greek poet of the 3rd century BC. Several saints have also had this name.
APPHIA f BiblicalGreek form of a Hebrew name that possibly meant "increasing". This is a name mentioned in
Paul's epistle to
Philemon in the New Testament.
APPIUS m Ancient RomanThis was a Roman praenomen, or given name, used predominantly by the Claudia family. Its etymology is unknown. A famous bearer of this name was Appius Claudius Caecus, a Roman statesman of the 3rd century BC. He was responsible for the Aqua Appia (the first Roman aqueduct) and the Appian Way (a road between Rome and Capua), both of which were named for him.
APRIL f EnglishFrom the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin
aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
AQIL m ArabicMeans "intelligent, wise" in Arabic. This transcription represents two different Arabic names.
ARA m Armenian, Armenian MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly of Sumerian origin. In Armenian legend this was the name of an Armenian king who was so handsome that the Assyrian queen Semiramis went to war to capture him. During the war Ara was slain.
ARABELLA f EnglishMedieval Scottish name, probably a variant of
ANNABEL. It has long been associated with Latin
orabilis meaning "invokable".
ARACELI f SpanishMeans "altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.
ARACHNE f Greek MythologyMeans "spider" in Greek. In Greek myth Arachne was a mortal woman who defeated
Athena in a weaving contest. After this Arachne hanged herself, but Athena brought her back to life in the form of a spider.
ARAGORN m LiteratureMeaning unexplained, though the first element is presumably Sindarin
ara "noble, kingly". This is the name of a character in 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien. In the book Aragorn is the heir of the Dúnedain kings of the north.
ARAMINTA f English (Rare)Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy 'The Old Bachelor' (1693) and later by Sir John Vanbrugh in his comedy 'The Confederacy' (1705). This was the real name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
ARAMIS m LiteratureThe surname of one of the musketeers in 'The Three Musketeers' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas based the character on Henri d'Aramitz, whose surname was derived from the French village of Aramits.
ARAN (1) f & m IrishFrom the name of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland.
ARANTZAZU f BasqueFrom the name of a place near the Spanish town of Oñati where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. Its name is derived from Basque
arantza "thornbush".
ARARAT m ArmenianFrom the name of a mountain in eastern Turkey (formerly part of Armenia), the place where
Noah's Ark came to rest according to the Old Testament.
ARASH m Persian, Persian MythologyPossibly means either "truthfulness" or "bright" in Persian. In Persian legend Arash was a Persian archer who was ordered by the Turans to shoot an arrow, the landing place of which would determine the new location of the Persian-Turan border. Arash climbed a mountain and fired his arrow with such strength that it flew for several hours and landed on the banks of the far-away Oxus River.
ARATA m JapaneseFrom Japanese
新 (arata) meaning "fresh, new". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
ARAWN m Welsh MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of the god of the underworld, called Annwfn, in Welsh mythology.
ARAX f ArmenianFrom the name of an Armenian river, also called the Aras.
ARCADIA f VariousFeminine form of
ARCADIUS. This is the name of a region on the Greek Peloponnese, long idealized for its natural beauty.
ARCHER m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin.
ARCHIBALD m Scottish, EnglishDerived from the Germanic elements
ercan "genuine" and
bald "bold". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element
αρχος (archos) meaning "master". The Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages.
ARCHIL m GeorgianMeaning unknown, of Persian origin. This was the name of an 8th-century Georgian noble who was executed for refusing to convert to Islam.
ARDA m TurkishPossibly means "marker, stake" in Turkish.
ARDASHIR m PersianFrom the Middle Persian form of
Artakhshathra (see
ARTAXERXES). This was the name of a 3rd-century king of Persia who defeated the Parthians and founded the Sassanid Empire. He also established Zoroastrianism as the state religion.
ARDEN m & f EnglishFrom an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
ARDGHAL m IrishMeans "high valour", derived from the Irish elements
ard "high" and
gal "valour".
ARELI m BiblicalMeans "lion of God, hero" in Hebrew. This was the name of a son of
Gad in the Old Testament.
ARES m Greek MythologyPerhaps from either Greek
αρη (are) "bane, ruin" or
αρσην (arsen) "male". The name first appears as
a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the bloodthirsty god of war in Greek mythology, a son of
Zeus and
Hera.
ARETAS m BiblicalGreek form of an Aramaic name, of unknown meaning. This was the name of four Nabataean kings of
Petra in Jordan, including the first king (2nd century BC). King Aretas IV is mentioned briefly in the New Testament.
ARETHA f EnglishPossibly derived from Greek
αρετη (arete) meaning "virtue". This name was popularized in the 1960s by American singer Aretha Franklin (1942-).
ARGIDER m BasqueDerived from Basque
argi "light" and
eder "beautiful".
ARGUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek
Αργος (Argos), derived from
αργος (argos) meaning "glistening, shining". In Greek myth this name belonged to both the man who built the Argo and a man with a hundred eyes.
ARIA (1) f English (Modern)Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century. It is not common in Italy.
ARIADNE f Greek MythologyMeans "most holy", composed of the Cretan Greek elements
αρι (ari) "most" and
αδνος (adnos) "holy". In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King
Minos. She fell in love with
Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god
Dionysus.
ARIANRHOD f Welsh, Welsh MythologyPossibly means "silver wheel" or "round wheel" in Welsh. In Welsh myth Arianrhod was the mother of the brothers
Dylan and
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. In earlier myths she was a goddess of the moon.
ARIDAI m BiblicalMeaning unknown, possibly of Persian origin. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the ten sons of
Haman killed by the Jews.
ARIEL m & f Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans "lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי ('ari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare used it as the name of a spirit in his play 'The Tempest' (1611), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Walt Disney film 'The Little Mermaid' (1989).
ARIES m Roman MythologyMeans "ram" in Latin. This is the name of a constellation and the first sign of the zodiac. Some Roman legends state that the ram in the constellation was the one who supplied the Golden Fleece sought by
Jason.
ARISTA f AstronomyMeans "ear of corn" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.