BAAKmFrisianOriginally a short form of names starting with the Germanic element
badu "fight, struggle".
BA'ALmSemitic Mythology, Biblical HebrewHebrew form of Semitic
ba'l meaning "lord, master, possessor". This was the title of various deities, often associated with storms and fertility, who were worshipped by the Canaanites, Phoenicians, and other peoples of the ancient Near East. It was particularly applied to the god
Hadad.
BA'AL HAMMONmSemitic MythologyFrom Semitic
ba'l meaning "lord" prefixing another word of uncertain meaning. This was the name of the supreme god worshipped in the Phoenician city of Carthage, alongside his consort
Tanith.
BABAKmPersian, Ancient PersianMeans "little father" in Persian. This was the name of the father of Ardashir, the founder of the Sassanid Empire in Persia. It was also borne by the 9th-century resistance leader Babak Khorramdin.
BABURmUrduFrom a Persian word meaning "tiger". This was the nickname of Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, the 16th-century founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
BABYLASmLate Greek, French (Rare)Derived from the name of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. Saint Babylas was a 3rd-century patriarch of Antioch who was martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius.
BADEMUSmHistoryLatinized form of a Persian name of unknown meaning. Saint Bademus was a 4th-century Persian martyr who was a victim of Shapur II's persecutions.
BAERmLimburgishShort form of
ALBAER and other Limburgish names ending in
baer, often derived from the Germanic element
beraht meaning "bright".
BAGADATAmAncient PersianOld Persian name derived from
baga "god" and
data "given". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Persian satrap under the Seleucid Empire.
BAHARGÜLfTurkmenDerived from Turkmen
bahar meaning "spring" and
gül meaning "flower, rose" (both roots ultimately of Persian origin).
BAHMANmPersian, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of Avestan
Vohu Manah meaning "good mind". This was the name of a Zoroastrian god (one of the Amesha Spenta) associated with domestic animals. It is also the name of the eleventh month in the Iranian calendar.
BAHRAMmPersian, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of Avestan
Verethragna meaning "victory over resistance". This was the name of a Zoroastrian god (one of the Amesha Spenta) associated with victory and war. This name was borne by several Sassanid emperors. It is also the Persian name for the planet Mars.
BAIm & fChineseFrom Chinese
白 (bái) meaning "white, pure",
百 (bǎi) meaning "one hundred, many" or
柏 (bǎi) meaning "cypress tree, cedar" (which is usually only masculine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well. This name was borne in the 8th century by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, whose given was
白.
BAILEYm & fEnglishFrom a surname derived from Middle English
baili meaning "bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.
BAKIRmTurkishTurkish form of
BAQIR. This name is spelled with a Turkish dotless
i, as
Bakır.
BAKRmArabicMeans "young camel" in Arabic.
Abu Bakr was a father-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammad and the first caliph of the Muslim world.
BALA (1)m & fHinduism, TamilMeans "young" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form
बाल and the feminine form
बाला (a minor Hindu goddess).
BALADEVAmHinduismMeans "god of strength" from Sanskrit
बल (bala) meaning "strength" combined with
देव (deva) meaning "god". Baladeva (also called Balarama) is the name of the older brother of the Hindu god
Krishna.
BALBUSmAncient RomanRoman cognomen which meant "stammerer" in Latin. This was a family name of the mother of Emperor Augustus, Atia Balba Caesonia.
BALDERmNorse MythologyMeans "prince" from Old Norse. In Norse mythology Balder was the son of
Odin and
Frigg. Because of the disturbing dreams he had when he was young, his mother extracted an oath from every thing in the world that it would not harm him. However the evil fire god
Loki learned that she had overlooked mistletoe. Being jealous, he tricked the blind god Hoder into throwing a branch of mistletoe at Balder, which killed him.
BALDRICmEnglish (Archaic)Derived from the Germanic elements
bald "bold, brave" and
ric "power, rule". The Normans introduced this name to Britain, and it was common in the Middle Ages.
BALDWINmEnglish, Ancient GermanicDerived from the Germanic elements
bald "bold, brave" and
win "friend". In the Middle Ages this was a popular name in Flanders and among the Normans, who brought it to Britain. It was borne by one of the leaders of the First Crusade, an 11th-century nobleman from Flanders. After the crusaders conquered Jerusalem, he was crowned as the king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
BALFOURmEnglish (Rare)From a Scottish surname, originally from various place names, which meant "village pasture" in Gaelic.
BALTHAZARmJudeo-Christian LegendVariant of
BELSHAZZAR. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia.
BAMBIfEnglishDerived from Italian
bambina meaning "young girl". The American novelist Marjorie Benton Cooke used it in her novel 'Bambi' (1914). This was also the name of a male deer in a cartoon by Walt Disney, which was based on a 1923 novel by Swiss author Felix Salten.
BAOf & mChineseFrom Chinese
宝 (bǎo) meaning "treasure, jewel, precious, rare",
褒 (bāo) meaning "praise, honour" or
苞 (bāo) meaning "bud" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are possible as well.
BAPTISTEmFrenchMeans "baptist" in French, originally deriving from Greek
βαπτω (bapto) "to dip". This name is usually given in honour of Saint John the Baptist, and as such it is often paired with the name
Jean.
BAQImArabicMeans "eternal" in Arabic. This was the pen name of a 16th-century Turkish poet.
BAQIRmArabicMeans "to rip open" in Arabic. Muhammad al-Baqir was the fifth imam of the Shia Muslims.
BARACKmArabicAlternate transcription of Arabic
باراك (see
BARAK (2)). A famous bearer is former American president Barack Obama (1961-), who was named after his Kenyan father.
BARBARAfEnglish, Italian, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late RomanDerived from Greek
βαρβαρος (barbaros) meaning "foreign". According to legend, Saint Barbara was a young woman killed by her father Dioscorus, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen. Because of her renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. In England it became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century.
BARCLAYmScottish, English (Rare)From a Scottish surname which was likely derived from the English place name
Berkeley, meaning "birch wood" in Old English.
BÅRDmNorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Bárðr, which was derived from the elements
baðu "battle" and
friðr "peace".
BARLAAMmJudeo-Christian LegendMeaning unknown. In Christian legends Barlaam (recorded as Greek
Βαρλααμ) was a 3rd-century hermit who converted Josaphat, the son of an Indian king, to Christianity. The story is based on that of the Buddha. This name was also borne by two saints.
BARNABASmGerman (Rare), English (Rare), Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekGreek form of an Aramaic name. In Acts in the New Testament the byname Barnabas was given to a man named
Joseph, a Jew from Cyprus who was a companion of
Paul on his missionary journeys. The original Aramaic form is unattested, but it may be from
בּר נביא (bar naviya') meaning "son of the prophet", though in Acts 4:36 it is claimed that the name means "son of encouragement". As an English name, it came into occasional use after the 12th century.
BARRETTmEnglishFrom a surname probably meaning "strife" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
BARRFHIONNmIrishMeans "fair hair", derived from Gaelic
barr "head" and
fionn "white, fair".
BARTHOLOMEWmEnglish, BiblicalFrom
Βαρθολομαιος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "son of
TALMAI". In the New Testament
Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle
Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.
BARUCHmBiblical, HebrewMeans "blessed" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a companion of the prophet Jeremiah, acting as his scribe and assistant. The deuterocanonical Book of Baruch was supposedly written by him. A famous bearer was Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch-Jewish rationalist philosopher.
BASAJAUNmBasqueMeans "lord of the woods" from Basque
baso "woods" and
jaun "lord". This is the name of a character in Basque folklore, the Old Man of the Woods.
BAŞAKfTurkishMeans "ear of wheat" in Turkish. This is also the Turkish name for the constellation Virgo.
BASIL (1)mEnglishFrom the Greek name
Βασιλειος (Basileios) which was derived from
βασιλευς (basileus) meaning "king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
BASIRmArabicMeans "wise" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
البصير (al-Basir) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
BASTfEgyptian MythologyPossibly means "fire, heat" or "ointment jar" in Egyptian. In Egyptian mythology Bast was a goddess of cats, fertility and the sun who was considered a protector of Lower Egypt. She was often depicted with the head of a lioness or a house cat. As her role in the Egyptian pantheon diminished, she was called
Bastet.
BASTETfEgyptian MythologyVariant of
BAST. This form of the name, a diminutive, was given to her after the similar goddess Sekhmet (protector of Upper Egypt) became more important.
BATHSHEBAfBiblicalMeans "daughter of the oath" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a woman married to
Uriah the Hittite. King
David seduced her and made her pregnant, so he arranged to have her husband killed in battle and then married her. She was the mother of
Solomon.
BATRAZmOssetian, Caucasian MythologyPossibly from Turkic
bagatur meaning "hero, warrior, brave". This is the name of the leader of the superhuman Narts in Caucasian mythology.
BATULfArabicMeans "virgin" in Arabic. This is an Arabic epithet of the Virgin
Mary.
BAUDELIOmSpanishFrom
Baudelius, a Latinized form of a possibly Germanic name. Saint Baudelius was a 3rd-century saint and martyr from Orleans.
BAXTERmEnglishFrom an occupational surname which meant "(female) baker" in Old English.
BAYARDmLiteratureDerived from Old French
baiart meaning "bay coloured". In medieval French poetry Bayard was a bay horse owned by Renaud de Montauban and his brothers. The horse could magically adjust its size to carry multiple riders.
BEATRICEfItalian, English, SwedishItalian form of
BEATRIX. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the 'Divine Comedy' (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1599), in which Beatrice and Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
BEATRIXfGerman, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late RomanProbably from
Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name
Viator which meant "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin
beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.
... [more] BEATUSmLate RomanMasculine form of
BEATA. According to legend, Saint Beatus was ordained a priest by Saint
Peter and evangelized in Switzerland. Another saint by this name was an 8th-century Asturian theologian.
BEAUmEnglishMeans "beautiful" in French. It has been occasionally used as an American given name since the late 19th century. It appears in Margaret Mitchell's novel 'Gone with the Wind' (1936) as the name of Ashley and Melanie's son.
BÉBINNfIrish, Irish MythologyMeans "fair lady" in Irish Gaelic. This name was borne by several characters in Irish mythology, including a goddess of childbirth.
BECKETTmEnglish (Modern)From an English surname which could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English
beke meaning "beak" or
bekke meaning "stream, brook".
BEDEmHistoryModern form of the Old English name
Baeda, possibly related to Old English
bed "prayer". Saint Bede, called the Venerable Bede, was an 8th-century historian, scholar and Doctor of the Church.
BEDIVEREmWelsh Mythology, Arthurian RomanceFrom the Welsh name
Bedwyr, which is of unknown meaning. In Arthurian legends Bedivere was one of the original companions of King
Arthur. He first appears in early Welsh tales, and his story was later expanded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century. He is the one who throws the sword Excalibur into the lake at the request of the dying Arthur.
BEHARmAlbanianFrom the archaic Albanian word
behar meaning "summer".
BEHNAMmPersianMeans "reputable" (literally "good name") in Persian.
BÉLAmHungarianThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. It could be derived from Hungarian
bél meaning "guts, bowel" or Slavic
бѣлъ (belu) meaning "white". This was the name of four Hungarian kings.
BĚLAfCzechDerived from the old Slavic word
белъ (belu) meaning "white".
BELÉNfSpanishSpanish form of
Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King
David and
Jesus were born. The town's name is from Hebrew
בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beit-lechem) meaning "house of bread".
BELENUSmCeltic MythologyProbably from a Celtic word meaning "bright, brilliant". This was the name of a Gaulish solar god who was often equated with
Apollo.
BELImWelsh MythologyProbably a Welsh derivative of
BELENUS. Beli Mawr was a Welsh ancestor deity who established several royal lines in Wales.
BELIALmBiblical, Biblical Latin, Judeo-Christian LegendMeans "worthless" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this term is used to refer to various wicked people. In the New Testament, Paul uses it as a name for Satan. In later Christian tradition Belial became an evil angel associated with lawlessness and lust.
BELINDAfEnglishThe meaning of this name is not known for certain. The first element could be related to Italian
bella "beautiful". The second element could be Germanic
lind meaning "flexible, soft, tender" (and by extension "snake, serpent"). This name first arose in the 17th century, and was subsequently used by Alexander Pope in his poem 'The Rape of the Lock' (1712).
BELLAfEnglishShort form of
ISABELLA and other names ending in
bella. It is also associated with the Italian word
bella meaning "beautiful".
BELLATRIXfAstronomyMeans "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
BELLEfEnglishShort 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.
BELLONAfRoman MythologyDerived from Latin
bellare meaning "to fight". This was the name of the Roman goddess of war, a companion of
Mars.
BELPHOEBEfLiteratureCombination of
belle "beautiful" and the name
PHOEBE. This name was first used by Edmund Spenser in his poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590).
BELSHAZZARmBabylonian (Anglicized), BiblicalFrom
בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר (Belshatzzar), the Hebrew form of the Akkadian name
Bel-sharra-usur meaning "
BEL protect the king". This was the name of the son of Nabonidus, the last king of the Babylonian Empire before it was conquered by the Persians in the 6th century BC. In the Old Testament Book of Daniel Belshazzar is the last king of Babylon who sees the mystical handwriting on the wall, which is interpreted by Daniel to portend the end of the empire.