Biff m English (Rare)From a nickname that was based on the English word
biff, which means
"punch, hit, strike".
Bilbo m LiteratureThis is the name of the hero of
The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien. His real hobbit name is
Bilba, which is of unknown meaning, but this was altered by Tolkien in order to use the more masculine
o ending. In the novel Bilbo Baggins is recruited by the wizard
Gandalf to join the quest to retake Mount Erebor from the dragon Smaug.
Bile m Irish MythologyPossibly an Irish form of
Belenus, though it may derive from an Irish word meaning
"sacred tree, scion, hero". In Irish mythology this was the name of one of the Milesians who was drowned while invading Ireland.
Bill m EnglishShort form of
William. This spelling was first used in 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-).
Billy m EnglishDiminutive of
Bill. A notable bearer was the American outlaw Billy the Kid (1859-1881), whose real name was William H. Bonney.
Birdie f EnglishDiminutive of
Bertha,
Bernice and other names with a similar sound, or sometimes simply from the English word
bird.
Birgitta f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, FinnishMost likely a Scandinavian form of
Bridget via the Latinized form
Brigitta. Alternatively it could be a feminine derivative of
Birger. This is the name of the patron saint of Europe, Birgitta of Sweden, the 14th-century founder of the Bridgettine nuns. Her father's name was Birger.
Birkir m IcelandicFrom Icelandic
birki meaning
"birch", specifically the downy birch (species Betula pubescens).
Birutė f LithuanianPossibly from Lithuanian
birti meaning
"to scatter, to pour out" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name was borne by the mother of the 15th-century Grand Duke
Vytautas of Lithuania.
Bishop m EnglishEither from the English occupational surname, or else directly from the English word. It is ultimately derived from Greek
ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer".
Bithiah f BiblicalMeans
"daughter of Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots
בַּת (bat) meaning "daughter" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of Pharaoh. She is traditionally equated with the pharaoh's daughter who drew
Moses from the Nile.
Bjoern m German (Rare)German variant of
Björn. The Scandinavian names
Björn and
Bjørn are occasionally written with the digraph
oe.
Bjørnar m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse elements
bjǫrn "bear" and
herr "army, warrior". This name was coined in the 19th century.
Bláán m Old IrishFrom Old Irish
blá meaning
"yellow" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of 6th-century Irish saint, a bishop of Kingarth on the Isle of Bute in Scotland.
Blagovest m BulgarianDerived from the Slavic elements
благ (blag) meaning "sweet, pleasant, good" and
вест (vest) meaning "message, news".
Blaine m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name
Bláán.
Blair m & f Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
blàr meaning
"plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.
... [more] Blaise m FrenchFrom the Roman name
Blasius, which was derived from Latin
blaesus meaning
"lisping". A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
Blake m & f EnglishFrom 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.
Blakely f English (Modern)From an English surname that was derived from Old English
blæc "black" and
leah "woodland clearing".
Blanchard m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
blanc meaning "white" and
hart meaning "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of an obscure (perhaps legendary) 7th-century French saint.
Blanche f French, EnglishFrom 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.
Blandine f FrenchFrench form of the Roman name
Blandina, which was the feminine form of
Blandinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Blandus. Saint Blandina was a 2nd-century slave from Lyons who was martyred by being thrown to wild beasts.
Bláthnat f Irish MythologyMeans
"little flower" from Irish
bláth "flower" combined with a diminutive suffix. In Irish legend she was a maiden abducted and married by Cú Roí. She was rescued by
Cúchulainn, who killed her husband, but was in turn murdered by one of Cú Roí's loyal servants.
Bleda m HistoryPossibly from a Turkic root meaning
"wise". According to other theories the name was of Gothic origin, or was a Gothicized form of a Hunnic name. This was the name of the brother of
Attila.
Bleddyn m WelshFrom Welsh
blaidd "wolf" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of an 11th-century king of Gwynedd and Powys.
Blessing m & f English (African)From the English word
blessing, of Old English origin. This name is most common in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa.
Blodeuwedd f Welsh MythologyMeans
"face of flowers" in Welsh. According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi, she was created out of flowers by
Gwydion to be the wife of his nephew
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Originally she was named
Blodeuedd meaning simply "flowers". She was eventually transformed into an owl by Gwydion after she and her lover
Gronw attempted to murder Lleu, at which point he renamed her
Blodeuwedd.
Blodwen f WelshMeans
"white flowers" from Welsh
blodau "flowers" combined with
gwen "white, blessed". This is the name of an 1878 Welsh opera by Joseph Parry.
Blondie f English (Rare)From a nickname for a person with blond hair. This is the name of the title character in a comic strip by Chic Young.
Blossom f EnglishFrom the English word
blossom, ultimately from Old English
blóstm. It came into use as a rare given name in the 19th century.
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.
Bo 1 m Swedish, DanishFrom the Old Norse byname
Búi, which was derived from Old Norse
bua meaning
"to live".
Bo 2 m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
波 (bō) meaning "wave", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.
Boann f Irish MythologyPossibly from Old Irish
bó "cow" and
finn "white, blessed". In Irish mythology this was the name of the goddess of the River Boyne, which is named for her. She was the wife of
Nechtan and the father of
Aonghus (by
Dagda).
Boaz m Biblical, Hebrew, Dutch, Biblical HebrewMeans
"swiftness" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries
Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with
Jachin).
Bob m English, DutchShort form of
Robert. It arose later than
Dob,
Hob and
Nob, which were medieval rhyming nicknames of Robert. It was 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).
Bobby m EnglishDiminutive of
Bob. Hockey greats Bobby Hull (1939-2023) and Bobby Orr (1948-) have borne this name.
Bode m Low GermanFrom the Germanic name
Bodo, derived from the Old High German element
bot, Old Saxon
bod meaning
"command, order" (Proto-Germanic *
budą). Saint Bodo, also called Leudinus, was a 7th-century bishop of Toul in northern France.
Boel f SwedishFrom
Boeld, a medieval form of the Old Norse name
Bóthildr (see
Bodil).
Boglárka f HungarianMeans
"buttercup (flower)" in Hungarian (genus Ranunculus), derived from the archaic word
boglár meaning "ornament".
Bogusław m PolishMeans
"glory of God" from the Slavic elements
bogu "god" and
slava "glory". This name was borne by several dukes of Pomerania, beginning in the 12th century.
Bolat m KazakhFrom a Turkic word meaning
"steel", ultimately from Persian.
Bolesław m PolishDerived from the Slavic elements
bolye "more, greater" and
slava "glory". This was the name of kings of Poland, starting in the 11th century with the first Polish king Bolesław the Brave.
Bolívar m Spanish (Latin American)From a surname that was taken from the Basque place name
Bolibar, which was derived from
bolu "mill" and
ibar "riverside". A famous bearer of the surname was Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), a South American revolutionary leader, after whom the country of Bolivia is named.
Bomilcar m Phoenician (Latinized)From the Punic name
𐤁𐤃𐤌𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕 (Bodmilqart), from Phoenician
𐤁𐤃 (bod) meaning "on behalf of" or perhaps from
𐤏𐤁𐤃 (ʿabd) meaning "servant, slave" combined with the name of the god
Melqart. This name was borne by a few figures from Carthaginian history.
Bonaventura m Italian, CatalanMeans
"good fortune" in Italian. Saint Bonaventura was a 13th-century Franciscan monk who is considered a Doctor of the Church.
Boniface m French, English (Rare)From the Late Latin name
Bonifatius, which meant
"good fate" from
bonum "good" and
fatum "fate". This was the name of nine popes and also several saints, including an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon missionary to Germany (originally named
Winfrið) who is now regarded as the patron saint of that country. It came into use in England during the Middle Ages, but became rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Bonita f EnglishMeans
"pretty" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin
bonus "good". It has been used as a name in the English-speaking world since the beginning of the 20th century.
Bonitus m Late RomanDerived from a diminutive of Latin
bonus meaning
"good". This was the name of a 7th-century century saint, a bishop of Auvergne.
Bonnie f EnglishMeans
"pretty" from the Scottish word
bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French
bon "good". It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century, and it became especially popular after the movie
Gone with the Wind (1939), in which it was the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.
Booker m EnglishFrom an English occupational surname meaning
"maker of books". A famous bearer was Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), an African-American leader.
Boone m EnglishFrom an English surname that was either derived from Old French
bon meaning
"good" or from the name of the town of Bohon, France.
Bor m SloveneShort form of names containing
bor, such as
Borislav or
Boris. It is also a South Slavic word meaning "pine tree".
Bora 1 m TurkishMeans
"storm, squall" in Turkish, ultimately related to Greek
Βορέας (Boreas), the name of the god of the north wind.
Boris m Bulgarian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, German, FrenchFrom a Bulgar Turkic name, also recorded as
Bogoris, perhaps meaning
"short" or
"wolf" or
"snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century Boris I of Bulgaria who converted his realm to Christianity and is thus regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church. To the north in Kievan Rus it was the name of another saint, a son of
Vladimir the Great who was murdered with his brother
Gleb in the 11th century. His mother may have been Bulgarian.
... [more] Bořivoj m CzechDerived from the Slavic elements
borti "battle" and
voji "soldier". This name was borne by a 9th-century Duke of Bohemia.
Borja m SpanishFrom a Spanish surname, used as a given name in honour of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Borja (1510-1572). The surname, also spelled Borgia, is derived from the name of a Spanish town, ultimately from Arabic
بُرْج (burj) meaning "tower".
Bors m Arthurian RomanceFrom French
Bohort, probably from Old French
behort or
bohort meaning
"jousting" or
"jousting lance". First appearing in the 13th-century
Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Bors was one of Arthur's knights who quested for the Holy Grail. His father, the king of Gaunnes, was also named Bors.
Boston m EnglishFrom the American city of Boston in Massachusetts, itself named after a town in Lincolnshire, England. The town's name is said to mean "
Botwulf's stone".
Botwulf m Anglo-SaxonFrom Old English
bot meaning "improvement" and
wulf meaning "wolf". Saint Botwulf was a 7th-century English abbot. He may be the person after whom
Boston is named.
Boudicca f Brythonic (Latinized)Derived from Brythonic
boud meaning
"victory". This was the name of a 1st-century queen of the Iceni who led the Britons in revolt against the Romans. Eventually her forces were defeated and she committed suicide. Her name is first recorded in Roman histories, as
Boudicca by Tacitus and
Βουδουῖκα (Boudouika) by Cassius Dio.
Bounmy m & f LaoMeans
"happy", from Lao
ບຸນ (boun) meaning "happiness, prosperity, goodness" combined with
ມີ (mi) meaning "to have".
Bowie m & f English (Modern), Dutch (Modern)From a Scottish surname, derived from Gaelic
buidhe meaning
"yellow". It has been used as a given name in honour of the British musician David Bowie (1947-2016), born David Robert Jones, who took his stage name from the American pioneer James Bowie (1796-1836).
Boyce m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Old French
bois "wood".
Boyd m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was possibly derived from the name of the island of Bute (
Bód in Gaelic).
Boyko m BulgarianOriginally a diminutive of names containing the Slavic element
boji meaning
"battle".
Brad m EnglishShort form of
Bradley,
Bradford and other names beginning with
Brad. A famous bearer is American actor Brad Pitt (1963-).
Brádach m Medieval IrishIrish byname, possibly derived from
bradach meaning
"thieving, roguish, spirited".
Bradamante f LiteratureUsed by Matteo Maria Boiardo for a female knight in his epic poem
Orlando Innamorato (1483). He possibly intended it to derive from Italian
brado "wild, untamed, natural" and
amante "loving" or perhaps Latin
amantis "lover, sweetheart, mistress", referring to her love for the Saracen
Ruggiero. Bradamante also appears in Ludovico Ariosto's poem
Orlando Furioso (1532) and Handel's opera
Alcina (1735).
Bradán m Medieval IrishMeans
"salmon" in Irish. It could also be formed from Irish
brad "thief" and a diminutive suffix.