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.
BLAINE m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from the given name
Bláán, which meant
"yellow" in Gaelic. Saint Bláán was a 6th-century missionary to the Picts.
BLAIR m & f Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that is derived from Gaelic
blár meaning
"plain, field, battlefield".
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 EnglishFrom a 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).
BLAKELY f English (Modern)From a surname that was derived from Old English
blæc "black" and
leah "woodland clearing".
BLANCHE f French, EnglishFrom a medieval French nickname meaning
"white, fair". This name and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word
blanc. 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, Irish MythologyMeans
"little flower" from the Irish word
blath "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 she 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.
BLODEUWEDD f Welsh, Welsh MythologyMeans
"face of flowers" in Welsh. In a story in the Mabinogion, she is created out of flowers by
Gwydion to be the wife of his nephew
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. She is eventually changed into an owl for her infidelity.
BLODWEN f WelshMeans
"white flowers" from Welsh
blodau "flowers" combined with
gwen "white, fair, blessed".
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.
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.
BOAZ m Biblical, Hebrew, 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-) and Bobby Orr (1948-) have borne this name.
BOGLÁRKA f HungarianMeans
"buttercup" in Hungarian, 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.
BONAVENTURA m ItalianMeans
"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 Winfrid) 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.
BOPHA f KhmerMeans
"flower" in Khmer, ultimately from Pali.
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, GermanFrom the Turkic name
Bogoris, perhaps meaning
"short" or
"wolf" or
"snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century King Boris I of Bulgaria who converted his country to Christianity, as well as two later Bulgarian emperors. The name was popularized in the Slavic world due to the 11th-century Saint Boris, who was a Russian prince martyred with his brother Gleb. His mother may have been Bulgarian. Another famous bearer was the 16th-century Russian emperor Boris Godunov, later the subject of a play of that name by Aleksandr Pushkin.
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".
BOUDICCA f Ancient Celtic (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.
BOYCE m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from Old French
bois "wood".
BOYD m Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was possibly derived from the name of the island of Bute.
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 IrishPossibly derived from a Gaelic word meaning
"large-chested".
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).
BRADFORD m EnglishFrom a surname that originally came from a place name that meant
"broad ford" in Old English.
BRADLEY m EnglishFrom a surname that originally came from a place name meaning
"broad clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the World War II American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).
BRAHMA m HinduismMeans
"growth, expansion, creation" in Sanskrit. The Hindu god Brahma is the creator and director of the universe, the balance between the opposing forces of
Vishnu and
Shiva. He is often depicted with four heads and four arms.
BRAM m English, DutchShort form of
ABRAHAM. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote
Dracula.
BRAN (2) m Welsh, Welsh MythologyMeans
"raven" in Welsh. In Welsh legend Bran the Blessed (called also Bendigeid Vran) was the son of the god
Llyr. Later Welsh legends describe him as a king of Britain who was killed attacking Ireland.
BRANDON m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"hill covered with broom" in Old English. It is sometimes also used as a variant of
BRENDAN.
BRANDY f EnglishFrom the English word
brandy for the alcoholic drink. It is ultimately from Dutch
brandewijn "burnt wine". It has been in use as a given name since the 1960s.
BRANT m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
BRANDR. This is also the name for a variety of wild geese.
BRANTLEY m English (Modern)From a surname, an Americanized form of the German surname
Brändle, ultimately from Old High German
brant "fire".
BRANWEN f Welsh, Welsh MythologyMeans
"beautiful raven" from Welsh
brân "raven" and
gwen "fair, white, blessed". In the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth, she is the sister of the British king
Bran and the wife of the Irish king Matholwch.
BRAXTON m English (Modern)From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"Bracca's town" in Old English.
BRECHT m DutchShort form of names containing
brecht, often derived from the Germanic element
beraht meaning "bright".
BREDA (2) f SloveneMeaning unknown. It was used by the Slovene author Ivan Pregelj for the title character in his novel
Mlada Breda (1913).
BRENDA f EnglishPossibly a feminine form of the Old Norse name
Brandr, meaning
"sword", which was brought to Britain in the Middle Ages. This name is sometimes used as a feminine form of
BRENDAN.
BRENDAN m Irish, English, BretonFrom
Brendanus, the Latinized form of the Irish name
Bréanainn, which was derived from a Welsh word meaning
"prince". Saint Brendan was a 6th-century Irish abbot who, according to legend, crossed the Atlantic and reached North America with 17 other monks.