MANASSEH m BiblicalMeans
"causing to forget" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the oldest son of
Joseph and
Asenath and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was also borne by a 7th-century BC king of Judah, condemned in the bible for allowing the worship of other gods.
MANFRED m German, Dutch, PolishDerived from the Germanic elements
magan "strength" and
frid "peace". This is the name of the main character in Lord Byron's drama
Manfred (1817). This name was also borne by Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918), the German pilot in World War I who was known as the Red Baron.
MANI (2) m PersianMeaning unknown, presumably of Persian origin. Mani was a 3rd-century prophet who founded the religion of Manichaeism (which is now extinct).
MANIUS m Ancient RomanRoman praenomen, or given name, which was possibly derived from Old Latin
manus "good".
MANLEY m EnglishFrom an English surname, originally a place name, meaning
"common clearing" in Old English.
MANLIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
mane "morning". Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was a Roman consul who saved Rome from the Gauls in the 4th century BC.
MANOJ m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, KannadaModern form of
MANOJA.
MANOJA m HinduismMeans
"born of the mind", from Sanskrit
मनस् (manas) meaning "mind, intellect, spirit" and
ज (ja) meaning "born". This is another name of the Hindu god
Kama.
MANSEL m English (Rare)From an English surname that originally referred to a person who came from the French city of Le Mans.
MANTAS m LithuanianFrom Lithuanian
mantus meaning
"intelligent". Herkus Mantas was a 13th-century Prussian hero who fought against the Teutonic Knights.
MANU (1) m Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, KannadaMeans
"thinking, wise" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is a title of Svayambhuva, the progenitor of the human race, as well as several of his descendants.
MANUEL m Spanish, Portuguese, German, English, Italian, French, Romanian, Late Greek (Latinized)Spanish and Portuguese form of
EMMANUEL. In the spelling
Μανουήλ (Manouel) it was also used in the Byzantine Empire, notably by two emperors. It is possible this form of the name was transmitted to Spain and Portugal from Byzantium, since there were connections between the royal families (king Ferdinand III of Castile married Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, who had Byzantine roots, and had a son named Manuel). The name has been used in Iberia since at least the 13th century and was borne by two kings of Portugal.
MAO (1) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or
舞 (mai) meaning "dance" combined with
央 (o) meaning "center",
緒 (o) meaning "thread" or
桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom". Other kanji combinations are possible.
MAPLE f EnglishFrom the English word for the tree, derived from Old English
mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem
Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.
MAR f Spanish, CatalanMeans
"sea" in Spanish and Catalan. It is from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María del Mar.
MĀRA f Latvian, Baltic MythologyThis was the name of a Latvian mother goddess. Her name is possibly derived from
MARIA, identifying her with the Virgin Mary. In modern times this name is used as a variant of
MARIJA.
MARAĴA f EsperantoMeans
"made of the sea" in Esperanto, a derivative of
maro "sea", ultimately from Latin
mare.
MARAL f Azerbaijani, ArmenianMeans
"deer" in Azerbaijani and Armenian, referring to the Caspian Red Deer, derived from Persian
مرال (maral).
MARAMA f Polynesian MythologyMeans
"moon" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian mythology she was the goddess of the moon and death.
MARCEAU m FrenchOld French variant of
MARCEL. A famous bearer of the surname was the French general François Séverin Marceau (1769-1796).
MARCELLINUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was derived from
MARCELLUS. Saint Marcellinus was a pope of the early 4th century who was supposedly martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
MARCIANUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was a derivative of the praenomen
MARCUS. This was the name of a 5th-century Eastern Roman emperor. It was also borne by a 2nd-century saint: a bishop of Tortona, Italy.
MARCIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was a derivative of the praenomen
MARCUS. This was the name of an early, possibly legendary, king of Rome.
MARCO m Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, DutchItalian form of
Marcus (see
MARK). During the Middle Ages this name was common in Venice, where Saint Mark was supposedly buried. A famous bearer was the Venetian explorer Marco Polo, who travelled across Asia to China in the 13th century.
MARCUS m Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, English, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishRoman praenomen, or given name, that was probably derived from the name of the Roman god
MARS. This was among the most popular of the Roman praenomina. Famous bearers include Marcus Tullius Cicero (known simply as Cicero), a 1st-century BC statesman and orator, Marcus Antonius (known as Mark Antony), a 1st-century BC politician, and Marcus Aurelius, a notable 2nd-century emperor. This was also the name of a pope of the 4th century. This spelling has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world, though the traditional English form
Mark has been more common.
MARDUK m Semitic MythologyProbably from Sumerian
amar-Utuk meaning
"calf of Utu", derived from
amar combined with the name of the sun god
UTU. This was the name of the chief Babylonian god, presiding over heaven, light, sky, battle, and fertility. After killing the dragon
Tiamat, who was an old enemy of the gods, he created the world and sky from the pieces of her body.
MARGANITA f HebrewFrom the name of a type of flowering plant common in Israel, called the scarlet pimpernel in English.
MARGARET f EnglishDerived from Latin
Margarita, which was from Greek
μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning
"pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language. Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.
... [more] MARGAUX f FrenchVariant of
MARGOT influenced by the name of the wine-producing French town. It was borne by Margaux Hemingway (1954-1996), granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway, who had it changed from
Margot.
MARGHERITA f ItalianItalian form of
MARGARET. This is also the Italian word for the daisy flower (species Bellis perennis, Leucanthemum vulgare and others).
MARGRIET f DutchDutch form of
MARGARET. This is also the Dutch word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
MARGUERITE f FrenchFrench form of
MARGARET. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
MARI (1) f Welsh, Breton, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishWelsh, Breton, Estonian and Finnish form of
MARIA, as well as a Hungarian diminutive of
MÁRIA. It is also a Scandinavian form of
MARIE.
MARI (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" or
里 (ri) meaning "village". Many other combinations of kanji characters can form this name.
MARI (3) f MythologyPossibly from Basque
emari meaning
"donation" or
amari meaning
"mother". This was the name of a goddess of the weather and fertility in Basque mythology.
MARIA f & m Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicLatin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
MARY).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
... [more] MARIAH f EnglishVariant of
MARIA. It is usually pronounced in a way that reflects an older English pronunciation of
Maria. The name was popularized in the early 1990s by the American singer Mariah Carey (1970-).
MARIAN (1) f EnglishVariant of
MARION (1). This name was borne in English legend by Maid Marian, Robin Hood's love. It is sometimes considered a combination of
MARY and
ANN.
MARIE f & m French, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, DutchFrench and Czech form of
MARIA. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.
... [more] MARIEL f EnglishDiminutive of
MARY influenced by
MURIEL. In the case of actress Mariel Hemingway (1961-), the name is from the Cuban town of Mariel.
MARIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine",
里 (ri) meaning "village" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Many different combinations of kanji characters can form this name.
MARILYN f EnglishCombination of
MARY and
lyn. It has been used since the start of the 20th century. A famous bearer was the American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
MARINA f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Georgian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
MARINUS.
MARIO m Italian, Spanish, German, CroatianItalian and Spanish form of
MARIUS. Famous bearers include American racecar driver Mario Andretti (1940-) and Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux (1965-).
MARION (2) m EnglishFrom a French surname that was derived from
MARION (1). This was the real name of American actor John Wayne (1907-1979), who was born Marion Robert Morrison.
MARIS f English (Rare)Means
"of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".
MARIUS m Ancient Roman, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, French, LithuanianRoman family name that was derived either from
MARS, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root
mas, maris meaning
"male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC. Since the start of the Christian era, it has occasionally been used as a masculine form of
MARIA.