VÁCLAV m Czech, SlovakContracted form of the older name
Veceslav, from the Slavic elements
veche "more" and
slava "glory". Saint Václav (known as Wenceslas in English) was a 10th-century duke of Bohemia murdered by his brother. He is the patron saint of the Czech Republic. This was also the name of several Bohemian kings.
VADIM m RussianMeaning unknown. It is used as a Russian form of
BADEMUS, but it may actually be derived from the Slavic name
VADIMIR or else from an Old Norse source.
VAHAGN m Armenian Mythology, ArmenianFrom Avestan
Verethragna meaning "breaking of defense, victory". In Armenian mythology this was the name of the heroic god of war.
VÄINÄMÖINEN m Finnish MythologyDerived from Finnish
väinä "wide and slow-flowing river". In Finnish mythology Väinämöinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess
Ilmatar. He is the hero of the Finnish epic the 'Kalevala'.
VAKHTANG m GeorgianDerived from Old Persian
varka-tanu meaning "wolf-bodied". This name was borne by several kings of Georgia.
VALENCIA f VariousFrom the name of cities in Spain and Venezuela, both derived from Latin
valentia meaning "strength, vigour".
VALENTIN m French, Romanian, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, MacedonianForm of
Valentinus (see
VALENTINE (1)) in several languages.
VALENTINA f Italian, Russian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Latvian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Valentinus (see
VALENTINE (1)). A famous bearer was the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
VALENTINE (1) m EnglishFrom the Roman cognomen
Valentinus, which was itself from the name
Valens meaning "strong, vigourous, healthy" in Latin. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's day and love. As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century.
VALERIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was derived from Latin
valere "to be strong". This was the name of several early saints.
VALÉRY m FrenchDerived from the Germanic elements
walha "foreign" and
ric "power". It has been frequently confused with the name
Valère.
VALKYRIE f VariousMeans "chooser of the slain", derived from Old Norse
valr "the slain" and
kyrja "chooser". In Norse myth the Valkyries were maidens who led heroes killed in battle to Valhalla.
VALLI f HinduismMeans "creeping plant" in Dravidian. In Dravidian mythology the goddess Valli was the wife of Murunga.
VĂN m VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
文 (văn) meaning "literature, culture, writing". This is a common middle name for Vietnamese boys.
VANCE m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Old English
fenn meaning "marsh, fen".
VANESSA f English, Italian, Portuguese, German, DutchInvented by author Jonathan Swift for his poem 'Cadenus and Vanessa' (1726). He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of
Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
VANNA (2) f & m KhmerMeans "golden" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit.
VARDAN m ArmenianDerived from Armenian
վարդ (vard) meaning "rose", ultimately from Persian.
VARDO f GeorgianDerived from Georgian
ვარდი (vardi) meaning "rose", ultimately from Persian via Armenian.
VARIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name meaning "versatile" in Latin. Varius Rufus was a Roman epic poet of the 1st century BC.
VARPU f FinnishFrom the Finnish name for a type of berry bush.
VARUNA m HinduismProbably from a Sanskrit word meaning "to surround". In Hindu mythology Varuna is a god of water and the celestial ocean surrounding the world. He is one of the chief gods in the Rigveda.
VASANTA m HinduismMeans "brilliant" or "spring" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu personification of the spring.
VASCO m Spanish, Portuguese, ItalianFrom the medieval Spanish name
Velasco, which possibly meant "crow" in Basque. A famous bearer was the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the first person to sail from Europe around Africa to India.
VASHTI f BiblicalPossibly means "thread" in Hebrew, but it is most likely of Persian origin. In the Old Testament this is the name of the first wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia before he marries Esther.
VASUDHA f Indian, HindiMeans "producer of wealth" in Sanskrit, used to refer to the earth.
VAUGHN m Welsh, EnglishFrom a Welsh surname that was derived from Welsh
bychan meaning "little".
VAYU m HinduismMeans "air, wind" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu god of the air and wind, one of the five elements.
VEASNA m & f KhmerMeans "opportunity, good fortune, fate" in Khmer.
VEDASTUS m HistoryPossibly a Latinized form of a Germanic or Celtic name, possibly Germanic
WIDOGAST. This was the name of a 6th-century saint who helped to convert the Frankish king Clovis to Christianity.
VEGA f AstronomyThe name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Waqi') meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
VELDA f EnglishMeaning unknown, possibly a derivative of the Germanic element
wald meaning "power, rule".
VELIA f ItalianFrom the Roman family name
Velius, which possibly means "concealed" in Latin.
VELMA f EnglishProbably a variant of
WILMA, the spelling with an
e perhaps due to the influence of
SELMA (1). This name has been in use since the 19th century.
VELVET f EnglishFrom the English word for the soft fabric. It became used as a given name after the main character in Enid Bagnold's book 'National Velvet' (1935) and the movie (1944) and television (1960) adaptations.
VENA m HinduismDerived from Sanskrit
वेन (vena) meaning "yearning". This is the name of an evil king in Hindu mythology.
VENETIA f EnglishOriginally this was probably a Latinized form of
GWYNEDD or
GWYNETH. It also coincides with the name of the city in Italy, called
Venice in English. This name was borne by the celebrated beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633). Benjamin Disraeli used it in his novel entitled 'Venetia' (1837).
VENUS f Roman MythologyMeans "love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite. As the mother of
Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.
VERA (1) f Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, GeorgianMeans "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word
verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
VERCINGETORIX m Ancient CelticMeans "king over warriors" from Gaulish
ver "on, over" combined with
cingeto "marching men, warriors" and
rix "king". This name was borne by a chieftain of the Gaulish tribe the Arverni. He led the resistance against Julius Caesar's attempts to conquer Gaul, but he was eventually defeated, brought to Rome, and executed.
VERDANDI f Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Verðandi meaning "becoming, happening". Verdandi was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse mythology. She was responsible for the present.
VERE m EnglishFrom a Norman surname, which was from a French place name, which was itself derived from a Gaulish word meaning "alder".
VEREMUND m Ancient Germanic (Latinized)Latinized form of a Germanic name, probably
Waramunt, derived from
war "vigilant, cautious" and
mund "protection". This was the name of a 5th-century king of Galicia (from the Germanic tribe of the Suebi). It was later the name of kings of Asturias and León, though their names are usually spelled in the Spanish form
Bermudo.
VERENA f German, Late RomanPossibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
BERENICE. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
VERÍSSIMO m PortugueseFrom the Latin name
Verissimus meaning "very true". Saint Verissimus was a Portuguese martyr executed during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
VERITY f EnglishFrom the English word meaning "verity, truth". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.
VERNA f EnglishFeminine form of
VERNON, sometimes associated with the Latin word
vernus "spring". It has been in use since the 19th century.
VERNON m EnglishFrom a Norman surname, which was from a French place name, ultimately derived from the Gaulish word
vern meaning "alder".
VERONA f VariousFrom the name of the city in Italy, which is itself of unknown meaning.
VERONICA f English, Italian, Romanian, Late RomanLatin alteration of
BERENICE, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning "true image". This was the name of a legendary saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the 17th-century Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani. As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
VERONIKA f Russian, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, German, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, LatvianForm of
VERONICA in several languages.
VESLEMØY f NorwegianMeans "little girl" from Norwegian
vesle "little" and
møy "girl". This name was created by Norwegian writer Arne Garborg for the main character in his poem 'Haugtussa' (1895).
VESNA f Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, MacedonianMeans "messenger" in Slavic. This was the name of a Slavic spirit associated with the springtime. In many Slavic languages this is now the poetic word for "spring". It has been used as a given name only since the 20th century.
VESPASIAN m HistoryFrom the Roman cognomen
Vespasianus, derived either from Latin
vesper meaning "west" or "evening" or
vespa meaning "wasp". This was the name of a 1st-century Roman emperor, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the founder of the Flavian dynasty.
VESTA f Roman MythologyProbably a Roman cognate of
HESTIA. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
VETLE m NorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Vetrliði meaning "winter traveller", and by extension "bear cub".