YAfChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" or other characters with a similar pronunciation.
YAARAfHebrewMeans "honeycomb" and "honeysuckle" in Hebrew.
YADIRAfSpanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic)Meaning unknown, possibly derived from an Arabic name. It has been used in Mexico since at least the 1940s, perhaps inspired by the Colombian actress Yadira Jiménez (1928-?), who performed in Mexican films beginning in 1946.
YAHUIf & mChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with
惠 (huì) meaning "favour, benefit". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.
YAHWEHmTheologyA name of the Hebrew God, represented in Hebrew by the tetragrammaton ("four letters")
יהוה (Yod Heh Vav Heh), which was transliterated into Roman script as
Y H W H. Because it was considered blasphemous to utter the name of God, it was only written and never spoken, which resulted in the original pronunciation becoming lost. The name may have originally been derived from the old Semitic root
הוה (hawah) meaning "to be" or "to become".
YALEmWelshFrom a Welsh surname which was itself derived from a place name meaning "fertile upland" (from Welsh
ial).
YALINGfChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with
玲 (líng) meaning "tinkling of jade". This name can be formed of other character combinations as well.
YAMmSemitic MythologyMeans "sea" in Ugaritic. Yam was the Ugaritic god of the sea, also associated with chaos, storms and destruction. He was a son of the chief god
El.
YAMA (1)mHinduismMeans "twin" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu god of death. He is also regarded as the first mortal being, or in other words, the first person to die. This name is related to Persian
Jam.
YAMATOmJapaneseFrom
YAMATO, an ancient name for Japan. It can also refer to the Yamato period in Japanese history, which lasted into the 8th century. The individual kanji are
大 meaning "great" and
和 meaning "harmony".
YAMIfHinduismMeans "twin, pair" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of the first woman, the twin sister of the first man
Yama.
YAN (2)f & mChineseFrom Chinese
艳 (yàn) meaning "beautiful, gorgeous" (which is usually only feminine) or
岩 (yán) meaning "cliff, rocks", as well as other Chinese characters pronounced in a similar fashion.
YANCYmEnglishFrom a surname, which was an Americanized form of the Dutch surname
Jansen meaning "
JAN (1)'s son".
YANGm & fChineseFrom Chinese
洋 (yáng) meaning "ocean" or
阳 (yáng) meaning "light, sun, male" (which is typically only masculine), as well as other Chinese characters pronounced similarly.
YASENmBulgarianMeans both "ash tree" and "clear, serene" in Bulgarian.
YASINmArabic, Persian, UrduFrom the Arabic letters
ي (called
ya) and
س (called
sin). These letters begin the 36th chapter of the Qur'an (surah Ya Sin).
YASIRmArabic, UrduMeans "to be rich", derived from Arabic
يسر (yasira) meaning "to become easy". This was the name of an early Islamic martyr. It was also borne by Yasir Arafat (1929-2004), a leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
YASUf & mJapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet",
康 (yasu) meaning "peaceful" or
坦 (yasu) meaning "flat, smooth, level", as well as other kanji which are pronounced the same way.
YATINGf & mChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with
婷 (tíng) meaning "pretty, graceful". Other character combinations are possible.
YAWENfChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with
雯 (wén) meaning "cloud patterns". This name can be formed of other character combinations as well.
YAZHUf & mChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with
筑 (zhù) meaning "lute, zither, build". Other character combinations are also possible.
YE-JUNmKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
藝 (ye) meaning "art, talent, craft" combined with
俊 (jun) meaning "talented, handsome", as well as other hanja combinations.
YENTLfYiddishYiddish form of the French nickname
Gentille, meaning "noble, aristocratic".
YEONGf & mKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero", as well as other hanja characters which are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name. This name was borne by Jang Yeong-sil (where
Jang is the surname), a 15th-century Korean scientist and inventor.
YEONG-CHEOLmKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
永 (yeong) meaning "perpetual, eternal" combined with
哲 (cheol) meaning "wise, sage". Other hanja combinations are possible.
YEONG-GImKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
榮 (yeong) meaning "glory, honour, flourish, prosper" and
起 (gi) meaning "rise, stand up, begin". Other hanja character combinations are possible.
YEONG-HOmKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero",
映 (yeong) meaning "reflect light" or
泳 (yeong) meaning "dive, swim" combined with
浩 (ho) meaning "great, numerous, vast" or
皓 (ho) meaning "bright, luminous, clear, hoary". Other hanja combinations are possible.
YEONG-HUIfKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero" or
泳 (yeong) meaning "dive, swim" combined with
姬 (hui) meaning "beauty" or
嬉 (hui) meaning "enjoy, play". Other combinations of hanja characters can form this name as well.
YEONG-HWANmKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
永 (yeong) meaning "perpetual, eternal" or
泳 (yeong) meaning "dive, swim" combined with
煥 (hwan) meaning "shining, brilliant, lustrous". Other hanja combinations are possible as well.
YEONG-JAfKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero" and
子 (ja) meaning "child". Other hanja character combinations can form this name as well. Feminine names ending with the character
子 (a fashionable name suffix in Japan, read as
-ko in Japanese) were popular in Korea during the period of Japanese rule (1910-1945). After liberation this name and others like it declined in popularity.
YEONG-SUmKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
永 (yeong) meaning "perpetual, eternal" and
壽 (su) meaning "long life, lifespan", as well as other hanja character combinations.
YEONG-SUKfKoreanFrom Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero" and
淑 (suk) meaning "good, pure, virtuous, charming". Other hanja character combinations are possible.
YERUSLANmFolkloreFrom Tatar
Uruslan, which was possibly from Turkic
arslan meaning "lion". Yeruslan Lazarevich is the name of a hero in Russian and Tatar folktales. These tales were based on (or at least influenced by) Persian tales of their hero
Rostam.
YESENIAfSpanish (Latin American)From
Jessenia, the genus name of a type of tree found in South America. This name was first used by Yolanda Vargas in the Telenovela 'Yesenia' (1970).
YESHUAmBiblical Hebrew, Ancient AramaicContracted form of
Yehoshu'a (see
JOSHUA) used in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Hebrew Old Testament. The form was also used in Aramaic, and was most likely the name represented by Greek
Iesous (see
JESUS) in the New Testament. This means it was probably the real name of Jesus.
YEVPRAKSIYAfRussianRussian form of
EUPRAXIA. This was the name of a daughter of Vsevolod I, grand prince of Kiev, who became the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Henry IV.
YIf & mChineseFrom Chinese
宜 (yí) meaning "suitable, proper",
毅 (yì) meaning "resolute, decisive, firm",
义 (yì) meaning "justice, righteousness",
益 (yì) meaning "profit, benefit",
怡 (yí) meaning "joy, harmony" (which is usually only feminine) or
仪 (yí) meaning "ceremony, rites" (also usually feminine). Other characters can also form this name.
YIJUNm & fChineseFrom Chinese
怡 (yí) meaning "joy, harmony" combined with
君 (jūn) meaning "king, ruler". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.
YINf & mChineseFrom Chinese
银 (yín) meaning "silver, money",
音 (yīn) meaning "sound, tone" or
荫 (yīn) meaning "shade, shelter, protect", as well as other Chinese characters pronounced similarly.
YNGVImNorse MythologyPossibly an Old Norse cognate of
ING. This was an alternate name of the god
Freyr, who as Yngvi-Freyr was regarded as the ancestor of the Swedish royal family.
YOLANDAfSpanish, EnglishFrom the medieval French name
Yolande, which was probably a form of the name
Violante, which was itself a derivative of Latin
viola "violet". Alternatively it could be of Germanic origin.
... [more] YOLANDEfFrenchFrench form of
YOLANDA. A notable bearer of the 15th century was Yolande of Aragon, who acted as regent for the French king Charles VII, her son-in-law. She was a supporter of Joan of Arc.
YONGm & fChinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
勇 (yǒng) meaning "brave" or
永 (yǒng) meaning "perpetual, eternal". This can also be a single-character Korean name, for example from the hanja
勇 meaning "brave". This name can be formed by other characters besides those listed here.
YORImJapaneseFrom Japanese
頼 (yori) meaning "rely" or other kanji which are pronounced the same way.
YORKmEnglishFrom a surname, which was derived from York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally
Eburacon, Latinized as
Eboracum, meaning "yew" in Brythonic, but it was altered by association with Old English
Eoforwic, meaning "pig farm".
YOSHIm & fJapaneseFrom Japanese
吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck",
義 (yoshi) meaning "righteous", or
良 (yoshi) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable", as well as other kanji with the same reading.
YOSHIKOfJapaneseFrom Japanese
良 (yoshi) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable",
芳 (yoshi) meaning "fragrant, virtuous, beautiful" or
悦 (yoshi) meaning "joy, pleased" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be formed from other kanji combinations as well.
YOSHIROUmJapaneseFrom Japanese
義 (yoshi) meaning "righteous" and
郎 (rou) meaning "son". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
YOUKOfJapaneseFrom Japanese
陽 (you) meaning "light, sun, male" or
洋 (you) meaning "ocean" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.
YOUTAmJapaneseFrom Japanese
陽 (you) meaning "light, sun, male" and
太 (ta) meaning "thick, big". Other character combinations are possible.
YUf & mChineseFrom Chinese
玉 (yù) meaning "jade, precious stone, gem",
愉 (yú) meaning "pleasant, delightful" or
雨 (yǔ) meaning "rain". Other characters can form this name as well.
YUAfJapaneseFrom Japanese
結 (yu) meaning "tie, bind" and
愛 (a) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji combinations are possible.
YUIfJapaneseFrom Japanese
結 (yu) meaning "tie, bind" or
優 (yu) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" combined with
衣 (i) meaning "clothing, garment". It can also come from standalone
結 (yui) using a different nanori reading. This name can be formed of other kanji or kanji combinations as well.
YUINAfJapaneseFrom Japanese
結 (yui) meaning "tie, bind" and
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations are possible.
YUKIf & mJapaneseFrom Japanese
幸 (yuki) meaning "happiness" or
雪 (yuki) meaning "snow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" combined with
貴 (ki) meaning "valuable" or
紀 (ki) meaning "chronicle". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
YUKIKOfJapaneseFrom Japanese
幸 (yuki) meaning "happiness" or
雪 (yuki) meaning "snow" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Alternatively, it can come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" with
喜 (ki) meaning "joy" or
貴 (ki) meaning "valuable" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
YUKOfJapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yu) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other combinations of kanji.
YUMIfJapaneseFrom Japanese
弓 (yumi) meaning "archery bow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause",
友 (yu) meaning "friend" or a nanori reading of
弓 (yu) meaning "archery bow" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
YUMIKOfJapaneseFrom Japanese
弓 (yumi) meaning "archery bow" or
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
YUNf & mChineseFrom Chinese
云 (yún) meaning "cloud" or
允 (yǔn) meaning "allow, consent", as well as other Chinese characters which are pronounced in a similar way.
YURI (2)fJapaneseFrom Japanese
百合 (yuri) meaning "lily". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can also form this name.
YURIYmRussian, UkrainianRussian and Ukrainian form of
GEORGE. The Soviet cosmonaut Yuriy (or Yuri) Gagarin (1934-1968), the first man to travel to space, was a famous bearer of this name.