Behind the Name: Browse Names

ADAMmEnglish, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew
This is the Hebrew word for "man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew אדם ('adam) meaning "to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian adamu meaning "to make".... [more]

AJAXmGreek Mythology (Latinized)
From the Greek name Αιας (Aias), perhaps deriving from Greek αιαστης (aiastes) "mourner" or αια (aia) "earth, land". In Greek mythology this was the name of two of the heroes who fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War, the son of Telamon and the son of Oileus. When the armour of the slain hero Achilles was not given to Ajax Telamonian, he became mad with jealousy and killed himself.

AVANIfIndian, Marathi, Gujarati
Means "earth" in Sanskrit.

BHUMIfHinduism
Means "earth, soil" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu earth goddess. She is the wife of Varaha, an avatar of Vishnu.

BROOKLYNfEnglish (Modern)
From the name of the borough of New York City, originally derived from Dutch Breukelen meaning "broken land". It can also be viewed as a combination of BROOK and the popular name suffix lyn.

CLEVELANDmEnglish
From a surname which was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hilly land". This was the surname of American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908). It is also the name of an American city, which was founded by surveyor Moses Cleaveland (1754-1806).

DAICHImJapanese
From Japanese 大 (dai) meaning "big, great" combined with 地 (chi) meaning "earth, land" or 智 (chi) meaning "wisdom, intellect". Other kanji combinations are possible.

DEMETER (1)fGreek Mythology
Possibly means "earth mother", derived from Greek δα (da) "earth" and μητηρ (meter) "mother". In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of Cronus, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone. She was an important figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites performed at Eleusis near Athens.

EARDWULFmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English element eard "land" combined with wulf "wolf".

ENKImSumerian Mythology
From Sumerian 𒂗 (en) meaning "lord" and 𒆠 (ki) meaning "earth, ground" (though maybe originally from 𒆳 (kur) meaning "underworld, mountain"). Enki, called Ea by the Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians, was the Sumerian god of water and wisdom and the keeper of the Me, the divine laws.

ERDMANNmGerman
Variant of HARTMANN. It can also be interpreted as meaning "earth man" from German Erde "earth", and thus was sometimes used as a translation of Adam.

ERESHKIGALfSumerian Mythology
Means "lady of the great earth", from Sumerian 𒊩𒌆 (ereš) meaning "lady, queen" combined with 𒆠 (ki) meaning "earth" and 𒃲 (gal) meaning "great, big". In Sumerian mythology she was the goddess of death and the underworld.

ÉRIUfIrish Mythology
From the name of an Irish goddess, who according to legend gave her name to Ireland (which is called Éire in Irish). In reality, the goddess probably got her name from that of the island, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.

EUN-JIfKorean
From Sino-Korean 恩 (eun) meaning "kindness, mercy, charity" combined with 智 (ji) meaning "wisdom, intellect" or 地 (ji) meaning "earth, soil, ground". Other hanja character combinations are possible.

GAIAfGreek Mythology, Italian
From the Greek word γαια (gaia), a parallel form of γη (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.

GARLANDmEnglish
From a surname meaning "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. The surname originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.

GEORGEmEnglish, Romanian
From the Greek name Γεωργιος (Georgios) which was derived from the Greek word γεωργος (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γη (ge) "earth" and εργον (ergon) "work". Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Palestine who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art.... [more]

HARLANmEnglish
From a surname which was from a place name meaning "hare land" in Old English. In America it has sometimes been given in honour of Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911).

ILAfIndian, Hindi
Means "earth" or "speech" in Sanskrit.

ILLTYDmWelsh
Means "multitude of land" from Welsh il "multitude" and tud "land, people". This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded the abbey of Llanilltud in Glamorgan.

INDIANAf & mEnglish
From the name of the American state, which means "land of the Indians". This is the name of the hero in the 'Indiana Jones' series of movies, starring Harrison Ford.

IRELANDfEnglish (Modern)
From the name of the European island country, derived from Irish Gaelic Éire, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.

ITALUSmRoman Mythology
Means "of Italy" in Latin. In Roman legend Italus was the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. He supposedly gave his name to the region known as Italia or Italy (in fact the region may have gotten its name from Oscan Víteliú meaning "land of bulls").

JORDANESmAncient Germanic
Germanic name, probably related to the Norse element jord meaning "land". This name was borne by a 6th-century Roman author of Gothic background, who wrote a history of the Goths. It is possible that the spelling of his name was influenced by that of the Jordan River.

KALEVAmFinnish
From the name of the mythological ancestor of the Finns, which is of unknown meaning. The name of the Finnish epic the 'Kalevala' means "the land of Kalevi".

KIfSumerian Mythology
Means "earth" in Sumerian. This was the name of the Sumerian goddess of the earth, the consort of An.

KSHITIJmIndian, Hindi, Marathi
Means "born of the earth" or "horizon" in Sanskrit.

KUNf & mChinese
From Chinese 坤 (kūn) meaning "earth, female", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.

LACHLANmScottish, English (Australian)
Originally a Scottish nickname for a person who was from Norway. In Scotland, Norway was known as the "land of the lochs", or Lochlann.

LAMBERTmGerman, Dutch, French, English, Ancient Germanic
Derived from the Germanic elements landa "land" and beraht "bright". Saint Lambert of Maastricht was a 7th-century bishop who was martyred after denouncing Pepin II for adultery.

LANCEmEnglish
From the Germanic name Lanzo, originally a short form of names that began with the element landa meaning "land". During the Middle Ages it became associated with Old French lance "spear, lance". A famous bearer is American cyclist Lance Armstrong (1971-).

LELANDmEnglish
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).

MILTIADESmAncient Greek
Derived from Greek μιλτος (miltos) meaning "red earth" and the patronymic suffix ιδης (ides). This was the name of the general who led the Greek forces to victory against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.

PAPAfPolynesian Mythology
Means "earth" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian mythology Papa or Papatuanuku was the goddess of the earth and the mother of many of the other gods. She and her husband Rangi, the god of the sky, were locked in a tight embrace. Their children decided to separate them, a feat of strength accomplished by the god Tane.

POSEIDONmGreek Mythology
Possibly derived from Greek ποσις (posis) "husband, lord" and δα (da) "earth". The name first appears in Mycenaean Greek inscriptions as po-se-da-o. In Greek mythology Poseidon was the unruly god of the sea and earthquakes, the brother of Zeus. He was often depicted carrying a trident and riding in a chariot drawn by white horses.

RIKU (2)mJapanese
From Japanese 陸 (riku) meaning "land" or different kanji which are pronounced the same way.

RIKUTOmJapanese
From Japanese 陸 (riku) meaning "land" combined with 斗 (to), which refers to a Chinese constellation, or 人 (to) meaning "person", as well as other combinations of kanji which have the same pronunciations.

ROLANDmEnglish, French, German, Swedish, Dutch, Hungarian, Medieval French
From the Germanic elements hrod meaning "fame" and landa meaning "land", though some theories hold that the second element was originally nand meaning "brave". Roland was a semi-legendary French hero whose story is told in the medieval epic 'La Chanson de Roland', in which he is a nephew of Charlemagne killed in battle with the Saracens. The Normans introduced this name to England.

RYLANmEnglish (Modern)
Possibly a variant of the English surname Ryland, which was originally derived from a place name meaning "rye land" in Old English.

TERRAfEnglish
Variant of TARA (1), perhaps influenced by the Latin word terra meaning "land, earth".

TIERRAfVarious
Means "earth" in Spanish.

TLALLIfNative American, Nahuatl
Means "earth" in Nahuatl.

TLALOCmAztec and Toltec Mythology, Native American, Nahuatl
Means "of the earth" in Nahuatl. He was the Aztec god of rain and fertility, the husband of Chalchiuhticue.

TYRONEmEnglish
From the name of a county in Northern Ireland which is derived from Irish Gaelic Tir Eoghain meaning "land of EOGHAN". This name was popularized by American actor Tyrone Power (1914-1958), who was named after his great-grandfather, an Irish actor.

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