Browse Names - Behind the Name

AKI (2) f Japanese
From Japanese 晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal", 明 (aki) meaning "bright" or 秋 (aki) meaning "autumn". It can also come from 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" combined with 希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name too.

AKIKO f Japanese
From Japanese 晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal", 明 (aki) meaning "bright" or 秋 (aki) meaning "autumn" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.

ALMAS f & m Arabic
Means "diamond" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian.

ALMAST f Armenian
Means "diamond" in Armenian, ultimately from Persian.

AMETHYST f English (Rare)
From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix α (a) and μεθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness.

BERMET f Kyrgyz
Means "pearl" in Kyrgyz.

BERYL f English
From the English word for the clear or pale green precious stone, ultimately deriving from Sanskrit. As a given name, it first came into use in the 19th century.

BISERA f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Derived from the South Slavic word бисер (biser) "pearl" (ultimately of Arabic origin).

BOLORMAA f Mongolian
Means "crystal mother" in Mongolian.

CHÂU f & m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 珠 (châu) meaning "pearl, gem".

CRYSTAL f English
From the English word crystal for the clear, colourless glass, sometimes cut into the shape of a gemstone. The English word derives ultimately from Greek κρυσταλλος (krystallos) meaning "ice". It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.

DAR f & m Hebrew
Means "mother-of-pearl, nacre" in Hebrew.

DIAMANTO f Greek
Derived from Greek διαμαντι (diamanti) meaning "diamond".

DIAMOND f English (Modern)
From the English word diamond for the clear colourless precious stone, the birthstone of April. It is derived from Late Latin diamas, from Latin adamas, which is of Greek origin meaning "invincible, untamed".

DORJI f & m Tibetan, Bhutanese
Means "diamond" in Tibetan.

DURDONA f Uzbek
Means "pearl" in Uzbek.

ELMAS f Turkish
Means "diamond" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian.

EMERALD f English (Modern)
From the word for the green precious stone, which is the birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek σμαραγδος (smaragdos).

ESMERALDA f Spanish, Portuguese, English, Literature
Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Gypsy girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.

FAYRUZ f Arabic
Means "turquoise (the gemstone)" in Arabic, ultimately of Persian origin.

FIRUZEH f Persian
Means "turquoise (the gemstone)" in Persian. Alternatively, it may be a feminine form of FIRUZ.

GAUHAR f Urdu, Kazakh
From Persian گوهر (gohar) meaning "jewel, gemstone".

GEMMA f Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

GYÖNGYI f Hungarian
From Hungarian gyöngy meaning "pearl", of Turkic origin.

HELMI f Finnish, Swedish
Diminutive of VILHELMIINA or VILHELMINA. It also means "pearl" in Finnish.

HIRA f & m Urdu, Nepali, Punjabi, Indian, Gujarati, Hindi
Derived from Sanskrit हीर (hira) meaning "diamond". It is typically feminine in Pakistan and unisex in India and Nepal.

HYEON-JU f & m Korean
From Sino-Korean 賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" and 珠 (ju) meaning "jewel, pearl". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.

INTAN f Indonesian, Malay
Means "diamond" in Malay and Indonesian.

INZHU f Kazakh
Means "pearl" in Kazakh.

JING m & f Chinese
From Chinese 静 (jìng) meaning "quiet, still, gentle", 精 (jīng) meaning "essence, spirit", 晶 (jīng) meaning "clear, crystal" or 京 (jīng) meaning "capital city". Other characters can also form this name.

JUMANA f Arabic
Means "pearl" in Arabic.

KAILASH m Indian, Hindi, Marathi
From the name of a mountain in the Himalayas which is believed to be the paradise of the Hindu god Shiva. It possibly means "crystal" in Sanskrit.

KAIMANA m & f Hawaiian
From Hawaiian kai "ocean, sea" and mana "power". It is also Hawaiian meaning "diamond", derived from the English word diamond.

LALI f Georgian
Means "ruby" in Georgian, of Sanskrit origin.

LEIMOMI f Hawaiian
Means "pearl lei" or "pearl child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and momi "pearl".

LIN m & f Chinese
From Chinese 林 (lín) meaning "forest" or 琳 (lín) meaning "fine jade, gem". Other characters can also form this name.

LULIT f Eastern African, Amharic
From Amharic ሉል (lul) meaning "pearl".

LULU (2) f Arabic
Means "pearl" in Arabic.

MARGALIT f Hebrew
Means "pearl" in Hebrew, ultimately from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites).

MARGARET f English
Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", probably ultimately a borrowing from Sanskrit मञ्यरी (manyari). 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]

MARGARIT f Armenian
Armenian form of MARGARET, also meaning "pearl" in Armenian.

MARGARITA f Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Greek, Late Roman
Latinate form of MARGARET. This is also a Latin word meaning "pearl" and a Spanish word meaning "daisy flower" (species Leucanthemum vulgare).

MOMI f Hawaiian
Means "pearl" in Hawaiian.

MORVARID f Persian
Means "pearl" in Persian.

NGỌC f & m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 玉 (ngọc) meaning "jade, precious stone, gem".

NILAM f & m Indian, Hindi, Marathi
Means "dark blue, sapphire" in Sanskrit.

OPAL f English
From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".

PEARL f English
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.

PENINNAH f Biblical
Means "precious stone, pearl" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the wives of Elkanah, the other being Hannah.

PICH f & m Khmer
Means "diamond" in Khmer.

RUBENA f Esperanto
Means "like a ruby" in Esperanto.

RUBINA f Italian
Derived from Italian rubino meaning "ruby", ultimately from Latin ruber "red".

RUBY f English
Simply from the name of the precious stone (which ultimately derives from Latin ruber "red"), which is the birthstone of July. It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.

SADAF f Arabic
Means "seashell, mother-of-pearl" in Arabic.

SAFIRA f Esperanto
Means "like a sapphire" in Esperanto.

SAPIR f Hebrew
Means "sapphire" in Hebrew.

SAPPHIRA f Biblical
From the Greek name Σαπφειρη (Sappheire), which was from Greek σαπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning "sapphire" or "lapis lazuli" (ultimately derived from the Hebrew word סַפִּיר (sappir)). Sapphira is a character in Acts in the New Testament who is killed by God for lying.

SAPPHIRE f English (Rare)
From the name of the gemstone, the blue birthstone of September, which is derived from Greek σαπφειρος (sappheiros), ultimately from the Hebrew word סַפִּיר (sappir).

SAPPHO f Ancient Greek
Possibly from Greek σαπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning "sapphire" or "lapis lazuli". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Greek poetess from Lesbos.

SHINJU f Japanese
From Japanese 真珠 (shinju) meaning "pearl".

YU f & m Chinese
From 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.

ZÜMRA f Turkish
From Turkish zümrüt meaning "emerald", derived via Arabic from Greek σμαραγδος (smaragdos).

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