Behind the Name: Browse Names

ÆLFSTANmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements ælf "elf" and stan "stone".

ÆÐELSTANmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements æðel "noble" and stan "stone". This was the name of an early king of England. The name was rarely used after the Norman conquest.

ALANmEnglish, Scottish, Breton, French
The meaning of this name is not known for certain. It was used in Brittany at least as early as the 6th century, and it possibly means either "little rock" or "handsome" in Breton. Alternatively, it may derive from the tribal name of the Alans, an Iranian people who migrated into Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries.... [more]

ARKAITZmBasque
Means "rock" in Basque.

AÐALSTEINNmIcelandic, Ancient Scandinavian
Derived from the Old Norse elements aðal "noble" and steinn "stone".

CEPHASmBiblical, Biblical Latin
Means "rock" in Aramaic. The apostle Simon was called Cephas by Jesus because he was to be the rock upon which the Christian church was to be built. In most versions of the New Testament Cephas is translated into Greek Πετρος (Petros) (in English Peter).

CHIMWALAm & fEastern African, Yao
Means "stone" in Yao.

CYBELEfNear Eastern Mythology (Hellenized)
Meaning unknown, possibly from Phrygian roots meaning either "stone" or "hair". This was the name of the Phrygian mother goddess associated with fertility and nature. She was later worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.

DUNSTANmEnglish (Rare), Anglo-Saxon
From the Old English elements dunn "dark" and stan "stone". This name was borne by a 10th-century saint, the archbishop of Canterbury. It was occasionally used in the Middle Ages, though it died out after the 16th century. It was revived by the Tractarian movement in the 19th century.

EALHSTANmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English element ealh "temple" combined with stan "stone".

EBENEZERmBiblical
Means "stone of help" in Hebrew. This was the name of a monument erected by Samuel in the Old Testament. Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in his novel 'A Christmas Carol' (1843).

EYSTEINNmAncient Scandinavian, Icelandic
Derived from the Old Norse elements ey meaning "island" or "good fortune" and steinn meaning "stone".

FIHRmArabic
Means "stone pestle" in Arabic. This was the name of an ancestor of Muhammad.

GEMMAfItalian, 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.

HALDORmNorwegian
From the Old Norse name Hallþórr, which meant "Thor's rock" from hallr "rock" combined with the name of the Norse god Þórr (see THOR).

HALLBJÖRNmAncient Scandinavian, Icelandic
Derived from the Old Norse elements hallr "rock" and björn "bear".

HALLE (1)mNorwegian
From the Old Norse name Halli, a diminutive of names containing the element hallr meaning "rock".

HALLRmAncient Scandinavian
Derived from Old Norse hallr meaning "rock".

HALSTEINmNorwegian
From the Old Norse name Hallsteinn, derived from the elements hallr "rock" and steinn "stone".

HALVARDmNorwegian
From the Old Norse name Hallvarðr, which meant "rock guardian" from hallr "rock" combined with varðr "guardian".

HARLOWf & mEnglish
From a surname which was from a place name which was derived from Old English hær "rock" or here "army", combined with hlaw "hill".

HERMESmGreek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Probably from Greek ‘ερμα (herma) meaning "cairn, pile of stones, boundary marker". Hermes was a Greek god associated with speed and good luck, who served as a messenger to Zeus and the other gods. He was also the patron of travellers, writers, athletes, merchants, thieves and orators.... [more]

ITZIARfBasque, Spanish
From the name of a Basque village which contains an important shrine to the Virgin Mary, possibly meaning "old stone".

JADEf & mEnglish, French
From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.

JI-MINf & mKorean
From Sino-Korean 志 (ji) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" or 智 (ji) meaning "wisdom, intellect" combined with 旼 (min) meaning "gentle, affable", 敏 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp" or 珉 (min) meaning "jade, stone resembling jade". Other hanja character combinations are possible.

KALJUmEstonian
Means "rock, boulder" in Estonian.

KAMENmBulgarian
Means "stone" in Bulgarian. This is a translation of the Greek name Petros.

LEI (2)m & fChinese
From Chinese 磊 (lěi) meaning "pile of stones" (which is typically masculine) or 蕾 (lěi) meaning "bud" (typically feminine). Other characters can also form this name.

LEOFSTANmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English element leof "dear, agreeable, beloved" combined with stan "stone".

LORELEIfGermanic Mythology
From a Germanic name meaning "luring rock". This is the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. Legends say that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures fishermen to their death with her song.

MASONmEnglish
From an English surname meaning "stoneworker", from an Old French word of Germanic origin (akin to Old English macian "to make").

NGỌCf & mVietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 玉 (ngọc) meaning "jade, precious stone, gem".

ONEIDAfEnglish
From the name of a Native American tribe, perhaps meaning "standing rock".

PENINNAHfBiblical
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.

PETERmEnglish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Derived from the Greek Πετρος (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.... [more]

PINJAfFinnish
Means "stone pine" in Finnish.

ROCHELLEfEnglish
From the name of the French city La Rochelle, meaning "little rock". It first became commonly used as a given name in America in the 1930s, probably due to the fame of actress Rochelle Hudson (1914-1972) and because of the similarity to the name Rachel.

SAKHRmArabic
Means "solid rock" in Arabic. This name appears in the poems of the 7th-century poetess Al-Khansa.

SELAfBiblical
Means "rock" in Hebrew. This was the name of a city, the capital of Edom, in the Old Testament.

SENECAmAncient Roman
From a Roman cognomen which meant "old" from Latin senectus. This was the name of both a Roman orator (born in Spain) and also of his son, a philosopher and statesman. This name also coincides with that of the Seneca, a Native American tribe that lived near the Great Lakes, whose name meant "place of stones".

SEOKmKorean
From Sino-Korean 石 (seok) meaning "stone" or 錫 (seok) meaning "tin", as well as other characters which are pronounced the same way.

SHIm & fChinese
From Chinese 时 (shí) meaning "time, era, season", 实 (shí) meaning "real, honest", 史 (shǐ) meaning "history" or 石 (shí) meaning "stone". Other characters can form this name as well.

SIXTENmSwedish
From the Old Norse name Sigsteinn, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and steinn "stone".

STANFORDmEnglish
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "stone ford" in Old English.

STANLEYmEnglish
From a surname meaning "stone clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1947).

STEINARmNorwegian
From the Old Norse name Steinarr, derived from the elements steinn "stone" and arr "warrior".

STENmSwedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Derived from the Old Norse name Steinn meaning "stone".

STONEm & fEnglish (Modern)
From the English vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English stan.

TORSTENmSwedish, Danish, German
From the Old Norse name Þórsteinn, which meant "Thor's stone" from the name of the Norse god Þórr (see THOR) combined with steinn "stone".

UJARAKmNative American, Inuit
Means "rock" in Inuktitut.

WULFSTANmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wulf "wolf" and stan "stone".

WYNNSTANmAnglo-Saxon
Derived from the Old English elements wynn "joy" and stan "stone".

WYSTANmEnglish (Rare)
From the Old English name Wigstan, composed of the elements wig "battle" and stan "stone". This was the name of a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon saint. It became rare after the Norman conquest, and in modern times it is chiefly known as the first name of the British poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973).

YUf & mChinese
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.

ZURIELmBiblical
Means "my rock is God" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name is borne by a chief of the Merarite Levites at the time of the Exodus.

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