Browse Names

This is a list of names in which the origin is Ancient; and the community's impression is refined; and the order is random.
gender
usage
origin
impression
Leonie f German, Dutch
German and Dutch feminine form of Leonius.
Mae f English
Variant of May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Cirila f Slovene
Slovene feminine form of Cyril.
Mirthe f Dutch
Variant of Myrthe.
Anastasie f & m French, Romanian (Rare)
French form of Anastasia (feminine) and Romanian form of Anastasius (masculine).
Aristides m Ancient Greek (Latinized), Portuguese
From the Greek name Ἀριστείδης (Aristeides), derived from ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "best" and the patronymic suffix ἴδης (ides). This name was borne by the 5th-century BC Athenian statesman Aristides the Just, who was renowned for his integrity. It was also the name of a 2nd-century saint.
Louise f French, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German
French feminine form of Louis.
Sophronia f Literature, Late Greek
Feminine form of Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of Olindo.
Halcyon f Various (Rare)
From the name of a genus of kingfisher birds, derived from Greek ἀλκυών (from the same source as Alcyone).
Neela f Tamil, Hindi
Alternate transcription of Tamil நீலா or Hindi नीला (see Nila).
Iuliana f Romanian, Ancient Roman
Latin and Romanian form of Juliana.
Evie f English
Diminutive of Eve or Evelyn.
Marla f English
Variant of Marlene using the suffix la.
Delphinus m Late Roman
Masculine form of Delphina. Saint Delphinus was a 4th-century bishop of Bordeaux.
Perpetua f Spanish, Late Roman
Derived from Latin perpetuus meaning "continuous". This was the name of a 3rd-century saint martyred with another woman named Felicity.
Amerigo m Italian
Medieval Italian form of Emmerich. Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) was the Italian explorer who gave the continent of America its name (from Americus, the Latin form of his name).
Aneirin m Old Welsh, Welsh
Old Welsh name, possibly from the Latin name Honorius. This was the name of a 6th-century Brythonic poet, also known as Neirin or Aneurin, who is said to be the author of the poem Y Gododdin.
Ellery m & f English
From an English surname that was originally derived from the medieval masculine name Hilary.
Mariya f Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Belarusian
Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of Maria, as well as an alternate transcription of Belarusian Марыя (see Maryia).
Horatius m Ancient Roman
Roman family name that was possibly derived from Latin hora meaning "hour, time, season", though the name may actually be of Etruscan origin. A famous bearer was Quintus Horatius Flaccus, a Roman lyric poet of the 1st century BC who is better known as Horace in the English-speaking world.
Cosima f Italian
Italian feminine form of Cosimo.
Hilde f German, Dutch, Norwegian
German, Dutch and Norwegian variant of Hilda.
Juli f Hungarian
Hungarian short form of Julia.
Livia 2 f English
Short form of Olivia.
Malina 2 f Bulgarian, Serbian, Polish
Means "raspberry" in several Slavic languages.
Séraphine f French
French form of Seraphina.
Metztli f & m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Means "moon" in Nahuatl. This was the name of the Aztec god (or goddess) of the moon.
Sofía f Spanish, Galician
Spanish and Galician form of Sophia.
Athanasia f Greek, Ancient Greek
Feminine form of Athanasios (see Athanasius).
Rain 2 m Estonian
Variant of Rein.
Mirja f Finnish
Finnish form of Miriam.
Cicero m Ancient Roman
Roman cognomen derived from Latin cicer meaning "chickpea". Marcus Tullius Cicero (now known simply as Cicero) was a statesman, orator and author of the 1st century BC. He was a political enemy of Mark Antony, who eventually had him executed.
Ariana f Portuguese, English (Modern)
Portuguese form of Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).
Lilly f English, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
English variant of Lily. It is also used in Scandinavia, as a form of Lily or a diminutive of Elisabeth.
Elena f Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English
Form of Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Елена (see Yelena).
Aemilia f Ancient Roman
Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily).
Irène f French
French form of Irene.
Antonette f English
Diminutive of Antonia.
Marianne f French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Combination of Marie and Anne 1, though it could also be considered a variant of Mariana or Mariamne. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Mariah f English
Variant of Maria. It is usually pronounced in a way that reflects an older English pronunciation of Maria. The name was popularized in the early 1990s by the American singer Mariah Carey (1970-).
Piers m English (British), Medieval French
Medieval form of Peter. This is the name of the main character in the 14th-century poem Piers Plowman by William Langland.
Athenais f Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek personal name that was derived from the name of the Greek goddess Athena.
Lía f Galician
Galician form of Leah.
Pasha m Russian
Diminutive of Pavel.
Emmalyn f English (Modern)
Variant of Emmeline, or else a combination of Emma and the fashionable name suffix lyn.
Mahavir m Hindi
Modern form of Mahavira.
Lívia f Portuguese, Hungarian, Slovak
Portuguese, Hungarian and Slovak form of Livia 1.
Fioralba f Italian (Rare)
Combination of Italian fiore "flower" (Latin flos) and alba "dawn".
Olivia f English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time that may have been based on Oliva or Oliver, or directly on the Latin word oliva meaning "olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually Viola in disguise.... [more]
Vergil m English
Variant of Virgil.
Leonard m English, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Germanic
Means "brave lion", derived from the Old German elements lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of a 6th-century Frankish saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The Normans brought this name to England, where it was used steadily through the Middle Ages, becoming even more common in the 20th century.
Francesca Pia f Italian
Combination of Francesca and Pia.
Lowell m English
From an English surname that was derived from a Norman French nickname, from lou "wolf" and a diminutive suffix. The surname was borne by American poet and satirist James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).
Aleida f Dutch, Spanish (Latin American)
Dutch and Spanish short form of Adelaide.
Svjetlana f Croatian, Serbian
Croatian and Serbian form of Svetlana.
Cherry f English
Simply means "cherry" from the name of the fruit, derived from Latin cerasium, Greek κεράσιον (kerasion). It can also be a diminutive of Charity. It has been in use since the late 19th century.
Carroll m Irish
Anglicized form of Cearbhall. A famous bearer of the surname was Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a British author known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Mihail m Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek
Romanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Michael. This is also an alternate transcription of Greek Μιχαήλ (see Michail).
Vasili m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Василий (see Vasiliy).
Tonje f Norwegian
Variant of Torny.
Kira 2 f English
Variant of Ciara 1.
Anika 1 f German, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Slovene
Diminutive of Anna or Ana.
Ireneusz m Polish
Polish form of Irenaeus.