Browse Names

Polycrates m Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek name Πολυκράτης (Polykrates) meaning "much power", derived from Greek πολύς (polys) meaning "much" and κράτος (kratos) meaning "power". This name was borne by a 6th-century BC ruler of the Greek island of Samos.

Polydeukes m Greek Mythology
Greek form of Pollux.

Polykarpos m Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of Polycarp.

Polykrates m Ancient Greek
Greek form of Polycrates.

Polyphemos m Greek Mythology
Means "abounding in fame", derived from Greek πολύς (polys) meaning "much" and φήμη (pheme) meaning "rumour, fame, reputation". In Greek mythology this was the name of the cyclops who captured Odysseus and his crew, as told in the Odyssey. He ate several of the crew before Odysseus blinded him and orchestrated an escape.

Polyphemus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Polyphemos.

Pompeius m Ancient Roman
Latin form of Pompey.

Pompilius m Ancient Roman
Latin form of Pompiliu.

Pomponius m Ancient Roman
Roman family name that is of unknown meaning, possibly a derivative of Pompeius (see Pompey).

Pons m French (Rare)
French form of Pontius.

Pontius m Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Biblical
Roman family name. The family had Samnite roots so the name probably originated from the Oscan language, likely meaning "fifth" (a cognate of Latin Quintus). Alternatively, it could be derived from the name of the ancient province of Pontus in Asia Minor, itself probably from Greek πόντος (pontos) meaning "sea". A notable bearer of this name was Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea who appears in the New Testament.

Pontos m Greek Mythology
Greek form of Pontus 2.

Pontus 1 m Swedish
Possibly a form of Pontius. It was brought to Sweden by the French general Pontus De la Gardie, who served under the Swedish king John III.

Pontus 2 m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Πόντος (Pontos) meaning "sea". This was the name of a Greek god of the sea. He was the son of Gaia.

Porcius m Ancient Roman
Roman family name meaning "pig", derived from Latin porcus. Famous members of the family include the Roman statesmen Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato) and his great-grandson Cato the Younger (Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis).

Porphyrios m Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of Porfirio.

Poseidon m Greek Mythology
Possibly derived from Greek πόσις (posis) meaning "husband, lord" and δᾶ (da) meaning "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.

Postumus m Ancient Roman
Roman praenomen, or given name, which meant "last" in Latin, postumus being the superlative of posterus meaning "next". It was sometimes given to children born after the death of their father. It was also a nomen and cognomen. A notable bearer was the Roman commander Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus, usually known simply as Postumus, who established the breakaway Gallic Empire in the 3rd century.

Povilas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Pavel.

Pran m Hindi
From Sanskrit प्राण (prāṇa) meaning "breath".

Pranas m Lithuanian
Short form of Pranciškus.

Pranciškus m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Franciscus (see Francis).

Praveen m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi प्रवीण, Gujarati પ્રવીણ, Kannada ಪ್ರವೀಣ್, Telugu ప్రవీణ్, Tamil பிரவீண் or Malayalam പ്രവീൺ (see Pravin).

Pravin m Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
From Sanskrit प्रवीण (pravīṇa) meaning "skilled".

Praxis f Greek Mythology
Means "action, sex" in Greek. This was another name for the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Praxiteles m Ancient Greek
Derived from the Greek elements πρᾶξις (praxis) meaning "action, exercise" and τέλος (telos) meaning "purpose, result, completion". This was the name of a 4th-century BC sculptor from Athens.

Preben m Danish, Norwegian
Modern Danish form of the name Pridbjørn, which was an old Scandinavian form of the Slavic (Wendish) name Predbor or Pridbor, which was possibly derived from Slavic perdŭ "first, in front of" and borti "to fight". It was imported into Danish via the medieval Putbus family, who were Slavic nobles from Rügen in Pomerania.

Precious f English (African), African American (Modern)
From the English word precious, ultimately derived from Latin pretiosus, a derivative of Latin pretium "price, worth".

Presentación f Spanish
Means "presentation, appearance" in Spanish. This name commemorates the tale of the presentation of the young Virgin Mary at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Preston m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest town" (Old English preost and tun).

Priamos m Greek Mythology
Greek form of Priam.

Priapos m Greek Mythology
Greek form of Priapus.

Priapus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a Greek god of fertility, gardens, and the phallus.

Pridbjørn m Old Danish
Old Danish form of Preben.

Pridon m Georgian
Georgian form of Fereydoun. It appears in the 12th-century Georgian epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin, in which Pridon (fully Nuradin-Pridon) is a friend of Avtandil and Tariel.

Primitivus m Late Roman
Late Latin name meaning "first formed". Saint Primitivus was a 3rd-century Spanish martyr.

Primus m Late Roman
Original Latin form of Primo.

Princess f English (Modern)
Feminine equivalent of Prince.

Princeton m English (Modern)
From the name of the town or university in New Jersey. Established in the early 18th century, it is said to have been named for William III, the Prince of Orange.

Pris f English
Short form of Priscilla.

Priscus m Ancient Roman
Masculine form of Prisca.

Prochoros m Biblical Greek
Greek form of Prochorus.

Prochorus m Biblical, Biblical Latin
Latinized form of the Greek name Πρόχορος (Prochoros) meaning "leader of the dance". Saint Prochorus was one of the original seven deacons of the church, as told in Acts in the New Testament.

Proinsias m Irish
Irish form of Francis.

Prokopios m Greek, Late Greek
Derived from Greek προκοπή (prokope) meaning "progress, advance". Saint Prokopios was an early Christian martyr who was beheaded in Palestine during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian.

Prokopis m Greek
Modern Greek form of Prokopios.

Prometheus m Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek προμήθεια (prometheia) meaning "foresight, forethought". In Greek myth he was the Titan who gave the knowledge of fire to mankind. For doing this he was punished by Zeus, who had him chained to a rock and caused an eagle to feast daily on his liver, which regenerated itself each night. Herakles eventually freed him.

Prosdocimus m Late Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Προσδόκιμος (Prosdokimos) meaning "expected, looked for". The 1st-century saint Prosdocimus was the first bishop of Padua.

Prosdokimos m Late Greek
Greek form of Prosdocimus.

Prosperus m Late Roman
Latin form of Prosper.

Proteus m Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek πρῶτος (protos) meaning "first". In Greek mythology this was the name of a prophetic god of the sea. Shakespeare later utilized it for a character in his play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

Prudentius m Late Roman
Late Latin name derived from prudens "prudent, wise, skilled". This was the name of a 9th-century bishop of Troyes. He is considered a local saint there.

Ptolemaeus m Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of Ptolemaios (see Ptolemy).

Ptolemaios m Ancient Greek
Greek form of Ptolemy.

Ptolemais f Ancient Greek
Feminine form of Ptolemaios (see Ptolemy).

Publius m Ancient Roman
Roman praenomen, or given name, meaning "public" in Latin. This was among the more common of the Roman praenomina, being borne by (among others) the emperor Hadrian and the poet Virgil.

Pumayyaton m Phoenician
Phoenician form of Pygmalion.

Purificación f Spanish
Means "purification" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary after her childbirth.

Pygmalion m Phoenician (Hellenized), Greek Mythology
Probably a Greek form of the Phoenician name 𐤐𐤌𐤉𐤉𐤕𐤍 (Pumayyaton) meaning "Pumay has given", from the name of the god Pumay combined with 𐤉𐤕𐤍 (yaton) meaning "to give". This was the name of a 9th-century BC Phoenician king of Tyre. The name is also known from a Greek legend related by Ovid in his poem Metamorphoses, where Pygmalion is a Cypriot sculptor who falls in love with his sculpture of a woman. The sculpture is eventually brought to life by the goddess Aphrodite.

Pyrrhos m Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Greek form of Pyrrhus.

Pyrrhus m Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek name Πύρρος (Pyrrhos) meaning "flame-coloured, red", related to πῦρ (pyr) meaning "fire". This was another name of Neoptolemus the son of Achilles. This was also the name of a 3rd-century BC king of Epirus who was famed for his victorious yet costly battles against Rome.

Pythagoras m Ancient Greek
Derived from Pythios, a name of Apollo, combined with Greek ἀγορά (agora) meaning "assembly, marketplace". This was the name of a 6th-century BC Greek philosopher and mathematician from Samos. He was the founder of a school of philosophy whose members believed that numbers described the universe.

Pythios m Greek Mythology
From the Greek place name Πυθώ (Pytho), an older name of the city of Delphi, which was probably derived from Greek πύθω (pytho) meaning "to rot". This was an epithet of Apollo.

Qayin m Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Cain.

Qays m Arabic
Means "measurement" in Arabic. This was the real name of Majnun, the lover of Layla, in Nizami Ganjavi's 12th-century poem Layla and Majnun.

Qenan m Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Kenan 1 and Cainan.

Quân m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 軍 (quân) meaning "army".

Queen f English
From an old nickname that was derived from the English word queen, ultimately from Old English cwen meaning "woman, wife".

Quentin m French, English
French form of the Roman name Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).

Quin m & f English (Rare)
Variant of Quinn.

Quinctilianus m Ancient Roman
Original Latin form of Quintilian.

Quinctilius m Ancient Roman
Roman family derived from the given name Quintus (which was itself originally spelled Quinctus).

Quinctius m Ancient Roman
Roman family name derived from the given name Quintus (which was itself originally spelled Quinctus). This was the name of a patrician family that was especially prominent during the early Republic.

Quinctus m Ancient Roman
Earlier form of Quintus.

Quinlan m & f English (Rare)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caoindealbháin, itself from the given name Caoindealbhán (Old Irish Caíndelbán).

Quinn m & f English
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.

Quinten m English, Dutch
Variant and Dutch form of Quentin.

Quintilian m History
From the Roman cognomen Quintilianus, earlier Quinctilianus, which was itself derived from the family name Quinctilius. A notable bearer was the 1st-century rhetorician Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, simply known as Quintilian in English.

Quintilianus m Ancient Roman
Variant of Quinctilianus.

Quintilius m Ancient Roman
Variant of Quinctilius.

Quintillus m Ancient Roman
Roman cognomen derived from the given name Quintus.

Quintín m Spanish
Spanish form of Quintinus (see Quentin).

Quintin m English
Variant of Quentin.

Quintinus m Ancient Roman
Roman cognomen that was originally derived from Quintus.

Quintius m Ancient Roman
Variant of Quinctius.

Quinton m English
Variant of Quentin, also coinciding with an English surname meaning "queen's town" in Old English.

Quintus m Ancient Roman
Roman praenomen, or given name, meaning "fifth" in Latin. Originally, during the time of the early Roman Republic, it was spelled Quinctus. This name was traditionally given to the fifth child, or possibly a child born in the fifth month. It was a common praenomen, being more popular than the other numeric Roman names. A notable bearer was the poet Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus).

Quirijn m Dutch (Rare)
Dutch form of Quirinus.

Quirin m German
German form of Quirinus.

Quirinus m Roman Mythology, Late Roman
Possibly derived from the Sabine word quiris meaning "spear". Quirinus was a Sabine and Roman god, sometimes identified with Romulus. He declined in importance after the early Republican era. The name was also borne by several early saints.

Qurban m Urdu, Azerbaijani
From Arabic قربان (qurbān) meaning "sacrifice, sacrificial animal". It is associated with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which features the ritual sacrifice of an animal.

Qurbon m Uzbek, Tajik
Uzbek and Tajik form of Qurban.

Quyên f Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 娟 (quyên) meaning "beautiful, graceful".

Quyền m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 權 (quyền) meaning "power, right, authority".

Raanan m Hebrew
Means "fresh, invigorating" in Hebrew.

Raban m Germanic
Variant of Hraban.

Radoš m Serbian
Derived from the Slavic element radŭ meaning "happy, willing", originally a diminutive of names beginning with that element.

Radovan m Slovak, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Derived from Slavic radovati meaning "to make happy, to gladden".

Raeburn m English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "stream where deer drink" (from Scots rae "roe deer" and burn "stream"). A famous bearer of the surname was Scottish portrait painter Henry Raeburn (1756-1823).

Raegan f English (Modern)
Variant of Reagan.

Raelyn f English (Modern)
Combination of Rae and the popular name suffix lyn.

Raelynn f English (Modern)
Combination of Rae and the popular name suffix lyn.

Raewyn f English (New Zealand)
Combination of Rae and Wyn (used especially in New Zealand).

Raganhildis f Germanic (Latinized)
Old German form of Reinhild.

Rəhman m Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani form of Rahman.

Rahman m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Bengali
Means "merciful" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الرحمٰن (al-Raḥmān) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Raiden m Japanese Mythology
From Japanese 雷 (rai) meaning "thunder" and 電 (den) meaning "lightning". This is a regional epithet of the Japanese god Raijin.

Raijin m Japanese Mythology
From Japanese 雷 (rai) meaning "thunder" and 神 (jin) meaning "god, spirit". This is the name of the god (or gods) of thunder and storms in the mythology of Japan.

Raimon m Catalan
Catalan variant form of Raymond.

Raimondas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Raymond.

Raimonds m Latvian
Latvian form of Raymond.

Raimundas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Raymond.

Rain 1 f & m English (Rare)
Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.

Rain 2 m Estonian
Variant of Rein.

Rais m Arabic
Means "leader, chief" in Arabic.

Ralfs m Latvian
Latvian form of Ralph.

Ramadan m Arabic
From the name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is derived from Arabic رمض (ramaḍ) meaning "parchedness, scorchedness". Muslims traditionally fast during this month.

Raman 1 m Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada
Variant of Rama 1.

Raman 2 m Persian Mythology
Means "peace" in Avestan. In Zoroastrianism, this is the name of a Yazata (a holy being) who presides over joy.

Raman 3 m Belarusian
Belarusian form of Roman.

Raman 4 m Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi
Northern Indian form of Ramana.

Ramazan m Turkish, Azerbaijani, Avar, Kazakh, Circassian, Albanian
Form of Ramadan in several languages.

Ramdas m Marathi, Hindi
Means "servant of Rama" from the name of the Hindu deity Rama 1 combined with Sanskrit दास (dāsa) meaning "servant". This name was borne by a 17th-century Hindu holy man from Maharashtra.

Rameses m Ancient Egyptian (Anglicized)
Variant of Ramesses.

Ramesses m Ancient Egyptian (Anglicized)
From Ῥαμέσσης (Rhamesses), the Greek form of Egyptian rꜥ-ms-sw meaning "born of Ra", composed of the name of the supreme god Ra combined with the root msj "be born". Ramesses was the name of eleven Egyptian pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The most important of these were Ramesses II the Great who campaigned against the Hittites and also built several great monuments (13th century BC), and Ramesses III who defended Egypt from the Libyans and Sea Peoples (12th century BC).

Ramin m Persian, Azerbaijani
Derived from Middle Persian 𐭥𐭠𐭬 (rʾm) meaning "peace, joy". This is the name of a character in the Persian epic Vis and Ramin, written by the 11th-century poet Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani.

Ramirus m Gothic (Latinized)
Latinized (Old Spanish) form of *Ranamers or possibly *Raginamers (see Ramiro).

Ramón m Spanish
Spanish form of Raymond.

Ramon m Catalan
Catalan form of Raymond.

Ramses m Ancient Egyptian (Anglicized, Latinized)
Variant of Ramesses.

Ramūnas m Lithuanian
Derived from Lithuanian ramus meaning "calm, peaceful" combined with the patronymic suffix ūnas.

Ramzan m Chechen, Urdu
Chechen and Urdu form of Ramadan.

Rán f Norse Mythology
Means "robbery, theft" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology Rán was a sea goddess who captured and drowned sailors. She was wife to Ægir and the mother of nine daughters by him.

Ran f Japanese
From Japanese 蘭 (ran) meaning "orchid" or other kanji pronounced in the same way.

Ranamers m Gothic (Hypothetical)
Possible Gothic form of Ramiro.

Rareș m Romanian
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Romanian rar meaning "sparse, rare". This name was borne by Petru Rareș, a 16th-century ruler of Moldavia, whose second name was adopted from a nickname of his mother's husband.

Rashaun m African American (Modern)
Combination of the prefix ra with the name Shaun.

Rashawn m African American (Modern)
Combination of the prefix ra with the name Shawn.

Rashn m Persian Mythology
Modern Persian form of Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬱𐬥𐬎 (Rashnu) meaning "just, straight". In Zoroastrianism this was the name of a Yazata who judged the souls of the dead.

Rasmus m Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Scandinavian, Finnish and Estonian form of Erasmus.

Rastus m English (Rare)
Short form of Erastus.

Ratan m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali
Variant of Ratna.

Raven f & m English
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god Odin.

Ravshan m Uzbek, Tajik
Uzbek and Tajik form of Roshan.

Rayan m & f Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic ريّان (see Rayyan).

Rayén f Spanish (Latin American)
Spanish form of Rayen.

Rayen f Mapuche
Means "flower" in Mapuche.

Rayyan m & f Arabic
Means "watered, luxuriant" in Arabic. According to Islamic tradition this is the name of one of the gates of paradise.

Răzvan m Romanian
Meaning unknown, possibly related to the name Radovan. Alternatively it may have been brought to Romania by the Romani people (note that Romanian and Romani are unrelated), perhaps ultimately from Rizwan.

Reagan f & m English (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Riagáin, derived from the given name Riagán. This surname was borne by American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).... [more]

Réamann m Irish
Irish form of Raymond.

Réamonn m Irish
Irish form of Raymond.

Reannon f English (Rare)
Variant of Rhiannon.

Rearden m English (Rare)
From an Irish surname, a variant of Riordan.

Rees m Welsh
Anglicized form of Rhys.

Regan f & m Literature, English
Meaning unknown. In the chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth it is the name of a treacherous daughter of King Leir. Shakespeare adapted the story for his tragedy King Lear (1606). In the modern era it has appeared in the horror movie The Exorcist (1973) belonging to a girl possessed by the devil. This name can also be used as a variant of Reagan.

Regin m Germanic
Old German form of Rein.

Régis m French
From a French surname meaning "ruler" in Occitan. This name is often given in honour of Saint Jean-François Régis (1597-1640), a French Jesuit priest.

Regulus m Ancient Roman, Astronomy
Roman cognomen meaning "prince, little king", a diminutive of Latin rex "king". This was the cognomen of several 3rd-century BC consuls from the gens Atilia. It was also the name of several early saints. A star in the constellation Leo bears this name as well.

Rehman m Urdu
Urdu form of Rahman.

Reidun f Norwegian
From the Old Norse name Hreiðunn, which was derived from the elements hreiðr "nest, home" and unnr "wave".

Reign f & m English (Modern)
From the English word reign, derived from Latin regnum "royal power".

Rein m Frisian, Dutch, Estonian
Originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element regin meaning "advice, counsel, decision" (Proto-Germanic *raginą).

Reinholds m Latvian (Rare)
Latvian form of Reinhold.

Reinis m Latvian
Originally a short form of Reinholds and other Germanic names starting with the same element.

Reis m Turkish
Turkish form of Rais.

Rejjan m Bosnian
Bosnian form of Rayyan.

Rémann m Medieval Irish
Medieval Irish form of Raymond.

Remedios f Spanish
Means "remedies" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, meaning "Our Lady of the Remedies".

Remigijus m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Remigius (see Rémy).

Remigius m Late Roman
Latin form of Rémy.

Remington m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from the name of the town of Rimington in Lancashire, itself meaning "settlement on the Riming stream". It may be given in honour of the American manufacturer Eliphalet Remington (1793-1861) or his sons, founders of the firearms company that bears their name.

Remus m Roman Mythology, Romanian
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Old Latin *yemos meaning "twin" with the initial consonant altered due to the influence of Romulus. In Roman legend the twin brothers Romulus and Remus were the founders of the city of Rome. Remus was later slain by his brother.

Ren m & f Japanese
From Japanese 蓮 (ren) meaning "lotus", 恋 (ren) meaning "romantic love", or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.

Renārs m Latvian
Latvian form of Reinhard.

Renatas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Renatus.

Renatus m Late Roman
Late Latin name meaning "born again".

Rens m Dutch
Short form of Laurens or Emerens.

Resurrección f Spanish
Means "resurrection" in Spanish, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus.

Reuben m Biblical, Hebrew, English
Means "behold, a son" in Hebrew, derived from רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and בֵּן (ben) meaning "son". In the Old Testament he is the eldest son of Jacob and Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the Protestant Reformation.

Reuven m Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Reuben.

Reyes f & m Spanish
Means "kings" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, La Virgen de los Reyes, meaning "The Virgin of the Kings". According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to King Ferdinand III of Castile and told him his armies would defeat those of the Moors in Seville.

Reyhan f Turkish, Uyghur
Turkish and Uyghur form of Rayhana.

Reyyan f Turkish
Turkish form of Rayyan.

Rhamesses m Ancient Egyptian (Hellenized)
Hellenized form of Egyptian rꜥ-ms-sw (see Ramesses).

Rhian f Welsh
Derived from Welsh rhiain meaning "maiden, young woman".

Rhiannon f Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *Rīgantonā meaning "great queen" (Celtic *rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix -on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish Epona. As Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the Mabinogi as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married Pwyll instead. Their son was Pryderi.... [more]

Rhianon f Welsh
Variant of Rhiannon.

Rhodopis f Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek ῥόδον (rhodon) meaning "rose" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". According to Herodotus this was the name of a prostitute who was a slave with Aesop on Samos. The same figure appears in the 1st-century BC writings of Strabo, which recount the tale of a slave named Rhodopis who marries the Egyptian pharaoh after he finds her sandal and has his men locate the owner. Some sources spell her name as Rhodope.

Rhonwen f Welsh
Welsh form of Rowena, appearing in medieval Welsh poems and stories as a personification of the English people.

Rhosyn f Welsh (Rare)
Means "rose" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.

Rhouben m Biblical Greek
Biblical Greek form of Reuben.

Rhydian m Welsh
Possibly a derivative of Welsh rhyd meaning "ford". Saint Rhydian or Rhidian was a companion of Saint Illtyd.

Rhys m Welsh, English
From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.

Riacán m Old Irish
Old Irish form of Riagán.

Riagán m Irish (Rare)
From Old Irish Riacán, probably derived from rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix.

Rian m Irish, Old Irish, English
Irish form of Ryan, as well as an English variant.

Riannon f English (Rare)
Variant of Rhiannon.

Ričardas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Richard.

Ričards m Latvian
Latvian form of Richard.

Richardis f Germanic (Latinized)
Germanic name, possibly a feminine form of Ricohard, though it is likely the second element is gart "enclosure" (being more common as a second element in feminine names). This was the name of the 9th-century wife of the Frankish emperor Charles the Fat. She is regarded as a saint.

Rıdvan m Turkish
Turkish form of Ridwan.

Ridwan m Arabic, Indonesian
Means "consent, approval" in Arabic, a derivative of the root رضي (raḍiya) meaning "to be satisfied, to be content".

Rien 1 m Dutch
Dutch cognate of Rein.

Rien 2 m Dutch
Dutch short form of Marinus.

Rígán m Old Irish
Old Irish form of Ríoghán.

Rígbarddán m Old Irish
Means "little poet of the king", from Old Irish rí "king" (genitive ríg) combined with bard "poet" and a diminutive suffix.

Rihards m Latvian
Latvian form of Richard.

Riin f Estonian
Short form of Katariina.

Rimantas m Lithuanian
From Lithuanian rimti "to calm down" combined with mantus "intelligent" or manta "property, wealth".

Rimas m Lithuanian
Short form of Rimantas.

Rin f & m Japanese
From Japanese 凛 (rin) meaning "dignified, severe, cold" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.

Rinus m Dutch
Short form of Marinus.

Ríoghán m Irish
From Old Irish Rígán, itself from rí "king" (or the derivative ríg "royal") combined with a diminutive suffix.

Riordan m English (Rare)
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Ríoghbhárdáin), which was derived from the given name Rígbarddán.

Ris m Old Welsh
Old Welsh form of Rhys.

Rızvan m Turkish
Turkish variant form of Ridwan.

Rizvan m Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani form of Ridwan.

Rizwan m Urdu, Arabic
Urdu form of Ridwan, as well as an alternate Arabic transcription.

Roan m Frisian
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element hraban meaning "raven".

Robbin f & m English
Variant of Robin.

Robertas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Robert.

Roberts m Latvian
Latvian form of Robert.

Robertus m Germanic (Latinized), Dutch
Latinized form of Robert. This is also the official Dutch form, used on birth certificates but not typically in daily life.

Robin m & f English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Medieval English diminutive of Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary English hero and archer who stole from the rich to give to the poor. This name is also borne by the character Christopher Robin from the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne, based on the author's son Christopher Robin Milne (1920-1996). Another notable bearer was the American actor and comedian Robin Williams (1951-2014). In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.

Robinson m English (Rare)
From the English surname Robinson, which was a patronymic form of the given name Robin. This is the name of the main character in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe (1719), about a sailor shipwrecked on a remote island.

Robyn f English
Feminine variant of Robin.

Rochus m German (Rare), Dutch (Rare), Germanic (Latinized)
Latinized form of Rocco, used in occasionally German and Dutch.

Rodion m Russian
Russian form of Ῥοδίων (Rhodion), a short form of Herodion, referring to Saint Herodion of Patras. A famous fictional bearer is Rodion Raskolnikov, the main character in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment (1866).

Rogatus m Late Roman
From Latin rogatus meaning "request, entreaty", in turn derived from rogo meaning "to ask, to request". This name was borne by several early and relatively obscure martyrs and saints.

Rohan 1 m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada
Derived from Sanskrit रोहण (rohaṇa) meaning "ascension".

Rohan 2 f Literature
From the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, where it is a place name meaning "horse country" in the fictional language Sindarin.

Róis f Irish (Rare)
Irish form of Rose, or directly from the Irish word rós meaning "rose" (genitive róis; of Latin origin).

Róisín f Irish
Diminutive of Róis or the Irish word rós meaning "rose" (of Latin origin). It appears in the 17th-century song Róisín Dubh.

Rokas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Rocco.

Rokus m Dutch
Dutch variant of Rochus.

Rolan m Russian
Russian form of Roland.

Rolandas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Roland.

Roldán m Spanish
Spanish form of Roland.

Romaeus m Late Roman
Latin form of Romeo.

Romain m French
French form of Romanus (see Roman).

Román m Spanish, Hungarian
Spanish and Hungarian form of Romanus (see Roman).

Roman m Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
From the Late Latin name Romanus meaning "Roman". This name was borne by several early saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.

Romanas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Romanus (see Roman).

Romanos m Late Greek
Greek form of Romanus (see Roman). This was the name of four Byzantine emperors.

Romāns m Latvian
Latvian form of Romanus (see Roman).

Romanus m Late Roman
Latin form of Roman.

Romas m Lithuanian
Short form of Romualdas, Romanas and other names beginning with Rom.

Romein m Dutch (Rare)
Dutch form of Romanus (see Roman).

Romilius m Ancient Roman
Roman family name derived from the mythological name Romulus.

Romualdas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Romuald.

Romualds m Latvian
Latvian form of Romuald.

Romulus m Roman Mythology, Romanian
From Roma, the Latin name of the city of Rome, combined with a diminutive suffix. In Roman legend Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of Rhea Silvia and the god Mars. Romulus killed his brother when they argued about where to found Rome. According to the tale he gave the city its name, though in reality it was likely the other way around.

Ron 1 m English
Short form of Ronald.

Ron 2 m Hebrew
Means "song, joy" in Hebrew.

Rónán m Irish, Old Irish
Means "little seal", derived from Old Irish rón "seal" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.

Ronan m Breton, Irish, French, English (Modern)
Breton and Anglicized form of Rónán.

Ronen m Hebrew
Derived from Hebrew רֹן (ron) meaning "song, joy".

Ronin m English (Modern)
Variant of Ronan, also coinciding with the Japanese term 浪人 (ronin) meaning "masterless samurai".

Roos f Dutch
Dutch vernacular form of Rosa 1, meaning "rose" in Dutch.

Rós f Icelandic
Means "rose" in Icelandic.

Ros f English
Short form of Rosalind, Rosamund and other names beginning with Ros.

Rosaleen f English (Rare), Irish
Variant of Rosaline. James Clarence Mangan used it as a translation for Róisín in his poem Dark Rosaleen (1846).

Rosalin f English (Rare)
Medieval variant of Rosalind.

Rosalyn f English
Variant of Rosaline. It can also be considered an elaboration of Rose with the common name suffix lyn.

Roseann f English
Variant of Rosanne.

Roselyn f English
Variant of Rosalyn.

Rosen m Bulgarian
Means "dittany flower" in Bulgarian (species Dictamnus albus).

Roshan m & f Persian, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Means "light, bright" in Persian.

Rosheen f Irish
Anglicized form of Róisín.

Roslindis f Germanic (Latinized)
Old German form of Rosalind.

Roslyn f English
Variant of Rosalyn.

Ross m Scottish, English
From a Scottish and English surname that originally indicated a person from a place called Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.

Rouben m Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Ռուբեն (see Ruben).

Rowan m & f Irish, English (Modern)
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).

Rowen m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Rowan.

Röwşen m Turkmen
Turkmen form of Roshan.

Roydon m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill", from Old English ryge "rye" and dun "hill".

Royston m English (British)
From a surname that was originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "town of Royse". The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose.

Rozenn f Breton
Means "rose" in Breton.

Rúadán m Old Irish
Old Irish form of Ruadhán.

Ruadhán m Irish
From Old Irish Rúadán, derived from rúad "red" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of the founder of the monastery of Lorrha in the 6th century.

Rúben m Portuguese
Portuguese form of Reuben.

Rubén m Spanish
Spanish form of Reuben.

Rubèn m Catalan
Catalan form of Reuben.

Ruben m Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, Italian, Armenian, Biblical Latin
Form of Reuben in several languages. This was the name of an 11th-century Armenian ruler of Cilicia.

Rubens m Portuguese (Brazilian)
Possibly from Latin rubens "being red", participle of rubeo "to be red". It may also be inspired by the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).

Rudericus m Gothic (Latinized)
Latinized (Old Spanish) form of *Hroþireiks, the Gothic form of Roderick.

Rudesindus m Gothic (Latinized)
Latinized (Old Spanish) form of *Hroþisinþs (see Rosendo).

Rūdolfs m Latvian
Latvian form of Rudolf.

Rufinus m Ancient Roman
Roman cognomen that was derived from the cognomen Rufus. It was borne by several early saints.

Rufus m Ancient Roman, English, Biblical
Roman cognomen meaning "red-haired" in Latin. Several early saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the Protestant Reformation.

Rumen m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "ruddy, rosy" in Bulgarian and Macedonian.

Rumpelstiltskin m Literature
From German Rumpelstilzchen, possibly from German rumpeln meaning "make noise" and Stelze meaning "stilt", combined with the diminutive suffix -chen. It has been suggested that it was inspired by a children's game Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart mentioned in Johann Fischart's 1577 book Geschichtklitterung. This name was used by the Brothers Grimm in an 1812 fairy tale about a magical little man (Rumpelstiltskin) who saves a miller's daughter in exchange for her firstborn child. In order to undo the deal, she must guess the man's name. The Grimm's story was based upon earlier European folktales (which have various names for the little man).

Rumpelstilzchen m Literature
Original German form of Rumpelstiltskin.

Ruşen m & f Turkish
Turkish form of Roshan.

Ruslan m Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Circassian, Indonesian, Malay
Form of Yeruslan used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.

Russ m English
Short form of Russell.

Rusticus m Ancient Roman
Roman cognomen derived from Latin rusticus meaning "rural, rustic", a derivative of rus meaning "open land, countryside". This name was borne by several early saints.

Rusudan f Georgian
Possibly derived from Persian روز (rūz) meaning "day". This name was borne by a 13th-century ruling queen of Georgia.