Browse Names - Behind the Name

Agostina f Italian
Italian feminine form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1).

Angerona f Roman Mythology
Possibly from Latin angor "strangulation, torment" or angustus "narrow, constricted". Angerona was the Roman goddess of the winter solstice, death, and silence.

Antoņina f Latvian
Latvian form of Antonina.

Antonina f Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Feminine form of Antoninus.

Carolina f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Swedish
Latinate feminine form of Carolus. This is the name of two American states: North and South Carolina. They were named for Charles I, king of England.

Catriona f Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Caitríona (Irish) or Caitrìona (Scottish Gaelic).

Clíodhna f Irish, Irish Mythology
Meaning unknown. In Irish legend this was the name of a beautiful goddess. She fell in love with a mortal named Ciabhán and left the Land of Promise with him, but when she arrived on the other shore she was swept to sea by a great wave.

Despoina f Greek Mythology, Greek
Means "mistress, lady" in Greek. In Greek mythology this was the name of the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. She was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at Eleusis near Athens.

Epponina f Gaulish (Latinized)
Probably related to the name of the goddess Epona. Epponina was the virtuous wife of the 1st-century Gallo-Roman rebel Julius Sabinus.

Filomena f Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Lithuanian
Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian form of Philomena.

Floriana f Italian, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Feminine form of Florianus (see Florian).

Georgina f English, Spanish, Hungarian
Feminine form of George.

Giorgina f Italian
Diminutive of Giorgia.

Giovanna f Italian
Italian form of Iohanna (see Joanna), making it the feminine form of Giovanni.

Gloriana f English (Rare)
Elaborated form of Latin gloria meaning "glory". In Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene (1590) this was the name of the title character, a representation of Queen Elizabeth I.

Grozdana f Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian
Feminine form of Grozdan.

Honorina f Late Roman
Feminine form of Honorinus.

Jacobina f Dutch (Rare)
Feminine form of Jacob.

Jacomina f Dutch
Dutch feminine form of Iacomus (see James).

Joaquina f Spanish
Spanish feminine form of Joachim.

Jordanna f English
Strictly feminine variant of Jordan.

Josefína f Czech
Czech feminine form of Joseph.

Josefina f Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish
Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish feminine form of Joseph.

Józefina f Polish
Polish form of Joséphine.

Jozefína f Slovak
Slovak form of Joséphine.

Jozefina f Croatian
Croatian form of Joséphine.

Jyotsana f Hindi
Variant of Jyotsna.

Karolína f Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak feminine form of Carolus.

Karolīna f Latvian
Latvian feminine form of Carolus.

Karolina f Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian, German
Feminine form of Carolus.

Katriona f Irish, Scottish
Variant of Catriona.

Leontina f Late Roman, Portuguese, Romanian
Feminine form of Leontius.

Leontýna f Czech
Czech form of Leontina.

Loredana f Italian, Romanian
Used by the French author George Sand for a character in her novel Mattea (1833) and later by the Italian author Luciano Zuccoli in his novel L'amore de Loredana (1908). It was possibly based on the Venetian surname Loredan, which was derived from the place name Loreo.

Magdolna f Hungarian
Hungarian form of Magdalene.

Marijona f Lithuanian
Lithuanian feminine form of Marianus.

Matryona f Russian (Rare)
Russian variant of Matrona 1.

Meiriona f Welsh
Feminine form of Meirion.

Morwenna f Cornish, Welsh
From Old Cornish moroin meaning "maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word morwyn). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint, said to be one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.

Nicolina f Italian
Feminine diminutive of Nicola 1.

Nikolina f Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene
Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian and Slovene feminine form of Nicholas.

Polyxena f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Πολυξένη (Polyxene), which was from the word πολύξενος (polyxenos) meaning "entertaining many guests, very hospitable", itself derived from πολύς (polys) meaning "many" and ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". In Greek legend she was a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, beloved by Achilles. After the Trojan War, Achilles' son Neoptolemus sacrificed her.

Radovana f Czech (Rare)
Feminine form of Radovan.

Rosalina f Portuguese, Spanish
Latinate form of Rosaline.

Roseanna f English (Rare)
Variant of Rosanna.

Roxelana f History
From a Turkish nickname meaning "Ruthenian". This referred to the region of Ruthenia, covering Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. Roxelana (1504-1558), also called Hürrem, was a slave and then concubine of Süleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She eventually became his wife and produced his heir, Selim II.

Shoshana f Hebrew
Modern Hebrew form of Susanna.

Sousanna f Biblical Greek
Greek form of Susanna.

Tichaona m Shona
Means "we will see" from Shona ticha "we will" and ona "see".

Topʉsana f Comanche
Means "prairie flower" in Comanche.

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