Browse Names - Behind the Name

Ben 1 m English, German, Dutch
Short form of Benjamin, Benedict and other names beginning with Ben. A notable bearer was Ben Jonson (1572-1637), an English poet and playwright.

Carmen f Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian, German
Medieval Spanish form of Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word carmen meaning "song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera Carmen (1875).

Carsten m Low German, Danish
Variant of Karsten.

Ellen 1 f English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Medieval English form of Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form Helen also became common.

Eugen m German, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian
Form of Eugenius (see Eugene) in several languages.

Gretchen f German, English
German diminutive of Margareta.

Hagen m German, Germanic Mythology
Derived from the Old German element hag meaning "enclosure" (Proto-Germanic *hagô). In the medieval German saga the Nibelungenlied he is the cunning half-brother of Gunther. He killed the hero Siegfried by luring him onto a hunting expedition and then stabbing him with a javelin in his one vulnerable spot.

Hans-Jürgen m German
Combination of Hans and Jürgen.

Jochen m German
German form of Joachim.

Jürgen m Low German, German
Low German form of George.

Karen 1 f Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, English, German
Danish short form of Katherine. It became common in the English-speaking world after the 1930s.

Karsten m Low German, Danish, Norwegian
Low German form of Christian.

Marlen 2 f German
Variant of Marlene.

Merten m German (Rare)
Medieval Low German variant of Martin.

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.

Sören m Swedish, German
Swedish and German form of Søren.

Steffen m Low German, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Low German and Danish form of Stephen.

Sven m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
From the Old Norse byname Sveinn meaning "boy". This was the name of kings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Thorben m Danish, German
Variant of Torben.

Thorsten m Swedish, Danish, German
Variant of Torsten.

Torben m Danish, German
Danish form of Torbjörn.

Torsten m Swedish, 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".

Usage	clear
Language	clear
Place	clear

Initial	clear
Start	clear
End	clear
Substring	clear
Pattern	clear help?
the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name * is a wildcard that matches zero or more letters example: oo matches names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that matches exactly one letter example: __z matches names which have two letters and then z

Meaning	clear help?
	expand search to include grammatical forms
	expand search to include close synonyms
	expand search to include subclasses
	expand search to related names
separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
Description	clear help?
	ignore name meanings
the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

Pronunciation	clear help?
	case sensitive
see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee matches names which end with the sound lee* _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation example: __z matches names which have two letters and then a z (s) matches exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)ra matches names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) matches a consonant (k) matches a consonant or consonant cluster (v) matches a vowel (p) matches a plosive or stop consonant (f) matches a fricative consonant (n) matches a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
Syllables	clear help?
syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results

Related name	clear
Relationship	clear help?
	expand search to ancestral names
the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

List	clear
Year	clear
Rank	clear

Country	clear
Month	clear
Day	clear

Sort	clear
Display	clear