This is a list of names in which the order is random.
Merrill m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived either from the given name
Muriel or from place names meaning "pleasant hill".
Kofi m AkanMeans
"born on Friday" in Akan.
Shōhei m JapaneseFrom Japanese
翔 (shō) meaning "soar, glide" and
平 (hei) meaning "level, even, peaceful", in addition to other combinations of kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Erkan m TurkishFrom Turkish
er "man, hero, brave" combined with either
kan "blood" or
han "khan, leader".
Riko f JapaneseFrom Japanese
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or
理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Keely f EnglishFrom an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Caolaidhe, itself derived from the given name
Caoladhe, from Irish
caol "slender".
Iðunn f Norse Mythology, Old Norse, IcelandicProbably derived from the Old Norse prefix
ið- "again, repeated" and
unna "to love". In Norse mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth.
Lemuel m Biblical, Mormon, Biblical HebrewMeans
"for God" in Hebrew, from the proposition
לְמוֹ (lemo) combined with
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This was the name of a king briefly mentioned in Proverbs in the Old Testament. In the Book of Mormon it is the name of a rebellious son of
Lehi and
Sariah. It is also borne by the hero of Jonathan Swift's novel
Gulliver's Travels (1726).
Ĉiela f EsperantoMeans
"heavenly, from the sky" in Esperanto, from
ĉielo "sky", ultimately derived from Latin
caelum.
Job m Biblical, Biblical French, DutchFrom the Hebrew name
אִיּוֹב (ʾIyyov), which means
"persecuted, hated". In the Book of Job in the Old Testament he is a righteous man who is tested by God, enduring many tragedies and hardships while struggling to remain faithful.
Celyn m & f WelshMeans
"holly" in Welsh. It appears briefly in the Welsh tale
Culhwch and Olwen, belonging to a son of Caw, but was not typically used as a given name until the 20th century.
Lowell m EnglishFrom 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).
Talia 2 f English (Australian)From the name of a town in South Australia, perhaps meaning
"near water" in an Australian Aboriginal language.
Menelaus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek name
Μενέλαος (Menelaos), derived either from
μένω (meno) meaning "to stay, to last" or
μένος (menos) meaning "mind, strength, force" combined with
λαός (laos) meaning "people". In Greek legend he was a king of Sparta and the husband of
Helen. When his wife was taken by
Paris, the Greeks led by his brother
Agamemnon besieged the city of Troy in an effort to get her back. After the war Menelaus and Helen settled down to a happy life.
Mayu f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or
満 (ma) meaning "full" combined with
優 (yu) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" or
夕 (yu) meaning "evening". This name can also be constructed from other kanji combinations.
Goretti f VariousFrom the surname of Maria Goretti, a 20th-century Italian saint who forgave her murderer on her deathbed. Her surname was derived from the given name
Gregorio.
Veronica f English, Italian, Romanian, Late RomanLatin alteration of
Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning
"true image". This was the name of a legendary saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Jermaine m African AmericanVariant of
Germain. This name rapidly increased in popularity in the early 1970s as a result of the newfound fame of Jermaine Jackson (1954-), a member of the singing group The Jackson 5.
Earl m EnglishFrom the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English
eorl "nobleman, warrior". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Bolesław m PolishDerived from Slavic
boľe "more, greater" and
slava "glory". This was the name of kings of Poland, starting in the 11th century with the first Polish king Bolesław the Brave.
Salvador m Spanish, Portuguese, CatalanSpanish, Portuguese and Catalan form of the Late Latin name
Salvator, which meant
"saviour", referring to
Jesus. A famous bearer of this name was the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
Artabazos m Old Persian (Hellenized)Greek form of the Old Persian name *
Artavazda meaning
"persevering through truth", a calque of Avestan
𐬀𐬴𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬀𐬵 (Ashauuazdah). This was the name of two Achaemenid Persian satraps of Hellespontine Phrygia.
Nüwa f Chinese MythologyFrom Chinese
女 (nǚ) meaning "woman, female" and
娲 (wā), a character of uncertain origin that refers to the goddess herself. This is the name of the creator goddess in Chinese mythology, depicted as a snake with a human head. She molded humans from earth or clay with her brother
Fuxi.
Ken 2 m JapaneseFrom Japanese
健 (ken) meaning "healthy, strong" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Kareem m ArabicAlternate transcription of Arabic
كريم (see
Karim). A famous bearer of this name is basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1947-).
Manjushri m BuddhismMeans
"beautiful radiance", derived from Sanskrit
मञ्जु (mañju) meaning "lovely, beautiful" and
श्री (śrī) meaning "radiance, splendour, beauty". According to Buddhist tradition this is the name of a bodhisattva.
Brân m Welsh MythologyMeans
"raven" in Welsh. According to the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi, Brân the Blessed (called
Bendigeidfran) was a giant king of Britain. He was the son of the divine figure
Llŷr. After his sister
Branwen was mistreated by her husband the Irish king Matholwch, Brân led an attack on Ireland (the text says that he was so big he was able to wade there). Although victorious, the British lost all except seven men with Brân being mortally wounded by a poisoned spear. He asked the survivors to cut of his head and return with it to Britain. The head continued to speak for many years until it was buried in London.
Crawford m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"crow ford" in Old English.
Paxton m English (Modern)From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"Pœcc's town".
Pœcc is an Old English given name of unknown meaning.
Lourdes f Spanish, PortugueseFrom the name of a French town. It became a popular center of pilgrimage after a young girl from the town had visions of the Virgin
Mary in a nearby grotto.
Amity f English (Rare)From the English word meaning
"friendship", ultimately deriving from Latin
amicitia.
Horatius m Ancient RomanRoman 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.
Aodh m Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
Áed, which meant
"fire". This was a very popular name in early Ireland, being borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings. It has been traditionally Anglicized as
Hugh.
Brutus m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen meaning
"heavy" in Latin. Famous bearers include Lucius Junius Brutus, the traditional founder of the Roman Republic, and Marcus Junius Brutus, the statesman who conspired to assassinate Julius Caesar.
Idril f LiteratureMeans
"sparkle brilliance" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the
Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband
Tuor and sailed with him into the west.
Amaia f BasqueMeans
"the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel
Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (
Amaya in the Spanish original;
Amaia in the Basque translation).
Hranislav m SerbianDerived from the Slavic element
xorniti (Serbo-Croatian
hraniti) meaning "to feed, to protect" combined with
slava meaning "glory".
Charlotte f French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, DutchFrench feminine diminutive of
Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of
Jane Eyre and
Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
... [more] Sherwood m EnglishFrom an English place name (or from a surname that was derived from it) meaning
"bright forest". This was the name of the forest in which the legendary outlaw Robin Hood made his home.
Elowen f CornishMeans
"elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Ocean f & m English (Modern)Simply from the English word
ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.
Harriet f EnglishEnglish form of
Henriette, and thus a feminine form of
Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of
Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
Kasumi f JapaneseFrom Japanese
霞 (kasumi) meaning "mist". It can also come from
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" combined with
澄 (sumi) meaning "clear, pure". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Aldegund f GermanicGermanic name, derived from the elements
alt "old" and
gunda "war". Alternatively, it could be a metathesized form of
Adalgund. Saint Aldegund (or Aldegundis or Adelgundis) was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Maubeuge.
Nawra f ArabicMeans
"flower, blossom" in Arabic, a derivative of
نوّر (nawwara) meaning "to blossom, to illuminate, to light".
Hiram m Biblical, EnglishFrom Phoenician
𐤇𐤓𐤌 (Ḥirom) meaning
"exalted brother". This was the name of a king of Tyre according to the Old Testament. He may have reigned in the 10th century BC. As an English given name,
Hiram came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where it gained some currency.
Hephaestus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek
Ἥφαιστος (Hephaistos), meaning unknown. It probably shares its origin with the Minoan city of
Φαιστός (Phaistos), which is of Pre-Greek origin. In Greek mythology Hephaestus was the god of fire and forging, the husband of the unfaithful
Aphrodite. It was said that when he was born
Hera, his mother, was so displeased with his physical deformities that she hurled him off the top of Mount Olympus.
Eustorgio m Italian (Rare)From
Eustorgius, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὐστόργιος (Eustorgios), which was from the word
εὔστοργος (eustorgos) meaning
"content", a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
στέργω (stergo) meaning "to love, to be content". Saint Eustorgius was a 6th-century bishop of Milan.
Yating f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with
婷 (tíng) meaning "pretty, graceful". Other character combinations are possible.
Timon m Ancient Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, DutchDerived from Greek
τιμάω (timao) meaning
"to honour, to esteem". According to ancient writers, this was the name of a wealthy man of Athens who grew to hate humanity after he lost his riches and his friends deserted him. His story is related in Shakespeare's tragedy
Timon of Athens (1607). This name is also mentioned in the New Testament as belonging to one of the original seven deacons of the church, considered a saint.
Oda f German, Norwegian, GermanicFeminine form of
Otto. This was the name of a semi-legendary 8th-century saint who lived as a hermit in Brabant in the Netherlands.
Dieter m GermanMeans
"warrior of the people", derived from the Old German elements
theod meaning "people" (Old High German
diota, Old Frankish
þeoda) and
heri meaning "army". This name is also used as a short form of
Dietrich.
Wanjiku f KikuyuMeaning unknown. This is one of
Mumbi's nine daughters in the Kikuyu origin legend.
Quinn m & f EnglishFrom 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.
Awiti f LuoMeans
"thrown away" in Luo, possibly used for a child born prematurely.
Inge f & m Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Dutch, EstonianShort form of Scandinavian and German names beginning with the element
ing, which refers to the Germanic god
Ing. In Sweden and Norway this is primarily a masculine name, elsewhere it is usually feminine.
Freddy m English, French, DutchDiminutive of
Frederick and other names containing the same element. A notable fictional bearer is the horror villain Freddy Krueger from the
A Nightmare on Elm Street series of movies, beginning 1984.
Generosus m Late RomanDerived from Latin
generosus meaning
"well-born, noble, excellent", from
genus meaning "birth, origin". This name was borne by a few early saints, including a 4th-century martyr from Ortona dei Marsi in Italy.
Guy 2 m HebrewAlternate transcription of Hebrew
גַּיְא (see
Gai). This is the more common transcription.
Plato m Ancient Greek (Latinized)From the Greek name
Πλάτων (Platon), which was derived from Greek
πλατύς (platys) meaning
"broad-shouldered". Plato was one of the most important of the Greek philosophers. He was a pupil of
Socrates and a teacher of
Aristotle. He constructed the theory of Forms and wrote several works, including the
Republic.
Valli f HinduismMeans
"creeping plant" in Tamil. The Tamil Hindu goddess Valli is the wife of
Murugan.
Consolación f SpanishMeans
"consolation" in Spanish. It is taken from a title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de Consolación, meaning "Our Lady of Consolation".
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).
Aran 1 m & f IrishFrom the name of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland.
Brynn f English (Modern)Feminine variant of
Bryn. It was brought to limited public attention in 1978 when the actress Brynn Thayer (1949-) began appearing on the American soap opera
One Life to Live.
Giacomo m ItalianItalian form of
Iacomus (see
James). Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was an Italian composer of operas.
Yeray m Spanish (Canarian)Canarian Spanish name of recent origin, possibly from a Guanche word or place name meaning
"big, grand".
Masato m JapaneseFrom Japanese
正 (masa) meaning "right, proper",
雅 (masa) meaning "elegant, graceful" or
真 (masa) meaning "real, genuine, true" combined with
人 (to) meaning "person". Other combinations of kanji that have the same pronunciation can also form this name.
Yasuko f JapaneseFrom Japanese
靖 (yasu),
泰 (yasu) or
康 (yasu) all meaning "peaceful" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
Vadim m RussianMeaning uncertain. It is used as a Russian form of the saintly name
Bademus. Alternatively it may be derived from Slavic
vaditi "to accuse, to argue" or from an Old Norse source. According to legend, this was the name of a legendary leader of the Ilmen Slavs who fought against the Varangians.
Khaleesi f LiteratureFrom a title used in the George R. R. Martin book series
A Song of Ice and Fire (first published 1996) and the television adaptation
Game of Thrones (2011-2019). It is a feminine form of the Dothraki title
khal meaning "warlord". In the series
Daenerys Targaryen gains this title after she marries Khal Drogo.
Sawyer m & f English (Modern)From an English surname meaning
"sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
... [more] Yaiza f SpanishFrom the name of a town in the Canary Islands, Spain. It was used by the novelist Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa for the main character in his
Ocean trilogy of books (beginning 1984).
Knox m EnglishFrom a Scots surname that was derived from various places named
Knock, from Gaelic
cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Xquenda f & m ZapotecFrom Zapotec
guenda "spirit, soul, essence" combined with the possessive prefix
x-.
Metehan m TurkishCombination of
Mete and Turkish
han meaning "khan, ruler, leader", referring to the 3rd-century BC Xiongnu ruler Modu Chanyu.
Åse f Norwegian, Swedish, DanishNorwegian form of
Åsa, as well as a Swedish and Danish variant. It was used by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen in his play
Peer Gynt (1867), where it belongs to the mother of the title character.
Achsah f BiblicalMeans
"anklet, bangle" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of
Caleb.