Adad-Nirari m Ancient AssyrianMeans
"Adad is my helper", from the god's name
Adad combined with Akkadian
nērāru meaning "helper". This name was borne by three kings of the Assyrian Empire.
Akari f JapaneseFrom Japanese
明 (aka) meaning "bright" or
朱 (aka) meaning "vermilion red" combined with
里 (ri) meaning "village" or
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
Alaric m Gothic (Anglicized)From the Gothic name *
Alareiks meaning
"ruler of all", derived from the element
alls "all" combined with
reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.
Amariah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh has said" in Hebrew, derived from the roots
אָמַר (ʾamar) meaning "to say" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.
Apollinaris m Ancient GreekAncient Greek name derived from the name of the god
Apollo. This was the name of several early saints and martyrs, including a bishop of Ravenna and a bishop of Hierapolis.
Aria 1 f English (Modern)Means
"song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama
Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Ariadne f Greek MythologyMeans
"most holy", composed of the Greek prefix
ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King
Minos. She fell in love with
Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god
Dionysus.
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-).
Arianrhod f Welsh MythologyProbably means
"silver wheel" from Welsh
arian "silver" and
rhod "wheel". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi, Arianrhod was the mother of the twins
Dylan and
Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom she spontaneously birthed when she stepped over a magical wand. It is speculated that in earlier myths she may have been a goddess of the moon.
Arianwen f WelshDerived from Welsh
arian "silver" and
gwen "white, blessed". This was the name of a 5th-century Welsh saint, one of the supposed daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Aridai m BiblicalMeaning uncertain, possibly of Persian origin. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the ten sons of
Haman killed by the Jews.
Ariel m & f Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical GreekMeans
"lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play
The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem
The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film
The Little Mermaid (1989).
Aries m AstronomyMeans
"ram" in Latin. This is the name of a constellation and the first sign of the zodiac. Some Roman legends state that the ram in the constellation was the one who supplied the Golden Fleece sought by
Jason.
Arista f AstronomyMeans
"ear of grain" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.
Aristotle m Ancient Greek (Anglicized)From the Greek name
Ἀριστοτέλης (Aristoteles) meaning
"the best purpose", derived from
ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "best" and
τέλος (telos) meaning "purpose, result, completion". This was the name of a Greek philosopher of the 4th century BC who made lasting contributions to Western thought, including the fields of logic, metaphysics, ethics and biology.
Athanaric m Gothic (Anglicized)From the Gothic name *
Aþanareiks, derived from the element
aþn meaning "year" combined with
reiks meaning "ruler, king". Athanaric was a 4th-century ruler of the Visigoths.
Azariah m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
עֲזַרְיָה (ʿAzarya) meaning
"Yahweh has helped", derived from
עָזַר (ʿazar) meaning "help" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of many Old Testament characters including of one of the three men the Babylonian king ordered cast into a fiery furnace. His Babylonian name was
Abednego.
Bakari m SwahiliFrom the Swahili name for the constellation Boötes.
Batari f IndonesianMeans
"goddess" in Indonesian, derived from the Sanskrit noble title
भट्टारी (bhaṭṭārī) meaning "noble lady".
Bessarion m Late GreekMeaning uncertain, possibly from Greek
βῆσσα (bessa) meaning
"wooded valley". This was the name of a 5th-century Egyptian hermit who was a disciple of Saint Anthony the Great. It was later adopted by the scholar Basilios Bessarion (1403-1472), a Greek born in Byzantine Anatolia who became a Roman Catholic bishop.
Candelaria f SpanishMeans
"Candlemas" in Spanish, ultimately derived from Spanish
candela "candle". This name is given in honour of the church festival of Candlemas, which commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin
Mary.
Caridad f SpanishMeans
"charity" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, meaning "Our Lady of Charity". This is the name of the patron saint of Cuba, with a shrine located in the town of El Cobre.
Carina 1 f English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Late RomanLate Latin name derived from
cara meaning
"dear, beloved". This was the name of a 4th-century saint and martyr. It is also the name of a constellation in the southern sky, though in this case it means "keel" in Latin, referring to a part of
Jason's ship the Argo.
Carita f SwedishDerived from Latin
caritas meaning
"dearness, esteem, love".
Charibert m GermanicOld German (Frankish) variant of
Haribert. This name was borne by two Merovingian kings of the Franks (6th and 7th centuries).
Charikleia f Greek, Ancient GreekFrom Greek
χάρις (charis) meaning "grace, kindness" and
κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". This is the name of the heroine of the 3rd-century novel
Aethiopica, about the love between Charikleia and Theagenes, written by Heliodorus of Emesa.
Charisse f EnglishFrom a French surname of unknown meaning. It was used as a given name in honour of American actress and dancer Cyd Charisse (1921-2008).
Charity f EnglishFrom the English word
charity, ultimately derived from Late Latin
caritas "generous love", from Latin
carus "dear, beloved".
Caritas was in use as a Roman Christian name. The English name
Charity came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation. It is currently most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.
Charizard m Popular CultureFrom a blend of the English words
char and
lizard. This is the name of a dragon-like creature in the Pokémon series of video games starting 1996. Technically the name of the species, it is used as a given name for the creature in some contexts. It is called
リザードン (Rizādon) in Japan.
Claribel f EnglishCombination of
Clara and the common name suffix
bel, from Latin
bella "beautiful". This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590; in the form
Claribell) and by Shakespeare in his play
The Tempest (1611). Alfred Tennyson also wrote a poem entitled
Claribel (1830).
Clarice f EnglishMedieval vernacular form of the Late Latin name
Claritia, which was a derivative of
Clara.
Clarinda f EnglishCombination of
Clara and the popular name suffix
inda. It was first used by Edmund Spenser in his epic poem
The Faerie Queene (1590).
Clarissa f English, ItalianLatinate form of
Clarice. This is the name of the title character in a 1748 novel by Samuel Richardson. In the novel Clarissa Harlowe is a virtuous woman who is tragically exploited by her family and her lover. Another literary character by this name is Clarissa Dalloway from the novel
Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf.
Clarity f English (Rare)Simply means "clarity, lucidity" from the English word, ultimately from Latin
clarus "clear".
Darin m EnglishVariant of
Darren. This was the adopted surname of the singer Bobby Darin (1936-1973), who was born Robert Cassotto and chose his stage name from a street sign.
Darius m English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)Latin form of Greek
Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means
"possessing goodness", composed of
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good". Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
... [more] Farid m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, BengaliMeans
"unique, precious" in Arabic, derived from
فرد (farada) meaning "to be unique, to be alone". This was the name of a 13th-century Persian poet.
Garibald m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
garo meaning "ready, prepared" and
bald meaning "bold, brave". This name was borne by two rulers of Bavaria in the 6th and 7th centuries, as well as a king of the Lombards in the 7th century.
Hari m Hinduism, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, NepaliMeans
"brown, yellow, tawny" in Sanskrit, and by extension
"monkey, horse, lion". This is another name of the Hindu god
Vishnu, and sometimes of his avatar
Krishna. In this context it is sometimes considered a derivative of Sanskrit
हृ (hṛ) meaning "to take away", referring to the removal of sins.
Hikari f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
光 (hikari) meaning "light". Other kanji can also form this name. It is often written with the hiragana writing system.
Hilarius m Ancient RomanRoman name derived from Latin
hilaris meaning
"cheerful". Alternatively, it could be derived from the Greek name
Ἱλαρός (Hilaros) also meaning "cheerful" (the Greek word
ἱλαρός was the source of the Latin word
hilaris). Saint Hilarius was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Poitiers. This was also the name of a 5th-century pope.
Ilmarinen m Finnish MythologyDerived from Finnish
ilma meaning
"air". Ilmarinen is an immortal smith in Finnish mythology, the creator of the sky and the magic mill known as the Sampo. He is one of the main characters in the Finnish epic the
Kalevala.
Inari f & m Japanese MythologyMeans
"carrying rice" in Japanese, from
稲 (ina) meaning "rice" and
荷 (ri) meaning "carry". This is the name of a Japanese divinity associated with prosperity, rice and foxes, represented as both female and male.
Jabari m African American (Modern)Means
"almighty, powerful" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic
جبّار (jabbār). It started to be used by African-American parents after it was featured in a 1973 nation-wide newspaper article about African baby names.
Januarius m Ancient RomanRoman cognomen meaning
"January" in Latin. The name of the month derives from the name of the Roman god
Janus. Saint Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, was a bishop who was beheaded during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
Kamaria f ComorianFrom Arabic
qamar meaning
"moon", also the root of the name of the island country of the Comoros.
Kari 2 m FinnishForm of
Macarius (see
Macario) used by the Finnish author Juhani Aho in his novel
Panu (1897).
Karine 3 f ArmenianProbably from
Կարին (Karin), the Armenian name for the city of Erzurum in eastern Turkey. It was an Armenian city in classical times.
Larisa f Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovene, Greek MythologyPossibly derived from the name of the ancient city of Larisa in Thessaly, which meant
"citadel". In Greek legends, the nymph Larisa was either a daughter or mother of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the mythical Pelasgians. This name was later borne by a 4th-century Greek martyr who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Church. The name (of the city, nymph and saint) is commonly Latinized as
Larissa, with a double
s. As a Ukrainian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Larysa.
Macario m SpanishSpanish form of the Latin name
Macarius, derived from the Greek name
Μακάριος (Makarios), which was in turn derived from Greek
μάκαρ (makar) meaning
"blessed, happy". This was the name of several early saints.
Mari 1 f Estonian, Finnish, Welsh, Breton, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Georgian, ArmenianEstonian, Finnish, Welsh and Breton form of
Maria, as well as a Hungarian diminutive of
Mária. It is also a Scandinavian, Georgian and Armenian form of the French name
Marie.
Mari 2 f JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" or
里 (ri) meaning "village". Many other combinations of kanji characters can form this name.
Mari 3 f Basque MythologyPossibly from Basque
emari meaning
"donation" or
amari meaning
"mother". This was the name of a goddess of nature and fertility in Basque mythology.
Maria f & m Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicLatin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
Mary).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
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