Names Categorized "Academy Awards Best Pictures"

Africa 1 f African American (Rare)
From the name of the continent, which is of Latin origin, possibly from the Afri people who lived near Carthage in North Africa. This rare name is used most often by African-American parents.

Annie f English, French, Dutch
Diminutive of Anne 1.

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

Daisy f English
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.... [more]

Émile m French
French form of Aemilius (see Emil). This name was borne by French author Émile Zola (1840-1902).

Eve f English, Estonian, Biblical
From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (chawah) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.... [more]

Forrest m English
From an English surname meaning "forest", originally belonging to a person who lived near a forest. In America it has sometimes been used in honour of the Confederate Civil War general Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877). This name was borne by the title character in the movie Forrest Gump (1994) about a loveable simpleton. Use of the name increased when the movie was released, but has since faded away.

Gigi 1 f French
French diminutive of Georgine or Virginie.

Hall m English
From a surname that was derived from Old English heall "manor, hall", originally belonging to a person who lived or worked in a manor.

Hamlet m Literature, Armenian
Anglicized form of the Danish name Amleth. Shakespeare used this name for the main character in his tragedy Hamlet (1600), which he based upon earlier Danish tales. In the play, Hamlet is a prince of Denmark seeking to avenge the death of his father (also named Hamlet) at the hands of his uncle Claudius.

Hunter m & f English
From an English occupational surname for a hunter, derived from Old English hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).

King m English
From the English vocabulary word king, ultimately derived from Old English cyning. This was also a surname, derived from the same source, a famous bearer being the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

Lady f Spanish (Latin American)
From the English noble title Lady, derived from Old English hlæfdige, originally meaning "bread kneader". This name grew in popularity in Latin America after the marriage of Diana Spencer, known as Lady Di, to Prince Charles in 1981 and her death in 1997.

Lawrence m English
Variant of Laurence 1. This spelling of the name is now more common than Laurence in the English-speaking world, probably because Lawrence is the usual spelling of the surname. The surname was borne by the author and poet D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), as well as the revolutionary T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), who was known as Lawrence of Arabia.

Love 2 f English
Simply from the English word love, derived from Old English lufu.

Marty m English
Diminutive of Martin.

Melody f English
From the English word melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".

Nest f Welsh
Medieval Welsh diminutive of Agnes.

Oliver m English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak
From Old French Olivier, possibly derived from a Germanic name, perhaps Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro). The spelling was altered by association with Latin oliva "olive tree". In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier was a friend and advisor of the hero Roland.... [more]

Paris 2 f Various
From the name of the capital city of France, which got its name from the Gaulish tribe known as the Parisii. In America the popularity of this name spiked up and then down between 2003 and 2006, around the time that the television personality and socialite Paris Hilton (1981-) was at the height of her fame.

Patton m English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from a diminutive of Patrick. A notable bearer of the surname was the American World War II general George S. Patton (1885-1945), who played an important part in the allied offensive in France.

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

Rebecca f English, Italian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name רִבְקָה (Rivqah), probably from a Semitic root meaning "join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob in the Old Testament. It came into use as an English Christian name after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been consistently used since then, becoming especially common in the second half of the 20th century.... [more]

River m & f English (Modern)
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".

Rocky m English
Diminutive of Rocco and other names beginning with a similar sound, or else a nickname referring to a tough person. This is the name of the boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) in the movie Rocky (1976) and its sequels.

Tom 1 m English, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Short form of Thomas. Tom Sawyer is the main character in several of Mark Twain's novels, first appearing in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Other famous bearers include American actors Tom Hanks (1956-) and Tom Cruise (1962-), as well as American football player Tom Brady (1977-).

Zola 1 f English
Meaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. It has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. It coincides with an Italian surname, a famous bearer being the French-Italian author Émile Zola (1840-1902).