Names Categorized "apotropaic names"

Álmos m Hungarian
Possibly from Hungarian álom "dream", though perhaps of Turkic origin meaning "bought". This was the name of the semi-legendary father of Árpád, the founder of the Hungarian state. Álmos's mother Emese supposedly had a dream in which a turul bird impregnated her and foretold that her son would be the father of a great nation.

Alter m Yiddish
From Yiddish אַלט (alt) meaning "old". This name was traditionally given to a sickly newborn by Jewish parents in order to confuse the Angel of Death, in the hopes that he would go looking for somebody younger or somebody else.

Amadi 2 m Western African (Rare), Yoruba (Rare)
Possibly means "seemed destined to die at birth" in Yoruba.

Asha 2 f Eastern African, Swahili
From Swahili ishi meaning "live, exist".

Awiti f Eastern African, Luo
Means "thrown away" in Luo, possibly used for a child born prematurely.

Ber m Yiddish
Means "bear" in Yiddish, a vernacular form of Dov.

Chaim m Hebrew
Derived from the Hebrew word חַיִּים (chayyim) meaning "life". It has been used since medieval times.

Chaya f Hebrew
Feminine form of Chaim.

Chidiegwu m Western African (Rare), Igbo (Rare)
Means "God is awe-inspiring" in Igbo.

Chimwala m & f Eastern African, Yao
Means "stone" in Yao.

Dikeledi f Southern African, Tswana
Means "tears" in Tswana.

Gantulga m Mongolian
Means "steel cooking stand" in Mongolian, from ган (gan) meaning "steel" and тулга (tulga) meaning "cooking stand".

Gwandoya m Eastern African, Ganda
Means "met with misery" in Luganda.

Hayyim m Hebrew
Alternate transcription of Hebrew חַיִּים (see Chaim).

Idir m Northern African, Berber
Means "alive" in Tamazight.

Masozi m & f Southern African, Tumbuka
Means "tears" in Tumbuka.

Mavuto m Southern African, Chewa
Means "troubles, problems" in Chewa.

Meshullam m Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Means "friend, ally" in Hebrew, derived from שָׁלַם (shalam) meaning "to be complete, to be at peace". This is the name of many characters in the Old Testament.

Nayden m Bulgarian
Means "found" in Bulgarian.

Nergüi m & f Mongolian
Means "no name" in Mongolian. This name was traditionally given in order to mislead bad spirits.

Netsai f Southern African, Shona
From Shona netsa meaning "trouble, annoy, bother".

Nkemdilim f Western African, Igbo
Means "that which is mine belongs to me" in Igbo.

Tambudzai f Southern African, Shona
From Shona tambudza meaning "make trouble, frustrate".

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

Vuk m Serbian
Means "wolf" in Serbian.

Záviš m Czech (Rare)
Derived from a Slavic root meaning "envy".

Zhivko m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Derived from the Slavic word живъ (zhivu) meaning "living".

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