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 either "paid for" or "friend" in Hebrew. 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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