BenjaminmEnglish, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Biblical From the Hebrew name בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin) meaning "son of the south" or "son of the right hand", from the roots בֵּן (ben) meaning "son" and יָמִין (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-'oni) meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother Rachel, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see Genesis 35:18).... [more]
BonniefEnglish Means "pretty" from the Scottish word bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French bon "good". It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century, and it became especially popular after the movie Gone with the Wind (1939), in which it was the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.
EileenfIrish, English Anglicized form of Eibhlín. It is also sometimes considered an Irish form of Helen. It first became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland near the end of the 19th century.
EugenemEnglish English form of Eugenius, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὐγένιος (Eugenios), which was derived from the Greek word εὐγενής (eugenes) meaning "well born". It is composed of the elements εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and γενής (genes) meaning "born". This was the name of several saints and four popes.... [more]
FranklinmEnglish From an English surname that was derived from Middle English frankelin"freeman". A famous bearer of the surname was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher. The name has commonly been given in his honour in the United States. It also received a boost during the term of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
GordonmScottish, English From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Berwickshire, itself derived from Brythonic elements meaning "spacious fort". It was originally used in honour of Charles George Gordon (1833-1885), a British general who died defending the city of Khartoum in Sudan.... [more]
JohnmEnglish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Biblical English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ἰωάννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan). It means "Yahweh is gracious", from the roots יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and חָנַן (chanan) meaning "to be gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the Old Testament (spelled Johanan or Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles Peter and James (John's brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.... [more]
JudithfEnglish, Jewish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, French, Biblical From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of יְהוּדִי (yehudi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.... [more]
KaylafEnglish Combination of the popular phonetic elements kay and la. Use of the name greatly increased after 1982 when the character Kayla Brady began appearing on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives.
LaurelfEnglish From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.
LeroymEnglish From the French nickname le roi meaning "the king". It has been common as an English given name since the 19th century. Since 1920 in the United States it has been mainly used by African Americans.
MaefEnglish Variant of May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
MarkmEnglish, Russian, Belarusian, Dutch, Danish, Armenian, Biblical Form of Latin Marcus used in several languages. Saint Mark was the author of the second gospel in the New Testament. Though the author's identity is not certain, some traditions hold him to be the same person as the John Mark who appears in the Book of Acts. He is the patron saint of Venice, where he is supposedly buried. Though in use during the Middle Ages, Mark was not common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when it began to be used alongside the classical form Marcus.... [more]
NeilmIrish, Scottish, English From the Irish name Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly connected to the old Celtic root *nītu-"fury, passion" or the (possibly related) Old Irish word nia"hero". A derivation from Old Irish nél"cloud" has also been suggested. This was the name of a few early Irish kings, notably Niall of the Nine Hostages, a semi-legendary high king of the 4th or 5th century.... [more]
NicolefFrench, English, Dutch, German French feminine form of Nicholas, commonly used in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. A famous bearer is American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman (1967-).
PedromSpanish, Portuguese Spanish and Portuguese form of Peter. This was the name of the only two emperors of Brazil, reigning between 1822 and 1889.
RheafGreek Mythology, Roman Mythology Meaning unknown, perhaps related to ῥέω (rheo) meaning "to flow" or ἔρα (era) meaning "ground". In Greek mythology Rhea was a Titan, the wife of Cronus, and the mother of the Olympian gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Also, in Roman mythology a woman named Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.
RonaldmScottish, English, Dutch, German Scottish form of Ragnvaldr, a name introduced to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders. It became popular outside Scotland during the 20th century. A famous bearer was the American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). It is also associated with Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot for the McDonald's chain of restaurants, first appearing in 1963.
SamanthafEnglish, Italian, Dutch Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of Samuel, using the name suffix antha (possibly inspired by Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show Bewitched.
SunitafHinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali Means "well conducted, wise", derived from the Sanskrit prefix सु (su) meaning "good" combined with नीत (nita) meaning "conducted, led". In Hindu legend this is the name of the daughter of King Anga of Bengal.
Taylorm & fEnglish From an English surname that originally denoted someone who was a tailor, from Norman French tailleur, ultimately from Latin taliare "to cut".... [more]
VancemEnglish From an English surname that was derived from Old English fenn meaning "marsh, fen".
WaltermEnglish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic From the Germanic name Waltheri meaning "power of the army", from the elements walt "power, authority" and heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably Waltharius by Ekkehard of Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Wealdhere.... [more]
ZenafEnglish Meaning unknown. It could be a variant of Xenia or a diminutive of names featuring this sound, such as Alexina, Rosina or Zenobia. This name has occasionally been used since the 19th century.