ABELmEnglish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning "breath". In the Old Testament he is the second son of
Adam and
Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother
Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the Puritan era.
ALMA (1)fEnglish, Spanish, Italian, DutchThis name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin
almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".
BORISmBulgarian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Georgian, GermanFrom the Turkic name
Bogoris, perhaps meaning "short" or "wolf" or "snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century King Boris I of Bulgaria who converted his country to Christianity, as well as two later Bulgarian emperors. The name was popularized in the Slavic world due to the 11th-century Saint Boris, who was a Russian prince martyred with his brother Gleb. His mother may have been Bulgarian. Another famous bearer was the 16th-century Russian emperor Boris Godunov, later the subject of a play of that name by Aleksandr Pushkin.
CLAUDEm & fFrench, EnglishFrench masculine and feminine form of
CLAUDIUS. In France the masculine name has been common since the Middle Ages due to the 7th-century Saint Claude of Besançon. It was imported to Britain in the 16th century by the aristocratic Hamilton family, who had French connections. A famous bearer of this name was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
DARIUSmEnglish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical LatinRoman form of
Δαρειος (Dareios), which was the Greek form of the Persian name
Dārayavahush, which was composed of the elements
dâraya "to possess" and
vahu "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] DIETERmGermanMeans "warrior of the people", derived from the Germanic elements
theud "people" and
hari "army".
DIRKmDutch, German, EnglishShort form of
DIEDERIK. The name was popularized in the English-speaking world by actor Dirk Bogarde (1921-1999), who had some Dutch ancestry. This is also the Scots word for a type of dagger.
ERWINmGerman, Dutch, Ancient GermanicDerived from the Germanic name
Hariwini, composed of the elements
hari "army" and
win "friend". It may have merged somewhat with the Germanic name
EBURWIN. A notable bearer was Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961), an Austrian physicist who made contributions to quantum theory.
FLORIANmGerman, Polish, FrenchFrom the Roman name
Florianus, a derivative of
FLORUS. Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, is the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.
FRANZmGermanGerman form of
Franciscus (see
FRANCIS). This name was borne by the influential author Franz Kafka (1883-1924), writer of 'The Trial' and 'The Castle' among other works. Also, rulers of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire have had this name.
GERALDmEnglish, GermanFrom a Germanic name meaning "rule of the spear", from the elements
ger meaning "spear" and
wald meaning "rule". The Normans brought this name to Britain. Though it died out in England during the Middle Ages, it remained common in Ireland. It was revived in the English-speaking world in 19th century.
GORDONmScottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname which was originally derived from a place name in Berwickshire 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.
GUSTAVmSwedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanPossibly means "staff of the Goths", derived from the Old Norse elements
Gautr "Goth" and
stafr "staff". However, the root name
Gautstafr is not well attested in the Old Norse period. Alternatively, it might be derived from the Slavic name
GOSTISLAV. This name has been borne by six kings of Sweden, including the 16th-century Gustav I Vasa.
HANNAHfEnglish, Hebrew, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Arabic, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
חַנָּה (Channah) meaning "favour, grace", derived from the root
חָנַן (chanan). In the Old Testament this is the name of the wife of
Elkanah. Her rival was Elkanah's other wife
Peninnah, who had children while Hannah remained barren. After a blessing from
Eli she finally became pregnant with
Samuel.
... [more] HUGOmSpanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Ancient Germanic (Latinized)Latinized form of
HUGH. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Les Misérables'.
ISABELfSpanish, Portuguese, English, French, GermanMedieval Occitan form of
ELIZABETH. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.
... [more] IVANmRussian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Slovene, English, Italian, Danish, Swedish, NorwegianNewer form of the old Slavic name
Іѡаннъ (Ioannu), which was derived from Greek
Ioannes (see
JOHN). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote 'Fathers and Sons', and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
JEAN (1)mFrenchFrench form of
Jehan, the Old French form of
Iohannes (see
JOHN). The French philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) were two well-known bearers of this name. It was also borne by the German-French Dadaist artist Jean Arp (1886-1966).
JUN'ICHImJapaneseFrom Japanese
順 (jun) meaning "obey, submit" or
淳 (jun) meaning "pure" combined with
一 (ichi) meaning "one". Other kanji combinations are possible.
KARLmGerman, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Finnish, Ancient GermanicGerman and Scandinavian form of
CHARLES. This was the name of seven emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and an emperor of Austria, as well as kings of Sweden and Norway. Other famous bearers include Karl Marx (1818-1883), the German philosopher and revolutionary who laid the foundations for communism, and Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), a German existentialist philosopher.
KEITHmEnglish, ScottishFrom a Scottish surname which was originally derived from a place name, itself probably derived from the Brythonic element
cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
LEONmEnglish, German, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Dutch, Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
λεων (leon) meaning "lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin cognate
Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), a Russian Communist revolutionary.
LEVImHebrew, English, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical LatinPossibly means "joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of
Jacob and
Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers
Moses and
Aaron were members. In the New Testament this is another name for the apostle
Matthew. As an English Christian name,
Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
LUKEmEnglish, BiblicalEnglish form of the Greek name
Λουκας (Loukas) which meant "from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy (of uncertain meaning). Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a saint by many Christian denominations.
... [more] MARCOmItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, DutchItalian form of
MARK. During the Middle Ages this name was common in Venice, where Saint Mark was supposedly buried. A famous bearer was the Venetian explorer Marco Polo, who travelled across Asia to China in the 13th century.
MARIAf & mItalian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicLatin form of Greek
Μαρια, 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.
... [more] MARIEf & mFrench, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishFrench and Czech form of
MARIA. A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.
... [more] MARLENEfGerman, EnglishBlend of
MARIA and
MAGDALENE. It refers, therefore, to Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament. The name was popularized by the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich.
MARLOWEfEnglish (Modern)From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "remnants of a lake" in Old English.
MARTINmEnglish, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, FinnishFrom the Roman name
Martinus, which was derived from
Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god
MARS. Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.
... [more] MOSESmEnglish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
מֹשֶׁה (Mosheh) which is most likely derived from Egyptian
mes meaning "son", but could also possibly mean "deliver" in Hebrew. The meaning suggested in the Old Testament of "drew out" from Hebrew
משה (mashah) is probably an invented etymology (see Exodus 2:10). The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother
Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.
... [more] NICHOLASmEnglishFrom the Greek name
Νικολαος (Nikolaos) which meant "victory of the people" from Greek
νικη (nike) "victory" and
λαος (laos) "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch
Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
... [more] PHILmEnglishShort form of
PHILIP and various other names beginning with
Phil, often a Greek element meaning "friend, dear, beloved".
RALPHmEnglish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanContracted form of the Old Norse name
RÁÐÚLFR (or its Norman form
Radulf). Scandinavian settlers introduced it to England before the Norman conquest, though afterwards it was bolstered by Norman influence. In the Middle Ages it was usually spelled
Ralf, but by the 17th century it was most commonly
Rafe, reflecting the normal pronunciation. The
Ralph spelling appeared in the 18th century. A famous bearer of the name was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.
RIKOfJapaneseFrom Japanese
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or
理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
ROSEfEnglish, FrenchOriginally a Norman form of a Germanic name, which was composed of the elements
hrod "fame" and
heid "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms
Roese and
Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower
rose (derived from Latin
rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
ROYmScottish, English, DutchAnglicized form of
RUADH. A notable bearer was the Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy (1671-1734). It is often associated with French
roi "king".
SAMUELmEnglish, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el) which could mean either "name of God" or "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
... [more] SANDRAfItalian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, RomanianShort form of
ALESSANDRA. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by author George Meredith, who used it for the heroine in his novel 'Emilia in England' (1864) and the reissued version 'Sandra Belloni' (1887). A famous bearer is American actress Sandra Bullock (1964-).
SHEENAfScottish, EnglishAnglicized form of
SÌNE. This name was popularized outside of Scotland in the 1980s by the singer Sheena Easton (1959-).
SUNNYf & mEnglishFrom the English word meaning "sunny, cheerful".
THOMASmEnglish, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekGreek form of the Aramaic name
תָּאוֹמָא (Ta'oma') which meant "twin". In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that
Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.
... [more] TOM (1)mEnglish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, SwedishShort form of
THOMAS. Tom Sawyer was 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-).
TSUBAKIfJapaneseFrom Japanese
椿 (tsubaki) meaning "camellia flower", as well as other combinations of kanji which are pronounced the same way.