BELPHOEBE f LiteratureCombination of
belle "beautiful" and the name
PHOEBE. This name was first used by Edmund Spenser in his poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590).
CELINDA f English (Rare)Probably a blend of
CELIA and
LINDA. This is also the Spanish name for a variety of shrub with white flowers, known as sweet mock-orange in English (species Philadelphus coronarius).
CHRISTABEL f English (Rare)Combination of
CHRISTINA and the name suffix
bel. This name occurs in medieval literature, and was later used by Samuel Coleridge in his poem 'Christabel' (1800).
CLARIBEL f EnglishCombination of
CLARA and the popular name suffix
bel. This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem 'The Faerie Queene' (in the form
Claribell) and by Shakespeare in his play 'The Tempest' (1611). Alfred Lord Tennyson also wrote a poem entitled 'Claribel' (1830).
CLARINDA f EnglishCombination of
CLARA and the popular name suffix
inda. It was first used by Edmund Spenser in his epic poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590).
ELMA f Dutch, German, EnglishShort form of
WILHELMINE or names ending in
elma, such as
ANSELMA. It has also been recorded as a combination of
ELIZABETH and
MARY, as in the case of the 19th-century daughter of the Earl of Elgin, who was named using her mother's first and middle names.
KAYLA f EnglishCombination of
KAY (1) and the popular name suffix
la. Use of the name was greatly increased in the 1980s after the character Kayla Brady began appearing on the American soap opera 'Days of Our Lives'.
KAYLEIGH f English (Modern)Variant of
KAYLEE. This is also a common Anglicized form of the Gaelic word
ceilidh, a traditional social gathering and dance.
LILOU f FrenchEither a diminutive of French names containing the sound
lee or a combination of
LILI and
LOUISE.
MAIRWEN f WelshCombination of
MAIR and Welsh
gwen meaning "white, fair, blessed".
MARILYN f EnglishCombination of
MARY and
lyn. It has been used since the start of the 20th century. A famous bearer was the American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
MARLENE f German, 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.
MAYLIS f FrenchFrom the name of a town in southern France, possibly derived from Occitan
mair "mother" and French
lys "lily". It is also sometimes considered a combination of
MARIE and
lys.
MICHELANGELO m ItalianCombination of
MICHAEL and
ANGELO, referring to the archangel Michael. The Renaissance painter and sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti, from Florence, was the man who created such great works of art as the statue of
David and the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This name was also borne by the Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio.
MILOU f DutchShort form of
MARIE-LOUISE. This is the name of a (male) dog in the French-language Belgian comic series 'The Adventures of Tintin' by Hergé, first appearing in 1929. He is named
Snowy in the English version and
Bobbie in the Dutch version.
POLLYANNA f LiteratureCombination of
POLLY and
ANNA. This was the name of the main character in Eleanor H. Porter's novel 'Pollyanna' (1913).
ROSEMARY f EnglishCombination of
ROSE and
MARY. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.