ALEX m & f English, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Czech, RussianShort form of
ALEXANDER,
ALEXANDRA, and other names beginning with
Alex.
ANNA f English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekForm of
Channah (see
HANNAH) used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the
Hannah spelling instead of
Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin
Mary.
... [more] BOB m English, DutchShort form of
ROBERT. It arose later than
Dob,
Hob and
Nob, which were medieval rhyming nicknames of Robert. It was borne by the character Bob Cratchit in Charles Dickens' novel
A Christmas Carol (1843). Other famous bearers include American folk musician Bob Dylan (1941-) and Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
GINGER f EnglishFrom the English word
ginger for the spice or the reddish-brown colour. It can also be a diminutive of
VIRGINIA, as in the case of actress and dancer Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), by whom the name was popularized.
GREGORY m EnglishEnglish form of Latin
Gregorius, which was from the Late Greek name
Γρηγόριος (Gregorios), derived from
γρήγορος (gregoros) meaning
"watchful, alert". This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important saints including Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (3rd century), Saint Gregory the Illuminator (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (4th century), and Saint Gregory of Tours (6th century). It was also borne by the 6th-century pope Saint Gregory I the Great, a reformer and Doctor of the Church, as well as 15 subsequent popes.
... [more] JUSTIN m English, French, SloveneFrom the Latin name
Iustinus, which was derived from
JUSTUS. This was the name of several early saints including Justin Martyr, a Christian philosopher of the 2nd century who was beheaded in Rome. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors. As an English name, it has occasionally been used since the late Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 20th century. Famous modern bearers include pop stars Justin Timberlake (1981-) and Justin Bieber (1994-).
KYLIE f EnglishThis name arose in Australia, where it is said to mean "boomerang" in an Australian Aboriginal language. It is more likely a feminine form of
KYLE, and it is in this capacity that it began to be used in America in the 1970s. A famous bearer is the Australian singer Kylie Minogue (1968-).
MADONNA f EnglishFrom a title of the Virgin
Mary meaning "my lady" in Italian. A famous bearer of the name is American singer Madonna Ciccone (1958-), known simply as Madonna.
MAYA (1) f Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, MarathiMeans
"illusion" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the mother of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha). This is also another name of the Hindu goddess
Durga.
MERYL f EnglishVariant of
MURIEL, influenced by the spelling of the name
CHERYL. A famous bearer is American actress Meryl Streep (1949-), whose real name is Mary Louise Streep.
MIKHAIL m Russian, Belarusian, BulgarianRussian and Belarusian form of
MICHAEL, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Михаил (see
MIHAIL). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-).
MISTY f EnglishFrom the English word
misty, ultimately derived from Old English. The jazz song
Misty (1954) by Erroll Garner may have helped popularize the name.
RUDOLF m German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Russian, ArmenianFrom the Germanic name
Hrodulf, which was derived from the elements
hrod "fame" and
wulf "wolf". It was borne by three kings of Burgundy, as well as several Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. Anthony Hope used this name for the hero in his popular novel
The Prisoner of Zenda (1894).
SABRINA f English, Italian, German, FrenchLatinized form of
Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque
Comus (1634). It was popularized as a given name by Samuel A. Taylor's play
Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation that followed it the next year.
TANITH f Semitic MythologyDerived from Semitic roots meaning
"serpent lady". This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of
Ba'al Hammon.