AriadnefGreek Mythology Means "most holy", composed of the Greek prefix ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos. She fell in love with Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god Dionysus.
ElagabalusmSemitic Mythology (Latinized) Latinized form of an Arabic name, derived from إله (ilah) meaning "god" and جبل (jabal) meaning "mountain". This was the name of a sun god worshipped in Emesa, in the Roman province of Syria. A 3rd-century Roman emperor, who served as a priest of this god in his youth in Syria, is known to history by the name Elagabalus. After ruling for four years he was assassinated at the age of 18, in part because he promoted the god to the head of the Roman pantheon.
IrenefEnglish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized) From Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the Ὥραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.... [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]
KatherinefEnglish From the Greek name Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek αἰκία (aikia) meaning "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρός (katharos) meaning "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.... [more]
MasakofJapanese From Japanese 雅 (masa) meaning "elegant, graceful" or 正 (masa) meaning "right, proper" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". Masako (1963-) is the current empress consort of Japan. This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji.
Mumtazm & fArabic, Urdu Means "distinguished" in Arabic. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631).
TheodorafEnglish, Greek, Ancient Greek Feminine form of Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.
YolandafSpanish, English From the medieval French name Yolande, which was probably a form of the name Violante, which was itself a derivative of Latin viola"violet". Alternatively it could be of Germanic origin.... [more]
ZoefEnglish, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek Means "life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of Eve. It was borne by two early Christian saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.... [more]