AARTI f Indian, Hindi, MarathiFrom the name of a Hindu ritual in which offerings of lamps or candles are made to various gods, derived from Sanskrit
आरात्रिक (aratrika).
AELIUS m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was possibly derived from the Greek word
ἥλιος (helios) meaning
"sun". This was the family name of the Roman emperor Hadrian.
AGNI (1) m Hinduism, Indian, HindiMeans
"fire" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the ancient Hindu fire god, usually depicted as red-skinned with three legs, seven arms, and two faces.
ALDEBRAND m Ancient GermanicGermanic name derived from the elements
ald meaning "old" and
brand meaning "sword" or "fire". Saint Aldebrand was a 12th-century bishop of Fossombrone in Italy.
ANATOLIA f Late RomanFeminine form of
ANATOLIUS. This was the name of a 3rd-century Italian saint and martyr. This is also a place name (from the same Greek origin) referring to the large peninsula that makes up the majority of Turkey.
AODH m Irish, Scottish, Irish MythologyFrom the old Irish name
Áed, which meant
"fire". This was a very popular name in early Ireland, being borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings. It has been traditionally Anglicized as
Hugh.
AODHÁN m Irish, Scottish, Irish MythologyFrom the old Irish name
Áedán meaning
"little fire", a diminutive of
Áed (see
AODH). This was the name of an Irish monk and saint of the 7th century. It was also borne by several characters in Irish mythology.
ASH m & f EnglishShort form of
ASHLEY. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
BAST f Egyptian MythologyPossibly means
"fire, heat" or
"ointment jar" in Egyptian. In Egyptian mythology Bast was a goddess of cats, fertility and the sun who was considered a protector of Lower Egypt. She was often depicted with the head of a lioness or a house cat. As her role in the Egyptian pantheon diminished, she was called
Bastet.
BASTET f Egyptian MythologyVariant of
BAST. This form of the name, a diminutive, was given to her after the similar goddess Sekhmet (protector of Upper Egypt) became more important.
BRANDY f EnglishFrom the English word
brandy for the alcoholic drink. It is ultimately from Dutch
brandewijn "burnt wine". It has been in use as a given name since the 1960s.
BRANTLEY m English (Modern)From a surname, an Americanized form of the German surname
Brändle, ultimately from Old High German
brant "fire".
BRENTON m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning
"Bryni's town".
Bryni was Old English name meaning "fire".
BRIDGET f Irish, English, Irish MythologyAnglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid meaning
"exalted one". In Irish mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
BRINLEY f English (Modern)From an English surname that was taken from the name of a town meaning
"burned clearing" in Old English.
CANDELARIA f SpanishMeans
"Candlemas" in Spanish, ultimately derived from Spanish
candela "candle". This name is given in honour of the church festival of Candlemas, which commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin
Mary.
CHANDA m & f Hinduism, Indian, HindiMeans
"fierce, hot, passionate" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form
चण्ड and the feminine form
चण्डा (an epithet of the Hindu goddess
Durga).
CHANDLER m & f EnglishFrom an occupational surname that meant
"candle seller" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French.
CHARON m Greek MythologyPossibly means
"fierce brightness" in Greek. In Greek mythology Charon was the operator of the ferry that brought the newly dead over the River Acheron into Hades.
CINÁED m Scottish, IrishMeans
"born of fire" in Gaelic. This was the name of the first king of the Scots and Picts (9th century). It is often Anglicized as
Kenneth.
CINDERELLA f LiteratureMeans
"little ashes", in part from the French name
Cendrillon. This is the main character in the folk tale
Cinderella about a maltreated young woman who eventually marries a prince. This old story is best known in the English-speaking world from the French author Charles Perrault's 1697 version. She has other names in other languages, usually with the meaning "ashes", such as German
Aschenputtel and Italian
Cenerentola.
COLA m Anglo-SaxonOld English byname meaning
"charcoal", originally given to a person with dark features.
CONLETH m IrishModern form of the old Irish name
Conláed, possibly meaning
"chaste fire" from Irish
connla "chaste" and
aodh "fire". Saint Conláed was a 5th-century bishop of Kildare.
ELAINE f English, Arthurian RomanceFrom an Old French form of
HELEN. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation
Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelleas, the lover of
Lancelot, and the mother of
Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the appearance of Tennyson's Arthurian epic
Idylls of the King (1859).
ELANOR f LiteratureMeans
"star sun" in Sindarin. In
The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.
ELEN f WelshWelsh form of
HELEN. This was the name of a 4th-century Welsh saint. It also appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth, belonging to a woman who built the roads in Wales.
ELENA f Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Lithuanian, Russian, Greek, German, English, Medieval SlavicForm of
HELEN used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
YELENA).
ELLEN (1) f EnglishMedieval English form of
HELEN. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form
Helen also became common.
ELMO m English, German, ItalianOriginally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
helm meaning
"helmet, protection". It is also a derivative of
ERASMUS, via the old Italian diminutive
Ermo. Saint Elmo, also known as Saint Erasmus, was a 4th-century martyr who is the patron of sailors. Saint Elmo's fire is said to be a sign of his protection.
FAJRA f EsperantoMeans
"fiery" in Esperanto, from
fajro meaning "fire".
FIAMMETTA f ItalianDerived from Italian
fiamma meaning
"flame" combined with a diminutive suffix.
FINTAN m Irish, Irish MythologyPossibly means either
"white fire" or
"white bull" in Irish. According to legend this was the name of the only Irish person to survive the great flood. This name was also borne by many Irish saints.
FLINT m EnglishFrom the English vocabulary word, from Old English
flint.
GABIJA f Lithuanian, Baltic MythologyProbably from Lithuanian
gaubti meaning
"to cover". In Lithuanian mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire and the home.
HELENA f German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinate form of
HELEN.
HELIOS m Greek MythologyMeans
"sun" in Greek. This was the name of the young Greek sun god, a Titan, who rode across the sky each day in a chariot pulled by four horses. His sister was the moon goddess
Selene.
HEPHAESTUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek
Ἥφαιστος (Hephaistos), meaning unknown. It probably shares its origin with the Minoan city of
Φαιστός (Phaistos), which is of Pre-Greek origin. In Greek mythology Hephaestus was the god of fire and forging, the husband of the unfaithful
Aphrodite. It was said that when he was born
Hera, his mother, was so displeased with his physical deformities that she hurled him off the top of Mount Olympus.
HESTIA f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ἑστία (hestia) meaning
"hearth, fireside". In Greek mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.
IGNATIUS m Late RomanFrom the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact
Íñigo.
ILEANA f Romanian, Spanish, ItalianPossibly a Romanian variant of
ELENA. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
JOASH m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יוֹאָשׁ (Yo'ash), possibly meaning
"fire of YAHWEH". In the Old Testament this name was borne by several characters including the father of
Gideon, a king of Judah, and a son of King
Ahab of Israel.
KEAHI f & m HawaiianMeans
"the fire" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
ahi "fire".
KEEGAN m Irish, EnglishFrom an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of the Gaelic
Mac Aodhagáin, which means
"descendant of Aodhagán". The given name
Aodhagán is a double diminutive of
AODH.
KENNETH m Scottish, English, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishAnglicized form of both
COINNEACH and
CINÁED. This name was borne by the Scottish king Kenneth (Cináed) mac Alpin, who united the Scots and Picts in the 9th century. It was popularized outside of Scotland by Sir Walter Scott, who used it for the hero in his 1825 novel
The Talisman. A famous bearer was the British novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), who wrote
The Wind in the Willows.
KREŠIMIR m CroatianFrom the Slavic elements
kresu "spark, light, rouse" and
miru "peace, world". This was the name of four kings of Croatia.
KUMARA m HinduismDerived from Sanskrit
कुमार (kumara) meaning
"boy, son". In Hindu texts this is an epithet of both the fire god
Agni and the war god
Skanda.
LENA f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Polish, Russian, English, Italian, Portuguese, GreekShort form of names ending in
lena, such as
HELENA,
MAGDALENA or
YELENA.
LOKI m Norse MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly derived from the Germanic root *
luka meaning
"knot, lock". In Norse legend Loki was a trickster god associated with magic and fire. Over time he became more and more evil, and he was eventually chained to a rock by the other gods.
MESHACH m BiblicalPossibly means
"who is what Aku is?" in Akkadian,
Aku being the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament this is the Babylonian name of Mishael, one of the three men cast into a blazing furnace but saved from harm by God.
PELE f Polynesian MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire who is said to live in Kilauea.
PHOENIX m & f English (Modern)From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek
φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".
PROMETHEUS m Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
προμήθεια (prometheia) meaning
"foresight, forethought". In Greek myth he was the Titan who gave the knowledge of fire to mankind. For doing this he was punished by
Zeus, who had him chained to a rock and caused an eagle to feast daily on his liver, which regenerated itself each night.
Herakles eventually freed him.
RED m EnglishFrom the English word, ultimately derived from Old English
read. It was originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion.
SERAPHINA f English (Rare), German (Rare), Late RomanFeminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each. This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
SHADRACH m BiblicalMeans
"command of Aku" in Akkadian,
Aku being the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Old Testament Shadrach is the Babylonian name of
Hananiah, one of the three men cast into a fiery furnace but saved by God.
SIRIUS m AstronomyThe name of a bright star in the constellation Canis Major, derived via Latin from Greek
σείριος (seirios) meaning
"burning".
SOILE f FinnishPossibly from Finnish
soilu meaning
"glimmer, blaze".
SOLEIL f VariousMeans
"sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
SORIN m RomanianPossibly derived from Romanian
soare meaning
"sun".
TANGUY m Breton, FrenchFrom Breton
tan "fire" and
gi "dog". This was the name of a 6th-century Breton saint.
TYSON m EnglishFrom an English surname that could be derived from a nickname for a quarrelsome person, from Old French
tison meaning
"firebrand". Alternatively, it could be a variant of
DYSON. A famous bearer of the surname was boxer Mike Tyson (1966-).
URIAH m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
אוּרִיָה ('Uriyah) meaning
"YAHWEH is my light", from the roots
אוּר ('ur) meaning "light, flame" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a Hittite warrior in King
David's army, the first husband of
Bathsheba. David desired Bathsheba so he placed Uriah in the forefront of battle so he would be killed.
URIEL m Biblical, HebrewFrom the Hebrew name
אוּרִיאֵל ('Uri'el) meaning
"God is my light", from
אוּר ('ur) meaning "light, flame" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Uriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition. He is mentioned only in the Apocrypha, for example in the Book of Enoch where he warns
Noah of the coming flood.
VESTA f Roman MythologyProbably a Roman cognate of
HESTIA. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
VULCAN m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)From the Latin
Vulcanus, possibly related to
fulgere meaning
"to flash", but more likely of pre-Latin origin. In Roman mythology Vulcan was the god of fire. He was later equated with the Greek god
Hephaestus.