BasajaunmBasque Mythology Means "lord of the woods" from Basque baso "woods" and jaun "lord". This is the name of a character in Basque folklore, the Old Man of the Woods.
BrychanmOld Welsh Derived from Welsh brych meaning "speckled, freckled" combined with a diminutive suffix. Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary Welsh king, said to be Irish by birth, the founder of the kingdom of Brycheiniog in central Wales. He reputedly fathered dozens of children, many of whom are regarded as saints.
CemrefTurkish From a term used in Turkish folklore referring to the warming of temperature at the end of winter, thought to occur in three stages affecting air, water, then earth.
DanicafSerbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
EglėfLithuanian Means "spruce tree" in Lithuanian. In a Lithuanian folk tale Eglė is a young woman who marries a grass snake. At the end of the tale she turns herself into a spruce.
GobánmIrish (Rare) From Old Irish Gobbán, derived from gobae "smith" and a diminutive suffix. It could also be a derivative of the name of the Irish smith god Goibniu (from the same root). This was the name of a few early saints, such as a 7th-century abbot of Killamery. In later folklore, the smith god and the saints seem to have conflated into the legendary figure Gobán Saor ("Gobán the builder"), a master architect and builder of churches.
GoldilocksfFolklore From the English words gold and locks, referring to blond hair. This is best known as the name of the trespassing girl in the English fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
GretelfGerman, Literature Diminutive of Grete. It is well-known as a character from an 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale who is captured, with her brother Hansel, by a witch. The Grimm's story was based on earlier European folk tales.
GriseldafEnglish, Spanish, Literature Possibly derived from the Old German elements gris "grey" and hilt "battle". It is not attested as a Germanic name. This was the name of a patient wife in medieval folklore, adapted into tales by Boccaccio (in The Decameron) and Chaucer (in The Canterbury Tales).
HanselmLiterature Anglicized form of Hänsel. This is the name of a boy in a German fairy tale, recorded in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm with the title Hänsel und Gretel. In the tale Hansel and his sister Gretel are abandoned in the woods by their parents, then taken captive by a witch.
IarafIndigenous American, Tupi Means "lady of the water" in Tupi, from y "water" and îara "lady, mistress". In Brazilian folklore this is the name of a beautiful river nymph who would lure men into the water. She may have been based upon earlier Tupi legends.
IleanafRomanian, Spanish, Italian Possibly a Romanian variant of Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
JahangirmPersian, Urdu Means "world conqueror, world seizer" in Persian, from جهان (jahan) meaning "world" and گیر (gir) meaning "catch, seize, conquer". This was the name of a 17th-century Mughal emperor.
JūratėfLithuanian From Lithuanian jūra meaning "sea". This is the name of a sea goddess who falls in love with a fisherman in the Lithuanian folk tale Jūratė and Kastytis.
KullervomFinnish, Finnish Mythology Derived from Finnish kulta"gold". In the Finnish epic the Kalevala this is the name of tragic character, a young man who seeks revenge on his uncle Untamo for destroying his tribe and selling him into slavery.
LibušefCzech Derived from Czech libý meaning "pleasant, nice", from the Slavic element lyuby meaning "love". In Czech legend Libuše was the founder of Prague.
MelusinefMythology Meaning unknown. In European folklore Melusine was a water fairy who turned into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She made her husband, Raymond of Poitou, promise that he would never see her on that day, and when he broke his word she left him forever.
Puckm & fAnglo-Saxon Mythology, Dutch Meaning unknown, from Old English puca. It could ultimately be of either Germanic or Celtic origin. In English legend this was the name of a mischievous spirit, also known as Robin Goodfellow. He appears in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595). It is used in the Netherlands as mainly a feminine name.
RapunzelfLiterature From the name of an edible plant. It is borne by a long-haired young woman locked in a tower in an 1812 German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. An evil sorceress gave her the name after she was taken as a baby from her parents, who had stolen the rapunzel plant from the sorceress's garden. The Grimms adapted the story from earlier tales (which used various names for the heroine).
RemusmRoman Mythology, Romanian Meaning unknown. In Roman legend Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. Remus was later slain by Romulus.
RumpelstiltskinmLiterature From German Rumpelstilzchen, possibly from German rumpeln meaning "make noise" and Stelze meaning "stilt", combined with the diminutive suffix -chen. It has been suggested that it was inspired by a children's game Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart mentioned in Johann Fischart's 1577 book Geschichtklitterung. This name was used by the Brothers Grimm in an 1812 fairy tale about a magical little man (Rumpelstiltskin) who saves a miller's daughter in exchange for her firstborn child. In order to undo the deal, she must guess the man's name. The Grimm's story was based upon earlier European folk tales (which have various names for the little man).
ŠárkafCzech Meaning unknown. In Czech legend Šárka was a maiden who joined other women in declaring war upon men. She tricked the men by having herself tied to a tree, and, after they came to her rescue, offering them mead laced with a sleeping potion. After the men fell asleep the other women slew them.
SéaghdhamIrish (Rare) From Old Irish Ségdae, probably derived from ségda meaning "fine, good, favourable, learned". According to an Irish legend this was the name of a boy who was set to be sacrificed but was saved by his mother.
VirvafFinnish Possibly derived from Finnish virvatuli meaning "will o' the wisp". In folklore, will o' the wisp is a floating ball of light that appears over water.
YeruslanmFolklore From Tatar Уруслан (Uruslan), which was possibly from Turkic arslan meaning "lion". Yeruslan Lazarevich is the name of a hero in Russian and Tatar folktales. These tales were based on (or at least influenced by) Persian tales of their hero Rostam.