Ares m Greek MythologyPerhaps from either Greek
ἀρή (are) meaning
"bane, ruin" or
ἄρσην (arsen) meaning
"male". The name first appears as
a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the bloodthirsty god of war in Greek mythology, a son of
Zeus and
Hera.
Arsenios m Ancient GreekMeans
"virile" in Greek. Saint Arsenius was a 5th-century deacon who was tutor to the two sons of the Roman emperor Theodosius. The two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, divided the empire into eastern and western halves upon their father's death.
Aslan m Turkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian, LiteratureFrom Turkic
arslan meaning
"lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The author C. S. Lewis later used the name
Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his
Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.
Bai m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
白 (bái) meaning "white, pure",
百 (bǎi) meaning "one hundred, many" or
柏 (bǎi) meaning "cypress tree, cedar" (which is usually only masculine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well. This name was borne in the 8th century by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, whose given was
白.
Carl m German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, EnglishGerman form of
Charles. Two noteworthy bearers of the name were the German mathematician Carl Gauss (1777-1855), who made contributions to number theory and algebra as well as physics and astronomy, and the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961), who founded analytical psychology. It was imported to America in the 19th century by German immigrants.
Charles m English, FrenchFrom the Germanic name
Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning
"man". However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element
hari meaning
"army, warrior".
... [more] Charlize f Southern African, AfrikaansFeminine form of
Charles using the popular Afrikaans name suffix
ize. This name was popularized by South African actress Charlize Theron (1975-), who was named after her father Charles.
Chi 2 m & f African Mythology, Western African, IgboMeans
"god, spiritual being" in Igbo, referring to the personal spiritual guardian that each person is believed to have. Christian Igbo people use it as a name for the personal Christian god (as opposed to the omnipresent
Chukwu, though the names are used synonymously in some contexts). This can also be a short form of the many Igbo names that begin with this element.
Freyr m Norse Mythology, IcelandicMeans
"lord" in Old Norse. This is the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called
Yngvi, with the name
Freyr being his title. Freyr is associated with fertility, sunlight and rain, and is the husband of the giantess
Gerd. With his twin sister
Freya and father
Njord he is one of the group of deities called the Vanir.
Fu m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
富 (fù) meaning "abundant, rich, wealthy",
芙 (fú) meaning "hibiscus, lotus" or
甫 (fǔ) meaning "begin, man, father", in addition to other characters with a similar pronunciation. A famous bearer was the 8th-century Tang dynasty poet Du Fu, whose given name was
甫.
Haru m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
陽 (haru) meaning "light, sun, male",
春 (haru) meaning "spring" or
晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Haruka f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
遥 (haruka) meaning "distant, remote". It can also come from
春 (haru) meaning "spring" or
晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather" combined with
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" or
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance". Additionally, other kanji combinations can form this name.
Haruki m JapaneseFrom Japanese
晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather" or
陽 (haru) meaning "light, sun, male" combined with
輝 (ki) meaning "brightness" or
生 (ki) meaning "living". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Haruko f JapaneseFrom Japanese
春 (haru) meaning "spring" or
陽 (haru) meaning "light, sun, male" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
Haruna 1 f JapaneseFrom Japanese
晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather",
遥 (haru) meaning "distant, remote" or
春 (haru) meaning "spring" combined with
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Herman m English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Slovene, Ancient GermanicMeans
"army man", derived from the Germanic elements
hari "army" and
man "man". It was introduced to England by the Normans, died out, and was revived in the English-speaking world in the 19th century. It was borne by an 18th-century Russian missionary to Alaska who is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, though in his case the name is an alternate transcription of
German. Another famous bearer was the American writer Herman Melville (1819-1891), the author of
Moby-Dick.
Huang m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
煌 (huáng) meaning "bright, shining, luminous" (which is usually only masculine) or
凰 (huáng) meaning "phoenix" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
Inge f & m Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Dutch, EstonianShort form of Scandinavian and German names beginning with the element
ing, which refers to the Germanic god
Ing. In Sweden and Norway this is primarily a masculine name, elsewhere it is usually feminine.
Izanagi m Japanese MythologyMeans
"male who invites" in Japanese. In Japanese mythology the god Izanagi was the husband of
Izanami. When she died he unsuccessfully journeyed to the underworld to retrieve her. In the purifying rites that followed his return, the gods of the sun, moon and wind were created.
Jaya f & m Hinduism, Tamil, Indian, Telugu, Hindi, MarathiDerived from Sanskrit
जय (jaya) meaning
"victory". This is a transcription of both the feminine form
जया (an epithet of the Hindu goddess
Durga) and the masculine form
जय (borne by several characters in Hindu texts). As a modern personal name, this transcription is both feminine and masculine in southern India, but typically only feminine in the north.
Karl m German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, English, Finnish, Estonian, Ancient GermanicGerman and Scandinavian form of
Charles. This was the name of seven emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and an emperor of Austria, as well as kings of Sweden and Norway. Other famous bearers include Karl Marx (1818-1883), the German philosopher and revolutionary who laid the foundations for communism, and Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), a German existentialist philosopher.
Koharu f JapaneseFrom Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" or
心 (ko) meaning "heart" combined with
春 (haru) meaning "spring". The compound word
小春 means "late summer". Other combinations of kanji characters can form this name as well.
K'uk'ulkan m Mayan MythologyMeans
"feathered serpent", from Classic Maya
k'uk' "quetzal, quetzal feather" and
kaan "serpent, snake". This was the name of a snake god in Maya mythology, roughly equivalent to the Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl. This is the Yucatec Maya form — the K'iche' name is
Q'uq'umatz (which is only partially cognate).
Kun f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
坤 (kūn) meaning "earth, female", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.
Lamont m English, African AmericanFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from the medieval Gaelic given name
Lagmann, itself from Old Norse
lǫgmaðr meaning
"law man". This name reached a peak in its American popularity in 1972, the same year that the sitcom
Sanford and Son debuted, featuring the character Lamont Sanford (the titular son).
Mars m Roman MythologyPossibly related to Latin
mas meaning
"male" (genitive
maris). In Roman mythology Mars was the god of war, often equated with the Greek god
Ares. This is also the name of the fourth planet in the solar system.
Māui m & f Hawaiian, Polynesian MythologyMeaning unknown. In Hawaiian mythology Māui was a trickster who created the Hawaiian Islands by having his brothers fish them out of the sea. He was also responsible for binding the sun and slowing its movement.
Nikephoros m & f Ancient Greek, Greek MythologyMeans
"carrying victory" from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
φέρω (phero) meaning "to carry, to bear". This name was borne by several Byzantine emperors, including the 10th-century Nikephoros II Phokas. Besides being a masculine personal name, it was also a title borne by the goddess
Athena.
Nurlan m Kazakh, KyrgyzFrom Kazakh
нұр (nur) meaning "light" (of Arabic origin) combined with
ұлан (ulan) meaning "young man, soldier". The corresponding Kyrgyz roots are
нур and
улан.
Phượng f VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
鳳 (phượng) meaning
"phoenix". This refers to the mythological creature known as the Chinese phoenix or the Fenghuang.
Qing f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
青 (qīng) meaning "blue, green, young", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
Ruslan m Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Circassian, Indonesian, MalayForm of
Yeruslan used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem
Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.
Susanoo m Japanese MythologyOf Japanese origin, possibly meaning
"wild male, impetuous male". In Japanese mythology he was the god of storms and the sea, as well as the brother and adversary of the goddess
Amaterasu. He was born when
Izanagi washed his nose after returning from the underworld. After he was banished from the heavens, he descended to earth and slew an eight-headed dragon.
Tāne m Maori, Polynesian MythologyMeans
"man" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian mythology Tāne was the god of forests and light. He was the son of the sky god
Rangi and the earth goddess
Papa, who were locked in an embrace and finally separated by their son. He created the tui bird and, by some accounts, man.
Yang m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
洋 (yáng) meaning "ocean" or
阳 (yáng) meaning "light, sun, male" (which is typically only masculine), as well as other Chinese characters pronounced similarly.