ALEXANDRAfEnglish, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek, Greek MythologyFeminine form of
ALEXANDER. In Greek mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
EMMAfEnglish, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, German, Ancient GermanicOriginally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
ermen meaning "whole" or "universal". It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
... [more] INGRIDfSwedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanFrom the Old Norse name
Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god
ING combined with
fríðr "beautiful". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
KARLmGerman, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Finnish, 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.
LEAHfEnglish, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical HebrewFrom the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Le'ah) which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לְאָה (le'ah) meaning "weary". Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning "cow". In the Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, who he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
... [more] MAGNUSmSwedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late RomanLate Latin name meaning "great". It was borne by a 7th-century saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after
Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name
Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
MAUDfEnglish, French, DutchUsual medieval form of
MATILDA. Though it became rare after the 14th century, it was revived and once more grew popular in the 19th century, perhaps due to Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem 'Maud' (1855).
OSCARmEnglish, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish MythologyPossibly means "deer friend", derived from Gaelic
os "deer" and
cara "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name
OSGAR or its Old Norse cognate
ÁSGEIRR, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet
Oisín and the grandson of the hero
Fionn mac Cumhail.
... [more] SONJAfGerman, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, MacedonianForm of
SONYA.
SVERREmNorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Sverrir which meant "wild, swinging, spinning".