AMYfEnglish English form of the Old French name Amée meaning "beloved" (modern French aimée), a vernacular form of the Latin Amata. As an English name, it was in use in the Middle Ages (though not common) and was revived in the 19th century.
ASHm & fEnglish Short form of ASHLEY. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
AYNfVarious This name was assumed by Ayn Rand (1905-1982), originally named Alice Rosenbaum, a Russian-American writer and philosopher. She apparently based it on a Finnish name she had heard, but never seen written.
DAEDALUSmGreek Mythology (Latinized) Latinized form of the Greek Δαίδαλος (Daidalos), which was derived from δαιδάλλω (daidallo) meaning "to work cunningly". In Greek myth Daedalus was an Athenian inventor who was banished to Crete. There he designed the Labyrinth for King Minos, but he and his son Icarus were eventually imprisoned inside it because he had aided Theseus in his quest against the Minotaur. Daelalus and Icarus escaped using wings fashioned from wax, but Icarus fell from the sky to his death.
ETHANmEnglish, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin From the Hebrew name אֵיתָן ('Eitan) meaning "solid, enduring, firm". In the Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.... [more]
HUGHmEnglish From the Germanic element hug meaning "heart, mind, spirit". It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of Aodh and Ùisdean.
LEOmGerman, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Croatian, Late Roman Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of LEON. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), a Russian novelist whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also the name of a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
LOUf & mEnglish, French Short form of LOUISE or LOUIS. Famous bearers include the baseball player Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) and the musician Lou Reed (1942-2013).
LYLEmEnglish From an English surname that was derived from Norman French l'isle"island".
MAIA (1)fGreek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian From Greek μαῖα (maia) meaning "good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, the group of seven stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Her son by Zeus was Hermes.
MAYA (2)fEnglish Variant of MAIA (1). This name can also be given in reference to the Maya peoples, a Native American culture who built a great civilization in southern Mexico and Latin America.
MEDUSAfGreek Mythology (Latinized) From the Greek Μέδουσα (Medousa), which was derived from μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek myth this was the name of one of the three Gorgons, ugly women who had snakes for hair. She was so hideous that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone, so the hero Perseus had to look using the reflection in his shield in order to slay her.
MONTAGUEmEnglish (Rare) From a surname meaning "pointed mountain" in French. In Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet (1596) this is the surname of Romeo and his family.
NERO (1)mAncient Roman Roman cognomen, which was probably of Sabine origin meaning "strong, vigorous". It was borne most infamously by a tyrannical Roman emperor of the 1st century.
NOAH (1)mEnglish, German, Biblical From the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noach) meaning "rest, repose", derived from the root נוּחַ (nuach). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.... [more]
ODINmNorse Mythology, English (Modern) Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from the early Germanic *Woðanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wotan, Wuotan or Wodan in continental Europe. However, Odin is best known from Norse mythology, as the highest of the gods, presiding over art, war, wisdom and death. He resided in Valhalla, where warriors went after they were slain.
RHYSmWelsh, English Means "enthusiasm" in Welsh. Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.
ROLFmGerman, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English From the Germanic name Hrolf (or its Old Norse cognate Hrólfr), a contracted form of Hrodulf (see RUDOLF). The Normans introduced this name to England but it soon became rare. In the modern era it has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world as a German import.
RUDOLPHmEnglish English form of RUDOLF, imported from Germany in the 19th century. Robert L. May used it in 1939 for his Christmas character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
RYANmIrish, English From an Irish surname that was derived from Ó Riain meaning "descendant of Rían". The given name Rían probably means "little king" (from Irish rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix).
SETH (1)mEnglish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek Means "placed" or "appointed" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is the third named son of Adam and Eve, and the ancestor of Noah and all humankind. In England this name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
TYLERmEnglish From an English surname meaning "tiler of roofs", derived from Old English tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
WARRENmEnglish From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
WRENfEnglish (Modern) From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.