Names Categorized "place names"

ABBEY f English
Diminutive of ABIGAIL.

ACHAICUS m Biblical, Biblical Latin
Latinized form of the Greek name Αχαικος (Achaikos), which referred to the region in Greece called Αχαια (Achaia), situated on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. In the New Testament this is the name of a Corinthian Christian who aids Saint Paul.

ADA f English, German, Polish, Hungarian, Italian, Finnish, Ancient Germanic
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as ADELAIDE or ADELINA which begin with the element adal meaning "noble". This name was borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.

ADELAIDE f English, Italian, Portuguese
From the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of the elements adal "noble" and heid "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great. The name became common in Britain in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

AFRICA (1) f African American (Rare)
From the name of the continent, which is of Latin origin, possibly from the Afri people who lived near Carthage in North Africa. This rare name is used most often by African-American parents.

AILSA f Scottish
From Ailsa Craig, the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland, which is of uncertain derivation.

AINHOA f Basque
From the name of a town in southwest France where there is a famous image of the Virgin Mary.

AINSLEY f & m Scottish, English (Modern)
From a surname which was from a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English anne "alone, solitary" or ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing".

AKI (2) f Japanese
From Japanese 晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal", 明 (aki) meaning "bright" or 秋 (aki) meaning "autumn". It can also come from 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" combined with 希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name too.

ALBERTA f English, Italian, Portuguese
Feminine form of ALBERT. This is the name of a Canadian province, which was named in honour of a daughter of Queen Victoria.

ALESIA f English
Possibly a variant of ALICIA.

ALEXANDER m English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Αλεξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek αλεξω (alexo) "to defend, help" and ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.... [more]

ALEXANDRIA f English
Feminine form of ALEXANDER. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.

ALICE f English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Czech
From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) and 'Through the Looking Glass' (1871).

ALTON m English
From an Old English surname which was derived from a place name meaning "town at the source of the river".

AMAIA f Basque
Means "the end" in Basque. This is also the name of a mountain and a village in the Basque region of Spain.

AMELIA f English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Dutch, German, Ancient Germanic
Variant of AMALIA, though it is sometimes confused with EMILIA, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century - it was borne by daughters of George II and George III. Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

AMERICA f English
In the English-speaking world, this name is usually given in reference to the United States of America (see AMERIGO). It came into use as an American name in the 19th century.

ARCADIA f Various
Feminine form of ARCADIUS. This is the name of a region on the Greek Peloponnese, long idealized for its natural beauty.

ARDEN m & f English
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".

ARKADIOS m Ancient Greek
From an ancient Greek name meaning "of Arcadia". Arcadia was a region in Greece, its name deriving from αρκτος (arktos) "bear". This was the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr.

ARLIE f & m English
Diminutive of ARLINE and other names beginning with Arl.

ARLO m English
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, which is Gaelic meaning "between two highlands".

ARRAN m Scottish
From the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.

ASHTON m & f English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name which meant "ash tree town" in Old English.

ASPEN f English (Modern)
From the English word for the tree, derived from Old English æspe. It is also the name of a ski resort in Colorado.

ASTON m & f English (Rare)
From a surname which was originally derived from either a place name meaning "east town" in Old English or from the given name ÆÐELSTAN.

ATTICUS m Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Αττικος (Attikos) meaning "from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.

AVALON f English (Rare)
From the name of the island paradise to which King Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh afal meaning "apple", a fruit which was often linked with paradise.

AVILA f Ancient Germanic
Derived from the Germanic element avi, of unknown meaning, possibly "desired". This name is also given in honour of the 16th-century mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila, Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.

BABYLAS m Late Greek, French (Rare)
Derived from the name of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. Saint Babylas was a 3rd-century patriarch of Antioch who was martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius.

BELÉN f Spanish
Spanish form of Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King David and Jesus were born. The town's name is from Hebrew בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beit-lechem) meaning "house of bread".

BENTLEY m English
From a surname which was from a place name, itself derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

BENTON m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name, composed of Old English beonet "bent grass" and tun "enclosure".

BERLIN f Various
From the name of the city in Germany, which is of uncertain meaning.

BETHANY f English
From the name of a biblical town, Βηθανια (Bethania) in Greek, which is probably of Aramaic or Hebrew origin, possibly meaning "house of affliction" or "house of figs". In the New Testament the town of Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. It has been in use as a rare given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, used primarily by Catholics in honour of Mary of Bethany. In America it became moderately common after the 1950s.

BRANDON m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English. It is sometimes also used as a variant of BRENDAN.

BRAXTON m English (Modern)
From an English surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English.

BRENT m English
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, perhaps derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".

BRIELLE f English (Modern)
Short form of GABRIELLE. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.

BRITANNIA f English (Rare)
From the Latin name of the island of Britain, in occasional use as an English given name since the 18th century. This is also the name of the Roman female personification of Britain pictured on some British coins.

BRITTANY f English
From the name of the region in the northwest of France, called in French Bretagne. It was named for the Britons who settled there after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons. As a given name, it first came into common use in America in the 1970s.

BRITTON m English
Derived from a Middle English surname meaning "a Briton" (a Celt of England) or "a Breton" (an inhabitant of Brittany).

BRODY m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.

BROOKLYN f English (Modern)
From the name of the borough of New York City, originally derived from Dutch Breukelen meaning "broken land". It can also be viewed as a combination of BROOK and the popular name suffix lyn.

BURGUNDY f English (Rare)
This name can refer either to the region in France, the wine (which derives from the name of the region), or the colour (which derives from the name of the wine).

BYRON m English
From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds" in Old English. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), the writer of 'Don Juan' and many other works.

CAIRO m English (Modern)
From the name of the city in Egypt, called القاهرة (al-Qahirah) in Arabic, meaning "the victorious".

CAMBRIA f Various
Latin form of the Welsh Cymru, the Welsh name for the country of Wales, derived from cymry meaning "the people". It is occasionally used as a given name in modern times.

CAMDEN m English (Modern)
From a surname which was from a place name perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).

CARMEL f English, Jewish
From the title of the Virgin Mary Our Lady of Carmel. כַּרְמֶל (Karmel) (meaning "garden" in Hebrew) is a mountain in Israel mentioned in the Old Testament. It was the site of several early Christian monasteries. As an English given name, it has mainly been used by Catholics.

CAROLINA f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Swedish
Latinate feminine form of CAROLUS. This is the name of two American states: North and South Carolina. They were named for Charles I, king of England.

CASPIAN m Literature
Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his 'Chronicles of Narnia' series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.

CAVAN m English
Either from the name of the Irish county, which is derived from Irish cabhán "hollow", or else from the Irish surname CAVAN.

CHAD m English
From the Old English name Ceadda which is of unknown meaning, possibly based on Welsh cad "battle". This was the name of a 7th-century English saint. Borne primarily by Catholics, it was a rare name until the 1960s when it started to become more common amongst the general population. This is also the name of a country in Africa, though it originates from a different source.

CHADWICK m English
From a surname which was derived from the name of towns in England, meaning "settlement belonging to CHAD" in Old English.

CHANTAL f French, English, Dutch
From a French surname which was derived from a place name meaning "stony". It was originally given in honour of Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, the founder of the Visitation Order in the 17th century. It has become associated with French chant "song".

CHARLOTTA f Swedish
Swedish variant of CHARLOTTE.

CHARLOTTE f French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
French feminine diminutive of CHARLES. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. A notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of 'Jane Eyre' and 'Villette'.

CHELSEA f English
From the name of a district in London, originally derived from Old English and meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone". It has been in general use as an English given name since the 1970s.

CHEYENNE f & m English
Derived from the Dakota word shahiyena meaning "red speakers". This is the name of a Native American people of the Great Plains. The name was supposedly given to the Cheyenne by the Dakota because their language was unrelated to their own. As a given name, it has been in use since the 1950s.

CHINA f English (Modern)
From the name of the Asian country, ultimately derived from Qin, the name of a dynasty that ruled there in the 3rd century BC.

CLARE f English
Medieval English form of CLARA. This is also the name of an Irish county, which was originally named for the Norman invader Richard de Clare (known as Strongbow), whose surname was derived from the name of an English river.

CLAYTON m English
From a surname which was originally derived from various English place names, all meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.

CLINTON m English
From a surname which was originally from an Old English place name meaning "settlement on the River Glyme". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Bill Clinton (1946-).

COLBY m English
From a surname, originally from various English place names, derived from the Old Norse nickname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "town".

CORA f English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of KORE. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel 'The Last of the Mohicans' (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of CORDULA, CORINNA or other names beginning with a similar sound.

COURTNEY f & m English
From an aristocratic English surname which was derived either from the French place name Courtenay (originally a derivative of the personal name Curtenus, itself derived from Latin curtus "short") or else from a Norman nickname meaning "short nose". As a feminine name in America, it first became popular during the 1970s.

CROFTON m English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "town with a small enclosed field" in Old English.

CYPRIAN m Polish, English (Rare)
From the Roman family name Cyprianus which meant "from Cyprus". Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage and a martyr under the emperor Valerian.

DAKOTA m & f English (Modern)
Means "allies, friends" in the Dakota language. This is the name of a Native American people of the northern Mississippi valley.

DALLAS m & f English
From a surname which was originally taken from a Scottish place name meaning "meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George Mifflin Dallas (1792-1864).

DALTON m English
From an English surname which was originally from a place name meaning "valley town" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was John Dalton (1766-1844), the English chemist and physicist who theorized about the existence of atoms.

DARBY m & f English
From an English surname, which was derived from the name of the town of Derby, meaning "deer town" in Old Norse.

DARRELL m English
From an English surname which was derived from Norman French d'Airelle, originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France.

DAWSON m English
From a surname meaning "son of DAVID". This name was popularized in the late 1990s by the television drama 'Dawson's Creek'.

DAX m English
From an English surname which was derived either from the town of Dax in France or else from the Old English given name Dæcca (of unknown meaning).

DELANO m English
From a surname, recorded as de la Noye in French, indicating that the bearer was from a place called La Noue (ultimately Gaulish meaning "wetland, swamp"). It has been used in honour of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), whose middle name came from his mother's maiden name.

DELIA (1) f English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Means "of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, given because she and her twin brother Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.

DELTA f English
From the name of the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, Δ. It is also the name for an island formed at the mouth of a river.

DEMELZA f English (British)
From a Cornish place name meaning "fort of Maeldaf". It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the British television series 'Poldark', which was set in Cornwall.

DENHOLM m English (Rare)
From a surname which was originally taken from a place name meaning "valley island" in Old English.

DENTON m English
From a surname, originally from a place name, which meant "valley town" in Old English.

DENVER m English
From an English surname which was from a place name meaning "Dane ford" in Old English. This is the name of the capital city of Colorado, which was named for the politician James W. Denver (1817-1892).

DESMOND m English, Irish
From an Irish surname which was derived from Deasmhumhain meaning "South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from that region in Ireland.

DEVEREUX m English (Rare)
From an English surname, of Norman French origin, meaning "from Evreux". Evreux is a town in France.

DEVON m & f English
Variant of DEVIN. It may also be partly inspired by the name of the county of Devon in England, which got its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe.

DOUGLAS m Scottish, English
Anglicized form of the Scottish surname Dubhghlas, meaning "dark river" from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). Douglas was originally a place name (for example, a tributary of the River Clyde), which then became a Scottish clan name borne by a powerful line of earls. It has been used as a given name since the 16th century.

DRUMMOND m English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname which was derived from various place names, themselves derived from Gaelic druim meaning "ridge".

DUDLEY m English
From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "Dudda's clearing" in Old English. The surname was borne by a British noble family.

EASTON m English (Modern)
From an English surname which was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.

EBENEZER m Biblical
Means "stone of help" in Hebrew. This was the name of a monument erected by Samuel in the Old Testament. Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in his novel 'A Christmas Carol' (1843).

EDEN f & m Hebrew, English (Modern)
Possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן ('eden) meaning "pleasure, delight", or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.

EDINA f Hungarian
Possibly a Hungarian form of a Germanic name.

EIREANN f English (Rare), Irish (Rare)
From Éireann, the genitive case of Gaelic Éire, meaning "Ireland". It is commonly Anglicized as Erin.

ELIDI f Various
Meaning unknown, possibly of Greek or Welsh origin. It may have been inspired by the name of the Ηληδα (Ilida) Valley in western Greece.

ELSDON m English (Rare)
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "Elli's valley" in Old English.

ELTON m English
From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "Ella's town" in Old English. A famous bearer of this name is British musician Elton John (1947-), born Reginald Dwight, who adopted his stage name in honour of his former bandmate Elton Dean (1945-2006).

ELWOOD m English
From an English surname which was derived from a place name meaning "elder tree forest" in Old English.

ELYSIA f Various
From Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman mythology, which means "blissful".

EMLYN m Welsh
Probably from the name of an ancient region in Wales, its name meaning "around the valley". It has also been suggested that this name is a Welsh form of Aemilianus (see EMILIANO).

ENNIS m English
From an Irish surname which was derived from Gaelic inis meaning "island".

ERROL m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a Scottish place name. It was popularized as a given name by the Australian actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959).

ERSKINE m Scottish, Irish, English (Rare)
From a surname which was originally derived from the name of a Scottish town meaning "projecting height" in Gaelic. A famous bearer of the name was the Irish novelist and nationalist Erskine Childers (1870-1922).

EUROPE f Greek Mythology
Greek form of EUROPA.

FENTON m English
From a surname which was originally taken from a place name meaning "marsh town" in Old English.

FIFE m Scottish
From a Scottish place name which was formerly the name of a kingdom in Scotland. It is said to be named for the legendary Pictish hero Fib.

FLORENCE f & m English, French
From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.... [more]

FORD m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "ford" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).

FRANCE f French
From the name of the country, sometimes considered a feminine form of FRANK (1) or short form of FRANÇOISE, both of which are ultimately related to the name of the country.

GAETANO m Italian
Italian form of the Latin name Caietanus, which meant "from Caieta". Caieta (now called Gaeta) was a town in ancient Italy, its name deriving either from Kaiadas, the name a Greek location where prisoners were executed, or else from Caieta, the name of the nurse of Aeneas. Saint Gaetano was a 16th-century Italian priest who founded the Theatines.

GENEVA f English
Possibly a shortened form of GENEVIEVE. It could also be inspired by the name of the city in Switzerland. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.

GEORGIA f English, Greek
Latinate feminine form of GEORGE. This is the name of an American state, which was named after the British king George II. A famous bearer was the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986).

GETHSEMANE f Various
From a biblical place name, the garden where Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It is derived from Γεθσημανι (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "oil vat". It is very rarely used as a given name.

GILEAD m Biblical
From an Old Testament place name meaning "heap of witness" in Hebrew. This was a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. Besides being a place name, it is also borne by people in the Bible.

GLYNDWR m Welsh
From a Welsh surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "valley water". This name is often given in honour of Owain Glyndwr, a 14th-century Welsh patriot who led a revolt against England.

GORDIAN m History
From the Roman cognomen Gordianus which meant "from Gordium", Gordium being the capital of Phrygia in Asia Minor. This is the name by which three Roman emperors are known.

GORDON m Scottish, English
From a Scottish surname which was originally derived from a place name in Berwickshire meaning "spacious fort". It was originally used in honour of Charles George Gordon (1833-1885), a British general who died defending the city of Khartoum in Sudan.

GRAHAM m Scottish, English
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name Grantham, which probably meant "gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham. A famous bearer was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone.

GRESHAM m English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "grazing homestead" in Old English.

GUADALUPE f & m Spanish
From a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, meaning "Our Lady of Guadalupe". Guadalupe is a Spanish place name, the site of a famous convent, derived from Arabic وادي (wadi) meaning "valley, river" possibly combined with Latin lupus meaning "wolf". In the 16th century Our Lady of Guadalupe supposedly appeared in a vision to a native Mexican man, and she is now regarded as a patron saint of the Americas.

HADRIAN m History
From the Roman cognomen Hadrianus, which meant "from Hadria" in Latin. Hadria was the name of two Roman settlements. The first (modern Adria) is in northern Italy and was an important Etruscan port town. The second (modern Atri) is in central Italy and was named after the northern town. The Adriatic Sea is also named after the northern town.... [more]

HALE (2) m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "nook, retreat" from Old English healh.

HALL m English
From a surname which was derived from Old English heall "manor, hall", originally belonging to a person who lived or worked in a manor.

HALLAM m English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning either "at the rocks" or "at the nook" in Old English.

HAMILTON m English
From a surname which was derived from Old English hamel "crooked, mutilated" and dun "hill". The surname was originally taken from the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists). A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), a founding father of the United States who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.

HAMLET m Literature, Armenian
Anglicized form of the Danish name Amleth. Shakespeare used this name for the Prince of Denmark in his play 'Hamlet' (1600), which he based upon earlier Danish tales.

HARLEY m & f English
From a surname which was from a place name, itself derived from Old English hara "hare" and leah "woodland, clearing".

HARLOW f & m English
From a surname which was from a place name which was derived from Old English hær "rock" or here "army", combined with hlaw "hill".

HARTLEY m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "hart clearing" in Old English.

HAVEN f & m English
From the English word for a safe place, derived ultimately from Old English hæfen.

HAVILAH m Biblical
Probably means "to dance, to circle, to twist" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is both a place name and a masculine personal name.

HAYDEN m & f English
From an English surname which was derived from place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill".

HOLDEN m English (Modern)
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel 'The Catcher in the Rye' (1951), Holden Caufield.

HUDSON m English
From an English surname which meant "son of HUDDE". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).

INDIA f English
From the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river".

INDIANA f & m English
From the name of the American state, which means "land of the Indians". This is the name of the hero in the 'Indiana Jones' series of movies, starring Harrison Ford.

IONA (1) f English, Scottish
From the name of the island off Scotland where Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from ey meaning "island".

IRELAND f English (Modern)
From the name of the European island country, derived from Irish Gaelic Éire, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.

IRVING m English, Scottish, Jewish
From a Scottish surname which was in turn derived from a Scottish place name meaning "green water". Historically this name has been relatively common among Jews, who have used it as an American-sounding form of Hebrew names beginning with I such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah. A famous bearer was the Russian-American songwriter and lyricist Irving Berlin (1888-1989), whose birth name was Israel Beilin.

ISAURA f Portuguese, Spanish, Late Roman
Late Latin name which meant "from Isauria". Isauria was the name of a region in Asia Minor.

JERICHO m English (Modern)
From the name of a city in Israel which is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Hebrew word יָרֵחַ (yareach) meaning "moon", or otherwise to the Hebrew word רֵיחַ (reyach) meaning "fragrant".

JORDAN m & f English, French, Macedonian
From the name of the river which flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is יַרְדֵן (Yarden), and it is derived from יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down". In the New Testament John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Germanic name JORDANES, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.... [more]

KEATON m English (Modern)
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "shed town" in Old English.

KEITH m English, Scottish
From a Scottish surname which was originally derived from a place name, itself probably derived from the Brythonic element cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.

KELSEY f & m English
From an English surname which is derived from town names in Lincolnshire. It may mean "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce" in combination with eg "island".

KENDALL m & f English
From a surname which comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwest England meaning "valley on the river Kent".

KENT m English
From a surname which was originally derived from Kent, the name of a county in England, which may be derived from a Brythonic word meaning "coastal district".

KENYA f English, African American
From the name of the African country. The country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called Kĩrĩnyaga meaning "the one having stripes". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 1960s.

KERR m Scottish, English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname which was derived from a place name meaning "rough wet ground" in Old Norse.

KERRY m & f English
From the name of the Irish county, called Ciarraí in Irish Gaelic, which means "CIAR's people".

KIMBERLY f English
From the name of the city of Kimberley in South Africa, which was named after Lord KIMBERLEY (1826-1902). The city came to prominence in the late 19th century during the Boer War. Kimberly has been used as a given name since the mid-20th century, eventually becoming very popular as a feminine name.

KOBE (2) m Various
From the name of the city in Japan. The parents of basketball player Kobe Bryant (1978-) chose this name after seeing Kobe beef (which is from the Japanese city) on a menu.

LACY f & m English
From a surname which was derived from Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name which was Latinized as Lascius.

LAMAR m English, African American
From a French and English surname, originally from a place name in Normandy, which was derived from Old French la mare meaning "the pool".

LANDON m English
From a surname which was derived from an Old English place name meaning "long hill" (effectively meaning "ridge"). Use of the name may have been inspired in part by the actor Michael Landon (1936-1991).

LANE m English
From a surname meaning "lane, path" which originally belonged to a person who lived near a lane.

LARISA f Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Latvian, Greek Mythology
Possibly derived from the name of the ancient city of Larisa in Thessaly, which meant "citadel". In Greek legends, the nymph Larisa was either a daughter or mother of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the mythical Pelasgians. This name was later borne by a 4th-century Greek martyr who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Church. The name (of the city, nymph and saint) is commonly Latinized as Larissa, with a double s.

LAURENCE (1) m English
From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "from Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor. Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in the Christian world (in various spellings).... [more]

LAVERNE f & m English
From a surname which was derived from a French place name, ultimately derived from the Gaulish word vern meaning "alder". It is sometimes associated with the Roman goddess Laverna or the Latin word vernus "of spring".

LAYTON m English
From a surname which was originally derived from the name of English towns meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.

LELAND m English
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).

LENNOX m & f Scottish, English (Modern)
From a Scottish surname which was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms".

LES m English
Short form of LESLIE or LESTER.

LESLIE f & m English
From a Scottish surname which was derived from a Scottish place name, probably derived from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century. In America it was more common as a feminine name after the 1940s.

LESTER m English
From a surname which was derived from the name of the city of Leicester, originally denoting a person who was from that place. The city's name is derived from the river name Ligore combined with Latin castra "camp".

LINDSAY f & m English, Scottish
From an English and Scottish surname which was originally derived from the name of the region Lindsey, which means "LINCOLN island" in Old English. As a given name it was typically masculine until the 1960s (in Britain) and 1970s (in America) when it became popular for girls, probably due to its similarity to Linda and because of American actress Lindsay Wagner (1949-).

LINFORD m English (Rare)
From a surname which was originally taken from place names meaning either "flax ford" or "linden tree ford" in Old English.

LINTON m English
From a surname which was originally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.

LINWOOD m English
From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "stream forest" in Old English.

LOGAN m & f Scottish, English
From a surname which was originally derived from a Scottish place name meaning "little hollow" in Scottish Gaelic.

LONDON f & m English (Modern)
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).

LORETO f & m Italian, Spanish
From the name of a town in Italy, originally called Lauretum in Latin, meaning "laurel grove". Supposedly in the 13th century the house of the Virgin Mary was miraculously carried by angels from Nazareth to the town.

LORRAINE f English
From the name of a region in France, originally meaning "kingdom of LOTHAR". Lothar was a Frankish king, the great-grandson of Charlemagne, whose realm was in the part of France that is now called Lorraine, or in German Lothringen (from Latin Lothari regnum). As a given name, it has been used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century, perhaps due to its similar sound with Laura. It became popular after World War I when the region was in the news, as it was contested between Germany and France.

LUCAN m History
From the Roman cognomen Lucanus, which was derived from the name of the city of Luca in Tuscany (modern Lucca). Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, commonly called Lucan, was a 1st-century Roman poet.

LUKE m English, Biblical
English form of the Greek name Λουκας (Loukas) which meant "from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy (of uncertain meaning). Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a saint by many Christian denominations.... [more]

LYDIA f English, German, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Means "from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king LYDOS. In the New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.

MACY f English
From an English surname which was from various towns named Massy in France. The towns themselves were originally named from a Gallo-Roman personal name that was Latinized as Maccius. This is the name of a chain of American department stores founded by Rowland Hussey Macy (1822-1877).

MARGAUX f French
Variant of MARGOT influenced by the name of the wine-producing French town. It was borne by Margaux Hemingway (1954-1996), granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway, who had it changed from Margot.

MARIETTA f Italian, Greek, Hungarian
Italian, Greek and Hungarian diminutive of MARIA.

MARLOWE f English (Modern)
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "remnants of a lake" in Old English.

MARWA f Arabic
From the Arabic name of a fragrant plant. Al-Marwa is one of the names of a sacred hill near Mecca.

MELCHIOR m Dutch, Judeo-Christian Legend
Possibly from the Hebrew roots מֶלֶכְ (melekh) meaning "king" and אוֹר ('or) meaning "light". This was a name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.

MELVILLE m English
From a Scottish surname which was originally from a Norman French place name meaning "bad town". A famous bearer of the surname was the American author Herman Melville (1819-1891), who wrote several novels including 'Moby-Dick'.

MERRITT m English
From an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant "boundary gate" in Old English.

MERTON m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "town on a lake" in Old English.

MILAN m Czech, Slovak, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian
From the Slavic element milu meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. A city in Italy bears this name, though it originates from a different source.

MILBURN m English
From an English surname which was from a place name meaning "mill stream" in Old English.

MILFORD m English
From an English surname which was originally derived from various place names all meaning "ford by a mill" in Old English.

MILTON m English
From an English surname which was from a place name meaning "mill town" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was John Milton (1608-1674), the poet who wrote 'Paradise Lost'.

MIRON (2) m Hebrew
From the name of the highest mountain in Israel, Mount Meron. It is also the name of a village on its slopes, thought to be on the same site as the ancient Canaanite city of Merom.

MONTANA f & m English (Modern)
From the name of the American state, which is derived from Latin montanus "mountainous".

MONTSERRAT f Catalan
From the name of a mountain near Barcelona, the site of a monastery founded in the 10th century. The mountain gets its name from Latin mons serratus meaning "jagged mountain".

MORTIMER m English
From an English surname which was derived from a place name meaning "still water" in Old French.

MUIR m Scottish
From a surname which was originally taken from a Scottish place name meaning "moor, fen". It also means "sea" in Scottish Gaelic.

NAPOLEON m History, English
From the old Italian name Napoleone, used most notably by the French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who was born on Corsica. The etymology is uncertain, but it is possibly derived from the Germanic Nibelungen meaning "sons of mist", a name used in Germanic mythology to refer to the keepers of a hoard of treasure (often identified with the Burgundians). Alternatively, it could be connected to the name of the Italian city of Napoli (Naples).

NEVADA f English
From the name of the American state, which means "snow-capped" in Spanish.

NEWTON m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "new town" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English physicist Isaac Newton (1643-1727).

NORTON m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "north town" in Old English.

NUBIA f Various
From the name of the ancient region and kingdom in Africa, south of Egypt. It possibly derives from the Egyptian word nbw meaning "gold".

NYSSA f Various
From the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor where Saint Gregory was bishop. Nyssa is also the genus name of a type of tree, also called the Tupelo.

ODELL m & f English
From a surname which was originally from an English place name, itself derived from Old English wad "woad" (a plant which produces a blue dye) and hyll "hill".

ODESSA f Various
From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea. This name can also be used as a feminine form of ODYSSEUS.

OGDEN m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "oak valley" in Old English. A famous bearer was the humourous American poet Ogden Nash (1902-1971).

OPHRAH m Biblical
Means "fawn" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of both a man mentioned in genealogies and a city in Manasseh.

PACEY m English (Rare)
From an English surname which was derived from the French place name Pacy, itself derived from Gaulish given name of unknown meaning.

PAISLEY f English (Modern)
From a Scottish surname, originally from the name of a town, which may ultimately be derived from Latin basilica "church". This is also a word (derived from the name of that same town) for a type of pattern commonly found on fabrics.

PARIS (2) f Various
From the name of the capital city of France, which got its name from the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii.

PAXTON m English (Modern)
From an English surname which was derived from a place name meaning "Pœcc's town". Pœcc is an Old English given name of unknown meaning.

PETRA f German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Feminine form of PETER. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.

PEYTON m & f English
From an English surname, originally a place name meaning "PÆGA's town". A famous bearer was Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), the first president of the Continental Congress. It is also borne by American football quarterback Peyton Manning (1976-).

PHILADELPHIA f English (Rare)
From the name of a city in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation in the New Testament. The name of the city meant "brotherly love" from Greek φιλεω (phileo) "to love" and αδελφος (adelphos) "brother". It is also the name of a city in the United States.

PONTIUS m Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Biblical
Roman family name. The family had Samnite roots so the name probably originated from the Oscan language, likely meaning "fifth" (a cognate of Latin Quintus). Alternatively, it could be derived from the name of the ancient province of Pontus in Asia Minor, itself probably from Greek ποντος (pontos) "sea". A notable bearer of this name was Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea who appears in the New Testament.

PRESLEY f & m English
From an English surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest clearing" (Old English preost and leah). This surname was borne by musician Elvis Presley (1935-1977).

QUINCY m English
From a surname which was derived (via the place name CUINCHY) from the personal name QUINTIUS. A famous bearer was John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth president of the United States, who was born in the town of Quincy, Massachusetts.

RALEIGH m English
From a surname which was from a place name meaning either "red clearing" or "roe deer clearing" in Old English.

RAMSEY m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "wild-garlic island" in Old English.

RAVENNA f English (Rare)
Either an elaboration of RAVEN, or else from the name of the city of Ravenna in Italy.

REGINA f English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Means "queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.

RHONA f Scottish
Possibly derived from the name of the Hebridean island Rona, which means "rough island" in Gaelic.

RHONDA f English
Probably intended to mean "good spear" from Welsh rhon "spear" and da "good", but possibly influenced by the name of the Rhondda Valley in South Wales, which means "noisy". It has been in use only since the 20th century. Its use may have been partially inspired by Margaret Mackworth, Viscountess Rhondda (1883-1956), a British feminist.

RIGBY m English (Rare)
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "ridge farm" in Old Norse.

RILEY m & f English
From a surname which comes from two distinct sources. As an Irish surname it is a variant of REILLY. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English.

RODNEY m English
From a surname, originally derived from a place name, which meant "Hroda's island" in Old English (where Hroda is a Germanic given name meaning "fame"). It was first used as a given name in honour of the British admiral Lord Rodney (1719-1792).

ROHAN (2) f Literature
From the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, where it is a place name meaning "horse country" in Sindarin.

ROSCOE m English
From an English surname, originally derived from a place name, itself derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

ROSWELL m English
From a surname which was derived from an Old English place name meaning "horse spring".

ROXELANA f History
From a Turkish nickname meaning "Ruthenian". This referred to the region of Ruthenia, covering Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. Roxelana (1502-1558), also known by the name Hürrem, was a slave and then concubine of Süleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She eventually became his wife and produced his heir, Selim II.

RUDYARD m English (Rare)
From a place name meaning "red yard" in Old English. This name was borne by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), the author of 'The Jungle Book' and other works, who was named after Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire.

SEBASTIAN m German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
From the Latin name Sebastianus which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek σεβαστος (sebastos) "venerable" (a translation of Latin Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.... [more]

SELBY m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname which was from a place name meaning "willow farm" in Old Norse.

SEVAN f & m Armenian
From the name of the largest lake in Armenia, which may be from the Urartian word suinia simply meaning "lake".

SHEBA m Biblical
Means "oath" in Hebrew. This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament. Also in the Bible, this is a place name, referring to a region in Ethiopia. The queen of Sheba visited Solomon after hearing of his wisdom.

SHELDON m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "valley with steep sides" in Old English. Sheldon is the name of several locations in England.

SHERWOOD m English
From an English place name (or from a surname which was derived from it) meaning "bright forest". This was the name of the forest in which the legendary outlaw Robin Hood made his home.

SHILOH m & f Biblical
From an Old Testament place name possibly meaning "tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation. This name was brought to public attention after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gave it to their daughter in 2006.

SIENA f English (Modern)
Variant of SIENNA, with the spelling perhaps influenced by that of the Italian city.

SIENNA f English (Modern)
From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.

SIERRA f English (Modern)
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.

SINCLAIR m & f English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from a Norman French town called "Saint CLAIR". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).

SKYE f English (Modern)
From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of SKY.

SOFIA f Norwegian, Swedish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Form of SOPHIA.

STAFFORD m English
From a surname which was from a place name meaning "landing-place ford" in Old English.

STANFORD m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "stone ford" in Old English.

STERLING m English
From a Scottish surname which was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".

SYDNEY f & m English
From a surname which was a variant of the surname SIDNEY. This is the name of the largest city in Australia, which was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney in 1788. Since the 1990s this name has been mainly feminine.

TALIA (2) f English (Australian)
From the name of a town in South Australia, perhaps meaning "near water" in an Australian Aboriginal language.

TALIN f Armenian
From the name of an Armenian town (meaning unknown) which is home to a famous 7th-century cathedral.

TALLULAH f English (Rare)
Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.

TARA (1) f English
Anglicized form of the Irish place name Teamhair, which possibly means "elevated place" in Gaelic. This was the name of the sacred hill near Dublin where the Irish high kings resided. It was popularized as a given name by the novel 'Gone with the Wind' (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939), in which it is the name of the O'Hara plantation.

TIRZAH f Biblical
From the Hebrew name תִּרְצָה (Tirtzah) meaning "favourable". Tirzah is the name of one of the daughters of Zelophehad in the Old Testament. It also occurs in the Old Testament as a place name, the early residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.

TRACY f & m English
From an English surname which was taken from a Norman French place name meaning "domain belonging to THRACIUS". Charles Dickens used it for a male character in his novel 'The Pickwick Papers' (1837). It was later popularized as a feminine name by the main character Tracy Lord in the movie 'The Philadelphia Story' (1940). This name is also sometimes used as a diminutive of THERESA.

TRENT m English
From a surname which originally denoted someone who lived by the River Trent in England. Trent is also a city in Italy, though the etymology is unrelated.

TRENTON m English
From the name of a New Jersey city established in the 17th century by William Trent. It means "TRENT's town".

TREVOR m Welsh, English
From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "big village" from Welsh tref "village" and mawr "large".

TRINIDAD f & m Spanish
Means "trinity" in Spanish, referring to the Holy Trinity. An island in the West Indies bears this name.

TROY m English
From a surname that originally denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France. This was also the name of the ancient city that was besieged by the Greeks in Homer's 'Iliad'.

TURIN m Literature
Means "victory mood" in Sindarin. In the 'Silmarillion' (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Turin was a cursed hero, the slayer of the dragon Glaurung. He was also called Turambar, Mormegil, and other names. This is also the Anglicized name of the city of Torino in Italy.

TYRONE m English
From the name of a county in Northern Ireland which is derived from Irish Gaelic Tir Eoghain meaning "land of EOGHAN". This name was popularized by American actor Tyrone Power (1914-1958), who was named after his great-grandfather, an Irish actor.

UXUE f Basque
From the Basque name of the Spanish town of Ujué where there is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its name is derived from Basque usoa "dove".

VENETIA f English
Originally this was probably a Latinized form of GWYNEDD or GWYNETH. It also coincides with the name of the city in Italy, called Venice in English. This name was borne by the celebrated beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633). Benjamin Disraeli used it in his novel entitled 'Venetia' (1837).

VERE m English
From a Norman surname which was from a French place name, which was itself derived from a Gaulish word meaning "alder".

VERNON m English
From a Norman surname which was from a French place name, ultimately derived from the Gaulish word vern meaning "alder".

VERONA f Various
From the name of the city in Italy, which is itself of unknown meaning.

VIENNE f French (Rare)
From the French name of the capital city of Austria, known in English as Vienna.

VIRGINIA f English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.... [more]

WARDELL m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "watch hill" in Old English.

WARWICK m English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from the name of a town in England, itself from Old English wer "weir, dam" and wíc "settlement".

WASHINGTON m English
From a surname which was originally derived from the name of an English town, itself meaning "settlement belonging to WASSA's people". The given name is usually given in honour of George Washington (1732-1799), commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States.

WELDON m English
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "hill near a spring" in Old English.

WHITAKER m English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning "white field" in Old English.

WHITNEY f & m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "white island" in Old English. Its popular use as a feminine name was initiated by actress Whitney Blake (1925-2002) in the 1960s, and further boosted in the 1980s by singer Whitney Houston (1963-2012).

WINSLOW m English (Rare)
From a surname which was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hill belonging to WINE". A famous bearer of this name was American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910).

WINSTON m English
From a surname derived from an English place name, which was in turn derived from the Old English given name WYNNSTAN. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel '1984'.

WOODROW m English
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "row of houses by a wood" in Old English. This name was popularized by American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).

XIUYING f Chinese
From Chinese 秀 (xiù) meaning "luxuriant, beautiful, elegant, outstanding" combined with 英 (yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero". Other character combinations are possible.

YALE m Welsh
From a Welsh surname which was itself derived from a place name meaning "fertile upland" (from Welsh ial).

YORK m English
From a surname, which was derived from York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally Eburacon, Latinized as Eboracum, meaning "yew" in Brythonic, but it was altered by association with Old English Eoforwic, meaning "pig farm".

ZARIA f English (Modern)
Possibly based on ZAHRAH or the Nigerian city of Zaria.