AERON m & f WelshDerived either from Welsh
aeron meaning
"berry" or else from the name of the River Aeron in Wales.
ALED m WelshFrom the name of a Welsh river, of uncertain meaning.
ALEXANDER m English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant
"defending men" from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). 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] ALMA (1) f English, Spanish, Italian, DutchThis name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin
almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".
ALTON m EnglishFrom an Old English surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"town at the source of the river".
ALWYN m WelshFrom the name of the River Alwen in Wales.
BECKETT m English (Modern)From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English
beke meaning
"beak" or
bekke meaning
"stream, brook".
CLARE f EnglishMedieval English form of
CLARA. This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish
clár meaning "plank, level surface".
CLINTON m EnglishFrom a surname that 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-).
CLODAGH f IrishFrom the name of a river in Tipperary, Ireland.
CLYDE m EnglishFrom the name of the River Clyde in Scotland, from Cumbric
Clud, which is of uncertain origin. It became a common given name in America in the middle of the 19th century, perhaps in honour of Sir Colin Campbell (1792-1863) who was given the title Baron Clyde in 1858.
COLWYN m WelshFrom the name of a river in northern Wales.
CONWAY m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the name of the River Conwy, which possibly means "holy water" in Welsh.
DEE f & m EnglishShort form of names beginning with
D. It may also be given in reference to the
Dee River in Scotland.
DELTA f EnglishFrom 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.
DOUGLAS m Scottish, EnglishAnglicized 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.
DUBHSHLÁINE m Ancient IrishOld Irish name derived from
dubh "dark, black" and either
slán "defiance" or
Sláine, the Irish name of the River Slaney.
FRASER m Scottish, English (Rare)From a Scottish surname that is of unknown meaning. A famous bearer of the surname was Simon Fraser (1776-1862), a Canadian explorer.
GUADALUPE f & m SpanishFrom 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.
HE f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
河 (hé) meaning "river, stream",
和 (hé) meaning "harmony, peace", or
荷 (hé) meaning "lotus, water lily" (which is usually only feminine). Other characters can form this name as well. A famous bearer was the 15th-century explorer Zheng He.
HUDSON m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"son of HUDDE". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
JIANG m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
江 (jiāng) meaning "river, Yangtze", as well as other characters with a similar pronunciation.
JORDAN m & f English, French, Macedonian, SerbianFrom the name of the river that 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] KELVIN m EnglishFrom the name of a Scottish river, perhaps meaning
"narrow water". As a title it was borne by the Irish-Scottish physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), who acquired his title from the river.
KENDALL m & f EnglishFrom a surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwest England meaning
"valley on the river Kent".
LEITH m & f English (Rare)From a surname, originally from the name of a Scottish town (now a district of Edinburgh), which is derived from Gaelic
lìte "wet, damp". It is also the name of the river that flows though Edinburgh.
LESTER m EnglishFrom a surname that 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".
LINFORD m English (Rare)From a surname that was originally taken from place names meaning either "flax ford" or "linden tree ford" in Old English.
LORELEI f LiteratureFrom German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
MILFORD m EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally derived from various place names all meaning
"ford by a mill" in Old English.
MONROE m & f Scottish, EnglishFrom a Scottish surname meaning
"from the mouth of the Roe". The Roe is a river in Ireland. Two famous bearers of the surname were American president James Monroe (1758-1831) and American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
OKEANOS m Greek MythologyFrom the name of the river or body of water thought by the ancient Greeks to surround the Earth. In Greek mythology Okeanos was the Titan who personified this body of water.
RAEBURN m English (Rare)From a surname that was originally derived from a Scottish place name meaning
"stream where does drink" in Middle English. A famous bearer of the surname was Scottish portrait painter Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823).
RIVER m & f English (Modern)From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin
ripa "riverbank".
SABRINA f English, Italian, German, FrenchLatinized form of
Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque
Comus (1634). It was popularized as a given name by Samuel A. Taylor's play
Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation that followed it the next year.
SHANNON f & m EnglishFrom the name of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, called
Abha an tSionainn in Irish. It is associated with the goddess
Sionann and is sometimes said to be named for her. However it is more likely the goddess was named after the river, which may be related to Old Irish
sen "old, ancient". As a given name, it first became common in America after the 1940s.
SIONANN f Irish MythologyThe name of an Irish goddess, a granddaughter of
Lir, who was the personification of the River Shannon. Her name is derived from the name of the river (see
SHANNON).
TIBERIUS m Ancient RomanRoman praenomen, or given name, meaning
"of the Tiber" in Latin. The Tiber is the river that runs through Rome. Tiberius was the second Roman emperor, the stepson of Emperor Augustus.
TRENT m EnglishFrom a surname that originally denoted someone who lived by the River
Trent in England.
Trent is also a city in Italy, though the etymology is unrelated.
VÄINÄMÖINEN m Finnish MythologyDerived from Finnish
väinä meaning
"wide and slow-flowing river". In Finnish mythology Väinämöinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess
Ilmatar. He is the hero of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala.