ÆÐELFLÆD f Anglo-SaxonOld English name composed of the elements
æðel "noble" and
flæd "beauty". Æðelflæd was a 10th-century queen of Mercia.
ÆÐELSTAN m Anglo-SaxonDerived from the Old English elements
æðel "noble" and
stan "stone". This was the name of an early king of England. The name was rarely used after the Norman Conquest.
ALBERT m English, French, Catalan, German, Polish, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Romanian, Hungarian, Ancient GermanicFrom the Germanic name
Adalbert, which was composed of the elements
adal "noble" and
beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. The Normans introduced it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate
Æðelberht. Though it became rare in England by the 17th century, it was repopularized in the 19th century by the German-born Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
... [more] ALVAH m BiblicalMeans "his highness" in Hebrew. This name is mentioned in the Old Testament as belonging to a descendant of Esau.
BASIL (1) m EnglishFrom the Greek name
Βασιλειος (Basileios), which was derived from
βασιλευς (basileus) meaning "king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
BLANCHE f French, EnglishFrom a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair". This name and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word
blanc. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.
BRENNUS m Ancient Celtic (Latinized)Latinized form of a Celtic name (or title) that possibly meant either "king, prince" or "raven". Brennus was a Gallic leader of the 4th century BC who attacked and sacked Rome.
CADEYRN m Ancient CelticMeans "battle king" from Welsh
cad "battle" and
teyrn "king, monarch". Cadeyrn (also known as Catigern) was a 5th-century king of Powys in Wales, the son of Vortigern.
CASIMIR m English, FrenchEnglish form of the Polish name
Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic element
kaziti "to destroy" combined with
miru "peace, world". Four kings of Poland have borne this name, including Casimir III the Great, who greatly strengthened the Polish state in the 14th century. It was also borne Saint Casimir, a 15th-century Polish prince and a patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. The name was imported into Western Europe via Germany, where it was borne by some royalty.
CASPIAN m LiteratureUsed 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.
CLARENCE m EnglishFrom the Latin title
Clarensis, which belonged to members of the British royal family. The title ultimately derives from the name of the town of Clare in Suffolk. As a given name it has been in use since the 19th century.
FELIX m German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom a Roman cognomen meaning "lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned Saint
Paul.
... [more] FERDINAND m German, French, Dutch, English, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Ancient GermanicFrom
Ferdinando, the old Spanish form of a Germanic name composed of the elements
fardi "journey" and
nand "daring, brave". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth.
FLAITHRÍ m IrishMeans "king of princes" from Gaelic
flaith "prince" and
rí "king".
FRIEDRICH m GermanGerman form of
FREDERICK. This was the name of kings of Germany. The socialist Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) and the philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) are two famous bearers of this name.
GABRIEL m French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to
Muhammad.
... [more] GENGHIS m HistoryFrom the title
Genghis (or
Chinggis)
Khan, meaning "universal ruler", which was adopted by the Mongol Empire founder
Temujin in the late 12th century. Remembered both for his military brilliance and his brutality towards civilians, he went on to conquer huge areas of Asia and Eastern Europe.
GORMLAITH f Irish, ScottishDerived from Irish
gorm "blue" or "illustrious" and
flaith "princess, lady". This was the name of a wife of the 11th-century Irish ruler
Brian Boru.
GRUFFUDD m WelshFrom the Old Welsh name
Griphiud, the second element deriving from Welsh
udd "lord, prince" but the first element being of uncertain meaning (possibly
cryf "strong"). This was a common name among medieval Welsh royalty. Gruffudd (or Gruffydd) ap Llywelyn was an 11th-century Welsh ruler who fought against England.
HERMENEGILDO m Spanish, PortugueseSpanish and Portuguese form of a Visigothic name meaning "complete sacrifice", from the Germanic elements
ermen "whole, entire" and
gild "sacrifice, value". It was borne by a 6th-century saint, the son of Liuvigild the Visigothic king of Hispania.
JUDITH f English, Jewish, French, German, Spanish, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of
יְהוּדִי (yehudi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of
Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of
Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.
... [more] KAHINA f Northern African, BerberDerived from Arabic
الكاهِنة (al-Kahinah) meaning "the diviner, the fortuneteller". This was a title applied to the 7th-century Berber queen Dihya, who resisted the Arab expansion into North Africa.
KAMALANI f & m HawaiianMeans "heavenly child" or "royal child" from Hawaiian
kama "child" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
KAUR f Indian (Sikh)Means "princess", ultimately from Sanskrit
कुमारी (kumari) meaning "girl". This surname was assigned to all female Sikhs in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. It is now used as a surname or a middle name by most female Sikhs. The male equivalent is
Singh.
KENELM m English (Rare)From the Old English name
Cenhelm, which was composed of the elements
cene "bold, keen" and
helm "helmet". Saint Kenelm was a 9th-century martyr from Mercia, where he was a member of the royal family. The name was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has since become rare.
KINGSLEY m English (Modern)From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's wood" in Old English.
KUNEGUNDA f Polish (Rare)Polish form of
KUNIGUNDE. The 13th-century Saint Kunegunda was the daughter of Bela IV, king of Hungary. She married Boleslaus V of Poland, but after his death refused to assume power and instead became a nun.
LEILANI f & m HawaiianMeans "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian
lei "flowers, lei, child" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
MARGUERITE f FrenchFrench form of
MARGARET. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
MELCHIOR m Dutch, Judeo-Christian LegendPossibly 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.
MELITA f VariousIn the case of Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Victoria Melita (1876-1936) it was derived from
Melita, the Latin name of the island country of Malta, where she was born.
MIKHAIL m Russian, Belarusian, BulgarianRussian and Belarusian form of
MICHAEL, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Михаил (see
MIHAIL). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-).
NANDA m Hinduism, Indian, Kannada, TamilMeans "joy" in Sanskrit. In Hindu texts this is a name of both
Vishnu and the foster-father of
Krishna, as well as various other characters. In Buddhist texts this is the name of a god and a disciple of Buddha. Nanda was also the name of a 4th-century BC king who founded a dynasty in Magadha in India.
RAJA (2) m Urdu, Tamil, Indian, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, IndonesianMeans "king, ruler", from Sanskrit
राजन् (rajan).
RODERICK m English, Scottish, WelshMeans "famous power" from the Germanic elements
hrod "fame" and
ric "power". This name was in use among the Visigoths; it was borne by their last king (also known as Rodrigo), who died fighting the Muslim invaders of Spain in the 8th century. It also had cognates in Old Norse and West Germanic, and Scandinavian settlers and Normans introduced it to England, though it died out after the Middle Ages. It was revived in the English-speaking world by Sir Walter Scott's poem 'The Vision of Don Roderick' (1811).
RUAIDHRÍ m IrishMeans "red king" from Irish
ruadh "red" combined with
rí "king". This was the name of the last high king of Ireland, reigning in the 12th century.
RYAN m Irish, EnglishFrom 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).
SARAH f English, French, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeans "lady, princess, noblewoman" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of
Abraham's wife, considered the matriarch of the Jewish people. She was barren until she unexpectedly became the pregnant with
Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally
Sarai, but God changed it at the same time Abraham's name was changed (see Genesis 17:15).
... [more] SOPHIA f English, Greek, German, Ancient GreekMeans "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
... [more] STUART m English, ScottishFrom an occupational surname originally belonging to a person who was a steward. It is ultimately derived from Old English
stig "house" and
weard "guard". As a given name, it arose in 19th-century Scotland in honour of the Stuart royal family, which produced several kings and queens of Scotland and Britain between the 14th and 18th centuries.
SULTAN m & f Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Bengali, AvarMeans "ruler, king, sultan" in Arabic. In the Arab world this name is typically masculine, but Turkey it is given to both boys and girls.
TAKEHIKO m JapaneseFrom Japanese
武 (take) meaning "military, martial" or
竹 (take) meaning "bamboo" combined with
彦 (hiko) meaning "boy, prince". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
TARQUIN m HistoryFrom
Tarquinius, a Roman name of unknown meaning, possibly Etruscan in origin. This was the name of two early kings of Rome.
TEUTA f AlbanianPossibly derived from an Illyrian word or title meaning "queen". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Illyrian queen.
TUDOR (1) m WelshFrom the older Welsh name
Tudur, possibly from the hypothetical Celtic name
Toutorix meaning "ruler of the people" (cognate with
THEODORIC). As a surname it was borne by five monarchs of England beginning with Henry VII in the 15th century.
WALDEMAR m German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, PolishGermanic derivative of the Slavic name
VLADIMIR (or perhaps a cognate composed of the Germanic elements
wald "rule" and
mari "famous"). It was introduced into Scandinavia by the 12th-century Danish king Waldemar (or Valdemar) who was named after a royal ancestor of his Ukrainian mother.
YOSHIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
良 (yoshi) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable",
芳 (yoshi) meaning "fragrant, virtuous, beautiful" or
悦 (yoshi) meaning "joy, pleased" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be formed from other kanji combinations as well.