LirmIrish Mythology Possibly from the patronymic Manannán mac Lir, in which case Lir is the genitive case of the name Ler. The medieval Irish legend the Children of Lir tells how Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann had his children transformed into swans by his third wife Aoife. The legendary characters Lir and Ler seem to be distinct.
MalachymIrish Anglicized form of Máel Sechnaill or Máel Máedóc, influenced by the spelling of Malachi. Saint Malachy (in Irish, Máel Máedóc) was a 12th-century archbishop of Armagh renowned for his miracles.
MarillafEnglish (Archaic) Possibly a diminutive of Mary or a variant of Amaryllis. More common in the 19th century, this name was borne by the American suffragist Marilla Ricker (1840-1920). It is also the name of the adoptive mother of Anne in L. M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Green Gables (1908).
MarjoriefEnglish Medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram. After the Middle Ages this name was rare, but it was revived at the end of the 19th century.
MicolfItalian Italian variant form of Michal 2 (the Italian biblical form being Mikal). This is the name of the heroine in Giorgio Bassani's novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1962).
MilanifEnglish (Modern) From the name of the Italian city of Milan, as in the name of the American cosmetics company founded in 2002. It could also a variant of Melanie.
MohamedmArabic, Dhivehi, Swahili Alternate transcription of Arabic محمّد (see Muhammad) chiefly used in Egypt and Algeria. This is also the usual Dhivehi and Swahili form.
NereafBasque, Spanish Possibly from Basque nere, a dialectal variant of nire meaning "mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
NoyafHebrew Derived from Hebrew נוֹי (noi) meaning "beauty".
NyahfEnglish (Modern) Meaning unknown, possibly a variant of Nia 2 or Nia 3. This name briefly entered the American popularity charts after it was featured in the movie Mission: Impossible 2 (2000).
OssianmLiterature Variant of Oisín used by James Macpherson in his 18th-century poems, which he claimed to have based on early Irish legends. In the poems Ossian is the son of Fingal, and serves as the narrator.
PortiafEnglish Variant of Porcia, the feminine form of the Roman family name Porcius, used by William Shakespeare for the heroine of his play The Merchant of Venice (1596). In the play Portia is a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to defend Antonio in court. It is also the name of a moon of Uranus, after the Shakespearean character.
ScorpiusmAstronomy From a Latin variant of Scorpio. This is the name of a zodiacal constellation said to have the shape of a scorpion. According to Greek and Roman legend it was the monster that was sent to kill Orion.
SemiramisfAncient Assyrian (Hellenized) Probably from a Greek form of the name Shammuramat. According to ancient Greek and Armenian sources, Semiramis (Շամիրամ (Shamiram) in Armenian) was an Assyrian queen who conquered much of Asia. Though the tales are legendary, she might be loosely based on the real Assyrian queen.