MARINA f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Georgian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
MARINUS.
MARIO m Italian, Spanish, German, CroatianItalian and Spanish form of
MARIUS. Famous bearers include American racecar driver Mario Andretti (1940-) and Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux (1965-).
MARTA f Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Swedish, Icelandic, Latvian, GeorgianForm of
MARTHA used in various languages.
MARTIN m English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, FinnishFrom the Roman name
Martinus, which was derived from
Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god
MARS. Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.
... [more] MARTINA f German, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Hungarian, English, Swedish, Dutch, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Martinus (see
MARTIN). Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.
MATIJA m & f Slovene, Croatian, SerbianSlovene, Croatian and Serbian form of
MATTHIAS, used to refer to the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. It is occasionally used as a feminine name.
MILAN m Czech, Slovak, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, MacedonianFrom 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.
MILENA f Bulgarian, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, ItalianFeminine form of
MILAN. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
MARIA and
ELENA.
MILOŠ m Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Slovene, Croatian, MacedonianOriginally a diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element
milu "gracious, dear". This was the name of a 14th-century Serbian hero who apparently killed the Ottoman sultan Murad I at the Battle of Kosovo.
MIODRAG m Serbian, CroatianDerived from the element
mio, a Serbo-Croatian form of the Slavic element
milu meaning "dear", combined with
dragu meaning "precious".
MONIKA f German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Lithuanian, LatvianForm of
MONICA used in various languages.
MORANA f Slavic Mythology, CroatianFrom a Slavic root meaning
"death, plague". In Slavic mythology this was the name of the goddess of winter and death.
NAIDA f CroatianMeaning uncertain, possibly derived from Greek
Ναιαδ (Naiad), a type of water nymph in Greek mythology.
NENAD m Serbian, CroatianMeans
"unexpected" in Serbian and Croatian. In the Serbian folk song
Predrag and Nenad this is the name of
Predrag's brother.
NINA (1) f Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Ukrainian, BelarusianShort form of names that end in
nina, such as
ANTONINA or
GIANNINA. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl".
OLIVER m English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, SlovakFrom
Olivier, a Norman French form of a Germanic name such as
ALFHER or an Old Norse name such as
Áleifr (see
OLAF). The spelling was altered by association with Latin
oliva "olive tree". In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic
La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier was a friend and advisor of the hero Roland.
... [more] PAULA f German, English, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Croatian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Paulus (see
PAUL). This was the name of a 4th-century Roman saint who was a companion of Saint Jerome.
ROBERT m English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Romanian, Catalan, Ancient GermanicFrom the Germanic name
Hrodebert meaning
"bright fame", derived from the Germanic elements
hrod "fame" and
beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the Old English cognate
Hreodbeorht. It has been a very common English name since that time.
... [more] SABINA f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Sabinus, a Roman cognomen meaning
"a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early saints.
SANDRA f Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Czech, RomanianShort form of
ALESSANDRA. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by author George Meredith, who used it for the heroine in his novel
Emilia in England (1864) and the reissued version
Sandra Belloni (1887). A famous bearer is the American actress Sandra Bullock (1964-).
SANELA f CroatianApparently derived from Latin
sana meaning
"healthy".
SARA f Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, German, French, Dutch, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, BosnianForm of
SARAH used in various languages.
SMILJANA f Croatian, SerbianFrom Serbo-Croatian word
smilje, a type of plant, known as catsfoot or everlasting in English (genus Antennaria).
SONJA f German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, MacedonianForm of
SONYA in various languages.
SUNČANA f CroatianFrom Croatian
sunčan meaning
"sunny", a derivative of
sunce meaning "sun".
TAMARA f Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, ItalianRussian form of
TAMAR. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It was also borne by the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).
TEODOR m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Czech, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, MacedonianForm of
THEODORE used in various languages.
VALENTIN m French, Romanian, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, MacedonianForm of
Valentinus (see
VALENTINE (1)) in several languages.
VALENTINA f Italian, Russian, German, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Latvian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Valentinus (see
VALENTINE (1)). A famous bearer was the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
VERA (1) f Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Belarusian, GeorgianMeans
"faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word
verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
VERONIKA f Russian, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, German, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, LatvianForm of
VERONICA in several languages.
VESNA f Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, MacedonianMeans
"messenger" in Slavic. This was the name of a Slavic spirit associated with the springtime. In many Slavic languages this is now the poetic word for "spring". It has been used as a given name only since the 20th century.
VIKTOR m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, MacedonianForm of
VICTOR used in various languages.
VLADIMIR m Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Medieval SlavicDerived from the Slavic element
vladeti "rule" combined with
meru "great, famous". The second element has also been associated with
miru meaning "peace, world". This was the name of an 11th-century grand prince of Kiev who is venerated as a saint because of his efforts to Christianize his realm (Kievan Rus). It was also borne by the founder of the former Soviet state, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924).
ZRINKA f CroatianPossibly from
Zrin, the name of a village in Croatia, or from the noble Zrinski family that originated there.