ADAM Адам m English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek, Biblical HebrewThis is the Hebrew word for
"man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew
אדם ('adam) meaning
"to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian
adamu meaning
"to make".
... [more] ALEKSANDRA Александра f Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Estonian, Latvian, LithuanianForm of
ALEXANDRA in several languages.
ANGEL Ангел m & f English, Bulgarian, MacedonianFrom the medieval Latin masculine name
Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger"). It has never been very common in the English-speaking world, where it is sometimes used as a feminine name in modern times.
ANGELA Ангела f English, Italian, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Slovak, Russian, Macedonian, Late RomanFeminine form of
Angelus (see
ANGEL). As an English name, it came into use in the 18th century.
ANTON Антон m German, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, Croatian, Romanian, Estonian, Finnish, EnglishForm of
Antonius (see
ANTHONY) used in various languages.
BORIS Борис m Bulgarian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, GermanFrom the Turkic name
Bogoris, perhaps meaning
"short" or
"wolf" or
"snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century King Boris I of Bulgaria who converted his country to Christianity, as well as two later Bulgarian emperors. The name was popularized in the Slavic world due to the 11th-century Saint Boris, who was a Russian prince martyred with his brother Gleb. His mother may have been Bulgarian. Another famous bearer was the 16th-century Russian emperor Boris Godunov, later the subject of a play of that name by Aleksandr Pushkin.
DANICA Даница f Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, EnglishFrom a Slavic word meaning
"morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
DANIEL Даниел m English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
... [more] DANIELA Даниела f Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hebrew, EnglishFeminine form of
DANIEL.
DAVID Давид m English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew
דּוֹד (dod) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
... [more] ELENA Елена f Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Lithuanian, Estonian, Russian, Greek, German, English, Medieval SlavicForm of
HELEN used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
YELENA).
EMIL Емил m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, EnglishFrom the Roman family name
Aemilius, which was derived from Latin
aemulus meaning
"rival".
FILIP Филип m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Romanian, FinnishForm of
PHILIP in various languages.
GORAN Горан m Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian (Rare)Means
"mountain man", derived from South Slavic
gora meaning "mountain". It was popularized by the Croatian poet Ivan Goran Kovačić (1913-1943), who got his middle name because of the mountain town where he was born.
GORDAN Гордан m Serbian, Croatian, MacedonianDerived from South Slavic
gord meaning
"dignified". This name and the feminine form Gordana were popularized by the publication of Croatian author Marija Jurić Zagorka's novel
Gordana (1935).
IGOR Игор m Russian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Italian, PortugueseRussian form of
Yngvarr (see
INGVAR). The Varangians brought it to Russia in the 10th century. It was borne by two grand princes of Kiev. Famous bearers include Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), a Russian composer whose most famous work is
The Rite of Spring, and Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), the Russian-American designer of the first successful helicopter.
IVAN Иван m Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Slovene, English, Italian, Romanian, Danish, Swedish, NorwegianNewer form of the old Slavic name
Іѡаннъ (Ioannu), which was derived from Greek
Ioannes (see
JOHN). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote
Fathers and Sons, and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
JORDAN Јордан 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] KATINA Катина f Greek, MacedonianGreek and Macedonian contracted form of
KATERINA. This name had a spike in popularity in America in 1972 when it was used for a newborn baby on the soap opera
Where the Heart Is.
MAGDALENA Магдалена f Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, EnglishLatinate form of
MAGDALENE.
MAJA (2) Маја f Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Czech, SlovakDiminutive of
MARIA.
MARINA Марина f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Georgian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
MARINUS.
MARTA Марта 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 Мартин m English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, 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] MILAN Милан 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 Милена 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 Милош 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.
OLIVER Оливер 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] RUZHA Ружа f Bulgarian, MacedonianMeans
"hollyhock" in Bulgarian and Macedonian (referring to flowering plants from the genera Alcea and Althaea).
SANDRA Сандра 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-).
SARA Сара f Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, German, French, Dutch, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Bosnian, Biblical GreekForm of
SARAH used in various languages.
SIMON (1) Симон m English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom
Σίμων (Simon), the New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁמְעוֹן (Shim'on) meaning
"he has heard". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
SIMON (2).
... [more] SONJA Соња f German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, MacedonianForm of
SONYA in various languages.
TAMARA Тамара f Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, GeorgianRussian 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 Теодор m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Czech, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, MacedonianForm of
THEODORE used in various languages.
TINA Тина f English, Italian, Dutch, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, GeorgianShort form of
CHRISTINA,
MARTINA, and other names ending in
tina. In addition to these names, it is also used in Dutch as a diminutive of
CATHARINA, in Croatian as a diminutive of
KATARINA, and in Georgian as a short form of
TINATIN.
TOŠE Тоше m MacedonianDiminutive of
TODOR. This name was borne by the Macedonian pop star Toše Proeski (1981-2007).
TRAJAN (2) Трајан m Macedonian, SerbianMeans
"enduring, permanent" in South Slavic. This also coincides with the Macedonian and Serbian form of the Roman emperor's name
TRAJAN (1), which may also factor into the name's usage.
VALENTINA Валентина f Italian, Russian, Latvian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, 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.