Browse Names

Ọbatala m Yoruba Mythology
Means "king of white cloth" in Yoruba, derived from ọba "king" and àlà "white cloth". According to traditional Yoruba religion he is the creator of the earth and human beings. He also founded the first Yoruba city, Ife.

Oceanus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Okeanos.

Oddrún f Old Norse, Norse Mythology
From Old Norse oddr "point of a sword" and rún "secret lore, rune". This is the name of a woman in the Old Norse poem Oddrúnargrátr in the Poetic Edda.

Oden m Norse Mythology
Swedish form of Odin.

Odin m Norse Mythology, English (Modern)
Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wuotan, Wotan or Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.... [more]

Odysseus m Greek Mythology
Perhaps derived from Greek ὀδύσσομαι (odyssomai) meaning "to hate". In Greek legend Odysseus was one of the Greek heroes who fought in the Trojan War. In the Odyssey Homer relates Odysseus's misadventures on his way back to his kingdom and his wife Penelope.

Oedipus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Οἰδίπους (Oidipous), meaning "swollen foot" from οἰδέω (oideo) meaning "to swell" and πούς (pous) meaning "foot". In Greek mythology Oedipus was the son of the Theban king Laius and his wife Jocasta. Laius received a prophesy that he would be killed by his son, so he left the newborn to die of exposure. Oedipus was however rescued and raised in the home of the Corinthian king Polybus. After he had grown and learned of the same prophesy, Oedipus left Corinth so that he would not be a danger to Polybus, whom he assumed was his father. On the road to Delphi he chanced upon his real father Laius and slew him in a petty disagreement, thus fulfilling the prophecy. He then correctly answered the Sphinx's riddle, winning the now vacant throne of Thebes and marrying the widowed Queen Jocasta, his own mother. Years later they learned the truth of their relationship, prompting Jocasta to commit suicide and Oedipus to blind himself.

Óengus m Old Irish, Irish Mythology
Old Irish form of Aonghus.

Oenone f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek Οἰνώνη (Oinone), derived from οἶνος (oinos) meaning "wine". In Greek mythology Oenone was a mountain nymph who was married to Paris before he went after Helen.

Oidipous m Greek Mythology
Greek form of Oedipus.

Oinone f Greek Mythology
Greek form of Oenone.

Oisín m Irish, Irish Mythology
Means "little deer", derived from Old Irish oss "deer, stag" combined with a diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.

Oissíne m Old Irish, Irish Mythology
Old Irish form of Oisín.

Okeanos m Greek Mythology
From 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.

Ōkuninushi m Japanese Mythology
Means "master of the great country", from Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great", 国 (kuni) meaning "country, land" and 主 (nushi) meaning "master". In Japanese myth he was the divine ruler of the lands, until the gods of the heavens seized control and he retreated to the unseen world.

Ọlọrun m Yoruba Mythology
Means "ruler of heaven, owner of heaven" in Yoruba, derived from either olú "chief, ruler" or the prefix ọní "owner" combined with ọ̀run "heaven, sky". Ọlọrun is a manifestation of the supreme god in traditional Yoruba religion. In some modern contexts this name is used to refer to the Christian or Islamic god.

Olwen f Welsh, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Means "white footprint" from Welsh ol "footprint, track" and gwen "white, blessed". In the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen she was a beautiful maiden, the lover of Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry.

Onnophris m Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Greek variant form of Onuphrius.

Onouphrios m Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Greek form of Onuphrius.

Onuphrius m Egyptian Mythology (Latinized), Late Roman
Latinized form of Greek Ὀνούφριος (Onouphrios), derived from Egyptian wnn-nfr meaning "he who is good, he who is happy". This was an epithet of the god Osiris. It was later used by an Egyptian saint and hermit from the 4th or 5th century.

Orestes m Greek Mythology
Means "of the mountains", derived from Greek ὄρος (oros) meaning "mountain" and ἵστημι (histemi) meaning "to stand". In Greek myth he was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. He killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus after they killed his father.

Orion m Greek Mythology
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek ὅριον (horion) meaning "boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian Uru-anna meaning "light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess Gaia.

Oriṣanla m Yoruba Mythology
From Yoruba òrìṣà "deity, spirit" and ńlá "great". This is another name for the god Ọbatala.

Ormazd m Persian Mythology
Modern Persian form of Ahura Mazda.

Orpheus m Greek Mythology
Perhaps related to Greek ὄρφνη (orphne) meaning "the darkness of night". In Greek mythology Orpheus was a poet and musician who went to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. He succeeded in charming Hades with his lyre, and he was allowed to lead his wife out of the underworld on the condition that he not look back at her until they reached the surface. Unfortunately, just before they arrived his love for her overcame his will and he glanced back at her, causing her to be drawn back to Hades.

Ǫrvar m Norse Mythology
Old Norse form of Orvar.

Orvar m Swedish (Rare), Norse Mythology
Means "arrow" in Old Norse. Orvar Odd is a legendary Norse hero who is the subject of a 13th-century Icelandic saga.

Oscar m English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Possibly means "deer friend", derived from Old Irish oss "deer" and carae "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name Osgar or its Old Norse cognate Ásgeirr, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet Oisín and the grandson of the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill.... [more]

Osiris m Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Greek form of the Egyptian wsjr (reconstructed as Asar, Usir and other forms), which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to wsr "mighty" or jrt "eye". In Egyptian mythology Osiris was the god of fertility, agriculture, and the dead and served as the judge of the underworld. In one tale he was slain by his brother Seth, but restored to life by his wife Isis in order to conceive their son Horus, who would go on to avenge his father.

Ọṣun f Yoruba Mythology
Possibly related to ṣán meaning "flow". In traditional Yoruba belief this is the name of the patron goddess of the Osun River, also associated with wealth, beauty and love.

Óðinn m Norse Mythology, Icelandic
Old Norse and Icelandic form of Odin.

Óttarr m Old Norse, Norse Mythology
From Old Norse ótti "terror, fear" and herr "army, warrior". In the Old Norse poem Hyndluljóð in the Poetic Edda, the goddess Freya helps Óttar learn about his ancestry.

Ourania f Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek οὐράνιος (ouranios) meaning "heavenly". In Greek mythology she was the goddess of astronomy and astrology, one of the nine Muses.

Ouranos m Greek Mythology
Greek form of Uranus.

Oxalá m Afro-American Mythology
Portuguese form of Oriṣanla, used in Brazil by adherents of Candomblé to refer to Ọbatala. It also coincides with the Portuguese word oxalá meaning "God willing, hopefully", which originates from the Arabic phrase و شاء الله (wa shāʾa Allah).

Oxum f Afro-American Mythology
Portuguese form of Ọṣun, used by adherents of Candomblé in Brazil, where it refers to a spirit of fertility and wealth.