Saraid f Irish, Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
Sárait, derived from
sár meaning
"excellent". This was the name of a daughter of the legendary high king of Ireland, Conn of the Hundred Battles.
Saramama f Inca MythologyMeans
"corn mother" in Quechua, from
sara "corn, maize" and
mama "mother". This was the name of the Inca goddess of grain.
Saraswati f Hinduism, Hindi, MarathiMeans
"possessing water" from Sanskrit
सरस् (saras) meaning "fluid, water, lake" and
वती (vatī) meaning "having". This is the name of a Hindu river goddess, also associated with learning and the arts, who is the wife of
Brahma. She appears in the Vedas.
Sarpedon m Greek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek legend Sarpedon was the son of
Zeus and Laodamia, and the king of the Lycians. He was one of the chief warriors who fought against the Greeks in defence of Troy, but he was killed by
Patroclus. Another Sarpedon was the son of Zeus and
Europa.
Sati f HinduismFrom Sanskrit
सत् (sat) meaning
"true, virtuous". This is the name of a Hindu goddess, the first wife of
Shiva. A daughter of King
Daksha, she threw herself onto a fire when her husband was insulted by her father. After her death she was eventually reborn as the goddess
Parvati.
Satisha m HinduismMeans
"lord of Sati" from the name of the Hindu goddess
Sati combined with
ईश (īśa) meaning "ruler". This is another name of the Hindu god
Shiva.
Saturn m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)From the Latin
Saturnus, which is of unknown meaning. In Roman mythology he was the father of
Jupiter,
Juno and others, and was also the god of agriculture. This is also the name of the ringed sixth planet in the solar system.
Savitr m HinduismMeans
"rouser, stimulator" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Vedic Hindu sun god, sometimes identified with
Surya.
Savitri f Hinduism, Hindi, MarathiMeans
"of the sun" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a hymn in the
Rigveda dedicated to
Savitr, a sun god. This is also the name of Savitr's daughter, a wife of
Brahma, considered an aspect of
Saraswati. In the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata it is borne by King Satyavan's wife, who successfully pleas with
Yama, the god of death, to restore her husband to life.
Tadhg m Irish, Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
Tadg meaning
"poet". This was the name of an 11th-century king of Connacht, as well as several other kings and chieftains of medieval Ireland. According to Irish mythology it was the name of the grandfather of
Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Tahmina f Persian Mythology, Tajik, BengaliDerived from Persian
تهم (tahm) meaning
"brave, valiant". This is the name of a character in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh. She is a daughter of the king of Samangan who marries the warrior hero
Rostam and eventually bears him a son, whom they name
Sohrab.
Tahmuras m Persian MythologyPersian form of Avestan
𐬙𐬀𐬑𐬨𐬀⸱𐬎𐬭𐬎𐬞𐬌 (Taxma Urupi), derived from
𐬙𐬀𐬑𐬨𐬀 (taxma) meaning "strong" and
𐬎𐬭𐬎𐬞𐬌 (urupi) meaning "fox". Taxma Urupi is a hero mentioned in the
Avesta who later appears in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.
Taliesin m Welsh, Welsh MythologyMeans
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
Tāne m Maori, Polynesian MythologyMeans
"man" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian mythology Tāne was the god of forests and light. He was the son of the sky god
Rangi and the earth goddess
Papa, who were locked in an embrace and finally separated by their son. He created the tui bird and, by some accounts, man.
Tangaroa m Polynesian MythologyMeaning unknown. In Polynesian mythology he was the god of the sea, the son of
Rangi and
Papa. He separated his parents' embrace, creating the earth and the sky.
Tanith f Semitic MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of
Ba'al Hammon.
Tara 2 f Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, NepaliMeans
"star" in Sanskrit. Tara is the name of a Hindu astral goddess, the wife of Brhaspati. She was abducted by
Chandra, the god of the moon, leading to a great war that was only ended when
Brahma intervened and released her. This name also appears in the epic the
Ramayana belonging to the wife of Vali and, after his death, his younger brother Sugriva. In Buddhist belief this is the name of a bodhisattva associated with salvation and protection.
Taran m Welsh Mythology, PictishMeans
"thunder" in Welsh, from the old Celtic root *
toranos. It appears briefly in the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. The name is cognate to that of the Gaulish god
Taranis. It was also borne by the 7th-century Pictish king Taran mac Ainftech.
Taranis m Gaulish MythologyDerived from the old Celtic root *
toranos meaning
"thunder", cognate with
Þórr (see
Thor). This was the name of the Gaulish thunder god, who was often identified with the Roman god
Jupiter.
Tarhunna m Hittite MythologyFrom Hittite or Luwian
tarh meaning
"to cross, to conquer". This was the name of the Hittite god of the weather, storms, and the sky, and the slayer of the dragon Illuyanka. He was closely identified with the Hurrian god
Teshub, and sometimes with the Semitic god
Hadad.
Tatius m Roman Mythology, Ancient RomanRoman family name of unknown meaning, possibly of Sabine origin. According to Roman legend, Titus Tatius was an 8th-century BC king of the Sabines who came to jointly rule over the Romans and Sabines with the Roman king Romulus.
Taweret f Egyptian MythologyFrom Egyptian
tꜣ-wrt meaning
"O great female". In Egyptian mythology Taweret was a goddess of childbirth and fertility. She was typically depicted as an upright hippopotamus.
Taygete f Greek MythologyDerived from the name of Mount Taygetos near Sparta, which is probably of pre-Greek origin. Taygete was one of the Pleiades in Greek mythology. By
Zeus she was the mother of
Lacedaemon, the founder of Sparta. A small moon of Jupiter is named after her.
Väinämöinen m Finnish MythologyDerived from Finnish
väinä meaning
"wide and slow-flowing river". In Finnish mythology Väinämöinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess
Ilmatar. He is the hero of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala.
Valli f HinduismMeans
"creeping plant" in Tamil. The Tamil Hindu goddess Valli is the wife of
Murugan.
Vanadís f Norse MythologyMeans
"goddess of the Vanir" in Old Norse. This was an epithet of the Norse goddess
Freya, given because she was a member of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir).
Varaha m HinduismMeans
"boar, hog" in Sanskrit. This is the name of one of the avatars of the Hindu god
Vishnu, who appears as a wild boar to slay the demon Hiranyaksha.
Varuna m HinduismProbably from Sanskrit
वृ (vṛ) meaning
"to surround, to encompass". In Hindu mythology Varuna is a god of water and the ocean, also associated with the sky and law. He appears frequently in the Vedas, often paired with the god
Mitra.
Vasanta m HinduismMeans
"spring" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu personification of the springtime.
Vasishtha m HinduismMeans
"best, most excellent" in Sanskrit, a superlative form of
वसु (vasu) meaning "good, excellent". This is the name of one of the Saptarshis, or seven sages in Hinduism. He is traditionally believed to be the author of parts of the
Rigveda.
Vasu m Hinduism, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, HindiMeans
"excellent, good, wealthy, bright" in Sanskrit. This is a name for the Hindu gods, in particular the eight elemental deities who are attendants of
Indra. It is also borne by several other characters in Hindu legend.
Vata m Persian MythologyMeans
"wind" in Avestan. This was the name of a Yazata (a holy being) associated with the wind in Zoroastrianism. He is also called
𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬎 (Vaiiu).
Vayu m HinduismMeans
"air, wind" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Vedic Hindu god of the air and wind. In the
Ramayana he is the father of
Hanuman, while in the
Mahabharata he is the father of
Bhima.
Wayland m English, Anglo-Saxon MythologyFrom Old English
Weland, probably derived from the Germanic root *
wīlą meaning
"craft, cunning". In Germanic legend Weland (called Vǫlundr in Old Norse) was a master smith and craftsman. He was captured and hamstrung by King Niðhad, but took revenge by killing the king's sons.
Yam m Semitic MythologyMeans
"sea" in Ugaritic. Yam was the Ugaritic god of the sea, also associated with chaos, storms and destruction. He was a son of the chief god
El.
Yama 1 m HinduismMeans
"twin" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu god of death. According to the Vedas he was the first mortal being, or in other words, the first person to die. This name is related to Persian
Jam.
Yami f HinduismMeans
"twin" in Sanskrit. According to the Vedas this was the name of the first woman, the twin sister of
Yama, later equated with the river goddess
Yamuna.
Yamuna f Hinduism, Tamil, TeluguFrom the name of an Indian river, a major tributary of the Ganges, derived from Sanskrit
यम (yama) meaning
"twin". As a Hindu goddess, she is a personification of the river.
Zababa m Sumerian MythologyMeaning unknown. This was the name of a Sumerian and Akkadian war god worshipped in the city-state of Kish.
Zadkiel m Judeo-Christian-Islamic LegendMeans
"God is my righteousness" in Hebrew. This is the name of an archangel associated with mercy in Jewish and Christian tradition, sometimes said to be the angel who stops
Abraham from sacrificing his son
Isaac.
Zal m Persian MythologyMeans
"albino" in Persian. According to the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh this was the name of a white-haired warrior, the father of
Rostam.