Browse Names - Behind the Name

Adsila f Cherokee
From Cherokee ᎠᏥᎳ (atsila) "fire" or ᎠᏥᎸᏍᎩ (atsilunsgi) "flower, blossom".

Amaruq m Inuit
Means "wolf" in Inuktitut.

Apanii f Siksika
Means "butterfly" in Siksika.

Ashkii m Navajo
Means "boy" in Navajo.

Aviâja f Greenlandic
Variant of Aviaaja.

Ayelen f Mapuche
From Mapuche ayelen "laughing", ayliñ "clear" or aylen "ember".

Chaska m Sioux
From Lakota or Dakota čhaské meaning "firstborn son".

Eluney f & m Mapuche
Derived from Mapuche elun meaning "give".

Gouyen f Apache
Variant spelling of Góyąń.

Iqaluk m & f Inuit
Means "fish" in Inuktitut.

Ivaana f Greenlandic
Feminine form of Ivaaq.

Ixchel f Mayan Mythology, Mayan
Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.

Jacira f Tupi
Means "honey moon" in Tupi, from îasy "moon" and yra "honey".

Jeruti f Guarani
Means "dove" in Guarani.

Lihuén m & f Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Variant of Liwen using Spanish spelling conventions.

Maiara f Tupi
From Tupi maya arya meaning "great-grandmother".

Ma'tano m Cheyenne
Means "bowstring" in Cheyenne.

Meztli f & m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Variant of Metztli.

Moacir m Tupi
From Tupi moasy meaning "pain, regret". This is the name of the son of Iracema and Martim in the novel Iracema (1865) by José de Alencar.

Mokee'e f Cheyenne
Means "little woman" in Cheyenne.

Nahuel m Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Variant of Nawel using Spanish spelling conventions.

Naiche m Apache
Means "mischief maker" in Apache. This name was borne by a 19th-century Chiricahua Apache chief, the son of Cochise.

Nanook m Inuit (Anglicized)
Variant of Nanuq. This was the (fictional) name of the subject of Robert Flaherty's documentary film Nanook of the North (1922).

Nayeli f Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".

Nehuén m Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Variant of Newen using Spanish spelling conventions.

Noodin m Ojibwe
Means "wind" in Ojibwe.

Qillaq m Greenlandic
Means "seal hide" in Greenlandic.

Quanah m Comanche (Anglicized)
From Comanche kwana meaning "fragrant, smelly". Quanah Parker (1845-1911) was a 19th-century chief of the Kwahadi Comanche.

Quidel m Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Possibly from Mapuche küde meaning "burning torch".

Quispe m & f Quechua (Hispanicized)
From Quechua qispi meaning "free" or q'ispi meaning "glass".

Taqqiq m & f Inuit
Means "moon" in Inuktitut.

Tarqik m & f Inuit
Variant of Taqqiq.

Tiriaq f & m Inuit
Means "ermine, weasel" in Inuktitut.

Tlalli f Nahuatl
Means "earth, land, soil" in Nahuatl.

Tlaloc m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Possibly from Nahuatl tlālloh meaning "covered with earth", derived from tlālli meaning "earth, land, soil". This was the name of the Aztec god of rain and fertility, the husband of Chalchiuhtlicue.

Ujarak m & f Greenlandic
Means "stone" in Greenlandic.

Ujaraq m Inuit
Means "stone" in Inuktitut.

Ukaleq f Greenlandic
Means "hare" in Greenlandic.

Walela f Cherokee
From Cherokee ᏩᎴᎳ (walela) meaning "hummingbird".

Wambdi m & f Sioux
Dakota form of Wambli.

Wambli m & f Sioux
From Lakota waŋblí meaning "eagle".

Willka m Aymara
From Aymara wilka meaning "sun".

Winona f English, Sioux
Means "firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.

Yatzil f Mayan
Means "love, mercy, charity" in Yucatec Maya.

Yaxkin f & m Mayan
From Yaxk'in, the name of the seventh month in the Maya calendar, derived from Classic Maya yax "green, first" and k'in "sun, day".

Yeruti f Guarani (Hispanicized)
Variant of Jeruti.

Yolotl f & m Nahuatl
Means "heart, spirit" in Nahuatl.

Zyanya f Zapotec
Possibly means "forever, always" in Zapotec. It appears in the novel Aztec (1980) by the American author Gary Jennings.

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