x_Chaser of Dreams_x's Personal Name List

Xander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAHN-dər(Dutch) KSAHN-dər(Dutch) ZAN-dər(English)
Rating: 60% based on 8 votes
Short form of Alexander. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by a character on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003).
Winifred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: WIN-ə-frid(English)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
From Latin Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name Gwenfrewi (maybe influenced by the Old English masculine name Winfred). Saint Winifred was a 7th-century Welsh martyr, probably legendary. According to the story, she was decapitated by a prince after she spurned his advances. Where her head fell there arose a healing spring, which has been a pilgrimage site since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has been historically more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr
Rating: 73% based on 9 votes
From the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of god" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.

This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).

Theodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: thee-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.
Story
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: STOR-ee
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
From Middle English storie, storye, from Anglo-Norman estorie, from Late Latin storia meaning "history."
Stelara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: steh-LA-ra
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
From Esperanto stelaro meaning "constellation", ultimately from Latin stella "star".
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.

In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).

Sonnet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SAHN-it
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of Italian sonetto - song, sound; little song. Also the term for a short lyric poem, usually with eight line stanzas, followed by six line
stanzas.

The sonnets of William Shakespeare, on the other hand, are typically three Sicilian quatrains, followed by an heroic couplet.

Séraphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-RA-FEEN
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
French form of Seraphina.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 61% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant "fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.

This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.

Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelat)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Satine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Modern), Popular Culture
Rating: 25% based on 8 votes
Possibly derived from satin, the French word for the fabric satin, combined with -e, a French feminine suffix. Satine was used as the name of a courtesan in the film "Moulin Rouge" (2001). It was popularised in France because of the film (previously it had not been used).
Sabriel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Literature, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: SAY-bree-əl
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
There are multiple explanations for the etymology of this name. One is that it is a variant form of Sabrael. An other is that it is derived from Hebrew sabi "stop, rest" combined with el "God", thus meaning "(the) rest of God". Lastly, it could also have been derived from the name of the Sabra plant (a prickly pear) combined with el "God", making the meaning something like "cactus of God". The name of Sabriel was first used by author Garth Nix for the heroine of his fantasy novel 'Sabriel' (1995), and an important protagonist in the sequels 'Lirael' and 'Abhorsen'. It is uncertain where and how Garth Nix decided upon using the name Sabriel.
Sabela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Galician
Pronounced: sa-BEHL-a
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Galician form of Isabel.
Roxelana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
From a Turkish nickname meaning "Ruthenian". This referred to the region of Ruthenia, covering Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. Roxelana (1504-1558), also called Hürrem, was a slave and then concubine of Süleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She eventually became his wife and produced his heir, Selim II.
Romilly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name Romilius.
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Ottoline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 18% based on 8 votes
Diminutive of Ottilie. A famous bearer was the British socialite Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938).
Ottilie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: aw-TEE-lyə
Rating: 19% based on 8 votes
German form of Odilia.
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.
Onyx
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHN-iks
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the gemstone (a variety of chalcedony), which can be black, red or other colours. It is derived from Greek ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning "claw, nail".
Ombeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AWN-BU-LEEN
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Humbelin, a medieval diminutive of Humbert. The Blessed Humbeline (known as Hombeline or Ombeline in French) was a 12th-century nun, the sister of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Novalee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Elaboration of Nova using the popular name suffix lee. It was used for the central character in the novel Where the Heart Is (1995), as well as the 2000 film adaptation.
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Medieval diminutive of names beginning with El, such as Eleanor, Ellen 1 or Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase mine El, which was later reinterpreted as my Nel.
Millen
Usage: English
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 62% based on 9 votes
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Lyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Variant of Leila.
Lydian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ən(English) li-DEE-ən(English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Variant of Lydia, occasionally used in Norway as a masculine form. In some cases it may be directly from the word which means "of ancient Lydia" (and also refers to "a mode of ancient Greek music, reputed to be light and effeminate").
Lunabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: LOO-nə-BEL-ə
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
Combination of Luna and Bella.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
Lumina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: LOO-mi-nə, loo-MEE-nə
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Derived from Latin lumina "lights", ultimately from Latin lumen "light". In the English-speaking world, this name was first recorded in the 1800s.
Loxi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: LAHK-see
Rating: 25% based on 8 votes
Perhaps originally a diminutive of some name. This was used by Thelma Strabel for the heroine of her novel Reap the Wild Wind (1940), about the wreckers in and around Key West, Florida in the 1840s, which Cecil B. DeMille adapted into a popular film starring Paulette Goddard and John Wayne (1942).
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 59% based on 9 votes
Latinate feminine form of Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of Little Women.
Liv 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIV
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Short form of Olivia.
Lilliore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
Possible combination of Lillian and Elenore.
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Derived from Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lilias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Form of Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century [1].
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 62% based on 10 votes
From the Roman name Iulianus, which was derived from Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from Juliana, eventually becoming Gillian).
Joah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאָח(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Means "Yahweh is brother" in Hebrew. This is the name of four people in the Old Testament.
Jemima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְמִימָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jə-MIE-mə(English)
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
Traditionally said to mean "dove", it may actually be related to Hebrew יוֹמָם (yomam) meaning "daytime". This was the oldest of the three daughters of Job in the Old Testament. As an English name, Jemima first became common during the Puritan era.
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
The name of the daughter of King Cymbeline in the play Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended. Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Huxley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HUKS-lee
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer of the surname was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
From the Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like Haganrich, in which the first element is hag "enclosure".

Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.

The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).

Henrietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish
Pronounced: hehn-ree-EHT-ə(English) HEHN-ree-eht-taw(Hungarian) HEHN-ree-eht-tah(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Latinate form of Henriette. It was introduced to England by Henriette Marie, the wife of the 17th-century English king Charles I. The name Henriette was also Anglicized as Harriet, a form that was initially more popular.
Harriet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee-it, HEHR-ee-it
Rating: 66% based on 9 votes
English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century [1]. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
Fable
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY-bel
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Derived from the word for a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are given human qualities, and that illustrates a moral lesson.
The word "fable" comes from the Latin fabula (a "story"), itself derived from fari ("to speak") with the -ula suffix that signifies "little".
Evolet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English
Pronounced: EV-o-let(Popular Culture)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
It has been suggested that the name was created from an elaboration of love as a palindrome, or from the backwards spelling of t(h)e love with the h omitted for the sake of aesthetics, or from evolve as an incomplete anagram. It could also be used as a combination of the names Eve and Violet.

The name of a prehistoric woman in the 2008 film 10,000 B.C. directed by Roland Emmerich, meaning "the promise of life" in the fictitious language spoken by the character's adopted tribe, the Yaghal.

Ever
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ər
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Simply from the English word ever, derived from Old English æfre.
Estera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Slovak, Romanian, Lithuanian
Pronounced: eh-STEH-ra(Polish)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Polish, Slovak, Romanian and Lithuanian form of Esther.
Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Rating: 53% based on 10 votes
Latinate form of Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).
Eponine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ehp-ə-NEEN(English)
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
English form of Éponine.
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
From Old French Emeline, a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element amal meaning "unceasing, vigorous, brave". The Normans introduced this name to England.
Elsiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian (Rare)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Eloisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-lo-EE-za
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
Italian form of Eloise.
Eleanora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehl-ə-NAWR-ə
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Latinate form of Eleanor.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 80% based on 10 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Italian feminine form of Cosimo.
Cosette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Literature
Pronounced: KAW-ZEHT(French)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From French chosette meaning "little thing". This is the nickname of the illegitimate daughter of Fantine in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables (1862). Her real name is Euphrasie, though it is seldom used. In the novel young Cosette is the ward of the cruel Thénardiers until she is retrieved by Jean Valjean.
Coraline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, French
Pronounced: KAWR-ə-lien(English) KAW-RA-LEEN(French)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Created by the French composer Adolphe Adam for one of the main characters in his opera Le Toréador (1849). He probably based it on the name Coralie. It was also used by the author Neil Gaiman for the young heroine in his novel Coraline (2002). Gaiman has stated that in this case the name began as a typo of Caroline.
Colette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-LEHT
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Short form of Nicolette. Saint Colette was a 15th-century French nun who gave her money to the poor. This was also the pen name of the French author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954).
Celesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-LEST-ə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 8 votes
Latinization of Celeste. In some cases it might also be considered a contracted form of Celestina.
Calluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From the genus name of common heather, a flowering shrub. It comes from the Greek verb καλλύνω (kalluno) meaning "to beautify, sweep clean", ultimately from καλός (kalos) "beautiful".
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Latinized form of Kalliope.
Callidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Rare), American (Rare)
Pronounced: KAL-EE-DOR-A(Classical Greek) kal-ee-DOR-a(American)
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of Calidore.
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Bellamy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname derived from Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEH-ya-triks(Dutch) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Probably from Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator meaning "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.

In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-).

Audeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian), Haitian Creole
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
French diminutive of Aude.
Arrietty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ar-ee-EH-tee
Rating: 38% based on 11 votes
Possibly a variant of Harriet. This is the name of a character from 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton.
Arietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture (Rare)
Pronounced: ahr-ee-ET-ə, ar-ee-ET-ə
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Either a diminutive of Aria 1, or from the major antagonist and God-General in Tales of the Abyss. Given after the musical term for a small song, from the Italian word "arietta."
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 47% based on 11 votes
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Annalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Combination of Anna and Lena.
Aliona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Алёна(Russian) Альона(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: u-LYUY-nə(Russian)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Alternate transcription of Russian Алёна or Ukrainian Альона (see Alyona).
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 80% based on 10 votes
From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).

Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 85% based on 12 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz). Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
behindthename.com   ·   Copyright © 1996-2024