ratz's Personal Name List

Variant of Gwenneg.

Meaning uncertain. It is used as a Russian form of the saintly name Bademus. Alternatively it may be derived from Slavic vaditi "to accuse, to argue" or from an Old Norse source. According to legend, this was the name of a legendary leader of the Ilmen Slavs who fought against the Varangians.

Scottish Gaelic form of Valentine 1.

Meaning 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.

Variant of Tamsin.

Means "elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

Feminine form of Silvester.

Anglicized form of Seonag or Seònaid. Though unconnected, this is also the name of an ethnic group who live in Southern Africa, mainly Zimbabwe.

Scottish Gaelic form of Janet.

Scottish Gaelic form of Joan 1.

Partially Anglicized form of Seònaid or Seonag.

Meaning unknown. This is the name of the Inuit goddess of the sea, sea animals and the underworld. According to some legends Sedna was originally a beautiful woman thrown into the ocean by her father. A dwarf planet in the outer solar system was named for her in 2004.

Diminutive of Sari 1.

Means "diamond" in Khmer.

Derived from the Greek elements πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" (genitive παντός) and λέων (leon) meaning "lion". This was the name of a 2nd-century BC king of Bactria. It was also borne by Saint Pantaleon (also called Panteleimon), a doctor from Asia Minor who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century. He is a patron saint of doctors and midwives.

Manx form of Peggy.

Means "sky" in Basque.

Anglicized form of Úna, as well as a Finnish form.

From the older Gaelic name Aithbhreac, derived from the intensive prefix ath- and breac "speckled". It has been Anglicized as Effie, Euphemia and Affrica.

From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.

Alternate transcription of Russian/Bulgarian Николай (see Nikolay).

Welsh form of Neptune.

Meaning unknown. It was borne by the wife of Umbarra, who was a 19th-century leader of the Yuin, an Australian Aboriginal people.

Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.

From a surname meaning "happy weather" in Middle English, originally belonging to a cheery person. A notable bearer of the name was Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), who, with William Clark, explored the west of North America.

Derived from Latin melior meaning "better".

Scottish Gaelic form of Margaret.

Variant of Luvenia.

Derived from Greek λαλαγέω (lalageo) meaning "to babble, to prattle". The Roman poet Horace used this name in one of his odes.

Derived from the Slavic elements krasa "beauty, adornment" and mirŭ "peace, world".

Derived from Greek κλυτός (klytos) meaning "famous, noble". In Greek myth Klytië was an ocean nymph who loved the sun god Helios. Her love was not returned, and she pined away staring at him until she was transformed into a heliotrope flower, whose head moves to follow the sun.

German diminutive of Katharina, a Hungarian diminutive of Katalin and a Dutch diminutive of Catharina.

Finnish form of Katherine.

Perhaps derived from an old Bulgar name meaning "wolf". This was the name of a 13th-century emperor of Bulgaria. It is possible that this spelling was the result of a 15th-century misreading of his real name Vulo from historical documents.

From the Old Norse name Ingólfr, which was derived from the name of the Germanic god Ing combined with ulfr meaning "wolf".

Means "possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing". Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain. He is the chief god in the Rigveda.

Macedonian, Serbian and Croatian form of Elijah, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian Илия (see Iliya).

Means "violet flower", derived from Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek mythology.

Alternate transcription of Armenian Հուրիկ (see Hurik).

Means "lion, warrior" in Arabic. This is a title of Ali ibn Abi Talib.

From the Roman cognomen Hadrianus, which meant "from Hadria" in Latin. Hadria was the name of two Roman settlements. The first (modern Adria) is in northern Italy and was an important Etruscan port town. The second (modern Atri) is in central Italy and was named after the northern town. The Adriatic Sea is also named after the northern town.

A famous bearer of the name was Publius Aelius Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian, a 2nd-century Roman emperor who built a wall across northern Britain. His family came from the town of Atri in central Italy.

Dutch diminutive of Margaret.

Greek and Russian form of Gabriel.

Italian form of Fulgentius (see Fulgencio).

Latin form of Fulgencio.

Old Norse form of Frida 2.

Means "beloved", from Proto-Germanic *Frijjō, derived from the root *frijōną meaning "to love". In Norse mythology she was the wife of Odin and the mother of Balder. Some scholars believe that she and the goddess Freya share a common origin (though their names are not linguistically related).

From the Roman cognomen Florianus, a derivative of Florus. This was the name of a short-lived Roman emperor of the 3rd century, Marcus Annius Florianus. It was also borne by Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.

Means "king of princes" from Old Irish flaith "ruler, sovereign, prince" and rí "king".

Derived from Irish fíon meaning "wine".

Means "sprout, shoot" in Turkish (borrowed from Greek φυλλίς (phyllis)).

Diminutive of Fiamma.

From Fredenandus, the Latinized form of a Gothic name composed of the elements friþus "peace" (or perhaps farþa "journey" [1]) and nanþa "boldness, daring". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth.

French form of Felicianus (see Feliciano).

Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of the Roman name Felicianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name Felix. It was borne by a number of early saints, including a 3rd-century bishop of Foligno.

Variant of Fedelm.

Variant of Fidelma.

Scottish Gaelic form of the Old Irish name Ferchar, from fer "man" and carae "friend". This was the name of early kings of Dál Riata (sometimes as Ferchar).

French feminine form of Faustinus (see Faustino).

Alternate transcription of Persian فریدون (see Fereydoun).

Possibly from Old Irish facht meaning "malice". This was the name of a legendary high king of Ireland, said in some traditions to be the husband of Neasa and the father of Conchobar.

From an English and Scottish surname that was either based on a Norman form of Edward, or else derived from a place name of unknown meaning.

Means "to use words of good omen" from Greek εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare". Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.

Form of Attila used in the medieval German saga the Nibelungenlied. In the story Etzel is a fictional version of Attila the Hun.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of a town near Glasgow. The town's name possibly means "projecting height" in Gaelic. A famous bearer was the Irish novelist and nationalist Erskine Childers (1870-1922).

Originally this may have been a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element angil, referring to the Germanic tribe known in English as the Angles. However, from early times it has been strongly associated with the Old German word engil meaning "angel" (of Latin and Greek origin).

From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "elder tree forest" in Old English.

Middle English form of either of the Old English names Ælfric or Æðelric. Both were rarely used after the Norman Conquest.

Means "white snow" from the Welsh elements eira "snow" and gwen "white, blessed". This name was created in the early 20th century.

Means "spruce tree" in Lithuanian. In a Lithuanian folktale Eglė is a young woman who marries a grass snake. At the end of the tale she turns herself into a spruce.

French form of Diodorus.

From Welsh dilys "genuine" and gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used since the late 19th century.

German form of Theodoric. The character Dietrich von Bern, loosely based on Theodoric the Great, appears in medieval German literature such as the Hildebrandslied, the Nibelungenlied and the Eckenlied.

Feminine form of Desislav.

Anglicized form of the Old Irish name Conláed, possibly meaning "constant fire" from cunnail "prudent, constant" and áed "fire". Saint Conláed was a 5th-century bishop of Kildare.

Variant of Cletus.

Means "God is leading" in Igbo.

Italian feminine and masculine form of Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.

From the name of the flower, which is derived from Greek χελιδών (chelidon) meaning "swallow (bird)".

Derived from Welsh cain "good, lovely" and gwen "white, blessed". This was the name of a 5th-century Welsh saint also known as Cain or Keyne.

Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".

Original Latin form of Cecilia.

Spanish form of Bonaventura.

From the name of a type of Eurasian vine, formerly used as medicine. It ultimately derives from Greek βρύω (bryo) meaning "to swell".

From a surname that was taken from the Basque place name Bolibar, which was derived from bolu "mill" and ibar "riverside". A famous bearer of the surname was Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), a South American revolutionary leader, after whom the country of Bolivia is named.

Feminine form of Bogumił.

From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.

From the Old Norse name Bergljót, which was composed of the elements bjǫrg "help, salvation" and ljótr "light".

Variant of Bergljot.

Means "welcome" in Italian. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance sculptor and writer Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571).

Danish and Norwegian feminine form of Benedict.

Means "the white god" from Old Slavic bělŭ "white" and bogŭ "god". This was the name of a poorly attested (possibly spurious) Slavic god of good fortune.

Variant of Balthazar.

Basque form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

German and Icelandic form of Balder.

Roman family name that was derived from Latin aureus meaning "golden, gilded". Marcus Aurelius was a 2nd-century Roman emperor and philosophical writer. This was also the name of several early saints.

Feminine form of Aurelius.

Latinized form of Greek Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning "from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.

Means "crown" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Atarah is a minor character, the wife of Jerahmeel.

Latinized form of the Greek Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.

Greek form of Ashtoreth.

Feminine form of Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.

Norwegian variant form of Arnbjǫrg.

From Japanese 新 (arata) meaning "fresh, new". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

From Old Irish Aífe, derived from oíph meaning "beauty" (modern Irish aoibh). This was the name of several characters in Irish legend, including a woman at war with Scáthach (her sister in some versions). She was defeated in single combat by the hero Cúchulainn, who spared her life on the condition that she bear him a child (Connla). Another legendary figure by this name appears in the Children of Lir as the jealous third wife of Lir.

This name is sometimes Anglicized as Eve or Eva.

French form of Anselm.

Derived from the Old German elements ansi "god" and helm "helmet, protection". This name was brought to England in the late 11th century by Saint Anselm, who was born in northern Italy. He was archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church.

Derived from Sanskrit अनिल (anila) meaning "air, wind". This is another name of Vayu, the Hindu god of the wind.

Dutch form of Angélique.

From the name of the anemone flower, which is derived from Greek ἄνεμος (anemos) meaning "wind".

Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.

French form of Amalric.

Means "diamond" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian الماس (almas).

Derived from Greek ἀλήθεια (aletheia) meaning "truth". This name was coined in the 16th century.

Variant of Alethea.

Feminine form of Alastar.

Variant of Aisling.

Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

From an English surname that was from a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English anne "alone, solitary" or ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing".

In America, this name received a boost of popularity in 2000 when a character bearing it began appearing on the television series The West Wing.

From Basque agur meaning "greeting, salutation".

Perhaps derived from the old Celtic root *agro- meaning "battle, slaughter". This is possibly the name of a Brythonic goddess for whom the River Ayr in Scotland and River Aeron in Wales were named.

Means "fire" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the ancient Hindu fire god, usually depicted as red-skinned with three legs, seven arms, and two faces.

Greek masculine form of Agatha.

From the Late Latin name Agapitus or Agapetus, which was derived from the Greek name Ἀγαπητός (Agapetos) meaning "beloved". The name Agapetus was borne by two popes.

Derived from Greek ἀγάπη (agape) meaning "love". This name was borne by at least two early saints.

Means "river" in Welsh. This is a Welsh name of recent origin.

Alternate transcription of Russian Афанасий (see Afanasiy).

Combination of Aeron and the Welsh element gwen meaning "white, blessed".

Derived from the Old English elements ælf "elf" and wine "friend". This name was not commonly used after the Norman Conquest.

Latinized form of the Greek Αἴγλη (Aigle), which meant "light, radiance, glory". This was the name of several characters in Greek myth, including one of the Heliades and one of the Hesperides.

Means "small wave, ripple" in Hebrew.

Means "adorable" in Esperanto.

From the Old German elements adal "noble" and mari "famous". It is a cognate of the Old English name Æðelmær.

German and Dutch form of Adelaide.

Means "the crown has ascended the mountain" in Yoruba.

Swedish short form of Axel.

French and Italian form of Achilles.

Feminine form of Ochieng.

Latinized form of Greek Ἄκανθα (Akantha), which meant "thorn, prickle". In Greek legend she was a nymph loved by Apollo.

Latinized form of Akakios.

From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".

Means "born on Tuesday" in Akan.