RoseTintsMyWorld's Personal Name List

From the Hebrew name אַהֲרֹן ('Aharon), which is most likely of unknown Egyptian origin. Other theories claim a Hebrew derivation, and suggest meanings such as "high mountain" or "exalted". In the Old Testament this name is borne by the older brother of Moses. He acted as a spokesman for his brother when they appealed to the pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. Aaron's rod produced miracles and plagues to intimidate the pharaoh. After the departure from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai, God installed Aaron as the first high priest of the Israelites and promised that his descendants would form the priesthood.

As an English name, Aaron has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. This name was borne by the American politician Aaron Burr (1756-1836), notable for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

Means "we prayed and we received" in Yoruba.

Greek form of Abigail.

From the Hebrew name אֲבִיגָיִל ('Avigayil) meaning "my father is joy", derived from the roots אָב ('av) meaning "father" and גִּיל (gil) meaning "joy". In the Old Testament this is the name of Nabal's wife. After Nabal's death she became the third wife of King David.

As an English name, Abigail first became common after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans. The biblical Abigail refers to herself as a servant, and beginning in the 17th century the name became a slang term for a servant, especially after the release of the play The Scornful Lady (1616), which featured a character named Abigail. The name went out of fashion at that point, but it was revived in the 20th century.

Biblical Latin form of Abishai.

From the Hebrew name אַבְשָׁלוֹם ('Avshalom) meaning "my father is peace", derived from אָב ('av) meaning "father" and שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". In the Old Testament he is a son of King David. He avenged his sister Tamar by arranging the murder of her rapist, their half-brother Amnon. He later led a revolt against his father. While fleeing on the back of a mule he got his head caught in a tree and was killed by Joab.

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

Means "noble" in Hebrew.

Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

Derived from Arabic عذارى ('adhara) meaning "maidens". This is the name of the second brightest star (after Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major.

Feminine form of Adrastos. In Greek mythology this name was borne by a nymph who fostered the infant Zeus. This was also another name of the goddess Nemesis.

Form of Hadrianus (see Hadrian) used in several languages. Several saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.

French feminine form of Adrian.

From the name of the Welsh river Aeron, itself probably derived from the hypothetical Celtic goddess Agrona. Alternatively, the name could be taken from Welsh aeron meaning "berries".

Latinized form of Greek Αιθρη (Aithre) meaning "bright, purer air; the sky" in Greek (from aithein "to burn, shine"). This was the name of several characters in Greek myth including the mother of Theseus, a captive of Troy, at the service of Helen until the city was besieged.

Means "moon-like" in Kazakh, from ай (ay) meaning "moon" and the suffix дай (day) meaning "like".

Ancient Greek form of Katherine.

From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" and 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens", as well as other character combinations.

Irish form of Andrew.

Means "quick-moving, nimble" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek god of the winds.

Derived from airelle, the French name for the plant genus Vaccinium. The French derived the name from Portuguese airella, which in turn was derived from Latin atra "dark, black, gloomy".

From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" combined with 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or 梨 (ri) meaning "pear". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.

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

From 赤 (aka) meaning "red" combined with 森 (mori) meaning "forest."

This surname is rarely used.

From Japanese 茜 (akane) meaning "deep red, dye from the rubia plant". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name as well.

From Japanese 昭 (akira) meaning "bright", 明 (akira) meaning "bright" or 亮 (akira) meaning "clear". Other kanji with the same pronunciation can also form this name. A famous bearer was the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), given name written 明.

Possibly a variant of Alana, or possibly from Hawaiian ʻalani meaning "orange (tree or fruit)".

From the Gothic name *Alareiks meaning "ruler of all", derived from the element alls "all" combined with reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.

Feminine form of Alastar.

From Basque alatz meaning "miracle". It is an equivalent of Milagros, proposed by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque saints names.

Roman cognomen meaning "white, bright" in Latin.

From a Germanic name, derived from the elements alt "old" and rih "ruler, king". Saint Aldric was a 9th-century bishop of Le Mans.

Short form of Alexander.

Latinized form of Greek Ἀληκτώ (Alekto), which was derived from ἄληκτος (alektos) meaning "unceasing". This was the name of one of the Furies or Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek mythology.

Spanish form of Alexander. This was the most popular name for boys in Spain from the 1990s until 2006 (and again in 2011).

Italian form of Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.

Means "elf counsel", derived from the Old English name Ælfræd, composed of the elements ælf "elf" and ræd "counsel, advice". Alfred the Great was a 9th-century king of Wessex who fought unceasingly against the Danes living in northeast England. He was also a scholar, and he translated many Latin books into Old English. His fame helped to ensure the usage of this name even after the Norman Conquest, when most Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. It became rare by the end of the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 18th century.

Famous bearers include the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), the Swedish inventor and Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), and the British-American film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980).

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).

From alizarin crimson, the English name of a shade of red. The color is named after a red dye originally obtained from the root of the madder plant, ultimately from Arabic al-usara meaning "the juice". This was used for a male character in the romance novel 'Pandora' by Jilly Cooper.

Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).

Derived from French alouette "lark, skylark". Alouette is a popular Quebecois children's song, commonly thought to be about plucking the feathers from a lark. Although it is in French, it is well known among speakers of other languages as many US Marines and other Allied soldiers learned the song while serving in France during World War I and took it home with them, passing it on to their children and grandchildren.
This is a nickname used for Cosette as a young girl in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables (1862). As a given name, however, it is not used in France itself.

Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.

From the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements alfr "elf" and herr "army, warrior".

Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).

Means "wishes" in Arabic.

From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek ἀμάραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading". Ἀμάραντος (Amarantos) was also an Ancient Greek given name.

Derived from Greek ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning "to sparkle". This was the name of a heroine in Virgil's epic poem Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.

Means "shining over heaven", from Japanese 天 (ama) meaning "heaven, sky" and 照 (terasu) meaning "shine". This was the name of the Japanese sun goddess, the ruler of the heavens. She was born when Izanagi washed his left eye after returning from the underworld. At one time the Japanese royal family claimed descent from her.

From the Late Latin name Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning "immortal". Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.

Feminine form of Ambrose.

Means "my people are alive" in Hebrew.

Means "angel" in Maori.

Possibly means "invincible" in Celtic. According to the Greco-Roman historian Cassius Dio [1], this was the name of a Briton goddess of victory who was invoked by Boudicca before her revolt.

Derived from the Greek elements ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) and μάχη (mache) meaning "battle". In Greek legend she was the wife of the Trojan hero Hector. After the fall of Troy Neoptolemus killed her son Astyanax and took her as a concubine.

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.

Italian form of Angelus (see Angel).

Possibly from Latin angor "strangulation, torment" or angustus "narrow, constricted". Angerona was the Roman goddess of the winter solstice, death, and silence.

Means "salutation" in Sanskrit.

English form of the Roman family name Antonius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. The most notable member of the Roman family was the general Marcus Antonius (called Mark Antony in English), who for a period in the 1st century BC ruled the Roman Empire jointly with Augustus. When their relationship turned sour, he and his mistress Cleopatra were attacked and forced to commit suicide, as related in Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (1606).

The name became regularly used in the Christian world due to the fame of Saint Anthony the Great, a 4th-century Egyptian hermit who founded Christian monasticism. Its popularity was reinforced in the Middle Ages by the 13th-century Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of Portugal. It has been commonly (but incorrectly) associated with Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower", which resulted in the addition of the h to this spelling in the 17th century.

Spanish and Italian form of Antonius (see Anthony). This has been a common name in Italy since the 14th century. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys in the 1950s and 60s.

A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance painter Antonio Pisanello (c. 1395-1455). It is also the name of the main character in The Merchant of Venice (1596) by William Shakespeare.

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).

Means "altar of the sky" from Latin ara "altar" and coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.

Means "spider" in Greek. In Greek myth Arachne was a mortal woman who defeated Athena in a weaving contest. After this Arachne hanged herself, but Athena brought her back to life in the form of a spider.

The surname of one of the musketeers in The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas based the character on the 17th-century Henri d'Aramitz, whose surname was derived from the French village of Aramits (itself from Basque aran meaning "valley").

Means "archangel" in Italian.

Means "lion" in Hebrew.

Means "most holy", composed of the Greek prefix ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos. She fell in love with Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god Dionysus.

Means "ear of grain" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.

Derived from Greek ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "the best".

Alternate transcription of Russian Аркадий (see Arkadiy).

Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning "safe" or ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning "a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was known as Diana to the Romans.

The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *artos "bear" (Old Welsh arth) combined with *wiros "man" (Old Welsh gur) or *rīxs "king" (Old Welsh ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name Artorius.

Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.

The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).

Means "beautiful soul" in Kazakh.

Derived from Sanskrit आशा (asha) meaning "wish, desire, hope".

Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.

From עַשְׁתֹרֶת ('Ashtoret), the Hebrew form of the name of a Phoenician goddess of love, war and fertility. Her name is cognate to that of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar.

Means "the beginning", from Basque hasi.

From Turkic arslan meaning "lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The author C. S. Lewis later used the name Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.

Feminine form of Astor. This is also the name of several American towns, after the businessman John Jacob Astor.

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.

Probably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star" and φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella.

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

Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.

The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.

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 "storm" in Lithuanian.

French form of Aurora.

Means "dawn" in Lithuanian.

Latvian cognate of Aušra.

Means "earth" in Sanskrit.

From the Norman French form of the Germanic name Avelina, a diminutive of Avila. The Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century [1].

Means "doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר ('ayelet hashachar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.

Means "fire" in Persian.

Variant of Azriel. This was the name of an angel in Jewish and Islamic tradition who separated the soul from the body upon death. He is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Death.

Means "madonna lily" in Spanish.

Fictional name meant to be derived from Portuguese, Galician, and Spanish azul meaning "blue" (of Persian origin). This is the name of a main antagonist in the television series 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'.

Elaboration of Azure.

Greek form of an Aramaic name. In Acts in the New Testament the byname Barnabas was given to a man named Joseph, a Jew from Cyprus who was a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys. The original Aramaic form is unattested, but it may be from בּר נביא (bar naviya') meaning "son of the prophet", though in Acts 4:36 it is claimed that the name means "son of encouragement".

As an English name, Barnabas came into occasional use after the 12th century. It is now rare, though the variant Barnaby is still moderately common in Britain.

From Egyptian bꜣstt, which was possibly derived from bꜣs meaning "ointment jar" and a feminine t suffix. In Egyptian mythology Bastet was a goddess of cats, fertility and the sun who was considered a protector of Lower Egypt. In early times she was typically depicted with the head of a lioness. By the New Kingdom period she was more associated with domestic cats, while the similar cat goddess Sekhmet took on the fierce lioness aspect.

From Italian bella "beautiful, fair" and donna "lady". This is the name of an extremely poisonous plant (Atropa belladonna; also bears the popular name of deadly nightshade). The author J. R. R. Tolkien used it as a hobbit name in 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954), where it belongs to the mother of Bilbo Baggins.

Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.

Possibly means "bee wolf" (in effect equal to "bear") from Old English beo "bee" and wulf "wolf". Alternatively, the first element may be beadu "battle". This is the name of the main character in the anonymous 8th-century epic poem Beowulf. Set in Denmark, the poem tells how he slays the monster Grendel and its mother at the request of King Hroðgar. After this Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats. The conclusion of the poem tells how Beawulf, in his old age, slays a dragon but is himself mortally wounded in the act.

Latinized form of Βερενίκη (Berenike), the Macedonian form of the Greek name Φερενίκη (Pherenike), which meant "bringing victory" from φέρω (phero) meaning "to bring" and νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". This name was common among the Ptolemy ruling family of Egypt, a dynasty that was originally from Macedon. It occurs briefly in Acts in the New Testament (in most English bibles it is spelled Bernice) belonging to a sister of King Herod Agrippa II. As an English name, Berenice came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Means "special" in Basque.

From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of a Yorkshire city, itself from Old English beofor "beaver" and (possibly) licc "stream". It came into use as a masculine given name in the 19th century, then became common as an American feminine name after the publication of George Barr McCutcheon's 1904 novel Beverly of Graustark [1]. It was most popular in the 1930s, and has since greatly declined in use.

Means "daughter of Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots בַּת (bat) meaning "daughter" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of Pharaoh. She is traditionally equated with the pharaoh's daughter who drew Moses from the Nile.

From Old Norse blár meaning "blue, dark, black".

From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.

Means "raven" in Irish. In Irish legend Bran mac Febail was a mariner who was involved in several adventures on his quest to find the Otherworld.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname Braonán, itself from Irish braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to Brendan or Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.

Yiddish ברײַנא from German Bräune "brown(ness)".

From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".

Most likely related to Hebrew כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning "dog". An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew כָּל (kal) meaning "whole, all of" and לֵב (lev) meaning "heart". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.

As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.

From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".

From an Italian word meaning "beloved" or an Irish word meaning "friend". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, though it did not become popular until after the 1950s.

Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.

Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.

Variant of Cathaoir.

Roman cognomen meaning "wise" in Latin. This name was bestowed upon Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato), a 2nd-century BC Roman statesman, author and censor, and was subsequently inherited by his descendants, including his great-grandson Cato the Younger (Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis), a politician and philosopher who opposed Julius Caesar.

Anglicized form of Caitríona (Irish) or Caitrìona (Scottish Gaelic).

From the name of a tropical American orchid (genus Cattleya) with purple, pink or white flowers, which was named after William Cattley (1788-1835).

Means "moonlight" in Khmer.

French and English form of Carolus, the Latin form of the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a word meaning "man" (Proto-Germanic *karlaz). However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element *harjaz meaning "army".

The popularity of the name in continental Europe was due to the fame of Charles the Great (742-814), commonly known as Charlemagne, a king of the Franks who came to rule over most of Europe. His grandfather Charles Martel had also been a noted leader of the Franks. It was subsequently the name of several Holy Roman emperors, as well as rulers of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary (in various spellings). After Charlemagne, his name was adopted as a word meaning "king" in many Eastern European languages, for example Czech král, Hungarian király, Russian король (korol), and Turkish kral.

The name did not become common in Britain until the 17th century when it was borne by the Stuart king Charles I. It had been introduced into the Stuart royal family by Mary Queen of Scots, who had been raised in France. Two other kings of the United Kingdom have borne this name, including the current monarch.

Other famous bearers include naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution, novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote such works as Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, French statesman Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), and American cartoonist Charles Schulz (1922-2000), the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.

French feminine diminutive of Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of Jane Eyre and Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.

From a Slavic word meaning "black".

Possibly means "fierce brightness" in Greek. In Greek mythology Charon was the operator of the ferry that brought the newly dead over the River Acheron into Hades.

Feminine form of Chrysanthos.

Latinized form of Κλέων (Kleon), a Greek name derived from κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory".

The name Colombia comes from the name of Christopher Columbus (Spanish: Cristóbal Colón). It was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World, but especially to those territories and colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was later adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819, formed out of the territories of the old Viceroyalty of New Granada (modern day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador).
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Name of character from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Anglicized form of Conchobar (or the Modern Irish form Conchúr).

Variant of Consuelo.

Latinized form of Kore. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel The Last of the Mohicans (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of Cordula, Corinna and other names beginning with a similar sound.

Either a French form of Koralia, or a derivative of Latin corallium "coral" (see Coral).

Feminine form of Corentin.

French form of Quirinus.

Italian variant of Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.

Latin name that was derived from crescere "to grow". This name is mentioned briefly in one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament.

Feminine form of Crescentius. Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.

From the English word meaning "greenish blue, cyan", ultimately derived from Greek κύανος (kyanos).

Meaning unknown, possibly from Phrygian roots meaning either "stone" or "hair". This was the name of the Phrygian mother goddess associated with fertility and nature. She was later worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.

Meaning unknown. Saint Cyra was a 5th-century Syrian hermit who was martyred with her companion Marana.

From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.

Cornish form of David.

From a surname, recorded as de la Noye in French, indicating that the bearer was from a place called La Noue (ultimately Gaulish meaning "wetland, swamp"). It has been used in honour of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), whose middle name came from his mother's maiden name.

Feminine form of Demetrius.

Derived from Greek δυσδαίμων (dysdaimon) meaning "ill-fated". This is the name of the wife of Othello in Shakespeare's play Othello (1603).

Means "mistress, lady" in Greek. In Greek mythology this was the name of the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. She was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at Eleusis near Athens.

Hebrew form of Deborah.

Means "revolution" in Turkish.

Variant of Diamanto.

Derived from the Slavic element dragu meaning "precious" combined with miru meaning "peace, world".

From the name of a monument erected by Samuel in the Old Testament, from Hebrew אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר ('Even Ha'azer) meaning "stone of help". Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in his novel A Christmas Carol (1843).

Derived from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, Edgar the Peaceful. The name did not survive long after the Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), which tells of the tragic love between Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton [1]. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).

Diminutive of Euphemia. In Scotland it has been used as an Anglicized form of Oighrig.

Means "dusk" in Estonian.

From the Old Welsh name Enniaun, probably from the Latin name Ennianus, a derivative of Ennius (see Ennio). It is also a modern Welsh word meaning "anvil". This was the name of a few early Welsh rulers including Einion Frenin (5th century), who is considered a saint in some Christian traditions.

Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.

Hebrew form of Eran.

Means "bright, beautiful" in Welsh [1].

Means "snowdrop (flower)" in Welsh, a compound of eira "snow" and llys "plant".

Possibly from Old Irish etne meaning "kernel, grain". In Irish mythology Eithne or Ethniu was a Fomorian and the mother of Lugh Lámfada. It was borne by several other legendary and historical figures, including a few early saints.

From an Old French form of Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).

Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.

Italian form of Hilda.

Form of Eleanor in several languages.

Derived from Cornish elester meaning "iris flower". This is a recently coined Cornish name.

From the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ ('Eliyyahu) meaning "my God is Yahweh", derived from the elements אֵל ('el) and יָה (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and Moses appear next to Jesus when he is transfigured.

Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.

Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.

Italian and Spanish form of Elisha.

From Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath", derived from the roots אֵל ('el) referring to the Hebrew God and שָׁבַע (shava') meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.

Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).

Variant of Elkanah.

Medieval English form of Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form Helen also became common.

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

Means "star dome" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Elrond was the elven ruler of Rivendell.

Scottish form of Elizabeth.

French form of Emmerich.

French feminine form of Aemilianus (see Emiliano).

Bosnian form of Amirah.

Altered form of Amoretta. This is the name of a 1969 song by the English rock band Deep Purple, named for Emmaretta Marks (1945-), a cast member of the musical Hair whom singer Rod Evans was trying to seduce.

Means "empress" in Spanish.

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 the Hebrew name חֲנוֹך (Chanokh) meaning "dedicated". In Genesis in the Old Testament this is the name of the son of Cain. It is also the name of a son of Jared and the father of Methuselah, who was the supposed author of the apocryphal Books of Enoch.

Derived from Finnish ensi meaning "first".

Meaning unknown. She was a bloodthirsty Greek war goddess and a companion of Ares.

Means "dawn" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn.

Means "horse joy" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden of Rohan. She slays the Lord of the Nazgul in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Derived from Albanian erë meaning "wind".

Latinized form of the Greek Ἔρεβος (Erebos), which means "nether darkness". Erebus was the personification of the primordial darkness in Greek mythology.

Means "cedar" in Hebrew.

Means "strife, discord" in Greek. In Greek mythology Eris was the goddess of discord. She was the sister and companion of Ares.

Derived from Turkish esmer "dark" and ay "moon".

Spanish feminine form of Stephen.

Spanish form of Stella 1, coinciding with the Spanish word meaning "star".

Latinized form of Greek Εὐρώπη (Europe), which meant "wide face" from εὐρύς (eurys) meaning "wide" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted and taken to Crete by Zeus in the guise of a bull. She became the first queen of Crete, and later fathered Minos by Zeus. The continent of Europe said to be named for her, though it is more likely her name is from that of the continent. This is also the name of a moon of Jupiter.

From Greek Εὐάδνη (Euadne), from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" possibly combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". This name was borne by several characters in Greek legend, including the wife of Capaneus. After Capaneus was killed by a lightning bolt sent from Zeus she committed suicide by throwing herself onto his burning body.

Variant of Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning "good of man", derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Roman mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.

Means "good news" from Greek εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.

Latinized form of the Greek name Εὐάριστος (Euaristos) meaning "well pleasing" from the Greek word εὐάρεστος (euarestos), derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good, well" and ἀρεστός (arestos) meaning "pleasing". This was the name of the fifth pope, supposedly martyred under Emperor Hadrian.

From Everardus, the Latinized form of Eberhard. The Normans introduced it to England, where it joined the Old English cognate Eoforheard. It has only been rarely used since the Middle Ages. Modern use of the name may be inspired by the surname Everard, itself derived from the medieval name.

Means "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.

Means "falcon" in German.

From the English word felicity meaning "happiness", which ultimately derives from Latin felicitas "good luck". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans around the 17th century. It can sometimes be used as an English form of the Latin name Felicitas. This name jumped in popularity in the United States after the premiere of the television series Felicity in 1998. It is more common in the United Kingdom.

From Old Irish Fiachrae, possibly from fiach "raven" or fích "battle" combined with rí "king". This was the name of several legendary figures, including one of the four children of Lir transformed into swans for a period of 900 years. This is also the name of the patron saint of gardeners: a 7th-century Irish abbot who settled in France, usually called Saint Fiacre.

Diminutive of Fiamma.

Means "proud" in Esperanto.

Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian form of Philomena.

From Italian fiore "flower" combined with a diminutive suffix.

From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

French feminine form of Gabriel. This was the real name of French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).

From the Greek word γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of γῆ (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.

Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.

English form of Geneviève.

From a Norman French form of a Frankish name. The second element is Old German fridu "peace", while the first element could be *gautaz "Geat" (a North Germanic tribe), gawi "territory" or walah "foreigner". It is possible that two or more names merged into a single form. In the later Middle Ages Geoffrey was further confused with the distinct name Godfrey.

The Normans introduced this name to England where it became common among the nobility. Famous medieval literary bearers include the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth and the 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer, writer of The Canterbury Tales. By the end of the Middle Ages it had become uncommon, but it was revived in the 20th century, often in the spelling Jeffrey.

Means "feller, hewer" in Hebrew. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.

Italian form of Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning "juniper".

Italian form of Iohanna (see Joanna), making it the feminine form of Giovanni.

Italian form of Iohannes (see John). This name has been very common in Italy since the late Middle Ages, as with other equivalents of John in Europe. The Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were two famous bearers of the name.

Means "god's ruler", derived from Old English god combined with ric "ruler, king". This name died out a few centuries after the Norman Conquest.

From Hebrew גָּלְיָת (Golyat), possibly derived from גָּלָה (galah) meaning "uncover, reveal". This is the name of the giant Philistine who is slain by David in the Old Testament.

From an English surname meaning "grey", originally given to a person who had grey hair or clothing.

Possibly derived from the Old German elements gris "grey" and hilt "battle". It is not attested as a Germanic name. This was the name of a patient wife in medieval folklore, adapted into tales by Boccaccio (in The Decameron) and Chaucer (in The Canterbury Tales).

Means "white snow" from the Welsh element gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.

Means "halo around the moon" in Arabic. This was the name of a sister-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

Means "harmony, agreement" in Greek. She was the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, given by Zeus to Cadmus to be his wife.

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Harry.

From Japanese 晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather", 遥 (haru) meaning "distant, remote" or 春 (haru) meaning "spring" combined with 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Greek form of Egyptian ḥwt-ḥrw (reconstructed as Hut-Heru) meaning "the house of Horus", derived from Egyptian ḥwt "house" combined with the god Horus. In Egyptian mythology she was the goddess of love, often depicted with the head of a cow.

From the Greek Ἑκάτη (Hekate), possibly derived from ἑκάς (hekas) meaning "far off". In Greek mythology Hecate was a goddess associated with witchcraft, crossroads, tombs, demons and the underworld.

Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).

Greek form of Heliodoro.

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), British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).

Uncertain meaning, possibly from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior"; ὥρα (hora) meaning "period of time"; or αἱρέω (haireo) meaning "to be chosen". In Greek mythology Hera was the queen of the gods, the sister and wife of Zeus. She presided over marriage and childbirth.

Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god Hermes. In Greek myth Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. This is also the name of the wife of Leontes in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.

Derived from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero". In Greek legend she was the lover of Leander, who would swim across the Hellespont each night to meet her. He was killed on one such occasion when he got caught in a storm while in the water, and when Hero saw his dead body she drowned herself. This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing (1599).

Derived from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero". This was the name of a 1st-century Greek inventor (also known as Hero) from Alexandria.

Means "evening" in Greek. This was the name of the personification of the Evening Star (the planet Venus) in Greek mythology.

Derived from Greek ἑστία (hestia) meaning "hearth, fireside". In Greek mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.

From Japanese 光 (hikari) meaning "light". Other kanji can also form this name. It is often written with the hiragana writing system.

Originally a short form of names containing the Old Frankish element hildi, Old High German hilt, Old English hild meaning "battle" (Proto-Germanic *hildiz). The short form was used for both Old English and continental Germanic names. Saint Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby was a 7th-century English saint and abbess. The name became rare in England during the later Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century.

Derived from the Old German elements hilt "battle" and gart "enclosure, yard". This was the name of the second wife of Charlemagne (8th century). Also, Saint Hildegard was a 12th-century mystic from Bingen in Germany who was famous for her writings and poetry and also for her prophetic visions.

Variant of Irune.

Old German form of Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.

Welsh and Galician form of Iacobus (see James). This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603).

Means "sparkle brilliance" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband Tuor and sailed with him into the west.

Feminine form of Ilias (Greek) or Iliya (Bulgarian).

From the Greek Εἰλείθυια (Eileithyia), which was derived from εἰλήθυια (eilethyia) meaning "the readycomer". This was the name of the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery.

Means "faith" in Swahili, ultimately of Arabic origin.

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.

Possibly derived from Sumerian nin-an-a(k) meaning "lady of the heavens", from 𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" and the genitive form of 𒀭 (an) meaning "heaven, sky". Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. She descended into the underworld where the ruler of that place, her sister Ereshkigal, had her killed. The god Enki interceded, and Inanna was allowed to leave the underworld as long as her husband Dumuzi took her place.

Inanna was later conflated with the Semitic (Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian) deity Ishtar.

From the English word indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".

Means "queen of Indra" in Sanskrit. This is a Hindu goddess of jealousy and beauty, a wife of Indra.

Meaning unknown. In Greek mythology Io was a princess loved by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.

From the name of the island off Scotland where Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from ey meaning "island".

From Ancient Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.

Form of Joseph used in the Greek and Latin Bible.

Greek form of Joses.

Means "watchful" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of King David's priest. As an English Christian given name, Ira began to be used after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where remained moderately common into the 20th century.

Means "fern field" in Basque.

Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.

Means "asphodel (flower)" in Hebrew.

Feminine form of Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian saint and hermitess.

Greek form of Egyptian ꜣst (reconstructed as Iset, Aset or Ueset), possibly from st meaning "throne". In Egyptian mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.

From a South Slavic word meaning "spark".

German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.

Means "nocturnal journey", derived from Arabic سرى (sara) meaning "to travel at night".

Latin form of Justus.

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 English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.

Means "star" in Basque.

From Latin Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer", derived from Persian ganzabara. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.

Means "eternal" in Persian.

From the Hebrew name יִתְרוֹ (Yitro), which was derived from the Hebrew word יֶתֶר (yeter) meaning "abundance". According to the Old Testament, Jethro was a Midianite priest who sheltered Moses when he fled Egypt. He was the father of Zipporah, who became Moses's wife. A famous bearer of the name was Jethro Tull (1674-1741), an English inventor and agriculturist.

Medieval English form of Johanne, an Old French form of Iohanna (see Joanna). This was the usual English feminine form of John in the Middle Ages, but it was surpassed in popularity by Jane in the 17th century. It again became quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, entering the top ten names for both the United States and the United Kingdom, though it has since faded.

This name (in various spellings) has been common among European royalty, being borne by ruling queens of Naples, Navarre and Castile. Another famous bearer was Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France (where she is known as Jeanne d'Arc). She was a 15th-century peasant girl who, after claiming she heard messages from God, was given leadership of the French army. She defeated the English in the battle of Orléans but was eventually captured and burned at the stake.

Other notable bearers include the actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and the comedian Joan Rivers (1933-2014), both Americans.

From Latin Iovis, the genitive case of Iuppiter (see Jupiter). Though this form is grammatically genitive, post-classically it has been used nominatively as another name for Jupiter.

Variant of Judas. It is used in many English versions of the New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world, Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the Protestant Reformation.

From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of יְהוּדִי (yehudi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.

As an English name it did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, despite a handful of early examples during the Middle Ages. It was however used earlier on the European continent, being borne by several European royals, such as the 9th-century Judith of Bavaria.

Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.

Latin name meaning "just". This name was borne by at least eight saints.

Variant of Cara.

Norwegian short form of Katarina.

German variant form of Katherine.

Means "love" in Cornish.

Means "ember moon" in Turkish.

From Yiddish קרוין (kroin) meaning "crown".

Means "shining, radiant" in Arabic.

From Chinese 兰 (lán) meaning "orchid, elegant" (which is usually only feminine) or 岚 (lán) meaning "mountain mist". Other Chinese characters can form this name as well. As a Vietnamese name, it is derived from Sino-Vietnamese 蘭 meaning "orchid".

Slovene form of Laura.

Latinized form of Λάζαρος (Lazaros), a Greek form of Eleazar used in the New Testament. Lazarus was a man from Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha, who was restored to life by Jesus.

Latinized form of the Greek name Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.

Feminine form of Leander.

Means "green leaves" in the fictional language Sindarin, from laeg "green" combined with go-lass "collection of leaves". In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Legolas is the son of the elf lord Thranduil and a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.

Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of Leucadia or from Greek λευκός (leukos) meaning "bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name). Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.

Derived from the Old English element leof "dear, beloved" combined with ric "ruler, king".

Means "love" in Sotho.

Means "eternal, abiding" in Indonesian.

Possibly from Lycian lada meaning "wife". Other theories connect it to Greek λήθω (letho) meaning "hidden, forgotten". In Greek mythology she was the mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus.

Armenian form of Leon. This was the name of several kings of Cilician Armenia, including the first king Levon I the Magnificent.

Medieval English form of Louis. A famous bearer was Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This was also the surname of C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), the author of the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Possibly from Old Irish líath meaning "grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.

Meaning uncertain, possibily from Etruscan lupu "dead". Libitina was the Roman goddess of funerals, corpses and death.

From Sino-Vietnamese 蓮 (liên) meaning "lotus, water lily".

Means "lilac" in Hebrew.

Means "amusing, charming, graceful" in Sanskrit. The 12th-century mathematician Bhaskara named one of his systems of mathematics after his daughter Lilavati. This was also the name of a 13th-century queen of Sri Lanka.

English variant of Lillian, as well as a French and Romanian masculine form.

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.

From an English surname that was originally from the name of an English city, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This name is usually given in honour of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.

Originally a medieval short form of Germanic names containing the element lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender" (Proto-Germanic *linþaz). It also coincides with the Spanish and Portuguese word linda meaning "beautiful". In the English-speaking world this name experienced a spike in popularity beginning in the 1930s, peaking in the late 1940s, and declining shortly after that. It was the most popular name for girls in the United States from 1947 to 1952.

Means "light for me" in Hebrew.

Variant of Llewella.

Means "the eye" in Sanskrit.

Means "little fierce one", derived from Old Irish lorcc "fierce" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.

Italian and Spanish form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1). Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), known as the Magnificent, was a ruler of Florence during the Renaissance. He was also a great patron of the arts who employed Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists.

From the Roman cognomen Lucanus, which was derived from the name of the city of Luca in Tuscany (modern Lucca). Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, commonly called Lucan, was a 1st-century Roman poet.

This name was first used by the poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems called Lucasta (1649). The poems were dedicated to Lucasta, a nickname for the woman he loved Lucy Sacheverel, whom he called lux casta "pure light".

Feminine form of Lucien.

Italian and Spanish form of Lucius.

Feminine form of the Roman family name Lucretius, possibly from Latin lucrum meaning "profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.

French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. This was the name of an 1833 opera by the French composer Fromental Halévy.

Means "little light", derived from Romanian lumina "light" combined with a diminutive suffix.

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.

From Armenian լուսին (lusin) meaning "moon".

Latinized form of the Greek name Λύκος (Lykos) meaning "wolf". This name was borne by several characters in Greek mythology including a legendary ruler of Thebes.

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).

Feminine form of Lysandros (see Lysander).

Latinized form of Lysistrate.

Named for the mauvish-crimson colour. The dye to make the colour was discovered and named shortly after the Battle of Magenta in 1859 (the town is situated in northern Italy). The colour may have been inspired by the colour of the uniforms worn by the French troops, or by the colour of the land soaked in blood after the battle.

Magenta was a character in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” musical play and movie. She was a domestic maid played by Patricia Quinn.

Late Latin name meaning "great". It was borne by a 7th-century saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.

From the Hebrew name מַלְאָכִי (Mal'akhi) meaning "my messenger" or "my angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Means "ill will" in Italian. This name was invented by Shakespeare for pompous character in his comedy Twelfth Night (1602).

Latin form of Greek Μαρία, from Hebrew מִרְיָם (see Mary). Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy, Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.

This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.

From the title of the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea" in Latin. It can also be a combination of Maria and Estela.

Probably a combination of Mel (from names such as Melanie or Melissa) with the suffix antha (from Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). John Dryden used this name in his play Marriage a la Mode (1672).

Possibly from the Hebrew roots מֶלֶכְ (melekh) meaning "king" and אוֹר ('or) meaning "light". This was a name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.

Meaning unknown. In European folklore Melusine was a water fairy who turned into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She made her husband, Raymond of Poitou, promise that he would never see her on that day, and when he broke his word she left him forever.

Means "fish catcher" in Sanskrit.

From a Slavic root meaning "death, plague" [1]. In Slavic mythology this was the name of the goddess of winter and death.

Old Welsh form of Morgan 1.

Feminine form of Morgan 1.

Means either "demon queen" or "great queen", derived from Old Irish mor "demon, evil spirit" or mór "great, big" combined with rígain "queen". In Irish mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.

Means "radiance" in Arabic.

Means "lord of snakes" from Sanskrit नाग (naga) meaning "snake" (also "elephant") combined with the name of the Hindu god Indra, used here to mean "lord". This is another name for Vasuki, the king of snakes, in Hindu mythology.

From the Basque name of the Spanish city of Nájera, which is Arabic in origin. In the 12th century there was a reported apparition of the Virgin Mary in a nearby cave.

From Aymara nayra meaning "eye" or "early".

Means "the heavens" or "the chiefs" from Hawaiian nā, a definite article, and lani "heaven, sky, chief".

Means "wild rose" in Persian.

From Japanese 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and 月 (tsuki) meaning "moon". Alternatively, it can come from 夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and 希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.

From Egyptian nfrt-jrj meaning "the most beautiful" [1]. This was the name of an Egyptian queen of the New Kingdom (13th century BC), the favourite wife of Ramesses II.

Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.

Feminine form of Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.

Means "dark, grey-brown" in Irish.

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.

From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the 15th-century poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia. 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.

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.

Means "born at night" in Luo.

Anglicized form of Owain.

Meaning unknown, probably of Pre-Greek origin, but perhaps related to Greek πέρθω (pertho) meaning "to destroy" and φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She was abducted to the underworld by Hades, but was eventually allowed to return to the surface for part of the year. The result of her comings and goings is the changing of the seasons. With her mother she was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at the city of Eleusis near Athens.

From an English word meaning "nightingale" (ultimately from Philomela). It has been used frequently in poetry to denote the bird.

Form of Raphael in various languages. A famous bearer is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (1986-).

Means "hope" in Arabic.

Means "the dark one" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Kali or Durga.

Variant of Ramesses.

Feminine form of Raziel.

Anglicized form of Rhys. It is also used as a feminine name, popularized by the American actress Reese Witherspoon (1976-).

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Raghailligh, derived from the given name Raghailleach, meaning unknown.

Meaning unknown, perhaps related to ῥέω (rheo) meaning "to flow" or ἔρα (era) meaning "ground". In Greek mythology Rhea was a Titan, the wife of Cronus, and the mother of the Olympian gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Also, in Roman mythology a woman named Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.

Diminutive of Róis or the Irish word rós meaning "rose" (of Latin origin). It appears in the 17th-century song Róisín Dubh.

Means "rosary" in French.

Italian name meaning "white rose", derived from Latin rosa "rose" and alba "white". A famous bearer was the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757).

Medieval variant of Rosalind. This is the name of characters in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost (1594) and Romeo and Juliet (1596).

Italian feminine form of Rosario.

Means "rosary", and is taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Rosario meaning "Our Lady of the Rosary". This name is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Italian.

Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.

From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Royse, a variant of Rose.

Feminine form of Rune.

From a Hebrew name that was derived from the Hebrew word רְעוּת (re'ut) meaning "friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married Boaz. She was an ancestor of King David.

As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 竜 or 龍 (see Ryū).

Means "morning" in Arabic and Turkish.

Short form of Isabella.

Latinized form of Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque Comus (1634).

The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.

Variant of Sacnicte.

From Esperanto safiro meaning "sapphire".

From Old Norse Sága, possibly meaning "seeing one", derived from sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word saga "story, fairy tale, saga".