Tisiphone's Personal Name List

Variant of Aella.

Means "joyful, happy" from Basque alai.

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.

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

Diminutive of Adelaide.

Greek form of Alice. It also corresponds with the Greek word άλικη meaning "scarlet".

Variant of Alix.

From the name of the minty medicinal herb.

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

Form of Charmion used by Shakespeare in his play Antony and Cleopatra (1606).

French form of Ximena. It was used by Pierre Corneille in his play Le Cid (1636) for the wife of El Cid, known as Jimena Díaz in Spanish.

Combination of Christina and the name suffix bel (inspired by Latin bella "beautiful"). This name occurs in medieval literature, and was later used by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his 1816 poem Christabel [1].

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

Feminine form of Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.

Medieval variant of Clemence. It can also simply mean "clemency, mercy" from the English word, ultimately from Latin clemens "merciful".

From the Clodiagh, a small river in County Waterford, Ireland. It was first used as a given name by Clodagh Beresford (1879-1957), daughter of the Marquess of Waterford.

Probably created by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso for a character of his poem 'Jerusalem Delivered' (1580). The name was also popular in the 19th century.

From the English word for the wild flower, ultimately deriving from Old English clafre.

Meaning uncertain, from the name of a character in medieval legend, possibly first recorded by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Perhaps it was derived from an older form of Spanish corazón "heart" (e.g., Old Spanish coraçon; ultimately from Latin cor "heart", with the hypothetic Vulgar Latin root *coratione, *coraceone) or the Greek name Chrysanthe. As a nickname it was used by a mistress of King Henry IV of France: Diane d'Andoins (1554-1620), la Belle Corisande. Some usage may be generated by Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera 'Amadis' (1684; based on Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo), in which it belongs to the lover of the prince Florestan. The name was also used by Benjamin Disraeli for a character in his play 'Lothair' (1870).

Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).

Feminine form of Cyril.

From the name of the flower, ultimately derived from Dutch de affodil meaning "the asphodel".

Meaning unknown, probably of Phoenician origin. Dido, also called Elissa, was the queen of Carthage in Virgil's Aeneid. She threw herself upon a funeral pyre after Aeneas left her. Virgil based the story on earlier Greco-Roman accounts.

Feminine form of Edmé.

Middle English form of both the Old English names Æðelflæd and Ælfflæd. These names became rare after the Norman Conquest, but Elfleda was briefly revived in the 19th century.

Cornish form of Iseult.

French form of Eve.

A transferred use of the surname Fairlight used as far back as the 1800's in England and the States.

Form of Fionnuala used by Walter Scott for a character in his novel Peveril of the Peak (1823).

Feminine form of Flavius.

Derived from Latin flos meaning "flower" (genitive case floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of Fionnghuala.

Short form of names ending in freda or fred, such as Winifred or Alfreda.

Variant of Fredegund. This was borne by English poet Fredegond Shove (1889-1949).

Anglicized form of Fríða.

From Gyða, an Old Norse diminutive of Guðríðr. It was borne by a Danish noblewoman who married the English lord Godwin of Wessex in the 11th century. The name was used in England for a short time after that, and was revived in the 19th century.

Derived from Greek ἥβη (hebe) meaning "youth". In Greek mythology Hebe was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was a goddess of youth who acted as the cupbearer to the gods.

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.

Latinized form of Greek Ἑκάβη (Hekabe), which is of uncertain meaning. According to Greek mythology this was the name of the primary wife of King Priam of Troy. By him she was the mother of Hector, Paris, Cassandra and many others.

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).

Means "illuminated, brightened, filled with light" in Latin. This name was borne by a 4th-century saint from Todi, Italy.

Spanish and Galician form of Illuminata.

French form of Inés.

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.

The origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, from a hypothetical name like *Ishild, composed of the elements is "ice" and hilt "battle".

According to tales first recorded in Old French in the 12th century, Yseut or Ysolt was an Irish princess betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. After accidentally drinking a love potion, she became the lover of his nephew Tristan. Their tragic story, which was set in the Arthurian world, was popular during the Middle Ages and the name became relatively common in England at that time. It was rare by the 19th century, though some interest was generated by Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).

Italian form of Iseult.

French form of Iustina (see Justina). This is the name of the heroine in the novel Justine (1791) by the Marquis de Sade.

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

Medieval form of Letitia.

Either a variant of Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.

Means "snow" in Finnish.

Means "lioness" in Middle English. In Thomas Malory's 15th-century tale Le Morte d'Arthur this is the name of a woman trapped in a castle by the Red Knight. Her sister Lynet gains the help of the knight Gareth in order to save her.

Variant of Mahlah used in the King James Version of the Old Testament.

Variant of Malalai. A notable bearer is Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai (1997-).

From Μαριάμη (Mariame), the form of Maria used by the historian Josephus when referring to the wife of King Herod.

Scottish Gaelic form of Marcella, now also associated with Marjorie.

Older form of Millicent.

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.

Derived from Old French mirable "wonderful; admirable", ultimately from Latin mirabilis "wonderful, marvellous, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, amazing" (compare Mirabelle).

Modern Greek transcription of Nephele.

Means "snows" in Spanish, derived from the title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows".

Anglicized form of Úna.

German form of Odilia.

German form of Prisca, as well as the form used in the Greek New Testament.

Feminine form of Quirinus.

Means "dew" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary María del Rocío meaning "Mary of the Dew".

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.

Feminine form of Santo.

From the Greek name Σαπφείρη (Sappheire), which was from Greek σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning "sapphire" or "lapis lazuli" (ultimately derived from the Hebrew word סַפִּיר (sappir)). Sapphira is a character in Acts in the New Testament who is killed by God for lying.

Possibly from Greek σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning "sapphire" or "lapis lazuli". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Greek poetess from Lesbos.

Anglicized form of Shahrazad.

French form of Seraphina.

The name of the flower used as a first name, mainly between the 1890s and 1920s, but never one of the more popular names of this kind.

Means "succour, help, relief" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary María del Socorro meaning "Mary of Perpetual Succour".

Variant of Solange.

Derived from Greek σωφροσύνη (sôphrosynê) meaning "moderation, prudence, self-control, temperance". Also compare Sophron. She was the spirit or personification of moderation, self-control, temperance, restraint, and discretion in Greek mythology. In some tales Sophrosyne was one of the good spirits released from Pandora's box, but fled to Olympus and away from humankind.

Greek form of Tanith.

Possibly means "bandage" in Greek. This was the name of a companion of Alexander the Great. It was also borne by a 4th-century saint from Alexandria, a wealthy socialite who became a Christian convert, though in her case the name may have had a distinct Coptic origin. She has been a popular subject of art and literature, including an 1891 novel by Anatole France and an 1894 opera by Jules Massenet.

Medieval feminine form of Thomas.

From tiger lily, a name that has been applied to several orange varieties of lily (such as the species Lilium lancifolium). Tiger Lily is also the name of the Native American princess in J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan (1904).

Saint Tigris of Britain is traditionally recorded as a sister of Saint Patrick.
The origin and meaning of her name are unknown; however, Saint Patrick (and thus his family, too) is thought to be of either Breton or Welsh heritage and so it has been suggested that Saint Tigris's name might be of Celtic origin. One theory tries to connect her name to Celtic *tigir which may or may not be related to Gaelic tigern "lord".
Things are further complicated by the existence of 10th-century Spanish saint Tigrida or Tigridia with whom she is sometimes confused. Concerning her name, early 20th-century Irish historian and language scholar Helena Concannon theorized that it suggests a Gallic origin.

Tigris is a cousin of president Snow in 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins.

From the English word unity, which is ultimately derived from Latin unitas.

From the English word meaning "verity, truth", from Latin verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.

The name Vida became fashionable around the mid-19th century, and is a diminutive of Davida.

Invented by Paul Claudel for his play L'Annonce faite à Marie (1912), the first version of which was titled La Jeune Fille Violaine (1892). It is often regarded as a variant of Violante, though Claudel may have taken it from a French place name.

French form of Yolanda. A notable bearer of the 15th century was Yolande of Aragon, who acted as regent for the French king Charles VII, her son-in-law. She was a supporter of Joan of Arc.

French form of Iseult.

It is most probable that it is the feminine form of the name Yvain. Though, it is commonly thought of as a combination of Yvonne and Elaine.

The name is most popularly recognized as the name of the fallen star in Neil Gaiman's novella 'Stardust'.

Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.