EliceBerlynn's Personal Name List

Means "mouth of the Don (river)" in Scottish Gaelic. This is the name of the name of a city in northern Scotland, as well as several other cities worldwide named after the Scottish city.

Short form of Alexander, Alexandra and other names beginning with Alex.

Short form of Alexandra.

Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

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

Feminine form of Alexander. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.

Variant of Alan, or from a surname that was derived from this same name. A famous bearer of this name was Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), an American beat poet. Another is the American film director and actor Woody Allen (1935-), who took the stage name Allen from his real first name.

Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.

From a surname meaning "son of Andrew".

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

From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.

Derived from the Germanic name Ercanbald, composed of the elements erkan meaning "pure, holy, genuine" and bald meaning "bold, brave". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". The Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages (sometimes used to Anglicize the Gaelic name Gilleasbuig, for unknown reasons).

Diminutive of Archibald. This name is borne by Archie Andrews, an American comic-book character created in 1941. It was also used by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the name of their son born 2019.

Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".

From the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.

Modern Scandinavian form of Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.

From a misapprehension of the spelling of the name Arthur or from the occupation.

From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.

From an occupational surname that meant "(female) baker", from Old English bæcere and a feminine agent suffix.

From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

From the name of the city in Germany, which is of uncertain meaning.

Variant of Berlin.

From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name Bláán.

From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.

From the English word for the colour, derived via Norman French from a Frankish word (replacing the native Old English cognate blaw). Despite the fact that this name was used by the American musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2012 for their first daughter, it has not come into general use in the United States.

From an English surname that meant "son of Brandr".

From a surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Ó Proinntigh, itself derived from the given name Proinnteach, probably from Irish bronntach meaning "generous". The Brontë sisters — Charlotte, Emily, and Anne — were 19th-century English novelists. Their father changed the spelling of the family surname from Brunty to Brontë, possibly to make it coincide with Greek βροντή meaning "thunder".

From an English surname that was derived from a place name, perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).

From the English word "canon" meaning "a generally accepted rule or principle; works considered to be authentic; religious law; or catalog of saints". From the Old French canon, from Latin canōn, from Ancient Greek kanón (κανών) 'measuring rod, standard'. May also be considered a variant of Cannon.

Medieval Spanish form of Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word carmen meaning "song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera Carmen (1875).

Short form of Caroline. It was formerly a masculine name, derived from Carolus. The name can also be given in reference to the English vocabulary word, which means "song" or "hymn".

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.

Feminine form of Charles using the popular Afrikaans name suffix ize. This name was popularized by South African actress Charlize Theron (1975-), who was named after her father Charles.

French feminine form of Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).

Short form of Cleopatra, Cleon or Cleopas.

From the Greek name Κλεοπάτρα (Kleopatra) meaning "glory of the father", derived from κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory" combined with πατήρ (pater) meaning "father" (genitive πατρός). This was the name of queens of Egypt from the Ptolemaic royal family, including Cleopatra VII, the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After being defeated by Augustus she committed suicide (according to popular belief, by allowing herself to be bitten by a venomous asp). Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (1606) tells the story of her life.

Short form of Clifford or Clifton.

From the English word meaning either a slice of garlic or the dried flower bud of a tropical tree, used as a spice. This name was recently used in Suzanne Collins' popular book, The Hunger Games.

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

Transferred use of the surname Cobain.

Variant of Conor, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name. This is currently the most common way of spelling it in the English-speaking world, apart from Ireland.

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.

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.

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

Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.

From the name of the Native American people of the northern Mississippi Valley, or from the two American states that were named for them: North and South Dakota (until 1889 unified as the Dakota Territory). The tribal name means "allies, friends" in the Dakota language.

It was rare as an American given name before 1975. In the mid-1980s it began growing in popularity for boys after a character by this name began appearing on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. It is now more common as a feminine name, probably due to the fame of the actress Dakota Fanning (1994-).

The meaning of this name is not known for certain. In the spelling Daren, it was used by the novelist Zane Grey for the central character in his novel The Day of the Beast (1922) [1]. Grey may have based it on a rare Irish surname, or perhaps created it as a variant of Darrell. It was brought to public attention in the late 1950s by the American actor Darren McGavin (1922-2006; born as William Lyle Richardson). It was further popularized in the 1960s by the character Darrin Stephens from the television show Bewitched.

From the English word dawn, ultimately derived from Old English dagung.

From a surname, see Dean 1 and Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.

Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.

Altered form of Dolores.

Feminine form of Desislav.

Variant of Dodie, a diminutive of Dorothy. It is also sometimes used as a diminutive of Dolores and other names beginning with Do.

Means "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.

From a surname (of unknown meaning) that was used in the movie The Crow (1994).

Diminutive of Edward, Edmund and other names beginning with Ed.

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 Edith.

From the Old English name Eadgyð, derived from the elements ead "wealth, fortune" and guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.

Means "rich protection", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.

Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Katherine, and an alternate transcription of Russian Екатерина (see Yekaterina).

Form of Eleanor in several languages.

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).

From a surname that was a variant of Elliott.

Spanish form of a Visigothic name, recorded from the 10th century in forms such as Geloyra or Giluira. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly composed of the Gothic element gails "happy" or gails "spear" combined with wers "friendly, agreeable, true". The name was borne by members of the royal families of León and Castille. This is also the name of a character in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (1787).

From the Roman family name Aemilius, which was derived from Latin aemulus meaning "rival".

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.

Spanish form of Heinrich (see Henry).

German form of Eric. The German novelist Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) was the author of All Quiet on the Western Front.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from village by this name in Perthshire. It was popularized as a given name by the Australian actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959).

From the English word fawn for a young deer.

Findus is a tomcat in the children's book series 'Pettson and Findus' by the Swedish writer and illustrator Sven Nordqvist. The cat is named after a cardbox with the printing "Findus green peas". Findus is a trademark by Nestlé for frozen food and the name is derived from Swedish fruktindustri "fruit industry".

Transferred use of the surname Fitzgerald. This was the middle name of President John F. Kennedy.

From an English surname meaning "forest", originally belonging to a person who lived near a forest. In America it has sometimes been used in honour of the Confederate Civil War general Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877). This name was borne by the title character in the movie Forrest Gump (1994) about a loveable simpleton. Use of the name increased when the movie was released, but has since faded away.

Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.

English form of an Old German name meaning "peaceful ruler", derived from fridu "peace" and rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.

The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.

Diminutive of Frid or Frido, which are both a short form of masculine names that contain the Germanic element frid or fridu meaning "peace", such as Friedrich and Gottfried. Also compare Friedl and names that contain the High German diminutive suffix -lin, such as Landolin and Wendelin.

The best known bearer of this name is probably the 6th-century missionary and saint Fridolin of Säckingen (died around 538 AD). However, it is important to note that the saint is believed to have been born in Ireland, which means that in his case, his name is either a germanification of his original Irish name, or a legitimate Germanic name (with the etymology that was just described above) that was bestowed upon him by the Alamanns, the local Germanic tribe that he worked amongst in Säckingen.

Other bearers of the name include the German painter Fridolin Leiber (1853-1912), the Swiss politician Fridolin Anderwert (1828-1880) and the German palaeontologist and geologist Fridolin von Sandberger (1826-1898).

German feminine form of Gabriel.

Diminutive of Gabrielle or Gabriel.

From the name of the tropical flower, which was named for the Scottish naturalist Alexander Garden (1730-1791).

Possibly from a Germanic name derived from the element gast meaning "guest, stranger". This is the usual French name for Saint Vedastus, called Vaast in Flemish. The name was also borne by several counts of Foix-Béarn, beginning in the 13th century.

Transferred use of the surname Gatsby.

Transferred use of the surname Gotham.

Variant of Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.

From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing". An American name for boys since the 19th century, it began to be used for girls after a character with the name began appearing on the soap opera Guiding Light in 1987.

From an English surname derived from a place name, itself derived from Old English hær "rock, heap of stones" or here "army", combined with hlaw "hill". As a name for girls, it received some attention in 2008 when the American celebrity Nicole Richie used it for her daughter.

From an English surname that denoted one who lived on a heath. It was popularized as a given name by the character Heath Barkley from the 1960s television series The Big Valley [1].

French form of Eloise.

From the Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like Haganrich, in which the first element is hag "enclosure".

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

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

Patronymic of the given name Hugh.

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.

Feminine given name derived from the name of a minor goddess of feasts, via the Estonian ilu meaning "beauty" but also possibly the word ilo meaning "delight, joy, happiness", the Livonian word īla meaning "nature" or the Pite Sami word âllo meaning "urge".

English form of Inés.

Means "spark" in South Slavic.

From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.

Means "strawberry" in South Slavic, and "berry" in Polish. Also in Poland, this can be a diminutive of Jadwiga.

Short form of names beginning with the sound J, such as James or Jason. It was originally used in America in honour of founding father John Jay (1749-1825), whose surname was derived from the jaybird.

Short form of Jocelyn.

From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.

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

Means "viburnum tree" in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish.

From the Ukrainian word for a type of shrub, also called the guelder rose (species Viburnum opulus).

Transferred use of an English place name.

From a surname that was originally derived from Kent, the name of a county in England, which may be derived from a Brythonic word meaning "coastal district".

From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's wood" in Old English. This name may have received a boost in popularity after the release of the 2007 movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, featuring the character Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Cyril.

Form of Constantine in several languages.

Short form of Alana (English) or Svetlana (Russian). In the English-speaking world it was popularized by actress Lana Turner (1921-1995), who was born Julia Jean Turner.

Short form of Alexandra or Alexa.

Derived from Greek λιγύς (ligys) meaning "clear-voiced, shrill, whistling". This was the name of one of the Sirens in Greek legend. It was also used by Edgar Allan Poe in his story Ligeia (1838).

Means "little mother", from Swedish and Norwegian lille, an inflected form of liten meaning "little", combined with mor meaning "mother". This name was first recorded in Norway and Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century.

Probably originally a diminutive of Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of Lily, from the Latin word for "lily" lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.

Short form of Liselotte.

From the Slavic element ľuby meaning "love" combined with a diminutive suffix. It can also come from the Serbian and Croatian word ljubica meaning "violet (flower)".

Spanish diminutive of Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.

Diminutive of Lola. This is the name of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

Variant of Laura.

From German Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.

In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).

Variant of Lori.

Short form of Charlotta.

French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. This was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne. Others include Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (called the Sun King) who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. It was also borne by kings of Germany (as Ludwig), Hungary (as Lajos), and other places.

Apart from royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common.

The Normans brought the name to England, where it was usually spelled Lewis, though the spelling Louis has been more common in America. Famous bearers include French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French actor Louis de Funès (1914-1983), Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).

From an English surname that was derived from Welsh llyn meaning "lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of Linda or names that end in lyn or line.

Created as a German equivalent of Madicken for the German translation of Astrid Lindgren's books.

Means "raspberry" in several Slavic languages.

Transferred use of the surname Mansfield.

From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of Mary and the English word gold.

Short form of María Soledad. It is sometimes considered a combination of María and Sol 1, or from Spanish mar y sol "sea and sun".

From the Roman name Maximilianus, which was derived from Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.

From a Scottish surname meaning "Mack's stream", from the name Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, combined with Old English wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.

As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].

Variant of Marilyn.

From the English word merry, ultimately from Old English myrige. This name appears in Charles Dickens' novel Martin Chuzzlewit (1844), where it is a diminutive of Mercy.

Derived from the Slavic elements mirŭ "peace, world" and slava "glory". This was the name of a 10th-century king of Croatia who was deposed by one of his nobles after ruling for four years.

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

Used by Edgar Allen Poe for the title character of his Gothic short story Morella (1835), in which case he may have invented it by adding a diminutive suffix to Latin mors "death", or taken it from the name of the ancient Spanish city, which was named by the Moors after the region Mauritania, perhaps ultimately derived from Greek mauros "black" (see Maurus). It is also an alternative name for the poisonous weed "black nightshade", probably also from Greek mauros "black". This name was also used as a rare medieval Scottish variant of Muriella.

From Old Cornish moroin meaning "maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word morwyn [1]). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint, said to be one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.

From a surname, which is either Scottish or Irish in origin (see Murray 1 and Murray 2).

Means "hope" in Russian and Bulgarian.

Greek diminutive of Anastasia.

Derived from South Slavic neven meaning "marigold".

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

From the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noach) meaning "rest, repose", derived from the root נוּחַ (nuach). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.

A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).

Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wuotan, Wotan or Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.

In Norse mythology Odin is the highest of the gods, presiding over war, wisdom and death. He is the husband of Frigg and resides in Valhalla, where warriors go after they are slain. He is usually depicted as a one-eyed older man, carrying two ravens on his shoulders who inform him of all the events of the world. At the time of Ragnarök, the final battle, it is told that he will be killed fighting the great wolf Fenrir.

Means "little deer", derived from Old Irish oss "deer, stag" combined with a diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.

From the Old Norse name Áleifr meaning "ancestor's descendant", derived from the elements anu "ancestor" and leif "inheritance, legacy". This was the name of five kings of Norway, including Saint Olaf (Olaf II).

Later German form of Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish aud or Old High German ot meaning "wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great. Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).

Anglicized form of Owain.

Anglicized form of Eoghan.

Allegedly a variant of Pukuna, a Miwok name meaning "deer jumping when running downhill".

Italian form of Paulus (see Paul). Paolo Uccello and Paolo Veronese were both Italian Renaissance painters.

Means "head, top" in Welsh. This was the name of two characters in Welsh legend. It can also come from the English surname which was from a place name meaning "hill" in Old English.

Transferred use of the surname Penrose.

Modern Greek transcription of Persephone.

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 Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.

Possibly a combination of the Old Norse name elements regin "advice, counsel" and norðr "north", though it could also be a variant of Ragnar.

Means "larkspur (flower)" in Bulgarian.

From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god Odin.

Diminutive of Reginald.

From Reginaldus, a Latinized form of Reynold.

Means "brave ruler", derived from the Old German elements rih "ruler, king" and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of three early dukes of Normandy. The Normans introduced it to England when they invaded in the 11th century, and it has been very common there since that time. It was borne by three kings of England including the 12th-century Richard I the Lionheart, one of the leaders of the Third Crusade.

During the late Middle Ages this name was typically among the five most common for English males (with John, William, Robert and Thomas). It remained fairly popular through to the modern era, peaking in the United States in the 1940s and in the United Kingom a bit later, and steadily declining since that time.

Famous bearers include two German opera composers, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949), as well as British explorer Richard Burton (1821-1890), American president Richard Nixon (1913-1994), American physicist Richard Feynman (1918-1988), British actor Richard Burton (1925-1984) and American musician Little Richard (1932-2020).

Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element hraban meaning "raven".

Feminine variant of Robin.

Means "famous ruler" from the Old German elements hruod "fame" and rih "ruler, king". This name was in use among the Visigoths; it was borne by their last king (Gothic form *Hroþireiks, also known by the Spanish form Rodrigo), who died fighting the Muslim invaders of Spain in the 8th century. It also had cognates in Old Norse and West Germanic, and Scandinavian settlers and Normans introduced it to England, though it died out after the Middle Ages. It was revived in the English-speaking world by Walter Scott's 1811 poem The Vision of Don Roderick [1].

This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Scottish Ruaridh or Welsh Rhydderch.

Derived from Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune".

Russian form of the Old Norse name Hrǿríkr. This was the name of a 9th-century Varangian ruler of Novgorod.

A water nymph in Slavic Mythology. Also the name of an opera written by the Czech writer Antonín Dvorák.

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

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant "fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.

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

Transferred use of the surname Shadow or simply from the English word shadow.

Most likely the place a family member was originally from and then used as a name.

From a Scottish surname that was derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).

Russian and Bulgarian form of Snježana, as well as an alternate transcription of Macedonian Снежана (see Snežana).

Russian diminutive of Sophia. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace (1869, English translation 1886).

Diminutive of Stanislava or Anastasiya.

From a surname that was a variant Stuart.

From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish súil "eye" and dubh "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie Monsters, Inc. (2001).

From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.

Short form of Svetlana.

Variant of Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.

Finnish short form of Tatiana.

Short form of Taisiya.

This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.

Presumably from the English word, which refers to a red or orange colored citrus fruit. Mentioned as a name in the songs 'Tangerine' by Led Zeppelin and 'Tangerine' by Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.

Russian diminutive of Tatiana. It began to be used in the English-speaking world during the 1930s.

Short form of Anastasia.

Greek diminutive of Anastasia.

From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Tata, of unknown origin.

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.

From the Old Norse Þórr meaning "thunder", ultimately from Proto-Germanic *Þunraz. In Norse mythology Thor is a god of storms, thunder, war and strength, a son of Odin. He is portrayed as red-bearded, short-tempered, armed with a powerful hammer called Mjölnir, and wearing an enchanted belt called Megingjörð that doubles his strength. During Ragnarök, the final battle at the end of the world, it is foretold that Thor will slay the monstrous sea serpent Jörmungandr but be fatally poisoned by its venom.

From Old French thym, from Latin thymum, from Ancient Greek θύμον (thúmon).

Variant of Tiede.

Short form of Christina, Martina and other names ending in tina. In addition to these names, it is also used in Dutch as a short form of Catharina, in Swedish and Croatian as a short form of Katarina, and in Georgian as a short form of Tinatin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.

Variant of Tristan, sometimes used as a feminine form.

Means "little wind" in Finnish, derived from tuuli "wind". This was the name of a Finnish forest goddess, the daughter of Tapio.

Variant of Otto.

Diminutive of Urszula (Polish) or Uršula (Slovene).

From the Hebrew name אוּרִיָה ('Uriyah) meaning "Yahweh is my light", from the roots אוּר ('ur) meaning "light, flame" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a Hittite warrior in King David's army, the first husband of Bathsheba. David desired Bathsheba so he placed Uriah in the forefront of battle so he would be killed.

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.

From the name of the capital city of Austria, Vienna.

Derived from Romanian viorea (see Viorel).

Feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.

This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).

Possibly derived from Finnish virvatuli meaning "will o' the wisp". In folklore, will o' the wisp is a floating ball of light that appears over water.

Old short form of Vladislav and other names beginning with the Slavic element volděti (Church Slavic vladati) meaning "to rule, to control". This name was borne by several princes of Wallachia (in Romania) including the 15th-century Vlad III Dracula, who was Bram Stoker's inspiration for the name of his vampire Count Dracula.

From the Old Slavic name *Voldiměrŭ, derived from the elements volděti meaning "to rule" and měrŭ meaning "great, famous". The second element has also been associated with mirŭ meaning "peace, world".

This was the name of a 9th-century ruler of Bulgaria. It was also borne by an 11th-century grand prince of Kyiv, Vladimir the Great, who is venerated as a saint because of his efforts to Christianize his realm. Other notable bearers include the revolutionary and first leader of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), the Russian author Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977), and the Russian president and prime minister Vladimir Putin (1952-).

Russian and Ukrainian form of Veceslav (see Václav).

From the name of the day of the week, which was derived from Old English wodnesdæg meaning "Woden's day". On the Addams Family television series (1964-1966) this was the name of the daughter, based on an earlier unnamed character in Charles Addams' cartoons. Her name was inspired by the popular nursery rhyme line Wednesday's child is full of woe.

Transferred use of the surname Wellington.

Short form of Wesley.

From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.

From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.

From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English (a windlass is a lifting apparatus). This has been the surname of the royal family of the United Kingdom since 1917.

Russian form of Elizabeth. This was the name of an 18th-century Russian empress.

Derived from the Italian zero itself from Medieval Latin zèphyrum, Arabic صفر (ṣifr) and Sanskrit शून्य (śūnyá), ultimately meaning "empty".

In Japan the same sound and meaning was given to the kanji 零 (rei), probably after the contact with Western cultures. Zero has been used for some manga and anime characters.

Derived from zvezda meaning "star".

Serbian and Slovene form of Zvjezdana.