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.
Calvin
Gender:Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced:KAL-vin
Derived from the French surname Cauvin, which was derived from chauve meaning "bald". The surname was borne by Jean Cauvin (1509-1564), a theologian from France who was one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His surname was Latinized as Calvinus (based on Latin calvus "bald") and he is known as John Calvin in English. It has been used as a given name in his honour since the 19th century.
In modern times, this name is borne by American fashion designer Calvin Klein (1942-), as well as one of the main characters from Bill Watterson's comic strip Calvin and Hobbes (published from 1985 to 1995).
Latinized form of Greek Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means "woman from Cynthus". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then.
Gonzalo
Gender:Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced:gon-THA-lo(European Spanish)gon-SA-lo(Latin American Spanish)
From the medieval name Gundisalvus, which was the Latin form of a Germanic (possibly Visigothic or Suebi) name composed of gunda "war" and maybe salba "salve, ointment", salo "dark, dusky" or sal "house, hall" (with the spelling perhaps influenced by Latin salvus "safe"). Saint Gonzalo was an 11th-century bishop of Mondoñedo in Galicia, Spain.
From the Old Norse name Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god Ing combined with fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
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.
Maverick
Gender:Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced:MAV-ə-rik
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
From the English word for the large grassy plain, ultimately deriving from the Taino (Native American) word zabana. It came into use as a given name in America in the 19th century. It was revived in the 1980s by the movie Savannah Smiles (1982).
Short form of Alexander. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by a character on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003).