SilverHobgoblin's Personal Name List
Zyaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(English)
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zephaniah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: צְפַנְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: zeh-fə-NIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
צְפַנְיָה (Tzefanyah) meaning
"Yahweh has hidden", derived from
צָפַן (tzafan) meaning "to hide" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Zephaniah.
Zaveion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Variant of
Zavion. The name Zaveion was given to 23 boys born in the United States in 2004 according to the U.S. Social Security Administration.
Zahara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זָהֳרָה(Hebrew)
Zacharias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek, Greek
Other Scripts: Ζαχαρίας(Greek)
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-əs(English) za-kha-REE-as(Late Greek)
Greek form of
Zechariah. This form of the name is used in most English versions of the
New Testament to refer to the father of
John the Baptist. It was also borne by an 8th-century pope (called
Zachary in English).
Zachariah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-ə(English)
Variant of
Zechariah. This spelling is used in the King James Version of the
Old Testament to refer to one of the kings of Israel (called Zechariah in other versions).
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Yvette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: EE-VEHT(French) ee-VEHT(English) i-VEHT(English)
French feminine form of
Yves.
Yvaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Various
Pronounced: ee-VAYN(Literature)
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'.
Yvain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Form of
Owain used by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his Arthurian romance
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion.
Yukari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 由香里, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: YOO-KA-ṘEE
From Japanese 由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause", 香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" and 里 (ri) meaning "village". Other kanji combinations can also form this name. A fictional bearer of the name is Yukari Yakumo, from the Touhou Project.
Ysabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Archaic)
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL
Medieval Spanish form of
Isabel.
Yelena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Елена(Russian)
Pronounced: yi-LYEH-nə, i-LYEH-nə
Xavien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Rare)
Xanthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Modern elaborated form of
Xanthe.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ξανθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Wolf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Jewish, English (Rare), Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: װאָלףֿ(Yiddish)
Pronounced: VAWLF(German) WUWLF(English)
Short form of
Wolfgang,
Wolfram and other names containing the Old German element
wolf meaning
"wolf" (Proto-Germanic *
wulfaz). It can also be simply from the German or English word. As a Jewish name it can be considered a vernacular form of
Zeev.
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Vladimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian
Other Scripts: Владимир(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: vlu-DYEE-myir(Russian) VLA-dee-meer(Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian)
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-).
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Vivien 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
French form of
Vivianus (see
Vivian).
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
From the Latin name
Vivianus, which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
Bébinn or a variant of
Vivien 2.
Vishnu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: विष्णु(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) വിഷ്ണു(Malayalam) ವಿಷ್ಣು(Kannada) విష్ణు(Telugu) விஷ்ணு(Tamil)
Pronounced: VISH-noo(Sanskrit, English)
Probably means "all-pervasive" in Sanskrit. The Hindu god Vishnu is the protector and preserver of the universe, usually depicted as four-armed and blue-skinned. By some Hindus he is regarded as the supreme god.
Viorel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Derived from viorea, the Romanian word for the alpine squill flower (species Scilla bifolia) or the sweet violet flower (species Viola odorata). It is derived from Latin viola "violet".
Violette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VYAW-LEHT
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Vashti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: וַשְׁתִּי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: VASH-tee(English)
Possibly means
"thread" in Hebrew, but it is most likely of Persian origin. In the
Old Testament this is the name of the first wife of King
Ahasuerus of Persia before he marries Esther.
Valkyrie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: VAL-ki-ree(English)
Means
"chooser of the slain", derived from Old Norse
valr "the slain" and
kyrja "chooser". In Norse
myth the Valkyries were maidens who led heroes killed in battle to Valhalla.
Valeska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Valerian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, Romanian, History
Other Scripts: Валериан(Russian) ვალერიან(Georgian)
Pronounced: və-LIR-ee-ən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Valerianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name
Valerius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Roman emperor (Publius Licinius Valerianus) who was captured by the Persians. Several
saints have also borne this name, including a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons.
Valdemar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: VAHL-deh-mahr(Finnish)
Scandinavian form of
Waldemar, also used as a translation of the Slavic
cognate Vladimir. This was the name of four kings of Denmark and a king of Sweden. It was introduced to Scandinavia by the 12th-century Danish king Valdemar I who was named after his mother's grandfather: Vladimir II, a grand prince of Kievan Rus.
Väinämöinen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: VIE-na-mui-nehn(Finnish)
Derived from Finnish
väinä meaning
"wide and slow-flowing river". In Finnish
mythology Väinämöinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess
Ilmatar. He is the hero of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala.
Toshirō
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 俊郎, 敏郎, etc.(Japanese Kanji) としろう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: TO-SHEE-RO
From Japanese
俊 (toshi) meaning "talented, handsome" or
敏 (toshi) meaning "quick, clever, sharp" combined with
郎 (rō) meaning "son". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji characters.
Tiernan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Thaleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Ancient Greek)
Tempest
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHM-pist
From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).
Tatiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, French, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Greek, Georgian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Τατιάνα(Greek) ტატიანა(Georgian) Татьяна(Russian) Татяна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ta-TYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish, German) TAH-tee-ah-nah(Finnish) ta-TYAHN-ə(English) tu-TYA-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of the Roman name
Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name
Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as
Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Means
"gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the
New Testament was a woman restored to life by
Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as
Dorcas (see
Acts 9:36). As an English name,
Tabitha became common after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show
Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Sylvan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Either a variant of
Silvanus or directly from the Latin word
silva meaning
"wood, forest".
Svea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: SVEH-ah
From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Suzune
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Pronounced: SOO-ZOO-NEH, SOO-ZOO-NAY
Suzu means "Bell" and Ne means "Sound".
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SUR-kə(English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Means
"radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times
[2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as
Sarah (in Ireland) and
Clara (in Scotland).
Sonja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Соња(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZAWN-ya(German) SON-yah(Finnish)
Form of
Sonya in various languages.
Skye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of
Sky.
Silviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Provençal, Late Roman
Romanian, Italian, Provençal, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Silvianus.
Silver
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIL-vər
From the English word for the precious metal or the colour, ultimately derived from Old English seolfor.
Silvana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: seel-VA-na
Shoshana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Hebrew)
Shenandoah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Oneida (Anglicized)
Pronounced: shehn-ən-DO-ə(English)
Variant of
Skenandoa, or from the name of the Shenandoah River (names that may or may not be connected). The traditional American folk song
Oh Shenandoah may refer to the Oneida chief Skenandoa or to the river; it is unclear.
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin
serenus meaning
"clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early
saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
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.
Selene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Σελήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-LEH-NEH(Classical Greek) si-LEE-nee(English)
Means
"moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess
Artemis.
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelat)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Savannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
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).
Sariah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mormon
Pronounced: sə-RIE-ə(English)
Possibly from an alternate reading of Hebrew
שׂריה (see
Seraiah). In the Book of Mormon this is the name of
Lehi's wife.
Santiago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: san-TYA-gho(Spanish) sun-tee-A-goo(European Portuguese) sun-chee-A-goo(Brazilian Portuguese) sahn-tee-AH-go(English) san-tee-AH-go(English)
Means
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
James, the patron saint of Spain. It is the name of the main character in the novella
The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Salvatore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: sal-va-TO-reh
Safiyyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: صفيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-FEE-yah
Feminine form of
Safi. This was the name of one of the wives of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Rebecca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רִבְקָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: rə-BEHK-ə(English) reh-BEHK-ka(Italian)
From the Hebrew name
רִבְקָה (Rivqah), probably from a Semitic root meaning
"join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of
Isaac and the mother of
Esau and
Jacob in the
Old Testament. It came into use as an English Christian name after the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the
Puritans in the 17th century. It has been consistently used since then, becoming especially common in the second half of the 20th century.
This name is borne by a Jewish woman in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), as well as the title character (who is deceased and unseen) in Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca (1938).
Raven
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY-vən
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.
Rafael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Hebrew
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל(Hebrew) Рафаел(Macedonian)
Pronounced: ra-fa-EHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) ha-fa-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) RA-fa-ehl(German) RAW-faw-ehl(Hungarian)
Form of
Raphael in various languages. A famous bearer is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (1986-).
Perdita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Derived from Latin
perditus meaning
"lost". Shakespeare created this name for the daughter of
Hermione and
Leontes in his play
The Winter's Tale (1610). Abandoned as an infant by her father the king, she grows up to be a shepherdess and falls in love with with
Florizel.
Ouranos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Οὐρανός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: O-RA-NOS(Classical Greek)
Orestes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὀρέστης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: O-REHS-TEHS(Classical Greek) aw-REHS-teez(English)
Means
"of the mountains", derived from Greek
ὄρος (oros) meaning "mountain" and
ἵστημι (histemi) meaning "to stand". In Greek
myth he was the son of
Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra. He killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus after they killed his father.
Oren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֹרֶן(Hebrew)
Means "pine tree" in Hebrew.
Oleander
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greek (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: AW-lee-an-der(Greek)
The name Oleander originated as an Greek name. In Greek, the name Oleander means "an evergreen tree."
The origin of the name was said to have come from a young man whose ardour to his Lady Love ended in a tragedy. The young man was named Leander, and his precious lady longing for his love shouting with such forlorn “O Leander!”, “O Leander!” in the banks, until finally he was found. And clasped in his hands were sweet flowers, who have become a symbol of everlasting love, known as oleanders.
Possibly taken from the plant family, Nerium oleander (flowering shrub known as oleanders), Cascabela thevetia (yellow oleander), Acacia neriifolia (oleander wattle); or a species of moth, Daphnis nerii (oleander hawk-moth).
In the complex language of love practiced during the time of Queen Victoria, the Oleander flower means caution.
A diminutive use of Oleander could be Ollie, Lee, Lee-Ann, or Anders.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Nikolai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Николай(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: nyi-ku-LIE(Russian)
Nicoleta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: nee-ko-LEH-ta
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Variant of
Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century
[1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-)
[2].
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Minette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), French (Rare, Archaic), Danish (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Afrikaans, Filipino
Diminutive of
Mina 1. This was also a nickname of
Henriette, Duchess of Orléans (daughter of the 17th-century English king Charles I). In French perhaps it can also be taken from a word meaning "(female) kitten" (sometimes used as a term of endearment for a girl). A known bearer is English murder-mystery author Minette Walters (1949-).
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Meredith
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHR-ə-dith(English)
From the Welsh name
Maredudd or
Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as
Margetud, possibly from
mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with
iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
From the English word
melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with
ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".
Melantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mə-LAN-thə
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).
Melanija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, Latvian, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Меланија(Serbian, Macedonian)
Form of
Melanie used in various languages.
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Mariette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-RYEHT
Mariella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ma-RYEHL-la
Marianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: MA-RYAN(French) mar-ee-AN(English) ma-RYA-nə(German) MAH-ree-ahn-neh(Finnish)
Originally a French
diminutive of
Marie. It is also considered a combination of
Marie and
Anne 1. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
English form of
Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Lunaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Brazilian (Rare), Filipino (Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Spanish (Mexican, Rare)
Means "moon-like" in Latin. Lunaria is a genus of flowering plants.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
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).
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(English)
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.
Kyriakos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Κυριάκος(Greek) Κυριακός(Ancient Greek)
Kseniya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian) KSYEH-nyee-ya(Belarusian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of
Xenia.
Ksenija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene, Latvian
Other Scripts: Ксенија(Serbian, Macedonian)
Form of
Xenia in several languages.
Ksenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSEH-nya(Polish) KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Polish form of
Xenia, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Ксения or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Ксенія (see
Kseniya).
Koharu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 小春, 心春, etc.(Japanese Kanji) こはる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KO-HA-ROO
From Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" or
心 (ko) meaning "heart" combined with
春 (haru) meaning "spring". The compound word
小春 means "late summer". Other combinations of kanji characters can form this name as well.
Klara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Клара(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Polish) KLA-rə(Russian)
Form of
Clara in various languages.
Kiyoshi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 清, 淳, etc.(Japanese Kanji) きよし(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KYEE-YO-SHEE
From Japanese
清 (kiyoshi) or
淳 (kiyoshi) both meaning "pure". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
Kit
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Kiana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, English
Hawaiian form of
Diana. It was brought to wider attention in the late 1980s, likely by the Hawaiian fitness instructor Kiana Tom (1965-), who had a television show on ESPN beginning in 1988
[1].
Khalil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: خليل(Arabic)
Pronounced: kha-LEEL
Means "friend" in Arabic.
Khadija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: خديجة(Arabic)
Pronounced: kha-DEE-jah
Means
"premature child" in Arabic. This was the name of the Prophet
Muhammad's first wife and the mother of all of his children, with the exception of one. She was a wealthy merchant and a widow when they married in the year 595. Muhammad received his first revelation 15 years after their marriage, and she was the first person to convert to Islam.
Ketzi'ah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Kendra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drə
Keir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
From a surname that was a variant of
Kerr.
Katsuro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 勝郎, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かつろう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-TSOO-RO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
勝郎 (see
Katsurō).
Katarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Sorbian
Other Scripts: Катарина(Serbian)
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(Swedish, German)
Katara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
The name of a character in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Her name was apparently taken from the Arabic word قطرة (qatra) meaning "raindrop, droplet".
Kaspar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Estonian
Pronounced: KAS-par(German)
German and Estonian form of
Jasper.
Kasimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: KA-zee-meew
Kalyani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi
Other Scripts: कल्याणी(Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi) కల్యాణి(Telugu) கல்யாணி(Tamil) കല്യാണി(Malayalam) ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಿ(Kannada) কল্যাণী(Bengali)
Means
"beautiful, lovely, auspicious" in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata this is the name of one of the Krittikas, or Pleiades. It is also another name of the Hindu goddess
Parvati.
Kalliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAL-LEE-O-PEH(Classical Greek)
Means
"beautiful voice" from Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek
mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine Muses.
Kaliya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: Ka-lee-yə(American English)
Kalisha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: kə-LEESH-ə(English) kə-LISH-ə(English)
Combination of the name prefix
ka and
Lisha.
Kalani
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ka-LA-nee
Means "the heavens" from Hawaiian ka "the" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Joelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jo-EHL
Jessica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHS-i-kə(English) ZHEH-SEE-KA(French) YEH-see-ka(German, Dutch) JEH-see-ka(German) YEHS-si-ka(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish)
This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of
Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name
Iscah, which would have been spelled
Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by
Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).
Isabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: EE-ZA-BEHL(French) IZ-ə-behl(English) ee-za-BEH-lə(German, Dutch)
Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Latinate form of
Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called
Isabel).
In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.
A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).
Iphimedeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰφιμέδεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: if-i-mə-DIE-ə
Means "ruling over with strength" from Greek ἶφι
(iphi) "strongly, stoutly, mightily, by force" (compare the first element in
Iphianassa,
Iphigeneia,
Iphidamas and
Iphiklos) and the verbal root μέδ-
(med-) from μεδω
(medo) "to protect, to rule over" with the feminine noun suffix -εια
(-eia). In Greek myth Iphimedeia was a Thessalian princess, the daughter of King
Triopas (a son of
Poseidon and
Canace). She fell in love with Poseidon and bore him children including
Otus and
Ephialtes (who were called the Aloadae after their stepfather), as well as
Cercyon and the bandit
Sciron. She was one of the heroines whose spirits Odysseus encountered at the entrance of the Underworld.
Iphigeneia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰφιγένεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-PEE-GEH-NEH-A(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ἴφιος (iphios) meaning "strong, stout" and
γενής (genes) meaning "born". In Greek
myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King
Agamemnon. When her father offended
Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.
In Christian tradition this was also the name of a legendary early saint, the daughter of an Ethiopian king Egippus.
Iphianassa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ίφιάνασσα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-fee-ə-NA-sə(English)
Means "powerful queen" or "rule strongly", derived from Greek ἶφι
(iphi) meaning "by force, mightily" (compare ἴφιος
(iphios) "strong, stout") and ἄνασσα
(anassa) meaning "queen" (feminine form of ἄναξ
(anax) "lord, master"). This was the name of several characters in ancient Greek mythology, including one of the Nereids.
Indira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: इन्दिरा(Sanskrit) इन्दिरा, इंदिरा(Hindi) इंदिरा(Marathi) ಇಂದಿರಾ(Kannada) இந்திரா(Tamil)
Pronounced: IN-di-ra(Hindi)
Means
"beauty" in Sanskrit. This is another name of
Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god
Vishnu. A notable bearer was India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).
Indigo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
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".
Ilya
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Илья(Russian) Ілья(Belarusian)
Pronounced: i-LYA(Russian)
Russian and Belarusian form of
Elijah.
Idris 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Idonea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of
Iðunn. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin
idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century
[1].
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Means
"violet flower", derived from Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek
mythology.
Henriette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: AHN-RYEHT(French) hehn-ree-EH-tə(German, Dutch) hehn-ree-EH-də(Danish) hehn-ree-EHT-teh(Norwegian)
Helene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: heh-LEHN(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) heh-LEH-nə(German) HEH-LEH-NEH(Classical Greek)
Ancient Greek form of
Helen, as well as the modern Scandinavian and German form.
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Hawthorne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Probably a variant of
Gwynedd. It has been common in Wales since the 19th century, perhaps after the Welsh novelist Gwyneth Vaughan (1852-1910), whose real name was Ann Harriet Hughes. A modern famous bearer is the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).
Gwenhwyfar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Possibly means
"white ring", derived from Welsh
gwen meaning "white, blessed" and
dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form
Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle
[1]. Geoffrey later used it in
Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet
Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name
Guendoleu by Geoffrey
[3].
This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(English)
From the Norman French form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar meaning
"white phantom", ultimately from the old Celtic roots *
windos meaning "white" (modern Welsh
gwen) and *
sēbros meaning "phantom, magical being"
[1]. In Arthurian legend she was the beautiful wife of King
Arthur. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, she was seduced by
Mordred before the battle of Camlann, which led to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur. According to the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, she engaged in an adulterous affair with Sir
Lancelot.
The Cornish form of this name, Jennifer, has become popular in the English-speaking world.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
From the English word
grace, which ultimately derives from Latin
gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the
Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.
This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.
Gloriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: glawr-ee-AN-ə
Elaborated form of Latin gloria meaning "glory". In Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene (1590) this was the name of the title character, a representation of Queen Elizabeth I.
Gloria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, German
Pronounced: GLAWR-ee-ə(English) GLO-rya(Spanish) GLAW-rya(Italian)
Means
"glory", from the Portuguese and Spanish titles of the Virgin
Mary Maria da Glória and
María de Gloria. Maria da Glória (1819-1853) was the daughter of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, eventually becoming queen of Portugal as Maria II.
The name was introduced to the English-speaking world by E. D. E. N. Southworth's novel Gloria (1891) and George Bernard Shaw's play You Never Can Tell (1898), which both feature characters with a Portuguese background [1]. It was popularized in the early 20th century by American actress Gloria Swanson (1899-1983). Another famous bearer is feminist Gloria Steinem (1934-).
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
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.
Georgiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romanian
Pronounced: jawr-JAY-nə(English) jawr-jee-AN-ə(English)
Feminine form of
George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.
Georgette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAWR-ZHEHT
French feminine form of
George.
Galatea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Γαλάτεια(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of Greek
Γαλάτεια (Galateia), probably derived from
γάλα (gala) meaning
"milk". This was the name of several characters in Greek
mythology including a sea nymph who was the daughter of
Doris and
Nereus and the lover of Acis. According to some sources, this was also the name of the ivory statue carved by
Pygmalion that came to life.
Galahad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAL-ə-had(English)
From earlier
Galaad, likely derived from the Old French form of the biblical place name
Gilead. In Arthurian legend Sir Galahad was the son of
Lancelot and
Elaine. He was the most pure of the Knights of the Round Table, and he was the only one to succeed in finding the Holy Grail. He first appears in the 13th-century French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Gabriela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, German, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Габриела(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: gab-RYEH-la(Polish) ga-BRYEH-la(Spanish) ga-bree-EH-la(German) GA-bri-yeh-la(Czech) GA-bree-eh-la(Slovak)
Frost
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Frost or from the English word.
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS
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.
Fidelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: fee-DHEH-lya
Fenris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Literature
Short form of the Old Norse
Fenrisúlfr (literally "
Fenrir-wolf"). The form Fenris Ulf was used for a talking wolf (originally named Maugrim) in the now defunct American edition of C. S. Lewis' 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'.
Fenrir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
From Old Norse
fen meaning
"marsh, fen". In Norse
mythology Fenrir was a ferocious wolf, one of the offspring of
Loki and the giantess
Angrboða. Because it was foretold he would bring about disaster, the gods bound him with a magical fetter, though in the process
Tyr's hand was bitten off. At the time of Ragnarök, the end of the world, it is told that he will break free and kill
Odin.
Fenella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Form of
Fionnuala used by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Peveril of the Peak (1823).
Fen 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian
Originally a Frisian short form of
Ferdinand (and other names starting with the Old German element
fridu "peace" and a second element beginning with
n [1]).
Felina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Felicity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: fə-LIS-i-tee
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.
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yechezqel) meaning
"God will strengthen", from the roots
חָזַק (chazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name,
Ezekiel has been used since the
Protestant Reformation.
Evadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάδνη(Ancient Greek)
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.
Eurydice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐρυδίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-RUY-dee-keh(Latin) yuw-RID-i-see(English)
From the Greek
Εὐρυδίκη (Eurydike) meaning
"wide justice", derived from
εὐρύς (eurys) meaning "wide" and
δίκη (dike) meaning "justice, custom, order". In Greek
myth she was the wife of Orpheus. Her husband tried to rescue her from Hades, but he failed when he disobeyed the condition that he not look back upon her on their way out.
Euphrosyne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐφροσύνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-FRAH-si-nee(English)
Means
"mirth, merriment, cheerfulness" in Greek, a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
φρήν (phren) meaning "mind, heart". She was one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites) in Greek
mythology.
Euphranor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Εὐφράνωρ(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
εὐφραίνω (euphraino) meaning
"to delight". This was the name of a 4th-century BC Athenian artist.
Euphemia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, English (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Εὐφημία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-FEE-mee-ə(English) yoo-FEH-mee-ə(English)
Means
"to use words of good omen" from Greek
εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare".
Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.
Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Derived from Greek
εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning
"sweetly-speaking", itself from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Étienne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-TYEHN(European French) EH-TSYEHN(Quebec French)
Ériu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
From the name of an Irish goddess, who according to legend gave her name to Ireland (which is called Éire in Irish). In reality, the goddess probably got her name from that of the island, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.
Erika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, English, Italian
Pronounced: eh-REE-kah(Swedish, Norwegian) EH-ree-kah(Finnish) EH-ree-ka(German, Slovak) EH-ree-kaw(Hungarian) EHR-i-kə(English)
Feminine form of
Erik. It also coincides with the word for
"heather" in some languages.
Éowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: AY-ə-win(English)
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.
Emir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish, Bosnian
Turkish form and Bosnian variant of
Amir 1.
Elysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ee-ə(English) i-LIS-ee-ə(English) i-LEE-zhə(English)
From
Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman
mythology, which means
"blissful".
Elowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Elizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
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).
Elisif
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Finland Swedish (Rare)
Elisheva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִישֶׁבַע(Hebrew)
Elisaveta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Елисавета(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
German and Dutch form of
Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the
New Testament.
Eliezer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֱלִיעֶזֶר(Hebrew) Ἐλιέζερ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ehl-ee-EHZ-ər(English) ehl-ee-EE-zər(English)
From Hebrew
אֱלִיעֶזֶר ('Eli'ezer) meaning
"my God is help". This is the name of several characters in the
Old Testament, including a servant of
Abraham and one of the sons of
Moses (see
Exodus 18:4 for an explanation of the significance of the name).
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament.
Elektra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-LEHK-TRA(Classical Greek)
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from
ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning
"amber". In Greek
myth she was the daughter of
Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra and the sister of
Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
From the Old French form of the Occitan name
Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named
Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase
alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.
The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן ('eden) meaning "pleasure, delight", or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Ebony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: EHB-ən-ee(English)
From the English word ebony for the black wood that comes from the ebony tree. It is ultimately from the Egyptian word hbnj. In America this name is most often used in the black community.
Drahomíra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: DRA-ho-mee-ra(Czech) DRA-haw-mee-ra(Slovak)
Czech and Slovak feminine form of
Dragomir.
Dragomir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Romanian
Other Scripts: Драгомир(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Derived from the Slavic element
dorgŭ (South Slavic
drag) meaning "precious" combined with
mirŭ meaning "peace, world".
Dove
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DUV
From the English word for the variety of bird, seen as a symbol of peace.
Delphinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Delphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Feminine form of the Latin name
Delphinus, which meant
"of Delphi". Delphi was a city in ancient Greece, the name of which is possibly related to Greek
δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". The Blessed Delphina was a 14th-century Provençal nun.
Delphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-fee-ə
Possibly from the name of the Greek city of Delphi, the site of an oracle of
Apollo, which is possibly related to Greek
δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". It was used in the play
The Prophetess (1647), in which it belongs to the title prophetess.
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
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.
Dawn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWN
From the English word dawn, ultimately derived from Old English dagung.
Dante
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: DAN-teh(Italian) DAHN-tay(English) DAN-tee(English)
Medieval short form of
Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the
Divine Comedy.
Daniela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: Даниела(Bulgarian, Macedonian) דניאלה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: da-NYEH-la(Italian, Spanish) da-nee-EH-la(German, Romanian) da-NYEH-la(Polish) DA-ni-yeh-la(Czech) DA-nee-eh-la(Slovak) dan-YEHL-ə(English)
Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
Dana 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-nə
From a surname that is of unknown origin. It was originally given in honour of American lawyer Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1815-1882), the author of the memoir Two Years Before the Mast.
Damien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DA-MYEHN
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Damask
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Transferred use of the surname
Damask.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Cynthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυνθία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIN-thee-ə(English) SEEN-TYA(French)
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.
Clytemnestra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κλυταιμνήστρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: klie-təm-NEHS-trə(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Κλυταιμνήστρα (Klytaimnestra) and
Κλυταιμήστρα (Klytaimestra), in which the first element is
κλυτός (klytos) meaning "famous, noble". The spelling
Klytaimnestra would suggest the second element is
μνηστήρ (mnester) meaning "courter, wooer", while
Klytaimestra would suggest a connection to
μήδομαι (medomai) meaning "to plan, to intend". There is debate over which spelling is earlier or more authentic
[1], since the ancient texts seem to make puns based on both etymologies.
Klytaimestra appears in the works of the Greek tragedians such as Aeschylus, while
Klytaimnestra appears in Homer's poems (the earliest extant copy dating from the post-classical period).
In Greek legend Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon and the mother of Orestes and Electra. While her husband was away during the Trojan War she took a lover, and upon his return she had Agamemnon murdered. She was subsequently killed by her son Orestes.
Cleopatra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κλεοπάτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: klee-o-PAT-rə(English)
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.
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Chiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KYA-ra
Italian form of
Clara.
Saint Chiara (commonly called
Clare in English) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Cheyenne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: shie-AN
Derived from the Lakota word šahiyena meaning "red speakers". This is the name of a Native American people of the Great Plains. The name was supposedly given to the Cheyenne by the Lakota because their language was unrelated to their own. As a given name, it has been in use since the 1950s.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
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.
Charalambos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Χαράλαμπος(Greek)
Pronounced: kha-RA-lam-bos
Cézanne
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Afrikaans
Pronounced: se-zan
From the French artist, Paul Cézanne. This name is sometimes used as a feminine name by Afrikaners in South Africa due to its similarity to
Suzanne.
Celestia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Dutch (Rare), English (American, Rare), Italian (Archaic), Spanish (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Popular Culture
Pronounced: sə-LEHS-tee-a(Dutch) sə-LEHS-tee-ə(American English)
Variant spelling of
Caelestia, which is the feminine form of
Caelestius.
Known bearers of this name include a daughter of the American mathematician and religious leader Orson Pratt (1811-1881) and the American abolitionist and philanthropist Laura Spelman Rockefeller (1839-1915), who carried the name as a middle name and was affectionately referred to as Cettie because of it.
In popular culture, this name is best known for being the name of princess Celestia, who is a character in the animated children's television series "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic".
Cecelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə, seh-SEEL-yə
Castiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, Popular Culture
Pronounced: KAS-tee-əl(English)
Possibly a variant of
Cassiel. It is the name of an angel in the grimoire the
Heptameron, a work that is sometimes (probably incorrectly) attributed to the 13th-century philosopher Pietro d'Abano. It was also the name of a character (an angel) on the American television series
Supernatural (2005-2020). The creator Eric Kripke chose it after an internet search revealed that Castiel was an angel associated with Thursdays, the day the show aired
[1].
Cassiopeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-ee-ə-PEE-ə(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Κασσιόπεια (Kassiopeia) or
Κασσιέπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning
"cassia juice". In Greek
myth Cassiopeia was the wife of
Cepheus and the mother of
Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
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.
Calanthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee-ə
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Calantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thə
Calandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Byron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIE-rən
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds" in Old English. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), the writer of Don Juan and many other works.
Britannia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
From the Latin name of the island of
Britain, in occasional use as an English given name since the 18th century. This is also the name of the Roman female personification of Britain pictured on some British coins.
Blossom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAH-səm
From the English word blossom, ultimately from Old English blóstm. It came into use as a rare given name in the 19th century.
Beth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BETH
Belladonna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: behl-ə-DAHN-ə(English)
From Italian bella "beautiful, fair" and donna "lady". This is the name of a toxic plant, also called deadly nightshade (species Atropa belladonna).
Belinha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Bathsheba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: בַּת־שֶׁבַע(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: bath-SHEE-bə(English)
Means
"daughter of the oath" in Hebrew. According to the
Old Testament, this was the name of a woman married to
Uriah the Hittite. She became pregnant by King
David, so he arranged to have her husband killed in battle and then married her. She was the mother of
Solomon.
Bastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: BAS-tee-an
Balthazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: BAL-thə-zahr(English)
Variant of
Belshazzar. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia. This name was utilized by Shakespeare for minor characters in
The Comedy of Errors (1594) and
The Merchant of Venice (1596).
Azura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-ZHUWR-ə, AZH-rə
Azrael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
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.
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
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.
Atalanta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀταλάντη(Ancient Greek)
From the Greek
Ἀταλάντη (Atalante) meaning
"equal in weight", derived from
ἀτάλαντος (atalantos), a word related to
τάλαντον (talanton) meaning "a scale, a balance". In Greek legend she was a fast-footed maiden who refused to marry anyone who could not beat her in a race. She was eventually defeated by Hippomenes, who dropped three golden apples during the race causing her to stop to pick them up.
Ariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ar-ee-AN-ə(English) ar-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Portuguese form of
Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
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.
Arethusa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀρέθουσα(Ancient Greek)
From Greek
Ἀρέθουσα (Arethousa) meaning
"quick water", which is possibly derived from
ἄρδω (ardo) meaning "water" and
θοός (thoos) meaning "quick, nimble". This was the name of a nymph in Greek
mythology who was transformed into a fountain.
Aramis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
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").
Antoinette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-TWA-NEHT
Feminine
diminutive of
Antoine. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.
Annette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: A-NEHT(French) ə-NEHT(English) a-NEH-tə(German)
French
diminutive of
Anne 1. It has also been widely used in the English-speaking world, and it became popular in America in the late 1950s due to the fame of actress Annette Funicello (1942-2013).
Angharad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Old Welsh (Modernized) [1], Welsh Mythology
From an Old Welsh name recorded in various forms such as
Acgarat and
Ancarat. It means
"much loved", from the intensive prefix
an- combined with a mutated form of
caru "to love". In the medieval Welsh romance
Peredur son of Efrawg, Angharad Golden-Hand is the lover of the knight
Peredur.
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(English)
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.
Andromache
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομάχη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MA-KEH(Classical Greek)
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.
Andraste
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Celtic Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἀνδράστη(Ancient Greek)
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.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
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.
Amethyst
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-ə-thist
From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix
ἀ (a) and
μέθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness. It is the traditional birthstone of February.
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Amaterasu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese Mythology
Other Scripts: 天照(Japanese Kanji) あまてらす(Japanese Hiragana) アマテラス(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: A-MA-TEH-RA-SOO(Japanese)
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.
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ahm-ə-DAY-əs(English) ahm-ə-DEE-əs(English)
Means
"love of God", derived from Latin
amare "to love" and
Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang
Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.
Alouette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), Dutch (Rare), Afrikaans (Rare), Spanish (Mexican, Rare)
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.
Alejandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-leh-KHAN-dro
Spanish form of
Alexander. This was the most popular name for boys in Spain from the 1990s until 2006 (and again in 2011).
Alaric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: AL-ə-rik(English)
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.
Akilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عقيلة, عاقلة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘a-KEE-lah, ‘A-kee-lah
Akari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 明里, 朱里, 朱莉, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あかり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-KA-REE
From Japanese
明 (aka) meaning "bright" or
朱 (aka) meaning "vermilion red" combined with
里 (ri) meaning "village" or
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
Aidan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən(English)
Anglicized form of
Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as
Braden and
Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.
Adrienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DREE-YEHN(French)
French feminine form of
Adrian.
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Form of
Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.
Adelara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Brazilian
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-dee(Brazilian Portuguese)
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.
Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
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