SilverHobgoblin's Personal Name List

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.

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

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

Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.

Meaning unknown, possibly of Phoenician origin. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, identified with the Roman goddess Venus. She was the wife of Hephaestus and the mother of Eros, and she was often associated with the myrtle tree and doves. The Greeks connected her name with ἀφρός (aphros) meaning "foam", resulting in the story that she was born from the foam of the sea. Many of her characteristics are based on the goddess known as Ashtoreth to the Phoenicians and Ishtar to the Mesopotamian Semitic peoples, and on the Sumerian goddess Inanna.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Probably means "calf, heifer, girl" from Greek δάμαλις (damalis). In the New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by Saint Paul.

Transferred use of the surname Damask.

French form of Damian.

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.

Greek form of Electra.

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

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

Variant of Elisiv, the Old Swedish form of the Russian name Yelizaveta.

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).

French form of Alodia.

Variant of Elowen.

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.

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.

French form of Stephen.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Icelandic and Old Norse form of Freya.

Form of Gael using French orthography.

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

English form of Geneviève.

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.

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.

Welsh form of Guinevere.

Probably means "born of trees" from Old Welsh guid "trees" and the suffix gen "born of". In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Gwydion is the nephew of King Math of Gwynedd, and like him a powerful magician. In an elaborate plot to give his brother a chance to rape his uncle's footbearer, he arranged a war between Gwynedd and the neighbouring kingdom of Dyfed. Gwydion himself killed King Pryderi of Dyfed at the end of the war. In punishment for the rape, Math transformed Gwydion and his brother into different animals over the course of three years. Gwydion was the uncle of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he fostered. Math and Gwydion fashioned Lleu a wife, Blodeuwedd, out of flowers and they later aided him after her betrayal. Gwydion also appears in older Welsh poetry such as the Book of Taliesin.

Probably a variant of Yolanda influenced by the Greek words ἰόλη (iole) meaning "violet" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This name was (first?) used by Gilbert and Sullivan in their comic opera Iolanthe (1882).

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.

Arabic, Indonesian and Malay form of Alexander.

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

From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra'el) meaning "God contends", from the roots שָׂרָה (sarah) meaning "to contend, to fight" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.

Form of Israel used in the Latin Old Testament.

French diminutive of Julie.

Means "sea" in Hawaiian.

Variant of Kal-El.

From the name of the African country. The country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called Kĩrĩnyaga meaning "the one having stripes". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 1960s.

From the name of the bird of prey, ultimately derived from Old French crecelle "rattle", which refers to the sound of its cry.

Russian form of Cyrus.

Latinate form of Lillian.

Icelandic, Faroese and Finnish cognate of Lily.

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

Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.

Means "from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king Lydos. In the New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.

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

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

French form of Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).

The name of a witch, known as the Red Priestess, in George R. R. Martin's book series "A Song of Ice and Fire." He likely based her name off the French name Mélisande.

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

Means "servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor Haman.

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

Meaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French Lancelot-Grail Cycle.

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.

From the Late Latin name Peregrinus, which meant "traveller". This was the name of several early saints.

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 the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".

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

Portuguese form of Sapphira. It coincides with the Portuguese word for "sapphire".

From the name of the gemstone, typically blue, which is the traditional birthstone of September. It is derived from Greek σάπφειρος (sappheiros), ultimately from the Hebrew word סַפִּיר (sappir).

From the Old German element sahso meaning "a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.

From the Latin name Sebastianus, which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.

Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.

French form of Seraphina.

Variant of Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.

Means "shining brow", derived from Welsh tal "brow, head" and iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the Mabinogi. He is the central character in the Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king Maelgwn Gwynedd.

Means "daughter of twilight, nightingale" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Tinuviel was another name of Lúthien, the daughter of Thingol the elf king. She was the beloved of Beren, who with her help retrieved one of the Silmarils from the iron crown of Morgoth.

Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.

Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of Juliana.

Derived from Latin unda meaning "wave". The word undine was created by the 16th-century Swiss author Paracelsus, who used it for female water spirits.

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.

Feminine form of Vivianus (see Vivian). Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.

French form of Viviana.

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

French form of Iseult.

Czech form of Yvette.