ari.'s Personal Name List
Adalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Anglicized), Hungarian (Rare), Popular Culture
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Adalindis.
The name came to prominence with Adalind Schade, a main character on the television show "Grim" (2011-2017).
Afërdita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Pronounced: ah-fər-DEET-ah
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Means
"daybreak, morning" in Albanian, from
afër "nearby, close" and
ditë "day". It is also used as an Albanian form of
Aphrodite.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Alcina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Carolingian Cycle
Used by Ludovico Ariosto in his poem
Orlando Furioso (1532), where it belongs to a sorceress who abducts
Ruggiero. Ariosto may have borrowed the name from the mythological
Alcinoe or directly from the Greek word
ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength, prowess". George Frideric Handel adapted the story into his opera
Alcina in 1735.
Alma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: AL-mə(English) AL-ma(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin
almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning
"the soul".
Almudena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: al-moo-DHEH-na
Derived from Arabic
المدينة (al-mudaynah) meaning
"the citadel". It was in a building by this name that a concealed statue of the Virgin
Mary was discovered during the Reconquista in Madrid. The Virgin of Almudena, that is Mary, is the patron
saint of Madrid.
Amalthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀμάλθεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: am-əl-THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 22 votes
From the Greek
Ἀμάλθεια (Amaltheia), derived from
μαλθάσσω (malthasso) meaning
"to soften, to soothe". In Greek
myth she was a nymph (in some sources a goat) who nursed the infant
Zeus.
Amista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chamorro
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Means "loyalty" in Chamorro, derived from Spanish amistad "friendship".
Anahera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Rating: 40% based on 21 votes
Means "angel" in Maori.
Anežka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: A-nesh-ka
Rating: 41% based on 11 votes
Annika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, German, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AN-ni-ka(Swedish) AH-nee-ka(Dutch) AHN-nee-kah(Finnish) A-nee-ka(German) AN-i-kə(English) AHN-i-kə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 14 votes
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 56% based on 22 votes
Medieval English variant of
Honora.
Anthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἄνθεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-thee-ə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 25 votes
From the Greek
Ἄνθεια (Antheia), derived from
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning
"flower, blossom". This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Hera.
Antigone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀντιγόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-TEE-GO-NEH(Classical Greek) an-TIG-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 54% based on 16 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" and
γονή (gone) meaning "birth, offspring". In Greek legend Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. King Creon of Thebes declared that her slain brother Polynices was to remain unburied, a great dishonour. She disobeyed and gave him a proper burial, and for this she was sealed alive in a cave.
Antonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Αντωνία(Greek) Антония(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: an-TO-nya(Italian, Spanish, German) an-TO-nee-ə(English) ahn-TO-nee-a(Dutch) an-TO-nee-a(Latin)
Rating: 57% based on 35 votes
Feminine form of
Antonius (see
Anthony).
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 44% based on 18 votes
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Apolonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: a-po-LO-nya(Spanish) a-paw-LAW-nya(Polish)
Aquila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: AK-wil-ə(English) ə-KWIL-ə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Araminta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 12 votes
Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by John Vanbrugh in his comedy The Confederacy (1705). This was the original given name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
Arcadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ar-KA-dhya
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of
Arcadius. This is the name of a region on the Greek Peloponnese, long idealized for its natural beauty.
Arcangela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Arden
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-dən
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
Rating: 57% based on 39 votes
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.
Armida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ar-MEE-da(Italian) ar-MEE-dha(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Probably created by the 16th-century Italian poet Torquato Tasso for his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580). In the poem Armida is a beautiful enchantress who bewitches many of the crusaders.
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 52% based on 33 votes
Feminine form of
Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
Asteria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀστερία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 37% based on 12 votes
Augusta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, English, German, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-ta(Italian) ə-GUS-tə(English) ow-GUWS-ta(German)
Feminine form of
Augustus. It was introduced to Britain when King George III, a member of the German House of Hanover, gave this name to his second daughter in 1768.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 68% based on 39 votes
Austėja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Baltic Mythology
Rating: 29% based on 12 votes
Means "to weave" in Lithuanian. This was the name of the Lithuanian goddess of bees.
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
Rating: 47% based on 19 votes
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Avis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-vis
Probably a Latinized form of the Germanic name
Aveza, which was derived from the element
awi, of unknown meaning. The
Normans introduced this name to England and it became moderately common during the Middle Ages, at which time it was associated with Latin
avis "bird".
Aviv
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: a-VEEV
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Means "spring" in Hebrew.
Bartolomea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: bar-to-lo-MEH-a
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Briony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Rating: 50% based on 30 votes
Briseida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Form of
Briseis used in medieval tales about the Trojan War.
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 57% based on 33 votes
Calypso
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλυψώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIP-so(English)
Rating: 50% based on 19 votes
From Greek
Καλυψώ (Kalypso), which probably meant
"she that conceals", derived from
καλύπτω (kalypto) meaning "to cover, to conceal". In Greek
myth this was the name of the nymph who fell in love with
Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island of Ogygia. When he refused to stay with her she detained him for seven years until
Zeus ordered her to release him.
Camellia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-MEE-lee-ə, kə-MEHL-ee-ə
Rating: 49% based on 17 votes
From the name of the flowering shrub, which was named for the botanist and missionary Georg Josef Kamel.
Casilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
Meaning uncertain. This is the name of the 11th-century patron
saint of Toledo, Spain. It might have an Arabic origin (Saint Casilda was a Moorish princess), perhaps from
قصيدة (qasidah) meaning
"poem". Alternatively it could be derived from a Visigothic name in which the second element is
hilds meaning "battle".
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 39 votes
Cassiopeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-ee-ə-PEE-ə(English)
Rating: 49% based on 39 votes
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.
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian)
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name
Caecilius, which was derived from Latin
caecus meaning
"blind".
Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.
Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 56% based on 41 votes
English form of
Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 59% based on 40 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play
As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of
Cecilia.
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.
Christabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KRIS-tə-behl
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
Combination of
Christina and the name suffix
bel (inspired by Latin
bella "beautiful"). This name occurs in medieval literature, and was later used by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his 1816 poem
Christabel [1].
Christobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 71% based on 44 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Clarus, which meant
"clear, bright, famous". The name
Clarus was borne by a few early
saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called
Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.
As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.
Clementine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHM-ən-teen, KLEHM-ən-tien
Rating: 59% based on 20 votes
Colette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-LEHT
Rating: 61% based on 19 votes
Short form of
Nicolette.
Saint Colette was a 15th-century French nun who gave her money to the poor. This was also the
pen name of the French author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954).
Constance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAHN-stəns(English) KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Medieval form of
Constantia. The
Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From
Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles
[1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King
Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of
Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.
The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).
Corisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, French
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Meaning uncertain, from the name of a character in medieval legend, possibly first recorded by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Perhaps it was derived from an older form of Spanish
corazón "heart" (e.g., Old Spanish
coraçon; ultimately from Latin
cor "heart", with the hypothetic Vulgar Latin root
*coratione,
*coraceone) or the Greek name
Chrysanthe. As a nickname it was used by a mistress of King Henry IV of France: Diane d'Andoins (1554-1620),
la Belle Corisande. Some usage may be generated by Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera 'Amadis' (1684; based on Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo), in which it belongs to the lover of the prince Florestan. The name was also used by Benjamin Disraeli for a character in his play 'Lothair' (1870).
Cornelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Romanian, Italian, Dutch, English, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: kawr-NEH-lya(German) kor-NEH-lya(Italian) kawr-NEH-lee-a(Dutch) kawr-NEE-lee-ə(English) kor-NEH-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 57% based on 21 votes
Feminine form of
Cornelius. In the 2nd century BC it was borne by Cornelia Scipionis Africana (the daughter of the military hero Scipio Africanus), the mother of the two reformers known as the Gracchi. After her death she was regarded as an example of the ideal Roman woman. The name was revived in the 18th century.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 52% based on 38 votes
Form of
Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play
Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
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.
Eliška
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: EH-lish-ka(Czech) EH-leesh-ka(Slovak)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Elsinore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: EHL-si-nawr(Literature, American English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the name of
Hamlet's castle, which is an anglicized form of
Helsingør, a Danish place name meaning "neck, narrow strait" (see
Elsinore). Use of this place name as a feminine personal name is likely due to its similarity to
Eleanor and
Elsa.
Embla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: EHM-blah(Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Meaning uncertain, perhaps related to Old Norse
almr "elm". In Norse
mythology Embla and her husband
Ask were the first humans. They were created by three of the gods from two trees.
Endellion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: ehn-DEHL-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of
Endelienta, the Latin form of a Welsh or Cornish name. It was borne by a 5th or 6th-century Cornish
saint whose birth name is lost. According to some traditions she was a daughter of
Brychan Brycheiniog (identifying her with Cynheiddon).
Enfys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHN-vis
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Means "rainbow" in Welsh. This name was first used in the 19th century.
Enid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: EH-nid(Welsh) EE-nid(English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Probably derived from Welsh
enaid meaning
"soul, spirit, life". In Arthurian tales she first appears in the 12th-century French poem
Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes, where she is the wife of Erec. In later adaptations she is typically the wife of
Geraint. The name became more commonly used after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian poem
Enid in 1859, and it was fairly popular in Britain in the first half of the 20th century.
Erlea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Means "bee" in Basque.
Esmé
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Rating: 52% based on 18 votes
Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.
Esperanta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: ehs-peh-RAN-ta
Rating: 35% based on 12 votes
Means "hoping" in Esperanto.
Esperanza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-peh-RAN-tha(European Spanish) ehs-peh-RAN-sa(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 56% based on 25 votes
Spanish form of the Late Latin name Sperantia, which was derived from sperare "to hope".
Etenesh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Amharic
Other Scripts: እቴነሽ(Amharic)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Means "you are my sister" in Amharic.
Eumelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐμελία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
εὐμέλεια (eumeleia) meaning
"melody".
Eurydice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐρυδίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-RUY-dee-keh(Latin) yuw-RID-i-see(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
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.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Evadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
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.
Evanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
From the Hebrew name
חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word
חָוָה (chawah) meaning
"to breathe" or the related word
חָיָה (chayah) meaning
"to live". According to the
Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and
Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of
Eden.
Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.
Everild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
Latinized form of
Eoforhild. This was the name of a 7th-century English
saint.
Felicja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: feh-LEE-tsya
Rating: 34% based on 12 votes
Fenella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Form of
Fionnuala used by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Peveril of the Peak (1823).
Filomena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Lithuanian
Pronounced: fee-lo-MEH-na(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian form of
Philomena.
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese)
Rating: 64% based on 83 votes
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Florentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: flo-rehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 51% based on 16 votes
Galatea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Γαλάτεια(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 38% based on 16 votes
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.
Galilea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare), English (Modern)
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
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)
Rating: 70% based on 97 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 58% based on 64 votes
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god
Hermes. In Greek
myth Hermione was the daughter of
Menelaus and
Helen. This is also the name of the wife of
Leontes in Shakespeare's play
The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hildegard
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: HIL-də-gart(German)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hilt "battle" and
gart "enclosure, yard". This was the name of the second wife of
Charlemagne (8th century). Also,
Saint Hildegard was a 12th-century mystic from Bingen in Germany who was famous for her writings and poetry and also for her prophetic visions.
Hippolyta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἱππολύτη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: hi-PAHL-i-tə(English)
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
Latinized form of
Hippolyte 1. In Shakespeare's comedy
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) she is the queen of the Amazons, due to marry
Theseus the Duke of Athens.
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
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.
Idalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1], Greek Mythology, Polish (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ἰδαλία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 51% based on 35 votes
Probably from a Germanic name derived from the element
idal, an extended form of
id possibly meaning
"work, labour" [1]. Unrelated, this was also an epithet of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite, given because the city of Idalion on Cyprus was a center of her cult.
This name was borne by the heroine of the Polish writer Juliusz Słowacki's play Fantazy (1841, published 1866).
Inna
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, History (Ecclesiastical)
Other Scripts: Инна(Russian) Інна(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: EEN-nə(Russian)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown. This was the name of an early Scythian
saint and martyr, a male, supposedly a disciple of Saint
Andrew.
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Rating: 69% based on 77 votes
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
Isaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: ee-SOW-ra(Spanish)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Late Latin name meaning "from Isauria". Isauria was the name of a region in Asia Minor.
Iskra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Искра(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: EES-kru(Bulgarian) EES-kra(Macedonian, Croatian)
Rating: 41% based on 15 votes
Means "spark" in South Slavic.
Ismena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish (Rare)
Pronounced: ees-MEH-na
Rating: 42% based on 18 votes
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 68% based on 21 votes
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Ksenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSEH-nya(Polish) KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Polish form of
Xenia, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Ксения or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Ксенія (see
Kseniya).
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Rating: 65% based on 50 votes
Meaning unknown, probably of Etruscan origin. In Roman legend Lavinia was the daughter of King Latinus, the wife of
Aeneas, and the ancestor of the Roman people. According to the legend Aeneas named the town of Lavinium in honour of his wife.
Leandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: leh-AN-dra(Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 13 votes
Leocadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 60% based on 35 votes
Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of
Leucadia or from Greek
λευκός (leukos) meaning
"bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name).
Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Leokadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: leh-aw-KA-dya
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Léonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AW-NEE
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Leontina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Portuguese, Romanian
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Lilias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Form of
Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century
[1].
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 42% based on 11 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Loredana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Used by the French author George Sand for a character in her novel Mattea (1833) and later by the Italian author Luciano Zuccoli in his novel L'amore de Loredana (1908). It was possibly based on the Venetian surname Loredan, which was derived from the place name Loreo.
Lucretia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KREH-tee-a(Latin) loo-KREE-shə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Lucretius, possibly from Latin
lucrum meaning
"profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.
Lucrezia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: loo-KREHT-tsya
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 71% based on 92 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucyna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: loo-TSI-na
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Ludovica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: loo-do-VEE-ka
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
Italian feminine form of
Ludwig.
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German)
Rating: 75% based on 93 votes
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.
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Magdalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mak-da-LEH-nə(German) MAG-də-lin(English)
Rating: 69% based on 81 votes
From a title meaning
"of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the
New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular
saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 41% based on 10 votes
Mariamne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
From
Μαριάμη (Mariame), the form of
Maria used by the historian Josephus when referring to the wife of King Herod.
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)
Rating: 61% based on 18 votes
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.
Marianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Μαριανθη(Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Marigold
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
Rating: 65% based on 46 votes
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of
Mary and the English word
gold.
Maud
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Rating: 47% based on 18 votes
Medieval English and French form of
Matilda. Though it became rare after the 14th century, it was revived and once more grew popular in the 19th century, perhaps due to Alfred Tennyson's 1855 poem
Maud [1].
Medea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Georgian
Other Scripts: Μήδεια(Ancient Greek) მედეა(Georgian)
Pronounced: mə-DEE-ə(English) MEH-DEH-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From Greek
Μήδεια (Medeia), derived from
μήδεα (medea) meaning
"plans, counsel, cunning". In Greek
mythology Medea was a sorceress from Colchis (modern Georgia) who helped
Jason gain the Golden Fleece. They were married, but eventually Jason left her for another woman. For revenge Medea slew Jason's new lover and also had her own children by Jason killed.
Megumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 恵, 愛, etc.(Japanese Kanji) めぐみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEH-GOO-MEE
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From Japanese
恵 (megumi) meaning "favour, benefit" or
愛 (megumi) meaning "love, affection", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations that have the same reading. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Meritites
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Egyptian
From Egyptian
mryt-jts meaning
"loved by her father". This name was borne by several Egyptian royals, including a wife and a daughter of the pharaoh
Khufu.
Mirabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Rating: 54% based on 11 votes
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English)
Rating: 62% based on 68 votes
Derived from Latin
mirandus meaning
"admirable, wonderful". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play
The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father
Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Rating: 41% based on 12 votes
Mireille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-RAY(French)
Rating: 42% based on 17 votes
From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).
Miriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mee-RYA-na
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Montserrat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: moon-sə-RAT
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the name of a mountain near Barcelona, the site of a monastery founded in the 10th century. The mountain gets its name from Latin mons serratus meaning "jagged mountain".
Nasim
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: نسيم(Arabic) نسیم(Urdu)
Pronounced: na-SEEM(Arabic)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Means "breeze" in Arabic.
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
Medieval
diminutive of names beginning with
El, such as
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 or
Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase
mine El, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nel.
Niloufar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: نیلوفر(Persian)
Pronounced: nee-loo-FAR
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Means "water lily" in Persian.
Nimue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: NIM-ə-way(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
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.
Olimpia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish (Rare), Hungarian (Rare)
Pronounced: o-LEEM-pya(Spanish) aw-LEEM-pya(Polish) O-leem-pee-aw(Hungarian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From the Greek
Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from
φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning
"bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of
Theseus in Greek
mythology.
Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson
Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Philomela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλομήλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-lə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From Greek
Φιλομήλη (Philomele), derived from
φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend" and
μῆλον (melon) meaning "fruit". The second element has also been interpreted as Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song". In Greek
myth Philomela was the sister-in-law of Tereus, who raped her and cut out her tongue. Prokne avenged her sister by killing her son by Tereus, after which Tereus attempted to kill Philomela. However, the gods intervened and transformed her into a nightingale.
Philomena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλουμένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-nə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From Greek
Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning
"to be loved", an inflection of
φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early
saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name
Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word
φιλουμένη, not a name.
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Queralt
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: kə-RAL
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From the name of a Spanish sanctuary (in Catalonia) that is devoted to the Virgin
Mary.
Rosalba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Italian name meaning
"white rose", derived from Latin
rosa "rose" and
alba "white". A famous bearer was the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757).
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German) RO-zə-lee(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
French, German and Dutch form of
Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie
Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind
Rating: 73% based on 87 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hros meaning "horse" and
lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The
Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase
rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy
As You Like It (1599).
Rosamund
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-mənd, RAHZ-ə-mənd
Rating: 67% based on 83 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hros "horse" and
munt "protection". This name was borne by the wife of the Lombard king Alboin in the 6th century. The
Normans introduced it to England. It was subsequently interpreted as coming from Latin
rosa munda "pure rose" or
rosa mundi "rose of the world". This was the name of the mistress of Henry II, the king of England in the 12th century. According to legends she was murdered by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Rosangela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ro-ZAN-jeh-la
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Rosaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ro-ZA-rya
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Rosaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Means
"golden rose", derived from Latin
rosa "rose" and
aurea "golden". This name was (first?) used by Pedro Calderón de la Barca for a character in his play
Life Is a Dream (1635).
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 75% based on 89 votes
Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Roshanara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian (Archaic)
Other Scripts: روشنآرا(Persian)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From Persian
روشن (roshan) meaning "light" and
آرا (ara) meaning "decorate, adorn". This was the name of the second daughter of the 17th-century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Roswitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: raws-VEE-ta
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hruod "fame" and
swind "strong". This was the name of a 10th-century nun from Saxony who wrote several notable poems and dramas.
Róża
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ROO-zha
Rating: 37% based on 13 votes
Saira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: سائرہ(Urdu)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Possibly means "traveller" in Arabic.
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
Rating: 57% based on 31 votes
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.
Scheherazade
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: shə-HEHR-ə-zahd(English)
Rating: 45% based on 28 votes
Sekhmet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology
Pronounced: SEHK-meht(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From Egyptian
sḫmt, derived from
sḫm meaning
"powerful" and a feminine
t suffix. Sekhmet was an Egyptian warrior goddess, also associated with healing, violence and plague. She was commonly depicted with the head of a lioness, and was sometimes conflated with the cat-headed goddess
Bastet.
Semiramis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Assyrian (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Σεμίραμις(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Probably from a Greek form of the name
Shammuramat. According to ancient Greek and Armenian sources, Semiramis (
Շամիրամ (Shamiram) in Armenian) was an Assyrian queen who conquered much of Asia. Though the tales are legendary, she might be loosely based on the real Assyrian queen.
Séphora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-FAW-RA
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Shira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שִׁירָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 51% based on 10 votes
Means "singing" in Hebrew.
Sibyl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Rating: 57% based on 10 votes
From Greek
Σίβυλλα (Sibylla), meaning
"prophetess, sibyl". In Greek and Roman legend the sibyls were female prophets who practiced at different holy sites in the ancient world. In later Christian theology, the sibyls were thought to have divine knowledge and were revered in much the same way as the
Old Testament prophets. Because of this, the name came into general use in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The
Normans imported it to England, where it was spelled both
Sibyl and
Sybil. It became rare after the
Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps helped by Benjamin Disraeli's novel
Sybil (1845).
Sidony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Feminine form of
Sidonius. This name was in use in the Middle Ages, when it became associated with the word
sindon (of Greek origin) meaning "linen", a reference to the Shroud of Turin.
Sigrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Estonian, Finnish (Archaic)
Pronounced: SEE-grid(Swedish) SEEG-reed(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the Old Norse name
Sigríðr, which was derived from the elements
sigr "victory" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved".
Solomiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Соломія(Ukrainian)
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 58% based on 11 votes
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Sophronia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Late Greek
Other Scripts: Σωφρονία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 19 votes
Feminine form of
Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem
Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of
Olindo.
Steliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Sumire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 菫, etc.(Japanese Kanji) すみれ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SOO-MEE-REH
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From Japanese
菫 (sumire) meaning "violet (flower)". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Suzume
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese (Rare)
Other Scripts: 雀, etc.(Japanese Kanji) すずめ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SOO-ZOO-MEH
From Japanese
雀 (suzume) meaning "sparrow", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations that are pronounced the same way.
Swanhild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
swan "swan" and
hilt "battle". Swanhild (or Swanachild) was the second wife of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel in the 8th century.
Tabassum
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: تبسّم(Arabic)
Pronounced: ta-BAS-soom
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Means "smiling" in Arabic.
Tamsin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TAM-zin
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Contracted form of
Thomasina. It was traditionally used in Cornwall.
Tesni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Means "warmth" in Welsh.
Theodosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδοσία(Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-O-DO-SEE-A(Classical Greek) thee-ə-DO-see-ə(English) thee-ə-DO-shə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 83 votes
Theophania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεοφάνια(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 44% based on 19 votes
Thisbe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Θίσβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEEZ-BEH(Classical Greek) THIZ-bee(English) TEES-beh(Latin)
From the name of an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, itself supposedly named after a nymph. In a Greek legend (the oldest surviving version appearing in Latin in Ovid's Metamorphoses) this is the name of a young woman from Babylon. Believing her to be dead, her lover Pyramus kills himself, after which she does the same to herself. The splashes of blood from their suicides is the reason mulberry fruit are red.
Timarete
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Τιμαρέτη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Derived from Greek τιμάω
(timao) meaning "to honour" and ἀρετή
(arete) meaning "virtue, excellence". It was borne by a female painter of ancient Greece (5th century BC).
Tímea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: TEE-meh-aw
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Created by the Hungarian author Mór Jókai for a character in his novel
The Golden Man (1873). The name is apparently based on the Greek word
εὐθυμία (euthymia) meaning
"good spirits, cheerfulness".
Úna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Medieval Irish [1]
Pronounced: OO-nə(Irish)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Probably derived from Old Irish úan meaning "lamb". This was a common name in medieval Ireland.
Valentine 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VA-LAHN-TEEN
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
Vashti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: וַשְׁתִּי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: VASH-tee(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
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.
Vellamo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: VEHL-lah-mo(Finnish)
From Finnish
velloa "to surge, to swell". This was the name of a Finnish goddess of the sea, the wife of
Ahti.
Venetia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Greek
Other Scripts: Βενετία(Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name
Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name
Gwynedd [1]. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel
Venetia (1837).
Wisteria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: wis-TEHR-ee-ə, wis-TEER-ee-ə
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From the name of the flowering plant, which was named for the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ξανθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 58% based on 20 votes
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Xenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ξένια(Greek) Ξενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 56% based on 59 votes
Means
"hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of
ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
Zelda 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: זעלדאַ(Yiddish)
Rating: 53% based on 29 votes
Possibly a feminine form of
Zelig.
Zhansaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Жансая(Kazakh)
From Kazakh
жан (zhan) meaning "soul" and
сая (saya) meaning "shadow, shade, protection, comfort" (both of Persian origin).
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