MiLenci's Personal Name List

Latinized form of Greek Ἄλκηστις (Alkestis), derived from ἀλκηστής (alkestes) meaning "brave, valiant", a derivative of ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength, prowess". In Greek mythology she was the wife of King Admetus. She offered to die in place of her husband, though she was eventually rescued from the underworld by Herakles. This story was told by the Greek playwright Euripides in his 5th-century BC tragedy Alcestis.

Originally a diminutive of Alenka, now used as a given name in its own right.

Russian, Bulgarian and Belarusian form of Andrew.

Russian and Ukrainian form of Arsenios.

Derived from a diminutive of the Old German element asc meaning "ash tree" (Proto-Germanic *askaz).

Latinized form of Auxentios.

Basarab I the Founder was a prince of Wallachia (c. 1310 – 1352).
Basarab I's name was originally Basarabai and lost the ending -a when it was borrowed into Romanian. The name is of Cuman or Pecheneg origin and most likely meant "father ruler".

Means "given by God" from the Slavic elements bogŭ "god" and danŭ "given". This pre-Christian name was later used as a translation of Theodotus.

Means "favoured by God" from the Slavic elements bogŭ "god" and milŭ "gracious, dear".

Slovene, Croatian and Sorbian form of Cecilia.

English form of Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.

Croatian and Lithuanian form of Ceres.

Derived from the Slavic elements čĭstĭ "honour" and měrŭ "great, famous" or mirŭ "peace, world".

Means "plane tree" in Turkish (genus Platanus), derived from Persian چنار (chenar).

Derived from the Slavic elements čĭstĭ "honour" and radŭ "happy, willing". In Czech legend this was the name of one of the men tricked by Šárka.

From the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos), which was derived from Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord", a word used frequently in the Greek Bible to refer to God or Jesus.

This name was borne by a number of important saints, including Cyril of Jerusalem, a 4th-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, and Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th-century theologian. Another Saint Cyril was a 9th-century Greek missionary to the Slavs, who is credited with creating the Glagolitic alphabet with his brother Methodius in order to translate the Bible into Slavic. The Cyrillic alphabet, named after him, is descended from Glagolitic.

This name has been especially well-used in Eastern Europe and other places where Orthodox Christianity is prevalent. It came into general use in England in the 19th century.

Short form of Daniel.

The first element of this name is derived from Serbo-Croatian dan "day", which is ultimately derived from Proto-Slavic dьnь "day". The second element is derived from Slavic slav "glory". As such, the meaning of this name is roughly "day of glory".

Alternate transcription of Serbian Ђурађ (see Đurađ).

Originally a short form of names beginning with the Slavic element dorgŭ (South Slavic drag) meaning "precious".

Derived from Vlach drag meaning "dear person". It can also be the Vlach form of Dragoljub.

Derived from the Slavic element dorgŭ (South Slavic drag) meaning "precious" combined with mirŭ meaning "peace, world".

Originally a short form of Slavic names beginning with the element dorgŭ meaning "precious", such as Dragomir. This was the name of a 14th-century ruler of Moldavia.

Derived from the Slavic elements dorgŭ (South Slavic drag) meaning "precious" and slava meaning "glory".

Derived from the Slavic element dorgŭ (South Slavic drag) meaning "precious".

From the Hebrew name אֶפְרָיִם ('Efrayim) meaning "fruitful". In the Old Testament Ephraim is a son of Joseph and Asenath and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name was also borne by two early saints: Ephraim or Ephrem the Syrian, a 4th-century theologian, and Ephraim of Antioch, a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.

Latin diminutive of Fabia. This was the name of a 4th-century saint from Rome.

Roman family name that was derived from Latin faba meaning "bean". Quintus Fabius Maximus was the Roman general who used delaying tactics to halt the invasion of Hannibal in the 3rd century BC.

Possibly means "staff of the Geats", derived from the Old Norse elements gautr meaning "Geat" and stafr meaning "staff". However, the root name Gautstafr is not well attested in the Old Norse period. Alternatively, it might be derived from the Old Slavic name Gostislav.

This name has been borne by six kings of Sweden, including the 16th-century Gustav I Vasa. Another notable bearer was the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).

Czech and Slovak form of Yaroslav.

Hungarian form of Vladislav. Saint László was an 11th-century king of Hungary, looked upon as the embodiment of Christian virtue and bravery.

According to Polish legend this was the name of the founder of the Lechites, a group that includes the Poles. The name probably derives from that of the old Slavic tribe the Lendians, called the Lędzianie in Polish.

A famous bearer is the former Polish president Lech Wałęsa (1943-).

Derived from (possibly) the Polish name Lech combined with the Slavic element slava meaning "glory".

Short form of names ending in lena, such as Helena, Magdalena or Yelena.

Russian and Ukrainian form of Leonidas.

Latinate form of Magdalene.

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

This name was borne by several rulers of Romania.

Russian and Belarusian form of Michael, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian Михаил (see Mihail). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841), the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), and the Latvian-Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948-).

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name was borne by the wife of the 14th-century Serbian ruler Lazar.

Derived from the Slavic elements milŭ "gracious, dear" and mirŭ "peace" or "world".

Originally a diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear". This was the name of a 14th-century Serbian hero who apparently killed the Ottoman sultan Murad I at the Battle of Kosovo.

Derived from the Slavic element mirŭ meaning "peace, world".

Romanian form of Mirče. This name was borne by a 14th-century ruler of Wallachia, called Mircea the Great.

Polish form of Radomil.

Derived from the Slavic element radŭ "happy, willing" and mirŭ "peace, world".

Form of Radosław in several languages.

Derived from the Slavic elements radŭ "happy, willing" and slava "glory".

Old Romanian diminutive of Slavic names beginning with the element radŭ meaning "happy, willing". Radu Negru was the semi-legendary founder of Wallachia in the 13th century.

Roman family name, possibly meaning "servant" in Latin but most likely of unknown Etruscan origin. Saint Sergius was a 4th-century Roman officer who was martyred in Syria with his companion Bacchus. They are the patron saints of Christian desert nomads. Another saint by this name (in the Russian form Sergey) was a 14th-century Russian spiritual leader. The name was also borne by four popes.

Derived from Slavic elements, probably sebě "to oneself" and slava "glory". This name (in the Czech form Soběslav) was borne by two 12th-century dukes of Bohemia.

Derived from the Slavic element stati "stand, become" (inflected forms in stan-) combined with slava "glory". This name was borne by a few medieval saints (typically called by the Polish form Stanisław or Latinized form Stanislaus), including a bishop of Krakow who was martyred in the 11th century.

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

Old Church Slavic form of Vladimir.

Variant form of Ladislaus.

From the Old Slavic name *Voldislavŭ, derived from the elements volděti "to rule" and slava "glory". This name has been borne by kings, princes and dukes of Croatia, Serbia, Bohemia, Poland and Wallachia.

Derived from the Slavic elements vojĭ "warrior, soldier" and slava "glory, fame". Stefan Vojislav was an 11th-century ruler of Serbia.

Proto-Slavic reconstruction of Wojciech.

Variant form of Vojmir.

Derived from the Slavic elements vĭśĭ "all" and volděti "to rule". This was the name of an 11th-century grand prince of Kyiv.

Derived from Serbian vuk meaning "wolf". This was the name of a 14th-century Serbian ruler.

English form of Václav, via the Latinized form Venceslaus.

Polish form of Vladislav. This was the name of four kings of Poland.