Cirica's Personal Name List

Latinized form of the Greek name Ἁγνή (Hagne), derived from Greek ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning "chaste". Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.

As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.

Italian and French form of Alcides.

Form of Channah (see Hannah) used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי ('ari) meaning "lion" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).

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.

Means "ascension" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the Ascension of Jesus into heaven.

Means "star", ultimately from Greek ἀστήρ (aster). This name has only been (rarely) used since the 20th century.

French feminine form of Aldo.

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.

French form of Augustus. A notable bearer was the philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857).

German variant of Augusta.

Means "exalted, venerable", derived from Latin augere meaning "to increase". Augustus was the title given to Octavian, the first Roman emperor. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who rose to power through a combination of military skill and political prowess. In 26 BC the senate officially gave him the name Augustus, and after his death it was used as a title for subsequent emperors. This was also the name of three kings of Poland (August in Polish).

Spanish form of Balthazar. This is also the form (of Belshazzar) used in the Greek Old Testament.

Derived from the South Slavic word бисер (biser) meaning "pearl" (ultimately of Arabic origin).

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.

Bulgarian form of Bojan.

From the Latin name of Scotland, which may be derived from Caledones, the Latin name of a tribe that inhabited the region during the Roman era, which is of unknown origin, though some Celtic roots have been suggested; it is possible that the exonym means "tough person" from Brythonic caled "hard, tough" and a suffix (unknown to me) meaning either "great" or "person". The name Caledonia has been applied poetically to Scotland since the 18th century.

Medieval Spanish form of Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word carmen meaning "song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera Carmen (1875).

From the Roman name Caecilius (see Cecilia). This was the name of a 3rd-century saint, a companion of Saint Cyprian. Though it was in use during the Middle Ages in England, it did not become common until the 19th century when it was given in honour of the noble Cecil family, who had been prominent since the 16th century. Their surname was derived from the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of Sextus.

French form of Cinderella.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Cyril.

Original Latin form of Clement, as well as the German, Dutch and Scandinavian form.

Means "consolation" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Consuelo, meaning "Our Lady of Consolation".

Roman family name that possibly derives from the Latin element cornu meaning "horn". In Acts in the New Testament Cornelius is a centurion who is directed by an angel to seek Peter. After speaking with Peter he converts to Christianity, and he is traditionally deemed the first gentile convert. The name was also borne by a few early saints, including a 3rd-century pope. In England it came into use in the 16th century, partly due to Dutch influence.

From the Roman family name Cyprianus, which meant "from Cyprus". Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage and a martyr under the emperor Valerian.

Latinized form of Kyrillos.

Derived from Dacia, the old Roman name for the region that is now Romania and Moldova.

From the Slavic element dobrŭ (Bulgarian добър) meaning "good".

French form of Eglantine.

From the Old German name Egino, derived from the element agin meaning "edge, blade" (from Proto-Germanic *agjō). Saint Egino was a 12th-century abbot from Augsburg.

Italian form of Electra.

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).

Short form of Eulalia.

Feminine form of Eutropios (see Eutropius).

From the Roman cognomen Fabianus, which was derived from Fabius. Saint Fabian was a 3rd-century pope.

Spanish form of the Late Latin name Fulgentius, which meant "shining" from Latin fulgens. Saint Fulgentius was a 6th-century bishop from Tunisia who was a friend of Saint Augustine.

Feminine form of Gregorius (see Gregory).

Feminine form of Honoratus.

Variant of Horatius. Shakespeare used it for a character in his tragedy Hamlet (1600). It was borne by the British admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), famous for his defeat of Napoleon's forces in the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he was himself killed. Since his time the name has been occasionally used in his honour.

From the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact Íñigo.

Meaning unknown. In Greek mythology Io was a princess loved by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.

Hungarian form of Stephen. This was the name of the first king of Hungary. Ruling in the 11th century, he encouraged the spread of Christianity among his subjects and is considered the patron saint of Hungary.

From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Greek ἴουλος (ioulos) meaning "downy-bearded". Alternatively, it could be related to the name of the Roman god Jupiter. This was a prominent patrician family of Rome, who claimed descent from the mythological Julus, son of Aeneas. Its most notable member was Gaius Julius Caesar, who gained renown as a military leader for his clever conquest of Gaul. After a civil war he became the dictator of the Roman Republic, but was eventually stabbed to death in the senate.

Although this name was borne by several early saints, including a pope, it was rare during the Middle Ages. It was revived in Italy and France during the Renaissance, and was subsequently imported to England.

Hungarian form of Clement.

Alternate transcription of Arabic خديجة (see Khadija), as well as the usual Malay form.

Means "friend" in Arabic.

Original Latin form of Letitia, as well as a French variant. This name began rising in popularity in France around the same time that Serge Gainsbourg released his 1963 song Elaeudanla Téïtéïa (this title is a phonetic rendering of the letters in the name Lætitia). It peaked in 1982 as the fourth most common name for girls.

Scandinavian form of Laurence 1.

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

French masculine and feminine form of Leonidas.

Feminine form of Liberatus. This was the name of a few early saints, including the patron of Pizzone, Italy.

Feminine form of Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.

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.

Form of Lucas (see Luke) in several languages.

From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.

Late Latin name meaning "great". It was borne by a 7th-century saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.

Slovak form and Czech variant of Margaret.

Means "marjoram" in French, from Latin maiorana. Marjoram is a minty herb.

Alternate transcription of Russian Максим or Belarusian Максім (see Maksim) or Ukrainian Максим (see Maksym). This is also the Czech form.

Roman family name that was derived from Latin maximus "greatest". Saint Maximus was a monk and theologian from Constantinople in the 7th century.

Latinized form of the Greek name Μεθόδιος (Methodios), derived from Greek μέθοδος (methodos) meaning "pursuit" or "method", ultimately from μετά (meta) meaning "with" and ὁδός (hodos) meaning "road, way, journey". Saint Methodius was a Greek missionary to the Slavs who developed the Cyrillic alphabet (with his brother Cyril) in order to translate the Bible into Slavic.

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. It was originally used in Czech, Slovak, and the South Slavic languages, though it has recently become popular elsewhere in Europe.

A city in Italy bears this name, though in this case it originates from Latin Mediolanum, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin meaning "middle of the plain". In some cases the city name may be an influence on the use of the given name.

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear".

Polish cognate of Miloš.

Form of Uzziah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament.

From the Late Latin name Paschalis, which meant "relating to Easter" from Latin Pascha "Easter", which was in turn from Hebrew פֶּסַח (pesach) meaning "Passover". Passover is the ancient Hebrew holiday celebrating the liberation from Egypt. Because it coincided closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the same Latin word was used for both. The name Pascal can also function as a surname, as in the case of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the French philosopher, mathematician and inventor.

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.

Feminine form of Ptolemaios (see Ptolemy).

From the Greek name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek πολεμήϊος (polemeios) meaning "aggressive, warlike". Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a 2nd-century Greek astronomer.

From the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafa'el) meaning "God heals", from the roots רָפָא (rafa') meaning "to heal" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named Azarias and accompanies Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in John 5:4.

This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Renaissance master Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael.

Means "refuge, shelter" in Spanish. As a feminine name, it is often part of the compound name María del Refugio, from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Refugio (de los Pecadores) meaning "Our Lady, Refuge (of Sinners)".

Meaning uncertain, possibly from Old Latin *yemos meaning "twin" with the initial consonant altered due to the influence of Romulus. In Roman legend the twin brothers Romulus and Remus were the founders of the city of Rome. Remus was later slain by his brother.

From Roma, the Latin name of the city of Rome, combined with a diminutive suffix. In Roman legend Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of Rhea Silvia and the god Mars. Romulus killed his brother when they argued about where to found Rome. According to the tale he gave the city its name, though in reality it was likely the other way around.

Probably means "secret song" from Hebrew שיר (shir) "song, poem" combined with רז (raz) "secret, mystery".

The name of a bright star in the constellation Canis Major, derived via Latin from Greek σείριος (seirios) meaning "burning".

From South Slavic sloboda meaning "freedom".

Latin form of Solange.

From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements sól "sun" and veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt (1876).

Means "date palm" in Hebrew. According to the Old Testament Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah and later his wife. This was also the name of a daughter of King David. She was raped by her half-brother Amnon, leading to his murder by her brother Absalom. The name was borne by a 12th-century ruling queen of Georgia who presided over the kingdom at the peak of its power.

From Θαδδαῖος (Thaddaios), the Greek form of the Aramaic name Thaddai. It is possibly derived from a word meaning "heart", but it may in fact be an Aramaic form of a Greek name such as Θεόδωρος (see Theodore). In the Gospel of Matthew, Thaddaeus is listed as one of the twelve apostles, though elsewhere in the New Testament his name is omitted and Jude's appears instead. It is likely that the two names refer to the same person.

From the ancient Greek name Θεόκλεια (Theokleia), which meant "glory of God" from the Greek elements θεός (theos) meaning "god" and κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". This was the name of a 1st-century saint, appearing (as Θέκλα) in the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. The story tells how Thecla listens to Paul speak about the virtues of chastity and decides to remain a virgin, angering both her mother and her suitor.

From a Roman name meaning "of Thracia". Thracia was a region in southeastern Europe, now divided between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Russian form of Trojan.

Means "little bear", derived from a diminutive form of the Latin word ursa "she-bear". Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.

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.

Form of Basil 1 in several languages.

Hungarian form of Václav.

German form of Václav.

From Arabic زهراء (zahra), the feminine form of أزهر (azhar) meaning "shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah.

It can also be an alternate transcription of Arabic زهرة (see Zahrah), a name derived from a related root.

Serbian and Slovene form of Zvjezdana.