hiheyaudrey's Personal Name List

Variant of Alana, probably influenced by Elaine.

Variant of Alicia. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with λύσσα (lyssa) meaning "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.

Feminine form of Benito.

From Japanese 蝶 (chō) meaning "butterfly".

Variant of Desiree.

Means "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.

Feminine form of Eric. It was first used in the 18th century. It also coincides with the Latin word for "heather".

Scandinavian form of Eric. This was the name of kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. King Erik IX of Sweden (12th century) is the patron saint of that country.

Possibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was Hadassah.

This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].

Italian and Catalan feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

From an Irish surname, either Mac Giolla Ruaidh, which means "son of the red-haired servant", or Mac Giolla Rí, which means "son of the king's servant".

Means "song" in Sanskrit. The word appears in the name of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text of Hinduism (meaning "divine song").

From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.

Variant of Hershel.

Feminine form of Junius. This was the name of an early Christian mentioned in the New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a man or a woman).

Variant of Letitia.

Form of Monica used in various languages.

From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".

From Japanese 麗 (rei) meaning "lovely, graceful, beautiful", 玲 (rei) meaning "the sound of jewels", 禮 (rei) meaning "courtesy", 礼 (rei) meaning "ceremony" or 令 (rei) meaning "good, law" combined with Japanese 花 (ka) or 華 (ka) both meaning "flower", 香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" or 加 (ka) meaning "increase". Other kanji combinations are possible.

From the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, where it is a place name meaning "horse country" in the fictional language Sindarin.

The name Samaria is the Latin transliteration of the Greek Σαμαρεια (Samareia), which in turn is a Hellenized version of the Hebrew name שמרון (Shomron). It means, "to keep, guard, observe, or give heed."

From a contraction of Santa Ana (referring to Saint Anna) or from a Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from any of the numerous places named for the saint. It can be given in honour of the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-), the founder of the band Santana. The name received a boost in popularity for American girls after the character Santana Andrade began appearing on the soap opera Santa Barbara in 1984.

Modern form of Satisha.

From a surname, itself derived from the name of numerous English towns, of Old English origin meaning "south town".

Means "life of Zeus", derived from Greek Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of Zeus" and βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.