hestergriff's Personal Name List

Ancient Greek feminine form of Chares. This was the word (in the singular) for one of the three Graces (plural Χάριτες).

This is also a Modern Greek transcription of the masculine form Chares.

From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.

Medieval English form of Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form Helen also became common.

Latinized form of Fedelm.

English form of Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.

From Aramaic מַרְתָּא (marta') meaning "the lady, the mistress", feminine form of מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the New Testament this is the name of the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.

The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).

Means "shadowy" in Irish. In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior woman. She instructed Cúchulainn in the arts of war, and he in turn helped her defeat her rival Aoife.

Means "loving one" in Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele, from thanda "to love".

Possibly related to Latin verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name Berenice. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.