xxyxx's Personal Name List

Originally a short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide or Adelina that begin with the element adal meaning "noble". Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.

In the case of the famed American soldier Audie Murphy (1925-1971), it is of uncertain meaning. As a feminine name, it can be a diminutive of Audrey.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Beatrix.

Anglicized form of Brónach.

From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.

Anglicized form of Dearbháil or Deirbhile.

Feminine form of Ebbe.

Danish short form of Asbjørn.

Scandinavian and Welsh form of Helen.

Finnish, Estonian and Swedish form of Helen.

Diminutive of Eleanor, Ellen 1 and other names beginning with El. It can also be a short form of names ending in ella.

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).

German diminutive of Margareta.

Modern form of GylfR, an Old Norse name derived from gjálfr "roar, heavy sea" or gólf "grain cultivator". In Norse mythology, Gylfi was the name of a sea giant. It was also the name of a mythical Swedish king.

Form of Channah (see Hannah) in several languages.

Form of Heinrich (see Henry) in several languages. A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).

Uncertain meaning, possibly from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior"; ὥρα (hora) meaning "period of time"; or αἱρέω (haireo) meaning "to be chosen". In Greek mythology Hera was the queen of the gods, the sister and wife of Zeus. She presided over marriage and childbirth.

Derived from the Germanic element id possibly meaning "work, labour" (Proto-Germanic *idiz). The Normans brought this name to England, though it eventually died out there in the Middle Ages. It was strongly revived in the 19th century, in part due to the heroine in Alfred Tennyson's poem The Princess (1847), which was later adapted into the play Princess Ida (1884) by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Though the etymology is unrelated, this is the name of a mountain on the island of Crete where, according to Greek myth, the god Zeus was born.

Transferred use of the surname Ilkka.

According to Kustaa Vilkuna, Ilkka (the name) is known as the symbol of the Finnish desire for freedom and justice. This reputation to the name was given by Jaakko Pentinpoika Ilkka (1545–1597), a wealthy Finnish landowner and leader of a 16th century revolt by Finnish peasants against Swedish rule known as the Cudgel War.

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.

German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.

Spanish and Polish form of Jonathan, as well as a Scandinavian and German variant form.

Variant of Kendrick.

From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning either "town on the River Kenn" or "royal town" in Old English.

Variant of Chloe. This particular variant was popularized by the television personality Khloé Kardashian (1984-) after she began appearing with her family on the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2007.

Norwegian and Swedish form of Christina.

Diminutive of Lachlan.

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

Dutch diminutive of Angelique or names ending in lia.

Short form of Linnéa and other names containing the same sound.

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.

Variant of Linnéa.

Form of Lucas (see Luke) in several languages.

Icelandic diminutive of María.

Gallicized form of Maeva.

Swedish and Norwegian short form of Magdalene.

Czech form of Margaret.

German, Scandinavian, Finnish and Estonian form of Marcus (see Mark).

Form of Martha used in various languages.

Diminutive of Maria. It coincides with the Italian word mia meaning "mine".

This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names María and Mariel respectively.

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.

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.

Short form of Camilla and other names that end in milla.

Short form of Honora or Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play A Doll's House (1879).

Form of Oscar in several languages. A famous bearer was Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), who is credited for saved over 1,000 Polish Jews during World War II.

From an English surname meaning "servant, page" in Middle English. It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Italian) from Greek παιδίον (paidion) meaning "little boy".

As a given name for girls, it received some public attention from a character in the 1958 novel Parrish and the 1961 movie adaptation [1]. It experienced a larger surge in popularity in the 1980s, probably due to the character Paige Matheson from the American soap opera Knots Landing.

From an English surname, originally a place name meaning "Pæga's town". This was a rare masculine name until the 1990s. In 1992 it was used for a female character in the movie The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and, despite the fact that it was borne by the villain, the name began to rise in popularity for girls as well as boys [1].

Famous bearers include Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), the first president of the Continental Congress, and American football quarterback Peyton Manning (1976-).

From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".

Feminine form of Pius.

From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series Charmed, which debuted in 1998 [1].

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.

Dutch and Danish short form of Susanna.

From the Latin name Sebastianus, which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.

Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.

Form of Sophia used in various languages.

Form of Sophie in several languages.

From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).

Scandinavian short form of Christina and other names ending in stina.

Swedish diminutive of Teresa.

Greek form of Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the Old Testament. It relates how Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation.

Swedish, Norwegian and Lithuanian form of Thomas.

Means "flax" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati. In Hindu texts it is said to derive from the Sanskrit exclamation उ मा (u ma) meaning "O (child), do not (practice austerities)!", which was addressed to Parvati by her mother.