she_assassin's Personal Name List

Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

Greek form of Alecto.

Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).

French form of Amelia.

Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.

Russian diminutive of Anna.

Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.

Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning "safe" or ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning "a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was known as Diana to the Romans.

Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.

Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

From Japanese 彩 (aya) meaning "colour", 綾 (aya) meaning "design", or other kanji characters with the same pronunciation.

Italian cognate of Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and Othello (1603).

Diminutive of Caroline, or sometimes of names beginning with Cal.

Latinized form of Kallisto. A moon of Jupiter bears this name.

Feminine form of Camillus. This was the name of a legendary warrior maiden of the Volsci, as told by Virgil in the Aeneid. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Fanny Burney's novel Camilla (1796).

Latinized form of the Greek name Κορίννα (Korinna), which was derived from κόρη (kore) meaning "maiden". This was the name of a Greek lyric poet of the 5th century BC. The Roman poet Ovid used it for the main female character in his book Amores [1]. In the modern era it has been in use since the 17th century, when Robert Herrick used it in his poem Corinna's going a-Maying [2].

From Δαναοί (Danaoi), a word used by Homer to designate the Greeks. In Greek mythology Danaë was the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. It had been prophesied to her father that he would one day be killed by Danaë's son, so he attempted to keep his daughter childless. However, Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of Perseus. Eventually the prophecy was fulfilled and Perseus killed Acrisius, albeit accidentally.

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.

Possibly an elaboration of Dayana or a variant of Deyanira. This is borne by Dayanara Torres (1974-), a Puerto Rican actress, singer, model, writer and former Miss Universe.

Possibly means "earth mother", derived from Greek δᾶ (da) meaning "earth" and μήτηρ (meter) meaning "mother". In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of Cronus, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone. She was an important figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites performed at Eleusis near Athens.

From the Greek word ἠχώ (echo) meaning "echo, reflected sound", related to ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.

Form of Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Елена (see Yelena).

Feminine form of Emiliano.

From the Greek word γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of γῆ (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.

Russian and Bulgarian feminine form of Galenos (see Galen).

Feminine form of George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.

Short form of Margareta. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990).

Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).

Italian, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian form of Yolanda.

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.

Derived from Greek κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning "most beautiful", a derivative of καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.

Variant of Cara.

Russian diminutive of Yekaterina.

Diminutive of Yekaterina. This is the name of a 1938 Soviet song, which became popular during World War II.

Means "love" in Cornish.

Hebrew form of Keziah.

Diminutive of Kimberly.

German variant of Cora.

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

Spanish diminutive of Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.

Feminine form of Lucien.

Feminine form of Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of Maria and Elena.

From the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor where Saint Gregory was bishop in the 4th century. Nyssa is also the genus name of a type of tree, also called the Tupelo.

Latinized form of Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque Comus (1634).

The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.

From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelat)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.

Means "moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess Artemis.

Means "my song" in Hebrew.

Biblical Hebrew form of Susanna.

From the Greek name Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from θάλλω (thallo) meaning "to blossom". In Greek mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or Χάριτες (Charites).

Possibly derived from Greek θεά (thea) meaning "goddess". In Greek myth this was the name of a Titan goddess of light, glittering and glory. She was the wife of Hyperion and the mother of the sun god Helios, the moon goddess Selene, and the dawn goddess Eos.

Thessaly is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. This name is borne by Thessaly Lerner, American stage, film and voice actress.

Medieval feminine form of Thomas.

Feminine form of Ziri.

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.

French form of Viviana.

Derived from Greek ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek mythology.

Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".

Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of Jeanne.

Italian feminine and masculine form of Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.

From Khmer វណ្ណ (von) meaning "colour", ultimately from Sanskrit वर्ण (varna).

Russian diminutive of Yevgeniya or Yevgeniy or a Bulgarian diminutive of Evgeniya.

Spanish form of Alexius.

Alternate transcription of Russian Алексей (see Aleksey).

Italian form of Alexius.

Short form of Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote Dracula.

Anglicized form of Cadwgan.

Variant of Kees.

From Old Irish Cormacc or Corbmac, of uncertain meaning, possibly from corb "chariot, wagon" or corbbad "defilement, corruption" combined with macc "son". This is the name of several characters from Irish legend, including the semi-legendary high king Cormac mac Airt who supposedly ruled in the 3rd century, during the adventures of the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. This name was also borne by a few early saints.

Italian variant of Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.

From the Slavic element darŭ meaning "gift", originally a diminutive of names containing that element.

Italian form of Elijah.

Italian form of Aelius or Helios.

French form of Aemilius (see Emil). This name was borne by the author Émile Zola (1840-1902) and the sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).

Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.

Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.

Italian form of Italus.

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

Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian and Macedonian form of Lazarus. This name was borne by a 14th-century Serbian ruler who was killed at the Battle of Kosovo.

Derived from Portuguese lírio "lily".

Italian and Spanish form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1). Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), known as the Magnificent, was a ruler of Florence during the Renaissance. He was also a great patron of the arts who employed Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists.

Means "rain clouds" in Arabic.

Means "rare" in Arabic.

Meaning unknown, presumably of Irish origin. In Irish legend he was the young man who fled to Scotland with Deirdre, who was due to marry Conchobar the king of Ulster. Conchobar eventually succeeded in capturing Deirdre and killing Naoise, which caused Deirdre to die of grief.

Latinized form of Nikasios. This was the name of several martyrs and saints, such as Nicasius of Die (4th century AD) and Nicasius of Rheims (5th century AD).

Other notable bearers include the Dutch statesman Nicasius de Sille (1543-1600) and the Flemish painter Nicasius Bernaerts (1620-1678).

Short form of Nicholas (or sometimes Nicodemus).

From a Norman nickname derived from a diminutive of Norman French ors "bear", ultimately from Latin ursus. American actor and director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was a famous bearer of this name.

Italian form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

From Sino-Vietnamese 文 (văn) meaning "literature, culture, writing". This is a common middle name for Vietnamese boys.

Short form of names containing the Old Norse element víg "war".

Short form of Wolfgang, Wolfram and other names containing the Old German element wolf meaning "wolf" (Proto-Germanic *wulfaz). It can also be simply from the German or English word. As a Jewish name it can be considered a vernacular form of Zeev.

From Sanskrit अज (aja) or अजा (ajā), respectively the masculine and feminine word for "goat".

From Mongolian баяр (bayar) meaning "joy, happiness".

From a surname that was derived from the name of a city in northern England. The city was originally called by the Romans Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of Lugus". Later the Brythonic element ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city.

Diminutive of Yann or Yanna 2.