UrthonamLiterature In the mythological writings of William Blake, Urthona is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold... [more]
UtanamOld Persian Possibly derived from Old Persian 𐎢- (u-) meaning "good" and tāna meaning "tone, melody". It has been suggested that the second element may be tana "offspring", but this apparently doesn’t account for the long vowel.
UtenafPopular Culture Possibly from Japanese word 台 (utena in Kun reading) meaning "pedestal". This is the name of the protagonist of the anime 'Revolutionary Girl Utena'.
VaianafTahitian Means "water cave" or "rock water" in Tahitian, from the phrase vai ana o te mato teitei meaning "water from the cave of the high rock".
VairocanamBuddhism, Hinduism From Sanskrit वैरोचन (vairocana) meaning "solar, of the sun", a derivative of विरोचन (virochana) meaning "sun, giver of light". This is the name of a cosmic buddha in Mahayana tradition, as well as an epithet of the Hindu asura (demon) Bali.
ValenafAmerican (South, Rare) Either a contracted form of Valentina or an invented name coined from the syllable Val- and the once-popular name suffix -ene.
ValenafNorth Frisian Seibicke thinks this name is an elaborate form of Vahle which he further links via Volle with names including the Germanic name element folk "people, folk".
VallivanafCatalan, Catalan (Valencian) From the Valencian title of the Virgin Mary, Mare de Déu de Vallivana, meaning "Mother of God of Vallivana."... [more]
VamanamHinduism Means "dwarfish, small, short-statured" in Sanskrit. This is the name of one of the avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu, who appears as a dwarf man to recover the three worlds (earth, heaven and the netherworld) from the demon king Bali.
VanafNorse Mythology Possibly derived from Vanaheimr, home of the Vanir (a type of Old Norse gods). Vana was the wife of Sveigðir and mother of Vanlandi... [more]
VarinafEnglish (Rare) Possibly a variant of Varinia. This name was most notably borne by Varina Davis (1826-1906), the second wife of Jefferson Davis and the First Lady of the Confederate States of America.
VercanafGermanic Mythology, Celtic Mythology Vercana was a goddess who was venerated by the Gauls in Roman times, it is, however, uncertain whether she was a Germanic or a Celtic goddess. Since inscriptions dedicated to her were found near healing springs, it has been proposed that she may have been a goddess of healing and waters and attempts have been made to link her name to Germanic *Werkanô "she who does deeds" and to *Berkanô "goddess of birch trees".
VerdoanafArthurian Cycle The lady of the castle Aspetta Ventura in La Tavola Ritonda. She suffered from leprosy and could only be cured by the blood of a royal virgin. In the quest to heal her, her knights bled hundreds of virgins, most of whom perished... [more]
VespinafTheatre, Literature Meaning uncertain, it could be related to the Latin vesperum meaning "evening" or the Latin and Italian vespa meaning "wasp". Vespina is Queen Veremonda's maid in an Italian opera called "Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona" (with the English translation being "Veremonda, the Amazon of Aragon" also known as "Il Delio")... [more]
VesselinafBulgarian Variant spelling of Veselina, but in some cases it is also a variant transcription of the name. A known bearer of this name is the Bulgarian opera singer Vesselina Kasarova (b... [more]
VestanafEnglish (American, Rare, Archaic) Probably derived from the place of the same name in the Italian municipality Corniglio, which in turn may have derived its name from Vesta.
VesunnafGaulish Mythology The name of a Gallo-Roman goddess considered a giver of prosperity, abundance and good fortune, likely from the Proto-Celtic *wesu, meaning ‘good’, 'worthy'.
VibhishanamIndian, Hinduism From विभीषण (vibhīṣaṇa), meaning "terrifying" in Sanskrit. Vibhishana, a rakshasa or humanoid being, is the brother of Ravana, the king of Lanka, and ally of Rama in the Ramayana.
VidarnamOld Persian Uncertain etymology. Could mean "piercing the guilty", from Old Persian vid "to pierce" and darna "guilt*, or "he who knows the guilt/wrong" if the first element is instead vida "to know, understand"; it could mean "he who tears apart; the ripper" if derived from Avestan vi "apart, asunder" and Middle Persian darr "to split, to tear" (compare modern Persian دریدن (daridan)).
VienafFinnish Variant of Vieno. Viena may also refer to the area of White Sea Karelia or White Karelia in the northwestern Russia, known as Vienan Karjala or Viena in Finnish and Karelian.
VillanafMedieval Italian, History (Ecclesiastical) Derived from Latin villana "villein, feudal tenant" (compare Villanus). Villana de' Botti (1332 - 1361) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic... [more]
VisnafOld Norse, Norse Mythology Old Norse name of unknown origin and meaning. Visna is the name of a warrior-like queen mentioned in the Gesta Danorum.
VivānamOld Persian Shortened form of Vivahana, derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HwiHwáswants meaning "brilliant, shining forth" or "dawn; the shining one".
VoltumnamEtruscan Mythology Voltumna, also known as Veltha, is a chthonic god of the Etruscans, later elevated to the status of supreme god. He is also the patron god of the federation of twelve Etruscan city states... [more]
VolumnafRoman Mythology Feminine form of Volumnus. According to Augustine, Volumnus and Volumna were minor Roman deities who granted newborn infants the will (or volition) to do good.
WawanafJapanese From Japanese 和 (wa) meaning "peace, harmony", 輪 (wa) meaning "wheel, flower" combined with 奈 (na) meaning "apple tree". Other kanji combinations are possible.
WhilhelminafDutch (Archaic), German (Archaic) This particular spelling of the given name Wilhelmina originated in older times, when people had varying degrees of literacy and when the Dutch and German languages were not yet standardized to the degree that they are today... [more]
WhinafMaori Māori form of Josephine, and short for Āwhina. Dame Whina Cooper (born Hōhepine Te Wake; 1895-1994) was a Māori activist from New Zealand, her activism helped to improve the rights for Māori people.
WikramawardhanamHistory Derived from Sanskrit विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "stride, pace, valour" and वर्धन (vardhana) meaning "increasing, growing, thriving". This was the name of the fifth king of the Majapahit Empire who reigned from 1389 to 1429.