CABIRIAfItalian (Rare) Possibly invented by Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio for the title heroine in the film 'Cabiria' (1914), to which he wrote the screenplay. He might have based it on Cabiri, a Latinized form of Greek Κάβειροι (Kabeiroi), the name of a group of deities perhaps deriving from Semitic kabir meaning "great, powerful"... [more]
CABOTmEnglish (Rare) The name 'Cabot' comes from the fifteenth century Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto who was commissioned by the Kingdom of England to discover North America. When Caboto arrived in England is name was changed to John Cabot to sound more English... [more]
CABRAKANmNew World Mythology Means "earthquake" in Mayan. Cabrakan was the god of mountains and earthquakes.
CADENZAf & mAmerican (Rare) Means "conclusion of a movement in music" in Italian (literally "a falling"). A cadenza is an ornamental passage near the close of a song or solo, as in an opera. This is sometimes seen as an Italianate variant of Cadence... [more]
CADHAfScottish The baby girl name Cadha is derived from Scottish origins. The name Cadha means from the steep mountain.
CADHANmAncient Irish, Irish Mythology Gaelic byname meaning "barnacle goose". In Irish legend Cadhan was a hero who slayed a monster with the help of his hound.
CADHLAf & mIrish Means "beautiful" or "handsome" in Irish.
CADIGAfArabic (Latinized), Literature Archaic transcription of Khadija. This form is mostly used in older English translations of the Koran, as well as early translations of the Arabian Nights. A notable bearer of this name is the titular character's wife from the Arabian Nights-inspired novel "The History of Nourjahad" (1767) by Frances Sheridan.
CADMIUMfPopular Culture (Rare) Name of the character Cadmium Casson for the Casson Family Series. The name was most likely taken from that of the element cadmium, which comes from the Latin cadmia and Greek καδμεία meaning "calamine", a mixture of minerals containing cadmium... [more]
CADORmArthurian Romance Probably a form of Cadeyrn, perhaps derived from its Cornish cognate. In Arthurian romance this was the name of Guinevere's guardian. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, Cador was a ruler of Cornwall and the father of Constantine, King Arthur's successor.... [more]
CADWALmMedieval Welsh, Breton (Rare) From Old Welsh cad "battle" and gwal "leader". This occurs in Shakespeare's play 'Cymbeline' (1609) as the name of Arviragus while in hiding in Wales.... [more]
CADWYmWelsh Mythology From Old Welsh cad "battle" combined with the suffix wy. This was borne by the son of Geraint in Arthurian legend.
CADYf & mEnglish (Modern, Rare) While nowadays generally considered a phonetic spelling of Katie or a diminutive of Cadence, Cady was originally derived from a surname which was either a variant of Cade or an Anglicized form of Ó Ceadaigh ("descendant of Ceadach"), with Ceadach being a byname derived from Irish ceadach "talkative".... [more]
CADYRYEITHmWelsh Mythology This name appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth.
CAEDYf & mAncient Irish Meaning: Warrior/Peace Bringer. The theory being that when capable fighters were around, other people were less likely to start fights they knew they’d lose.
CAELDORIfPopular Culture Most likely intended as an anagram of Cordelia. This name was first used as the name of a character in Fire Emblem: Fates. She resembles Cordelia, a character from the previous game, Fire Emblem: Awakening.
CAELESTIUSmLate Roman Late Roman variant of Caelestis. This was the name of an important follower of the Christian teacher Pelagius and the Christian doctrine of Pelagianism, who lived in the 5th century AD. The doctrine was considered to be heretical at the time and so Caelestius and his teacher were also seen as heretics.
CAELIANmEnglish, Dutch English form of Caelianus. The name has also been used in The Netherlands just a handful of times; the variant form Celian has been used a little bit more often there.
CAELIFERmRoman Mythology From a poetic Latin epithet of the Greek god Atlas which meant "supporting the heavens", from caelum "heaven" and ferre "to bear, to carry, to bring". In Greek mythology Atlas was a Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
CÆLINmHistory Cælin was an Orthodox priest in England in the seventh century, and brother of St. Cedd of Lastingham.... [more]
CAELUMmAstronomy The name of a faint constellation in the southern sky, which is from Latin caelum meaning "heaven, sky" (compare Caelius) or (allegedly) "burin" (a tool for engraving on copper or other metals).
CAELUSmRoman Mythology The name of the god of the sky in Roman mythology. Meaning "sky" or "the heavens." Origin of the English word "celestial"
CAEMLYNfAmerican (Modern, Rare) The name of a city in the book series, The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan. Likely a derivative of Camelot.
CAENISfAncient Roman, Greek Mythology A name bore by a former slave who was Roman Emperor Vespasian's mistress, Antonia Caenis. She had a remarkable memory.... [more]
CAESARIONmAncient Greek, Ancient Roman, History Latinized form of Greek Καισαρίων (Kaisarion), which in turn was a Hellenized form of Caesar with the Greek diminutive suffix -ιων (-ion) added to it. As such, the name essentially meant "little Caesar"... [more]
CAFIEROmItalian (Rare) From an Italian surname derived from Arabic kafir meaning "infidel". It was first used as a name in the late 19th century, in honor of Italian anarchist Carlo Cafiero (1846-1892).
CAGEmEnglish Derived from an English surname, with multiple meanings. The first one means "maker of animal cages", from Old French cagier, the second one means "keeper of cages" and the third one relates to a residence situated near a cage... [more]
CAILLICfScottish Derived from the Gaelic word caileag meaning "girl", or possibly from the related word cailleach meaning "old woman", which is also the name of a Scottish and Irish mythological figure (see Beira) and comes from Old Irish caillech "veiled (one)", from caille "veil", an early loanword from Latin pallium "a cloak" (i.e., the ecclesiastical garment worn by nuns).
CAÍLTEmIrish, Irish Mythology Older form of Caoilte, possibly derived from Irish caol meaning "slender". In Irish legend Caílte was a warrior of the Fianna and their foremost poet. He killed the god Lir in battle during the war between the gods.
CAIQUEmTupí (Latinized, Modern, Archaic) Caique seems to be an indigenous word, more specifically the extinct Tupi language, which means "aquatic bird." Other translations seem to refer to "he who glides on the waters".... [more]
CAIRENNfIrish Mythology In medieval Irish legends, this name was borne by the mother of Niall of the Nine Hostages, a concubine of King Eochu (or Eochaid). She was treated harshly by his jealous wife Queen Mongfind, but later rescued by her son.
CAÏSSAfLiterature Invented by the Italian writer Marco Girolamo Vida as a goddess of chess in 1527. It was reused in the poem Caïssa (1763) by William Jones. Since then, the name was sporadically given to girls. It is also a popular name for chess clubs.
CAIXIAfChinese Means "aurora" (literally "clouds brightly coloured by the sun") in Chinese.
CAIYUNfChinese From Chinese 彩 (cǎi) meaning "hue, colour" combined with 云 (yún) meaning "cloud", as well as other character combinations that can form this name.
CALAfEnglish Variation of Calla using the Italian word, cala, meaning "cove." Also a nickname for the Greek Kalas.
CALAFIAfLiterature, Popular Culture This name was apparently invented by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, who probably based it on califa, the Spanish form of Arabic khalifa, an Islamic title meaning "successor" (see Khalifa)... [more]
CALAHfHebrew Allegedly from Hebrew כַּלָּה (kallah) meaning "bride", a word sometimes used as a metaphor for the Sabbath (hence, "Shabbat bride"), though it is uncertain whether this is truly used as a Jewish name.... [more]
CALAISmGreek Mythology (Latinized) Latinized form of Greek Κάλαϊς (Kalais), which meant "turquoise" or "chrysolite" (being the name of "a precious stone of a greenish blue"). In Greek myth Calais and his twin brother Zetes, together known as the Boreads (being sons of Boreas, god of the north wind), were Argonauts.
CALAMANDAfCatalan Meaning uncertain; possibly derived from the Latin calamus, "reed, cane". This was the name of a (possibly legendary) Catalan saint, who is the patroness of Calaf.
CALAMITYfAmerican (Rare) Forename derived from the English word meaning " an event causing great and often sudden damage." This was a nickname of Calamity Jane. It is often shortened to Claire or Kelly and variants of those names... [more]
CALANmWelsh Welsh, meaning "start of the month or year, a beginning." In Wales, Calan Gauaf or Calan Gaeaf is the name given to Halloween/Samhain, literally meaning "the eve of the coming of winter."
CALASANCTIUSmLate Roman The meaning of the first element of this name is unknown to me, but the second element is probably derived from Latin sanctus "sacred, holy".
CALBRAITHmEnglish (Rare) A notable bearer Matthew C. Perry (American naval officer who opened Japan to the West) who has this as a middle name.
CALCEDONIOmItalian Derived from a Greek name meaning "from Chalcedon". Chalcedon was a city in what is now the Asian part of Istanbul.
CALCHASmGreek Mythology, Literature Calchas was a seer featured in Homer's Iliad, famous for correctly predicting many events of the Trojan War. Upon being bested in a contest of soothsaying by Mopsus, he killed himself in shame.This is the name a character in the "Harry Potter" series written by J.K. Rowling.
CALCIFERmLiterature This is the name of a fire demon in the 1986 young adult fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle, written by Diana Wynne Jones.... [more]
CALEDONmAmerican (Rare, Archaic) Most likely a masculine form of Caledonia. This name is probably best known from the 1997 film "Titanic", where it was the name of one of the main characters (namely Caledon Hockley, who went by Cal in daily life).
CALEDONIAfEnglish (Canadian, Rare) From the Latin name of Scotland, which may be derived from Caledones, the Latin name of a tribe that inhabited the region during the Roman era, which is of unknown origin, though some Celtic roots have been suggested; it is possible that the exonym means "tough person" from Brythonic caled "hard, tough" and a suffix (unknown to me) meaning either "great" or "person"... [more]
CALENDAUmProvençal Provençal masculine name taken from the Latin word kalends, used of the first day of a month and, in Provence, for Christmas Day. Calendau is the name of hero of Mistral’s poem 'Calendau' (1867).
CALIADNEfGreek Mythology Means "beautiful and holy". From the Greek kalos (καλή) 'beautiful' and adnos (αδνος) 'holy'. In Greek mythology she is a naiad of the river Nile in Egypt, a daughter of the god of the Nile, Neilus... [more]
CALIANAfEnglish Variant of Kaliana. This name was given to 20 girls born in the USA in 2010.
CALIANDRAfPortuguese Caliandra is the name of a flower, whose scientific name is Calliandra harrisii, and its denomination derives from the combination of the Greek elements Kallio (beautiful) and Andros (man), probably meaning "beautiful and masculine" or "beautiful and manlike".
CALIANNAfEnglish Variant of Kaliana. This name was given to 12 girls born in the USA in 2010.
CALIBANmLiterature From a version of the Spanish word canibal "cannibal", with -n- and -l- interchanged, found in Hakluyt's 'Voyages' (1599). Shakespeare created this name for the savage, deformed slave of Prospero in his play 'The Tempest' (1611)... [more]
CALICOmEnglish From the English word "calico" referring to something "having a pattern of red and contrasting areas, resembling the color of calico cloth, a kind of rough cloth, often printed with a bright pattern." From Calicut, in India, from where the cloth was originally exported, from Malayalam കോഴിക്കോട് (kōḻikkōṭ, 'Kozhikode'), from koyil 'palace' + kota 'fort', "fortified palace", with ‘y’ replaced by interchangeable ‘zh’.... [more]
CALIDOREmLiterature Perhaps derived from Greek kallos "beauty" and doron "gift". It was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1596), where Sir Calidore, the Knight of Courtesy, is the hero of Book VI who tames the Blatant Beast as requested by Queen Gloriana.
CALIFORNIAfEnglish Probably derives from the fictional Island of California ruled by Queen Calafia in the 16th century novel Las sergas de Esplandián by García Ordóñez de Montalvo.
CALIGOmEnglish, Pop culture Possibly related to the name for the genus of the "owl butterfly" or the Latin word meaning "darkness, mist." Name of a faerie in the game 'Lovestruck.'
CALIGORANTEmLiterature Meaning unknown. In Ariosto's poem 'Orlando Furioso' (1516), Caligorante was a giant who was enslaved by the knight Astolfo. Perhaps it is from Latin caligante "fading, growing dim", or the Italian name Calogero, or it may be a play on the Italian place name Caltagirone (derived from Arabic qal'at-al-ghiran "hill of vases").
CALIMEROmItalian Calimero is originally derived from the Greek Kallimeros, from Kalos meaning "Beautiful; Noble," and Meros meaning "Thigh; Leg". Turning out to be, "With Beautiful, Strong Legs".
CĂLINmRomanian Means "guelder rose (a type of flower)" in Romanian.