Matissem & fFrench (Rare), Dutch (Rare), English (Rare) Transferred use of the surname Matisse. The surname was most famously borne by the French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954), who is likely the reason behind the popularity of Matisse as a given name in the 21st century.... [more]
MayblossomfEnglish Directly taken from the English word mayblossom for the crataegus monogyna, a flower that is also known as maythorn, common hawthorn or quickthorn. This was the name of a princess in Andrew Lang's "Red Fairy Book".
MeissafWestern African, Astronomy Variant of Maïssa; from Arabic maḥīṣ meaning "shining, glittering". This is also the traditional name of Lambda Orionis, a star in the Orion constellation.
MelissanthefGreek (Rare) Composed of Greek μελισσα (melissa) "honeybee" and ανθος (anthos) "flower". It is used as a Graecized form of Mélisande (e.g., the 12th-century queen Melisende of Jerusalem is known as Melissanthe in Greek)... [more]
MelisseusmGreek Mythology Derived from Greek μελισσεύς (melisseus) meaning "bee-keeper, bee-man", which is ultimately derived from Greek μέλισσα (melissa) meaning "honey-bee" (also see Melissa)... [more]
MelissusmAncient Greek (Latinized) Latinized form of Melissos. A known bearer of this name was Melissus of Samos, an ancient Greek philosopher from the 5th century BC.
MelussinafLiterature Apparently a variant of Melusine, used by Danish author Lene Kaaberbøl in her fantasy novel Skammerens Datter (2000; English: The Shamer's Daughter).
MessalinafAncient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Catalan Feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Messalla, which was originally an agnomen derived from the place name Messana, applied to the 3rd-century BC Roman general Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus to commemorate his victory at the city of Messana in Sicily... [more]
MessianusmLate Roman Extended form of Messius. This name was borne by a magister militum under the Western Roman emperor Avitus (5th century AD) and a priest who co-wrote a book about St... [more]
MessiusmLate Roman Roman nomen gentile that was derived from Messus. Known bearers of this name include Roman Emperor Decius (3rd century AD) and Roman politician Flavius Messius Phoebus Severus (5th century AD)... [more]
MessoismArthurian Cycle The name of the Fisher King in Perlesvaus, probably a reference to the biblical Messiah.... [more]
MessuafHindi Probably mean “One Who Prays” in Hindi. A notable bearer was the woman who took in Mowgli when he joined the humans in a version of ‘The Jungle Book’.
MessusmLate Roman Derived from the Latin verb meto "to reap, to harvest, to cut, to sever", or from the latinized form of Greek mesos or messos "(the) middle, (the) middle one". A third possibility is that it is a variant form of Maesus.
MetussinmMalay Meaning uncertain, primarily used in Brunei.
Mihr-un-NissafHistory Original Classical Persian form of Meherunnesa. This name was borne by multiple royal women from the Mughal Empire: Mihr-un-Nissa or Mehr-un-Nissa (1577-1645), better known by her title Nur Jahan, the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir; her daughter Mihr-un-Nissa Begum (born c. 1605); as well as the Mughal princess Mihr-un-Nissa Begum (1661-1706), a daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb (who also had other daughters named Zeb-un-Nisa, Zinat-un-Nisa, Badr-un-Nisa and Zubdat-un-Nisa).
MissandeifLiterature, Popular Culture Missandei is the name of a freed slave character from the Song of Ice and Fire books by GRR Martin and the TV show Game of Thrones based upon the former. ... [more]
MissathafObscure Perhaps a combination of the honorific term miss and the name Atha. A typhoon in 1950 was named Missatha.
Missourif & mEnglish (American) From the name of the American state, or from the name of the Missouri River, the longest river in the United States (see Missouri).
MolaissemMedieval Irish Diminutive of Laisrén, derived from Irish Mo Laisse "my Laise", Laise being a short form of Laisrén. The 7th-century saint Laserian of Leighlin is also called Molaise or Molaisse; he lived as a hermit on Holy Isle in the Firth of Clyde, which is known as Eilean MoLaise in Gaelic.
MullissufNear Eastern Mythology, Ancient Assyrian Meaning uncertain. Name borne by an obscure goddess who was a consort of the god Ashur. May derive from "Mullitum", which was an epithet for the Sumerian goddess Ninlil.
Mullissu-mukannishat-NinuafAncient Assyrian Etymology uncertain. A possible meaning is "Mullissu is the victor in Nineveh" (Ninua being the Akkadian form of Nineveh), deriving from the Akkadian element mukannišum ("subjugator /subduer / conqueror / victor").
MyrtoessafGreek Mythology Possibly derived from Greek μύρτος (myrtos) meaning "myrtle". In Greek mythology this was the name of a nymph, according to Pausanias.
NarzißmGerman (Archaic), Literature German form of Narkissos via its latinized form Narcissus. A known bearer of this name was the German doctor and psychologist Narziß Ach (1871-1946).... [more]
NessaniëfLiterature A fictional character created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Nessanië was a noble woman of Númenór. Nessanië was the first child and only daughter of Hallatan, Sheep-lord of Hyarastorni... [more]
NessarosefLiterature Combination of Nessa 1 and Rose. This is the name of the Wicked Witch of the East in Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" and its musical adaptation... [more]
NessiefManx (Archaic) Of debated origin and meaning. While it was certainly used as a diminutive of Agnes, some scholars consider this name a Manx adaption of Neasa.
NessiefEnglish, Scottish Originally a diminutive of Agnes, used independently from at least the 18th century. It is now also used as a diminutive of Vanessa... [more]
NessusmGreek Mythology Possibly derived from Greek νῆσσα (nessa) meaning "duck (bird)". In Greek mythology, Nessus was a centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles... [more]
NissanmHebrew The seventh month of the Hebrew calendar and the first month of the ancient Hebrew calendar. The month of Pesach. The name was brought from the Babylonian exile and originates from the Akkadian word "Nisanu", from the Hebrew word for flower bud Nitzan, which blossoms in spring.
NisshokumJapanese ‘“Nis’ meaning ‘Sun or Moon’, and ‘shoku’ meaning “food” or “eclipse”... [more]
Nissif & mHebrew First used as a biblical term in Exodus. The full word being Jehovah-Nissi, and meaning "victorious" or "banner". Moses named the victory banner as such after defeating the Amalekites.
NoussairmArabic (Maghrebi) Maghrebi form of Nusayr. Notable bearers of this name include the Moroccan soccer players Noussair El Maimouni (b. 1991) and Noussair Mazraoui (b. 1997).
OdysseasmGreek Modern Greek form of Odysseus (see also Odyssefs). Known bearers of this name include Odysseas Androutsos (a hero of the Greek War of Independence) and Odysseas Elytis (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979).
Ognissantim & fMedieval Italian, Italian (Rare) Means "All Saints’ Day" in Italian, from ogni "every, each" and santi "saints", given as a devotional name to children born on the first day of November.
OssinissamGuanche Derived from Guanche *ussiniẓẓa, meaning "he who makes fair reasoning". This was the name of a king from the island of El Hierro in the mid-15th century.
OssipagofRoman Mythology A god who built strong bones, from ossa, "bones," + pango, pangere, "insert, fix, set."
PassarionmHistory (Ecclesiastical), Late Greek, Russian (Archaic) Meaning and origin uncertain. It might possibly be derived from the Greek noun πασσάριος (passarios) meaning "cross" or even from Πασσαρών (Passaron), a city in the region of Epirus in ancient Greece.... [more]
PassionfEnglish (Rare) First recorded as a given name in the 16th century, the name Passion was originally used by Christian parents in reference to the "Passion of Christ", a term denoting the suffering of Jesus. The word itself is derived from Latin passio "suffering", ultimately from Latin patior "to suffer; to endure" and was originally used to describe any suffering or pain concerning the body... [more]
Passionatef & mEnglish (African, Rare) Derived from the English word Passionate meaning "Full of passion". It is mostly masculine in Nigeria but mostly feminine in other countries.