These
names occur in folklore and fairy tales.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Aethenoth m Folklore, PetLikely a variant or corruption of
Æthelnoð. This was the name of the horse of Lady
Godiva who rode down the streets of Coventry, England in the nude.
Allerleirauh f Folklore (Germanized)Means "all kinds of fur" in German. This is the name of the title character of a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Allerleirauh is a princess who flees from her father, who wants to marry her, and brings three dresses and a coat with all kinds of furs with her... [
more]
Aoibheall f Irish Mythology, FolkloreProbably from Old Irish
óibell "spark, fire". In Irish legend this is the name of a banshee or goddess who appeared to the Irish king Brian Boru on the eve of the Battle of Clontarf (1014). She is still said to dwell in the fairy mound of Craig Liath in County Clare.
Aradia f Folklore (Italianized, ?)Allegedly a Tuscan dialectical form of
Erodiade. According to 'Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches' (1899), a book composed by American folklorist Charles Leland, she was a goddess in regional Italian folklore, who gave the knowledge of witchcraft to women.
Badroulbadour f Literature, FolkloreFrom Arabic بدر البدور
(Badr ul-Budūr) meaning "full moon of full moons" (see also
Budur). This is the name of the princess in the Middle Eastern fairy tale 'Aladdin', one of the tales in the 'Arabian Nights'.
Beržas m Lithuanian, Folklore, Popular CultureDerived from the Lithuanian noun
beržas meaning "birch tree". In Lithuanian folklore and popular culture, Beržas is the name of one of the three sons of the titular character of the folk tale
Eglė žalčių karalienė, which translates to English as
Eglė, the Queen of Serpents.
Cormoran m Folklore, LiteratureName of a legendary giant in Cornish folklore; he appears in the fairy tale 'Jack the Giant Killer'. The name was also used for the main character, Cormoran Strike, in 'The Cuckoo's Calling' (2013) by Robert Galbraith (J... [
more]
Dornröschen f Folklore (Germanized)The name of the 'Sleeping Beauty' in the German fairy tale 'Little Briar Rose' by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, meaning "thorny little rose".
Duimelijntje f FolkloreDutch form of
Thumbelina, which is derived from Dutch
duim meaning "thumb" combined with the Dutch diminutive suffixes
-lijn and
-tje.
Fertram m Icelandic (Modern, Rare), FolkloreIcelandic name of unknown origin and meaning, invented for a fairy tale
Sagan af Fertram og Ísól björtu, which translates as
The story of Fertram and bright Ísól in English. The name is probably influenced by the names
Bertram and
Ferdinand.
Goldilocks f Folklore, LiteratureFrom a nickname for a young girl with blond hair that originated from the English words
gold and
locks. This is best known as the name of the main character in the fairy tale 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears.' The name was also used by J. R. R. Tolkien in 'The Lord of the Rings,' where it belongs to one of
Samwise Gamgee's daughters.
Herne m Literature, FolkloreHerne the Hunter is a ghost first mentioned in Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor".
Indrid m Popular Culture, FolkloreIndrid Cold is the name of a being originating in North American folklore, whose appearance usually coincides with sightings of UFOs or other cryptids.
Isengrim m Literature, Folklore, Ancient GermanicA variant form of
Isangrim. This is the name of a wolf found in many medieval stories, most notably in the French folktale of Reynard the Fox. The author J. R. R. Tolkien used it as a hobbit name in 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954).
Jonay m Spanish (Canarian), FolkloreTaken from
Garajonay, a Canarian place name of Guanche origin. According to a local legend,
Gara and Jonay were a pair of young Guanche lovers who died together in a joint suicide at Garajonay peak, the highest mountain on the Canarian island of La Gomera... [
more]
Kasperl m Medieval German, Folklore, TheatreDiminutive of
Kasper. This name fell out of use a long time ago, possibly due to close association with the famous character from German puppet theatre. In this day and age, the name only survives as a patronymic surname.
Kopciuszek f FolkloreMeans "black redstart" in Polish - the black redstart being a type of small bird. This is the Polish name of the fairy tale character Cinderella. It is not used as a given name in Poland.
Locika f FolkloreFrom the Czech word for the Lactuca plant (lettuce). This is the Czech name for
Rapunzel (the fairy tale character). This isn't a personal name in Czech.
Lumisirkku f FolkloreMeans "snow bunting (a type of bird)" in Finnish, composed of
lumi "snow" (see
Lumi) and
sirkku "bunting" (referring to a bird of the genus Emberiza; see
Sirkku)... [
more]
Mahsuri f Malay, FolkloreFrom Malay
maha meaning "great" and
suri meaning "queen". This is the name of a legendary woman from the Malaysian island of Langkawi who was executed for adultery.
Mindia m Georgian, Folklore, LiteratureBasically means "I wanted you", derived from Georgian მინდია
(mindia) or მინდოდა
(mindoda) meaning "I wanted". This name literally refers to the fact that the child in question was desired by its parents.... [
more]
Mirliflor m FolkloreDerived from French
mirliflore meaning "dandy". This is the name of a prince in the fairy tale 'Rosanella'. He is known for his inconstancy.
Much m FolkloreIn the tales about the famous heroic outlaw Robin Hood, Much the Miller's Son was one of his Merry Men. In his case, Much is a nickname which he received because his abilities were apparently so unimpressive that it caused his parents to continually refer to him as "our son, though he's not much", which was ultimately shortened to Much.
Norcia f FolkloreNorcia is a female leprechaun in Tuscan folklore. Her name is a corruption of the Etruscan goddess
Nortia.
Onnolee f Folklore, Literature, English (American, Archaic)According to legend, Onnolee was the last survivor of the Munsee nation, which dwelt on the west shore of Canadice lake and near Bald Hill (in the Finger Lakes region, New York) during the latter part of the fourteenth century, and met their death by the hands of the Mengnees; all except Onnolee, who was taken, bound to the belt of the famous leader, Mickinac, and compelled to follow him... [
more]
Paribanou f FolkloreComposed of Persian پری
(pari) "fairy" and بانو
(bânu) "lady". This is the name of a female genie in the 'Arabian Nights' fairy tale 'The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou'.
Pollicina f FolkloreThis name is one of the two Italian forms of
Thumbelina (the other is
Mignolina). It is derived from Italian
pollice meaning "thumb" combined with the Italian feminine diminutive suffix
-ina... [
more]
Rosanie f FolkloreProbably an elaboration of
Rose. This is the name of a princess in the fairy tale 'Ricdin-Ricdon' by Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier. It was also used by the Comte de Caylus for the titular princess in his fairy tale 'Rosanie' (usually known in English as 'Rosanella').
Rosaspina f Folklore (Italianized)From Italian
rosa meaning "rose" and
spina "thorn, spine", used as a translation of German
Dornröschen, the title character of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale (known as Briar Rose in English).
Roszpunka f FolklorePolish name for
Rapunzel, which is taken from their word for corn salad, also known as the Valerianella plant. This is also how the original German
Rapunzel is named... [
more]
Rougarou m FolkloreThe name of a werewolf-like creature in Laurentian French. It is derived from standard French
loup garou "werewolf" (where
loup means "wolf" and
garou is a borrowed word from Germanic
were-wolf via Frankish
garulf).
Saurimonda f Folklore, Medieval OccitanFrom Old Occitan
saur "blond" and
mond "world". This is the name of an evil entity who manifested herself as a girl with fair hair and blue eyes.
Schneewittchen f Folklore (Germanized), German (Modern, Rare)Means "snow white" in German. This is the name of an unfortunate princess hated by her stepmother in a traditional German folktale, immortalized first by the Brothers Grimm retelling in their "Grimms' Fairy Tales" (1812, 1854) and then by Walt Disney's animated film (1937).... [
more]
Shulgan m FolkloreTheorised to be derived from Chinese 水
(shuǐ) meaning "water" combined with 龍
(lóng) meaning "dragon" and 王
(wáng) "king". In Bashkir and Turkic folklore, Shulgan is the mythical ruler of an underwater realm... [
more]
Snegurka f FolkloreThis is the name of the popular Russian fairy tale character
Snegurochka "The Snow Maiden". The name comes from Russian
снег (
sneg) which means "snow".
Tähkäpää f FolkloreFrom Finnish
tähkä meaning "ear of grain", and
pää meaning "head". It is the Finnish name for
Rapunzel and not used as a given name in Finland.
Tannakin f Folklore, LiteratureTannakin Skinker is a pig-faced woman in A Certaine Relation of the Hog-faced Gentlewoman called Mistris Tannakin Skinker, a 1640 chapbook.
Þyrnirós f Icelandic (Modern, Rare, ?), FolkloreMeans "thorned rose" in Icelandic. This is used as the Icelandic name for the fairy tale character Sleeping Beauty, being the Icelandic translation of German
Dornröschen, the title character of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale (known as
Briar Rose in English).
Torghva m Georgian (Rare), FolkloreMeaning unknown. In Georgian folklore, this is the name of a Khevsur hero from the village of Mutso in the historical Georgian province of Khevsureti.
Uosis m Lithuanian, Folklore, Popular CultureDerived from the Lithuanian noun
uosis meaning "ash tree". In Lithuanian folklore and popular culture, Uosis is the name of one of the three sons of the titular character of the folk tale
Eglė žalčių karalienė, which translates to English as
Eglė, the Queen of Serpents.
Veslefrikk m Literature, FolkloreMeans "little Frikk" from Norwegian
vesle "little" combined with the name
Frikk. This is the main character in the Norwegian folktale
Veslefrikk med fela, which translates to English as
Little Freddie with his Fiddle.
Viribunda f FolkloreFrom a Swedish fairy tale by Anna Maria Roos 'Prins Florestan eller sagan om jätten Bam-Bam och feen Viribunda' "Prince Florestan or the saga of he giant Bam Bam and the fairy Viribunda" that inspired Astrid Lindgren's novel 'Mio, my son'.... [
more]
Yáiza f Spanish (Canarian), Folklore, LiteratureOrigin and meaning unknown, perhaps from the name of a village on the Canarian island of Lanzarote, which may be of indigenous Guanche origin. Allegedly Yáiza was the name of a Guanche princess who inhabited the Canary Islands in pre-colonial times... [
more]
Žilvinas m Lithuanian, Folklore, Popular CultureDerived from either the old Lithuanian noun
žilvis meaning "child, offspring" as well as "offshoot, sprout", or from old Lithuanian
želvys meaning "unripe, immature, young". In Lithuanian folklore and popular culture, Žilvinas is the name of the husband of the titular character of the folk tale
Eglė žalčių karalienė, which translates to English as
Eglė, the Queen of Serpents.