ADAMANTINEfFrench (Gallicized), English Means "of unyielding quality" or "diamond like". From the Latin adamantinus meaning 'incorruptible, inflexible', itself from the Greek adamantinos (ἀδαμάντινος) of the same meaning, with the Greek or Latin suffix of -ine meaning 'like', 'made of', or 'of the nature of'... [more]
ADATTEfMedieval French, French (Archaic) Archaic French name of unkown origin and meaning. It seems to have been a local name only found in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
ADELPHEfFrench (Rare) Probably from Greek, either ἀδελφός (adelphós) "brotherly, sisterly" or its feminine form ἀδελφή (adelphḗ) "sister". This name was borne by a sister of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas-Davy de La Pailleterie (1762-1806), father of Alexandre Dumas père... [more]
AFRICAINmFrench (Archaic) French form of Africanus. It coincides with the modern French adjective africain "African" and the noun Africain "(man) from Africa".
AHÈSfBreton Legend, Breton The beautiful and lascivious daughter of Gralon, King of Ker-Ys. She was a magician and a princess of Cornouaille (Brittany) present in several Breton legends.
AIRELLEfFrench (Rare), English (Rare), Literature Derived from airelle, the French name for the plant genus Vaccinium. The French derived the name from Portuguese airella, which in turn was derived from Latin atra "dark, black, gloomy".
ALEMANDINEfArthurian Romance, French Presumably derived from Alemanni, a Latin name for the Germanic tribes who inhabited western and central Europe in the Dark Ages, derived from Old German Alle-Männer "all men". It was used in the Arthurian tale 'Floriant et Florete', where it belongs to the queen of the White City on the Island of Beautiful Maidens.
ALIAUMEmFrench French form of Adalhelm. Previously a name that had gone out of fashion after the Middle Ages, but it has enjoyed a modest revival in France since the late '80s (which reached its peak in 1996).
ALIDORmFrench (Rare) An old and obscure French given name of unknown meaning, which may possibly ultimately be of Occitan origin (compare Aliénor) or even Basque origin. It seems that it was mostly used in the 19th century, not just in France but also in (the French-speaking part of) Belgium and the Canadian province Quebec... [more]
ALISEfFrench (Archaic) Local French form of Alice recorded up to the 1700s in the French Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region and the Canton of Châtenois in the Vosges département of eastern France and in the region of Lorraine.
ALLYREmFrench Probably of Germanic origin. This was the name of a 4th-century Gallo-Roman saint praised by Gregory of Tours. He was a bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, France, which he worked to establish as a center of religious teaching and devotion... [more]
ALMEDAfSpanish, English, Breton (Archaic) As a Spanish given name, Almeda is a transfer of the Spanish surname which is derived from Almeida, a habitational name from Arabic al-medina "the city". Its use has been influenced by Alameda, a topographic name from Spanish alameda "poplar grove", and ultimately by the Spanish word álamo "poplar".... [more]
ALWENAfBreton Of uncertain origin and meaning. Current theories include an adoption of the Welsh name (which is unlikely as the Breton name seems to be older than the Welsh name in question), a younger form of Breton Alc'houen and a variant of Anglo-Norman Alfwena.
ALYNEfFrench, Arthurian Romance Variant of Aline. It appears in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends 'Le Morte d'Arthur', where it belongs to a daughter of Pellinore who commits suicide after her lover is killed.
AMANTINEfFrench (Rare) Possibly from Latin Amantius, meaning “lovable.” This was the name of a French novelist, Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, who wrote under the pseudonym George Sand. She and composer Frederic Francois Chopin were lovers for a time.
AMYENmFrench (Archaic) Archaic French name of uncertain origin and meaning which was recorded up to the 1600s in the French Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Current theories include a local derivation of Latin Amantius (which would make Amyen a cognate of Amant).
ANAXANDRAfAncient Greek, Greek Mythology, French (Quebec, Rare) Feminine form of Anaxandros. In Greek legend this name was borne by the wife of King Procles of Sparta. It was also the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek painter, who is mentioned in Clement of Alexandria's essay 'Women as Well as Men Capable of Perfection'.
ANCOLIEfFrench (Rare) Means "columbine" in French, ultimately derived from Latin aquila "eagle" (because the shape of the flower petals are said to resemble an eagle's claw).
ANDRÉANNEfFrench (Quebec) Probable feminine form of Andrew, though the likeness may be coincidental. Not entirely uncommon on Quebec, virtually unheard of anywhere else.... [more]
ANNELINEfAfrikaans, Dutch, French (Archaic), Danish, Norwegian Dutch and Afrikaans variant of Annelien as well as a Danish and Norwegian combination of Anne and Line (and thus a cognate of Annelien) as well as a Danish, Norwegian and archaic French diminutive of Anne found up to the 1700s in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
AOUREGANfBreton Breton name, in which the first element is aour meaning "gold" (ultimately from Latin aurum). The second element may be Breton gen "cheek, face" or gwenn "shining, holy"... [more]
ARGINEfPopular Culture, French (Rare) Argine is the name of the Queen of Clubs on French playing cards. While the names on other cards are recognisable figures from history or mythology, Argine is more obscure, it is explained as an anagram of the Latin word regina "queen".
ARMANCEfFrench (Rare), Walloon (Rare), Literature Variant form of Armande, which was influenced or inspired by Latin, in that French names ending in -ce usually come from Latin names ending in -tius (for males) and -tia (for females)... [more]