ESTRILDISfMedieval English (Latinized) From Estrild, a medieval form of the Old English name Éastorhild that survived in England only until the 12th century (according to the 1984 'Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names')... [more]
EUDOmMedieval English, Medieval French Older form of Eudes. Some scholars also see a link to the Germanic elements euth- and eud-, which they connect to the Old Norse jodh "child".
FILLYSfMedieval English Of debated origin. Some academics consider this name a variant of Felis and Phelis, the medieval English form of Old French Felise, while others see Fillys as an early variant of Phyllis.
FLORICEmMedieval English, Medieval French Medieval English and French variant of Floris, from the name of a male character in the medieval romance Floris (or Florice) and Blancheflour, apparently derived from floris, Latin meaning "of flowers" or "belonging to flowers".
FREEWILLm & fMedieval English Meaning, "the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion." Referring to the freewill provided to us by God.
GALIENAfMedieval German, Medieval English Of uncertain origin and meaning. One theory, however, tries to connect this name to Latin Gallus, Galla "inhabitant of Gallia".
GAMALBARNmMedieval Scandinavian, Medieval English Hypothetical Anglo-Scandinavian name meaning "young Gamall", from a combination of the Old Norse name Gamall and barn "child, young man". (Gamall was originally a byname taken from the Old Norse adjective gamall "old", which gives *Gamalbarn the seemingly self-contradictory meaning "old child".)... [more]
GOLDAmMedieval English, Anglo-Saxon Both an Old English byname derived from gold "gold" and a short form of various compound names beginning with the Old English element gold, such as Goldstan or Goldwine. This name persisted into the Middle Ages.
GOLDINGmMedieval English, Anglo-Saxon Late Old English personal name meaning "son of Golda" or "son of Golde", derived from Golda (or the feminine form Golde) and the Old English patronymic suffix -ing.
GOWANm & fScottish, Medieval English From a Scots name for the daisy and other golden or white field flowers, perhaps ultimately from Old Norse gollinn "golden". Robert Burns' poem "To a Mountain Daisy" (1786) was originally titled "The Gowan"... [more]
GRECIAfMedieval English Of uncertain origin and meaning. Current theories, however, derive this name from Old French gris "gray", which was generally rendered as grece; greyce in Medieval English. Early on the name became popularly associated with Latin gratia (compare Grace).
GUNNORfMedieval English, Medieval French Anglo-Norman form of the Old Norse name Gunnvör (see Gunvor), documented in 1066 (the year of the Norman conquest). The name Gunnvör occurs frequently in Old Danish as Gunnur (or Latin Gunwara), also appearing in Old Swedish as Gunnur and Gunvor... [more]
HARIPHmBiblical, English (Puritan), Medieval English From the root harap with multiple meanings. The masculine noun חרף (horep), literally meaning a (fruit-)gathering; used only in the sense of harvest or harvest time (Genesis 8:22), and subsequently to denote the season of autumn or winter (the season which contains the Hebrew ninth month, which is our November to December — Jeremiah 36:22)... [more]
HAVELOKmLiterature, Medieval English Medieval English form of Old Norse Hafleikr, which literally means "sea sport" from Old Norse haf "sea, ocean" and leikr "play" (more specifically, a word with three distinct meanings: "beauty", "game", and "lay")... [more]
HAWISEfMedieval English From the Old French name Haueis, itself from a short form of Hadewidis, a Germanic name composed of the elements hadu "battle, combat" and wid "wide". The Normans introduced this name to England... [more]
HICHmMedieval English Medieval diminutive of Richard (compare Hicke). In England, this name was common in the 13th century, particularly in Cheshire.
HICKmMedieval English Medieval diminutive form of Richard using rhyming slang. It has dropped out of use because of the word 'hick' being a derogatory slang term used to refer to an uneducated, unsophisticated person from the country.
HICKEmMedieval English Medieval diminutive of Richard. The change in the initial consonant is said to have been caused by the way the velar Norman R was pronounced by the English (compare Dick).... [more]
HODGEmMedieval English Medieval diminutive of Roger. The change in the initial consonant is said to have been caused by the way the velar Norman R was pronounced by the English.... [more]
ISEMAYfMedieval English Perhaps from a hypothetic Germanic name like *Ismegi or *Ismagi, *Ismagin, which would mean "iron strength" from isan, itself from îsarn "iron" (see Isanbrand; however, the first element could also be îs "ice") combined with magan "strength, might"... [more]
ISMERIAfMedieval English, Medieval German, Spanish Quasi-Marian name connected to the devotion of Notre Dame de Liesse in Picardy. According to the legend, Ismeria ("the Black Madonna") was a Moorish girl who converted to Christianity and released the crusaders captivated by her father because of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary.... [more]