ComradeJocasta's Personal Name List

Means "thought" in Finnish.

Variant of Abe 2.

From the English surname Abbott, from Old English abbot, ultimately from Latin abbas "priest".

From the Hebrew name הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning "breath". In the Old Testament he is the second son of Adam and Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the Puritan era.

From the Hebrew name אַבְשָׁלוֹם ('Avshalom) meaning "my father is peace", derived from אָב ('av) meaning "father" and שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". In the Old Testament he is a son of King David. He avenged his sister Tamar by arranging the murder of her rapist, their half-brother Amnon. He later led a revolt against his father. While fleeing on the back of a mule he got his head caught in a tree and was killed by Joab.

Derived from the Old German elements adal "noble" and bern "bear".

From the Old German elements adal "noble" and wini "friend" (a cognate of Æðelwine).

Variant of Ade 2.

English form of Adolf, rarely used since World War II.

French form of Adolf, rarely used since World War II.

Lithuanian form of Adam.

Derived from the Old English elements æðele "noble" and stan "stone". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, the first to rule all of England. The name was rarely used after the Norman Conquest, though it enjoyed a modest revival (as Athelstan) in the 19th century.

Possibly means "very steadfast" in Greek. In Greek mythology he was the brother of Menelaus. He led the Greek expedition to Troy to recover his brother's wife Helen. After the Trojan War Agamemnon was killed by his wife Clytemnestra.

Means "fire" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the ancient Hindu fire god, usually depicted as red-skinned with three legs, seven arms, and two faces.

From Egyptian jꜥḥ-ms meaning "born of Iah" [1], derived from the name of the Egyptian god Iah combined with msj meaning "be born". This was the name of the first pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (16th century BC). He defeated the Hyksos and drove them from Egypt. It was also borne by others among Egyptian royalty from the same era, including several queens consort.

Finnish form of Axel.

Scottish Gaelic form of Alexander.

Anglicized masculine form of Ailbhe.

From a surname that was derived from the Old English given name Ealdwine.

Short form of Alexander.

Russian and Armenian form of Alexander. This name was borne by the Russian writer Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837).

Finnish form of Alexander.

Finnish, Bulgarian and Georgian form of Alexius.

Alternate transcription of Russian Алексей (see Aleksey).

From a surname that was derived from the given name Algar.

Originally a Norman French nickname, derived from aux gernons "having a moustache", which was applied to William de Percy, a companion of William the Conqueror. It was first used a given name in the 15th century (for a descendant of William de Percy). This name was borne by a character (a mouse) in the short story Flowers for Algernon (1958) and novel of the same title (1966) by the American author Daniel Keyes.

German and Czech form of Aloysius.

Means "red dawn" in Turkish.

Diminutive of Alvin.

Means "love of God", derived from Latin amare "to love" and Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.

Medieval Italian form of Emmerich. Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) was the Italian explorer who gave the continent of America its name (from Americus, the Latin form of his name).

Greek form of Egyptian Yamanu (see Amon).

French form of Anatolius.

Scandinavian form of Andreas (see Andrew). A famous bearer was the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814-1874).

Ancient Greek and Latin form of Andrew. It is also the form used in Modern Greek, German and Welsh.

Variant of Anne 2.

Spanish form of Angelus (see Angel).

From the medieval Latin masculine name Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger"). It has never been very common in the English-speaking world, where it is sometimes used as a feminine name in modern times.

Variant of Anthony. This was formerly the usual English spelling of the name, but during the 17th century the h began to be added.

From Old Irish Áed, which meant "fire". This was a very popular name in early Ireland, being borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings. It has been traditionally Anglicized as Hugh.

From an ancient Greek personal name that was derived from the name of the Greek god Apollo. It was borne by a Greek poet of the 3rd century BC. Several saints have also had this name.

The surname of one of the musketeers in The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas based the character on the 17th-century Henri d'Aramitz, whose surname was derived from the French village of Aramits (itself from Basque aran meaning "valley").

Diminutive of Archibald. This name is borne by Archie Andrews, an American comic-book character created in 1941. It was also used by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the name of their son born 2019.

From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".

Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי ('ari) meaning "lion" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).

Diminutive of Aristeo.

Alternate transcription of Russian Аркадий (see Arkadiy).

Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".

Means "beloved" in Finnish (an archaic poetic word).

Originally an Old Norse short form of names beginning with the element ǫrn meaning "eagle".

Presumably a contracted form of Artemidoros. This name is mentioned briefly in the New Testament, in Saint Paul's letter to Titus. According to George Rippey Stewart in American Given Names (1979): 'It is chiefly remembered from General Artemas Ward, of the Revolution (born 1727). But there are other examples. In the mid-nineteenth century the humorist C. F. Browne took Artemus (thus spelled) as his pseudonym.'

From the Old Norse name Arnviðr, derived from the elements ǫrn "eagle" and viðr "tree".

Possibly means "healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the Old Testament.

Means "collector" in Hebrew. This name belongs to several minor characters in the Old Testament.

Old Norse form of Asger.

From a German and French surname derived from Occitan astur meaning "hawk". The wealthy and influential Astor family, prominent in British and American society, originated in the Italian Alps.

Probably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star" and φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella.

Possibly means "enduring" from Greek τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek mythology he was a Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.

Latinized form of Greek Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning "from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.

From a diminutive form of Auberi, an Old French form of Alberich. It is the name of the fairy king in the 13th-century epic Huon de Bordeaux.

From Auberi, an Old French form of Alberich brought to England by the Normans. It was common in the Middle Ages, and was revived in the 19th century. Since the mid-1970s it has more frequently been given to girls, due to Bread's 1972 song Aubrey along with its similarity to the established feminine name Audrey.

In the case of the famed American soldier Audie Murphy (1925-1971), it is of uncertain meaning. As a feminine name, it can be a diminutive of Audrey.

Diminutive of August.

From the Roman name Augustinus, itself derived from the Roman name Augustus. Saint Augustine of Hippo was a 5th-century Christian theologian and author from North Africa. For his contributions to Christian philosophy he is known as a Doctor of the Church. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world. It became popular in England in the Middle Ages partly because of a second saint by this name, Augustine of Canterbury, a 6th-century Italian monk sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons.

Romanian and German form of Aurelius.

Roman family name that was derived from Latin aureus meaning "golden, gilded". Marcus Aurelius was a 2nd-century Roman emperor and philosophical writer. This was also the name of several early saints.

French form of Aurianus.

Diminutive of Finbar or Bairrfhionn.

English form of Barnabas, originally a medieval vernacular form.

Polish diminutive of Bartłomiej or Bartosz.

Italian form of Bartholomew.

Catalan form of Bartholomew, most common on the Balearic Islands.

Means "blessed" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a companion of the prophet Jeremiah, acting as his scribe and assistant. The deuterocanonical Book of Baruch was supposedly written by him. A famous bearer was Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch-Jewish rationalist philosopher.

Short form of Sebastiaan.

Short form of Sébastien.

From a French surname meaning "beautiful outlook".

Means "crooked."
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Mentioned as another name for Zoar (a location) in Genesis 14:2.

Form of Benedictus (see Benedict) in several languages.

Lithuanian form of Benedictus (see Benedict).

French form of Benedict.

Means "brave" in Sindarin. Beren (also known as Beren Erchamion, 'the One-handed', and Beren Camlost, 'the Empty-handed') is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was the son of Barahir and Emeldir, the husband of Lúthien, the father of Dior Eluchíl, and ancestor of Elros and of him of Aragorn, and ancestor of Elrond and of him Arwen. The character of Beren and his romance with Lúthien is widely believed to be based on J.R.R. Tolkien and his romance with his wife Edith.

Hungarian form of Bartholomew.

Either transferred use of the surname Bing or from a nickname, as was the case for American singer and actor Bing Crosby (1903-1977), who was originally called Bingo.

Either from the English occupational surname, or else directly from the English word. It is ultimately derived from Greek ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer".

Means "swiftness" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with Jachin).

French and English form of Bonaventura. As a French name it is most common in Francophone Africa, while as an English name it is mostly used in reference to the saint.

From the Late Latin name Bonifatius, which meant "good fate" from bonum "good" and fatum "fate, destiny". This was the name of nine popes and also several saints, including an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon missionary to Germany (originally named Winfrið) who is now regarded as the patron saint of that country. It came into use in England during the Middle Ages, but became rare after the Protestant Reformation.

Means "salmon" in Irish. It could also be formed from Irish brad "thief" and a diminutive suffix.

Short form of Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote Dracula.

Variant of Bramwell. A famous namesake is Patrick Branwell Brontë, brother of the famous Brontë sisters.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname Braonán, itself from Irish braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to Brendan or Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.

From an English surname that originally indicated a person who lived near or worked on a bridge.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.

From an English surname, a variant of Brook.

From the name of a region in Stirlingshire, Scotland, which means "house of the canon" in Gaelic.

Welsh form of Kay 2.

Latinized form of Greek Καϊάφας (Kaiaphas), probably of Aramaic origin. In the New Testament this is the name of the Jewish high priest who condemns Jesus.

Means "whelp, young dog" in Scottish Gaelic. This name was borne by Cailean Mór, a 13th-century Scottish lord and ancestor of Clan Campbell.

Means "acquired" in Hebrew. In Genesis in the Old Testament Cain is the first son of Adam and Eve. He killed his brother Abel after God accepted Abel's offering of meat instead of his offering of plant-based foods. After this Cain was banished to be a wanderer.

From the name of the city in Egypt, called القاهرة (al-Qahirah) in Arabic, meaning "the victorious".

Most likely related to Hebrew כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning "dog". An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew כָּל (kal) meaning "whole, all of" and לֵב (lev) meaning "heart". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.

As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.

From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Ceallacháin, itself from the given name Cellachán.

Variant of Calum.

From Latin Capricornus meaning "horned like a goat" (from caper, genitive capri "goat" and cornu "horn"), a loan-translation of Greek Aigokheros, the name of the constellation. This is also the name of the tenth sign of the zodiac.

Derived from Latin carus "dear, beloved." This name was borne by a Roman Emperor from the 3rd century AD.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Cathasaigh, a patronymic derived from the given name Cathassach. This name can be given in honour of Casey Jones (1863-1900), a train engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers. In his case, Casey was a nickname acquired because he was raised in the town of Cayce, Kentucky.

Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.

Dutch form of Cassiel.

Derived from Old Irish cath "battle" and fal "rule". This was the name of a 7th-century Irish saint. It was also borne by several Irish kings. It has sometimes been Anglicized as Charles.

Roman cognomen meaning "wise" in Latin. This name was bestowed upon Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato), a 2nd-century BC Roman statesman, author and censor, and was subsequently inherited by his descendants, including his great-grandson Cato the Younger (Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis), a politician and philosopher who opposed Julius Caesar.

From Old Irish Cellach, of uncertain origin, traditionally said to mean "bright-headed". Alternatively it could be derived from Old Irish cellach "war, strife" or cell "church". This name was borne by several early Irish kings and by a 12th-century saint, an archbishop of Armagh.

From the Roman name Caecilius (see Cecilia). This was the name of a 3rd-century saint, a companion of Saint Cyprian. Though it was in use during the Middle Ages in England, it did not become common until the 19th century when it was given in honour of the noble Cecil family, who had been prominent since the 16th century. Their surname was derived from the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of Sextus.

From an occupational surname that meant "candle seller" or "candle maker" in Middle English, ultimately from Latin candela via Old French. It surged in popularity after the 1994 debut of the American sitcom Friends, featuring a character by this name.

From Old French Charles le Magne meaning "Charles the Great". This is the name by which the Frankish king Charles the Great (742-814) is commonly known.

Possibly means "fierce brightness" in Greek. In Greek mythology Charon was the operator of the ferry that brought the newly dead over the River Acheron into Hades.

From a Norman surname of unknown meaning. It was used as a given name in America in honour of Harvard president Charles Chauncey (1592-1672).

From the Late Greek name Χριστόφορος (Christophoros) meaning "bearing Christ", derived from Χριστός (Christos) combined with φέρω (phero) meaning "to bear, to carry". Early Christians used it as a metaphorical name, expressing that they carried Christ in their hearts. In the Middle Ages, literal interpretations of the name's etymology led to legends about a Saint Christopher who carried the young Jesus across a river. He has come to be regarded as the patron saint of travellers.

As an English given name, Christopher has been in general use since the 15th century. It became very popular in the second half of the 20th century, reaching the top of the charts for England and Wales in the 1980s, and nearing it in the United States.

In Denmark this name was borne by three kings (their names are usually spelled Christoffer), including the 15th-century Christopher of Bavaria who also ruled Norway and Sweden. Other famous bearers include Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), English architect Christopher Wren (1632-1723) and the fictional character Christopher Robin from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books.

Derived from Irish ciar meaning "black". In Irish legend Ciar was a son of Fergus mac Róich and Medb, and the ancestor of the tribe of the Ciarraige (after whom County Kerry is named). As a feminine name, it was borne by an Irish nun (also called Ciara) who established a monastery in Tipperary in the 7th century.

Diminutive of Ciar. This was the name of two 6th-century Irish saints: Ciarán the Elder, the founder of the monastery at Saighir, and Ciarán the Younger, the founder of the monastery at Clonmacnoise.

Roman cognomen derived from Latin cicer meaning "chickpea". Marcus Tullius Cicero (now known simply as Cicero) was a statesman, orator and author of the 1st century BC. He was a political enemy of Mark Antony, who eventually had him executed.

Probably from Old Irish cell meaning "church" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 7th-century Irish saint who evangelized in Franconia. He was martyred in Würzburg.

Shortened form of the Greek name Kleopatros (see Cleopatra). In the New Testament Cleopas is a disciple who sees Jesus after his resurrection.

From the metal or the shade of blue. Derived from German kobold, a type of house spirit. This in turn, has a few possible etymologies. One is that it come from Greek koba'los, meaning "rogue". Another theory is that it comes from the Old High German root chubisi, "house, building, hut" and the suffix -old meaning "to rule".

Means "rule of a wolf", from Old Irish cú "hound, dog, wolf" (genitive con) and fal "rule" [2]. This is the name of several characters in Irish legend including the hero Conall Cernach ("Conall of the victories"), a member of the Red Branch of Ulster, who avenged Cúchulainn's death by killing Lugaid.

Means "brave counsel", derived from the Old German elements kuoni "brave" and rat "counsel, advice". This was the name of a 10th-century saint and bishop of Konstanz, in southern Germany. It was also borne by several medieval German kings and dukes, notably Conrad II, the first of the Holy Roman Emperors from the Salic dynasty. In England it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has only been common since the 19th century when it was reintroduced from Germany.

Means "king of hounds" in Irish.

From a Welsh surname that was derived from the name of the River Conwy, which possibly means "holy water" in Welsh.

From a French surname that was derived from corbeau "raven", originally denoting a person who had dark hair. The name was probably popularized in America by actor Corbin Bernsen (1954-) [1].

From the Greek name Κοσμᾶς (Kosmas), which was derived from κόσμος (kosmos) meaning "order, decency". Saint Cosmas was martyred with his twin brother Damian in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians.

From the English word "creed" meaning "that which is believed, a set of beliefs, particularly religious, or any set of principals adhered to; a manifesto of religious or spiritual beliefs; or the fact of believing, as in belief, faith". From the Old English credo, creda, from the Latin credo 'I believe', from credere 'to believe'.

Latinized form of Kreios.

Means "cross" in Spanish or Portuguese, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.

Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan.

Latinized form of the Greek name Κυριακός (Kyriakos), which meant "of the lord" (derived from Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord"). This was the name of a few early saints.

Latin form of Greek Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning "young" or "humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".

The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.

From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name in Cumbria, of Brythonic origin meaning "trickling stream".

Means "the good god" from the Old Irish prefix dag- "good" and día "god". In Irish myth Dagda (called also The Dagda) was the powerful god of the earth, knowledge, magic, abundance and treaties, a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He was skilled in combat and healing and possessed a huge club, the handle of which could revive the dead.

Derived from Old Irish dál meaning "assembly, meeting".

Means "tamer, subduer", derived from Greek damazô (or damasô) "to subdue" (compare Damian, Damon). This was the name of a giant hero in Lydian myth whom the Greeks may have identified with Herakles. Damasen killed a dragon that had been ravaging the kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia.

From a surname that is of unknown origin. It was originally given in honour of American lawyer Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1815-1882), the author of the memoir Two Years Before the Mast.

From an English surname that was either a variant of the surname Dean or else an ethnic name referring to a person from Denmark.

From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).

Means "from Artagnan" in French, Artagnan being a town in southwestern France. This was the name of a character in the novel The Three Musketeers (1884) by Alexandre Dumas. In the novel D'Artagnan is an aspiring musketeer who first duels with the three title characters and then becomes their friend.

Either from the occupational surname Deacon or directly from the vocabulary word deacon, which refers to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek διάκονος (diakonos) meaning "servant").

From a surname, see Dean 1 and Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.

Combination of the popular name prefix de and Angelo.

Anglicized form of Irish Deaglán, Old Irish Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.

In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).

From the indigenous Koyukon name of a mountain in Alaska, allegedly meaning "great one". Commonly known as Mount McKinley in the English-speaking world, Denali is the tallest peak in North America. It is also the name of a car brand (made by General Motors).

Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).

From an English surname, of Norman French origin, meaning "from Evreux". Evreux is a town in France.

From the English word diamond for the clear colourless precious stone, the traditional birthstone of April. It is derived from Late Latin diamas, from Latin adamas, which is of Greek origin meaning "unconquerable, unbreakable".

German variant of Dietrich.

Diminutive of Dmitriy.

Alternate transcription of Russian Дмитрий (see Dmitriy).

Transferred use of the surname Donahue.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Donndubháin, itself derived from the given name Donndubán. This name is borne by the Scottish folk musician Donovan Leitch (1946-), known simply as Donovan.

Short form of Andrew.

Variant of Ekkehard.

Means "storm" in Basque.

From an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning "Ella's town". A famous bearer of this name is British musician Elton John (1947-), born Reginald Dwight, who adopted his stage name in honour of his former bandmate Elton Dean (1945-2006).

Norman French form of Emmerich. The Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, now typically feminine, it is likely inspired by the surname Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.

French form of Aemilius (see Emil). This name was borne by the author Émile Zola (1840-1902) and the sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).

Germanic name, in which the second element is rih "ruler, king". The first element may be irmin "whole, great" (making it a relative of Ermenrich), amal "unceasing, vigorous, brave" (making it a relative of Amalric) or heim "home" (making it a relative of Henry). It is likely that several forms merged into a single name.

Welsh form of Ambrose. Emrys Wledig (or Ambrosius Aurelianus) was a Romano-British military leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Tales of his life were used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to help shape the early character of Merlin, whom he called Merlinus Ambrosius in Latin.

Possibly from Old Irish én meaning "bird". This was the name of several Irish kings and heroes. It was also borne by a 6th-century saint who built the monastery of Killeany on Aran.

Turkish, Bosnian and Albanian form of Anwar.

Possibly means "born from the yew tree", from Old Irish eó "yew" and the suffix gan "born". Alternatively, it might be derived from the Latin name Eugenius. It was borne by several legendary or semi-legendary Irish figures, including a son of the king Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Irish form of Iohannes (see John) used in the Bible.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from village by this name in Perthshire. It was popularized as a given name by the Australian actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959).

Variant of Asbjørn.

Alternate transcription of Arabic عيسى (see Isa 1).

From the Hebrew name אֵיתָן ('Eitan) meaning "solid, enduring, firm". In the Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.

After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.

Italian form of Hector.

Modern form of Eyvindr, see Øyvind.

Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.

From the Roman cognomen Fabianus, which was derived from Fabius. Saint Fabian was a 3rd-century pope.

Means "little wolf", derived from Old Irish fáel "wolf" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of an Irish saint who did missionary work in Scotland.

Derived from the Old German elements fara "journey" and munt "protection". This was the name of a semi-legendary 5th-century king of the Franks.

Means "horseman, knight" in Arabic.

Means "spirit of fire". In The Silmarillion, Fëanor was the mightiest of the Noldor and the creater of the legendary Silmarils.

Variant of Fyodor.

Anglicized form of Fionnlagh.

Old Irish form of Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.

Diminutive of Phineas.

Variant of Fionn.

Modern Irish Gaelic form of Finbar.

Derived from the Arabic word فردوس (firdaws) meaning "paradise", ultimately from an Iranian language, akin to Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌⸱𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬰𐬀 (pairi daēza) meaning "garden, enclosure".

From an English surname meaning "fisherman".

From the traditionally Norwegian habitational surname, from the Old Norse fiskr "fish" and vin "meadow". In England and Denmark it was a surname denoting someone who was a "fisherman" or earned their living from selling fish.

Diminutive of Adolfo or Rodolfo.

Diminutive of Flann. This was the name of a 7th-century saint.

From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.

English form of the Late Latin name Franciscus meaning "Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).

In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.

Variant of Freyr.

From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri'el) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Means "my reward is God" in Hebrew. This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to a son of Pedahzur. It was also borne by a 1st-century Jewish priest and scholar, mentioned in Acts in the New Testament as a teacher of Saint Paul.

Meaning unknown, possibly related to the Basque word hartz meaning "bear". This was the name of several medieval kings of Navarre and Leon.

Diminutive of Genevieve or any name beginning with Gen.

Combination of Gianni and Franco.

Italian short form of Giovanni.

Means "feller, hewer" in Hebrew. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.

From an Old Testament place name meaning "heap of witness" in Hebrew. This is a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. Besides being a place name, it is also borne by people in the Bible.

Italian form of Joseph. Two noteworthy bearers were Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), a military leader who united Italy, and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), a composer of operas.

From an Irish surname, itself derived from the byname Gráda meaning "noble, illustrious".

Catalan, Romansh and Campidanese Sardinian form of Gregory.

From the Old Norse name Gunnarr, which was derived from the elements gunnr "war" and herr "army, warrior" (making it a cognate of Gunther). In Norse legend Gunnar was the husband of Brynhildr. He had his brother-in-law Sigurd murdered based on his wife's false accusations that Sigurd had taken her virginity.

Probably means "born of trees" from Old Welsh guid "trees" and the suffix gen "born of". In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Gwydion is the nephew of King Math of Gwynedd, and like him a powerful magician. In an elaborate plot to give his brother a chance to rape his uncle's footbearer, he arranged a war between Gwynedd and the neighbouring kingdom of Dyfed. Gwydion himself killed King Pryderi of Dyfed at the end of the war. In punishment for the rape, Math transformed Gwydion and his brother into different animals over the course of three years. Gwydion was the uncle of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he fostered. Math and Gwydion fashioned Lleu a wife, Blodeuwedd, out of flowers and they later aided him after her betrayal. Gwydion also appears in older Welsh poetry such as the Book of Taliesin.

From the Roman cognomen Hadrianus, which meant "from Hadria" in Latin. Hadria was the name of two Roman settlements. The first (modern Adria) is in northern Italy and was an important Etruscan port town. The second (modern Atri) is in central Italy and was named after the northern town. The Adriatic Sea is also named after the northern town.

A famous bearer of the name was Publius Aelius Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian, a 2nd-century Roman emperor who built a wall across northern Britain. His family came from the town of Atri in central Italy.

Icelandic form of Hallbjǫrn.

From the Old Norse name Halli, a diminutive of names containing the element hallr meaning "rock".

Means "Yahweh is gracious" in Hebrew. This name appears frequently in the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew name of Shadrach.

Finnish diminutive of Johannes.

Either a short form of Hardy, Hartmann, or other name beginning with the element hart or hard, "hardy, strong"; or from the Old English heorot or Middle Low German harte, a male deer. A famous bearer is Hart Crane, the 20th century poet.

From the English word for a safe place, derived ultimately from Old English hæfen.

From the Old Norse name Helgi, derived from heilagr meaning "holy, blessed".

From the Greek name Ἡρῴδης (Herodes), which probably means "song of the hero" from ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior" combined with ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song, ode". This was the name of several rulers of Judea during the period when it was part of the Roman Empire. This includes two who appear in the New Testament: Herod the Great, the king who ordered the slaughter of the children, and his son Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded.

Derived from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero". This was the name of a 1st-century Greek inventor (also known as Hero) from Alexandria.

From Japanese 秀 (hide) meaning "excellent, outstanding" or 英 (hide) meaning "excellent, fine" combined with 樹 (ki) meaning "tree". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.

From Phoenician 𐤇𐤓𐤌 (Ḥirom) meaning "exalted brother". This was the name of a king of Tyre in the Old Testament. He may have reigned in the 10th century BC. As an English given name, Hiram came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where it gained some currency.

From the Greek name Ὅμηρος (Homeros), derived from ὅμηρος (homeros) meaning "hostage, pledge". Homer was the Greek epic poet who wrote the Iliad, about the Trojan War, and the Odyssey, about Odysseus's journey home after the war. There is some debate about when he lived, or if he was even a real person, though most scholars place him in the 8th century BC. In the modern era, Homer has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world (chiefly in America) since the 18th century. This name is borne by the oafish cartoon father on the television series The Simpsons.

Transferred use of the surname Huntley.

Possibly a regional (Hebridean) diminutive of Iain.

From Egyptian jꜥḥ meaning "moon". In Egyptian mythology this was the name of a god of the moon, later identified with Thoth.

Diminutive of Ifan.

From the Greek Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek myth Icarus was the son of Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.

From the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact Íñigo.

Russian and Belarusian form of Elijah.

Means "possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing". Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain. He is the chief god in the Rigveda.

Originally a variant of Ingrid or Ingegerd.

Variant of Ingemar. This name was borne by the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007).

From the Old Norse name Yngvarr, which was derived from the name of the Germanic god Yngvi combined with herr meaning "army, warrior".

English form of Íñigo. It became well-known in Britain due to the English architect Inigo Jones (1573-1652). He was named after his father, a Catholic who was named for Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Modern Greek form of Ἰωάννης (see John).

From a Scottish surname that was derived from the town of Irvine in North Ayrshire, itself named for the River Irvine, which is derived from Brythonic elements meaning "green water". Historically this name has been relatively common among Jews, who have used it as an American-sounding form of Hebrew names beginning with I such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah [1]. A famous bearer was the Russian-American songwriter and lyricist Irving Berlin (1888-1989), whose birth name was Israel Beilin.

A 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).

From the Greek name Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning "gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess Isis combined with Greek δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.

Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.

From the name of the island of Islay, which lies off of the west coast of Scotland.

Newer form of the Old Church Slavic name Іѡаннъ (Ioannŭ), which was derived from Greek Ioannes (see John). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote Fathers and Sons, and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.

Scandinavian form of Ivor.

English form of Yves, used to refer to Saint Ives (also called Ivo) of Huntingdonshire, a semi-legendary English bishop.

Germanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the element iwa meaning "yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a cognate Celtic element [2]. This was the name of saints (who are also commonly known as Saint Yves or Ives), hailing from Cornwall, France, and Brittany.

Transferred use of the surname Jacoby.

English form of the Late Latin name Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form Iacobus, from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov (see Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the New Testament. The first was Saint James the Greater, the apostle John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of Jesus.

This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.

Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.

From an English surname meaning "son of James".

Originally a Lowland Scots diminutive of James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.

Means "archway" in Latin. Janus was the Roman god of gateways and beginnings, often depicted as having two faces looking in opposite directions. The month of January is named for him.

From the Hebrew name יֶפֶת (Yefet) meaning "enlarged". In the Old Testament he is one of the three sons of Noah, along with Shem and Ham. He was the ancestor of the peoples of Europe and northern Asia.

From Latin Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer", derived from Persian ganzabara. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.

Spanish form of Xavier.

Modern French form of Jehan, the Old French form of Iohannes (see John). Since the 12th century it has consistently been the most common male name in France. It finally dropped from the top rank in 1958, unseated by Philippe.

The French theologian Jean Calvin (1509-1564) and the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) are well-known bearers of this name. It was also borne by the German-French Dadaist artist Jean Arp (1886-1966).

Diminutive of Jeremy (and formerly of James).

Danish form of John.

From the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ (Yirmiyahu) meaning "Yahweh will exalt", from the roots רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.

From the name of a city in Israel that is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Hebrew word יָרֵחַ (yareach) meaning "moon", or otherwise to the Hebrew word רֵיחַ (reyach) meaning "fragrant".

From Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name יִשַׁי (Yishai), which possibly means "gift". In the Old Testament Jesse is the father of King David. It began to be used as an English given name after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.

From the Hebrew name יִתְרוֹ (Yitro), which was derived from the Hebrew word יֶתֶר (yeter) meaning "abundance". According to the Old Testament, Jethro was a Midianite priest who sheltered Moses when he fled Egypt. He was the father of Zipporah, who became Moses's wife. A famous bearer of the name was Jethro Tull (1674-1741), an English inventor and agriculturist.

Scandinavian and Dutch form of Iohannes (see John). A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer player Johan Cruyff (1947-2016).

Latin form of Greek Ioannes (see John). Notable bearers include the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).

From Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add", from the root יָסַף (yasaf). In the Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the first with his wife Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.

In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.

This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).

From Latin Iovis, the genitive case of Iuppiter (see Jupiter). Though this form is grammatically genitive, post-classically it has been used nominatively as another name for Jupiter.

From the Hebrew name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah), probably derived from יָדָה (yadah) meaning "praise". In the Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of Jacob by Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King David and Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the Books of Maccabees.

The name appears in the New Testament using the spellings Judas and Jude.

Variant of Judas. It is used in many English versions of the New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world, Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the Protestant Reformation.

Diminutive of Juliusz or Julian.

From Latin Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements Dyēws (see Zeus) and pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.

Form of Cainan used in the Greek Old Testament.

Means "sound, voice" from Hawaiian ka "the" and leo "sound, voice".

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Catháin, derived from the given name Cathán.

Diminutive of Károly.

Hungarian form of Karl.

Low German form of Christian.

Means "the cool breeze" from Hawaiian ke, a definite article, and anu "coolness". This name is now associated with Canadian actor Keanu Reeves (1964-).

Transferred use of the surname Kemper.

From a surname that has several different origins. It could be from the Old English given names Cyneric "royal power" or Cenric "bold power", or from the Welsh name Cynwrig "chief hero". It can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac Eanraig meaning "son of Henry".

As an American given name, it got a boost in popularity in 2012 after the rapper Kendrick Lamar (1987-) released his debut album.

Greek form of Cephas.

Russian and Ukrainian form of Koios.

Anglicized form of Ciarán.

From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's wood" in Old English. This name may have received a boost in popularity after the release of the 2007 movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, featuring the character Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Diminutive of Christopher or Katherine. A notable bearer was Kit Carson (1809-1868), an American frontiersman and explorer.

Dutch short form of Jakob. In other words, one could also say that this is a variant spelling of Co. This name was borne by several well-known Dutchmen, one of them being track cyclist Ko Willems (1900-1983).

Possibly derived from Greek κοῖος (koios), also spelled ποῖος (poios), a questioning word meaning approximately "of what kind?". This was the name of a Titan god of intelligence in Greek mythology.

Form of Cyrus used in the Hebrew Bible.

From Serbo-Croatian крст (krst) meaning "cross" (a word that is more common in Serbian). It could also be a short form of Kristijan or Kristofor.

Anglicized form of Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.

Means "of God" in Hebrew. This is the name of the father of Eliasaph in the Old Testament. It is misspelled as Δαήλ (Dael) in the Greek translation, the Septuagint.

Medieval diminutive of Laurence 1.

Hungarian form of Vladislav. Saint László was an 11th-century king of Hungary, looked upon as the embodiment of Christian virtue and bravery.

From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "from Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor. Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in the Christian world (in various spellings).

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England, partly because of a second saint by this name, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury. Likewise it has been common in Ireland due to the 12th-century Saint Laurence O'Toole (whose real name was Lorcán). Since the 19th century the spelling Lawrence has been more common, especially in America. A famous bearer was the British actor Laurence Olivier (1907-1989).

French form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).

Latinized form of the Greek name Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.

Anglicized form of Laoghaire.

Means "white" in Hebrew, a poetic name for the moon. This name appears briefly in the Old Testament.

Variant of Leland.

Derived from the Old English element leof "dear, beloved" combined with ric "ruler, king".

Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix ἴδης (ides). Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Leofwine.

From an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning "stream forest" in Old English.

Possibly from the patronymic Manannán mac Lir, in which case Lir is the genitive case of the name Ler. The medieval Irish legend the Children of Lir tells how Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann had his children transformed into swans by his third wife Aoife. The legendary characters Lir and Ler seem to be distinct.

Probably a Welsh form of Lugus. In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Lleu Llaw Gyffes is the son of Arianrhod. He was raised by his uncle Gwydion, who helped him overcome the curses that his mother placed upon him. His wife Blodeuwedd and her lover Gronw conspired to overcome his near invincibility and murder him, but they were not successful. Eventually he became the king of Gwynedd.

Variant of Llywelyn influenced by the Welsh word llew "lion".

Modern Scandinavian form of Loki.

Hungarian form of Roland.

Means "little fierce one", derived from Old Irish lorcc "fierce" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.

Old Scandinavian form of Laurence 1.

French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. This was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne. Others include Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (called the Sun King) who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. It was also borne by kings of Germany (as Ludwig), Hungary (as Lajos), and other places.

Apart from royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common.

The Normans brought the name to England, where it was usually spelled Lewis, though the spelling Louis has been more common in America. Famous bearers include French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French actor Louis de Funès (1914-1983), Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).

Means "lion" in Albanian.

From the Roman cognomen Lucanus, which was derived from the name of the city of Luca in Tuscany (modern Lucca). Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, commonly called Lucan, was a 1st-century Roman poet.

Derived from French lune "moon", making it a cognate of Luna.

Danish short form of Mathias.

From the Hebrew name מַלְאָכִי (Mal'akhi) meaning "my messenger" or "my angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or 舞 (mai) meaning "dance" combined with 央 (o) meaning "center", 緒 (o) meaning "thread" or 桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Roman family name that was derived either from Mars, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root mas, maris meaning "male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC. Since the start of the Christian era, it has occasionally been used as a masculine form of Maria.

Meaning unknown. This name was popularized by the American actor Marlon Brando (1924-2004), who was named after his father.

From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.

Possibly from the old Celtic root *matus meaning "bear". According to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Math ap Mathonwy was a king of Gwynedd and a magician. Whenever he was not at war, it was required that he rest his feet in the lap of a virgin. He was the uncle of the hero Gwydion, with whom he shared most of his adventures.

Italian form of Matthew.

Transferred use of the surname Mercer.

From the Latin Mercurius, probably derived from Latin mercari "to trade" or merces "wages". This was the name of the Roman god of trade, merchants, and travellers, later equated with the Greek god Hermes. This is also the name of the first planet in the solar system and a metallic chemical element, both named for the god.

From the English word merle or the French surname Merle, which both mean "blackbird" (from Latin merula). It was borne by the devious character Madame Merle (in fact her surname) in Henry James' novel The Portrait of a Lady (1880).

This name is also common for girls in Estonia, though a connection to the English-language name is uncertain.

Form of the Welsh name Myrddin used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century chronicle. Writing in Latin, he likely chose the form Merlinus over Merdinus in order to prevent associations with French merde "excrement".

Geoffrey based parts of Merlin's character on Myrddin Wyllt, a legendary madman and prophet who lived in the Caledonian Forest. Other parts of his life were based on that of the historical 5th-century Romano-British military leader Ambrosius Aurelianus (also known as Emrys Wledig). In Geoffrey's version of the tales and later embellishments Merlin is a magician and counselor for King Arthur.

Possibly means "who is what Aku is?" in Akkadian, Aku being the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament this is the Babylonian name of Mishael, one of the three men cast into a blazing furnace but saved from harm by God.

Russian and Belarusian form of Michael, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian Михаил (see Mihail). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841), the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), and the Latvian-Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948-).

Danish form of Michael. It can also derive from the Scandinavian root mikill meaning "enormous".

Originally a diminutive of Miklós or Mihály. It is now used independently, or as a Hungarian form of Maximilian.

Old German form of Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century [2].

From Sino-Vietnamese 明 (minh) meaning "bright". This was an adopted name of the communist revolutionary Hồ Chí Minh (1890-1969).

From Japanese 実 (minoru) meaning "to bear fruit", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations with the same pronunciation.

From the Russian word mir, "world, universe, peace".

Russian diminutive of Mikhail.

From a Scottish surname meaning "from the mouth of the Roe". The Roe is a river in Northern Ireland. Two famous bearers of the surname were American president James Monroe (1758-1831) and American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).

As a given name it was mostly masculine in America until around 2009. It was already rising in popularity for girls when singer Mariah Carey gave it to her daughter born 2011 (though this probably helped accelerate it).

Either a diminutive of Montgomery or from the Spanish or Italian vocabulary word meaning "mountain". Its use as an Armenian name is inspired by the Armenian-American revolutionary Monte Melkonian (1957-1993).

From an English surname meaning "Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.

Means "servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor Haman.

From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).

From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Normandy, itself meaning "dead water, still water" in Old French.

From the Hebrew name מֹשֶׁה (Mosheh), which is most likely derived from Egyptian mes meaning "son", but could also possibly mean "deliver" in Hebrew. The meaning suggested in the Old Testament of "drew out" from Hebrew משה (mashah) is probably an invented etymology (see Exodus 2:10).

The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.

In England, this name has been commonly used by Christians since the Protestant Reformation, though it had long been popular among Jews.

Arabic, Turkish and Hausa form of Moses.

Means "polar bear" in Inuktitut.

From the Hebrew name נְתַנְאֵל (Netan'el) meaning "God has given", from the elements נָתַן (natan) meaning "to give" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". It is borne by several minor characters in the Old Testament, typically spelled Nethanel or Nethaneel. In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle, probably another name of the apostle called Bartholomew.

Variant of Neil.

Variant of Neddie.

Means "nobody" in Latin. This was the name used by author Jules Verne for the captain of the Nautilus in his novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870). It was later used for the title character (a fish) in the 2003 animated movie Finding Nemo.

Russian form of Niketas. This form is also used in Ukrainian and Belarusian alongside the more traditional forms Mykyta and Mikita. A notable bearer was the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971).

Form of Nicholas in several languages. Note, in Czech this is also a feminine name (see Nikola 2). A famous bearer was the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943).

Variant of Nikolaos (Greek) or Nicholas (English).

From Serbian нов (nov) meaning "new". A notable bearer is the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic (1987-).

Means "servant of Yahweh" in Hebrew, derived from עָבַד ('avad) meaning "to serve, to worship" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets, the author of the Book of Obadiah, which predicts the downfall of the nation of Edom. This is also the name of several other biblical characters.

Simply from the English word ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.

From Old French Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero Roland.

In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.

Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek ὅριον (horion) meaning "boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian Uru-anna meaning "light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess Gaia.

From a Norman nickname derived from a diminutive of Norman French ors "bear", ultimately from Latin ursus. American actor and director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was a famous bearer of this name.

Means "bear" in Finnish.

Later German form of Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish aud or Old High German ot meaning "wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great. Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).

Probably a modern form of the Old Danish name Aghi, originally a short form of names that contain the Old Norse element egg "edge of a sword" or agi "awe, fear".

Irish form of Patrick.

The name of two Tolkien characters.

From an English occupational surname that meant "keeper of the park".

Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, Macedonian and Belarusian form of Paul.

Spanish diminutive of José.

From the Late Latin name Peregrinus, which meant "traveller". This was the name of several early saints.

Variant of Peverall.

Form of Perez used in the Greek and Latin Bible.

Diminutive of Pierre.

Dutch form of Peter. This name was borne by the Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder (c. 1525-1569).