blackelectric's Personal Name List

Form of Hadrianus (see Hadrian) used in several languages. Several saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.

Feminine form of Adrian. A famous bearer is the Brazilian model Adriana Lima (1981-).

Swedish variant of Agnes.

Derived from the Old German elements alb "elf" and rih "ruler, king". It was borne by two Lombard dukes of Spoleto in the 10th century. It was also the name of a 12th-century French saint who helped found the Cistercian Order.

Alberich is a sorcerer dwarf who guards the treasure of the Nibelungen in the medieval German epic the Nibelungenlied. The dwarf also appears in Ortnit as a helper to the hero.

Old German name derived from the elements alt meaning "old" and brant meaning "fire, torch, sword". Saint Aldebrand was a 12th-century bishop of Fossombrone in Italy.

From a Germanic name, derived from the elements alt "old" and rih "ruler, king". Saint Aldric was a 9th-century bishop of Le Mans.

German and Czech form of Aloysius.

German feminine form of Aloysius.

Norwegian form of Auðr.

Probably from Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator meaning "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.

In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-).

Variant of Karsten.

Latin variant of Jasper.

Presumably a variant of Griselda, influenced by names beginning with "Chris-", such as Christine.

Combination of Christina and Crescentia as well as an obsolete French diminutive of names beginning with Christ-.
A middle name bearer of the variant Christenze was Danish novelist Karen Blixen (1885-1962), who wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen.

Variant of Christhild.

A dithematic Germanic name formed from the name elements hlut "fame" and swind "strong".

Diminutive of Cornelius and Constance.

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.

From dianthus, the name of a type of flower (ultimately from Greek meaning "heavenly flower").

Scandinavian, Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian form of Edwin.

From the Old German name Egino, derived from the element agin meaning "edge, blade" (from Proto-Germanic *agjō). Saint Egino was a 12th-century abbot from Augsburg.

Icelandic form of Elizabeth. It originated as a "Nordicized" form of Yelizaveta, the original Russian name of the 11th-century Rus' princess (daughter of the Kievan ruler Yaroslav) who married King Haraldr III of Norway.

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.

Feminine form of Erdmuth or Erdmut, derived from German Erde "earth" and Mut "courage, bravery" or "mood" (compare Hartmut). This name was created in the 17th century.

Variant of Asbjørn.

Yiddish form of Phoebus, apparently used as a translation of Shimshon (see Samson) [1].

From the Roman cognomen Florianus, a derivative of Florus. This was the name of a short-lived Roman emperor of the 3rd century, Marcus Annius Florianus. It was also borne by Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.

Dutch form of Florentius (see Florence).

Dutch, Scandinavian and Finnish form of Franciscus (see Francis).

German form of Franciscus (see Francis). This name was borne by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828), the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) and the Austrian-Czech author Franz Kafka (1883-1924), whose works include The Trial and The Castle. It was also the name of rulers of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire.

German diminutive of Friederike.

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

From the Germanic name Godefrid, which meant "peace of god" from the Old German elements got "god" and fridu "peace". The Normans brought this name to England, where it became common during the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was Godfrey of Bouillon, an 11th-century leader of the First Crusade and the first ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Ancient Germanic cognate of Godwine. In English-speaking countries, the use of Godwin as a given name is these days often inspired by the English patronymic surname Godwin, which was derived from the aforementioned Anglo-Saxon personal name Godwine.

A known bearer of this given name was the Austrian-Hungarian (but of Polish descent) flying ace Godwin von Brumowski (1889-1936).

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

From the Germanic name Gautwin, derived from the elements *gautaz "Geat" (a North Germanic tribe) and wini "friend".

Old German variant of Heilwig.

Combination of Hanne 1 and Eleonore.

German diminutive of Adelheid.

German diminutive of Adelheid. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel Heidi (1880) by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.

Means "battle sword", derived from the Old German element hilt "battle" combined with brant "fire, torch, sword". This was the name of the hero of an 8th-century poem written in Old High German.

Means "deer" in Yiddish, from Old High German hiruz. This was a vernacular form of the Hebrew name Tzvi. The deer is particularly associated with the tribe of Naphtali (see Genesis 49:21).

Short form of names ending with or otherwise containing ina, such as Martina, Christina and Carolina.

Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element is meaning "ice" (Proto-Germanic *īsą).

Old German form of IJsbrand.

German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.

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.

German form of Iohannes (see John). Famous bearers include German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), German novelist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), and Austrian composers Johann Strauss the Elder (1804-1849) and his son Johann Strauss the Younger (1825-1899).

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).

Diminutive of Katarina or Katariina.

Low German form of Christian.

German and Estonian form of Jasper.

Derived from Latin corvus meaning "raven". This was the name of an 8th-century Frankish saint who was sent by Pope Gregory II to evangelize in Bavaria. His real name may have been Hraban.

Derived from the Old German elements liut "people" and bald "bold, brave". The spelling was altered due to association with Latin leo "lion". This name was common among German royalty, first with the Babenbergs and then the Habsburgs. Saint Leopold was a 12th-century Babenberg margrave of Austria, who is now considered the patron of that country. It was also borne by two Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, as well as three kings of Belgium. Since the 19th century this name has been occasionally used in England, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's uncle, a king of Belgium, after whom she named one of her sons. It was later used by James Joyce for the main character, Leopold Bloom, in his novel Ulysses (1922).

From the Germanic name Hlothar meaning "famous army", derived from the elements hlut "famous, loud" and heri "army". This was the name of medieval Frankish rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Italy and France. It was also borne by four earlier Merovingian kings of the Franks, though their names are usually spelled as Chlothar.

Swedish feminine form of Louis.

Feminine form of Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.

Dutch diminutive of Maria.

Means "love" in Old German, specifically medieval courtly love. It is also used as a short form of Wilhelmina. This is the name of the title character in the play Minna von Barnhelm (1767) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.

From the Old English elements os "god" and wine "friend". Saint Oswin was a 7th-century king of Northumbria. After the Norman Conquest this name was used less, and it died out after the 14th century. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.

Diminutive of Ottilie. A famous bearer was the British socialite Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938).

Dutch form of Rayner.

German, Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Richard.

Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element hraban meaning "raven".

From the Old German elements hruod meaning "fame" and lant meaning "land", though some theories hold that the second element was originally nand meaning "brave" [1].

Roland was an 8th-century military commander, serving under Charlemagne, who was killed by the Basques at the Battle of Roncevaux. His name was recorded in Latin as Hruodlandus. His tale was greatly embellished in the 11th-century French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which he is a nephew of Charlemagne killed after being ambushed by the Saracens. The Normans introduced the name to England.

Derived from the Old German elements hros "horse" and munt "protection". This name was borne by the wife of the Lombard king Alboin in the 6th century. The Normans introduced it to England. It was subsequently interpreted as coming from Latin rosa munda "pure rose" or rosa mundi "rose of the world". This was the name of the mistress of Henry II, the king of England in the 12th century. According to legends she was murdered by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.

Dutch, Estonian, Danish and Norwegian short form of Alexander.

Short form of Theodora. A famous bearer was actress Theda Bara (1885-1955), who was born Theodosia Goodman.

Meaning unknown. It was a rare name when British author Marie Corelli used it for the Norwegian heroine of her novel Thelma (1887). The name became popular around the end of the 19th century after the novel was published. It is sometimes claimed to derive from Greek θέλημα (thelema) meaning "will", though this seems unlikely.

Modern form of Þóra.

Saint Ulphia of Amiens was said to be a young girl living on the banks of the Noye who became a hermit at what would become Saint-Acheul, near Amiens in the Kingdom of the Franks, under the spiritual direction of Saint Domitius. At the end of her life, she formed and directed a community of religious women at Amiens. Her name is derived from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz "wolf".

Scandinavian and Finnish form of William.

Dutch and German feminine form of Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).

Feminine form of Willem.

Dutch short form of Willem.

Derived from Proto-Germanic *westrą "west" and Old High German hiltja "battle".

Variant of Wulfbrand.

The name is derived from the name Wulf "wolf". It can also be interpreted as a masculine form (backformation) of Wulfine or Wulfina.

Wulfin Lieske is a German classical guitarrist.

A feminine form of Wulf.

Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".

Variant of IJsbrand.