Narita's Personal Name List

Possibly derived from Finnish virvatuli meaning "will o' the wisp". In folklore, will o' the wisp is a floating ball of light that appears over water.

Means "violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke Orsino, she attempts to convince Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.

Feminine form of Vernon, sometimes associated with the Latin word vernus "spring". It has been in use since the 19th century.

Finnish feminine form of Wendel.

From Finnish velloa "to surge, to swell". This was the name of a Finnish goddess of the sea, the wife of Ahti.

Means "wind" in Finnish and Estonian.

Meaning unknown. Tellervo was a Finnish forest goddess. She is variously described as either the wife or daughter of Tapio.

From Finnish taimi meaning "sapling, young tree" or Estonian taim meaning "plant" (words from a common origin).

From Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshanna). This was derived from the Hebrew word שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian sšn "lotus". In the Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a woman who ministers to Jesus.

As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.

Form of Sophia used in various languages.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Seraphina.

Short form of Alessandra. It was introduced to the English-speaking world (where it is usually used independently of Alexandra) by author George Meredith, who used it for the heroine in his novel Emilia in England (1864) and the reissued version Sandra Belloni (1887). A famous bearer is the American actress Sandra Bullock (1964-).

Finnish form of Sally.

From Old Norse Sága, possibly meaning "seeing one", derived from sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word saga "story, fairy tale, saga".

From the Hebrew name רוּת (Ruṯ), probably derived from the word רְעוּת (reʿuṯ) meaning "female friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married Boaz. She was an ancestor of King David.

As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

Spanish diminutive of Rosa 1.

Combination of Rosa 1 and Anna.

Invented by Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren, who based it on the middle portion of Juronjaure, the name of a lake in Sweden. Lindgren used it in her 1981 book Ronia the Robber's Daughter (Ronia is the English translation).

Means "joy, singing" in Hebrew.

Short form of Katariina.

Feminine form of Renatus.

Latinate feminine form of René.

Finnish short form of Margaret, used independently.

Form of Rebecca used in various languages.

Finnish form of Birgitta.

Short form of names that end in nina, such as Antonina or Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word niña meaning "little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).

A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).

Latinate form of Natalia (see Natalie).

From Japanese 直 (nao) meaning "straight, direct" and 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" (usually feminine) or 己 (mi) meaning "self" (usually masculine). Other kanji combinations can also form this name.

Possibly derived from Old Norse nanþ meaning "daring, brave". In Norse mythology she was a goddess who died of grief when her husband Balder was killed.

From Japanese 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and/or 奈 (na), a phonetic character. The characters can be in either order or the same character can be duplicated, as indicated by the symbol 々. Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also be used to form this name.

Possibly a form of Miriam.

Finnish form of Miriam.

Finnish form of Miriam.

Diminutive of Maria and other names beginning with M.

Short form of Camilla and other names that end in milla.

From Japanese 芽 (me) meaning "bud, sprout" combined with 依 (i) meaning "rely on", 生 (i) meaning "life" or 衣 (i) meaning "clothing, garment". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Finnish form of Magdalene.

Diminutive of Marja.

Italian diminutive of Maria.

Finnish and Estonian variant form of Margaret.

Finnish and Latvian variant of Maria or Marija. The Latvian playwright Anna Brigadere used this name for the main character in her play Maija un Paija (1922).

From Japanese 舞 (mai) meaning "dance" or 麻衣 (mai) meaning "linen robe". It can also come from 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.

Means "snow" in Finnish.

Diminutive of Louise and names that begin with Lu.

Feminine form of Luis.

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.

Short form of Charlotte or Liselotte.

Short form of Elizabeth (though often used independently) and its cognates in other languages. This is the name of the subject of one of the world's most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa, the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci.

In the United States this form was more popular than the full form Elizabeth from 1958 to 1978, and was in fact the top ranked American name between 1962 and 1969.

Latinate form of Lillian.

English variant of Lillian, as well as a French and Romanian masculine form.

Spanish and Italian form of Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Лилия or Ukrainian Лілія (see Liliya).

German, French and Hungarian diminutive of Elisabeth and other names containing li. It is also sometimes connected to the German word lilie meaning "lily".

Scandinavian and Finnish form of Láilá.

Short form of Kristina.

Short form of Katariina.

Greek form of Cassandra, as well as a modern English variant.

Hungarian short form of Julia.

German, Swedish and English variant of Jessica.

Variant of Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas [1].

Form of Jasmine in several languages.

German and Finnish form of Jasmine, as well as an English variant.

Feminine form of Ivan.

Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.

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

Old Hungarian form of Helen, possibly via a Slavic form. In Finland it is associated with the word ilona, a derivative of ilo "joy".

Derived from Old Norse hulda meaning "hiding, secrecy". This was the name of a sorceress in Norse mythology. As a modern name, it can also derive from archaic Swedish huld meaning "gracious, sweet, lovable" [2].

German, Dutch and Norwegian variant of Hilda.

Latinate form of Henriette. It was introduced to England by Henriette Marie, the wife of the 17th-century English king Charles I. The name Henriette was also Anglicized as Harriet, a form that was initially more popular.

French form of Eloise.

Short form of Wilhelmine.

Diminutive of Vilhelmiina or Vilhelmina. It also means "pearl" in Finnish.

Diminutive of Helena. In Estonian this coincides with the word heli meaning "sound".

Finnish diminutive of Johanna or Hannah.

Feminine form of Fionn. This name was (first?) used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in his poem Fingal (1761), in which it is spelled as Fióna.

Short form of Serafina. Saint Fina, also known as Saint Serafina, was a 13th-century girl from the town of San Gimignano in Italy.

Finnish diminutive of Francisca and a Hungarian diminutive of Franciska or Stefánia.

Form of Esther used in several languages.

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.

Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of Iago.

Italian form of Eloise.

Short form of Elizabeth.

Scandinavian and Finnish form of Elizabeth. It is also used in Spain alongside the traditional form Isabel.

Short form of Elisabeth.

Finnish form of Eleanor.

Feminine form of Aurelius.

From the word aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.

Feminine form of Anselm.

Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

In part this is a feminine form of Amandus. However, it was not used during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century it was recreated by authors and poets who based it directly on Latin amanda meaning "lovable, worthy of love". Notably, the playwright Colley Cibber used it for a character in his play Love's Last Shift (1696). It came into regular use during the 19th century.

Variant of Alyssa.

Form of Alice used in several languages.

Finnish form of Alice.

From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" and 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.

Variant of Ayda. This name was used in Verdi's opera Aida (1871), where it belongs to an Ethiopian princess held captive in Egypt.

Originally a short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide or Adelina that begin with the element adal meaning "noble". Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.