clouds's Personal Name List

Polish form of Violet.

Means "firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.

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.

Form of Victor used in various languages.

French form of Veronica.

Variant of Vered.

Short form of Giovanna.

Derived from Latin unda meaning "wave". The word undine was created by the 16th-century Swiss author Paracelsus, who used it for female water spirits.

Italian form of Humbert. A famous bearer was Italian author Umberto Eco (1932-2016).

Form of Tullius (see Tullio) used to refer to the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Russian form of Cecilia.

Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.

Swedish, Norwegian and Lithuanian form of Thomas.

Perhaps based on Latin Titanius meaning "of the Titans". This name was (first?) used by William Shakespeare in his comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) where it belongs to the queen of the fairies, the wife of Oberon. This is also a moon of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.

Anglicized form of Tighearnán.

Short form of names ending with tia. It has been suggested that its use since the 1950s is the result of the brand name for the coffee liqueur Tia Maria [1]. In the brand name, Tia is not a given name; rather, it means "aunt" in Spanish or Portuguese.

Form of Theresa used in several languages. Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish nun who reformed the Carmelite monasteries and wrote several spiritual books. It was also borne by the Albanian missionary Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor in India. She adopted the name in honour of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the patron of missionaries.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Theodoros (see Theodore).

Feminine form of Theodoros (see Theodore).

Finnish short form of Dorothea.

Short form of Anastasia.

From Old Irish Tadg meaning "poet" [1]. This was the name of an 11th-century king of Connacht, as well as several other kings and chieftains of medieval Ireland. According to Irish mythology it was the name of the grandfather of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

Diminutive of Stanislava or Anastasiya.

From the English word for the celestial body, ultimately from Old English steorra.

French form of the Late Latin name Sollemnia, which was derived from Latin sollemnis "religious". This was the name of a French shepherdess who became a saint after she was killed by her master.

Derived from Latin silva meaning "wood, forest". This was the family name of several of the legendary kings of Alba Longa. It was also the name of an early saint martyred in Alexandria.

Derived from the Old Norse elements sigr "victory" and rún "secret lore, rune". This was the name of a valkyrie in Norse legend.

From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.

Either a variant of Scarlett or else from the English word for the red colour (both of the same origin, a type of cloth).

Derived from South Slavic sanjati meaning "to dream".

French and Dutch form of Sasha.

Diminutive of Roxana.

Variant of Roxane.

Late Latin name derived from rosa "rose". This was the name of a 12th-century Sicilian saint.

Possibly a variant of Romana.

Short form of Caterina or Catharina as well as other names ending in rina.

From Yiddish רויז (roiz) meaning "rose".

German form of Quirinus.

Short form of Prudence.

Diminutive of Philippa.

Feminine form of Pius.

From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".

Ukrainian form of Alexandra.

Ukrainian form of Alexander.

Short form of Aleksander.

Spanish and Italian form of Ophelia.

French diminutive of Anne 1.

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).

Anglicized form of Niamh.

Medieval diminutive of Mary, now often used independently. It developed from Malle and Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.

Feminine form of Michael.

From the English word melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".

Means "ash tree" in Greek, a derivative of μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". This was the name of a nymph in Greek myth, the daughter of the Greek god Okeanos.

Form of Martha used in various languages.

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.

Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian and French form of Marinus.

Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language. Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.

As an English name it has been very popular since the Middle Ages. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, but it declined in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of Gone with the Wind, and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-). Others include American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

French diminutive of Marie.

From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Coinnich, itself derived from the given name Coinneach. As a feminine given name it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-), especially after she began appearing on the television comedy One Day at a Time in 1975. In the United Kingdom it is more common as a masculine name.

Feminine form of Lysandros (see Lysander).

French form of Lucianus.

Feminine form of Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.

Short form of Elisabeth or Elizabeth.

Short form of names ending in lina.

Means "lion" in Russian, functioning as a vernacular form of Leo. This was the real Russian name of both author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).

Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.

Diminutive of Laura or Laurence 1.

Russian short form of Larisa. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by a character from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1965). Between 1965 and 1969 it increased by almost 2,000 percent in the United States, however it is currently much more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. Another famous fictional bearer is Lara Croft, first appearing in video games in 1996 and movies in 2001.

Diminutive of Katalin.

Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish feminine form of Joseph.

In part from the English word jewel, a precious stone, derived from Old French jouel, which was possibly related to jeu "game". It is also in part from the surname Jewel or Jewell (a derivative of the Breton name Judicaël), which was sometimes used in honour of the 16th-century bishop of Salisbury John Jewel. It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.

This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name Iscah, which would have been spelled Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).

Diminutive of Jeremy (and formerly of James).

Form of Yelena in several languages. In Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia it is also associated with the South Slavic words jelen meaning "deer, stag" and jela meaning "fir tree".

Latinate form of Jeannine.

Latin and Romanian form of Julia.

Means "violet" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was a woman beloved by Herakles.

Means "beauty" in Sanskrit. This is another name of Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god Vishnu. A notable bearer was India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).

From the English word indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".

Possibly a form of Hilda. This name was borne by the last wife of Attila the Hun.

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.

From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.

Means "harmony, agreement" in Greek. She was the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, given by Zeus to Cadmus to be his wife.

German, Scottish, Slovak and Slovene form of Gregorius (see Gregory). A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.

From a nickname for a person with blond hair, from the English word gold.

Russian form of Theodore. It was borne by three tsars of Russia. Another notable bearer was Fyodor Dostoyevsky (or Dostoevsky; 1821-1881), the Russian author of such works as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov.

Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century [1]. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.

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.

Feminine form of Flavius.

Means "foxglove" in Welsh (species Digitalis purpurea). This is a recently created Welsh name.

Alternate transcription of Arabic فرح (see Farah).

French feminine form of Fabianus (see Fabian).

Diminutive of Estelle or Esther.

Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Romani girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.

Diminutive of Emma or Emily.

From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek σμάραγδος (smaragdos).

From the Old French name Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil meaning "healthy, whole" and wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.

There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.

Dutch diminutive of Elisabeth or an English variant of Ellie.

Low German and Frisian diminutive of Adelheid.

Meaning unknown, possibly Phoenician in origin. This is another name of Dido, the legendary queen of Carthage.

Short form of Elisabeth.

Modern Greek form of Helen.

Ancient Greek form of Irene.

Short form of names beginning with D. It may also be given in reference to the Dee River in Scotland.

Romanian short form of Constantin.

Italian form of Cloelia.

German short form of Nicholas.

French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.

Diminutive of Cian. This was the name of a 5th-century Irish saint.

Anglicized form of Caitríona (Irish) or Caitrìona (Scottish Gaelic).

Variant of Kathleen.

Elaboration of Calandra.

Portuguese and Galician form of Blanche.

Derived from the Slavic element božĭjĭ meaning "divine". This name was borne by a wife of Duke Oldřich of Bohemia (11th century).

Short form of Beatrice.

Italian cognate of Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and Othello (1603).

Diminutive of Beatriz.

From the Norman French form of the Germanic name Avelina, a diminutive of Avila. The Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century [1].

German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.

As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.

Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

Means "storm" in Lithuanian.

French variant of Albert.

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".

Variant of Ariane.

Portuguese form of Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).

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.

Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Dutch and French diminutive of Anna.

Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.

Spanish form of Annabel, also commonly used as a contraction of Ana Isabel.

Short form of Magdalena or Helena. This was the name of a saint, possibly legendary, who was martyred near Brussels in the 7th century.

Alternate transcription of Russian Алексей (see Aleksey).

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

German variant of Albert. A notable bearer was the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528).

Feminine form of Alastar.

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