gabbymac94's Personal Name List
Nelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Medieval
diminutive of names beginning with
El, such as
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 or
Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase
mine El, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nel.
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: ןְתַןְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
Variant of
Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling
Nathanael is found in most versions of the
New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Nathalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NA-TA-LEE(French) NA-ta-lee(German)
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
French form of
Natalie, as well as a Dutch, German and Scandinavian variant.
Natasha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, English
Other Scripts: Наташа(Russian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nu-TA-shə(Russian) nə-TAHSH-ə(English)
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
Russian
diminutive of
Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
Natalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NAT-ə-lee(English) NA-ta-lee(German, Dutch)
Rating: 71% based on 11 votes
From the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant
"Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr
Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
Natalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Ναταλία(Greek) ნატალია(Georgian) Наталия(Russian, Bulgarian) Наталія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: na-TA-lya(Polish, Italian, Spanish) na-ta-LEE-a(Italian) na-TA-lee-a(Romanian) nə-TAHL-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
Latinate form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Narcissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: nahr-SIS-ə(English)
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
Rating: 81% based on 11 votes
From the Hebrew name
נָעֳמִי (Naʿomi) meaning
"my pleasantness", a derivative of
נָעַם (naʿam) meaning "to be pleasant". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of
Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be
Mara because of her misfortune (see
Ruth 1:20).
Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).
Morgana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mawr-GAN-ə
Rating: 60% based on 9 votes
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
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-).
Montgomery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mənt-GUM-ə-ree, mənt-GUM-ree
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
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.
Monroe
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mən-RO
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
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).
Monique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: MAW-NEEK(French) mə-NEEK(English) mo-NEEK(English, Dutch)
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
Monica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MAHN-i-kə(English) MAW-nee-ka(Italian) mo-NEE-ka(Romanian) MO-nee-ka(Dutch)
Rating: 55% based on 10 votes
Meaning unknown, most likely of Berber or Phoenician origin. In the 4th century this name was borne by a North African
saint, the mother of Saint
Augustine of Hippo, whom she converted to Christianity. Since the Middle Ages it has been associated with Latin
moneo "advisor" and Greek
μονός (monos) "one, single".
As an English name, Monica has been in general use since the 18th century. In America it reached the height of its popularity in the 1970s, declining since then. A famous bearer was the Yugoslavian tennis player Monica Seles (1973-).
Monet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
From a French surname that was derived from either
Hamon or
Edmond. This was the surname of the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Mitchell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MICH-əl
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
From an English surname, itself derived from the given name
Michael or in some cases from Middle English
michel meaning "big, large".
Misty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIS-tee
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
From the English word misty, ultimately derived from Old English. The jazz song Misty (1954) by Erroll Garner may have helped popularize the name.
Misha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Миша(Russian)
Pronounced: MYEE-shə
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Mireille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-RAY(French)
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English) mee-RAHN-da(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Derived from Latin
mirandus meaning
"admirable, worthy of being admired". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play
The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father
Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
From the Germanic name
Milo, introduced by the
Normans to England in the form
Miles. The meaning is not known for certain. It is possibly connected to the Slavic name element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear". From an early date it was associated with Latin
miles meaning
"soldier".
A notable bearer was the American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991). In Scotland this name was historically used to Anglicize Maoilios.
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Mikhail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Михаил(Russian, Bulgarian) Міхаіл(Belarusian)
Pronounced: myi-khu-EEL(Russian)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
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-).
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Merritt
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-it
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
From an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant "boundary gate" in Old English.
Meredith
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHR-ə-dith(English)
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
From the Welsh name
Maredudd or
Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as
Margetud, possibly from
mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with
iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).
Mercy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-see
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From the English word
mercy, ultimately from Latin
merces "wages, reward", a derivative of
merx "goods, wares". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
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".
Melinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hungarian
Pronounced: mə-LIN-də(English) MEH-leen-daw(Hungarian)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Combination of
Mel (from names such as
Melanie or
Melissa) with the popular name suffix
inda [1]. It was created in the 18th century, and may have been inspired by the similar name
Belinda. In Hungary, the name was popularized by the 1819 play
Bánk Bán by József Katona.
Melanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-nee(English) MEH-la-nee(German) meh-la-NEE(German)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
From
Mélanie, the French form of the Latin name
Melania, derived from Greek
μέλαινα (melaina) meaning
"black, dark". This was the name of a Roman
saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Her grandmother was also a saint with the same name.
The name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and was introduced from there to England, though it eventually became rare. Interest in it was revived by the character Melanie Wilkes from the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939).
Melania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Polish, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: meh-LA-nya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
Italian, Spanish, Polish and Romanian form of
Melanie.
Megaera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Μέγαιρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Μέγαιρα (Megaira), which was derived from
μεγαίρω (megairo) meaning
"to grudge". This was the name of one of the Furies or
Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek
mythology. The name is used as a word in several European languages to denote a shrewish, ill-tempered woman (for example, French
mégère and Italian
megera).
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
McKenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: mə-KEHN-ə
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
From an Irish and Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of
Mac Cionaodha, itself derived from the given name
Cionaodh. As a given name, it was very rare before 1980. It rapidly increased in popularity during the 1990s, likely because it was viewed as an even more feminine alternative to
Mackenzie [1].
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from
Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a
diminutive of
Mary,
Margaret or
Mabel.
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
Rating: 58% based on 9 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].
Maximus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: MAK-see-moos
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Roman family name that was derived from Latin
maximus "greatest".
Saint Maximus was a monk and theologian from Constantinople in the 7th century.
Maximilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: mak-see-MEE-lee-an(German) mak-sə-MIL-yən(English)
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
From the Roman name
Maximilianus, which was derived from
Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see
Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.
Maxim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech
Other Scripts: Максим(Russian, Ukrainian) Максім(Belarusian)
Pronounced: muk-SYEEM(Russian) MAK-sim(Czech)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
Max
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan
Other Scripts: Макс(Russian)
Pronounced: MAKS(German, English, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan) MAHKS(Dutch)
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Short form of
Maximilian or
Maxim. In English it can also be short for
Maxwell, and it coincides with the informal word
max, short for
maximum.
Famous bearers include the German intellectual Max Weber (1864-1920) and the German physicist Max Planck (1858-1947). This name is also borne by the title character in the Mad Max series of movies, starting 1979.
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
Maude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Matthias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ματθίας, Μαθθίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(German) MA-TYAS(French) mah-TEE-yahs(Dutch) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
Rating: 80% based on 9 votes
From Greek
Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of
Ματθαῖος (see
Matthew). This form appears in the
New Testament as the name of the apostle chosen to replace the traitor
Judas Iscariot. This was also the name of kings of Hungary (spelled
Mátyás in Hungarian), including Matthias I who made important reforms to the kingdom in the 15th century.
Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
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.
Marjorie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-jə-ree
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Medieval variant of
Margery, influenced by the name of the herb
marjoram. After the Middle Ages this name was rare, but it was revived at the end of the 19th century.
Mariska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Dutch
Pronounced: MAW-ree-shkaw(Hungarian) ma-RIS-ka(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Marie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: MA-REE(French) MA-ri-yeh(Czech) ma-REE(German, Dutch) mə-REE(English)
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
French and Czech form of
Maria. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.
A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.
In France it is occasionally used as a masculine name in pairings such as Jean-Marie.
Marguerite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GU-REET
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
French form of
Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Marcus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MAR-koos(Latin) MAHR-kəs(English) MAR-kuys(Swedish)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Roman
praenomen, or given name, that was probably derived from the name of the Roman god
Mars. This was among the most popular of the Roman praenomina. Famous bearers include Marcus Tullius Cicero (known simply as Cicero), a 1st-century BC statesman and orator, Marcus Antonius (known as Mark Antony), a 1st-century BC politician, and Marcus Aurelius, a notable 2nd-century emperor. This was also the name of a pope of the 4th century. This spelling has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world, though the traditional English form
Mark has been more common.
Mallory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-ree
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that meant "unfortunate" in Norman French. It first became common in the 1980s due to the American sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989), which featured a character by this name.
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Máel Coluim, which means
"disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing
Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father
Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy
Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 80% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
מַלְאָכִי (Malʾaḵi) meaning
"my messenger" or
"my angel", derived from a possessive form of
מַלְאָךְ (malʾaḵ) meaning "messenger, 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.
Maksim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, Macedonian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Максим(Russian, Macedonian, Ukrainian) Максім(Belarusian)
Pronounced: muk-SYEEM(Russian)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Russian, Belarusian and Macedonian form of
Maximus, as well as an alternate transcription of Ukrainian
Максим (see
Maksym).
Mairéad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: MA-ryehd, ma-RYEHD
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
Late Latin name meaning
"great". It was borne by a 7th-century
saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after
Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name
Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Magdalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mak-da-LEH-nə(German) MAG-də-lin(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
From a title meaning
"of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the
New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular
saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Mae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Variant of
May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Madelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
Rating: 72% based on 10 votes
English form of
Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 70% based on 8 votes
Maddox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAD-əks
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
From a Welsh surname meaning
"son of Madoc". It was brought to public attention when the actress Angelina Jolie gave this name to her adopted son in 2002.
Macsen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: MAK-sehn(Welsh)
Rating: 17% based on 7 votes
Welsh form of
Maximus. Magnus Maximus (known as Macsen Wledig in Welsh) was a 4th-century co-ruler of the Western Roman Empire. In Wales he was regarded as the founder of several royal lineages. He appears in the medieval Welsh tale
The Dream of Macsen.
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 71% based on 8 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Means simply
"lyric, songlike" from the English word, ultimately derived from Greek
λυρικός (lyrikos).
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Lyle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIEL
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".
Lyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German) LEE-dee-ya(Dutch)
Rating: 83% based on 9 votes
Means
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the
Protestant Reformation.
Lux
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 80% based on 9 votes
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.
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
Rating: 60% based on 10 votes
English form of Latin
Lucas, from the Greek name
Λουκᾶς (Loukas), probably a shortened form of
Λουκανός (Loukanos) meaning
"from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy. Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the
New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a
saint by many Christian denominations.
Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.
Ludovic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-DAW-VEEK
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
French form of
Ludovicus, the Latinized form of
Ludwig. This was the name of an 1833 opera by the French composer Fromental Halévy.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical, English
Pronounced: LOO-kee-oos(Latin) LOO-shəs(English) LOO-si-əs(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which was derived from Latin
lux "light". This was the most popular of the praenomina. Two Etruscan kings of early Rome had this name as well as several prominent later Romans, including Lucius Annaeus Seneca (known simply as Seneca), a statesman, philosopher, orator and tragedian. The name is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament belonging to a Christian in Antioch. It was also borne by three popes, including the 3rd-century
Saint Lucius. Despite this, the name was not regularly used in the Christian world until after the Renaissance.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
An elaboration of
Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel
Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play
The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Rating: 60% based on 8 votes
Romanian and English form of
Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Rating: 65% based on 10 votes
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Love 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LUV
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
Simply from the English word love, derived from Old English lufu.
Lotus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LO-təs
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
From the name of the lotus flower (species Nelumbo nucifera) or the mythological lotus tree. They are ultimately derived from Greek
λωτός (lotos). In Greek and Roman
mythology the lotus tree was said to produce a fruit causing sleepiness and forgetfulness.
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Means
"little fierce one", derived from Old Irish
lorcc "fierce" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.
London
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LUN-dən
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).
Logan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LO-gən
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Ayrshire meaning
"little hollow" (from Gaelic
lag "hollow, pit" combined with a
diminutive suffix). This name started slowly rising on the American popularity charts in the mid-1970s, perhaps partly inspired by the movie
Logan's Run (1976). The comic book character Wolverine, alias Logan, was also introduced around the same time.
The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since end of the 20th century. In the United States it reached a high point in 2017, when it ranked as the fifth most popular name for boys.
Llewellyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: loo-EHL-in(English)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Liviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: lee-VYA-na(Italian)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Livianus, which was itself derived from the family name
Livius.
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Livia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIV-ee-ə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Liv 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIV
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Lincoln
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LING-kən
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
From an English surname that was originally from the name of an English city, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This name is usually given in honour of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Lillie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Lillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
Probably originally a
diminutive of
Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of
Lily, from the Latin word for "lily"
lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Liliane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEE-LYAN
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Lilac
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LIE-lək
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the shrub with purple or white flowers (genus Syringa). It is derived via Arabic from Persian.
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Liberty
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIB-ər-tee
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
Simply from the English word
liberty, derived from Latin
libertas, a derivative of
liber "free". Interestingly, since 1880 this name has charted on the American popularity lists in three different periods: in 1918 (at the end of World War I), in 1976 (the American bicentennial), and after 2001 (during the War on Terrorism)
[1].
Lex
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: LEHKS
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 9 votes
Possibly means
"joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the
Old Testament, Levi was the third son of
Jacob and
Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers
Moses and
Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, where it is borne by a son of
Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle
Matthew.
As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Lestat
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: lə-STAT(English)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Name used by author Anne Rice for a character in her Vampire Chronicles series of novels, first released in 1976, where it belongs to the French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Rice possibly intended the name to appear derived from Old French or Occitan l'estat "state, status", though apparently her husband's name Stan was inspiration.
Leonardo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: leh-o-NAR-do(Italian) lee-ə-NAHR-do(English) leh-o-NAR-dho(Spanish)
Rating: 76% based on 11 votes
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Leonard. A notable bearer was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an Italian artist and scientist of the Renaissance. He is known as the inventor of several contraptions, including flying machines, as well as the painter of the
Mona Lisa. Another famous bearer was Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician. A more recent bearer is American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (1974-).
Leona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Czech
Pronounced: lee-O-nə(English) LEH-o-na(Czech)
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Leon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λέων(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-ahn(English) LEH-awn(German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene)
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
Derived from Greek
λέων (leon) meaning
"lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin
cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is
Лев in Russian.
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Danish, Finnish) LEH-yo(Dutch) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 77% based on 9 votes
Derived from Latin
leo meaning
"lion", a
cognate of
Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including
Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled
Лев in Russian, whose works include
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
Rating: 19% based on 7 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms". This name steadily rose in popularity in the 2000s, at the same time as the similar-sounding (but unrelated) names
Lennon and
Knox.
Lennon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-ən
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From an Irish surname, derived from the Irish byname
Leannán meaning "lover". The surname was borne by musician and Beatle member John Lennon (1940-1980), and it may be used as a given name in his honour. In America it is now more common as a feminine name, possibly inspired in part by the singer Lennon Stella (1999-), who began appearing on the television series
Nashville in 2012
[1].
Leilani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Rating: 49% based on 8 votes
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Leighton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-tən
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Layton. It jumped in popularity as a feminine name after 2007, when actress Leighton Meester (1986-) began appearing on the television series
Gossip Girl.
Leif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: LAYF
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
From the Old Norse name Leifr meaning "descendant, heir". Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer who reached North America in the early 11th century. He was the son of Erik the Red.
Leanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lee-AN
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(English)
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
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.
Layne
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAYN
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
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.
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Laurent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-RAHN
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Laurel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əl
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.
Lars
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LAHSH(Swedish, Norwegian) LAHS(Danish) LAHRS(Finnish, Dutch) LARS(German)
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Larissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Portuguese (Brazilian), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λάρισα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lə-RIS-ə(English) la-RI-sa(German)
Rating: 20% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Larisa. It has been commonly used as an English given name only since the 20th century, as a borrowing from Russian. In 1991 this name was given to one of the moons of Neptune, in honour of the mythological character.
Lane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAYN
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From an English surname, meaning "lane, path", which originally belonged to a person who lived near a lane.
Landon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAN-dən
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "long hill" (effectively meaning "ridge"). Use of the name may have been inspired in part by the actor Michael Landon (1936-1991).
Lance
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LANS
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
From the Germanic name
Lanzo, originally a short form of names that began with the Old Frankish or Old Saxon element
land, Old High German
lant meaning
"land" (Proto-Germanic *
landą). During the Middle Ages it became associated with Old French
lance meaning "spear, lance". A famous bearer is American cyclist Lance Armstrong (1971-).
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
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.
Lacey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-see
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Lacy. This is currently the most popular spelling of this name.
Kylie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIE-lee
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
This name arose in Australia, where it is said to mean "boomerang" in the Australian Aboriginal language Nyungar. An early bearer was the author Kylie Tennant (1912-1988). It was among the most popular names in Australia in the 1970s and early 80s. It can also be considered a feminine form of
Kyle, or a combination of the popular sounds
ky and
lee, and it is likely in those capacities that it began to be used in America in the late 1970s. A famous bearer is the Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue (1968-).
Kyleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-lee
Rating: 23% based on 9 votes
Kyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIE-lə
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Kyle, or a combination of the popular phonetic elements
ky and
la.
Kurt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: KUWRT(German) KURT(English)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
German contracted form of
Conrad. A famous bearer was the American musician Kurt Cobain (1967-1994).
Kristopher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KRIS-tə-fər
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Krista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian
Pronounced: KRIS-ta(German) KRIS-tə(English) KREES-tah(Finnish)
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Kingston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KINGZ-tən
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's town" in Old English. This name rose significantly on the popularity charts after musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale used it for their son born 2006.
Kingsley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KINGZ-lee
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
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 minor boost in popularity after the release of the 2007 movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, featuring the character Kingsley Shacklebolt.
King
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KING
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
From the English vocabulary word king, ultimately derived from Old English cyning. This was also a surname, derived from the same source, a famous bearer being the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Kian 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Khloe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KLO-ee
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Chloe. This particular variant was popularized by the television personality Khloé Kardashian (1984-) after she began appearing with her family on the reality show
Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2007.
Keturah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְטוּרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-TOO-rə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Kenneth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: KEHN-əth(English)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Anglicized form of both
Coinneach and
Cináed. This name was borne by the Scottish king Kenneth (Cináed) mac Alpin, who united the Scots and Picts in the 9th century. It was popularized outside of Scotland by Walter Scott, who used it for the hero in his 1825 novel
The Talisman [1]. A famous bearer was the British novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), who wrote
The Wind in the Willows.
Kennedy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: KEHN-ə-dee(English)
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cinnéidigh, itself derived from the given name
Cennétig. The name has sometimes been given in honour of assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). It was popularized as a name for girls by Lisa Kennedy Montgomery (1972-), known simply as Kennedy, the host of the television program
Alternative Nation on MTV from 1992 to 1997.
Kendrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drik
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
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.
Kendra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drə
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Kendall
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-dəl
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwestern England meaning "valley on the river Kent". Originally mostly masculine, the name received a boost in popularity for girls in 1993 when the devious character Kendall Hart began appearing on the American soap opera All My Children.
Kelly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEHL-ee(English)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish given name
Ceallach or the surname derived from it
Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
As a given name it was mostly masculine before 1940, but it rose in popularity as a name for girls during the 40s and 50s, probably due both to Grace Kelly (who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956) and a female character on the 1957 television series Bachelor Father [1]. By the end of the 1970s it was on the decline.
Keely
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEE-lee
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caolaidhe, itself derived from the given name Caoladhe, from Irish caol "slender".
Katrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: kə-TREE-nə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Katia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Катя(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: KA-tya(Italian) KA-TYA(French) KA-tyə(Russian)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
Italian and French form of
Katya, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name.
Katharina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(German, Swedish)
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
Katerina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian, Albanian, Russian, Bulgarian, Greek, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Катерина(Macedonian, Russian, Bulgarian) Κατερίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Katarzyna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ka-ta-ZHI-na
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Katarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Sorbian
Other Scripts: Катарина(Serbian)
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(Swedish, German)
Rating: 71% based on 8 votes
Kailyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lin
Rating: 26% based on 7 votes
Kai 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: KIE(German, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English)
Rating: 74% based on 8 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Frisian
diminutive of
Gerhard,
Nicolaas,
Cornelis or
Gaius [1]. It is borne by a boy captured by the Snow Queen in an 1844 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Spreading from Germany and Scandinavia, this name became popular in the English-speaking world and other places in Western Europe around the end of the 20th century.
Kaden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Rating: 21% based on 10 votes
Kade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYD
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
Justice
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JUS-tis
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
From an occupational surname meaning "judge, officer of justice" in Old French. This name can also be given in direct reference to the English word justice.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess
Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Julianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Polish, English
Pronounced: YOO-lee-awn-naw(Hungarian) yoo-LYAN-na(Polish) joo-lee-AN-ə(English) joo-lee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Iulianus (see
Julian). It can also be considered a combination of
Julia and
Anna.
Juliane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, French
Pronounced: yoo-lee-A-nə(German) ZHUY-LYAN(French)
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
German and French feminine form of
Julian.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
From the Roman name
Iulianus, which was derived from
Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early
saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from
Juliana, eventually becoming
Gillian).
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 74% based on 7 votes
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.
Joyce
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOIS
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
From the medieval masculine name
Josse, which was derived from the earlier
Iudocus, which was a Latinized form of the Breton name
Judoc meaning
"lord". The name belonged to a 7th-century Breton
saint, and Breton settlers introduced it to England after the
Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 14th century, but was later revived as a feminine name, perhaps because of similarity to the Middle English word
joise "to rejoice". This given name also became a surname, as in the case of the Irish novelist James Joyce (1882-1941).
Joy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOI
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Simply from the English word joy, ultimately derived from Norman French joie, Latin gaudium. It has been regularly used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 75% based on 10 votes
Jolie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-lee(English) ZHAW-LEE(French)
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Means "pretty" in French. This name was popularized by American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-), whose surname was originally her middle name. It is not used as a given name in France.
Johanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: yo-HA-na(German) yuw-HAN-na(Swedish) yo-HAHN-nah(Danish) yo-HAH-na(Dutch) YO-hawn-naw(Hungarian) YO-hahn-nah(Finnish) jo-HAN-ə(English) jo-AN-ə(English)
Rating: 67% based on 9 votes
Latinate form of Greek
Ioanna (see
Joanna).
Johann
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: YO-han
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
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).
Joelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jo-EHL
Rating: 21% based on 7 votes
Jocelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(English) JAHS-ə-lin(English) ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French)
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
From a Frankish masculine name, variously written as
Gaudelenus,
Gautselin,
Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element *
gautaz, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Geats, combined with a Latin
diminutive suffix. The
Normans brought this name to England in the form
Goscelin or
Joscelin, and it was common until the 14th century. It was revived in the 20th century primarily as a feminine name, perhaps an adaptation of the surname
Jocelyn (a medieval derivative of the given name). In France this is a masculine name only.
Joaquín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kho-a-KEEN, khwa-KEEN
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Jewel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOO-əl, JOOL
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
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.
Jett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JEHT
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From the English word jet, which denotes either a jet aircraft or an intense black colour (the words derive from different sources).
Jessamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEHS-ə-min
Personal remark: Nickname Jessa
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
From a variant spelling of the English word
jasmine (see
Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.
Jerome
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-ROM
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name
Ἱερώνυμος (Hieronymos) meaning
"sacred name", derived from
ἱερός (hieros) meaning "sacred" and
ὄνυμα (onyma) meaning "name".
Saint Jerome was responsible for the creation of the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, in the 5th century. He is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. The name was used in his honour in the Middle Ages, especially in Italy and France, and has been used in England since the 12th century
[1].
Jeremy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JEHR-ə-mee(English) JEHR-mee(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Remy
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
English form of
Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the
New Testament.
Jefferson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHF-ər-sən
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Jeffrey". It is usually given in honour of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the third president of the United States and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
Jayme
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
Jayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-dən
Personal remark: Nickname Jay
Rating: 29% based on 10 votes
Variant of
Jaden. This spelling continued to rapidly rise in popularity in the United States past 2003, unlike
Jaden, which stalled. It peaked at the fourth rank for boys in 2010, showing tremendous growth over only two decades. It has since declined.
Jaxon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAK-sən
Personal remark: Nickname Jax
Rating: 21% based on 9 votes
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian
ganzabarah. 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.
Jason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Anglicized), Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἰάσων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: JAY-sən(English) ZHA-ZAWN(French)
Personal remark: Nickname Jay
Rating: 66% based on 9 votes
From the Greek name
Ἰάσων (Iason) meaning
"healer", derived from Greek
ἰάομαι (iaomai) meaning "to heal". In Greek
mythology Jason was the leader of the Argonauts. After his uncle
Pelias overthrew his father
Aeson as king of Iolcos, Jason went in search of the Golden Fleece in order to win back the throne. During his journeys he married the sorceress
Medea, who helped him gain the fleece and kill his uncle, but who later turned against him when he fell in love with another woman.
This name also appears in the New Testament, belonging to man who sheltered Paul and Silas. In his case, it may represent a Hellenized form of a Hebrew name. It was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation.
Jared
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יָרֶד, יֶרֶד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAR-əd(English)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name
יָרֶד (Yareḏ) or
יֶרֶד (Yereḏ) meaning
"descent". This is the name of a close descendant of
Adam in the
Old Testament. It has been used as an English name since the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popularized in the 1960s by the character Jarrod Barkley on the television series
The Big Valley [1].
Jamie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 81% based on 12 votes
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (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.
Jaden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-dən
Rating: 32% based on 10 votes
An invented name, using the popular
den suffix sound found in such names as
Braden,
Hayden and
Aidan. This name first became common in America in the 1990s when similar-sounding names were increasing in popularity. The spelling
Jayden has been more popular since 2003. It is sometimes considered a variant of the biblical name
Jadon.
Jada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAY-də, JAD-ə
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Elaborated form of
Jade. This name came into general use in the 1960s, and was popularized in the 1990s by actress Jada Pinkett Smith (1971-).
Jacqueline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: ZHAK-LEEN(French) JAK-ə-lin(English) JAK-wə-lin(English) JAK-ə-leen(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Jackie
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
French feminine form of
Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.
Jackson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK-sən
Personal remark: Nickname Jack
Rating: 43% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Jack". A famous bearer of the surname was American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845).
Jackalyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Rating: 70% based on 8 votes
Derived from
Jackin (earlier
Jankin), a medieval
diminutive of
John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name
Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms
jack-o'-lantern,
jack-in-the-box,
lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as
Jack and the Beanstalk,
Jack and Jill,
Little Jack Horner, and
Jack Sprat.
American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.
In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.
Jace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYS
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Jason, sometimes used independently. It was brought to limited attention in America by the lead character in the western television series
Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955-1958). Towards the end of the 20th century it began steadily increasing in popularity, reaching the 66th spot for boys in the United States in 2013.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 86% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Isabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: EE-ZA-BEHL(French) IZ-ə-behl(English) ee-za-BEH-lə(German, Dutch)
Personal remark: Nickname Izzy
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִץְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִץְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning
"he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from
צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The
Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that
Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife
Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see
Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see
Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of
Esau and
Jacob with his wife
Rebecca.
As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
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.
Ireland
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IER-lənd(American English) IE-ə-lənd(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From the name of the European island country, derived from Irish Gaelic Éire, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.
India
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-dee-ə(English) EEN-dya(Spanish)
Personal remark: Nickname Indy
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit
सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river". India Wilkes is a character in the novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell.
Immanuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, German (Rare), Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עִמָּנוּאֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-MA-nwehl(German)
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
Form of
Emmanuel used in most translations of the
Old Testament. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher of the Enlightenment who is sometimes called the father of modern philosophy.
Hyperion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὑπερίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HUY-PEH-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) hie-PEER-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Derived from Greek
ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning
"over". In Greek
myth this was the name of a Titan who presided over the sun and light. By
Theia he was the father of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
Hyacinth 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: HIE-ə-sinth
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From the name of the flower (or the precious stone that also bears this name), ultimately from Greek
hyakinthos (see
Hyacinthus).
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Personal remark: Nickname Hugh
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
Old German form of
Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and
Les Misérables.
Hugh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HYOO
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
From the Germanic name
Hugo, derived from Old Frankish
hugi or Old High German
hugu meaning
"mind, thought, spirit" (Proto-Germanic *
hugiz). It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The
Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop
Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of
Aodh and
Ùisdean.
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Variant of
Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the
Normans.
Honor
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AHN-ər
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Variant of
Honour, using the American spelling.
Hero 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἥρων(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Ellie or Ella
Rating: 75% based on 10 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
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.
Hayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-dən
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as
Braden and
Aidan.
Harper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Harmony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-mə-nee
Personal remark: Nickname Mony
Rating: 20% based on 7 votes
From the English word
harmony, ultimately deriving from Greek
ἁρμονία (harmonia).
Harlow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lo
Rating: 15% based on 8 votes
From an English surname derived from a place name, itself derived from Old English
hær "rock, heap of stones" or
here "army", combined with
hlaw "hill". As a name for girls, it received some attention in 2008 when the American celebrity Nicole Richie used it for her daughter.
Harley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lee
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English
hara "hare" or
hær "rock, heap of stones" and
leah "woodland, clearing". An American name for boys since the 19th century, it began to be used for girls after a character with the name began appearing on the soap opera
Guiding Light in 1987.
Halle 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian (Rare)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
From the Old Norse name
Halli, a
diminutive of names containing the element
hallr meaning "rock".
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Probably a variant of
Gwynedd. It has been common in Wales since the 19th century, perhaps after the Welsh novelist Gwyneth Vaughan (1852-1910), whose real name was Ann Harriet Hughes. A modern famous bearer is the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).
Gwendolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin
Personal remark: Nickname Gwen
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.
Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
From Welsh
gwen, the feminine form of
gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of
Gwendolen,
Gwenllian and other names beginning with
Gwen.
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Guin
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
From the Norman French form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar meaning
"white phantom", ultimately from the old Celtic roots *
windos meaning "white" (modern Welsh
gwen) and *
sēbros meaning "phantom, magical being"
[1]. In Arthurian legend she was the beautiful wife of King
Arthur. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, she was seduced by
Mordred before the battle of Camlann, which led to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur. According to the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, she engaged in an adulterous affair with Sir
Lancelot.
The Cornish form of this name, Jennifer, has become popular in the English-speaking world.
Guillaume
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GEE-YOM
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Guenevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Personal remark: Nickname Guen
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of
Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Grier
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GRIR
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the given name
Gregor.
Greyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
Personal remark: Nickname Grey
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
Gregory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GREHG-ə-ree
Personal remark: Nickname Greg
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
English form of Latin
Gregorius, which was from the Late Greek name
Γρηγόριος (Gregorios), derived from
γρήγορος (gregoros) meaning
"watchful, alert". This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important
saints including Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (3rd century), Saint Gregory the Illuminator (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (4th century), and Saint Gregory of Tours (6th century). It was also borne by the 6th-century pope Saint Gregory I the Great, a reformer and Doctor of the Church, as well as 15 subsequent popes.
Due to the renown of the saints by this name, Gregory (in various spellings) has remained common in the Christian world through the Middle Ages and to the present day. It has been used in England since the 12th century. A famous bearer from the modern era was American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003).
Greer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GRIR
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the given name
Gregor.
Gray
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning "grey", originally given to a person who had grey hair or clothing.
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Gray
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
From the English word
grace, which ultimately derives from Latin
gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the
Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.
This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.
Godric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1]
Pronounced: GAHD-rik(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Ricky
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Means
"god's ruler", derived from Old English
god combined with
ric "ruler, king". This name died out a few centuries after the
Norman Conquest.
Glory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GLAWR-ee
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
Simply from the English word glory, ultimately from Latin gloria.
Giuliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: joo-LYA-na
Personal remark: Nickname Guilie (Julie)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Derived from the Old German element
gisal meaning
"hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *
gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of
Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.
The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Personal remark: Nickname Ginny
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Italian form of
Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word
ginepro meaning "juniper".
Gilles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEEL
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Giacomo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: JA-ko-mo
Personal remark: Nickname Giac (Jack)
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
Italian form of
Iacomus (see
James). Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was an Italian composer of operas.
Gerard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Catalan, Polish
Pronounced: ji-RAHRD(American English) JEHR-əd(British English) GHEH-rahrt(Dutch) zhə-RART(Catalan) GEH-rart(Polish)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Derived from the Old German element
ger meaning "spear" combined with
hart meaning "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This name was borne by
saints from Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy. The
Normans introduced it to Britain. It was initially much more common there than the similar name
Gerald [1], with which it was often confused, but it is now less common.
Georgiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romanian
Pronounced: jawr-JAY-nə(English) jawr-jee-AN-ə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Personal remark: Nickname Nev
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
Genesis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-sis
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Means
"birth, origin" in Greek. This is the name of the first book of the
Old Testament in the Bible. It tells of the creation of the world, the expulsion of
Adam and
Eve,
Noah and the great flood, and the three patriarchs.
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Gav
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Medieval form of
Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Garrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-ik
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
From an English surname, of French Huguenot origin, that was derived from Occitan garric meaning "oak tree grove".
Garrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-it, GEHR-it
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Gerald or
Gerard. A famous bearer of the surname was Pat Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid.
Gareth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English (British), Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAR-əth(British English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends
Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named
Beaumains) is a brother of
Gawain. He goes with
Lynet to rescue her sister
Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on
Gaheriet or
Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name
Gwrhyd meaning
"valour" (found in the tale
Culhwch and Olwen) or
Gwairydd meaning
"hay lord" (found in the chronicle
Brut y Brenhinedd).
Galen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAY-lən
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Modern form of the Greek name
Γαληνός (Galenos), which meant
"calm" from Greek
γαλήνη (galene). It was borne by a 2nd-century BC Greco-Roman physician who contributed to anatomy and medicine. In modern times the name is occasionally given in his honour.
Gaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Italian
Other Scripts: Γαῖα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GIE-A(Classical Greek) GIE-ə(English) GAY-ə(English) GA-ya(Italian)
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
From the Greek word
γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of
γῆ (ge) meaning
"earth". In Greek
mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of
Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.
Gage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYJ
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).
Gabrielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) gab-ree-EHL(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Gabby
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
French feminine form of
Gabriel. This was the real name of French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Personal remark: Nickname Gabe
Rating: 83% based on 12 votes
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) 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.
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 70% based on 8 votes
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Fredrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-rik
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
Frazier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAY-zhər
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Forrest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWR-ist
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
From an English surname meaning "forest", originally belonging to a person who lived near a forest. In America it has sometimes been used in honour of the Confederate Civil War general Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877). This name was borne by the title character in the movie Forrest Gump (1994) about a loveable simpleton. Use of the name increased when the movie was released, but has since faded away.
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLAW-ra(Italian) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Dutch, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese) FLAW-RA(French)
Personal remark: Nickname Flo or Lori
Rating: 72% based on 9 votes
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Means
"flower" in French.
Saint Fleur of Issendolus (
Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels
The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Fiorenza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: fyo-REHN-tsa
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Italian feminine form of
Florentius (see
Florence).
Fiona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: fee-O-nə(English)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
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.
Finley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Personal remark: Nickname Fin
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.
Fergus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FUR-gəs(English)
Rating: 38% based on 6 votes
Means
"man of vigour", derived from the Old Irish elements
fer "man" and
guss "vigour, strength, force". This was the name of several early rulers of Ireland and Dál Riata, as well as many characters from Irish legend. Notably it was borne by the hero Fergus mac Róich, who was tricked into giving up the kingship of Ulster to
Conchobar. However, he remained loyal to the new king until Conchobar betrayed
Deirdre and
Naoise, at which point he defected to Connacht in anger. The name was also borne by an 8th-century
saint, a missionary to Scotland.
This is the Old Irish form of the name, as well as the usual Anglicized form of Modern Irish Fearghas or Fearghus.
Felicity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: fə-LIS-i-tee
Rating: 71% based on 9 votes
From the English word
felicity meaning
"happiness", which ultimately derives from Latin
felicitas "good luck". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans around the 17th century. It can sometimes be used as an English form of the Latin name
Felicitas. This name jumped in popularity in the United States after the premiere of the television series
Felicity in 1998. It is more common in the United Kingdom.
Faye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Fauna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: FOW-na(Latin) FAW-nə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Faunus. Fauna was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing, a daughter and companion of Faunus.
Fallon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
From an Irish surname that was an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Ó Fallamháin, itself derived from the given name Fallamhán meaning "leader". It was popularized in the 1980s by a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Faiza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: فائزة(Arabic) فائزہ(Urdu)
Pronounced: FA-ee-za(Arabic)
Personal remark: Nickname Fai (Fay)
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Faith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAYTH
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
Simply from the English word
faith, ultimately from Latin
fidere "to trust". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Ewan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: YOO-ən(English)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Evie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-vee, EHV-ee
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
Personal remark: Nickname Rhett
Rating: 76% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Everard.
Everard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Personal remark: Nickname Ever
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From
Everardus, the Latinized form of
Eberhard. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it joined the Old English
cognate Eoforheard. It has only been rarely used since the Middle Ages. Modern use of the name may be inspired by the surname
Everard, itself derived from the medieval name.
Evelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
Personal remark: Nickname Evie (eh-vee)
Rating: 72% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to
Eve and
Evelina.
This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 71% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
חַוָּה (Ḥawwa), which was derived from the Hebrew word
חָוָה (ḥawa) meaning
"to breathe" or the related word
חָיָה (ḥaya) meaning
"to live". According to the
Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and
Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of
Eden.
Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
Means
"good news" from Greek
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem
Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-VAN-dər(English) ə-VAN-dər(English)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning
"good of man", derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Roman
mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Rating: 66% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Rating: 71% based on 8 votes
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Estrella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TREH-ya
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
Spanish form of
Stella 1, coinciding with the Spanish word meaning "star".
Estelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL(English) EHS-TEHL(French)
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
From an Old French name meaning
"star", ultimately derived from Latin
stella. It was rare in the English-speaking world in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due to the character Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Rating: 60% based on 8 votes
Latinate form of
Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
Estee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Jewish
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Diminutive of
Esther. A famous bearer was the American businesswoman Estée Lauder (1908-2004), founder of the cosmetics company that bears her name. Her birth name was Josephine Esther Mentzer. Apparently she added the accent to her name
Estee in order to make it appear French.
Esmeralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Albanian, Literature
Pronounced: ehz-meh-RAL-da(Spanish) izh-mi-RAL-du(European Portuguese) ehz-meh-ROW-du(Brazilian Portuguese) ehz-mə-RAHL-də(English)
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
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.
Esmé
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.
Esmaralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ehz-mə-RAHL-də
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Ephraim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶףְרָיִם(Hebrew) Ἐφραίμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EEF-ree-əm(English) EEF-rəm(English)
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֶףְרָיִם (ʾEfrayim) meaning
"fruitful". In the
Old Testament Ephraim is a son of
Joseph and
Asenath and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name was also borne by two early
saints: Ephraim or Ephrem the Syrian, a 4th-century theologian, and Ephraim of Antioch, a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.
Emory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-ree
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Emmy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Dutch, German
Pronounced: EHM-ee(English) EH-mee(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Emmie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ee
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Emmett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a
diminutive of the feminine given name
Emma.
Emmaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Rating: 76% based on 10 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
irmin meaning
"whole" or
"great" (Proto-Germanic *
ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian
saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).
In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Émile
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-MEEL
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
French form of
Aemilius (see
Emil). This name was borne by the author Émile Zola (1840-1902) and the sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).
Emerson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.
Elyse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
Diminutive of
Elizabeth. It was popularized in the early 1980s by a character from the television comedy
Family Ties.
Elspeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: EHLS-peth
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 60% based on 10 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 66% based on 9 votes
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.
Ellie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
Diminutive of
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 and other names beginning with
El. This name became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, being ranked second for girls in 2003.
Ellery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-ree
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from the medieval masculine name
Hilary.
Elle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHL
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
Diminutive of
Eleanor and other names beginning with
El. This name can also be given in reference to the French pronoun
elle meaning "she".
Already growing in popularity due to Australian model Elle Macpherson (1964-), this name received a boost in the United States after the release of the 2001 movie Legally Blonde featuring the main character Elle Woods. In the United Kingdom the name was already fairly common at the time the movie came out, and it actually started declining there shortly afterwards. A famous bearer is American actress Elle Fanning (1998-).
Ella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə
Rating: 61% based on 9 votes
Norman name, originally a short form of Germanic names containing the element
alles meaning
"other" (Proto-Germanic *
aljaz). It was introduced to England by the
Normans and used until the 14th century, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the American singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996).
Elke 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Low German, Frisian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: EHL-kə(German, Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
Élise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LEEZ
Rating: 76% based on 8 votes
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 81% based on 11 votes
German and Dutch form of
Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the
New Testament.
Elisabeta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 75% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English) EH-lee-yahs(Dutch)
Rating: 82% based on 12 votes
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί, Ἡλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Rating: 70% based on 10 votes
Means
"ascension" in Hebrew, a derivative of
עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend". In the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young
Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.
Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Personal remark: Nickname Ellie or Ella
Rating: 81% based on 13 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name
Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named
Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase
alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.
The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.
Ekaterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian
Other Scripts: Екатерина(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian)
Pronounced: yi-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian) i-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian)
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Eirlys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AYR-lis
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Means
"snowdrop (flower)" in Welsh, a compound of
eira "snow" and
llys "plant".
Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Efraim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֶףְרָיִם(Hebrew)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight"
[1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Echo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠχώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-ko(English)
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
From the Greek word
ἠχώ (echo) meaning
"echo, reflected sound", related to
ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek
mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by
Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with
Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.
Ebony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: EHB-ən-ee(English)
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
From the English word ebony for the black wood that comes from the ebony tree. It is ultimately from the Egyptian word hbnj. In America this name is most often used in the black community.
Easton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EES-tən
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.
Dustin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DUS-tin
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
Þórsteinn (see
Torsten). The name was popularized by the actor Dustin Hoffman (1937-), who was apparently named after the earlier silent movie star Dustin Farnum (1874-1929)
[1].
Draven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: DRAY-vən(English)
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
From a surname (of unknown meaning) that was used in the movie The Crow (1994).
Drake
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DRAYK
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
From an English surname derived from the Old Norse byname
Draki or the Old English byname
Draca both meaning "dragon", both via Latin from Greek
δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent". This name coincides with the unrelated English word
drake meaning "male duck". A famous bearer is the Canadian actor and rapper Drake (1986-), who was born as Aubrey Drake Graham.
Draco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δράκων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DRAY-ko(English)
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
From the Greek name
Δράκων (Drakon), which meant
"dragon, serpent". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Athenian legislator. This is also the name of a constellation in the northern sky.
Dominique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DAW-MEE-NEEK
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
French feminine and masculine form of
Dominicus (see
Dominic).
Domhnall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: DO-nəl
Rating: 39% based on 8 votes
Dmitri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Дмитрий(Russian)
Pronounced: DMEE-tree
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Dionysius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), Biblical
Other Scripts: Διονύσιος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Latin form of
Dionysios. Dionysius the Areopagite, who is mentioned in the
New Testament, was a judge converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. This was also the name of many other early saints, including a 3rd-century pope.
Dimitri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, French
Other Scripts: Димитрий(Russian) დიმიტრი(Georgian)
Pronounced: dyi-MYEE-tryee(Russian) DEE-MEE-TREE(Georgian, French)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Russian variant of
Dmitriy, as well as the Georgian form.
Diamond
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), African American (Modern)
Pronounced: DIE-mənd(English)
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
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".
Desmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: DEHZ-mənd(English)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
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).
Derek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHR-ik
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
From the older English name
Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of
Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Demi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Δήμη, Ντίμι, Ντίμη(Greek)
Pronounced: də-MEE(English) DEHM-ee(English)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Alternate transcription of Greek
Δήμη or
Ντίμι or
Ντίμη (see
Dimi), as well as a short form of
Demetria. A famous bearer is American actress Demi Moore (1962-), and it is because of her that the name rose in popularity in the United States in the late 1980s. Though some sources claim Moore's birth name is Demetria, the actress herself has said she was born as Demi and named after a makeup product. The name received a further boost after 2008 with the release of the debut album by the singer Demi Lovato (1992-), who pronounces the name differently than the older actress. Lovato's birth name is Demetria.
Demetrius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δημήτριος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Δημήτριος (Demetrios), which was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
Demeter 1. Kings of Macedon and the Seleucid kingdom have had this name. This was also the name of several early
saints including Demetrius of Thessalonica, a martyr of the 4th century who is regarded as a warrior.
Demetria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English
Other Scripts: Δημητρία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Means
"delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament she is the lover of
Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the
Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Delaney
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: di-LAYN-ee
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
Deacon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DEE-kən
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
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").
Dashiell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-SHEEL, DASH-il
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
In the case of American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) it was from his mother's surname, which was possibly an Anglicized form of French de Chiel, of unknown meaning.
Darren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAR-ən
Rating: 26% based on 7 votes
The meaning of this name is not known for certain. In the spelling
Daren, it was used by the novelist Zane Grey for the central character in his novel
The Day of the Beast (1922)
[1]. Grey may have based it on a rare Irish surname, or perhaps created it as a variant of
Darrell. It was brought to public attention in the late 1950s by the American actor Darren McGavin (1922-2006; born as William Lyle Richardson). It was further popularized in the 1960s by the character Darrin Stephens from the television show
Bewitched.
Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
Damon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Δάμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAY-mən(English)
Rating: 56% based on 9 votes
Derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.
Damien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DA-MYEHN
Rating: 71% based on 10 votes
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
Rating: 69% based on 10 votes
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Dallas
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAL-əs
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
From a surname that could either be of Old English origin meaning "valley house" or of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George M. Dallas (1792-1864).
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Rating: 71% based on 10 votes
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English
dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
Rating: 73% based on 9 votes
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Cullen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KUL-ən
Rating: 13% based on 9 votes
From a surname, either
Cullen 1 or
Cullen 2. It jumped a little in popularity as a given name after Stephenie Meyer's novel
Twilight (2005), featuring a vampire named Edward Cullen, was adapted into a movie in 2008.
Cruz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KROOTH(European Spanish) KROOS(Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese) KROOSH(European Portuguese)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Means "cross" in Spanish or Portuguese, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
Crispin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KRIS-pin
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Crispinus, which was derived from the name
Crispus.
Saint Crispin was a 3rd-century Roman who was martyred with his twin brother Crispinian in Gaul. They are the patrons of shoemakers. They were popular saints in England during the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since that time.
Cormac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Irish
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
From Old Irish
Cormacc or
Corbmac, of uncertain meaning, possibly from
corb "chariot, wagon" or
corbbad "defilement, corruption" combined with
macc "son". This is the name of several characters from Irish legend, including the semi-legendary high king Cormac mac Airt who supposedly ruled in the 3rd century, during the adventures of the hero
Fionn mac Cumhaill. This name was also borne by a few early
saints.
Corbin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWR-bin
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
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].
Coralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-RA-LEE
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
Either a French form of
Koralia, or a derivative of Latin
corallium "coral" (see
Coral).
Coral
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: KAWR-əl(English) ko-RAL(Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From the English and Spanish word
coral for the underwater skeletal deposits that can form reefs. It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
κοράλλιον (korallion).
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of
Kore. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel
The Last of the Mohicans (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of
Cordula,
Corinna and other names beginning with a similar sound.
Constantine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: KAHN-stən-teen(English)
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
From the Latin name
Constantinus, a derivative of
Constans. Constantine the Great (272-337), full name Flavius Valerius Constantinus, was the first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. He moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (modern Istanbul).
Cole
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL
Rating: 57% based on 9 votes
From an English surname, itself originally derived from either a medieval short form of
Nicholas or the byname
Cola. A famous bearer was the songwriter Cole Porter (1891-1964), while a bearer of the surname was the musician Nat King Cole (1919-1965).
This name got more popular in the early 1980s, then got a boost in 1990 when it was used by the main character in the movie Days of Thunder.
Colby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL-bee
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.
Coby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KO-bee
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Cleo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEE-o
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
Clémentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN-TEEN
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
French feminine form of
Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).
Clemence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHM-əns
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Clementius (see
Clement). It has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it became rare after the 17th century.
Clarice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: klə-REES, KLAR-is, KLEHR-is
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Medieval vernacular form of the Late Latin name
Claritia, which was a derivative of
Clara.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 76% based on 13 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Clarus, which meant
"clear, bright, famous". The name
Clarus was borne by a few early
saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called
Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.
As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
Rating: 71% based on 15 votes
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.
Ciarán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEE-ran(Irish)
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
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.
Cian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEEN(Irish)
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Means
"ancient, enduring" in Irish. In Irish
mythology this was the name of the father of
Lugh Lámfada. It was also borne by the mythical ancestor of the Ciannachta and by a son-in-law of
Brian Boru.
Chloe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Ancient Greek [2], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Χλόη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KLO-ee(English)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Means
"green shoot" in Greek, referring to new plant growth in the spring. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Demeter. The name is also mentioned by
Paul in one of his epistles in the
New Testament.
As an English name, Chloe has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. It started getting more popular in the 1980s in the United Kingdom and then the United States. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 1997 to 2002. This is one of the few English-language names that is often written with a diaeresis, as Chloë.
Cheyenne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: shie-AN
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Derived from the Lakota word šahiyena meaning "red speakers". This is the name of a Native American people of the Great Plains. The name was supposedly given to the Cheyenne by the Lakota because their language was unrelated to their own. As a given name, it has been in use since the 1950s.
Cherise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: shə-REES
Rating: 26% based on 7 votes
Cherie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHR-ee, shə-REE
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
Derived from French
chérie meaning
"darling". In America,
Cherie came into use shortly after the variant
Sherry, and has not been as common.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 74% based on 11 votes
French feminine
diminutive of
Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of
Jane Eyre and
Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.
Charlize
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Afrikaans
Pronounced: shar-LEEZ
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Charles using the popular Afrikaans name suffix
ize. This name was popularized by South African actress Charlize Theron (1975-), who was named after her father Charles.
Chanel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: shə-NEHL
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
From a French surname that meant either "channel", indicating a person who lived near a channel of water, or "jug, jar, bottle", indicating a manufacturer of jugs. It has been used as an American given name since 1970s, influenced by the Chanel brand name (a line of women's clothing and perfume), which was named for French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
Chad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAD
Rating: 26% based on 9 votes
From the Old English name
Ceadda, which is of unknown meaning, possibly based on Old Welsh
cat "battle". This was the name of a 7th-century English
saint. Borne primarily by Catholics, it was a rare name until the 1960s when it started to become more common amongst the general population. This is also the name of a country in Africa, though it originates from a different source.
Celeste
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Rating: 72% based on 9 votes
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name
Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of
Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name
Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Cayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Rating: 24% based on 11 votes
Catalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Corsican
Pronounced: ka-ta-LEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 65% based on 10 votes
Cassius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-oos(Latin) KASH-əs(English) KAS-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
Roman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
cassus meaning
"empty, vain". This name was borne by several early
saints. In modern times, it was the original first name of boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), who was named after his father Cassius Clay, who was himself named after the American abolitionist Cassius Clay (1810-1903).
Cassiopeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-ee-ə-PEE-ə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κασσιόπεια (Kassiopeia) or
Κασσιέπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning
"cassia juice". In Greek
myth Cassiopeia was the wife of
Cepheus and the mother of
Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 10 votes
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 76% based on 10 votes
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.
Casper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KAHS-pər(Dutch) KAHS-pehr(Swedish) KAS-bu(Danish)
Rating: 69% based on 10 votes
Dutch and Scandinavian form of
Jasper. This is the name of a friendly ghost in an American series of cartoons and comic books (beginning 1945).
Caroline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: KA-RAW-LEEN(French) KAR-ə-lien(English) KAR-ə-lin(English) ka-ro-LEE-nə(German, Dutch) ka-ro-LEEN(Dutch)
Rating: 74% based on 14 votes
Carlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 21% based on 9 votes
Carly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-lee
Rating: 35% based on 10 votes
Feminine form of
Carl. A famous bearer is the American singer Carly Simon (1945-), who inspired a rise in popularity in this name in the 1970s.
Carlisle
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kahr-LIEL
Rating: 40% based on 8 votes
From a surname that was derived from the name of a city in northern England. The city was originally called by the Romans
Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of
Lugus". Later the Brythonic element
ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city.
Carlie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-lee
Rating: 24% based on 10 votes
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Rating: 65% based on 10 votes
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Camden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-dən
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).
Callum
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: KAL-əm
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 59% based on 13 votes
Most likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of"
[2] and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart"
[3]. 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.
Cale
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAYL
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
Cadence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dəns
Rating: 27% based on 9 votes
From an English word meaning "rhythm, flow". It has been in use only since the 20th century.
Caden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Rating: 27% based on 11 votes
Sometimes explained as deriving from the Irish surname
Caden, which is an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Mac Cadáin, itself from the given name
Cadán (of unknown meaning). In actuality, the popularity of this name in America beginning in the 1990s is due to its sound — it shares its fashionable
den suffix sound with other trendy names like
Hayden,
Aidan and
Braden.
Bryson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE-sən
Rating: 34% based on 10 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Brice". Starting in the 1970s this name began steadily growing in popularity, likely because it features the same popular sounds found in other names such as
Brice and
Tyson.
Bryony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Rating: 49% based on 10 votes
From the name of a type of Eurasian vine, formerly used as medicine. It ultimately derives from Greek
βρύω (bryo) meaning "to swell".
Brynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
Feminine variant of
Bryn. It was brought to limited public attention in 1978 when the actress Brynn Thayer (1949-) began appearing on the American soap opera
One Life to Live [1].
Bryce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIES
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
Brooklyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRUWK-lən
Personal remark: Nickname Brooke
Rating: 37% based on 11 votes
From the name of a borough of New York City, originally named after the Dutch town of
Breukelen, itself meaning either "broken land" (from Dutch
breuk) or "marsh land" (from Dutch
broek). It can also be viewed as a combination of
Brook and the popular name suffix
lyn. It is considered a feminine name in the United States, but is more common as a masculine name in the United Kingdom.
Bronwyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Variant of
Bronwen used in the English-speaking world (especially Australia and New Zealand).
Brody
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRO-dee
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.
Brock
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAHK
Rating: 28% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger".
Britton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIT-ən
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Derived from a Middle English surname meaning
"a Briton" (a Celt of England) or
"a Breton" (an inhabitant of Brittany). Both ethnonyms are related to the place name
Britain.
Brittania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Personal remark: Nickname Britt
Rating: 37% based on 10 votes
Britannia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Personal remark: Nickname Brit
Rating: 32% based on 10 votes
From the Latin name of the island of
Britain, in occasional use as an English given name since the 18th century. This is also the name of the Roman female personification of Britain pictured on some British coins.
Bristol
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIS-təl
Rating: 28% based on 10 votes
From the name of the city in southwestern England that means "the site of the bridge".
Brielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-EHL
Personal remark: Nickname Brie
Rating: 43% based on 11 votes
Short form of
Gabrielle. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
Briar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
Rating: 48% based on 10 votes
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
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.
Breanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-AN
Personal remark: Nickname Bree or Brea
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
Brayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-dən
Personal remark: Nickname Brady
Rating: 17% based on 12 votes
Variant of
Braden. This is currently the more popular spelling of the name.
Braiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-dən
Personal remark: Nickname Brady
Rating: 15% based on 12 votes
Braeden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-dən
Personal remark: Nickname Brady
Rating: 18% based on 12 votes
Brady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAY-dee
Rating: 34% based on 11 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Brádaigh, itself derived from the byname
Brádach. A famous bearer of the surname is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-). It was also borne by a fictional family on the television series
The Brady Bunch (1969-1974).
Braden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAY-dən
Personal remark: Nickname Brady
Rating: 19% based on 12 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Bradáin, which was in turn derived from the byname
Bradán. Like other similar-sounding names such as
Hayden and
Aidan, it and its variant
Brayden became popular in America at the end of the 20th century.
Blythe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BLIEDH
Rating: 52% based on 12 votes
From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.
Blaze
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLAYZ
Rating: 34% based on 9 votes
Modern variant of
Blaise influenced by the English word
blaze.
Blanche
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: BLAHNSH(French) BLANCH(English)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
From a medieval French nickname meaning
"white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *
blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.
Blaise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BLEHZ
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
From the Roman name
Blasius, which was derived from Latin
blaesus meaning
"lisping".
Saint Blaise was a 4th-century Armenian martyr. A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
Blair
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BLEHR(English)
Rating: 68% based on 12 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
blàr meaning
"plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.
In the United States it became more common for girls in the early 1980s, shortly after the debut of the television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979-1988), which featured a character named Blair Warner. The name left the American top 1000 rankings two decades later, but was resurrected by another television character, this time Blair Waldorf from the series Gossip Girl (2007-2012).
Betony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BEHT-nee, BEHT-ə-nee
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
From the name of the minty medicinal herb.
Bernadette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BEHR-NA-DEHT(French) bər-nə-DEHT(English)
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
French feminine form of
Bernard. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was a young woman from Lourdes in France who claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin
Mary. She was declared a
saint in 1933.
Bentley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BENT-lee
Personal remark: Nickname Ben
Rating: 20% based on 10 votes
From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.
Benji
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-jee
Personal remark: Nickname Ben
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Personal remark: Nickname Ben
Rating: 64% based on 11 votes
From the Late Latin name
Benedictus, which meant
"blessed".
Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Belle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
Short form of
Isabella or names ending in
belle. It is also associated with the French word
belle meaning "beautiful". A famous bearer was Belle Starr (1848-1889), an outlaw of the American west, whose real given name was Maybelle.
Bellatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: bə-LAY-triks(English) BEHL-ə-triks(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Bella or Trixie
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
Belinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: bə-LIN-də
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
The meaning of this name is not known for certain. The first element could be related to Italian
bella meaning "beautiful". The second element could be Old German
lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender" (and by extension "snake, serpent"). This name first arose in the 17th century, and was subsequently used by Alexander Pope in his poem
The Rape of the Lock (1712).
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEH-ya-triks(Dutch) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Bea (bee) or Trixie
Rating: 69% based on 9 votes
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-).
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Personal remark: Nickname Bea (Bay-uh or Bee)
Rating: 79% based on 11 votes
Italian form of
Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the
Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy
Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and
Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Barrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAR-it, BEHR-it
Rating: 39% based on 9 votes
From a surname probably meaning "quarrelsome, deceptive" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Balthazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: BAL-thə-zahr(English)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Variant of
Belshazzar. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia. This name was utilized by Shakespeare for minor characters in
The Comedy of Errors (1594) and
The Merchant of Venice (1596).
Azalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-ZAY-lee-ə
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek
ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".
Axel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, French, English
Pronounced: A-ksehl(Swedish) A-ksəl(German) A-KSEHL(French) AK-səl(English)
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
Avery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
Personal remark: Nickname Ava
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Rating: 57% based on 13 votes
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
Rating: 68% based on 13 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Personal remark: Nickname Rory
Rating: 64% based on 15 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Personal remark: Nickname Aura or Lia
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 54% based on 11 votes
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 70% based on 14 votes
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.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 71% based on 16 votes
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).
Aubrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWB-ree
Rating: 35% based on 11 votes
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.
Aubree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AWB-ree
Rating: 30% based on 10 votes
Atlas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 13 votes
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.
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 75% based on 13 votes
Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.
The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-strid(Swedish) AHS-tri(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French) AS-trid(English)
Rating: 69% based on 13 votes
Modern Scandinavian form of
Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of
Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Aspen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AS-pən
Personal remark: prefer on boy but don't mind on a girl
Rating: 54% based on 16 votes
From the English word for a variety of deciduous trees in the genus Populus, derived from Old English æspe. It is also the name of a ski resort in Colorado.
Ashton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-tən
Personal remark: Nickname Ash
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
From an English surname, itself derived from a place name meaning
"ash tree town" in Old English. This was a rare masculine name until the 1980s, when it gradually began becoming more common for both genders. Inspired by the female character Ashton Main from the 1985 miniseries
North and South, parents in America gave it more frequently to girls than boys from 1986 to 1997
[1]. Since then it has been overwhelmingly masculine once again, perhaps due in part to the fame of the actor Ashton Kutcher (1978-).
Ashlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-lin
Personal remark: Nickname Ash
Rating: 40% based on 13 votes
Combination of
Ashley and the popular name suffix
lyn.
Ashleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-lee
Personal remark: Nickname Ash
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Ash
Rating: 59% based on 16 votes
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Ash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(English)
Rating: 64% based on 10 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek
ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning
"safe" or
ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning
"a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of
Apollo and the daughter of
Zeus and
Leto. She was known as
Diana to the Romans.
Armand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan
Pronounced: AR-MAHN(French) ər-MAN(Catalan)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
French and Catalan form of
Herman.
Arielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-RYEHL(French)
Personal remark: Nickname Ari (Ah-ree)
Rating: 46% based on 13 votes
French feminine form of
Ariel, as well as an English variant.
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Ari (Ah-ree)
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
Means
"most holy", composed of the Greek prefix
ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek
mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King
Minos. She fell in love with
Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god
Dionysus.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Personal remark: Nickname Ari (Ah-ree)
Rating: 65% based on 12 votes
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Personal remark: Nickname Ari (Ah-ree) or Bella
Rating: 53% based on 10 votes
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).
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(English)
Rating: 69% based on 10 votes
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Antony
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-tə-nee
Personal remark: Nickname Tony
Rating: 44% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Anthony. This was formerly the usual English spelling of the name, but during the 17th century the
h began to be added.
Antonio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Croatian
Pronounced: an-TO-nyo(Spanish, Italian) an-TO-nee-o(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Tony
Rating: 38% based on 10 votes
Spanish and Italian form of
Antonius (see
Anthony). This has been a common name in Italy since the 14th century. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys in the 1950s and 60s.
Famous bearers include the Renaissance painter Antonio Pisanello (c. 1395-1455) and the Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). It is also the name of the main character in The Merchant of Venice (1596) by William Shakespeare.
Antonin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-TAW-NEHN
Personal remark: Nickname Tony
Rating: 37% based on 10 votes
French form of
Antoninus. This name was borne by the French playwright Antonin Artaud (1896-1948).
Antoinette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-TWA-NEHT
Personal remark: Nickname Toni
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Feminine
diminutive of
Antoine. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 69% based on 13 votes
Annabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Annie
Rating: 60% based on 11 votes
Variant of
Annabel. It can also be interpreted as a combination of
Anna and French
belle "beautiful".
Angelique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: ahn-zhə-LEEK
Rating: 36% based on 10 votes
Angeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-ZHU-LEEN, AHN-ZHLEEN
Rating: 43% based on 11 votes
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(English)
Personal remark: Nickanme Andie
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words
μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or
μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek
mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
Anderson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dər-sən
Personal remark: Nickname Andy
Rating: 44% based on 14 votes
From a surname meaning
"son of Andrew".
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Personal remark: Nickname Stasia
Rating: 68% based on 16 votes
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.
Ambrosius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀμβρόσιος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: am-BRO-see-oos(Latin)
Rating: 36% based on 10 votes
Ambrosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀμβροσία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AM-BRO-SEE-A
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of
Ambrosios (see
Ambrose).
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Rating: 55% based on 14 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ahm-ə-DAY-əs(English) ahm-ə-DEE-əs(English)
Rating: 66% based on 16 votes
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.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Allie
Rating: 49% based on 15 votes
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 80% based on 18 votes
From the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).
Alexei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Алексей(Russian)
Pronounced: u-lyi-KSYAY
Personal remark: Nickname Lex
Rating: 60% based on 12 votes
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Personal remark: Nickname Lex or Xander
Rating: 76% based on 21 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant
"defending men" from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
mythology this was another name of the hero
Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the
New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.
The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.
Alessandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dra
Personal remark: Nickname Sandra
Rating: 57% based on 15 votes
Aleksander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, Slovene, Estonian, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Polish)
Personal remark: Nickname Alek
Rating: 67% based on 13 votes
Alecto
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀληκτώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-LEHK-to(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Allie
Rating: 41% based on 14 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀληκτώ (Alekto), which was derived from
ἄληκτος (alektos) meaning
"unceasing". This was the name of one of the Furies or
Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek
mythology.
Alaric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: AL-ə-rik(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Rickie
Rating: 53% based on 15 votes
From the Gothic name *
Alareiks meaning
"ruler of all", derived from the element
alls "all" combined with
reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.
Ainslee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AYNZ-lee
Rating: 28% based on 15 votes
Aidan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən(English)
Rating: 39% based on 18 votes
Anglicized form of
Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as
Braden and
Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.
Adrienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DREE-YEHN(French)
Rating: 51% based on 17 votes
French feminine form of
Adrian.
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Rating: 63% based on 17 votes
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.
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Personal remark: Nickname Addy
Rating: 60% based on 17 votes
Form of
Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Personal remark: Nickname Addy
Rating: 68% based on 22 votes
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Addison
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AD-i-sən
Personal remark: Nickname Addy
Rating: 38% based on 18 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Adam". Its recent popularity as a feminine name stems from its similarity in sound to
Madison.
Acacia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-KAY-shə
Rating: 54% based on 16 votes
From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek
ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".
Abilene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ἀβιληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AB-i-leen(English) ab-i-LEE-nee(English)
Personal remark: Nickname Abbie
Rating: 40% based on 19 votes
From a place name mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. It is probably from Hebrew
אָבֵל (ʾavel) meaning "meadow, grassy area". It has occasionally been used as a given name in modern times.
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