FFF's Personal Name List

Alternate transcription of Hebrew זְאֵב (see Zeev).

Short form of Azélie. This is another name of Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877).

Derived from Welsh gwyn meaning "white, blessed".

From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.

Feminine form of William.

From an English surname meaning "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", from Old English wilde.

From an English surname, either Wade 1 or Wade 2.

From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.

Meaning unknown, perhaps a combination of Vi and Anne 1 or a short form of Vivianne.

Probably a Roman cognate of Hestia. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.

Latin cognate of Hesperos. This name was used by the British author Ian Fleming for a female character, a love interest of James Bond, in his novel Casino Royale (1953). She also appears in the film adaptations of 1967 and 2006.

Short form of names containing van, such as Vance or Ivan.

Taken from the name of a small island off the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is a traditional Shetlandic girls' name.

Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French étoile "star" [1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.

Swedish and Norwegian variant of Tove.

Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.

Danish form of Torbjörn.

Feminine form of Tomas.

Short form of Dorothea, Theodora, Theresa and other names with a similar sound.

Means "nature" in Hebrew.

Feminine form of Theodoros (see Theodore).

French and Czech form of Silvia.

Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.

From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish súil "eye" and dubh "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie Monsters, Inc. (2001).

Modern form of Stigr.

From the English word for the type of bird. It is commonly associated with the name Star.

It is the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor.

French feminine form of Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.

From a Latin name meaning "wooded, wild", derived from silva "wood, forest". This was the name of three popes, including Saint Silvester I who supposedly baptized the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine the Great. As an English name, Silvester (or Sylvester) has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it became less common after the Protestant Reformation.

German form of Silvanus.

From the Old Norse name Sigríðr, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and fríðr "beautiful, beloved".

Norwegian variant form of Signý.

Means "singing" in Hebrew.

From an Old Testament place name possibly meaning "tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.

This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.

Either from Hebrew שַׁי (shai) meaning "gift" or else a Hebrew diminutive of Isaiah.

From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin serenus meaning "clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).

From the name of the patron saint of Zennor, a village in Cornwall, which is of obscure origin. Conceivably it may be derived from the Breton name Azenor or the old Celtic Senovara. According to local legend Saint Senara was originally Princess Azenor of Brest in Lower Brittany, the mother of Saint Budoc. She is also said to have been a mermaid before her conversion (though even after becoming a Christian, "she continued to pine for the sea"). This name was given to 52 girls born in England and Wales in the years 1916-2005.

Variant of Saorfhlaith. It means free princess or free noblewoman derived from Irish saor meaning "free" and Irish flaith meaning "princess, nobelwoman".

From the Hebrew name שִׁמְשׁוֹן (Shimshon), derived from שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) meaning "sun". Samson was an Old Testament hero granted exceptional strength by God. His mistress Delilah betrayed him and cut his hair, stripping him of his power. Thus he was captured by the Philistines, blinded, and brought to their temple. However, in a final act of strength, he pulled down the pillars of the temple upon himself and his captors.

This name was known among the Normans due to the Welsh bishop Saint Samson, who founded monasteries in Brittany and Normandy in the 6th century. In his case, the name may have been a translation of his true Celtic name. As an English name, Samson was common during the Middle Ages, having been introduced by the Normans. It is currently most common in Africa, especially in countries that have an British colonial past.

From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.

From the English word that refers either to a spice, the crocus flower from which it is harvested, or the yellow-orange colour of the spice. It is derived via Old French from Arabic زعفران (za'faran), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".

From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.

French, German, Dutch and Danish form of Sabina.

Derived from Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune".

Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements hroð "fame" and wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements ron "spear" and gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel Ivanhoe (1819).

From a Scottish and English surname that originally indicated a person from a place called Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.

Variant of Rosalyn.

Anglicized form of Róisín.

Italian diminutive of Rosa 1.

From an English surname, originally derived from a place name, itself derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

Variant of Rosaline. It can also be considered an elaboration of Rose with the common name suffix lyn.

Derived from Hebrew רֹן (ron) meaning "song, joy".

Means "little seal", derived from Old Irish rón "seal" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.

French feminine form of Romanus (see Roman).

From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "ridge farm" in Old Norse.

From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.

From the Old Welsh name Rotri, derived from rod "wheel" and ri "king". This name was borne by several medieval Welsh rulers, including Rhodri the Great, a 9th-century king of Gwynedd.

From the English word meaning "daydream, fanciful musing", derived from Old French resverie, itself from resver meaning "to dream, to rave".

Meaning, "enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing."

Anglicized form of Réamonn.

From Yiddish רויז (roiz) meaning "rose".

Feminine form of Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.

Feminine form of Pépin.

Cornish form of Pascal.

From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Ode, a cognate of Otto. In America it has been used in honour of the revolutionary James Otis (1725-1783).

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

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

French form of Undine.

Variant of Auberon. Oberon and Titania are the king and queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595). A moon of Uranus bears this name in his honour.

Used by British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton for a blind flower-seller in his novel The Last Days of Pompeii (1834). He perhaps based it on Latin nidus "nest".

French form of Naomi 1.

French diminutive of Anne 1.

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

Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisín, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.

Means "oasis" in Hebrew.

Probably a feminized form of Welsh nêr meaning "lord".

Means "beautiful" in Hebrew.

Diminutive of Nadège.

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.

Feminine form of Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of Maria and Elena.

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.

French form of Melina.

From the name of a town in southern France, said to derive from Occitan mair "mother" and French lys "lily". It is also sometimes considered a combination of Marie and lys.

Feminine form of Max. It has been commonly used only since the beginning of the 20th century.

Italian feminine form of Matthew.

Modern Hebrew transcription of Mattan.

French, Dutch and Norwegian form of Martina.

French, Armenian and Georgian form of Marina.

Contraction of Marie and Ève.

French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).

Variant of Maylis.

From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.

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.

Feminine form of Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of Mailys.

From the Old Welsh name Matauc, derived from mad meaning "good, fortunate" combined with a diminutive suffix. This is the name of a warrior mentioned in the 7th-century Welsh poem Y Gododdin. It was also borne by several medieval rulers, including the 12th-century Madoc ap Maredudd, the last prince of Powys. Another bearer, according to later folklore, was a son of the 12th-century Owain the Great who sailed to the Americas.

French form of Magdalene.

Medieval feminine form of Amabilis. This spelling and Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's 1854 novel The Heir of Redclyffe [1], which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).

Frisian diminutive of Elisabeth. It also coincides with the French word for "lily".

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).

Short form of Ludovicus or Ludolf.

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

From an English surname that was derived from a Norman French nickname, from lou "wolf" and a diminutive suffix. The surname was borne by American poet and satirist James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).

Latinate feminine form of Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of Little Women.

Unaccented variant of Llŷr.

Short form of Elisabeth or Elizabeth.

Diminutive of Alexandra.

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

Possibly derived from Latin laetus meaning "glad". Otherwise, it could be a short form of names ending in leta.

Meaning unknown. In Greek myth she was a Spartan queen and the mother of Castor, Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra by the god Zeus, who came upon her in the form of a swan.

Possibly a newer form of Luigsech, or from the name of the county of Laois in central Ireland. It is also used as an Irish form of Lucy or Louise.

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.

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

From a nickname, probably from the English word kipper meaning "male salmon".

Apparently from an Irish place name, which meant "head of the sea" in Gaelic. Lady Kinvara Balfour (1975-) is an English playwright and novelist.

Means "love" in Cornish.

Feminine form of Kenneth.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of a place in East Lothian, itself possibly derived from the Celtic root *kayto- meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, becoming fairly common throughout the English-speaking world in the 20th century.

From a surname that was a variant of Kerr.

Anglicized form of Caoimhe.

From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.

From the name of the month, which was originally named for Julius Caesar.

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

Diminutive of Joan 1.

From Ἰωνᾶς (Ionas), the Greek form of Jonah. This spelling is used in some English translations of the New Testament.

Danish short form of Henriette.

From a variant spelling of the English word jasmine (see Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.

Means "Greece" in Hebrew, possibly related to Ion 2. In the Old Testament this is the name of a grandson of Noah and the ancestor of the Greek peoples.

French feminine form of Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.

From the name of the island off Scotland where Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from ey meaning "island".

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

Italian feminine form of Hilarius.

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.

Short form of Huckleberry.

Means "halo, aura" in Hebrew, from the root הָלַל (halal) meaning "to praise, to shine".

From a surname, either Hayes 1 or Hayes 2. It was borne by American president Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).

Transferred use of the surname Hawthorne.

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

From an English surname that meant "son of Harry". This was the surname of two American presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). As a given name it reached a low point in America in 1977 before it was revived by the career of actor Harrison Ford (1942-), who starred in such movies as Star Wars in 1977 and Indiana Jones in 1984.

Sami variant of Gusti.

Dutch short form of Gustaaf or Augustus.

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).

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.

Means "flame" in Italian.

Allegedly derived from Irish fia "deer" (via Old Irish fíad "wild animals, game, especially deer", ultimately from fid "wood").

Feminine form of Faunus. Fauna was a Roman goddess of fertility, women and healing, a daughter and companion of Faunus.

From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "fern clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer of this name was Canadian author Farley Mowat (1921-2014).

Means "hawk" in Italian. It derives from Late Latin falco, ultimately from Latin falx meaning "scythe" referring to the raptor's claws.

Latinized form of Euanthe.

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.

Feminine form of Esmé.

Frisian short form of names that contained the Old Frisian element ēs "Æsir" (with the Æsir being members of the principal pantheon in the indigenous Germanic religion).

Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.

Italian form of Aelius or Helios.

Means "ascension" in Hebrew. 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).

Means "snowdrop (flower)" in Welsh, a compound of eira "snow" and llys "plant".

Anglicized spelling of Duška.

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

From a surname that was derived from the name of an English town, itself derived from a combination of Old English dic "dyke, ditch" and Old Norse byr "farm, town".

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).

Possibly means "earth mother", derived from Greek δᾶ (da) meaning "earth" and μήτηρ (meter) meaning "mother". In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of Cronus, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone. She was an important figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites performed at Eleusis near Athens.

Short form of Dafydd.

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

Feminine form of David. It originated in Scotland.

Latin form of Greek Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means "possessing goodness", composed of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and 𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good" [1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.

It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.

Anglicized form of Dáire.

Means "fruitful, fertile" in Irish. This name is borne by many figures in Irish legend, including the Ulster chief Dáire mac Fiachna who reneged on his promise to loan the Brown Bull of Cooley to Medb, starting the war between Connacht and Ulster as told in the Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Variant of Dagon.

Either from the English surname Cove or else directly from the vocabulary word cove, which refers to a small coastal inlet.

Italian feminine form of Cosimo.

French form of Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel Corinne (1807).

Created by the French composer Adolphe Adam for one of the main characters in his opera Le Toréador (1849). He probably based it on the name Coralie. It was also used by the author Neil Gaiman for the young heroine in his novel Coraline (2002). Gaiman has stated that in this case the name began as a typo of Caroline.

Either a French form of Koralia, or a derivative of Latin corallium "coral" (see Coral).

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).

Diminutive of Colm (see Colum). This was the name of a large number of Irish saints.

Variant of Koda.

From the name of the River Clyde in Scotland, from Cumbric Clud, which is of uncertain origin. It became a common given name in America in the middle of the 19th century, perhaps in honour of Colin Campbell (1792-1863) who was given the title Baron Clyde in 1858 [1].

Short form of Clifford or Clifton.

French form of Clarice.

Elaboration of Clara.

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

Means "cherry" in French.

French feminine form of Caelinus. This name can also function as a short form of Marceline.

English form of Caelestinus. It is more commonly used as a feminine name, from the French feminine form Célestine.

French feminine and masculine form of Caelestis.

From the English word for the coniferous tree, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek κέδρος (kedros).

Either from the name of the Irish county, which is derived from Irish cabhán "hollow", or else from the Irish surname Cavan.

Variant of Charissa.

Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".

Transferred use of the surname Calder.

Roman variant of Gaius.

Transferred use of the surname Broderick.

French and German form of Bridget. A famous bearer is the French model and actress Brigitte Bardot (1934-).

From an English occupational surname meaning "maker of books". A famous bearer was Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), an African-American leader.

From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.

Yiddish form of Benedict.

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.

From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".

From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".

Means "doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר ('ayelet hashachar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.

Feminine variant of Aviv.

Means "spring" in Hebrew.

Means "my father" in Hebrew. It is also a diminutive of Avraham or Aviram.

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.

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.

Derived from Greek ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "the best".

Means "ear of grain" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.

French form of Ariadne.

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.

Means "lion" in Hebrew.

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

Middle English (also denoting a lawn or flower bed) from Old French erbier, from erbe ‘grass, herb’, from Latin herba. The phonetic change to ar- (common in words having er- before a consonant) was assisted by association with Latin arbor ‘tree’.

Modern Hebrew name meaning both "willow tree" and "desert" or "savanna, prairie". Traditionally the ערבה (aravah), a leafy willow branch, is used in a waving ceremony during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. In Israel the name also refers to a geographical plain near the Jordan, appearing in Deuteronomy 3, 17 as Arabah. (Interestingly, the Hebrew word arabha "desert" may ultimately relate to English Arab.)

Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by John Vanbrugh in his comedy The Confederacy (1705). This was the original given name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.

French form of Apollonia.

Dutch and French diminutive of Anna.

Combination of Anne 1 and Liese.

Variant of Amabel, with the spelling altered as if it were a combination of Anna and French belle "beautiful". This name appears to have arisen in Scotland in the Middle Ages.

Variant of Amyas.

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.

French diminutive of Amanda.

Late Roman and German feminine form of Amadeus, Italian and Galician feminine form of Amadeo, Sicilian feminine form of Amadeu, Hungarian and Polish feminine form of Amadeusz and Slovene variant of Amadeja.

From French alizé meaning "trade wind".

Short form of Alexander.

Old English alor, aler, of Germanic origin; related to German Erle; forms spelled with d are recorded from the 14th century.

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

Means "kind, gracious, polite" in Hebrew.

French and English form of Adelina.

Elaborated form of Adèle. Adélie Land in Antarctica was named in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville in honour of his wife Adèle (who was sometimes called Adélie).