PRMama's Personal Name List

Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Вера(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) ვერა(Georgian)
Pronounced: VYEH-rə(Russian) VEE-rə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 51% based on 14 votes
Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 33% based on 13 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Stela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Стела(Bulgarian)
Rating: 19% based on 13 votes
Form of Stella 1 in several languages, derived from Latin stella meaning "star" (modern Romanian stea).
Josepha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Archaic), English (Rare)
Pronounced: yo-SEH-fa(Dutch) YO-sə-fa(Dutch) yo-ZEH-fa(German)
Personal remark: Effy, Peppa, or Pepita
Rating: 25% based on 13 votes
Feminine form of Joseph.
Josefa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: kho-SEH-fa(Spanish)
Personal remark: Effy, Peppa, or Pepita
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Joseph.
Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Personal remark: Issy
Rating: 59% based on 16 votes
Latinate form of Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called Isabel).

In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.

A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).

Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Personal remark: Issy
Rating: 42% based on 14 votes
Medieval Occitan form of Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.

This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.

Esme
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Personal remark: Essy
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
Variant of Esmé.
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