Xena's Personal Name List

From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.

Short form of Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).

Medieval French form of Ivo 1. This was the name of two French saints: an 11th-century bishop of Chartres and a 13th-century parish priest and lawyer, also known as Ivo of Kermartin, the patron saint of Brittany.

Transferred use of the surname Yarrow, and/or from the word for the flowering plant (Achillea millefolium).

Variant of Wyn.

Middle English form of the Old English name Wigmund, composed of the elements wig "battle" and mund "protection".

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

From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hill belonging to Wine". A famous bearer of this name was American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910).

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

From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "willow town" in Old English.

Variant of Wim, coinciding with an English word meaning "a whimsical idea".

Means "love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. As the mother of Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.

From an English surname that was derived from Old English fenn meaning "marsh, fen".

From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).

Meaning unknown. This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of Ba'al Hammon.

Derived from the Old German elements swan "swan" and hilt "battle". Swanhild (or Swanachild) was the second wife of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel in the 8th century.

From the vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English or Old Dutch storm, or in the case of the Scandinavian name, from Old Norse stormr. It is unisex as an English name, but typically masculine elsewhere.

Feminine form of Sidonius. This name was in use in the Middle Ages, when it became associated with the word sindon (of Greek origin) meaning "linen", a reference to the Shroud of Turin.

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 (zaʿfarān), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".

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).

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.

Variant of Rhona.

Georgian form of Rowena as well as an English variant of the name.

Feminine variant of Robin.

Medieval English diminutive of Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.

Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element hraban meaning "raven".

From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".

From an English surname that was derived from Old English read meaning "red", originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Unconnected, this is also the English word for tall grass-like plants that grow in marshes.

Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.

Diminutive of Aquilla.

From the English word "quill" referring to a "pen made from a feather". From the Middle English quil 'fragment of reed' or 'shaft of feather'.

Latinized form of the Greek name Φοίβη (Phoibe), which meant "bright, pure" from Greek φοῖβος (phoibos). In Greek mythology Phoibe was a Titan associated with the moon. This was also an epithet of her granddaughter, the moon goddess Artemis. The name appears in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament, where it belongs to a female minister in the church at Cenchreae.

In England, it began to be used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately common in the 19th century. It began to rise in popularity again in the late 1980s, probably helped along by characters on the American television shows Friends (1994-2004) and Charmed (1998-2006). It is currently much more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand than the United States.

A moon of Saturn bears this name, in honour of the Titan.

Feminine variant of Philip.

Danish and Norwegian short form of Petronilla.

From Middle English owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-Germanic *uwwalǭ (compare West Frisian ûle, Dutch uil, Danish and Norwegian ugle, German Eule). Most notable namesake is the Native American horror writer Owl Goingback.

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.

Simply from the English word ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.

Transferred use of the surname Oakes.

French diminutive of Nadia 1.

From Old Cornish moroin meaning "maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word morwyn [1]). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint, said to be one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.

Variant of Morwenna.

Short form of Michaela.

From the Latin Mercurius, probably derived from Latin mercari "to trade" or merces "wages". This was the name of the Roman god of trade, merchants, and travellers, later equated with the Greek god Hermes. This is also the name of the first planet in the solar system and a metallic chemical element, both named for the god.

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).

From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "remnants of a lake" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).

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.

Transferred from the Spanish surname Madrigal

A madrigal is also a form of Renaissance music that is still popular today.

Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".

Alternate transcription of Armenian Լուսինե (see Lusine).

Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.

Means "flower" in Basque.

Variant of Laura.

From an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning "stream forest" in Old English.

From the English word for the type of songbird.

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.

From the name of the bird of prey, ultimately derived from Old French crecelle "rattle", which refers to the sound of its cry.

From Latin Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements Dyēws (see Zeus) and pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.

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

Diminutive of Julia or Julian.

From the name of a city in Israel that is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Hebrew word יָרֵחַ (yareaḥ) meaning "moon" [1], or otherwise to the Hebrew word רֵיחַ (reyaḥ) meaning "fragrance" [2].

Means "maple tree" in South Slavic.

English form of Inés.

Feminine form of Ignatius.

Means "sun" in Greek. This was the name of the young Greek sun god, a Titan, who rode across the sky each day in a chariot pulled by four horses. His sister was the moon goddess Selene.

Transferred use of the surname Harvester.
This name has been in occasional use since the 1800s.

From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "grazing homestead" in Old English.

From an English surname, of French Huguenot origin, that was derived from Occitan garric meaning "oak tree grove".

From the Roman cognomen Florianus, a derivative of Florus. This was the name of a short-lived Roman emperor of the 3rd century, Marcus Annius Florianus. It was also borne by Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.

From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.

This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.

From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.

Variant of Yvonne.

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).

From the name of the Christian festival (January 6) that commemorates the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. It is also an English word meaning "sudden appearance" or "sudden perception", ultimately deriving from Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epiphaneia) meaning "manifestation".

French feminine form of Emerentius.

From Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman mythology.

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

Transferred use of the surname Ellesmere.

Derived from Welsh elus meaning "kind, benevolent". This was the name of two kings of Powys in Wales.

Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.

Latinized form of Greek Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning "amber". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and the sister of Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

Means "white snow" from the Welsh elements eira "snow" and gwen "white, blessed". This name was created in the early 20th century.

Means simply "delight, happiness" from the English word.

From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.

Italian variant of Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.

Means "conceived" in Italian, referring to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

From the English word meaning either a slice of garlic or the dried flower bud of a tropical tree, used as a spice. This name was recently used in Suzanne Collins' popular book, The Hunger Games.

French diminutive of Claude.

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.

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).

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.

From the name of the bird, Canary.

Variant of Calum.

Variant of Calista.

Feminine form of Callistus. As an English name it might also be a variant of Kallisto.

From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".

From the English word for the thorny plant.

Feminine form of Bernard.

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.

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.

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.

Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.

Short form of Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.

Means "noble maiden" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Arwen was the daughter of Elrond and the lover of Aragorn.

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.

Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".

Meaning unknown, possibly from a surname.

Feminine diminutive of Antoine. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.

From the Late Latin name Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning "immortal". Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.

Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.

Means "ash tree" in Old English. This was the nickname of a 5th-century king of Kent, whose birth name was Oeric.

Short form of Adoración.

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.

From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".