salamandered's Personal Name List

Meaning uncertain, possibly of Arabic origin. According to medieval tradition, notably related by the 15th-century Persian poet Jami, this was the name of the biblical Potiphar's wife. She has been a frequent subject of poems and tales.

Means "gazelle" in Arabic.

Variant of Zubaida.

Perhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel Don Quixote (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.

Means "splendour of the merciful" from Arabic ضياء (ḍiyāʾ) meaning "splendour, light, glow" combined with رحْمن (raḥman) meaning "merciful".

Judeo-Spanish and Judeo-Catalan adaption of Salimah.

Feminine form of Zayd. This was the name of a Muslim princess who took refuge at the court of (and perhaps married) Alfonso VI of León and Castile in the 11th century.

From Arabic زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning "shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima.

See also the related name Zahra 2.

Means "helper, supporter" in Arabic, related to ظهر (ẓahara) meaning "to be visible, to be clear". This can also be an alternate transcription of Arabic زاهر (see Zaahir 1) or ظاهر (see Zaahir 2).

Arabic form of Yehoshuaʿ (see Joshua).

Medieval Spanish form of Isabel.

Yiddish form of Joseph and Josephine.

Judeo-Arabic form of Jacob.

Arabic form of Yoḥanan (see John) appearing in the Quran, as well as the Turkish and Persian form. This name honours John the Baptist, a prophet in Islam.

Hebrew form of Jael.

Galician form of John.

Feminine form of Viridianus.

Possibly related to Latin verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name Berenice. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.

Derived from Spanish urraca "magpie", ultimately from Latin furax "thievish". Several queens of medieval Spain and Portugal bore this name.

Means "little mother" in Arabic, from a diminutive of أم (ʾumm) meaning "mother". This was the name of an aunt of the Prophet Muhammad.

Means "flourishing, living long" in Arabic, related to Arabic عمر (ʿumr) meaning "life". Umar was a companion and strong supporter of the Prophet Muhammad who became the second caliph of the Muslims. He is considered to be one of the great founders of the Muslim state. The name was also borne by a 12th-century poet from Persia, Umar Khayyam.

Alternate transcription of Arabic عبيد (see Ubayd), as well as the usual Urdu form.

Jewish form of Theodore

Medieval Spanish form of the Germanic name Doda 2. A famous bearer was Queen Toda of Navarre.

Feminine form of Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.

Means "high, elevated, lofty" in Arabic, derived from سما (samā) meaning "to be high". This was the name of the first martyr for Islam.

Arabic form of Solomon. It appears in the Quran.

Means "dawn, aurora" in Arabic.

Means "lamp, light, lantern" in Arabic.

Old variant of Sancha.

Medieval variant of Solomon. It was recorded in 16th-century Frankfurt, Germany.

Spanish form of Sandalius, possibly a Latinized form of a Gothic name composed of the elements swinþs "strong" and wulfs "wolf". It also nearly coincides with Latin sandalium "sandal". This was the name of a 9th-century Spanish saint martyred by the Moors.

Possibly a Spanish and Portuguese form of the Late Latin name Sanctius, which was derived from the word sanctus meaning "saintly, holy". Alternatively, Sancho and Sanctius may be derived from an older Iberian name. This was the name of a 9th-century saint who was martyred by the Moors at Córdoba. It was also borne by several Spanish and Portuguese kings. Miguel de Cervantes used it in his novel Don Quixote (1605), where it belongs to the squire of Don Quixote.

Feminine form of Sancho.

Alternate transcription of Arabic صفيّة (see Safiyya).

Arabic alternate transcription of Sa'dia as well as the Urdu form.

Arabic form and Judeo-Arabic transcription of Rivqah.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Regulus.

Derived from قَسَمَ (qasama) meaning "to divide, to distribute". This was the name of a twelfth century Arabic-language Jewish poetess in Andalusia.

Means "moon" in Arabic.

Means "precious" in Spanish, Portuguese and other languages of the Iberian peninsula, from Latin pretiōsa "precious, of great value".

Judeo-Spanish cognate of Pucella.

Derived from Latin perpetuus meaning "continuous". This was the name of a 3rd-century saint martyred with another woman named Felicity.

Medieval Spanish, medieval Occitan and Aragonese form of Peter.

Latin form of Paul.

Means "the one of Ombos", derived from the possessive masculine prefix ⲡⲁ- (pa-) combined with Ombos, the name of several cities in ancient Egypt. Saint Pambo of Nitria was a 4th-century hermit, disciple of St. Anthony. He is venerated by both Catholic and Orthodox Churches on 18 July.

Alternate transcription of Arabic عمر (see Umar). This is the usual English spelling of the name of the 12th-century poet Umar Khayyam. In his honour it has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world, notably for the American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).

Derived from the Old German element uodil meaning "heritage" or ot meaning "wealth, fortune". Saint Odilia (or Odila) was an 8th-century nun who is considered the patron saint of Alsace. She was apparently born blind but gained sight when she was baptized.

Means "captive of love" in Arabic.

Of uncertain origin and meaning. Current theories include a derivation from Gallo-Latin Mincius, which itself may be contracted from Minicius or Minucius, or a variant of Minthius.

From the Hebrew name מְנַחֵם (Menaḥem) meaning "comforter", a derivative of נָחַם (naḥam) meaning "to comfort". This was the name of a king of Israel, appearing in the Old Testament. His reign was noted for its brutality.

Means "luck" in Hebrew.

Diminutive of Mathilde, Matilda or Matel, often used among chassidim or in Israel.

Arabic form of Miryam (see Mary) appearing in the Quran. It is also the form used in several other languages. In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.

Feminine form of Marjan. It is notably used within the Arabian Nights as the name of the clever slave of Ali Baba within 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. Nowadays it is mostly used in Indonesia, being virtually unused by Arabic speakers.

Dhivehi and Kazakh form of Maryam, as well as an alternate transcription of the Urdu name.

From the title of the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea" in Latin. It can also be a combination of Maria and Estela.

Spanish, Galician and Icelandic form of Maria.

In Spain this has been the most consistently popular name for girls since the 13th century. Over the last 100 years it has remained very popular, frequently ranked first and never out of the top 20. It is often part of a double name, sometimes referencing an aspect of the Virgin Mary, such as María Carmen or María Dolores. It is occasionally used as a masculine middle name (or as the second part of a masculine double name, such as José María).

Spanish form of Marcius.

Variant of Maimun.

Feminine form of Marzūq.

Italian and Spanish form of Lucius.

Means "my light" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and אוֹר (ʾor) "light".

Feminine diminutive of Latin lilium "lily". This name belonged to an Iberian Christian woman martyred in Córdoba, Andalusia c.852 under Emir Abd ar-Rahman II, along with her husband Felix, his cousin Aurelius and Aurelius' wife Natalia.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Lazarus.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.

As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.

Means "generous, noble" in Arabic, from the root كرم (karuma) meaning "to be generous". In Islamic tradition الكريم (al-Karīm) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Feminine form of Junius. This is the name of an early Christian mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a woman Junia or a man Junias).

Form of Judith used in several languages.

Portuguese and Catalan form of Iohanna (see Joanna).

Contracted form of Jehoiachin or Jehoiakim. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of the Virgin Mary. Due to his popularity in the Middle Ages, the name came into general use in Christian Europe (though it was never common in England).

Rare variant transcription of Jamila.

Catalan form of Judah. A well-known bearer is the converso cartographer Jehudà Cresques (1360-1410).

Old French form of Iohannes (see John).

Means "jewel, gem" in Arabic (see Jawahir).

From the Greek name Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning "gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess Isis combined with Greek δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.

Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.

Means "sunshine, illumination" in Arabic.

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.

From the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (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).

From Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the Ὥραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.

This name has traditionally been more popular among Eastern Christians. In the English-speaking world it was not regularly used until the 19th century.

Catalan form of Irais.

Means "victory, triumph, conquest" in Arabic, from the root انتصر (intaṣara) meaning "to gain victory, to triumph". It is typically masculine in Pakistan and feminine elsewhere.

Basque form of Ignatius.

Feminine form of Horatius.

Means "generous" in Arabic, ultimately from هشم (hashama) meaning "to crush". The meaning derives from the traditional Arab act of crushing bread into crumbs in order to share it. This was the name of an 8th-century caliph of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain.

Means "crescent moon" in Arabic, also referring to the new moon on the Islamic calendar. As a given name it is typically masculine in Arabic and feminine in Turkish.

From the Greek name Ἡλιόδωρος (Heliodoros), derived from the elements ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". Saint Heliodoro was a 4th-century bishop of Altino.

Spanish form of Hector.

Arabic form of Eve.

Judeo-Spanish variant of both Haniyya and Hannah.

Feminine form of Hakim.

Means "gathering" in Arabic. This was the name of the daughter of Umar, the second caliph, and a wife of Muhammad. It was also borne by the influential mother of Süleyman the Magnificent.

From Hebrew הֲדַס (haḏas) meaning "myrtle tree". In the Old Testament this is the Hebrew name of Queen Esther.

Means "victor, conqueror" in Arabic.

Judeo-Spanish form of Arabic Halif.

Visigothic name, probably derived from the Germanic root *fraujô "lord" and the Germanic diminutive suffix *ila (compare Wulfila).

From Fredenandus, the Latinized form of a Gothic name composed of the elements friþus "peace" (or perhaps farþa "journey" [1]) and nanþa "boldness, daring". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth.

Derived from Arabic فطم (faṭama) meaning "to abstain, to wean" [1]. Fatima was a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the wife of Ali, the fourth caliph. She is regarded as the exemplary Muslim woman, especially among Shias.

Means "happy, joyous, jubilant" in Arabic.

Means "panther" in Arabic.

Derived from Greek εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning "sweetly-speaking", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.

Old French form of Engilram (see Ingram). This was the name of several medieval French nobles from Picardy.

Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.

Catalan form of Eleanor and Aragonese variant of Alionor.

From the Hebrew name אֱלִיעֶזֶר (ʾEliʿezer) meaning "my God is help", derived from אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and עֵזֶר (ʿezer) meaning "help". This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament, including a servant of Abraham and one of the sons of Moses (see Exodus 18:4 for an explanation of the significance of the name). It also appears in the New Testament belonging to an ancestor of Jesus in the genealogy in the Gospel of Luke.

Medieval Basque name recorded in Valpuesta in 864.

Means "pearl" in Arabic. This was the Arabic name of Onneca Fortúnez, a 9th-century Basque princess who married into the Muslim Umayyad dynasty.

Asturian and Aragonese form of Dionysius.

Medieval Basque form of Dulce and medieval Jewish variant of Toltsa and Toltse. In the Basque country, it was recorded from 1344 onwards, as a Jewish name, it was recorded from the 12th century onwards.

Alternate transcription of Hebrew דְּבוֹרָה (see Devora).

Catalan and Aragonese form of David.

Phoenician origin with the meaning of "he who jokes" or "he who likes to joke". Saint Cucuphas is a is a martyr of Spain who lived from roughly 269 A.D. to 304 A.D.

His feast day is July 25, but in some areas it is celebrated on July 27 to avoid conflict with the important feast day of Santiago, the patron saint of Spain.

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.

Alternate transcription of Hebrew חַנָּה (see Chana).

Feminine equivalent of Cid, a byname derived from the Old Castilian loan word Çid, itself derived from the dialectal Arabic word sīdī (سيدي ) "my lord; my master", ultimately from Arabic as-sayyid (السيّد ) "the lord; the master".

Portuguese, Occitan and Galician form of Katherine.

Meaning uncertain. This is the name of the 11th-century patron saint of Toledo, Spain. It might have an Arabic origin (Saint Casilda was a Moorish princess), perhaps from قصيدة (qaṣīda) meaning "poem" [1]. Alternatively it could be derived from a Visigothic name in which the second element is hilds meaning "battle".

Judeo-Spanish and Judeo-Catalan equivalent of Judeo-Italian Bonadonna.

Derived from Latin bona, the feminine form of the adjective bonus, "good; kind; noble" and Catalan aunir, a variant of unir "to unite".

Catalan short form of Gabriel.

Diminutive of Elisabet.

Russian, Breton, Provençal, medieval Spanish and medieval Occitan form of Beatrix, a Czech and Romansh variant of that name and a Brazilian Portuguese variant of Beatriz.

Judeo-Spanish, Judeo-French and Judeo-Anglo-Norman form of Batsheva.

Means "wise" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition البصير (al-Baṣīr) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

English form of Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "son of Talmai". In the New Testament Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.

Means "orange blossom" in Spanish, ultimately from Arabic زهْرة (zahra) meaning "flower". It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Azahar, meaning "Our Lady of the Orange Blossom", because of the citrus trees that surround a church devoted to her near Murcia.

Modern Hebrew form of Abiel.

Derived from Latin aurum "gold" and aureus "golden, gilded". Auria was an early consort of Pamplona.

Feminine form of Aurelius.

Aragonese form of Abdullah.

Feminine form of Astruc. This name was also used as a Judeo-Spanish translation of Mazal.

Old Judeo-Spanish form and Judeo-French variant of Esther via Greek aster, "star". It was already used in Judeo-Latin.

This was the name of a daughter of the king of Pamplona who married Muza in 802.

Means "supreme, higher" in Arabic, a derivative of the root سما (samā) meaning "to be high". This was the name of a daughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph of the Muslims.

Catalan and Aragonese cognate of Artald.

Combination of Andre and Goto.

Medieval Basque name of unknown origin and meaning common in Navarre, where it was first recorded in 1033, and in Alava, where it was first recorded in 932.

Medieval name, a masculine form of Amice. It appears in the medieval French poem Amis and Amiles, about two friends who make sacrifices for one another.

Late Latin name meaning "lovable". Saint Amabilis was a 5th-century priest in Riom, central France.

Medieval feminine form of Amabilis.

Possibly from a Visigothic name, maybe from Gothic elements such as alls "all" or aljis "other" combined with auds "riches, wealth". Saint Alodia was a 9th-century Spanish martyr with her sister Nunilo.

Medieval Navarran Jewish name, derived from Andalusian Arabic الجوهر‎ (al-jawhar) meaning "the jewel", from Arabic جَوْهَر‎ (jawhar) "jewel, gem, pearl", from Persian گوهر‎ (gowhar). This name was used by Jewish women in the medieval kingdom of Navarre, occurring in 14th- and 15th-century documents written by Jews in Hebrew or Ladino.

Derived from Arabic الدبران (al-Dabarān) meaning "follower" (from دبر (dábar) "to turn one's back"). This is the name of the brightest star in the constellation Taurus, presumably so named because it appears to follow the Pleiades rightward across the night sky. The apocryphal Book of Enoch describes Aldebaran as a fallen angel, who attempted to seduce an Assyrian queen in the form of a bull.

Galician form of the Visigothic name *Hildiwara, which was composed of the Gothic elements hilds "battle" and wars "aware, cautious". This was the name of the 7th-century wife of the Visigothic king Gundemar. It was also borne by the mother of Saint Rosendo (10th century).

Old Basque name of unknown meaning, first recorded in Navarre in 1141.

Means "living, alive" in Arabic. This was the name of Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. Her name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.

This name began to be used in America in the 1970s, possibly inspired by Princess Aisha of Jordan (1968-), the daughter of King Hussein and his British-born wife. It received a boost in popularity after Stevie Wonder used it for his first daughter in 1975.

Medieval Basque name, possibly derived from the Germanic name Agimar.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Agatha.

Visigothic name possibly derived from the Germanic elements auds "wealth" and sinþs "path". This was the name of an 8th-century queen of Asturias, Spain. It was also borne by the maternal grandmother of the 10th-century Galician saint Rosendo (as well as a sister of his).

From the Hebrew name אַבְרָהָם (ʾAvraham), which may be viewed either as meaning "father of many" or else as a contraction of Abram 1 and הָמוֹן (hamon) meaning "many, multitude". The biblical patriarch Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name (see Genesis 17:5). With his father Terah, he led his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot and their other followers from Ur into Canaan. He is regarded by Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son Isaac and by Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son Ishmael.

As an English Christian name, Abraham became common after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the American president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who pushed to abolish slavery and led the country through the Civil War.

Italian and Spanish feminine form of Abelardo and Niçard feminine form of Abelart.

Means "austere" in Arabic. This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle. It was also borne by a son of Ali, the fourth caliph.