Quicksilver's Personal Name List
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian) THO-eh(European Spanish) SO-eh(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Means
"life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of
Eve. It was borne by two early Christian
saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.
As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).
Zoë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English
Pronounced: ZO-veh(Dutch) ZO-ee(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Dutch form and English variant of
Zoe.
Ziva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זִיוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Zinnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.
Zephyrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZEF-ə-rin, ZEF-reen
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zenovia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"life of Zeus", derived from Greek
Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of
Zeus" and
βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor
Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
Zenaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηναΐδα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Apparently a Greek derivative of
Ζηναΐς (Zenais), which was derived from the name of the Greek god
Zeus. This was the name of a 1st-century
saint who was a doctor with her sister Philonella.
Zara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: ZAHR-ə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Used by William Congreve for a character in his tragedy
The Mourning Bride (1697), where it belongs to a captive North African queen. Congreve may have based it on the Arabic name
Zahra 1. In 1736 the English writer Aaron Hill used it to translate
Zaïre for his popular adaptation of Voltaire's French play
Zaïre (1732).
In England the name was popularized when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981. Use of the name may also be influenced by the trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara.
Xenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξένια(Greek) Ξενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Means
"hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of
ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
Xavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Modern feminine form of
Xavier.
Xanthippe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξανθίππη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEEP-PEH(Classical Greek) zan-TIP-ee(English) zan-THIP-ee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Xanthippos. This was the name of the wife of
Socrates. Because of her supposedly argumentative nature, the name has been adopted (in the modern era) as a word for a scolding, ill-tempered woman.
Wynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: WIN
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Wisteria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: wis-TEHR-ee-ə, wis-TEER-ee-ə
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the name of the flowering plant, which was named for the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər(American English) WIN-tə(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Viviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Late Roman
Pronounced: vee-VYA-na(Italian) bee-BYA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of
Vivianus (see
Vivian).
Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.
Vivian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the Latin name
Vivianus, which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
Bébinn or a variant of
Vivien 2.
Vivi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Personal remark: Short for something or standalone
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Viveca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Viva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic), Medieval Occitan, Italian (Archaic)
Pronounced: VEE-və(American)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of Ancient Roman
Vivus. In English-speaking countries, it may also be used as a diminutive of
Vivian.
Vitalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
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.
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means
"violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke
Orsino, she attempts to convince
Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Vibiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Vesna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Slavic Mythology
Other Scripts: Весна(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: VEHS-na(Croatian, Serbian)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means "spring" in many Slavic languages. This was the name of a Slavic spirit associated with the springtime. It has been used as a given name only since the 20th century.
Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the English word meaning
"verity, truth", from Latin
verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Verbeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Celtic Mythology
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
The Celtic goddess of the river Wharfe (North Yorkshire, England) known from a single inscription found in Ilkley, England and therefore interpreted as a local deity.
There have been attempts to link her name to Proto-Celtic *wera- "rain" and either *beja- "to strike" or bei-e/o "to live".
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) VIR-ə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 50% based on 3 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.
Velia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: VEH-lya
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the Roman family name Velius, which possibly means "concealed" in Latin.
Vasilisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Василиса(Russian)
Pronounced: və-syi-LYEE-sə
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Varinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ba-REE-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Valor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the English word valor meaning "bravery, courage". From the Latin valor "value".
Valerie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Czech
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree(English) VA-lə-ree(German)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
English and German form of
Valeria, as well as a Czech variant of
Valérie.
Vaiva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From Lithuanian vaivorykštė meaning "rainbow".
Twyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Tsisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ცისია(Georgian)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Derived from Georgian
ცის (tsis) meaning
"of the sky", the genitive case of
ცა (tsa) meaning "sky, heaven".
Tsisana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ცისანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TSEE-SAH-NAH
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Probably derived from Georgian
ცის (tsis) meaning
"of the sky", the genitive case of
ცა (tsa) meaning "sky, heaven". This is also an alternative Georgian word for the forget-me-not flower.
Theresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English) teh-REH-za(German)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From the Spanish and Portuguese name
Teresa. It was first recorded as
Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of
Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek
θέρος (theros) meaning
"summer", from Greek
θερίζω (therizo) meaning
"to harvest", or from the name of the Greek island of Therasia (the western island of Santorini).
The name was mainly confined to Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. After the 16th century it was spread to other parts of the Christian world, due to the fame of the Spanish nun and reformer Saint Teresa of Ávila. Another famous bearer was the Austrian Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), who inherited the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Tess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Short form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891).
Sylvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: SEEL-VEE(French) SIL-vi-yeh(Czech)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
French and Czech form of
Silvia.
Svea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: SVEH-ah
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Suvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SOO-vee
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "summer" in Finnish.
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər(American English) SUM-ə(British English)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 5 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.
Starr
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR(American English) STAH(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Starla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-lə(American English) STAH-lə(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Sovanna
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Khmer
Other Scripts: សុវណ្ណា(Khmer)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Sophronia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Late Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σωφρονία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem
Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of
Olindo.
Sophonisba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Phoenician (Latinized), History
Other Scripts: 𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋(Phoenician)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
From the Punic name
𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 (Ṣapanbaʿl) probably meaning
"Ba'al conceals", derived from Phoenician
𐤑𐤐𐤍 (ṣapan) possibly meaning "to hide, to conceal" combined with the name of the god
Ba'al. Sophonisba was a 3rd-century BC Carthaginian princess who killed herself rather than surrender to the Romans. Her name was recorded in this form by Roman historians such as Livy. She later became a popular subject of plays from the 16th century onwards.
Sonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish
Pronounced: SON-yə(English) SAWN-yə(English) SAW-nya(Italian) SO-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Socorro
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: so-KO-ro
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means
"succour, help, relief" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary María del Socorro meaning "Mary of Perpetual Succour".
Skye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of
Sky.
Sky
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Simply from the English word sky, which was ultimately derived from Old Norse ský "cloud".
Silvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: SIL-vi-yeh
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) SEEL-vyu(European Portuguese) SEEW-vyu(Brazilian Portuguese) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Silvius.
Rhea Silvia was the mother of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century
saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled
Sylvia in the English-speaking world.
Shira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שִׁירָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means "singing" in Hebrew.
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
September
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sehp-TEHM-bər(American English) sehp-TEHM-bə(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.
Seneca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: SEH-neh-ka(Latin) SEHN-ə-kə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From a Roman
cognomen derived from Latin
senectus meaning
"old". This was the name of both a Roman orator (born in Spain) and also of his son, a philosopher and statesman.
This name also coincides with that of the Seneca, a Native American tribe that lived near the Great Lakes, whose name meant "place of stones".
Semra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Savannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the large grassy plain, ultimately deriving from the Taino (Native American) word zabana. It came into use as a given name in America in the 19th century. It was revived in the 1980s by the movie Savannah Smiles (1982).
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
From the Old German element
sahso meaning
"a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Sappho
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σαπφώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAP-PAW(Classical Greek) SA-fo(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Possibly from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning
"sapphire" or
"lapis lazuli". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Greek poetess from Lesbos.
Sapphire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAF-ie-ər(American English) SAF-ie-ə(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From the name of the gemstone, typically blue, which is the traditional birthstone of September. It is derived from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros), ultimately from the Hebrew word
סַפִּיר (sappir).
Sapphira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Σαπφείρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-FIE-rə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the Greek name
Σαπφείρη (Sappheire), which was from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning
"sapphire" or
"lapis lazuli" (ultimately derived from the Hebrew word
סַפִּיר (sappir)). Sapphira is a character in Acts in the
New Testament who is killed by God for lying.
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
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).
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rosaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ro-SOW-ra
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means
"golden rose", derived from Latin
rosa "rose" and
aurea "golden". This name was (first?) used by Pedro Calderón de la Barca for a character in his play
Life Is a Dream (1635).
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind(American English) RAWZ-ə-lind(British English)
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hros meaning "horse" and
lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The
Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase
rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy
As You Like It (1599).
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German, Dutch) RO-sa-lee(Dutch) ro-sa-LEE(Dutch) RO-za-lee(Dutch) RO-zə-lee(English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
French, German and Dutch form of
Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie
Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ri-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *
Rīgantonā meaning
"great queen" (Celtic *
rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix
-on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish
Epona. As
Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the
Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to
Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married
Pwyll instead. Their son was
Pryderi.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Rhea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Ῥέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: REH-A(Classical Greek) REE-ə(English) REH-a(Latin)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Ravenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: rə-VEHN-ə
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Either an elaboration of
Raven, or else from the name of the city of Ravenna in Italy.
Rakia
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew (Rare)
Other Scripts: רקיע(Hebrew)
Pronounced: rah-KEE-ah
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Poetic form of שמיים (shamayim) meaning "sky, heaven" in Hebrew.
Raisa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Раиса(Russian) Раїса(Ukrainian) Раіса(Belarusian)
Pronounced: ru-EES-ə(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Probably a Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of
Herais.
Raina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Райна(Bulgarian)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Raelynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RAY-lin
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Combination of
Rae and the popular name suffix
lyn.
Raelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RAY-lin
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Combination of
Rae and the popular name suffix
lyn.
Raegan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RAY-gən
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Rae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY
Personal remark: Short for Raelynn or standalone
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Rachel. It can also be used as a feminine form of
Ray.
Quintessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Rare)
Pronounced: kwin-TES-ə
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Quintella inspired by the word
quintessence, meaning "the fifth element", "aether". According to Medieval science, the quintessence was the material that filled the region of the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. Later the word came to mean "a thing that is the most perfect example of its type".
Quiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
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.
Phinneas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(American English)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
From the Greek
Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from
φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning
"bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of
Theseus in Greek
mythology.
Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson
Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL(American English) PUL(British English)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
Paris 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: PAR-is(English) PEHR-is(English)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From the name of the capital city of France, which got its name from the Gaulish tribe known as the Parisii. In America the popularity of this name spiked up and then down between 2003 and 2006, around the time that the television personality and socialite Paris Hilton (1981-) was at the height of her fame.
Paige
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAYJ
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
From an English surname meaning
"servant, page" in Middle English. It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Italian) from Greek
παιδίον (paidion) meaning "little boy".
As a given name for girls, it received some public attention from a character in the 1958 novel Parrish and the 1961 movie adaptation [1]. It experienced a larger surge in popularity in the 1980s, probably due to the character Paige Matheson from the American soap opera Knots Landing.
Ourania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Οὐρανία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: O-RA-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Derived from Greek
οὐράνιος (ouranios) meaning
"heavenly". In Greek
mythology she was the goddess of astronomy and astrology, one of the nine Muses.
Ora 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Perhaps based on Latin oro "to pray". It was first used in America in the 19th century.
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Oliva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: o-LEE-ba(Spanish) o-LEE-va(Italian)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Late Latin name meaning
"olive". This was the name of a 2nd-century
saint from Brescia.
Ofelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: o-FEH-lya
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Spanish and Italian form of
Ophelia.
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of
Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of
Odysseus.
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(American English) awk-TAY-vee-ə(British English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Nyssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor where
Saint Gregory was bishop in the 4th century. Nyssa is also the genus name of a type of tree, also called the Tupelo.
Novalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-vah-lee
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Combination of
Nova and the popular name suffix
-lie (see also
Novalee).
Nova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-və(English) NO-va(Swedish, Dutch)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
Nialla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish
Pronounced: NEE-al-a, NIE-al-a, NEE-ay-laa
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Ness 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHS
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Nerea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: neh-REH-a
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Possibly from Basque
nere, a dialectal variant of
nire meaning
"mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of
Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
Neasa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYA-sə(Irish)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From Old Irish
Ness, meaning uncertain. In Irish legend she was the mother of
Conchobar. She installed her son as king of Ulster by convincing
Fergus mac Róich (her husband and Conchobar's stepfather) to give up his throne to the boy for a year and then helping him rule so astutely that the Ulstermen demanded that he remain as king. According to some versions of the legend she was originally named
Assa "gentle", but was renamed
Ní-assa "not gentle" after she sought to avenge the murders of her foster fathers.
Nava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: נָאוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means "beautiful" in Hebrew.
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: 40% based on 1 vote
Latinate form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Naia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NIE-a
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Means "wave, sea foam" in Basque.
Mya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MIE-ə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Moriah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Other Scripts: מֹרִיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: maw-RIE-ə
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
From Hebrew
מֹרִיָה (Moriya) possibly meaning "seen by
Yahweh". This is a place name in the
Old Testament, both the land where
Abraham is to sacrifice
Isaac and the mountain upon which
Solomon builds the temple. They may be the same place. Since the 1980s it has occasionally been used as a feminine given name in America.
Morgana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mawr-GAN-ə(American English) maw-GAN-ə(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Mnemosyne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μνημοσύνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MNEH-MO-SUY-NEH(Classical Greek) ni-MAHS-i-nee(American English) ni-MAWS-i-nee(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means
"remembrance" in Greek. In Greek
mythology Mnemosyne was a Titan goddess of memory. She was the mother by
Zeus of the nine Muses.
Misha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Миша(Russian)
Pronounced: MYEE-shə
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Mireille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-RAY(French)
Rating: 35% based on 2 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-).
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
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.
Mia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, English
Pronounced: MEE-ah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) MEE-a(Dutch, German, Italian) MEE-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Diminutive of
Maria. It coincides with the Italian word
mia meaning
"mine".
This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names Maria and Mariel respectively.
Meryl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-əl
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant of
Muriel. A famous bearer is American actress Meryl Streep (1949-), whose real name is Mary Louise Streep.
Merry 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-ee
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
From the English word
merry, ultimately from Old English
myrige. This name appears in Charles Dickens' novel
Martin Chuzzlewit (1844), where it is a
diminutive of
Mercy.
Melusine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mythology
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown. In European folklore Melusine was a water fairy who turned into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She made her husband, Raymond of Poitou, promise that he would never see her on that day, and when he broke his word she left him forever.
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
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".
Meliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Derived from Latin melior meaning "better".
Melesina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown, perhaps a form of
Millicent. It was borne by the Irish writer and socialite Melesina Trench (1768-1827).
Megara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: Μεγάρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: meg-AH-rah(Greek Mythology) MEG-AH-RA(Greek Mythology)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Either a variant of
Megaera or derived from either the Ancient Greek city Megara in West Attica, Greece, or the Ancient Greek colony in Sicily Megara Hyblaea, both derived from
megaron, from
megas 'large, great, marvelous', referring to a large hall.
In Greek mythology, Megara was the oldest daughter of Creon, king of Thebes. In reward for Heracles' defending Thebes from the Minyans at Orchomenus in single-handed battle, Creon offered his daughter Megara to Heracles. She bore him a son and a daughter, whom Heracles killed when Hera struck him with temporary madness. In some sources Heracles slew Megara too, in others, she was given to Iolaus when Heracles left Thebes forever.
In the Disney animated film Hercules, Megara, also called Meg, is a young woman who was a pawn for the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. Sometime during the events of Hercules, Meg went to Hades and sold her soul to revive a lover of hers who had died. Hades agreed on the condition that she serve him forever, which she accepted. However, shortly after her lover was revived, he fell in love with someone else and ungratefully left Meg locked in servitude to Hades. This background story of the character alludes to the myth of Alcestis, who dies by proxy for her husband Admetus.
Megan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHG-ən(English)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Welsh
diminutive of
Margaret. In the English-speaking world outside of Wales it has only been regularly used since the middle of the 20th century.
Meg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHG
Personal remark: Short for Meghan or standalone
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Maylis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAY-LEES, MA-EE-LEES
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
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.
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
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.
Marzana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Slavic Mythology, Baltic Mythology
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Baltic and Slavic goddess associated with seasonal agrarian rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature, Marzana is often referred to as a goddess of death.
In medieval (Christian) written sources, she is mentioned as early as the 9th century, although her exact function seems to be somewhat disputed. The medieval encyclopedical dictionary Mater Verborum (also called Glosa Salomonis), written around 1240, compares her to the Greek goddess Hecate, associating her with sorcery, while 15th-century Polish chronicler Jan Długosz likened her to Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.
Either way, to this day in some regions of Poland, there is a festival held where an effigy of Marzanna is made in the month of March, and is burned to symbolize the triumph of springtime over winter. This is known as The Burning and Drowning Ritual of Marzanna.
The origin and meaning of her name is also a source of dispute.
Some scholars derive her name from the same Indo-European root word that gave us Latin mors "death" and Russian mor "pestilence", emphasizing the death aspect of the goddess.
Others argue that her name might be related to a Slavic root word meaning "to freeze" or "frozen", in accordance with her function as a goddess of winter, while some scholars point out that mara is a Russian dialect word meaning "phantom; vision; hallucination", linking her to mare, an evil spirit in Germanic and Slavic folklore, associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis.
Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov, however, supposed that her name was derived from the same root as the name of the Roman god of war Mars, who was originally an agricultural deity (a theory that some academics like to back up by the fact that the Polish word for "(the month of) March" is marzec).
Maristela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: mu-reesh-TEH-lu(European Portuguese) ma-rees-TEH-lu(Brazilian Portuguese) ma-rees-TEH-la(Spanish)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
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.
Marisol
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-SOL
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Short form of
María Soledad. It is sometimes considered a combination of
María and
Sol 1, or from Spanish
mar y sol "sea and sun".
Marigold
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of
Mary and the English word
gold.
Marianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Russian, Greek, English
Other Scripts: Марианна(Russian) Μαριάννα(Greek)
Pronounced: ma-ree-AN-na(Italian) MAW-ree-awn-naw(Hungarian) MA-ree-a-na(Slovak) ma-RYAN-na(Polish) MAH-ree-ahn-nah(Finnish) mahr-ee-AHN-ə(English) mar-ee-AN-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Combination of
Maria and
Anna. It can also be regarded as a variant of the Roman name
Mariana, or as a Latinized form of
Mariamne.
Malena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Spanish
Pronounced: ma-LEH-na(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Swedish and Spanish contracted form of
Magdalena. In Spanish it can also be a contracted form of
María Elena.
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Maia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
Other Scripts: Μαῖα(Ancient Greek) მაია(Georgian)
Pronounced: MIE-A(Classical Greek) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English) MIE-ya(Latin) MAH-EE-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From Greek
μαῖα (maia) meaning
"good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of
μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman
mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione. Her son by
Zeus was
Hermes.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 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.
Maeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tahitian, French
Pronounced: MA-EH-VA(French)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "welcome" in Tahitian. It gained popularity in France during the 1980s.
Madelief
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: ma-də-LEEF
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Derived from Dutch madeliefje meaning "daisy".
Mabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-bəl
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
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).
Lystra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
From the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor, the origins of which are uncertain. In Acts in the New Testament, Lystra (then a Roman colōnia) was "one chief scene of the preaching of Paul and Barnabas", as well as the likely hometown of Paul's "chosen companion and fellow missionary" Timothy. This was borne by Lystra Gretter (1858-1951), an American nurse and public health care innovator.
Lyssa 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λύσσα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Means
"rage, fury, anger" in Greek. In Greek
mythology Lyssa is a goddess associated with uncontrolled rage.
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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.
Lys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: LEES
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Rating: 15% based on 2 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: 25% based on 2 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).
Lux
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Luvenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Possibly a form of
Lavinia. It has been used in America since the 19th century.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 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.
Lumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LOO-mee
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Lulu 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: LOO-loo
Personal remark: Short for Louise or standalone
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Luella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: loo-EHL-ə
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Personal remark: Short for Lucille or standalone
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucrezia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: loo-KREHT-tsya
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Lucretia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KREH-tee-a(Latin) loo-KREE-shə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Lucretius, possibly from Latin
lucrum meaning
"profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 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).
Lucina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KEE-na(Latin) loo-SIE-nə(English) loo-SEE-nə(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.
Lucille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: LUY-SEEL(French) loo-SEEL(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
French form of
Lucilla. A famous bearer was American comedienne Lucille Ball (1911-1989).
Lucetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: loo-CHEHT-ta
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of
Luce. Shakespeare used this name for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Lucasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
This name was first used by the poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems called Lucasta (1649). The poems were dedicated to Lucasta, a nickname for the woman he loved Lucy Sacheverel, whom he called lux casta "pure light".
Luane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Luana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: loo-AN-ə(English) LWA-na(Italian)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the movie
Bird of Paradise (1932), in which it was borne by the main character, a Polynesian girl
[1]. The movie was based on a 1912 play of the same name set in Hawaii.
Lua
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: LOO-ah
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
In Roman mythology, Lua was a goddess to whom soldiers sacrificed captured weapons. Her name is thought to be derived from Latin luo "to set free".
As a given name, Lua has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 1800s.
Lovisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: loo-VEE-sah
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Swedish feminine form of
Louis.
Lotem
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לֹטֶם(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means "cistus" in Hebrew. The cistus is a type of mountain flower that grows mainly in northern Israel, also known as rockrose.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
London
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LUN-dən
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
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).
Lizette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Liviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: lee-VYA-na(Italian)
Rating: 25% based on 2 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: 35% based on 2 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 2 votes
Liv 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: LEEV
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".
Liron
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִירוֹן(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means
"my song, my joy" in Hebrew, from
לִי (li) "for me" and
רֹן (ron) "joy, song".
Liora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Strictly feminine form of
Lior.
Lior
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹר(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means
"my light" in Hebrew, from
לִי (li) "for me" and
אוֹר (ʾor) "light".
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Lilou
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEE-LOO
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Lileas
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Lilac
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LIE-lək
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the shrub with purple or white flowers (genus Syringa). It is derived via Arabic from Persian.
Ligeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λιγεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lie-JEE-ə(English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Derived from Greek
λιγύς (ligys) meaning
"clear-voiced, shrill, whistling". This was the name of one of the Sirens in Greek legend. It was also used by Edgar Allan Poe in his story
Ligeia (1838).
Libby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIB-ee
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Lexi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEHK-see
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Levana 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: לְבָנָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Hebrew form of
Lebanah. In modern Hebrew it is typically a feminine name.
Letitia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: li-TISH-ə
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From the Late Latin name
Laetitia meaning
"joy, happiness". This was the name of an obscure
saint, who is revered mainly in Spain. It was in use in England during the Middle Ages, usually in the spelling
Lettice, and it was revived in the 18th century.
Lesya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Леся(Ukrainian)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Leora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Jewish, English, Hebrew
Pronounced: lay-OH-ra(Jewish, Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Anglicized variant of
Liora.
In some cases, however, it might have been given as a contracted form of
Leonora.
Leonor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: leh-o-NOR(Spanish) leh-oo-NOR(European Portuguese) leh-o-NOKH(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Eleanor. It was brought to Spain in the 12th-century by Eleanor of England, who married King Alfonso VIII of Castile.
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Personal remark: short for Helena or standalone
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
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.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
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.
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown, probably of Etruscan origin. In Roman legend Lavinia was the daughter of King Latinus, the wife of
Aeneas, and the ancestor of the Roman people. According to the legend Aeneas named the town of Lavinium in honour of his wife.
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər(American English) LAV-ən-də(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Laurel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əl
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.
Larkspur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK-spər
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the flowering plant with many purplish-blue flowers, which is so called (1578) from its resemblance to the lark's large hind claws. Other names for it are lark's heel (Shakespeare), lark's claw and knight's spur. See
Lark.
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK(American English) LAHK(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Laia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: LA-yə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Laelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LIE-lee-a
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of Laelius, a Roman family name of unknown meaning. This is also the name of a type of flower, an orchid found in Mexico and Central America.
Kochava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כוכבה(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Strictly feminine variant of
Kochav.
Klytaimnestra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Κλυταιμνήστρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KLUY-TIEM-NEH-STRA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Kieva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), Irish (Anglicized, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Kiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: kee-AHR-ə
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Ciara 1 or
Chiara. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song
This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie
The Lion King II (1998).
Kelila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כְּלִילָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From Hebrew
כְּלִיל (kelil) meaning
"crown, wreath, garland" or
"complete, perfect".
Keala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Means "the path" from Hawaiian ke, a definite article, and ala "path".
Kay 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Short form of
Katherine and other names beginning with
K.
Kat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAT
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Kassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KA-shə, KAS-ee-ə
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Kaleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American
Pronounced: ka-LAY-uh
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
A possible feminization or elaboration of Kalei.
Kaelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lin
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Juturna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: yoo-TOOR-na(Latin)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown. Juturna was the Roman goddess of fountains and springs. According to
Virgil she was the sister of
Turnus.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 50% based on 3 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.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Joy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOI
Rating: 55% based on 4 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.
Jessamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEHS-ə-min
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From a variant spelling of the English word
jasmine (see
Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.
Ixchel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mayan Mythology, Mayan
Pronounced: eesh-CHEHL(Mayan)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Ivi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ήβη(Greek)
Pronounced: EE-vee
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Modern Greek form of
Hebe. This is borne by Greek Cypriot singer Ivi Adamou (1993-).
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
German form of
Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem
Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera
Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Isi
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Choctaw
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means "deer" in Choctaw.
Isabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: EE-ZA-BEHL(French) IZ-ə-behl(English) ee-za-BEH-lə(German, Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Isabeau
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French, French (Rare), Dutch (Modern)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Medieval French variant of
Isabel. A famous bearer of this name was Isabeau of Bavaria (1385-1422), wife of the French king Charles VI.
Irisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian, Latvian (Rare), Slovak (Rare)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
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: 38% based on 4 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.
Irina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Georgian, Finnish, Estonian
Other Scripts: Ирина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ირინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-RYEE-nə(Russian) EE-ree-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Form of
Irene in several languages.
Ireland
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IER-lənd(American English) IE-ə-lənd(British English)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the name of the European island country, derived from Irish Gaelic Éire, which may mean something like "abundant land" in Old Irish.
Ipazia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Iolani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ee-o-LAWN-ee
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "exalted hawk" in Hawaiian.
Io
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-AW(Classical Greek) IE-o(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown. In Greek
mythology Io was a princess loved by
Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from
Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.
Indigo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
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".
Illuminata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means
"illuminated, brightened, filled with light" in Latin. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint from Todi, Italy.
Ileana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ee-LYA-na(Romanian) ee-leh-A-na(Spanish)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Possibly a Romanian variant of
Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
Idrissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Western African
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Form of
Idris 1 common in West Africa.
Idonea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of
Iðunn. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin
idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century
[1].
Idaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰδαία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means "of Mount Ida, Idaean" in Greek (see
Ida). Also see the masculine form
Idaios. In Greek mythology this was the name of several characters, including a minor nymph.
Idaea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἰδαία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Ida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, French, Polish, Finnish, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovene, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: IE-də(English) EE-da(German, Dutch, Italian, Polish) EE-dah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) EE-daw(Hungarian)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Derived from the Germanic element
id possibly meaning
"work, labour" (Proto-Germanic *
idiz). The
Normans brought this name to England, though it eventually died out there in the Middle Ages. It was strongly revived in the 19th century, in part due to the heroine in Alfred Tennyson's poem
The Princess (1847), which was later adapted into the play
Princess Ida (1884) by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Though the etymology is unrelated, this is the name of a mountain on the island of Crete where, according to Greek myth, the god Zeus was born.
Iara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Means "lady of the water" in Tupi, from y "water" and îara "lady, mistress". In Brazilian folklore this is the name of a beautiful river nymph who would lure men into the water. She may have been based upon earlier Tupi legends.
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means
"violet flower", derived from Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek
mythology.
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(American English) hə-MIE-ə-nee(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god
Hermes. In Greek
myth Hermione was the daughter of
Menelaus and
Helen. This is also the name of the wife of
Leontes in Shakespeare's play
The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Helle 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἕλλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHL-LEH(Classical Greek)
Meaning unknown. In Greek
mythology Helle was the daughter of Athamus and Nephele. She and her brother Phrixus escaped sacrifice by fleeing on the back of a golden ram, but during their flight she fell off and drowned in the strait that connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which was thereafter called the Hellespont ("the sea of Helle").
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)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hallie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAL-ee
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Halle 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HAL-ee
In the case of American actress Halle Berry (1966-), it is from the name of a department store in Cleveland where she was born (the store was founded by brothers bearing the German surname Halle, a
cognate of
Hall).
Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
Rating: 43% based on 3 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.
Gracie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAY-see
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Gracelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAYS-lin
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Elaboration of
Grace using the popular name suffix
lyn.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 52% based on 5 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.
Ginger
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIN-jər(American English) JIN-jə(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From the English word
ginger for the spice or the reddish-brown colour. It can also be a
diminutive of
Virginia, as in the case of actress and dancer Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), by whom the name was popularized.
Gianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Greek, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Γιάννα(Greek)
Pronounced: JAN-na(Italian) YA-na(Greek) jee-AHN-ə(English) JAHN-ə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Italian short form of
Giovanna and a Modern Greek variant of
Ioanna.
Its use in America started increasing in the late 20th century. It spiked in popularity in 2020 after the death of Gianna Bryant and her father, the basketball player Kobe Bryant, in a helicopter crash.
Georgia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Γεωργία(Greek)
Pronounced: JAWR-jə(American English) JAW-jə(British English) yeh-or-YEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Latinate feminine form of
George. This is the name of an American state, which was named after the British king George II. The country of Georgia has an unrelated etymology. A famous bearer was the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986).
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
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)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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: 40% based on 3 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).
Fiorella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: fyo-REHL-la
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From Italian
fiore "flower" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Felicity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: fə-LIS-i-tee
Rating: 55% based on 6 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.
Felicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Late Roman
Pronounced: fə-LEE-shə(English) feh-LEE-cha(Italian) feh-LEE-thya(European Spanish) feh-LEE-sya(Latin American Spanish) feh-LEE-chee-a(Romanian) feh-LEE-see-a(Dutch) feh-LEE-see-ah(Swedish)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of the Latin name
Felicius, a derivative of
Felix. As an English name, it has occasionally been used since the Middle Ages.
Faith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAYTH
Rating: 27% based on 3 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.
Evynne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Feminine variant of
Evan.
Evren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehv-REHN
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Means
"cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic
mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Evolet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English
Pronounced: EV-o-let(Popular Culture)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
It has been suggested that the name was created from an elaboration of
love as a palindrome, or from the backwards spelling of
t(h)e love with the
h omitted for the sake of aesthetics, or from
evolve as an incomplete anagram. It could also be used as a combination of the names
Eve and
Violet.
The name of a prehistoric woman in the 2008 film 10,000 B.C. directed by Roland Emmerich, meaning "the promise of life" in the fictitious language spoken by the character's adopted tribe, the Yaghal.
Evie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-vee, EHV-ee
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Evelyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
Rating: 40% based on 2 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: 40% based on 2 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.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Macedonian, 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: 58% based on 5 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).
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(American English, Dutch) EHS-tə(British English) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means
"star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess
Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the
Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor
Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin
Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was
Hadassah.
This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].
Esteri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: EHS-teh-ree
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Latinate form of
Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
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: 0% based on 2 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.
Eos
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-AWS(Classical Greek) EE-ahs(American English) EE-aws(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Means "dawn" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn.
Emm
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English, English
Pronounced: EHM(English)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Middle English vernacular form of
Emma. In modern times it is a variant of
Em, i.e. used as a diminutive of
Emma,
Emily and other similar-sounding names.
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: 50% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek
σμάραγδος (smaragdos).
Elouera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
An Aboriginal name meaning "a pleasant place"
Elora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Modern)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 53% based on 6 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.
Eloisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-lo-EE-za
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Ellisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Ellery
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-ree
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from the medieval masculine name
Hilary.
Elle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHL
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-).
Eleonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek
Other Scripts: Елеонора(Bulgarian, Ukrainian) Элеонора(Russian) Ελεονώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-leh-o-NAW-ra(Italian) eh-leh-o-NO-ra(German, Dutch) eh-leh-aw-NAW-ra(Polish) eh-lyi-u-NO-rə(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Form of
Eleanor in several languages.
Eleni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελένη(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-LEH-nee
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Modern Greek form of
Helen.
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
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.
Eleanora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehl-ə-NAWR-ə
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr(American English) EHL-ə-naw(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 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.
Elanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 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.
Delanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-LAYN-ee
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Daphna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant transcription of
Dafna.
Dalila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: DA-LEE-LA(French) DA-lee-la(Italian) da-LEE-la(Spanish) du-LEE-lu(European Portuguese) da-LEE-lu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Form of
Delilah used in the Latin
Old Testament, as well as in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Dalia 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: דַּלְיָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Means "hanging branch" in Hebrew.
Cyrille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEE-REEL
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
French form of
Cyril, sometimes used as a feminine form.
Cyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Meaning unknown.
Saint Cyra was a 5th-century Syrian hermit who was martyred with her companion Marana.
Cyan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIE-an
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the English word meaning
"greenish blue, cyan", ultimately derived from Greek
κύανος (kyanos).
Croía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Modern)
Pronounced: KREE-ə
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From Irish croí meaning "heart". This name was used by Irish martial artist Conor McGregor for his daughter born 2019.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Form of
Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play
Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Crescentia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Late Roman
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Crescentius.
Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint
Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.
Cornelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Romanian, Italian, Dutch, English, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: kawr-NEH-lya(German) kor-NEH-lya(Italian) kawr-NEH-lee-a(Dutch) kawr-NEEL-ee-ə(American English) kaw-NEE-lee-ə(British English) kor-NEH-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Cornelius. In the 2nd century BC it was borne by Cornelia Scipionis Africana (the daughter of the military hero Scipio Africanus), the mother of the two reformers known as the Gracchi. After her death she was regarded as an example of the ideal Roman woman. The name was revived in the 18th century.
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEEL-ee-ə(American English) kaw-DEE-lee-ə(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From
Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles
[1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King
Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of
Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.
The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 67% based on 3 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.
Clytemnestra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κλυταιμνήστρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: klie-təm-NEHS-trə(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Latinized form of Greek
Κλυταιμνήστρα (Klytaimnestra) and
Κλυταιμήστρα (Klytaimestra), in which the first element is
κλυτός (klytos) meaning "famous, noble". The spelling
Klytaimnestra would suggest the second element is
μνηστήρ (mnester) meaning "courter, wooer", while
Klytaimestra would suggest a connection to
μήδομαι (medomai) meaning "to plan, to intend". There is debate over which spelling is earlier or more authentic
[1], since the ancient texts seem to make puns based on both etymologies.
Klytaimestra appears in the works of the Greek tragedians such as Aeschylus, while
Klytaimnestra appears in Homer's poems (the earliest extant copy dating from the post-classical period).
In Greek legend Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon and the mother of Orestes and Electra. While her husband was away during the Trojan War she took a lover, and upon his return she had Agamemnon murdered. She was subsequently killed by her son Orestes.
Clare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHR(American English) KLEH(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Medieval English form of
Clara. The preferred spelling in the English-speaking world is now the French form
Claire, though
Clare has been fairly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.
This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish clár meaning "plank, level surface".
Cierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
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: 42% based on 6 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.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(American English) SHAH-lət(British English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
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.
Cezelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Celestina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: theh-lehs-TEE-na(European Spanish) seh-lehs-TEE-na(Latin American Spanish) cheh-leh-STEE-na(Italian)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
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: 55% based on 6 votes
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Catriona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish
Pronounced: kə-TREE-nə(English)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Cate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KAYT
Variant of
Kate. A famous bearer is Australian actress Cate Blanchett (1969-).
Cassie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS-ee
Personal remark: Short for Cassandra or standalone
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Cara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KAR-ə, KEHR-ə
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
From an Italian word meaning "beloved" or an Irish word meaning "friend". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, though it did not become popular until after the 1950s.
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Candelaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kan-deh-LA-rya
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means
"Candlemas" in Spanish, ultimately derived from Spanish
candela "candle". This name is given in honour of the church festival of Candlemas, which commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin
Mary.
Calpurnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Calpurnius. This was the name of Julius Caesar's last wife.
Callista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-tə
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Calixta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese (Rare)
Pronounced: ka-LEEKS-ta(Spanish)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of
Calixtus.
Caitlin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KAYT-lin(English)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Caelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KIE-lee-a
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Caecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: kie-KEE-lee-a
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Buse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means
"kiss" in Turkish, from Persian
بوسه (būseh).
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 76% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid, Old Irish
Brigit, from old Celtic *
Brigantī meaning
"the exalted one". In Irish
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god
Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by
Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Briar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər(American English) BRIE-ə(British English)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Bellatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: bə-LAY-triks(English) BEHL-ə-triks(English)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
Ayelet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַיֶלֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means
"doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase
אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר (ʾayeleṯ hashaḥar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.
Avril
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-VREEL(French) AV-ril(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
French form of
April. A famous bearer is the Canadian musician Avril Lavigne (1984-).
Avonlea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Created by L. M. Montgomery as the setting for her novel
Anne of Green Gables (1908). She may have based the name on the Arthurian island of
Avalon, though it also resembles the river name
Avon and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Feminine variant of
Aviv.
Avital
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1], Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיטָל(Hebrew)
Hebrew form of
Abital, sometimes used as a masculine name in modern times.
Avis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-vis
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Probably a Latinized form of the Germanic name
Aveza, which was derived from the element
awi, of unknown meaning. The
Normans introduced this name to England and it became moderately common during the Middle Ages, at which time it was associated with Latin
avis "bird".
Aviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Probably an elaboration of
Ava 1, influenced by names such as
Ariana. In some cases it could be inspired by the word
avian meaning
"bird" or
"related to birds, bird-like".
Avalonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn(American English) AV-ə-lawn(British English)
Rating: 25% based on 4 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.
Avalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
Rating: 64% based on 7 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)
Rating: 48% based on 5 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.
Aureliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Ancient Roman
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Aurea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Late Latin name that was derived from
aureus "golden". This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint from Ostia (near Rome), as well as an 11th-century Spanish saint.
Aulaire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Archaic), Provençal
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Early vernacular form of
Eulalia, which survives in the French place name
Saint-Aulaire, given in reference to the popular Spanish saint Eulalia of Mérida.
Audélia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Jewish
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Both a French elaboration of
Aude and a variant of
Odélia. In the Jewish community, however, this name is considered and used as a variant of
Odelia 2.
Athalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Romani (Archaic)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Atalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֲתַלְיָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Modern Hebrew transcription of
Athaliah.
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: 60% based on 5 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.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Latinized form of the Greek
Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning
"star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
Astra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-trə
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Means
"star", ultimately from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster). This name has only been (rarely) used since the 20th century.
Aster
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-tər(American English) AS-tə(British English)
From the name of the flower, which is derived via Latin from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star".
Aspasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀσπασία(Ancient Greek) Ασπασία(Greek)
Pronounced: A-SPA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀσπάσιος (aspasios) meaning
"welcome, embrace". This was the name of the lover of Pericles (5th century BC).
Arundhati
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi
Other Scripts: अरुन्धती, अरुंधती(Sanskrit, Hindi)
Pronounced: u-ROON-du-tee(Sanskrit)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
The name of a star (also called Alcor), which was named after a type of climbing plant, meaning "not restrained" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief it is the name of the sage
Vasishtha's wife, who is identified with the star.
Arista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: ə-RIS-tə(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Means "ear of grain" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 15% based on 2 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.
Arax
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Արաքս(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-RAHKS
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
From the name of an Armenian river, also called the Aras.
Arantxa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: a-RAN-cha
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Araminta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
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.
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Means
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron
saint of Lucena, Spain.
Ara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian, Armenian Mythology
Other Scripts: Արա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-RAH(Armenian)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly of Sumerian origin. In Armenian legend this was the name of an Armenian king who was so handsome that the Assyrian queen
Semiramis went to war to capture him. During the war Ara was slain.
Aquila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: AK-wil-ə(English) ə-KWIL-ə(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
April
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-prəl
From the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
Annelie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish
Pronounced: A-nə-lee(German)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Annabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English)
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Annabel. It can also be interpreted as a combination of
Anna and French
belle "beautiful".
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(American English) an-DRAW-mi-də(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 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.
Amethyst
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-ə-thist
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix
ἀ (a) and
μέθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness. It is the traditional birthstone of February.
Ambrosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀμβροσία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AM-BRO-SEE-A
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Ambrosios (see
Ambrose).
Alyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-iks
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Feminine variant of
Alex.
Alyvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Pronounced: ə-LIV-ee-ə(American English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Aluma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew (Modern, Rare)
Other Scripts: אֲלוּמָה, אלומה(Hebrew)
Possibly from the (medieval) Hebrew word אֲלוּמָה (aluma) meaning "strong, brave" (which, in modern Hebrew, sounds like the word אֲלֻמָּה (alma) "sheaf"). It is sometimes associated with the word עלמה (alma) "a young girl, a damsel".
Aloisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: a-LOI-zya
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Allyson
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-i-sən
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Allegria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Means "cheerfulness, joy" in Italian.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: A-liza-bith
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Alissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LIS-ə
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Aliki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αλίκη(Greek)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Greek form of
Alice. It also corresponds with the Greek word
άλικη meaning "scarlet".
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: 60% based on 5 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).
Alexandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αλεξάνδρα(Greek) Александра(Russian, Ukrainian) Ἀλεξάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-drə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-drə(British English) a-leh-KSAN-dra(German, Romanian) a-lehk-SAHN-dra(Dutch) A-LEHK-ZAHN-DRA(French) a-leh-KSAN-dhra(Greek) u-li-SHUN-dru(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dru(Brazilian Portuguese) A-lehk-san-dra(Czech, Slovak) AW-lehk-sawn-draw(Hungarian) A-LEH-KSAN-DRA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Alexander. In Greek
mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian
saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
Alessia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-LEHS-sya
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Alessandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dra
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
Alaska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From Aleut alaxsxaq "object to which the action of the sea is directed" or "mainland". It is the name of a US state.
Alaia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Means "joyful, happy" from Basque alai.
Airi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 愛莉, 愛梨, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あいり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-EE-REE
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From Japanese
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" combined with
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or
梨 (ri) meaning "pear". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.
Ailsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AYL-sə(English)
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
From Ailsa Craig, the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland, which is of uncertain derivation.
Aida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Albanian, Literature
Other Scripts: عائدة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘A-ee-da(Arabic) ah-EE-də(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Ayda. This name was used in Verdi's opera
Aida (1871), where it belongs to an Ethiopian princess held captive in Egypt.
Aglaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀγλαΐα(Ancient Greek) Αγλαΐα(Greek)
Pronounced: ə-GLIE-ə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
Means
"splendour, beauty" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites). This name was also borne by a 4th-century
saint from Rome.
Aelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: IE-lee-a
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Adelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ee-ə(English) a-DHEH-lya(Spanish)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Elaborated form of
Adela.
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)
Rating: 77% based on 6 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.
Aalis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Rating: 23% based on 6 votes
Old French form of
Alice.
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