FrancescaBennett's Personal Name List

From an English surname of unknown meaning. It was introduced as a given name by American author Zane Grey (1872-1939). Zane was in fact his middle name — it had been his mother's maiden name.

Variant of Zechariah. This spelling is used in the King James Version of the Old Testament to refer to one of the kings of Israel (called Zechariah in other versions).

Italian form of Vincent.

From an English surname meaning "son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).

From a Scottish surname meaning "Hugh's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow, but this is also the name of a city in Texas, named after the Texas president Sam Houston (1793-1863).

Variant of Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.

From the Late Greek name Χριστόφορος (Christophoros) meaning "bearing Christ", derived from Χριστός (Christos) combined with φέρω (phero) meaning "to bear, to carry". Early Christians used it as a metaphorical name, expressing that they carried Christ in their hearts. In the Middle Ages, literal interpretations of the name's etymology led to legends about a Saint Christopher who carried the young Jesus across a river. He has come to be regarded as the patron saint of travellers.

As an English given name, Christopher has been in general use since the 15th century. It became very popular in the second half of the 20th century, reaching the top of the charts for England and Wales in the 1980s, and nearing it in the United States.

In Denmark this name was borne by three kings (their names are usually spelled Christoffer), including the 15th-century Christopher of Bavaria who also ruled Norway and Sweden. Other famous bearers include Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), English architect Christopher Wren (1632-1723) and the fictional character Christopher Robin from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books.

Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.

From the English word for the thorny plant.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Brádaigh, itself derived from the byname Brádach. A famous bearer of the surname is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-). It was also borne by a fictional family on the television series The Brady Bunch (1969-1974).

Transferred use of the surname Auden, which is derived from the Germanic given name Aldwin (its Old English equivalent is Ealdwine). Also compare Alden, which is a surname-turned-given name that has the same etymological origins. The surname Auden was probably formed during the time of the Norman French occupation of England, as Germanic names containing -al- usually became -au- in Norman French. Examples of this are Auberon and Aubrey (both of which came from Alberich), but also the medieval French names Baudry (ultimately from Baldric) and Gaudry (ultimately from Walderic).

The use of Auden as a given name probably started in the 20th century, in honour of the famous English poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973). A known bearer of Auden as a given name is the American climate activist and businessman Auden Schendler (probably born sometime in the 1970s).