cathermal's Personal Name List

Zélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Short form of Azélie. This is another name of Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877).
Zara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: ZAHR-ə(English)
Rating: 100% 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. 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.

Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Wesley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-lee, WEHZ-lee
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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.
Twila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French étoile "star" [1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.
Terra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHR-ə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of Tara 1, perhaps influenced by the Latin word terra meaning "land, earth".
Tara 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, Nepali
Other Scripts: तारा(Sanskrit, Hindi, Nepali)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "star" in Sanskrit. Tara is the name of a Hindu astral goddess, the wife of Brhaspati. She was abducted by Chandra, the god of the moon, leading to a great war that was only ended when Brahma intervened and released her. This is also the name of a Buddhist deity (a bodhisattva).
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Sylvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: SEEL-VEE(French) SIL-vi-yeh(Czech)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
French and Czech form of Silvia.
Suvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SOO-vee
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means "summer" in Finnish.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
The name of a companion of Saint Paul in the New Testament. It is probably a short form of Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that Silvanus and Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name Saul (via Aramaic).

As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).

Senna
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Modern)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Meaning uncertain. In some cases it is given in honour of the Brazilian racecar driver Ayrton Senna (1960-1994). It could also be inspired by the senna plant.
Sela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Other Scripts: סֶלַע(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the name of a city, the capital of Edom, which appears in the Old Testament. It means "rock" in Hebrew.
Savannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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).
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Roscoe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHS-ko
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From an English surname, originally derived from a place name, itself derived from Old Norse "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".
Robin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Medieval English diminutive of Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(English) AW-LEEV(French)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Nola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NO-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Meaning uncertain, possibly a feminine form of Noll inspired by Lola. It has been most common in Australia and New Zealand, especially in the first half of the 20th century.
Naia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NIE-a
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "wave, sea foam" in Basque.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 100% 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].
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Maya 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מַיָּה(Hebrew)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Hebrew מַיִם (mayim) meaning "water".
Marley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAHR-lee
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was taken from a place name meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the Jamaican musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
Maia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MIE-ya(Latin) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Probably from Latin maior meaning "greater". This was the name of a Roman goddess of spring, a companion (sometimes wife) of Vulcan. She was later conflated with the Greek goddess Maia. The month of May is named for her.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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).
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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: 0% based on 1 vote
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Italian and Romanian form of Lucas (see Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Leon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λέων(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-ahn(English) LEH-awn(German, Polish, Slovene)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is Лев in Russian.
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Danish, Finnish) LEH-yo(Dutch) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 0% 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.
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Lake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
Koa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: KO-a
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "warrior, koa tree" in Hawaiian.
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From Latin Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer", derived from Persian ganzabara. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
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: 100% based on 1 vote
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.
Indigo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
Personal remark: Indie
Rating: 100% 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".
Harlow
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lo
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From an English surname derived from a place name, itself derived from Old English hær "rock, heap of stones" or here "army", combined with hlaw "hill". As a name for girls, it received some attention in 2008 when the American celebrity Nicole Richie used it for her daughter.
Harley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lee
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing". An American name for boys since the 19th century, it began to be used for girls after a character with the name began appearing on the soap opera Guiding Light in 1987.
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Variant of Gray.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie Tangled in 2010.
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese)
Rating: 100% 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.
Fern
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FURN
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Everly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ər-lee
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English eofor "boar" and leah "woodland, clearing". Notable bearers of the surname were the musical duo the Everly Brothers, Don (1937-2021) and Phil (1939-2014).

This name began rising on the American popularity charts in 2008, slowly until 2012 and then rapidly after that. This might have been triggered by the folk band Everly (not associated with the Everly Brothers), which had music featured on the television series One Tree Hill in that period. It also might have simply been inspired by similar-sounding names like Everett, Evelyn and Beverly.

Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Everard.
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name אֵיתָן ('Eitan) meaning "solid, enduring, firm". In the Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.

After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.

Emmett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from a diminutive of the feminine given name Emma.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 100% based on 3 votes
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן ('eden) meaning "pleasure, delight", 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.
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 50% based on 2 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.
Callum
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: KAL-əm
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Variant of Calum.
Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Most likely related to Hebrew כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning "dog". An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew כָּל (kal) meaning "whole, all of" and לֵב (lev) meaning "heart". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.

As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.

Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Bay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Russian
Other Scripts: Бай(Russian)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from the archaic Russian verb баять (bayat) meaning "to speak, to tell", which is ultimately derived from Church Slavonic bajati meaning "to speak, to talk, to tell, to narrate".
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Means "happy, blessed" in Hebrew. Asher in the Old Testament is a son of Jacob by Leah's handmaid Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in Genesis 30:13.
Ash
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Short form of Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
April
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-prəl
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
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.
Alba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Catalan
Pronounced: AL-ba(Italian, Spanish) AL-bə(Catalan)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
This name is derived from two distinct names, Alba 2 and Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter, alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
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