ChuckTheGondor's Personal Name List

Possibly an invented name, perhaps based on Greek ξύλον (xylon) meaning "wood", a word used in the New Testament to mean "the Cross".

It has gained some popularity probably because it shares the same trendy sounds found in other names such as Isla, Lyla, Myla, Nyla and Kyla.

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.

Derived from Greek ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek mythology.

Anglicized form of the Old Breton name Wiuhomarch, which is made up of the elements wiu "worthy, noble" and march "horse".

From an occupational surname meaning "craftsman", ultimately from Old English wyrhta. Famous bearers of the surname were the Wright brothers (Wilbur 1867-1912 and Orville 1871-1948), the inventors of the first successful airplane, and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), an American architect.

From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.

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

From an English surname that was probably originally derived from an unknown place name. The second element corresponds with Old English burne "stream".

From the English word whisper, meaning "speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords", itself from Proto-Germanic *hwisprōną (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”).

From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).

Derived from viorea, the Romanian word for the alpine squill flower (species Scilla bifolia) or the sweet violet flower (species Viola odorata). It is derived from Latin viola "violet".

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.

From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name Gwynedd [1]. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel Venetia (1837).

From the English word for the yellow precious stone, the traditional birthstone of November, ultimately derived from Greek τόπαζος (topazos).

Variant of Tiffany.

From Old French thym, from Latin thymum, from Ancient Greek θύμον (thúmon).

Short form of Theodore, Theobald and other names that begin with Theo.

Feminine form of the Roman name Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.

Short form of Natasha.

Variant of Silas, as well as the form found in the Polish New Testament.

Variant of Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.

Swedish short form of Svantepolk.

Meaning uncertain. It could be derived from Arabic صوف (suf) meaning "wool", صفا (safa) meaning "pure, clean" or صعف (sa'f) meaning "slim, thin". Sufyan al-Thawri was an 8th-century Islamic scholar.

Variant transcription of Sufyan. A well-known bearer of this name is the American independent folk-rock musician Sufjan Stevens.

Diminutive of Stoyan.

Derived from the Greek noun στάχυς (stachys) meaning "a head of grain, an ear of corn" as well as "scion, progeny".

This name was borne by Stachys the Apostle, the second bishop of Byzantium (1st century AD).

From Japanese 空 (sora) or 昊 (sora) both meaning "sky". Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also form this name.

County and town in the American state of California, the meaning of which is uncertain.

Variant of Sloane.

Variant of Shoshana.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin), which was derived from the given name Sirideán possibly meaning "searcher".

From an English surname, which was possibly a variant of Selby. Though previously in use as a rare masculine name, it was popularized as a feminine name by the main character in the movie The Woman in Red (1935). It was later reinforced by the movie Steel Magnolias (1989) in which Julia Roberts played a character by this name.

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.

Derived from Late Latin Scotia, ultimately derived from Scoti or Scotti, a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century. At first it referred to all Gaels, whether in Ireland or Great Britain, as did the term Scotia for the lands they inhabited. From the 9th century, its meaning gradually shifted, so that it came to mean only the part of Britain lying north of the Firth of Forth: the Kingdom of Scotland. By the later Middle Ages it had become the fixed Latin term for what in English is called Scotland. The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" around 500 A.D.
In Irish mythology, Scottish mythology and pseudohistory, Scotia is the name given to the mythological daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. Manuscripts of the Lebor Gabála Érenn contain a legend of a Scotia who was the wife of Goidel's descendant Míl Espáine of ancient Iberia. Scotia is said to have come to Ireland in 1700 BC to avenge the death of her husband, the King, who had been wounded in a previous ambush in south Kerry. She was killed in battle with the legendary Tuatha Dé Danann on the nearby Slieve Mish Mountains. This Scotia's Grave is a famous landmark in Munster, Ireland.
According to Geoffrey Keating's 1634 narrative history of Ireland Foras Feasa ar Éirinn ("Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland" but most often known in English as "The History of Ireland"), the feminine name Scotia is derived from Irish scoṫ or scoth, meaning "blossom".

Russian and Ukrainian diminutive of Aleksandr or Aleksandra.

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).

Short form of Samuel, Samson, Samantha and other names beginning with Sam. A notable fictional bearer is Sam Spade, a detective in Dashiell Hammett's novel The Maltese Falcon (1930). In J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954 novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) this is a short form of Samwise.

It means "saint", "master", or "lord" in Sindhi and Marathi, from the Dari Persian "sāyæ"

Originally, سایه (sāyeh) was a poetic way to refer to Sufi mystics in Persian. It literally means "shade" with the connotation of "protective" and "influential." Sayeh in of itself is a name among Iranians. With the Mughal conquest of India, it was loaned into many languages. Sindhi Sufis added the suffix ین ईं -ī(n) to the root word to make it the adjective سائیں साईं sāī(n) an honorific meaning "saint", "master", or "lord." In fact, Modern South Asian Sufis often refer to God as "Allāh sāī(n)". In the 19th century, a Sufi ascetic in Shirdi, now located in Maharashtra, India, with no name came to prominence as a preacher of religious tolerance and unity and drew both Muslim and Hindu devotees to him. His devotees referred to him as سائیں بابا साईं बाबा "sāī(n) bābā". Over time, the word became standard Marathi but it was corrupted so that the homorganic nasal was deleted and it became साई "sāī". Today, the name Sai is given to both boys and girls in India in reference to Sai Baba of Shirdi, however it is still relatively rare. It is often followed by a middle name which changes the overall meaning and avoids confusion with other people with the same name. It is most common among the people of Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Goa.

There are multiple explanations for the etymology of this name. One is that it is a variant form of Sabrael. An other is that it is derived from Hebrew sabi "stop, rest" combined with el "God", thus meaning "(the) rest of God". Lastly, it could also have been derived from the name of the Sabra plant (a prickly pear) combined with el "God", making the meaning something like "cactus of God". The name of Sabriel was first used by author Garth Nix for the heroine of his fantasy novel 'Sabriel' (1995), and an important protagonist in the sequels 'Lirael' and 'Abhorsen'. It is uncertain where and how Garth Nix decided upon using the name Sabriel.

From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.

Variant of Riley.

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).

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.

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).

Diminutive of Rosemarie, Rosemary, and names beginning with Rom.

Feminine form of Renatus.

From the English word, perhaps intended to be an English equivalent of Remedios.

From the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning "God heals", from the roots רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named Azarias and accompanies Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in John 5:4.

This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.

Spanish short form of Rafael.

Meaning uncertain, possibly a form of Kythereia. Saint Quiteria was a semi-legendary 2nd-century Iberian martyr.

Variant of Guinevere.

Transferred use oft he surname Quimby.

Diminutive of Aquilla.

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

Derived from Middle High German twarc, probably from a West Slavic source (compare Czech tvrdy and Polish twardy, both coming from Old Church Slavonic tvrudu meaning "hard," which is derived from Proto-Slavic *tvrd- and then a Proto-Indo-European root *(s)twer- meaning "to grasp, hold, hard.")

In the show Steven Universe, Rose Quartz is Steven's mother. Quartz is also Steven's middle name.

Transferred use of the surname Prentiss.

Elaboration or feminization of Poem.

From an English word meaning "nightingale" (ultimately from Philomela). It has been used frequently in poetry to denote the bird.

Medieval English form of Petronilla.

Greek name meaning "Persian woman". This is the name of a woman mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament.

Italian and Spanish cognate of Pearl.

Transferred use of the surname Penrose.

Means "head, top" in Welsh. This was the name of two characters in Welsh legend. It can also come from the English surname which was from a place name meaning "hill" in Old English.

Blend of the phrase "peach tree" and Anna.

Means "like a fairy" in Persian, derived from پری (parī) meaning "fairy, sprite, supernatural being".

Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.

From a Scots surname, originally from the name of a town near Glasgow, maybe ultimately derived from Latin basilica "church". This is also a word (derived from the name of that same town) for a type of pattern commonly found on fabrics.

Transferred use of the surname Orchard.

Diminutive or elaborated form of Olive, or directly from the English and French word olivine that denotes a type of gemstone, whose name ultimately goes back to Latin oliva "olive" (so named in the late 18th century for its olive green color).

Ukrainian form of Helen.

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.

From Old French ocre, via Latin from Greek ōkhra ‘yellow ocher.’

Derived from obsidian, the English name for a specific type of volcanic glass. The name is ultimately derived from Latin obsidianus meaning "of Obsidius", after the Roman (also called Obsius in some instances) who supposedly was the first to discover this type of volcanic glass. The name Obsidius is possibly a corruption of Opsidius, which is apparently a very obscure Roman nomen gentile.** Etymologically, Opsidius may be a more elaborate form of Opsius. It could also be Oscan in origin, in which case it may have been derived from Oscan úpsed meaning "worked, laboured" (which would thus make the name related to Oppius). Last but not least, if the discoverer's name was Obsius rather than Obsidius, then his name was probably a corruption of Opsius. In either case the etymology is very similar. Finally, in popular culture, Obsidian is the name of a character in the "Transformers" franchise as well as a character in a comic published by DC Comics.

** Please see page 638 of the book "The Italic Dialects" written by Robert Seymour Conway.

From the poetic Middle Welsh word nwyfre meaning "sky, heaven, firmament" and "ether, quintessence", derived from nwyf "energy, vigour". This is a recently coined Welsh name.

Greek and Russian form of Nicanor.

Short form of Nicholas (or sometimes Nicodemus).

From the Greek name Νικάνωρ (Nikanor), which was derived from νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". This name was borne by several notable officers from ancient Macedon. It is also mentioned in the New Testament as belonging to one of the original seven deacons of the church, considered a saint.

Medieval form of Moses.

From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).

From the English word for the day of the week, which was derived from Old English mona "moon" and dæg "day". This can be given to children born on Monday, especially in Nigeria.

Old German form of Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century [2].

Contracted form of Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.

Variant of Merlin, sometimes used as a feminine form. It has perhaps been influenced by the Welsh word merlyn meaning "pony".

Variant of Maia 1. This name can also be given in reference to the Maya, an indigenous people of southern Mexico and parts of Central America whose civilization flourished between the 3rd and 8th centuries. A famous bearer was the American poet and author Maya Angelou (1928-2014).

German and French variant of Matthias.

Possibly a transferred use of the surname Marjoram.

From the English word for the tree (comprising the genus Acer), derived from Old English mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.

Derived from the Slavic element ľuby meaning "love".

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).

Derived from French lune "moon", making it a cognate of Luna.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Ayrshire meaning "little hollow" (from Gaelic lag "hollow, pit" combined with a diminutive suffix). This name started slowly rising on the American popularity charts in the mid-1970s, perhaps partly inspired by the movie Logan's Run (1976). The comic book character Wolverine, alias Logan, was also introduced around the same time.

The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since end of the 20th century. In the United States it reached a high point in 2017, when it ranked as the fifth most popular name for boys.

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

German short form of Elisabeth.

Variant of Leeba (via its variant forms Liba and Libe).

(Liebe coincides with the modern German word for "love".)

Possibly means "joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers Moses and Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the New Testament, where it is borne by a son of Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle Matthew.

As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Short form of Eleanor. This is the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven (1845).

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.

From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.

As an American given name, this is likely taken from the name of multiple places in the state of Wyoming (see also Laramie), which were themselves derived from the French surname Laramie and named for Jacques LaRamie (1784-1821?), a Canadian frontiersman and explorer.

Russian short form of Larisa. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by a character from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1965). Between 1965 and 1969 it increased by almost 2,000 percent in the United States, however it is currently much more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. Another famous fictional bearer is Lara Croft, first appearing in video games in 1996 and movies in 2001.

Means "coral" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin corallium.

Georgian and French form of Kolya as well as an alternate transcription of this Russian name.

From Japanese 心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.

From the Roman name Iulianus, which was derived from Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from Juliana, eventually becoming Gillian).

Variant of Dream.

English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.

Medieval variant of Joyce, influenced by the Latin word iocosus or jocosus "merry, playful".

From the English word jet, which denotes either a jet aircraft or an intense black colour (the words derive from different sources).

From the name of the month, which was named for the Roman god Janus. This name briefly charted on the American top 1000 list for girls after it was borne by the protagonist of Jacqueline Susann's novel Once Is Not Enough (1973).

Means "honey moon" in Tupi, from îasy "moon" and yra "honey".

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.

Germanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the element iwa meaning "yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a cognate Celtic element [2]. This was the name of saints (who are also commonly known as Saint Yves or Ives), hailing from Cornwall, France, and Brittany.

Variant of Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).

Medieval French variant of Isabel. A famous bearer of this name was Isabeau of Bavaria (1385-1422), wife of the French king Charles VI.

Means "related to Iris or rainbows", ultimately from Greek ἶρις (genitive ἴριδος). It briefly entered the American top 1000 list in 1995, likely due to a Mexican singer named Iridián.

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.

Derived from Greek ὕπατος (hypatos) meaning "highest, supreme". Hypatia of Alexandria was a 5th-century philosopher and mathematician, daughter of the mathematician Theon.

From the name of the variety of shrubs (genus Vaccinium) or the berries that grow on them. It was used by author Mark Twain for the character of Huckleberry (Huck) Finn in his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).

From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Holden Caulfield.

From the English word for a safe place, derived ultimately from Old English hæfen.

From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

From the English word harbor, a body of water for anchoring ships, ultimately from the Old English herebeorg "shelter, refuge". It may also be the transferred use of the surname Harbor.

Means "peering; place from which to peer, place to peer at, lookout" in Hawaiian.

Means "halo around the moon" in Arabic. This was the name of a sister-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

Probably means "born of trees" from Old Welsh guid "trees" and the suffix gen "born of". In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Gwydion is the nephew of King Math of Gwynedd, and like him a powerful magician. In an elaborate plot to give his brother a chance to rape his uncle's footbearer, he arranged a war between Gwynedd and the neighbouring kingdom of Dyfed. Gwydion himself killed King Pryderi of Dyfed at the end of the war. In punishment for the rape, Math transformed Gwydion and his brother into different animals over the course of three years. Gwydion was the uncle of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he fostered. Math and Gwydion fashioned Lleu a wife, Blodeuwedd, out of flowers and they later aided him after her betrayal. Gwydion also appears in older Welsh poetry such as the Book of Taliesin.

American English regional name (Appalachian) influenced by the masculine name Guy + the suffix -etta.

Diminutive of Grete. It is well-known as a character from an 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale who is captured, with her brother Hansel, by a witch. The Grimm's story was based on earlier European folktales.

Variant of Gofannon.

Simply from the English word glory, ultimately from Latin gloria.

Gemory is a demon listed in demonological grimoires. The demon is referenced by the pronoun "he" despite the fact that he appears as a beautiful woman with a duchess crown riding a camel.

Transferred use of the surname Gardner.

Roman cognomen meaning "rooster" in Latin. It could also refer to a person from Gaul (Latin Gallia). This was the name of a 7th-century Irish saint, a companion of Saint Columbanus, who later became a hermit in Switzerland.

Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.

From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).

From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Transferred use of the surname Gable.

Means "butterfly" in Albanian.

From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.

Old Irish form of Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.

Means "seagull" in Irish.

Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.

Means "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.

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.

Anglicized form of Ifan, a Welsh form of John.

Variant of Esmé.

Thought to be derived from the Greek verb ἐρεύγομαι (ereugomai) meaning "to disgorge, blurt out, belch out" (and presumably cognate with Eryx, the name of the eponymous hero of Mount Eryx, a volcano in Sicily). There might also be a connection to the Greek verb ἐρύκω (erykô) "to restrain, curb, keep in". This was name of a 6th-century BC queen of Cyrenaica who avenged the death of her husband, Arcesilaus, by luring his killer into her bedroom, where her brother killed him.

Means "strife, discord" in Greek. In Greek mythology Eris was the goddess of discord. She was the sister and companion of Ares.

Possibly a transferred use of the name of Lake Erie or of the famous Erie Canal. In rare use in the US from the late 1800s to the 1910s and again briefly in the 1960s and 1970s.

Means "rainbow" in Welsh. This name was first used in the 19th century.

Means "colours" in Turkish.

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

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Elis, a medieval vernacular form of Elias. This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Welsh Elisedd.

From a surname that was a variant of Elliott.

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

Used by the popular British novelist Eleanor Burford (1906-1993) as a pen name, in which case it was formed from a contraction of her birth name, i.e., by combining the initial syllables of Eleanor (El) and Burford (-bur). She wrote four novels under the pseudonym Elbur Ford between 1950 and 1953, in which period a few boys were named Elbur, possibly after her literary alias.

It is also a surname which may be related to the surname and given name Wilbur.

Means "queen of the stars" in Sindarin, composed of êl "star" and bereth "queen, spouse". In 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, this was an epithet of Varda, the deity to whom the Elvish hymn 'A Elbereth Gilthoniel' was directed.

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.

Form of Damhnait. According to legend, Saint Dymphna was a young 7th-century woman from Ireland who was martyred by her father in the Belgian town of Geel. She is the patron saint of the mentally ill.

Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Donnchadh, derived from Old Irish donn "brown" and cath "battle". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1606).

Transferred use of the surname Dubois.

Variant of Driscoll.

The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.

Short form of Dominique. It was used by author Ian Fleming in his James Bond novel 'Thunderball' (1961), where the nickname belongs to Bond's Italian love interest Dominetta "Domino" Vitali (renamed Dominique "Domino" and simply Domino in the 1965 and 1983 film adaptations, respectively). A known bearer was English bounty hunter Domino Harvey (1969-2005), whose mother named her for the French model Dominique "Domino" Sanda (1951-).

The name given to a type of lightweight sheer cotton fabric used for bed upholstery and curtains, used as a female given name mainly in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Variant of Devin.

From the name of the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, Δ. It is also the name for an island formed at the mouth of a river.

From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).

Roman cognomen meaning "curly-haired" in Latin.

Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).

Italian feminine form of Cosimo.

From French chosette meaning "little thing". This is the nickname of the illegitimate daughter of Fantine in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables (1862). Her real name is Euphrasie, though it is seldom used. In the novel young Cosette is the ward of the cruel Thénardiers until she is retrieved by Jean Valjean.

Means "crown" in Latin, as well as Italian and Spanish. This was the name of a 2nd-century saint who was martyred with her companion Victor.

Late Latin name meaning "heart" from Latin cor (genitive cordis). Saint Cordula was one of the 4th-century companions of Saint Ursula.

From the English word comfort, ultimately from Latin confortare "to strengthen greatly", a derivative of fortis "strong". It was used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It is now most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.

From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.

Short form of Cleopatra, Cleon or Cleopas.

From the English word for a pale yellow variety of quartz that resembles topaz. From Old French citrin, ultimately from Latin citrus, "citron tree". It may also be related to the Yiddish tsitrin, for "lemon tree."

It is one of the birthstones for November.

Used as a nickname for Charles or as a pet form meaning ''chicken''.

Dutch form and English variant of Chloe.

From the name of a district in London, originally derived from Old English and meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone". It has been in general use as an English given name since the 1970s.

From the English word for the coniferous tree, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek κέδρος (kedros). Besides the true cedars from the genus Cedrus, it is also used to refer to some tree species in the cypress family.

Catalan and German form of Cassiodorus.

Of uncertain origin and meaning. It might be a variant of Cassarah or a transferred use of the Sicilian surname Cassarà.

Derived from the English word for a waterfall, ultimately from Latin cadere "to fall".

After the brownish red mineral of the same name, of which the name is a corruption of cornelian, which in turn is derived from Latin cornelianus (see Cornelianus).

Latin form of the Welsh Cymru, the Welsh name for the country of Wales, derived from cymry meaning "the people". It is occasionally used as a given name in modern times.

From Greek Καλυψώ (Kalypso), which probably meant "she that conceals", derived from καλύπτω (kalypto) meaning "to cover, to conceal". In Greek myth this was the name of the nymph who fell in love with Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island of Ogygia. When he refused to stay with her she detained him for seven years until Zeus ordered her to release him.

Derived from the French surname Cauvin, which was derived from chauve meaning "bald". The surname was borne by Jean Cauvin (1509-1564), a theologian from France who was one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His surname was Latinized as Calvinus (based on Latin calvus "bald") and he is known as John Calvin in English. It has been used as a given name in his honour since the 19th century.

In modern times, this name is borne by American fashion designer Calvin Klein (1942-), as well as one of the main characters from Bill Watterson's comic strip Calvin and Hobbes (published from 1985 to 1995).

Transferred use of the surname Calloway.

Previously a short form of Briseida, though it is now regarded as an independent name directly from the Spanish word brisa "breeze". In Mexico this name was popularized by a character named Brisa (played by actress Margarita Magaña) on the telenovela "Por tu amor" (1999).

Variant of Bryony.

From the English word for the thorny plant.

Anglicized form of Brígh. It can also be a short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri.

Transferred use of the surname Bramble.

Transferred use of the surname. This name was borne by British literary scholar Bonamy Dobrée (1891-1974), who was given the name because it was a family surname.

From the name of the flower, used to some extent as a first name when flower names were in vogue at the end of the 19th century.

Means "married" in Hebrew. The name is used in the Old Testament to refer to the land of Israel (Isaiah 62:4). As an English given name, Beulah has been used since the Protestant Reformation.

From the Middle English personal name Baye, from Old English Beaga (masculine) or Beage (feminine).

A diminutive of Baylee, or any name containing the element or sound -bay-.

May also be given in reference to the English word "bay," from the Middle English baye, from the Old English beġ 'berry', as in beġbēam 'berry-tree'.

Derived from barbeau meaning "barbel", a type of fish, hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, or a nickname for a man with a sparse beard, the fish being distinguished by beardlike growths on either side of its mouth. It is also a nickname from a derivative of Old French and Occitan barbel meaning "point, tooth".

From an English occupational surname derived from Old English bakere meaning "baker".

From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names Alberich or Alfred.

As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).

From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.

From the given name Augustine 1.

Probably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star" and φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella.

From the name of the flower, which is derived via Latin from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star".

From the name of the flower. J. R. R. Tolkien used this name on one of his characters in The Lord of the Rings.

Derived from the name of the Greek goddess Artemis.

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

Meaning unknown, possibly from a surname.

Norwegian diminutive of Anna.

Combination of Anna and Lena.

The name is either a masculine form of Anchoretta (finally going back to the Welsh name Angharad) or used with the literal meaning "anchor".

Means "protection, shelter, refuge" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Amparo, meaning "Our Lady of Refuge".

Variant of Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.

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

Latinized form of Greek Αἰθήρ (Aither) meaning "ether, heaven", derived from αἴθω (aitho) meaning "to burn, to ignite". In Greek mythology this was the name of the god of light and the upper sky.

Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.

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

Phonetic variant of Abcde.