HallowsofWoe's Personal Name List

French and Hungarian form of Zoe.

French form of Zephyrinus.

French form of Zephyr.

French form of Zenon.

Medieval French form of Ivo 1. This was the name of two French saints: an 11th-century bishop of Chartres and a 13th-century parish priest and lawyer, also known as Ivo of Kermartin, the patron saint of Brittany.

Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.

French form of Victorinus.

French form of Valerian.

Form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1) in several languages.

Feminine form of Ulysse.

French form of Ulysses.

French form of Symphorianus. Known bearers of this name include the French physician and humanist Symphorien Champier (1471-1539) and the French police chief and senator Symphorien Boittelle (1813-1897).

Early form of Sinclair.

The name of a bright star in the constellation Canis Major, derived via Latin from Greek σείριος (seirios) meaning "burning".

French form of Seraphina.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Seraphina.

French form of the Latin name Remigius, which was derived from Latin remigis "oarsman, rower". Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.

French form of Raphael.

From the Latin name Prosperus, which meant "fortunate, successful". This was the name of a 5th-century saint, a supporter of Saint Augustine. It has never been common as an English name, though the Puritans used it, partly because it is identical to the English word prosper.

French form of Ophelia.

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.

French form of Odilo.

French form of Octavius.

French form of Nicholas.

Alternate transcription of Russian Максим or Belarusian Максім (see Maksim) or Ukrainian Максим (see Maksym). This is also the Czech form.

Possibly related to Latin mas meaning "male" (genitive maris). In Roman mythology Mars was the god of war, often equated with the Greek god Ares. This is also the name of the fourth planet in the solar system.

French form of Lucianus.

French form of Ludovicus, the Latinized form of Ludwig. This was the name of 18 kings of France, starting with Louis I the son of Charlemagne. Others include Louis IX (Saint Louis) who led two crusades and Louis XIV (called the Sun King) who was the ruler of France during the height of its power, the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. It was also borne by kings of Germany (as Ludwig), Hungary (as Lajos), and other places.

Apart from royalty, this name was only moderately popular in France during the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, when Louis XVI was guillotined, it became less common.

The Normans brought the name to England, where it was usually spelled Lewis, though the spelling Louis has been more common in America. Famous bearers include French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French actor Louis de Funès (1914-1983), Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), who wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).

French form of Leopold.

French feminine form of Leonius.

French form of Leontios, also used as a feminine name.

French form of Leon (used to refer to the popes named Leo).

French form of Leander.

French form of Laurentinus.

French form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).

French form of Justus.

From Latin Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements Dyēws (see Zeus) and pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.

French form of Iulianus (see Julian).

French form of Julius. A notable bearer of this name was the French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905), author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and other works of science fiction.

Variant of Josanna, used as a Louisiana Spanish form of Josette.

French and Dutch feminine form of Joel.

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

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

French masculine and feminine form of Hyacinthus.

French form of Honorina, a feminine form of the Roman name Honorinus, a derivative of Honorius. Saint Honorina was a 4th-century martyr from the Normandy region in France.

Feminine form of Honorinus.

French form of Heinrich (see Henry). A notable bearer was the French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954).

French form of Gratianus (see Gratian).

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.

Romanian, French and German form of Florentinus.

French masculine form of Florentius (see Florence).

French form of Flavian.

French, Spanish, Portuguese and Hungarian form of Felix.

French form of Felicianus (see Feliciano).

Variant of Félicienne.

French form of Evaristus.

French form of Eulalia.

French form of Stephen.

French feminine form of Aemilianus (see Emiliano).

French form of Aemilianus (see Emiliano).

Louisiana French form of Eli 1.

Variant of Éleutère.

French form of Donatianus.

French form of Desiderata. In part it is directly from the French word meaning "desired, wished".

French form of Delphina.

French form of Delphinus.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Delphina.

French form of Cyprianus (see Cyprian).

Variant of Cosmas.

French form of Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel Corinne (1807).

Romanian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Corinna, as well as a German variant.

Acadian variant of Cléonice.

French form of Cloelia.

French feminine form of Caelinus. This name can also function as a short form of Marceline.

Latinate feminine form of Caelestinus.

French form of Caelestinus.

French feminine and masculine form of Caelestis.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Calixtus.

Portuguese and Spanish form of Callistus.

Feminine form of Callistus. As an English name it might also be a variant of Kallisto.

From the Roman name Blasius, which was derived from Latin blaesus meaning "lisping". Saint Blaise was a 4th-century Armenian martyr. A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).

French form of Belisarius.

Variant of Baudoin.

Probably from Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator meaning "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.

In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-).

French form of Basilianus.

Perhaps a form of Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.

French feminine form of Aurelius.

French form of Augustus. A notable bearer was the philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857).

French form of Athaliah.

Variant of Azélie.

French form of Artemisia.

Rare variant of French Armandine historically found in the Poitou-Charentes region.

Cognate of Armantine.

Feminine form of Arcángel.

Variant of Apollonia and Apolline.

Variant of Apollinaire.

French form of Apollinaris. It was adopted as a surname by the Polish-French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who based it on his Polish middle name Apolinary.

Variant of Nathalie.

Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of Anne 1 or Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as Anaitis or Athénaïs.

A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.

French feminine and masculine form of Amyntas.

Feminine variant of Amynthe.

French form of Amelia.

Feminine form of Ambroise.

French form of Ambrosius (see Ambrose).

French diminutive of Amanda.

French diminutive of Alexandra. This was the name of a Danish queen, the wife of King Christian X.

Form of Alexander in several languages. This name was borne by the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), who wrote The Three Musketeers.

French form of Adrian.

French form of Adela.

From the Greek Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilleus), which is of unknown meaning, perhaps derived from Greek ἄχος (achos) meaning "pain" or else from the name of the Achelous River. This was the name of a warrior in Greek legend, one of the central characters in Homer's Iliad. The bravest of the Greek heroes in the war against the Trojans, he was eventually killed by an arrow to his heel, the only vulnerable part of his body.

This name was sometimes used as a personal name, and was borne by a few early saints, including a Roman soldier martyred with Nereus in the 1st century.