Laura W's Personal Name List
Zane 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAYN
Rating: 37% based on 10 votes
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.
Wyatt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIE-ət
Rating: 39% based on 10 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Wyard or
Wyot, from the Old English name
Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.
Weston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-tən
Rating: 20% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English
west "west" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Wesley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-lee, WEHZ-lee
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
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.
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 62% based on 9 votes
Viviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Late Roman
Pronounced: vee-VYA-na(Italian) bee-BYA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 9 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: 48% based on 8 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.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 92% based on 10 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: 49% based on 9 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.
Vincent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak
Pronounced: VIN-sənt(English, Dutch) VEHN-SAHN(French) VIN-sent(Dutch) VEEN-tsent(Slovak)
Rating: 78% based on 10 votes
From the Roman name
Vincentius, which was derived from Latin
vincere meaning
"to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many
saints. As an English name,
Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Veronica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: və-RAHN-i-kə(American English) və-RAWN-i-kə(British English) veh-RAW-nee-ka(Italian)
Rating: 71% based on 10 votes
Latin alteration of
Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning
"true image". This was the name of a legendary
saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Vaughn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAWN
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
From a Welsh surname, a variant of
Vaughan.
Valerie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Czech
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree(English) VA-lə-ree(German)
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
English and German form of
Valeria, as well as a Czech variant of
Valérie.
Trey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAY
Rating: 37% based on 9 votes
From an English nickname meaning "three".
Trenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TREHN-tən
Rating: 27% based on 9 votes
From the name of a New Jersey city established in the 17th century by William Trent. It means "
Trent's town".
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
Greek form of
Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the
Old Testament. It relates how
Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel
Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the
Protestant Reformation.
Tiernan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
Means
"gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the
New Testament was a woman restored to life by
Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as
Dorcas (see
Acts 9:36). As an English name,
Tabitha became common after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show
Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Sylvan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Either a variant of
Silvanus or directly from the Latin word
silva meaning
"wood, forest".
Sterling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STUR-ling
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 73% based on 11 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.
Steele
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: STEEL
Transferred form the surname
Steele.
Skye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
Rating: 64% based on 11 votes
From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of
Sky.
Simon 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Симон(Macedonian) სიმონ(Georgian) Σίμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-mən(English) SEE-MAWN(French) SEE-mawn(Danish, Dutch, Macedonian) ZEE-mawn(German) SHEE-mon(Hungarian)
Rating: 53% based on 11 votes
From
Σίμων (Simon), the
New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁםְעוֹן (Shimʿon) meaning
"hearing, listening", derived from
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear, to listen". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the
Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
Simon 2.
In the New Testament Simon is the name of several characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Most importantly however it was borne by the leading apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus).
Because of the apostle, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became more rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Shiloh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
Rating: 37% based on 10 votes
From an
Old Testament place name possibly meaning
"tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see
Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.
This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.
Scott
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: SKAHT(American English) SKAWT(British English)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
From an English and Scottish surname that referred to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic. It is derived from Latin Scoti meaning "Gael, Gaelic speaker", with the ultimate origin uncertain.
Sawyer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər, SAW-yər
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
From an English surname meaning
"sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Very rare as an American given name before 1980, it increased in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It got a boost in 2004 after the debut of the television series Lost, which featured a character by this name.
Samantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: sə-MAN-thə(English) sa-MAN-ta(Italian) sa-MAHN-ta(Dutch)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of
Samuel, using the name suffix
antha (possibly inspired by Greek
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show
Bewitched.
Sage
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 66% based on 9 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Saga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Swedish, Icelandic
Pronounced: SAH-gah(Swedish) SA-gha(Icelandic)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From Old Norse
Sága, possibly meaning
"seeing one", derived from
sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to
Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word
saga "story, fairy tale, saga".
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
Ruth 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רוּת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOTH(English) ROOT(German, Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
רוּת (Ruṯ), probably derived from the word
רְעוּת (reʿuṯ) meaning
"female friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the
Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law
Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married
Boaz. She was an ancestor of King
David.
As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek
ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of
Ruth 1.
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 81% based on 11 votes
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name
Hrodohaidis meaning
"famous type", composed of the elements
hruod "fame" and
heit "kind, sort, type". The
Normans introduced it to England in the forms
Roese and
Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower
rose (derived from Latin
rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Rating: 62% based on 9 votes
Means
"little seal", derived from Old Irish
rón "seal" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish
saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
Rating: 65% based on 10 votes
From the Late Latin name
Romanus meaning
"Roman". This name was borne by several early
saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
Rating: 55% based on 11 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Ripley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RIP-lee
From a surname that was derived from the name of various English towns, from Old English
rippel "grove, thicket" and
leah "clearing". A famous fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley (usually only called by her surname) from the
Alien series of movies, beginning 1979.
Ridley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RID-lee
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from various place names meaning either "reed clearing" or "channel clearing" in Old English.
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
From Old Welsh
Ris, probably meaning
"ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading
Normans.
Reginald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHJ-ə-nəld
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
From
Reginaldus, a Latinized form of
Reynold.
Raphael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Biblical
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל, רְפָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: RA-fa-ehl(German) RAF-ee-əl(English) RAF-ay-ehl(English) rah-fie-EHL(English)
Rating: 80% based on 10 votes
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.
Rafael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Hebrew
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל(Hebrew) Рафаел(Macedonian)
Pronounced: ra-fa-EHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) ha-fa-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) RA-fa-ehl(German) RAW-faw-ehl(Hungarian)
Rating: 67% based on 10 votes
Form of
Raphael in various languages. A famous bearer is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (1986-).
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
Rating: 82% based on 10 votes
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Preston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PREHS-tən
Rating: 28% based on 10 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest town" (Old English preost and tun).
Piper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PIE-pər
Rating: 40% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series
Charmed, which debuted in 1998
[1].
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 55% based on 11 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.
Percival
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: PUR-si-vəl(English)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
Created by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem
Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien may have derived the name from Old French
perce val "pierce the valley", or he may have based it loosely on the Welsh name
Peredur [1]. In the poem Perceval is a boy from Wales who hopes to become a knight under King
Arthur. Setting out to prove himself, he eventually comes to the castle of the Fisher King and is given a glimpse of the Grail.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL
Rating: 72% based on 9 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.
Océane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-SEH-AN
Rating: 50% based on 9 votes
Derived from French océan meaning "ocean".
Niccolò
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: neek-ko-LAW
Italian form of
Nicholas. Famous bearers include Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), a Florentine political philosopher, and Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), a Genoese composer and violinist.
Nelly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, French, German
Pronounced: NEHL-ee(English) NEH-luy(Swedish) NEH-LEE(French)
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
Nellie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish
Pronounced: NEHL-ee(English) NEH-li(Swedish)
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NA-dya(Italian) NA-dhya(Spanish) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century
[1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-)
[2].
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
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-).
Morgan 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English)
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
Modern form of
Morgen, which was used by Geoffrey of Monmouth
[1] in the 12th century for the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, who was unnamed in earlier stories. Geoffrey probably did not derive it from the Welsh masculine name
Morgan, which would have been spelled
Morcant in his time. It is likely from Old Welsh
mor "sea" and the suffix
gen "born of"
[2].
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee
Rating: 53% based on 11 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Mary, now often used independently. It developed from
Malle and
Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel
Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Mollie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
Moira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: MOI-rə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of
Máire. It also coincides with Greek
Μοῖρα (Moira) meaning "fate, destiny", the singular of
Μοῖραι, the Greek name for the Fates. They were the three female personifications of destiny in Greek
mythology.
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English) mee-RAHN-da(Dutch)
Rating: 70% based on 8 votes
Derived from Latin
mirandus meaning
"admirable, worthy of being admired". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play
The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father
Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 49% based on 10 votes
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.
Megaera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Μέγαιρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Μέγαιρα (Megaira), which was derived from
μεγαίρω (megairo) meaning
"to grudge". This was the name of one of the Furies or
Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek
mythology. The name is used as a word in several European languages to denote a shrewish, ill-tempered woman (for example, French
mégère and Italian
megera).
Maybelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
Maya 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Other Scripts: माया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali)
Pronounced: MAH-yah(Sanskrit)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Means
"illusion, magic" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the mother of Siddhartha Gautama (the
Buddha). This is also another name of the Hindu goddess
Durga.
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
Rating: 27% based on 10 votes
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
Maura 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: MAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of
Máire. It has also been associated with Irish
mór meaning "great". This was the name of an obscure 5th-century Irish martyr.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Mateo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Croatian
Pronounced: ma-TEH-o(Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 9 votes
Spanish form of
Matthew. This form is also sometimes used in Croatia, from the Italian form
Matteo.
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
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: 59% based on 10 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: 65% based on 10 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.
Mae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 60% based on 10 votes
Variant of
May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
Rating: 74% based on 10 votes
English form of
Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 65% based on 11 votes
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Rating: 54% based on 11 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: 65% 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).
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German) LEE-dee-ya(Dutch)
Rating: 83% based on 13 votes
Means
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the
Protestant Reformation.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 69% based on 13 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.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 76% based on 5 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 63% based on 8 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).
Lucille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: LUY-SEEL(French) loo-SEEL(English)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
French form of
Lucilla. A famous bearer was American comedienne Lucille Ball (1911-1989).
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Rating: 81% based on 10 votes
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Luc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Welsh
Pronounced: LUYK(French)
Rating: 58% based on 9 votes
French and Welsh form of
Lucas (see
Luke).
Louise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LWEEZ(French) loo-EEZ(English) loo-EE-sə(Danish) loo-EE-zə(German)
Rating: 64% based on 11 votes
French feminine form of
Louis.
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 57% based on 10 votes
Latinate feminine form of
Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of
Little Women.
Lotus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LO-təs
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
From the name of the lotus flower (species Nelumbo nucifera) or the mythological lotus tree. They are ultimately derived from Greek
λωτός (lotos). In Greek and Roman
mythology the lotus tree was said to produce a fruit causing sleepiness and forgetfulness.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 60% based on 10 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).
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
Rating: 41% based on 10 votes
From the Greek name
Λίνος (Linos) meaning
"flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god
Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of
Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after
Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip
Peanuts.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 67% based on 9 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.
Linnea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a(Swedish) LEEN-neh-ah(Finnish)
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 70% based on 10 votes
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Leigh
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEE
Rating: 95% based on 2 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Lee.
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Rating: 60% based on 8 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
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Lake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
Laine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Pronounced: LIE-neh
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
Means "wave" in Estonian.
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Knight
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Knight.
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Kiaran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEER-ən, KEER-awn
Rating: 39% based on 9 votes
Kian 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Keiran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEER-ən, KEER-awn
Rating: 50% based on 9 votes
Keira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEER-ə
Rating: 60% based on 10 votes
Variant of
Ciara 1. This spelling was popularized by British actress Keira Knightley (1985-).
Kate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Croatian
Pronounced: KAYT(English)
Rating: 51% based on 10 votes
Short form of
Katherine, often used independently. It is short for
Katherina in Shakespeare's play
The Taming of the Shrew (1593). It has been used in England since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer is the British actress Kate Winslet (1975-).
Karsten
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Low German, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: KAR-stən(Low German) KAS-dən(Danish)
Rating: 17% based on 9 votes
Kala 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil
Other Scripts: கலா(Tamil)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Means "art form, virtue" in Sanskrit.
Kael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 73% 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.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 58% based on 9 votes
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).
Jonas 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: YO-nus
Rating: 54% based on 9 votes
Lithuanian form of
Iohannes (see
John).
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name
יוֹנָה (Yona) meaning
"dove". This was the name of a prophet swallowed by a fish, as told in the
Old Testament Book of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach in Nineveh, but instead fled by boat. After being caught in a storm, the other sailors threw Jonah overboard, at which point he was swallowed. He emerged from the fish alive and repentant three days later.
Jonah's story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the Hellenized form Jonas was occasionally used in England. The form Jonah did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.
Jay 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Other Scripts: जय(Hindi, Marathi) જય(Gujarati)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Modern (northern Indian) masculine form of
Jaya.
Jana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, Latvian
Pronounced: YA-na(Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German) ZHA-nə(Catalan)
Rating: 58% based on 9 votes
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (see
Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the
New Testament. The first was
Saint James the Greater, the apostle
John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of
Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of
Jesus.
This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.
Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 78% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
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: 72% based on 9 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.
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
Rating: 88% based on 5 votes
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Rating: 78% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old German element
gisal meaning
"hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *
gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of
Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.
The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.
Gillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIL-ee-ən, GIL-ee-ən
Rating: 44% based on 10 votes
Medieval English feminine form of
Julian. This spelling has been in use since the 13th century, though it was not declared a distinct name from
Julian until the 17th century
[1].
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: 56% based on 10 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.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 70% based on 12 votes
Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
Medieval form of
Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 78% based on 8 votes
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 53% based on 3 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.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Rating: 51% based on 8 votes
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.
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 65% based on 10 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.
Elspeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: EHLS-peth
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 80% based on 10 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: 73% based on 9 votes
Elodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Elizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 86% based on 13 votes
From
Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
אֱלִישֶׁבַע (ʾElishevaʿ) meaning
"my God is an oath", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) referring to the Hebrew God and
שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the
Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of
Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the
New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of
John the Baptist.
Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.
Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).
Eliza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Hungarian, Georgian
Other Scripts: ელიზა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-LIE-zə(English) eh-LEE-za(Polish) EH-lee-zaw(Hungarian)
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
Short form of
Elizabeth. It was borne by the character Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play
Pygmalion (1913) and the subsequent musical adaptation
My Fair Lady (1956).
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Rating: 55% based on 10 votes
Eden
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 67% based on 11 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.
Dimitri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, French
Other Scripts: Димитрий(Russian) დიმიტრი(Georgian)
Pronounced: dyi-MYEE-tryee(Russian) DEE-MEE-TREE(Georgian, French)
Rating: 80% based on 9 votes
Russian variant of
Dmitriy, as well as the Georgian form.
Dexter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHK-stər
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From an occupational surname meaning "one who dyes" in Old English. It also coincides with the Latin word dexter meaning "right-handed, skilled".
Dawson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAW-sən
Rating: 19% based on 9 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of David". As a given name, it was popularized in the late 1990s by the central character on the television drama
Dawson's Creek (1998-2003). In the United States the number of boys receiving the name increased tenfold between 1997 and 1999. It got another boost in 2014 after it was used for a main character in the movie
The Best of Me.
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: 30% 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.
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
Rating: 83% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Cynthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυνθία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIN-thee-ə(English) SEEN-TYA(French)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means
"woman from Cynthus". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess
Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother
Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then.
Crimson
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
From the English word for the purplish-red color. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose.
The word came from Late Middle English cremesyn, which came from obsolete French cramoisin or Old Spanish cremesin, which by itself came from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz), ultimately from Persian کرمست (kirmist), which came from Middle Persian; related to Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš. Cognate with Sanskrit कृमिज (kṛmija).
According to the USA Social Security Administration, 70 girls and 44 boys were named Crimson in 2016. Also in 2012, 59 girls and 32 boys in the USA were named Crimsion.
Courtney
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWRT-nee
Rating: 23% based on 10 votes
From an aristocratic English surname that was derived either from the French place name
Courtenay (originally a derivative of the personal name
Curtenus, itself derived from Latin
curtus "short") or else from a Norman nickname meaning "short nose".
Originally more common as a name for boys in America, it became more popular for girls in the 1960s. It began rapidly increasing after 1973, possibly due to a character (played by Natalie Wood) in the television movie The Affair. It reached an apex in the United States ranked 17th in 1990, though it has quickly fallen away since then.
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-NEE-lee-ə(English) kor-NEH-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 80% based on 9 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.
Corinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAW-REEN(French) kə-REEN(English) kə-RIN(English)
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
French form of
Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel
Corinne (1807).
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 81% based on 11 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).
Coralyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOR-ə-lin
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Coraline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, French
Pronounced: KAWR-ə-lien(English) KAW-RA-LEEN(French)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Created by the French composer Adolphe Adam for one of the main characters in his opera
Le Toréador (1849). He probably based it on the name
Coralie. It was also used by the author Neil Gaiman for the young heroine in his novel
Coraline (2002). Gaiman has stated that in this case the name began as a typo of
Caroline.
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 72% based on 11 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.
Cole
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From an English surname, itself originally derived from either a medieval short form of
Nicholas or the byname
Cola. A famous bearer was the songwriter Cole Porter (1891-1964), while a bearer of the surname was the musician Nat King Cole (1919-1965).
This name got more popular in the early 1980s, then got a boost in 1990 when it was used by the main character in the movie Days of Thunder.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 71% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Clarus, which meant
"clear, bright, famous". The name
Clarus was borne by a few early
saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called
Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.
As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.
Ciarán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEE-ran(Irish)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
Diminutive of
Ciar. This was the name of two 6th-century Irish
saints: Ciarán the Elder, the founder of the monastery at Saighir, and Ciarán the Younger, the founder of the monastery at Clonmacnoise.
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: 55% based on 8 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(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 77% based on 11 votes
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.
Chandler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAND-lər
Rating: 24% based on 9 votes
From an occupational surname that meant "candle seller" or "candle maker" in Middle English, ultimately from Latin candela via Old French. It surged in popularity after the 1994 debut of the American sitcom Friends, featuring a character by this name.
Caterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: ka-teh-REE-na(Italian) kə-tə-REE-nə(Catalan)
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Cassidy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAS-i-dee
Rating: 54% based on 8 votes
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Caiside), which is derived from the byname
Caiside. Very rare as a given name before the 1970s, it established itself in the 80s and then surged in popularity during the 90s.
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 71% based on 8 votes
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.
Casper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KAHS-pər(Dutch) KAHS-pehr(Swedish) KAS-bu(Danish)
Dutch and Scandinavian form of
Jasper. This is the name of a friendly ghost in an American series of cartoons and comic books (beginning 1945).
Casey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY-see
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Cathasaigh, a patronymic derived from the given name
Cathassach. This name can be given in honour of Casey Jones (1863-1900), a train engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers. In his case,
Casey was a nickname acquired because he was raised in the town of Cayce, Kentucky.
Calvin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-vin
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
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).
Callum
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: KAL-əm
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
Cai 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Rating: 59% based on 9 votes
Bryony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Rating: 40% based on 8 votes
From the name of a type of Eurasian vine, formerly used as medicine. It ultimately derives from Greek
βρύω (bryo) meaning "to swell".
Briony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
Bridger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIJ-ər
Rating: 23% based on 9 votes
From an English surname that originally indicated a person who lived near or worked on a bridge.
Briar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Breccán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish
Derived from Irish
brecc "freckled, speckled" combined with a diminutive suffix, making it a cognate of
Brychan. This was a common name in early Ireland, borne by at least 13 saints.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
Rating: 54% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.
Blaise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BLEHZ
Rating: 35% based on 11 votes
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).
Blaine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYN
Rating: 30% based on 11 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name
Bláán.
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: 58% 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: 50% based on 2 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.
Arrow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AR-o, ER-o
From the English word arrow, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- "bow, arrow".
Ares
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄρης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REHS(Classical Greek) EHR-eez(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Perhaps from either Greek
ἀρή (are) meaning
"bane, ruin" or
ἄρσην (arsen) meaning
"male". The name first appears as
a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the bloodthirsty god of war in Greek
mythology, a son of
Zeus and
Hera.
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(English)
Rating: 65% based on 11 votes
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Antonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Αντωνία(Greek) Антония(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: an-TO-nya(Italian, Spanish, German) an-TO-nee-ə(English) ahn-TO-nee-a(Dutch) an-TO-nee-a(Latin)
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of
Antonius (see
Anthony).
Anthony
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-thə-nee(American English) AN-tə-nee(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 10 votes
English form of the Roman family name
Antonius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. The most notable member of the Roman family was the general Marcus Antonius (called Mark Antony in English), who for a period in the 1st century BC ruled the Roman Empire jointly with Augustus. When their relationship turned sour, he and his mistress Cleopatra were attacked and forced to commit suicide, as related in Shakespeare's tragedy
Antony and Cleopatra (1606).
The name became regularly used in the Christian world due to the fame of Saint Anthony the Great, a 4th-century Egyptian hermit who founded Christian monasticism. Its popularity was reinforced in the Middle Ages by the 13th-century Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of Portugal. It has been commonly (but incorrectly) associated with Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower", which resulted in the addition of the h to this spelling in the 17th century.
Angelica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: an-JEHL-i-kə(English) an-JEH-lee-ka(Italian)
Rating: 64% based on 10 votes
Derived from Latin
angelicus meaning
"angelic", ultimately related to Greek
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger". The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1483 and 1532), where she is the love interest of both
Orlando and
Rinaldo. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.
Amaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: a-MA-ya(Spanish) ə-MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Amaia.
In America, this name was popularized in 1999 by a contestant on the reality television series The Real World [1].
Amanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: ə-MAN-də(English) a-MAN-da(Spanish, Italian) a-MAHN-da(Dutch)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
In part this is a feminine form of
Amandus. However, it was not used during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century it was recreated by authors and poets who based it directly on Latin
amanda meaning
"lovable, worthy of love". Notably, the playwright Colley Cibber used it for a character in his play
Love's Last Shift (1696). It came into regular use during the 19th century.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 10 votes
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
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