cheddarfignugget's Personal Name List

From a Scottish surname that was derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).

From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Riain. This patronymic derives from the given name Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean "little king", from Irish rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix.

In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity through the 1950s and 60s. It shot up the charts after the release of the 1970 movie Ryan's Daughter. Within a few years it was in the top 20 names, where it would stay for over three decades. Famous bearers include the Canadian actors Ryan Reynolds (1976-) and Ryan Gosling (1980-).

Variant of Rosalyn.

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.

In part from the English word fay meaning "fairy", derived from Middle English faie meaning "magical, enchanted", ultimately (via Old French) from Latin fata meaning "the Fates". It appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's chronicles in the name of Morgan le Fay. In some cases it may be used as a short form of Faith. It has been used as a feminine given name since the 19th century.

As a rarer (but older) masculine name it is probably derived from a surname: see Fay 1 or Fay 2.

From an English surname that originally referred to a person who lived near or worked with clay. This name can also be a short form of Clayton.

Medieval English form of Clara. The preferred spelling in the English-speaking world is now the French form Claire, though Clare has been fairly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.

This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish clár meaning "plank, level surface".

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.

From an English surname that originally came from a place name meaning "broad clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the World War II American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).

Means "high father" in Hebrew, from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt, to be high". In the Old Testament God changed Abram's name to Abraham (see Genesis 17:5).