Jasmine's Personal Name List
Zyanya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zapotec
Possibly means "forever, always" in Zapotec. It appears in the novel Aztec (1980) by the American author Gary Jennings.
Zoë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English
Pronounced: ZO-veh(Dutch) ZO-ee(English)
Dutch form and English variant of
Zoe.
Zara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: ZAHR-ə(English)
Used by William Congreve for a character in his tragedy
The Mourning Bride (1697), where it belongs to a captive North African queen. Congreve may have based it on the Arabic name
Zahra 1. In 1736 the English writer Aaron Hill used it to translate
Zaïre for his popular adaptation of Voltaire's French play
Zaïre (1732).
In England the name was popularized when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981. Use of the name may also be influenced by the trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara.
Zakiyya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زكيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: za-KEE-ya
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
From Arabic
زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of
أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatima.
See also the related name Zahra 2.
Yasmin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, English (Modern), Spanish (Modern), Portuguese (Modern)
Other Scripts: ياسمين(Arabic) יַסְמִין(Hebrew) یاسمین(Urdu)
Pronounced: yas-MEEN(Arabic) YAZ-min(English) gyas-MEEN(Spanish)
Means
"jasmine" in Arabic and Hebrew, derived from Persian
یاسمین (yāsamīn). In modern times it has been used in the western world, as an Arabic-influenced variant of
Jasmine.
Wesley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-lee, WEHZ-lee
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.
Uxía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Galician
Pronounced: oo-SHEE-u
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Trey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAY
From an English nickname meaning "three".
Tia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEE-ə
Short form of names ending with
tia. It has been suggested that its use since the 1950s is the result of the brand name for the coffee liqueur Tia Maria
[1]. In the brand name,
Tia is not a given name; rather, it means "aunt" in Spanish or Portuguese.
Tess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS
Short form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891).
Tatum
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAY-təm
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead" in Old English. It was brought to public attention by the child actress Tatum O'Neal (1963-) in the 1970s, though it did not catch on. It attained a modest level of popularity after 1996, when it was borne by a character in the movie Scream.
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Storm
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Dutch (Modern), Danish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: STAWRM(English, Dutch)
From the vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English or Old Dutch storm, or in the case of the Scandinavian name, from Old Norse stormr. It is unisex as an English name, but typically masculine elsewhere.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
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.
Solomon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Jewish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שְׁלֹמֹה(Hebrew) Σολομών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAHL-ə-mən(American English) SAWL-ə-mən(British English)
From the Hebrew name
שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomo), which was derived from
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". As told in the
Old Testament, Solomon was a king of Israel, the son of
David and
Bathsheba. He was renowned for his wisdom and wealth. Towards the end of his reign he angered God by turning to idolatry. Supposedly, he was the author of the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.
This name has never been overly common in the Christian world, and it is considered typically Jewish. It was however borne by an 11th-century Hungarian king.
Skylar
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE-lər
Variant of
Skyler. Originally more common for boys during the 1980s, it was popularized as a name for girls after it was used on the American soap opera
The Young and the Restless in 1989 and the movie
Good Will Hunting in 1997
[1]. Its sharp rise in the United States in 2011 might be attributed to the character Skyler White from the television series
Breaking Bad (2008-2013) or the singer Skylar Grey (1986-), who adopted this name in 2010 after previously going by Holly Brook.
Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German) see-MO-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Shayne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAYN
Shauna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAW-nə
Seth 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שֵׁת(Ancient Hebrew) Σήθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English)
Seneca
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: SEH-neh-ka(Latin) SEHN-ə-kə(English)
From a Roman
cognomen derived from Latin
senectus meaning
"old". This was the name of both a Roman orator (born in Spain) and also of his son, a philosopher and statesman.
This name also coincides with that of the Seneca, a Native American tribe that lived near the Great Lakes, whose name meant "place of stones".
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Sean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAWN(English)
Anglicized form of
Seán. This name name, along with variants
Shawn and
Shaun, began to be be used in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland around the middle of the 20th century.
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Romey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-mee
Reese
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Anglicized form of
Rhys. It is also used as a feminine name, popularized by the American actress Reese Witherspoon (1976-).
Rainbow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RAYN-bo
From the English word for the arc of multicoloured light that can appear in a misty sky.
Rain 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RAYN
Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.
Rachel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: רָחֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: RAY-chəl(English) RA-SHEHL(French) RAH-khəl(Dutch) RA-khəl(German)
From the Hebrew name
רָחֵל (Raḥel) meaning
"ewe". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of
Jacob. Her father
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister
Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid
Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of
Joseph and
Benjamin.
The name was common among Jews in the Middle Ages, but it was not generally used as a Christian name in the English-speaking world until after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately popular in the first half of the 20th century, but starting in the 1960s it steadily rose, reaching highs in the 1980s and 90s. The character Rachel Green on the American sitcom Friends (1994-2004) may have only helped delay its downswing.
Notable bearers include American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), British actress Rachel Weisz (1970-), and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams (1978-).
Quincy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN-see
From an English surname that was derived (via the place name
Cuinchy) from the personal name
Quintus. A famous bearer was John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth president of the United States, who was born in the town of Quincy, Massachusetts. Both the town and the president were named after his maternal great-grandfather John Quincy (1689-1767). Another notable bearer is the American musician Quincy Jones (1933-).
Preston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PREHS-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest town" (Old English preost and tun).
Phoenix
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FEE-niks
From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek
mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek
φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".
Peyton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAY-tən
From an English surname, originally a place name meaning
"Pæga's town". This was a rare masculine name until the 1990s. In 1992 it was used for a female character in the movie
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and, despite the fact that it was borne by the villain, the name began to rise in popularity for girls as well as boys
[1].
Famous bearers include Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), the first president of the Continental Congress, and American football quarterback Peyton Manning (1976-).
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL
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.
Paris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PA-REES(Classical Greek) PAR-is(English) PEHR-is(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Luwian or Hittite origin. In Greek
mythology he was the Trojan prince who kidnapped
Helen and began the Trojan War. Though presented as a somewhat of a coward in the
Iliad, he did manage to slay the great hero
Achilles. He was himself eventually slain in battle by Philoctetes.
Panther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Πάνθηρ(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek name meaning "panther".
Page
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAYJ
From a surname that was a variant of
Paige.
Orion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Nyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Meaning unknown, possibly a variant of
Nia 2 or
Nia 3. This name briefly entered the American popularity charts after it was featured in the movie
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000).
Nerea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: neh-REH-a
Possibly from Basque
nere, a dialectal variant of
nire meaning
"mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of
Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
Natasha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, English
Other Scripts: Наташа(Russian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nu-TA-shə(Russian) nə-TAHSH-ə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
Naomi 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 直美, 直己, etc.(Japanese Kanji) なおみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NA-O-MEE
From Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight, direct" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" (usually feminine) or
己 (mi) meaning "self" (usually masculine). Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
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-).
Monique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: MAW-NEEK(French) mə-NEEK(English) mo-NEEK(English, Dutch)
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee
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.
Millaray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Means "golden flower" in Mapuche, from milla "gold" and rayen "flower".
Miia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: MEE-ah
Mia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, English
Pronounced: MEE-ah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) MEE-a(Dutch, German, Italian) MEE-ə(English)
Diminutive of
Maria. It coincides with the Italian word
mia meaning
"mine".
This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names Maria and Mariel respectively.
Maya 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIE-ə, MAY-ə
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).
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
From a Scottish surname meaning
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].
Marlee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAHR-lee
Maja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Маја(Serbian)
Pronounced: MA-ya(German, Polish)
Form of
Maia 1 in various languages.
Lux
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Luella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: loo-EHL-ə
Love 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LUV
Simply from the English word love, derived from Old English lufu.
London
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LUN-dən
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Lisha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LISH-ə
Short form of
Alicia,
Felicia and other names ending with the same sound.
Lincoln
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LING-kən
From an English surname that was originally from the name of an English city, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This name is usually given in honour of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Layne
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAYN
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Lalage
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Derived from Greek
λαλαγέω (lalageo) meaning
"to babble, to prattle". The Roman poet Horace used this name in one of his odes.
Kylie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIE-lee
This name arose in Australia, where it is said to mean "boomerang" in the Australian Aboriginal language Nyungar. An early bearer was the author Kylie Tennant (1912-1988). It was among the most popular names in Australia in the 1970s and early 80s. It can also be considered a feminine form of
Kyle, or a combination of the popular sounds
ky and
lee, and it is likely in those capacities that it began to be used in America in the late 1970s. A famous bearer is the Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue (1968-).
Kyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIE-lə
Feminine form of
Kyle, or a combination of the popular phonetic elements
ky and
la.
Keziah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-ZIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
קְצִיעָה (Qetsiʿa) meaning
"cassia, cinnamon", from the name of the spice tree. In the
Old Testament she is a daughter of
Job.
Keenan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-nən(English)
Kara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Kaja 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Pronounced: KAH-yah
Means "echo" in Estonian.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
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).
Jules 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOOLZ
Jewel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOO-əl, JOOL
In part from the English word
jewel, a precious stone, derived from Old French
jouel, which was possibly related to
jeu "game". It is also in part from the surname
Jewel or
Jewell (a derivative of the Breton name
Judicaël), which was sometimes used in honour of the 16th-century bishop of Salisbury John Jewel. It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.
Jazmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAZ-min
Jayne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Jayden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-dən
Variant of
Jaden. This spelling continued to rapidly rise in popularity in the United States past 2003, unlike
Jaden, which stalled. It peaked at the fourth rank for boys in 2010, showing tremendous growth over only two decades. It has since declined.
Jaxon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAK-sən
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian
ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Jamie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
Jaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-də
Jael
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Portuguese
Other Scripts: יָעֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-əl(English) JAYL(English)
From the Hebrew name
יָעֵל (Yaʿel) meaning
"ibex, mountain goat". This name appears in the
Old Testament belonging to the wife of
Heber the Kenite. After Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army, was defeated in battle by
Deborah and
Barak he took refuge in Heber's tent. When he fell asleep Jael killed him by hammering a tent peg into his head.
Jade
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAYD(English) ZHAD(French)
From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.
Jacob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יַעֲקֹב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-kəb(English) YA-kawp(Dutch) YAH-kawp(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish)
From the Latin
Iacob, which was from the Greek
Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name
יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿaqov). In the
Old Testament Jacob (later called
Israel) is the son of
Isaac and
Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother
Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning
"holder of the heel" or
"supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see
Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like
יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Yaʿaqovʾel) meaning
"may God protect".
The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.
In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages [1], though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.
A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
Ivana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Italian
Other Scripts: Ивана(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: I-va-na(Czech) EE-va-na(Slovak) ee-VA-na(Italian)
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
India
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-dee-ə(English) EEN-dya(Spanish)
From the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit
सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river". India Wilkes is a character in the novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell.
Ian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: EE-ən(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Iain, itself from Latin
Iohannes (see
John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.
Hillary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HIL-ə-ree
Variant of
Hilary. A famous bearer of the surname was Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first man to climb Mount Everest. It is borne by the American politician Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947-). The name dropped in popularity in 1993 after she became the first lady as the wife of Bill Clinton.
Hayden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-dən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as
Braden and
Aidan.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
From the English word
grace, which ultimately derives from Latin
gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the
Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.
This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.
Godiva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon (Latinized)
Pronounced: gə-DIE-və(English)
Latinized form of the Old English name
Godgifu meaning
"gift of god", from the elements
god and
giefu "gift". Lady Godiva was an 11th-century English noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest the high taxes imposed by her husband upon the townspeople.
Giovanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jo-VAN-na
Italian form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna), making it the feminine form of
Giovanni.
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
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.
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
Means
"good news" from Greek
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem
Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Elle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHL
Diminutive of
Eleanor and other names beginning with
El. This name can also be given in reference to the French pronoun
elle meaning "she".
Already growing in popularity due to Australian model Elle Macpherson (1964-), this name received a boost in the United States after the release of the 2001 movie Legally Blonde featuring the main character Elle Woods. In the United Kingdom the name was already fairly common at the time the movie came out, and it actually started declining there shortly afterwards. A famous bearer is American actress Elle Fanning (1998-).
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
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.
Ebony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: EHB-ən-ee(English)
From the English word ebony for the black wood that comes from the ebony tree. It is ultimately from the Egyptian word hbnj. In America this name is most often used in the black community.
Ean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Manx
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
From the Welsh prefix
dy meaning "to, toward" and
llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of
Arianrhod and the twin brother of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle
Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.
Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.
Duncan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUNG-kən(English)
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).
Dorian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian
Pronounced: DAWR-ee-ən(English) DAW-RYAHN(French)
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.
Dee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEE
Short form of names beginning with
D. It may also be given in reference to the
Dee River in Scotland.
Darcy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see
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).
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
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.
Cree
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KREE
From the name of a Native American tribe of central Canada. Their name derives via French from the Cree word kiristino.
Clarity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KLAR-i-tee
Simply means "clarity, lucidity" from the English word, ultimately from Latin clarus "clear".
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
French form of
Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by
Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Christian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KRIS-chən(English) KRISH-chən(English) KREES-TYAHN(French) KRIS-tee-an(German) KRIS-ti-an(Swedish) KRIS-ti-ahn(Norwegian) KREHS-dyan(Danish)
From the medieval Latin name
Christianus meaning
"a Christian" (see
Christos 1 for further etymology). In England it has been in use since the Middle Ages, during which time it was used by both males and females, but it did not become common until the 17th century. In Denmark the name has been borne by ten kings since the 15th century.
This was a top-ten name in France for most of the 1940s and 50s, while in Germany it was the most popular name for several years in the 1970s and 80s. In the United States it peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Famous bearers include Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the Danish author of such fairy tales as The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor's New Clothes, and the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).
Chloé
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLO-EH
Cher
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHR
Short form of
Cheryl. In the case of the American musician Cher (1946-), it is short for her real name
Cherilyn.
Chanelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: shə-NEHL
Chad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAD
From the Old English name
Ceadda, which is of unknown meaning, possibly based on Old Welsh
cat "battle". This was the name of a 7th-century English
saint. Borne primarily by Catholics, it was a rare name until the 1960s when it started to become more common amongst the general population. This is also the name of a country in Africa, though it originates from a different source.
Cassie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS-ee
Casey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY-see
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.
Carmel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish
Other Scripts: כַּרְמֶל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAHR-məl(English) KAR-məl(English)
From the title of the Virgin
Mary Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
כַּרְמֶל (Karmel) (meaning "garden" in Hebrew) is a mountain in Israel mentioned in the
Old Testament. It was the site of several early Christian monasteries. As an English given name, it has mainly been used by Catholics. As a Jewish name it is unisex.
Camryn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-rən
Variant (typically feminine) of
Cameron.
Cameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-rən
From a Scottish surname meaning
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms
Camryn and
Kamryn are now more popular than
Cameron for girls.
Brook
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWK
From an English surname that denoted one who lived near a brook.
Brigitte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BREE-ZHEET(French) bree-GI-tə(German)
French and German form of
Bridget. A famous bearer is the French model and actress Brigitte Bardot (1934-).
Brielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-EHL
Short form of
Gabrielle. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
Bridgette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it
Brenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ə
Bram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: BRAM(English) BRAHM(Dutch)
Short form of
Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote
Dracula.
Blaze
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLAYZ
Modern variant of
Blaise influenced by the English word
blaze.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
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.
Blair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BLEHR(English)
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
blàr meaning
"plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.
In the United States it became more common for girls in the early 1980s, shortly after the debut of the television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979-1988), which featured a character named Blair Warner. The name left the American top 1000 rankings two decades later, but was resurrected by another television character, this time Blair Waldorf from the series Gossip Girl (2007-2012).
Bianca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: BYANG-ka
Italian
cognate of
Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in
The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and
Othello (1603).
Bella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL-ə
Short form of
Isabella and other names ending in
bella. It is also associated with the Italian word
bella meaning
"beautiful". It was used by the American author Stephenie Meyer for the main character in her popular
Twilight series of novels, first released 2005, later adapted into a series of movies beginning 2008.
Azure
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AZH-ər
From the English word that means "sky blue". It is ultimately (via Old French, Latin and Arabic) from Persian
لاجورد (lājvard) meaning "azure, lapis lazuli".
Ayla 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
Means "moonlight, halo" in Turkish.
Avia
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיָה(Hebrew)
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Austin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWS-tin
Medieval contracted form of
Augustine 1. Modern use of the name is probably also partly inspired by the common surname
Austin, which is of the same origin. This is also the name of a city in Texas.
Atarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: עֲטָרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AT-ə-rə(English)
Asya 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Ася(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: A-syə(Russian)
Amber
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AM-bər(English) AHM-bər(Dutch)
From the English word
amber that denotes either the gemstone, which is formed from fossil resin, or the orange-yellow colour. The word ultimately derives from Arabic
عنبر (ʿanbar) meaning "ambergris". It began to be used as a given name in the late 19th century, but it only became popular after the release of Kathleen Winsor's novel
Forever Amber (1944).
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)
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.
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Alexia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, French, Spanish, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Αλεξία(Greek)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SEE-A(French) a-LEHK-sya(Spanish) ə-LEHK-see-ə(English)
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Abby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AB-ee
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