itsjustme2407's Personal Name List
Zviadi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ზვიადი(Georgian)
Form of
Zviad with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Zviad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ზვიად(Georgian)
Derived from Georgian
ზვიადი (zviadi) meaning
"proud, arrogant".
Zoya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Зоя(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ZO-yə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Bulgarian form of
Zoe.
Zosime
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζωσίμη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 25% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of
Zosimos (see
Zosimus).
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Rating: 55% based on 11 votes
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Zola 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZO-lə
Meaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. It has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. It coincides with an Italian surname, a famous bearer being the French-Italian author Émile Zola (1840-1902).
Zola 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Xhosa
Rating: 28% based on 11 votes
From the Xhosa root -zola meaning "calm".
Zohar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זֹהַר(Hebrew)
Means "light, brilliance" in Hebrew.
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian) THO-eh(European Spanish) SO-eh(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of
Eve. It was borne by two early Christian
saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.
As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Zion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: צִיוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZIE-ən(English)
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
From the name of a citadel that was in the center of Jerusalem. Zion is also used to refer to a Jewish homeland and to heaven.
Zinnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə
Rating: 52% based on 13 votes
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.
Zendaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: zən-DAY-ə(English)
Borne by the American actress Zendaya Coleman (1996-), known simply as Zendaya. Her name was apparently inspired by the Shona name
Tendai.
Zenaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηναΐδα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 11 votes
Apparently a Greek derivative of
Ζηναΐς (Zenais), which was derived from the name of the Greek god
Zeus. This was the name of a 1st-century
saint who was a doctor with her sister Philonella.
Zed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHD
Zebulun
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: זְבוּלֻן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZEHB-yə-lən(English)
Derived from Hebrew
זְבוּל (zevul) meaning
"exalted house". In the
Old Testament Zebulun is the tenth son of
Jacob (his sixth son by
Leah) and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Genesis 30:20 connects the name to the related verb
זָבַל (zaval), translated as "exalt, honour" or "dwell with" in different versions of the Bible, when Leah says
my husband will exalt/dwell with me.
Zavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZAY-vee-ə
Modern feminine form of
Xavier.
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
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.
Xiomara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: syo-MA-ra
Possibly a Spanish form of
Guiomar.
Wolfram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: VAWL-fram
Derived from the Old German element
wolf meaning "wolf" combined with
hram meaning "raven".
Saint Wolfram (or Wulfram) was a 7th-century archbishop of Sens. This name was also borne by the 13th-century German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, the author of
Parzival.
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
Rating: 57% based on 15 votes
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 77% based on 18 votes
From the Germanic name
Willehelm meaning
"will helmet", composed of the elements
willo "will, desire" and
helm "helmet, protection". An early
saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of
Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the
Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with
John,
Thomas and
Robert).
This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).
In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.
Wilhelmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare), English
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-na(Dutch, German) wil-ə-MEEN-ə(English) wil-hehl-MEEN-ə(English)
Dutch and German feminine form of
Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Warren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAWR-ən
Rating: 59% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
Walter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: WAWL-tər(English) VAL-tu(German) VAL-tehr(Swedish, Italian)
Rating: 55% based on 13 votes
From the Germanic name
Waltheri meaning
"power of the army", from the elements
walt "power, authority" and
heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably
Waltharius by Ekkehard of
Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The
Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Wealdhere.
A famous bearer of the name was the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). It was also borne by Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish novelist who wrote Ivanhoe and other notable works.
Wade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAYD
Vesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEHS-ta(Latin) VEHS-tə(English)
Probably a Roman
cognate of
Hestia. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
Vespasien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Vespasian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: vehs-PAY-zhee-ən(English) vehs-PAY-zhən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Vespasianus, derived either from Latin
vesper meaning
"west" or
"evening" or
vespa meaning
"wasp". This was the name of a 1st-century Roman emperor, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the founder of the Flavian dynasty.
Verena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Late Roman
Pronounced: veh-REH-na(German)
Possibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
Berenice.
Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Vaughn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAWN
Rating: 49% based on 12 votes
From a Welsh surname, a variant of
Vaughan.
Vaughan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: VAWN(English)
From a Welsh surname that was derived from bychan (mutated to fychan) meaning "little".
Valerian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, Romanian, History
Other Scripts: Валериан(Russian) ვალერიან(Georgian)
Pronounced: və-LIR-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 35% based on 10 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Valerianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name
Valerius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Roman emperor (Publius Licinius Valerianus) who was captured by the Persians. Several
saints have also borne this name, including a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons.
Valentine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
Rating: 32% based on 11 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Ursula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: UR-sə-lə(English) UR-syoo-lə(English) UWR-zoo-la(German) OOR-soo-lah(Finnish)
Means
"little bear", derived from a
diminutive form of the Latin word
ursa "she-bear".
Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.
Ursel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Ursa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 16% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Ursus. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Tzufit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: צוּפִית(Hebrew)
Rating: 12% based on 5 votes
Means "sunbird" in Hebrew (referring to birds in the family Nectariniidae).
Tzafrir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: צַףְרִיר(Hebrew)
Rating: 12% based on 5 votes
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Rating: 76% based on 14 votes
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.
Tracy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAY-see
Rating: 30% based on 10 votes
From an English surname that was taken from a Norman French place name meaning
"domain belonging to Thracius". Charles Dickens used it for a male character in his novel
The Pickwick Papers (1837). It was later popularized as a feminine name by the main character Tracy Lord in the movie
The Philadelphia Story (1940). This name is also sometimes used as a
diminutive of
Theresa.
Titus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: TEE-toos(Latin) TIE-təs(English) TEE-tuws(German)
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to Latin
titulus "title of honour". It is more likely of Oscan origin, since it was borne by the legendary Sabine king Titus Tatius.
This name appears in the New Testament belonging to a companion of Saint Paul. He became the first bishop of Crete and was the recipient of one of Paul's epistles. This was also the praenomen of all three Roman emperors of the 1st-century Flavian dynasty, and it is the name by which the second of them is commonly known to history. Shakespeare later used it for the main character in his tragedy Titus Andronicus (1593). As an English name, Titus has been occasionally used since the Protestant Reformation.
Timaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), Biblical Latin, Biblical
Other Scripts: Τίμαιος, Τιμαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: tie-MEE-əs(English)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Τίμαιος (Timaios), derived from
τιμάω (timao) meaning
"to honour". This is the name of one of
Plato's dialogues, featuring Timaeus and
Socrates. Timaeus is also the name of a person mentioned briefly in the
New Testament (
Mark 10:46).
Tikva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: תִּקְוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 5 votes
Means "hope" in Hebrew.
Thomasina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: tahm-ə-SEE-nə
Medieval feminine form of
Thomas.
Theodosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδοσία(Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-O-DO-SEE-A(Classical Greek) thee-ə-DO-see-ə(English) thee-ə-DO-shə(English)
Rating: 31% based on 7 votes
Theodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεοδώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: thee-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 53% based on 14 votes
Feminine form of
Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.
Thaddeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Θαδδαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-əs(English) tha-DEE-əs(English)
From
Θαδδαῖος (Thaddaios), the Greek form of the Aramaic name
תַדַּי (Ṯaddai). It is possibly derived from Aramaic
תַּד (taḏ) meaning
"heart, breast", but it may in fact be an Aramaic form of a Greek name such as
Θεόδωρος (see
Theodore). In the Gospel of Matthew, Thaddaeus is listed as one of the twelve apostles, though elsewhere in the
New Testament his name is omitted and
Jude's appears instead. It is likely that the two names refer to the same person.
Tatum
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAY-təm
Rating: 52% based on 15 votes
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.
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Means
"little girl" in Aramaic. The name is taken from the phrase
talitha cumi meaning "little girl arise" spoken by
Jesus in order to restore a young girl to life (see
Mark 5:41).
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Means
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
Talbot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TAL-bət, TAWL-bət
From an English surname, of Norman origin, possibly derived from an unattested Germanic given name composed of the elements dala "to destroy" and bod "message".
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 51% based on 8 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.
Susanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, Dutch, English, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Сусанна(Russian, Ukrainian) Սուսաննա(Armenian) שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew) Сꙋсанна(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-na(Italian) soo-ZAN-nə(Catalan) suy-SAN-na(Swedish) SOO-sahn-nah(Finnish) suw-SAN-nə(Russian) suw-SAN-nu(Ukrainian) suy-SAH-na(Dutch) soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 74% based on 16 votes
From
Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshanna). This was derived from the Hebrew word
שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning
"lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means
"rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian
sšn "lotus". In the
Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet
Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the
New Testament belonging to a woman who ministers to
Jesus.
As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.
Sunshine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-shien
From the English word, ultimately from Old English sunne "sun" and scinan "shine".
Sunniva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Rating: 52% based on 11 votes
Scandinavian form of the Old English name
Sunngifu, which meant
"sun gift" from the Old English elements
sunne "sun" and
giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English
saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.
Sundara
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism
Other Scripts: सुन्दर(Sanskrit)
Rating: 34% based on 10 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
सुन्दर (sundara) meaning
"beautiful". This is the name of several minor characters in Hindu texts, and is also another name of the Hindu god
Kama.
Sullivan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: SUL-i-vən(English)
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name
Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish
súil "eye" and
dubh "dark, black" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie
Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 74% based on 16 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.
Stelian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Starling
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-ling
From the
English word for the type of bird. It is commonly associated with the name
Star.
It is the original name of children's illustrator Tasha Tudor.
Starla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-lə
Sroel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: שראָל(Yiddish)
Rating: 14% based on 5 votes
Sparrow
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Sören
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, German
Pronounced: SUU-rehn(Swedish) ZUU-rən(German)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Swedish and German form of
Søren.
Sonya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Соня(Russian)
Pronounced: SO-nyə(Russian) SON-yə(English) SAWN-yə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Sophia. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1869, English translation 1886).
Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
Rating: 33% based on 8 votes
From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements
sól "sun" and
veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt (1876).
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.
Solène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SAW-LEHN
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
Soleil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: SAW-LAY(French)
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
Means "sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Soledad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: so-leh-DHADH
Rating: 27% based on 7 votes
Means
"solitude" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María de la Soledad, meaning "Mary of Solitude".
Solange
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SAW-LAHNZH
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
French form of the Late Latin name
Sollemnia, which was derived from Latin
sollemnis "religious". This was the name of a French shepherdess who became a
saint after she was killed by her master.
Síofra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEE-frə
Rating: 51% based on 13 votes
Means "elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Siobhán
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHI-wan, SHUW-wan, SHI-van, shə-VAN
Rating: 59% based on 13 votes
Irish form of
Jehanne, a Norman French variant of
Jeanne.
Sinclair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sin-KLEHR
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
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).
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)
Rating: 59% based on 12 votes
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Shiphrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁףְרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
Means
"beautiful" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the midwives (the other being
Puah) who disobeys the Pharaoh's order to kill any Hebrew boys they deliver.
Sherah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שֶׁאֱרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Severin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Norwegian (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: zeh-veh-REEN(German) ZEH-veh-reen(German)
Serenity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: sə-REHN-ə-tee
Rating: 58% based on 14 votes
From the English word meaning "serenity, tranquility", ultimately from Latin serenus meaning "clear, calm".
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Saveria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: sa-VEH-rya
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
Italian feminine form of
Xavier.
Saul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Jewish, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: שָׁאוּל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: SAWL(English)
From the Hebrew name
שָׁאוּל (Shaʾul) meaning
"asked for, prayed for". This was the name of the first king of Israel, as told in the
Old Testament. Before the end of his reign he lost favour with God, and after a defeat by the Philistines he was succeeded by
David as king. In the
New Testament, Saul was the original Hebrew name of the apostle
Paul.
Sarika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: सारिका(Hindi, Marathi)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
From a Sanskrit word referring to a type of thrush (species Turdus salica) or myna bird (species Gracula religiosa).
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) SA-muy-ehl(Dutch) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
From the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning
"name of God", from the roots
שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).
Samara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Possibly derived from the name of the city of Samarra (in Iraq) or Samara (in Russia). The former appears in the title of the novel
Appointment in Samarra (1934) by John O'Hara, which refers to an ancient Babylonian legend about a man trying to evade death. Alternatively, this name could be derived from the word for the winged seeds that grow on trees such as maples and elms.
The name received a boost in popularity after it was borne by the antagonist in the horror movie The Ring (2002).
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 68% based on 12 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Saffron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAF-rən
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
From the English word that refers either to a spice, the crocus flower from which it is harvested, or the yellow-orange colour of the spice. It is derived via Old French from Arabic
زعفران (zaʿfarān), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Rating: 72% based on 17 votes
Rudyard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RUD-yərd
From a place name meaning "red yard" in Old English. This name was borne by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), the author of The Jungle Book and other works, who was named after Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire.
Rüdiger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: RUY-dee-gu
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 80% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 74% based on 14 votes
Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Ronan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, Irish, French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-nahn(Breton) RAW-NAHN(French) RO-nən(English)
Breton and Anglicized form of
Rónán.
Romy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, French, English
Pronounced: RO-mee(German, Dutch, English)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Romina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ro-MEE-na
Rating: 29% based on 10 votes
Romeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: ro-MEH-o(Italian) RO-mee-o(English)
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Italian form of the Late Latin
Romaeus or Late Greek
Ρωμαῖος (Romaios), which meant
"from Rome" or
"Roman". Romeo is best known as the lover of
Juliet in William Shakespeare's tragedy
Romeo and Juliet (1596). Shakespeare based his play on earlier Italian stories by Luigi Da Porto (1524) and Matteo Bandello (1554), which both featured characters named Giulietta and Romeo.
Roger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: RAHJ-ər(American English) RAWJ-ə(British English) RAW-ZHEH(French) roo-ZHEH(Catalan) RO-gu(German) ro-ZHEH(Dutch)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From the Germanic name
Hrodger meaning
"famous spear", derived from the elements
hruod "fame" and
ger "spear". The
Normans brought this name to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Hroðgar (the name of the Danish king in the Anglo-Saxon epic
Beowulf). It was a common name in England during the Middle Ages. By the 18th century it was rare, but it was revived in following years. The name was borne by the Norman lords Roger I, who conquered Sicily in the 11th century, and his son Roger II, who ruled Sicily as a king.
This name was very popular in France in the first half of the 20th century. In the English-speaking world it was popular especially from the 1930s to the 50s. Famous bearers include British actor Roger Moore (1927-2017) and Swiss tennis player Roger Federer (1981-).
Ripley
Gender: 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.
Riordan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Ríoghbhárdáin), which was derived from the given name
Rígbarddán.
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ri-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *
Rīgantonā meaning
"great queen" (Celtic *
rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix
-on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish
Epona. As
Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the
Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to
Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married
Pwyll instead. Their son was
Pryderi.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Rhian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: REE-an
Derived from Welsh rhiain meaning "maiden, young woman".
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
Means
"behold, a son" in Hebrew, derived from
רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son". In the
Old Testament he is the eldest son of
Jacob and
Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine
Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the
Protestant Reformation.
Rene
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: rə-NAY
Renata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Croatian, Slovene, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: reh-NA-ta(Italian, Spanish, German, Polish) REH-na-ta(Czech)
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 57% based on 14 votes
French form of the Latin name
Remigius, which was derived from Latin
remigis "oarsman, rower".
Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.
Remington
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHM-ing-tən
From an English surname that was derived from the name of the town of Rimington in Lancashire, itself meaning "settlement on the Riming stream". It may be given in honour of the American manufacturer Eliphalet Remington (1793-1861) or his sons, founders of the firearms company that bears their name.
Remigio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: reh-MEE-jo(Italian) reh-MEE-khyo(Spanish)
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Italian and Spanish form of
Remigius (see
Rémy).
Regina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: ri-JEE-nə(English) ri-JIE-nə(English) reh-GEE-na(German, Polish) reh-JEE-na(Italian) reh-KHEE-na(Spanish) ryeh-gyi-NU(Lithuanian) REH-gi-na(Czech) REH-gee-naw(Hungarian)
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
Means
"queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century
saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin
Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.
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)
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.
Rafferty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAF-ər-tee
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the given name Rabhartach meaning "flood tide".
Radu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: RA-doo
Rating: 24% based on 7 votes
Old Romanian
diminutive of Slavic names beginning with the element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing". Radu Negru was the semi-legendary founder of Wallachia in the 13th century.
Quirina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Quintilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
From the Roman
cognomen Quintilianus, earlier
Quinctilianus, which was itself derived from the family name
Quinctilius. A notable bearer was the 1st-century rhetorician Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, simply known as Quintilian in English.
Quinn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 62% based on 13 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name
Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series
Glee.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
Rating: 52% based on 12 votes
French form of the Roman name
Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The
Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Psamathe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ψάμαθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAM-ə-thee(English)
Derived from Greek
ψάμαθος (psamathos) meaning
"sand of the seashore". This was the name of several characters in Greek
mythology, including one of the Nereids. One of the small moons of Neptune is named after her.
Prudence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: PROO-dəns(English) PRUY-DAHNS(French)
Medieval English form of
Prudentia, the feminine form of
Prudentius. In France it is both the feminine form and a rare masculine form. In England it was used during the Middle Ages and was revived in the 17th century by the
Puritans, in part from the English word
prudence, ultimately of the same source.
Priya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Other Scripts: प्रिया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) பிரியா(Tamil) ప్రియ(Telugu) പ്രിയാ(Malayalam) ಪ್ರಿಯಾ(Kannada) প্রিয়া(Bengali)
Rating: 57% based on 11 votes
Means
"beloved" in Sanskrit. It appears briefly in the
Puranas belonging to a daughter of King
Daksha.
Primula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-yuw-lə(English) PREE-moo-la(Italian)
From the name of a genus of several species of flowers, including the primrose. It is derived from the Latin word primulus meaning "very first".
Prima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Italian (Archaic)
Pronounced: PREE-ma(Late Latin, Italian)
Feminine form of
Primus (see
Primo).
Pau
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan, Occitan
Pronounced: POW
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Catalan and Occitan form of
Paul. It also coincides with the Catalan word for
"peace".
Patience
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAY-shəns
From the English word
patience, ultimately from Latin
patientia, a derivative of
pati "to suffer". This was one of the virtue names coined by the
Puritans in the 17th century. It is now most commonly used in African countries where English is widely understood, such as Nigeria and Ghana.
Parisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پریسا(Persian)
Rating: 41% based on 11 votes
Means
"like a fairy" in Persian, derived from
پری (parī) meaning "fairy, sprite, supernatural being".
Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Rating: 70% based on 9 votes
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 80% based on 19 votes
Anglicized form of
Owain.
Ossian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Variant of
Oisín used by James Macpherson in his 18th-century poems, which he claimed to have based on early Irish legends. In the poems Ossian is the son of
Fingal, and serves as the narrator.
Oleksandr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Олександр(Ukrainian)
Rating: 27% based on 10 votes
Oisín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: aw-SHEEN(Irish) o-SHEEN(English)
Means
"little deer", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer, stag" combined with a
diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.
Octavian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, Romanian
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ən(English)
From the Roman name
Octavianus, which was derived from the name
Octavius. After Gaius Octavius (later the Roman emperor
Augustus) was adopted by Julius Caesar he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
Norah 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
Nolan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-lən(English)
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Nualláin, itself derived from the given name
Nuallán. The baseball player Nolan Ryan (1947-) is a famous bearer. This name has climbed steadily in popularity since the 1970s.
Noam
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, French
Other Scripts: נוֹעַם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-am(Hebrew) NOM(English) NAW-AM(French)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Means "pleasantness" in Hebrew. A famous bearer is Noam Chomsky (1928-), an American linguist and philosopher.
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 76% based on 16 votes
From the Hebrew name
נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning
"rest, repose", derived from the root
נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the
Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of
Shem,
Ham and
Japheth.
As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.
A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).
Nilofer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indian (Muslim)
Other Scripts: نیلوفر(Urdu) नीलोफर(Hindi)
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Nikora
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Maori
Nikomedes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Νικομήδης(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
μήδεα (medea) meaning "plans, counsel, cunning". This was the name of a 1st-century
saint, a priest beaten to death for refusing to worship the Roman gods.
Nicodemus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Νικόδημος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nik-ə-DEE-məs(English) nee-ko-DEH-moos(Latin)
From the Greek name
Νικόδημος (Nikodemos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people". This is the name of a character in the
New Testament who helps
Joseph of Arimathea entomb
Jesus.
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 73% based on 16 votes
From the Greek name
Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
λαός (laos) meaning "people".
Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch
Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
Nicanor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin, Spanish
Other Scripts: Νικάνωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nee-ka-NOR(Spanish)
From the Greek name
Νικάνωρ (Nikanor), which was derived from
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". This name was borne by several notable officers from ancient Macedon. It is also mentioned in the
New Testament as belonging to one of the original seven deacons of the church, considered a
saint.
Nereus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Νηρεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-REWS(Classical Greek) NIR-ee-əs(English)
Derived from Greek
νηρός (neros) meaning
"water". In Greek
myth this was the name of a god of the sea, the father of the Nereids. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament, belonging to a Christian in Rome. This was also the name of a Roman
saint of the 1st century, a member of the army, who was martyred with his companion Achilleus because they refused to execute Christians.
Neely
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: NEE-lee
Rating: 34% based on 11 votes
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized and reduced form of Gaelic Mac an Fhilidh (or McNeilly) meaning "son of the poet".
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: ןְתַןְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 76% based on 14 votes
Variant of
Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling
Nathanael is found in most versions of the
New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Nathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: נָתָן(Hebrew) Ναθάν(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NAY-thən(English) NA-TAHN(French)
Rating: 71% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name
נָתָן (Naṯan) meaning
"he gave". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a prophet during the reign of King
David. He chastised David for his adultery with
Bathsheba and for the death of
Uriah the Hittite. Later he championed
Solomon as David's successor. This was also the name of a son of David and Bathsheba.
It has been used as a Christian given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Nathan Hale (1755-1776), an American spy executed by the British during the American Revolution.
Nadira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نادرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: NA-dee-ra
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
Mozelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Possibly a feminine form of
Moses.
Moses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מֹשֶׁה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MOZ-is(English)
From the Hebrew name
מֹשֶׁה (Moshe), which is most likely derived from Egyptian
mes meaning
"son". The meaning suggested in the
Old Testament of
"drew out" from Hebrew
מָשָׁה (masha) is probably an invented etymology (see
Exodus 2:10).
The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.
In England, this name has been commonly used by Christians since the Protestant Reformation, though it had long been popular among Jews.
Morvarid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: مروارید(Persian)
Pronounced: mor-vaw-REED
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Means "pearl" in Persian.
Morena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: mo-REH-na(Spanish)
Mordecai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: מָרְדֳּכַי, מָרְדְּכַי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAWR-də-kie(English)
Means
"servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the
Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of
Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor
Haman.
Montgomery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mənt-GUM-ə-ree, mənt-GUM-ree
From an English surname meaning
"Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Rating: 67% based on 12 votes
Form of
Mary used in the
Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of
Moses and
Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside
Mary) since the
Protestant Reformation.
Memphis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHM-fis
From the name of an important city of ancient Egypt, or the city in Tennessee that was named after it. It is derived from a Greek form of Egyptian mn-nfr meaning "enduring beauty".
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
Rating: 62% based on 13 votes
From the English word
melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with
ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".
Melisende
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
Mélisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
French form of
Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play
Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).
Melesina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps a form of
Millicent. It was borne by the Irish writer and socialite Melesina Trench (1768-1827).
Meir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מֵאִיר(Hebrew)
Rating: 37% based on 10 votes
Means "giving light" in Hebrew.
Megaera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Μέγαιρα(Ancient Greek)
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).
Meadowlark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
From the English words
meadow and
lark ("small singing bird"). Meadowlark is the common name for several species songbirds of the genera Sturnella and Leistes, native to the Americas. This was the name of American basketball player Meadowlark Lemon (1932-2015), who changed his legal name from
Meadow to Meadowlark in 1969.
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
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.
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
Rating: 74% based on 16 votes
English form of
Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which is the
New Testament Greek form of
Mattithiah. Matthew, probably also called
Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the New Testament. He is considered a
saint in many Christian traditions. The variant
Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle.
As an English given name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. It became popular throughout the English-speaking world around the middle of the 20th century, ranked near the top of the popularity lists for boys in the 1980s and 90s. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led an expedition to Japan. Famous modern bearers include the actors Matthew Broderick (1962-), Matthew McConaughey (1969-) and Matthew Perry (1969-2023).
Martine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, Norwegian
Pronounced: MAR-TEEN(French) mahr-TEE-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 42% based on 11 votes
French, Dutch and Norwegian form of
Martina.
Martina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Hungarian, English, Swedish, Dutch, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Мартина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: mar-TEE-na(German, Italian, Spanish) mər-TEE-nə(Catalan) MAR-kyi-na(Czech) MAR-tee-na(Slovak) MAWR-tee-naw(Hungarian) mahr-TEEN-ə(English) mahr-TEE-na(Dutch)
Rating: 47% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of
Martinus (see
Martin).
Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.
Marjolaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-ZHAW-LEHN
Means "marjoram" in French, from Latin maiorana. Marjoram is a minty herb.
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 56% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Marguerite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GU-REET
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
French form of
Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 66% based on 13 votes
Marceline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-SU-LEEN
Malvina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English, Italian, French
Rating: 23% based on 7 votes
Created by the Scottish poet James MacPherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossian poems. He probably intended it to mean "smooth brow", from Scottish Gaelic mala "brow" and mìn "smooth, fine" (lenited to mhìn and pronounced with a v sound).
Malone
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mə-LON
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Maoil Eoin meaning
"descendant of a disciple of Saint John".
Malena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Spanish
Pronounced: ma-LEH-na(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
Swedish and Spanish contracted form of
Magdalena. In Spanish it can also be a contracted form of
María Elena.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
From the Hebrew name
מַלְאָכִי (Malʾaḵi) meaning
"my messenger" or
"my angel", derived from a possessive form of
מַלְאָךְ (malʾaḵ) meaning "messenger, angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
Rating: 53% based on 10 votes
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Magdalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mak-da-LEH-nə(German) MAG-də-lin(English)
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
From a title meaning
"of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the
New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular
saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
Mabyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
Possibly from Old Cornish
mab meaning
"son". This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish
saint, said to be one of the children of
Brychan Brycheiniog. She is now regarded as a woman, but some early sources describe her as a man.
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Luther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-thər
From a German surname, itself derived from the Old German given name
Leuthar. The surname was borne by Martin Luther (1483-1546), a monk and theologian who started the
Protestant Reformation by nailing his famous 95 theses to a church door. It has since been used as a given name in his honour, especially among Protestants. A notable bearer from the modern era was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Lunete
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Form of
Eluned used by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes in his poem
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion. In the poem she is a servant of the Lady of the Fountain who aids the knight
Yvain.
Luned
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: LIN-ehd(Welsh)
Rating: 43% based on 10 votes
Form of
Lunete used in the Welsh tale
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain (which was based on Chrétien's poem).
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: 69% based on 13 votes
French feminine form of
Louis.
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 74% based on 15 votes
Latinate feminine form of
Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of
Little Women.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 72% based on 13 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).
Llywelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: shəw-EH-lin(Welsh) loo-EHL-in(English)
Probably a Welsh form of an unattested old Celtic name *
Lugubelinos, a combination of the names of the gods
Lugus and
Belenus, or a compound of
Lugus and a Celtic root meaning "strong". Alternatively it may be derived from Welsh
llyw "leader". This was the name of several Welsh rulers, notably the 13th-century Llywelyn the Great who fought against the English.
Llewelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
Variant of
Llywelyn influenced by the Welsh word
llew "lion".
Llewella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Llewela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Lisandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese
Pronounced: lee-SAN-dro(Spanish)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Lysander.
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)
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: 73% based on 14 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.
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 71% based on 15 votes
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Liesl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEE-zəl
Rating: 51% based on 12 votes
Libitina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: lee-bee-TEE-na(Latin)
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Etruscan lupu "dead". Libitina was the Roman goddess of funerals, corpses and death.
Leolin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Anglicized form of
Llywelyn influenced by Latin
leo "lion".
Leocadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhya(Spanish)
Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of
Leucadia or from Greek
λευκός (leukos) meaning
"bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name).
Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Lenore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-NAWR
Rating: 65% based on 12 votes
Short form of
Eleanor. This is the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem
The Raven (1845).
Legend
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHJ-ənd
From the English word, referring to a story about the past (or by extension, a heroic character in such a story), ultimately from Latin legere "to read".
Leanora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Leandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: leh-AN-dra(Spanish)
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 69% based on 15 votes
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.
Laverna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: la-WEHR-na(Latin)
Rating: 32% based on 10 votes
Meaning unknown. Laverna was the Roman goddess of thieves and thievery.
Laoise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LEE-shə
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
Possibly a newer form of
Luigsech, or from the name of the county of Laois in central Ireland. It is also used as an Irish form of
Lucy or
Louise.
Korbinian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: kawr-BEE-nee-an
Derived from Latin
corvus meaning
"raven". This was the name of an 8th-century Frankish
saint who was sent by Pope Gregory II to evangelize in Bavaria. His real name may have been
Hraban.
Kirby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KUR-bee
From an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning "church settlement" in Old Norse. This name briefly spiked in popularity for American girls in 1982 after the character Kirby Anders Colby was introduced to the soap opera Dynasty.
Kiran
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, Urdu
Other Scripts: किरण(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) ಕಿರಣ್(Kannada) కిరణ్(Telugu) കിരൺ(Malayalam) கிரண்(Tamil) કિરણ(Gujarati) کرن(Urdu)
Rating: 47% based on 9 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
किरण (kiraṇa), which can mean
"dust" or
"thread" or
"sunbeam".
Kiana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, English
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
Hawaiian form of
Diana. It was brought to wider attention in the late 1980s, likely by the Hawaiian fitness instructor Kiana Tom (1965-), who had a television show on ESPN beginning in 1988
[1].
Keshet
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: קֶשֶׁת(Hebrew)
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
Means "rainbow" in Hebrew.
Kenelm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEHN-əlm
From the Old English name
Cenhelm, which was composed of the elements
cene "bold, keen" and
helm "helmet".
Saint Kenelm was a 9th-century martyr from Mercia, where he was a member of the royal family. The name was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has since become rare.
Kelda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Possibly derived from Old Norse kildr meaning "a spring".
Kaede
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 楓, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かえで(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-EH-DEH
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
From Japanese
楓 (kaede) meaning "maple" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Justinian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: ju-STIN-ee-ən(English)
From the Latin name
Iustinianus, which was derived from
Iustinus (see
Justin). This was the name of a 6th-century Byzantine emperor who attempted to restore the borders of the Roman Empire.
Juliette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUY-LYEHT
Rating: 66% based on 16 votes
Julia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ə(English) YOO-lya(German, Danish, Polish) YOO-lee-ah(Swedish, Finnish) YUY-lee-a(Dutch) KHOO-lya(Spanish) YOO-lyi-yə(Russian) YOO-lee-a(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor
Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of
Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the
New Testament. It was also borne by a few early
saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).
Judith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Jewish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, French, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוּדִית(Hebrew)
Pronounced: JOO-dith(English) YOO-dit(German) YUY-dit(Dutch) khoo-DHEET(Spanish) ZHUY-DEET(French)
From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדִית (Yehuḏiṯ) meaning
"Jewish woman", feminine of
יְהוּדִי (yehuḏi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of
Judah. In the
Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of
Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.
As an English name it did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, despite a handful of early examples during the Middle Ages. It was however used earlier on the European continent, being borne by several European royals, such as the 9th-century Judith of Bavaria.
Judah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוּדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JOO-də(English)
Rating: 52% based on 15 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדָה (Yehuḏa), probably derived from
יָדָה (yaḏa) meaning
"praise". In the
Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of
Jacob by
Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in
Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King
David and
Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife
Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the deuterocanonical Books of Maccabees.
The name appears in the New Testament with the spellings Judas and Jude.
Journey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JUR-nee
From the English word, derived via Old French from Latin diurnus "of the day".
Jourdain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Archaic)
Pronounced: ZHOOR-DEHN
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Traditional French form of
Jordan.
Josiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יֹאשִׁיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jo-SIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
יֹאשִׁיָהוּ (Yoshiyahu) meaning
"Yahweh supports", from
אָשְׁיָה (ʾashya) meaning "support" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the
Old Testament this is the name of a king of Judah famous for his religious reforms. He was killed fighting the Egyptians at Megiddo in the 7th century BC. In England this name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Jonquil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JAHNG-kwəl
From the English word for the type of flower, derived ultimately from Latin iuncus "reed".
Jonelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Jonathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHN-ə-thən(American English) JAWN-ə-thən(British English) ZHAW-NA-TAHN(French) YO-na-tan(German) YO-na-tahn(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name
יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonaṯan), contracted to
יוֹנָתָן (Yonaṯan), meaning
"Yahweh has given", derived from the roots
יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and
נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give". According to the
Old Testament, Jonathan was the eldest son of
Saul. His relationship with his father was strained due to his close friendship with his father's rival
David. Along with Saul he was killed in battle with the Philistines.
As an English name, Jonathan did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who wrote Gulliver's Travels and other works.
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 70% based on 16 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.
Joella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jo-EHL-ə
Jocelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(English) JAHS-ə-lin(English) ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French)
Rating: 71% based on 17 votes
From a Frankish masculine name, variously written as
Gaudelenus,
Gautselin,
Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element *
gautaz, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Geats, combined with a Latin
diminutive suffix. The
Normans brought this name to England in the form
Goscelin or
Joscelin, and it was common until the 14th century. It was revived in the 20th century primarily as a feminine name, perhaps an adaptation of the surname
Jocelyn (a medieval derivative of the given name). In France this is a masculine name only.
Joaquín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kho-a-KEEN, khwa-KEEN
Rating: 74% based on 13 votes
Jeroboam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יָרָבְעָם(Ancient Hebrew)
From the Hebrew name
יָרָבְעָם (Yarovʿam) meaning
"the people will contend", derived from the roots
רִיב (riv) meaning "to strive, to contend" and
עַם (ʿam) meaning "people, nation". According to the
Old Testament, this was the name of the leader of the revolt against King
Rehoboam of Israel. The kingdom was split into Judah in the south and Israel in the north, with Jeroboam becoming the first king of the latter.
Jericho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Other Scripts: יְרִיחוֹ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHR-i-ko
Rating: 59% based on 15 votes
From the name of a city in Israel that is mentioned several times in the
Old Testament. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Hebrew word
יָרֵחַ (yareaḥ) meaning "moon"
[1], or otherwise to the Hebrew word
רֵיחַ (reyaḥ) meaning "fragrance"
[2].
Jeremiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִרְםְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jehr-i-MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 74% based on 17 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִרְםְיָהוּ (Yirmeyahu) meaning
"Yahweh will exalt", from the roots
רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.
In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.
Jem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHM
Israel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: יִשְׂרָאֵל(Hebrew) Ἰσραήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IZ-ray-əl(English) IZ-ree-əl(English) eez-ra-EHL(Spanish)
Rating: 44% based on 14 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) meaning
"God contends", from the roots
שָׂרָה (sara) meaning "to contend, to fight" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the
Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named
Jacob; see
Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 69% based on 16 votes
German form of
Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem
Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera
Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
From the Hebrew name
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yeshaʿyahu) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the
Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name,
Isaiah was first used after the
Protestant Reformation.
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִץְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
From the Hebrew name
יִץְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning
"he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from
צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The
Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that
Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife
Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see
Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see
Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of
Esau and
Jacob with his wife
Rebecca.
As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).
Iracema
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Means
"honey lips" in Tupi, from
yra "honey" and
tembe "lips". This is the name of an 1865 novel by José de Alencar, about the relationship between a Tupi woman and a Portuguese man during the early colonial period. Alencar may have constructed the name so that it would be an anagram of
America.
Ira 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עִירָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-rə(English)
Means
"watchful" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of King
David's priest. As an English Christian given name,
Ira began to be used after the
Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the
Puritans brought it to America, where remained moderately common into the 20th century.
Iphigeneia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰφιγένεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-PEE-GEH-NEH-A(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ἴφιος (iphios) meaning "strong, stout" and
γενής (genes) meaning "born". In Greek
myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King
Agamemnon. When her father offended
Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.
In Christian tradition this was also the name of a legendary early saint, the daughter of an Ethiopian king Egippus.
Iorwerth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Old Welsh
Means
"worthy lord" from Old Welsh
ior "lord" and
gwerth "value, worth". This name was used by medieval Welsh royalty, including the prince Iorwerth Goch of Powys, who is mentioned in the tale the
Dream of Rhonabwy. It has sometimes been Anglicized as
Edward.
Ingrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ING-rid(Swedish) ING-ri(Norwegian) ING-grit(German) ING-greet(German) ING-ghrit(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 13 votes
From the Old Norse name
Ingríðr meaning
"Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god
Ing combined with
fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
Inga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, German, Polish, Russian, Old Norse [1][2], Germanic [3]
Other Scripts: Инга(Russian)
Pronounced: ING-ah(Swedish) ING-ga(German) EENG-ga(Polish) EEN-gə(Russian)
Rating: 41% based on 12 votes
Strictly feminine form of
Inge.
Indira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: इन्दिरा(Sanskrit) इन्दिरा, इंदिरा(Hindi) इंदिरा(Marathi) ಇಂದಿರಾ(Kannada) இந்திரா(Tamil)
Pronounced: IN-di-ra(Hindi)
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
Means
"beauty" in Sanskrit. This is another name of
Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god
Vishnu. A notable bearer was India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).
Indigo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
From the English word
indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".
Indiana
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: in-dee-AN-ə
Rating: 40% based on 14 votes
From the name of the American state, which means "land of the Indians". This is the name of the hero in the Indiana Jones series of movies, starring Harrison Ford.
Ilsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: IL-za
Rating: 45% based on 14 votes
Ilona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, German, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech
Pronounced: EE-lo-naw(Hungarian) ee-LO-na(German) EE-lo-na(German) EE-lo-nah(Finnish) ee-LAW-na(Polish) I-lo-na(Czech)
Rating: 48% based on 13 votes
Old Hungarian form of
Helen, possibly via a Slavic form. In Finland it is associated with the word
ilona, a derivative of
ilo "joy".
Idris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: إدريس(Arabic)
Pronounced: eed-REES(Arabic) EE-drees(Malay, Indonesian)
Possibly means
"interpreter, teacher" in Arabic, related to the root
درس (darasa) meaning "to study, to learn". According to the
Quran this was the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
Idris 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Idella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ie-DEHL-ə, i-DEHL-ə
Ichabod
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אִי־כָבוֹד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: IK-ə-bahd(English)
Means
"no glory" in Hebrew, from the roots
אִי (ʾi) meaning "not" and
כָּבַד (kavaḏ) meaning "to be glorious". In the
Old Testament this is the grandson of
Eli and the son of
Phinehas. He was named this because his mother despaired that "the glory has departed from Israel" (
1 Samuel 4:21).
This name was used by Washington Irving for Ichabod Crane, the main character in his short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820).
Ian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: EE-ən(English)
Rating: 74% based on 19 votes
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.
Hunter
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUN-tər
Rating: 51% based on 15 votes
From an English occupational surname for a hunter, derived from Old English hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).
Hudson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUD-sən
Rating: 43% based on 12 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Variant of
Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the
Normans.
Honor
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AHN-ər
Rating: 65% based on 16 votes
Variant of
Honour, using the American spelling.
Holly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-ee
Rating: 65% based on 15 votes
From the English word for the holly tree, ultimately derived from Old English holen. Holly Golightly is the main character in the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) by Truman Capote.
Hollis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-is
Rating: 48% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
Hershel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American, Yiddish
Other Scripts: הירשל(Yiddish) הירשׁל(Hebrew)
Yiddish
diminutive of
Hirsh. As a non-Jewish American name (somewhat common around the end of the 19th century), it was likely inspired by the German surname
Herschel, borne for instance by the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 84% based on 20 votes
From the Germanic name
Heimirich meaning
"home ruler", composed of the elements
heim "home" and
rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled
Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like
Haganrich, in which the first element is
hag "enclosure".
Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.
The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).
Hemlock
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Romani (Archaic), Theatre
Transferred use of the surname
Hemlock. Hemlock Marreau is a fictional Francophone detective created by Robert Farrow who appeared in eleven plays (1991-2014).
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Helen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHL-ən(English)
English form of the Greek
Ἑλένη (Helene), probably from Greek
ἑλένη (helene) meaning
"torch" or
"corposant", or possibly related to
σελήνη (selene) meaning
"moon". In Greek
mythology Helen was the daughter of
Zeus and
Leda, whose kidnapping by
Paris was the cause of the Trojan War. The name was also borne by the 4th-century
Saint Helena, mother of the Roman emperor
Constantine, who supposedly found the True Cross during a trip to Jerusalem.
The name was originally used among early Christians in honour of the saint, as opposed to the classical character. In England it was commonly spelled Ellen during the Middle Ages, and the spelling Helen was not regularly used until after the Renaissance. A famous bearer was Helen Keller (1880-1968), an American author and lecturer who was both blind and deaf.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 69% based on 17 votes
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Haven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-vən
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
From the English word for a safe place, derived ultimately from Old English hæfen.
Harper
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər
Rating: 59% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Harmony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-mə-nee
Rating: 48% based on 15 votes
From the English word
harmony, ultimately deriving from Greek
ἁρμονία (harmonia).
Hannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, German, Dutch, Arabic, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַנָּה(Hebrew) حنّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HAN-ə(English) HA-na(German) HAH-na(Dutch) HAN-na(Arabic)
Rating: 72% based on 17 votes
From the Hebrew name
חַנָּה (Ḥanna) meaning
"favour, grace", derived from the root
חָנַן (ḥanan) meaning "to be gracious". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the wife of
Elkanah. Her rival was Elkanah's other wife
Peninnah, who had children while Hannah remained barren. After a blessing from
Eli she finally became pregnant with
Samuel.
As an English name, Hannah was not regularly used until after the Protestant Reformation, unlike the vernacular forms Anne and Ann and the Latin form Anna, which were used from the late Middle Ages. In the last half of the 20th century Hannah surged in popularity and neared the top of the name rankings for both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Halcyon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: HAL-see-ən(English)
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
From the name of a genus of kingfisher birds, derived from Greek
ἀλκυών (from the same source as
Alcyone).
Hakim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: حكيم(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-KEEM(Arabic)
Rating: 38% based on 13 votes
Means
"wise" in Arabic, from the root
حكم (ḥakama) meaning "to pass judgement, to decide". In Islamic tradition
الحكيم (al-Ḥakīm) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Hadrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: HAY-dree-ən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Hadrianus, which meant
"from Hadria" in Latin. Hadria was the name of two Roman settlements. The first (modern Adria) is in northern Italy and was an important Etruscan port town. The second (modern Atri) is in central Italy and was named after the northern town. The Adriatic Sea is also named after the northern town.
A famous bearer of the name was Publius Aelius Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian, a 2nd-century Roman emperor who built a wall across northern Britain. His family came from the town of Atri in central Italy.
Gwyneira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwi-NAY-ra
Rating: 49% based on 10 votes
Means
"white snow" from the Welsh element
gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with
eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.
Gwydion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Probably means
"born of trees" from Old Welsh
guid "trees" and the suffix
gen "born of". In the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Gwydion is the nephew of King
Math of Gwynedd, and like him a powerful magician. In an elaborate plot to give his brother a chance to rape his uncle's footbearer, he arranged a war between Gwynedd and the neighbouring kingdom of Dyfed. Gwydion himself killed King
Pryderi of Dyfed at the end of the war. In punishment for the rape, Math transformed Gwydion and his brother into different animals over the course of three years. Gwydion was the uncle of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he fostered. Math and Gwydion fashioned Lleu a wife,
Blodeuwedd, out of flowers and they later aided him after her betrayal. Gwydion also appears in older Welsh poetry such as the
Book of Taliesin.
Gretchen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: GREHT-khən(German) GRECH-ən(English)
Rating: 50% based on 16 votes
Greta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Polish, English
Pronounced: GREH-ta(German, Italian, Swedish, Polish) GREHT-ə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 15 votes
Short form of
Margareta. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990).
Gratian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: GRAY-shən(English)
From the Roman name
Gratianus, which meant
"grace" from Latin
gratus.
Saint Gratian was the first bishop of Tours (4th century). This was also the name of a Roman emperor.
Gráinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: GRA-nyə(Irish)
Possibly derived from Old Irish
grán meaning
"grain" or
gráin meaning
"hatred, fear". In the Irish legend
The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne she escaped from her arranged marriage to
Fionn mac Cumhaill by fleeing with her lover
Diarmaid. Another famous bearer was the powerful 16th-century Irish landowner and seafarer Gráinne Ní Mháille (known in English as Grace O'Malley), who was sometimes portrayed as a pirate queen in later tales.
Glory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GLAWR-ee
Rating: 31% based on 14 votes
Simply from the English word glory, ultimately from Latin gloria.
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name
גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning
"feller, hewer", derived from
גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew"
[1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the
Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world,
Gideon has been used as a given name since the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the
Puritans.
Geraldine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHR-əl-deen
Feminine form of
Gerald. This name was created by the poet Henry Howard for use in a 1537 sonnet praising Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, whom he terms
The Geraldine.
Gentian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
From the name of the flowering plant called the gentian, the roots of which are used to create a tonic. It is derived from the name of the Illyrian king
Gentius, who supposedly discovered its medicinal properties.
Geneviève
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHU-NU-VYEHV, ZHUN-VYEHV
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
From the medieval name
Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *
kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *
wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *
genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by
Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 73% based on 17 votes
Gawain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: gə-WAYN(English) GAH-win(English)
Rating: 52% based on 15 votes
Meaning uncertain, from the Latin form
Gualguainus used in the 12th-century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth (appearing also as
Walganus,
Gwalguanus and other spellings in different copies of the text), where he is one of the knights who serve his uncle King
Arthur. He can be identified with the earlier Welsh hero Gwalchmai, and it is possible that the name derives from
Gwalchmai or a misreading of it.
Gawain was a popular hero in medieval tales such as those by Chrétien de Troyes, where his name appears in the French form Gauvain or Gauvains. He is the main character of the 14th-century anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which he accepts a potentially fatal challenge from the mysterious Green Knight.
Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Rating: 68% based on 15 votes
Medieval form of
Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Gaspard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GAS-PAR
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Garth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHRTH
From an English surname meaning "garden" in Old Norse, originally denoting one who lived near or worked in a garden.
Garnet 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-nət
From an English surname that either referred to a person who made hinges (Old French
carne) or was derived from the Norman name
Guarin.
Gareth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English (British), Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAR-əth(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 15 votes
Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends
Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named
Beaumains) is a brother of
Gawain. He goes with
Lynet to rescue her sister
Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on
Gaheriet or
Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name
Gwrhyd meaning
"valour" (found in the tale
Culhwch and Olwen) or
Gwairydd meaning
"hay lord" (found in the chronicle
Brut y Brenhinedd).
Gallagher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GAL-ə-gər
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Gallchobhair, derived from the given name
Gallchobhar.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 77% based on 17 votes
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the
Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the
New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the
Quran to
Muhammad.
This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 74% based on 16 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.
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
English form of an Old German name meaning
"peaceful ruler", derived from
fridu "peace" and
rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.
The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Rating: 68% based on 12 votes
Italian and Catalan feminine form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Fletcher
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLECH-ər
Rating: 52% based on 15 votes
From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Derived from Old Irish
finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish
saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).
Finnegan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FIN-ə-gən
Rating: 74% based on 16 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Fionnagáin, itself derived from the given name
Fionnagán, a
diminutive of
Fionn. This is the surname of a relatively minor character in James Joyce's novel
Finnegans Wake (1939), the title of which was based on a 19th-century Irish ballad called
Finnegan's Wake.
Ffion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: FEE-awn, FI-awn
Means "foxglove" in Welsh (species Digitalis purpurea). This is a recently created Welsh name.
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 67% based on 17 votes
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.
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yeḥezqel) meaning
"God will strengthen", from the roots
חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name,
Ezekiel has been used since the
Protestant Reformation.
Everard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
From
Everardus, the Latinized form of
Eberhard. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it joined the Old English
cognate Eoforheard. It has only been rarely used since the Middle Ages. Modern use of the name may be inspired by the surname
Everard, itself derived from the medieval name.
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 70% based on 17 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.
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Rating: 71% based on 17 votes
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
Rating: 71% based on 15 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֵיתָן (ʾEṯan) meaning
"solid, enduring, firm". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.
After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(English, Dutch) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
Rating: 69% based on 16 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means
"star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess
Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the
Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor
Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin
Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was
Hadassah.
This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].
Enfys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHN-vis
Rating: 36% based on 10 votes
Means "rainbow" in Welsh. This name was first used in the 19th century.
Emmerich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EH-mə-rikh(German)
Germanic name, in which the second element is
rih "ruler, king". The first element may be
irmin "whole, great" (making it a relative of
Ermenrich),
amal "unceasing, vigorous, brave" (making it a relative of
Amalric) or
heim "home" (making it a relative of
Henry). It is likely that several forms merged into a single name.
Emer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Pronounced: EE-mər(English)
Meaning unknown. In Irish legend she was the wife of
Cúchulainn. She was said to possess the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, voice, speech, needlework, wisdom and chastity.
Eluned
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: ehl-IN-ehd, ehl-EEN-ehd
Rating: 41% based on 10 votes
Derived from Welsh
eilun meaning
"image, likeness, idol". This was the name of a legendary 5th-century Welsh
saint, also known as Eiliwedd, one of the supposed daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 43% 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: 45% based on 8 votes
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 62% based on 13 votes
Ellington
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Elisheba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִישֶׁבַע(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ə-LISH-i-bə(English)
Eliseo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: eh-lee-ZEH-o(Italian) eh-lee-SEH-o(Spanish)
Italian and Spanish form of
Elisha.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 76% based on 18 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
Eleazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: אֶלְעָזָר(Ancient Hebrew) Ἐλεάζαρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ehl-ee-AY-zər(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֶלְעָזָר (ʾElʿazar) meaning
"God has helped", derived from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
עָזַר (ʿazar) meaning "to help". In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the sons of
Aaron. The name also appears in the
New Testament belonging to one of the ancestors of
Jesus in the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew.
Eirian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"bright, beautiful" in Welsh
[1].
Edric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHD-rik
From the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
ric "ruler, king". After the
Norman Conquest this Old English name was not commonly used. It has occasionally been revived in modern times.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 66% based on 16 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.
Ebenezer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, English
Other Scripts: אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: eh-bə-NEE-zər(English)
From the name of a monument erected by
Samuel in the
Old Testament, from Hebrew
אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר (ʾEven Haʿazer) meaning
"stone of help". Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in his novel
A Christmas Carol (1843). Currently the name is most common in parts of English-influenced Africa, such as Ghana.
Dwight
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DWIET
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval feminine name
Diot, a
diminutive of
Dionysia, the feminine form of
Dionysius. In America it was sometimes given in honour of Yale president Timothy Dwight (1752-1817). A famous bearer was the American president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969).
Dulcinea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: dool-thee-NEH-a(European Spanish) dool-see-NEH-a(Latin American Spanish) dul-si-NEE-ə(English)
Derived from Spanish dulce meaning "sweet". This name was (first?) used by Miguel de Cervantes in his novel Don Quixote (1605), where it belongs to the love interest of the main character, though she never actually appears in the story.
Drystan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 40% based on 11 votes
Dror
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: דְּרוֹר(Hebrew)
Means "freedom" or "sparrow" in Hebrew.
Dorothea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δωροθέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: do-ro-TEH-a(German) dawr-ə-THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 13 votes
Feminine form of the Greek name
Δωρόθεος (Dorotheos), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift" and
θεός (theos) meaning "god". The name
Theodore is composed of the same elements in reverse order. Dorothea was the name of two early
saints, notably the 4th-century martyr Dorothea of Caesarea. It was also borne by the 14th-century Saint Dorothea of Montau, who was the patron saint of Prussia.
Doris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Danish, Croatian, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δωρίς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAWR-is(English) DO-ris(German)
From the Greek name
Δωρίς (Doris), which meant
"Dorian woman". The Dorians were a Greek tribe who occupied the Peloponnese starting in the 12th century BC. In Greek
mythology Doris was a sea nymph, one of the many children of Oceanus and Tethys. It began to be used as an English name in the 19th century. A famous bearer is the American actress Doris Day (1924-2019).
Donovan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHN-ə-vən
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Donndubháin, itself derived from the given name
Donndubán. This name is borne by the Scottish folk musician Donovan Leitch (1946-), known simply as Donovan.
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
Rating: 75% based on 17 votes
From the Late Latin name
Dominicus meaning
"of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several
saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.
Domingo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: do-MEENG-go
Spanish form of
Dominicus (see
Dominic).
Dionisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: dyo-NEE-zya(Italian) dyo-NEE-sya(Spanish)
Italian and Spanish feminine form of
Dionysius.
Dimitri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, French
Other Scripts: Димитрий(Russian) დიმიტრი(Georgian)
Pronounced: dyi-MYEE-tryee(Russian) DEE-MEE-TREE(Georgian, French)
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
Russian variant of
Dmitriy, as well as the Georgian form.
Dietrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: DEET-rikh
German form of
Theodoric. The character Dietrich von Bern, loosely based on Theodoric the Great, appears in medieval German literature such as the
Hildebrandslied, the
Nibelungenlied and the
Eckenlied.
Diantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: die-AN-thə(English)
From dianthus, the name of a type of flower (ultimately from Greek meaning "heavenly flower").
Diana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Armenian, Georgian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Диана(Russian, Bulgarian) Діана(Ukrainian) Դիանա(Armenian) დიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: die-AN-ə(English) DYA-na(Spanish, Italian, Polish) dee-U-nu(European Portuguese) jee-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) dee-A-nə(Catalan) dee-A-na(German, Dutch, Latin) dyee-A-nu(Ukrainian) DI-ya-na(Czech) DEE-a-na(Slovak)
Means
"divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin
dia or
diva meaning
"goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *
dyew- found in
Zeus. Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess
Artemis.
As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). A notable bearer was the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.
Dewey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DYOO-ee, DOO-ee
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
Despoina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Δέσποινα(Greek)
Pronounced: DHEH-spee-na(Greek)
Means
"mistress, lady" in Greek. In Greek
mythology this was the name of the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. She was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at Eleusis near Athens.
Deror
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: דְּרוֹר(Hebrew)
Demetria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English
Other Scripts: Δημητρία(Ancient Greek)
Delwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
From Welsh
del "pretty" combined with
gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used as a given name since the start of the 20th century.
Delphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
Feminine form of the Latin name
Delphinus, which meant
"of Delphi". Delphi was a city in ancient Greece, the name of which is possibly related to Greek
δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". The Blessed Delphina was a 14th-century Provençal nun.
Delora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: də-LAWR-ə
Delia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-lee-ə(English) DEH-lya(Italian, Spanish) DEH-lee-a(Romanian)
Rating: 65% based on 14 votes
Means
"of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Artemis, given because she and her twin brother
Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
Delara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: دلآرا(Persian)
Means
"adorning the heart", from Persian
دل (del) meaning "heart" and
آرا (ārā) meaning "decorate, adorn".
Deimos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δεῖμος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEH-MOS(Classical Greek) DIE-məs(English)
Means
"terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god
Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name.
Davina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: də-VEE-nə
Feminine form of
David. It originated in Scotland.
Darius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: də-RIE-əs(English) DAR-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 51% based on 11 votes
Latin form of Greek
Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means
"possessing goodness", composed of
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good"
[1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.
Dario
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Croatian
Pronounced: DA-ryo(Italian) DA-ree-o(Croatian)
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 13 votes
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
Dallas
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAL-əs
Rating: 45% based on 14 votes
From a surname that could either be of Old English origin meaning "valley house" or of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George M. Dallas (1792-1864).
Dai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
Curtis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KUR-tis
From an English surname that originally meant "courteous" in Old French.
Cosmo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: KAWZ-mo(Italian) KAHZ-mo(English)
Italian variant of
Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom
Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.
Cosmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: kos-MEE-na
Rating: 42% based on 10 votes
Corinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAW-REEN(French) kə-REEN(English) kə-RIN(English)
Rating: 58% based on 13 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)
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).
Corbinian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: kawr-BEE-nee-an
Constance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAHN-stəns(English) KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Medieval form of
Constantia. The
Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Conrad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: KAHN-rad(English) KAWN-rat(German)
Means
"brave counsel", derived from the Old German elements
kuoni "brave" and
rat "counsel, advice". This was the name of a 10th-century
saint and bishop of Konstanz, in southern Germany. It was also borne by several medieval German kings and dukes, notably Conrad II, the first of the Holy Roman Emperors from the Salic dynasty. In England it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has only been common since the 19th century when it was reintroduced from Germany.
Concordia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: kon-KOR-dee-a(Latin) kən-KAWR-dee-ə(English)
Means "harmony" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of harmony and peace.
Clematis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KLEHM-ə-tis, klə-MAT-is
From the English word for a type of flowering vine, ultimately derived from Greek
κλήμα (klema) meaning "twig, branch".
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of
Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Clarence
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAR-əns, KLEHR-əns
From the Latin title Clarensis, which belonged to members of the British royal family. The title ultimately derives from the name of the town of Clare in Suffolk. As a given name it has been in use since the 19th century.
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)
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.
Ciel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
Means "sky" in French. It is not used as a given name in France itself.
Chrysanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Χρυσάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 43% based on 12 votes
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: 82% based on 21 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.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Rating: 59% based on 14 votes
Possibly from
cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh
cwrr "corner") combined with
ben "woman" or
gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the
Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard
Taliesin.
This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".
Celandine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEHL-ən-deen, SEHL-ən-dien
Rating: 23% based on 6 votes
From the name of the flower, which is derived from Greek
χελιδών (chelidon) meaning "swallow (bird)".
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 72% based on 18 votes
English form of
Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Caspian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 66% based on 17 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.
Carmelo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: kar-MEH-lo
Spanish and Italian masculine form of
Carmel.
Caridad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ka-ree-DHADH
Rating: 29% based on 14 votes
Means
"charity" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, meaning "Our Lady of Charity". This is the name of the patron
saint of Cuba, with a shrine located in the town of El Cobre.
Callahan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə-han
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Ceallacháin, itself from the given name
Cellachán.
Cadwalader
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Cadence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dəns
Rating: 46% based on 17 votes
From an English word meaning "rhythm, flow". It has been in use only since the 20th century.
Burgundy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BUR-gən-dee
This name can refer either to the region in France, the wine (which derives from the name of the region), or the colour (which derives from the name of the wine).
Bruce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BROOS
From a Scottish surname, of Norman origin, which probably originally referred to the town of Brix in France. The surname was borne by Robert the Bruce, a Scottish hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland. It has been in use as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in the 1940s and 50s. Notable bearers include Chinese-American actor Bruce Lee (1940-1973), American musician Bruce Springsteen (1949-), and American actor Bruce Willis (1955-). It is also the real name of the comic book superheroes Batman (Bruce Wayne), created 1939, and the Hulk (Bruce Banner), created 1962.
Bror
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: BROOR
From the Old Norse name Bróðir meaning "brother".
Brock
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAHK
From an English surname that was derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger".
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Briallen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Pronounced: bri-A-shehn
Derived from Welsh briallu meaning "primrose". This is a modern Welsh name.
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.
Boaz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Dutch, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: בֹּעַז(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BO-az(English) BO-ahz(Dutch)
Means
"swiftness" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries
Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with
Jachin).
Bishop
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BISH-əp
Either from the English occupational surname, or else directly from the English word. It is ultimately derived from Greek
ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer".
Bertram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BUR-trəm(English) BEHR-tram(German)
Means
"bright raven", derived from the Old German element
beraht "bright" combined with
hram "raven". This name has long been conflated with
Bertrand. The
Normans introduced it to England, and Shakespeare used it in his play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Bernhard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BEHRN-hart(German) BEHRN-hahrt(Dutch) BA-nad(Swedish)
German, Dutch and Scandinavian form of
Bernard.
Bernadette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BEHR-NA-DEHT(French) bər-nə-DEHT(English)
French feminine form of
Bernard. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was a young woman from Lourdes in France who claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin
Mary. She was declared a
saint in 1933.
Berengaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Latinized feminine form of
Berengar. This name was borne by a 13th-century queen of Castile.
Berengar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Old German name derived from the elements
bern "bear" and
ger "spear". This was the name of two medieval kings of Italy and a Holy Roman emperor.
Benjamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BEHN-ZHA-MEEN
Rating: 24% based on 14 votes
Benjamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Biblical
Other Scripts: בִּןְיָמִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-jə-min(English) BEHN-ZHA-MEHN(French) BEHN-ya-meen(German) BEHN-ya-min(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name
בִּןְיָמִין (Binyamin) meaning
"son of the south" or
"son of the right hand", from the roots
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son" and
יָמִין (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the
Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of
Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named
בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-ʾoni) meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother
Rachel, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see
Genesis 35:18).
As an English name, Benjamin came into general use after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.
Benaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: בְּנָיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: bə-NIE-ə(English)
Bellona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: behl-LO-na(Latin) bə-LON-ə(English)
Derived from Latin
bellare meaning
"to fight". This was the name of the Roman goddess of war, a companion of
Mars.
Beauregard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BO-rə-gahrd
From a French surname meaning "beautiful outlook".
Bastiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Galician (Rare), Corsican, Gascon
Bastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: BAS-tee-an
Azucena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-thoo-THEH-na(European Spanish) a-soo-SEH-na(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 35% based on 13 votes
Means "madonna lily" in Spanish.
Axelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-KSEHL
Avrora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Аврора(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: u-VRO-rə(Russian)
Russian and Ukrainian form of
Aurora.
Avram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אַבְרָם(Hebrew)
Rating: 47% based on 14 votes
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
Rating: 61% based on 17 votes
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
Rating: 70% based on 17 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Auriga
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Means "charioteer" in Latin. This is the name of a constellation in the northern sky, which is said to resemble a chariot and its driver.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Augusta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, English, German, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-ta(Italian) ə-GUS-tə(English) ow-GUWS-ta(German)
Rating: 58% based on 15 votes
Feminine form of
Augustus. It was introduced to Britain when King George III, a member of the German House of Hanover, gave this name to his second daughter in 1768.
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 72% based on 17 votes
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of
Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.
As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.
Audra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: OW-dru
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
Means "storm" in Lithuanian.
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: 56% based on 18 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.
Asherah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Pronounced: ə-SHEER-ə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 14 votes
Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AHR-thər(English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *
artos "bear" (Old Welsh
arth) combined with *
wiros "man" (Old Welsh
gur) or *
rīxs "king" (Old Welsh
ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name
Artorius.
Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.
The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
Feminine form of
Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
Arsenio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ar-SEH-nyo
Rating: 29% based on 15 votes
Arsenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek (Rare), Estonian, Spanish, Cebuano, Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀρσενία(Ancient Greek) Αρσενία(Greek)
Pronounced: ahr-SAYN-yah(Estonian) ahr-SEH-nyah(Spanish)
Arkady
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Аркадий(Russian)
Pronounced: ur-KA-dyee
Rating: 43% based on 16 votes
Ariston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρίστων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REES-TAWN
Rating: 36% based on 16 votes
Aristodemos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριστόδημος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REES-TO-DEH-MOS(Classical Greek)
Derived from the Greek elements
ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "best" and
δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people". This was the name of a descendant of
Herakles in Greek legend.
Aristaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀρισταῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ar-is-TEE-əs(English)
From the Greek name
Ἀρισταῖος (Aristaios), derived from
ἄριστος (aristos) meaning
"best". This was the name of a minor Greek god of agriculture, hunting and cattle. He was the son of
Apollo and the mortal Cyrene.
Arista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: ə-RIS-tə(English)
Rating: 41% based on 18 votes
Means "ear of grain" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.
Ariel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֲרִיאֵל(Hebrew) Ἀριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-ree-EHL(Hebrew) EHR-ee-əl(English) AR-ee-əl(English) A-RYEHL(French) a-RYEHL(Spanish) A-ryehl(Polish)
Means
"lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the
Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play
The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem
The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film
The Little Mermaid (1989).
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 58% based on 19 votes
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Archibald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: AHR-chi-bawld
Rating: 45% based on 19 votes
Derived from the Germanic name
Ercanbald, composed of the elements
erkan meaning "pure, holy, genuine" and
bald meaning "bold, brave". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element
ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". The
Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages (sometimes used to Anglicize the Gaelic name
Gilleasbuig, for unknown reasons).
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər
From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.
Aravind
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: अरविन्द, अरविंद(Hindi, Marathi) ಅರವಿಂದ(Kannada) அரவிந்த்(Tamil)
Rating: 32% based on 13 votes
Ara
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian, Armenian Mythology
Other Scripts: Արա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-RAH(Armenian)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Sumerian origin. In Armenian legend this was the name of an Armenian king who was so handsome that the Assyrian queen
Semiramis went to war to capture him. During the war Ara was slain.
Anselm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English (Rare), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AN-zelm(German) AN-selm(English)
Derived from the Old German elements
ansi "god" and
helm "helmet, protection". This name was brought to England in the late 11th century by
Saint Anselm, who was born in northern Italy. He was archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church.
Angharad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Old Welsh (Modernized) [1], Welsh Mythology
Rating: 36% based on 11 votes
From an Old Welsh name recorded in various forms such as
Acgarat and
Ancarat. It means
"much loved", from the intensive prefix
an- combined with a mutated form of
caru "to love". In the medieval Welsh romance
Peredur son of Efrawg, Angharad Golden-Hand is the lover of the knight
Peredur.
Angerona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: an-geh-RO-na(Latin) an-jə-RO-nə(English)
Possibly from Latin angor "strangulation, torment" or angustus "narrow, constricted". Angerona was the Roman goddess of the winter solstice, death, and silence.
Anemone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-NEHM-ə-nee
From the name of the anemone flower, which is derived from Greek
ἄνεμος (anemos) meaning "wind".
Anatolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀνατολία(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Anatolius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Italian
saint and martyr. This is also a place name (from the same Greek origin) referring to the large peninsula that makes up the majority of Turkey.
Anatoli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Анатолий(Russian) Анатолій(Ukrainian) ანატოლი(Georgian)
Pronounced: u-nu-TO-lyee(Russian) u-nu-TAW-lyee(Ukrainian) A-NA-TAW-LEE(Georgian)
Anatole
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-TAWL
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 49% based on 16 votes
From the Late Latin name
Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name
Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning
"immortal".
Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Rating: 44% based on 17 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amarantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek
ἀμάραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading".
Ἀμάραντος (Amarantos) was also an Ancient Greek given name.
Alsephina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: al-sə-FEE-nə
Derived from Arabic al-safīnah meaning "the ship". Alsephina, also known as Delta Velorum, is a triple star system that is a part of the constellation Vela.
Alphaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Ἀλφαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-FEE-əs(English)
From
Ἀλφαῖος (Alphaios), the Greek form of a Hebrew name that meant
"exchange". In the
New Testament this is the name of the fathers of the apostles
James the Lesser and
Levi.
Alondra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: a-LON-dra
Rating: 46% based on 16 votes
Derived from Spanish alondra meaning "lark".
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 20 votes
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Rating: 60% based on 19 votes
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
From the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).
Algol
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy (Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: AL-gole
Name of a star in the constellation Perseus. Derived from Arabic, meaning "Head of the Ghoul", direct translation in English is "Demon Star"
Algernon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-jər-nən
Originally a Norman French nickname, derived from aux gernons "having a moustache", which was applied to William de Percy, a companion of William the Conqueror. It was first used a given name in the 15th century (for a descendant of William de Percy). This name was borne by a character (a mouse) in the short story Flowers for Algernon (1958) and novel of the same title (1966) by the American author Daniel Keyes.
Aleksei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Алексей(Russian)
Pronounced: u-lyi-KSYAY
Rating: 49% based on 17 votes
Aldous
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWL-dəs
Rating: 20% based on 7 votes
Probably a
diminutive of names beginning with the Old English element
eald "old". It has been in use as an English given name since the Middle Ages, mainly in East Anglia
[1]. The British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was a famous bearer of this name.
Alastríona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ə-ləs-TRYEE-nə, A-ləs-tryee-nə
Agnes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Late Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἅγνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-nis(English) AK-nəs(German) AHKH-nehs(Dutch) ANG-nehs(Swedish) OW-nes(Danish)
Rating: 44% based on 20 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἅγνη (Hagne), derived from Greek
ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning
"chaste".
Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin
agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.
As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.
Agatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀγαθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-ə-thə(English) a-GHA-ta(Dutch)
Rating: 51% based on 22 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀγαθή (Agathe), derived from Greek
ἀγαθός (agathos) meaning
"good".
Saint Agatha was a 3rd-century martyr from Sicily who was tortured and killed after spurning the advances of a Roman official. The saint was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). The mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a famous modern bearer of this name.
Aesop
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Αἴσωπος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-sahp(English)
Rating: 27% based on 18 votes
From the Greek
Αἴσωπος (Aisopos), which is of unknown meaning. This was the name of a Greek fabulist of the 6th century BC, famous for such tales as
The Tortoise and the Hare. Though his existence is uncertain, he was later said to have been a slave on the island of Samos.
Adria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-dree-ə
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
Adorinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: a-do-REEN-da
Rating: 26% based on 19 votes
Means "adorable" in Esperanto.
Adora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: a-DHO-ra
Adhara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: ə-DEHR-ə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 20 votes
Derived from Arabic
عذارى (ʿadhārā) meaning
"maidens". This is the name of the second brightest star (after
Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major.
Aderyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Rating: 43% based on 19 votes
Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Rating: 67% based on 18 votes
Form of
Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.
Adamina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ad-ə-MEEN-ə
Acacia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-KAY-shə
From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek
ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".
Abram 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: אַבְרָם(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-brəm(English)
Abraham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Swedish, Biblical Norwegian, Biblical Danish, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אַבְרָהָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-brə-ham(English) a-bra-AM(Spanish) A-BRA-AM(French) A-bra-hahm(Dutch) A-bra-ham(German) AH-bra-ham(Swedish)
From the Hebrew name
אַבְרָהָם (ʾAvraham), which may be viewed either as meaning
"father of many" or else as a contraction of
Abram 1 and
הָמוֹן (hamon) meaning "many, multitude". The biblical patriarch Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name (see
Genesis 17:5). With his father
Terah, he led his wife
Sarah, his nephew
Lot and their other followers from Ur into Canaan. He is regarded by Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son
Isaac and by Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son
Ishmael.
As an English Christian name, Abraham became common after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the American president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who pushed to abolish slavery and led the country through the Civil War.
Abra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History, Literature
Possibly a feminine form of
Abraham. It coincides with a Latin word meaning "maid". A known bearer was Saint Abra of Poitiers, a Gallo-Roman nun of the 4th century.
Abner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אַבְנֵר(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AB-nər(English)
Rating: 32% based on 22 votes
From the Hebrew name
אַבְנֵר (ʾAvner) meaning
"my father is a light", derived from
אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and
נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light". In the
Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of
Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother
Joab.
A famous bearer was the 14th-century Jewish philosopher Abner of Burgos, called Alfonso of Valladolid after he converted to Christianity. It has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. It was popular with the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.
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