EmeryEcho's Personal Name List

Hebrew feminine form of Jordan.

Russian and Bulgarian form of Jacob (or James), and an alternate transcription of Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (see Yaakov).

Italian form of Victoria.

Means "little wolf" in Yiddish, a diminutive of װאָלףֿ (volf) meaning "wolf". This is a vernacular form of Zeev.

Means "radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times [2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as Sarah (in Ireland) and Clara (in Scotland).

Persian form of Thurayya. It became popular in some parts of Europe because of the fame of Princess Soraya (1932-2001), wife of the last Shah of Iran, who became a European socialite.

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

Irish form of Jeannette.

From Old Irish Ségdae, probably derived from ségda meaning "fine, good, favourable, learned". According to an Irish legend this was the name of a boy who was set to be sacrificed but was saved by his mother [1].

Hebrew form of Rebecca.

Means "rose" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.

Welsh form of Rowena, appearing in medieval Welsh poems and stories as a personification of the English people.

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.

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.

Means "servant of Yahweh" in Hebrew, derived from עָבַד (ʿavaḏ) meaning "to serve, to worship" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets, the author of the Book of Obadiah, which predicts the downfall of the nation of Edom. This is also the name of several other biblical characters.

Meaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French Lancelot-Grail Cycle.

Russian diminutive of Mikhail.

Combination of Michael and Angelo, referring to the archangel Michael. The Renaissance painter and sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), from Florence, was the man who created such great works of art as the statue of David and the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This name was also borne by the Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), better known as Caravaggio.

German short form of Elisabeth.

From an Irish surname, derived from the Irish byname Leannán meaning "lover". The surname was borne by musician and Beatle member John Lennon (1940-1980), and it may be used as a given name in his honour. In America it is now more common as a feminine name, possibly inspired in part by the singer Lennon Stella (1999-), who began appearing on the television series Nashville in 2012 [1].

Anglicized form of Ciarán.

Variant of Jane.

Derived from Greek ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning "over". In Greek myth this was the name of a Titan who presided over the sun and light. By Theia he was the father of the sun god Helios, the moon goddess Selene, and the dawn goddess Eos.

Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god Hermes. In Greek myth Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. This is also the name of the wife of Leontes in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.

From the Old German name Hadewig, derived from the Old German elements hadu "battle, combat" and wig "war". This was the name of a 13th-century German saint, the wife of the Polish duke Henry the Bearded. It was subsequently borne by a 14th-century Polish queen (usually known by her Polish name Jadwiga) who is now also regarded as a saint.

From an English surname that meant "son of Harry". This was the surname of two American presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). As a given name it reached a low point in America in 1977 before it was revived by the career of actor Harrison Ford (1942-), who starred in such movies as Star Wars in 1977 and Indiana Jones in 1984.

From a surname that was originally taken from a place name meaning "marsh town" in Old English.

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.

In the case of Elián Gonzalez (1993-) it is a combination of Elizabeth and Juan 1, the names of his parents.

Irish form of Henry.

Italian form of Edmund.

From Old Irish Dubán meaning "little dark one", derived from dub "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a few early saints.

Means "laurel" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.

Medieval short form of Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the Divine Comedy.

Alternate transcription of Hebrew חַיִּים (see Chaim).

Modern Hebrew form of Eve.

Means "fair-haired", from Old Irish ciab "locks, hair" and finn "white, blessed". In Irish legend this was the name of one of the three daughters of Bec mac Buain [1][2].

Derived from Old Irish cath "battle" and fal "rule". This was the name of a 7th-century Irish saint. It was also borne by several Irish kings. It has sometimes been Anglicized as Charles.

Latin form of the Welsh Cymru, the Welsh name for the country of Wales, derived from cymry meaning "the people". It is occasionally used as a given name in modern times.

Means "charioteer" in Irish. This was the name of two semi-legendary high kings of Ireland.

English form of Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "son of Talmai". In the New Testament Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.

Means "of the moon" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, from Turkic ay "moon".

Latinate form of Assunta, used especially in Ireland [1].

Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.

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.

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

Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

French form of Amy.

Scottish Gaelic form of Alice.

Combination of Aeron and the Welsh element gwen meaning "white, blessed".

Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.