mairinn's Personal Name List

Alternate transcription of Arabic عبد الحكيم (see Abd al-Hakim).

Alternate transcription of Arabic عبد الكريم (see Abd al-Karim) chiefly used in North Africa.

Contracted form of Adalinda.

Variant of Adelina.

Derived from the Germanic elements adal "noble" and lind "linden tree, lime; shield (made of lime wood); gentle, soft".

Variant transcription of Adil.

Polonisation of Adelheid. Last year this name was borne by 11 women in Poland.

Spanish, Hungarian and Slovak form of Hadrianus (see Hadrian).

Anglicized form of Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as Braden and Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.

Variant of Amy, influenced by French Aimée.

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

Alternate transcription of Hindi अजीत, Marathi अजित, Gurmukhi ਅਜੀਤ or Bengali অজিত (see Ajit).

Means "greater, greatest" in Arabic, a derivative of كبير (kabīr) meaning "great, big". This was the name of a 16th-century Mughal ruler who expanded the empire to include most of India.

Alara appears in Turkic Mythology as a beautiful water fairy. She lives in the lakes and rivers of the Caspian basin and grants the wishes of those she deems worthy. She is said to be capable of repairing broken hearts and making them capable of love again.

Feminine form of Alar.

Romansh form of Alexius.

Finnish variant of Aleksi.

Greenlandic form of Alex.

Bulgarian form of Alexis.

Possibly from Arabic علينا (ʿalaynā) meaning "to us". Alternatively, it could be from Arabic أليناء (ʾalaynāʾ), a plural form of ليّن (layyin) meaning "gentle, soft".

Variant of Alayna.

Diminutive of Adelaide.

Variant of Alan, or from a surname that was derived from this same name. A famous bearer of this name was Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), an American beat poet. Another is the American film director and actor Woody Allen (1935-), who took the stage name Allen from his real first name.

Spanish form of Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).

Tatar and Bashkir form of Amina.

Azerbaijani form of Amina 2.

From 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia, sub-", 美 (mi) meaning "beauty, beautiful", and 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations can be used.

Means "fable, story" in Aymara.

Variant of Əminə.

Alternate transcription of Arabic Amina 1 or Amina 2, as well as the usual form in Malay and Indonesian.

Diminutive of Andrew or Andrea 2.

Phonetic respelling of Angela.

The name is derived from the Mordvin anelis, meaning "to pamper, indulge, treat, caress."

Variant of Anzhela.

Sami name of unknown origin and meaning.

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.

Perhaps from either Greek ἀρή (are) meaning "bane, ruin" or ἄρσην (arsen) meaning "male". The name first appears as a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the bloodthirsty god of war in Greek mythology, a son of Zeus and Hera.

Occitan form of Armelle.

Feminine form of Armel.

From the herb, unrelated to Basil 1.

From the Greek name Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning "king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.

Means "brave, valiant" in Arabic.

Medieval Basque name of uncertain origin and meaning. It was first recorded in Artaxoa (in the Navarre area) in 1330.

Diminutive of Anabela.

Derived from the Old German elements beraht meaning "bright" and rant meaning "rim (of a shield)". From an early date it has been confused with Bertram and the two names have merged to some degree. Saint Bertrand was an 11th-century bishop of Comminges in France. Another famous bearer was the English philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970).

Derived from the given name Bertrand.

Amharic form of Bethlehem.

From the name of a biblical town, Βηθανία (Bethania) in Greek, which is probably of Aramaic or Hebrew origin, possibly meaning "house of affliction" or "house of figs". In the New Testament the town of Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. It has been in use as a rare given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, in honour of Mary of Bethany. In America it became moderately common after the 1950s.

Scandinavian variant of Birgitta.

Nepali and Bengali form of Vishal.

Means "clean, pure" in Bulgarian and Macedonian, from Old Slavic bystrŭ.

Bengali and Odia form of Vishwajit.

Norwegian short form of Birgitta.

Means "baby camel" in Turkish.

Derived from the French surname Cauvin, which was derived from chauve meaning "bald". The surname was borne by Jean Cauvin (1509-1564), a theologian from France who was one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. His surname was Latinized as Calvinus (based on Latin calvus "bald") and he is known as John Calvin in English. It has been used as a given name in his honour since the 19th century.

In modern times, this name is borne by American fashion designer Calvin Klein (1942-), as well as one of the main characters from Bill Watterson's comic strip Calvin and Hobbes (published from 1985 to 1995).

Italian form of Charlotte.

Contracted variant of Caroline.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Caiside), which is derived from the byname Caiside. Very rare as a given name before the 1970s, it established itself in the 80s and then surged in popularity during the 90s.

Diminutive of Cassandra and other names beginning with Cass.

Variant of cattleya, a genus of orchids native to Central and South America, which were named for the British horticulturist William Cattley. This name was popularized by the main character from the movie Colombiana (2011).

Italian and Catalan form of Katherine.

Variant of Chanelle

Spanish form of Sharbel.

French and Portuguese transliteration of شربل‎ (see Sharbel).

Spanish form of Clarissa.

Diminutive of names beginning with Co, influenced by the word cocoa. However, this was not the case for French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971; real name Gabrielle), whose nickname came from the name of a song she performed while working as a cabaret singer.

Variant of Conor, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name. This is currently the most common way of spelling it in the English-speaking world, apart from Ireland.

Medieval form of Constantia. The Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).

Romanian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Corinna, as well as a German variant.

Latinized form of the Greek name Κόριννα (Korinna), which was derived from κόρη (kore) meaning "maiden". This was the name of a Greek lyric poet of the 5th century BC. The Roman poet Ovid used it for the main female character in his book Amores [1]. In the modern era it has been in use since the 17th century, when Robert Herrick used it in his poem Corinna's going a-Maying [2].

Diminutive of Cristin.

Spanish form of the English name Christopher.

Modern Greek form of Daphne.

Variant of Damon.

Derived from Greek δαμάζω (damazo) meaning "to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.

Bulgarian form of Damian.

Gascon and Provençal form of Denis.

Bosnian form of Danish.

Variant of Daniel.

Variant of Darrell.

Probably an elaborated form of Darrell, with an ending similar to biblical names such as Daniel.

Sami form of Daria

Slovene, Czech, Estonian and Latvian form of Daria.

Variant of Darrell.

From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Airelle, originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France. As a given name it was moderately popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, but it dropped off the American top 1000 rankings in 2018.

The meaning of this name is not known for certain. In the spelling Daren, it was used by the novelist Zane Grey for the central character in his novel The Day of the Beast (1922) [1]. Grey may have based it on a rare Irish surname, or perhaps created it as a variant of Darrell. It was brought to public attention in the late 1950s by the American actor Darren McGavin (1922-2006; born as William Lyle Richardson). It was further popularized in the 1960s by the character Darrin Stephens from the television show Bewitched.

From an English surname that was derived from the given name David. A famous bearer of the surname was Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), the only president of the Confederate States of America.

Means "government, state" in Tajik and Uzbek.

Means "whirling" in Turkish.

Combination of Diana and Alexandra or Sandra.

A well-known bearer of this name is Diandra Luker (b. 1957), the ex-wife of the American actor Michael Douglas (b. 1944).

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.

French form of Eden.

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.

From Japanese 楽 (eden) meaning "music". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

Diminutive of Edith.

Meaning uncertain, possibly related to Arabic دين (dīn) meaning "religion".

Variant of Eden.

Manx form of Edwin.

Modern Hebrew form of Elon.

Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.

Older form of Eira 1.

Form of Eldar with the Georgian nominative suffix -ი (-i). It is only used in Georgian when the name is written stand-alone.

Albanian form of Eleftheria.

Possibly variation on Alicja, modified to rhyme with Felicja or inspired by names starting with El- such as Eliza.

Feminine form of Elidio.

Exact origins uncertain. It may stem from the Ancient Greek “Ēlis (Ἦλις) / Ileia (Ηλεία),” meaning “low land, hollow earth.” This is the name of a region in western Greece. Another possibility is that it stems from the name Helios, the mythological son of Poseidon, from the Greek “hḗlios ‎(ἥλιος)” meaning "sun".

A famous bearer is Elmurat Tasmuradov, an Uzbekistani Greco-Roman wrestler. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and at the 2016 Olympics. He won a gold medal four times at the Asian Championship. He will represent Uzbekistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Variant of Elmurat.

Short form of Elviira.

Finnish and Estonian form of Elvira.

Male form of Elvira.

Form of Elvira.

Spanish form of a Visigothic name, recorded from the 10th century in forms such as Geloyra or Giluira. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly composed of the Gothic element gails "happy" or gails "spear" combined with wers "friendly, agreeable, true". The name was borne by members of the royal families of León and Castille. This is also the name of a character in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (1787).

Tatar and Bashkir form of Elvira.

Swedish short form of Elvira.

Icelandic form of Elvy.

Polish, Tatar and Bashkir form of Elvira.

Variant of Elyes influenced by French orthography.

Maghrebi variant of Ilyas (chiefly Tunisian and Algerian).

Variant of Emily. A notable bearer is Scottish singer Emeli Sandé.

Spanish form of Emmeline.

Variant of Émeline.

From Japanese 恵 (e) meaning "favour, benefit" or 絵 (e) meaning "picture, painting" combined with 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Diminutive of Ema 1.

Short form for Emilia, Emilio, Emiliana or Emiliano.

Variant of Emilie.

a Turkish origined name with the meaning; brave, heroic, stouthearted

Derived from Arabic أَسْمَر (ʾasmar) meaning "dark-skinned, brown, brunette".

French form of Stephen.

Afrikaans form of Étienne.

Lithuanian form of Eugenia.

Lithuanian form of Eugenius (see Eugene).

Italian and Spanish form of Eugenius (see Eugene).

Gascon form of Eve.

Sami form of Eva.

Combination of Eva and María.

Macedonian form of Eugene.

Macedonian form of Eugenia.

Alternate transcription of Russian Евгений (see Yevgeniy).

Bulgarian form of Eugenia and an alternate transcription of Russian Евгения (see Yevgeniya).

Either a Polonised spelling of Evangelia/Evangeliya, or in some cases possibly directly taken from the Polish word Ewangelia meaning "Gospel". Borne by 12 women in Poland last year.

Latin form of Ezekiel used in some versions of the Vulgate.

French form of Fabianus (see Fabian).

Croatian and Slovene form of Fabianus (see Fabian).

Portuguese form of Fabius.

Italian and Spanish form of Fabius.

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

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

Variant of Faii.

Italian form of Fidel.

From the Late Latin name Fidelis meaning "faithful", a derivative of fides "faith". A famous bearer was the revolutionary leader and Cuban president Fidel Castro (1926-2016).

Feminine form of Fidel.

Hungarian form of Fidelia.

Feminine form of Fidel. It appears in the epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590) belonging to the sister of Speranza.

Portuguese form of Fidelis.

Original form of Fidel.

French form of Franciscus (see Francis). François Villon (1431-1463) was a French lyric poet. This was also the name of two kings of France.

Afrikaans form of François.

Danish, Dutch and Low German form of Frederick. This was the name of nine kings of Denmark over the past 500 years, alternating each generation with the name Christian.

Variant of Frederick.

German form of Frederick. This was the name of several rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria and Prussia. The philosophers Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) are two other famous bearers of this name.

Italian form of the Latin name Caietanus, which meant "from Caieta". Caieta (now called Gaeta) was a town in ancient Italy, its name deriving either from Kaiadas, the name a Greek location where prisoners were executed, or else from Caieta, the name of the nurse of Aeneas. Saint Gaetano was a 16th-century Italian priest who founded the Theatines.

Latinized (Old Spanish) form of a Gothic name (see Elvira).

German, Danish and Norwegian short form of Margaret.

Variant of Greta.

Short form of Griffith.

From the Old Norse name Guðrún meaning "god's secret lore", derived from the elements guð "god" and rún "secret lore, rune". In Norse legend Gudrun was the wife of Sigurd. After his death she married Atli, but when he murdered her brothers, she killed her sons by him, fed him their hearts, and then slew him. Her story appears in Norse literature such as the Eddas and the Völsungasaga. She is called Kriemhild in German versions of the tale. This is also an unrelated character in the medieval German epic Kudrun.

Italian form of William.

Short form of Guilherme.

Portuguese form of William.

Short form of Augusta.

Welsh variant of Gwilym.

Welsh variant of Gwilym.

Derived from the given name Gwilym.

Turkish and Albanian form of Khalil.

Derived from Hebrew הָלַל (halal) meaning "praise". This is the name of a Jewish prayer, consisting of several psalms. The more traditional name Hillel, which is typically only masculine, is spelled the same but is vocalized with a different vowel.

German diminutive of Hans, best known from the fairytale Hänsel und Gretel.

From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as Braden and Aidan.

Form of Helgard. Last year it was borne by 13 women in Poland.

Diminutive of Vilhelmiina or Vilhelmina. It also means "pearl" in Finnish.

Alternate transcription of Arabic حلمي (see Hilmi), as well as an Indonesian and Malay variant.

Dutch and Estonian cognate of Heinrich (see Henry).

Feminine form of Herminius.

Derived from Hebrew הָלַל (halal) meaning "praise". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament as the father of the judge Abdon. It was also borne by the 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Hillel the Elder.

From the Old Norse name Hólmgeirr, derived from the elements holmr "small island" and geirr "spear". In Scandinavia and Germany this is the usual name for the hero Ogier the Dane from medieval French romance.

Macedonian form of Christian.

Variant of Iacob.

From the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin ignis "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact Íñigo.

Variant transcription of İlqar.

Manx form of William.

Possibly means "eloquent" in Hebrew. This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to two minor characters.

Combination of Inge and Lore 1.

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.

Anglicized form of Iseabail.

Variant of Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word isla meaning "island".

Feminine form of Islo (see also Islana).

Anglicized form of Iseabail.

Icelandic form of Ivan.

Turkish form of Ivan.

Most likely a combination of the name Jacek with the suffix -sław, common in names of Slavic origin and deriving from sława meaning "glory", "fame". Perhaps influenced by Wacław and its diminutive Wacek.

From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.

Variant transcription of Єлизавета (see Yelyzaveta).

Danish form of Jasper.

Latvian form of Yevgeniya.

Latvian form of Yevgeniya.

Derived from the given name Jon, a medieval variant of John.

From the English and Welsh surname, itself derived from the given name John.

From the name of the river that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is יַרְדֵן (Yarḏen), and it is derived from יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning "descend, flow down". In the New Testament John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Latin name Jordanes, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.

This name died out after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. In America and other countries it became fairly popular in the second half of the 20th century. A famous bearer of the surname is former basketball star Michael Jordan (1963-).

Serbian and Macedonian form of Joseph.

Serbian and Macedonian form of John.

Faroese variant of Julian.

Spanish form of Iulianus (see Julian).

Combination of Ju , Li 1 and An 1

Meaning uncertain. According to a Russian source, the name is derived from the Arabic noun جمعة (juma) meaning "Friday" (see Juma) via its Persian form جمعه (jome). If true, then the name likely indicates that the child in question was born on a Friday. Also compare the Middle Persian verb ǰumbīdan meaning "to move".

Georgian sources theorize that the name might possibly be a variant of Juansher, influenced by phonetic and graphic changes.

In Georgian literature, Jumber is the name of a prince in A Book of Wisdom and Lies written by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658-1725) in the late 17th century.

From the name of a mountain in the Himalayas that is believed to be the paradise of the Hindu god Shiva. It is probably derived from Sanskrit केलास (kelāsa) meaning "crystal".

Hungarian form of Caius.

Polish form of Caius.

Bulgarian form of Camelia.

Elaboration of Karmela. Last year it was borne by 11 women in Poland.

Variant of Catalina.

Slovak form of Katherine.

Latvian variant of Katarina.

Directly taken from Estonian kaur “loon, diver”.

Means "princess", ultimately from Sanskrit कुमारी (kumārī) meaning "girl". This surname was assigned to all female Sikhs in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. It is now used as a surname or a middle name by most female Sikhs. The male equivalent is Singh.

From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of a place in East Lothian, itself possibly derived from the Celtic root *kayto- meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, becoming fairly common throughout the English-speaking world in the 20th century.

Derived from Sanskrit किरण (kiraṇa), which can mean "dust" or "thread" or "sunbeam".

The meaning of the name Kiran is "arisen" "Ki" means "arisen" in Korean and "ran" mean "orchid".

From Japanese 輝 (ki) meaning "brightness; lustre; brilliance; radiance; splendour", 貴 (ki) meaning "expensive" or 紀 (ki) meaning "century" combined with 蘭 (ran) meaning "orchid". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Variant of the name Kir, or alternatively a masculine form of Kira 1.

Variant of Kieran.

Hungarian, Czech and Slovak form of Clara.

Latvian form of Clara.

Variant of Kornelia, borne by 11 women in Poland last year.

Serbian, Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian form of Christian.

Scandinavian and Georgian form of Christina, as well as an English and German variant of Christine.

Bulgarian form of Christian.

Estonian and Slovene form of Christian.

Hungarian form of Christina.

Derived from the Old German elements lant "land" and beraht "bright". Saint Lambert of Maastricht was a 7th-century bishop who was martyred after denouncing Pepin II for adultery. The name was also borne by a 9th-century king of Italy who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

Alternate transcription of Greek Λαμπρος (see Lampros), derived from Greek λαμπρός (lampros) meaning "bright, shining, brilliant". This is also related to the Greek word Λαμπρή (Lampri) "Easter".

Variant transcription of Лариса using Polish phonetics (see Larysa)

From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.

Variant of Laurel.

Dutch form of Leonard.

Variant transcription of Леонтий (see Leontiy).

Russian form of Leontios.

Irish short form of William. It became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, and elsewhere in Europe and the Americas after that. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States beginning in 2017. Famous bearers include British actor Liam Neeson (1952-), British musician Liam Gallagher (1972-), and Australian actor Liam Hemsworth (1990-).

Variant transliteration of Лілея (see Lileya).

Macedonian, Slovene and Albanian form of Lillian.

Diminutive form of Liliom, meaning "lily".

Variant of Laurel.

Feminine form of Lubomyr.

Feminine form of Lubosław.

Variant transcription of Лучия (see Luchiya).

Bulgarian and Russian form of Lucia.

Icelandic form of Lucia.

Sicilian form of Lucia.

Variant of Luciana.

Icelandic form of Lukas.

Sorbian form of Lucas.

Polynesian form of Lucy.

Variation of Lucius and Lucie.

From Slavic elements lut meaning "fierce", "severe" and milu "beloved", "dear".

From Irish Ó Loingsigh meaning "descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".

Medieval Scottish Gaelic form of Malcolm.

Means "skilled" in Arabic.

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Máel Coluim, which means "disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.

Means "dream" or "big" in Hakha Chin.

Scottish Gaelic form of Malcolm.

French feminine form of Marcellus.

French feminine diminutive of Marcellus.

Welsh form of Margaret.

French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).

Spanish, Galician and Icelandic form of Maria.

In Spain this has been the most consistently popular name for girls since the 13th century. Over the last 100 years it has remained very popular, frequently ranked first and never out of the top 20. It is often part of a double name, sometimes referencing an aspect of the Virgin Mary, such as María Carmen or María Dolores. It is occasionally used as a masculine middle name (or as the second part of a masculine double name, such as José María).

Means "Mary of the Rosary", taken from the Spanish Marian title Nuestra Señora del Rosario, which means "Our Lady of the Rosary". Shortened forms of this name including María Rosario and Rosario.

Notable bearer of this name is María del Rosario de Silva, Duchess of Alba (1900-1934).

Norwegian and Swedish form of Margaret.

German, Scandinavian, Finnish and Estonian form of Marcus (see Mark).

Feminine form of Marsel. Albanian folk etymology likes to derive this name from Albanian mars "(the month of) March", popularly interpreted to mean "March child; born in March".

Sami form of Martin.

Variant of Marten.

Walloon form of Martin.

Swedish form of Martinus (see Martin).

Dutch form of Martinus (see Martin).

From the Roman name Martinus, which was derived from Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god Mars. Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.

An influential bearer of the name was Martin Luther (1483-1546), the theologian who began the Protestant Reformation. The name was also borne by five popes (two of them more commonly known as Marinus). Other more recent bearers include the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), and the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese (1942-).

Polish form of Martinianus.

From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.

Variant of Matilda.

Spanish form of Matthias.

Variant of Mathieu.

Italian form of Matthias.

Swedish and Estonian form of Matthias.

Alternate transcription of Russian Матвей (see Matvey).

Variant of Meggy.

This is the name of the heroine of the 1977 novel and 1983 television miniseries The Thorn Birds (whose full name is Meghann).

Variant of Megan. This name was used by the Australian author Colleen McCullough in her novel The Thorn Birds (1977), which in 1983 was adapted as a TV mini-series.

Diminutive of Meg.

Short form of Emelda, Émelda and Imelda.

Hawaiian form of Melissa.

From Chinese 梦 (mèng) meaning "dream, vision", 猛 (měng) meaning "fierce, ferocious", 蒙 (měng) meaning "cover, suffer, ignorance", 濛 (méng) meaning "drizzle, mist", 孟 (mèng) meaning "eldest brother, first month of a season, rude, rough" or 萌 (méng) meaning "bud, sprout". Other character combinations can form this name as well.

Means "light" in Chinese.

From the Chinese name Meng 3.

Georgian form of the Turkish given name Mevlüt, which is ultimately of Arabic origin.

Variant of Mevlud.

Derived from Arabic مَوْلِد (mawlid) meaning "birth", used to refer to the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

Feminine form of Michael.

Feminine form of Michaël.

Unaccented form of Michaëlle occasionally used in the USA. Also could be a variant of Michaela and Michelle (See also Michaella and Michaele).

Michaelle C. Solages is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 22nd district which includes portions of the town of Hempstead in Nassau County on Long Island.

From Sino-Korean 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with 娜 (na) meaning "elegant, graceful, delicate". Other hanja combinations can form this name as well.

Short form of Hermina and Vilhelmina.

Greenlandic form of Mina.

Means "like, similar" in Kurdish.

From Sino-Korean 敏 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp", 珉 (min) meaning "jade, stone resembling jade", 慜 (min) meaning "quick, agile, smart, clever" or 旻 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp" combined with 兒 (a) meaning "child", 雅 (a) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" or 娥 (a) meaning "pretty, lovely, good, beautiful". Other hanja combinations can form this name as well.

Diminutive of Herminia.

From Sanskrit मीन (mīna) meaning "fish", which in Hindu astrology is the name of a sign of the zodiac.

From Sino-Vietnamese 明 (minh) meaning "bright". This was an adopted name of the communist revolutionary Hồ Chí Minh (1890-1969).

Means "legacy, inheritance" in Kazakh, from Arabic ميراث (mīrāth) [1] via Turkish.

Meaning unknown. This is the name of the female lead character in the movie Dracula UNTOLD (October 2014), played by Sarah Gadon. Mirena is the wife of the main character Vlad Dracula, played by Luke Evans.

From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", 涼 (re) meaning "cool, refreshing" combined with 凪 (na) meaning "calm, lull". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Variant of Molly.

German form of Maurice.

Variant transcription of ихайло (see Mykhailo).

Ukrainian form of Nicholas.

French variant of Milan.

Variant of Mylène.

Russian and Bulgarian diminutive of Nadezhda. It is also an alternate transcription of Ukrainian Надія (see Nadiya).

Alternate transcription of Arabic ناديّة (see Nadiyya).

Portuguese, Slovak and Hungarian form of Natalia (see Natalie).

Form of Natasha in several languages.

Romanian form of Natasha.

Greek diminutive of Anastasia.

Hungarian form of Natasha.

Portuguese form of Natalia (see Natalie).

East and West Frisian variant of Neele and Finnish form of Nela.

Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi नीलम (see Nilam).

Variant of Nele.

As an East Frisian name it was recorded from the 1500s onwards.

Alternate transcription of Marathi/Hindi नीलिमा or Telugu నీలిమ (see Nilima).

Created by French author Marie d'Agoult for her semi-autobiographical novel Nélida (1846), written under the name Daniel Stern. It was probably an anagram of her pen name Daniel.

Galician form of Nélida.

Variant transliteration of Нелля (see Nellya).

Spanish form of Nicholas.

Greek short form of Nikolaos.

Hungarian borrowing of Noëlla.

Turkish and Albanian form of Nusrat.

Surname

Indonesian and German form of Octavia.

Icelandic form of Olina.

Variant of Oline.

Form of Paweł used outside of Poland.

Diminutive of Penelope. It can also be given in reference to the copper coin (a British pound or an American dollar are worth 100 of them), derived from Old English penning.

Possibly an 18th-century Estonian derivative of the German name Sibylle.

Form of Raphael used in the Latin Old Testament.

Armenian form of Raphael.

Means "pleasing, beautiful" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of an incarnation of the god Vishnu. He is the hero of the Ramayana, a Hindu epic, which tells of the abduction of his wife Sita by the demon king Ravana, and his efforts to recapture her.

This name can also form a part of compound names, such as Ramachandra and Rajaram.

From a French surname meaning "ruler" in Occitan. This name is often given in honour of Saint Jean-François Régis (1597-1640), a French Jesuit priest.

Languedocian and Gascon form of Régis.

Provençal form of Régis.

Niçard form of Régis as well as an English and Brazilian Portuguese borrowing of Régis in its Anglicized form. This name was borne by American television personality and actor Regis Philbin (1931-2020).

Originally a short form of Aurélia, occasionally used as a given name in its own right.

Short form of names containing rel, such as Mirella, Estrella or Aurelia or used as an independent name. Notable bearer is Canadian author Rella Braithwaite (1923-).

Variant of Rella.

French form of Reynard. Because of the medieval character Reynard the Fox, renard became a French word meaning "fox".

From the given name Renard.

Variant of Rian.

From Japanese 利 (ri) meaning "benefit; advantage" combined with 杏 (an) meaning "apricot". Other kanji combinations are possible.

For females usage of this name is, most likely, influenced by the name Leann.

Short form of Adrianus.

Short form of Richard or names ending in rick. A notable fictional bearer is Rick Blaine, portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, from the movie Casablanca (1942).

From Japanese 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or 理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Estonian form of Rick.

Feminine variant of Robin.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Rudolf. This is the name of the hero in Puccini's opera La Bohème (1896).

Spanish form of the Late Latin name Rogellus or Rogelius. This was probably related to the Germanic name Hrodger (see Roger), perhaps a remnant of a Visigothic cognate. It has also been suggested that it could be derived from a diminutive of the Latin name Rogatus [1]. Saint Rogellus was a 9th-century martyr from Córdoba.

Russian form of Roland.

Variant of Ruben.

Derived from Hungarian rubin "ruby".

Alternate transcription of Arabic سمير (see Samir 1).

Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi समीर, Bengali সমীর or Gujarati સમીર (see Samir 2).

Form of Samuel used in Tanzania and Kenya.

The name of an early Christian martyr from Edessa (today: Şanlıurfa, Turkey).

From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "willow farm" in Old Norse.

English and German variant of Zelda 2, the short form of Griselda, as well as a variant of Zelda 1, the feminine form of Selig, occasionally found among Yiddish speakers in German-speaking areas.

Italian and Spanish form of Sergius.

Ukrainian form of Sergius.

German and Scandinavian form of Severinus.

Anglicized form of Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie Shane (1953).

Modern Arabic form of Sarbel.

Alternate transcription of Shila.

Manx cognate of Síle and Sìle. This name used to be Anglicized as the etymologically unrelated Julia.

From an English surname, which was possibly a variant of Selby. Though previously in use as a rare masculine name, it was popularized as a feminine name by the main character in the movie The Woman in Red (1935). It was later reinforced by the movie Steel Magnolias (1989) in which Julia Roberts played a character by this name.

Uyghur form of Shuhrat.

German and French form of Sibyl.

Dutch variant of Sienna.

From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.

Short form of Silviya or Silvija.

Sami form of Silva.

Feminine form of Silvinus.

Portuguese form of Silvius.

Italian and Spanish form of Silvius.

Slovak and Slovene form of Stephen.

Romanian form of Stephen.

Icelandic form of Stephen.

Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.

Polonized form of Svetlana.

Variant of Sibylla.

Means "you will shine" in Hebrew, from the root הָלַל (halal) meaning "to praise, to shine" [1].

Means "dew from God" in Hebrew, from טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God.

French variant of Timothy.

Variant of Torny.

Either an Irish form of the Old Norse name Hugleikr, or else a diminutive of Uilliam.

Scottish Gaelic form of William.

Hungarian borrowing of Ulyana.

Variant of Uliana.

Variant of Vårin.

Italian form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

From Sino-Vietnamese 雲 (vân) meaning "cloud".

Short form of names containing van, such as Vance or Ivan.

Means "heaven, sky, firmament" or "fortune, luck, fate, destiny" in Hakha Chin.

Elaboration of Vör, perhaps influenced by Karin. It is also associated with the Norwegian word vår meaning "spring (the season)".

Lithuanian form of Basil 1.

Russian form of Basil 1.

Derived from Slavic veli meaning "great".

Feminine form of Velin.

Spanish, Galician and European Portuguese form of Veronica.

Catalan form of Veronica.

Brazilian Portuguese form of Veronica.

Esperanto diminutive of William.

Lithuanian form of William.

Finnish form of William.

Icelandic and Slovak form of Wilhelmina.

Swedish and Lithuanian feminine form of William.

Esperanto form of William.

Latvian form of William.

Icelandic form of William.

Slovak form of William.

Fijian form of William.

Tongan form of William.

Finnish form of William.

Slovene form of William.

Finnish diminutive of Vilhelm, used independently.

Finnish and Swedish diminutive of Vilhelm and other names beginning with Vil.

Estonian form of William.

Hungarian form of William.

Derived from viorea, the Romanian word for the alpine squill flower (species Scilla bifolia) or the sweet violet flower (species Viola odorata). It is derived from Latin viola "violet".

Feminine form of Viorel.

Variant of Viviana and Viviána.

Alternate transcription of Вангелија (see Vangelija.

Short form of William and other names beginning with Wil.

Means "desiring peace" from Old English willa "will, desire" and friþ "peace". Saint Wilfrid was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop. The name was rarely used after the Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 19th century.

Proto-Germanic reconstruction of William.

Medieval diminutive of William.

Diminutive of Wilhelm.

Short form of Wilhelmina. German settlers introduced it to America in the 19th century.

From an English surname meaning "son of William". The surname was borne by Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the American president during World War I.

Diminutive of Winifred. Winnie-the-Pooh, a stuffed bear in children's books by A. A. Milne, was named after a real bear named Winnipeg who lived at the London Zoo.

Polish form of Viola.

Limburgish form of William.

English: from the Old English personal name and byname Wine meaning ‘friend’, in part a short form of various compound names with this first element. Welsh: variant of Gwynn.

Derived from Welsh gwyn meaning "white, blessed".

From Chinese 曉 (xiǎo) meaning "dawn; daybreak", 小 (xiǎo) meaning "small, tiny" or 霄 (xiāo) meaning "sky, heaven; clouds, mist". Other meanings of this character or other characters with the same sound are possible.

Variant of Xián.

Diminutive of Yann or Yanna 2.

Turkish form of Jasmine.

Alternate transcription of Arabic ياسمين or Urdu یاسمین (see Yasmin).

Belarusian form of Eugenia.

Turkish form of Yalda.

Variant transcription of Єлизар (see Yelyzar).

Ukrainian form of Elizabeth.

Russian form of Eugene.

Russian form of Eugenia.

Ukrainian form of Eugenia.

Amharic form of John.

Hebrew form of Joseph.

Yiddish diminutive of Joseph.

From Japanese 優 (yū) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" or 悠 (yū) meaning "permanence" combined with 希 (ki) meaning "hope", 輝 (ki) meaning "brightness" or 生 (ki) meaning "living". Other combinations of kanji can form this name as well.

From Japanese 幸 (yuki) meaning "happiness" or 雪 (yuki) meaning "snow". It can also come from 由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" combined with 貴 (ki) meaning "valuable" or 紀 (ki) meaning "chronicle". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.

Short form of Zachary.

Azerbaijani form of Zahra 1.