The Nocturnal Animal's Personal Name List

Finnish and Estonian form of Eva.

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.

Norwegian form of Gróa.

Means "to dawn" in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.

Modern Scandinavian form of Iðunn.

Simply from the English word joy, ultimately derived from Norman French joie, Latin gaudium. It has been regularly used as a given name since the late 19th century.

Possibly derived from Old Norse kildr meaning "a spring".

Finnish form of Christina, or a short form of Kirsikka. It also means "frost" in Finnish.

Means "rime, hoarfrost" in Finnish.

Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".

Anglicized form of the Irish name Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband Ailill fought against the Ulster king Conchobar and the hero Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Derived from Finnish mieli meaning "mind, mood". This was the name of a Finnish goddess of forests and hunting. By some accounts she is the wife of the god Tapio.

French form of Naomi 1.

From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.

From the Old Norse name Sigurðr, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and vǫrðr "guard, guardian". Sigurd was the hero of the Norse epic the Völsungasaga, which tells how his foster father Regin sent him to recover a hoard of gold guarded by the dragon Fafnir. After slaying the dragon Sigurd tasted some of its blood, enabling him to understand the language of birds, who told him that Regin was planning to betray him. In a later adventure, Sigurd disguised himself as Gunnar (his wife Gudrun's brother) and rescued the maiden Brynhildr from a ring of fire, with the result that Gunnar and Brynhildr were married. When the truth eventually came out, Brynhildr took revenge upon Sigurd. The stories of the German hero Siegfried were in part based on him.

Short form of Silviya or Silvija.

French feminine form of Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.

Combination of Siri and hildr "battle, fight" or a combination of Siri and any name ending in -il.

From Old Norse Sif, which meant "bride, kinswoman". In Norse mythology she was the wife of Thor. After the trickster Loki cut off her golden hair, an angry Thor forced him to create a replacement.

Norwegian form of Sǫlvǫr.

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).

Means "summer" in Finnish.

Norwegian variant of Symre.

Younger form of Vár.

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

Means "sprout, young tree" in Finnish.

Means "willow" in Swedish, from Old Norse víðir.

Icelandic form of Vide.

Directly taken from Old Norse ylja "to warm, to heat".