thezenithofnadir's Personal Name List
Aaliyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Other Scripts: عالية(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘A-lee-yah(Arabic) ə-LEE-ə(English) ah-LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Aali. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by the singer Aaliyah Haughton (1979-2001), who was known simply as Aaliyah. This name received a boost in popularity after she released her debut album in 1994, and also in 2001 after her untimely death in an airplane crash.
Abene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Derived from Basque
abe meaning
"pillar". It is a Basque equivalent of
Pilar.
Abigail
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Italian, Biblical Portuguese, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֲבִיגַיִל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AB-i-gayl(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From the Hebrew name
אֲבִיגָיִל ('Avigayil) meaning
"my father is joy", derived from the roots
אָב ('av) meaning "father" and
גִּיל (gil) meaning "joy". In the
Old Testament this is the name of Nabal's wife. After Nabal's death she became the third wife of King
David.
As an English name, Abigail first became common after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans. The biblical Abigail refers to herself as a servant, and beginning in the 17th century the name became a slang term for a servant, especially after the release of the play The Scornful Lady (1616), which featured a character named Abigail. The name went out of fashion at that point, but it was revived in the 20th century.
Acacia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-KAY-shə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek
ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".
Ada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AY-də(English) A-dha(Spanish) A-da(Polish) AH-dah(Finnish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as
Adelaide or
Adelina that begin with the element
adal meaning "noble".
Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.
Adair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-DEHR
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Edgar.
Adaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AD-ə-lien
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-dee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
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.
Adelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Аделина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-deh-LEE-na(Italian) a-dheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From a Germanic name that was derived from the element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Adriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Адриана(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-dree-A-na(Italian, Dutch) a-DHRYA-na(Spanish) a-DRYA-na(Polish) ay-dree-AN-ə(English) ay-dree-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Adrian. A famous bearer is the Brazilian model Adriana Lima (1981-).
Adrianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ay-dree-AN, AY-dree-ən
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Adrienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DREE-YEHN(French)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
French feminine form of
Adrian.
Adrijana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Адријана(Serbian, Macedonian)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Slovene, Serbian, Croatian and Macedonian feminine form of
Adrian.
Agatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀγαθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-ə-thə(English) a-GHA-ta(Dutch)
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.
Agnes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἁγνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-nis(English) AK-nəs(German) AHKH-nehs(Dutch) ANG-nehs(Swedish) OW-nes(Danish)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἁγνή (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.
Agnesa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovak, Albanian
Slovak and Albanian form of
Agnes.
Agnete
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Danish and Norwegian variant of
Agnes.
Aida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Albanian, Literature
Other Scripts: عائدة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘A-ee-dah(Arabic) ah-EE-də(English)
Variant of
Ayda. This name was used in Verdi's opera
Aida (1871), where it belongs to an Ethiopian princess held captive in Egypt.
Aileen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ie-LEEN(English) IE-leen(English)
Aimee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-mee
Variant of
Amy, influenced by French
Aimée.
Ainara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: ie-NA-ra
Aksana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Belarusian
Other Scripts: Аксана(Belarusian)
Belarusian form of
Xenia.
Alaia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Means "joyful, happy" from Basque alai.
Alaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-LAYN-ə
Alana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Breton
Pronounced: ə-LAN-ə(English) a-LAHN-a(Breton)
Alazne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: a-LAS-neh
From Basque
alatz meaning
"miracle". It is an equivalent of
Milagros, proposed by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque
saints names.
Albina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Slovene, Polish, German, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Альбина(Russian) Альбіна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: ul-BYEE-nə(Russian) al-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) ul-byi-NU(Lithuanian)
Feminine form of
Albinus. This was the name of a few early
saints, including a 3rd-century martyr from Caesarea.
Aleksandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Александра(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ალექსანდრა(Georgian)
Pronounced: u-lyik-SAN-drə(Russian) a-lehk-SAN-dra(Polish) u-lyehk-SAN-dru(Lithuanian)
Alena 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: A-leh-na(Czech, Slovak)
Short form of
Magdalena or
Helena. This was the name of a
saint, possibly legendary, who was martyred near Brussels in the 7th century.
Alexandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αλεξάνδρα(Greek) Александра(Russian, Ukrainian) Ἀλεξάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-drə(English) a-leh-KSAN-dra(German, Romanian) a-lehk-SAHN-dra(Dutch) A-LUG-ZAHN-DRA(French) a-leh-KSAN-dhra(Greek) u-li-SHUN-dru(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dru(Brazilian Portuguese) A-lehk-san-dra(Czech, Slovak) AW-lehk-sawn-draw(Hungarian) A-LEH-KSAN-DRA(Classical Greek)
Feminine form of
Alexander. In Greek
mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian
saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
Alexis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French, English, Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Αλέξης(Greek) Ἄλεξις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SEE(French) ə-LEHK-sis(English)
From the Greek name
Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning
"helper" or
"defender", derived from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several
saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name
Ἀλέξιος or
Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors.
In the English-speaking world this name is more commonly given to girls. This is due to the American actress Alexis Smith (1921-1993), who began appearing in movies in the early 1940s. It got a boost in popularity in the 1980s from a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Ali 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ee
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).
Alicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Swedish, French
Pronounced: a-LEE-thya(European Spanish) a-LEE-sya(Latin American Spanish) ə-LEE-shə(English) ə-LEE-see-ə(English)
Alina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, German, Italian, Spanish
Other Scripts: Алина(Russian) Аліна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: a-LEE-na(Romanian, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish)
Aline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Portuguese (Brazilian), English
Pronounced: A-LEEN(French) a-LEE-nee(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEEN(English)
Medieval short form of
Adeline. As an English name, in modern times it has sometimes been regarded as a variant of
Eileen. This was the name of a popular 1965 song by the French singer Christophe.
Alisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bosnian, Finnish, Georgian
Other Scripts: Алиса(Russian) Аліса(Ukrainian) ალისა(Georgian)
Pronounced: u-LYEE-sə(Russian) AH-lee-sah(Finnish)
Form of
Alice used in several languages.
Alise 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-LEES, AL-is
Alison 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AL-i-sən(English) A-LEE-SAWN(French)
Norman French
diminutive of
Aalis (see
Alice)
[1]. It was common in England, Scotland and France in the Middle Ages, and was later revived in England in the 20th century via Scotland. Unlike most other English names ending in
son, it is not derived from a surname.
Alissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LIS-ə
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Allie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ee
Diminutive of
Alison 1,
Alexandra and other names beginning with the same sound. After a 34-year absence from the American top 1000 chart this name began growing in popularity after the premiere of the sitcom
Kate and Allie in 1984.
Ally 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ee
Diminutive of
Alison 1,
Alexandra and other names beginning with the same sound. This name jumped in popularity in 1997 after the premiere of the American television series
Ally McBeal.
Alma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: AL-mə(English) AL-ma(Spanish)
This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin
almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning
"the soul".
Almira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Alyssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LIS-ə
Variant of
Alicia. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek
ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with
λύσσα (lyssa) meaning "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.
Amaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).
Amalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Αμαλία(Greek)
Pronounced: a-MA-lya(Spanish, German) a-MA-lee-a(Dutch)
Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal. This element means
"unceasing, vigorous, brave", or it can refer to the Gothic dynasty of the Amali (derived from the same root).
This was another name for the 7th-century saint Amalberga of Maubeuge.
Amanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: ə-MAN-də(English) a-MAN-da(Spanish, Italian)
In part this is a feminine form of
Amandus. However, it was not used during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century it was recreated by authors and poets who based it directly on Latin
amanda meaning
"lovable, worthy of love". Notably, the playwright Colley Cibber used it for a character in his play
Love's Last Shift (1696). It came into regular use during the 19th century.
Amaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: a-MA-ya(Spanish) ə-MIE-ə(English)
Variant of
Amaia.
In America, this name was popularized in 1999 by a contestant on the reality television series The Real World [1].
Amber
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AM-bər(English) AHM-bər(Dutch)
From the English word
amber that denotes either the gemstone, which is formed from fossil resin, or the orange-yellow colour. The word ultimately derives from Arabic
عنبر ('anbar). It began to be used as a given name in the late 19th century, but it only became popular after the release of Kathleen Winsor's novel
Forever Amber (1944).
Amela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Bosnian feminine form of
Amal 1.
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Amina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Tatar, Kazakh, Swahili, Hausa
Other Scripts: آمنة, أمينة(Arabic) Әминә(Tatar) Әмина(Kazakh) Амина(Russian)
Pronounced: A-mee-nah(Arabic) a-MEE-nah(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
Aminah 1 or
Aminah 2, as well as the form in several other languages.
Amity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-mi-tee
From the English word meaning "friendship", ultimately deriving from Latin amicitia.
Amy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-mee
English form of the Old French name Amée meaning "beloved" (modern French aimée), a vernacular form of the Latin Amata. As an English name, it was in use in the Middle Ages (though not common) and was revived in the 19th century.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
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.
Anastasiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Анастасия(Russian, Bulgarian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) a-na-sta-SEE-ya(Bulgarian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of
Anastasia. This name was borne by the wife of the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible.
Andi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dee
Andrea 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Андреа(Serbian)
Pronounced: AN-dree-ə(English) an-DREH-a(German, Spanish) AN-dreh-a(Czech, Slovak) AWN-dreh-aw(Hungarian)
Feminine form of
Andrew. As an English name, it has been used since the 17th century, though it was not common until the 20th century.
Andriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Ανδριάνα(Greek) Андриана(Bulgarian)
Andrijana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Андријана(Serbian)
Angela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Slovak, Russian, Macedonian, Greek, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Ангела(Russian, Macedonian) Άντζελα(Greek)
Pronounced: AN-jəl-ə(English) AN-jeh-la(Italian) ANG-geh-la(German) AN-gyi-lə(Russian)
Feminine form of
Angelus (see
Angel). As an English name, it came into use in the 18th century. A notable bearer is the former German chancellor Angela Merkel (1954-).
Angelica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: an-JEHL-i-kə(English) an-JEH-lee-ka(Italian)
Derived from Latin
angelicus meaning
"angelic", ultimately related to Greek
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger". The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1483 and 1532), where she is the love interest of both
Orlando and
Rinaldo. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.
Angelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Armenian
Other Scripts: Ангелина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian) Αγγελίνα(Greek) Անգելինա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ang-jeh-LEE-na(Italian) an-jə-LEE-nə(English) un-gyi-LYEE-nə(Russian) ang-kheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
Latinate
diminutive of
Angela. A famous bearer is American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-).
Angelique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Angie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-jee
Diminutive of
Angela. The 1973 Rolling Stones song
Angie caused this name to jump in popularity.
Anika 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Slovene
Pronounced: A-nee-ka(German, Dutch)
Anissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
This name was first brought to public attention in 1966 by the child actress Anissa Jones (1958-1976)
[1]. In her case it was a transcription of the Arabic name
أنيسة (see
Anisa), given to honour her Lebanese heritage. Other parents who have since used this name may view it simply as an elaboration of
Anna using the popular name suffix
issa.
Anita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Slovene, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Latvian, Hungarian
Pronounced: a-NEE-ta(Spanish, Dutch, German) ə-NEET-ə(English) AH-nee-tah(Finnish) a-NYEE-ta(Polish) AW-nee-taw(Hungarian)
Anjanette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Perhaps a blend of
Angela and
Antonette, or
Ann and
Janette. It had a little burst of popularity in the United States in the 1960s, when the actress Anjanette Comer (1939-) was active.
Anka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Анка(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: ANG-ka(Polish)
Anke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Low German, Dutch
Pronounced: ANG-kə(Low German) AHNG-kə(Dutch)
Low German and Dutch
diminutive of
Anna and other names beginning with
An.
Anna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Scottish Gaelic, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Άννα(Greek) Анна(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Church Slavic) Աննա(Armenian) Ἄννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-ə(English) AN-na(Italian, Polish, Icelandic) A-na(German, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Czech) AH-na(Dutch) AHN-nah(Norwegian, Finnish) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan)
Form of
Channah (see
Hannah) used in the Greek and Latin
Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the
Hannah spelling instead of
Anna. The name appears briefly in the
New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of
Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin
Mary.
In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.
The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.
Annabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Modern)
Pronounced: a-na-BEHL-la(Italian) an-ə-BEHL-ə(English)
Latinate form of
Annabel. It can also be interpreted as a combination of
Anna and Latin/Italian
bella "beautiful".
Annabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English)
Variant of
Annabel. It can also be interpreted as a combination of
Anna and French
belle "beautiful".
Annabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AN-ə-beth
Annalee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AN-ə-lee
Annalise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, English (Modern)
Anne 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, Basque
Pronounced: AN(French, English) A-neh(Swedish) A-nə(Danish, German) AHN-neh(Finnish) AH-nə(Dutch)
French form of
Anna. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant
Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.
The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London. Another notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne (Annelies) Frank, a young victim of the Holocaust in 1945. This is also the name of the heroine in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Annelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Annette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: A-NEHT(French) ə-NEHT(English) a-NEH-tə(German)
French
diminutive of
Anne 1. It has also been widely used in the English-speaking world, and it became popular in America in the late 1950s due to the fame of actress Annette Funicello (1942-2013).
Annick
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton, French
Annie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch
Pronounced: AN-ee(English) A-NEE(French)
Annika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, German, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AN-ni-ka(Swedish) AH-nee-ka(Dutch) AHN-nee-kah(Finnish) A-nee-ka(German) AN-i-kə(English) AHN-i-kə(English)
Antonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Αντωνία(Greek) Антония(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: an-TO-nya(Italian, Spanish, German) an-TO-nee-ə(English) ahn-TO-nee-a(Dutch) an-TO-nee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Antonius (see
Anthony).
Anzhela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Анжела(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian) Анжэла(Belarusian) Անժելա(Armenian)
Pronounced: un-ZHEH-lə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian and Armenian form of
Angela.
April
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-prəl
From the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of
Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin
orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.
Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).
Arden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-dən
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
Ardith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Aretha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-REE-thə
Possibly derived from Greek
ἀρετή (arete) meaning
"virtue". This name was popularized in the 1960s by American singer Aretha Franklin (1942-2018).
Ariadna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Catalan, Russian, Polish
Other Scripts: Ариадна(Russian)
Pronounced: a-RYADH-na(Spanish) ə-RYADH-nə(Catalan) a-RYAD-na(Polish)
Spanish, Catalan, Russian and Polish form of
Ariadne.
Ariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ar-ee-AN-ə(English) ar-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Portuguese form of
Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).
Ariel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
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 ('ari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל ('el) 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).
Arin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Ashley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH-lee
From an English surname that was originally derived from place names meaning
"ash tree clearing", from a combination of Old English
æsc and
leah. Until the 1960s it was more commonly given to boys in the United States, but it is now most often used on girls. It reached its height of popularity in America in 1987, but it did not become the highest ranked name until 1991, being overshadowed by the likewise-popular
Jessica until then. In the United Kingdom it is still more common as a masculine name.
Ashlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-lin
Combination of
Ashley and the popular name suffix
lyn.
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)
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.
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.
The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.
Aubree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AWB-ree
Aubrey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWB-ree
From
Auberi, an Old French form of
Alberich brought to England by the
Normans. It was common in the Middle Ages, and was revived in the 19th century. Since the mid-1970s it has more frequently been given to girls, due to Bread's 1972 song
Aubrey along with its similarity to the established feminine name
Audrey.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Medieval
diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
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.
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn
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.
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Avril
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-VREEL(French) AV-ril(English)
French form of
April. A famous bearer is the Canadian musician Avril Lavigne (1984-).
Ayla 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-lə(English)
Created for the novel
Clan of the Cave Bear (1980) by author Jean M. Auel. In the novel Ayla is an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl adopted by Neanderthals.
Ayla is the Neanderthal pronunciation of her real name, which is not given.
This name entered the American popularity charts after the release of the movie adaptation of the novel in 1986. Its continuing popularity is likely due to the fact that it contains the trendy phonetic elements ay and la.
Azalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-ZAY-lee-ə
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek
ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".
Azure
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AZH-ər
From the English word that means "sky blue". It is ultimately (via Old French, Latin and Arabic) from Persian
لاجورد (lajvard) meaning "azure, lapis lazuli".
Bailey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAY-lee
From an English surname derived from Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.
Already an uncommon masculine name, it slowly grew in popularity for American girls beginning in 1978 after the start of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which featured a character with this name. Though it remained more common as a feminine name, it got a boost for boys in 1994 from another television character on the drama Party of Five. In the United Kingdom and Australia it has always been more popular for boys.
Barbara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late Roman
Pronounced: BAHR-bə-rə(English) BAHR-brə(English) BAR-BA-RA(French) BAR-ba-ra(German) bar-BA-ra(Polish) BAWR-baw-raw(Hungarian) BAHR-ba-ra(Dutch)
Derived from Greek
βάρβαρος (barbaros) meaning
"foreign". According to legend,
Saint Barbara was a young woman killed by her father Dioscorus, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen. Because of her renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. In England it became rare after the
Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Bea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hungarian, Dutch
Pronounced: BEE(English)
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Italian form of
Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the
Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy
Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and
Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Bellamy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
From an English surname derived from Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
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.
Bethany
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BETH-ə-nee
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, used primarily by Catholics in honour of Mary of Bethany. In America it became moderately common after the 1950s.
Beverly
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHV-ər-lee
From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of a Yorkshire city, itself from Old English
beofor "beaver" and (possibly)
licc "stream". It came into use as a masculine given name in the 19th century, then became common as an American feminine name after the publication of George Barr McCutcheon's 1904 novel
Beverly of Graustark [1]. It was most popular in the 1930s, and has since greatly declined in use.
Blair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BLEHR(English)
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
blàr meaning
"plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.
In the United States it became more common for girls in the early 1980s, shortly after the debut of the television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979-1988), which featured a character named Blair Warner. The name left the American top 1000 rankings two decades later, but was resurrected by another television character, this time Blair Waldorf from the series Gossip Girl (2007-2012).
Blaire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLEHR
Blakely
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLAYK-lee
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland clearing".
Blanche
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: BLAHNSH(French) BLANCH(English)
From a medieval French nickname meaning
"white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *
blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.
Blanka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian, Slovene
Pronounced: BLANG-ka(Czech, Slovak, Croatian) BLAN-ka(Polish) BLAWNG-kaw(Hungarian)
Form of
Blanche in several languages.
Blossom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAH-səm
From the English word blossom, ultimately from Old English blóstm. It came into use as a rare given name in the 19th century.
Blythe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BLIEDH
From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.
Bojana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Бојана(Macedonian, Serbian)
Brandi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAN-dee
Briana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: bree-AN-ə, bree-AHN-ə, brie-AN-ə
Feminine form of
Brian. It appears in Edmund Spenser's epic poem
The Faerie Queene (1590). The name was not commonly used until the 1970s, when it rapidly became popular in the United States.
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid, Old Irish
Brigit, from old Celtic *
Brigantī meaning
"the exalted one". In Irish
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god
Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by
Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Briella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-EHL-ə
Brielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-EHL
Short form of
Gabrielle. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
Britney
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIT-nee
Variant of
Brittany. This name is borne by the American pop singer Britney Spears (1981-).
Britt
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: BRIT(Swedish)
Brooke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWK
Variant of
Brook. The name came into use in the 1950s, probably influenced by American socialite Brooke Astor (1902-2007). It was further popularized by actress Brooke Shields (1965-).
Brooklyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRUWK-lən
From the name of a borough of New York City, originally named after the Dutch town of
Breukelen, itself meaning either "broken land" (from Dutch
breuk) or "marsh land" (from Dutch
broek). It can also be viewed as a combination of
Brook and the popular name suffix
lyn. It is considered a feminine name in the United States, but is more common as a masculine name in the United Kingdom.
Bryony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
From the name of a type of Eurasian vine, formerly used as medicine. It ultimately derives from Greek
βρύω (bryo) meaning "to swell".
Caitlin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KAYT-lin(English)
Caitlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYT-lin
Camellia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-MEE-lee-ə, kə-MEHL-ee-ə
From the name of the flowering shrub, which was named for the botanist and missionary Georg Josef Kamel.
Camilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: kə-MIL-ə(English) ka-MEEL-la(Italian) kah-MEEL-lah(Danish) KAH-meel-lah(Finnish) ka-MI-la(German)
Feminine form of
Camillus. This was the name of a legendary warrior maiden of the Volsci, as told by
Virgil in the
Aeneid. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Fanny Burney's novel
Camilla (1796).
Candace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: KAN-dis(English) KAN-də-see(English)
From the hereditary title of the queens of Ethiopia, as mentioned in Acts in the
New Testament. It is apparently derived from Cushitic
kdke meaning
"queen mother". In some versions of the Bible it is spelled
Kandake, reflecting the Greek spelling
Κανδάκη. It was used as a given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 20th century by a character in the 1942 movie
Meet the Stewarts [1].
Carina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Late Roman
Pronounced: kə-REE-nə(English) ka-REE-na(Spanish, German)
Late Latin name derived from
cara meaning
"dear, beloved". This was the name of a 4th-century
saint and martyr. It is also the name of a constellation in the southern sky, though in this case it means "keel" in Latin, referring to a part of
Jason's ship the Argo.
Carina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Pronounced: ka-REE-na(German)
Carla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: KAR-la(Italian, Spanish, German) KAHR-lə(English) KAHR-la(Dutch)
Carly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-lee
Feminine form of
Carl. A famous bearer is the American singer Carly Simon (1945-), who inspired a rise in popularity in this name in the 1970s.
Carmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Italian, French, Romanian, German
Pronounced: KAR-mehn(Spanish, Italian) KAHR-mən(English)
Medieval Spanish form of
Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word
carmen meaning
"song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera
Carmen (1875).
Caroline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: KA-RAW-LEEN(French) KAR-ə-lien(English) KAR-ə-lin(English) ka-ro-LEE-nə(German)
Catalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Corsican
Pronounced: ka-ta-LEE-na(Spanish)
Caterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: ka-teh-REE-na(Italian) kə-tə-REE-nə(Catalan)
Catharina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(Dutch)
Cecília
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Catalan, Slovak, Hungarian
Pronounced: sə-SEE-lee-ə(Catalan) TSEH-tsee-lee-a(Slovak) TSEH-tsee-lee-aw(Hungarian)
Portuguese, Catalan, Slovak and Hungarian form of
Cecilia.
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian)
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name
Caecilius, which was derived from Latin
caecus meaning
"blind".
Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.
Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.
Cecilie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Czech
Pronounced: seh-SEEL-yeh(Norwegian, Danish)
Norwegian and Danish form of
Cecilia, as well as a Czech variant of
Cecílie.
Cecilija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian
Pronounced: KYEH-kyee-lee-ya(Sorbian)
Slovene, Croatian and Sorbian form of
Cecilia.
Cèlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: SEH-lee-ə
Chantal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAHN-TAL(French) shahn-TAHL(English, Dutch) shahn-TAL(English)
From a French surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"stony". It was originally given in honour of
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, the founder of the Visitation Order in the 17th century. It has become associated with French
chant "song".
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)
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.
Chloë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English
Pronounced: KLO-ee(English)
Dutch form and English variant of
Chloe.
Christina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Greek
Other Scripts: Χριστίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: kris-TEE-nə(English) kris-TEE-na(German, Swedish, Dutch)
From
Christiana, the Latin feminine form of
Christian. This was the name of an early, possibly legendary,
saint who was tormented by her pagan father. It was also borne by a 17th-century Swedish queen and patron the arts who gave up her crown in order to become a Roman Catholic.
In the English-speaking world the form Christine was more popular for most of the 20th century, though Christina eventually overtook it. Famous bearers include actress Christina Ricci (1980-) and singer Christina Aguilera (1980-).
Christine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Dutch
Pronounced: KREES-TEEN(French) kris-TEEN(English) kris-TEE-nə(German, Dutch)
French form of
Christina, as well as a variant in other languages. It was used by the French author Gaston Leroux for the heroine, Christine Daaé, in his novel
The Phantom of the Opera (1910).
This was a popular name in the 20th century (especially the middle decades) in French, German, and English-speaking countries. In the United States Christina has been more common since 1973, though both forms are currently floundering on the charts.
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.
Cornelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Romanian, Italian, Dutch, English, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: kawr-NEH-lya(German) kor-NEH-lya(Italian) kawr-NEH-lee-a(Dutch) kawr-NEE-lee-ə(English) kor-NEH-lee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Cornelius. In the 2nd century BC it was borne by Cornelia Scipionis Africana (the daughter of the military hero Scipio Africanus), the mother of the two reformers known as the Gracchi. After her death she was regarded as an example of the ideal Roman woman. The name was revived in the 18th century.
Cristina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian
Pronounced: kree-STEE-na(Italian, Romanian) krees-TEE-na(Spanish) kreesh-TEE-nu(European Portuguese) krees-CHEE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) krees-TEE-nə(Catalan)
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian form of
Christina.
Dafina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Дафина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Means "laurel" in Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, of Greek origin.
Dagmar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: DOW-mar(Danish) DAK-mar(German) DAG-mar(Czech)
From the Old Norse name
Dagmær, derived from the elements
dagr "day" and
mær "maid". This was the name adopted by the popular Bohemian wife of the Danish king Valdemar II when they married in 1205. Her birth name was
Markéta.
Dana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Czech, Slovak, German, Hebrew
Other Scripts: דָּנָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: DA-na(Czech, Slovak, German)
Dana 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Дана(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-na
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)
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.
Daniela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: Даниела(Bulgarian, Macedonian) דניאלה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: da-NYEH-la(Italian, Spanish) da-nee-EH-la(German, Romanian) da-NYEH-la(Polish) DA-ni-yeh-la(Czech) DA-nee-eh-la(Slovak) dan-YEHL-ə(English)
Daniëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: da-nee-EH-lə
Dutch feminine form of
Daniel.
Danijela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Данијела(Serbian)
Daria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Romanian, English, Croatian, Russian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Дарья(Russian) Δαρεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-rya(Italian, Polish) DAR-ya(Romanian) DAHR-ee-ə(English) DAR-ee-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Darius.
Saint Daria was a 3rd-century woman who was martyred with her husband Chrysanthus under the Roman emperor Numerian. It has never been a particularly common English given name. As a Russian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Darya.
Darina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian, Russian
Other Scripts: Дарина(Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: DA-ree-na(Slovak) DA-ri-na(Czech)
Derived from the Slavic word
darŭ meaning
"gift". It is sometimes used as a
diminutive of names beginning with
Dar.
Darja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Czech, Estonian, Latvian
Pronounced: DA-rya(Czech)
Slovene, Czech, Estonian and Latvian form of
Daria.
Darya 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Дарья(Russian) Дар'я(Belarusian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: DA-ryə(Russian)
Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian form of
Daria.
Denisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Albanian
Pronounced: DEH-ni-sa(Czech) DEH-nee-sa(Slovak) deh-NEE-sa(Romanian)
Denise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: DU-NEEZ(French) də-NEES(English) deh-NEE-zə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Denis.
Désirée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, German
Pronounced: DEH-ZEE-REH(French)
French form of
Desiderata. In part it is directly from the French word meaning "desired, wished".
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-AH-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.
Dina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Latvian, Russian, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Дина(Russian) Δίνα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DYEE-nə(Russian) DEE-nah(Dutch) DEE-na(Italian, Spanish)
Dita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, German, Latvian
Pronounced: GYI-ta(Czech)
Short form of names containing
dit, such as
Judita, and German names beginning with
Diet, such as
Dietlinde.
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).
Dorothea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Late Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δωροθέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: do-ro-TEH-a(German) dawr-ə-THEE-ə(English)
Feminine form of the Late 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.
Dragana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Драгана(Serbian, Macedonian)
Dušanka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Душанка(Serbian)
Edita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Едита(Serbian)
Pronounced: EH-di-ta(Czech) EH-dee-ta(Slovak)
Form of
Edith in several languages.
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish)
From the Old English name
Eadgyð, derived from the elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by
Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the
Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.
Edurne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: eh-DHOOR-neh
Means
"snow" in Basque, from
edur, a variant of
elur "snow". It is an equivalent of
Nieves, proposed by the writer Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque
saints names.
Ekaterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian
Other Scripts: Екатерина(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian)
Pronounced: yi-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian) i-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian)
Elaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Derived from Basque elai meaning "swallow (bird)".
Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Form of
Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
Yelena).
Elene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian, Sardinian, Basque
Other Scripts: ელენე(Georgian)
Georgian, Sardinian and Basque form of
Helen.
Eleonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek
Other Scripts: Елеонора(Bulgarian, Ukrainian) Элеонора(Russian) Ελεονώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-leh-o-NAW-ra(Italian) eh-leh-o-NO-ra(German) eh-leh-aw-NAW-ra(Polish) eh-lyi-u-NO-rə(Russian)
Form of
Eleanor in several languages.
Eline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Dutch, Danish
Norwegian and Dutch variant form of
Helen. This is the name of the title character in the novel
Eline Vere (1889) by the Dutch writer Louis Couperus.
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
German and Dutch form of
Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the
New Testament.
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Ella 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian
Pronounced: EHL-ə(English) EHL-lah(Finnish) EHL-law(Hungarian)
Ellen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EHL-ən(English) EHL-lehn(Finnish)
Medieval English form of
Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form
Helen also became common.
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Emilija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Емилија(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: eh-MYI-lyi-yu(Lithuanian) EH-mee-lee-ya(Serbian, Croatian)
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily).
Emina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Emira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
irmin meaning
"whole" or
"great" (Proto-Germanic *
ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian
saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).
In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).
Emmy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Dutch, German
Pronounced: EHM-ee(English)
Enisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Bosnian feminine form of
Anis.
Enora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: EH-NAW-RA(French)
Breton form of
Honoria, or directly from Breton
enor "honour" (a word of Latin origin). This was the name of a 6th-century
saint, the wife of Saint Efflamm.
Erika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, English, Italian
Pronounced: eh-REE-kah(Swedish, Norwegian) EH-ree-kah(Finnish) EH-ree-ka(German, Slovak) EH-ree-kaw(Hungarian) EHR-i-kə(English)
Feminine form of
Erik. It also coincides with the word for
"heather" in some languages.
Esmée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: EHZ-may(British English) EHZ-mee(British English) ehs-MEH(Dutch)
Esmee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: EHZ-may(British English) EHZ-mee(British English) ehs-MEH(Dutch)
Ester
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Czech, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ehs-TEHR(Spanish) əs-TEHR(Catalan) EHS-tehr(Czech, Finnish)
Form of
Esther used in several languages.
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)
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].
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Evelína
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: EH-veh-lee-na(Czech)
Evelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Εβελίνα(Greek) Эвелина(Russian) Евелина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ehv-ə-LEE-nə(English) eh-veh-LEE-na(Italian, Swedish)
Latinate form of
Aveline. It was revived by the author Fanny Burney for the heroine of her first novel
Evelina (1778). It is often regarded as a variant of the related name
Evelyn or an elaboration of
Eve.
Eveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch
Pronounced: EHV-ə-leen(English) EHV-ə-lien(English) EHV-LEEN(French) eh-və-LEE-nə(Dutch) eh-və-LEEN(Dutch)
Fatima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bosnian
Other Scripts: فاطمة(Arabic) فاطمہ(Urdu)
Pronounced: FA-tee-mah(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
فاطمة (see
Fatimah), as well as the usual Urdu and Bosnian form.
Felicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Late Roman
Pronounced: fə-LEE-shə(English) feh-LEE-cha(Italian) feh-LEE-thya(European Spanish) feh-LEE-sya(Latin American Spanish) feh-LEE-chee-a(Romanian) feh-LEE-see-a(Dutch) feh-LEE-see-ah(Swedish)
Feminine form of the Latin name
Felicius, a derivative of
Felix. As an English name, it has occasionally been used since the Middle Ages.
Flaka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
From Albanian flakë meaning "flame".
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Means
"flower" in French.
Saint Fleur of Issendolus (
Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels
The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese)
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Franka 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: FRANG-ka(German)
German and Dutch feminine form of
Frank.
Gabriela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, German, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Габриела(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: gab-RYEH-la(Polish) ga-BRYEH-la(Spanish) ga-bree-EH-la(German) GA-bri-yeh-la(Czech) GA-bree-eh-la(Slovak)
Gabriëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: gha-bree-EH-lə
Gaëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: GA-EHL(French)
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Gisela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: GEE-zə-la(German) khee-SEH-la(Spanish)
German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Giselle.
Gwenaëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: GWEH-NA-EHL(French)
Haizea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ie-SEH-a
Means "wind" in Basque.
Halina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Галіна(Belarusian)
Pronounced: kha-LEE-na(Polish) gha-LYEE-na(Belarusian)
Polish and Belarusian form of
Galina.
Hana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian
Other Scripts: هناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-NA(Arabic)
Means "bliss, happiness" in Arabic.
Hanife
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Albanian
Turkish and Albanian feminine form of
Hanif.
Hanna 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German, Dutch, Icelandic, Hungarian, Hebrew
Other Scripts: Ганна(Ukrainian, Belarusian) חַנָּה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: HAN-na(Swedish, Icelandic) HAN-nah(Danish) HAHN-nah(Finnish) KHAN-na(Polish) HAN-nu(Ukrainian) HA-na(German) HAWN-naw(Hungarian)
Form of
Channah (see
Hannah) in several languages.
Hanna 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Hungarian
Pronounced: HA-na(German) HAN-na(Swedish) HAN-nah(Danish) HAHN-nah(Finnish) HAWN-naw(Hungarian)
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-nah(Arabic)
From the Hebrew name
חַנָּה (Channah) meaning
"favour, grace", derived from the root
חָנַן (chanan). 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.
Heidi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, English
Pronounced: HIE-dee(German, English) HAY-dee(Finnish)
German
diminutive of
Adelheid. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel
Heidi (1880) by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.
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.
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).
Henriette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: AHN-RYEHT(French) hehn-ree-EH-tə(German, Dutch) hehn-ree-EH-də(Danish) hehn-ree-EHT-teh(Norwegian)
Hester
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: HEHS-tər(English, Dutch)
Latin form of
Esther. Like
Esther, it has been used in England since the
Protestant Reformation. Nathaniel Hawthorne used it for the heroine of his novel
The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester Prynne, a
Puritan woman forced to wear a red letter
A on her chest after giving birth to a child out of wedlock.
Hilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Spanish, Hungarian, Anglo-Saxon (Latinized), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: HIL-də(English) HIL-da(German, Dutch) EEL-da(Spanish) HEEL-daw(Hungarian)
Originally a short form of names containing the Old Frankish element
hildi, Old High German
hilt, Old English
hild meaning
"battle" (Proto-Germanic *
hildiz). The short form was used for both Old English and continental Germanic names.
Saint Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby was a 7th-century English saint and abbess. The name became rare in England during the later Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century.
Hristina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Христина(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: khree-STEE-nə(Bulgarian) khrees-TEE-na(Macedonian)
Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian form of
Christina.
Ida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, French, Polish, Finnish, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovene, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: IE-də(English) EE-da(German, Dutch, Italian, Polish) EE-dah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) EE-daw(Hungarian)
Derived from the Germanic element
id possibly meaning
"work, labour" (Proto-Germanic *
idiz). The
Normans brought this name to England, though it eventually died out there in the Middle Ages. It was strongly revived in the 19th century, in part due to the heroine in Alfred Tennyson's poem
The Princess (1847), which was later adapted into the play
Princess Ida (1884) by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Though the etymology is unrelated, this is the name of a mountain on the island of Crete where, according to Greek myth, the god Zeus was born.
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)
Old Hungarian form of
Helen, possibly via a Slavic form. In Finland it is associated with the word
ilona, a derivative of
ilo "joy".
Ilse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: IL-zə(German) IL-sə(Dutch)
Ina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, English, Slovene, Latvian
Pronounced: EE-na(Dutch) EE-nah(Swedish) EE-nə(English) IE-nə(English)
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)
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).
Ioana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Йоана(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ee-WA-na(Romanian)
Romanian feminine form of
John. This is also an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Йоана (see
Yoana).
Iolanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian
Pronounced: yo-LAN-da(Italian, Romanian) yoo-LAN-də(Catalan)
Italian, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian form of
Yolanda.
Irena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Ирена(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ee-REH-na(Polish) I-reh-na(Czech) EE-reh-na(Slovak) i-ryeh-NU(Lithuanian)
Form of
Irene in several languages.
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
Iryna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ірина(Ukrainian) Ірына(Belarusian)
Pronounced: ee-RI-nu(Ukrainian) yee-RI-na(Belarusian)
Ukrainian and Belarusian form of
Irene.
Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Latinate form of
Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called
Isabel).
In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.
A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).
Isabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: EE-ZA-BEHL(French) IZ-ə-behl(English) ee-za-BEH-lə(German, Dutch)
Itxaro
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-CHA-ro
Means "hope, wait" in Basque.
Ivana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Italian
Other Scripts: Ивана(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: I-va-na(Czech) EE-va-na(Slovak)
Iveta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Latvian
Pronounced: I-veh-ta(Czech) EE-veh-ta(Slovak)
Czech, Slovak and Latvian form of
Yvette.
Ivona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Ивона(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: I-vo-na(Czech)
Form of
Yvonne in several languages.
Jana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, Latvian
Pronounced: YA-na(Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German) ZHA-nə(Catalan)
Janine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: ZHA-NEEN(French) jə-NEEN(English) ya-NEE-nə(German)
Variant of
Jeannine. It has only been in use since the 20th century.
Jasmína
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Jasmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Јасмина(Serbian, Macedonian)
Form of
Jasmine in several languages.
Jeanette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: ZHA-NEHT(French) jə-NEHT(English) shah-NEHT(Swedish)
Jehona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Pronounced: yeh-HAWN-ah
Derived from Albanian jehonë meaning "echo".
Jennifer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHN-i-fər(English) JEH-ni-fu(German)
From a Cornish form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar (see
Guinevere). This name has only been common outside of Cornwall since the beginning of the 20th century, after it was featured in George Bernard Shaw's play
The Doctor's Dilemma (1906). It barely ranked in the United until the late 1930s, when it began steadily growing in popularity, accelerating into the early 1970s. It was the most popular name for girls in America between 1970 and 1984, though it was not as common in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include the American actresses Jennifer Aniston (1969-), Jennifer Garner (1972-) and Jennifer Lawrence (1990-), as well as the singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (1969-).
Jessica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHS-i-kə(English) ZHEH-SEE-KA(French) YEH-see-ka(German, Dutch) JEH-see-ka(German) YEHS-si-ka(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish)
This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of
Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name
Iscah, which would have been spelled
Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by
Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).
Joana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Catalan
Pronounced: zhoo-U-nu(European Portuguese) zho-U-nu(European Portuguese) zhoo-A-nə(Catalan)
Portuguese and Catalan form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna).
Joëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: ZHAW-EHL(French)
French and Dutch feminine form of
Joel.
Johana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: YO-ha-na(Czech)
Czech form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna). This form is also used in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Johanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: yo-HA-na(German) yuw-HAN-na(Swedish) yo-HAHN-nah(Danish) yo-HAH-na(Dutch) YO-hawn-naw(Hungarian) YO-hahn-nah(Finnish) jo-HAN-ə(English) jo-AN-ə(English)
Latinate form of Greek
Ioanna (see
Joanna).
Jolana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: YO-la-na(Czech) YAW-la-na(Slovak)
Josefína
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Czech feminine form of
Joseph.
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) khoo-DHEET(Spanish) ZHUY-DEET(French)
From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning
"Jewish woman", feminine of
יְהוּדִי (yehudi), 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.
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)
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-).
Julie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ZHUY-LEE(French) YOO-lyə(Danish, German) YOO-li-yeh(Czech) JOO-lee(English)
French, Danish, Norwegian and Czech form of
Julia. It has spread to many other regions as well. It has been common in the English-speaking world since the early 20th century.
Julijana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Јулијана(Serbian, Macedonian)
Slovene, Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian form of
Juliana.
Justýna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: YOO-stee-na
Czech form of
Iustina (see
Justina).
Kája
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: KA-ya
Kalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Калина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ka-LEE-na(Polish)
Means "viburnum tree" in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish.
Kamila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Polish
Pronounced: KA-mi-la(Czech) KA-mee-la(Slovak) ka-MEE-la(Polish)
Czech, Slovak and Polish form of
Camilla.
Kamilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Other Scripts: Камилла(Russian)
Pronounced: KAW-meel-law(Hungarian)
Russian and Hungarian form of
Camilla, as well as a Polish and Scandinavian variant. This is also the Hungarian word for the chamomile flower (species Matricaria chamomilla).
Karen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, English, German
Pronounced: KAH-rehn(Danish) KAR-ən(English) KEHR-ən(English) KA-rən(German)
Danish short form of
Katherine. It became common in the English-speaking world after the 1930s.
Karin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovene
Pronounced: KAH-rin(Swedish) KA-reen(German) KA-rin(Dutch) KAH-reen(Finnish)
Karla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Croatian, English
Pronounced: KAR-la(German, Czech) KAHR-lə(English)
Karmela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
Karmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian, Estonian
Slovene, Croatian and Estonian form of
Carmen.
Karolína
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: KA-ro-lee-na(Czech) KA-raw-lee-na(Slovak)
Czech and Slovak feminine form of
Carolus.
Karolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Lithuanian, German
Other Scripts: Каролина(Macedonian)
Pronounced: ka-raw-LEE-na(Polish) ka-ruw-LEE-na(Swedish) KAW-ro-lee-naw(Hungarian) ka-ro-LEE-na(German)
Katalin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Basque
Pronounced: KAW-taw-leen(Hungarian) ka-TA-leen(Basque)
Katarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Sorbian
Other Scripts: Катарина(Serbian)
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(Swedish, German)
Katerina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian, Albanian, Russian, Bulgarian, Greek, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Катерина(Macedonian, Russian, Bulgarian) Κατερίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: kə-tyi-RYEE-nə(Russian)
Kejsi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian (Modern)
Kerensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "love" in Cornish.
Kira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кира(Russian) Кіра(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KYEE-rə(Russian)
Russian feminine form of
Cyrus.
Klára
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: KLA-raw(Hungarian) KLA-ra(Czech, Slovak)
Hungarian, Czech and Slovak form of
Clara.
Klara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Клара(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Polish) KLA-rə(Russian)
Form of
Clara in various languages.
Klaudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Albanian, German, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Κλαυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KLOW-dya(Polish) KLAW-oo-dee-aw(Hungarian)
Polish, Slovak, Hungarian and Albanian form of
Claudia, as well as a German variant form and the form found in the Greek
New Testament.
Klea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Meaning uncertain, possibly a short form of
Kleopatra, the Albanian form of
Cleopatra.
Kristina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Russian, German, Slovene, Czech, Lithuanian, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Faroese, English, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Кристина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: kris-TEE-na(Swedish, German) KRIS-ti-na(Czech) kryis-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) kris-TEE-nə(English)
Ksenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSEH-nya(Polish) KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Polish form of
Xenia, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Ксения or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Ксенія (see
Kseniya).
Lana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Russian, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian
Other Scripts: Лана(Russian) ლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAHN-ə(English)
Short form of
Alana (English) or
Svetlana (Russian). In the English-speaking world it was popularized by actress Lana Turner (1921-1995), who was born Julia Jean Turner.
Lara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Лара(Russian)
Pronounced: LAHR-ə(English) LA-ra(German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch) LA-RA(French) LA-ru(Portuguese) LAW-raw(Hungarian)
Russian short form of
Larisa. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by a character from Boris Pasternak's novel
Doctor Zhivago (1957) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1965). Between 1965 and 1969 it increased by almost 2,000 percent in the United States, however it is currently much more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. Another famous fictional bearer is Lara Croft, first appearing in video games in 1996 and movies in 2001.
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Laurus, which meant
"laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr
Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.
Lea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Italian, Hebrew
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEH-a(German) LEH-ah(Finnish) LEH-aw(Hungarian)
Form of
Leah used in several languages.
Lejla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English)
Leona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Czech
Pronounced: lee-O-nə(English) LEH-o-na(Czech)
Lia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Georgian, Greek, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: ლია(Georgian) Λεία(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-a(Italian) LEE-u(Portuguese) LEE-AH(Georgian) LEE-ə(Greek)
Italian, Portuguese, Georgian and Greek form of
Leah.
Lídia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Catalan, Hungarian
Pronounced: LEE-dyu(European Portuguese) LEE-jyu(Brazilian Portuguese) LEE-dee-aw(Hungarian)
Portuguese, Catalan and Hungarian form of
Lydia.
Lidiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Лидия(Russian, Bulgarian) Лідія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LYEE-dyi-yə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of
Lydia.
Liliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, English
Pronounced: lee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) lil-ee-AN-ə(English) lil-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Liljana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian
Other Scripts: Лилјана(Macedonian)
Macedonian, Slovene and Albanian form of
Lillian.
Lilyana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Лиляна(Bulgarian)
Lina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Lithuanian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Slovene
Pronounced: LEE-nə(English) LEE-na(Spanish)
Short form of names ending in lina.
Lindita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Means "the day is born" in Albanian, from lind "to give birth" and ditë "day".
Lisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian
Pronounced: LEE-sə(English) LEE-za(German, Italian) LEE-sa(Dutch)
Short form of
Elizabeth (though often used independently) and its cognates in other languages. This is the name of the subject of one of the world's most famous paintings, the
Mona Lisa, the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci.
In the United States this form was more popular than the full form Elizabeth from 1958 to 1978, and was in fact the top ranked American name between 1962 and 1969.
Liv 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: LEEV
Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Latinate feminine form of
Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of
Little Women.
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)
French feminine form of
Louis.
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: LUY-SEE(French) loo-TSI-yeh(Czech)
French and Czech form of
Lucia.
Ludmila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Latvian, Russian
Other Scripts: Людмила(Russian)
Pronounced: LOOD-mi-la(Czech) lyuwd-MYEE-lə(Russian)
Means
"favour of the people" from the Slavic elements
ľudŭ "people" and
milŭ "gracious, dear".
Saint Ludmila was a 10th-century duchess of Bohemia, the grandmother of Saint Václav. She was murdered on the orders of her daughter-in-law Drahomíra.
As a Russian name, this is an alternate transcription of Людмила (usually rendered Lyudmila).
Luljeta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Means "flower of life" in Albanian, from lule "flower" and jetë "life".
Lykke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Means "good fortune, happiness" in Danish.
Madelief
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Derived from Dutch madeliefje meaning "daisy".
Madina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Avar, Chechen
Other Scripts: Мадина(Tajik, Uzbek, Avar, Chechen) Мәдина(Kazakh)
From the name of the city of Medina, Arabic
المدينة (al-Madinah), which means "the city". The Saudi city is considered an Islamic holy site because the Prophet
Muhammad was based there for a period.
Maëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: MA-EHL(French)
Magda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian, Slovene, Romanian, Portuguese, Greek
Other Scripts: Μάγδα(Greek)
Pronounced: MAK-da(German) MAHKH-da(Dutch) MAG-da(Czech, Slovak, Polish) MAWG-daw(Hungarian)
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Maia 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian, Basque
Pronounced: MIE-a(Basque)
Estonian and Basque form of
Maria.
Maialen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MIE-a-lehn, mie-A-lehn
Maiwenn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton
Maja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Маја(Serbian)
Pronounced: MA-ya(German, Polish)
Form of
Maia 1 in various languages.
Maja 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Маја(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MA-ya(German, Polish)
Malene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Danish and Norwegian short form of
Magdalena.
Manon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MA-NAWN(French)
Marcela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: mar-THEH-la(European Spanish) mar-SEH-la(Latin American Spanish) mur-SEH-lu(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese) mar-TSEH-la(Polish) mar-CHEH-la(Romanian) MAR-tseh-la(Czech, Slovak)
Maren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: MAH-rehn(Danish)
Maria
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μαρία(Greek) Մարիա(Armenian) Мария(Russian, Bulgarian) Марія(Ukrainian) Маріа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: ma-REE-a(Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Romanian, Basque) mu-REE-u(European Portuguese) ma-REE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) mə-REE-ə(Catalan, English) mah-REE-ah(Norwegian, Danish) MAR-ya(Polish) MAH-ree-ah(Finnish) mu-RYEE-yə(Russian) mu-RYEE-yu(Ukrainian)
Latin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
Mary).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.
Mariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Мариана, Марияна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: mu-ree-U-nu(European Portuguese) ma-ree-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ma-RYA-na(Spanish)
Roman feminine form of
Marianus. After the classical era it was frequently interpreted as a combination of
Maria and
Ana. In Portuguese it is further used as a form of
Mariamne.
Marianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Greek, English
Other Scripts: Марианна(Russian) Μαριάννα(Greek)
Pronounced: ma-ree-AN-na(Italian) MAW-ree-awn-naw(Hungarian) MA-ree-a-na(Slovak) ma-RYAN-na(Polish) MAH-ree-ahn-nah(Finnish) mahr-ee-AHN-ə(English) mar-ee-AN-ə(English)
Combination of
Maria and
Anna. It has been confused with the Roman name
Mariana to the point that it is no longer easy to separate the two forms. It is sometimes also used as a Latinized form of
Mariamne.
Marianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: MA-RYAN(French) mar-ee-AN(English) ma-RYA-nə(German) MAH-ree-ahn-neh(Finnish)
Originally a French
diminutive of
Marie. It is also considered a combination of
Marie and
Anne 1. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Marieke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: ma-REE-kə
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, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
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.
Mariska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Dutch
Pronounced: MAW-ree-shkaw(Hungarian) ma-RIS-ka(Dutch)
Mariya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Мария(Russian, Bulgarian) Марія(Ukrainian) Марыя(Belarusian)
Pronounced: mu-RYEE-yə(Russian) mu-RYEE-yu(Ukrainian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of
Maria, as well as an alternate transcription of Belarusian
Марыя (see
Maryia).
Marjana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Albanian, Croatian
Slovene, Albanian and Croatian form of
Mariana.
Marta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Swedish, Icelandic, Latvian, Estonian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Марта(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian) მართა(Georgian)
Pronounced: MAR-ta(Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German) MAR-tu(European Portuguese) MAKH-tu(Brazilian Portuguese) MAR-tə(Catalan) MAHR-TAH(Georgian)
Form of
Martha used in various languages.
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(English) MAR-ta(German)
From Aramaic
מַרְתָּא (marta') meaning
"the lady, the mistress", feminine form of
מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the
New Testament this is the name of the sister of
Lazarus and
Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to
Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.
The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).
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)
Feminine form of
Martinus (see
Martin).
Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.
Mathilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MA-TEELD(French) ma-TIL-də(German, Dutch)
Form of
Matilda in several languages.
Melánie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech (Rare)
Melanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-nee(English) MEH-la-nee(German) meh-la-NEE(German)
From
Mélanie, the French form of the Latin name
Melania, derived from Greek
μέλαινα (melaina) meaning
"black, dark". This was the name of a Roman
saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Her grandmother was also a saint with the same name.
The name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and was introduced from there to England, though it eventually became rare. Interest in it was revived by the character Melanie Wilkes from the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939).
Melisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Bosnian, Albanian, Turkish, Azerbaijani
Pronounced: meh-LEE-sa(Spanish)
Spanish, Bosnian, Albanian, Turkish and Azerbaijani form of
Melissa.
Melissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μέλισσα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mə-LIS-ə(English) MEH-LEES-SA(Classical Greek)
Means
"bee" in Greek. In Greek
mythology this was the name of a daughter of Procles, as well as an epithet of various Greek nymphs and priestesses. According to the early Christian writer Lactantius
[2] this was the name of the sister of the nymph
Amalthea, with whom she cared for the young
Zeus. Later it appears in Ludovico Ariosto's 1532 poem
Orlando Furioso [3] belonging to the fairy who helps
Ruggiero escape from the witch
Alcina. As an English given name,
Melissa has been used since the 18th century.
Meritxell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: mə-ree-CHEHL
From the name of a village in Andorra where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. The name of the village may derive from Latin
meridies meaning "midday".
Mia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, English
Pronounced: MEE-ah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) MEE-a(Dutch, German, Italian) MEE-ə(English)
Diminutive of
Maria. It coincides with the Italian word
mia meaning
"mine".
This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names María and Mariel respectively.
Michaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, English, Czech, Slovak, Greek
Other Scripts: Μιχαέλα(Greek)
Pronounced: mi-kha-EH-la(German) mi-KAY-lə(English) MI-kha-eh-la(Czech) MEE-kha-eh-la(Slovak)
Michelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-SHEHL(French) mi-SHEHL(English)
French feminine form of
Michel. It has been common in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the former American first lady Michelle Obama (1964-).
Mihaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Михаела(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: mee-ha-YEH-la(Romanian) MEE-kha-eh-la(Slovene) mee-HA-ehl-a(Croatian)
Míla
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: MEE-la
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Milana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Милана(Serbian, Russian) Мілана(Belarusian, Ukrainian)
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of
Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
Maria and
Elena.
Milica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Милица(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MEE-lee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian)
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This name was borne by the wife of the 14th-century Serbian ruler
Lazar.
Milou
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Short form of
Marie-Louise. This is the name of a (male) dog in the French-language Belgian comic series
The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, first appearing in 1929. He is named
Snowy in the English version and
Bobbie in the Dutch version.
Mina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-nə(English) MEE-na(Dutch)
Short form of
Wilhelmina and other names ending in
mina. This was the name of a character in the novel
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker.
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English)
Derived from Latin
mirandus meaning
"admirable, wonderful". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play
The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father
Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Mireille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-RAY(French)
From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).
Mirela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Croatian, Albanian
Romanian, Croatian and Albanian form of
Mireille.
Miren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MEE-rehn
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Hebrew form of
Mary. It is 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.
Mirjana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Мирјана(Serbian, Macedonian)
Mischa
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: MEE-sha
Dutch and German form of
Misha. It is occasionally used as a feminine name in Dutch.
Monica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MAHN-i-kə(English) MAW-nee-ka(Italian) mo-NEE-ka(Romanian)
Meaning unknown, most likely of Berber or Phoenician origin. In the 4th century this name was borne by a North African
saint, the mother of Saint
Augustine of Hippo, whom she converted to Christianity. Since the Middle Ages it has been associated with Latin
moneo "advisor" and Greek
μονός (monos) "one, single".
As an English name, Monica has been in general use since the 18th century. In America it reached the height of its popularity in the 1970s, declining since then. A famous bearer was the Yugoslavian tennis player Monica Seles (1973-).
Monika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian
Other Scripts: Моника(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: MO-nee-ka(German) MO-ni-ka(Czech) MAW-nee-ka(Slovak) maw-NYEE-ka(Polish)
Form of
Monica used in various languages.
Montserrat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: moon-sə-RAT
From the name of a mountain near Barcelona, the site of a monastery founded in the 10th century. The mountain gets its name from Latin mons serratus meaning "jagged mountain".
Morwenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
From Old Cornish
moroin meaning
"maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word
morwyn [1]). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish
saint, said to be one of the daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Variant of
Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century
[1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-)
[2].
Nadire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Albanian
Turkish and Albanian feminine form of
Nadir.
Naiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: nie-A-ra
From the Basque name of the Spanish city of Nájera, which is Arabic in origin. In the 12th century there was a reported apparition of the Virgin
Mary in a nearby cave.
Natalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NAT-ə-lee(English) NA-ta-lee(German)
From the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant
"Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr
Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
Nataša
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Наташа(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: NA-ta-sha(Czech, Slovak)
Form of
Natasha in several languages.
Natasha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, English
Other Scripts: Наташа(Russian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nu-TA-shə(Russian) nə-TAHSH-ə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
Nela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovak, Portuguese, Czech, Polish
Pronounced: NEH-la(Czech)
Short form of names ending in
nela, such as
Antonela.
Nerea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: neh-REH-a
Possibly from Basque
nere, a dialectal variant of
nire meaning
"mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of
Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
Nikol
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Bulgarian, Greek
Other Scripts: Никол(Bulgarian) Νικόλ(Greek)
Pronounced: NI-kol(Czech)
Czech, Bulgarian and Greek form of
Nicole.
Nikoleta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Bulgarian, Slovak
Other Scripts: Νικολέτα(Greek) Николета(Bulgarian)
Greek, Bulgarian and Slovak form of
Nicolette.
Nikolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Николина(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian feminine form of
Nicholas.
Nina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Нина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian) Ніна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: NYEE-nə(Russian) NEE-na(Italian, German, Slovak) NEE-nə(English) NEE-NA(French) NEE-nah(Finnish) nyi-NU(Lithuanian) NYEE-na(Polish) NI-na(Czech)
Short form of names that end in
nina, such as
Antonina or
Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).
A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).
Noa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: נוֹעָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-a(Spanish)
Modern Hebrew form of
Noah 2, the daughter of
Zelophehad in the Bible. It is also the form used in several other languages, as well as the spelling used in some English versions of the
Old Testament.
Noëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: NAW-EHL(French)
Nolwenn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton
From the Breton phrase
Noyal Gwenn meaning
"holy one from Noyal". This was the epithet of a 6th-century
saint and martyr from Brittany.
Nora 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English) NO-ra(German)
Short form of
Honora or
Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play
A Doll's House (1879).
Olga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ольга(Russian, Ukrainian) Олга(Serbian, Bulgarian) Όλγα(Greek)
Pronounced: OL-gə(Russian) AWL-ga(Polish, German) AWL-ka(Icelandic) OL-gaw(Hungarian) OL-gha(Spanish) OL-ga(Czech)
Russian form of the Old Norse name
Helga. The 10th-century
Saint Olga was the wife of
Igor I, the ruler of Kievan Rus (a state based around the city of Kyiv). Like her husband she was probably a Varangian, who were Norse people who settled in Eastern Europe beginning in the 9th century. Following Igor's death she ruled as regent for her son
Svyatoslav for 18 years. After she was baptized in Constantinople she attempted to convert her subjects to Christianity, though this goal was only achieved by her grandson
Vladimir.
Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish)
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time
[1] that may have been based on
Oliva or
Oliver, or directly from the Latin word
oliva meaning
"olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman who is wooed by Duke
Orsino but instead falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually
Viola in disguise.
Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.
A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).
Paula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Croatian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: POW-la(German, Spanish, Polish, Croatian) PAWL-ə(English) POW-lah(Finnish) POW-lu(Portuguese) PAW-oo-law(Hungarian)
Feminine form of
Paulus (see
Paul). This was the name of a 4th-century Roman
saint who was a companion of Saint
Jerome.
Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Feminine form of
Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Petronella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian
Pronounced: peh-tro-NEH-la(Dutch) PEH-tro-nehl-law(Hungarian)
Polina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Greek
Other Scripts: Полина(Russian, Bulgarian) Поліна(Ukrainian) Πωλίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: pu-LYEE-nə(Russian)
Either a Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Greek form of
Paulina or a short form of
Apollinariya.
Rachel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: רָחֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: RAY-chəl(English) RA-SHEHL(French) RAH-khəl(Dutch) RA-khəl(German)
From the Hebrew name
רָחֵל (Rachel) meaning
"ewe". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of
Jacob. Her father
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister
Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid
Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of
Joseph and
Benjamin.
The name was common among Jews in the Middle Ages, but it was not generally used as a Christian name in the English-speaking world until after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately popular in the first half of the 20th century, but starting in the 1960s it steadily rose, reaching highs in the 1980s and 90s. The character Rachel Green on the American sitcom Friends (1994-2004) may have only helped delay its downswing.
Notable bearers include American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), British actress Rachel Weisz (1970-), and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams (1978-).
Ranka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
Rebecca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רִבְקָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: rə-BEHK-ə(English) reh-BEHK-ka(Italian)
From the Hebrew name
רִבְקָה (Rivqah), probably from a Semitic root meaning
"join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of
Isaac and the mother of
Esau and
Jacob in the
Old Testament. It came into use as an English Christian name after the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the
Puritans in the 17th century. It has been consistently used since then, becoming especially common in the second half of the 20th century.
This name is borne by a Jewish woman in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), as well as the title character (who is deceased and unseen) in Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca (1938).
Rebeka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: REH-beh-kaw(Hungarian) REH-beh-ka(Czech)
Hungarian, Slovene, Czech and Slovak form of
Rebecca.
Rebekka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Finnish, Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: reh-BEH-ka(German) REH-behk-kah(Finnish)
Form of
Rebecca used in various languages.
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)
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.
Renáta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: REH-na-taw(Hungarian) REH-na-ta(Czech, Slovak)
Hungarian, Czech and Slovak feminine form of
Renatus.
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)
Renée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: RU-NEH(French)
French feminine form of
René.
Ria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: REE-a
Rina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: REE-na
Rita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latvian, Lithuanian
Pronounced: REE-ta(Italian, German, Spanish) REET-ə(English) REE-taw(Hungarian) ryi-TU(Lithuanian)
Short form of
Margherita and other names ending in
rita.
Saint Rita (born Margherita Lotti) was a 15th-century nun from Cascia, Italy. Another famous bearer was the American actress Rita Hayworth (1918-1987).
Robin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Medieval English
diminutive of
Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
Romana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Late Roman
Pronounced: ro-MA-na(Italian) RO-ma-na(Czech) RAW-ma-na(Slovak)
Feminine form of
Romanus (see
Roman).
Romée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), Dutch (Modern)
French feminine form of
Romeo.
Romy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, French, English
Pronounced: RO-mee(German, English)
Rosa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English
Pronounced: RO-sa(Spanish, Dutch) RAW-za(Italian) RAW-zu(European Portuguese) HAW-zu(Brazilian Portuguese) RAW-zə(Catalan) RO-za(German) RO-zə(English)
Generally this can be considered to be from Latin
rosa meaning
"rose", though originally it may have come from the unrelated Germanic name
Roza 2. This was the name of a 13th-century
saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German) RO-zə-lee(English)
French, German and Dutch form of
Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie
Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rosemarie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree(English) ROZ-mehr-ee(English) RO-zə-ma-ree(German)
Rosica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Росица(Bulgarian)
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Ruth 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רוּת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOTH(English) ROOT(German, Spanish)
From a Hebrew name that was derived from the Hebrew word
רְעוּת (re'ut) meaning
"friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the
Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law
Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married
Boaz. She was an ancestor of King
David.
As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
Sabina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Сабина(Russian)
Pronounced: sa-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) SA-bi-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Sabinus, a Roman
cognomen meaning
"a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early
saints.
Sabine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Danish
Pronounced: SA-BEEN(French) za-BEE-nə(German)
French, German, Dutch and Danish form of
Sabina.
Samantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: sə-MAN-thə(English) sa-MAN-ta(Italian)
Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of
Samuel, using the name suffix
antha (possibly inspired by Greek
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show
Bewitched.
Sandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Czech, Romanian
Other Scripts: Сандра(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: SAN-dra(Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Romanian) SAN-drə(English) SAHN-DRA(French) ZAN-dra(German) SAHN-dra(Dutch)
Short form of
Alessandra. It was introduced to the English-speaking world (where it is usually used independently of
Alexandra) by author George Meredith, who used it for the heroine in his novel
Emilia in England (1864) and the reissued version
Sandra Belloni (1887). A famous bearer is the American actress Sandra Bullock (1964-).
Sanja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Сања(Serbian)
Pronounced: SA-nya(Croatian, Serbian)
Derived from South Slavic sanjati meaning "to dream".
Sára
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: SHA-raw(Hungarian) SA-ra(Czech, Slovak)
Hungarian, Czech and Slovak form of
Sarah.
Sara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Catalan, Galician, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Macedonian, Polish, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Σάρα(Greek) Сара(Serbian, Macedonian) שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic) سارا(Persian)
Pronounced: SA-ra(Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Icelandic, Polish) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SAH-rah(Finnish) SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-rah(Arabic)
Form of
Sarah used in various languages.
Sarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SA-ra(Danish, Dutch) SA-rah(Arabic)
Means
"lady, princess, noblewoman" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of
Abraham's wife, considered the matriarch of the Jewish people. She was barren until she unexpectedly became pregnant with
Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally
Sarai, but God changed it at the same time Abraham's name was changed (see
Genesis 17:15).
In England, Sarah came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was consistently popular in the 20th century throughout the English-speaking world, reaching the top of the charts for England and Wales in the 1970s and 80s.
Notable bearers include Sarah Churchill (1660-1744), an influential British duchess and a close friend of Queen Anne, and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
From the Old German element
sahso meaning
"a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Selma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic
Pronounced: SEHL-mə(English) ZEHL-ma(German)
Meaning unknown, possibly a short form of
Anselma. It could also have been inspired by James Macpherson's 18th-century poems, in which it is the name of Ossian's castle.
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Silvius.
Rhea Silvia was the mother of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century
saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled
Sylvia in the English-speaking world.
Simona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Lithuanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Симона(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: see-MO-na(Italian) SI-mo-na(Czech) SEE-maw-na(Slovak)
Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German)
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Sofia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek) София(Russian, Bulgarian) Софія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: saw-FEE-a(Greek) so-FEE-a(Italian) soo-FEE-u(European Portuguese) so-FEE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) soo-FEE-ə(Catalan) suw-FEE-a(Swedish) zo-FEE-a(German) SO-fee-ah(Finnish) su-FYEE-yə(Russian)
Form of
Sophia used in various languages.
Sofie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: zo-FEE(German) so-FEE-ə(Danish) suw-FEE(Swedish) so-FEE(Dutch) SO-fi-yeh(Czech)
Form of
Sophie in several languages.
Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
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).
Sonja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Соња(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZAWN-ya(German) SON-yah(Finnish)
Form of
Sonya in various languages.
Stefanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Danish
Pronounced: SHTEH-fa-nee(German) STEH-fa-nee(Dutch)
Stefaniya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Стефания(Russian, Bulgarian) Стефанія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: steh-FAH-nyee-yu(Ukrainian)
Russian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian feminine form of
Stephen.
Stela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Стела(Bulgarian)
Form of
Stella 1 in several languages, derived from Latin
stella meaning "star" (modern Romanian
stea).
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English)
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.
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)
From
Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshannah). 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.
Susanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, English
Pronounced: zoo-ZA-nə(German) soo-SAN-neh(Danish) soo-SAHN-nə(Norwegian)
German and Scandinavian form of
Susanna.
Suzana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Albanian, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Other Scripts: Сузана(Serbian, Macedonian)
Form of
Susan in several languages.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Tamara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Тамара(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian) თამარა(Georgian)
Pronounced: tu-MA-rə(Russian) TA-ma-ra(Czech, Slovak) ta-MA-ra(Polish, Spanish, Italian) TAW-maw-raw(Hungarian) tə-MAR-ə(English) tə-MAHR-ə(English) TAM-ə-rə(English) tu-mu-RU(Lithuanian) TA-MAR(Georgian)
Russian form of
Tamar. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It rapidly grew in popularity in the United States starting in 1957. Another famous bearer was the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).
Tatiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, French, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Greek, Georgian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Τατιάνα(Greek) ტატიანა(Georgian) Татьяна(Russian) Татяна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ta-TYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish, German) TAH-tee-ah-nah(Finnish) ta-TYAHN-ə(English) tu-TYA-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of the Roman name
Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name
Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as
Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.
Tea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovene, Finnish, Georgian
Other Scripts: თეა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TEH-ah(Finnish)
Teresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Polish, Lithuanian, Finnish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English
Pronounced: teh-REH-sa(Spanish, Polish) teh-REH-za(Italian, German) tə-REH-zə(Catalan) tyeh-ryeh-SU(Lithuanian) TEH-reh-sah(Finnish) tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English)
Form of
Theresa used in several languages.
Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish nun who reformed the Carmelite monasteries and wrote several spiritual books. It was also borne by the Albanian missionary Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor in India. She adopted the name in honour of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the patron of missionaries.
Tess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS
Short form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the D'Ubervilles (1891).
Thora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Tijana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Тијана(Serbian)
Tina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Тина(Macedonian) თინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TEE-nə(English) TEE-na(Italian, Dutch)
Short form of
Christina,
Martina and other names ending in
tina. In addition to these names, it is also used in Dutch as a short form of
Catharina, in Swedish and Croatian as a short form of
Katarina, and in Georgian as a short form of
Tinatin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.
Tineke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Tove
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: TOO-veh(Norwegian, Swedish) TO-və(Danish)
Modern form of the Old Norse name
Tófa, a short form of
Þórfríðr.
Ulrikke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Norwegian and Danish feminine form of
Ulrich.
Ulyana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ульяна(Russian, Belarusian) Уляна(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: uw-LYA-nə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of
Juliana.
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.
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Vanesa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: ba-NEH-sa(Spanish) VA-neh-sa(Czech, Slovak)
Form of
Vanessa in several languages.
Vanessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch
Pronounced: və-NEHS-ə(English) VA-NEH-SA(French) va-NEHS-sa(Italian) vu-NEH-su(European Portuguese) va-NEH-su(Brazilian Portuguese) ba-NEH-sa(Spanish) va-NEH-sa(German)
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem
Cadenus and Vanessa [1]. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of
Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
Venera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sicilian, Russian, Bulgarian, Albanian
Other Scripts: Венера(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: vyi-NYEH-rə(Russian)
Form of
Venus, from the genitive form
Veneris. This name was borne by a 2nd-century
saint who was martyred in Rome or Sicily.
Věra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: VYEH-ra
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Вера(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) ვერა(Georgian)
Pronounced: VYEH-rə(Russian) VEE-rə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Verica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Верица(Serbian)
Veronika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, German, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian
Other Scripts: Вероника(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Вероніка(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: vyi-ru-NYEE-kə(Russian) VEH-ro-ni-ka(Czech) VEH-raw-nee-ka(Slovak) veh-RO-nee-ka(German, Croatian) VEH-ro-nee-kaw(Hungarian) vyeh-RAW-nyi-ku(Lithuanian)
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Means
"victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from North Africa.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
Viktoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Βικτωρία, Βικτώρια, Βικτόρια(Greek) ვიქტორია(Georgian) Виктория(Russian, Bulgarian) Вікторія(Ukrainian) Вікторыя(Belarusian)
Pronounced: vik-TO-rya(German) vyik-TO-ryi-yə(Russian)
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Means
"violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke
Orsino, she attempts to convince
Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Violeta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Albanian, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Виолета(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: byo-LEH-ta(Spanish)
Form of
Violet in several languages.
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
From the Latin name
Vivianus, which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
Bébinn or a variant of
Vivien 2.
Vjollca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian vjollcë meaning "violet", referring to both the flower and the colour.
Vladana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Czech
Other Scripts: Владана(Serbian)
Xandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: SAHN-drah, KSAHN-drah
Xhesika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Yana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Яна(Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: YA-nə(Russian)
Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian form of
Jana 1.
Yanick
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: YA-NEEK(French)
Yllka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Yulia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: YOO-lyi-yə(Russian)
Alternate transcription of Russian
Юлия or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Юлія (see
Yuliya).
Yuliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Indonesian
Other Scripts: Юлиана(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: yoo-lyi-A-nə(Russian)
Russian, Bulgarian and Indonesian form of
Juliana.
Yuliya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian, Bulgarian) Юлія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: YOO-lyi-yə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Bulgarian form of
Julia.
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Zdeňka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: ZDEHN-ka
Zdenka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: ZGYENG-ka(Slovak)
Željka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Жељка(Serbian)
Pronounced: ZHEHL-ka(Croatian, Serbian)
Zhaklina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Жаклина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Zinaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Зинаида(Russian) Зінаіда(Belarusian) Зінаїда(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: zyi-nu-EE-də(Russian)
Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian form of
Zenaida.
Zlata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Злата(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ZLA-ta(Czech) ZLA-tə(Russian)
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian)
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).
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Zorana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Зорана(Serbian)
Zuzana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian
Pronounced: ZOO-za-na(Czech, Slovak)
Czech, Slovak and Lithuanian form of
Susanna.
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