viva8's Personal Name List

Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Form of Hadrianus (see Hadrian) used in several languages. Several saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
Adrianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ay-dree-AN, AY-dree-ən
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Adrian.
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)
Rating: 85% based on 6 votes
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).

Annabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AN-ə-beth
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Combination of Anna and Beth.
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
Medieval English variant of Honora.
Antigone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀντιγόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-TEE-GO-NEH(Classical Greek) an-TIG-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Derived from Greek ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" and γονή (gone) meaning "birth, offspring". In Greek legend Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. King Creon of Thebes declared that her slain brother Polynices was to remain unburied, a great dishonour. She disobeyed and gave him a proper burial, and for this she was sealed alive in a cave.
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
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.
Calixta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese (Rare)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Calixtus.
Christian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KRIS-chən(English) KRISH-chən(English) KREES-TYAHN(French) KRIS-tee-an(German) KRIS-ti-an(Swedish, Norwegian) KREHS-dyan(Danish)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the medieval Latin name Christianus meaning "a Christian" (see Christos 1 for further etymology). In England it has been in use since the Middle Ages, during which time it was used by both males and females, but it did not become common until the 17th century. In Denmark the name has been borne by ten kings since the 15th century.

This was a top-ten name in France for most of the 1940s and 50s, while in Germany it was the most popular name for several years in the 1970s and 80s. In the United States it peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Famous bearers include Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the Danish author of such fairy tales as The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor's New Clothes, and the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).

Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 90% based on 6 votes
From Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles [1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.

The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).

Corona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ko-RO-na(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Means "crown" in Latin, as well as Italian and Spanish. This was the name of a 2nd-century saint who was martyred with her companion Victor.
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Rating: 83% based on 4 votes
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.

Danika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Variant of Danica.
Dean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEEN
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
From a surname, see Dean 1 and Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
Dixit
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
Eilish
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: IE-lish(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Eilís.
Eilonwy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 71% based on 7 votes
From Welsh eilon meaning "deer, stag" or "song, melody". This name was used by Lloyd Alexander in his book series The Chronicles of Prydain (1964-1968) as well as the Disney film adaptation The Black Cauldron (1985).
Elaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From an Old French form of Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 100% based on 3 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Enheduanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Akkadian
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From Sumerian En-hedu-anna, derived from 𒂗 (en) meaning "lady, high priestess" combined with 𒃶𒌌 (hedu) meaning "ornament" and the god's name An 2. This was the Sumerian title of a 23rd-century BC priestess and poet, identified as a daughter of Sargon of Akkad. Presumably she had an Akkadian birth name, but it is unrecorded. She is regarded as one of the earliest known poets.
Ernestine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, English
Pronounced: EHR-NEHS-TEEN(French) ehr-nehs-TEE-nə(German) UR-nis-teen(English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Ernest.
Esteban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TEH-ban
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Spanish form of Stephen.
Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning "sweetly-speaking", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Euphrasie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-FRA-ZEE
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
French form of Euphrasia.
Fabian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: FA-bee-an(German) FA-bee-ahn(Dutch) FA-byan(Polish) FAY-bee-ən(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
From the Roman cognomen Fabianus, which was derived from Fabius. Saint Fabian was a 3rd-century pope.
Farhan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
Other Scripts: فرحان(Arabic, Urdu) ফারহান(Bengali)
Pronounced: far-HAN(Arabic)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Means "happy, cheerful" in Arabic.
Freddie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ee
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of Frederick or Freda.
Fredrika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: frehd-REE-ka(Swedish) FREHD-ree-kah(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Swedish and Finnish feminine form of Frederick.
Gwendolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Variant of Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.
Hadley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAD-lee
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather field" in Old English.
Hasina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu, Bengali, Dari Persian
Other Scripts: حسینہ(Urdu) হাসিনা(Bengali) حسینه(Persian)
Pronounced: HA-see-na(Bengali)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of Husayn.
Hedvika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovene
Pronounced: HEHD-vi-ka(Czech)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Czech and Slovene form of Hedwig.
Hertha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: HEHR-ta
Personal remark: Love German names.
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Form of Nerthus. The spelling change from N to H resulted from a misreading of Tacitus's text.
Hester
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: HEHS-tər(English, Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
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)
Personal remark: I Love so called "witch names" :)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
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.
Idina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew
Pronounced: i-DEE-nə
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Possibly related to Adina 1. Actress Idina Menzel is a well-known bearer.
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
The name of the daughter of King Cymbeline in the play Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended. Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Irene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εἰρήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-REEN(English) ie-REE-nee(English) ee-REH-neh(Italian, Spanish) EE-reh-neh(Finnish) ee-REH-nə(German, Dutch)
Rating: 70% based on 4 votes
From Greek Εἰρήνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the Ὥραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.

This name has traditionally been more popular among Eastern Christians. In the English-speaking world it was not regularly used until the 19th century.

Iseult
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Romance
Pronounced: i-SOOLT(English) i-ZOOLT(English) EE-ZUU(French)
Rating: 74% based on 7 votes
The origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, from a hypothetical name like *Ishild, composed of the elements is "ice" and hilt "battle".

According to tales first recorded in Old French in the 12th century, Yseut or Ysolt was an Irish princess betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. After accidentally drinking a love potion, she became the lover of his nephew Tristan. Their tragic story, which was set in the Arthurian world, was popular during the Middle Ages and the name became relatively common in England at that time. It was rare by the 19th century, though some interest was generated by Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).

Isis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἶσις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IE-sis(English)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Greek form of Egyptian ꜣst (reconstructed as Iset, Aset or Ueset), possibly from st meaning "throne". In Egyptian mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.
Jacques
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAHK
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
French form of Iacobus, the New Testament Latin form of James.
Jamie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Originally a Lowland Scots diminutive of James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
Jamison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYM-ə-sən
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From an English surname meaning "son of James".
Jehanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John).
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From the Roman name Iulianus, which was derived from Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from Juliana, eventually becoming Gillian).
Junaid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: جنيد(Arabic)
Pronounced: joo-NIED
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Arabic جنيد (see Junayd).
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.
Karsten
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Low German, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: KAR-stən(Low German) KAS-dən(Danish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Low German form of Christian.
Kohinoor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From Koh-i-noor, the name of a famous gemstone, meaning "mountain of light" in Persian.
Kürşat
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Turkic, Turkish
Pronounced: kyuyr-SHAT(Turkish)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Meaning, "valiant, brave, hero". One of the princes of Göktürks (Turkic Khaganate).
Lana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Russian, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian
Other Scripts: Лана(Russian) ლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAH-nə(English)
Rating: 83% based on 3 votes
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.
Leland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).
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)
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
Short form of names ending in lena, such as Helena, Magdalena or Yelena.
Lenore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-NAWR
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
Short form of Eleanor. This was the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven (1845).
Lilian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən(English) LEE-LYAHN(French)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
English variant of Lillian, as well as a French and Romanian masculine form.
Llywelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: shə-WEH-lin(Welsh) loo-EHL-in(English)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Probably a Welsh form of an unattested old Celtic name *Lugubelinos, a combination of the names of the gods Lugus and Belenus, or a compound of Lugus and a Celtic root meaning "strong". Alternatively it may be derived from Welsh llyw "leader". This was the name of several Welsh rulers, notably the 13th-century Llywelyn the Great who fought against the English.
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Romanian and English form of Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Ludmilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Людмила(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: lyuwd-MYEE-lə(Russian)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Alternate transcription of Russian/Bulgarian Людмила (see Lyudmila).
Mairead
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MA-ryəd
Personal remark: Love Irish names.
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Scottish Gaelic form of Margaret.
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Scottish diminutive of Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Marceline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-SU-LEEN
Rating: 71% based on 8 votes
French feminine form of Marcellinus.
Marge
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian
Pronounced: MAHRJ(English)
Personal remark: Love vintage names
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
Diminutive of Margaret (English) or Margareeta (Estonian).
Maribel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-BEHL
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
Short form of María Isabel.
Marieke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: ma-REE-kə
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Dutch diminutive of Maria.
Mark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Russian, Belarusian, Dutch, Danish, Armenian, Biblical
Other Scripts: Марк(Russian, Belarusian) Մարկ(Armenian)
Pronounced: MAHRK(English, Dutch, Eastern Armenian) MARK(Russian)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Form of Latin Marcus used in several languages. Saint Mark was the author of the second gospel in the New Testament. Though the author's identity is not certain, some traditions hold him to be the same person as the John Mark who appears in the Book of Acts. He is the patron saint of Venice, where he is supposedly buried. Though in use during the Middle Ages, Mark was not common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when it began to be used alongside the classical form Marcus.

In the medieval legend of Tristan and Iseult this was the name of a king of Cornwall. It was also borne by the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910), real name Samuel Clemens, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He took his pen name from a call used by riverboat workers on the Mississippi River to indicate a depth of two fathoms. This is also the usual English spelling of the name of the 1st-century BC Roman triumvir Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony).

Marlowe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAHR-lo
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "remnants of a lake" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).
Matthias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ματθίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(German) MA-TYAS(French) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
From Greek Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of Ματθαῖος (see Matthew). This form appears in the New Testament as the name of the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. This was also the name of kings of Hungary (spelled Mátyás in Hungarian), including Matthias I who made important reforms to the kingdom in the 15th century.
Maudine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Elaboration of Maude.
Mercedes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mehr-THEH-dhehs(European Spanish) mehr-SEH-dhehs(Latin American Spanish) mər-SAY-deez(English)
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Means "mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity" [1].
Meritxell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: mə-ree-CHEHL
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
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".
Mildred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-drid
Rating: 46% based on 9 votes
From the Old English name Mildþryð meaning "gentle strength", derived from the elements milde "gentle" and þryþ "strength". Saint Mildred was a 7th-century abbess, the daughter of the Kentish princess Saint Ermenburga. After the Norman Conquest this name became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Mirabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare), Belgian (Rare), French (Quebec, Rare), Judeo-Anglo-Norman
Personal remark: Yes I know. I like a lot of names starting with M.
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
Derived from Old French mirable "wonderful; admirable", ultimately from Latin mirabilis "wonderful, marvellous, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, amazing" (compare Mirabelle).
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two czars of Russia.

Nike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Νίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEE-KEH(Classical Greek) NIE-kee(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means "victory" in Greek. Nike was the Greek goddess of victory.
Nikola 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Czech, Basque, Medieval Slavic
Other Scripts: Никола(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Church Slavic)
Pronounced: NI-ko-la(Czech) nee-KO-la(Basque)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
Form of Nicholas in several languages. Note, in Czech this is also a feminine name (see Nikola 2).
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Parthenope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παρθενόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: pahr-THEHN-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Means "maiden's voice", derived from Greek παρθένος (parthenos) meaning "maiden, virgin" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek legend this is the name of one of the Sirens who enticed Odysseus.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.

It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.

Philippa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), German
Pronounced: FI-li-pə(English)
Rating: 86% based on 5 votes
Latinate feminine form of Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.
Porphyria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: por-FEE-ree-ah
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Porphyrios (see Porfirio). The name was given to the female character in Robert Browning's dramatic monologue "Porphyria's lover", where she is strangled over her 'lover's' obsession with her.
Salem 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سالم(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA-leem
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic سليم or سالم (see Salim).
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)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Form of Sarah used in various languages.
Scheherazade
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: shə-HEHR-ə-zahd(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Shahrazad.
Scholastica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From a Late Latin name that was derived from scholasticus meaning "rhetorician, orator". Saint Scholastica was a 6th-century Benedictine abbess, the sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia.
Shelby
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHL-bee
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From an English surname, which was possibly a variant of Selby. Though previously in use as a rare masculine name, it was popularized as a feminine name by the main character in the movie The Woman in Red (1935). It was later reinforced by the movie Steel Magnolias (1989) in which Julia Roberts played a character by this name.
Sibyl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
From Greek Σίβυλλα (Sibylla), meaning "prophetess, sibyl". In Greek and Roman legend the sibyls were female prophets who practiced at different holy sites in the ancient world. In later Christian theology, the sibyls were thought to have divine knowledge and were revered in much the same way as the Old Testament prophets. Because of this, the name came into general use in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans imported it to England, where it was spelled both Sibyl and Sybil. It became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps helped by Benjamin Disraeli's novel Sybil (1845).
Sidra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Pakistani
Other Scripts: سدرہ(Urdu)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From the Arabic name of a type of tree, known as the lote tree (or "lotus tree") in English, which is given in reference to an Islamic symbol of the upper limit of heaven. When the prophet Muhammad ascended to Paradise, saw at the end of the seventh, highest heaven a lote tree, marking the place "beyond which neither prophets nor angels may pass" (only Allah), which he called سدرة المنتهى‎ (sidra-tul-muntaha) "lote tree of the utmost boundary, of the last frontier".
Sigrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Estonian, Finnish (Archaic)
Pronounced: SEE-grid(Swedish) SEEG-reed(Finnish)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
From the Old Norse name Sigríðr, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and fríðr "beautiful, beloved".
Siphesihle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Zulu
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Means "beautiful gift" in Zulu.
Solana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Catalan (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Solano, a Spanish surname which is used as a given name in honour of Saint Francisco Solano (1549-1610).
Steven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: STEE-vən(English) STEH-vən(Dutch)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Medieval English variant of Stephen, and a Dutch variant of Stefan. The filmmaker Steven Spielberg (1946-), director of E.T. and Indiana Jones, is a famous bearer of this name.
Sufyan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu
Other Scripts: سفيان(Arabic) سفیان(Urdu)
Pronounced: soof-YAN(Arabic) SOOF-yan(Indonesian)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Meaning uncertain. It could be derived from Arabic صوف (suf) meaning "wool", صفا (safa) meaning "pure, clean" or صعف (sa'f) meaning "slim, thin". Sufyan al-Thawri was an 8th-century Islamic scholar.
Tansen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian
Pronounced: Tan-zen
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Name of Mian Tansen, father of Indian classical music.
Tatum
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAY-təm
Rating: 70% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead" in Old English. It was brought to public attention by the child actress Tatum O'Neal (1963-) in the 1970s, though it did not catch on. It attained a modest level of popularity after 1996, when it was borne by a character in the movie Scream.
Titania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: tie-TAY-nee-ə(American English) ti-TAH-nee-ə(British English)
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
Perhaps based on Latin Titanius meaning "of the Titans". This name was (first?) used by William Shakespeare in his comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) where it belongs to the queen of the fairies, the wife of Oberon. This is also a moon of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Viktor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Greek
Other Scripts: Виктор(Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Macedonian) Віктор(Ukrainian) Βίκτωρ(Greek)
Pronounced: VIK-to(German) VEEK-tor(Hungarian) VIK-tor(Czech) VEEK-tawr(Slovak) VYEEK-tər(Russian)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Form of Victor used in various languages.
Vincent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak
Pronounced: VIN-sənt(English, Dutch) VEHN-SAHN(French) VEEN-tsent(Slovak)
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
From the Roman name Vincentius, which was derived from Latin vincere meaning "to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many saints. As an English name, Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Vitaly
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Виталий(Russian) Віталій(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: vyi-TA-lyee(Russian)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Alternate transcription of Russian Виталий or Ukrainian Віталій (see Vitaliy).
Wendy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHN-dee
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
In the case of the character from J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan (1904), it was created from the nickname fwendy "friend", given to the author by a young friend. However, the name was used prior to the play (rarely), in which case it could be related to the Welsh name Gwendolen and other names beginning with the element gwen meaning "white, blessed". The name only became common after Barrie's play ran.
Werner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: VEHR-nu(German) VEHR-nər(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From an Old German name derived from the element warin, related to war meaning "aware, cautious", combined with heri meaning "army". This was the name of a 13th-century boy from Oberwesel, Germany who was formerly regarded as a saint. He is no longer recognized as such by the Church. Another famous bearer was the German physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976).
Wilhelm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: VIL-helm(German) VYEEL-khelm(Polish)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
German cognate of William. This was the name of two German emperors. It was also the middle name of several philosophers from Germany: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716), who was also a notable mathematician.
Wilhelmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare), English
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-na(Dutch, German) wil-ə-MEEN-ə(English) wil-hehl-MEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 77% based on 7 votes
Dutch and German feminine form of Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Winifred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: WIN-ə-frid(English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
From Latin Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name Gwenfrewi (maybe influenced by the Old English masculine name Winfred). Saint Winifred was a 7th-century Welsh martyr, probably legendary. According to the story, she was decapitated by a prince after she spurned his advances. Where her head fell there arose a healing spring, which has been a pilgrimage site since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has been historically more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(English) ig-ZAY-vyər(English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Zainab
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: زينب(Arabic) زینب(Urdu)
Pronounced: ZIE-nab(Arabic)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Arabic زينب (see Zaynab), as well as the usual Urdu transcription.
behindthename.com   ·   Copyright © 1996-2024