MelanieRose's Personal Name List

Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning "breath". In the Old Testament he is the second son of Adam and Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the Puritan era.
Abner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אַבְנֵר(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AB-nər(English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name אַבְנֵר (ʾAvner) meaning "my father is a light", derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light". In the Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother Joab.

A famous bearer was the 14th-century Jewish philosopher Abner of Burgos, called Alfonso of Valladolid after he converted to Christianity. It has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. It was popular with the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.

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: 36% based on 5 votes
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.
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-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
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.

Aemilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ie-MEE-lee-a
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily).
Ainsley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AYNZ-lee(English)
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was from a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English anne "alone, solitary" or ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing".

In America, this name received a boost of popularity in 2000 when a character bearing it began appearing on the television series The West Wing.

Alban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Albanian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-ban(German) AL-BAHN(French) AL-bən(English) AWL-bən(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From the Roman cognomen Albanus, which meant "from Alba". Alba (from Latin albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. Another 4th-century martyr by this name was Saint Alban of Mainz.

As an English name, Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.

Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Alexandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek [1], 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-LEHK-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)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
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.
Alexandria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dree-ə
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Alexander. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.
Alister
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Alasdair.
Allie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ee
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
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.
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the Late Latin name Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning "immortal". Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עָמוֹס(Hebrew) Ἀμώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-məs(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From Hebrew עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning "load, burden" [3]. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name, Amos has been used since the Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the Puritans.
Amy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-mee
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
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.
Andra 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Short form of Alexandra.
Andrew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: AN-droo(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
English form of the Greek name Ἀνδρέας (Andreas), which was derived from ἀνδρεῖος (andreios) meaning "manly, masculine", a derivative of ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". In the New Testament the apostle Andrew, the first disciple to join Jesus, is the brother of Simon Peter. According to tradition, he later preached in the Black Sea region, with some legends saying he was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Andrew, being a Greek name, was probably only a nickname or a translation of his real Hebrew name, which is not known.

This name has been common (in various spellings) throughout the Christian world, and it became very popular in the Middle Ages. Saint Andrew is regarded as the patron of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. The name has been borne by three kings of Hungary, American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), and, more recently, English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-).

Ann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Manx
Pronounced: AN(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
English and Manx form of Anne 1. In the English-speaking world, both this spelling and Anne have been used since the late Middle Ages. Currently Ann is less popular than Anne (and both are less popular than their relatives Anna and Hannah).
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Possibly means "healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the Old Testament.
Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Rating: 88% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of Greek Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning "from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Audra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: OW-dru
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Means "storm" in Lithuanian.
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
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).

Avner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אַבְנֵר(Hebrew)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Hebrew form of Abner.
Barnabas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare), English (Rare), Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Βαρναβᾶς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: BAR-na-bas(German) BAHR-nə-bəs(English)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Greek form of an Aramaic name. In Acts in the New Testament the byname Barnabas was given to a man named Joseph, a Jew from Cyprus who was a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys. The original Aramaic form is unattested, but it may be from בּר נביא (bar navi) meaning "son of the prophet", though in Acts 4:36 it is claimed that the name means "son of encouragement".

As an English name, Barnabas came into occasional use after the 12th century. It is now rare, though the variant Barnaby is still moderately common in Britain.

Barnaby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: BAH-nə-bee(British English) BAHR-nə-bee(American English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
English form of Barnabas, originally a medieval vernacular form.
Barrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAR-it, BEHR-it
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
From a surname probably meaning "quarrelsome, deceptive" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Basil 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAZ-əl
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning "king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
Bennett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-it
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Medieval form of Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.
Blanche
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: BLAHNSH(French) BLANCH(English)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
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.
Boaz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Dutch, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: בֹּעַז(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BO-az(English) BO-ahz(Dutch)
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Means "swiftness" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with Jachin).
Brenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ə
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Possibly a variant of Brenda or a feminine form of Brennan.
Bridger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIJ-ər
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that originally indicated a person who lived near or worked on a bridge.
Briony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Variant of Bryony.
Brodie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRO-dee
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
Variant of Brody.
Brody
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRO-dee
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.
Brooks
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWKS
Rating: 12% based on 5 votes
From an English surname, a variant of Brook.
Bryce
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIES
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Variant of Brice.
Calista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese (Rare), Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-tə(English) ka-LEES-ta(Spanish)
Rating: 80% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of Callistus. As an English name it might also be a variant of Kallisto.
Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".
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, Dutch) ka-ro-LEEN(Dutch)
Rating: 78% based on 6 votes
French feminine form of Carolus.
Carter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-tər
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Cecil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEE-səl, SEHS-əl
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From the Roman name Caecilius. Though it was in use during the Middle Ages in England, it did not become common until the 19th century when it was given in honour of the noble Cecil family, who had been prominent since the 16th century. Their surname was derived from the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of Sextus.
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)
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
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.

Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
English form of Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Rating: 13% based on 4 votes
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Celeste
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Italian feminine and masculine form of Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Charlie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAHR-lee
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Diminutive or feminine form of Charles. A famous bearer was the British comic actor Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977). It is also borne by Charlie Brown, the main character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz.
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)
Rating: 80% based on 6 votes
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.

Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clíodhna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KLYEE-nə(Irish)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown. In Irish legend this was the name of a beautiful goddess. She fell in love with a mortal named Ciabhán and left the Land of Promise with him, but when she arrived on the other shore she was swept to sea by a great wave.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nyehl(German) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.

Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

Darcy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see
Rating: 82% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Darwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-win
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From a surname that was derived from the Old English given name Deorwine. The surname was borne by the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the man who first proposed the theory of natural selection and subsequently revolutionized biology.
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Rating: 79% based on 8 votes
Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Della
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-ə
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Diminutive of Adela or Adelaide. A famous bearer was American actress and singer Della Reese (1931-2017).
Desmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: DEHZ-mənd(English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Dorian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian
Pronounced: DAWR-ee-ən(English) DAW-RYAHN(French)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.
Eamon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EH-mən
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Variant of Éamonn.
Ebba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: EHB-ba(Swedish)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Ebbe.
Efraim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֶףְרָיִם(Hebrew)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Hebrew form of Ephraim.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 80% based on 5 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.

Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί, Ἡλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Means "ascension" in Hebrew, a derivative of עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend". In the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.

Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).

Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English) EH-lee-yahs(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Form of Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning "my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots אֵל (ʾel) and יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and Moses appear next to Jesus when he is transfigured.

Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.

Elizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 79% based on 7 votes
From Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע (ʾElishevaʿ) meaning "my God is an oath", derived from the roots אֵל (ʾel) referring to the Hebrew God and שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.

Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).

Ella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Norman name, originally a short form of Germanic names containing the element alles meaning "other" (Proto-Germanic *aljaz). It was introduced to England by the Normans and used until the 14th century, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the American singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996).
Ellery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-ree
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from the medieval masculine name Hilary.
Ellis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: EHL-is(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Elis, a medieval vernacular form of Elias. This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Welsh Elisedd.
Émeric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EHM-REEK
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
French form of Emmerich.
Emery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-ree
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Norman French form of Emmerich. The Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, now typically feminine, it is likely inspired by the surname Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.
Emil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, English
Other Scripts: Емил(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Эмиль(Russian)
Pronounced: EH-mil(Swedish, Czech) EH-meel(German, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian) eh-MEEL(Romanian) eh-MYEEL(Russian) ə-MEEL(English) EHM-il(English)
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
From the Roman family name Aemilius, which was derived from Latin aemulus meaning "rival".
Émile
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-MEEL
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
French form of Aemilius (see Emil). This name was borne by the author Émile Zola (1840-1902) and the sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).
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(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
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-).

Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From Old French Emeline, a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element amal meaning "unceasing, vigorous, brave". The Normans introduced this name to England.
Emmerson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən
Rating: 13% based on 4 votes
Variant of Emerson.
Ephraim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶףְרָיִם(Hebrew) Ἐφραίμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EEF-ree-əm(English) EEF-rəm(English)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name אֶףְרָיִם (ʾEfrayim) meaning "fruitful". In the Old Testament Ephraim is a son of Joseph and Asenath and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name was also borne by two early saints: Ephraim or Ephrem the Syrian, a 4th-century theologian, and Ephraim of Antioch, a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.
Evelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to Eve and Evelina.

This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.

Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
From a Roman cognomen meaning "lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned Saint Paul.

Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).

Finley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Variant of Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Old Irish form of Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Fletcher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLECH-ər
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie Tangled in 2010.
Foster 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWS-tər
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that has several different origins: see Foster 1, Foster 2, Foster 3 and Foster 4.
Gethsemane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: geth-SEHM-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
From a biblical place name, the garden where Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It is derived from Γεθσημανί (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "oil vat". It is very rarely used as a given name.
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning "feller, hewer", derived from גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew" [1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 78% based on 6 votes
From the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.

Grady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAY-dee
Rating: 10% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the byname Gráda meaning "noble, illustrious".
Greer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GRIR
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the given name Gregor.
Gregory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GREHG-ə-ree
Rating: 10% based on 4 votes
English form of Latin Gregorius, which was from the Late Greek name Γρηγόριος (Gregorios), derived from γρήγορος (gregoros) meaning "watchful, alert". This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important saints including Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (3rd century), Saint Gregory the Illuminator (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (4th century), and Saint Gregory of Tours (6th century). It was also borne by the 6th-century pope Saint Gregory I the Great, a reformer and Doctor of the Church, as well as 15 subsequent popes.

Due to the renown of the saints by this name, Gregory (in various spellings) has remained common in the Christian world through the Middle Ages and to the present day. It has been used in England since the 12th century. A famous bearer from the modern era was American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003).

Hadley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAD-lee
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather field" in Old English.
Hania 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: KHA-nya
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Polish diminutive of Hanna 1.
Harper
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Harry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee, HEHR-ee
Rating: 78% based on 5 votes
Medieval English form of Henry. In modern times it is used as a diminutive of both Henry and names beginning with Har. Famous bearers include the American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), who was named after his uncle Harrison, and the British royal Prince Harry (1984-), who is actually named Henry. It is also the name of the boy wizard in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hartley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: HAHRT-lee
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Hava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Hebrew)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew חַוָּה (see Chava).
Havilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: חֲוִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: HAV-i-lə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Probably means "to dance, to circle, to twist" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is both a place name and a masculine personal name.
Helen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHL-ən(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
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.

Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
From the Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like Haganrich, in which the first element is hag "enclosure".

Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.

The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).

Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god Hermes. In Greek myth Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. This is also the name of the wife of Leontes in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hillel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: הִלֵּל(Hebrew)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Derived from Hebrew הָלַל (halal) meaning "praise". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament as the father of the judge Abdon. It was also borne by the 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Hillel the Elder.
Holden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HOL-dən
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Holden Caulfield.
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Old German form of Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Ianto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: YAN-taw
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of Ifan.
Icarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἴκαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IK-ə-rəs(English)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
From the Greek Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek myth Icarus was the son of Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Ira 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עִירָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-rə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means "watchful" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of King David's priest. As an English Christian given name, Ira began to be used after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where remained moderately common into the 20th century.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
Variant of Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word isla meaning "island".
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 83% based on 4 votes
German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.

In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Jamie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Originally a Lowland Scots diminutive of James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
Jared
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יָרֶד, יֶרֶד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAR-əd(English)
Rating: 10% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name יָרֶד (Yareḏ) or יֶרֶד (Yereḏ) meaning "descent". This is the name of a close descendant of Adam in the Old Testament. It has been used as an English name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popularized in the 1960s by the character Jarrod Barkley on the television series The Big Valley [1].
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
From Latin Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Jericho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Other Scripts: יְרִיחוֹ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHR-i-ko
Rating: 3% based on 3 votes
From the name of a city in Israel that is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Hebrew word יָרֵחַ (yareaḥ) meaning "moon" [1], or otherwise to the Hebrew word רֵיחַ (reyaḥ) meaning "fragrance" [2].
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 13% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name יוֹנָה (Yona) meaning "dove". This was the name of a prophet swallowed by a fish, as told in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach in Nineveh, but instead fled by boat. After being caught in a storm, the other sailors threw Jonah overboard, at which point he was swallowed. He emerged from the fish alive and repentant three days later.

Jonah's story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the Hellenized form Jonas was occasionally used in England. The form Jonah did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Jonathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHN-ə-thən(American English) JAWN-ə-thən(British English) ZHAW-NA-TAHN(French) YO-na-tan(German) YO-na-tahn(Dutch)
Rating: 3% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonaṯan), contracted to יוֹנָתָן (Yonaṯan), meaning "Yahweh has given", derived from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give". According to the Old Testament, Jonathan was the eldest son of Saul. His relationship with his father was strained due to his close friendship with his father's rival David. Along with Saul he was killed in battle with the Philistines.

As an English name, Jonathan did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who wrote Gulliver's Travels and other works.

Judah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוּדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JOO-də(English)
Rating: 3% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name יְהוּדָה (Yehuḏa), probably derived from יָדָה (yaḏa) meaning "praise". In the Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of Jacob by Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King David and Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the deuterocanonical Books of Maccabees.

The name appears in the New Testament with the spellings Judas and Jude.

Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Variant of Judas. It is used in many English versions of the New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world, Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the Protestant Reformation.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Kaspar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Estonian
Pronounced: KAS-par(German)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
German and Estonian form of Jasper.
Katherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KATH-ə-rin, KATH-rin
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek αἰκία (aikia) meaning "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρός (katharos) meaning "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.

The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel. The saint was initially venerated in Syria, and returning crusaders introduced the name to Western Europe. It has been common in England since the 12th century in many different spellings, with Katherine and Catherine becoming standard in the later Middle Ages. To this day both spellings are regularly used in the English-speaking world. In the United States the spelling Katherine has been more popular since 1973.

Famous bearers of the name include Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century mystic, and Catherine de' Medici, a 16th-century French queen. It was also borne by three of Henry VIII's wives, including Katherine of Aragon, and by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great.

Kean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEEN
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname, a variant of Kane.
Keaton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEE-tən
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a few different place names (see the surname Keaton).
Keefe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEEF
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caoimh, derived from the given name or byname Caomh.
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Landon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAN-dən
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "long hill" (effectively meaning "ridge"). Use of the name may have been inspired in part by the actor Michael Landon (1936-1991).
Lára
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Pronounced: LOW-ra
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Icelandic form of Laura.
Laurent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-RAHN
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
French form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 83% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word לָאָה (laʾa) meaning "weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian littu meaning "cow". In the Old Testament Leah is the first wife of Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.

Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.

Leda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Italian
Other Scripts: Λήδα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LEH-DA(Classical Greek) LEE-də(English) LAY-də(English) LEH-da(Italian)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown. In Greek myth she was a Spartan queen and the mother of Castor, Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra by the god Zeus, who came upon her in the form of a swan.
Leighton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-tən
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Variant of Layton. It jumped in popularity as a feminine name after 2007, when actress Leighton Meester (1986-) began appearing on the television series Gossip Girl.
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, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Short form of names ending in lena, such as Helena, Magdalena or Yelena. It is often used independently.
Lennon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-ən
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname, derived from the Irish byname Leannán meaning "lover". The surname was borne by musician and Beatle member John Lennon (1940-1980), and it may be used as a given name in his honour. In America it is now more common as a feminine name, possibly inspired in part by the singer Lennon Stella (1999-), who began appearing on the television series Nashville in 2012 [1].
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Linden
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dən
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
From a German and Dutch surname that was derived from Old High German linta meaning "linden tree".
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the Greek name Λίνος (Linos) meaning "flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.
Lior
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹר(Hebrew)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Means "my light" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and אוֹר (ʾor) "light".
Llywelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: shəw-EH-lin(Welsh) loo-EHL-in(English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 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.
Lois 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λωΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LO-is(English)
Rating: 3% based on 3 votes
Possibly derived from Greek λωίων (loion) meaning "more desirable" or "better". Lois is mentioned in the New Testament as the mother of Eunice and the grandmother of Timothy. As an English name, it came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In fiction, this is the name of the girlfriend of the comic book hero Superman.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
An elaboration of Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lugh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Probably an Irish form of Lugus. In Irish mythology Lugh Lámfada was a divine hero who led the Tuatha Dé Danann against his grandfather Balor and the Fomorians. Lugh killed Balor by shooting a stone into his giant eye.
Luka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Russian, Georgian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Лука(Serbian, Macedonian, Russian) ლუკა(Georgian) Лꙋка(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: LOO-ka(Croatian) LOO-KAH(Georgian)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Form of Lucas (see Luke) in several languages.
Lux
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Madelaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Variant of Madeline.
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
French form of Magdalene.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 78% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband Ailill fought against the Ulster king Conchobar and the hero Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Mara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1], Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Other Scripts: מָרָא(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAHR-ə(English) MAR-ə(English) MEHR-ə(English) MA-ra(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means "bitter" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is a name that Naomi calls herself after the death of her husband and sons (see Ruth 1:20).
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning "Mack's stream", from the name Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, combined with Old English wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.

As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].

Merrill
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-əl
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived either from the given name Muriel or from place names meaning "pleasant hill".
Merritt
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-it
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant "boundary gate" in Old English.
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)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
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 Maria and Mariel respectively.

Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Contracted form of Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Michael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: מִיכָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Μιχαήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MIE-kəl(English) MI-kha-ehl(German, Czech) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish) MEE-kah-ehl(Norwegian) mee-KA-ehl(Latin)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning "who is like God?", derived from the interrogative pronoun מִי (mi) combined with ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron saint of soldiers in Christianity.

The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).

In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.

Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).

Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From the Germanic name Milo, introduced by the Normans to England in the form Miles. The meaning is not known for certain. It is possibly connected to the Slavic name element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear". From an early date it was associated with Latin miles meaning "soldier".

A notable bearer was the American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991). In Scotland this name was historically used to Anglicize Maoilios.

Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Old German form of Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century [2].
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: ןְתַןְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 3% based on 3 votes
Variant of Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling Nathanael is found in most versions of the New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Noa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: נוֹעָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-a(Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
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.
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning "rest, repose", derived from the root נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.

A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).

Noam
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, French
Other Scripts: נוֹעַם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-am(Hebrew) NOM(English) NAW-AM(French)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Means "pleasantness" in Hebrew. A famous bearer is Noam Chomsky (1928-), an American linguist and philosopher.
Nola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NO-lə
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a feminine form of Noll inspired by Lola. It has been most common in Australia and New Zealand, especially in the first half of the 20th century.
Nolan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-lən(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Nualláin, itself derived from the given name Nuallán. The baseball player Nolan Ryan (1947-) is a famous bearer. This name has climbed steadily in popularity since the 1970s.
Ogden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWG-dən
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "oak valley" in Old English. A famous bearer was the humorous American poet Ogden Nash (1902-1971).
Oswald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: AHZ-wawld(English) AWS-valt(German)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Derived from the Old English elements os "god" and weald "powerful, mighty". Saint Oswald was a king of Northumbria who introduced Christianity to northeastern England in the 7th century before being killed in battle. There was also an Old Norse cognate Ásvaldr in use in England, being borne by the 10th-century Saint Oswald of Worcester, who was of Danish ancestry. Though the name had died out by the end of the Middle Ages, it was revived in the 19th century.
Otis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-tis
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Ode, a cognate of Otto. In America it has been used in honour of the revolutionary James Otis (1725-1783).
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(English) OT-to(Finnish)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Later German form of Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish aud or Old High German ot meaning "wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great. Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).
Ottoline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of Ottilie. A famous bearer was the British socialite Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938).
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of Owain.
Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEE-tər(English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Derived from Greek Πέτρος (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.

Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].

Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.

Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the Greek Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning "bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of Theseus in Greek mythology. Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Phebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Variant of Phoebe used in some translations of the New Testament.
Phelan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Anglicized form of Faolán.
Rachael
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY-chəl
Rating: 3% based on 3 votes
Variant of Rachel, the spelling probably influenced by that of Michael.
Reed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English read meaning "red", originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Unconnected, this is also the English word for tall grass-like plants that grow in marshes.
Reese
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Rhys. It is also used as a feminine name, popularized by the American actress Reese Witherspoon (1976-).
Reid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From a surname, a Scots variant of Reed.
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.
Rigby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RIG-bee
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "ridge farm" in Old Norse.
Romola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: RAW-mo-la
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Italian feminine form of Romulus.
Rorie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Variant of Rory.
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hros meaning "horse" and lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy As You Like It (1599).
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Combination of Rose and Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of Ruth 1.
Sarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SA-ra(Danish, Dutch, Arabic)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name שָׂרָה (Sara) meaning "lady, princess, noblewoman". 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).

Sawyer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər, SAW-yər
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From an English surname meaning "sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Very rare as an American given name before 1980, it increased in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It got a boost in 2004 after the debut of the television series Lost, which featured a character by this name.

Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) SEEL-vyu(European Portuguese) SEEW-vyu(Brazilian Portuguese) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-ya(Dutch) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
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.
Sloane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SLON
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Sluaghadháin, itself derived from the given name Sluaghadhán.
Sophie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: SAW-FEE(French) SO-fee(English) zo-FEE(German) so-FEE(Dutch)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
French form of Sophia.
Sullivan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: SUL-i-vən(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish súil "eye" and dubh "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Tanis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology (Hellenized)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Greek form of Tanith.
Tanith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Other Scripts: 𐤕𐤍𐤕(Phoenician)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Meaning unknown. This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of Ba'al Hammon.
Tate
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAYT
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Tata.
Tel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TEHL
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Short form of Terence or Terry 1.
Tessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS-ə(English) TEH-sa(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Contracted form of Theresa.
Theo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: THEE-o(English) TEH-o(German) TEH-yo(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Short form of Theodore, Theobald and other names that begin with Theo.
Thérèse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TEH-REHZ
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
French form of Theresa. It was borne by the French nun Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church.
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Greek form of Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the Old Testament. It relates how Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation.
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Tucker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TUK-ər
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From an occupational surname for a cloth fuller, derived from Old English tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.
Vaughn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAWN
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From a Welsh surname, a variant of Vaughan.
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)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
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.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 83% based on 6 votes
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Vivien 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
French form of Vivianus (see Vivian).
Waylon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAY-lən
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Variant of Wayland. This name was popularized by country music singer Waylon Jennings (1937-2002), who was originally named Wayland [1].
Wesley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-lee, WEHZ-lee
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.
Willa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-ə
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of William.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Yaroslav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Ярослав(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: yi-ru-SLAF(Russian)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means "fierce and glorious", derived from the Slavic elements jarŭ "fierce, energetic" and slava "glory". Yaroslav the Wise was an 11th-century grand prince of Kyiv who expanded Kievan Rus to its greatest extent.
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