crowecolt's Personal Name List

Branwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: BRAN-wehn(Welsh)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Means "white raven" from Old Welsh bran "raven" and gwen "white, blessed". According to the Second Branch of the Mabinogi [1] she was the daughter of Llŷr. After she was mistreated by her husband Matholwch, the king of Ireland, she managed to get a message to her brother Brân, the king of Britain. Brân launched a costly invasion to rescue her, but she died of grief shortly after her return.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Possibly from cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh cwrr "corner") combined with ben "woman" or gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard Taliesin.

This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".

Cleon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κλέων(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of Κλέων (Kleon), a Greek name derived from κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory".
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Dolores
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English
Pronounced: do-LO-rehs(Spanish) də-LAWR-is(English)
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Means "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 85% based on 2 votes
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight" [1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Ginger
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIN-jər
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
From the English word ginger for the spice or the reddish-brown colour. It can also be a diminutive of Virginia, as in the case of actress and dancer Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), by whom the name was popularized.
Hamish
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: HAY-mish(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of a Sheumais, the vocative case of Seumas.
Hestia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑστία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHS-TEE-A(Classical Greek) HEHS-tee-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Derived from Greek ἑστία (hestia) meaning "hearth, fireside". In Greek mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.
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: 65% 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.
Jael
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Portuguese
Other Scripts: יָעֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-əl(English) JAYL(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name יָעֵל (Yaʿel) meaning "ibex, mountain goat". This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to the wife of Heber the Kenite. After Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army, was defeated in battle by Deborah and Barak he took refuge in Heber's tent. When he fell asleep Jael killed him by hammering a tent peg into his head.
Joel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-əl(English) JOL(English) kho-EHL(Spanish) ZHWEHL(European Portuguese) zho-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) YO-ehl(Swedish, Finnish)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name יוֹאֵל (Yoʾel) meaning "Yahweh is God", from the elements יוֹ (yo) and אֵל (ʾel), both referring to the Hebrew God. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel, which describes a plague of locusts. In England, it was first used as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation.
Jonquil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JAHNG-kwəl
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the type of flower, derived ultimately from Latin iuncus "reed".
Keir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
From a surname that was a variant of Kerr.
Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English) MAR-ee(English)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Usual English form of Maria, the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names Μαριάμ (Mariam) and Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of Moses in the Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love".

This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.

Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.

This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.

The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.

Meriel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: MEHR-ee-əl
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of Muriel.
Merla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MUR-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of Merle.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Possibly derived from Latin mens meaning "intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Morwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of Morwenna.
Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune".
Somhairle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SO-ər-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Scottish Gaelic form of Sumarliði (see Somerled).
Theron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θήρων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-RAWN(Classical Greek) THEHR-ən(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Derived from Greek θηράω (therao) meaning "to hunt".
Ursula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: UR-sə-lə(English) UR-syoo-lə(English) UWR-zoo-la(German) OOR-soo-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means "little bear", derived from a diminutive form of the Latin word ursa "she-bear". Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.
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