OceanStar719's Personal Name List
Adler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AD-lər
From a German surname meaning "eagle".
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Rating: 63% based on 14 votes
Form of
Hadrianus (see
Hadrian) used in several languages. Several
saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 59% based on 15 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.
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Rating: 65% based on 16 votes
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Ares
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄρης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REHS(Classical Greek) EHR-eez(English)
Perhaps from either Greek
ἀρή (are) meaning
"bane, ruin" or
ἄρσην (arsen) meaning
"male". The name first appears as
a-re in Mycenaean Greek writing. Ares was the bloodthirsty god of war in Greek
mythology, a son of
Zeus and
Hera.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(English)
Rating: 68% based on 16 votes
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Aspen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AS-pən
Personal remark: Aspen Avery
From the English word for a variety of deciduous trees in the genus Populus, derived from Old English æspe. It is also the name of a ski resort in Colorado.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Bailey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAY-lee
From an English surname derived from Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.
Already an uncommon masculine name, it slowly grew in popularity for American girls beginning in 1978 after the start of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which featured a character with this name. Though it remained more common as a feminine name, it got a boost for boys in 1994 from another television character on the drama Party of Five. In the United Kingdom and Australia it has always been more popular for boys.
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Calvin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-vin
Rating: 34% based on 9 votes
Derived from the French surname
Cauvin, which was derived from
chauve meaning
"bald". The surname was borne by Jean Cauvin (1509-1564), a theologian from France who was one of the leaders of the
Protestant Reformation. His surname was Latinized as
Calvinus (based on Latin
calvus "bald") and he is known as John Calvin in English. It has been used as a given name in his honour since the 19th century.
In modern times, this name is borne by American fashion designer Calvin Klein (1942-), as well as one of the main characters from Bill Watterson's comic strip Calvin and Hobbes (published from 1985 to 1995).
Collins
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHL-inz
From a surname, which is either Irish or English in origin (see
Collins 1 and
Collins 2). It increased in popularity as a name for girls after it appeared in the movie
The Blind Side (2009), which was based on a 2006 biography. As a masculine name, it is currently most common in parts of English-speaking Africa.
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Italian feminine form of
Cosimo.
Cruz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KROOTH(European Spanish) KROOS(Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese) KROOSH(European Portuguese)
Rating: 35% based on 15 votes
Means "cross" in Spanish or Portuguese, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
Dalton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWL-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "valley town" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was John Dalton (1766-1844), the English chemist and physicist who theorized about the existence of atoms.
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
Rating: 63% based on 10 votes
From the Late Latin name
Dominicus meaning
"of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several
saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.
Easton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EES-tən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.
Elliott
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
Personal remark: -
From an English surname that was derived from a
diminutive of the medieval name
Elias.
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Émeric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EHM-REEK
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Emerson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.
Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Everard.
Everley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ər-lee
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: 64% based on 17 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).
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
Rating: 53% based on 14 votes
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Grayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of the steward", derived from Middle English
greyve "steward". It became common towards the end of the 20th century because of its similarity to popular names like
Jason,
Mason and
Graham.
Greyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Rating: 44% based on 14 votes
Latinized form of
Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Hollis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-is
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 73% based on 15 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.
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 14 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.
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 50% based on 13 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.
Kai 3
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: KIE
Rating: 46% based on 15 votes
Means "sea" in Hawaiian.
Kaya 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ka-YA
Means "rock, cliff" in Turkish.
Kenzie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-zee
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
Kylie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIE-lee
This name arose in Australia, where it is said to mean "boomerang" in the Australian Aboriginal language Nyungar. An early bearer was the author Kylie Tennant (1912-1988). It was among the most popular names in Australia in the 1970s and early 80s. It can also be considered a feminine form of
Kyle, or a combination of the popular sounds
ky and
lee, and it is likely in those capacities that it began to be used in America in the late 1970s. A famous bearer is the Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue (1968-).
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Personal remark: Lachlan Wilder
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 14 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.
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Danish, Finnish) LEH-yo(Dutch) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 61% based on 15 votes
Derived from Latin
leo meaning
"lion", a
cognate of
Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including
Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled
Лев in Russian, whose works include
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
Liam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French (Modern), Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), Swedish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: LYEEM(Irish) LEE-əm(English) LYAM(French) LEE-yahm(Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 15 votes
Irish short form of
William. It became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, and elsewhere in Europe and the Americas after that. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States beginning in 2017. Famous bearers include British actor Liam Neeson (1952-), British musician Liam Gallagher (1972-), and Australian actor Liam Hemsworth (1990-).
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-ya(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Rating: 74% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 74% based on 16 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
Rating: 67% based on 9 votes
English form of
Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From the Hebrew name
מַלְאָכִי (Malʾaḵi) meaning
"my messenger" or
"my angel", derived from a possessive form of
מַלְאָךְ (malʾaḵ) meaning "messenger, angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Máel Coluim, which means
"disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing
Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father
Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy
Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 70% based on 11 votes
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Merritt
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-it
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: 51% based on 14 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.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 62% based on 13 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].
Nolan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-lən(English)
Rating: 49% based on 14 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.
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Rating: 69% based on 15 votes
From Old French
Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin
oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse
Áleifr (see
Olaf) or Frankish
Alawar (see
Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic
La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero
Roland.
In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
Anglicized form of
Owain.
Quinn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name
Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series
Glee.
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of
Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel
Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
From the Late Latin name
Romanus meaning
"Roman". This name was borne by several early
saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 48% based on 13 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).
Sawyer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər, SAW-yər
Rating: 43% based on 12 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.
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Rating: 81% based on 16 votes
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Seth 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שֵׁת(Ancient Hebrew) Σήθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Shiloh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
Rating: 38% based on 13 votes
From an
Old Testament place name possibly meaning
"tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see
Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.
This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
Rating: 55% based on 10 votes
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Søren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SUUW-ən
Rating: 20% based on 5 votes
Danish form of
Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 54% based on 11 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Sullivan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: SUL-i-vən(English)
Rating: 35% based on 12 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).
Tatum
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAY-təm
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead" in Old English. It was brought to public attention by the child actress Tatum O'Neal (1963-) in the 1970s, though it did not catch on. It attained a modest level of popularity after 1996, when it was borne by a character in the movie Scream.
Taylor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAY-lər
Rating: 33% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who was a tailor, from Norman French
tailleur, ultimately from Latin
taliare "to cut".
Its modern use as a feminine name may have been influenced by the British-American author Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985). Since 1990 it has been more popular for girls in the United States. Other England-speaking regions have followed suit, with the exception of England and Wales where it is still slightly more popular for boys. Its popularity peaked in America the mid-1990s for both genders, ranked sixth for girls and 51st for boys. A famous bearer is the American musician Taylor Swift (1989-).
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Rating: 59% based on 14 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.
Walden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: WOHL-den
Place name from
Old English: “wooded valley”.
Most famous as the name of Walden Pond in Massachusetts where philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote his book “Walden”.
Used as a male name by J.K. Rowling in the "Harry Potter" books.
Wilder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From an English surname meaning "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", from Old English wilde.
Wyatt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIE-ət
Rating: 56% based on 13 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Wyard or
Wyot, from the Old English name
Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian) THO-eh(European Spanish) SO-eh(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Means
"life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of
Eve. It was borne by two early Christian
saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.
As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).
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