winterglow's Personal Name List

Italian form of Adelgis. Adelchi was an associate king of the Lombards from August 759, reigning with his father, Desiderius, until their deposition in June 774. He is also remembered today as the hero of the play Adelchi (1822) by Alessandro Manzoni.

Form of Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.

Italian and Spanish masculinization of Adelia.

Known bearers of this name include the Italian former soccer player Adelio Moro (b. 1951), the Paraguayan former soccer player Adelio Salinas (b. 1968) and the Argentine television and radio host Adelio Suárez (1940-2007).

Latinized form of the Greek name Ἅγνη (Hagne), derived from Greek ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning "chaste". Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.

As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.

Borne by Ailerán the Wise, Irish scholar and saint.

Means "the only one" in Finnish. In the Finnish epic the Kalevala this is the name of a girl who drowns herself when she finds out she must marry the old man Väinämöinen.

Short form of Joakim.

French form of Alan. A notable bearer is the French actor Alain Delon (1935-).

Alternate transcription of Russian Алексей (see Aleksey).

Former Latinization of Welsh Eluned and Eiliwedd.

Variant of Alvah. A famous bearer of this name was the inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).

From the Old Norse Alvíss meaning "all wise". In Norse mythology this was the name of a dwarf who was to marry Thor's daughter Thrud. Thor was not pleased with this so he tricked Alvis by asking him questions until the sun rose, at which time the dwarf was turned into stone.

Alternate transcription of Arabic Amina 1 or Amina 2, as well as the usual form in Malay and Indonesian.

French form of Anatolius.

Latinate diminutive of Angela. A famous bearer is American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-).

Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Variant of Anneliese.

French diminutive of Anne 1. It has also been widely used in the English-speaking world, and it became popular in America in the late 1950s due to the fame of actress Annette Funicello (1942-2013).

Derived from the Greek noun ἀντήνωρ (antenor) meaning "instead of a man", which consists of Greek ἀντί (anti) meaning "against" as well as "instead of" and "compared to, like" combined with the Greek noun ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man".

Also compare the Greek name Antandros, which is closely related and essentially means the same.

This name was borne by an Athenian sculptor from the 6th century BC. In Greek mythology, Antenor is a counselor of king Priam of Troy during the Trojan War.

Czech and Slovak form of Apollonia.

French form of Ariadne.

Variant of Arline. Since the onset of the 20th century, this is the most common spelling of this name.

Italian and Spanish form of Artemios.

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.

Transferred use of the surname Ayrton, which was originally taken from the place name Airton.

Outside of its Brazilian usage, the name was popularised by Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna (1960-1994), starting after his first win at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix and increasing (or, in some cases, peaking) shortly after his death.

German form of Azalea.

Means "baptist" in French, originally deriving from Greek βάπτω (bapto) meaning "to dip". This name is usually given in honour of Saint John the Baptist, and as such it is often paired with the name Jean.

French form of Benedict.

Diminutive of Elizabeth.

Late Latin name meaning "of the sky, heavenly", a derivative of Latin caelum "heaven, sky".

Means "Candlemas" in Spanish, ultimately derived from Spanish candela "candle". This name is given in honour of the church festival of Candlemas, which commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary.

Means "nasturtium" in French. This was the stage name of the French actress and model Capucine (1928-1990).

Latinized form of the Greek Κασταλία (Kastalia), which is of uncertain origin, possibly related to Greek καθαρός (katharos) meaning "clean, spotless, pure" or κασσύω (kassuô) "to stitch". This was the name of a nymph of the prophetic springs of the Delphic oracle on Mount Parnassos. She may be the same as the nymph Κασσωτίς (Kassôtis) (see Cassotis).

From the name of the flower, which is derived from Greek χελιδών (chelidon) meaning "swallow (bird)".

Feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of Cecilia.

French form of Christopher.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

Latinate form of Clarice. This is the name of the title character in a 1748 novel by Samuel Richardson. In the novel Clarissa Harlowe is a virtuous woman who is tragically exploited by her family and her lover. Another literary character by this name is Clarissa Dalloway from the novel Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf.

Feminine form of Dacius and Dacio.

Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

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

From Δαναοί (Danaoi), a word used by Homer to designate the Greeks. In Greek mythology Danaë was the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. It had been prophesied to her father that he would one day be killed by Danaë's son, so he attempted to keep his daughter childless. However, Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of Perseus. Eventually the prophecy was fulfilled and Perseus killed Acrisius, albeit accidentally.

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).

French form of Delphina.

French form of Diomedes.

Finnish and Estonian form of Eva.

Scandinavian form of Eleanor.

From the Hebrew name חֲנוֹך (Ḥanoḵ) meaning "dedicated". In Genesis in the Old Testament this is the name of the son of Cain. It is also the name of a son of Jared and the father of Methuselah, who was the supposed author of the apocryphal Books of Enoch.

English form of Éponine.

Anglicized form of Éireann. It was initially used by people of Irish heritage in America, Canada and Australia. It was rare until the mid-1950s.

French form of Stephen.

French form of Eudoxia.

Anglicized form of Ifan, a Welsh form of John.

Simply from the English word faith, ultimately from Latin fidere "to trust". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.

From the Roman cognomen Florianus, a derivative of Florus. This was the name of a short-lived Roman emperor of the 3rd century, Marcus Annius Florianus. It was also borne by Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.

Short form of Galina.

Spanish and Italian form of Galen.

Italian form of Hyacinthus.

French form of Giles.

Medieval English feminine form of Julian. This spelling has been in use since the 13th century, though it was not declared a distinct name from Julian until the 17th century [1].

Means "joy" in Italian.

Variant of Gytha.

Derived from South Slavic gora meaning "mountain". It was popularized by the Croatian poet Ivan Goran Kovačić (1913-1943), who got his middle name because of the mountain town where he was born.

Diminutive of Grete. It is well-known as a character from an 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale who is captured, with her brother Hansel, by a witch. The Grimm's story was based on earlier European folktales.

From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.

Feminine form of Hildemar.

Czech form of Hans.

From the English word hope, ultimately from Old English hopian. This name was first used by the Puritans in the 17th century.

Italian form of Ikaros (see Icarus).

Possibly a Romanian variant of Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.

Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.

Modern French form of Jehan, the Old French form of Iohannes (see John). Since the 12th century it has consistently been the most common male name in France. It finally dropped from the top rank in 1958, unseated by Philippe.

The French theologian Jean Calvin (1509-1564) and the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) are well-known bearers of this name. It was also borne by the German-French Dadaist artist Jean Arp (1886-1966).

German form of Joachim.

From the Hebrew name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshuaʿ) meaning "Yahweh is salvation", from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save". As told in the Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hoshea.

The name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshuaʿ), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.

Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.

Variant of Kaleva.

Polish, Slovak and Slovene form of Karl.

German and Estonian form of Jasper.

Anglicized form of Ciarán.

Variant of Colin 2.

Catalan diminutive of Eulalia.

Combination of Lee and Anne 1.

Of unknown origin and meaning. It might possibly be an attempted feminization of Lear or, and perhaps more likely, a phonetic respelling of Liora via its Anglicized variant Leora.

Form of Leah used in the Greek Old Testament, as well as a Portuguese form. This is the name of a princess in the Star Wars movies by George Lucas, who probably based it on Leah.

From the Old Norse name Leifr meaning "descendant, heir". Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer who reached North America in the early 11th century. He was the son of Erik the Red.

Means "for God" in Hebrew, from the proposition לְמוֹ (lemo) combined with אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This was the name of a king briefly mentioned in Proverbs in the Old Testament. In the Book of Mormon it is the name of a rebellious son of Lehi and Sariah. It is also borne by the hero of Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels (1726).

Short form of Leonard.

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].

Derived from Greek λήθη "forgetfulness, oblivion" (source of the word alethes "true" (compare Alethea), literally "not concealing"). In Greek mythology this name belonged to a daimona of oblivion. She was the daughter of Eris and the counterpart Mnemosyne. Together with Hesychia and Aergia, she protects the realm of Hypnos. Lethe, one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades, is named after her.

Possibly means "joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers Moses and Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the New Testament, where it is borne by a son of Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle Matthew.

As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Diminutive of Elizabeth.

Derived from Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.

From German Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.

In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).

Variant of Luann.

Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.

Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.

From an English surname that was derived from Welsh llyn meaning "lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of Linda or names that end in lyn or line.

Medieval French diminutive of Marie.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Maurus.

Dutch diminutive of Maria.

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.

From the English word misty, ultimately derived from Old English. The jazz song Misty (1954) by Erroll Garner may have helped popularize the name.

German diminutive of Maria.

Variant of Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century [1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-) [2].

From the Hebrew name נָעֳמִי (Naʿomi) meaning "my pleasantness", a derivative of נָעַם (naʿam) meaning "to be pleasant". In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be Mara because of her misfortune (see Ruth 1:20).

Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Narcissus. This is also the word for the narcissus flower in those languages.

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.

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).

From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.

Ukrainian form of Helen.

French form of Undine.

Variant of Órlaith.

Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, Macedonian and Belarusian form of Paul.

Combination of Polly and Anna. This was the name of the main character in Eleanor H. Porter's novel Pollyanna (1913).

Short form of Rachel. It can also be used as a feminine form of Ray.

Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.

Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Райна (see Rayna 1).

From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god Odin.

Variant of Jeremiel appearing in some versions of the Old Testament.

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.

Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements hroð "fame" and wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements ron "spear" and gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel Ivanhoe (1819).

Latinized form of Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque Comus (1634).

The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.

Perhaps an invented name based on similar-sounding names such as Selina.

Means "moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess Artemis.

Either a variant of Sarah or a short form of Seraphina.

Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.

French form of Severinus.

From the name of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, called an tSionainn in Irish. It is associated with the legendary figure Sionann and is sometimes said to be named for her. However it is more likely she was named after the river, which may be related to Old Irish sen "old, ancient" [1]. As a given name, it first became common in America after the 1940s.

The name Silesia is derived from the former Prussian province Silesia (in German: Schlesien).

It is officially admitted in Germany.

Italian form of Silvester.

Swedish and German form of Søren.

Form of Styliani. (Cf. Stelios.)

Contraction of Susan and Ellen 1. Margaret Mitchell used this name in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936), where it belongs to Scarlett's sister.

French form of Silvanus.

Variant of Silvana.

Variant of Sylvaine.

Feminine form of the Roman name Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.

Contracted form of Theresa.

Variant of Tiago.

Short form of Tatiana or Christiana. It was rare in the United States until it jumped in popularity in 1975, perhaps due to the Vietnamese-American actress Tiana Alexandra (1956-), who had some exposure at that time. It was used as the name of the princess in the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog (2009).

Modern form of the Old Norse name Tófa, a short form of Þórfríðr.

From the Greek name Τρύφαινα (Tryphaina), derived from Greek τρυφή (tryphe) meaning "softness, delicacy". This name is mentioned briefly in the New Testament.

Short form of names containing van, such as Vance or Ivan.

The name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic الواقع (al-Wāqiʿ) meaning "the swooping (eagle)".

Feminine form of Vernon, sometimes associated with the Latin word vernus "spring". It has been in use since the 19th century.

Italian form of Victoriana.

From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.

From Middle English senith, from cinit, from Old French cenit and/or Latin cenit, a transliteration of Arabic سمت (samt, "direction, path") which is in itself a weak abbreviation of سمت الرأس (samt ar-ra's, "direction of the head").

In modern English, zenith means "the highest point or state; peak" and in astronomy, refers to "the point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer" or "the highest point in the sky reached by a celestial body."

In the English-speaking world, this name has been in occasional use from the late 19th century onwards.

From the Greek name Ζήνων (Zenon), which was derived from the name of the Greek god Zeus (the poetic form of his name being Ζήν). Zeno was the name of two famous Greek philosophers: Zeno of Elea and Zeno of Citium, the founder of the Stoic school in Athens.

Short form of Joséphine. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel 'Les Misérables' (1862).

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).

Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.