AntonymEnglish Variant of Anthony. This was formerly the usual English spelling of the name, but during the 17th century the h began to be added.
ArchimedesmAncient Greek Derived from the Greek elements ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master" and μήδεα (medea) meaning "plans, counsel, cunning". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek mathematician, astronomer and inventor.
Arlief & mEnglish Diminutive of Arline and other names beginning with Arl.
BevanmEnglish From a Welsh surname that was derived from ap Evan meaning "son of Evan". As a given name, it is particularly common in New Zealand and Australia.
BhaskaramHinduism Means "shining", derived from a combination of Sanskrit भास (bhasa) meaning "light" and कर (kara) meaning "maker". This is another name of Hindu sun god Surya. It was additionally borne by a 12th-century Indian astronomer, also known as Bhaskaracharya.
EdmondmFrench, Albanian French and Albanian form of Edmund. A notable bearer was the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), for whom Halley's comet is named.
EdwinmEnglish, Dutch Means "rich friend", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and wine "friend". This was the name of a 7th-century Northumbrian king, regarded as a saint. After the Norman Conquest the name was not popular, but it was eventually revived in the 19th century. A notable bearer was the astronaut Edwin Aldrin (1930-), also known as Buzz, the second man to walk on the moon.
EudoxosmAncient Greek From Greek εὔδοξος (eudoxos) meaning "of good repute, honoured", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and δόξα (doxa) meaning "notion, reputation, honour". This was the name of a 4th-century BC Greek mathematician and astronomer.
FiorellafItalian From Italian fiore"flower" combined with a diminutive suffix.
FrancesfEnglish Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
GalileomItalian (Rare) Medieval Italian name derived from Latin galilaeus meaning "Galilean, from Galilee". Galilee is a region in northern Israel, mentioned in the New Testament as the site of several of Jesus's miracles. It is derived from the Hebrew root גָּלִיל (galil) meaning "district, roll".... [more]
GerardmEnglish, Dutch, Catalan, Polish Derived from the Old German element ger meaning "spear" combined with hart meaning "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This name was borne by saints from Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy. The Normans introduced it to Britain. It was initially much more common there than the similar name Gerald, with which it was often confused, but it is now less common.
Harlowf & mEnglish From an English surname derived from a place name, itself derived from Old English hær "rock, heap of stones" or here "army", combined with hlaw "hill". As a name for girls, it received some attention in 2008 when the American celebrity Nicole Richie used it for her daughter.
HenriettafEnglish, Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish Latinate form of Henriette. It was introduced to England by Henriette Marie, the wife of the 17th-century English king Charles I. The name Henriette was also Anglicized as Harriet, a form that was initially more popular.
IsaacmEnglish, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin From the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (Yitzchaq) meaning "he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from צָחַק (tzachaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of Esau and Jacob with his wife Rebecca.... [more]
JohannesmGerman, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Late Roman Latin form of Greek Ioannes (see John). Notable bearers include the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).
JohnmEnglish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Biblical English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ἰωάννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan). It means "Yahweh is gracious", from the roots יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and חָנַן (chanan) meaning "to be gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the Old Testament (spelled Johanan or Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles Peter and James (John's brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.... [more]
MartinmEnglish, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Finnish From the Roman name Martinus, which was derived from Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god Mars. Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.... [more]
MuhammadmArabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tajik, Uzbek, Indonesian, Malay, Avar Means "praised, commendable" in Arabic, derived from the root حمد (hamida) meaning "to praise". This was the name of the prophet who founded the Islamic religion in the 7th century. According to Islamic belief, at age 40 Muhammad was visited by the angel Gabriel, who provided him with the first verses of the Quran. Approximately 20 years later he conquered Mecca, the city of his birth, and his followers controlled most of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of his death in 632.... [more]
NicolausmGerman, Ancient Greek (Latinized) Latinized form of Nikolaos (see Nicholas). This form is also used in Germany as a variant of Nikolaus. A notable bearer was the German-speaking Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). This was his Latin name; his German name was recorded in various spellings such as Niklas Koppernigk.
PetermEnglish, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical 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.... [more]
PtolemymHistory From the Greek name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek πολεμήϊος (polemeios) meaning "aggressive, warlike". Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a 2nd-century Greek astronomer.
SosigenesmAncient Greek Means "born safely" from Greek σῶς (sos) meaning "safe, whole, unwounded" and γενής (genes) meaning "born". This was the name of an astronomer from Alexandria employed by Julius Caesar to correct the Roman calendar.
TakeshimJapanese From Japanese 武 (takeshi) meaning "military, martial", 健 (takeshi) meaning "strong, healthy", or other kanji having the same reading.
TychomHistory, Dutch Latinized form of Tyge. This name was used by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), who was born as Tyge.