Ra m Egyptian MythologyFrom Egyptian
rꜥ meaning
"sun" or
"day". Ra was an important Egyptian sun god originally worshipped in Heliopolis in Lower Egypt. He was usually depicted as a man with the head of a falcon crowned with a solar disc. In later times his attributes were often merged with those of other deities, such as
Amon,
Atum and
Horus.
Raabi'a f ArabicMeans
"fourth" in Arabic, a derivative of
أربعة (ʾarbaʿa) meaning "four". This name was borne by an 8th-century Sufi mystic from Basra in Iraq.
Rabbie m ScotsScots diminutive of
Robert. This is the familiar name of the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Rabiu m HausaFrom Arabic
رابع (rābiʿ) meaning
"fourth", a derivative of
أربعة (ʾarbaʿa) meaning "four". It is sometimes added to a given name to indicate the fourth sibling bearing it.
Rachel f English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical HebrewFrom the Hebrew name
רָחֵל (Raḥel) meaning
"ewe". In the Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of
Jacob. Her father
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister
Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid
Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of
Joseph and
Benjamin.
... [more] Ra'd m ArabicMeans
"thunder" in Arabic. This is the name of the 13th chapter of the Quran (surah ar-Rad).
Rada f Serbian, BulgarianDerived from the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing", originally a short form of names beginning with that element.
Radboud m Dutch (Rare)Derived from the Old German elements
rat meaning "counsel, advice" and
bot meaning "command, order". This was the name of a 7th-century king of the Frisians.
Radcliff m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"red cliff" in Old English.
Rade m Serbian, CroatianShort form of
Milorad and other names containing the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing". It is often used independently.
Radek m Czech, PolishOriginally a diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing". In Poland it is usually a diminutive of
Radosław.
Radim m CzechOriginally a diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing".
Radinka f SerbianDerived from the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing" combined with a diminutive suffix.
Radko m Bulgarian, CzechOriginally a diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing".
Radoš m SerbianDerived from the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing", originally a diminutive of names beginning with that element.
Radu m RomanianOld Romanian diminutive of Slavic names beginning with the element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing". Radu Negru was the semi-legendary founder of Wallachia in the 13th century.
Radúz m Czech (Rare)Derived from Czech
rád meaning
"happy, glad". The Czech author Julius Zeyer probably created it for a character in his play
Radúz and Mahulena (1898).
Raeburn m English (Rare)From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"stream where deer drink" (from Scots
rae "roe deer" and
burn "stream"). A famous bearer of the surname was Scottish portrait painter Henry Raeburn (1756-1823).
Rafe m EnglishVariant of
Ralph. This form became common during the 17th century, reflecting the usual pronunciation.
Rafferty m EnglishFrom an Irish surname, itself derived from the given name
Rabhartach meaning "flood tide".
Raginbert m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
regin "advice, counsel, decision" and
beraht "bright". This was the name of an 8th-century Lombard king.
Ragnarr m Old NorseFrom the Old Norse elements
regin "advice, counsel" and
herr "army, warrior". It is a cognate of
Rayner. This name was borne by the legendary Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok.
Rahab f BiblicalMeans
"spacious" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a woman of Jericho who helped the Israelites capture the city.
Raharjo m JavaneseFrom Javanese
raharja meaning
"prosperous, plentiful, abundant".
Rahmi m TurkishMeans
"merciful" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic.
Rahu m HinduismPossibly means
"seizer", from the root
रभ् (rabh) meaning "to take hold, to clasp". In Hindu astrology this is the name of the ascending node of the moon, personified as an asura (demon) responsible for eclipses.
Rahul m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, TeluguModern form of
Rahula.
Rahula m Sanskrit, BuddhismMeaning uncertain, possibly derived from the name of the demon
Rahu. This was the name of the son of Siddhartha Gautama (the
Buddha).
Raijin m Japanese MythologyFrom Japanese
雷 (rai) meaning "thunder" and
神 (jin) meaning "god, spirit". This is the name of the god (or gods) of thunder and storms in the mythology of Japan.
Rainbow f English (Rare)From the English word for the arc of multicoloured light that can appear in a misty sky.
Raine f & m English (Rare)From a surname derived from the Old French nickname
reine meaning
"queen". A famous bearer was the British socialite Raine Spencer (1929-2016), the stepmother of Princess Diana. In modern times it is also considered a variant of
Rain 1.
Raivo m EstonianMeaning uncertain. It is possibly a diminutive of
Raimond or it could be related to the Old Estonian word
raivo meaning
"fury, rage".
Raj m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, NepaliMeans
"empire, royalty", from Sanskrit
राज्य (rājya).
Raja 1 f ArabicMeans
"hope" in Arabic, from the root
رجا (rajā) meaning "to hope, to anticipate".
Rajab m ArabicFrom the name of the seventh month in the Islamic calendar, derived from Arabic
رجب (rajaba) meaning "respect, awe".
Rajaram m Hindi, MarathiMeans
"king Rama", from Sanskrit
राज (rāja) meaning "king" combined with the name
Rama 1. This name was borne by a 17th-century ruler of the Maratha Empire.
Rajendra m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, NepaliMeans
"lord of kings", derived from Sanskrit
राज (rāja) meaning "king" combined with the name of the Hindu god
Indra, used here to mean "lord". This was the name of two 11th-century rulers of the Chola Empire in southern India.
Rajesh m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, NepaliMeans
"ruler of kings" from Sanskrit
राज (rāja) meaning "king" and
ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, ruler".
Rajiya f ArabicMeans
"hope" in Arabic, derived from
رجا (rajā) meaning "to hope, to anticipate".
Rajnish m HindiMeans
"lord of the night" from Sanskrit
रजनी (rajanī) meaning "night" and
ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, ruler". This is another name for the moon in Hindu texts.
Rakhi f HindiFrom a word for a type of ritual wristband, ultimately from Sanskrit
रक्ष् (rakṣ) meaning "to protect".
Raleigh m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning either "red clearing" or "roe deer clearing" in Old English. A city in North Carolina bears this name, after the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618).
Ralph m English, German, SwedishContracted form of the Old Norse name
Ráðúlfr (or its Norman form
Radulf). Scandinavian settlers introduced it to England before the Norman Conquest, though afterwards it was bolstered by Norman influence. In the Middle Ages it was variously spelled
Rauf,
Rafe or
Ralf reflecting the usual pronunciation. The
Ralph spelling became more common in the 18th century. A famous bearer of the name was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.
Raluca f RomanianRomanian diminutive of the Greek name
Rallou, of uncertain meaning. It was popularized by the actress Rallou Karatza (1778-1870), a daughter of the prince of Wallachia Ioannis Karatzas, who was of Greek background.
Rama 1 m Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, MalayalamMeans
"pleasing, beautiful" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of an incarnation of the god
Vishnu. He is the hero of the
Ramayana, a Hindu epic, which tells of the abduction of his wife
Sita by the demon king
Ravana, and his efforts to recapture her.
... [more] Ramadan m ArabicFrom the name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is derived from Arabic
رمض (ramaḍ) meaning "parchedness, scorchedness". Muslims traditionally fast during this month.
Ramakrishna m Telugu, KannadaCombination of the names of the Hindu deities
Rama 1 and
Krishna. This name was borne by the Hindu religious teacher Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886).
Raman 2 m Persian MythologyMeans
"peace" in Avestan. In Zoroastrianism, this is the name of a Yazata (a holy being) who presides over joy.
Ramaz m GeorgianPossibly a Georgian form of
Ramadan. It appears in the 12th-century Georgian epic
The Knight in the Panther's Skin.
Ramazi m GeorgianForm of
Ramaz with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Rambabu m TeluguMeans
"father Rama" from the name of the Hindu deity
Rama 1 combined with Telugu
బాబు (bābu) meaning "father".
Rambert m GermanicVariant of
Hrambert or
Raginbert. These names have become confused with one another and merged together. Saint Rambert, also called Ragnebert, was martyred near Lyon in the 7th century.
Ramdas m Marathi, HindiMeans
"servant of Rama" from the name of the Hindu deity
Rama 1 combined with Sanskrit
दास (dāsa) meaning "servant". This name was borne by a 17th-century Hindu holy man from Maharashtra.
Rameshvara m HinduismMeans
"lord Rama", derived from the name of the Hindu deity
Rama 1 combined with Sanskrit
ईश्वर (īśvara) meaning "lord, god". This is the name of an island (also called
Rameswaram) between India and Sri Lanka, identified as the place where Rama prayed to
Shiva when he returned from Lanka. It is now an important pilgrimage site.
Ramesses m Ancient Egyptian (Anglicized)From
Ῥαμέσσης (Rhamesses), the Greek form of Egyptian
rꜥ-ms-sw meaning
"born of Ra", composed of the name of the supreme god
Ra combined with the root
msj "be born". Ramesses was the name of eleven Egyptian pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The most important of these were Ramesses II the Great who campaigned against the Hittites and also built several great monuments (13th century BC), and Ramesses III who defended Egypt from the Libyans and Sea Peoples (12th century BC).
Rami m ArabicMeans
"archer, marksman" in Arabic. This is the Arabic name for the constellation Sagittarius.
Ramin m Persian, AzerbaijaniDerived from Middle Persian
𐭥𐭠𐭬 (rʾm) meaning
"peace, joy". This is the name of a character in the Persian epic
Vis and Ramin, written by the 11th-century poet Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani.
Ramiro m Spanish, PortugueseSpanish and Portuguese form of
Ramirus, earlier
Ranimirus, a Latinized form of a Visigothic name derived from the Gothic element
rana "wedge" or perhaps
ragin "law, decree, assessment, responsibility" combined with
mers "famous". Saint Ramirus was a 6th-century prior of the Saint Claudius Monastery in León. He and several others were executed by the Arian Visigoths, who opposed orthodox Christianity. This name was subsequently borne by kings of León, Asturias and Aragon.
Ramla f ArabicMeans
"sand" in Arabic. This was the name of one of the wives of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Ramona f Spanish, Romanian, EnglishFeminine 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.
Ramprasad m Bengali, Hindi, MarathiMeans
"clearness of Rama" from the name of the Hindu deity
Rama 1 combined with Sanskrit
प्रसाद (prasāda) meaning "clearness, brightness". This name was borne by the Bengali poet Ramprasad Sen (c. 1723-1781).
Ramsey m EnglishFrom an English and Scottish surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"garlic island" in Old English.
Ramūnas m LithuanianDerived from Lithuanian
ramus meaning
"calm, peaceful" combined with the patronymic suffix
ūnas.
Rán f Norse MythologyMeans
"robbery, theft" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology Rán was a sea goddess who captured and drowned sailors. She was wife to
Ægir and the mother of nine daughters by him.
Ran f JapaneseFrom Japanese
蘭 (ran) meaning "orchid" or other kanji pronounced in the same way.
Rand m EnglishShort form of
Randolf and other names beginning with
Rand. As a surname (also derived from Randolf), it was borne as a pen name by the Russian-American author Ayn Rand (1905-1982).
Randolf m EnglishFrom the Old German elements
rant meaning "rim (of a shield)" and
wolf meaning "wolf". The Normans brought this name to England, where there existed already an Old Norse cognate
Randúlfr, which had been introduced by Scandinavian settlers.
Randolf became rare after the Middle Ages, though it was revived in the 18th century (usually in the spelling
Randolph).
Rangi m Maori, Polynesian MythologyMeans
"sky" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian mythology Rangi or Ranginui was a god of the sky, husband of the earth goddess
Papa. They were locked in a crushing embrace but were eventually separated by their children, the other gods.
Raniya f ArabicPossibly related to the Arabic root
رنا (ranā) meaning
"to gaze, to look intently".