Previous Names of the Day

Emily f   English
English feminine form of Aemilius (see Emil). In the English-speaking world it was not common until after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century; the princess Amelia Sophia (1711-1786) was commonly known as Emily in English, even though Amelia is an unrelated name.

Tenskwatawa m   Shawnee
Means "open door" in Shawnee. This name was borne by the Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa (1775-1836). With his brother Tecumseh he urged resistance against American expansion.

Meritxell f   Catalan
From the name of a village in Andorra where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The name of the village may derive from Latin meridies meaning "midday".

Cambyses m   Old Persian (Latinized), History
Latin form of Καμβύσης (Kambyses), the Greek form of the Old Persian name 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 (Kabujiya), which is of uncertain meaning, possibly related to the geographical name Kamboja, a historical region in Central Asia.

Isaac m   English, 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).

Magdalene f   German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
From a title meaning "of Magdala". Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew.

Ajita m   Hinduism, Buddhism
Means "unconquered, invincible", from Sanskrit अ (a) meaning "not" and जित (jita) meaning "conquered". This is a name of the gods Shiva and Vishnu, and of a future Buddha.