Browse Names - Behind the Name

Aizhan f Kazakh
From Kazakh ай (ay) meaning "moon" and жан (zhan) meaning "soul".

Alma 1 f English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".

Anima 2 f English (Rare)
Means "soul, spirit" in Latin. In Jungian psychology the anima is an individual's true inner self, or soul.

Aruzhan f Kazakh
Means "beautiful soul" in Kazakh.

Ayazhan f Kazakh
From an element of uncertain meaning combined with Kazakh жан (zhan) meaning "soul" (of Persian origin).

Cansel f Turkish
Derived from Turkish can meaning "soul, life" and sel meaning "flood, stream".

Cansu f Turkish
From Turkish can meaning "soul, life" and su meaning "water".

Chetana f Marathi, Hindi
Feminine form of Chetan.

Dušana f Slovak, Serbian (Rare), Croatian (Rare)
Feminine form of Dušan.

Dušanka f Serbian, Slovene, Croatian
Feminine form of Dušan.

Dušica f Serbian, Slovene
Feminine diminutive of Dušan.

Efthimia f Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Ευθυμία (see Efthymia).

Efthymia f Greek
Modern Greek form of Euthymia.

Egypt f & m English (Modern)
From the name of the North African country, which derives from Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aigyptos), itself probably from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ meaning "the house of the soul of Ptah", the name of the temple to the god Ptah in Memphis.

Enid f Welsh, English, Arthurian Cycle
Probably derived from Welsh enaid meaning "soul, spirit, life". In Arthurian tales she first appears in the 12th-century French poem Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes, where she is the wife of Erec. In later adaptations she is typically the wife of Geraint. The name became more commonly used after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian poem Enid in 1859, and it was fairly popular in Britain in the first half of the 20th century.

Enide f Arthurian Cycle
Old French form of Enid.

Essence f English (Modern)
From the English word essence, which means either "odour, scent" or else "fundamental quality". Ultimately it derives from Latin esse "to be".

Etta f English
Short form of Henrietta and other names that end with etta. A famous bearer was the American singer Etta James (1938-2012), who took her stage name from her real given name Jamesetta.

Euthymia f Ancient Greek
Feminine form of Euthymius.

Gladys f Welsh, English, French, Spanish
From the Old Welsh name Gwladus, probably derived from gwlad meaning "country". Alternatively, it may have been adopted as a Welsh form of Claudia. Saint Gwladus or Gwladys was the mother of Saint Cadoc. She was one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog. This name became popular outside of Wales after it was used in Ouida's novel Puck (1870).

Gönül f Turkish
Means "heart" in Turkish.

Janan f Arabic
Means "heart" or "soul" in Arabic, a derivative of جنّ (janna) meaning "to cover, to hide".

Kokoro f Japanese
From Japanese 心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.

Könül f Azerbaijani
Means "heart, soul, desire" in Azerbaijani.

Ling f & m Chinese
From Chinese 灵 (líng) meaning "spirit, soul", 铃 (líng) meaning "bell, chime", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.

Linh f & m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 靈 (linh) meaning "spirit, soul".

Nurcan f Turkish
Means "bright soul" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic نور (nūr) meaning "light" and Persian jān meaning "soul, life".

Psyche f Greek Mythology
Means "the soul", derived from Greek ψύχω (psycho) meaning "to breathe". The Greeks thought that the breath was the soul. In Greek mythology Psyche was a beautiful maiden who was beloved by Eros (or Cupid in Roman mythology). She is the subject of Keats's poem Ode to Psyche (1819).

Ricmod f & m Germanic
Derived from the Old German element rih "ruler, king" combined with muot "mind, spirit".

Rigmor f Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian form of Ricmod, via the Old Danish form Rigmár.

Togzhan f Kazakh
Possibly from Kazakh тоқ (toq) meaning "full, well-fed, prosperous" and жан (zhan) meaning "soul".

Xinyi m & f Chinese
From Chinese 欣 (xīn) meaning "happy, joyous, delighted" or 心 (xīn) meaning "heart, mind, soul" combined with 怡 (yí) meaning "joy, harmony". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.

Xquenda f & m Zapotec
From Zapotec guenda "spirit, soul, essence" combined with the possessive prefix x-.

Zhansaya f Kazakh
From Kazakh жан (zhan) meaning "soul" and сая (saya) meaning "shadow, shade, protection, comfort" (both words of Persian origin).

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