Hall m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from Old English
heall "manor, hall", originally belonging to a person who lived or worked in a manor.
Hallel f & m HebrewDerived from Hebrew
הָלַל (halal) meaning
"praise". This is the name of a Jewish prayer, consisting of several psalms. The more traditional name
Hillel, which is typically only masculine, is spelled the same but is vocalized with a different vowel.
Hannibal m Phoenician (Latinized), HistoryFrom the Punic name
𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 meaning
"my grace is Ba'al", derived from Phoenician
𐤇𐤍𐤍 (ḥann) meaning "grace, favour" combined with the name of the god
Ba'al. This name occurs often in Carthaginian history. It was most notably borne by the famed general and tactician Hannibal Barca, who threatened Rome during the Second Punic War in the 3rd century BC. It is also associated with the fictional villain Hannibal Lecter from the books by Thomas Harris (debuting 1981) and subsequent movie adaptations.
Hansel m LiteratureAnglicized form of
Hänsel. This is the name of a boy in a German fairy tale, recorded in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm with the title
Hänsel und Gretel. In the tale Hansel and his sister
Gretel are abandoned in the woods by their parents, then taken captive by a witch.
Harel m HebrewMeans
"altar, mountain of God" in Hebrew. In the Hebrew Bible this word is applied to the altar in the temple in Jerusalem (
Ezekiel 43:15).
Hasdrubal m Phoenician (Latinized), HistoryMeans
"Ba'al helps", derived from Phoenician
𐤏𐤆𐤓 (ʿazru) meaning "to help" combined with the name of the god
Ba'al. This name was borne by several figures from Carthaginian history, including the 3rd-century BC general Hasdrubal Barca (brother of
Hannibal) who fought in the Second Punic War.
Hazael m BiblicalMeans
"God sees" in Hebrew, from
חָזָה (ḥaza) meaning "to see" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of a king of Aram in the Old Testament.
Heimdall m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Heimdallr, derived from Old Norse
heimr "home, house" and
dallr, possibly meaning "glowing, shining". In Norse mythology he is the god who guards the Bifröst, the bridge that connects Asgard to the other worlds. It is foretold that he will blow the Gjallarhorn to wake the gods for the final battle at the end of the world, Ragnarök. During this battle, he will fight
Loki and they will slay one another.
Hershel m American, YiddishYiddish diminutive of
Hirsh. As a non-Jewish American name (somewhat common around the end of the 19th century), it was likely inspired by the German surname
Herschel, borne for instance by the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822).
Hilal m & f Arabic, TurkishMeans
"crescent moon" in Arabic, also referring to the new moon on the Islamic calendar. As a given name it is typically masculine in Arabic and feminine in Turkish.
Hillel m Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical HebrewDerived from Hebrew
הָלַל (halal) meaning
"praise". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament as the father of the judge Abdon. It was also borne by the 1st-century BC Jewish scholar Hillel the Elder.
Hoel m Breton, Arthurian CycleBreton form of
Hywel. This was the name of two dukes of Brittany. According to the chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth, it was borne by a ruler of Brittany who was an ally of King
Arthur.
Hywel m WelshFrom Old Welsh
Higuel meaning
"eminent, prominent" (literally
"well-seen"). This was the name of a few Welsh kings, including the 10th-century Hywel the Good who was known for establishing laws.
Idwal m WelshFrom the Old Welsh name
Iudgual derived from
iudd "lord" combined with
gual "ruler, leader".
Ishmael m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יִשְׁמָעֵאל (Yishmaʿel) meaning
"God will hear", from the roots
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Abraham. He is the traditional ancestor of the Arab people. Also in the Old Testament, it is borne by a man who assassinates
Gedaliah the governor of Judah. The author Herman Melville later used this name for the narrator in his novel
Moby-Dick (1851).
Ismail m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Chechen, Avar, Albanian, DhivehiArabic form of
Ishmael, also used in several other languages. According to the Quran and Islamic tradition Ismail was a prophet and the founder of the Arab people.
Israfil m Judeo-Christian-Islamic LegendMeaning unknown. In Islamic tradition this is the name of the angel who will blow the trumpet that signals the coming of Judgement Day. He is sometimes equated with the angels
Raphael or
Uriel from Judeo-Christian tradition.
Ithel m WelshFrom the Old Welsh name
Iudhail, cognate of Old Breton
Iudicael (see
Judicaël).
Ithiel m BiblicalPossibly means
"God is with me" in Hebrew. This is the name of a minor character in the Old Testament.
Itzcoatl m NahuatlMeans
"obsidian snake" in Nahuatl, from
itztli "obsidian" and
cōātl "snake". Itzcoatl was the fourth king of Tenochtitlan and the first emperor of the Aztec Empire (15th century).
Jahleel m BiblicalMeans
"God waits" in Hebrew, from
יָחַל (yaḥal) meaning "to wait" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament.
Jehiel m BiblicalMeans
"God will live" in Hebrew, from
חָיָה (ḥaya) meaning "to live" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of several people in the Old Testament, including one of King
David's lute players.
Jerahmeel m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יְרַחְמְאֵל (Yeraḥmeʾel) meaning
"God will have pity", derived from
רָחַם (raḥam) meaning "to pity" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name is borne by a few minor characters in the Old Testament.
Jewel f & m EnglishIn part from the English word
jewel, a precious stone, derived from Old French
jouel, which was possibly related to
jeu "game". It is also in part from the surname
Jewel or
Jewell (a derivative of the Breton name
Judicaël), which was sometimes used in honour of the 16th-century bishop of Salisbury John Jewel. It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.
Joel m English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
יוֹאֵל (Yoʾel) meaning
"Yahweh is God", from the elements
יוֹ (yo) and
אֵל (ʾel), both referring to the Hebrew God. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel, which describes a plague of locusts. In England, it was first used as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation.
John Paul m EnglishCombination of
John and
Paul. This name was borne by two 20th-century popes, notably the sainted John Paul II (1920-2005).
Jor-El m Popular CultureCreated by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1936 for a minor character comic book character. Originally spelled
Jor-L, the name was reused (or the character was repurposed) for that of Superman's father in 1939. The spelling was changed to
Jor-el and then
Jor-El in the 1940s. His son Superman's birth name is
Kal-El.
Jubal m BiblicalMeans
"stream" in Hebrew. This name is mentioned in Genesis in the Old Testament as belonging to the first person to be a musician.
Judicaël m French, BretonFrench form of the Old Breton name
Iudicael, derived from the elements
iudd "lord" and
hael "generous". This was the name of a 7th-century Breton king, also regarded as a saint.
Juvenal m History, PortugueseFrom the Roman cognomen
Iuvenalis, which meant
"youthful" in Latin. Juvenal was a Roman satirist of the 1st century.
Kal-El m Popular Culture, English (Modern)Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the birth name of the comic book hero Superman, who came from the distant planet Krypton. The original spelling
Kal-L was changed to
Kal-El in the 1940s. Some have theorized that
El is inspired by the common Hebrew name element
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Although Siegel and Shuster were Jewish, there is no evidence that they had this connection in mind, and it seems possible they simply made it up. Superman's other name, Clark Kent, was given to him by his adoptive parents.
... [more] Karl m German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, English, Finnish, Estonian, Germanic, Old NorseGerman and Scandinavian form of
Charles. This was the name of seven rulers of the Franks and the Holy Roman Empire. It was also borne by a beatified emperor of Austria (1887-1922), as well as ten kings of Sweden. Other famous bearers include the German philosophers Karl Marx (1818-1883), one of the developers of communism, and Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), an existentialist and psychiatrist.
K'awil m Mayan MythologyPossibly means
"powerful one" in Classic Maya. This was the name of the Maya god of lightning, generations and corn. He was sometimes depicted with one of his legs taking the form of a serpent. His name was also used as a title for other gods.
Kemal m TurkishTurkish form of
Kamal 1. This was the second name, acquired in his youth, of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founder of modern Turkey.
Kemuel m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
קְמוּאֵל (Qemuʾel) meaning
"raised by God", derived from
קוּם (qum) meaning "to raise" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of a nephew of
Abraham in the Old Testament.
Kendall m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwestern England meaning
"valley on the river Kent". Originally mostly masculine, the name received a boost in popularity for girls in 1993 when the devious character Kendall Hart began appearing on the American soap opera
All My Children.
Ketil m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Ketill meaning
"kettle, cauldron" (later also acquiring the meaning
"helmet"). In old Scandinavian rituals the
ketill was used to catch the blood of sacrificed animals.
Lael m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeans
"of God" in Hebrew. This is the name of the father of Eliasaph in the Old Testament. It is misspelled as
Δαήλ (Dael) in the Greek translation, the Septuagint.
Lal m Hindi, NepaliMeans
"boy" in Hindi, derived from Sanskrit
लल (lala) meaning "playing, caressing".
Lawal m HausaFrom Arabic
أوّل (ʾawwal) meaning
"first". It is sometimes added to the name of the first of multiple siblings who share the same given name.
Lemuel m Biblical, Mormon, Biblical HebrewMeans
"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).
Lionel m French, English, Arthurian CycleFrench diminutive of
Léon. It appears in Arthurian legend in the 13th-century
Lancelot-Grail Cycle, belonging to a knight who was the brother of Sir
Bors. A notable modern bearer is the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi (1987-).
Lowell m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from a Norman French nickname, from
lou "wolf" and a diminutive suffix. The surname was borne by American poet and satirist James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).
Lyall m English (Rare)From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
Liulfr (which was derived in part from
úlfr "wolf").
Maël m French, BretonFrench form of Breton
Mael meaning
"prince, chieftain, lord". Saint Mael was a 5th-century Breton hermit who lived in Wales.
Máel Sechnaill m Old IrishMeans
"disciple of Saint Seachnall" in Irish. This was the name of two Irish high kings: Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid who ruled all of Ireland in the 9th century; and Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill (called Malachy) who defeated the Norse of Dublin in the 10th century.
Mansel m English (Rare)From an English surname that originally referred to a person who came from the French city of Le Mans.
Manuel m Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Romanian, Late Greek (Latinized)Spanish and Portuguese form of
Emmanuel. In the spelling
Μανουήλ (Manouel) it was also used in the Byzantine Empire, notably by two emperors. It is possible this form of the name was transmitted to Spain and Portugal from Byzantium, since there were connections between the royal families (king Ferdinand III of Castile married Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, who had Byzantine roots, and had a son named Manuel). The name has been used in Iberia since at least the 13th century and was borne by two kings of Portugal.
Marshall m EnglishFrom an English surname that originally denoted a person who was a marshal. The word
marshal originally derives from Latin
mariscalcus, itself from Germanic roots akin to Old High German
marah "horse" and
scalc "servant". A famous bearer is the American rapper Marshall Mathers (1972-), who performs under the name Eminem.
Martial m French, HistoryFrom the Roman cognomen
Martialis, which was derived from the name of the Roman god
Mars. The name was borne by Marcus Valerius Martialis, now commonly known as Martial, a Roman poet of the 1st century.
Maxwell m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname meaning
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
... [more] Merrill m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived either from the given name
Muriel or from place names meaning "pleasant hill".
Michael m English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning
"who is like God?", derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see
Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron saint of soldiers in Christianity.
... [more] Michel m French, German, DutchFrench form of
Michael. Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566), also known as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer who made predictions about future world events. Another famous bearer is the retired French soccer player Michel Platini (1955-). This is also the German diminutive form of
Michael.
Miguel m Spanish, Portuguese, GalicianSpanish, Portuguese and Galician form of
Michael. A notable bearer of this name was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), the Spanish novelist and poet who wrote
Don Quixote.
Mikhail m Russian, Belarusian, BulgarianRussian and Belarusian form of
Michael, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Михаил (see
Mihail). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841), the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), and the Latvian-Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948-).
Mitchell m EnglishFrom an English surname, itself derived from the given name
Michael or in some cases from Middle English
michel meaning "big, large".
Mufaddal m ArabicMeans
"preferred" in Arabic, ultimately a derivative of
فضل (faḍala) meaning "to be in excess, to excel, to be gracious".
Nathaniel m English, BiblicalVariant 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.
Neil m Irish, Scottish, EnglishFrom the Irish name
Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly connected to the old Celtic root *
nītu- "fury, passion" or the (possibly related) Old Irish word
nia "hero". A derivation from Old Irish
nél "cloud" has also been suggested. This was the name of a few early Irish kings, notably Niall of the Nine Hostages, a semi-legendary high king of the 4th or 5th century.
... [more] Nigel m EnglishFrom
Nigellus, a medieval Latinized form of
Neil. It was commonly associated with Latin
niger "black". It was revived in the 19th century, perhaps in part due to Walter Scott's novel
The Fortunes of Nigel (1822).
Njáll m Old Norse, IcelandicOld Norse form of
Niall (see
Neil). This is the name of the hero of a 13th century Icelandic saga, based on the life of a 10th-century Icelandic chieftain.
Noël m FrenchMeans
"Christmas" in French. In the Middle Ages it was used for children born on the holiday. A famous bearer was the English playwright and composer Noël Coward (1899-1973).
Noel m & f EnglishEnglish form of
Noël or
Noëlle (rarely). It was fairly popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in the middle of the 20th century. It is occasionally written with a diaeresis, like in French. A famous bearer is British musician Noel Gallagher (1967-).
Nurasyl m Kazakh (Rare)From Kazakh
нұр (nur) meaning "light" and
асыл (asyl) meaning "precious, noble" (both words ultimately of Arabic origin).
Odell m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally from a place name, itself derived from Old English
wad "woad" (a plant that produces a blue dye) and
hyll "hill".
Oral m EnglishMeaning uncertain. This name was borne by the influential American evangelist Oral Roberts (1918-2009), who was apparently named by his cousin.
Oriol m CatalanFrom a Catalan surname meaning
"golden". It has been used in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol (1650-1702).
Orrell m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"ore hill" in Old English.
Othniel m BiblicalMeaning uncertain, possibly
"lion of God" or
"strength of God" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is a nephew or brother of
Caleb who becomes the first of the ruling judges of the Israelites.
Paltiel m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeans
"God is my deliverance" in Hebrew, derived from
פָּלַט (palaṭ) meaning "to deliver, to rescue, to escape" combined with
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of two Israelites in the Old Testament.
Pascal m French, German, DutchFrom the Late Latin name
Paschalis, which meant
"relating to Easter" from Latin
Pascha "Easter", which was in turn from Hebrew
פֶּסַח (pesaḥ) meaning "Passover". Passover is the ancient Hebrew holiday celebrating the liberation from Egypt. Because it coincided closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the same Latin word was used for both. The name Pascal can also function as a surname, as in the case of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the French philosopher, mathematician and inventor.
Paul m English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Romanian, BiblicalFrom the Roman family name
Paulus, which meant
"small" or
"humble" in Latin. Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. According to Acts in the New Testament, he was a Jewish Roman citizen who converted to Christianity after the resurrected
Jesus appeared to him. After this he travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a missionary. His original Hebrew name was
Saul. Many of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him.
... [more] Percival m Arthurian Cycle, EnglishCreated by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem
Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien may have derived the name from Old French
perce val "pierce the valley", or he may have based it loosely on the Welsh name
Peredur. In the poem Perceval is a boy from Wales who hopes to become a knight under King
Arthur. Setting out to prove himself, he eventually comes to the castle of the Fisher King and is given a glimpse of the Grail.
Phil m EnglishShort form of
Philip and various other names beginning with
Phil, often a Greek element meaning "friend, dear, beloved".