Browse Names - Behind the Name

Ashanti f & m Various
From the name of an African people who reside in southern Ghana. It possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.

Barack m Various
In the case of the former American president Barack Obama (1961-), he was named after his Kenyan father. His father had Anglicized it from the original spelling Baraka.

Berlin f & m Various
From the name of the city in Germany, which is of uncertain meaning.

Ciel f & m Various (Rare)
Means "sky" in French. It is not used as a given name in France itself.

Edsel m Various
Variant of Etzel notably borne by Edsel Ford (1893-1943), the son of the American industrialist Henry Ford.

Elián m Various (Rare)
In the case of Elián Gonzalez (1993-) it is a combination of Elizabeth and Juan 1, the names of his parents.

Ferrer m Various
From a surname that meant "blacksmith" in Catalan. This name is often given in honour of Saint Vicente Ferrer, a 14th-century missionary who is the patron saint of builders.

Herk m Various (Rare)
Short form of Hercules or other similar names.

Junípero m Various (Rare)
This was the name assumed by the 18th-century Spanish Franciscan monk Miguel José Serra, a missionary to California. He named himself after one of Saint Francis's companions, who was named from Latin iuniperus "juniper".

Kaiser m Various
German form of the Roman title Caesar (see Caesar). It is not used as a given name in Germany itself.

Kobe 2 m Various
From the name of the city in Japan. The parents of basketball player Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) chose this name after seeing Kobe beef (which is from the Japanese city) on a menu.

Lux f & m Various
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".

Mahershala m Various (Rare)
From the longer name Mahershalalhashbaz, which appears in the Old Testament at Isaiah 8:1 in reference to Isaiah's symbolic son. It is written in Hebrew as מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז, and is composed of the two-word phrases מַהֵר שָׁלָל (maher shalal) and חָשׁ בַּז (ḥash baz), which both mean "hurry to the plunder". A famous bearer is the American actor Mahershala Ali (1974-), whose full name is Mahershalalhashbaz.

Monet f & m Various
From a French surname that was derived from either Hamon or Edmond. This was the surname of the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).

Neo 2 m Various
From a prefix meaning "new", ultimately from Greek νέος (neos).... [more]

Omega m & f Various
From the name of the last letter in the Greek alphabet, Ω. It is often seen as a symbol of completion.

Rio 1 m & f Various
Means "river" in Spanish or Portuguese. A city in Brazil bears this name. Its full name is Rio de Janeiro, which means "river of January", so named because the first explorers came to the harbour in January and mistakenly thought it was a river mouth.

Sarava m Various (Rare)
From a phrase used by members of the Candomblé religion (an African religion that was taken to Brazil by African slaves), which means "good luck".

Thelonius m Various (Rare)
Latinized form of Tielo (see Till). A famous bearer was jazz musician Thelonious Monk (1917-1982).

Tivoli m & f Various (Rare)
From the name of a picturesque Italian town, used as a summer resort by the ancient Romans.

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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

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