Afra 1 f Late Roman, ItalianOriginally used by the Romans as a nickname for a woman from Africa. This was the name of two early saints.
Al m EnglishShort form of
Albert and other names beginning with
Al. A notable bearer is American actor Al Pacino (1940-).
Andy m & f EnglishDiminutive of
Andrew or sometimes
Andrea 2. American pop artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a famous bearer of this name.
Ask m Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
askr "ash tree". In Norse mythology Ask and his wife
Embla were the first humans created by the gods.
Awiti f LuoMeans
"thrown away" in Luo, possibly used for a child born prematurely.
Baggi m Old NorseByname derived from Old Norse
baggi meaning
"bag, pack".
Bakr m ArabicMeans
"young camel" in Arabic.
Abu Bakr was a father-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammad and the first caliph of the Muslim world.
Blakely f English (Modern)From an English surname that was derived from Old English
blæc "black" and
leah "woodland clearing".
Bob m English, DutchShort form of
Robert. It arose later than
Dob,
Hob and
Nob, which were medieval rhyming nicknames of Robert. It is borne by the character Bob Cratchit in Charles Dickens' novel
A Christmas Carol (1843). Other famous bearers include American folk musician Bob Dylan (1941-) and Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
Bobby m EnglishDiminutive of
Bob. Hockey greats Bobby Hull (1939-2023) and Bobby Orr (1948-) have borne this name.
Buck m EnglishFrom an English nickname meaning simply "buck, male deer", ultimately from Old English
bucc.
Buddy m EnglishFrom the English word meaning
"friend". It probably originated as a nursery form of the word
brother.
Buster m EnglishOriginally a nickname denoting a person who broke things, from the word
bust, a dialectal variant of
burst. A famous bearer was the American silent movie star Buster Keaton (1895-1966), whose real first name was Joseph.
Cauã m TupiFrom Tupi
kaûã meaning
"hawk, falcon".
Chika 2 f JapaneseFrom Japanese
千 (chi) meaning "thousand",
智 (chi) meaning "wisdom, intellect" or
散 (chi) meaning "scatter" combined with
佳 (ka) meaning "good, beautiful" or
花 (ka) meaning "flower". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Chuck m EnglishDiminutive of
Charles. It originated in America in the early 20th century. Two famous bearers of this name were pilot Chuck Yeager (1923-2020), the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound, and the musician Chuck Berry (1926-2017), one of the pioneers of rock music.
Chuks m IgboDiminutive of Igbo names beginning with the element
Chukwu meaning
"God".
Cletus m EnglishShort form of
Anacletus. This name is sometimes used to refer to the third pope, Saint Anacletus. It can also function as an Anglicized form of
Kleitos.
Cody m EnglishFrom an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of both Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuidighthigh meaning
"descendant of the helpful one" and
Mac Óda meaning
"son of Odo". A famous bearer of the surname was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).
Colt m English (Modern)From the English word for a young male horse or from the surname of the same origin. It may be given in honour of the American industrialist Samuel Colt (1814-1862) or the firearms company that bears his name. It was brought to public attention in 1981 by the main character on the television series
The Fall Guy.
Crew m English (Modern)Either from a surname that was derived from the English town of Crewe (from Old Welsh
criu meaning
"weir"), or from the English vocabulary word for a group of people.
Dafydd m WelshWelsh form of
David. This name was borne by Dafydd ap Gruffydd, a 13th-century Welsh ruler, and Dafydd ap Gwilym, a 14th-century poet.
Daren m EnglishVariant of
Darren. In fact this form occurs earlier in American records, though
Darren eventually became more popular.
Dee f & m EnglishShort form of names beginning with
D. It may also be given in reference to the
Dee River in Scotland.
Ditte f DanishDanish diminutive of
Edith,
Dorothea or names containing
dit. It was popularized by Martin Andersen Nexø's novel
Ditte, Child of Man (1921) and the film adaptation (1946).
Dolly f EnglishDiminutive of
Dorothy.
Doll and
Dolly were used from the 16th century, and the common English word
doll (for the plaything) is derived from them. In modern times this name is also sometimes used as a diminutive of
Dolores.
Dre m EnglishShort form of
Andre. A famous bearer is the American rapper and music producer Dr. Dre (1965-), born Andre Young.
Esi f AkanMeans
"born on Sunday" in Akan.
Fen 2 m FrisianOriginally a Frisian short form of
Ferdinand (and other names starting with the Old German element
fridu "peace" and a second element beginning with
n).
Frank m English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, FrenchFrom an Old German name that referred to a member of the Germanic tribe, the Franks. The Franks settled in the regions now called France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the 3rd and 4th century. They possibly derived their tribal name from a type of spear that they used, from Proto-Germanic *
frankô. From medieval times, the various forms of this name have been commonly conflated with the various forms of
Francis. In modern times it is sometimes used as a short form of
Francis or
Franklin.
... [more] Fruma f YiddishFrom Yiddish
פֿרום (frum) meaning
"pious". This is the name of a character (appearing as a ghost) in the musical
Fiddler on the Roof (1964).
Gary m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from a Norman given name, which was itself originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
ger meaning
"spear". This name was popularized in the late 1920s the American actor Gary Cooper (1901-1961), who took his stage name from the city of Gary in Indiana where his agent was born. It was especially popular in the 1940s and 50s, breaking into the American top ten in 1950, though it has since waned.
Gordie m EnglishDiminutive of
Gordon. A famous bearer was Canadian hockey star Gordie Howe (1928-2016).
Guo m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
国 (guó) meaning "country" or other Chinese characters pronounced in a similar way.
Gyula m HungarianFrom a Hungarian royal title, which was probably of Turkic origin. This name is also used as a Hungarian form of
Julius.
Halo f English (Modern)From the English word
halo meaning
"luminous disc or ring", derived from Greek
ἅλως (halos). Haloes often appear in religious art above the heads of holy people.
Hank m EnglishOriginally a short form of
Hankin, which was a medieval diminutive of
John. Since the 17th century in the United States this name has also been used as a diminutive of
Henry, probably under the influence of the Dutch diminutive
Henk. A famous bearer is the American former baseball player Hank Aaron (1934-2021).
Huckleberry m LiteratureFrom the name of the variety of shrubs (genus Vaccinium) or the berries that grow on them. It was used by author Mark Twain for the character of Huckleberry (Huck) Finn in his novels
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).
Hulda 1 f Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
hulda meaning
"hiding, secrecy". This was the name of a sorceress in Norse mythology. As a modern name, it can also derive from archaic Swedish
huld meaning "gracious, sweet, lovable".
Jeb m EnglishSometimes a diminutive of
Jacob. This name may have also resulted from a nickname of James Ewell Brown Stuart (1833-1864), a Confederate general in the American Civil War, which was formed from the initial letters of his three given names.