Names with "father" in Meaning

Abiathar m Biblical
From the Hebrew name אֶבְיָתָר (ʾEvyaṯar) meaning "my father abounds" or "my father excels", derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and יָתַר (yaṯar) meaning "to abound, to excel". According to the Old Testament Abiathar was a high priest during the reign of King David.

Abidan m Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Means "my father has judged" in Hebrew, derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and דִּין (din) meaning "to judge". In the Old Testament he is a Benjamite prince.

Abiel m Biblical
Means "God is my father" in Hebrew, from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This was the name of the grandfather of Saul according to the Old Testament.

Abigail f English, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Italian, Biblical Portuguese, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name אֲבִיגָיִל (ʾAviḡayil) meaning "my father is joy", derived from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and גִּיל (gil) meaning "joy". In the Old Testament this is the name of Nabal's wife. After Nabal's death she became the third wife of King David.... [more]

Abihu m Biblical
Means "he is my father" in Hebrew, from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and הוּא (hu) meaning "he". This is the name of a son of Aaron in the Old Testament. He and his brother Nadab were killed by God because they presented him with unauthorized fire.

Abijah m & f Biblical
Means "my father is Yahweh" in Hebrew, from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of several characters, both male and female, including the second king of Judah (also known as Abijam).

Abimelech m Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Means "my father is king" in Hebrew, derived from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and מֶלֶךְ (meleḵ) meaning "king". This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament including a king of Gerar who takes Abraham's wife Sarah, but is forced by God to give her back.

Abiram m Biblical
Means "my father is exalted" in Hebrew, derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt". In the Old Testament, Abiram is swallowed by an earthquake after rebelling against the leadership of Moses.

Abishag f Biblical
Means "my father strays" in Hebrew, from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and שָׁגָה (shaḡa) meaning "to stray, to err". In the Old Testament Abishag is a young woman who tends King David in his old age.

Abishai m Biblical
Means "my father is a gift" in Hebrew, from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and שַׁי (shai) meaning "gift". In the Old Testament he is one of King David's heroes.

Abital f Biblical
Means "my father is dew" in Hebrew, from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew". She is the fifth wife of David in the Old Testament.

Abner m English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name אַבְנֵר (ʾAvner) meaning "my father is a light", derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light". In the Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother Joab.... [more]

Abraham m English, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Swedish, Biblical Norwegian, Biblical Danish, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name אַבְרָהָם (ʾAvraham), which may be viewed either as meaning "father of many" or else as a contraction of Abram 1 and הָמוֹן (hamon) meaning "many, multitude". The biblical patriarch Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name (see Genesis 17:5). With his father Terah, he led his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot and their other followers from Ur into Canaan. He is regarded by Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son Isaac and by Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son Ishmael.... [more]

Abram 1 m English, Biblical
Means "high father" in Hebrew, from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt, to be high". In the Old Testament God changed Abram's name to Abraham (see Genesis 17:5).

Absalom m Biblical, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name אַבְשָׁלוֹם (ʾAvshalom) meaning "father is peace", derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". In the Old Testament he is a son of King David. He avenged his sister Tamar by arranging the murder of her rapist, their half-brother Amnon. He later led a revolt against his father. While fleeing on the back of a mule he got his head caught in a tree and was killed by Joab.

Abu m Arabic
Means "father of" in Arabic. This is commonly used as an element in a kunya, which is a type of Arabic nickname. The element is combined with the name of one of the bearer's children (usually the eldest son). In some cases the kunya is figurative, not referring to an actual child, as in the case of the Muslim caliph Abu Bakr.

Abu al-Fadl m Arabic
Combination of Abu and Fadl. This was another name for Abbas, the son of the fourth caliph Ali.

Abu Bakr m Arabic
Combination of Abu and Bakr. Abu Bakr was a companion and father-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the first caliph of the Muslim world. His name was in fact a kunya (a nickname) formed using Abu; his real name was Abd Allah. Shia Muslims hold a more negative view of Abu Bakr, hence this name is more widely used among Sunnis.

Adanna f Igbo
Means "eldest daughter of the father" in Igbo.

Adannaya f Igbo
Means "eldest daughter of her father" in Igbo.

Adhelm m Germanic
From the Old German elements atto meaning "father" and helm meaning "helmet, protection".

Ahab m Biblical, Biblical Latin
Means "uncle" in Hebrew, from the combination of אָח (ʾaḥ) meaning "brother" and אָב (ʾav) meaning "father". This was the name of a king of Israel, the husband of Jezebel, as told in the Old Testament. He was admonished by Elijah for his sinful behaviour. Herman Melville later used this name in his novel Moby-Dick (1851), where it belongs to a sea captain obsessively hunting for a white whale.

Antipater m Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek name Ἀντίπατρος (Antipatros), which meant "like the father" from Greek ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" and πατήρ (pater) meaning "father" (genitive πατρός). This was the name of an officer of Alexander the Great who became the regent of Macedon during Alexander's absence.

Apollo m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
From Greek Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *apelo- meaning "strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means "father lion" or "father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning "to destroy". In Greek mythology Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin of Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.

Atabek m Kazakh, Kyrgyz
From the Turkic noble title atabeg, derived from ata meaning "father, ancestor" and beg meaning "chieftain, master".

Atajan m Turkmen
From Turkmen ata meaning "father, ancestor" combined with the suffix jan meaning "dear, darling" (of Persian origin).

Attila m History, Hungarian, Turkish
Probably means "little father" from Gothic atta "father" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 5th-century leader of the Huns, a nomadic people from Central Asia who had expanded into Eastern Europe by the 4th century. Attila was likely the name given to him by his Gothic-speaking subjects in Eastern Europe; his real name may have been Avitohol.

Avi m Hebrew
Means "my father" in Hebrew. It is also a diminutive of Avraham or Aviram.

Babajide m Yoruba
Means "father has awakened" in Yoruba.

Babak m Persian
From Middle Persian 𐭯𐭠𐭯𐭪𐭩 (Papak) meaning "little father". This was the name of the father of Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian Empire in Persia. It was also borne by the 9th-century resistance leader Babak Khorramdin.

Babatunde m Yoruba
Means "father has come again" in Yoruba.

Chamutal f Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Hamutal.

Cleopatra f Ancient Greek (Latinized)
From the Greek name Κλεοπάτρα (Kleopatra) meaning "glory of the father", derived from κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory" combined with πατήρ (pater) meaning "father" (genitive πατρός). This was the name of queens of Egypt from the Ptolemaic royal family, including Cleopatra VII, the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After being defeated by Augustus she committed suicide (according to popular belief, by allowing herself to be bitten by a venomous asp). Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (1606) tells the story of her life.

Dyaus Pita m Hinduism
Form of Dyaus suffixed with the Sanskrit epithet पितृ (pitṛ) meaning "father".

Eliab m Biblical
From the Hebrew name אֱלִיאָב (ʾEliʾav) meaning "my God is father", from the roots אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and אָב (ʾav) meaning "father". This is the name of several people from the Old Testament, including a brother of King David.

Enyinnaya m Igbo
Means "his father's friend" in Igbo.

Fu m & f Chinese
From Chinese 富 (fù) meaning "abundant, rich, wealthy", 芙 (fú) meaning "hibiscus, lotus" or 甫 (fǔ) meaning "begin, man, father", in addition to other characters with a similar pronunciation. A famous bearer was the 8th-century Tang dynasty poet Du Fu, whose given name was 甫.

Hamutal f Biblical
Means "father-in-law is dew" in Hebrew, derived from חָם (ḥam) meaning "father-in-law" and טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew". In the Old Testament this is the name of a wife of King Josiah of Judah.

Ikenna m Igbo
Means "power of the father" in Igbo.

Janaka m Hinduism, Sinhalese
Means "father" in Sanskrit. According to the Hindu epic the Ramayana he was the king of Videha in northeastern India. He was the father of Sita.

Joab m Biblical
Means "Yahweh is father" in Hebrew, from יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and אָב (ʾav) meaning "father". According to the Old Testament, he was the commander of King David's army. In separate incidents he killed both Abner and Absalom. When Solomon came to power he was executed.

Jupiter m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
From Latin Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements Dyēws (see Zeus) and pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.

Mamuka m Georgian
Means "little father" in Georgian.

Meritites f Ancient Egyptian
From Egyptian mryt-jts meaning "loved by her father". This name was borne by several Egyptian royals, including a wife and a daughter of the pharaoh Khufu.

Moab m Biblical
Means "of his father" in Hebrew, a derivative of אָב (ʾav) meaning "father". In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Lot. He was the ancestor of the Moabites, a people who lived in the region called Moab to the east of Israel.

Nnamdi m Igbo
Means "my father is alive" in Igbo. This name is given to a child when it is believed that he is a reincarnation of his grandfather.

Nnenna f Igbo
Means "father's mother" in Igbo. This name is given in honour of the child's paternal grandmother.

Obinna m Igbo
Means "heart of the father" in Igbo, from óbì "heart, mind" and ńnà "father".

Otabek m Uzbek
Uzbek form of Atabek.

Patroclus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek Πάτροκλος (Patroklos) meaning "glory of the father", derived from πατήρ (pater) meaning "father" (genitive πατρός) and κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". In Greek legend he was one of the heroes who fought against the Trojans. His death at the hands of Hector drew his friend Achilles back into the war.

Puabi f Akkadian
Means "word of my father", from Akkadian pû meaning "mouth" and abu meaning "father". Puabi was a 26th-century BC Akkadian noblewoman who was buried in the Sumerian city of Ur.

Rambabu m Telugu
Means "father Rama" from the name of the Hindu deity Rama 1 combined with Telugu బాబు (bābu) meaning "father".

Uchenna m & f Igbo
Means "wisdom of the father, sense of the father" in Igbo.