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-).
Milena f Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, ItalianFeminine form of
Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
Maria and
Elena.
Milou f DutchShort form of
Marie-Louise. This is the name of a (male) dog in the French-language Belgian comic series
The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, first appearing in 1929. He is named
Snowy in the English version and
Bobbie in the Dutch version.
Mina 1 f English, DutchShort form of
Wilhelmina and other names ending in
mina. This was the name of a character in the novel
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker.
Miriam f Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, BiblicalForm of
Mary used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of
Moses and
Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside
Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.
Mischa m & f Dutch, GermanDutch and German form of
Misha. It is occasionally used as a feminine name in Dutch.
Mitchell m EnglishFrom an English surname, itself derived from the given name
Michael or in some cases from Middle English
michel meaning "big, large".
Moab m BiblicalMeans
"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.
Moira f Irish, Scottish, EnglishAnglicized form of
Máire. It also coincides with Greek
Μοῖρα (Moira) meaning "fate, destiny", the singular of
Μοῖραι, the Greek name for the Fates. They were the three female personifications of destiny in Greek mythology.
Moire f Scottish GaelicScottish Gaelic form of
Maria (see
Mary), typically only used to refer to the Virgin Mary. The form
Màiri is used as a given name.
Mojca f SlovenePossibly a Slovene diminutive of
Marija. Alternatively, it could be related to Slovene
moj meaning
"my, mine".
Molly f EnglishMedieval diminutive of
Mary, now often used independently. It developed from
Malle and
Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel
Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Mordecai m Biblical, HebrewMeans
"servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of
Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor
Haman.
Moriah f English (Modern)From Hebrew
מֹרִיָה (Moriya) possibly meaning "seen by
Yahweh". This is a place name in the Old Testament, both the land where
Abraham is to sacrifice
Isaac and the mountain upon which
Solomon builds the temple. They may be the same place. Since the 1980s it has occasionally been used as a feminine given name in America.
Mot m Semitic MythologyMeans
"death" in Ugaritic. This was the name of the Ugaritic god of death and the lord of the netherworld. He was a son of the supreme god
El.
Muire f IrishIrish form of
Maria (see
Mary). This form is typically reserved for the Virgin Mary, with
Máire used as a given name.
Myra f EnglishCreated by the 17th-century poet Fulke Greville. He possibly based it on Latin
myrra meaning "myrrh" (a fragrant resin obtained from a tree). Otherwise, he may have simply rearranged the letters from the name
Mary. Although unrelated etymologically, this is also the name of an ancient city of Anatolia.
Naamah f BiblicalMeans
"pleasant" in Hebrew. This name is borne in the Old Testament by both a daughter of
Lamech and a wife of
Solomon. Some later Jewish texts give Naamah as the name of
Noah's wife, even though she is not named in the Old Testament.
Nabopolassar m Babylonian (Anglicized)From the Akkadian name
Nabu-apla-usur meaning
"Nabu protect my son", derived from the god's name
Nabu combined with
aplu meaning "son, heir" and an imperative form of
naṣāru meaning "to protect". This was the name of a 7th-century BC king of the Babylonian Empire, the first of the Chaldean dynasty.
Nabu m Semitic MythologyPossibly from a Semitic root meaning
"to announce". This was the name of a Babylonian and Assyrian god of wisdom, letters and writing.
Nadab m Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekMeans
"generous" in Hebrew. This was the name of a son of
Aaron according to the Old Testament. He was consumed by flames and killed when he offered unauthorized fire to God. It was also the name of the second king of Israel.
Nahum m BiblicalMeans
"comforter" in Hebrew, from the root
נָחַם (naḥam) meaning "to comfort, to console". Nahum is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He authored the Book of Nahum in which the downfall of Nineveh is foretold.
Nan f EnglishOriginally a diminutive of
Ann. It may have originated with the affectionate phrase
mine Ann, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nan. It is now also used as a short form of
Nancy.
Nancy f EnglishPreviously a medieval diminutive of
Annis, though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of
Ann. It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source.
Naomi 1 f English, Hebrew, BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
נָעֳמִי (Naʿomi) meaning
"my pleasantness", a derivative of
נָעַם (naʿam) meaning "to be pleasant". In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of
Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be
Mara because of her misfortune (see
Ruth 1:20).
... [more] Naphtali m BiblicalMeans
"my struggle, my strife" in Hebrew, a derivative of
פָּתַל (paṯal) meaning "to twist, to struggle, to wrestle". In the Old Testament he is a son of
Jacob by
Rachel's servant
Bilhah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Naram-Sin m AkkadianMeans
"beloved of Sin", from Akkadian
narāmu and the god's name
Sin. This was the name of a 23rd-century BC ruler of the Akkadian Empire, the grandson of
Sargon.
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.
Nazaret f & m Spanish, ArmenianFrom Nazareth, the town in Galilee where
Jesus lived. This name is primarily feminine in Spanish and primarily masculine in Armenian.
Nazarius m Late RomanLatin name meaning
"from Nazareth". Nazareth was the town in Galilee where
Jesus lived. This name was borne by several early saints, including a man martyred with Celsus in Milan.
Nazzareno m ItalianItalian form of the Late Latin
Nazarenus, which meant
"from Nazareth, Nazarene". Nazareth was the town in Galilee where
Jesus lived. According to the New Testament, the phrase
Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum meaning "Jesus the Nazarene, king of the Jews", was inscribed on the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.
Nebuchadnezzar m Babylonian (Anglicized), BiblicalFrom
ןְבוּכַדְנֶאצֲּר (Nevuḵaḏnetstsar), the Hebrew form of the Akkadian name
Nabu-kudurri-usur meaning "Nabu protect my eldest son", derived from the god's name
Nabu combined with
kudurru meaning "eldest son" and an imperative form of
naṣāru meaning "to protect". This name was borne by a 12th-century BC king of the Babylonian Empire. It was also borne by a 6th-century BC king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He captured Jerusalem, and ultimately destroyed the city's temple and deported many of its citizens, as told in the Old Testament.
Nehemiah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh comforts" in Hebrew, derived from
נָחַם (naḥam) meaning "to comfort" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. According to the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament he was a leader of the Jews who was responsible for the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Nélida f Literature, SpanishCreated by French author Marie d'Agoult for her semi-autobiographical novel
Nélida (1846), written under the name Daniel Stern. It was probably an anagram of her pen name
Daniel.
Nena f EnglishVariant of
Nina 1, also coinciding with the Spanish word
nena meaning
"baby girl".
Nethaniah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh has given" in Hebrew, derived from
נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of the father of
Ishmael (the assassin of Gedaliah), as well as other minor characters.
Nichelle f African AmericanCombination of
Nicole and
Michelle. This name spiked in popularity in the late 1960s when the actress Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022) portrayed Nyota Uhura on the
Star Trek television series. Nichols was given the name Grace at birth but it was changed at a young age.
Nimrod m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeaning unknown, possibly of Akkadian origin or possibly meaning
"rebel" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Nimrod is a renowned hunter, the great-grandson of
Noah. He was the founder of Babylon.
... [more] Nina 1 f Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, BelarusianShort form of names that end in
nina, such as
Antonina or
Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).
... [more] Ningal f Sumerian MythologyMeans
"great lady", from Sumerian
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" and
𒃲 (gal) meaning "big, great". This was the name of a goddess of reeds in Sumerian mythology. She was the daughter of
Enki and the wife of
Nanna.
Ninhursag f Sumerian MythologyMeans
"lady of the mountain", from Sumerian
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" and
𒉺𒂅 (hursaĝ) meaning "mountain". This was the name of the Sumerian mother and fertility goddess, the primary consort of
Enki.
Ninisina f Sumerian MythologyMeans "lady of Isin", from Sumerian
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" combined with the name of the city-state of
Isin. This was the name of a Sumerian goddess of healing, later conflated with
Gula.
Nino 2 f GeorgianMeaning unknown, possibly from a Greek feminine form of
Ninos. Saint Nino (sometimes called Nina) was a Greek-speaking woman from Asia Minor who introduced Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century.
Ninos m Ancient Assyrian (Hellenized)Probably from the name of the ancient city of
Nineveh in Assyria. According to Greek historians this was the name of the husband of
Semiramis and the founder of Nineveh. In actuality he does not correspond to any known Assyrian king, and is likely a composite character named after the city.
Ninsun f Sumerian MythologyFrom Sumerian
nin-sumun-a(k) meaning
"lady of the wild cow", derived from
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" and the genitive form of
𒄢 (sumun) meaning "wild cow". In Sumerian mythology Ninsun was the divine mother of
Gilgamesh.
Ninurta m Sumerian Mythology, Semitic MythologyDerived from Sumerian
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lord" and
𒅁 (urta) meaning "ear of barley". In Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian mythology Ninurta was a god of agriculture, hunting and healing, later associated with war. He was also called
Ningirsu, though they may have originally been separate deities.
Noah 1 m English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning
"rest, repose", derived from the root
נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of
Shem,
Ham and
Japheth.
... [more] Noah 2 f BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
נֹעָה (Noʿa) meaning
"motion". In the Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of
Zelophehad. In English this name is typically spelled the same as the name of the male biblical character
Noah, though in Hebrew they are written distinctly.
Noam m & f Hebrew, FrenchMeans
"pleasantness" in Hebrew. A famous bearer is Noam Chomsky (1928-), an American linguist and philosopher.
Noga f & m HebrewModern Hebrew transcription of
Nogah, usually used as a feminine name.
Nurislam m KazakhFrom Kazakh
нұр (nur) meaning "light" (of Arabic origin) combined with
Islam, the name of the religion (ultimately from Arabic
إسلام).
Obadiah m BiblicalMeans
"servant of Yahweh" in Hebrew, derived from
עָבַד (ʿavaḏ) meaning "to serve, to worship" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets, the author of the Book of Obadiah, which predicts the downfall of the nation of Edom. This is also the name of several other biblical characters.
Ofer m HebrewMeans
"fawn" in Hebrew. This makes it a modern variant of the Classical Hebrew name
Ophrah.