Uzzi m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeans
"my power" in Hebrew, a possessive form of
עֹז (ʿoz) meaning "strength, power". This is the name of several minor characters in the Old Testament.
Uzziah m BiblicalMeans
"my power is Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots
עֹז (ʿoz) meaning "strength, power" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several Old Testament characters including a king of Judah.
Uzziel m Biblical, Biblical HebrewMeans
"my power is God" in Hebrew, from the roots
עֹז (ʿoz) meaning "strength, power" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of several minor characters in the Old Testament.
Václav m Czech, SlovakContracted form of an older Czech name
Veceslav, derived from the Slavic elements
vęťĭjĭ "more, greater" and
slava "glory". Saint Václav (known as
Wenceslas or
Wenceslaus in English) was a 10th-century Duke of Bohemia murdered by his brother. He is the patron saint of the Czech Republic. This was also the name of several Bohemian kings.
Vagn m Danish, Old NorseOld Norse byname meaning
"cart, wagon". It was revived as a given name in the 19th century.
Vahe m ArmenianPossibly from Old Persian
𐎺𐎢 (vahu) meaning
"good". This was the name of a semi-legendary 4th-century BC Armenian king.
Valdemar m Danish, Swedish, FinnishScandinavian form of
Waldemar, also used as a translation of the Slavic cognate
Vladimir. This was the name of four kings of Denmark and a king of Sweden. It was introduced to Scandinavia by the 12th-century Danish king Valdemar I who was named after his mother's grandfather: Vladimir II, a grand prince of Kievan Rus.
Valdis m LatvianShort form of
Voldemārs and other Latvian names containing the Baltic/Germanic element
vald "rule".
Valencia f VariousFrom the name of cities in Spain and Venezuela, both derived from Latin
valentia meaning "strength, vigour".
Valentin m French, Romanian, German, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Danish, FinnishForm of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1) in several languages.
Valentina f Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Valentine 1 m EnglishFrom the Roman cognomen
Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
... [more] Valerian m Russian, Georgian, Romanian, HistoryFrom the Roman cognomen
Valerianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name
Valerius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Roman emperor (Publius Licinius Valerianus) who was captured by the Persians. Several saints have also borne this name, including a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons.
Valerius m Ancient RomanRoman family name that was derived from Latin
valere "to be strong". This was the name of several early saints.
Valéry m FrenchDerived from the Old German elements
walah "foreigner, Celt, Roman" and
rih "ruler, king". It has been frequently confused with the name
Valère. Saint Walaric (or Valery) was a 7th-century Frankish monk who founded an abbey near Leuconaus at the mouth of the Somme River.
Valkyrie f Various (Rare)Means
"chooser of the slain", derived from Old Norse
valr "the slain" and
kyrja "chooser". In Norse myth the Valkyries were maidens who led heroes killed in battle to Valhalla.
Valþjófr m Old NorseOld Norse name, possibly derived from the elements
valr meaning "the dead, the slain" and
þjófr meaning "thief".
Vanadís f Norse MythologyMeans
"goddess of the Vanir" in Old Norse. This was an epithet of the Norse goddess
Freya, given because she was a member of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir).
Vance m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Old English
fenn meaning
"marsh, fen".
Vardan m ArmenianDerived from Armenian
վարդ (vard) meaning
"rose", ultimately from an Iranian language.
Vardo f GeorgianDerived from Georgian
ვარდი (vardi) meaning
"rose", ultimately from an Iranian language via Armenian.
Varius m Ancient RomanRoman family name meaning
"versatile" in Latin. Varius Rufus was a Roman epic poet of the 1st century BC.
Vashti f BiblicalProbably of Persian origin, possibly a superlative form of
𐎺𐎢 (vahu) meaning
"good". According to the Old Testament this was the name of the first wife of King
Ahasuerus of Persia before he married
Esther.
Vasishtha m HinduismMeans
"best, most excellent" in Sanskrit, a superlative form of
वसु (vasu) meaning "good, excellent". This is the name of one of the Saptarshis, or seven sages in Hinduism. He is traditionally believed to be the author of parts of the
Rigveda.
Vasuda f Hindi (Rare)Means
"granting wealth" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the earth.
Vasudha f HindiMeans
"holding wealth" in Sanskrit, used to refer to the earth.
Vata m Persian MythologyMeans
"wind" in Avestan. This was the name of a Yazata (a holy being) associated with the wind in Zoroastrianism. He is also called
𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬎 (Vaiiu).
Vatroslav m CroatianDerived from Croatian
vatra "fire" combined with the Slavic element
slava "glory". It was coined (or revived from an unattested name) in the 19th century.
Vaughan m Welsh, EnglishFrom a Welsh surname that was derived from
bychan (mutated to
fychan) meaning
"little".
Veasna m & f KhmerMeans
"fate, destiny" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit
वासना (vāsanā) meaning "imagination, impression".
Vegard m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Végarðr, derived from the elements
vé "holy" and
garðr "enclosure, yard".
Velda f EnglishMeaning unknown, possibly a derivative of the Old German element
walt meaning
"power, authority".
Velma f EnglishProbably a variant of
Wilma, the spelling with an
e perhaps due to the influence of
Selma 1. This name has been in use since the 19th century.
Venantius m Late RomanDerived from Latin
venans meaning
"hunting, chasing, pursuing". This name was borne by several early saints, including a 6th-century bishop of Poitiers who was a noted poet.
Venetia f English (Rare), GreekFrom the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name
Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name
Gwynedd. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel
Venetia (1837).
Venka f EsperantoMeans
"victorious", from Esperanto
venki "to conquer", ultimately from Latin
vincere.
Venkata m Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, MalayalamFrom the name of a sacred hill in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. It is the home of the Venkateswara Temple, a pilgrimage site for Hindus.
Venus f Roman MythologyMeans
"love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite. As the mother of
Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.
Vera 1 f Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, GeorgianMeans
"faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word
verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Vercingetorix m GaulishMeans
"king over warriors" from Gaulish
wer "on, over" combined with
kingeto "marching men, warriors" and
rix "king". This name was borne by a 1st-century BC chieftain of the Gaulish tribe the Arverni. He led the resistance against Julius Caesar's attempts to conquer Gaul, but he was eventually defeated, brought to Rome, and executed.
Verdandi f Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Verðandi meaning
"becoming, happening". Verdandi was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse mythology. She was responsible for the present.
Vered f HebrewMeans
"rose" in Hebrew, originally a borrowing from an Iranian language.
Veremund m Germanic (Latinized)Latinized form of a Germanic name, probably
Waramunt, derived from either
war "aware, cautious" or
war "true" combined with
munt "protection". This was the name of a 5th-century king of Galicia (from the Germanic tribe of the Suebi). It was later the name of kings of Asturias and León, though their names are usually spelled in the Spanish form
Bermudo.
Verena f German, Late RomanPossibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
Berenice. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Veríssimo m PortugueseFrom the Latin name
Verissimus meaning
"very true". Saint Verissimus was a Portuguese martyr executed during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
Veritas f Roman MythologyMeans "truth" in Latin, a derivative of
verus "true". The Roman goddess Veritas was the personification of truth.
Verity f EnglishFrom the English word meaning
"verity, truth", from Latin
verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.
Veronica f English, Italian, Romanian, Late RomanLatin alteration of
Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning
"true image". This was the name of a legendary saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Veronika f Russian, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, German, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Lithuanian, LatvianForm of
Veronica in several languages.
Věroslav m CzechCombination of the Czech name
Věra or word
víra (both meaning "faith") with the Slavic element
slava meaning "glory".
Vespasian m HistoryFrom the Roman cognomen
Vespasianus, derived either from Latin
vesper meaning
"west" or
"evening" or
vespa meaning
"wasp". This was the name of a 1st-century Roman emperor, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the founder of the Flavian dynasty.
Vesper m & f Roman Mythology, Dutch (Modern)Latin cognate of
Hesperos. This name was used by the British author Ian Fleming for a female character, a love interest of James Bond, in his novel
Casino Royale (1953). She also appears in the film adaptations of 1967 and 2006.
Vespera f EsperantoMeans
"of the evening", derived from Esperanto
vespero "evening", ultimately from Latin
vesper.
Vesta f Roman MythologyProbably a Roman cognate of
Hestia. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
Vetle m NorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Vetrliði meaning
"winter traveller", and by extension
"bear cub".