Leocadia f Spanish, Late RomanLate Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of
Leucadia or from Greek
λευκός (leukos) meaning
"bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name). Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Letitia f EnglishFrom the Late Latin name
Laetitia meaning
"joy, happiness". This was the name of an obscure saint, who is revered mainly in Spain. It was in use in England during the Middle Ages, usually in the spelling
Lettice, and it was revived in the 18th century.
Liběna f CzechDerived from Czech
libý meaning
"pleasant, nice", from the Slavic element
ľuby meaning "love".
Libitina f Roman MythologyMeaning uncertain, possibly from Etruscan
lupu "dead". Libitina was the Roman goddess of funerals, corpses and death.
Līga f LatvianFrom the Latvian holiday
Līgo, celebrated at the summer solstice.
Ligeia f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
λιγύς (ligys) meaning
"clear-voiced, shrill, whistling". This was the name of one of the Sirens in Greek legend. It was also used by Edgar Allan Poe in his story
Ligeia (1838).
Lina 1 f ArabicMeans
"soft, tender" in Arabic, derived from
لان (lāna) meaning "to be soft". It can also be from Arabic
لينة (līna), a type of palm tree, likely derived from the same root.
Lina 2 f English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Lithuanian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, SloveneShort form of names ending in
lina.
Linda f English, German, Dutch, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, French, Latvian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, GermanicOriginally a medieval short form of Germanic names containing the element
lind meaning
"soft, flexible, tender" (Proto-Germanic *
linþaz). It also coincides with the Spanish and Portuguese word
linda meaning
"beautiful". In the English-speaking world this name experienced a spike in popularity beginning in the 1930s, peaking in the late 1940s, and declining shortly after that. It was the most popular name for girls in the United States from 1947 to 1952.
Lindita f AlbanianMeans
"the day is born" in Albanian, from
lind "to give birth" and
ditë "day".
Linnéa f SwedishFrom the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Lisakhanya f & m Xhosa, ZuluMeans
"still shining" in Xhosa and Zulu, from the roots
sa "still, continuing" and
khanya "to shine".
Lita f EnglishShort form of names ending in
lita. This name was brought to the public eye in the 1920s due to Lita Grey (1908-1995), who was the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. Her birth name was Lillita Louise MacMurray.
Ljubinka f SerbianFrom the Slavic element
ľuby meaning
"love" combined with a diminutive suffix.
Ljubiša m SerbianFrom the Slavic element
ľuby meaning
"love" combined with a diminutive suffix.
Lolita f SpanishDiminutive of
Lola. This is the name of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.
Louisa f English, German, DutchLatinate feminine form of
Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of
Little Women.
Lucía f SpanishSpanish form of
Lucia. This is the most popular name for girls in Spain beginning in 2003.
Lucia f Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucina f Roman MythologyDerived from Latin
lucus meaning
"grove", but later associated with
lux meaning
"light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.
Lucinda f English, Portuguese, LiteratureAn elaboration of
Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel
Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play
The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lucretia f Ancient Roman, Roman MythologyFeminine form of the Roman family name
Lucretius, possibly from Latin
lucrum meaning
"profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.
Ludmila f Czech, Latvian, RussianMeans
"favour of the people" from the Slavic elements
ľudŭ "people" and
milŭ "gracious, dear". Saint Ludmila was a 10th-century duchess of Bohemia, the grandmother of Saint Václav. She was murdered on the orders of her daughter-in-law Drahomíra.
... [more] Luminița f RomanianMeans
"little light", derived from Romanian
lumina "light" combined with a diminutive suffix.
Luzviminda f FilipinoBlend of
Luzon,
Visayas and
Mindanao, the names of the three main island groups of the Philippines.
Lydia f English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekMeans
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by Saint
Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.
Lysithea f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
θεά (thea) meaning "goddess". This was the name of a lover of
Zeus in Greek mythology. A small moon of Jupiter is named after her.
Lyudmila f Russian, BulgarianRussian and Bulgarian form of
Ludmila. This was the name of a character in Aleksandr Pushkin's poem
Ruslan and Lyudmila (1820).
Madina f Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Avar, ChechenFrom the name of the city of Medina, Arabic
المدينة (al-Madīna), which means "the city". The Saudi city is considered an Islamic holy site because the Prophet
Muhammad was based there for a period.
Magnolia f EnglishFrom the English word
magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Mahavira m SanskritMeans
"great hero" in Sanskrit, from
महा (mahā) meaning "great" and
वीर (vīra) meaning "hero, man". Mahavira (or Mahāvīra) was the 6th-century BC founder of Jainism.
Mahpiya m & f SiouxFrom Dakota or Lakota
maȟpíya meaning
"cloud, sky". This is the first part of the names of the Dakota chief Mahpiya Wicasta (1780-1863), known as Cloud Man, and the Lakota chiefs Mahpiya Luta (1822-1909), known as Red Cloud, and Mahpiya Iyapato (1838-1905), known as Touch the Clouds.
Maia 2 f Roman MythologyProbably from Latin
maior meaning
"greater". This was the name of a Roman goddess of spring, a companion (sometimes wife) of
Vulcan. She was later conflated with the Greek goddess
Maia. The month of May is named for her.
Maiara f TupiFrom Tupi
maya arya meaning
"great-grandmother".
Maija f Finnish, LatvianFinnish and Latvian variant of
Maria or
Marija. The Latvian playwright Anna Brigadere used this name for the main character in her play
Maija un Paija (1922).
Maina m KikuyuMeans
"sing, dance" in Kikuyu. Kikuyu males were traditionally organized into age sets or generations, each lasting about 30 years. The
Maina generation occupied the last part of the 19th century.
Maira f Greek MythologyFrom Greek
μαρμαίρω (marmairo) meaning
"sparkle, gleam, flash". This name was borne by several characters in Greek mythology, including one of the Nereids.
Malaysia f English (Modern)From the name of the country in southeastern Asia, the home of the Malay people. Their ethnic name is of uncertain origin, though it is possibly from the name of a river, itself derived from Malay
melaju or Javanese
mlayu meaning "to run, to go fast".
Malia f Hawaiian, English (Modern)Hawaiian form of
Maria. This name experienced a spike in popularity in 2009, due to the eldest daughter (born 1998) of the new American president Barack Obama.
Malvina f Literature, English, Italian, FrenchCreated by the Scottish poet James MacPherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossian poems. He probably intended it to mean
"smooth brow", from Scottish Gaelic
mala "brow" and
mìn "smooth, fine" (lenited to
mhìn and pronounced with a
v sound).
Manaia f & m MaoriFrom the name of a stylized design common in Maori carvings. It represents a mythological creature with the head of a bird and the body of a human.
Maquinna m Nuu-chah-nulth (Anglicized)From Nuu-chah-nulth
Mukwina, possibly meaning
"possessor of pebbles". This was the name of a late 18th-century chief of the Mowachaht people.
Marfisa f Carolingian CycleMeaning uncertain. The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1495 and 1532), where it belongs to a Saracen warrior queen. She is the twin sister of
Ruggiero, though separated at birth.
Marganita f HebrewFrom the name of a type of flowering plant common in Israel, called the scarlet pimpernel in English.
Margherita f ItalianItalian form of
Margaret. This is also the Italian word for the daisy flower (species Bellis perennis, Leucanthemum vulgare and others).
Maria f & m Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, Old Church SlavicLatin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
Mary).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
... [more] Marianna f Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Russian, Greek, EnglishCombination of
Maria and
Anna. It can also be regarded as a variant of the Roman name
Mariana, or as a Latinized form of
Mariamne.
Marika f Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Swedish, Georgian, Italian, GermanDiminutive of
Maria and other names beginning with
Mari.
Marilla f English (Archaic)Possibly a diminutive of
Mary or a variant of
Amaryllis. More common in the 19th century, this name was borne by the American suffragist Marilla Ricker (1840-1920). It is also the name of the adoptive mother of Anne in L. M. Montgomery's novel
Anne of Green Gables (1908).
Marina f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Maritza f Spanish (Latin American)Elaboration of
Maria used particularly in Latin America. The suffix could be inspired by the name of the Itza people of Central America (as seen in the name of the old Maya city of Chichen Itza, Mexico). It also nearly coincides with the name of the Maritsa River in southeastern Europe.
Martina f German, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Hungarian, English, Swedish, Dutch, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Martinus (see
Martin). Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.
Massinissa m Ancient Berber (Latinized), BerberLatinized form of Berber
Masensen meaning
"their lord". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Berber chieftain. He became the first king of Numidia after allying himself with the Roman Republic against Carthage.
Matija m & f Slovene, Croatian, SerbianSlovene, Croatian and Serbian form of
Matthias, used to refer to the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. It is occasionally used as a feminine name.
Matilda f English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, SloveneFrom the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle". Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
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