TeresafSpanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Polish, Lithuanian, Finnish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English Form of Theresa used in several languages. Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish nun who reformed the Carmelite monasteries and wrote several spiritual books. It was also borne by the Albanian missionary Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor in India. She adopted the name in honour of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the patron of missionaries.
TeresitafSpanish Spanish diminutive of Teresa. It is most common in the Philippines and Latin America.
TiburciomSpanish Spanish form of the Roman cognomen Tiburtius meaning "of Tibur". Tibur (now called Tivoli) was a resort town near Rome. Saint Tiburtius was a 3rd-century martyr from Rome.
ToribiomSpanish Spanish form of the Latin name Turibius, of unknown meaning. This name has been borne by three Spanish saints, from the 5th, 6th and 16th centuries (the latter being an archbishop of Lima).
Tránsitof & mSpanish Means "transit, travel" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the movement of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
TrianafSpanish (Modern) From the name of a neighbourhood in the city of Seville, of uncertain meaning.
VanessafEnglish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem Cadenus and Vanessa. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
VascomPortuguese, Spanish, Italian From the medieval Spanish name Velasco, which possibly meant "crow" in Basque. A famous bearer was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524), the first person to sail from Europe around Africa to India.
Vega 1fSpanish Means "meadow, plain" in Spanish. It is taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, La Virgen de la Vega, meaning "The Virgin of the Meadow". She is the patron saint of several Spanish municipalities, such as Salamanca.
VirginiafEnglish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Ancient Roman Feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin virgo"maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.... [more]
VisitaciónfSpanish Means "visitation" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth.
Vito 1mItalian, Spanish Italian and Spanish form of Vitus. A notable fictional bearer is Vito Corleone from The Godfather novel (1969) and movie (1972).
WáltermSpanish, Portuguese Spanish and Portuguese variant form of Walter, more common in South America than Europe. It is often written without the diacritic.
WashingtonmEnglish, Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian) From a surname that was originally derived from the name of an English town, itself meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people". The given name is usually given in honour of George Washington (1732-1799), commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States.
XaviermEnglish, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
XeniafGreek, Spanish, Ancient Greek Means "hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
XimenafSpanish Feminine form of Ximeno. This was the name of the wife of El Cid.
YadirafSpanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic) Meaning unknown, possibly derived from an Arabic name. It has been used in Mexico since at least the 1940s, perhaps inspired by the Colombian actress Yadira Jiménez (1928-?), who performed in Mexican films beginning in 1946.
YagomSpanish Spanish form of Iacobus (see James). The form Santiago refers more specifically to the New Testament apostles.
YaizafSpanish From the name of a town in the Canary Islands, Spain. It was used by the novelist Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa for the main character in his Ocean trilogy of books (beginning 1984).
YeseniafSpanish (Latin American) From Jessenia, the genus name of a variety of palm trees found in South America. As a given name, it was popularized by the writer Yolanda Vargas Dulché in the 1970 Mexican telenovela Yesenia and the 1971 film adaptation.
YolandafSpanish, English From the medieval French name Yolande, which was probably a form of the name Violante, which was itself a derivative of Latin viola"violet". Alternatively it could be of Germanic origin.... [more]
ZaidafArabic (Rare), Spanish Feminine form of Zayd. This was the name of a Muslim princess who took refuge at the court of (and perhaps married) Alfonso VI of León and Castile in the 11th century.
ZairafItalian, Spanish Italian and Spanish form of Zaïre. It was used by Vincenzo Bellini for the heroine of his opera Zaira (1829), which was based on Voltaire's 1732 play Zaïre.
ZoefEnglish, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek Means "life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of Eve. It was borne by two early Christian saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.... [more]
ZoraidafSpanish Perhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel Don Quixote (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.