Names Categorized "soul" - Behind the Name

Aizhan f Kazakh
From Kazakh ай (ay) meaning "moon" and жан (zhan) meaning "soul".

Alma 1 f English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".

Anima 2 f English (Rare)
Means "soul, spirit" in Latin. In Jungian psychology the anima is an individual's true inner self, or soul.

Aruzhan f Kazakh
Means "beautiful soul" in Kazakh.

Ayazhan f Kazakh
From an element of uncertain meaning combined with Kazakh жан (zhan) meaning "soul" (of Persian origin).

Can m Turkish
Means "soul, life" or by extension "darling, sweetheart" in Turkish, from Persian جان (jān).

Caner m Turkish
From Turkish can meaning "soul, life" and er meaning "man, hero, brave".

Cansel f Turkish
Derived from Turkish can meaning "soul, life" and sel meaning "flood, stream".

Cansu f Turkish
From Turkish can meaning "soul, life" and su meaning "water".

Chetan m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada
From Sanskrit चेतन (cetana) meaning "visible, conscious, soul".

Chetana f Marathi, Hindi
Feminine form of Chetan.

Dušan m Slovak, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Derived from Slavic duša meaning "soul, spirit".

Dušana f Slovak, Serbian (Rare), Croatian (Rare)
Feminine form of Dušan.

Dušanka f Serbian, Slovene, Croatian
Feminine form of Dušan.

Dušica f Serbian, Slovene
Feminine diminutive of Dušan.

Duško m Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Variant of Dušan.

Efthimia f Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Ευθυμία (see Efthymia).

Efthimios m Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Ευθύμιος (see Efthymios).

Efthymia f Greek
Modern Greek form of Euthymia.

Efthymios m Greek
Modern Greek form of Euthymius.

Egypt f & m English (Modern)
From the name of the North African country, which derives from Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aigyptos), itself probably from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ meaning "the house of the soul of Ptah", the name of the temple to the god Ptah in Memphis.

Elcan m Azerbaijani
Means "soul of the people" in Azerbaijani, ultimately derived from Turkic el meaning "country, society" and Persian جان (jān) meaning "soul, life".

Enid f Welsh, English, Arthurian Cycle
Probably derived from Welsh enaid meaning "soul, spirit, life". In Arthurian tales she first appears in the 12th-century French poem Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes, where she is the wife of Erec. In later adaptations she is typically the wife of Geraint. The name became more commonly used after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian poem Enid in 1859, and it was fairly popular in Britain in the first half of the 20th century.

Enide f Arthurian Cycle
Old French form of Enid.

Ercan m Turkish
From Turkish er meaning "man, hero, brave" and can meaning "soul, life".

Essence f English (Modern)
From the English word essence, which means either "odour, scent" or else "fundamental quality". Ultimately it derives from Latin esse "to be".

Etta f English
Short form of Henrietta and other names that end with etta. A famous bearer was the American singer Etta James (1938-2012), who took her stage name from her real given name Jamesetta.

Euthymia f Ancient Greek
Feminine form of Euthymius.

Euthymios m Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek form of Euthymius.

Euthymius m Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Εὐθύμιος (Euthymios) meaning "in good spirits, generous", derived from the word εὔθυμος (euthymos), which was composed of the elements εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and θυμός (thymos) meaning "soul, spirit". This was the name of several early saints.

Eutimio m Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Spanish and Italian form of Euthymius.

Gladys f Welsh, English, French, Spanish
From the Old Welsh name Gwladus, probably derived from gwlad meaning "country". Alternatively, it may have been adopted as a Welsh form of Claudia. Saint Gwladus or Gwladys was the mother of Saint Cadoc. She was one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog. This name became popular outside of Wales after it was used in Ouida's novel Puck (1870).

Gönül f Turkish
Means "heart" in Turkish.

Hauke m Frisian, German
Frisian short form of Old German given names containing the element hugu meaning "mind, thought, spirit".

Hubert m English, German, Dutch, French, Polish, Czech, Germanic
Means "bright heart", derived from the Old German elements hugu "mind, thought, spirit" and beraht "bright". Saint Hubert was an 8th-century bishop of Maastricht who is considered the patron saint of hunters. The Normans brought the name to England, where it replaced an Old English cognate Hygebeorht. It died out during the Middle Ages but was revived in the 19th century.

Hughard m Germanic
Derived from the Old German elements hugu "mind, thought, spirit" and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy".

Janan f Arabic
Means "heart" or "soul" in Arabic, a derivative of جنّ (janna) meaning "to cover, to hide".

Kariuki m Kikuyu
Means "reincarnated one" in Kikuyu.

Kokoro f Japanese
From Japanese 心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.

Könül f Azerbaijani
Means "heart, soul, desire" in Azerbaijani.

Ling f & m Chinese
From Chinese 灵 (líng) meaning "spirit, soul", 铃 (líng) meaning "bell, chime", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.

Linh f & m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 靈 (linh) meaning "spirit, soul".

Mahatma m History
From the Indian title महात्मा (Mahātmā) meaning "great soul", derived from Sanskrit महा (mahā) meaning "great" and आत्मन् (ātman) meaning "soul, spirit, life". This title was given to, among others, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948).

Neferkare m Ancient Egyptian
From Egyptian nfr-kꜣ-rꜥ meaning "the soul of Ra is beautiful", from nfr "beautiful, good" combined with kꜣ "soul" combined with the name of the god Ra. This name was borne by several Egyptian pharaohs.

Nurcan f Turkish
Means "bright soul" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic نور (nūr) meaning "light" and Persian jān meaning "soul, life".

Nurzhan m Kazakh
From Kazakh нұр (nur) meaning "light" (of Arabic origin) and жан (zhan) meaning "soul" (of Persian origin).

Psyche f Greek Mythology
Means "the soul", derived from Greek ψύχω (psycho) meaning "to breathe". The Greeks thought that the breath was the soul. In Greek mythology Psyche was a beautiful maiden who was beloved by Eros (or Cupid in Roman mythology). She is the subject of Keats's poem Ode to Psyche (1819).

Ricmod f & m Germanic
Derived from the Old German element rih "ruler, king" combined with muot "mind, spirit".

Rigmor f Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian form of Ricmod, via the Old Danish form Rigmár.

Ruh m Arabic
Means "spirit" in Arabic.

Shin m Japanese
From Japanese 真 (shin) meaning "real, genuine" or other kanji with the same pronunciation.

Togzhan f Kazakh
Possibly from Kazakh тоқ (toq) meaning "full, well-fed, prosperous" and жан (zhan) meaning "soul".

Xinyi m & f Chinese
From Chinese 欣 (xīn) meaning "happy, joyous, delighted" or 心 (xīn) meaning "heart, mind, soul" combined with 怡 (yí) meaning "joy, harmony". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.

Xquenda f & m Zapotec
From Zapotec guenda "spirit, soul, essence" combined with the possessive prefix x-.

Yefim m Russian
Russian vernacular form of Euthymius.

Yevfimiy m Russian (Rare)
Russian form of Euthymius.

Zhandos m Kazakh
From Kazakh жан (zhan) meaning "soul" and дос (dos) meaning "friend" (both words of Persian origin).

Zhansaya f Kazakh
From Kazakh жан (zhan) meaning "soul" and сая (saya) meaning "shadow, shade, protection, comfort" (both words of Persian origin).

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