Names Categorized "unknown etymology"

Afrodita f Greek Mythology (Hispanicized, Russified)
Spanish and Russian form of Aphrodite.

Afrodite f Greek Mythology (Italianized, Portuguese-style)
Italian and Portuguese form of Aphrodite.

Amphelise f Medieval English
Meaning unknown. It is attested from the 12th century in the Latin form Amphelisia and the vernacular form Anflis.

Bademus m History (Ecclesiastical)
Latinized form of a Persian name of unknown meaning. Saint Bademus was a 4th-century Persian martyr who was a victim of Shapur II's persecutions.

Dihya f Berber
Meaning unknown. This was the real name of the Berber queen Kahina.

Emigdio m Spanish
Spanish form of Emygdius (see Emidio).

Kaveh m Persian, Persian Mythology
Meaning unknown. In the 10th-century Persian epic the Shahnameh Kaveh is a blacksmith who leads a rebellion against the evil ruler Zahhak.

Macaulay m English (British)
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh, itself derived from Amhalghadh, a given name of unknown meaning. A famous bearer of the surname was Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1861), a British Whig politician and noted historian. The given name is borne by the American former child actor Macaulay Culkin (1980-), who was named after the British politician.

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.

Nyyrikki m Finnish Mythology
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a Finnish god of the hunt, the son of Tapio.

Puah f Biblical
Meaning uncertain. According to the Old Testament, Puah and Shiphrah were midwives who refused Pharaoh's orders to kill any Hebrew boys they delivered.

Pumay m Semitic Mythology
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a relatively obscure Phoenician deity, possibly of Cypriot origin.

Sampo m Finnish, Finnish Mythology
Meaning unknown. In Finnish mythology this is the name of a magical artifact (perhaps a mill) created by the smith god Ilmarinen.

Sigourney f English
From an English surname that was derived from the French town of Sigournais, called Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning. The American actress Sigourney Weaver (1949-), real name Susan, adopted this name in 1963 after the minor character Sigourney Howard in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby (1925).

Sona 3 f Armenian
Meaning unknown.

Tashlultum f Akkadian
Meaning unknown, presumably of Akkadian origin. It appears to end with the Akkadian feminine suffix -tum. This was the name of a wife of Sargon of Akkad.

Triton m Greek Mythology
Meaning uncertain. It is possibly related to a root meaning "the sea" (cognate with Old Irish trethan). Alternatively it could be connected to Greek τρεῖς (treis) meaning "three" (ordinal form τρίτος). In Greek mythology Triton was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. He was often depicted as a merman, half-human and half-fish. The largest of Neptune's moons is named after him.

Tudful f Welsh (Rare)
Welsh form of Tydfil.

Tydfil f Welsh
Anglicized form of Welsh Tudful, of unknown meaning. This was the name of a (probably legendary) saint who is supposedly buried in the town of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. It is possible the saint was named after the town. She is said to have been one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.

Zababa m Sumerian Mythology
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a Sumerian and Akkadian war god worshipped in the city-state of Kish.

Zeresh f Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Meaning unknown, probably of Persian origin. In the Book of Esther in the Old Testament she is the wife of Haman the Agagite.