Browse Names (page 7) - Behind the Name

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+Meaning and keywords

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separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
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the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

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Willow f English (Modern)
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.

Wilt m English
Short form of Wilton. This name was borne by basketball player Wilt Chamberlain (1936-1999).

Win m & f Burmese
Means "bright, radiant, brilliant" in Burmese.

Windsor m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English (a windlass is a lifting apparatus). This has been the surname of the royal family of the United Kingdom since 1917.

Wine m Anglo-Saxon
Derived from Old English wine "friend".

Winslow m & f English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hill belonging to Wine". A famous bearer of this name was American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910).

Winston m English
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Wynnstan. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984.

Winter f English (Modern)
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.

Wiola f Polish
Polish form of Viola.

Wioleta f Polish
Polish form of Violet.

Wioletta f Polish
Polish form of Violet.

Wisdom f & m English (Rare)
Simply from the English word, a derivative of Old English wis "wise".

Wolf m German, Jewish, English (Rare), Germanic
Short form of Wolfgang, Wolfram and other names containing the Old German element wolf meaning "wolf" (Proto-Germanic *wulfaz). It can also be simply from the German or English word. As a Jewish name it can be considered a vernacular form of Zeev.

Woodrow m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "row of houses by a wood" in Old English. It was borne by the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), who was given his mother's maiden name as his middle name (his first name was Thomas). During his candidacy and presidency (1912-1921) the name became popular, reaching the 44th rank in 1913, though it quickly declined after that.

Woody m English
Either a diminutive of names containing wood such as Woodrow, or else from a nickname derived from the English word wood. Famous bearers include the folk singer Woodrow "Woody" Guthrie (1912-1967), the comedian and film director Heywood "Woody" Allen (1935-; born as Allan Stewart Konigsberg), and the actor Woodrow "Woody" Harrelson (1961-). It is also borne by the cartoon characters Woody Woodpecker (debuting 1940) and Woody from the Toy Story movies (beginning 1995).

Wren f English (Modern)
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.

Xiuying f Chinese
From Chinese 秀 (xiù) meaning "luxuriant, beautiful, elegant, outstanding" combined with 英 (yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero". Other character combinations are possible.

Yael f Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Jael.

Yağmur f & m Turkish, Azerbaijani
Means "rain" in Turkish and Azerbaijani.

Yale m English (Rare)
From a Welsh surname, which was itself derived from a place name meaning "fertile upland" (from Welsh ial).

Yam m Semitic Mythology
Means "sea" in Ugaritic. Yam was the Ugaritic god of the sea, also associated with chaos, storms and destruction. He was a son of the chief god El.

Yasen m Bulgarian
Means both "ash tree" and "clear, serene" in Bulgarian.

Yeray m Spanish (Canarian)
Canarian Spanish name of recent origin, possibly from a Guanche word or place name meaning "big, grand".

Yeter f Turkish
Means "enough, sufficient" in Turkish.

Yiğit m Turkish
Means "brave" in Turkish.

York m English
From an English surname that was derived from York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally Eburacon, Latinized as Eboracum, meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to Eoforwic, as if from Old English eofor "boar" and wic "village". This was rendered as Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to York.

Young f & m Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 영 (see Yeong).

Yume f Japanese
From Japanese 夢 (yume) meaning "dream, vision". It can also come from 裕 (yu) meaning "abundant, rich, plentiful" and 芽 (me) meaning "bud, sprout", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.

Yumi f Japanese
From Japanese 弓 (yumi) meaning "archery bow". It can also come from 由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause", 友 (yu) meaning "friend" or a nanori reading of 弓 (yu) meaning "archery bow" combined with 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.

Yunuen f & m Spanish (Mexican)
Meaning unknown, probably of indigenous (maybe Purépecha) origin. This is the name of an island on Lake Pátzcuaro in Mexico.

Yuri 2 f Japanese
From Japanese 百合 (yuri) meaning "lily". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can also form this name.

Zaire m African American (Modern)
From the name of a country in Africa from 1971 to 1997, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is said to be derived from Kikongo nzadi o nzere meaning "river swallowing rivers", referring to the Congo River.

Zaria f English (Modern)
Possibly based on Zahra 2 or the Nigerian city of Zaria.

Zeru m Basque
Means "sky" in Basque.

Zhou m & f Chinese
From Chinese 舟 (zhōu) meaning "boat, ship", in addition to other characters that are pronounced similarly.

Zigor m Basque
Means "rod, staff" or "punishment" in Basque.

Zinnia f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.

Zita 1 f Italian, Portuguese, German, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian, Latvian
Means "little girl" in Tuscan Italian. This was the name of a 13th-century saint, the patron saint of servants.

Zitkala f Sioux
From Lakota zitkála meaning "bird".

Zona f Various
Means "girdle, belt" in Greek. This name was made popular by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet Zona Gale (1874-1938).

Zorion m Basque
Means "happiness" in Basque.

Zorro m Literature, Popular Culture
Means "fox" in Spanish. This is the name of a masked vigilante created by writer Johnston McCulley in 1919 for a series of books, later adapted into movies and television.

Zuzen m Basque
Means "just, fair" in Basque.