bisclavret's Personal Name List

Name M/F Remark
Zuleika f  zoo-LAY-kə; "brilliant beauty" in Persian; looks kr8tiv, but has biblical & literary history 
Zoraida f  zo-RIE-dah; possibly meaning "enchanting,"12th century saint & Don Quijote character 
Zénaïde f  ze-na-EED; derived from Zeus, also the name of a 1st century saint & doctor 
Ysoria f  ee-so-ree-ah?; Medieval English, exact etymology unknown, perhaps variant of Isaura 
Yaëlle f  YIE-el; French variant of Yael 
Wisteria f  WIS-tee-ree-ah; a beautiful flower name, would use only as a middle 
Wilhelmina f  wi-lehl-MEE-nah, n.n. Willa or Mina; Dutch & German feminine form of Wilhelm 
Vivienne f  vi-vee-EN; French form of Viviana, derived from Latin vivus, meaning "alive" 
Vivian m & f
Vesper m & f  VES-pur; Roman equivalent of Hesperos, from the Greek meaning "evening" 
Vera 1 f  VEER-ə; means "faith" in Russian, also associated with Latin verus, meaning "true" 
Ursulina f  ur-soo-LEE-nə; diminutive of Ursula, also a 14th century saint 
Thula f  THOO-lah; from Zulu meaning "peace" 
Thomasina f  tom-ə-SEE-nə; medieval feminine form of Thomas 
Theodosia f  thee-ah-DO-shah, n.n. Theda; latinized form of the Greek meaning "giving to God" 
Thandiwe f  tahn-DEE-way?; n.n. Thandie, means "loved one" in the Xhosa language 
Thalia f  THAY-lee-ah; from the Greek meaning "to blossom," the muse of comedy and poetry 
Telesto f  te-LES-to; an Oceanid from Greek mythology who personified divine blessing 
Tamar f  TAH-mahr; means "palm tree" in Hebrew 
Taisiya f  tah-EE-see-yah; possibly Russian form of Thaïs 
Taavi m  TAH-vee; the Finnish form of David, but I love this on a girl 
Sunniva f  I prefer it pronounced soon-EE-fah; Scandinavian form of the Old English meaning "sun gift" 
Solène f  so-LEN; variant of Solange, derived from the Latin sollemnis, meaning "religious" 
Soheila f  so-HAY-lah; Persian feminine form of Suhail, also Arabic name for the 2nd brightest star 
Sirocco m  si-RO-ko; the name of a wind that blows across Africa; from the Arabic sarq meaning "east" 
Síofra f  SHEEF-rə; means "elf, sprite" in Irish Gaelic 
Simone 1 f
Sibylla f  si-BEL-ə; Greek & Latinate form of Sibyl 
Shoshana f
Semiramide f  se-mee-RAH-meed, n.n. Mira; Italian form of Semiramis, legendary queen of Assyria 
Sébastienne f  se-baws-CHEE-yen; French feminine form of Sebastian, from Greek meaning "venerable" 
Scheherazade f  sheh-hair-rah-ZAHD; the clever fictional storyteller from '1001 Nights' 
Savina f  sah-VEE-nah; an Italian form of Sabina, IMO more removed from the rape associations 
Sanceline f  SAHN-sel-een; French derivative of Sancia, meaning "saintly, holy" 
Salome f  SAH-lə-may; derived from shalom, the Hebrew word for "peace" 
Sabine f  sa-BEEN; French & German form of Sabina 
Rosamund f  ROZ-ə-mund; I prefer to think of it as meaning "pure rose" or "rose of the world" 
Rhiannon f  ree-AN-ən; from the old Celtic name Rigantona, meaning "great queen" 
Remedios f  reh-MEH-dyohs; Spanish, taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, "Our Lady of Remedies" 
Radhika f  raw-dee-kah?; variant of Radha, meaning "success" in Sanskrit 
Phaedra f  FAY-drah; from the Greek phaidros, meaning "bright" 
Petra f  PET-rə; feminine form of Peter, also the site of an ancient city in Jordan 
Perdita f  I would use the Italian p. PAIR-dee-tah; lost princess from Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' 
Ottavia f  o-TAW-vee-ah, n.n. Taavi; Italian form of Octavia, meaning "eighth" 
Oreithyia f  or-EETH-yee-a; a beautiful Athenian princess carried off by the North wind Boreas 
Ophira f  o-FEER-ah; feminine form of Hebrew Ofir, meaning "gold" 
Ophelia f  o-FEE-lee-yə; derived from Greek ophelos, meaning 'help', Hamlet's ill-fated lover 
Odessa f
Noor 1 m & f  NOR; a variant of the Arabic Nur, meaning "light" 
Nimue f  NIM-oo-ay, n.n. Nym; the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend 
Niloufar f  nee-LOO-fahr, n.n. Nilou; meaning "water lily" in Persian 
Nikita 1 m & f  ni-KEE-tah; Russian derived from the Greek meaning "victor," also Sanskrit for "house" 
Nereida f  nah-RAY-dhah; from the Greek nereides meaning "nymphs, sea sprites" 
Neftali m & f  nef-tə-LEE; Spanish form of the Hebrew Naphtali & one of the names of Pablo Neruda 
Natsumi f  nah-TSOO-mee; Japanese, from 'natsu', meaning summer + 'mi', meaning beautiful 
Nalini f
Nadine f  na-DEEN; French elaborative form of Nadia 
Monserrat f  moon-sə-RAHT, n.n. Montse; from the name of a mountain near Barcelona 
Miriam f
Minerva f  mi-NUR-və; the Roman goddess of wisdom & war, the Roman equivalent of Athena 
Melusine f  mel-oo-seen; a water spirit from Breton mythology 
Melora f  mə-LAWR-a; prob. variant of Meliora, appears in The Adventures of Melora & Orlando 
Mélisande f  MEL-ee-sawnd; French form of Millicent, d. Germanic Amalasuintha, m. "work" & "strong" 
Mehitabel f  mi-HEET-ə-bel; variant of Mehetabel, from Hebrew meaning "God makes happy" 
Maru f  mah-ROO; possibly from Maria-Eugenia, one of my favorite diminutives 
Magali f  may-gah-LEE; Occitan form of Magdalene 
Lupine m & f  loo-PIEN; one of my favorite flowers 
Lumikki f  LOO-meek-kee, n.n. Lumi; the equivalent of Snow White in Finnish mythology 
Lucasta f  LOO-cah-stah; invented by poet Richard Lovelace (1649), from lux casta, "pure light" 
Lorelei f  lor-e-LIE; a siren from German mythology, from a Germanic name meaning "luring rock" 
Liriope f  li-RIE-o-pee; the name of a Greek nymph, derived from leirion meaning "daffodil" 
Ligeia f  lie-JEE-ə; a siren from Greek mythology & character in a short story by Edgar Allan Poe 
Leta f  LEE-tuh; possibly derived from the Latin laetus, meaning "glad" 
Leonora f  lee-ah-NOR-ah; Italian short form of Eleanor 
Ismeria f  iz-MAIR-ee-ə; from St. Ismeria, a Moorish princess who converted to Christianity 
Iseul f & m
Ilaria f  il-LAH-ree-ah; my favorite "I" name, derived from Latin hilaris, meaning "cheerful" 
Ihintza f  ee-HEEN-zhah; Basque, meaning "dew", related to a title of the Virgin Mary 
Ianthe f  eye-AHN-thee?; from Greek meaning "violet flower", also an oceanid in Greek mythology 
Hephzibah f
Helena f  he-LAY-nah; Latinate form of Helen 
Ghislaine f  zheez-LEN; derived from the French gisil, meaning "pledge" 
Frederica f  fred-ə-REE-kə; feminine form of Frederick meaning "peaceful ruler" 
Fionnuala f  FIN-yoo-lah, n.n. Nuala; Irish meaning "white-shouldered," a woman turned into a swan 
Filomena f  Italian form of Philomena, from Greek, possibly meaning "loved", or "daughter of light" 
Ferelith f  FEHR-el-ith; anglicized form of Forbflaith, Gaelic name meaning "true sovereignty" 
Faustina f  faw-STEEN-ə; fem. form of Faustinus, derived from Latin Faustus meaning 'auspicious, lucky' 
Fairuza f  fair-OO-zuh; alternate transcription of Firuzeh, means "turquoise" in Persian 
Fabienne f  fah-BYEN; French feminine form of Fabianus, meaning "bean grower" 
Eudora f  yoo-DAWR-ə; derived from the Greek meaning "good gift" 
Esther f  ES-tər; possibly "star" in Persian, or derived from goddess Ishtar, borne by a biblical queen 
Eréndira f  eh-REHN-deer-a; Tarascan, a legendary princess of pre-Columbian Mexico 
Emmanuelle f  ee-mahn-YOO-el, nn. Emmy or Manu; derived from Hebrew meaning "God is with us" 
Emer f  ə-mer; from the Gaelic for "swift"; I'd use it as a n.n. for Emerenzia or Émeraude 
Eliora f  eel-ee-O-rah; feminine form of Elior, meaning "my God is my light" in Hebrew 
Eleanor f  EL-ə-nawr; derived from Occitan Aliénor, borne by Eleanors Aquitaine and Roosevelt 
Delphine f  del-FEEN; French derived from the Latin Delphinus, meaning "of Delphi" 
Cressida f  KRES-i-də; medieval form of Chryseis, derived from Greek chryseos, meaning "golden" 
Corisande f  co-ri-ZHAWN; perhaps derived from the Spanish corazón, meaning "heart" 
Cordelia f  kor-DEEL-ee-a; the youngest and most virtuous daughter of King Lear 
Clio f  Too short by itself; I like it as a n.n. for Cleodora, Cleofa, Cleome, or Cléophée 
Clarimond f  kler-i-MUND; derived from Medieval French, possibly meaning "light of the world" 
Circe f  SUR-see; latinized from Greek p. meaning "hawk/falcon", sorceress from The Odyssey 
Celandine f  SEL-ən-deen or CHEL-ən-deen; derived from the Greek meaning "swallow (bird)" 
Camilla f  kah-MIL-lah; feminine form of Roman Camillus, & legendary warrior maiden in the Aeneid 
Callisto 2 f  kə-LIS-to; derived from the Greek kallistos meaning "most beautiful" 
Beroe f  be-RO-EE; a nymph of Beirut, famed for her beauty & beloved by Poseidon 
Bélisaire m  bel-ee-ZHAIRH; French derived from Belisarius, a Byzantine general and war hero 
Behati f  bay-HAH-tee; variant of Bahati, meaning "look, good fortune" in Swahili 
Bathsheba f  bath-SHEE-bə; ultimate GP name & the heroine from Far from the Madding Crowd 
Ayame f  ah-yaw-MAY; means "iris" in Japanese 
Aviva f  ah-VEEV-ah; derived from the Hebrew Aviv, meaning "spring" 
Aveline f  AV-ə-leen; Norman French diminutive of Avila, possibly meaning "desired" 
Aurembiaix f  aw-rem-BEE-ay?; GP name, medieval Catalan, borne by 13th century Countess of Urgell 
Aurelia f  ah-RAY-lee-ah; derived from the Latin aureus, meaning "golden" 
Arantxa f  ah-RAHN-zhah; Basque, diminutive of Arantzazu, Virgin Mary amongst the thorns 
Araminta f  a-rah-MEEN-tə; m. unknown, possibly elaborated from Greek Amynta, meaning 'defender' 
Ankaret f  ahn-KAH-ret; medieval English form of Angharad, meaning "more love" in Welsh 
Aminata f  ah-mee-NAH-tə; popular among Wolof people of Senegal, possibly from Arabic Aminah 
Amaryllis f
Amaranthe f  a-mur-AHN-thə?; variant of Amarantha, from amaranth flower, m. "unfading" in Greek 
Aludra f  aw-LOO-drə; a star, derived from the Arabic al-adhra, meaning "the maiden" 
Allegra f  ə-LEG-rə; from the Italian meaning "cheerful, lively" 
Aino f  IE-no; Finnish meaning "only one," from the Finnish epic Kalevala 
Aida f  ah-EE-də; variant of Arabic Ayda, an Ethiopian princess in Verdi's eponymous opera 
Adélaïs f  ad-əl-ICE; French form of Adelais, derived from Adalheidis, meaning "noble sort"