DianUK's Personal Name List

Feminine form of Zosimos (see Zosimus).

Derives from the Ugaritic yariḫ ("moon"). Name borne by a moon god worshipped in the Amorite and Ugaritic pantheons, and later as part of the Phoenician and Punic pantheons following the collapse of Ugarit. He was regarded as the husband of Nikkal, as attested in the myth "The Marriage of Nikkhal and Yarikh". His Mesopotamian equivalent was Sin.

From the Old English name Wigstan, composed of the elements wig "battle" and stan "stone". This was the name of a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon saint. It became rare after the Norman Conquest, and in modern times it is chiefly known as the first name of the British poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973).

Derived from the Old English elements wynn "joy" and stan "stone".

From the name of the flowering plant, which was named for the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.

Derived from Old High German wini "friend" combined with Gothic vulfs "wolf."

Variant of Winsome.

Germanic name derived from the element wini meaning "friend" (Proto-Germanic *weniz).

Derived from the Old English elements willa meaning "will, desire" and brord meaning "prick, point" as well as "spearhead" and "blade, lance, javelin".

This name was most notably borne by the Anglo-Saxon saint Willibrord (c. 658-739). He is ultimately the reason behind the introduction of the name to the Low Countries.

A notable Dutch bearer of the name was the journalist and television presenter Willibrord Frequin (1941-2022).

Medieval diminutive of William.

A dithematic name formed from the Germanic name elements walt "to rule" and hraban raven.

Derived from Old High German walah "wanderer, traveller, foreigner" combined with hraban or hramn "raven."

Feminine form of Vitale.

Feminine form of Vidal.

Means "king over warriors" from Gaulish wer "on, over" combined with kingeto "marching men, warriors" and rix "king". This name was borne by a 1st-century BC chieftain of the Gaulish tribe the Arverni. He led the resistance against Julius Caesar's attempts to conquer Gaul, but he was eventually defeated, brought to Rome, and executed.

Old French form of the Norman name Walchelin, derived from Old Frankish walh or Old High German walah meaning "foreigner, Celt, Roman" (Proto-Germanic *walhaz).

Feminine form of Varinius.

Variant of Wannour or Wannore, an old Scottish form of Guenore (see Guinevere). Vanora’s Grave in Meigle, Scotland is a grass-covered mound in front of which two Pictish carved stones of Christian date are known to have once stood, though as a given name Vanora isn't found before the 19th century.

Feminine form of Ursus. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Variant of Pazanne. The name of an obscure French saint whose life and work are somewhat of a mystery. Nonetheless, she left her name in several place names throughout France.

From the English word for the flower part, derived from Greek πέταλον (petalon) meaning "leaf".

Means "strife" or "judgment" in Hebrew. In the Hebrew Bible, Midian was a son of Abraham and Keturah.

Latinized form of the Greek name Μεθόδιος (Methodios), derived from Greek μέθοδος (methodos) meaning "pursuit" or "method", ultimately from μετά (meta) meaning "with" and ὁδός (hodos) meaning "road, way, journey". Saint Methodius was a Greek missionary to the Slavs who developed the Cyrillic alphabet (with his brother Cyril) in order to translate the Bible into Slavic.

Derived from μένω (ménō) meaning “to stay” and θεός (theós) meaning "divine".

Probably a combination of Mel (from names such as Melanie or Melissa) with the suffix antha (from Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). John Dryden used this name in his play Marriage a la Mode (1672).

Variant of Marbely in Latin American countries.
In other cases, it may possibly be a derivation of Marvel.

Derived from the Old Norse elements magn "mighty, strong, power" and ulfr "wolf", making it a cognate of the Germanic name Maganulf. Magnulf was first used in 1901.

Derived from the Old English elements mære "famous" and wynn "joy, bliss". This was borne by a 10th-century Christian saint, also known as Merewenna, who was the founding abbess of Romsey Abbey in Hampshire, England.

Short form of Etheldreda.

Possibly a diminutive of Theodosia.

Meaning "smallness".

Meaning unknown. Saint Cyra was a 5th-century Syrian hermit who was martyred with her companion Marana.

Derived from Old English cyne "royal" and ric "ruler, king".

Derived from the Old English elements cuþ "known, familiar" and beorht "bright". Saint Cuthbert was a 6th-century hermit who became the bishop of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of England. He was known as performer of healing miracles. Because of the saint, this name remained in use in England even after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was (briefly) revived in the 19th century.

Corsican form of Corallina.

Cura or Aera Cura is the name of a Roman goddess who created the first human. In Latin. Hyginus seems to have created both the personification and story for his Fabulae, poem 220. The name itself is derived from Latin cura "care, concern, thought".

Latin name that was derived from crescere "to grow". This name is mentioned briefly in one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament.

Means "king of hounds" in Irish.

Latinized form of Koios.

Feminine form of Cloelius. In Roman legend Cloelia was a maiden who was given to an Etruscan invader as a hostage. She managed to escape by swimming across the Tiber, at the same time helping some of the other captives to safety.

From the Greek name Κλεις (Kleis), perhaps a derivative of Kleio. This was the name of Sappho's mother and daughter.

Combination of Cindy and Sandra.

Variant of Chrothild. Chrotilda was the daughter of Clovis I (a Frankish king) and wife of Amalaric, a 6th-century king of the Visigoths.

Possibly means "fierce brightness" in Greek. In Greek mythology Charon was the operator of the ferry that brought the newly dead over the River Acheron into Hades.

Means "rock" in Aramaic. The apostle Simon was called Cephas by Jesus because he was to be the rock upon which the Christian church was to be built. In most versions of the New Testament Cephas is translated into Greek Πέτρος (Petros) (in English Peter).

Derived from Old English cene "bold" and ric "ruler, king".

Recently created name intended to mean "what will be, will be". It is from the title of the 1956 song Que Sera, Sera, which was taken from the Italian phrase che sarà sarà. The phrase que sera, sera is not grammatically correct in any Romance language.

Latinized form of Κασσανδάνη (Kassandanē), the Hellenized form of an uncertain Old Persian name. Cassandane was an Achaemenian Persian noblewoman and the "dearly loved" wife of Cyrus the Great.

Latinized form of Greek Κάρμη (Karme), which was derived from κείρω (keiro) meaning "to shear". This was the name of a Cretan goddess of the harvest.

Derived from Latin cardo meaning "hinge, axis". This was the name of the Roman goddess of thresholds, door pivots, and change.

Derived from Galician candea "candle", this name is occasionally given in honor of Candlemas (Festum Candelorium in Latin, which translates to festa das candeas in Galician; compare Candelaria).

Latin form of the Welsh Cymru, the Welsh name for the country of Wales, derived from cymry meaning "the people". It is occasionally used as a given name in modern times.

From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".

Irish byname meaning "curly haired", from Irish cas "twisted, curly".

Means "sky" or "the heavens" in Latin (related to the word caelum). Caelus is the Roman god of the sky, the equivalent of the Greek god Uranus.

Roman family name that was derived from Latin caelum meaning "heaven".

From a poetic Latin epithet of the Greek god Atlas which meant "supporting the heavens", from caelum "heaven" and ferre "to bear, to carry, to bring". In Greek mythology Atlas was a Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.

According to William of Worcester, writing in the fifteenth century, Cadoc of Cornwall was a survivor of the Cornish royal line at the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and was appointed as the first Earl of Cornwall by William the Conqueror. The name itself is a cognate of Welsh Cadog.

From Old Norse brosa meaning "to smile".

Transferred use of the surname Bramble.

From the Late Latin name Bonifatius, which meant "good fate" from bonum "good" and fatum "fate, destiny". This was the name of nine popes and also several saints, including an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon missionary to Germany (originally named Winfrið) who is now regarded as the patron saint of that country. It came into use in England during the Middle Ages, but became rare after the Protestant Reformation.

Derived from Middle French bon "good (virtuous, having positive qualities)" and ami "friend". This name was also used as a secular form of Benjamin,

Derived from the Germanic element bili "gentleness" combined with hraban or hramn "raven."

Possibly an Irish form of Belenus, though it may derive from an Irish word meaning "sacred tree, scion, hero". In Irish mythology this was the name of one of the Milesians who was drowned while invading Ireland.

Anglicized form of Hebrew Betsalel, meaning "in the shadow." In the bible, this is the name of a son of Uri who was one of the architects of the tabernacle, and the name of an Israelite.

From the name of the minty medicinal herb.

Derived from Basque beti "always", this name is now generally understood as a Basque equivalent of Perpetua.

Diminutive of Avila.

Derived from Old Norse auðr "wealth, fortune" and vinr "friend".

Hellenized form of Old Persian *𐎢𐎫𐎢𐎰 (Utautha) meaning "well granting" [1]. It was notably borne by the eldest daughter of Cyrus the Great, who married Darius the Great in the 6th century BC.

Modern form of Æðelstan. This name was revived in Britain the latter half of the 19th century.

Medieval English form of Adela.

Feminine form of Athanasios (see Athanasius).

From the Gothic name *Aþanareiks, derived from the element aþn meaning "year" combined with reiks meaning "ruler, king". Athanaric was a 4th-century ruler of the Visigoths.

Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.

Feminine form of Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.

Latinized form of Areios. Arius (AD 250 or 256–336) was an ascetic Christian presbyter of Libyan birth, possibly of Berber extraction, and priest in Alexandria, Egypt, of the church of the Baucalis.

Derived from the Greek adjective ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "best" combined with Greek ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreign, strange" as well as "foreigner, guest".

Medieval English variant of Honora.

Old Welsh name, possibly from the Latin name Honorius [1]. This was the name of a 6th-century Brythonic poet, also known as Neirin or Aneurin [2], who is said to be the author of the poem Y Gododdin.

Possibly from a Visigothic name, maybe from Gothic elements such as alls "all" or aljis "other" combined with auds "riches, wealth". Saint Alodia was a 9th-century Spanish martyr with her sister Nunilo.

Medieval variant of Aldous.

Most likely a transferred use of the Québecois surname Alarie which is derived from the Visigothic personal name Alaric.

From the Gothic name *Alareiks meaning "ruler of all", derived from the element alls "all" combined with reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.

Feminine form of Aimar.

Means "stranger" or "gathered together" in Hebrew. In the Bible, he is a son of Jakeh and a contributor to Proverbs.

Variant form of Adrastia, which is one of the various latinized forms of Adrasteia. In Greek mythology, this was the name of a war figure and goddess of revenge and balance, who often battled in war. She was a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. This was also the name of a nymph who fed an infant Zeus goat's milk.

Means "Sarcastic, sardonic" in Latin.

From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".

From Latin abundus meaning "abundant, plentiful". This was the name of several early saints, including a 5th-century bishop of Como.

Feminine form of Abundantius. She was the Roman personification of abundance, prosperity and good fortune, portrayed as distributing grain and money from a cornucopia. (The mythological character has survived in French folklore as Lady Hobunde.) The name was also borne by an Italian saint martyred during the persecutions of emperor Diocletian.

Feminine form of Abel. Abelia is also a type of flowering shrub in the honeysuckle family, named after British surgeon and naturalist Clarke Abel (1780-1826).