evgen's Personal Name List

Diminutive of Susan, used in Frank Capra's film 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946).

Meaning uncertain, possibly of Arabic origin. According to medieval tradition, notably related by the 15th-century Persian poet Jami, this was the name of the biblical Potiphar's wife. She has been a frequent subject of poems and tales.

Meaning unknown. It has been in use since the 19th century. It is possibly related to the name of the African tribe that lives largely in South Africa, the Zulus. In the 19th century the Zulus were a powerful nation under their leader Shaka.

Feminine form of Zosimos (see Zosimus).

The name given to the goddess (sometimes two or three) of the dawn or the morning and evening stars. The most common depiction was that of a warrior woman. Also compare the related names Zarya, Zvezda and Danica.

Zorya began to be used as a first name during the Soviet era, because a lot of Communist parents were eager to reject traditional names.

Variant of Zora.

Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.

Derived from South Slavic zlato meaning "gold", a derivative of Old Slavic zolto.

Feminine form of Zlatan.

From the Old Slavic word živŭ meaning "alive, living". According to the 12th-century Saxon priest Helmold, this was the name of a Slavic goddess possibly associated with life or fertility.

From the Hebrew name צִפּוֹרָה (Tsippora), derived from צִפּוֹר (tsippor) meaning "bird" [1]. In the Old Testament this is the name of the Midianite wife of Moses. She was the daughter of the priest Jethro.

From the name of a citadel that was in the center of Jerusalem. Zion is also used to refer to a Jewish homeland and to heaven.

From Kazakh жұма (zhuma) or Kyrgyz жума (zhuma) meaning "Friday" (both of Arabic origin) and Kazakh and Kyrgyz гүл (gul) meaning "flower". It is only used as a feminine name in Kazakhstan while it is unisex in Kyrgyzstan.

Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of Jeanne.

Alternate transcription of Persian زینب (see Zeinab) or Azerbaijani Zeynəb.

The name of a Greek god, related to the old Indo-European god *Dyēws, from the root *dyew- meaning "sky" or "shine". In Greek mythology he was the highest of the gods. After he and his siblings defeated the Titans, Zeus ruled over the earth and humankind from atop Mount Olympus. He had control over the weather and his weapon was a thunderbolt.

This theonym has cognates in other Indo-European languages including Latin Jupiter, Sanskrit Dyaus, and Old Norse Tyr.

Means "life of Zeus", derived from Greek Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of Zeus" and βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.

Most likely a variant of Zarina.

Diminutive of Rozalija.

Macedonian, Croatian and Serbian form of Jacqueline.

Russian form of Zacharias.

From Arabic زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning "shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima.

See also the related name Zahra 2.

Bulgarian and Macedonian feminine form of Zechariah.

A form of Zachariah.

Russian form of Iustina (see Justina).

Bulgarian form of Jordan.

Russian form of Katherine. This name was adopted by the German princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1744 shortly before she married the future Russian emperor Peter III. She later overthrew her husband and ruled as empress, known as Catherine the Great in English.

From Chinese 雅 (yǎ) meaning "elegant, graceful, refined" combined with 婷 (tíng) meaning "pretty, graceful". Other character combinations are possible.

Variant of Yasmin.

From Persian یار (yār) meaning "friend, helper".

Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian form of Jana 1.

Derived from Greek ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek mythology.

From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.

Polish form of Viola.

From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.

In the case of the character from J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan (1904), it was created from the nickname fwendy "friend", given to the author by a young friend. However, the name was used prior to the play (rarely), in which case it could be related to the Welsh name Gwendolen and other names beginning with the element gwen meaning "white, blessed". The name only became common after Barrie's play ran.

Contraction of Vladimir Lenin, the name of the founder of the former Soviet state (see Vladimir and Lenin).

Feminine form of Vladimir.

Russian form and Modern Greek transcription of Bessarion.

From the Roman family name Vergilius, which is of unknown meaning. This name was borne by the 1st-century BC Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro, commonly called Virgil, who was the writer of the Aeneid. Due to him, Virgil has been in use as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.

Italian, Russian and Hungarian form of Violet.

From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.

From the Roman name Vincentius, which was derived from Latin vincere meaning "to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many saints. As an English name, Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).

French feminine form of Victorinus.

French form of Veronica.

From the English word meaning "verity, truth", from Latin verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.

Possibly related to Latin verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name Berenice. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.

Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.

From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name Gwynedd [1]. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel Venetia (1837).

Medieval Spanish form of Vasco.

Russian form of Basil 1.

Russian feminine form of Basil 1.

Alternate transcription of Russian Варфоломей (see Varfolomey).

From the Roman cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen Valens meaning "strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.

As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

Feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.

Means "little bear", derived from a diminutive form of the Latin word ursa "she-bear". Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.

Means "wishes" in Vietnamese.

Probably derived from Old Irish úan meaning "lamb". This was a common name in medieval Ireland.

Scandinavian diminutive of Ulrika or Hulda 1, or a German diminutive of Ursula.

Diminutive of Letitia. This is now a slang word for the female breast, and the name has subsequently dropped out of common use.

Slovene and Russian form of Titus.

From the English word for a semicircle crown, ultimately of Greek origin.

From the ancient Greek name Θεόκλεια (Theokleia), which meant "glory of God" from the Greek elements θεός (theos) meaning "god" and κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". This was the name of a 1st-century saint, appearing (as Θέκλα) in the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. The story tells how Thecla listens to Paul speak about the virtues of chastity and decides to remain a virgin, angering both her mother and her suitor.

Means "valuable, precious, priceless" in Arabic.

From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).

Form of Thekla in several languages.

Feminine form of the Roman name Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.

Russian form of Tamar. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It rapidly grew in popularity in the United States starting in 1957. Another famous bearer was the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).

Variant of Cynthia.

Variant of Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.

French diminutive of Susanna.

Feminine form of Suyun.

From Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshanna). This was derived from the Hebrew word שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian sšn "lotus". In the Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a woman who ministers to Jesus.

As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.

Yiddish form of Sarah.

Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.

Southern Indian form of Sunita.

Feminine form of Sultan.

Turkish feminine form of Suhail.

From Middle English storie, storye, from Anglo-Norman estorie, from Late Latin storia meaning "history."

Variant of Sovann.

Feminine form of Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of Olindo.

From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements sól "sun" and veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt (1876).

Means "solitude" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, María de la Soledad, meaning "Mary of Solitude".

Derived from Bulgarian сияние (siyanie) meaning "glow, shine, light".

Means "star" in Urdu, ultimately from Persian.

Derived from Gothic sinths "way, path" combined with badu "battle."

Mostly known from the tale "Sindbad the sailor" (The Book of One Thousand and One Nights). In this case, the name derives from the Persian name Sindbād ("Lord of the Sindh River").

French feminine form of Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.

Means "face, visage" in Persian.

Feminine form of Sidonius. This is the name of a legendary saint from Georgia. She and her father Abiathar were supposedly converted by Saint Nino from Judaism to Christianity.

Anglicization of Siani.

Possibly means "noble lineage" from Persian چهر (chehr) meaning "lineage, origin" and آزاد (āzād) meaning "free, noble" [1]. Alternatively, it might mean "child of the city" from شهر (shahr) meaning "city, land" combined with the suffix زاد (zād) meaning "child of". This is the name of the fictional storyteller in The 1001 Nights. She tells a story to her husband the king every night for 1001 nights in order to delay her execution.

From a Norman surname that originally belonged to a person coming from the French town of Saint Maur (which means "Saint Maurus").

Means "grow" in Turkish.

Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Seraphina.

From the name of huge trees that grow in California. The tree got its name from the 19th-century Cherokee scholar Sequoyah (also known as George Guess), the inventor of the Cherokee writing system.

From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.

From a Roman cognomen derived from Latin senectus meaning "old". This was the name of both a Roman orator (born in Spain) and also of his son, a philosopher and statesman.

This name also coincides with that of the Seneca, a Native American tribe that lived near the Great Lakes, whose name meant "place of stones".

Means "of the sun" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a hymn in the Rigveda dedicated to Savitr, a sun god. This is also the name of Savitr's daughter, a wife of Brahma, considered an aspect of Saraswati. In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata it is borne by King Satyavan's wife, who successfully pleas with Yama, the god of death, to restore her husband to life.

Feminine form of Saturninus. This was the name of a legendary saint who was supposedly martyred in northern France.

Possibly from Greek σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning "sapphire" or "lapis lazuli". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Greek poetess from Lesbos.

Means "sapphire" in Hebrew.

Judeo-Anglo-Norman feminine form of Samuel and Faroese form of Samuline.

From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning "name of God", from the roots שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor David.

As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Feminine form of Samir 1.

Polish form of Salome.

From an Aramaic name that was related to the Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". According to the historian Josephus this was the name of the daughter of Herodias (the consort of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee). In the New Testament, though a specific name is not given, it was a daughter of Herodias who danced for Herod and was rewarded with the head of John the Baptist, and thus Salome and the dancer have traditionally been equated.

As a Christian given name, Salome has been in occasional use since the Protestant Reformation. This was due to a second person of this name in the New Testament: one of the women who witnessed the crucifixion and later discovered that Jesus' tomb was empty. It is used in Georgia due to the 4th-century Salome of Ujarma, who is considered a saint in the Georgian Church.

Diminutive of Sarah, often used independently.

Alternate transcription of Arabic سالم (see Salim).

Transferred use of the surname Sailor or directly from the English vocabulary word sailor, denoting one who works on a ship.

Portuguese form of Sapphira. It coincides with the Portuguese word for "sapphire".

From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.

Means "winner" in Tigrinya.

Means "hollyhock" in Bulgarian (referring to flowering plants from the genera Alcea and Althaea). This is also an alternate transcription of Macedonian Ружа (see Ruža).

Romanian form of Roxana.

Feminine form of Ruslan.

Feminine form of Rumen.

Means "ruddy, rosy" in Bulgarian and Macedonian.

Catalan form of Reuben.

Aragonese form of Roxelana.

From a Turkish nickname meaning "Ruthenian". This referred to the region of Ruthenia, covering Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. Roxelana (1504-1558), also called Hürrem, was a slave and then concubine of Süleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She eventually became his wife and produced his heir, Selim II.

From Persian روشن (rōshan) meaning "light" and آرا (ārā) meaning "decorate, adorn". This was the name of the second daughter of the 17th-century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.

Means "golden rose", derived from Latin rosa "rose" and aurea "golden". This name was (first?) used by Pedro Calderón de la Barca for a character in his play Life Is a Dream (1635).

Variant of Rosamund, in use since the Middle Ages.

Generally this can be considered to be from Latin rosa meaning "rose", though originally it may have come from the unrelated Germanic name Roza 2. This was the name of a 13th-century saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).

From Roma, the Latin name of the city of Rome, combined with a diminutive suffix. In Roman legend Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of Rhea Silvia and the god Mars. Romulus killed his brother when they argued about where to found Rome. According to the tale he gave the city its name, though in reality it was likely the other way around.

Means "dew" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary María del Rocío meaning "Mary of the Dew".

From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".

From a Germanic name that was composed of the elements regin "advice, counsel, decision" and brant "fire, torch, sword". This name belonged to the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).

Variant transcription of Rayhana.

Alternate transcription of Arabic راوية (see Rawiya).

Feminine form of Rasim.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Rachel.

From the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning "God heals", from the roots רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named Azarias and accompanies Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in John 5:4.

This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.

Alternate transcription of Arabic رملة (see Ramla).

Scandinavian form of Rachel.

Probably a Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of Herais.

Means "merciful" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الرحمٰن (al-Raḥmān) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Form of Raphael in various languages. A famous bearer is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (1986-).

Derived from the Slavic element radŭ meaning "happy, willing", originally a short form of names beginning with that element.

From the Greek name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek πολεμήϊος (polemeios) meaning "aggressive, warlike". Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a 2nd-century Greek astronomer.

Derived from Vulgar Latin prīmavēra "spring". The descendant word primavera is used in Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Italian, Portuguese (and Old Portuguese), Sicilian, and Spanish.

Russian form of Paraskeve.

Latinized form of Greek Πολυξένη (Polyxene), which was from the word πολύξενος (polyxenos) meaning "entertaining many guests, very hospitable", itself derived from πολύς (polys) meaning "many" and ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". In Greek legend she was a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, beloved by Achilles. After the Trojan War, Achilles' son Neoptolemus sacrificed her.

From the Greek name Πολύκαρπος (Polykarpos) meaning "fruitful, rich in fruit", ultimately from Greek πολύς (polys) meaning "much" and καρπός (karpos) meaning "fruit". Saint Polycarp was a 2nd-century bishop of Smyrna who was martyred by being burned at the stake and then stabbed.

Combination of Polly and Anna. This was the name of the main character in Eleanor H. Porter's novel Pollyanna (1913).

Hungarian form of Prisca, influenced by the Hungarian word piros meaning "red".

From Greek Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning "to be loved", an inflection of φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word φιλουμένη, not a name.

Latinate feminine form of Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.

Feminine form of Petronius.

Meaning unknown, probably of Pre-Greek origin, but perhaps related to Greek πέρθω (pertho) meaning "to destroy" and φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She was abducted to the underworld by Hades, but was eventually allowed to return to the surface for part of the year. The result of her comings and goings is the changing of the seasons. With her mother she was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at the city of Eleusis near Athens.

From the English word for the type of flower. It was originally believed to have healing qualities, so it was named after the Greek medical god Pæon.

Means "peace" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de la Paz, meaning "Our Lady of Peace".

Means "maiden's voice", derived from Greek παρθένος (parthenos) meaning "maiden, virgin" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek legend this is the name of one of the Sirens who enticed Odysseus.

Means "like a fairy" in Persian, derived from پری (parī) meaning "fairy, sprite, supernatural being".

From the Greek Πάνθεια (Pantheia) meaning "all goddess", derived from πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" combined with θεά (thea) meaning "goddess" (compare Pasithea and the Greek adjective πάνθειος (pantheios) meaning "of all gods" or "common to all gods"). According to the 4th-century BC Greek historian Xenophon, Pantheia was the wife of the possibly legendary king Abradatas of Susa, in Iran. After her husband died heroically in battle, she committed suicide by his grave.

In ancient Rome, Diva Drusilla Panthea was the name under which the emperor Caligula deified his favourite sister, Julia Drusilla (16-38), after her death at age 21. This name was also borne by a mistress of Roman co-emperor Lucius Verus (130-169).

In theatre, it was used by Beaumont and Fletcher for a princess in their play A King and No King (1619) and by Percy Bysshe Shelley for an Oceanid in his play Prometheus Unbound (1820). Oscar Wilde also wrote a poem entitled Panthea (1881). Panthea Vyne was the titular lady in the television film The Lady and the Highwayman (1989), based on Barbara Cartland's historical novel Cupid Rides Pillion (1952).

Variant transcription of Panteley.

Means "all gifts", derived from a combination of Greek πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". In Greek mythology Pandora was the first mortal woman. Zeus gave her a jar containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind now knows, and told her not to open it. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it, unleashing the evil spirits into the world.

Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.

Feminine form of Palmiro.

Spanish, Catalan, Italian and Croatian word for "palm". This name typically referred to Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, and was historically given to girls born on this day.

Russian form of Paphnutius.

Ukrainian form of Eustathius.

Greek form of the Egyptian wsjr (reconstructed as Asar, Usir and other forms), which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to wsr "mighty" or jrt "eye". In Egyptian mythology Osiris was the god of fertility, agriculture, and the dead and served as the judge of the underworld. In one tale he was slain by his brother Seth, but restored to life by his wife Isis in order to conceive their son Horus, who would go on to avenge his father.

Russian form of Joseph.

Anglicized form of Órlaith.

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.

Anglicized form of Úna, as well as a Finnish form.

Feminine form of Onofrio.

French form of Undine.

From the name of the tenth month. It is derived from Latin octo meaning "eight", because it was originally the eighth month of the Roman year.

Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.

Means "light of Allah", from Arabic نور (nūr) meaning "light" combined with الله (Allah).

Means "light" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition النور (al-Nūr) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Means "blessing" in Arabic.

Alternate transcription of Russian/Bulgarian Николай (see Nikolay).

Derived from South Slavic neven meaning "marigold".

From Greek νέφος (nephos) meaning "cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.

Means "found", derived from Bulgarian найда (nayda) meaning "to find".

Means "hope" in Russian and Bulgarian.

Means "hope" in South Slavic.

Means "wish, desire" in Arabic, related to the root منا (manā) meaning "to tempt, to put to the test".

Means "bright, shining" in Arabic, related to the root نوّر (nawwara) meaning "to illuminate, to light".

From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).

Means "servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor Haman.

From Old Slavic morŭ meaning "death, plague" [1]. In Slavic mythology this was the name of a goddess associated with winter and death.

From an English surname meaning "Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.

Means "memory" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was one of the original three muses, the muse of memory.

Derived from the Slavic elements mirŭ "peace, world" and slava "glory". This was the name of a 10th-century king of Croatia who was deposed by one of his nobles after ruling for four years.

Alternate transcription of Macedonian Мирче (see Mirče).

Short form of Miroslava and other names beginning with Mir (often the Slavic element mirŭ meaning "peace, world").

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.

Welsh name of the archangel Michael, formed from a contraction of Michael and angel.

Polish feminine form of Michael.

Modern Greek transcription of Michael. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian Михаил (see Mikhail).

Means "son of the wise man" in Ge'ez and Amharic. According to the legend Menelik was the first emperor of Ethiopia. In the 10th century BC, he is said to have inaugurated the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia, so named because Menelik I is supposed to be the son of the biblical King Solomon of ancient Israel and Makeda, the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba.

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).

Russian form of Methodius.

Kazakh and Bosnian form of Madina.

Czech form of Mieczysław.

Russian variant of Matrona 1.

Means "lady" in Late Latin, a derivative of Latin mater "mother". This was the name of three early saints.

Polish form of Morana.

Arabic form of Miryam (see Mary) appearing in the Quran. It is also the form used in several other languages. In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.

Russian variant form of Maria.

From the Arabic name of a fragrant plant. Al-Marwa is the name of one of the two sacred hills near Mecca.

French, Dutch and Norwegian form of Martina.

Blend of Marx and Lenin. This name was created by communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.

French, Armenian and Georgian form of Marina.

Feminine form of Marinus. This name was borne by a few early saints. This is also the name by which Saint Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Form of Maria used in the Greek Old Testament. In the Greek New Testament both this spelling and Μαρία (Maria) are used. It is also the Georgian, Armenian and Malay form, as well as an alternate transcription of Arabic مريم (see Maryam).

Means "Mary of Mount Carmel" in Spanish, a devotional title of the Virgin Mary (see Carmen).

Latin form of Greek Μαρία, from Hebrew מִרְיָם (see Mary). Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy, Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.

This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.

Traditional Russian form of Martha.

Means "wish, desire" in Arabic.

From the English word for the tree (comprising the genus Acer), derived from Old English mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.

Polish form of Malvina.

Derived from Pashto مرغلره (marghalara) meaning "pearl".

Derived from Georgian მაყვალი (maqvali) meaning "blackberry".

French form of Maia 1.

From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.

Old Church Slavic form of Magdalene, as well as a Bulgarian variant form.

Later Welsh form of Maponos [1][2][3]. In the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen he is a prisoner freed by Arthur's warriors in order to help hunt the great boar Trwyth. His mother is Modron.

Derived from the Slavic element ľuby meaning "love".

Elaborated form of Lyric.

The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).

Form of Lunete used in the Welsh tale Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain (which was based on Chrétien's poem).

Diminutive of Luigia.

Means "my light" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and אוֹר (ʾor) "light".

Greek form of Linus.

Form of Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century [1].

From the English word for the shrub with purple or white flowers (genus Syringa). It is derived via Arabic from Persian.

Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.

Italian, Portuguese, Georgian and Greek form of Leah.

Derived from Slovak lev "lion" and the Slavic name element slava "glory".

Means "lion" in Russian, functioning as a vernacular form of Leo. This was the real Russian name of both author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).

French feminine form of Leopold.

Derived from the Old German elements liut "people" and bald "bold, brave". The spelling was altered due to association with Latin leo "lion". This name was common among German royalty, first with the Babenbergs and then the Habsburgs. Saint Leopold was a 12th-century Babenberg margrave of Austria, who is now considered the patron of that country. It was also borne by two Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, as well as three kings of Belgium. Since the 19th century this name has been occasionally used in England, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's uncle, a king of Belgium, after whom she named one of her sons. It was later used by James Joyce for the main character, Leopold Bloom, in his novel Ulysses (1922).

French form of Leontina.

Russian and Ukrainian form of Leonidas.

Feminine form of Leon.

Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is Лев in Russian.

Meaning uncertain, possibly from the name of a type of plant.

Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".

Alternate transcription of Lina 3.

Meaning unknown. In Greek myth she was a Spartan queen and the mother of Castor, Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra by the god Zeus, who came upon her in the form of a swan.

French form of Laurentinus.

French form of Laura.

From the English word for the type of songbird.

Russian short form of Larisa. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by a character from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1965). Between 1965 and 1969 it increased by almost 2,000 percent in the United States, however it is currently much more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. Another famous fictional bearer is Lara Croft, first appearing in video games in 1996 and movies in 2001.

Greek form of Cynthia.

Polish form of Kunigunde. The 13th-century Saint Kunegunda was the daughter of Bela IV, king of Hungary. She married Boleslaus V of Poland, but after his death refused to assume power and instead became a nun.

Derived from the Slavic elements krasa "beauty, adornment" and mirŭ "peace, world".

Bulgarian form of Cornelia.

Ewe form of Kwaku.

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.

Short form of Kliment.

Means "fate" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic.

Means "skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).

Means "onager, wild donkey" in Mongolian. This was the name of a wife of Genghis Khan.

Croatian, Slovene and Russian form of Casimir.

Belarusian form of Katherine.

Russian form of Karpos (see Carpus).

Means "beautiful army" from the Greek elements κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty" and στρατός (stratos) meaning "army".

Simply from the English word joy, ultimately derived from Norman French joie, Latin gaudium. It has been regularly used as a given name since the late 19th century.

From the name of the river that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is יַרְדֵן (Yarḏen), and it is derived from יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning "descend, flow down". In the New Testament John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Latin name Jordanes, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.

This name died out after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. In America and other countries it became fairly popular in the second half of the 20th century. A famous bearer of the surname is former basketball star Michael Jordan (1963-).

From the Hebrew name יִרְםְיָהוּ (Yirmeyahu) meaning "Yahweh will exalt", from the roots רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Polish form of Hedwig. This was the name of a 14th-century ruling queen of Poland who has recently been canonized as a saint.

Dutch feminine form of Iacomus (see James).

Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.

In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Means "blossoming, prospering" in Arabic, a derivative of زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine, to bloom".

Meaning unknown. This name was borne by Saint Ia of Persia, a 4th-century martyr who is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Hungarian Latinization of Ivett and Slovak variant of Iveta.

Scandinavian form of Ivor.

Modern Greek form of Ismene.

Possibly from Greek ἰσμή (isme) meaning "knowledge". This was the name of the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta in Greek legend.

Greek form of Egyptian ꜣst (reconstructed as Iset, Aset or Ueset), possibly from st meaning "throne". In Egyptian mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.

Feminine form of Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian saint and hermitess.

German and Russian form of Isidore.

From the Semitic root ʿṯtr, which possibly relates to the Evening Star. Ishtar was an Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian goddess who presided over love, war and fertility. She was cognate with the Canaanite and Phoenician Ashtoreth, and she was also identified with the Sumerian goddess Inanna. Her name in Akkadian cuneiform 𒀭𒈹 was the same as the Sumerian cuneiform for Inanna.

Reconstructed Egyptian form of Isis.

French form of Isaura.

German short form of names beginning with the Old German element irmin meaning "whole, great" (Proto-Germanic *ermunaz). It is thus related to Emma. It began to be regularly used in the English-speaking world in the 19th century.

Alternate transcription of Russian Ириней (see Iriney).

Form of Irene in several languages.

Variant of Iracema.

A known bearer of this name was the Brazilian actress Irasema Dilián (1924-1996), who was of Polish descent.

Italian form of Hippolyte 1.

Derived from Greek ἴφιος (iphios) meaning "strong, stout" and γενής (genes) meaning "born". In Greek myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King Agamemnon. When her father offended Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.

In Christian tradition this was also the name of a legendary early saint, the daughter of an Ethiopian king Egippus.

Alternate transcription of Russian Ипатий (see Ipatiy).

Meaning unknown. In Greek mythology Io was a princess loved by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.

Alternate transcription of Russian Иннокентий (see Innokentiy).

Catalan cognate of Inmaculada.

Arabic form of Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.

Means "violet flower", derived from Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek mythology.

Latinized form of the Greek name Ὑάκινθος (Hyakinthos), which was derived from the name of the hyacinth flower. In Greek legend Hyakinthos was accidentally killed by the god Apollo, who mournfully caused this flower to arise from his blood. The name was also borne by several early saints, notably a 3rd-century martyr who was killed with his brother Protus.

From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Holden Caulfield.

Latinized form of Hippolyte 1. In Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) she is the queen of the Amazons, due to marry Theseus the Duke of Athens.

Latin form of Jerome, formerly common in Germany and the Netherlands. Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) was a Dutch painter known for his depictions of the torments of hell.

Means "the people of Hermes" from the name of the messenger god Hermes combined with Greek λαός (laos) meaning "people".

From a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, meaning "Our Lady of Guadalupe". Guadalupe is a Spanish place name, the site of a famous convent, derived from Arabic وادي (wādī) meaning "valley, river" possibly combined with Latin lupus meaning "wolf". In the 16th century Our Lady of Guadalupe supposedly appeared in a vision to a native Mexican man, and she is now regarded as a patron saint of the Americas.

Means "to dawn" in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.

Diminutive of Grigoriy.

Alternate transcription of Russian Григорий (see Grigoriy), as well as the usual transcription of the medieval Slavic form.

Armenian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Gregory. This is the name of the patron saint of Armenia (known as Saint Gregory the Illuminator in English).

Latinized form of the Old English name Godgifu meaning "gift of god", from the elements god and giefu "gift". Lady Godiva was an 11th-century English noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest the high taxes imposed by her husband upon the townspeople.

Dutch (Flemish) form of Godeliva.

French variant of Giselle.

From the Hebrew name גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning "feller, hewer", derived from גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew" [1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.

From a biblical place name, the garden where Jesus was arrested, located on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. It is derived from Γεθσημανί (Gethsemani), the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "oil vat". It is very rarely used as a given name.

Means "birth, origin" in Greek. This is the name of the first book of the Old Testament in the Bible. It tells of the creation of the world, the expulsion of Adam and Eve, Noah and the great flood, and the three patriarchs.

Latinized form of Greek Γαλάτεια (Galateia), probably derived from γάλα (gala) meaning "milk". This was the name of several characters in Greek mythology including a sea nymph who was the daughter of Doris and Nereus and the lover of Acis. According to some sources, this was also the name of the ivory statue carved by Pygmalion that came to life.

Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.

From Fuchsia, a genus of flowering plants, itself named after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566), whose surname means "fox" in German.

It was most famously used by British author Mervyn Peake for the character Fuchsia Groan in his Gormenghast books (1946-1959).

Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century [1]. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.

Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.

Alternate transcription of Persian فریدون (see Fereydoun).

Russian form of Therapon.

Russian form of Theophanes.

Feminine form of Felinus.

Means "little raven" from Old Irish fiach "raven" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of an Irish saint of the 7th century, the founder of the monastery at Fore. He died of the yellow plague.

Derived from Arabic فطم (faṭama) meaning "to abstain, to wean" [1]. Fatima was a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the wife of Ali, the fourth caliph. She is regarded as the exemplary Muslim woman, especially among Shias.

Alternate transcription of Russian Евпраксия (see Yevpraksiya).

Modern Greek form of Eugenia. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian Евгения (see Yevgeniya) or Bulgarian Евгения (see Evgeniya).

Bulgarian feminine form of Evangelos.

Means "good news" from Greek εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.

Latinate form of Evangeline.

From a Greek word meaning "good conduct", derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and πρᾶξις (praxis) meaning "action, exercise".

Feminine form of Eugenius (see Eugene). It was borne by a semi-legendary 3rd-century saint who escaped persecution by disguising herself as a man. The name was occasionally found in England during the Middle Ages, but it was not regularly used until the 19th century.

Form of Eter with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.

Means "ether, air" in Georgian. This name features in the opera Abesalom and Eteri (1918), which was based on a medieval Georgian folktale.

Feminine form of Esmé.

Alternate transcription of Russian Ермолай (see Yermolay).