Rosamind's Personal Name List

From an English surname of unknown meaning. It was introduced as a given name by American author Zane Grey (1872-1939). Zane was in fact his middle name — it had been his mother's maiden name.

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

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.

Short form of Beatrix.

Variant of Tracy.

From Akkadian tâmtu meaning "sea". In Babylonian myth Tiamat was the personification of the sea, appearing in the form of a huge dragon. By Apsu she gave birth to the first of the gods. Later, the god Marduk (her great-grandson) defeated her, cut her in half, and used the pieces of her body to make the earth and the sky.

From the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of god" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.

This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).

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

From the Greek name Σοφοκλῆς (Sophokles), which was derived from Greek σοφός (sophos) meaning "skilled, clever" and κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". Sophocles was a celebrated 5th-century BC dramatist from Athens.

French form of Seraphina.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant "fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.

This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.

Directly from the biblical word seraphim which meant "fiery ones", from Hebrew שרף (saraf) meaning "to burn", referring to an order of angels described in the Book of Isaiah (see Seraphina). A famous bearer of the name was Saint Seraphim of Sarov, a 19th-century Russian mystic, in whose case his name was an anglicization of his actual name Serafim.

French and Dutch form of Sasha.

Derived from the Old German elements hros "horse" and munt "protection". This name was borne by the wife of the Lombard king Alboin in the 6th century. The Normans introduced it to England. It was subsequently interpreted as coming from Latin rosa munda "pure rose" or rosa mundi "rose of the world". This was the name of the mistress of Henry II, the king of England in the 12th century. According to legends she was murdered by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Possibly derived from the Japanese rōnin (ろうにん), from the Middle Chinese lang (浪) "adrift" and nyin (人) "person", referring to a "masterless samurai".

From the Old German elements hruod meaning "fame" and lant meaning "land", though some theories hold that the second element was originally nand meaning "brave" [1].

Roland was an 8th-century military commander, serving under Charlemagne, who was killed by the Basques at the Battle of Roncevaux. His name was recorded in Latin as Hruodlandus. His tale was greatly embellished in the 11th-century French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which he is a nephew of Charlemagne killed after being ambushed by the Saracens. The Normans introduced the name to England.

Derived from Greek παρθένος (parthenos) meaning "maiden, virgin". This was the name of one of the mares of Marmax in Greek mythology.

Anglicized form of Owain.

From the name of a type of palm tree found in New Zealand (species Rhopalostylis sapida).

From the Hebrew name ןְתַןְאֵל (Neṯanʾel) meaning "God has given", from the roots נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". It is borne by several minor characters in the Old Testament, typically spelled Nethanel or Nethaneel. In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle, probably another name of the apostle called Bartholomew.

From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" or 海 (mi) meaning "sea, ocean" combined with 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid", 沙 (sa) meaning "sand" or 咲 (sa) meaning "blossom" and 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.

Form of Mary used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.

From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).

Short form of María Soledad. It is sometimes considered a combination of María and Sol 1, or from Spanish mar y sol "sea and sun".

From a Welsh surname that was derived from llwyd meaning "grey". The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-) is a famous bearer of this name.

This is the name of the son of King Noah in the Book of Mormon. Lim might mean "people, nation" and hi might mean "alive, live" in Hebrew. So the name might mean: "the people live", that is, "the people are preserved alive".

Either a diminutive of French names containing the sound lee or a combination of Lili and Louise.

Anglicized form of Llywelyn influenced by Latin leo "lion".

Feminine form of Leander.

Latinized form of the Greek name Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.

From the English word jubilee meaning "season of rejoicing", which is derived from Hebrew יוֹבֵל (yovel) "ram, ram's horn; a jubilee year: a year of rest, prescribed by the Jewish Bible to occur each fiftieth year, after seven cycles of seven years; a period of celebration or rejoicing" (via Late Latin iubilaeus and Greek ἰώβηλος (iobelos)). In Latin, the form of the word was altered by association with the unrelated Latin verb iubilare "to shout with joy".

It may also refer to African-American folk songs known as Jubilees.

In popular culture, Jubilee is the 'mutant' name (a contraction of Jubilation Lee) of one of the protagonists of Marvel's X-Men line of comics.

From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.

Originally a short form of names containing the Old Frankish element hildi, Old High German hilt, Old English hild meaning "battle" (Proto-Germanic *hildiz). The short form was used for both Old English and continental Germanic names. Saint Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby was a 7th-century English saint and abbess. The name became rare in England during the later Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century.

Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.

Possibly from Old Irish én meaning "bird". This was the name of several Irish kings and heroes. It was also borne by a 6th-century saint who built the monastery of Killeany on Aran.

French form of Eloise.

From a surname that was a variant of Elliott.

Latinized form of Greek Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning "amber". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and the sister of Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

Taken from the word “elected” meaning "chosen".

It relates to the passage in the New Testament in “John 2”, which is in the form of a letter addressed to “The Elect Lady and Her Children” (meaning the Christian church, but from early on was believed to be a real woman called Electa).

The name Electa was first used in the United States and dates back to the 1800s. It has a particular resonance in Freemasonry.

Anglicized form of Eibhlín. It is also sometimes considered an Irish form of Helen. It first became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland near the end of the 19th century.

French form of Hedwig.

Latin form of Greek Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning "young" or "humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".

The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.

French form of Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel Corinne (1807).

Variant of Clement.

Elaboration of Cherie, perhaps influenced by Beryl. This name was very rare before the 20th century. It seems to have been popularized in America by the actress Cheryl Walker (1918-1971), who had a prominent role in the 1943 movie Stage Door Canteen. After peaking in the 1950s the name has subsequently faded from the popularity charts.

Simply means "cherry" from the name of the fruit. It can also be a diminutive of Charity. It has been in use since the late 19th century.

French feminine form of Caelinus. This name can also function as a short form of Marceline.

French form of Cedric.

French form of Cecilia.

From the Greek name Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.

Short form of Caroline. It was formerly a masculine name, derived from Carolus. The name can also be given in reference to the English vocabulary word, which means "song" or "hymn".

Most likely a variant of Callum.

Latinized form of Greek Κάδμος (Kadmos), of uncertain meaning. In Greek mythology Cadmus was the son of the Phoenician king Agenor. He was sent by his father to rescue his sister Europa, who had been abducted by Zeus, although he did not succeed in retrieving her. According to legend, Cadmus founded the city of Thebes and introduced the alphabet to Greece.

From Greek Ἀττική (Attike), derived from the name of the city of Ἀθήναι (see Athens). This is the name of the peninsula where Athens is located.

From a German and French surname derived from Occitan astur meaning "hawk". The wealthy and influential Astor family, prominent in British and American society, originated in the Italian Alps.

French form of Apollonia.