Latin alteration of Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase vera icon meaning "true image". This was the name of a legendary saint who wiped Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Verity
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced:VEHR-i-tee
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.
Temperance
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced:TEHM-prəns, TEHM-pər-əns
From the English word meaning "moderation" or "restraint". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century. It experienced a modest revival in the United States during the run of the television series Bones (2005-2017), in which the main character bears this name.
Summer
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced:SUM-ər
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Combination of Rose and Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rosamund
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced:RO-zə-mənd, RAHZ-ə-mənd
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.
Rina 2
Gender:Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts:רִינָה(Hebrew)
Means "joy, singing" in Hebrew.
Raven
Gender:Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced:RAY-vən
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god Odin.
Ramona
Gender:Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced:ra-MO-na(Spanish)rə-MON-ə(English)
Feminine form of Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Opal
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced:O-pəl
From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Mercy
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced:MUR-see
From the English word mercy, ultimately from Latin merces "wages, reward", a derivative of merx "goods, wares". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.
Malcolm
Gender:Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced:MAL-kəm(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Máel Coluim, which means "disciple of SaintColumba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
From Chinese 理 (lǐ) meaning "reason, logic", 立 (lì) meaning "stand, establish", 黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn", 力 (lì) meaning "power, capability, influence" (which is usually only masculine) or 丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
Ji-Min
Gender:Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts:지민(Korean Hangul)志旼, 智敏, 志珉, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced:CHEE-MEEN
From Sino-Korean 志 (ji) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" or 智 (ji) meaning "wisdom, intellect" combined with 旼 (min) meaning "gentle, affable", 敏 (min) meaning "quick, clever, sharp" or 珉 (min) meaning "jade, stone resembling jade". Other hanja character combinations are possible.
Hadley
Gender:Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced:HAD-lee
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather field" in Old English.
Frida 1
Gender:Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Originally a short form of names containing the Old German element fridu meaning "peace" (Proto-Germanic *friþuz). A famous bearer was the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).
Flynn
Gender:Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced:FLIN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie Tangled in 2010.
Derived from Latin flos meaning "flower" (genitive case floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of Fionnghuala.
Desmond
Gender:Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced:DEHZ-mənd(English)
Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Desi
Gender:Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced:DEHZ-ee
Diminutive of Desmond, Desiree and other names beginning with a similar sound. In the case of musician and actor Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) it was a diminutive of Desiderio.
Daria
Gender:Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Romanian, English, Croatian, Russian, Late Roman
Feminine form of Darius. Saint Daria was a 3rd-century woman who was martyred with her husband Chrysanthus under the Roman emperor Numerian. It has never been a particularly common English given name. As a Russian name, it is more commonly transcribed Darya.
Dahlia
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced:DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Constance
Gender:Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced:KAHN-stəns(English)KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Medieval form of Constantia. The Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Ceres
Gender:Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced:KEH-rehs(Latin)SIR-eez(English)
Derived from the Indo-European root *ker- meaning "grow, increase". In Roman mythology Ceres was the goddess of agriculture, equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.
Castor
Gender:Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts:Κάστωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced:KAS-tər(English)
From the Greek name Κάστωρ (Kastor), possibly related to κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" (pluperfect κέκαστο). Alternatively it could be derived from the Greek word κάστωρ (kastor) meaning "beaver", though the legends about Castor do not mention beavers, which were foreign animals to the Greeks. In Greek myth Castor was a son of Zeus and the twin brother of Pollux. The constellation Gemini, which represents the two brothers, contains a star by this name.
Modern Scandinavian form of Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Arianrhod
Gender:Feminine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Pronounced:ar-YAN-rawd(Welsh)
Probably means "silver wheel" from Welsh arian "silver" and rhod "wheel". According to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi[1], Arianrhod was the mother of the twins Dylan and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom she spontaneously birthed when she stepped over a magical wand. It is speculated that in earlier myths she may have been a goddess of the moon.
Archer
Gender:Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced:AHR-chər
From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.