Senko's Personal Name List
Zuzen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: soo-SEHN
Means "just, fair" in Basque.
Zuriñe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Derived from Basque
zuri "white". This is a Basque equivalent of
Blanca.
Zuriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: צוּרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"my rock is God" in Hebrew, derived from
צוּר (tsur) meaning "rock" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by a chief of the Merarite Levites at the time of the Exodus.
Zuleika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: zoo-LAY-kə(English)
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.
Zorione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Zion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: צִיוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZIE-ən(English)
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.
Zeru
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: seh-ROO
Means "sky" in Basque.
Zerachiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Possibly means "command of God" in Hebrew. The Book of Enoch names him as one of the seven archangels. His name is sometimes rendered as Sarakiel.
Yngve
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: UYNG-veh(Swedish) UYNG-və(Norwegian)
Yngvar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Ylva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər(American English) WIN-tə(British English)
Personal remark: as a surname (cf Nolan)
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Winifred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: WIN-ə-frid(English)
From Latin
Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name
Gwenfrewi (maybe influenced by the Old English masculine name
Winfred).
Saint Winifred was a 7th-century Welsh martyr, probably legendary. According to the story, she was decapitated by a prince after she spurned his advances. Where her head fell there arose a healing spring, which has been a pilgrimage site since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has been historically more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
Wendell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHN-dəl
From a German and Dutch surname that was derived from the given name
Wendel. In America this name has been given in honour of the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894) and his son the Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935). The elder's middle name came from his mother's maiden name (which had been brought to America by a Dutch ancestor in the form
Wendel, with the extra
l added later).
Wenceslas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: WEHN-səs-laws(English) WEHN-səs-ləs(English)
English form of
Václav, via the Latinized form
Venceslaus.
Warwick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WAWR-ik
From a surname that was derived from the name of a town in England, itself from Old English wer "weir, dam" and wic "settlement".
Vladislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Владислав(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: vlə-dyi-SLAF(Russian) VLA-gyi-slaf(Czech) VLA-gyee-slow(Slovak)
From the Old Slavic name *
Voldislavŭ, derived from the elements
volděti "to rule" and
slava "glory". This name has been borne by kings, princes and dukes of Croatia, Serbia, Bohemia, Poland and Wallachia.
Viorel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Derived from viorea, the Romanian word for the alpine squill flower (species Scilla bifolia) or the sweet violet flower (species Viola odorata). It is derived from Latin viola "violet".
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
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.
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Means
"violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke
Orsino, she attempts to convince
Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Vienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: VYEHN(French)
From the French name for
Vienna, the capital city of Austria.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Means
"victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from North Africa.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
Veda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Telugu, Kannada
Other Scripts: వేద(Telugu) ವೇದ(Kannada)
Means "knowledge" in Sanskrit.
Varya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Варя(Russian)
Pronounced: VA-ryə
Vanni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: VAN-nee
Vanamo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Modern)
Pronounced: VAH-nah-mo
Means "twinflower" in Finnish.
Vahan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Վահան(Armenian)
Pronounced: vah-HAHN
Means "shield" in Armenian.
Usoa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: oo-SO-a
Means "dove" in Basque.
Urien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
From the Old Welsh name
Urbgen, possibly from the Celtic root *
orbo- "heir" and the suffix
gen "born of". This was the name of a 6th-century king of Rheged. Passing into Arthurian tales, he became the king of Gore, the husband of
Morgan le Fay, and the father of
Owain.
Urban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, German, Slovene, Slovak, Czech, Polish, Biblical
Pronounced: UYR-ban(Swedish) OOR-ban(Slovak, Czech, Polish) UR-bən(American English) U-bən(British English)
From the Latin name
Urbanus meaning
"city dweller". This name is mentioned briefly in one of
Paul's epistles in the
New Testament. It was subsequently borne by eight popes.
Ulrika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: uyl-REE-ka
Swedish feminine form of
Ulrich. This was the name of two queens of Sweden.
Tzeitel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: צייטל(Yiddish)
Yiddish
diminutive of
Sarah. This is the name of Tevye's oldest daughter in the musical
Fiddler on the Roof (1964), based on Sholem Aleichem's stories from the late 19th century.
Tyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, English, African American
Pronounced: TUY-rah(Swedish) TIE-rə(English)
From the Old Norse name
Þýri, a variant of the Norse names
Þórví or
Þórveig. Use of the name in the English-speaking world (especially among African Americans) may be in part from the Swedish name, though it is probably also viewed as a feminine form of
Tyrone or
Tyree. A famous bearer is the American model and actress Tyra Banks (1973-).
Trygve
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Pronounced: TRUYG-və
Derived from Old Norse tryggr meaning "trustworthy".
Trine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Torgeir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
From the Old Norse name
Þórgeirr, which meant
"Thor's spear" from the name of the Norse god
Þórr (see
Thor) combined with
geirr "spear".
Tora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Greek form of
Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the
Old Testament. It relates how
Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel
Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the
Protestant Reformation.
Titrit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Berber
Other Scripts: ⵜⵉⵜⵔⵉⵜ(Tifinagh)
Tirzah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: תִּרְצָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: TIR-zə(American English) TEEY-zə(British English)
From the Hebrew name
תִּרְצָה (Tirtsa) meaning
"favourable". Tirzah is the name of one of the daughters of
Zelophehad in the
Old Testament. It also occurs in the Old Testament as a place name, the early residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.
Thyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Danish
Thorvald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Thorsten
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Danish, German
Pronounced: TAWRS-tən(German)
Thora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Theia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θεία(Ancient Greek)
Possibly derived from Greek
θεά (thea) meaning
"goddess". In Greek
myth this was the name of a Titan goddess of light, glittering and glory. She was the wife of
Hyperion and the mother of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
Thea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: TEH-a(German) THEE-ə(English)
Tekla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Latvian, Georgian, Hungarian, Polish (Archaic)
Other Scripts: თეკლა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TEHK-law(Hungarian)
Form of
Thekla in several languages.
Tegan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: TEH-gan(Welsh) TEE-gən(English)
Means
"darling" in Welsh, derived from a
diminutive of Welsh
teg "beautiful, pretty". It was somewhat common in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada in the 1980s and 90s. It was borne by an Australian character on the television series
Doctor Who from 1981 to 1984.
Tea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovene, Finnish, Georgian
Other Scripts: თეა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TEH-ah(Finnish)
Tarana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Azerbaijani
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani
Təranə.
Tara 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, Nepali
Other Scripts: तारा(Sanskrit, Hindi, Nepali)
Means
"star" in Sanskrit. Tara is the name of a Hindu astral goddess, the wife of Brhaspati. She was abducted by
Chandra, the god of the moon, leading to a great war that was only ended when
Brahma intervened and released her. This name also appears in the epic the
Ramayana belonging to the wife of Vali and, after his death, his younger brother Sugriva. In Buddhist belief this is the name of a bodhisattva associated with salvation and protection.
Tāne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Maori, Polynesian Mythology
Means
"man" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian
mythology Tāne was the god of forests and light. He was the son of the sky god
Rangi and the earth goddess
Papa, who were locked in an embrace and finally separated by their son. He created the tui bird and, by some accounts, man.
Talya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Means
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
Taddeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Swaran
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Punjabi
Other Scripts: ਸਵਰਨ, ਸ੍ਵਰਨ(Gurmukhi)
Svenja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: SVEHN-ya
German feminine form of
Sven.
Svend
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SVEHN
Svana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Svajonė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "dream, wish" in Lithuanian.
Sunniva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
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.
Sunder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Tamil
Other Scripts: सुन्दर(Hindi) சுந்தர்(Tamil)
Sundara
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism
Other Scripts: सुन्दर(Sanskrit)
Derived from Sanskrit
सुन्दर (sundara) meaning
"beautiful". This is the name of several minor characters in Hindu texts, and is also another name of the Hindu god
Kama.
Sunčana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
Pronounced: SOON-cha-na
From Croatian sunčan meaning "sunny", a derivative of sunce meaning "sun".
Sukie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SOO-kee
Suhayl
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سهيل(Arabic)
Pronounced: soo-HIEL
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سهيل (see
Suhail).
Stina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: STEE-nah(Swedish, Norwegian)
Scandinavian short form of
Christina and other names ending in
stina.
Stian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Steren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "star" in Cornish.
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Stefan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Стефан(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: SHTEH-fan(German) STEH-fan(Swedish, Polish, Serbian) STEH-fahn(Dutch)
Form of
Stephen used in several languages. Famous bearers include the Serbian rulers Stefan Nemanja, Stefan Nemanjić, and Stefan Lazarević, who are all considered
saints in the Orthodox Church.
Steen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Sorne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Means
"conception" in Basque. It was coined by Sabino Arana in 1910 as an equivalent of the Spanish name
Concepción.
Sorina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: so-REE-na
Sorin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Possibly derived from Romanian soare meaning "sun".
Søren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SUUW-ən
Danish form of
Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.
Sonya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Соня(Russian)
Pronounced: SO-nyə(Russian) SON-yə(English) SAWN-yə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Sophia. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1869, English translation 1886).
Sonja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Соња(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZAWN-ya(German) SAWN-ya(Dutch) SON-yah(Finnish)
Form of
Sonya in various languages.
Sollemnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Snježana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Сњежана(Serbian)
Derived from the Serbo-Croatian word snežan meaning "snowy".
Sly
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SLIE
Short form of
Sylvester. The actor Sylvester Stallone (1946-) is a well-known bearer of this nickname.
Slade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SLAYD
From an English surname that was derived from Old English slæd meaning "valley".
Sjakie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: SHA-kee
Sjaak
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: SHAK
Sizwe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Xhosa
Means "nation" in Xhosa.
Siv
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: SEEV(Swedish)
From Old Norse
Sif, which meant
"bride, kinswoman". In Norse
mythology she was the wife of
Thor. After the trickster
Loki cut off her golden hair, an angry Thor forced him to create a replacement.
Sitara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: ستارہ(Urdu)
Means "star" in Urdu, ultimately from Persian.
Siri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: SEE-ree(Swedish, Norwegian)
Siran
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Սիրան(Armenian)
Pronounced: see-RAHN
Siniša
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Синиша(Serbian)
Derived from Serbo-Croatian sin meaning "son".
Sindri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Means
"sparkle" in Old Norse. In Norse
mythology this was the name of a dwarf, also named Eitri. With his brother
Brokkr he made several magical items for the gods, including
Odin's ring Draupnir and
Thor's hammer Mjölnir.
Sindre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Simcha
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שִׂמְחָה(Hebrew)
Means "happiness, joy" in Hebrew.
Silje
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Silja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: SEEL-yah(Finnish)
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Sikke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian
Pronounced: SIK-kə
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
sigu meaning
"victory".
Sigrún
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Norse Mythology, Icelandic
Derived from the Old Norse elements
sigr "victory" and
rún "secret lore, rune". This was the name of a valkyrie in Norse legend.
Sigrun
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, German
Sigrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Estonian, Finnish (Archaic)
Pronounced: SEE-grid(Swedish) SEEG-reed(Finnish)
From the Old Norse name
Sigríðr, which was derived from the elements
sigr "victory" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved".
Signy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Norwegian variant form of
Signý.
Sieglinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: zeek-LIN-də(German)
Derived from the Old German elements
sigu "victory" and
lind "soft, flexible, tender". Sieglinde was the mother of
Siegfried in the medieval German saga the
Nibelungenlied.
Shug
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scots [1]
Sholto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Probably an Anglicized form of Gaelic
sìoltaich meaning
"sower, propagator". It has occasionally been used in the Douglas family since the 17th century, after David Hume of Godscroft claimed it was the name of the 7th-century founder of the clan
[1].
Shinju
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 真珠(Japanese Kanji) しんじゅ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SHEEN-JOO
From Japanese
真珠 (shinju) meaning
"pearl".
Shihab
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شهاب(Arabic)
Pronounced: shee-HAB
Means "shooting star, meteor" in Arabic.
Sheridan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHR-i-dən
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin), which was derived from the given name Sirideán possibly meaning "searcher".
Shena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SHEE-nə
Shealtiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁאַלְתִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: shee-AL-tee-əl(English)
Means
"I have asked of God" in Hebrew, from the roots
שָׁאַל (shaʾal) meaning "to ask" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". According to the
Old Testament this was the name of the father of Zerubbabel. It was also borne by a son of King
Jeconiah of Judah (he is called
Salathiel in some translations).
Shazi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شذيّ(Arabic)
Pronounced: SHA-dheey
Means "fragrant" in Arabic.
Sharmila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil, Marathi
Other Scripts: சர்மிளா(Tamil) शर्मिला(Marathi)
Derived from Sanskrit
शर्मन् (śarman) meaning
"protection, comfort, joy".
Shankar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Nepali
Other Scripts: शंकर(Hindi, Marathi) ಶಂಕರ್(Kannada) ശങ്കർ(Malayalam) శంకర్(Telugu) சங்கர்(Tamil) শংকর(Bengali) शङ्कर(Nepali)
Shandar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: شاندار(Urdu)
Means "fabulous" in Urdu.
Shai
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שַׁי(Hebrew)
Shahnaz
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: شهناز(Persian, Arabic) شہناز(Urdu)
Pronounced: shah-NAWZ(Persian) shah-NAZ(Arabic)
Means
"delight of the king" from Persian
شاه (shāh) meaning "king" and
ناز (nāz) meaning "delight, comfort, coquetry".
Seumas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SHEH-məs
Scottish Gaelic form of
James.
Seth 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Σήθ, Σέθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English) SEHT(English)
From
Σήθ (Seth), the Greek form of Egyptian
swtẖ or
stẖ (reconstructed as
Sutekh), which is of unknown meaning. Seth was the Egyptian god of chaos and the desert, the slayer of
Osiris. Osiris's son
Horus eventually defeats Seth and has him banished to the desert.
Serhan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Derived from Turkish ser meaning "head, top" and han, which is from the title khan meaning "leader".
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Senta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Sendoa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: sehn-DO-a
Means "strong" in Basque.
Sence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Spanish
Selwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEHL-win
From a surname that was originally derived from an Old English given name, which was formed of the elements sele "manor" and wine "friend".
Selig
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: סעליג(Yiddish)
Sekai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Shona
From Shona
seka meaning
"laugh" [1].
Seija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SAY-yah
Derived from Finnish seijas meaning "tranquil, serene".
Satu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SAH-too
Means "fairy tale, fable" in Finnish.
Satchel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SACH-əl
From an English surname derived from Old English sacc meaning "sack, bag", referring to a person who was a bag maker. A famous bearer was the American baseball player Satchel Paige (1906-1982). In his case it was a childhood nickname acquired because he sold bags.
Sassa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare)
Sara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Catalan, Galician, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Macedonian, Polish, English, Arabic, Persian, Amharic, Tigrinya, Biblical Hebrew [1], Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: שָׂרָה(Hebrew) Σάρα(Greek) Сара(Serbian, Macedonian) سارة(Arabic) سارا(Persian) ሳራ(Amharic, Tigrinya)
Pronounced: SA-ra(Greek, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Icelandic, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Polish, Arabic) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SAH-rah(Finnish) SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) saw-RAW(Persian)
Form of
Sarah used in various languages.
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Santiago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: san-TYA-gho(Spanish) sun-tee-A-goo(European Portuguese) sun-chee-A-goo(Brazilian Portuguese) sahn-tee-AH-go(English) san-tee-AH-go(English)
Means
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
James, the patron saint of Spain. It is the name of the main character in the novella
The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Sans
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Spanish
Pronounced: SANS(Spanish)
Sanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Danish
Pronounced: SAH-nə(Dutch)
Dutch and Danish short form of
Susanna.
Sanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: SAHN-nah(Finnish)
Short form of
Susanna. It can also be derived from Swedish
sann meaning "true".
Sanjana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: संजना(Hindi, Marathi)
From Sanskrit
सञजन (sañjana) meaning
"uniting, joining".
Sandhya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: संध्या(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) సంధ్యా(Telugu) சந்தியா(Tamil) ಸಂಧ್ಯಾ(Kannada) സന്ധ്യ(Malayalam)
Means
"twilight" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu goddess of twilight, a daughter of
Brahma.
Sanaz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: ساناز(Persian)
Possibly means "full of grace" in Persian.
Salut
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: sə-LOOT
Means "health" or "cheers" in Catalan.
Salathiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σαλαθιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-LAH-thee-əl(English)
Greek form of
Shealtiel. This form is also used in some English translations of the Bible (including the King James Version).
Saku
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SAH-koo
Saija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SIE-yah
Sahak
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Սահակ(Armenian)
Pronounced: sah-HAHK(Eastern Armenian) sah-HAHG(Western Armenian)
Armenian form of
Isaac. This was the name of a 5th-century patriarch of the Armenian Church.
Saga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Swedish, Icelandic
Pronounced: SAH-gah(Swedish) SA-gha(Icelandic)
From Old Norse
Sága, possibly meaning
"seeing one", derived from
sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to
Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word
saga "story, fairy tale, saga".
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Sa'dia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سعدية(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA‘-dee-ya
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سعدية (see
Sadia).
Sachie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 幸枝, 幸恵, etc.(Japanese Kanji) さちえ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SA-CHEE-EH
From Japanese
幸 (sachi) meaning "happiness, good luck" and
枝 (e) meaning "branch" or
恵 (e) meaning "favour, benefit". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
Sacheverell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sa-SHEHV-ə-rəl
From a now extinct English surname that was derived from a Norman place name. It was occasionally given in honour of the English preacher Henry Sacheverell (1674-1724), especially by the Sitwell noble family.
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements
hroð "fame" and
wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements
ron "spear" and
gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819).
Roshan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Persian, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Other Scripts: روشن(Persian) रोशन(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali)
Pronounced: ro-SHAN(Persian) RO-shən(Hindi)
Means "light, bright" in Persian.
Rosa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English
Pronounced: RO-sa(Spanish, Dutch) RAW-za(Italian) RAW-zu(European Portuguese) HAW-zu(Brazilian Portuguese) RAW-zə(Catalan) RO-za(German) RO-zə(English)
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).
Roparzh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton
Román
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Hungarian
Pronounced: ro-MAN(Spanish) RO-man(Hungarian)
Spanish and Hungarian form of
Romanus (see
Roman).
Rohan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada
Other Scripts: रोहन(Hindi, Marathi) রোহন(Bengali) ರೋಹನ್(Kannada)
Derived from Sanskrit
रोहण (rohaṇa) meaning
"ascension".
Remiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Remei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: rə-MAY
Means
"remedy" in Catalan, a Catalan equivalent of
Remedios.
Rayner
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: RAY-nər(American English) RAY-nə(British English)
Personal remark: =>Usher
From the Germanic name
Raginheri, composed of the elements
regin "advice, counsel, decision" and
heri "army".
Saint Rainerius was a 12th-century hermit from Pisa. The
Normans brought this name to England where it came into general use, though it was rare by the end of the Middle Ages.
Raya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Russian
Other Scripts: Рая(Bulgarian, Russian)
Rahel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Latin, German
Biblical Latin form of
Rachel, as well as a German form.
Ragnvald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish
Ragnar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Estonian
Pronounced: RAHNG-nahr(Swedish) RAK-nar(Icelandic)
Modern Scandinavian form of
Ragnarr.
Raelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RAY-lin
Combination of
Rae and the popular name suffix
lyn.
Radko
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian, Czech
Other Scripts: Радко(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: RAT-ko(Czech)
Originally a
diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing".
Quinlan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWIN-lən
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Caoindealbháin, itself from the given name
Caoindealbhán (Old Irish
Caíndelbán).
Prisca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: PRIS-kə(English)
Feminine form of
Priscus, a Roman family name meaning
"ancient" in Latin. This name appears in the epistles in the
New Testament, referring to
Priscilla the wife of Aquila.
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Praise
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: PRAYZ
From the English word praise, which is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Late Latin preciare, a derivative of Latin pretium "price, worth". This name is most common in English-speaking Africa.
Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
From the Greek
Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from
φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning
"bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of
Theseus in Greek
mythology.
Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson
Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Persephone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεφόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEH-PO-NEH(Classical Greek) pər-SEHF-ə-nee(American English) pə-SEHF-ə-nee(British English)
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.
Peregrine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ə-grin
From the Late Latin name
Peregrinus, which meant
"traveller". This was the name of several early
saints.
Pavel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, Macedonian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Павел(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: PA-vyil(Russian) PA-vehl(Czech)
Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, Macedonian and Belarusian form of
Paul.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
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.
Osanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Osane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Means
"cure, remedy" in Basque. It is an equivalent of
Remedios, proposed by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque
saints names.
Oroitz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Means "memory" in Basque.
Oren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֹרֶן(Hebrew)
Means "pine tree" in Hebrew.
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
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.
Nuada
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
From Old Irish
Nuadu, probably from
Nodens. In Irish
mythology he was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. After he lost an arm in battle it was replaced with one made from silver, and he received the byname
Airgetlám meaning "silver hand". He was later killed fighting the monstrous Fomorians led by
Balor. This name was also borne by a few semi-legendary Irish kings.
Nthanda
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tumbuka
Means "star" in Tumbuka.
Nóirín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Niven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Niusha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: نیوشا(Persian)
Pronounced: nee-yoo-SHAW
Means "good listener" in Persian.
Nimrod
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: נִמְרֹד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NIM-rahd(American English) NIM-rawd(British English)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Akkadian origin or possibly meaning
"rebel" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament Nimrod is a renowned hunter, the great-grandson of
Noah. He was the founder of Babylon.
Due to the biblical character, this name was adopted as an English-language vocabulary word meaning "hunter". In American English it acquired a further meaning of "fool", after the oafish character Elmer Fudd (a hunter) was called such by Daffy Duck in a 1948 short cartoon.
Nieves
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: NYEH-behs
Means
"snows" in Spanish, derived from the title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows".
Nevena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Невена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Derived from South Slavic neven meaning "marigold".
Nevan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: NEHV-ən(English)
Neva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Short form of
Geneva. This is also the name of a river in Russia.
Nessa 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew (Rare)
Means "miracle" in Hebrew.
Nerina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Probably from Greek
Νηρηΐδες (see
Nereida). This name was used by Torquato Tasso for a character in his play
Aminta (1573), and subsequently by Giacomo Leopardi in his poem
Le Ricordanze (1829).
Nerea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: neh-REH-a
Possibly from Basque
nere, a dialectal variant of
nire meaning
"mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of
Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
Nekane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: neh-KA-neh
Means
"sorrows" in Basque. It is an equivalent of
Dolores, coined by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque
saints names.
Neirin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh
Neasa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYA-sə(Irish)
From Old Irish
Ness, meaning uncertain. In Irish legend she was the mother of
Conchobar. She installed her son as king of Ulster by convincing
Fergus mac Róich (her husband and Conchobar's stepfather) to give up his throne to the boy for a year and then helping him rule so astutely that the Ulstermen demanded that he remain as king. According to some versions of the legend she was originally named
Assa "gentle", but was renamed
Ní-assa "not gentle" after she sought to avenge the murders of her foster fathers.
Nayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Найден(Bulgarian)
Means
"found", derived from Bulgarian
найда (nayda) meaning "to find".
Nathanael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Ναθαναήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Narayan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Nepali, Marathi, Odia, Bengali
Other Scripts: नारायण(Hindi, Nepali, Marathi) ନାରାୟଣ(Odia) নারায়ণা(Bengali)
Modern northern Indian form of
Narayana.
Naomh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: NEEW, NEEV, NEHV
Means "holy" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Naoise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NEE-shə(Irish)
Meaning unknown, presumably of Irish origin. In Irish legend he was the young man who fled to Scotland with
Deirdre, who was due to marry
Conchobar the king of Ulster. Conchobar eventually succeeded in capturing Deirdre and killing Naoise, which caused Deirdre to die of grief.
Nanna 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: NAN-nah(Danish) NAHN-nah(Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic)
Possibly derived from Old Norse
nanþ meaning
"daring, brave". In Norse
mythology she was a goddess who died of grief when her husband
Balder was killed.
Nahuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Pronounced: na-WEHL(Spanish)
Variant of
Nawel using Spanish spelling conventions.
Nahia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NA-ya
From Basque nahi meaning "desire, wish".
Nagendra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Kannada, Telugu
Other Scripts: नागेन्द्र, नागेंद्र(Sanskrit) ನಾಗೇಂದ್ರ(Kannada) నాగేంద్ర(Telugu)
Means
"lord of snakes" from Sanskrit
नाग (nāga) meaning "snake" (also "elephant") combined with the name of the Hindu god
Indra, used here to mean "lord". This is another name for Vasuki, the king of snakes, in Hindu
mythology.
Myghal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Musa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Hausa, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: موسى(Arabic) موسیٰ(Urdu) মুসা(Bengali)
Pronounced: MOO-sa(Arabic, Indonesian, Malay) moo-SA(Turkish)
Morven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: MAWR-vehn
From the name of a region in western Scotland, also called Morvern or in Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne, meaning "the big gap". This is the location of Fingal's kingdom in James Macpherson's 18th-century poems.
Mordecai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: מָרְדֳּכַי, מָרְדְּכַי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAWR-də-kie(American English) MAW-də-kie(British English)
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.
Miren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MEE-rehn
Milan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: Милан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MI-lan(Czech) MEE-lan(Slovak, Serbian, Croatian) MEE-lahn(Dutch)
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. It was originally used in Czech, Slovak, and the South Slavic languages, though it has recently become popular elsewhere in Europe.
A city in Italy bears this name, though in this case it originates from Latin Mediolanum, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin meaning "middle of the plain". In some cases the city name may be an influence on the use of the given name.
Mervin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-vin(American English) MU-vin(British English)
Meriwether
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-i-wedh-ər(American English) MEHR-i-wedh-ə(British English)
From a surname meaning "happy weather" in Middle English, originally belonging to a cheery person. A notable bearer of the name was Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), who, with William Clark, explored the west of North America.
Meinir
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"tall and slender, beautiful maiden" in Welsh (a compound of
main "slender" and
hir "tall").
Mehitabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: מְהֵיטַבְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mə-HIT-ə-behl(English)
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from
Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a
diminutive of
Mary,
Margaret or
Mabel.
Máxima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: MAK-see-ma
Mavis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-vis
From the name of the type of bird, also called the song thrush, derived from Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin. It was first used as a given name by the British author Marie Corelli, who used it for a character in her novel The Sorrows of Satan (1895).
Marzena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ma-ZHEH-na
Maren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: MAH-rehn(Danish)
Manel 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: mə-NEHL
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Late Latin name meaning
"great". It was borne by a 7th-century
saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after
Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name
Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) mahgh-da-LEH-na(Dutch) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Mads
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: MAS
Madalyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
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).
Lynwood
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-wuwd
Lynn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN
From an English surname that was derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of
Linda or names that end in
lyn or
line.
Lyle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIEL, LIE-əl
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".
Lyall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name Liulfr (which was derived in part from úlfr "wolf").
Luule
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Means "poetry" in Estonian.
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-a(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
This name was first used by the poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems called Lucasta (1649). The poems were dedicated to Lucasta, a nickname for the woman he loved Lucy Sacheverel, whom he called lux casta "pure light".
Lowell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LO-əl
From an English surname that was derived from a Norman French nickname, from
lou "wolf" and a
diminutive suffix. The surname was borne by American poet and satirist James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).
Lorens
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: LAW-rehns(Swedish)
Lorea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: lo-REH-a
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Means
"little fierce one", derived from Old Irish
lorcc "fierce" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.
Lloyd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOID
From a Welsh surname that was derived from llwyd meaning "grey". The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-) is a famous bearer of this name.
Llorenç
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: lyoo-REHNS
Llewelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Variant of
Llywelyn influenced by the Welsh word
llew "lion".
Lilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лилия(Russian) Лілія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LEE-lya(Spanish) LYEE-lyi-yə(Russian)
Latinate form of
Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Лилия or Ukrainian
Лілія (see
Liliya).
Liat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאַת(Hebrew)
Means "you are mine" in Hebrew.
Leonidas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λεωνίδας(Greek)
Derived from Greek
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix
ἴδης (ides). Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.
Leofwine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Means
"dear friend", derived from the Old English elements
leof "dear, beloved" and
wine "friend". This was the name of an 8th-century English
saint, also known as
Lebuin, who did missionary work in Frisia.
Lenore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-NAWR(American English) lə-NAW(British English)
Short form of
Eleanor. This is the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem
The Raven (1845).
Lenka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: LENG-ka
Lelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: LEH-lya
Leif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: LAYF
From the Old Norse name Leifr meaning "descendant, heir". Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer who reached North America in the early 11th century. He was the son of Erik the Red.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər(American English) LAV-ən-də(British English)
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Lauritz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Danish and Norwegian form of
Laurentius (see
Laurence 1).
Lance
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LANS
From the Germanic name
Lanzo, originally a short form of names that began with the Old Frankish or Old Saxon element
land, Old High German
lant meaning
"land" (Proto-Germanic *
landą). During the Middle Ages it became associated with Old French
lance meaning "spear, lance". A famous bearer is American cyclist Lance Armstrong (1971-).
Lamech
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: לֶמֶךְ, לָמֶךְ(Ancient Hebrew) Λάμεχ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LAY-mik(English)
Possibly means
"to make low" in Hebrew. This is the name of two characters in Genesis in the
Old Testament, the first being a descendant of
Cain, and the second being a descendant of
Seth and the father of
Noah.
Lalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Lal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Nepali
Other Scripts: लाल(Hindi, Nepali)
Means
"boy" in Hindi, derived from Sanskrit
लल (lala) meaning "playing, caressing".
Láilá
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami
Sami variant form of
Helga.
Lahja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LAHH-yah
Means "gift" in Finnish.
Laelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LIE-lee-a
Feminine form of Laelius, a Roman family name of unknown meaning. This is also the name of a type of flower, an orchid found in Mexico and Central America.
Lael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: לָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"of God" in Hebrew. This is the name of the father of Eliasaph in the
Old Testament. It is misspelled as
Δαήλ (Dael) in the Greek translation, the Septuagint.
Kreszentia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: krehs-TSEHN-tsya
Koldobika
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: kol-DO-bee-ka
Kiran
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, Urdu
Other Scripts: किरण(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) ಕಿರಣ್(Kannada) కిరణ్(Telugu) കിരൺ(Malayalam) கிரண்(Tamil) કિરણ(Gujarati) کرن(Urdu)
Derived from Sanskrit
किरण (kiraṇa), which can mean
"dust" or
"thread" or
"sunbeam".
Kim 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KEEM(Finnish)
Scandinavian short form of
Joachim.
Kerman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: kehr-MAN
Kerensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "love" in Cornish.
Keren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: קֶרֶן(Hebrew)
Means "horn" or "ray of light" in Hebrew.
Kepa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: KEH-pa
Kemen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Means "courage, vigour" in Basque.
Keld
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Kees
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: KEHS
Dutch
diminutive of
Cornelis. A notable bearer was the Dutch painter Kees van Dongen (1877-1968).
Kassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KA-shə, KAS-ee-ə
Karen 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Գարեն(Armenian)
Western Armenian transcription of
Garen.
Kalpana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Nepali
Other Scripts: कल्पना(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) கல்பனா(Tamil) ಕಲ್ಪನಾ(Kannada) కల్పనా(Telugu)
Means "imagining, fantasy" in Sanskrit.
Kalev 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian
Estonian form of
Kaleva. This is the name of a character (the father of Kalevipoeg) in the Estonian epic poem
Kalevipoeg.
Kaja 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Pronounced: KAH-yah
Means "echo" in Estonian.
Kaj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KIE(Swedish)
Kai 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: KIE(German, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English)
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Frisian
diminutive of
Gerhard,
Nicolaas,
Cornelis or
Gaius [1]. It is borne by a boy captured by the Snow Queen in an 1844 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Spreading from Germany and Scandinavia, this name became popular in the English-speaking world and other places in Western Europe around the end of the 20th century.
Jyrgal
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Kyrgyz
Other Scripts: Жыргал(Kyrgyz)
Means "happiness" in Kyrgyz.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess
Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Jun 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese, Korean
Other Scripts: 君, 俊, 军, etc.(Chinese) 君, 俊, 軍, etc.(Traditional Chinese) 준(Korean Hangul) 俊, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: CHUYN(Chinese) CHOON(Korean)
From Chinese
君 (jūn) meaning "king, ruler",
俊 (jùn) meaning "talented, handsome" (which is usually only masculine) or
军 (jūn) meaning "army" (also usually only masculine)
[1]. This is also a single-character Korean name, often from the hanja
俊 meaning "talented, handsome". This name can be formed by other characters besides those shown here.
Julia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ə(English) YOO-lya(German, Danish, Polish) YOO-lee-ah(Swedish, Finnish) YUY-lee-a(Dutch) KHOO-lya(Spanish) YOO-lyi-yə(Russian) YOO-lee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor
Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of
Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the
New Testament. It was also borne by a few early
saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).
Jowan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Joaquim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Catalan
Pronounced: zhoo-u-KEEN(European Portuguese) zho-a-KEEN(Brazilian Portuguese) zhoo-ə-KEEM(Catalan)
Portuguese and Catalan form of
Joachim.
Jezebel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אִיזֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHZ-ə-behl(English)
From Hebrew
אִיזֶבֶל (ʾIzevel), probably from a Phoenician name, possibly containing the Semitic root
zbl meaning
"to exalt, to dwell". According to one theory it might be an altered form of the Phoenician name
𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤀𐤆𐤁𐤋 (Baʿlʾizbel) meaning "Ba'al exalts" with the first element removed or replaced
[1].
According to the Old Testament Jezebel was the Phoenician wife of Ahab, a king of Israel. She is portrayed as an evil figure because she encouraged the worship of the god Ba'al. After she was thrown from a window to her death her body was eaten by dogs, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (see
Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the
New Testament. The first was
Saint James the Greater, the apostle
John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of
Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of
Jesus.
This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.
Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Izotz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-SOTS
Means "ice" in Basque.
Izdihar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ازدهار(Arabic)
Pronounced: eez-dee-HAR
Means
"blossoming, prospering" in Arabic, a derivative of
زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine, to bloom".
Ixchel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mayan Mythology, Mayan
Pronounced: eesh-CHEHL(Mayan)
Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.
Islwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From the name of a mountain in Wales that means "below the forest" from Welsh is "below" and llwyn "forest, grove".
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Iskandar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: إسكندر(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-KAN-dar(Arabic)
Arabic, Indonesian and Malay form of
Alexander.
Isis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἶσις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IE-sis(English)
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.
Ishmerai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשְׁמְרַי(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"he guards me" in Hebrew, derived from
שָׁמַר (shamar) meaning "to guard". This name is mentioned briefly in the
Old Testament.
Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
From the Hebrew name
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yeshaʿyahu) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the
Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name,
Isaiah was first used after the
Protestant Reformation.
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Ione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἰόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-O-nee(English)
From Ancient Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning
"violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek
mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name
Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.
Ingram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1][2][3], English (Rare)
Pronounced: ING-grəm(English)
Germanic name composed of either the element
angil, from the name of the Germanic tribe of the Angles, or
engil meaning "angel" combined with
hram meaning "raven". This name was brought to England by the
Normans, though it died out after the medieval era. These days it is usually inspired by the surname that was derived from the medieval name.
Hollis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-is(American English) HAWL-is(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
Heulwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: HAYL-wehn
Means
"sunshine" in Welsh (a compound of
haul "sun" and
gwen "white, blessed").
Hecate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑκάτη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHK-ə-tee(English)
From the Greek
Ἑκάτη (Hekate), possibly derived from
ἑκάς (hekas) meaning
"far off". In Greek
mythology Hecate was a goddess associated with witchcraft, crossroads, tombs, demons and the underworld.
Hebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἥβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-BEH(Classical Greek) HEE-bee(English)
Derived from Greek
ἥβη (hebe) meaning
"youth". In Greek
mythology Hebe was the daughter of
Zeus and
Hera. She was a goddess of youth who acted as the cupbearer to the gods.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Haskel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: האַסקל(Yiddish)
Harmonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἁρμονία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HAR-MO-NEE-A(Classical Greek) hahr-MO-nee-ə(American English) hah-MO-nee-ə(British English)
Means
"harmony, agreement" in Greek. She was the daughter of
Ares and
Aphrodite, given by
Zeus to
Cadmus to be his wife.
Hanan 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: حنان(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-NAN
Means
"mercy, compassion" in Arabic, derived from the root
حنّ (ḥanna) meaning "to sympathize, to pity".
Gundahar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1], Germanic Mythology
Guido
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, German
Pronounced: GWEE-do(Italian) GEE-do(German)
Latinized form of
Wido. Notable bearers include the music theorist Guido d'Arezzo (c. 991-1033), poet Guido Cavalcanti (c. 1250-1300), and Baroque painter Guido Reni (1575-1642).
Grazia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: GRAT-tsya
Gratian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: GRAY-shən(English)
From the Roman name
Gratianus, which was derived from Latin
gratus meaning
"grateful".
Saint Gratian was the first bishop of Tours (4th century). This was also the name of a Roman emperor.
Godiva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon (Latinized)
Pronounced: gə-DIE-və(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.
Gintaras
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "amber" in Lithuanian.
Geneva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEE-və
Possibly a shortened form of
Genevieve. It could also be inspired by the name of the city in Switzerland. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.
Ganbaatar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Ганбаатар(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Pronounced: gang-PA-tar
Means
"steel hero" in Mongolian, from
ган (gan) meaning "steel" and
баатар (baatar) meaning "hero".
Gaizka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: GIES-ka
Means
"saviour" in Basque. This name was proposed as an equivalent of
Salvador by the Basque writer Sabino Arana in 1910.
Gaheriet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Medieval French form of
Gareth (appearing in the works of Chrétien de Troyes and in the
Lancelot-Grail Cycle).
Fruzsina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: FROO-zhee-naw
Florentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: flo-rehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Finnegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FIN-ə-gən
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Fionnagáin, itself derived from the given name
Fionnagán, a
diminutive of
Fionn. This is the surname of a relatively minor character in James Joyce's novel
Finnegans Wake (1939), the title of which was based on a 19th-century Irish ballad called
Finnegan's Wake.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Finley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Variant of
Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.
Fiammetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: fyam-MEHT-ta
Diminutive of
Fiamma. This is the name of a character appearing in several works by the 14th-century Italian author Boccaccio. She was probably based on the Neapolitan noblewoman Maria d'Aquino.
Faustine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
French feminine form of
Faustinus (see
Faustino).
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
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.
Everard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
From
Everardus, the Latinized form of
Eberhard. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it joined the Old English
cognate Eoforheard. It has only been rarely used since the Middle Ages. Modern use of the name may be inspired by the surname
Everard, itself derived from the medieval name.
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Variant of
Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning
"good of man", derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Roman
mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evander 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Evadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάδνη(Ancient Greek)
From Greek
Εὐάδνη (Euadne), from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" possibly combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". This name was borne by several characters in Greek legend, including the wife of Capaneus. After Capaneus was killed by a lightning bolt sent from
Zeus she committed suicide by throwing herself onto his burning body.
Euri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Means "rain" in Basque.
Eunomia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐνομία(Ancient Greek)
Means
"good order" in Greek, ultimately from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
νόμος (nomos) meaning "law, custom". Eunomia was a Greek goddess, one of the
Ὥραι (Horai), presiding over law.
Ethel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ETH-əl
Short form of names beginning with the Old English element
æðele meaning
"noble". It was coined in the 19th century, when many Old English names were revived. It was popularized by the novels
The Newcomes (1855) by William Makepeace Thackeray and
The Daisy Chain (1856) by C. M. Yonge. A famous bearer was American actress and singer Ethel Merman (1908-1984).
Étaín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: EH-teen(Irish)
Possibly derived from Old Irish
ét meaning
"jealousy, passion". In Irish legend she is the subject of the 9th-century tale
The Wooing of Étaín [2]. She was the wife of Midir, but his jealous first wife Fuamnach transformed her into a fly. She was accidentally swallowed, and then reborn to the woman who swallowed her. After she grew again to adulthood she married the Irish high king Eochaid Airem, having no memory of Midir. Midir and Étaín were eventually reunited after Midir defeated Eochaid in a game of chess.
In modern Irish this name is properly spelled Éadaoin.
Era
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian erë meaning "wind".
Enyinnaya
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Igbo
Means "his father's friend" in Igbo.
Enric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: ən-REEK
Catalan form of
Heinrich (see
Henry).
Enkhjargal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Энхжаргал(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Pronounced: ENGKH-char-kazh
Means
"peace blessing" in Mongolian, from
энх (enkh) meaning "peace, calm" and
жаргал (jargal) meaning "blessing, happiness".
Endymion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἐνδυμίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHN-DUY-MEE-AWN(Classical Greek) ehn-DIM-ee-ən(English)
Derived from Greek
ἐνδύω (endyo) meaning
"to dive into, to enter". In Greek
mythology he was an Aeolian mortal loved by the moon goddess
Selene, who asked
Zeus to grant him eternal life. Zeus complied by putting him into an eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmos.
Enda
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Anglicized form of
Éanna.
Emese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: EH-meh-sheh
Possibly derived from Finno-Ugric eme meaning "mother". In Hungarian legend this was the name of the grandmother of Árpád, founder of the Hungarian state.
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek
σμάραγδος (smaragdos).
Emem
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Ibibio
Means "peace" in Ibibio.
Eluned
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: ehl-IN-ehd, ehl-EEN-ehd
Derived from Welsh
eilun meaning
"image, likeness, idol". This was the name of a legendary 5th-century Welsh
saint, also known as Eiliwedd, one of the supposed daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Elsdon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ELZ-dən
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Elli's valley" in Old English.
Elnathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֶלְנָתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ehl-NAY-thən(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֶלְנָתָן (ʾElnaṯan) meaning
"God has given", derived from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give". In the
Old Testament this is the name of both a grandfather of King Jehoiachin and a son of Akbor.
Elkanah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלְקָנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ehl-KAY-nə(English)
Means
"God has purchased" in Hebrew, from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
קָנָה (qana) meaning "to acquire, to purchase". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the father of
Samuel.
Elisedd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh
Derived from Welsh elus meaning "kind, benevolent". This was the name of two kings of Powys in Wales.
Elior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹר(Hebrew)
Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.
Eliana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֶלִיעַנָה(Hebrew)
Means "my God has answered" in Hebrew.
Eleftheria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελευθερία(Greek)
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
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.
Eleazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: אֶלְעָזָר(Ancient Hebrew) Ἐλεάζαρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ehl-ee-AY-zər(American English) ehl-ee-AY-zə(British English)
From the Hebrew name
אֶלְעָזָר (ʾElʿazar) meaning
"God has helped", derived from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
עָזַר (ʿazar) meaning "to help". In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the sons of
Aaron. The name also appears in the
New Testament belonging to one of the ancestors of
Jesus in the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew.
Eira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AY-ra
Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.
Eir
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Means "mercy" in Old Norse. This was the name of a Norse goddess of healing and medicine.
Einion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From the Old Welsh name
Enniaun, probably from the Latin name
Ennianus, a derivative of
Ennius (see
Ennio). It is also a modern Welsh word meaning "anvil". This was the name of a few early Welsh rulers including Einion Frenin (5th century), who is considered a
saint in some Christian traditions.
Éimhín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EH-vyeen
From Old Irish
éim meaning
"swift, prompt". This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, the founder of a monastery in Kildare.
Eero
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EH-ro(Finnish)
Finnish and Estonian form of
Eric. A famous bearer was the architect Eero Saarinen (1910-1961).
Edwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: EHD-win(English) EHT-vin(Dutch)
Means
"rich friend", from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
wine "friend". This was the name of a 7th-century Northumbrian king, regarded as a
saint. After the
Norman Conquest the name was not popular, but it was eventually revived in the 19th century. A notable bearer was the astronaut Edwin Aldrin (1930-), also known as
Buzz, the second man to walk on the moon.
Edur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Pronounced: eh-DHOOR
Éber
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Donato
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: do-NA-to(Italian, Spanish)
From the Late Latin name
Donatus meaning
"given". Several early
saints had this name. The name was also borne by two Renaissance masters: the sculptor Donato di Niccolo di Bette Bardi (also known as Donatello), and the architect Donato Bramante.
Diarmaid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: DYEEYR-ə-məd(Irish)
Meaning unknown, though it has been suggested that it means
"without envy" in Irish. In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior who became the lover of
Gráinne. It was also the name of several ancient Irish kings.
Devon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHV-ən
Variant of
Devin. It may also be partly inspired by the name of the county of Devon in England, which got its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe.
Dev
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: देव(Hindi, Marathi)
Derived from Sanskrit
देव (deva) meaning
"god".
Desta
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Amharic
Other Scripts: ደስታ(Amharic)
Means "joy" in Amharic.
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).
Deryn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Possibly from the Welsh word deryn, a variant of aderyn meaning "bird".
Delyth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
From an elaboration of Welsh
del "pretty". This is a recently created name.
Deimos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δεῖμος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEH-MOS(Classical Greek) DIE-məs(English)
Means
"terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god
Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name.
Darius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: də-RIE-əs(English) DAR-ee-əs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means
"possessing goodness", composed of
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good"
[1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.
Dara 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Anglicized form of
Dáire.
Dara 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Khmer
Other Scripts: ដារា, តារា(Khmer)
Pronounced: dah-RAH
Means
"star" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit
तारा (tārā).
Dara 3
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: دارا(Persian)
Pronounced: daw-RAW
Means "wealthy" in Persian.
Danaë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δανάη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-NA-EH(Classical Greek) DAN-ay-ee(English)
From
Δαναοί (Danaoi), a word used by
Homer to designate the Greeks. In Greek
mythology Danaë was the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. It had been prophesied to her father that he would one day be killed by Danaë's son, so he attempted to keep his daughter childless. However,
Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of
Perseus. Eventually the prophecy was fulfilled and Perseus killed Acrisius, albeit accidentally.
Dana 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-nə
From a surname that is of unknown origin. It was originally given in honour of American lawyer Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1815-1882), the author of the memoir Two Years Before the Mast.
Dáire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: DA-ryə(Irish)
Means
"fruitful, fertile" in Irish. This name is borne by many figures in Irish legend, including the Ulster chief Dáire mac Fiachna who reneged on his promise to loan the Brown Bull of Cooley to
Medb, starting the war between Connacht and Ulster as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Dagmar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: DOW-mar(Danish) DAK-mar(German) DAG-mar(Czech)
From the Old Norse name
Dagmær, derived from the elements
dagr "day" and
mær "maid". This was the name adopted by the popular Bohemian wife of the Danish king Valdemar II when they married in 1205. Her birth name was
Markéta.
Dacre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAY-kər(American English) DAY-kə(British English)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name in Cumbria, of Brythonic origin meaning "trickling stream".
Cymbeline
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: SIM-bə-leen(English)
Form of
Cunobelinus used by Shakespeare in his play
Cymbeline (1609).
Cyan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIE-an
From the English word meaning
"greenish blue, cyan", ultimately derived from Greek
κύανος (kyanos).
Csilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: CHEEL-law
Derived from Hungarian csillag meaning "star". This name was created by the Hungarian author András Dugonics for an 1803 novel and later used and popularized by the poet Mihály Vörösmarty.
Crescentia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Late Roman
Feminine form of
Crescentius.
Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint
Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.
Cosmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: kos-MEE-na
Corrado
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: kor-RA-do
Italian form of
Conrad. This was a 14th-century
saint from Piacenza, Italy.
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEEL-ee-ə(American English) kaw-DEE-lee-ə(British English)
From
Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles
[1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King
Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of
Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.
The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).
Constanza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kons-TAN-tha(European Spanish) kons-TAN-sa(Latin American Spanish)
Constantia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Constantius, which was itself derived from
Constans.
Clover
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KLO-vər(American English) KLO-və(British English)
From the English word for the wild flower, ultimately deriving from Old English clafre.
Clíodhna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KLYEE-nə(Irish)
Meaning unknown. In Irish legend this was the name of a beautiful goddess. She fell in love with a mortal named Ciabhán and left the Land of Promise with him, but when she arrived on the other shore she was swept to sea by a great wave.
Cledwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Possibly derived from Welsh
caled "rough, hard" and
gwyn "white, blessed". This is the name of a small river (Cledwen) in Conwy, Wales.
Cinzia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Chryses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Χρύσης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KRIE-seez(English)
Chinasa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igbo
Means "God is answering" in Igbo.
Chaz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAZ
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Possibly from
cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh
cwrr "corner") combined with
ben "woman" or
gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the
Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard
Taliesin.
This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".
Celandine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEHL-ən-deen, SEHL-ən-dien
From the name of the flower, which is derived from Greek
χελιδών (chelidon) meaning "swallow (bird)".
Cathleen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: kath-LEEN(English)
Cathán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish
Derived from Old Irish
cath "battle" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Saint Cathán was a 6th-century Irish monk, a missionary to the Isle of Bute.
Cathal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KA-həl(Irish)
Derived from Old Irish
cath "battle" and
fal "rule". This was the name of a 7th-century Irish
saint. It was also borne by several Irish kings. It has sometimes been Anglicized as
Charles.
Carmella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kahr-MEHL-ə(American English) kah-MEHL-ə(British English)
Cambyses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Persian (Latinized), History
Other Scripts: 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹(Old Persian)
Latin form of
Καμβύσης (Kambyses), the Greek form of the Old Persian name
𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 (Kabujiya), which is of uncertain meaning, possibly related to the geographical name
Kamboja, a historical region in Central Asia
[1]. Two Persian kings bore this name, including Cambyses II, the second ruler of the Achaemenid Empire, who conquered Egypt.
Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning
"beauty".
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Caelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Bulan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Pronounced: BOO-lan
Means "moon" (or "month") in Indonesian.
Breeshey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Manx
Pronounced: BREE-shə
Brândușa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Means "crocus" in Romanian.
Bojana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Бојана(Macedonian, Serbian)
Blythe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BLIEDH
From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.
Blejan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Pronounced: BLEH-jən
Means "flower" in Cornish.
Bláthnat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Means
"little flower" from Irish
bláth "flower" combined with a
diminutive suffix. In Irish legend she was a maiden abducted and married by Cú Roí. She was rescued by
Cúchulainn, who killed her husband, but was in turn murdered by one of Cú Roí's loyal servants.
Blaine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYN
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name
Bláán.
Bion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Βίων(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek name derived from
βίος (bios) meaning
"life".
Biljana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Биљана(Serbian) Билјана(Macedonian)
From the South Slavic word
биље (bilje) meaning
"herb".
Belphoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Combination of Old French
bele "beautiful" and the name
Phoebe. This name was first used by Edmund Spenser in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590).
Bellona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: behl-LO-na(Latin) bə-LON-ə(English)
Derived from Latin
bellare meaning
"to fight". This was the name of the Roman goddess of war, a companion of
Mars.
Belén
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: beh-LEHN
Spanish form of
Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King
David and
Jesus were born. The town's name is from Hebrew
בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beṯ-leḥem) meaning "house of bread".
Basia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Jewish
Banu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
From Persian
بانو (bānū) meaning
"lady".
Bahadur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Nepali
Other Scripts: बहादुर(Hindi, Nepali)
Pronounced: bə-HA-duwr(Hindi)
From Persian
بهادر (bahādor), itself from Turkic
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior". This was the name of rulers of the Mughal Empire.
Azriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: עֲזְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AZ-ree-əl(English)
Means
"my help is God" in Hebrew, derived from
עֶזְרָה (ʿezra) meaning "help" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of three minor characters in the
Old Testament.
Azel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אָצֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"reserved" in Hebrew. This is both the name of a minor character and a place name in the
Old Testament.
Azarel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עֲזַרְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"God has helped" in Hebrew, derived from
עָזַר (ʿazar) meaning "to help" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of several minor
Old Testament characters.
Ayman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أيمن(Arabic)
Pronounced: IE-man
Means
"right-handed, blessed, lucky" in Arabic, a derivative of
يمين (yamīn) meaning "right hand".
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Feminine variant of
Aviv.
Avila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Derived from the Old German element
awi, of unknown meaning. Rarely, this name may be given in honour of the 16th-century mystic
Saint Teresa of Ávila,
Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.
Aušra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "dawn" in Lithuanian.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Aulis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: OW-lees
Means "willing, helpful" in Finnish.
Audrea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWD-ree-ə
Aubrey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWB-ree
From
Auberi, an Old French form of
Alberich brought to England by the
Normans. It was common in the Middle Ages, and was revived in the 19th century. Since the mid-1970s it has more frequently been given to girls, due to Bread's 1972 song
Aubrey along with its similarity to the established feminine name
Audrey.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek
Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning
"star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
Astra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-trə
Means
"star", ultimately from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster). This name has only been (rarely) used since the 20th century.
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Possibly means
"healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the
Old Testament.
Arrigo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ar-REE-go
Italian variant form of
Heinrich (see
Henry).
Aroha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Personal remark: the new Luna
Means "love" in Maori.
Armand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan
Pronounced: AR-MAHN(French) ər-MAN(Catalan)
French and Catalan form of
Herman.
Arkaitz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ar-KIETS
Means "rock" in Basque.
Arjan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: AHR-yahn
Arie 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: A-ree
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Arden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-dən(American English) AH-dən(British English)
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
Archana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
Other Scripts: अर्चना(Hindi, Marathi) అర్చన(Telugu) ಅರ್ಚನ(Kannada) അര്ചന(Malayalam) அர்ச்சனா(Tamil)
From Sanskrit
अर्चन (arcana) meaning
"honouring, praising". This is the name of a Hindu ritual.
Aras
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "eagle" in Lithuanian (a poetic word).
Aram 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Արամ(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-RAHM
Meaning uncertain. According to the 5th-century Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi this was the name of an ancient ancestor of the Armenian people. A famous bearer was the composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978).
Ara
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian, Armenian Mythology
Other Scripts: Արա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-RAH(Armenian)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Sumerian origin. In Armenian legend this was the name of an Armenian king who was so handsome that the Assyrian queen
Semiramis went to war to capture him. During the war Ara was slain.
Anwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"very beautiful" in Welsh, from the intensive prefix
an- combined with
gwen "white, blessed".
Anthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἄνθεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-thee-ə(English)
From the Greek
Ἄνθεια (Antheia), derived from
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning
"flower, blossom". This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Hera.
Antal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: AWN-tawl
Hungarian form of
Antonius (see
Anthony).
Ansgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Swedish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ANS-gar(German)
Derived from the Old German elements
ansi "god" and
ger "spear".
Saint Ansgar was a 9th-century Frankish missionary who tried to convert the Danes and Norwegians.
Anselme
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-SELM
Anima 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: अणिमा(Hindi)
Means
"minuteness" from Sanskrit
अणिमन (aṇiman). In yoga texts, this is the name of the ability to make oneself infinitely small so to be invisible.
Anima 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AN-i-mə
Means "soul, spirit" in Latin. In Jungian psychology the anima is an individual's true inner self, or soul.
Aneirin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh, Welsh
Pronounced: a-NAY-rin(Welsh)
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.
Anan 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1], Hebrew
Other Scripts: עָנָן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-nan(English)
Means
"cloud" in Hebrew. This name is mentioned very briefly in the
Old Testament.
Anahid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian Mythology, Armenian
Other Scripts: اناهید(Persian) Անահիտ(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-nah-HEED(Western Armenian)
Modern Persian and Western Armenian form of
Anahita.
Ambrosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀμβροσία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AM-BRO-SEE-A
Feminine form of
Ambrosios (see
Ambrose).
Amalthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀμάλθεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: am-əl-THEE-ə(English)
From the Greek
Ἀμάλθεια (Amaltheia), derived from
μαλθάσσω (malthasso) meaning
"to soften, to soothe". In Greek
myth she was a nymph (in some sources a goat) who nursed the infant
Zeus.
Amalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Αμαλία(Greek)
Pronounced: a-MA-lya(Spanish, Italian, German) a-MA-lee-a(Dutch)
Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal. This element means
"unceasing, vigorous, brave", or it can refer to the Gothic dynasty of the Amali (derived from the same root).
This was another name for the 7th-century saint Amalberga of Maubeuge.
Amadeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: a-ma-DHEH-o(Spanish) a-ma-DEH-o(Italian)
Spanish form of
Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
From the Greek name
Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek
ἄλθος (althos) meaning
"healing". In Greek
myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.
Alondra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: a-LON-dra
Derived from Spanish alondra meaning "lark".
Almudena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: al-moo-DHEH-na
Derived from Arabic
المدينة (al-mudayna) meaning
"the citadel", a
diminutive form of the word
مدينة (madīna) meaning "city". According to legend, it was in a building by this name that a concealed statue of the Virgin
Mary was discovered during the Reconquista in Madrid. The Virgin of Almudena, that is Mary, is the patron
saint of Madrid.
Álmos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: AL-mosh
Possibly from Hungarian
álom "dream", though perhaps of Turkic origin meaning "bought". This was the name of the semi-legendary father of Árpád, the founder of the Hungarian state. Álmos's mother
Emese supposedly had a dream in which a turul bird impregnated her and foretold that her son would be the father of a great nation.
Alexandrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SAHN-DREEN
French
diminutive of
Alexandra. This was the name of a Danish queen, the wife of King Christian X.
Alethea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-ə-THEE-ə, ə-LEE-thee-ə
Derived from Greek
ἀλήθεια (aletheia) meaning
"truth". This name was coined in the 16th century.
Alease
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Alcyone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλκυόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-SIE-ə-nee(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word
ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning
"kingfisher". In Greek
myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, supposedly the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Alcaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλκαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-SEE-əs(English)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλκαῖος (Alkaios) meaning
"strong", derived from
ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength, prowess". This was the name of a 7th-century BC lyric poet from the island of Lesbos.
Alazne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: a-LAS-neh
From Basque
alatz meaning
"miracle". It is an equivalent of
Milagros, proposed by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque
saints names.
Aiman 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Айман(Kazakh)
Pronounced: ie-MAHN
Possibly means
"my moon" in Kazakh, from
ай (ay) meaning "moon" and the Persian possessive
من (man) meaning "my". Aiman and
Sholpan are sisters in a 19th-century Kazakh epic poem, later adapted into the 1934 play
Aiman-Sholpan by Mukhtar Auezov.
Ailsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AYL-sə(English)
From Ailsa Craig, the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland, which is of uncertain derivation.
Agostino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-go-STEE-no
Aenor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized)
Probably a Latinized form of a Germanic name of unknown meaning. This was the name of the mother of
Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Adorján
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: AW-dor-yan
Ace 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AYS
From the English word meaning "highest rank". More commonly a nickname, it is occasionally used as a given name.
Abilene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ἀβιληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AB-i-leen(English) ab-i-LEE-nee(English)
From a place name mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. It is probably from Hebrew
אָבֵל (ʾavel) meaning "meadow, grassy area". It has occasionally been used as a given name in modern times.
Abelone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish (Rare)
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