shoshannah's Personal Name List

Zoey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZO-ee
Rating: 49% based on 16 votes
Variant of Zoe.
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Вера(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) ვერა(Georgian)
Pronounced: VYEH-rə(Russian) VIR-ə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Personal remark: My favorite!
Rating: 58% based on 17 votes
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Rachel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: רָחֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: RAY-chəl(English) RA-SHEHL(French) RAH-khəl(Dutch) RA-khəl(German)
Rating: 47% based on 14 votes
From the Hebrew name רָחֵל (Raḥel) meaning "ewe". In the Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of Jacob. Her father Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

The name was common among Jews in the Middle Ages, but it was not generally used as a Christian name in the English-speaking world until after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately popular in the first half of the 20th century, but starting in the 1960s it steadily rose, reaching highs in the 1980s and 90s. The character Rachel Green on the American sitcom Friends (1994-2004) may have only helped delay its downswing.

Notable bearers include American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), British actress Rachel Weisz (1970-), and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams (1978-).

Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 55% based on 15 votes
Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.

It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.

Monica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MAHN-i-kə(American English) MAWN-i-kə(British English) MAW-nee-ka(Italian) mo-NEE-ka(Romanian) MO-nee-ka(Dutch)
Rating: 55% based on 17 votes
Meaning unknown, most likely of Berber or Phoenician origin. In the 4th century this name was borne by a North African saint, the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo, whom she converted to Christianity. Since the Middle Ages it has been associated with Latin moneo "advisor" and Greek μονός (monos) "one, single".

As an English name, Monica has been in general use since the 18th century. In America it reached the height of its popularity in the 1970s, declining since then. A famous bearer was the Yugoslavian tennis player Monica Seles (1973-).

Madelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin
Rating: 49% based on 15 votes
Variant of Madeline.
Laurel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əl
Personal remark: Another pretty variant of Laura, probably my second favorite name.
Rating: 59% based on 15 votes
From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.
Lara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Лара(Russian)
Pronounced: LAHR-ə(English) LA-ra(German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch) LA-RA(French) LA-ru(Portuguese) LAW-raw(Hungarian)
Personal remark: A lovely variant of Laura
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Russian short form of Larisa. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by a character from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1965). Between 1965 and 1969 it increased by almost 2,000 percent in the United States, however it is currently much more popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. Another famous fictional bearer is Lara Croft, first appearing in video games in 1996 and movies in 2001.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 77% based on 15 votes
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.
Elaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)
Rating: 48% based on 15 votes
From an Old French form of Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).
Adeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DU-LEEN(French) AD-ə-lien(English)
Personal remark: name of a character, love Addie for short.
Rating: 79% based on 18 votes
French and English form of Adelina.
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