ayasmina's Personal Name List
Mystique
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Pronounced: mis-TEEK(English)
From the adjective in the English language. Means to have a "a special quality or air that makes somebody or something appear mysterious, powerful, or desirable." It is a French loanword deriving from the Middle English
mystik, from the Latin
mysticus 'of or belonging to secret rites or mysteries; mystic, mystical', from the Ancient Greek
mustikos (μυστικός) 'secret, mystic', from
mustēs (μύστης) 'one who has been initiated'.
Mystique is the 'mutant' name of Raven Darkhölme, a villain and sometimes anti-hero in Marvel's X-Men line of comics. As a mutant her ability is to shapeshift into anyone and anything.
Myrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μυρινα, Μυρίνα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MOO-REE-NAH(Classical Greek) mie-REE-nə(English)
Derived from the Greek ìõñïí (myron) meaning "myrrh". In Greek mythology, Myrina was the Queen of the Amazons.
Morgana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mawr-GAN-ə
Morena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: mo-REH-na(Spanish)
Morella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Spanish (Latin American), English (Rare), Romani (Archaic), Medieval Scottish (Rare)
Used by Edgar Allan Poe for the title character of his Gothic short story
Morella (1835), in which case he may have invented it by adding a diminutive suffix to Latin
mors "death". Alternatively, it may be derived from the name of the ancient Spanish city, the Italian name for the poisonous weed black nightshade (species Solanum nigrum), or from the Italian surname
Morello, all of them ultimately deriving from Greek μαῦρος
(mauros) meaning "black". This name was also used as a rare medieval Scottish variant of
Muriel.
Morant
From the Old French personal name Morant, perhaps from a nickname meaning "steadfast", or alternatively of Germanic origin and meaning literally "courage-raven". A known bearer was the British-born Australian soldier and poet Breaker Morant, original name Edwin Henry Murrant (?1864-1902).
Morana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slavic Mythology, Croatian
From Old Slavic
morŭ meaning
"death, plague" [1]. In Slavic
mythology this was the name of a goddess associated with winter and death.
Moon 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 문(Korean Hangul) 文, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: MOON
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul
문 (see
Mun).
Montreal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), African American
Pronounced: MAHN-tray-ahl(English) Mon-TRAYL(African American)
From the name of a Canadian city, whose name is a variant of "Mount Royal".
Montero
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: mawn-TEHR-o(English)
From Spanish surname
Montero, used as the occupational name for a beater or other assistant at a hunt (typically in the mountains).
A famous bearer is Montero Hill (1999-), the rapper and singer known as Lil Nas X, who was named after the Mitsubishi Montero (also marketed as the Pajero or the Shogun in other areas).
Monroe
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mən-RO
From a Scottish surname meaning
"from the mouth of the Roe". The Roe is a river in Northern Ireland. Two famous bearers of the surname were American president James Monroe (1758-1831) and American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
As a given name it was mostly masculine in America until around 2009. It was already rising in popularity for girls when singer Mariah Carey gave it to her daughter born 2011 (though this probably helped accelerate it).
Monica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MAHN-i-kə(English) MAW-nee-ka(Italian) mo-NEE-ka(Romanian) MO-nee-ka(Dutch)
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-).
Monaco
Nickname for someone of monkish habits or appearance, or an occupational name for a servant employed at a monastery, from Italian monaco "monk" (from Greek monachos "monk", "solitary").
Mona 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: منى(Arabic)
Pronounced: MOO-na
Alternate transcription of Arabic
منى (see
Muna).
Mizu
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 水(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: Mee-zoo, mIzu
Water
-------------------------------------
Japaneese for 'water'
-------------------------------------
Means 'Water' in Japanese
Mitsuri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 光莉, 光李, 光理, 光里, 蜜莉, 蜜李, 蜜梨(Japanese Kanji) みつり(Japanese Hiragana) ミツリ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: MEE-TSOO-REE
From Japanese 光 (mitsu) meaning "light", 蜜 (mitsu) meaning "honey", 三 (mitsu) meaning "three", or 密 (mitsu) meaning "dense, secret" combined with 莉 (ri) meaning "jasmine", 李 (li) meaning "plum, Prunus salicina", 梨 (ri) meaning "pear", 理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic", or 里 (ri) meaning "village". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Misaina
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "think, consider, ponder" in Malagasy.
Mirindra
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "harmonious" in Malagasy.
Mirinae
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean (Modern, Rare)
Other Scripts: 미리내(Korean Hangul)
Pronounced: MEE-REE-NEH
From native Korean 미리내 (mirinae), referring to the Milky Way.
Miriella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Miriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mee-RYA-na
Miriama
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovak
Pronounced: MEE-ree-a-ma
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Form of
Mary used in the
Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of
Moses and
Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside
Mary) since the
Protestant Reformation.
Miria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: みりあ(Japanese Hiragana) 海莉愛, 見梨亜, 実璃亜, 深莉亜, 美理亜, 美里雅, 美莉愛, 粍愛, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: MEE-ṘEE-AH
From Japanese 海 (mi) meaning "sea, ocean", 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" combined with 愛 (a) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mireya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-ya
Mirena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美涼凪, 実玲奈, 美玲奈, 美麗奈, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みれな(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-ṘE-NAH
From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", 涼 (re) meaning "cool, refreshing" combined with 凪 (na) meaning "calm, lull". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mirelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Archaic), French (Belgian, Rare), Flemish (Rare), Dutch
Mirella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mee-REHL-la
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Miray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Arabic
أمير (ʾamīr) meaning "commander" combined with Turkish
ay meaning "moon, month".
Mirari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English) mee-RAHN-da(Dutch)
Derived from Latin
mirandus meaning
"admirable, worthy of being admired". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play
The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father
Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Mirana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian (Rare), Albanian (Rare)
Miran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovene
Pronounced: MEE-ran
Derived from the Slavic element
mirŭ meaning
"peace" or
"world".
Mirai
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 未来, 美雷(Japanese Kanji) みらい(Japanese Hiragana) ミライ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: MEE-RIE
From Japanese 未来 (mirai) meaning "future", or 美 (mi) meaning "beauty" combined with 雷 (rai) meaning "thunder". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Miracle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MIR-ə-kəl
From the English word miracle for an extraordinary event, ultimately deriving from Latin miraculum "wonder, marvel".
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Mirabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Mira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Other Scripts: मीरा(Hindi, Marathi) മീര(Malayalam) மீரா(Tamil) ಮೀರಾ(Kannada)
From Sanskrit
मीर (mīra) meaning
"sea, ocean". This was the name of a 16th-century Indian princess who devoted her life to the god
Krishna.
Miora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "myrrh" in Malagasy.
Minona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Theatre, German (Rare, Archaic)
Coined by Scottish poet James Macpherson for his 18th-century Ossian poems where the name is borne by Minona, a singer who sings before the king the song of the unfortunate Colma. Macpherson names the alleged Scottish Gaelic words Min-ónn "gentle air" as an etymological explanation of the name (compare Scottish Gaelic mìn "gentle; soft (of a sound)" and fonn "tune, melody").
The so-called Songs of Selma are the most famous poems of the Ossian cycle because of their lyrical and elegiac character. They were translated into prose form by German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for Friederike Brion in 1771 and used extensively by him in this form in the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), including a character named Minona.
Minona Maria Theresia Selma Loisa Cornelia von Stackelberg (1813-1897) is alleged to have been an illegitimate daughter of Ludwig van Beethoven. Due to those rumors, folk etymology likes to interpret her name as an anagram of anonim and links it to German anonym "anonymous". In 2020 Estonian composer Jüri Reinvere dedicated the opera Minona to her.
Danish feminist writer Mathilde Fibiger used the name for the main character of her novel Minona. En Fortælling (1854).
Minira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Azerbaijani
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Minella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Mindeulle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Korean (Modern, Rare)
Other Scripts: 민들레(Korean Hangul)
Pronounced: MEEN-DUL-LEH
From native Korean 민들레 (mindeulle) meaning "dandelion."
Minara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Azerbaijani, Assamese, Kyrgyz, Bengali (Muslim)
Mimosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French, Spanish, Danish, Filipino, Italian
Pronounced: MI-maw-sah(Finnish) Mim-osa(French) mee-MO-sah(Spanish)
From Mimosa, a genus of plants that are sensitive to touch. The best known plant from that genus is the Mimosa pudica, better known in English as the touch-me-not. The plant genus derives its name from Spanish mimosa, which is the feminine form of the Spanish adjective mimoso meaning "cuddly".
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Millaray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Means "golden flower" in Mapuche, from milla "gold" and rayen "flower".
Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
From the Germanic name
Milo, introduced by the
Normans to England in the form
Miles. The meaning is not known for certain. It is possibly connected to the Slavic name element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear". From an early date it was associated with Latin
miles meaning
"soldier".
A notable bearer was the American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991). In Scotland this name was historically used to Anglicize Maoilios.
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of
Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
Maria and
Elena.
Milano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Transferred use of the surname or place name
Milano.
Milana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Милана(Serbian, Russian) Мілана(Belarusian, Ukrainian)
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.
Mikhaila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mi-KAY-lə
Mikhail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Михаил(Russian, Bulgarian) Міхаіл(Belarusian)
Pronounced: myi-khu-EEL(Russian)
Russian and Belarusian form of
Michael, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Михаил (see
Mihail). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841), the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), and the Latvian-Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948-).
Mikaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: MEE-kah-eh-lah(Finnish)
Mikael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Breton
Pronounced: MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish, Norwegian) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-kah-ehl(Finnish)
Scandinavian, Finnish and Breton form of
Michael.
Mihaila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian (Rare), Macedonian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Михаила(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Mihail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek
Other Scripts: Михаил(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Μιχαήλ(Greek)
Pronounced: mee-ha-EEL(Romanian)
Romanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of
Michael. This is also an alternate transcription of Greek
Μιχαήλ (see
Michail).
Mihaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Михаела(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: mee-ha-EH-la(Romanian) MEE-kha-eh-la(Slovene) mee-HA-ehl-a(Croatian)
Mihael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: MEE-kha-ehl(Slovene)
Slovene and Croatian form of
Michael.
Midnight
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Obscure (Modern)
From Middle English midnight (also as middelniȝte), from Old English midniht, middeniht, middeneaht, (also as midderneaht and middelniht), from Proto-Germanic *midjanahts, equivalent to mid- + night.
Michelangelo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mee-keh-LAN-jeh-lo(Italian) mie-kə-LAN-jə-lo(English)
Combination of
Michael and
Angelo, referring to the archangel Michael. The Renaissance painter and sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), from Florence, was the man who created such great works of art as the statue of
David and the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This name was also borne by the Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), better known as Caravaggio.
Michelangela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: mee-keh-LAN-jeh-la
Michela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mee-KEH-la
Michel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-SHEHL(French) MI-khəl(German) MEE-shehl(Dutch)
French form of
Michael. Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566), also known as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer who made predictions about future world events. Another famous bearer is the retired French soccer player Michel Platini (1955-). This is also the German
diminutive form of
Michael.
Michaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, English, Czech, Slovak, Greek
Other Scripts: Μιχαέλα(Greek)
Pronounced: mi-kha-EH-la(German) mi-KAY-lə(English) MI-kha-eh-la(Czech) MEE-kha-eh-la(Slovak)
Michael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: מִיכָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Μιχαήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MIE-kəl(English) MI-kha-ehl(German, Czech) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish) MEE-kah-ehl(Norwegian) mee-KA-ehl(Latin)
From the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning
"who is like God?", derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see
Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the
New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron
saint of soldiers in Christianity.
The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).
In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.
Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).
Micaiah
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: מִיכָיָהוּ, מִיכָיְהוּ, מִיכָיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mi-KIE-ə(English)
Means
"who is like Yahweh?" in Hebrew, derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name occurs in the
Old Testament in a variety of Hebrew spellings, belonging to both males and females. It is the full name of
Micah, both the prophet and the man from the Book of Judges. As a feminine name it belongs to the mother of King
Abijah (at
2 Chronicles 13:2), though her name is listed as
Maacah in other passages.
Micaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Pronounced: mee-ka-EH-la(Spanish) mee-ku-EH-lu(European Portuguese) mee-ka-EH-lu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Micael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Portuguese
Pronounced: MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish)
Swedish and Portuguese variant form of
Michael.
Miarana
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "indulge oneself, gratify one's wishes" in Malagasy.
Miandra
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "hopeful" in Malagasy.
Miaina
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "living" in Malagasy.
Miadana
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means "in comfortable circumstances, at peace, having no cares" in Malagasy.
Metrodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μητροδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Messina
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mehs-SEE-na
From the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city
Μεσσήνη (Messene).
Messalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Catalan
Feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Messalla, which was originally an agnomen derived from the place name Messana, applied to the 3rd-century BC Roman general Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus to commemorate his victory at the city of Messana in Sicily. The city's name is a Mycenaean Greek form of Messene (Greek: Μεσσήνη), which is of uncertain meaning, possibly from Greek μέσος (mesos) "middle". Messalina was the third wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, who was eventually executed for conspiring against her weak husband.
Merlin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: MUR-lin(English)
Form of the Welsh name
Myrddin used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century chronicle. Writing in Latin, he likely chose the form
Merlinus over
Merdinus in order to prevent associations with French
merde "excrement".
Geoffrey based parts of Merlin's character on Myrddin Wyllt, a legendary madman and prophet who lived in the Caledonian Forest. Other parts of his life were based on that of the historical 5th-century Romano-British military leader Ambrosius Aurelianus (also known as Emrys Wledig). In Geoffrey's version of the tales and later embellishments Merlin is a magician and counselor for King Arthur.
Merletta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mər-LEHT-ə
Merida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
The name of the main character in the Disney/Pixar movie
Brave (2012) about a medieval Scottish princess. The meaning of her name is unexplained, though it could be based on the Spanish city of Mérida, derived from Latin
Emerita Augusta meaning "veterans of
Augustus", so named because it was founded by the emperor Augustus as a colony for his veterans.
Mercia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Latinate form of
Mercy. This was also the name of an old Anglo-Saxon kingdom, though it has a different origin.
Mercedes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mehr-THEH-dhehs(European Spanish) mehr-SEH-dhehs(Latin American Spanish) mər-SAY-deez(English)
Means
"mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word
merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity"
[1].
Meraline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Meralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), Dutch (Antillean, Rare)
Pronounced: me-RAHL-dah(Dutch)
Mera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Pronounced: ME-ru
Derived from Tupi mãra meaning "war".
Menodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μηνοδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
From the English word
melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with
ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".
Melodia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Modern, Rare)
Meliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Derived from Latin melior meaning "better".
Melina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Μελίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: mə-LEE-nə(English)
Elaboration of
Mel, either from names such as
Melissa or from Greek
μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". A famous bearer was Greek-American actress Melina Mercouri (1920-1994), who was born Maria Amalia Mercouris.
Meliantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian (Rare), Dutch (Antillean, Rare)
From Greek μέλι
(meli) "honey" and ἄνθος
(anthos) "flower".
Melia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MEH-LEE-A(Classical Greek)
Means
"ash tree" in Greek, a derivative of
μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". This was the name of a nymph in Greek
myth, the daughter of the Greek god Okeanos.
Melaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μέλαινα(Ancient Greek)
Meissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Western African, Astronomy
Pronounced: MAY-sə(Astronomy)
Variant of
Maïssa; from Arabic
maḥīṣ meaning "shining, glittering". This is also the traditional name of Lambda Orionis, a star in the Orion constellation.
Meisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: めいさ(Japanese Hiragana) メイサ(Japanese Katakana) 冥沙, 冥砂, 銘咲, 名沙, 命冴, 命咲, 命彩, 命桜, 命沙, 命砂, 命紗, 姫桜, 愛依紗, 愛咲, 愛幸, 愛沙, 愛衣沙, 明偉咲, 明咲, 明彩, 明朝, 明桜, 明沙, 明皐, 明紗, 明里, 生紗, 芽依佐, 芽依咲, 芽依彩, 芽依沙, 芽依砂, 芽依紗, 芽咲, 芽彩, 芽桜, 芽沙, 芽生佐, 芽生咲, 芽生彩, 芽生沙, 芽生砂, 芽生紗, 芽紗, 芽衣佐, 芽衣冴, 芽衣咲, 芽衣彩, 芽衣沙, 芽衣砂, 芽衣紗, 苺衣沙, 萌咲, 萌彩, 萌愛桜, 萌桜, 鳴桜, 鳴紗, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ME:-SAH
From Japanese 冥 (mei) meaning "dark", 銘 (mei) meaning "inscription, signature (of artisan)", 名 (mei) meaning "name", 命 (mei) meaning "fate, command, decree, destiny, life, appoint", 姫 (mei) meaning "princess", 愛 (mei, me) meaning "love, affection", 明 (mei, me) meaning "bright, light", 生 (mei) meaning "life, genuine, birth", 芽 (mei, me) meaning "bud, sprout", 苺 (me) meaning "strawberry", 萌 (mei, me) meaning "sprout, bud" or 鳴 (mei) meaning "chirp, cry, bark, sound, ring, echo, honk", 依 (i) meaning "reliant, depend on, consequently, therefore, due to", 衣 (i) meaning "garment, clothes, dressing", 偉 (i) meaning "admirable, greatness, remarkable, conceited, famous, excellent", 生 (i) meaning "life, genuine, birth" or 愛 (i) meaning "love, affection" combined with 沙 (sa) or 砂 (sa) both meaning "sand", 咲 (sa) meaning "blossom", 冴 (sa) meaning "be clear, serene, cold, skillful", 彩 (sa) meaning "colour", 桜 (sa) meaning "cherry blossom", 紗 (sa) meaning "gauze", 幸 (sa) meaning "happiness", 朝 (sa) meaning "morning, dynasty, regime, epoch, period, (North) Korea", 皐 (sa) meaning "swamp, shore", 里 (sa) meaning "village" or 佐 (sa) meaning "assistant, help". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Meira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מֵאִירָה(Hebrew)
Meijia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 美嘉(Chinese)
From the Chinese 美 (měi) meaning "beauty, beautiful" and 嘉 (jiā) meaning "fine, good, excellent, auspicious".
Megara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: Μεγάρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: meg-AH-rah(Greek Mythology) MEG-AH-RA(Greek Mythology)
Either a variant of
Megaera or derived from either the Ancient Greek city Megara in West Attica, Greece, or the Ancient Greek colony in Sicily Megara Hyblaea, both derived from
megaron, from
megas 'large, great, marvelous', referring to a large hall.
In Greek mythology, Megara was the oldest daughter of Creon, king of Thebes. In reward for Heracles' defending Thebes from the Minyans at Orchomenus in single-handed battle, Creon offered his daughter Megara to Heracles. She bore him a son and a daughter, whom Heracles killed when Hera struck him with temporary madness. In some sources Heracles slew Megara too, in others, she was given to Iolaus when Heracles left Thebes forever.
In the Disney animated film Hercules, Megara, also called Meg, is a young woman who was a pawn for the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. Sometime during the events of Hercules, Meg went to Hades and sold her soul to revive a lover of hers who had died. Hades agreed on the condition that she serve him forever, which she accepted. However, shortly after her lover was revived, he fell in love with someone else and ungratefully left Meg locked in servitude to Hades. This background story of the character alludes to the myth of Alcestis, who dies by proxy for her husband Admetus.
Megaira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μέγαιρα(Ancient Greek)
Medora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Created by Lord Byron for a character in his poem The Corsair (1814). It is not known what inspired Byron to use this name. The year the poem was published, it was used as the middle name of Elizabeth Medora Leigh (1814-1849), a niece and rumoured daughter of Byron.
Medina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh, Bosnian
Other Scripts: Медина(Kazakh)
Kazakh and Bosnian form of
Madina.
Medeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μήδεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MEH-DEH-A(Classical Greek)
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Mea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 芽亜, 瞳亜, 萌愛, 明亞, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ME-AH
From Japanese 萌 (me) meaning "to bud, to sprout" combined with 愛 (a) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mazarine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Usage of this still relatively new French given name first started with Mazarine Pingeot (b. 1974), the illegitimate daughter of former French president François Mitterrand (1916-1996) and his mistress Anne Pingeot (b. 1943), whose existence was only brought to light in 1994 or 1995. Her parents' love of books is said to have inspired them to name their daughter after the
Bibliothèque Mazarine, the oldest public library in France. The library itself was named after the 17th-century cardinal Jules Raymond Mazarin, who had been born in Italy as Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino. He came from a family that was originally from Sicily and had taken their surname from their ancestral town, Mazzarino.
The town's name is said to have been derived from Mazzara, which either originates from Arabic mazari or mazar meaning "shrine", or is a corruption of Mactorium, the name of a town that had existed in the area in ancient times. That town had been founded by ancient Greek colonists, who had called it Μακτώριον (Maktorion). It is uncertain what the town's name meant in Greek, but it is possibly related to the Greek noun μακτήριον (makterion) meaning "food". Also compare Μαιμακτηριών (Maimakterion), which is the name of one of the lunar months of the Hellenic calendar used in ancient Attica. Alternatively, an etymological relation with the Greek adjective μακτός (maktos) meaning "kneaded" is also possible. This word is ultimately derived from the Greek verb μάσσω (masso) meaning "to knead, to press into a mould".
With that said, the given name Mazarine is quite rare in France today. It was virtually unknown in the country, until the existence of Mitterrand's illegitimate daughter was revealed in 1994 or 1995. The name gained quite a bit of exposure after that, which made it possible for prospective parents to take a liking to the name and bestow it upon their daughters. This clearly shows in the available statistics for the name Mazarine: it suddenly appeared on the radar in the mid-1990s and has remained on it ever since, whereas in previous decades, the name was not used on a noteworthy scale at all (as was to be expected, since this name was more or less "invented" as a given name).
Mayira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מֵאִירָה(Hebrew)
Maybelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Maya 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIE-ə, MAY-ə
Variant of
Maia 1. This name can also be given in reference to the Maya, an indigenous people of southern Mexico and parts of Central America whose civilization flourished between the 3rd and 8th centuries. A famous bearer was the American poet and author Maya Angelou (1928-2014).
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese (Anglicized, Modern)
Other Scripts: 芽依, 芽生, 芽衣, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: MEH-EE
Anglicized form of
Mei 2.
Maxellende
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), History (Ecclesiastical)
French form of
Maxellendis. This was the name of a 7th-century martyr; Saint Maxellende was a miracle worker, invoked for eye diseases.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Mateo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Croatian
Pronounced: ma-TEH-o(Spanish)
Spanish form of
Matthew. This form is also sometimes used in Croatia, from the Italian form
Matteo.
Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.
Marzanna 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slavic Mythology
Pronounced: ma-ZHAN-na(Polish)
Maryrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Mary Geoise
Usage: French, English, Japanese, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: 聖地マリージョア(Kanji/Katakana) マリージョア(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: mah-ree zhwa(French) mair-ee zhwa(English) mah-ree zho-ah(Japanese)
A fictional city-state from Eiichiro Oda’s “One Piece.”
The Holy Land Mary Geoise is located in the center of the world atop the Red Line mountain range. It is the capital of the World Government where only the highest nobles and elites may live.
The name has no definite meaning, but Geoise is sourced from the French word bourgeois—“of or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.”
Marījoa has been Anglicized into several forms. In one translation, it was scrapped completely and localized to Eden Rock.
Marte 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Italianized, Hispanicized, Portuguese-style)
Pronounced: MAR-teh(Spanish)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Mars.
Mars
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MARS(Latin) MAHRZ(English)
Possibly related to Latin
mas meaning
"male" (genitive
maris). In Roman
mythology Mars was the god of war, often equated with the Greek god
Ares. This is also the name of the fourth planet in the solar system.
Marmalade
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MAHR-MA-LAYD
From the English speaking word marmalade, which is a tangy orange jam. On the American animated series "Strawberry Shortcake", Marmalade is the name of Orange Blossom's pet butterfly, and the name of her puppy on "Berry Bitty City Adventures".
Marjanah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Indonesian
Other Scripts: مرجانة(Arabic)
Feminine form of
Marjan. It is notably used within the Arabian Nights as the name of the clever slave of Ali Baba within 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. Nowadays it is mostly used in Indonesia, being virtually unused by Arabic speakers.
Maristella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Maristela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: mu-reesh-TEH-lu(European Portuguese) ma-rees-TEH-lu(Brazilian Portuguese) ma-rees-TEH-la(Spanish)
From the title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning
"star of the sea" in Latin. It can also be a combination of
Maria and
Estela.
Marisela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-SEH-la
Marisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: ma-REE-za(Italian) ma-REE-sa(Spanish) mə-RIS-ə(English)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese combination of
Maria and
Luisa.
Mariposa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: mehr-i-PO-sə, mar-i-PO-zə
From the Spanish word for "butterfly".
Marionne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Marionna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romansh
Marionette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Afrikaans (Rare)
Marionetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Marion 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: MA-RYAWN(French) MEHR-ee-ən(English) MAR-ee-ən(English)
Marino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: ma-REE-no
Italian and Spanish form of
Marinus.
Marinette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-REE-NEHT
Marinella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Marinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Marilyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAR-ə-lin, MAR-lin
Combination of
Mary and the common name suffix
lyn. It was very rare before the start of the 20th century. It was popularized in part by the American stage star Marilyn Miller (1898-1936), who was born Mary Ellen Reynolds and took her
stage name from a combination of her birth name and her mother's middle name
Lynn. It became popular in the United States during the 1920s, reaching a high point ranked 13th in 1936. Famous bearers include American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962; real name Norma Jeane Mortenson) and American opera singer Marilyn Horne (1934-).
Marilena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, Greek
Other Scripts: Μαριλένα(Greek)
Pronounced: ma-ree-LEH-na(Italian)
Marijoy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Filipino
Marigold
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of
Mary and the English word
gold.
Mariette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-RYEHT
Marietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Greek, Hungarian, German, Polish
Other Scripts: Μαριέττα(Greek)
Pronounced: MAW-ree-eht-taw(Hungarian)
Marie-Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-REE-ROZ
Marienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Marielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-RYEHL
Mariella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ma-RYEHL-la
Maricela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-THEH-la(European Spanish) ma-ree-SEH-la(Latin American Spanish)
Marica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
In Roman mythology, Marica was a nymph and the mother of
Latinus. The sacred forest near Minturnae was dedicated to Marica as well as a nearby lake. The origin and meaning or her name are uncertain. Theories include a derivation from the Indoeuropean root
mari / mori which designated boggy waters.
Maribelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MER-ə-bel
Maribella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic)
Mariaurra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Basque combination of
Maria and the word
haur, haurra "child".
This name has traditionally been used to distinguish the younger of two sisters bearing the same name. In the region of Navarre, it is still in use to this day.
Mariastela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
Mariasara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 真理亜沙羅, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: MAH-ṘEE-A-SAH-ṘAH
From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "true, reality", 理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic", 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia", 沙 (sa) meaning "sand" combined with 羅 (ra) meaning "lightweight fabric". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mariarosaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ma-REE-a-ro-ZAH-rya
Mariarosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romansh
Mariano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: ma-RYA-no(Italian, Spanish) mu-RYU-noo(European Portuguese) ma-RYU-noo(Brazilian Portuguese)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Marianus. It is sometimes regarded as a masculine form of
Maria.
Marianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: MA-RYAN(French) mar-ee-AN(English) ma-RYA-nə(German) ma-ree-YAH-nə(Dutch) MAH-ree-ahn-neh(Finnish)
Combination of
Marie and
Anne 1, though it could also be considered a variant of
Mariana or
Mariamne. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Marianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Russian, Greek, English
Other Scripts: Марианна(Russian) Μαριάννα(Greek)
Pronounced: ma-ree-AN-na(Italian) MAW-ree-awn-naw(Hungarian) MA-ree-a-na(Slovak) ma-RYAN-na(Polish) MAH-ree-ahn-nah(Finnish) mahr-ee-AHN-ə(English) mar-ee-AN-ə(English)
Combination of
Maria and
Anna. It can also be regarded as a variant of the Roman name
Mariana, or as a Latinized form of
Mariamne.
Marianita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-rya-NEE-ta
Mariangela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ma-ree-AN-jeh-la, ma-RYAN-jeh-la
Marianela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-rya-NEH-la
Mariandrea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ma-ryan-DREH-a(Latin American Spanish)
Mariandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: ma-ri-an-dra(Latin American Spanish)
Mariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Мариана, Марияна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: mu-RYU-nu(European Portuguese) ma-RYU-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ma-RYA-na(Spanish)
Roman feminine form of
Marianus. After the classical era it was sometimes interpreted as a combination of
Maria and
Ana. In Portuguese it is further used as a form of
Mariamne.
Marian 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-ee-ən, MAR-ee-ən
Variant of
Marion 1. This name was borne in English legend by Maid Marian, Robin Hood's love. It is sometimes considered a combination of
Mary and
Ann.
This name spiked in popularity in several places around the world in 1954 after Pope Pius declared it to be a Marian year, in honour of the Virgin Mary. A similar declaration in 1987 did not have as marked an effect.
Mariam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Greek [1], Georgian, Armenian, Malay, Arabic
Other Scripts: Μαριάμ(Ancient Greek) მარიამ(Georgian) Մարիամ(Armenian) مريم(Arabic)
Pronounced: MA-REE-AM(Georgian) mah-ree-AHM(Armenian) MAR-yam(Arabic)
Form of
Maria used in the Greek
Old Testament. In the Greek
New Testament both this spelling and
Μαρία (Maria) are used. It is also the Georgian, Armenian and Malay form, as well as an alternate transcription of Arabic
مريم (see
Maryam).
Marialyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Filipino
Pronounced: mu-REE-yu-lin
Combination of
Maria and the popular suffix
-lyn.
Marialita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Philippines)
Pronounced: mu-ree-yu-LEE-tu(Filipino Spanish)
Combination of
Maria and the Spanish diminutive suffix
-lita.
Marialisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Marialena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Μαριαλένα(Greek)
Marialejandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ma-REE-a-leh-khan-dra(Latin American Spanish)
Combination of
Maria and
Alejandra.
Notable bearers of this name including Marialejandra Martín (born 1964), a Venezuelan actress, and Marialejandra Marrero (born 1991), a YouTube personality.
Mariachiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mah-ree-ah-KYAH-rah
Mariacarla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Combination of
Maria and
Carla.
Famous bearer of this name is Italian Supermodel Mariacarla Boscono.
Mariabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Maria
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μαρία(Greek) Մարիա(Armenian) Мария(Russian, Bulgarian) Марія(Ukrainian) Маріа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: ma-REE-a(Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Romanian, Basque) mu-REE-u(European Portuguese) ma-REE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) mə-REE-ə(Catalan, English) mah-REE-ah(Norwegian, Danish) MAR-ya(Polish) MAH-ree-ah(Finnish) mu-RYEE-yə(Russian) mu-RYEE-yu(Ukrainian)
Latin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
Mary).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.
Mari 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian, Finnish, Welsh, Breton, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: მარი(Georgian) Մարի(Armenian)
Pronounced: MAH-ree(Finnish) MAW-ree(Hungarian) mah-REE(Swedish)
Estonian, Finnish, Welsh and Breton form of
Maria, as well as a Hungarian
diminutive of
Mária. It is also a Scandinavian, Georgian and Armenian form of the French name
Marie.
Margarita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Greek, Albanian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Маргарита(Russian, Bulgarian) Μαργαρίτα(Greek)
Pronounced: mar-gha-REE-ta(Spanish) mər-gu-RYEE-tə(Russian) mahr-gə-REE-tə(English)
Latinate form of
Margaret. This is also the Spanish word for the daisy flower (species Bellis perennis, Leucanthemum vulgare and others).
Marelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), Estonian (Rare)
Marella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mah-REL-lah
Possibly a variant of
Mariella, notably borne by Italian socialite Marella Agnelli (1927-).
Marelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Afrikaans
Marelisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Marelie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Afrikaans
Marco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch
Pronounced: MAR-ko(Italian, Spanish, German) MAR-koo(European Portuguese) MAKH-koo(Brazilian Portuguese) MAHR-ko(Dutch)
Italian form of
Marcus (see
Mark). During the Middle Ages this name was common in Venice, where
Saint Mark was supposedly buried. A famous bearer was the Venetian explorer Marco Polo, who travelled across Asia to China in the 13th century.
Marcio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: MAR-thyo(European Spanish) MAR-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Marciano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: mur-SYU-noo(European Portuguese) makh-SYU-noo(Brazilian Portuguese) mar-THYA-no(European Spanish) mar-SYA-no(Latin American Spanish) mar-CHA-no(Italian)
Portuguese, Spanish and Italian form of
Marcianus.
Marciana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: mar-THYA-na(European Spanish) mar-SYA-na(Latin American Spanish) makh-SYU-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Feminine form of
Marcianus. This was the name of a young woman martyred in North Africa during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
Marcia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: MAHR-shə(English) mahr-SEE-ə(English) MAR-thya(European Spanish) MAR-sya(Latin American Spanish)
Feminine form of
Marcius. It was borne by a few very minor
saints. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 18th century
[1].
March
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
From the name of the month, which was derived from the name of the Roman god Mars.
Marcelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Marcello
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mar-CHEHL-lo
Marcella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: mar-CHEHL-la(Italian) mar-KEHL-la(Latin)
Marcelino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: mar-theh-LEE-no(European Spanish) mar-seh-LEE-no(Latin American Spanish)
Marcelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: mar-tseh-LEE-na(Polish) mar-theh-LEE-na(European Spanish) mar-seh-LEE-na(Latin American Spanish)
Polish, Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of
Marcellinus.
Marcel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German
Pronounced: MAR-SEHL(French) mər-SEHL(Catalan) mar-CHEHL(Romanian) MAR-tsehl(Polish, Czech, Slovak) mahr-SEHL(Dutch) mar-SEHL(German)
Form of
Marcellus used in several languages. Notable bearers include the French author Marcel Proust (1871-1922) and the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968).
Maraya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Maravilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (European)
Pronounced: ma-ra-BEE-ya(Spanish)
Marana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a 5th-century Christian saint, a hermit from Beroea in Syria who was martyred with her companion
Cyra.
Maralina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian), South American
Variant of Mara with diminutive -lina.
Marajade
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare), Popular Culture
Possibly a combination of
Mara 1 and
Jade. The usage of the name is probably popularized by Mara Jade Skywalker, a character in the Star Wars franchise.
Maraiza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Maraina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian), English (New Zealand), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Maradona
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: ma-ra-DHO-na(Spanish) mar-ə-DAHN-ə(English) ma-ra-DO-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Transferred use of the surname
Maradona, honouring Argentine professional football player and manager Diego Maradona (1960-2020), widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football.
Marabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Maple
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-pəl
From the English word for the tree (comprising the genus Acer), derived from Old English mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.
Manuela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Italian
Pronounced: ma-NWEH-la(Spanish, German) ma-noo-EH-la(Italian)
Manuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Romanian, Late Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Μανουήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-NWEHL(Spanish) mu-noo-EHL(European Portuguese) ma-noo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) MA-nwehl(German, Italian) MA-NWEHL(French)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Emmanuel. In the spelling
Μανουήλ (Manouel) it was also used in the Byzantine Empire, notably by two emperors. It is possible this form of the name was transmitted to Spain and Portugal from Byzantium, since there were connections between the royal families (king Ferdinand III of Castile married Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, who had Byzantine roots, and had a son named Manuel). The name has been used in Iberia since at least the 13th century and was borne by two kings of Portugal.
Mantra
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Indian (Parsi)
Pronounced: Montra
Manaia
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Maori
From the name of a stylized design common in Maori carvings. It represents a mythological creature with the head of a bird and the body of a human.
Mana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 真菜, 真奈, 舞菜, 舞奈, 麻菜, 麻奈, 満菜, 満奈(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: MAH-NAH
From Japanese 真 (ma) "true", 舞 (ma) "dance", 麻 (ma) "flax" or 満 (ma) "full" combined with 菜 (na) "vegetables, greens" or 奈 (na), a phonetic character.
Malvina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English, Italian, French
Created by the Scottish poet James MacPherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossian poems. He probably intended it to mean "smooth brow", from Scottish Gaelic mala "brow" and mìn "smooth, fine" (lenited to mhìn and pronounced with a v sound).
Malta
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: MAL-ta(Spanish) MAL-tu(Portuguese)
habitational or ethnic name for someone from the Mediterranean island of Malta (from Latin Melita Greek Melitē).
Malisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: มาลิสา(Thai)
Pronounced: ma-lee-SA
Derived from Thai มาลิ
(maa-lii) meaning "flower" (see
Mali).
Malia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ma-LEE-a(Hawaiian) mə-LEE-ə(English)
Hawaiian form of
Maria. This name experienced a spike in popularity in 2009, due to the eldest daughter (born 1998) of the new American president Barack Obama.
Malia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish (Rare), Sicilian
Malena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Spanish
Pronounced: ma-LEH-na(Spanish)
Swedish and Spanish contracted form of
Magdalena. In Spanish it can also be a contracted form of
María Elena.
Malaika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Means
"angel" in Swahili, derived from Arabic
ملك (malak).
Maira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μαῖρα(Ancient Greek)
From Greek
μαρμαίρω (marmairo) meaning
"sparkle, gleam, flash". This name was borne by several characters in Greek
mythology, including one of the Nereids.
Maiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
From Tupi maya arya meaning "great-grandmother".
Maia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MIE-ya(Latin) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English)
Probably from Latin
maior meaning
"greater". This was the name of a Roman goddess of spring, a companion (sometimes wife) of
Vulcan. She was later conflated with the Greek goddess
Maia. The month of May is named for her.
Mai 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 舞, 麻衣, 真愛, etc.(Japanese Kanji) まい(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MA-EE
From Japanese
舞 (mai) meaning "dance" or
麻衣 (mai) meaning "linen robe". It can also come from
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
Mahalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Magenta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Theatre
Pronounced: mə-JEN-tə
Named for the mauvish-crimson colour. The dye to make the colour was discovered and named shortly after the Battle of Magenta in 1859 (the town is situated in northern Italy). The colour may have been inspired by the colour of the uniforms worn by the French troops, or by the colour of the land soaked in blood after the battle.
Magenta was a character in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” musical play and movie. She was a domestic maid played by Patricia Quinn.
Magdalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mak-da-LEH-nə(German) MAG-də-lin(English)
From a title meaning
"of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the
New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular
saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
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)
Madonna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mə-DAHN-ə
From a title of the Virgin
Mary meaning "my lady" in Italian. A famous bearer of the name is American singer Madonna Ciccone (1958-), known simply as Madonna.
Madison
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-i-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Maud". It was not commonly used as a feminine name until after the movie
Splash (1984), in which the main character adopted it as her name after seeing a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City. It was ranked second for girls in the United States by 2001. This rise from obscurity to prominence in only 18 years represents an unprecedented 550,000 percent increase in usage.
A famous bearer of the surname was James Madison (1751-1836), one of the authors of the American constitution who later served as president (and after whom Madison Avenue was named).
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
English form of
Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Maddalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mad-da-LEH-na
Madaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Guanche, Berber (Archaic)
Pronounced: ma-DAH-ya
From Guanche *madăyya, meaning "beautiful thing to see". Besides the Canary Islands, this name was also used in Northern Africa.
Lyssa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIS-ə
Lysianassa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λυσιάνασσα(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek elements λυσις
(lysis) "releasing, freeing, deliverance" and ανασσα
(anassa) "queen". This was borne by several minor characters in Greek mythology, including a daughter of King Priam of Troy, and one of the Nereids.
Lysiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Modern, Rare)
Lysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Greek Mythology, English (Rare), Brazilian (Rare), Dutch (Rare), French (Quebec, Rare)
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Lyrica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Pronounced: LI-ri-kə
Elaborated form of
Lyric.
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Means simply
"lyric, songlike" from the English word, ultimately derived from Greek
λυρικός (lyrikos).
Lyria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Pronounced: LEE-ree-ah(English) LEER-ee-ah(Popular Culture)
From the Greek instrument the lyre.
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).
Lyndon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dən
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English. A famous bearer was American president Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
Lyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Lydian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Pronounced: LI-dee-ən(English) LI-di-ən(English)
Variant of
Lydia, occasionally used in Norway as a masculine form. In some cases it may be directly from the word which means "of ancient Lydia" (and also refers to "a mode of ancient Greek music, reputed to be light and effeminate").
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German) LEE-dee-ya(Dutch)
Means
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the
Protestant Reformation.
Luscinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loos-KEE-nee-a, loosh-SHEE-nee-a
Derived from Latin luscinia "nightingale". This was an epithet of the Roman goddess Minerva. As an English name, it has been used sparingly since the 19th century.
Lunarose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Filipino
Lunaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Brazilian (Rare), Filipino (Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Spanish (Mexican, Rare)
Means "moon-like" in Latin. Lunaria is a genus of flowering plants.
Lunamaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: LOO-nah-mah-REE-ah
Used for a character in the Japanese anime metaseries 'Mobile Suit Gundam SEED', first released in 2002. It was probably inspired by the similar-sounding phrase
lunar maria "broad, dark areas of the moon" (Latin:
Maria Lunae), ultimately from Latin
luna "moon" (compare
Luna "goddess of the moon") and
mare "sea" (plural
maria; applied to lunar features by Galileo and used thus in 17th-century Latin works. They originally were thought to be actual seas).
Luminessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Pronounced: loo-mə-NEHS-ə
From the English word
luminescence, a derivative of Latin
lumen "light" (from
lux).
Luminara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Name from the Star Wars universe.
Lumina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: LOO-mi-nə, loo-MEE-nə
Derived from Latin lumina "lights", ultimately from Latin lumen "light". In the English-speaking world, this name was first recorded in the 1800s.
Lumea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
English form of Latin
Lucas, from the Greek name
Λουκᾶς (Loukas), probably a shortened form of
Λουκανός (Loukanos) meaning
"from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy. Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the
New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a
saint by many Christian denominations.
Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.
Luka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Russian, Georgian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Лука(Serbian, Macedonian, Russian) ლუკა(Georgian) Лꙋка(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: LOO-ka(Croatian) LOO-KAH(Georgian)
Form of
Lucas (see
Luke) in several languages.
Lucius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical, English
Pronounced: LOO-kee-oos(Latin) LOO-shəs(English) LOO-si-əs(English)
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which was derived from Latin
lux "light". This was the most popular of the praenomina. Two Etruscan kings of early Rome had this name as well as several prominent later Romans, including Lucius Annaeus Seneca (known simply as Seneca), a statesman, philosopher, orator and tragedian. The name is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament belonging to a Christian in Antioch. It was also borne by three popes, including the 3rd-century
Saint Lucius. Despite this, the name was not regularly used in the Christian world until after the Renaissance.
Lucio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: LOO-cho(Italian) LOO-thyo(European Spanish) LOO-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Italian and Spanish form of
Lucius.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
An elaboration of
Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel
Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play
The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lucina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KEE-na(Latin) loo-SIE-nə(English) loo-SEE-nə(English)
Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.
Lucienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-SYEHN
Lucienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Flemish (Rare), Louisiana Creole, French (Acadian, Rare), French (Quebec, Archaic)
Lucien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-SYEHN
Luciano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: loo-CHA-no(Italian) loo-THYA-no(European Spanish) loo-SYA-no(Latin American Spanish) loo-SYU-noo(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Lucianus.
Lucianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French (Rare), French (Belgian, Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Luciana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHA-na(Italian) loo-THYA-na(European Spanish) loo-SYA-na(Latin American Spanish) loo-SYU-nu(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese)
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Romanian and English form of
Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
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-ya(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.
Lucero
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Mexican), Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: loo-SEH-ro(Latin American Spanish) loo-THEH-ro(European Spanish)
Means
"light source, bright star, morning star" in Spanish, a derivative of
luz "light". Occasionally it is used as a
diminutive of the name
Luz. It is most common in Mexico and Colombia.
Lucca
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Transferred use of the Italian surname
Lucca. The use of Lucca is probably influenced by the similar looking and sounding
Luca 1.
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".
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Lovisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: loo-VEE-sah
Swedish feminine form of
Louis.
Lovinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Archaic), French (Quebec, Archaic), Romani (Archaic)
Lovina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic), Romani (Archaic)
Lovette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Lovenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South, Archaic), Romani (Archaic)
Lovena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Caribbean)
Lovelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), German (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: LUV-lin(English)
Combination of
Love and the popular name suffix
lyn.
It became more popular in Germany in 2013 when Lovelyn Chinwe Enebechi won the eight season of Germany's Next Top Model.
Lovelle
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Lovella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Filipino (Rare)
Possibly coined as a feminine form of
Lovell.
Lovell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From a surname that was a variant of
Lowell.
Lovelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern)
Pronounced: loo-VEH-lee-ah
Love 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LUV
Simply from the English word love, derived from Old English lufu.
Lovana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Means “inheritance” in Malagasy.
Lova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: LOO-va
Lotus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LO-təs
From the name of the lotus flower (species Nelumbo nucifera) or the mythological lotus tree. They are ultimately derived from Greek
λωτός (lotos). In Greek and Roman
mythology the lotus tree was said to produce a fruit causing sleepiness and forgetfulness.
Lorraina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Lorena 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian
Pronounced: lo-REH-na(Spanish, Italian)
Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian form of
Lorraine.
Lorelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Lorella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: lo-RELL-lah
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
From German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
Lorelai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie
Variant of
Lorelei. This name featured on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) where it was borne by the two main characters (the younger one went by the nickname
Rory).
Loredana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Used by the French author George Sand for a character in her novel Mattea (1833) and later by the Italian author Luciano Zuccoli in his novel L'amore de Loredana (1908). It was possibly based on the Venetian surname Loredan, which was derived from the place name Loreo.
Loralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie
Lorabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (?)
Lora with the common
-bella suffix.
Lora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə
Loki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Pronounced: LO-kee(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly derived from the Germanic root *
luką meaning
"lock". In Norse
mythology Loki was a trickster god associated with magic and shape shifting. Loki's children include the wolf
Fenrir, the sea serpent
Jörmungandr, and the queen of the dead
Hel. After he orchestrated the death of
Balder, the other gods tied him to a rock below a snake that dripped venom onto his face. It is told that he will break free during Ragnarök, the final battle, and slay and be slain by
Heimdall.
Liyana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Malay
Other Scripts: ليانا(Malay Jawi)
Derived from Arabic لَيِّن (layyin) meaning "soft, tender, delicate".
Livio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: LEE-vyo
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Liva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Lisandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese
Pronounced: lee-SAN-dro(Spanish)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Lysander.
Lisandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese
Pronounced: lee-SAN-dra(Spanish)
Lirielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Liora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Strictly feminine form of
Lior.
Lionel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: LYAW-NEHL(French) LIE-ə-nəl(English) LIE-nəl(English)
French
diminutive of
Léon. It appears in Arthurian legend in the 13th-century
Lancelot-Grail Cycle, belonging to a knight who was the brother of Sir
Bors. A notable modern bearer is the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi (1987-).
Liona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Venetian (Archaic), Medieval Italian (Tuscan)
Lion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Venetian, Ligurian, Medieval Italian (Tuscan)
Venetian and Ligurian form of
Leone 1.
Linnaea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: li-NAY-ə, li-NEE-ə
From the word for the type of flower, also called the twinflower (see
Linnéa).
Linjia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 琳佳, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: LEEN-JEE-YAH
Combination of the names
Lin and
Jia
Linaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: li-NER-ee-ə, lie-NER-ee-ə
From the flower linaria, whose name is derived from a Latin phrase meaning, "resembling flax" (why the flower is also called "toadflax" in English).
Lina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: لينا(Arabic)
Pronounced: LEE-na
Means
"soft, tender" in Arabic, derived from
لان (lāna) meaning "to be soft". It can also be from Arabic
لينة (līna), a type of palm tree, likely derived from the same root.
Limenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λιμένια(Ancient Greek)
Means "of the harbour", derived from Greek λιμήν (limên) "harbour". This was an epithet of the Greek goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, and Artemis.
Lily-Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Lilymae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lilita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
Liliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, English
Pronounced: lee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) lil-ee-AN-ə(English) lil-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Lilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лилия(Russian) Лілія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LEE-lya(Spanish) LYEE-lyi-yə(Russian)
Spanish and Italian form of
Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Лилия or Ukrainian
Лілія (see
Liliya).
Lilarose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Lilac
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LIE-lək
From the English word for the shrub with purple or white flowers (genus Syringa). It is derived via Arabic from Persian.
Lila 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Liela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Latinized, Modern)
Pronounced: Leye-la
It is a name from the flower, lilac.
Liana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, English, Georgian
Other Scripts: ლიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LYA-na(Italian)
Short form of
Juliana,
Liliana and other names that end in
liana. This is also the word for a type of vine that grows in jungles.
Lian 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Liam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French (Modern), Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), Swedish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: LYEEM(Irish) LEE-əm(English) LYAM(French) LEE-yahm(Dutch)
Irish short form of
William. It became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, and elsewhere in Europe and the Americas after that. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States beginning in 2017. Famous bearers include British actor Liam Neeson (1952-), British musician Liam Gallagher (1972-), and Australian actor Liam Hemsworth (1990-).
Lia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LEE-a(Italian)
Leyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: لەیلا(Kurdish Sorani) لیلا(Persian) ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: lay-LA(Turkish) LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English) LEE-lə(English) LIE-lə(English)
Variant of
Leila, and the usual Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kurdish form.
Levent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: leh-VENT
From the Ottoman Turkish term levend, referring to a member of the navy, which is possibly ultimately derived from Italian levante "person from the eastern Mediterranean". The Turkish word has now come to mean "tall, handsome, roguish".
Levante
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: leh-VAHN-teh
Means "levant (wind); East" in Italian.
Levana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: leh-WA-na(Latin)
From Latin levare meaning "to raise, to lift". This was the name of a Roman goddess associated with newborn babies and the rituals of childbirth.
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Leona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Czech
Pronounced: lee-O-nə(English) LEH-o-na(Czech)
Leon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λέων(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-ahn(English) LEH-awn(German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene)
Derived from Greek
λέων (leon) meaning
"lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin
cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is
Лев in Russian.
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Danish, Finnish) LEH-yo(Dutch) LEE-o(English)
Derived from Latin
leo meaning
"lion", a
cognate of
Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including
Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled
Лев in Russian, whose works include
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Lemonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Λεμονιά(Greek)
Means "lemon tree" in Greek.
Lemon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic), Popular Culture
Pronounced: LEM-un(American)
Transferred use of the surname
Lemon.
Leilani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Leila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, Georgian
Other Scripts: لیلا(Persian) ليلى(Arabic) لەیلا(Kurdish Sorani) ლეილა(Georgian)
Pronounced: lay-LAW(Persian) LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English) LEE-lə(English) LIE-lə(English) LAY-LA(French)
Variant of
Layla, and the usual Persian transcription.
This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in The Giaour (1813) and Don Juan (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
Leida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Meaning unknown. It was popularized by a character in Estonian writer Andres Saal's historical stories Vambola (1889) and Aita (1891). Saal associated it with Estonian leidma "to find".
Leia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Greek, Portuguese, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: Λεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LAY-ə(English)
Form of
Leah used in the Greek
Old Testament, as well as a Portuguese form. This is the name of a princess in the
Star Wars movies by George Lucas, who probably based it on
Leah.
Legion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Via Old French from Latin legio(n- ), from legere ‘choose, levy’. The adjective dates from the late 17th century.
Leanora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Leanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lee-AN-ə
Probably this was originally a variant of
Liana. It is now often considered a combination of
Lee and
Anna [1].
Leanira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of
Leaneira. In Greek mythology, Leanira or Leaneira was a Spartan princess who later became an Arcadian queen. She was the daughter of King Amyclas and possibly Diomede, daughter of Lapithes. Through this parentage, she was the sister of Argalus, Cynortes, Hyacinthus, Harpalus, Hegesandra, Polyboea, and in other versions, of Daphne. Later on, Leaneira married King
Arcas, son of Callisto and Zeus. The couple had children including Elatus, Apheidas, Azan, and Triphylus. The former two sons divided Arcadia after the demise of their father.
Leandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Pronounced: leh-AN-dro(Spanish)
Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of
Leander.
Leandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: leh-AN-dra(Spanish)
Leaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Λέαινα(Ancient Greek)
From Greek λέαινα
(leaina) meaning "lioness", the feminine form of λέων
(leôn) "lion" (see
Leon). This was borne by a 6th-century BC Athenian hetaira whose lover Aristogeiton plotted to overthrow the tyrants Hippias and Hipparchus, which eventually led to the establishment of democracy in Athens. Leaina was captured and, refusing to divulge the names of the conspirators, tortured to death. According to Pausanias, the Athenians later set up a bronze statue of a lioness on the Acropolis in her honour.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Lea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Italian, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEH-a(German) LEH-ah(Finnish) LEH-aw(Hungarian)
Form of
Leah used in several languages.
Lazuli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: LAZ-yuw-lie, LAZ-yuw-lee
From an ellipsis of lapis lazuli, the name of a deep blue semiprecious stone. It is derived from medieval Latin lazulum meaning "heaven, sky", ultimately from Persian لاجورد (lajvard) meaning "lapis lazuli, azure (color)".
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.
Layana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Modern)
Layali
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ليالى(Arabic)
Means "nights" in Arabic.
Law
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Meaning unknown, probably of Etruscan origin. In Roman legend Lavinia was the daughter of King Latinus, the wife of
Aeneas, and the ancestor of the Roman people. According to the legend Aeneas named the town of Lavinium in honour of his wife.
Lavina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Laverna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: la-WEHR-na(Latin)
Meaning unknown. Laverna was the Roman goddess of thieves and thievery.
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Lauro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: LOW-ro
Italian form of
Laurus (see
Laura).
Lauriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Laurentino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish
Pronounced: low-rehn-TEE-no(Spanish)
Laurentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Portuguese, Spanish
Pronounced: low-rehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Laurent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-RAHN
Laurelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAWR-əl
Laurella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Laureline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, French (Belgian), Flemish (Rare), Popular Culture
Medieval diminutive of
Laura. This name was used for a character in the French series of science fiction comics
Valérian et Laureline (1967-2010) as well as the 2017 movie adaptation
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
Laurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Elaboration of
Laura. In some cases it may also be an adoption of the plant name.
Laurel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əl
From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.
Lauraline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian, Rare), French (Quebec, Rare), English (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Laurabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Laurabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Laurus, which meant
"laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr
Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.
Larissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Portuguese (Brazilian), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λάρισα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lə-RIS-ə(English) la-RI-sa(German)
Variant of
Larisa. It has been commonly used as an English given name only since the 20th century, as a borrowing from Russian. In 1991 this name was given to one of the moons of Neptune, in honour of the mythological character.
Laralisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
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)
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.
Lanmei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 蓝莓, 兰梅, 兰玫, 兰莓, 兰美, 岚梅, 岚玫, 岚莓, 岚美, 蓝梅, 蓝玫, 蓝美, etc.(Chinese) 藍莓, 蘭梅, 蘭玫, 蘭莓, 蘭美, 嵐梅, 嵐玫, 嵐莓, 嵐美, 藍梅, 藍玫, 藍美, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: LAHN-MAY
From Chinese 蓝莓, 藍莓 (lánméi) meaning "blueberry" which combines 蓝, 藍 (lán) meaning "blue" with 莓 (méi) meaning "berry, strawberry", or from 兰, 蘭 (lán) meaning "orchid, elegant" or 岚, 嵐 (lán) meaning "mountain mist" combined with 梅 (méi) meaning "plum, apricot", 玫 (méi) meaning "rose, gemstone", or 美 (měi) meaning "beauty". Other character combinations can form this name as well.
Laniakea
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian, Astronomy
Pronounced: LA-nee-ə-KAY-ə(Hawaiian)
The name Laniakea means "immeasurable heaven" in Hawaiian, from "lani" for 'heaven' and "akea" for 'spacious' or 'immeasurable'. Laniakea is the galaxy supercluster that is home to the Milky Way, the Solar System and Earth. It was defined in September 2014 by Nawa'a Napoleon, an associate professor of Hawaiian Language at Kapiolani Community College. The name honors Polynesian navigators who used heavenly knowledge to navigate the Pacific Ocean.
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-).
Lanassa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λάνασσα(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek noun λαός
(laos) meaning "(the) people" combined with the Greek noun ἄνασσα
(anassa) meaning "queen, lady".
This name was borne by a princess of Syracuse in Sicily, who lived in the 3rd century BC.
In Greek mythology, Lanassa was a great-granddaughter of Heracles.
Lamya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: لمياء(Arabic)
Pronounced: lam-YA
Derived from the poetic Arabic word
لمى (lamā) meaning
"dark red lips".
Lamaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian Mythology
Other Scripts: ლამარია(Georgian)
Meaning unknown. Lamaria is a goddess in Georgian mythology and a part of the Svan pantheon. She is named "eye of the earth" and is the goddess of the hearth, cattle and a protector of women (especially with matters of childbirth).
Lalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Lake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
Laila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic) لیلیٰ(Urdu)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Laika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, Pet
Other Scripts: Лайка(Russian)
Pronounced: LIE-kə(Russian)
Means "barker" from the Russian лаять (layat') meaning "to bark". This was the name of a Soviet dog who became one of the first animals to go to space.
Laiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian)
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.
Lacey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-see
Variant of
Lacy. This is currently the most popular spelling of this name.
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