noriah's Personal Name List
Winter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
Personal remark: Peter Winter/ Winter Lee
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Wilem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), Kashubian, Silesian, Literature
Pronounced: WIL-əm(Dutch)
Personal remark: Wilem Rey
Dutch variant of
Willem and Kashubian and Silesian form of
William. This is the name of a character in Patrick Rothfuss' book series, The KingKiller Chronicles.
Wil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: WIL(English) VIL(Dutch)
Personal remark: Wil Scarlet
Short form of
William and other names beginning with
Wil.
Warren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAWR-ən
Personal remark: Joseph Warren
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
Tyrell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Pronounced: TIR-əl(English) tie-REHL(English) tə-REHL(English)
From a surname that was a variant of
Terrell. Influenced by similar-sounding names such as
Tyrone and
Darrell it has been used by African-American parents, usually stressed on the second syllable.
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Torryn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Variant and feminine form of
Torin.
Torin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Personal remark: Torin Oberon
Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.
Titian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: TISH-ən(English)
Usual English form of
Titianus (see
Tiziano) used to refer to the painter Tiziano Vecellio.
Timian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Personal remark: Timian Shepherd?
From Norwegian timian meaning "thyme". The name of plant of the mint family derives from Latin thymum, from Greek thymon, from Proto Indo European dheu-, a base of words meaning "to rise in a cloud" (related to "fume"); so thyme might be the plant "with a strong odor", or it might be related to thyein meaning "burn as a sacrifice", which would indicate the plant was used as incense.
Thorin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Germanic Mythology, German (Modern), Popular Culture
Pronounced: THOR-in(Literature) TO-reen(German)
Personal remark: Thorin Oberon
German male name representing the Germanic god
Thor.
Used by JRR Tolkien as the name of a dwarf, Thorin Oakensheild, who is the main dwarf in 'The Hobbit'. Tolkien took the name from the Dvergatal "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Völuspá, a part of the Poetic Edda.
Thor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: THAWR(English) TOOR(Norwegian, Swedish) TOR(Danish)
From the Old Norse
Þórr meaning
"thunder", ultimately from Proto-Germanic *
Þunraz. In Norse
mythology Thor is a god of storms, thunder, war and strength, a son of
Odin. He is portrayed as red-bearded, short-tempered, armed with a powerful hammer called Mjölnir, and wearing an enchanted belt called Megingjörð that doubles his strength. During Ragnarök, the final battle at the end of the world, it is foretold that Thor will slay the monstrous sea serpent
Jörmungandr but be fatally poisoned by its venom.
Teagan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TEE-gən
Variant of
Tegan. It also coincides with a rare Irish surname
Teagan. This name rose on the American popularity charts in the 1990s, probably because of its similarity to names like
Megan and
Reagan.
Tarek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: طارق(Arabic)
Pronounced: TA-reek
Alternate transcription of Arabic
طارق (see
Tariq).
Tamerlane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: TAM-ər-layn(English)
Personal remark: Loren Tamerlane?
Westernized form of
Tīmūr e Lang (see
Timur).
Sven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: SVEHN(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch)
From the Old Norse byname Sveinn meaning "boy". This was the name of kings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Steven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: STEE-vən(English) STEH-vən(Dutch)
Personal remark: Setven Roger/ steven Hunter
Medieval English variant of
Stephen, and a Dutch variant of
Stefan. The filmmaker Steven Spielberg (1946-), director of
E.T. and
Indiana Jones, is a famous bearer of this name.
Soren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Skywalker
From the English words sky and walker, created by George Lucas as the surname for several characters in his Star Wars movie series, notably the hero Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy (beginning 1977). Early drafts of the script had the name as Starkiller.
Sirius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: SIR-ee-əs(English)
Personal remark: Sirius Black
The name of a bright star in the constellation Canis Major, derived via Latin from Greek
σείριος (seirios) meaning
"burning".
Sinai
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Albanian, Danish, English, German, Italian, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish
Other Scripts: סִינַי(Hebrew)
Biblical place name, both the mountain upon which
Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God and the desert where it is located, found between Canaan and Egypt.
In Classical rabbinical literature, Mount Sinai became synonymous with holiness; indeed, it was said that when the Messiah arrives, God will bring Sinai together with Mount Carmel and Mount Tabor, rebuild the Temple upon the combined mountain, and the peaks would sing a chorus of praise to God. According to early aggadic midrash, Tabor and Carmel had previously been jealous of Sinai having been chosen as the place that the laws were delivered, but were told by God that they had not been chosen because only Sinai had not had idols placed upon it; according to the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, God had chosen Sinai after discovering that it was the lowest mountain.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Sherlock
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: SHUR-lahk(English)
Used by Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle for his character Sherlock Holmes, who was a detective in Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887. The character's name was from an English surname meaning "shear lock", originally referring to a person with closely cut hair.
Shep
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Personal remark: *Bast Sebastian Hamish?
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Samwise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: SAM-wiez(English)
Means "simple, half wise" from Old English sam "half" and wis "wise". This is the name of a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954). Samwise Gamgee, often called Sam, is the faithful companion of Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring. Samwise is an English-like translation of his true hobbit name Banazîr.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) SA-muy-ehl(Dutch) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
Personal remark: Samuel Adams
From the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning
"name of God", from the roots
שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).
Rowan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Roland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Albanian, Georgian, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: როლანდ(Georgian)
Pronounced: RO-lənd(English) RAW-LAHN(French) RO-lant(German) RO-lahnt(Dutch) RO-lawnd(Hungarian) RAW-lant(Polish)
From the Old German elements
hruod meaning "fame" and
lant meaning "land", though some theories hold that the second element was originally
nand meaning "brave"
[1].
Roland was an 8th-century military commander, serving under Charlemagne, who was killed by the Basques at the Battle of Roncevaux. His name was recorded in Latin as Hruodlandus. His tale was greatly embellished in the 11th-century French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which he is a nephew of Charlemagne killed after being ambushed by the Saracens. The Normans introduced the name to England.
Rohan 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
From the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, where it is a place name meaning "horse country" in the fictional language Sindarin.
Robin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Medieval English
diminutive of
Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
Revere
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
Transferred use of the surname
Revere.
Poe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Rare)
Personal remark: Poe Draven
Transferred use of the surname
Poe.
-------------------------------------
Poe Dameron is a fictional character from the movie Star Wars. Poe Dameron is played by actor Oscar Isaac and is named partially after JJ Abrams assistant Morgan Dameron. Abrams did it so Morgan whould be happy that he named a character partially after her. Abrams got Poe from his daughters Polar bear who was named Poe (short for "polar bear").
Pippin 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Old German form of
Pepin. The 1972 musical
Pippin is loosely based on the life of
Charlemagne's eldest son Pepin the Hunchback.
Pierce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PEERS
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Piers. In America this name slowly started to grow in popularity in 1982 when actor Pierce Brosnan (1953-) began starring on the television series
Remington Steele.
Peregrin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, English, German (Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: PER-ə-grin
English variant of
Peregrine as well as the German form of
Peregrine. Peregrin "Pippin" Took is a character in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Paul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Romanian, Biblical
Pronounced: PAWL(English, French) POWL(German, Dutch)
Personal remark: Paul Revere
From the Roman family name
Paulus, which meant
"small" or
"humble" in Latin. Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. According to Acts in the
New Testament, he was a Jewish Roman citizen who converted to Christianity after the resurrected
Jesus appeared to him. After this he travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a missionary. His original Hebrew name was
Saul. Many of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him.
Due to the renown of Saint Paul the name became common among early Christians. It was borne by a number of other early saints and six popes. In England it was relatively rare during the Middle Ages, but became more frequent beginning in the 17th century. In the United States it was in the top 20 names for boys from 1900 to 1968, while in the United Kingdom it was very popular from the 1950s to the 80s. It has also been heavily used in Germany and France and continues to be popular there, though it is currently on the decline in the English-speaking world.
A notable bearer was the American Revolutionary War figure Paul Revere (1735-1818), who warned of the advance of the British army. Famous bearers in the art world include the French impressionists Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and the Swiss expressionist Paul Klee (1879-1940). It is borne by actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) and the musicians Paul Simon (1941-) and Paul McCartney (1942-). This is also the name of the legendary American lumberjack Paul Bunyan and the fictional Paul Atreides from Frank Herbert's novel Dune (1965).
Paris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PA-REES(Classical Greek) PAR-is(English) PEHR-is(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Luwian or Hittite origin. In Greek
mythology he was the Trojan prince who kidnapped
Helen and began the Trojan War. Though presented as a somewhat of a coward in the
Iliad, he did manage to slay the great hero
Achilles. He was himself eventually slain in battle by Philoctetes.
Orion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
Odysseus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὀδυσσεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: O-DUYS-SEWS(Classical Greek) o-DIS-ee-əs(English)
Perhaps derived from Greek
ὀδύσσομαι (odyssomai) meaning
"to hate". In Greek legend Odysseus was one of the Greek heroes who fought in the Trojan War. In the
Odyssey Homer relates Odysseus's misadventures on his way back to his kingdom and his wife
Penelope.
Octavian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, Romanian
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ən(English)
From the Roman name
Octavianus, which was derived from the name
Octavius. After Gaius Octavius (later the Roman emperor
Augustus) was adopted by Julius Caesar he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
Nóri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse, Norse Mythology, Icelandic (Rare)
Variant of
Nórr or derived from Old Norse
nóri "small person". Nóri is the name of a dwarf mentioned in the Poetic Edda.
Nigel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIE-jəl
Personal remark: Nigel Larkin?
From
Nigellus, a medieval Latinized form of
Neil. It was commonly associated with Latin
niger "black". It was revived in the 19th century, perhaps in part due to Walter Scott's novel
The Fortunes of Nigel (1822).
Nicodemus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Νικόδημος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nik-ə-DEE-məs(English) nee-ko-DEH-moos(Latin)
Personal remark: *Nico *Nic
From the Greek name
Νικόδημος (Nikodemos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people". This is the name of a character in the
New Testament who helps
Joseph of Arimathea entomb
Jesus.
Neal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEEL
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: ןְתַןְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Variant of
Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling
Nathanael is found in most versions of the
New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Mycroft
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture, Literature
Pronounced: MIE-krawft(Literature)
Personal remark: *Myke
Transferred use of the surname
Mycroft. Famous bearer is the fictional character Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock Holmes.
Mordecai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: מָרְדֳּכַי, מָרְדְּכַי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAWR-də-kie(English)
Means
"servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the
Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of
Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor
Haman.
Mitch
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MICH
Misha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Миша(Russian)
Pronounced: MYEE-shə
Merlin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: MUR-lin(English)
Personal remark: Merlin Gray
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.
McCoy
Usage: Scottish
Personal remark: Perry?
Manasseh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: םְנַשֶּׁה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mə-NAS-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
םְנַשֶּׁה (Menashshe) meaning
"causing to forget", a derivative of
נָשָׁה (nasha) meaning "to forget"
[1]. In the
Old Testament this is the name of the oldest son of
Joseph and
Asenath and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was also borne by a 7th-century BC king of Judah, condemned in the Bible for allowing the worship of other gods.
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
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.
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.
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Latin form of Greek
Λουκᾶς (see
Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.
This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).
Loren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ən
Personal remark: Loren Tamerlane?
Either a short form of
Laurence 1 (masculine) or a variant of
Lauren (feminine).
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.
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Possibly means
"joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the
Old Testament, Levi was the third son of
Jacob and
Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers
Moses and
Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, where it is borne by a son of
Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle
Matthew.
As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Lee
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEE
From a surname that was derived from Old English
leah meaning
"clearing". The surname belonged to Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In his honour, it has been used as a given name in the American South. It is common as a middle name.
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(English)
Personal remark: Gene Leander
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Lawrence
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əns
Personal remark: lawrence Skywalker
Variant of
Laurence 1. This spelling of the name is now more common than
Laurence in the English-speaking world, probably because
Lawrence is the usual spelling of the surname. The surname was borne by the author and poet D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), as well as the revolutionary T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), who was known as Lawrence of Arabia.
Larkin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: LAHR-kin(English)
Larken
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Lancelot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: LAN-sə-laht(English)
Personal remark: Stephen Lancelot
Possibly an Old French
diminutive of
Lanzo (see
Lance). In Arthurian legend Lancelot was the bravest of the Knights of the Round Table. He became the lover of
Arthur's wife
Guinevere, ultimately causing the destruction of Arthur's kingdom. His earliest appearance is in the works of the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes: briefly in
Erec and Enide and then as a main character in
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart.
Kvothe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: kv-oth
The name of the main character in Patrick Rothfuss' book series The KingKiller Chronicles.
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Personal remark: Killian Daire
Anglicized form of
Cillian, also used in France.
Kilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Spanish, Irish, French
Pronounced: KEE-lee-an(German) KEE-lyan(Spanish)
German and Spanish form of
Cillian, as well as an Irish and French variant.
Kili
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: Kee-lee(Literature)
Name of one of the dwarves in The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Fili's brother.
Tolkien took the name from the Dvergatal "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Völuspá, a part of the Poetic Edda.
Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the 'Star Wars' saga, created by George Lucas. The meaning of the name is not known, but as Lucas was very much influenced by Japanese samurai movies, it is possible that the name is a combination of Japanese 剣 (ken) "sword" and 帯 (obi) "belt".
Kanan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian, Bengali, Assamese, Odia
Other Scripts: কানন(Bengali, Assamese) କାନନ୍(Odia)
From Sanskrit कानन (kānana) meaning "forest, grove".
Jesse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Finnish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)
From
Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
יִשַׁי (Yishai). This could be a derivative of the word
שַׁי (shai) meaning
"gift" or
יֵשׁ (yesh) meaning
"existence". In the
Old Testament Jesse is the father of King
David. It began to be used as an English given name after the
Protestant Reformation.
A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.
Jensen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JEHN-sən
From a Danish surname meaning
"son of Jens".
Jamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יָמִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Jamie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Personal remark: James Buchanan *Bucky/ james Moriarty
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (see
Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the
New Testament. The first was
Saint James the Greater, the apostle
John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of
Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of
Jesus.
This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.
Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Derived from
Jackin (earlier
Jankin), a medieval
diminutive of
John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name
Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms
jack-o'-lantern,
jack-in-the-box,
lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as
Jack and the Beanstalk,
Jack and Jill,
Little Jack Horner, and
Jack Sprat.
American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.
In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.
Indiana
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: in-dee-AN-ə
Personal remark: Indy
From the name of the American state, which means "land of the Indians". This is the name of the hero in the Indiana Jones series of movies, starring Harrison Ford.
Hogan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Hogan.
Hadrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: HAY-dree-ən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Hadrianus, which meant
"from Hadria" in Latin. Hadria was the name of two Roman settlements. The first (modern Adria) is in northern Italy and was an important Etruscan port town. The second (modern Atri) is in central Italy and was named after the northern town. The Adriatic Sea is also named after the northern town.
A famous bearer of the name was Publius Aelius Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian, a 2nd-century Roman emperor who built a wall across northern Britain. His family came from the town of Atri in central Italy.
Gregor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Scottish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: GREH-go(German) GREH-gawr(Slovak)
German, Scottish, Slovak and Slovene form of
Gregorius (see
Gregory). A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.
Greenleaf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: grEEn-leef
Personal remark: Lucas Greenleaf
Glenn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GLEHN
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". It was borne by the American actor Glenn Ford (1916-2006), whose birth name was Gwyllyn. A famous bearer of the surname was American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016). The name peaked in popularity in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the earth.
Though this name is borne by the American actress Glenn Close (1947-), it has never caught on as a feminine name.
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name
גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning
"feller, hewer", derived from
גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew"
[1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the
Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world,
Gideon has been used as a given name since the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the
Puritans.
Gene
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEEN
Personal remark: Gene Leander
Garth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHRTH
From an English surname meaning "garden" in Old Norse, originally denoting one who lived near or worked in a garden.
Galen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAY-lən
Modern form of the Greek name
Γαληνός (Galenos), which meant
"calm" from Greek
γαλήνη (galene). It was borne by a 2nd-century BC Greco-Roman physician who contributed to anatomy and medicine. In modern times the name is occasionally given in his honour.
Gale 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
From a surname that was derived from Middle English gaile "jovial". It also coincides with the English word gale meaning "storm".
Galahad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAL-ə-had(English)
From earlier
Galaad, likely derived from the Old French form of the biblical place name
Gilead. In Arthurian legend Sir Galahad was the son of
Lancelot and
Elaine. He was the most pure of the Knights of the Round Table, and he was the only one to succeed in finding the Holy Grail. He first appears in the 13th-century French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Gage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYJ
From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).
Gael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, English (Modern), Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYL(English) ga-EHL(Spanish)
Probably from the ethno-linguistic term Gael, which refers to speakers of Gaelic languages.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Personal remark: Gabriel Jamin?
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the
Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the
New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the
Quran to
Muhammad.
This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Personal remark: Flynn Ryder / Arrow Flynn
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname
Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie
Tangled in 2010.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Faramir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: FAH-rah-meer
Meaning uncertain. Probably "sufficient jewel" from the Sindarin far meaning "sufficient, adequate" and mir meaning "jewel, precious thing." In J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', Faramir was the son of Denethor, brother of Boromir, and eventual husband of Eowyn.
Ezran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Ezran is a main character in the Netflix original show 'The Dragon Prince' (2018-). Ezran is the 10-year-old crown prince of Katolis and Callum's younger half-brother who has the ability to speak with animals. His voice is given by Sasha Rojen.
Ezikiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Southern African
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yeḥezqel) meaning
"God will strengthen", from the roots
חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name,
Ezekiel has been used since the
Protestant Reformation.
Eugene
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: YOO-jeen, yoo-JEEN
English form of
Eugenius, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὐγένιος (Eugenios), which was derived from the Greek word
εὐγενής (eugenes) meaning
"well born". It is composed of the elements
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
γενής (genes) meaning "born". This was the name of several
saints and four popes.
This name was not particularly common in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It became more popular in part due to the fame of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), a French-born general who served the Austrian Empire. A notable bearer was the American playwright Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953).
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
From the Hebrew name
אֵיתָן (ʾEṯan) meaning
"solid, enduring, firm". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.
After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.
Estel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Estel is the Sindarin word for 'hope'. This name was given to the character Aragorn in Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' when he lived with the Elves in Rivendell and Imladris.
Emmet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Variant of
Emmett. It is used in Ireland in honour of the nationalist and rebel Robert Emmet (1778-1803).
Emanuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Czech, Slovak, Croatian
Pronounced: eh-MA-nwehl(German) EH-ma-noo-ehl(Czech, Slovak)
Elrohir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Literature name from J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', which means 'Elf-knight'. Elrohir was one of the twin sons of Lord Elrond.
Elodin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: EL-o-din
Master Elodin is the name of a character in Patrick Rothfuss' book series The KingKiller Chronicles. Elodin is an eccentric but brilliant professor, considered insane by most of the students. Later he initiates Kvothe into the discipline of 'Naming', which enables control over objects by utterance of secret names.
Elladan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Literature name from J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', which means 'Elf-man'. Elladan was one of the twin sons of Lord Elrond.
Elion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English) EH-lee-yahs(Dutch)
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί, Ἡλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Means
"ascension" in Hebrew, a derivative of
עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend". In the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young
Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.
Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).
Eden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight"
[1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Dwalin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: DWAL-in(Literature)
The name of a dwarf character in 'The Hobbit' by J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien took the name from the catalogue of dwarves (dvergatal) in the 'Poetic Edda'. The name means something like "sleeping" (from Old Norse dvalen "to sleep").
Draven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: DRAY-vən(English)
From a surname (of unknown meaning) that was used in the movie The Crow (1994).
Dorian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian
Pronounced: DAWR-ee-ən(English) DAW-RYAHN(French)
The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.
Denzel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: dehn-ZEHL
Possibly a variant of
Denzil. This spelling of the name was popularized by American actor Denzel Washington (1954-), who was named after his father.
Demitrius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American, English (American)
Pronounced: də-MEE-tree-əs(English)
Dean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEEN
From a surname, see
Dean 1 and
Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
Dashiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Personal remark: Dashiel "Dash" Gage?
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nyehl(German) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
From the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).
Daeron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Derived from Sindarin daer "great". This was the name of a Sindarin Elf in 'The Silmarillion'. Daeron was the greatest of the Elven minstrels.
Cyprian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: TSI-pryan(Polish) SIP-ree-ən(English)
From the Roman family name
Cyprianus, which meant
"from Cyprus".
Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage who was martyred under the Roman emperor Valerian.
Corin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Conan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Means
"little wolf" or
"little hound" from Irish
cú "wolf, hound" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early
saints, including a 7th-century bishop of the Isle of Man. It appears in Irish legend as a companion
Fionn mac Cumhaill. A famous bearer of it as a middle name was Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. It is also the name of the hero of the
Conan the Barbarian series of books, comics and movies, debuting 1932.
Cole
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL
From a medieval short form of
Nicholas or from the byname
Cola.
Clint
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLINT
Short form of
Clinton. A notable bearer is American actor Clint Eastwood (1930-), who became famous early in his career for his western movies.
Claudius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLOW-dee-oos(Latin) KLAW-dee-əs(English)
From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
claudus meaning
"lame, crippled". This was the name of a patrician family prominent in Roman politics. The ancestor of the family was said to have been a 6th-century BC Sabine leader named Attius Clausus, who adopted the name Appius Claudius upon becoming a Roman citizen. The family produced several Roman emperors of the 1st century, including the emperor known simply as Claudius (birth name Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus). He was poisoned by his wife
Agrippina in order to bring her son
Nero (Claudius's stepson) to power.
This name was later borne by several early saints, including a 7th-century bishop of Besançon. It is also the name of the primary antagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet (1600).
Cisco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name
Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of
Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name
Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Castiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, Popular Culture
Pronounced: KAS-tee-əl(English)
Personal remark: *Cas *Cassi
Possibly a variant of
Cassiel. It is the name of an angel in the grimoire the
Heptameron, a work that is sometimes (probably incorrectly) attributed to the 13th-century philosopher Pietro d'Abano. It was also the name of a character (an angel) on the American television series
Supernatural (2005-2020). The creator Eric Kripke chose it after an internet search revealed that Castiel was an angel associated with Thursdays, the day the show aired
[1].
Cassius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-oos(Latin) KASH-əs(English) KAS-ee-əs(English)
Personal remark: *Cas *Cassi
Roman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
cassus meaning
"empty, vain". This name was borne by several early
saints. In modern times, it was the original first name of boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), who was named after his father Cassius Clay, who was himself named after the American abolitionist Cassius Clay (1810-1903).
Cassian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman (Anglicized)
Pronounced: KASH-ən(English) KAS-ee-ən(English)
Personal remark: *Cas *Cassi
From the Roman family name
Cassianus, which was derived from
Cassius. This was the name of several
saints, including a 3rd-century martyr from Tangier who is the patron saint of stenographers and a 5th-century mystic who founded a monastery in Marseille.
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Personal remark: *Cas *Cassi
Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.
Carl
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: KARL(German) KAHL(Swedish, Danish) KAHRL(English)
German and Scandinavian variant of
Karl (see
Charles). Noteworthy bearers of the name include the Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who founded modern taxonomy, the German mathematician Carl Gauss (1777-1855), who made contributions to number theory and algebra as well as physics and astronomy, and the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961), who founded analytical psychology. It was imported to America in the 19th century by German immigrants.
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Most likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of"
[2] and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart"
[3]. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by
Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and
Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.
As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.
Balthazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: BAL-thə-zahr(English)
Variant of
Belshazzar. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia. This name was utilized by Shakespeare for minor characters in
The Comedy of Errors (1594) and
The Merchant of Venice (1596).
Balin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, Literature
The name was used in Arthurian legend by Sir Thomas Malory as the name of one of King Arthur's valiant knights.
The name was later used by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit for one of the dwarves. This name was not taken from the catalog of Dwarves (dvergatal) in the 'Poetic Edda' but created or chosen by Tolkien to rhyme with Dwalin. The meaning of the name is uncertain.
Arrow
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AR-o, ER-o
Personal remark: Arrow Flynn
From the English word arrow, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- "bow, arrow".
Ander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: AN-dehr
Basque form of
Andreas (see
Andrew).
Anatole
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-TAWL
Anakin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: AN-ə-kin(English)
Meaning unknown. This is the name of a character (also known as Darth Vader) in the Star Wars movie saga, created by George Lucas. Lucas may have based it on the surname of his friend and fellow director Ken Annakin.
Aidan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən(English)
Anglicized form of
Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as
Braden and
Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Personal remark: Adrian Black?
Form of
Hadrianus (see
Hadrian) used in several languages. Several
saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
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