MorriArty's Personal Name List

Means "frailty" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the handmaid who was given to Jacob by Leah.

Means "shade" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the second wife of Lamech.

Diminutive of Kreszenz.

Meaning unknown. It could be a variant of Xenia or a diminutive of names featuring this sound, such as Alexina, Rosina or Zenobia. This name has occasionally been used since the 19th century.

Variant of Zarina.

Italian and Spanish form of Zaïre. It was used by Vincenzo Bellini for the heroine of his opera Zaira (1829), which was based on Voltaire's 1732 play Zaïre.

Possibly a Spanish form of Guiomar.

Feminine form of Xenon.

Modern feminine form of Xavier.

Used by Alfred Tennyson as the name of the Lady of the Lake in his Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859). Tennyson may have based it on Vivienne, but it possibly arose as a misreading of Ninian [1]. A famous bearer was British actress Vivien Leigh (1913-1967), who played Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.

From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.

Contracted form of Theresa.

From the name of a town in South Australia, perhaps meaning "near water" in an Australian Aboriginal language.

From an Old Testament place name, in Hebrew שָׁרוֹן (Sharon) meaning "plain", referring to a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel. This is also the name of a flowering plant in the Bible, the rose of Sharon, a term now used to refer to several different species of flowers.

It has been in use as a feminine given name in the English-speaking world since the 1920s, possibly inspired by the heroine in the serial novel The Skyrocket (1925) by Adela Rogers St. Johns [1]. As a Hebrew name it is unisex.

Means "shadow, shade" in Serbian and Croatian. It can also be a diminutive of Ksenija.

Either a variant of Scarlett or else from the English word for the red colour (both of the same origin, a type of cloth).

Means "my princess" in Hebrew, a possessive form of שָׂרָה (sara) meaning "lady, princess, noblewoman". In the Old Testament, this was Sarah's name before God changed it (see Genesis 17:15).

From the Hebrew name שָׂרָה (Sara) meaning "lady, princess, noblewoman". In the Old Testament this is the name of Abraham's wife, considered the matriarch of the Jewish people. She was barren until she unexpectedly became pregnant with Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally Sarai, but God changed it at the same time Abraham's name was changed (see Genesis 17:15).

In England, Sarah came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was consistently popular in the 20th century throughout the English-speaking world, reaching the top of the charts for England and Wales in the 1970s and 80s.

Notable bearers include Sarah Churchill (1660-1744), an influential British duchess and a close friend of Queen Anne, and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).

From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.

Latin form of Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *rauxšnā meaning "bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel Roxana (1724).

Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.

Means either "demon queen" or "great queen", derived from Old Irish mor "demon, evil spirit" or mór "great, big" combined with rígain "queen". In Irish mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.

Modern form of Morgen, which was used by Geoffrey of Monmouth [1] in the 12th century for the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, who was unnamed in earlier stories. Geoffrey probably did not derive it from the Welsh masculine name Morgan, which would have been spelled Morcant in his time. It is likely from Old Welsh mor "sea" and the suffix gen "born of" [2].

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-).

Medieval diminutive of Mary, now often used independently. It developed from Malle and Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.

Variant of Lynn.

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).

Short form of Olivia.

German diminutive of Helene or Magdalena.

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.

Short form of Eulalia.

Means "cherry" in Finnish.

Variant of Cassidy.

Feminine variant of Jody.

Variant of Guinevere.

From an Old French form of Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).

Means "crown" in Latin, as well as Italian and Spanish. This was the name of a 2nd-century saint who was martyred with her companion Victor.

From the English word comfort, ultimately from Latin confortare "to strengthen greatly", a derivative of fortis "strong". It was used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It is now most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.

From the name of the island paradise to which King Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.

Means "crown" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Atarah is a minor character, the wife of Jerahmeel.

Spanish form of Annabel, also commonly used as a contraction of Ana Isabel.