Cinnabar's Personal Name List
Yuki
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 幸, 雪, 由貴, 由紀, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ゆき(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: YOO-KYEE
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From Japanese
幸 (yuki) meaning "happiness" or
雪 (yuki) meaning "snow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause" combined with
貴 (ki) meaning "valuable" or
紀 (ki) meaning "chronicle". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
Xenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξένια(Greek) Ξενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Means
"hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of
ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 87% based on 7 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Valerian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, Romanian, History
Other Scripts: Валериан(Russian) ვალერიან(Georgian)
Pronounced: və-LIR-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Valerianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name
Valerius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Roman emperor (Publius Licinius Valerianus) who was captured by the Persians. Several
saints have also borne this name, including a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons.
Valencia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: ba-LEHN-sya(Latin American Spanish) ba-LEHN-thya(European Spanish) və-LEHN-see-ə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
From the name of cities in Spain and Venezuela, both derived from Latin valentia meaning "strength, vigour".
Torin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.
Tobin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TO-bin
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was itself derived from the given name
Tobias.
Tiarnán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Tiamat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Other Scripts: 𒀭𒋾𒊩𒆳, 𒀭𒌓𒌈(Akkadian Cuneiform)
Pronounced: TEE-ə-maht(English)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
From Akkadian
tâmtu meaning
"sea". In Babylonian
myth Tiamat was the personification of the sea, appearing in the form of a huge dragon. By Apsu she gave birth to the first of the gods. Later, the god
Marduk (her great-grandson) defeated her, cut her in half, and used the pieces of her body to make the earth and the sky.
Thor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: THAWR(American English) THAW(British English) TOOR(Norwegian, Swedish) TOR(Danish)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
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.
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAS(Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Greek form of the Aramaic name
תְּאוֹמָא (Teʾoma) meaning
"twin". In the
New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that
Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.
In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.
Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).
Theo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: THEE-o(English) TEH-o(German, Dutch)
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
Theia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θεία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Possibly derived from Greek
θεά (thea) meaning
"goddess". In Greek
myth this was the name of a Titan goddess of light, glittering and glory. She was the wife of
Hyperion and the mother of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Tethys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Τηθύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-TUYS(Classical Greek) TEE-this(English) TEH-this(English)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Derived from Greek
τήθη (tethe) meaning
"grandmother". In Greek
mythology this was the name of a Titan associated with the sea. She was the wife of Oceanus.
Tessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS-ə(English) TEH-sa(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Tecumseh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Shawnee
Pronounced: tə-KUM-sə(English)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Means
"panther passing across" in Shawnee. This name was borne by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh (1768-1813), who resisted American expansion along with his brother the spiritual leader
Tenskwatawa.
Taranis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gaulish Mythology
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Derived from the old Celtic root *
toranos meaning
"thunder",
cognate with
Þórr (see
Thor). This was the name of the Gaulish thunder god, who was often identified with the Roman god
Jupiter.
Taran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Pictish
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Means
"thunder" in Welsh, from the old Celtic root *
toranos. It appears briefly in the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi [1]. The name is
cognate to that of the Gaulish god
Taranis. It was also borne by the 7th-century Pictish king Taran mac Ainftech.
Tanith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Other Scripts: 𐤕𐤍𐤕(Phoenician)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of
Ba'al Hammon.
Tammaro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
Italian form of the Germanic name
Thancmar, which was composed of the elements
thank meaning "thought, consideration, thanks" (Old High German
danc, Old Frankish
þank) and
mari meaning "famous". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint, of Vandalic origin, a bishop of Atella in Campania, Italy.
Tamerlane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: TAM-ər-layn(American English) TAM-ə-layn(British English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Westernized form of
Tīmūr e Lang (see
Timur).
Tamazi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: თამაზი(Georgian)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Form of
Tamaz with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Tamar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: תָּמָר(Hebrew) თამარ(Georgian)
Pronounced: TA-MAR(Georgian) TAHM-ahr(American English) TAY-mahr(American English) TAHM-ah(British English) TAY-mah(British English)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Means
"date palm" in Hebrew. According to the
Old Testament Tamar was the daughter-in-law of
Judah and later his wife. This was also the name of a daughter of King
David. She was raped by her half-brother
Amnon, leading to his murder by her brother
Absalom. The name was borne by a 12th-century ruling queen of Georgia who presided over the kingdom at the peak of its power.
Talon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAL-ən
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From the English word meaning "talon, claw", ultimately derived (via Norman French) from Latin talus "anklebone".
Talia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means
"dew from God" in Hebrew, from
טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God.
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 6 votes
Means
"gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the
New Testament was a woman restored to life by
Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as
Dorcas (see
Acts 9:36). As an English name,
Tabitha became common after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show
Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Sylvain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEEL-VEHN
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Svana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Steven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: STEE-vən(English) STEH-vən(Dutch)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
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.
Stephanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: STEHF-ə-nee(English) SHTEH-fa-nee(German)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SAWR-kə(American English) SAWR-shə(American English) SAW-kə(British English) SAW-shə(British English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Means
"radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times
[2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as
Sarah (in Ireland) and
Clara (in Scotland).
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Silvana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: seel-VA-na
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Sienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHN-ə
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.
Shahin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Bengali
Other Scripts: شاهین(Persian) شاهين(Arabic) শাহীন(Bengali)
Pronounced: shaw-HEEN(Persian) sha-HEEN(Arabic)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means
"falcon" in Persian, referring more specifically to the Barbary falcon (species Falco pelegrinoides). The bird's name is a derivative of Persian
شاه (shāh) meaning "king".
Sevara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Uzbek
Other Scripts: Севара(Uzbek)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Means "love" in Uzbek.
Sevan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Սեւան(Armenian)
Pronounced: seh-VAHN
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the name of the largest lake in Armenia, which may be from the Urartian word suinia simply meaning "lake".
Serenity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: sə-REHN-ə-tee
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
From the English word meaning "serenity, tranquility", ultimately from Latin serenus meaning "clear, calm".
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
Sequoyah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cherokee
Other Scripts: ᏍᏏᏉᏯ, ᏎᏉᏯ(Cherokee)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Probably derived from Cherokee
ᏏᏆ (siqua) meaning
"hog". This was the name of the Cherokee man (also known as George Guess) who devised the Cherokee writing system in the 19th century.
Senna
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: SEH-na
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Meaning uncertain. In some cases it is given in honour of the Brazilian racecar driver Ayrton Senna (1960-1994). It could also be inspired by the senna plant.
Şenay
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Means "merry moon" in Turkish.
Senara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Pronounced: ze-NAH-rah
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
From the name of the patron saint of Zennor, a village in Cornwall, which is of obscure origin. Conceivably it may be derived from the Breton name
Azenor or the old Celtic
Senovara. According to local legend Saint Senara was originally Princess Azenor of Brest in Lower Brittany, the mother of Saint Budoc. She is also said to have been a mermaid before her conversion (though even after becoming a Christian, "she continued to pine for the sea"). This name was given to 52 girls born in England and Wales in the years 1916-2005.
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)
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
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.
Savannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the English word for the large grassy plain, ultimately deriving from the Taino (Native American) word zabana. It came into use as a given name in America in the 19th century. It was revived in the 1980s by the movie Savannah Smiles (1982).
Sarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SA-ra(Danish, Dutch, Arabic)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
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).
Sacagawea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous American
Pronounced: sak-ə-jə-WEE-ə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Probably from Hidatsa tsakáka wía meaning "bird woman". Alternatively it could originate from the Shoshone language and mean "boat puller". This name was borne by a Native American woman who guided the explorers Lewis and Clark. She was of Shoshone ancestry but had been abducted in her youth and raised by a Hidatsa tribe.
Sable
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAY-bəl
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.
Saben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Possibly a variant of
Sabin.
Ryan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RIE-ən
Rating: 77% based on 6 votes
From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Riain. This patronymic derives from the given name
Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean
"little king", from Irish
rí "king" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity through the 1950s and 60s. It shot up the charts after the release of the 1970 movie Ryan's Daughter. Within a few years it was in the top 20 names, where it would stay for over three decades. Famous bearers include the Canadian actors Ryan Reynolds (1976-) and Ryan Gosling (1980-).
Russell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RUS-əl
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
From an English surname, of Norman origin, meaning
"little red one" (a
diminutive of Old French
rous "red"). A notable bearer of the surname was the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), who wrote on many subjects including logic, epistemology and mathematics. He was also a political activist for causes such as pacifism and women's rights.
This name was common throughout the English-speaking world for most of the 20th century, though in the 1960s it began a slow decline in most places.
Ruslana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Руслана(Ukrainian)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Ruslan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkmen, Azerbaijani, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Circassian, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: Руслан(Russian, Tatar, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Ossetian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar) Руслъан(Western Circassian, Eastern Circassian)
Pronounced: ruws-LAN(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Form of
Yeruslan used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem
Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.
Rush
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: RUSH(American English)
Rating: 15% based on 6 votes
From French
rousse, meaning "red hair." May also be transferred use of the surname
Rush.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 79% based on 7 votes
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).
Roshan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Persian, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Other Scripts: روشن(Persian) रोशन(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali)
Pronounced: ro-SHAN(Persian) RO-shən(Hindi)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means "light, bright" in Persian.
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 88% based on 8 votes
Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 100% based on 9 votes
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name
Hrodohaidis meaning
"famous type", composed of the elements
hruod "fame" and
heit "kind, sort, type". The
Normans introduced it to England in the forms
Roese and
Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower
rose (derived from Latin
rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German, Dutch) RO-sa-lee(Dutch) ro-sa-LEE(Dutch) RO-za-lee(Dutch) RO-zə-lee(English)
Rating: 86% based on 8 votes
French, German and Dutch form of
Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie
Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 82% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Means
"little seal", derived from Old Irish
rón "seal" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish
saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
From the Late Latin name
Romanus meaning
"Roman". This name was borne by several early
saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
Rohan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada
Other Scripts: रोहन(Hindi, Marathi) রোহন(Bengali) ರೋಹನ್(Kannada)
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
रोहण (rohaṇa) meaning
"ascension".
Roderick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish, Welsh
Pronounced: RAHD-ə-rik(American English) RAHD-rik(American English) RAWD-ə-rik(British English) RAWD-rik(British English)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Means
"famous ruler" from the Old German elements
hruod "fame" and
rih "ruler, king". This name was in use among the Visigoths; it was borne by their last king (Gothic form *
Hroþireiks, also known by the Spanish form
Rodrigo), who died fighting the Muslim invaders of Spain in the 8th century. It also had cognates in Old Norse and West Germanic, and Scandinavian settlers and
Normans introduced it to England, though it died out after the Middle Ages. It was revived in the English-speaking world by Walter Scott's 1811 poem
The Vision of Don Roderick [1].
This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Scottish Ruaridh or Welsh Rhydderch.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər(American English) RIV-ə(British English)
Rating: 82% based on 5 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Richenza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Medieval English, American (Rare), Medieval German
Other Scripts: ריכנצא(Medieval Yiddish)
Pronounced: ree-khen-zah(Polish)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Polish and medieval English and medieval German form of
Rikissa. It was also adopted by the Jewish German communities in 1096 and used thereafter.
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From Old Welsh
Ris, probably meaning
"ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading
Normans.
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ri-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *
Rīgantonā meaning
"great queen" (Celtic *
rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix
-on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish
Epona. As
Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the
Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to
Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married
Pwyll instead. Their son was
Pryderi.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Rhea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Ῥέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: REH-A(Classical Greek) REE-ə(English) REH-a(Latin)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Revaz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: რევაზ(Georgian)
Pronounced: REH-VAZ
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Possibly of Persian origin meaning "wealthy, successful".
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
French form of the Latin name
Remigius, which was derived from Latin
remigis "oarsman, rower".
Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.
Remei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: rə-MAY
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means
"remedy" in Catalan, a Catalan equivalent of
Remedios.
Ravenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: rə-VEHN-ə
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Either an elaboration of
Raven, or else from the name of the city of Ravenna in Italy.
Raven
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY-vən
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English
hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god
Odin.
Rafferty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAF-ər-tee(American English) RAF-ə-tee(British English)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the given name Rabhartach meaning "flood tide".
Psamathe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ψάμαθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAM-ə-thee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Derived from Greek
ψάμαθος (psamathos) meaning
"sand of the seashore". This was the name of several characters in Greek
mythology, including one of the Nereids. One of the small moons of Neptune is named after her.
Portia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAWR-shə(American English) PAW-shə(British English)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Porcia, the feminine form of the Roman family name
Porcius, used by William Shakespeare for the heroine of his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596). In the play Portia is a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to defend
Antonio in court. It is also the name of a moon of Uranus, after the Shakespearean character.
Pipaluk
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Means
"sweet little thing who belongs to me" in Greenlandic
[1].
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 77% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Φοίβη (Phoibe), which meant
"bright, pure" from Greek
φοῖβος (phoibos). In Greek
mythology Phoibe was a Titan associated with the moon. This was also an epithet of her granddaughter, the moon goddess
Artemis. The name appears in
Paul's epistle to the Romans in the
New Testament, where it belongs to a female minister in the church at Cenchreae.
In England, it began to be used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately common in the 19th century. It began to rise in popularity again in the late 1980s, probably helped along by characters on the American television shows Friends (1994-2004) and Charmed (1998-2006). It is currently much more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand than the United States.
A moon of Saturn bears this name, in honour of the Titan.
Philippa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), German
Pronounced: FI-li-pə(British English)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Latinate feminine form of
Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.
Philip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Pronounced: FIL-ip(English) FEE-lip(Dutch)
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name
Φίλιππος (Philippos) meaning
"friend of horses", composed of the elements
φίλος (philos) meaning "friend, lover" and
ἵππος (hippos) meaning "horse". This was the name of five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great. The name appears in the
New Testament belonging to two people who are regarded as
saints. First, one of the twelve apostles, and second, an early figure in the Christian church known as Philip the Deacon.
This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians, though it came to the West by the Middle Ages. It was borne by six kings of France and five kings of Spain. It was regularly used in England during the Middle Ages, although the Spanish king Philip II, who attempted an invasion of England, helped make it less common by the 17th century. It was revived in the English-speaking world in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Elizabethan courtier and poet Philip Sidney (1554-1586) and the American science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick (1928-1982).
Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEET-ər(American English) PEE-tə(British English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Derived from Greek
Πέτρος (Petros) meaning
"stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the
New Testament of the name
Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle
Simon by
Jesus (compare
Matthew 16:18 and
John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.
Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].
Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Probably derived from Greek
πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from
πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of the wife of
Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.
It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.
Parvaneh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پروانه(Persian)
Pronounced: par-vaw-NEH
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "butterfly" in Persian.
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 78% based on 9 votes
Anglicized form of
Owain.
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Derived from Greek
ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning
"help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem
Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play
Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of
Polonius and the potential love interest of
Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish) o-LEE-vee-a(Dutch)
Rating: 24% based on 5 votes
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time
[1] that may have been based on
Oliva or
Oliver, or directly on the Latin word
oliva meaning
"olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke
Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually
Viola in disguise.
Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.
A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name
Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
λαός (laos) meaning "people".
Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch
Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
Nereo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: neh-REH-o(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 90% based on 1 vote
Italian and Spanish form of
Nereus.
Nayeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Pronounced: na-YEH-lee(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".
Nathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: נָתָן(Hebrew) Ναθάν(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NAY-thən(English) NA-TAHN(French)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
נָתָן (Naṯan) meaning
"he gave". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a prophet during the reign of King
David. He chastised David for his adultery with
Bathsheba and for the death of
Uriah the Hittite. Later he championed
Solomon as David's successor. This was also the name of a son of David and Bathsheba.
It has been used as a Christian given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Nathan Hale (1755-1776), an American spy executed by the British during the American Revolution.
Naia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NIE-a
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "wave, sea foam" in Basque.
Morwenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
From Old Cornish
moroin meaning
"maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word
morwyn [1]). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish
saint, said to be one of the daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(American English) MAW-gən(British English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name
Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh
mor "sea" and
cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America
Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of
Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Meri 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: MEH-ree
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "sea" in Finnish.
Meredith
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHR-ə-dith(English)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
From the Welsh name
Maredudd or
Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as
Margetud, possibly from
mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with
iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).
Melissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μέλισσα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mə-LIS-ə(English) MEH-LEES-SA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Means
"bee" in Greek. In Greek
mythology this was the name of a daughter of Procles, as well as an epithet of various Greek nymphs and priestesses. According to the early Christian writer Lactantius
[2] this was the name of the sister of the nymph
Amalthea, with whom she cared for the young
Zeus. Later it appears in Ludovico Ariosto's 1532 poem
Orlando Furioso [3] belonging to the fairy who helps
Ruggiero escape from the witch
Alcina. As an English given name,
Melissa has been used since the 18th century.
Megan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHG-ən(English)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Welsh
diminutive of
Margaret. In the English-speaking world outside of Wales it has only been regularly used since the middle of the 20th century.
Mayumi 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tagalog
Pronounced: ma-YOO-mee
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means "tender, soft, modest" in Tagalog.
Math
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Possibly from the old Celtic root *
matus meaning
"bear". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Math ap Mathonwy was a king of Gwynedd and a magician. Whenever he was not at war, it was required that he rest his feet in the lap of a virgin. He was the uncle of the hero
Gwydion, with whom he shared most of his adventures.
Marsaili
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MAR-si-li
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Marigold
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of
Mary and the English word
gold.
Mariah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mə-RIE-ə
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Maria. It is usually pronounced in a way that reflects an older English pronunciation of
Maria. The name was popularized in the early 1990s by the American singer Mariah Carey (1970-).
Maren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: MAH-rehn(Danish)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Mareilis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Alsatian (Archaic)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Maia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
Other Scripts: Μαῖα(Ancient Greek) მაია(Georgian)
Pronounced: MIE-A(Classical Greek) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English) MIE-ya(Latin) MAH-EE-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
From Greek
μαῖα (maia) meaning
"good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of
μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman
mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione. Her son by
Zeus was
Hermes.
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Maayan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מַעֲיָן(Hebrew)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Means "spring of water" in Hebrew.
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-a(Dutch)
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
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.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
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).
Llyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Unaccented variant of
Llŷr.
Linnet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: li-NEHT, LIN-it
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Either a variant of
Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.
Linnea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a(Swedish) LEEN-neh-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Linden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dən
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
From a German and Dutch surname that was derived from Old High German
linta meaning
"linden tree".
Lily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee
Rating: 70% based on 5 votes
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-).
Liam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French (Modern), Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), Swedish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: LYEEYM(Irish) LEE-əm(English) LYAM(French) LEE-ahm(Dutch)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
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-).
Líadan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: LYEEY-dən
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Possibly from Old Irish
líath meaning
"grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century
saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.
Levan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ლევან(Georgian)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Lestari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Pronounced: ləs-TA-ree
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Means "eternal, abiding" in Indonesian.
Leslie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEHZ-lee, LEHS-lee
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from a place in Aberdeenshire, probably from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century. In America it was more common as a feminine name after the 1940s.
Leili 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Probably from
Laila 2, but also associated with Estonian
leil meaning
"vapour, steam". It became popular due to Andres Saal's novel
Leili (1892).
Leilani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 90% based on 1 vote
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.
Kyria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Swiss
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Kirrily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
Pronounced: KIR-ə-lee
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
Possibly an elaboration of
Kiri or
Kira 2. It seems to have been brought to attention in Australia in the 1970s by the actress Kirrily Nolan.
Kiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Means "skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).
Kinneret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כִּנֶּרֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Kimimela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sioux
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
From Lakota kimímela meaning "butterfly".
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KIR-ən(English) KIR-awn(English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Kestrel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEHS-trəl
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the name of the bird of prey, ultimately derived from Old French crecelle "rattle", which refers to the sound of its cry.
Kerensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Means "love" in Cornish.
Kenneth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: KEHN-əth(English)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of both
Coinneach and
Cináed. This name was borne by the Scottish king Kenneth (Cináed) mac Alpin, who united the Scots and Picts in the 9th century. It was popularized outside of Scotland by Walter Scott, who used it for the hero in his 1825 novel
The Talisman [1]. A famous bearer was the British novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), who wrote
The Wind in the Willows.
Kelan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEHL-ən
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Keith
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: KEETH(English)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of a place in East Lothian, itself possibly derived from the Celtic root *kayto- meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, becoming fairly common throughout the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
Keanu
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: keh-A-noo
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "the cool breeze" from Hawaiian ke, a definite article, and anu "coolness". This name is now associated with Canadian actor Keanu Reeves (1964-).
Käthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: KEH-tə
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Kailani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: kie-LA-nee
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
From Hawaiian kai "ocean, sea" and lani "sky, heaven".
Kai 3
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: KIE
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Means "sea" in Hawaiian.
Juvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Based off of the Spanish word lluvia "rain".
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess
Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Julianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-AN
Rating: 78% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of
Iulianus (see
Julian). It can also be considered a combination of
Julie and
Anne 1.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 72% based on 6 votes
From the Roman name
Iulianus, which was derived from
Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early
saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from
Juliana, eventually becoming
Gillian).
Jordana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Macedonian, Serbian, English (Rare)
Other Scripts: Јордана(Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: khor-DHA-na(Spanish) jawr-DAN-ə(American English) jaw-DAN-ə(British English)
Rating: 18% based on 5 votes
Jordan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Macedonian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Јордан(Macedonian, Serbian) יַרְדֵן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAWR-dən(American English) JAW-dən(British English) ZHAWR-DAHN(French)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From the name of the river that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is
יַרְדֵן (Yarḏen), and it is derived from
יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning
"descend, flow down". In the
New Testament John the Baptist baptizes
Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Latin name
Jordanes, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.
This name died out after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. In America and other countries it became fairly popular in the second half of the 20th century. A famous bearer of the surname is former basketball star Michael Jordan (1963-).
Jonathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHN-ə-thən(American English) JAWN-ə-thən(British English) ZHAW-NA-TAHN(French) YO-na-tan(German) YO-na-tahn(Dutch)
Rating: 47% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonaṯan), contracted to
יוֹנָתָן (Yonaṯan), meaning
"Yahweh has given", derived from the roots
יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and
נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give". According to the
Old Testament, Jonathan was the eldest son of
Saul. His relationship with his father was strained due to his close friendship with his father's rival
David. Along with Saul he was killed in battle with the Philistines.
As an English name, Jonathan did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who wrote Gulliver's Travels and other works.
Jesse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Finnish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
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.
Jessamyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEHS-ə-min
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Jennett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish (Archaic)
Rating: 27% based on 6 votes
Jelena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Estonian, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Јелена(Serbian)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Form of
Yelena in several languages. In Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia it is also associated with the South Slavic words
jelen meaning "deer, stag" and
jela meaning "fir tree".
Jared
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יָרֶד, יֶרֶד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAR-əd(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
יָרֶד (Yareḏ) or
יֶרֶד (Yereḏ) meaning
"descent". This is the name of a close descendant of
Adam in the
Old Testament. It has been used as an English name since the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popularized in the 1960s by the character Jarrod Barkley on the television series
The Big Valley [1].
Jamie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
Jafar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: جعفر(Arabic, Persian)
Pronounced: JA‘-far(Arabic) ja-FAR(Persian)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means
"stream" in Arabic. Jafar ibn Abi Talib was a cousin of the Prophet
Muhammad who was killed fighting against Byzantium in the 7th century. Another notable bearer was Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia imam.
Izumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 泉, etc.(Japanese Kanji) いずみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: EE-ZOO-MEE
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Japanese
泉 (izumi) meaning "fountain, spring". This name can also be constructed from other combinations of kanji.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Ismay
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), Dutch, Anglo-Norman, Medieval Irish
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Isemay, an Anglo-Norman name of uncertain origin and meaning. It was also recorded in medieval Ireland on women born into Anglo-Norman families.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Ishani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: इशानी(Hindi)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Means "ruling, possessing" in Sanskrit.
Irati
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-RA-tee
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Means "fern field" in Basque.
Ibai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-BIE
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Means "river" in Basque.
Hotaru
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 蛍(Japanese Kanji) ほたる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HO-TA-ROO
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
From Japanese
蛍 (hotaru) meaning "firefly".
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Italian form of
Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word
ginepro meaning "juniper".
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Gareth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English (British), Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAR-əth(British English)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends
Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named
Beaumains) is a brother of
Gawain. He goes with
Lynet to rescue her sister
Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on
Gaheriet or
Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name
Gwrhyd meaning
"valour" (found in the tale
Culhwch and Olwen) or
Gwairydd meaning
"hay lord" (found in the chronicle
Brut y Brenhinedd).
Galen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAY-lən
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
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.
Forrest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWR-ist(American English, British English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From an English surname meaning "forest", originally belonging to a person who lived near a forest. In America it has sometimes been used in honour of the Confederate Civil War general Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877). This name was borne by the title character in the movie Forrest Gump (1994) about a loveable simpleton. Use of the name increased when the movie was released, but has since faded away.
Eylín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Rare)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Combination of the Old Norse name elements ey "island; flat land along a coast" (which is also often related to the Old Norse name element auja "(gift of) luck; fortune") and lín "flax, linen; linen garment, linen gear".
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Rating: 26% based on 5 votes
Variant of
Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning
"good of man", derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Roman
mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Étienne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-TYEHN(European French) EH-TSYEHN(Quebec French)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
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.
Eteri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ეთერი(Georgian)
Pronounced: EH-TEH-REE
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Form of
Eter with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Espen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Pronounced: EHS-pən
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Eric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, German, Spanish
Pronounced: EHR-ik(English) EH-rik(Swedish, German) EH-reek(Spanish)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Means
"ever ruler", from the Old Norse name
Eiríkr, derived from the elements
ei "ever, always" and
ríkr "ruler, king". A notable bearer was Eiríkr inn Rauda (Eric the Red in English), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. This was also the name of several early kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
This common Norse name was first brought to England by Danish settlers during the Anglo-Saxon period. It was not popular in England in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, in part due to the children's novel Eric, or Little by Little (1858) by Frederic William Farrar.
Enya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EHN-yə(English)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
Enara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: eh-NA-ra
Rating: 90% based on 1 vote
Means "swallow (bird)" in Basque.
Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
irmin meaning
"whole" or
"great" (Proto-Germanic *
ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian
saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).
In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).
Emil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, English
Other Scripts: Емил(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Эмиль(Russian)
Pronounced: EH-mil(Swedish, Czech) EH-meel(German, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian) eh-MEEL(Romanian) eh-MYEEL(Russian) ə-MEEL(English) EHM-il(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
From the Roman family name Aemilius, which was derived from Latin aemulus meaning "rival".
Ember
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-bər(American English) EHM-bə(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From the English word ember, ultimately from Old English æmerge.
Elisheva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אֱלִישֶׁבַע(Hebrew)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Elian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: EH-lee-ahn
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Elestren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern, Rare)
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Derived from Cornish elester meaning "iris flower". This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Eirian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Means
"bright, beautiful" in Welsh
[1].
Eira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AY-ra
Rating: 83% based on 4 votes
Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.
Eilir
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Welsh eilir "butterfly; regneration; spring".
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
From the Welsh prefix
dy meaning "to, toward" and
llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of
Arianrhod and the twin brother of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle
Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.
Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.
Douglas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUG-ləs
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname that was from the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water. It means "dark river", derived from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period. The Gaelic form is Dùghlas or Dùbhghlas. It has been used as a given name since the 16th century.
Deyan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Деян(Bulgarian)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Devorah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: דְּבוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Devin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHV-in
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
From a surname, either the Irish surname
Devin 1 or the English surname
Devin 2.
Deva
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Sanskrit, Hinduism
Other Scripts: देव(Sanskrit)
Pronounced: DAY-vah(Sanskrit) DEH-vah(Sanskrit)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Meaning "deity" in Sanskrit, referring to any benevolent spirit or supernatural being. The devas (also known as suras) in Hinduism maintaine the realms as ordained by the Trimurti and are often warring with their equally powerful counterparts, the Asuras.
Famous bearers of the name include Deva Raya II (r. 1426–1446 CE), an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. He is considered one of the rulers of the Sangama dynasty and was patron of some of the most famous Kannada and Telugu poets of the time.
Another famous bearer is New Age German songstress Deva Premal.
Deryn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Possibly from the Welsh word deryn, a variant of aderyn meaning "bird".
Derek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHR-ik
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
From the older English name
Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of
Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Dean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEEN
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
From a surname, see
Dean 1 and
Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
Rating: 89% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawiḏ), which was derived from
דּוֹד (doḏ) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the
Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the
New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.
Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).
Dathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: דָּתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Possibly means
"fountain" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the conspirators against
Moses.
Darya 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: دریا(Persian)
Pronounced: dar-YAW
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Means "sea, ocean" in Persian.
Darian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAR-ee-ən
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Probably an elaborated form of
Darren.
Daria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Romanian, English, Croatian, Russian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Дарья(Russian) Δαρεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-rya(Italian, Polish, Romanian) DAHR-ee-ə(English) DAR-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Darius.
Saint Daria was a 3rd-century woman who was martyred with her husband Chrysanthus under the Roman emperor Numerian. It has never been a particularly common English given name. As a Russian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Darya.
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Damiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: da-MYA-na
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Italian feminine form of
Damian.
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Damaris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δάμαρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAM-ə-ris(English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
Probably means
"calf, heifer, girl" from Greek
δάμαλις (damalis). In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul.
Cyril
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: SIR-əl(English) SEE-REEL(French) TSI-ril(Czech)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Κύριλλος (Kyrillos), which was derived from Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning
"lord", a word used frequently in the Greek Bible to refer to God or Jesus.
This name was borne by a number of important saints, including Cyril of Jerusalem, a 4th-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, and Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th-century theologian. Another Saint Cyril was a 9th-century Greek missionary to the Slavs, who is credited with creating the Glagolitic alphabet with his brother Methodius in order to translate the Bible into Slavic. The Cyrillic alphabet, named after him, is descended from Glagolitic.
This name has been especially well-used in Eastern Europe and other places where Orthodox Christianity is prevalent. It came into general use in England in the 19th century.
Cyrielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
French feminine form of
Cyril.
Cynthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυνθία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIN-thee-ə(English) SEEN-TYA(French)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means
"woman from Cynthus". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess
Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother
Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then.
Cory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWR-ee
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Coriander
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KAWR-ee-an-dər(American English) kawr-ee-AN-dər(American English) kawr-ee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
From the name of the spice, also called cilantro, which may ultimately be of Phoenician origin (via Latin and Greek).
Corentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: ko-REHN-teen(Breton) KAW-RAHN-TEHN(French)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.
Colin 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: KAHL-in(American English) KOL-in(American English, British English) KAWL-in(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish
Cailean.
Ciarán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEEY-ran(Irish)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Diminutive of
Ciar. This was the name of two 6th-century Irish
saints: Ciarán the Elder, the founder of the monastery at Saighir, and Ciarán the Younger, the founder of the monastery at Clonmacnoise.
Ciara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEEY-rə
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Ciar. This is another name for
Saint Ciar.
Chryssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Χρύσα(Greek)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Chrysanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Χρυσάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Chetan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada
Other Scripts: चेतन(Hindi, Marathi) ચેતન(Gujarati) ಚೇತನ್(Kannada)
Rating: 28% based on 6 votes
From Sanskrit
चेतन (cetana) meaning
"visible, conscious, soul".
Chantrea
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Khmer
Other Scripts: ចន្ទ្រា(Khmer)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Means "moonlight" in Khmer.
Channary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Khmer
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Means
"moon-faced girl" from Khmer
ចន្ទ (chan) meaning "moon" and
នារី (neari) meaning "woman, girl".
Ceren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: jeh-REHN
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Means "gazelle" in Turkish (probably of Mongolian origin, originally referring to the Mongolian gazelle, the zeren).
Celyn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means
"holly" in Welsh. It appears briefly in the Welsh tale
Culhwch and Olwen [1], belonging to a son of Caw, but was not typically used as a given name until the 20th century.
Celeste
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian) sə-SEE-lee-a(Dutch)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name
Caecilius, which was derived from Latin
caecus meaning
"blind".
Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.
Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.
Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
French form of
Katherine, and also a common English variant.
Cathán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Derived from Old Irish
cath "battle" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Saint Cathán was a 6th-century Irish monk, a missionary to the Isle of Bute.
Cassian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman (Anglicized)
Pronounced: KASH-ən(English) KAS-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
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.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 75% based on 6 votes
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.
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KA-ris
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Calypso
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλυψώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIP-so(English)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From Greek
Καλυψώ (Kalypso), which probably meant
"she that conceals", derived from
καλύπτω (kalypto) meaning "to cover, to conceal". In Greek
myth this was the name of the nymph who fell in love with
Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island of Ogygia. When he refused to stay with her she detained him for seven years until
Zeus ordered her to release him.
Calum
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic
Pronounced: KAL-əm
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 90% based on 2 votes
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.
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Caitlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYT-lin
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
Çağla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "almonds" in Turkish.
Cadell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare) [1]
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From Old Welsh
Catell, derived from
cat "battle" and a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of two early kings of Powys in Wales.
Bryony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the name of a type of Eurasian vine, formerly used as medicine. It ultimately derives from Greek
βρύω (bryo) meaning "to swell".
Brody
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRO-dee
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It probably means "ditch, mire" in Gaelic.
Brent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRENT
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, perhaps derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname
Braonán, itself from Irish
braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a
diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to
Brendan or
Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.
Brendan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Breton
Pronounced: BREHN-dən(English) BREHN-dahn(Breton)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From
Brendanus, the Latinized form of the Old Irish name
Bréanainn, which was derived from Old Welsh
breenhin meaning
"king, prince".
Saint Brendan was a 6th-century Irish abbot who, according to legend, crossed the Atlantic and reached North America with 17 other monks.
Bran 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: BRAN(Irish)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Means "raven" in Irish. In Irish legend Bran mac Febail was a mariner who was involved in several adventures on his quest to find the Otherworld.
Braden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAY-dən
Rating: 23% based on 6 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Bradáin, which was in turn derived from the byname
Bradán. Like other similar-sounding names such as
Hayden and
Aidan, it and its variant
Brayden became popular in America at the end of the 20th century.
Bradán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish
Pronounced: BRA-dan(Irish)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Means
"salmon" in Irish. It could also be formed from Irish
brad "thief" and a
diminutive suffix.
Björn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Icelandic, German
Pronounced: BYUUN(Swedish) PYUURTN(Icelandic) BYUURN(German)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From an Old Norse byname derived from
bjǫrn meaning
"bear".
Bjarni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Icelandic, Faroese
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Berengaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Latinized feminine form of
Berengar. This name was borne by a 13th-century queen of Castile.
Berengar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Old German name derived from the elements
bern "bear" and
ger "spear". This was the name of two medieval kings of Italy and a Holy Roman emperor.
Beren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Means "brave" in Sindarin. Beren (also known as Beren Erchamion, 'the One-handed', and Beren Camlost, 'the Empty-handed') is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was the son of
Barahir and
Emeldir, the husband of
Lúthien, the father of Dior Eluchíl, and ancestor of
Elros and of him of
Aragorn, and ancestor of
Elrond and of him
Arwen. The character of Beren and his romance with Lúthien is widely believed to be based on J.R.R. Tolkien and his romance with his wife Edith.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
From the Late Latin name
Benedictus, which meant
"blessed".
Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Beñat
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: beh-NYAT
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Belinay
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish (Modern)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Means
"reflection of the moon on a lake" in Turkish
[1].
Bastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: BAS-tee-an
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Aysel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Means
"moon flood" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, derived from
ay "moon" and
sel "flood, stream" (of Arabic origin).
Aylin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh
Other Scripts: Айлин(Kazakh)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Elaborated form of Turkish or Azerbaijani
ay meaning
"moon".
Ayelet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַיֶלֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Means
"doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase
אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר (ʾayeleṯ hashaḥar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.
Averill
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was originally derived from the feminine given name
Eoforhild.
Aspen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AS-pən
Rating: 60% based on 9 votes
From the English word for a variety of deciduous trees in the genus Populus, derived from Old English æspe. It is also the name of a ski resort in Colorado.
Ashwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
Other Scripts: अश्विन(Hindi, Marathi) அசுவின், அஸ்வின்(Tamil) అశ్విన్(Telugu) ಅಶ್ವಿನ್(Kannada)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From Sanskrit
अश्विन् (aśvin) meaning
"possessed of horses". The Ashvins are twin Hindu gods of the sunrise and sunset.
Asherah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Pronounced: ə-SHEER-ə(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Asha 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: आशा(Hindi, Marathi) ಆಶಾ(Kannada) ആശാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
आशा (āśā) meaning
"wish, desire, hope".
Ash
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Arkady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Аркадий(Russian)
Pronounced: ur-KA-dyee
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Ariel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֲרִיאֵל(Hebrew) Ἀριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-ree-EHL(Hebrew) EHR-ee-əl(English) AR-ee-əl(English) A-RYEHL(French) a-RYEHL(Spanish) A-ryehl(Polish)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Means
"lion of God" in Hebrew, from
אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the
Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play
The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem
The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film
The Little Mermaid (1989).
Ariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ar-ee-AN-ə(English) ar-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
Portuguese form of
Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Aravind
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: अरविन्द, अरविंद(Hindi, Marathi) ಅರವಿಂದ(Kannada) அரவிந்த்(Tamil)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
Means
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron
saint of Lucena, Spain.
Annemei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Alsatian
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Ameyalli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Means
"spring, fountain" in Nahuatl
[1].
Amber
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AM-bər(American English) AM-bə(British English) AHM-bər(Dutch)
Rating: 80% based on 8 votes
From the English word
amber that denotes either the gemstone, which is formed from fossil resin, or the orange-yellow colour. The word ultimately derives from Arabic
عنبر (ʿanbar) meaning "ambergris". It began to be used as a given name in the late 19th century, but it only became popular after the release of Kathleen Winsor's novel
Forever Amber (1944).
Alyssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LIS-ə
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Variant of
Alicia. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek
ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with
λύσσα (lyssa) meaning "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-də(British English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 71% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant
"defending men" from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
mythology this was another name of the hero
Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the
New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.
The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.
Alastair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(American English) AL-i-stə(British English)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Alaric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: AL-ə-rik(English)
Rating: 30% based on 6 votes
From the Gothic name *
Alareiks meaning
"ruler of all", derived from the element
alls "all" combined with
reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Aidan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən(English)
Rating: 39% based on 8 votes
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.
Aella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄελλα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-EHL-LA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Means
"whirlwind" in Greek. In Greek
myth this was the name of an Amazon warrior killed by
Herakles during his quest for Hippolyta's girdle.
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Form of
Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.
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