Cinnabar's Personal Name List

Variant of Isemay.

From the Old English name Wigstan, composed of the elements wig "battle" and stan "stone". This was the name of a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon saint. It became rare after the Norman Conquest, and in modern times it is chiefly known as the first name of the British poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973).

Variant of Wulfstan.

Old English form of Wayland.

Medieval English form of Old English Þéode.

Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.

Latinized form of Sæwynn.

Medieval nickname for a person with a cheerful disposition, from Middle English seely "happy, fortunate" (from Old English sæl "happiness, good fortune"). The word was also occasionally used as a female personal name during the Middle Ages. The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious", to "innocent" (c.1200), to "harmless", to "pitiable" (late 13c.), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1570s); the sense "pitiable", which developed into modern English silly, is not attested before the 15th century.

Medieval English form of Old English Sægiefu.

Derived from Old English sæ "sea" and wynn "joy, delight".

Latinized form of the medieval name Rohese (see Rose).

Norman French form of Hrodohaidis.

Polish and medieval English and medieval German form of Rikissa.

Medieval English form of Old English Rícmæg.

Medieval English variant of Regina (influenced by Old French reine, meaning "queen"), Judeo-Anglo-Norman variant of Reine and Judeo-Spanish variant of Reina 2. As a Jewish name, Reyna was used as a translation of Malka.

Transferred use of the surname Rayne, thus a variant of Raine. It can also be considered a variant of Rain.

Diminutive form of Pierre, Perre and Pier.

Derived from South Slavic neven meaning "marigold".

Variant of Mærwynn used by Anya Seton in her historical novel Avalon (1965). In the story Merewyn is a niece of Merwinna, abbess of Romsey Abbey.

Derived from the Old English elements mære "famous" and wine "friend".

Younger form of Leofgyð.

Latinized form of Leofgifu.

Derived from the Old English elements leof "dear, beloved" and flæd, possibly meaning "beauty".

Form of Leofgifu found in the Phillimore translation of Domesday Book.

Variant of Kinborough.

Means "moonlight" in Quechua from the word killa meaning "moon".

Variant of Janet found in medieval documents from England, Scotland and Ireland.

Diminutive of Iva 3.

Medieval English vernacular form of Isolde. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends Le Morte d'Arthur.

English form of a medieval French name appearing in various spellings such as Ysambart or Isembart, which were derived from Isanbert. The name is mainly synonymous with the leading British civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859).

Medieval variant of Harvey.

Means "god's ruler", derived from Old English god combined with ric "ruler, king". This name died out a few centuries after the Norman Conquest.

Latinized form of the Old English name Godgifu meaning "gift of god", from the elements god and giefu "gift". Lady Godiva was an 11th-century English noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest the high taxes imposed by her husband upon the townspeople.

Younger form of Godgyð.

Medieval German and English form of Galianus / Galienus. As a German name, it was recorded in German-speaking Switzerland in the 1400s.

Latinate form of Old English Eoforhild (compare Everild).

From Old English eoh "horse, steed" and mære "famous, illustrious, known". Eomer was, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the great-great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia, the first King of Mercia. His name may be the basis for the fictional Lord of the Rings character Éomer.

Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.

Middle English form of both the Old English names Æðelflæd and Ælfflæd. These names became rare after the Norman Conquest, but Elfleda was briefly revived in the 19th century.

Cognate of Odrich.

Latinized form of Eadgifu.

From the Old English elements dunn "dark" and stan "stone". This name was borne by a 10th-century saint, the archbishop of Canterbury. It was occasionally used in the Middle Ages, though it died out after the 16th century. It was revived by the Tractarian movement in the 19th century.

Old English younger form of Cyneric and Ceneric.

Derived from Old English cyne "royal" and ric "ruler, king".

Derived from Old English cyne "royal" and mære "famous".

Derived from the Old English elements cyne "royal" and giefu "gift".

Old English byname meaning "charcoal", originally given to a person with dark features.

Medieval diminutive of Cecily.

Derived from the Old English elements ceol "keel" and stan 1 "stone".

Old English form of Kenelm.

Derived from Old English bryne "fire, flame, burning".

The name of the eponymous saint of the village of Braunton in Devon, England. Saint Brannock (or Brannoc) is said to have originated from South Wales and established a monastery at Braunton in the 6th century. His name may be related to the Welsh Brynach.

Variant of Bonnefoi.

Form of Bithiah used in some versions of the Old Testament, including the Douay-Rheims Bible. This name was popular in Scotland from the 17th century as an Anglicised form of Gaelic Beathag. It has occasionally been used as a Latinized form of Beth (a short form of Elizabeth).

Variant of Aveline first used in medieval England and eventually revived in the 20th century.

Modern form of the Old English name Æscwynn, formed of the elements æsc "ash tree" and wynn "joy, rapture, pleasure".

Medieval name derived from Latin amicus meaning "friend". This was a popular name in the Middle Ages, though it has since become uncommon.

Middle English form of Ealdgyð.

Medieval form of Æðelgyð.

Medieval English form of Old English Æðelgifu.

From the Nordic name elements ag meaning "edge of sword, blade" and nelli.

Derived from the Old English elements æðele "noble" and ric "ruler, king". This was the name of several early Anglo-Saxon kings.

Means "ash tree" in Old English. This was the nickname of a 5th-century king of Kent, whose birth name was Oeric.

Derived from the Old English elements ælf "elf" and wynn "joy". This name was borne by a daughter of Æðelflæd who ruled Mercia briefly in the 10th century.

Derived from the Old English elements ælf "elf" and ric "ruler, king" (making it a cognate of Alberich). This was the name of a 10th-century archbishop of Canterbury, sometimes considered a saint.

Derived from the Old English elements ælf "elf" and giefu "gift". This was the name of the first wife of the English king Æðelræd II.

From the Old German elements adal "noble" and mari "famous". It is a cognate of the Old English name Æðelmær.