silver-sky's Personal Name List
Zona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Means "girdle, belt" in Greek. This name was made popular by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet Zona Gale (1874-1938).
Zinnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Means
"life of Zeus", derived from Greek
Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of
Zeus" and
βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor
Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
Zella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Meaning unknown, possibly an invented name. It arose in the 19th century.
Zehra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Urdu
Other Scripts: زہرا, زہرہ(Urdu)
Pronounced: zehh-RA(Turkish)
Zavanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: zə-VAN-ə
Zarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik, Urdu, Malay
Other Scripts: Зарина(Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik) زرینہ(Urdu)
From Persian
زرین (zarīn) meaning
"golden". According to the 5th-century BC Greek historian Ctesias, this was the name of a Scythian queen.
Zara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: ZAHR-ə(English)
Used by William Congreve for a character in his tragedy
The Mourning Bride (1697), where it belongs to a captive North African queen. Congreve may have based it on the Arabic name
Zahra 1. In 1736 the English writer Aaron Hill used it to translate
Zaïre for his popular adaptation of Voltaire's French play
Zaïre (1732).
In England the name was popularized when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981. Use of the name may also be influenced by the trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara.
Zandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAN-drə
Zahira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ظهيرة, زاهرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: dha-HEE-ra, ZA-hee-ra
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
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
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Willa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-ə
Will
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL
Short form of
William and other names beginning with
Will. A famous bearer is American actor Will Smith (1968-), whose full name is Willard.
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Means
"violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke
Orsino, she attempts to convince
Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Vinny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIN-ee
Venus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEH-noos(Latin) VEE-nəs(English)
Means
"love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite. As the mother of
Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.
Vega 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
The name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Wāqiʿ) meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
Valerie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Czech
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree(English) VA-lə-ree(German)
English and German form of
Valeria, as well as a Czech variant of
Valérie.
Troy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TROI
Originally from a surname that denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France. It is now more likely used in reference to the ancient city of Troy that was besieged by the Greeks in
Homer's
Iliad. The city's name, from Greek
Τροία (Troia), is said to derive from its mythical founder
Τρώς (Tros), but is more likely of Luwian or Hittite origin. This name was popularized in the 1960s by the actor Troy Donahue (1936-2001)
[1], who took his
stage name from that of the ancient city.
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
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).
Terra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHR-ə
Variant of
Tara 1, perhaps influenced by the Latin word
terra meaning
"land, earth".
Tara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAHR-ə, TEHR-ə, TAR-ə
Anglicized form of the Irish place name Teamhair, which possibly means "elevated place". This was the name of the sacred hill near Dublin where the Irish high kings resided. It was popularized as a given name by the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939), in which it is the name of the O'Hara plantation.
Talia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Means
"dew from God" in Hebrew, from
טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God.
Talia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
From the name of a town in South Australia, perhaps meaning "near water" in an Australian Aboriginal language.
Sylvian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Sylvana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: sil-VAN-ə(English)
Sylvan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Either a variant of
Silvanus or directly from the Latin word
silva meaning
"wood, forest".
Syd
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SID
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər(American English) SUM-ə(British English)
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Storm
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Dutch (Modern), Danish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: STAWRM(American English, Dutch) STAWM(British English)
From the vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English or Old Dutch storm, or in the case of the Scandinavian name, from Old Norse stormr. It is unisex as an English name, but typically masculine elsewhere.
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Spencer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SPEHN-sər(American English) SPEHN-sə(British English)
From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).
Sparrow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Solomon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Jewish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שְׁלֹמֹה(Hebrew) Σολομών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAHL-ə-mən(American English) SAWL-ə-mən(British English)
From the Hebrew name
שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomo), which was derived from
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". As told in the
Old Testament, Solomon was a king of Israel, the son of
David and
Bathsheba. He was renowned for his wisdom and wealth. Towards the end of his reign he angered God by turning to idolatry. Supposedly, he was the author of the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.
This name has never been overly common in the Christian world, and it is considered typically Jewish. It was however borne by an 11th-century Hungarian king.
Skylar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE-lər(American English) SKIE-lə(British English)
Variant of
Skyler. Originally more common for boys during the 1980s, it was popularized as a name for girls after it was used on the American soap opera
The Young and the Restless in 1989 and the movie
Good Will Hunting in 1997
[1]. Its sharp rise in the United States in 2011 might be attributed to the character Skyler White from the television series
Breaking Bad (2008-2013) or the singer Skylar Grey (1986-), who adopted this name in 2010 after previously going by Holly Brook.
Silver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIL-vər(American English) SIL-və(British English)
From the English word for the precious metal or the colour, ultimately derived from Old English seolfor.
Silvan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Swiss)
Sheridan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHR-i-dən
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin), which was derived from the given name Sirideán possibly meaning "searcher".
Shane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAYN(English)
Anglicized form of
Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie
Shane (1953).
Seth 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שֵׁת(Ancient Hebrew) Σήθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English)
Scott
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: SKAHT(American English) SKAWT(British English)
From an English and Scottish surname that referred to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic. It is derived from Latin Scoti meaning "Gael, Gaelic speaker", with the ultimate origin uncertain.
Saturn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: SAT-ərn(American English) SAT-ən(British English)
From the Latin
Saturnus, which is of unknown meaning. In Roman
mythology he was the father of
Jupiter,
Juno and others, and was also the god of agriculture. This is also the name of the ringed sixth planet in the solar system.
Sasha
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, English, French
Other Scripts: Саша(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: SA-shə(Russian) SASH-ə(English) SAH-shə(English) SA-SHA(French)
Sarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English (Modern)
Pronounced: sa-REE-na(Dutch)
Saranna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-RAN-ə
Combination of
Sarah and
Anna, in occasional use since the 18th century.
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sam 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAM
Short form of
Samuel,
Samson,
Samantha and other names beginning with
Sam. A notable fictional bearer is Sam Spade, a detective in Dashiell Hammett's novel
The Maltese Falcon (1930). In J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954 novel
The Lord of the Rings (1954) this is a short form of
Samwise.
Sam 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Persian Mythology
Other Scripts: سام(Persian)
Pronounced: SAWM(Persian)
Means "fire" in Persian (from an earlier Iranian root meaning "black"). This is the name of a hero in the 10th-century Persian epic the Shahnameh.
Salem 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAY-ləm
From the name of a biblical town,
שָׁלֵם (Shalem) in Hebrew, meaning
"complete, safe, peaceful". According to the
Old Testament this was the town where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with
Jerusalem. Many places are named after the biblical town, most in America, notably a city in Massachusetts where the infamous Salem witch trials occurred in 1692.
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Sabrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: sə-BREEN-ə(English) sa-BREE-na(Italian, Spanish) za-BREE-na(German) SA-BREE-NA(French) su-BREE-nu(European Portuguese) sa-BREE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Latinized form of
Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque
Comus (1634).
The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.
Sabina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Сабина(Russian)
Pronounced: sa-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) SA-bi-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Sabinus, a Roman
cognomen meaning
"a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early
saints.
Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Derived from Old Norse
rún meaning
"secret lore, rune".
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Ross
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWS(English)
From a Scottish and English surname that originally indicated a person from a place called Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.
Rory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
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-).
Robert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Catalan, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Роберт(Russian)
Pronounced: RAHB-ərt(American English) RAWB-ət(British English) RAW-BEHR(French) RO-beht(Swedish) RO-behrt(German, Finnish, Czech) RO-bərt(Dutch) RAW-bərt(Dutch) RAW-behrt(Polish) RO-byirt(Russian) roo-BEHRT(Catalan)
From the Germanic name
Hrodebert meaning
"bright fame", derived from the elements
hruod "fame" and
beraht "bright". The
Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English
cognate Hreodbeorht. It has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century. In the United States it was the most popular name for boys between 1924 and 1939 (and again in 1953).
This name has been borne by two kings of the Franks, two dukes of Normandy, and three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce who restored the independence of Scotland from England in the 14th century. Several saints have also had the name, the earliest known as Saint Rupert, from an Old German variant. The author Robert Browning (1812-1889) and poets Robert Burns (1759-1796) and Robert Frost (1874-1963) are famous literary namesakes. Other bearers include Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), the commander of the Confederate army during the American Civil War, and American actors Robert Redford (1936-), Robert De Niro (1943-) and Robert Downey Jr. (1965-).
Renee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: rə-NAY
Rayen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Means "flower" in Mapuche.
Quinn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name
Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series
Glee.
Pluto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Πλούτων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PLOO-to(English, Latin)
Latinized form of Greek
Πλούτων (Plouton), derived from
πλοῦτος (ploutos) meaning
"wealth". This was an alternate name of
Hades, the god of the underworld. This is also the name of a dwarf planet (formerly designated the ninth planet) in the solar system.
Phoenix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FEE-niks
From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek
mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek
φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
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.
Peyton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAY-tən
From an English surname, originally a place name meaning
"Pæga's town". This was a rare masculine name until the 1990s. In 1992 it was used for a female character in the movie
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and, despite the fact that it was borne by the villain, the name began to rise in popularity for girls as well as boys
[1].
Famous bearers include Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), the first president of the Continental Congress, and American football quarterback Peyton Manning (1976-).
Percy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PUR-see(American English) PU-see(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a Norman town
Perci, which was itself perhaps derived from a Gaulish given name that was Latinized as
Persius. The surname was borne by a noble English family, and it first used as a given name in their honour. A famous bearer was Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), an English romantic poet whose works include
Adonais and
Ozymandias. This name can also be used as a short form of
Percival.
Payton
Gender: Unisex
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PAY-tən
Orlando
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: or-LAN-do(Italian, Spanish)
Italian form of
Roland, as used in the epic poems
Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the continuation
Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. In the poems, Orlando is a knight in
Charlemagne's army who battles against the invading Saracens. A character in Shakespeare's play
As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
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.
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
From the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Onyx
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHN-iks(American English) AWN-iks(British English)
From the English word for the gemstone (a variety of chalcedony), which can be black, red or other colours. It is derived from Greek
ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning "claw, nail".
Newt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NOOT
Nerida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian
Possibly means "water lily" in an Australian Aboriginal language.
Neptune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: NEHP-toon(English) NEHP-tyoon(English)
From the Latin
Neptunus, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Indo-European root *
nebh- "wet, damp, clouds". Neptune was the god of the sea in Roman
mythology, approximately equivalent to the Greek god
Poseidon. This is also the name of the eighth planet in the solar system.
Nellie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish
Pronounced: NEHL-ee(English) NEH-li(Swedish)
Naja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic, Danish
From Greenlandic
najaa meaning
"his younger sister" [1]. It was popularized in Denmark by the writer B. S. Ingemann, who used it in his novel
Kunnuk and Naja, or the Greenlanders (1842).
Nadine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, English, Dutch
Pronounced: NA-DEEN(French) na-DEE-nə(German, Dutch) na-DEEN(German, Dutch) nay-DEEN(English)
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NA-dya(Italian, Polish) NA-dhya(Spanish) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Variant of
Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century
[1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-)
[2].
Morwenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
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)
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-).
Morena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: mo-REH-na(Spanish)
Montana
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: mahn-TAN-ə(American English) mawn-TAN-ə(British English)
From the name of the American state, which is derived from Latin montanus "mountainous".
Mira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Other Scripts: मीरा(Hindi, Marathi) മീര(Malayalam) மீரா(Tamil) ಮೀರಾ(Kannada)
From Sanskrit
मीर (mīra) meaning
"sea, ocean". This was the name of a 16th-century Indian princess who devoted her life to the god
Krishna.
Michael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: מִיכָאֵל(Hebrew) Μιχαήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MIE-kəl(English) MI-kha-ehl(German, Czech) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish) MEE-kah-ehl(Norwegian) mee-KA-ehl(Latin)
From the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning
"who is like God?", derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see
Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the
New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron
saint of soldiers in Christianity.
The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).
In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.
Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).
Mars
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MARS(Latin) MAHRZ(American English) MAHZ(British English)
Possibly related to Latin
mas meaning
"male" (genitive
maris). In Roman
mythology Mars was the god of war, often equated with the Greek god
Ares. This is also the name of the fourth planet in the solar system.
Maris 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Marion 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: MA-RYAWN(French) MEHR-ee-ən(English) MAR-ee-ən(English)
Marion 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-ee-ən, MAR-ee-ən
From a French surname that was derived from
Marion 1. This was the real name of American actor John Wayne (1907-1979), who was born Marion Robert Morrison.
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Mariah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mə-RIE-ə
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-).
Manaia
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Maori
From the name of a stylized design common in Maori carvings. It represents a mythological creature with the head of a bird and the body of a human.
Maiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
From Tupi maya arya meaning "great-grandmother".
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)
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.
Maia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MIE-ya(Latin) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English)
Probably from Latin
maior meaning
"greater". This was the name of a Roman goddess of spring, a companion (sometimes wife) of
Vulcan. She was later conflated with the Greek goddess
Maia. The month of May is named for her.
Maia 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian, Basque
Pronounced: MIE-a(Basque)
Estonian and Basque form of
Maria.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
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)
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.
Lunaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Brazilian (Rare), Filipino (Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Spanish (Mexican, Rare)
Means "moon-like" in Latin. Lunaria is a genus of flowering plants.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Romanian and English form of
Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Latin form of Greek
Λουκᾶς (see
Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.
This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).
Lou
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: LOO
Short form of
Louise or
Louis. Famous bearers include the baseball player Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) and the musician Lou Reed (1942-2013).
Lorin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ən
Loren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ən
Either a short form of
Laurence 1 (masculine) or a variant of
Lauren (feminine).
Lizzie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIZ-ee
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lilias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Form of
Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century
[1].
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Lila 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Libby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIB-ee
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)
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-).
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish) LEE-o(English)
Derived from Latin
leo meaning
"lion", a
cognate of
Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including
Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled
Лев in Russian, whose works include
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
In some cases this name can be a short form of longer names that start with Leo, such as Leonard.
Lenny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEHN-ee
Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms". This name steadily rose in popularity in the 2000s, at the same time as the similar-sounding (but unrelated) names
Lennon and
Knox.
Lennon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-ən
From an Irish surname, derived from the Irish byname
Leannán meaning "lover". The surname was borne by musician and Beatle member John Lennon (1940-1980), and it may be used as a given name in his honour. In America it is now more common as a feminine name, possibly inspired in part by the singer Lennon Stella (1999-), who began appearing on the television series
Nashville in 2012
[1].
Lenni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LEHN-nee
Len
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEHN
Leilani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
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.
Larisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovene, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Лариса(Russian, Ukrainian) Λάρισα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lu-RYEE-sə(Russian) lu-ryi-SU(Lithuanian)
Possibly derived from the name of the ancient city of Larisa in Thessaly, which meant
"citadel". In Greek legends, the nymph Larisa was either a daughter or mother of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the mythical Pelasgians. This name was later borne by a 4th-century Greek martyr who is venerated as a
saint in the Eastern Church. The name (of the city, nymph and saint) is commonly Latinized as
Larissa, with a double
s. As a Ukrainian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Larysa.
Lana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Russian, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian
Other Scripts: Лана(Russian) ლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAHN-ə(English)
Short form of
Alana (English) or
Svetlana (Russian). In the English-speaking world it was popularized by actress Lana Turner (1921-1995), who was born Julia Jean Turner.
Kylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-lən
Invented name based on the sounds found in other names such as
Kyle and
Rylan.
Kiran
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, Urdu
Other Scripts: किरण(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) ಕಿರಣ್(Kannada) కిరణ్(Telugu) കിരൺ(Malayalam) கிரண்(Tamil) કિરણ(Gujarati) کرن(Urdu)
Derived from Sanskrit
किरण (kiraṇa), which can mean
"dust" or
"thread" or
"sunbeam".
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KIR-ən(English) KIR-awn(English)
Kiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: kee-AHR-ə
Variant of
Ciara 1 or
Chiara. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song
This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie
The Lion King II (1998).
Kenny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: KEHN-ee(English)
Kenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Kelly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEHL-ee(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish given name
Ceallach or the surname derived from it
Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
As a given name it was mostly masculine before 1940, but it rose in popularity as a name for girls during the 40s and 50s, probably due both to Grace Kelly (who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956) and a female character on the 1957 television series Bachelor Father [1]. By the end of the 1970s it was on the decline.
Kellen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEHL-ən
Possibly from a German surname, itself derived from Middle Low German kel "swampy area". This name began to be used in the United States in the early 1980s after the American football player Kellen Winslow (1957-) began his professional career.
Kellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEHL-ən
Variant of
Kellen. This particular spelling jumped in popularity after actor Kellan Lutz (1985-) appeared in the
Twilight series of movies beginning 2008.
Katie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY-tee
Kameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-rən
Kamari
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: kə-MAHR-ee(English)
Kam
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM
Kalani
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ka-LA-nee
Means "the heavens" from Hawaiian ka "the" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Kaja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Estonian, Slovene
Pronounced: KA-ya(Swedish) KAH-yah(Estonian)
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Jupiter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: JOO-pi-tər(American English) JOO-pi-tə(British English)
From Latin
Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *
Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements
Dyēws (see
Zeus) and
pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman
mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
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.
Julie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ZHUY-LEE(French) YOO-lyə(Danish, German) YOO-li-yeh(Czech) JOO-lee(English)
French, Danish, Norwegian and Czech form of
Julia. It has spread to many other regions as well. It has been common in the English-speaking world since the early 20th century.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
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).
Julia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ə(English) YOO-lya(German, Danish, Polish) YOO-lee-ah(Swedish, Finnish) YUY-lee-a(Dutch) KHOO-lya(Spanish) YOO-lyi-yə(Russian) YOO-lee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor
Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of
Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the
New Testament. It was also borne by a few early
saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).
Jules 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOOLZ
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)
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-).
Joey
Gender: Unisex
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-ee
Jesse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Finnish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)
From
Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
יִשַׁי (Yishai). This could be a derivative of the word
שַׁי (shai) meaning
"gift" or
יֵשׁ (yesh) meaning
"existence". In the
Old Testament Jesse is the father of King
David. It began to be used as an English given name after the
Protestant Reformation.
A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.
Jamie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
Jade
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAYD(English) ZHAD(French)
From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
Ira 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עִירָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-rə(English)
Means
"watchful" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of King
David's priest. As an English Christian given name,
Ira began to be used after the
Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the
Puritans brought it to America, where remained moderately common into the 20th century.
Inja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene
Slovene short form of names ending with ina.
Indira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: इन्दिरा(Sanskrit) इन्दिरा, इंदिरा(Hindi) इंदिरा(Marathi) ಇಂದಿರಾ(Kannada) இந்திரா(Tamil)
Pronounced: IN-di-ra(Hindi)
Means
"beauty" in Sanskrit. This is another name of
Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god
Vishnu. A notable bearer was India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).
Inanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sumerian Mythology
Other Scripts: 𒀭𒈹(Sumerian Cuneiform)
Pronounced: i-NAH-nə(English)
Possibly derived from Sumerian
nin-an-a(k) meaning
"lady of the heavens", from
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" and the genitive form of
𒀭 (an) meaning "heaven, sky". Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. She descended into the underworld where the ruler of that place, her sister
Ereshkigal, had her killed. The god
Enki interceded, and Inanna was allowed to leave the underworld as long as her husband
Dumuzi took her place.
Inanna was later conflated with the Semitic (Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian) deity Ishtar.
Icarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἴκαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IK-ə-rəs(English)
From the Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek
myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Ian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: EE-ən(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Iain, itself from Latin
Iohannes (see
John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.
Holly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-ee(American English) HAWL-ee(British English)
From the English word for the holly tree, ultimately derived from Old English holen. Holly Golightly is the main character in the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) by Truman Capote.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Harley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lee(American English) HAH-lee(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English
hara "hare" or
hær "rock, heap of stones" and
leah "woodland, clearing". An American name for boys since the 19th century, it began to be used for girls after a character with the name began appearing on the soap opera
Guiding Light in 1987.
Hal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAL
Medieval
diminutive of
Harry. In Shakespeare's two historical plays about Henry IV, Prince Hal is the name of the future King Henry V.
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Freyja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: FRAY-ya(Icelandic) FRAY-ə(English)
Icelandic and Old Norse form of
Freya.
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Frey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Pronounced: FRAY(English)
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Derived from Old Irish
finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish
saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
From a Roman
cognomen meaning
"lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an
agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the
New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned
Saint Paul.
Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Means
"help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the
Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Evían
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern, Rare)
Icelandic name of uncertain origin.
Evanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Irish, Scottish, English, Italian (Rare), Swedish (Modern, Rare)
Either the feminine form of
Evan and a combination of
Eva and
Anna.
A famous bearer is Irish actress Evanna Lynch (1991-) known for her role as Luna Lovegood in the movie adaptation of 'Harry Potter' saga.
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)
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.
Evander 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(American English, Dutch) EHS-tə(British English) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
From the Hebrew name
אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means
"star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess
Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the
Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor
Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin
Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was
Hadassah.
This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].
Eric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, German, Spanish
Pronounced: EHR-ik(English) EH-rik(Swedish, German) EH-reek(Spanish)
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.
Ember
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-bər(American English) EHM-bə(British English)
From the English word ember, ultimately from Old English æmerge.
Elliott
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
From an English surname that was derived from a
diminutive of the medieval name
Elias.
Elliot
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
From a surname that was a variant of
Elliott.
Ellias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Ellen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EHL-ən(English) EHL-lehn(Finnish)
Medieval English form of
Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form
Helen also became common.
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Elías
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Icelandic
Pronounced: eh-LEE-as(Spanish)
Spanish and Icelandic form of
Elijah.
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish, Dutch) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Elian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: EH-lee-ahn
Eli 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EH-lee(Spanish)
Spanish, Norwegian and Danish short form of
Elisabet or
Elin.
Elektra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-LEHK-TRA(Classical Greek)
Eirian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Personal remark: eye-ree-in
Means
"bright, beautiful" in Welsh
[1].
Éimhín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EH-vyeen
Personal remark: like "evyeen"
From Old Irish
éim meaning
"swift, prompt". This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, the founder of a monastery in Kildare.
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
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.
Drew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DROO
Donovan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHN-ə-vən(American English) DAWN-ə-vən(British English)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Donndubháin, itself derived from the given name
Donndubán. This name is borne by the Scottish folk musician Donovan Leitch (1946-), known simply as Donovan.
Derya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: dehr-YA
Means "sea, ocean" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian.
Della
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-ə
Delia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-lee-ə(English) DEH-lya(Italian, Spanish) DEH-lee-a(Romanian)
Means
"of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Artemis, given because she and her twin brother
Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
Daya
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Indian, Hindi, Nepali
Other Scripts: दया(Hindi, Nepali)
Derived from Sanskrit दया (dayā) meaning "compassion, mercy".
Darian
Gender: Unisex
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAR-ee-ən
Probably an elaborated form of
Darren.
Dani 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAN-ee
Dani 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian, Spanish, Dutch
Pronounced: DAW-nee(Hungarian) DA-nee(Spanish, Dutch)
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
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.
Dallas
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAL-əs
From a surname that could either be of Old English origin meaning "valley house" or of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George M. Dallas (1792-1864).
Cyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κῦρος(Ancient Greek) 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: SIE-rəs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning
"young" or
"humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".
The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.
Cyprian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: TSI-pryan(Polish) SIP-ree-ən(English)
From the Roman family name
Cyprianus, which meant
"from Cyprus".
Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage who was martyred under the Roman emperor Valerian.
Connor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(American English) KAWN-ə(British English)
Variant of
Conor, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name. This is currently the most common way of spelling it in the English-speaking world, apart from Ireland.
Ciarán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEEY-ran(Irish)
Personal remark: Kieran alt. spelling
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
Feminine form of
Ciar. This is another name for
Saint Ciar.
Chris
Gender: Unisex
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Danish
Pronounced: KRIS(English, Dutch, German)
Chiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KYA-ra
Italian form of
Clara.
Saint Chiara (commonly called
Clare in English) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play
As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of
Cecilia.
Celestine
Gender: Unisex
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHL-ə-steen
English form of
Caelestinus. It is more commonly used as a feminine name, from the French feminine form
Célestine.
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)
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name
Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of
Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name
Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Cedar
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEE-dər(American English) SEE-də(British English)
From the English word for the coniferous tree, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
κέδρος (kedros). Besides the true cedars from the genus Cedrus, it is also used to refer to some tree species in the cypress family.
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)
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.
Cassie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS-ee
Cassidy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAS-i-dee
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Caiside), which is derived from the byname
Caiside. Very rare as a given name before the 1970s, it established itself in the 80s and then surged in popularity during the 90s.
Cassian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman (Anglicized)
Pronounced: KASH-ən(English) KAS-ee-ən(English)
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)
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
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.
Cassander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κάσσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of Greek
Κάσσανδρος (Kassandros), the masculine form of
Cassandra. This was the name of a 3rd-century BC king of Macedon.
Cass
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
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.
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Cameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-rən
From a Scottish surname meaning
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms
Camryn and
Kamryn are now more popular than
Cameron for girls.
Camden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-dən
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).
Cam 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM
Calvin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-vin
Derived from the French surname
Cauvin, which was derived from
chauve meaning
"bald". The surname was borne by Jean Cauvin (1509-1564), a theologian from France who was one of the leaders of the
Protestant Reformation. His surname was Latinized as
Calvinus (based on Latin
calvus "bald") and he is known as John Calvin in English. It has been used as a given name in his honour since the 19th century.
In modern times, this name is borne by American fashion designer Calvin Klein (1942-), as well as one of the main characters from Bill Watterson's comic strip Calvin and Hobbes (published from 1985 to 1995).
Callisto 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιστώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-to(English)
Latinized form of
Kallisto. A moon of Jupiter bears this name.
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Callie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ee
Calanthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee-ə
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Cal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL
Short form of
Calvin and other names beginning with
Cal.
Cadi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Brook
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWK
From an English surname that denoted one who lived near a brook.
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər(American English) BRIE-ə(British English)
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.
Blaise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BLEHZ
From the Roman name
Blasius, which was derived from Latin
blaesus meaning
"lisping".
Saint Blaise was a 4th-century Armenian martyr. A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
Birdie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUR-dee(American English) BU-dee(British English)
Diminutive of
Bertha,
Bernice and other names with a similar sound, or sometimes simply from the English word
bird.
Bex
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BEKS
Ben 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BEHN
Short form of
Benjamin,
Benedict and other names beginning with
Ben. A notable bearer was Ben Jonson (1572-1637), an English poet and playwright.
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German, Dutch) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Probably from
Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name
Viator meaning
"voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin
beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century
saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.
In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-), the former queen.
Azure
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AZH-ər(American English) AZH-ə(British English)
From the English word that means "sky blue". It is ultimately (via Old French, Latin and Arabic) from Persian
لاجورد (lājvard) meaning "azure, lapis lazuli".
Azalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-ZAY-lee-ə
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek
ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Aveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lien, AV-ə-leen
From the Norman French form of the Germanic name
Avelina, a
diminutive of
Avila. The
Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century
[1].
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of
Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.
As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Medieval
diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-strid(Swedish) AHS-tri(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French) AS-trid(English)
Modern Scandinavian form of
Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of
Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Aster
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-tər(American English) AS-tə(British English)
From the name of the flower, which is derived via Latin from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star".
Aspen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AS-pən
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.
Ashura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
From the name of an Islamic holy day that commemorates the death of
Husayn ibn Ali. It is so named because it falls on the tenth day of Muharram, deriving from Arabic
عشرة (ʿashara) meaning "ten"
[1].
Ash
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Apollon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek) Απόλλων(Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAWN(Classical Greek)
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(American English) ə-PAWL-o(British English)
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Andy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dee
Diminutive of
Andrew or sometimes
Andrea 2. American pop artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a famous bearer of this name.
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(American English) an-DRAW-mi-də(British English)
Derived from Greek
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words
μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or
μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek
mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
Andrew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: AN-droo(English)
English form of the Greek name
Ἀνδρέας (Andreas), which was derived from
ἀνδρεῖος (andreios) meaning
"manly, masculine", a derivative of
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". In the
New Testament the apostle Andrew, the first disciple to join
Jesus, is the brother of
Simon Peter. According to tradition, he later preached in the Black Sea region, with some legends saying he was crucified on an X-shaped cross.
Andrew, being a Greek name, was probably only a nickname or a translation of his real Hebrew name, which is not known.
This name has been common (in various spellings) throughout the Christian world, and it became very popular in the Middle Ages. Saint Andrew is regarded as the patron of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. The name has been borne by three kings of Hungary, American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), and, more recently, English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-).
Andreas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Welsh, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Ανδρέας(Greek) Ἀνδρέας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: an-DREH-as(German, Swedish) ahn-DREH-ahs(Dutch) AN-DREH-AS(Classical Greek)
Ancient Greek and Latin form of
Andrew. It is also the form used in Modern Greek, German and Welsh.
Andie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dee
Andi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dee
Anders
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: AN-desh(Swedish) AHN-nəsh(Norwegian) AHN-us(Danish)
Scandinavian form of
Andreas (see
Andrew). A famous bearer was the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814-1874).
Amos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עָמוֹס(Hebrew) Ἀμώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-məs(English)
From Hebrew
עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning
"load, burden" [3]. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name,
Amos has been used since the
Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the
Puritans.
Amber
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AM-bər(American English) AM-bə(British English) AHM-bər(Dutch)
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).
Amalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Αμαλία(Greek)
Pronounced: a-MA-lya(Spanish, Italian, German) a-MA-lee-a(Dutch)
Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal. This element means
"unceasing, vigorous, brave", or it can refer to the Gothic dynasty of the Amali (derived from the same root).
This was another name for the 7th-century saint Amalberga of Maubeuge.
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
From the Greek name
Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek
ἄλθος (althos) meaning
"healing". In Greek
myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.
Altair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: al-TEHR(American English) al-TEH(British English)
Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(American English) AL-i-stə(British English)
Alexis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French, English, Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αλέξης(Greek) Ἄλεξις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SEE(French) ə-LEHK-sis(English) a-LEHK-sees(Spanish)
From the Greek name
Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning
"helper" or
"defender", derived from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several
saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name
Ἀλέξιος or
Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors.
In the English-speaking world this name is more commonly given to girls. This is due to the American actress Alexis Smith (1921-1993), who began appearing in movies in the early 1940s. It got a boost in popularity in the 1980s from a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
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)
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.
Akira
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 昭, 明, 亮, 晶, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あきら(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-KYEE-RA
From Japanese
昭 (akira) meaning "bright",
明 (akira) meaning "bright" or
亮 (akira) meaning "clear". Other kanji with the same pronunciation can also form this name. A famous bearer was the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), given name written
明.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Aeron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh
From the name of the Welsh river Aeron, itself probably derived from the hypothetical Celtic goddess
Agrona. Alternatively, the name could be taken from Welsh
aeron meaning
"berries".
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Form of
Hadrianus (see
Hadrian) used in several languages. Several
saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
Adelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Аделина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-deh-LEE-na(Italian) a-dheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
From a Germanic name that was derived from the element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Adam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Malay, Indonesian, Dhivehi, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: Адам(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian) Αδάμ, Άνταμ(Greek) אָדָם(Hebrew) آدم(Arabic) ადამ(Georgian) އާދަމް(Dhivehi) Ἀδάμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AD-əm(English) A-DAHN(French) A-dam(German, Polish, Czech, Arabic, Indonesian) A-dahm(Dutch) AH-dam(Swedish) u-DAM(Russian, Ukrainian) ə-DHAM(Catalan)
This is the Hebrew word for
"man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew
אדם (ʾaḏam) meaning
"to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian
adamu meaning
"to make".
According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew אֲדָמָה (ʾaḏama) meaning "earth"). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result they were expelled from Eden to the lands to the east, where they gave birth to the second generation, including Cain, Abel and Seth.
As an English Christian name, Adam has been common since the Middle Ages, and it received a boost after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).
Adaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AD-ə-lien
Aamina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Somali
Other Scripts: آمنة(Arabic)
Pronounced: A-mee-na(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
آمنة (see
Amina 1), as well as the Somali form.
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