hermeline's Personal Name List

Elaboration of Zoëlle.

French form of Zoellus.
According to several French publications dating to the 1700s and 1800s, Saint Zoel was a martyr from either Istria or Cordoba. His feast day is allegedly May 24.

Variant of Zéphyrin (see Zephyrinus). Though it was a popular French name in the 19th and early 20th centuries, its usage is mainly confined to various French-speaking African nations today.

Medieval French form of Ivo 1. This was the name of two French saints: an 11th-century bishop of Chartres and a 13th-century parish priest and lawyer, also known as Ivo of Kermartin, the patron saint of Brittany.

French form of Yolanda. A notable bearer of the 15th century was Yolande of Aragon, who acted as regent for the French king Charles VII, her son-in-law. She was a supporter of Joan of Arc.

French feminine form of Xavier.

Gallicized form of Wandregisel.

From the French name for Vienna, the capital city of Austria.

French form of Verena.

French form of Veneranda.

French form of Valerius.

French form of Ursulina.

Variant of Siënna.

Diminutive for Persephone and Josephine. This is the name of the heroine in the CrossGen comic series 'Meridian'.

One of the maidens of Viviane, the French Damsel of the Lake, Saraide seems to have held a high place in the Damsel’s service. her grasp of magic, while doubtless far short of Viviane’s, Nimue’s, or Morgan’s, was practical and useful.

Niçard form of Régis as well as an English and Brazilian Portuguese borrowing of Régis in its Anglicized form. This name was borne by American television personality and actor Regis Philbin (1931-2020).

French diminutive of Philippe. In France, the name is strictly masculine and primarily used informally, i.e. it is not typically used on birth certificates.

In the Netherlands, the name became popular in the 21st century, primarily as a feminine name (at least when used as an official name on birth certificates). This was probably a by-effect of the new but strong popularity of Phileine, plus some (indirect) influence from long-popular French feminine names like Milou.

A known bearer of this name is the Dutch DJ Philou Louzolo (b. 1989). He was born in Zierikzee to a Congolese mother and a father who is half Nigerian and half Sierra Leonean.

Philidore likely meaning "gift of love", from the Greek philos (φιλος) meaning "friend, lover" and doron (δωρον) meaning "gift".

Philadore is also the name of the protagonist in Eliza Haywood's 1727 novel 'Philadore and Placentia'.

Feminine form of Orphée.

Variant of Aurélien.

Elaboration of Ophélie.

French form of Nazarius.

French form of Natalie, as well as a Dutch, German and Scandinavian variant.

French variant of Milan.

The name of a witch in Arthurian romance. Morgause, Queen of the Orkneys, is Arthur's half-sister with whom, in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation 'Le Morte d'Arthur', he engages in a brief affair, producing Mordred. She is also the mother of Gawain and Gareth. The earliest forms of her name are Orcades - the earliest known name of the Orkney Islands, probably derived from Celtic *forko- meaning "piglet" (cf. Orcadia) - and Morcades. Orcades probably mutated into the forms Morcades and Morgause through confusion with Morgan 2.

Dutch form of Mirielle.

Variant of Milène.

Guernésiais form of Michael.

Elaborated form of Mélodie.

French form of Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).

French diminutive of Marie.

A beautiful fairy, over whom Gawain fought Mabon the Enchanter. Marsique obtained the magic Scabbard of Excalibur for Gawain, ensuring Gawain’s victory.

Means "marjoram" in French, from Latin maiorana. Marjoram is a minty herb.

French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).

Variant of Malo, originally derived from Maclou. This is also used as a feminine name.

French form of Malin as well as a Scandinavian variant.

Feminine form of Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of Mailys.

Feminine form of Maël.

French form of Lauriana.

Contracted form of Josephine.

Diminutive of Joséphine.

Feminine form of Iver.

Variant of Hesterina. A known bearer of this name is the Dutch soccer coach Hesterine de Reus (b. 1961).

Ancient Greek form of Helen, as well as the modern Scandinavian and German form.

French form of Hanae.

French form of Godelieve.

French form of Glykeria via its latinized form Glyceria.

French form of Gloriana.

Gallicized form of Breton Gweltaz via its medieval Latinization Gildasius. Gweltaz is certainly of Celtic origin, its meaning, however, has been lost to time.

Most likely derived from Latin Gemella. Compare the English name Gemelle.

French form of Gawain used in the works of Chrétien de Troyes.

Spanish form of Gaston.

Probably a combination of any given name that starts with a G- with Marcelle. Alternatively, it could be a metathesis of some sort of Gracielle, which is the French equivalent of Graciela and Graziella.

A known bearer of this name is the Haitian-American actress Garcelle Beauvais (b. 1966).

Diminutive of names containing the element Franc-. In the English-speaking world this is used as a diminutive of Frances.

Feminine form of Floris.

From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.

This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.

Provençal form of Félix.

French form of the Roman family name Fabricius, which was derived from Latin faber meaning "craftsman". Gaius Fabricius Luscinus was a 3rd-century BC Roman general and statesman.

Variant of Evelina.

A variant spelling of Emeran and Emeryn.

Variant of Emmeran.

Norwegian and Dutch variant form of Helen. This is the name of the title character in the novel Eline Vere (1889) by the Dutch writer Louis Couperus.

Variant of Elise.

From Latin dulcis meaning "sweet". It was used in the Middle Ages in the spellings Dowse and Duce, and was recoined in the 19th century.

French form of Desiderata. In part it is directly from the French word meaning "desired, wished".

French form of Quirinus.

Means "cherry" in French.

Maybe from Céline, or maybe from "cerise" who mean "cherry". More often pronounced like Sélène but can be pronounced like SEH-Lise

One of the maidens of Viviane, the French Damsel of the Lake, Celise seems to have held a high place in the Damsel’s service. her grasp of magic, while doubtless far short of Viviane’s, Nimue’s, or Morgan’s, was practical and useful.

This name was invented by Molière for his play "The Misanthrope" (17th century). Given that many characters in his play bear names that are obviously of Greek origin (or inspired by the Greek language), the name Célimène must then at least be partly Greek as well. Most sources claim that Molière derived the name from two Greek elements, the combination of which give the name the meaning of "princess of the moon". This cannot be correct, unfortunately. While the second element of the name could indeed correspond to Greek μήνη (mēnē) "moon", there is nothing in the Greek language that means "princess" (or even "prince") which also resembles the first element of the name. Most of the sources that give the meaning as "princesss of the moon" claim that the "prince" part of the name is derived from Greek χηλή (khēlē), but this word actually means "claw, grip", not "prince". As such, one must conclude that these sources are questionable at best. Instead, it's probably more likely that the name Célimène is actually a blend of Latin and Greek elements. The first half of the name looks like it was derived from the name Célie, which is the French form of Celia, a latinate name which was derived from Latin caelum meaning "heaven". The second half of the name is probably derived from Greek μενος (menos) meaning "strength" - compare also Philomène. As such, the meaning of Célimène would roughly be "heavenly strength". Finally, thanks to the exposure of the name via Molière's play, there have been cases in real life where parents were inspired to give their newborn daughter this name. Examples of real-life bearers include French singer Célimène Gaudieux (1807-1864) and French pianist Célimène Daudet (b. 1977).

French form of Caelianus. Known bearers of this name are the Swiss singer Célien Schneider (b. 1986) and the late French general Charles-Célien Fracque (1875-1941).

Variant of Cédulie.

Daughter of Urbin of the Mountain (Urpin) and sister of Brun, a knight killed by Gawaine. To avenge her brother, she plotted Gawaine’s murder, but she eventually fell in love with Gawaine.

Means "jewel" in French. It is mostly used in French-speaking Africa.

Archaic southern French feminine form of Berthoumieu, a southern French form of Barthélémy.

French form of Benedict.

Gallicized form of Belisa. This name was used on one of the characters in Molière's play Les Femmes savantes (1672).

French form of Belisarius.

Gallicized form of Belina. It was used by Molière in his play 'The Imaginary Invalid' (1673) ('Le Malade imaginaire' in French), where it belongs to the wife of Argan.

Latvian form of Beatrix.

Derived from Old French baiart meaning "bay coloured". In medieval French poetry Bayard was a bay horse owned by Renaud de Montauban and his brothers. The horse could magically adjust its size to carry multiple riders.

Variant form of Baldéric via the form Baudric.

French form of Balduin.

Feminine form of Basil 1 and Basile.

French form of Bartholomew.

Variant of Aurélie.

Combination of either Audrey or Aude and Aurélie.

French form of Astraea and Astraeus.

French form of Anysia.

French diminutive of Angela.

French form of Amalric.

Czech feminine form of Aloysius.

The name of a character in Jean-Pierre Camus' l'Iphigene (1625).

Medieval short form of Adeline. As an English name, in modern times it has sometimes been regarded as a variant of Eileen. This was the name of a popular 1965 song by the French singer Christophe.

Medieval French feminine form of Alain.

Feminine form of Alain.

Variant of Dorestine.

Variant of Adelisa.

Variant of Adelicia. In France, this name was revived in the 1990s.

Variant of Adeline.

French and Italian form of Achilles.

Variant of Abel.