idiotboy's Personal Name List
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
From the Latin name
Vivianus, which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
Bébinn or a variant of
Vivien 2.
Virginia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Βιργινία(Greek)
Pronounced: vər-JIN-yə(English) veer-JEE-nya(Italian) beer-KHEE-nya(Spanish)
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Verginius or
Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin
virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.
This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).
Vasiliki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Βασιλική(Greek)
Pronounced: va-see-lee-KYEE
Modern Greek feminine form of
Basil 1.
Unni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Possibly a modern coinage based on the Old Norse elements
unnr "wave" or
unna "to love" combined with
nýr "new"
[1].
Úna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Medieval Irish [1]
Pronounced: OO-nə(Irish)
Probably derived from Old Irish úan meaning "lamb". This was a common name in medieval Ireland.
Simcha
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שִׂםְחָה(Hebrew)
Means "happiness, joy" in Hebrew.
Siân
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SHAN
Senovara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Celtic (Latinized)
Romanized Celtic name, in which the first element is ultimately from the Indo-European root *sen meaning "old" (the second element, uaro, is uncertain, possibly meaning "war"). It was found scratched onto a metal "curse tablet" (c.2nd-century) at the temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath (Somerset, South West England). The masculine form Senovarus is also attested.
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)
Sabine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Danish
Pronounced: SA-BEEN(French) za-BEE-nə(German) sa-BEE-nə(Dutch)
French, German, Dutch and Danish form of
Sabina.
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
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-).
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ri-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *
Rīgantonā meaning
"great queen" (Celtic *
rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix
-on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish
Epona. As
Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the
Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to
Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married
Pwyll instead. Their son was
Pryderi.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Pommeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), Flemish
Modern form of
Pomelline via its variant form
Pomeline. The spelling of this form of the name was influenced by the French word
pomme meaning "apple", which the name (and its variant form) has always shared a certain resemblance with and thus often led people to associate it with apples (to some degree).
Philomena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλουμένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-nə(English)
From Greek
Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning
"to be loved", an inflection of
φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early
saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name
Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word
φιλουμένη, not a name.
Nele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Flemish, Estonian
Pronounced: NEH-lə(German, Flemish)
Natasha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, English
Other Scripts: Наташа(Russian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nu-TA-shə(Russian) nə-TAHSH-ə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
Natalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NAT-ə-lee(English) NA-ta-lee(German, Dutch)
From the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant
"Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr
Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
Myrrh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
The word "myrrh" derives from the Aramaic ܡܪܝܪܐ (murr), and Arabic مر (mur)، meaning "bitter". Its name entered the English language from the Hebrew Bible, where it is called "mor", מור, and later as a Semitic loanword was used in the Greek myth of Myrrha, and later in the Septuagint; in the Greek language, the related word μύρον (mýron) became a general term for perfume.
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee
Medieval
diminutive of
Mary, now often used independently. It developed from
Malle and
Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel
Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Mitzi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: MIT-see
Mischa
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: MEE-sha
Dutch and German form of
Misha. It is occasionally used as a feminine name in Dutch.
Mavis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-vis
From the name of the type of bird, also called the song thrush, derived from Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin. It was first used as a given name by the British author Marie Corelli, who used it for a character in her novel The Sorrows of Satan (1895).
Mari 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian, Finnish, Welsh, Breton, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: მარი(Georgian) Մարի(Armenian)
Pronounced: MAH-ree(Finnish) MAW-ree(Hungarian) mah-REE(Swedish)
Estonian, Finnish, Welsh and Breton form of
Maria, as well as a Hungarian
diminutive of
Mária. It is also a Scandinavian, Georgian and Armenian form of the French name
Marie.
Mallory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-ree
From an English surname that meant "unfortunate" in Norman French. It first became common in the 1980s due to the American sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989), which featured a character by this name.
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Madison
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-i-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Maud". It was not commonly used as a feminine name until after the movie
Splash (1984), in which the main character adopted it as her name after seeing a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City. It was ranked second for girls in the United States by 2001. This rise from obscurity to prominence in only 18 years represents an unprecedented 550,000 percent increase in usage.
A famous bearer of the surname was James Madison (1751-1836), one of the authors of the American constitution who later served as president (and after whom Madison Avenue was named).
Madigan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American), Literature
Pronounced: MAD-i-gən(American English)
Transferred use of the Irish surname
Madigan or from the Gaelic given name
Madagán or
Madadhán means "little dog".
It is the name of a primary character, Madigan "Maddie" Kinnick in Lauren Myracle's 'ttyl' series of young adult novels.
Madge
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAJ
Lucine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: LUY-SEEN
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
From German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
Lilian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən(English) LEE-LYAHN(French)
English variant of
Lillian, as well as a French and Romanian masculine form.
Lexine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEHK-seen
Kit
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Iúile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Isabelline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Latinate form of
Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called
Isabel).
In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.
A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).
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.
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.
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(English)
From the Norman French form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar meaning
"white phantom", ultimately from the old Celtic roots *
windos meaning "white" (modern Welsh
gwen) and *
sēbros meaning "phantom, magical being"
[1]. In Arthurian legend she was the beautiful wife of King
Arthur. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, she was seduced by
Mordred before the battle of Camlann, which led to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur. According to the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, she engaged in an adulterous affair with Sir
Lancelot.
The Cornish form of this name, Jennifer, has become popular in the English-speaking world.
Glennis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Geneviève
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHU-NU-VYEHV, ZHUN-VYEHV
From the medieval name
Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *
kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *
wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *
genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by
Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.
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.
Francis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
English form of the Late Latin name
Franciscus meaning
"Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *
frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century
Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).
In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.
Ferelith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish (Rare), English (British, Rare)
Fenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Frisian, Dutch
Pronounced: FEH-na(Dutch)
Fawn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWN
From the English word fawn for a young deer.
Faustina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: fow-STEE-na(Italian) fows-TEE-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Faustinus (see
Faustino).
Farrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: فرح(Arabic)
Pronounced: FA-rah
Alternate transcription of Arabic
فرح (see
Farah).
Fáinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: FAWN-yə
Means "circle" or "ring" in Irish. This name was coined during the Gaelic revival, at which time it referred to a ring-shaped pin badge (introduced in 1911) worn to designate fluent Irish speakers and thus gained popularity as a political-cultural statement.
Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish, Italian) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Derived from Greek
εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning
"sweetly-speaking", itself from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Estefanía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-teh-fa-NEE-a
Essence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHS-əns
From the English word essence, which means either "odour, scent" or else "fundamental quality". Ultimately it derives from Latin esse "to be".
Effie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: EHF-ee(English)
Della
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-ə
Dee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEE
Short form of names beginning with
D. It may also be given in reference to the
Dee River in Scotland.
Corine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, French
Pronounced: ko-REE-nə(Dutch) KAW-REEN(French)
Dutch form of
Corinne, as well as a French variant.
Concepción
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kon-thehp-THYON(European Spanish) kon-sehp-SYON(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"conception" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
Mary. A city in Chile bears this name.
Cheyenne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: shie-AN
Derived from the Lakota word šahiyena meaning "red speakers". This is the name of a Native American people of the Great Plains. The name was supposedly given to the Cheyenne by the Lakota because their language was unrelated to their own. As a given name, it has been in use since the 1950s.
Bonnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAHN-ee
Means "pretty" from the Scottish word bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French bon "good". It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century, and it became especially popular after the movie Gone with the Wind (1939), in which it was the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.
Benvy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Irish (Anglicized), Irish (Anglicized, Archaic)
Anglicization of
Bean Mhidhe, an Irish name allegedly meaning "Lady of Meath".
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Feminine variant of
Aviv.
Asya 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Ася(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: A-syə(Russian)
Anzu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 杏, 杏子, 杏珠(Japanese Kanji) あんず(Japanese Hiragana) アンズ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: AN-ZOO
From 杏 or 杏子
(anzu), referring to a type of apricot known as Prunus armeniaca (also called the ansu, Siberian or Tibetan apricot).
The second kanji can be substituted with one that can be read as
zu, like 珠 meaning "gem, jewel."
One bearer of this name is actress Anzu Nagai (永井 杏) (1992-).
Anya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Аня(Russian)
Pronounced: A-nyə(Russian) AN-yə(English)
Annika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, German, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AN-ni-ka(Swedish) AH-nee-ka(Dutch) AHN-nee-kah(Finnish) A-nee-ka(German) AN-i-kə(English) AHN-i-kə(English)
Amabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
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