kinree's Personal Name List
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Ziggy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIG-ee
Zelozelos
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Algonquian
From the Unami word chëluchëlus meaning "cricket", language spoken by Lenape people.
Zaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: zah-IR(American English) zah-EEY(British English)
From the name of a country in Africa from 1971 to 1997, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is said to be derived from Kikongo nzadi o nzere meaning "river swallowing rivers", referring to the Congo River.
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
From Arabic
زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of
أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatima.
See also the related name Zahra 2.
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(American English) i-VAWN(British English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Yvette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: EE-VEHT(French) ee-VEHT(English) i-VEHT(English)
French feminine form of
Yves.
Yūri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 悠里, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ゆうり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: YOO-REE
From Japanese
悠 (yū) meaning "permanence" and
里 (ri) meaning "village". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji.
Yona
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Hebrew)
Hebrew form of
Jonah. It is a unisex name in modern Hebrew.
Wilmot
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Wholesome
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Puritan)
Meaning, "conducive to or promoting moral well-being."
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Vida 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: ویدا(Persian)
Means "visible" in Persian.
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Вера(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) ვერა(Georgian)
Pronounced: VYEH-rə(Russian) VIR-ə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Valorie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree
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.
Valentine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
From the Roman
cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Valen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Valen.
Valarie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree
Tyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TIE-lə
Feminine form of
Tyler, or a combination of the popular phonetic elements
ty and
la.
Twyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Twila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word
twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French
étoile "star"
[1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.
Tomyris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
Other Scripts: Τόμυρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAHM-ir-is(American English) TAWM-ir-is(British English)
Hellenized form of a Scythian name, possibly from an Iranian root meaning "family". This was the name of a 6th-century BC queen of the Massagetae (a Scythian people) who defeated Cyrus the Great during his invasion of Central Asia.
Tiamat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Other Scripts: 𒀭𒋾𒊩𒆳, 𒀭𒌓𒌈(Akkadian Cuneiform)
Pronounced: TEE-ə-maht(English)
From Akkadian
tâmtu meaning
"sea". In Babylonian
myth Tiamat was the personification of the sea, appearing in the form of a huge dragon. By Apsu she gave birth to the first of the gods. Later, the god
Marduk (her great-grandson) defeated her, cut her in half, and used the pieces of her body to make the earth and the sky.
Thea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: TEH-a(German) THEE-ə(English)
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).
Tempest
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHM-pist
From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).
Teleri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: teh-LEH-ri(Welsh)
Contraction of Welsh
ty meaning "thy, your" and
Eleri. This name is mentioned in
Culhwch and Olwen as one of the maidens of King Arthur's court.
Tawelfryn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Derived from the Welsh word tawel meaning "quiet" and bryn meaning "hill".
Tavi
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Yiddish
Pronounced: ta-vi(Yiddish)
Feminine diminutive of
David. Diminutive of
Octavia. Variation of
Tavish.
A notable bearer is fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson.
Taryn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAR-in, TEHR-in
Probably a feminine form of
Tyrone. Actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian created it for their daughter Taryn Power (1953-).
Tariel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Georgian
Other Scripts: ტარიელ(Georgian)
Created by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli for his 12th-century epic
The Knight in the Panther's Skin. He may have based it on Persian
تاجور (tājvar) meaning "king" or
تار (tār) meaning "dark, obscure" combined with
یل (yal) meaning "hero". In the poem Tariel, the titular knight who wears a panther skin, is an Indian prince who becomes a companion of
Avtandil.
Taran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Pictish
Means
"thunder" in Welsh, from the old Celtic root *
toranos. It appears briefly in the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi [1]. The name is
cognate to that of the Gaulish god
Taranis. It was also borne by the 7th-century Pictish king Taran mac Ainftech.
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.
Tamsin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TAM-zin
Contracted form of
Thomasina. It was traditionally used in Cornwall.
Tamlin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Diminutive of
Tam 1.
Tam Lin was the subject of an Anglo-Scottish border ballad (first recorded in 'The Complaynt of Scotland', 1549), a man abducted by the Queen of the Fairies and rescued at long last by his true love.
Tamerlane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: TAM-ər-layn(American English) TAM-ə-layn(British English)
Westernized form of
Tīmūr e Lang (see
Timur).
Tamara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Тамара(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian) თამარა(Georgian)
Pronounced: tu-MA-rə(Russian) TA-ma-ra(Czech, Slovak) ta-MA-ra(Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian) TAW-maw-raw(Hungarian) tə-MAR-ə(English) tə-MAHR-ə(English) TAM-ə-rə(English) tu-mu-RU(Lithuanian)
Russian form of
Tamar. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It rapidly grew in popularity in the United States starting in 1957. Another famous bearer was the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).
Tally
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English
Pronounced: TA-LEE(Hebrew) TAL-ee(English) TA-lee(English)
Diminutive of
Tallulah,
Talia 1 and other names that begin with or contain the element "Tal-".
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Means
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
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.
Talfryn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From a Welsh place name meaning
"front hill", derived from Welsh
tal "front, extremity" and
bryn "hill".
Talcott
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Talcott.
Talbot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TAL-bət, TAWL-bət
From an English surname, of Norman origin, possibly derived from an unattested Germanic given name composed of the elements dala "to destroy" and bod "message".
Taiwo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Yoruba
Pronounced: TA-EE-WO
Means "taste the world, taste life" in Yoruba.
Tähti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Rare), Estonian (Rare)
Pronounced: TAKH-tee(Finnish)
Means "star" in Finnish and Estonian.
Tahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
Tafari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Amharic (Rare)
Other Scripts: ተፈሪ(Amharic)
Possibly means "he who inspires awe" in Amharic. This name was borne by Lij Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975), also known as Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. Rastafarians (Ras Tafari meaning "king Tafari") revere him as the earthly incarnation of God.
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.
Sybil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Variant of
Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.
Suri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: שרה(Yiddish)
Sumio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 寛夫, 紀夫, 隅緒, 角央, 角男, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SOO-MEE-O
From Japanese 寛 (sumi) meaning "tolerant" combined with 夫 (o) meaning "man, husband". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Suliko
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Georgian, Literature
Other Scripts: სულიკო(Georgian)
Pronounced: SOO-LEE-KAW(Georgian)
Means "little soul" in Georgian. It is derived from the Georgian noun სული
(suli) meaning "soul" combined with the Georgian diminutive suffix -კო
(-ko).
In Georgian literature, this is the name of the eponymous character of the 1895 love poem Suliko written by the Georgian poet Akaki Tsereteli (1840-1915).
Suki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SOO-kee
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Starla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-lə(American English) STAH-lə(British English)
Sorrel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAWR-əl
From the name of the sour tasting plant, derived from Old French sur "sour", a word of Frankish origin.
Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements
sól "sun" and
veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt (1876).
Soling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Filipino, Tagalog, Cebuano
Pronounced: so-LING
Sojourner
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: so-JUR-nər, SO-jər-nər
From the English word meaning "one who stays temporarily (sojourns)", which is ultimately derived from the Latin elements sub "under, until" and diurnus "of a day" (from diurnum "day"), via the vulgar Latin subdiurnare "to spend the day". It was borne by the American abolitionist Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree, 1797-1883), who took the name in 1843, believing this to be the instructions of the Holy Spirit, and became a traveling preacher (the combined meaning of her new name).
Sindri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Means
"sparkle" in Old Norse. In Norse
mythology this was the name of a dwarf, also named Eitri. With his brother
Brokkr he made several magical items for the gods, including
Odin's ring Draupnir and
Thor's hammer Mjölnir.
Sinclair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sin-KLEHR(American English) sin-KLEH(British English)
From a Scottish surname that was derived from a Norman French town called "
Saint Clair". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).
Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German) see-MO-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Simon 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Симон(Macedonian) სიმონ(Georgian) Σίμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-mən(English) SEE-MAWN(French) SEE-mawn(Danish, Dutch, Macedonian) ZEE-mawn(German) SHEE-mon(Hungarian)
From
Σίμων (Simon), the
New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁמְעוֹן (Shimʿon) meaning
"hearing, listening", derived from
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear, to listen". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the
Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
Simon 2.
In the New Testament Simon is the name of several characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Most importantly however it was borne by the leading apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus).
Because of the apostle, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became more rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Simin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: سیمین(Persian)
Pronounced: see-MEEN
Means "silvery" in Persian.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Sibyl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
From Greek
Σίβυλλα (Sibylla), meaning
"prophetess, sibyl". In Greek and Roman legend the sibyls were female prophets who practiced at different holy sites in the ancient world. In later Christian theology, the sibyls were thought to have divine knowledge and were revered in much the same way as the
Old Testament prophets. Because of this, the name came into general use in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The
Normans imported it to England, where it was spelled both
Sibyl and
Sybil. It became rare after the
Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps helped by Benjamin Disraeli's novel
Sybil (1845).
Shirley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHUR-lee(American English) SHU-lee(British English)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "bright clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a main character in Charlotte Brontë's semi-autobiographical novel Shirley (1849). Though the name was already popular in the United States, the child actress Shirley Temple (1928-2014) gave it a further boost. By 1935 it was the second most common name for girls.
Shiloh
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
From an
Old Testament place name possibly meaning
"tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see
Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.
This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.
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".
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin
serenus meaning
"clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early
saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).
Seph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEF
Sen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 亘, 仙, 千(Japanese Kanji) せん(Japanese Hiragana) セン(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: SEHN
Derived from the Japanese kanji 亘 (
sen) meaning "span; request" or 仙 (
sen) referred to a sage, a hermit or an enlightened person or 千 (
sen) meaning "thousand".
Other characters combinations are also possible.
Saylor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAY-lər(American English) SAY-lə(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from Old French sailleor meaning "acrobat, dancer". As a modern English given name it could also come from the homophone vocabulary word sailor.
Sappho
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σαπφώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAP-PAW(Classical Greek) SA-fo(English)
Possibly from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning
"sapphire" or
"lapis lazuli". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Greek poetess from Lesbos.
Sapphira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Σαπφείρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-FIE-rə(English)
From the Greek name
Σαπφείρη (Sappheire), which was from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning
"sapphire" or
"lapis lazuli" (ultimately derived from the Hebrew word
סַפִּיר (sappir)). Sapphira is a character in Acts in the
New Testament who is killed by God for lying.
Sapir
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: סַפִּיר(Hebrew)
Means "sapphire" in Hebrew.
Santeri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SAHN-teh-ree
Sandhya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: संध्या(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) సంధ్యా(Telugu) சந்தியா(Tamil) ಸಂಧ್ಯಾ(Kannada) സന്ധ്യ(Malayalam)
Means
"twilight" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu goddess of twilight, a daughter of
Brahma.
Samira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: سميرة(Arabic) سمیرا(Persian)
Pronounced: sa-MEE-ra(Arabic) sa-mee-RAW(Persian)
Samantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: sə-MAN-thə(English) sa-MAN-ta(Italian) sa-MAHN-ta(Dutch)
Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of
Samuel, using the name suffix
antha (possibly inspired by Greek
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show
Bewitched.
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.
Salwa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سلوى(Arabic)
Pronounced: SAL-wa
Means "comfort, solace" in Arabic.
Safira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: su-FEE-ru(European Portuguese) sa-FEE-ru(Brazilian Portuguese)
Portuguese form of
Sapphira. It coincides with the Portuguese word for
"sapphire".
Sæwine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Derived from the Old English elements
sæ "sea" and
wine "friend".
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Ruth 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רוּת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOTH(English) ROOT(German, Spanish)
From the Hebrew name
רוּת (Ruṯ), probably derived from the word
רְעוּת (reʿuṯ) meaning
"female friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the
Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law
Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married
Boaz. She was an ancestor of King
David.
As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek
ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of
Ruth 1.
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Simply from the name of the precious stone (which ultimately derives from Latin
ruber "red"), which is the traditional birthstone of July. It came into use as a given name in the 16th century
[1].
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).
Roswin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Combination of the name elements Hros meaning "horse" and Wini meaning "friend".
Reid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
From a surname, a Scots variant of
Reed.
Reese
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Anglicized form of
Rhys. It is also used as a feminine name, popularized by the American actress Reese Witherspoon (1976-).
Redvers
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Redvers, originally largely given in honor of Sir Redvers Buller (1839-1908), the general responsible for the "Relief of Ladysmith", which was considered a huge victory for the British, during the Second Boer War.
Ralice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Raivo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian
Meaning uncertain. It is possibly a
diminutive of
Raimond or it could be related to the Old Estonian word
raivo meaning
"fury, rage".
Raisei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 雷星, 来世, 耒井, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ṘAH-EE-SE:
From Japanese 雷 (rai) meaning "thunder" combined with 星 (sei) meaning "star". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Quirze
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Catalan form of
Quiricus (probably a form of
Cyriacus).
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.
Quartz
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWORTZ
Derived from Middle High German
twarc, probably from a West Slavic source (compare Czech
tvrdy and Polish
twardy, both coming from Old Church Slavonic
tvrudu meaning "hard," which is derived from Proto-Slavic
*tvrd- and then a Proto-Indo-European root
*(s)twer- meaning "to grasp, hold, hard.")
In the show Steven Universe, Rose Quartz is Steven's mother. Quartz is also Steven's middle name.
Pryderi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
From Welsh
pryder meaning
"care, worry" (or perhaps from a derivative word *
pryderi meaning
"loss" [1]). Appearing in Welsh legend in all four branches of the
Mabinogi, Pryderi was the son of
Pwyll and
Rhiannon, eventually succeeding his father as the king of Dyfed. He was one of only seven warriors to return from
Brân's tragic invasion of Ireland, and later had several adventures with
Manawydan. He was ultimately killed in single combat with
Gwydion during the war between Dyfed and Gwynedd.
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee(American English) PAWP-ee(British English)
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Pomare
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tahitian
Pronounced: PO-ma-reh
Means "night cough", from Tahitian pō "night" and mare "cough". This name was borne by four kings and a queen of Tahiti. The first king adopted the name after his child died of a cough in the night.
Piron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mormon
A name found on the plates from the Brewer Cave and translated by a Native American. The short history told of a man named Piron who sailed across the sea. Mormon archaeologists associate this name with Jared from the Book of Mormon.
Piran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Possibly derived from
Ciarán. This was the name of a 5th-century Irish monk who founded a monastery in Cornwall. He is the patron
saint of Cornwall.
Pippa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PIP-ə
Pindar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Anglicized)
Pronounced: PIN-DAWR(Classical Greek)
Anglicized form of
Pindaros. This was the name of a Greek lyric poet from Thebes (died around 438 AD).
Pilar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pee-LAR
Means
"pillar" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María del Pilar, meaning "Mary of the Pillar". According to legend, when
Saint James the Greater was in Saragossa in Spain, the Virgin Mary appeared on a pillar.
Piero
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PYEH-ro
Italian form of
Peter. Piero della Francesca was an Italian Renaissance painter.
Perri
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ee
Variant of
Perry. Also used as a diminutive of names that begin with
Per-, e.g.
Persephone.
Periwinkle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
From the English word for the color "periwinkle", from Middle English parwynke, referring to a "light blue and purple shade". It's also the name of a flower.
Pascal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: PAS-KAL(French) pas-KAL(German) pahs-KAHL(Dutch)
From the Late Latin name
Paschalis, which meant
"relating to Easter" from Latin
Pascha "Easter", which was in turn from Hebrew
פֶּסַח (pesaḥ) meaning "Passover"
[1]. Passover is the ancient Hebrew holiday celebrating the liberation from Egypt. Because it coincided closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the same Latin word was used for both. The name Pascal can also function as a surname, as in the case of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the French philosopher, mathematician and inventor.
Parisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پریسا(Persian)
Means
"like a fairy" in Persian, derived from
پری (parī) meaning "fairy, sprite, supernatural being".
Pailan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
"lightning"
Oswin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AHZ-win(American English) AWZ-win(British English)
From the Old English elements
os "god" and
wine "friend".
Saint Oswin was a 7th-century king of Northumbria. After the
Norman Conquest this name was used less, and it died out after the 14th century. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Olwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: OL-wehn(English)
Means
"white footprint" from Welsh
ol "footprint, track" and
gwen "white, blessed". In the Welsh tale
Culhwch and Olwen she was a beautiful maiden, the lover of
Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry.
Nicole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: NEE-KAWL(French) ni-KOL(English) nee-KAWL(Dutch, German)
French feminine form of
Nicholas, commonly used in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. A famous bearer is American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman (1967-).
Nasrin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Bengali
Other Scripts: نسرین(Persian) নাসরীন(Bengali)
Pronounced: nas-REEN(Persian)
Means "wild rose" in Persian.
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
From the Hebrew name
נָעֳמִי (Naʿomi) meaning
"my pleasantness", a derivative of
נָעַם (naʿam) meaning "to be pleasant". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of
Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be
Mara because of her misfortune (see
Ruth 1:20).
Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).
Nan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAN
Originally a
diminutive of
Ann. It may have originated with the affectionate phrase
mine Ann, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nan. It is now also used as a short form of
Nancy.
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].
Nadia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: ناديّة(Arabic) نادیہ(Urdu) নাদিয়া(Bengali)
Pronounced: na-DEE-ya(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
ناديّة (see
Nadiyya), as well as the usual form in several other languages.
Nadi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indigenous Australian
Meaning unknown.
Mynette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Muro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: მურო(Georgian)
Mungo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Brythonic phrase meaning
"my dear". This was a nickname of the 6th-century
Saint Kentigern.
Morwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
Morrígan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Means either
"demon queen" or
"great queen", derived from Old Irish
mor "demon, evil spirit" or
mór "great, big" combined with
rígain "queen". In Irish
mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.
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-).
Morgan 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(American English) MAW-gən(British English)
Modern form of
Morgen, which was used by Geoffrey of Monmouth
[1] in the 12th century for the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, who was unnamed in earlier stories. Geoffrey probably did not derive it from the Welsh masculine name
Morgan, which would have been spelled
Morcant in his time. It is likely from Old Welsh
mor "sea" and the suffix
gen "born of"
[2].
Mochán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish
Derived from Irish
moch meaning
"early" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Mocha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: מַעֲכָה(Ancient Hebrew) Μωχα(Greek)
Variant transcription of
Maacah, as used in 1 Chronicles 2:48.
This transcription is used in English translations of the Septuagint Bible.
Mirza
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Bosnian
Other Scripts: میرزا(Persian) ميرزا(Arabic) مرزا(Urdu)
Pronounced: meer-ZAW(Persian) MEER-za(Arabic)
Means
"prince" from Persian
میرزا (mīrzā), earlier
امیرزاده (amīrzādeh), which is ultimately from Arabic
أمير (ʾamīr) meaning "commander" combined with Persian
زاده (zādeh) meaning "offspring".
Mirdza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
Derived from Latvian mirdzēt meaning "to shine, to glitter". This is the name of a tragic character in the play Vaidelote (1894) by the Latvian poet and playwright Aspazija.
Minali
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: मीनाली(Hindi)
Means "fish catcher" in Sanskrit.
Min 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese, Korean
Other Scripts: 敏, 民, etc.(Chinese) 민(Korean Hangul) 敏, 旼, 民, 旻, 珉, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: MEEN
From
敏 (mǐn) meaning "quick, clever, sharp",
民 (mín) meaning "people, citizens", or other Chinese/Sino-Korean characters that are pronounced similarly.
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Mica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Merfyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From an Old Welsh name (recorded variously as
Mermin,
Merhin or
Merwin [1]), of uncertain meaning. It is possibly from
mer "bone marrow" or
mor "sea" with the second element possibly
mynawg "eminent, noble"
[2],
mynnu "wish, desire"
[3] or
myn "young goat, kid"
[4]. This was the name of a 9th-century king of Gwynedd, Merfyn Frych.
Meadowlark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
From the English words
meadow and
lark ("small singing bird"). Meadowlark is the common name for several species songbirds of the genera Sturnella and Leistes, native to the Americas. This was the name of American basketball player Meadowlark Lemon (1932-2015), who changed his legal name from
Meadow to Meadowlark in 1969.
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Mayur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Other Scripts: मयूर(Hindi, Marathi) મયૂર(Gujarati)
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from
Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a
diminutive of
Mary,
Margaret or
Mabel.
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.
Marlow
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Marlow.
Marisol
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-SOL
Short form of
María Soledad. It is sometimes considered a combination of
María and
Sol 1, or from Spanish
mar y sol "sea and sun".
Mairwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Combination of
Mair and Welsh
gwen meaning "white, blessed".
Magi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Mae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Variant of
May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Madge
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAJ
Maddox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAD-əks
From a Welsh surname meaning
"son of Madoc". It was brought to public attention when the actress Angelina Jolie gave this name to her adopted son in 2002.
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.
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Means simply
"lyric, songlike" from the English word, ultimately derived from Greek
λυρικός (lyrikos).
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).
Lynwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Possibly formed from the Welsh masculine name
Lyn (a short form of
Llywelyn) or the initial sound in
Lynette combined with the Welsh element
gwen "white; fair; blessed". This name has been used occasionally in Wales since the early 20th century.
Lynn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN
From an English surname that was derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of
Linda or names that end in
lyn or
line.
Lyman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LYE-man
Transferred use of the surname
Lyman.
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.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Llŷr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Means
"the sea" in Welsh. According to the
Mabinogi he was the father of
Brân,
Branwen and
Manawydan. His name is
cognate with Irish
Ler, and it is typically assumed that Llŷr may have originally been regarded as a god of the sea. He might also be the basis for the legendary King
Leir of the Britons.
Lixian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 丽贤(Chinese)
From the Chinese 丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" and 贤 (xián) meaning "virtuous, worthy, good".
Linwood
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-wuwd
From an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning "stream forest" in Old English.
Lian 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 莲, 濂, 廉, etc.(Chinese) 蓮, 濂, 廉, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: LYEHN
From Chinese
莲 (lián) meaning "lotus, water lily",
濂 (lián) meaning "waterfall", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
Leon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λέων(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-ahn(American English) LEE-awn(British English) LEH-awn(German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene)
Derived from Greek
λέων (leon) meaning
"lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin
cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is
Лев in Russian.
Leighton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-tən
Variant of
Layton. It jumped in popularity as a feminine name after 2007, when actress Leighton Meester (1986-) began appearing on the television series
Gossip Girl.
Lee
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEE
From a surname that was derived from Old English
leah meaning
"clearing". The surname belonged to Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In his honour, it has been used as a given name in the American South. It is common as a middle name.
Le'ah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לאה(Hebrew)
Hebrew name meaning "weary". English
Leah is derived from it.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Lea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Italian, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEH-a(German) LEH-ah(Finnish) LEH-aw(Hungarian)
Form of
Leah used in several languages.
Larkin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: LAHR-kin(American English) LAH-kin(British English)
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK(American English) LAHK(British English)
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Lailoken
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
From medieval Latin
Laloecen, possibly related to Welsh
llallo meaning
"brother, friend". This name appears in medieval tales about
Saint Kentigern, borne by a prophetic madman at the court of
Rhydderch Hael. He may form a basis for
Myrddin, who is addressed as
llallogan by his sister
Gwenddydd in the
Red Book of Hergest.
Lærke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Means "lark" in Danish.
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Kyrie 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ree
Invented name, based on the sounds found in names such as
Tyree and
Kyle. It was popularized as a masculine name by American basketball player Kyrie Irving (1992-).
Krešimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian
Pronounced: KREH-shee-meer
From the Slavic elements
krěsiti "to spark, to flare up, to bring to life, to resurrect" and
mirŭ "peace, world". This was the name of four kings of Croatia in the 10th and 11th centuries. Their names were recorded in Latin as
Cresimirus.
Kimberly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIM-bər-lee(American English) KIM-bə-lee(British English)
From the name of the city of
Kimberley in South Africa, which was named after Lord
Kimberley (1826-1902). The city came to prominence in the late 19th century during the Boer War.
Kimberly has been used as a given name since the mid-20th century, eventually becoming very popular as a feminine name.
Kester
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Kelwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Kavanaugh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
Transferred use of the surname
Kavanaugh. According to the SSA, Kavanaugh was given to 5 boys in 2004.
Katelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYT-lin
Kasumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 霞, 花澄, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かすみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-SOO-MEE
From Japanese
霞 (kasumi) meaning "mist". It can also come from
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" combined with
澄 (sumi) meaning "clear, pure". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Kassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAS-SAN-DRA(Classical Greek) kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Greek form of
Cassandra, as well as a modern English variant.
Kaplan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish, Bosnian (Rare)
Means "tiger" in Turkish.
Kairos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Καῖρος, Καιρός(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek noun καιρός
(kairos), which literally means "due measure, proportion, fitness" as well as "time, season", but has a more figurative meaning of "the right or opportune moment", as in: being in the right place at the right time.
In Greek mythology, Kairos was the personification of opportunity, luck and favorable moments.
Jyldyz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kyrgyz
Other Scripts: Жылдыз(Kyrgyz)
Means "star" in Kyrgyz.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
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.
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 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUYL
French form of
Julius. A notable bearer of this name was the French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905), author of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and other works of science fiction.
Jules 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOOLZ
Jennifer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHN-i-fər(American English) JEHN-i-fə(British English) JEH-ni-fu(German) GYEH-nee-fehr(Spanish)
From a Cornish form of the Welsh name
Gwenhwyfar (see
Guinevere). This name has only been common outside of Cornwall since the beginning of the 20th century, after it was featured in George Bernard Shaw's play
The Doctor's Dilemma (1906). It barely ranked in the United until the late 1930s, when it began steadily growing in popularity, accelerating into the early 1970s. It was the most popular name for girls in America between 1970 and 1984, though it was not as common in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include the American actresses Jennifer Aniston (1969-), Jennifer Garner (1972-) and Jennifer Lawrence (1990-), as well as the singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (1969-).
Jaycee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-see
Jayce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYS
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian
ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Jasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAZ-min(English) ZHAS-MEEN(French)
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian
یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans
[1]. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie
Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.
Jairo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KHIE-ro(Spanish) ZHIE-roo(Portuguese)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Jairus.
Jacey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-see
An invented name, using the popular phonetic element
jay and the same sound found in names such as
Casey and
Macy.
Ivana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Italian
Other Scripts: Ивана(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: I-va-na(Czech) EE-va-na(Slovak) ee-VA-na(Italian)
Islwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From the name of a mountain in Wales that means "below the forest" from Welsh is "below" and llwyn "forest, grove".
Iolana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Means "to soar" in Hawaiian.
Inge
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Estonian
Pronounced: ING-eh(Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) ING-ə(German, Dutch)
Short form of Scandinavian and German names beginning with the element
ing, which refers to the Germanic god
Ing. In Sweden and Norway this is primarily a masculine name, elsewhere it is usually feminine.
Indu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: इन्दु(Hindi)
Means "bright drop" in Sanskrit. This is a name for the moon.
Indra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Nepali, Indonesian
Other Scripts: इन्द्र(Sanskrit, Nepali) इन्द्र, इंद्र(Hindi)
Pronounced: EEN-dru(Sanskrit) IN-drə(English, Hindi) EEN-dra(Indonesian)
Means
"possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit
इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and
र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing". Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain, frequently depicted riding the elephant Airavata. He is the chief god in the
Rigveda.
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).
Idril
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Means
"sparkle brilliance" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the
Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband
Tuor and sailed with him into the west.
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.
Hester
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: HEHS-tər(American English, Dutch) HEHS-tə(British English)
Latin form of
Esther. Like
Esther, it has been used in England since the
Protestant Reformation. Nathaniel Hawthorne used it for the heroine of his novel
The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester Prynne, a
Puritan woman forced to wear a red letter
A on her chest after giving birth to a child out of wedlock.
Heather
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEDH-ər(American English) HEDH-ə(British English)
From the English word heather for the variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers, which commonly grow in rocky areas. It is derived from Middle English hather. It was first used as a given name in the late 19th century, though it did not become popular until the last half of the 20th century.
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.
Hayden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-dən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as
Braden and
Aidan.
Harper
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər(American English) HAH-pə(British English)
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
From Welsh
gwen, the feminine form of
gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of
Gwendolen,
Gwenllian and other names beginning with
Gwen.
Grant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GRANT(English)
From an English and Scottish surname that was derived from Norman French grand meaning "great, large". A famous bearer of the surname was Ulysses Grant (1822-1885), the commander of the Union forces during the American Civil War who later served as president. In America the name has often been given in his honour.
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Gloria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, German
Pronounced: GLAWR-ee-ə(English) GLO-rya(Spanish) GLAW-rya(Italian)
Means
"glory", from the Portuguese and Spanish titles of the Virgin
Mary Maria da Glória and
María de Gloria. Maria da Glória (1819-1853) was the daughter of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, eventually becoming queen of Portugal as Maria II.
The name was introduced to the English-speaking world by E. D. E. N. Southworth's novel Gloria (1891) and George Bernard Shaw's play You Never Can Tell (1898), which both feature characters with a Portuguese background [1]. It was popularized in the early 20th century by American actress Gloria Swanson (1899-1983). Another famous bearer is feminist Gloria Steinem (1934-).
Gethin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means "dark-skinned, swarthy" in Welsh.
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Gael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, English (Modern), Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYL(English) ga-EHL(Spanish)
Probably from the ethno-linguistic term Gael, which refers to speakers of Gaelic languages.
Gabrielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) gab-ree-EHL(English)
French feminine form of
Gabriel. This was the real name of French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
Freyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic
Pronounced: FRAY-ər(American English) FRAY-ə(British English) FRAYR(Icelandic)
Means
"lord" in Old Norse, derived from the Germanic root *
fraujô. This is the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called
Yngvi, with the name
Freyr being his title. Freyr is associated with fertility, sunlight and rain, and is the husband of the giantess
Gerd. With his twin sister
Freya and father
Njord he is one of the group of deities called the Vanir.
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.
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.
Fern
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FURN(American English) FUN(British English)
From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Fayruz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: فيروز(Arabic)
Pronounced: fie-ROOZ
Means "turquoise (gemstone)" in Arabic, ultimately of Persian origin.
Eylín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Rare)
Combination of the Old Norse name elements ey "island; flat land along a coast" (which is also often related to the Old Norse name element auja "(gift of) luck; fortune") and lín "flax, linen; linen garment, linen gear".
Eydís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Derived from the Old Norse elements
ey "good fortune" or "island" and
dís "goddess".
Engel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1], German (Rare)
Originally this may have been a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
angil, referring to the Germanic tribe known in English as the Angles. However, from early times it has been strongly associated with the Old German word
engil meaning
"angel" (of Latin and Greek origin).
Emlyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-lin
From the name of an ancient region of southwestern Wales, its name meaning
"around the valley" from Welsh
am "around" and
glyn "valley". It has also been suggested that this name is a Welsh form of Latin
Aemilianus (see
Emiliano), though this appears to be unfounded.
Elynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), Dutch
Elyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Elwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-win
Elvan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehl-VAN
Means "colours" in Turkish.
Elowynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Elowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Ellyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Medieval English
Pronounced: ELL-in(English)
Variant of
Ellen 1 which originated in the 15th century.
Ellis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: EHL-is(English)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Elis, a medieval vernacular form of
Elias. This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Welsh
Elisedd.
Ellington
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Ellawyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Eliphelet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיפֶלֶט(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIF-ə-leht(English)
Means
"my God is deliverance" in Hebrew, from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
פָּלַט (palaṭ) meaning "to deliver, to rescue". This is the name of several people in the
Old Testament including a son of
David.
Elioenai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֶלְיוֹעֵינַי(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"my eyes look to Yahweh" in Hebrew, derived from
אֶל (ʾel) meaning "towards",
יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God, and
עַיִן (ʿayin) meaning "eye". This is the name of several minor characters in the
Old Testament.
Elif
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: eh-LEEF
Turkish form of
Alif, the name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet,
ا. It also means
"slender", from the Turkish phrase
elif gibi, literally "shaped like elif".
Eirian
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"bright, beautiful" in Welsh
[1].
Eilonwy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
From Welsh eilon meaning "deer, stag" or "song, melody". This name was used by Lloyd Alexander in his book series The Chronicles of Prydain (1964-1968) as well as the Disney film adaptation The Black Cauldron (1985).
Eilon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֵילוֹן(Hebrew)
Modern Hebrew form of
Elon.
Dinah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דִּינָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: DIE-nə(English) DEE-nə(English)
Désirée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, German
Pronounced: DEH-ZEE-REH(French)
French form of
Desiderata. In part it is directly from the French word meaning "desired, wished".
Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
Dandelion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAN-de-lie-on
The English name, Dandelion, is a corruption of the French dent de lion meaning "lion's tooth", referring to the coarsely toothed leaves. It is usually is used as a nickname.
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English
dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Daffodil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAF-ə-dil
From the name of the flower, ultimately derived from Dutch de affodil meaning "the asphodel".
Cupid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: KYOO-pid(English)
From the Latin
Cupido meaning
"desire". This was the name of the Roman god of love, the son of
Venus and
Mars. He was portrayed as a winged, blindfolded boy, armed with a bow and arrows, which caused the victim to fall in love. His Greek equivalent was
Eros.
Cricket
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South)
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.
Clover
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KLO-vər(American English) KLO-və(British English)
From the English word for the wild flower, ultimately deriving from Old English clafre.
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR(French, American English) KLEH(British English)
French form of
Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by
Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
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.
Cherry
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHEHR-ee
Simply means "cherry" from the name of the fruit, derived from Latin
cerasium, Greek
κεράσιον (kerasion). It can also be a
diminutive of
Charity. It has been in use since the late 19th century.
Chappell
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHA-pəl
Name for someone who lived near a chapel, derived from Old French chapele meaning "chapel".
Channing
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: CHAN-ing
From an English surname of uncertain origin.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Possibly from
cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh
cwrr "corner") combined with
ben "woman" or
gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the
Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard
Taliesin.
This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".
Cenwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From wyn meaning, "blessed" or "white."
Castillo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (European)
Pronounced: kas-TEE-yo(Spanish)
Means "castle" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Castillo meaning "Our Lady of the Castle".
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.
Carmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian, German
Pronounced: KAR-mehn(Spanish, Italian) KAHR-mən(American English) KAH-mən(British English)
Medieval Spanish form of
Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word
carmen meaning
"song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera
Carmen (1875).
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).
Calfuray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Pronounced: kəl-fi-RIE(Mapudungun) kal-foo-RIE(Spanish)
Means "violet flower" in Mapuche, from kallfü "purple, blue" and rayen "flower".
Caldwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Caldwell.
Brynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN
Feminine variant of
Bryn. It was brought to limited public attention in 1978 when the actress Brynn Thayer (1949-) began appearing on the American soap opera
One Life to Live [1].
Bryn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN(English)
Means
"hill, mound" in Welsh. In Wales it is almost always a masculine name, though elsewhere in the English-speaking world it can be unisex (see
Brynn).
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər(American English) BRIE-ə(British English)
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Bree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREE
Anglicized form of
Brígh. It can also be a short form of
Brianna,
Gabriella and other names containing
bri.
Branwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: BRAN-wehn(Welsh)
Means
"white raven" from Old Welsh
bran "raven" and
gwen "white, blessed". According to the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi [1] she was the daughter of
Llŷr. After she was mistreated by her husband Matholwch, the king of Ireland, she managed to get a message to her brother
Brân, the king of Britain. Brân launched a costly invasion to rescue her, but she died of grief shortly after her return.
Branoc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Breton
Derived from Breton bran "raven; crow".
Brandewyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Bran 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: BRAN(Irish)
Means "raven" in Irish. In Irish legend Bran mac Febail was a mariner who was involved in several adventures on his quest to find the Otherworld.
Bran 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Unaccented variant of
Brân. This is also the Middle Welsh form.
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).
Billie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Billi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: bill-ee
Betty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHT-ee
Bellamy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
From an English surname derived from Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
Belinay
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish (Modern)
Means
"reflection of the moon on a lake" in Turkish
[1].
Bedivere
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
From the Welsh name
Bedwyr, possibly from
bedwen "birch" and
gwr "man". In Arthurian legends Bedivere was one of the original companions of King
Arthur. He first appears in early Welsh tales, and his story was later expanded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century. He is the one who throws the sword Excalibur into the lake at the request of the dying Arthur.
Beau
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: BO
Means
"beautiful, handsome" in French. It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. In Margaret Mitchell's novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) this is the name of Ashley and Melanie's son.
Although this is a grammatically masculine adjective in French, it is given to girls as well as boys in Britain and the Netherlands. In America it is more exclusively masculine. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Azzy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: Az-zee
Diminutive of
Azalea or other names beginning in -az.
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".
Austin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWS-tin
Medieval contracted form of
Augustine 1. Modern use of the name is probably also partly inspired by the common surname
Austin, which is of the same origin. This is also the name of a city in Texas.
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).
Astrophel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Probably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star" and
φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets
Astrophel and Stella.
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".
Asherah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Pronounced: ə-SHEER-ə(English)
Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.
Arrow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AR-o, ER-o
From the English word arrow, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- "bow, arrow".
Ari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: AHR-ee(English, Italian)
Ari 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲרִי(Hebrew)
Means "lion" in Hebrew.
Ari 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Icelandic, Finnish
Pronounced: AH-ree(Finnish)
Old Norse byname meaning "eagle".
Ari 3
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Արի(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-REE
Means "brave" in Armenian.
Arawn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Meaning unknown. This was the name of the god of the underworld, called Annwfn, in Welsh
mythology.
Apple
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AP-əl
From the English word for the fruit, derived from Middle English appel, Old English æppel. The American actress Gwenyth Paltrow and British musician Chris Martin gave this name to their daughter in 2004.
Annick
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton, French
Ann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Manx
Pronounced: AN(English)
English and Manx form of
Anne 1. In the English-speaking world, both this spelling and
Anne have been used since the late Middle Ages. Currently
Ann is less popular than
Anne (and both are less popular than their relatives
Anna and
Hannah).
Andwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
Amity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-mi-tee
From the English word meaning "friendship", ultimately deriving from Latin amicitia.
Amethyst
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-ə-thist
From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix
ἀ (a) and
μέθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness. It is the traditional birthstone of February.
Ambra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: AM-bra
Amberlynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-bər-lin(American English) AM-bə-lin(British English)
Elaboration of
Amber using the popular name suffix
lyn.
Amberly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AM-bər-lee(American English) AM-bə-lee(British English)
Elaboration of
Amber, influenced by the spelling of the name
Kimberly.
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).
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amari
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-MAHR-ee(English)
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from Arabic
Ammar. This name has risen in popularity in America at the same time as similar-sounding names such as
Jamari and
Kamari.
Amable
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French (Archaic)
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.
Alizarin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ə-LIZ-ə-rin
From alizarin crimson, the English name of a shade of red. The color is named after a red dye originally obtained from the root of the madder plant, ultimately from Arabic al-usara meaning "the juice". This was used for a male character in the romance novel 'Pandora' by Jilly Cooper.
Alister
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(American English) AL-i-stə(British English)
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
From the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).
Alethaire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South, Rare, Archaic)
Corruption of
Alethea. This name arose among Catholics in Kentucky in the 1700-1800s.
Alcyone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλκυόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-SIE-ə-nee(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word
ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning
"kingfisher". In Greek
myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, supposedly the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Alafare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Romani
Pronounced: AL-ə-fehr(English)
Of uncertain meaning, possibly a corruption of
Alethea (compare
Alethaire). In the United States, this name was first found in 1768; in the United Kingdom, there were several uses throughout the 1800s (and most likely before that as well). While the background of the American bearers of this name is unknown, almost all British bearers were born to traveling Romani families.
Alafair
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romani
Pronounced: AL-ə-fer(English)
Akash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali
Other Scripts: आकाश(Hindi, Marathi) আকাশ(Bengali)
Pronounced: a-KASH(Hindi)
From Sanskrit
आकाश (ākāśa) meaning
"open space, sky".
Aizen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 愛 善(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: I-ZIN
The name Aizen is derived from two Japanese kanji characters: “ai” (愛) meaning “love” or “affection,” and “zen” (善) meaning “good” or “virtuous.” Together, Aizen can be translated as “lover of good” or “one who does good deeds out of love and compassion.”
Aizen has significant cultural roots in both Japanese and Buddhist traditions. In Japanese culture, Aizen is associated with the goddess of love and beauty, Benzaiten, who is often portrayed holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute. In Buddhist tradition, Aizen is one of the Five Wisdom Kings, a group of deities who represent different aspects of enlightenment. Aizen is specifically associated with desire, passion, and love, and is often depicted with a sword or a rope to symbolize his power over these emotions.
Aibileen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: AY-bə-leen
Possibly an alteration of
Abilene influenced by
Maybelline. This is the name of one of the main characters in Kathryn Stockett's novel 'The Help' (2009) and the subsequent movie adaptation (2011).
Adalia
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֲדַלְיָא(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ad-ə-LIE-ə(English) ə-DAH-lee-ə(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Persian origin. In Book of Esther in the
Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Haman the Agagite.
Adair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-DEHR(American English) ə-DEH(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Edgar.
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