MaeAlexis's Personal Name List

Perhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel Don Quixote (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.

Short form of Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).

Means "firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.

From an English surname that was originally derived from the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English. This name was borne by Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), one half of the Wright brothers, who together invented the first successful airplane. Wright was named after the Methodist minister Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839). A famous fictional bearer is the main character (a pig) in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

Means "heavenly, celestial" in Georgian, a derivative of ცა (tsa) meaning "sky, heaven".

This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.

Variant of Susanna.

It means "very beautiful"

French form of Sergius.

Meaning unknown, possibly a short form of Anselma. It could also have been inspired by James Macpherson's 18th-century poems, in which it is the name of Ossian's castle.

Latinized form of Selene. This name was borne by popular Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla (1971-1995), who was known simply as Selena. Another famous bearer is the American actress and singer Selena Gomez (1992-).

From the Latin name Sebastianus, which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.

Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.

French and Dutch form of Sasha.

Variant of Roxane.

English form of Rémy, occasionally used as a feminine name.

From the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning "God heals", from the roots רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named Azarias and accompanies Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in John 5:4.

This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.

English form of Noëlle.

Short form of Vanessa.

Medieval diminutive of names beginning with El, such as Eleanor, Ellen 1 or Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase mine El, which was later reinterpreted as my Nel.

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-).

Means "beauty, glory" in Hawaiian.

Previously a medieval diminutive of Annis, though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of Ann. It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source.

Meaning unknown, possibly related to Inanna. This was the name of a goddess worshipped by the Sumerians and Akkadians. She was later conflated with the goddesses Anahita and Aphrodite.

From the name of a Basque village where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Dutch and German form of Misha. It is occasionally used as a feminine name in Dutch.

Basque form of Maria.

From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).

Originally a diminutive of Milena, used as a given name in its own right.

Slovene and Croatian form of Michael.

Obsolete diminutive of Marguerite. In this day and age the name coincides with the French word miette "crumb" (which is also used as a term of endearment for children).

From the Welsh name Maredudd or Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as Margetud, possibly from mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).

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).

From Greek Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of Ματθαῖος (see Matthew). This form appears in the New Testament as the name of the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. This was also the name of kings of Hungary (spelled Mátyás in Hungarian), including Matthias I who made important reforms to the kingdom in the 15th century.

Russian diminutive of Mariya.

Russian and Ukrainian diminutive of Mariya.

Blend of Maria and Magdalene. It refers, therefore, to Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament. The name was popularized by the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich.

Diminutive of Marcia.

French feminine form of Marcellinus.

Means "happy one" in Kikuyu.

Feminine form of Maël.

English form of Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.

Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.

French feminine form of Louis.

Latinate feminine form of Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of Little Women.

Short form of Alonzo and other names containing the same sound.

Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.

Variant of Laurence 1. This spelling of the name is now more common than Laurence in the English-speaking world, probably because Lawrence is the usual spelling of the surname. The surname was borne by the author and poet D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), as well as the revolutionary T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), who was known as Lawrence of Arabia.

Diminutive of Christopher or Katherine. A notable bearer was Kit Carson (1809-1868), an American frontiersman and explorer.

Elaborated form of Karin.

Anglicized form of Giulietta or Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.

Formed from Jo and the common name suffix lene. This name was created in the early 20th century. It received a boost in popularity after the release of Dolly Parton's 1973 song Jolene.

This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name Iscah, which would have been spelled Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).

Originally a medieval English diminutive of Jane. Since the middle of the 20th century it has been primarily considered a diminutive of Jennifer.

Variant of Jaden.

German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.

From the Greek name Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning "gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess Isis combined with Greek δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.

Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.

Means "dew" in Korean.

French form of Isabel.

From the Hebrew name יִץְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning "he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of Esau and Jacob with his wife Rebecca.

As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).

From the Old Norse name Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god Ing combined with fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).

Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).

English form of the Greek Ἑλένη (Helene), probably from Greek ἑλένη (helene) meaning "torch" or "corposant", or possibly related to σελήνη (selene) meaning "moon". In Greek mythology Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose kidnapping by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War. The name was also borne by the 4th-century Saint Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, who supposedly found the True Cross during a trip to Jerusalem.

The name was originally used among early Christians in honour of the saint, as opposed to the classical character. In England it was commonly spelled Ellen during the Middle Ages, and the spelling Helen was not regularly used until after the Renaissance. A famous bearer was Helen Keller (1880-1968), an American author and lecturer who was both blind and deaf.

Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century [1]. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.

Italian and Spanish form of Aemilius (see Emil).

English form of Élodie.

Short form of Elizabeth. It was borne by the character Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (1913) and the subsequent musical adaptation My Fair Lady (1956).

Italian and Spanish form of Elisha.

Form of Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament, as well as some English translations.

From the Old English name Eadgyð, derived from the elements ead "wealth, fortune" and guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.

Probably means "calf, heifer, girl" from Greek δάμαλις (damalis). In the New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by Saint Paul.

Latin form of Greek Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning "young" or "humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".

The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.

From the name of the River Clyde in Scotland, from Cumbric Clud, which is of uncertain origin. It became a common given name in America in the middle of the 19th century, perhaps in honour of Colin Campbell (1792-1863) who was given the title Baron Clyde in 1858 [1].

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Mac Fhlannchaidh), derived from the given name Flannchadh meaning "red warrior".

Diminutive of Christine or Christina. This name briefly jumped in popularity after the 1977 premiere of the American sitcom Three's Company, featuring a character by this name.

From the Greek name Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.

Latinized form of Greek Κάσσανδρος (Kassandros), the masculine form of Cassandra. This was the name of a 3rd-century BC king of Macedon.

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).

Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.

The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.

Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning "safe" or ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning "a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was known as Diana to the Romans.

Latinate diminutive of Angela. A famous bearer is American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-).

Variant of Adeline.

Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

From a place name mentioned briefly in the New Testament. It is probably from Hebrew אָבֵל (ʾavel) meaning "meadow, grassy area". It has occasionally been used as a given name in modern times.