DogDayCicada's Personal Name List

From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.

Derived from Greek ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek mythology.

Means "violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke Orsino, she attempts to convince Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.

Diminutive of Ivan.

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).

Means "little bear", derived from a diminutive form of the Latin word ursa "she-bear". Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.

Derived from Russian свет (svet) meaning "light, world". It was popularized by the poem Svetlana (1813) by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It is sometimes used as a translation of Photine.

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).

Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.

From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.

Derived from Arabic الرجل (al-Rijl) meaning "foot". This is the name of the star that forms the left foot of the constellation Orion.

Means "all gifts", derived from a combination of Greek πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". In Greek mythology Pandora was the first mortal woman. Zeus gave her a jar containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind now knows, and told her not to open it. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it, unleashing the evil spirits into the world.

Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek ὅριον (horion) meaning "boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian Uru-anna meaning "light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess Gaia.

Russian form of Niketas. This form is also used in Ukrainian and Belarusian alongside the more traditional forms Mykyta and Mikita. A notable bearer was the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971).

Derived from the Slavic elements mirŭ "peace, world" and slava "glory". This was the name of a 10th-century king of Croatia who was deposed by one of his nobles after ruling for four years.

Alternate transcription of Russian Матвей (see Matvey).

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".

From the Hebrew name מַלְאָכִי (Malʾaḵi) meaning "my messenger" or "my angel", derived from a possessive form of מַלְאָךְ (malʾaḵ) meaning "messenger, angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

From Sino-Korean 俊 (jun) meaning "talented, handsome" combined with 舒 (seo) meaning "open up, unfold, comfortable, easy" or 瑞 (seo) meaning "felicitous omen, auspicious". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.

From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.

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).

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Iain, itself from Latin Iohannes (see John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.

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.

Possibly derived from Basque ene "my" and ko, a diminutive suffix. This was the name of the first king of Pamplona or Navarre (9th century), whose name is usually rendered as Íñigo.

The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.

Means "terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name.

Medieval short form of Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the Divine Comedy.

English form of Clémentine.

From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.

From a Roman cognomen meaning "eagle" in Latin. In Acts in the New Testament Paul lives with Aquila and his wife Priscilla (or Prisca) for a time.

Swedish diminutive of Anna.

Means "love" in Latin. This was another name for the Roman god Cupid. It also means "love" in Spanish and Portuguese, and as a feminine name it can be derived directly from this vocabulary word.

Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.

French form of Alfonso.

From Japanese 晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal", 明 (aki) meaning "bright, light, clear" or 秋 (aki) meaning "autumn" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.

Russian form of Athanasius.

Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.

Latinized form of Greek Ἄκανθα (Akantha), which meant "thorn, prickle". In Greek legend she was a nymph loved by Apollo.