poetic_freedom's Personal Name List

Zuri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Rating: 32% based on 9 votes
Means "beautiful" in Swahili.
Zosime
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζωσίμη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Zosimos (see Zosimus).
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name צִפּוֹרָה (Tsippora), derived from צִפּוֹר (tsippor) meaning "bird" [1]. In the Old Testament this is the name of the Midianite wife of Moses. She was the daughter of the priest Jethro.
Zenovia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Greek)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Greek Ζηνοβία (see Zinovia).
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Rating: 85% based on 2 votes
Means "life of Zeus", derived from Greek Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of Zeus" and βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
Zella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly an invented name. It arose in the 19th century.
Zélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Short form of Azélie. This is another name of Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877).
Zakiah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زكيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: za-KEE-ya
Rating: 32% based on 9 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic زكيّة (see Zakiyya).
Zachariah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-ə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of Zechariah. This spelling is used in the King James Version of the Old Testament to refer to one of the kings of Israel (called Zechariah in other versions).
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(American English) ig-ZAY-vyər(American English) ZAY-vyə(British English) ig-ZAY-vyə(British English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)
Rating: 36% based on 10 votes
Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Winston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIN-stən
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Wynnstan. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 68% based on 12 votes
From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

Willemina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: vi-lə-MEE-na
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Willem.
Willa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-ə
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of William.
Wilhelmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare), English
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-na(Dutch, German) wil-ə-MEEN-ə(English) wil-hehl-MEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
Dutch and German feminine form of Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Personal remark: Vivienne Talulla Wren, Vivienne Claire Mariposa, Vivienne Blythe Mariposa
Rating: 50% based on 12 votes
French form of Viviana.
Viveka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Swedish form of Vibeke.
Virva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VEER-vah
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Possibly derived from Finnish virvatuli meaning "will o' the wisp". In folklore, will o' the wisp is a floating ball of light that appears over water.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 69% based on 11 votes
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.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 13 votes
Means "victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from North Africa.

Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.

Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
Rating: 26% based on 8 votes
From the English word meaning "verity, truth", from Latin verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.
Vaughn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAWN
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From a Welsh surname, a variant of Vaughan.
Vashti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: וַשְׁתִּי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: VASH-tee(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Probably of Persian origin, possibly a superlative form of 𐎺𐎢 (vahu) meaning "good". According to the Old Testament this was the name of the first wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia before he married Esther.
Tullia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: TOOL-lya(Italian)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of Tullius (see Tullio).
Tova 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טוֹבָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Means "good" in Hebrew.
Torin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Greek form of Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the Old Testament. It relates how Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation.
Tobiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: טוֹבִיָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: to-BIE-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name טוֹבִיָּה (Ṭoviyya) meaning "Yahweh is good", from the elements טוֹב (ṭov) meaning "good" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This was the name of an Ammonite in the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament.
Tiarnán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 21% based on 9 votes
Modern Irish form of Tighearnán.
Thora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Rating: 41% based on 9 votes
Modern form of Þóra.
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAS(Greek)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
Greek form of the Aramaic name תְּאוֹמָא (Teʾoma) meaning "twin". In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.

In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.

Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).

Theodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεοδώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: thee-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 13 votes
Feminine form of Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.
Tessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS-ə(English) TEH-sa(Dutch)
Rating: 64% based on 9 votes
Contracted form of Theresa.
Tesni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "warmth" in Welsh.
Talulla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Rating: 49% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of the Old Irish name Taileflaith, Tuileflaith or Tuilelaith, probably from tuile "abundance" and flaith "ruler, sovereign, princess". This was the name of an early saint, an abbess of Kildare.
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 10 votes
Means "little girl" in Aramaic. The name is taken from the phrase talitha cumi meaning "little girl arise" spoken by Jesus in order to restore a young girl to life (see Mark 5:41).
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
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.
Tahmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian Mythology, Tajik, Bengali
Other Scripts: تهمینه(Persian) Таҳмина(Tajik) তাহমিনা(Bengali)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Persian تهم (tahm) meaning "brave, valiant". This is the name of a character in the 10th-century Persian epic the Shahnameh. She is a daughter of the king of Samangan who marries the warrior hero Rostam and eventually bears him a son, whom they name Sohrab.
Tadhg
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: TIEG(Irish)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
From Old Irish Tadg meaning "poet" [1]. This was the name of an 11th-century king of Connacht, as well as several other kings and chieftains of medieval Ireland. According to Irish mythology it was the name of the grandfather of Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
Form of Susanna found in some versions of the Old Testament.
Sunniva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Rating: 59% based on 9 votes
Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər(American English) SUM-ə(British English)
Rating: 70% based on 10 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Sterling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STUR-ling(American English) STU-ling(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
Sorin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Possibly derived from Romanian soare meaning "sun".
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Sóley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Pronounced: SO-lay
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "buttercup (flower)" in Icelandic (genus Ranunculus), derived from sól "sun" and ey "island".
Solène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SAW-LEHN
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Variant of Solange.
Siobhán
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHI-wan, SHUW-wan, SHI-van, shə-VAN
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
Irish form of Jehanne, a Norman French variant of Jeanne.
Shira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שִׁירָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Means "singing" in Hebrew.
Shiloh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
Rating: 37% based on 9 votes
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.

Shanti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
Other Scripts: शान्ती, शांती(Hindi) शांती(Marathi) शान्ती(Nepali)
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
From Sanskrit शान्ती (śāntī) meaning "quiet, peace, tranquility".
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
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-).
Sela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Other Scripts: סֶלַע(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From the name of a city, the capital of Edom, which appears in the Old Testament. It means "rock" in Hebrew.
Seán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAN
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Irish form of John, derived via the Old French form Jehan.
Séamus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEH-məs
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
Irish form of James.
Scholastica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
From a Late Latin name that was derived from scholasticus meaning "rhetorician, orator". Saint Scholastica was a 6th-century Benedictine abbess, the sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia.
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit(American English) SKAH-lit(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Sarai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew [1], Spanish
Other Scripts: שָׂרָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEHR-ie(English) sə-RIE(English)
Rating: 59% based on 11 votes
Means "my princess" in Hebrew, a possessive form of שָׂרָה (sara) meaning "lady, princess, noblewoman". In the Old Testament, this was Sarah's name before God changed it (see Genesis 17:15).
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) SA-muy-ehl(Dutch) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning "name of God", from the roots שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor David.

As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Samara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Possibly derived from the name of the city of Samarra (in Iraq) or Samara (in Russia). The former appears in the title of the novel Appointment in Samarra (1934) by John O'Hara, which refers to an ancient Babylonian legend about a man trying to evade death. Alternatively, this name could be derived from the word for the winged seeds that grow on trees such as maples and elms.

The name received a boost in popularity after it was borne by the antagonist in the horror movie The Ring (2002).

Salvatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Salvator.
Salome
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: სალომე(Georgian) Σαλώμη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-LO-mee(English)
Rating: 45% based on 10 votes
From an Aramaic name that was related to the Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". According to the historian Josephus this was the name of the daughter of Herodias (the consort of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee). In the New Testament, though a specific name is not given, it was a daughter of Herodias who danced for Herod and was rewarded with the head of John the Baptist, and thus Salome and the dancer have traditionally been equated.

As a Christian given name, Salome has been in occasional use since the Protestant Reformation. This was due to a second person of this name in the New Testament: one of the women who witnessed the crucifixion and later discovered that Jesus' tomb was empty. It is used in Georgia due to the 4th-century Salome of Ujarma, who is considered a saint in the Georgian Church.

Sakura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 桜, 咲良, etc.(Japanese Kanji) さくら(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SA-KOO-RA
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
From Japanese (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom", though it is often written using the hiragana writing system. It can also come from (saku) meaning "blossom" and (ra) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable" as well as other kanji combinations.
Sadhbh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: SIEW(Irish) SIEV(Irish)
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
Modern Irish form of Sadb.
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)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
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.

Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Personal remark: Ruby Ellen Joy, Ruby Aster, Ruby Maeve Annette
Rating: 60% based on 11 votes
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: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
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).
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 85% based on 12 votes
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German, Dutch) RO-sa-lee(Dutch) ro-sa-LEE(Dutch) RO-za-lee(Dutch) RO-zə-lee(English)
Rating: 76% based on 11 votes
French, German and Dutch form of Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
From the Late Latin name Romanus meaning "Roman". This name was borne by several early saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər(American English) RIV-ə(British English)
Rating: 51% based on 10 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Richard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: RICH-ərd(American English) RICH-əd(British English) REE-SHAR(French) RI-khart(German, Czech) REE-khart(Slovak) REE-shahrt(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "brave ruler", derived from the Old German elements rih "ruler, king" and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of three early dukes of Normandy. The Normans introduced it to England when they invaded in the 11th century, and it has been very common there since that time. It was borne by three kings of England including the 12th-century Richard I the Lionheart, one of the leaders of the Third Crusade.

During the late Middle Ages this name was typically among the five most common for English males (with John, William, Robert and Thomas). It remained fairly popular through to the modern era, peaking in the United States in the 1940s and in the United Kingom a bit later, and steadily declining since that time.

Famous bearers include two German opera composers, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949), as well as British explorer Richard Burton (1821-1890), American president Richard Nixon (1913-1994), American physicist Richard Feynman (1918-1988), British actor Richard Burton (1925-1984) and American musician Little Richard (1932-2020).

Rafferty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAF-ər-tee(American English) RAF-ə-tee(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the given name Rabhartach meaning "flood tide".
Ptolemy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Other Scripts: Πτολεμαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAHL-ə-mee(American English) TAWL-ə-mee(British English)
Rating: 28% based on 8 votes
From the Greek name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek πολεμήϊος (polemeios) meaning "aggressive, warlike". Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a 2nd-century Greek astronomer.
Prudence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: PROO-dəns(English) PRUY-DAHNS(French)
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Medieval English form of Prudentia, the feminine form of Prudentius. In France it is both the feminine form and a rare masculine form. In England it was used during the Middle Ages and was revived in the 17th century by the Puritans, in part from the English word prudence, ultimately of the same source.
Piera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PYEH-ra
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
Italian feminine form of Peter.
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Φοίβη (Phoibe), which meant "bright, pure" from Greek φοῖβος (phoibos). In Greek mythology Phoibe was a Titan associated with the moon. This was also an epithet of her granddaughter, the moon goddess Artemis. The name appears in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament, where it belongs to a female minister in the church at Cenchreae.

In England, it began to be used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately common in the 19th century. It began to rise in popularity again in the late 1980s, probably helped along by characters on the American television shows Friends (1994-2004) and Charmed (1998-2006). It is currently much more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand than the United States.

A moon of Saturn bears this name, in honour of the Titan.

Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEET-ər(American English) PEE-tə(British English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek Πέτρος (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.

Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].

Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.

Peregrine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ə-grin
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
From the Late Latin name Peregrinus, which meant "traveller". This was the name of several early saints.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.

It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.

Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 56% based on 8 votes
From the Latin name Patricius, which meant "nobleman". This name was adopted in the 5th-century by Saint Patrick, whose birth name was Sucat. He was a Romanized Briton who was captured and enslaved in his youth by Irish raiders. After six years of servitude he escaped home, but he eventually became a bishop and went back to Ireland as a missionary. He is traditionally credited with Christianizing the island, and is regarded as Ireland's patron saint. He is called Pádraig in Irish.

In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.

Oscar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AHS-kər(American English) AWS-kə(British English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-kahr(Dutch) AWS-KAR(French)
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
Possibly means "deer friend", derived from Old Irish oss "deer" and carae "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name Osgar or its Old Norse cognate Ásgeirr, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet Oisín and the grandson of the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill.

This name was popularized in continental Europe by the works of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson [1]. Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson, and he suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, who eventually became king of Sweden as Oscar I. Other notable bearers include the Irish writer and humorist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012).

Orlando
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: or-LAN-do(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 45% based on 8 votes
Italian form of Roland, as used in the epic poems Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the continuation Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. In the poems, Orlando is a knight in Charlemagne's army who battles against the invading Saracens. A character in Shakespeare's play As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.
Oriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: o-RYA-na
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
Possibly derived from Latin aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish oro or French or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight Amadis.
Órfhlaith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: OR-lə
Rating: 34% based on 8 votes
Variant of Órlaith.
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
Rating: 75% based on 4 votes
From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(American English) AWL-i-və(British English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Personal remark: Oliver Richard Cai
Rating: 74% based on 14 votes
From Old French Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero Roland.

In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.

Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(American English) AWL-iv(British English) AW-LEEV(French)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Olesya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Олеся(Ukrainian, Russian)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Ukrainian diminutive of Oleksandra. This was the name of an 1898 novel by the Russian author Aleksandr Kuprin.
Odin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern)
Pronounced: O-din(English)
Rating: 29% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wuotan, Wotan or Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.

In Norse mythology Odin is the highest of the gods, presiding over war, wisdom and death. He is the husband of Frigg and resides in Valhalla, where warriors go after they are slain. He is usually depicted as a one-eyed older man, carrying two ravens on his shoulders who inform him of all the events of the world. At the time of Ragnarök, the final battle, it is told that he will be killed fighting the great wolf Fenrir.

Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(American English) awk-TAY-vee-ə(British English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Nyssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Personal remark: Nyssa Clementine
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
From the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor where Saint Gregory was bishop in the 4th century. Nyssa is also the genus name of a type of tree, also called the Tupelo.
Norah 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 11 votes
Variant of Nora 1.
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 74% based on 12 votes
From the Hebrew name נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning "rest, repose", derived from the root נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.

A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).

Nikias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Νικίας(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". This was the name of an Athenian general who fought in the Peloponnesian war.
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 79% based on 11 votes
From the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.

Nicander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Νίκανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Latinized form of Nikandros.
Niamh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYEEYW(Irish) NYEEYV(Irish) NYEEV(Irish)
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisín, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.
Niall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: NYEEYL(Irish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Irish form of Neil.
Nevan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: NEHV-ən(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of Naomhán.
Nessa 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NEHS-ə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of Neasa.
Neriah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: נֵרִיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ni-RIE-ə(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "lamp of Yahweh" in Hebrew, from נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of the father of Baruch in the Old Testament.
Nephele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νεφέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-PEH-LEH(Classical Greek) NEHF-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From Greek νέφος (nephos) meaning "cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.
Neirin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Variant of Aneirin.
Nazarius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Latin name meaning "from Nazareth". Nazareth was the town in Galilee where Jesus lived. This name was borne by several early saints, including a man martyred with Celsus in Milan.
Nava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: נָאוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Means "beautiful" in Hebrew.
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
Variant of Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling Nathanael is found in most versions of the New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Nasrin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Bengali
Other Scripts: نسرین(Persian) নাসরীন(Bengali)
Pronounced: nas-REEN(Persian)
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
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)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
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-).

Naoise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NEE-shə(Irish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown, presumably of Irish origin. In Irish legend he was the young man who fled to Scotland with Deirdre, who was due to marry Conchobar the king of Ulster. Conchobar eventually succeeded in capturing Deirdre and killing Naoise, which caused Deirdre to die of grief.
Naamah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: נַעֲמָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NAY-ə-mə(English)
Rating: 35% based on 8 votes
Means "pleasant" in Hebrew. This name is borne in the Old Testament by both a daughter of Lamech and a wife of Solomon. Some later Jewish texts give Naamah as the name of Noah's wife, even though she is not named in the Old Testament.
Monica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MAHN-i-kə(American English) MAWN-i-kə(British English) MAW-nee-ka(Italian) mo-NEE-ka(Romanian) MO-nee-ka(Dutch)
Rating: 36% based on 10 votes
Meaning unknown, most likely of Berber or Phoenician origin. In the 4th century this name was borne by a North African saint, the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo, whom she converted to Christianity. Since the Middle Ages it has been associated with Latin moneo "advisor" and Greek μονός (monos) "one, single".

As an English name, Monica has been in general use since the 18th century. In America it reached the height of its popularity in the 1970s, declining since then. A famous bearer was the Yugoslavian tennis player Monica Seles (1973-).

Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Rating: 56% based on 11 votes
Form of Mary used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.
Millicent
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-i-sənt
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
From the Gothic name *Amalaswinþa, composed of the elements amals "unceasing, vigorous, brave" and swinþs "strong". Amalaswintha was a 6th-century queen of the Ostrogoths. The Normans introduced this name to England in the form Melisent or Melisende. Melisende was a 12th-century queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Baldwin II.
Millaray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means "golden flower" in Mapuche, from milla "gold" and rayen "flower".
Mildred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-drid
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From the Old English name Mildþryð meaning "gentle strength", derived from the elements milde "gentle" and þryþ "strength". Saint Mildred was a 7th-century abbess, the daughter of the Kentish princess Saint Ermenburga. After the Norman Conquest this name became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Meredith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHR-ə-dith(English)
Rating: 53% based on 10 votes
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).
Mercedes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mehr-THEH-dhehs(European Spanish) mehr-SEH-dhehs(Latin American Spanish) mər-SAY-deez(American English) mə-SAY-deez(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Means "mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity" [1].
Mélisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
French form of Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).
Maxima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Maximus.
Max
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan
Other Scripts: Макс(Russian)
Pronounced: MAKS(German, English, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan) MAHKS(Dutch)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Short form of Maximilian or Maxim. In English it can also be short for Maxwell, and it coincides with the informal word max, short for maximum.

Famous bearers include the German intellectual Max Weber (1864-1920) and the German physicist Max Planck (1858-1947). This name is also borne by the title character in the Mad Max series of movies, starting 1979.

Maura 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: MAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of Máire. It has also been associated with Irish mór meaning "great". This was the name of an obscure 5th-century Irish martyr.
Matthias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ματθίας, Μαθθίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(German) MA-TYAS(French) mah-TEE-ahs(Dutch) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
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.
Matteo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-o
Rating: 58% based on 8 votes
Italian form of Matthew.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 74% based on 11 votes
From the Germanic name Mahthilt meaning "strength in battle", from the elements maht "might, strength" and hilt "battle". Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.

The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.

Mathilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MA-TEELD(French) ma-TIL-də(German, Dutch)
Rating: 59% based on 11 votes
Form of Matilda in several languages.
Mateja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian
Rating: 38% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of Matej.
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(American English) MAH-thə(British English) MAHR-ta(Dutch) MAR-ta(German)
Rating: 29% based on 9 votes
From Aramaic מַרְתָּא (marta) meaning "the lady, the mistress", feminine form of מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the New Testament this is the name of the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.

The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).

Marsaili
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MAR-si-li
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Scottish Gaelic form of Marcella, now also associated with Marjorie.
Marisol
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-SOL
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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".
Marijani
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swahili
Rating: 32% based on 9 votes
Means "coral" in Swahili, originally a borrowing from Arabic مرْجان (marjān).
Marguerite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GU-REET
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Margaret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-grit(American English) MAHR-gə-rit(American English) MAH-grit(British English) MAH-gə-rit(British English)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language. Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.

As an English name it has been very popular since the Middle Ages. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, but it declined in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of Gone with the Wind, and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-). Others include American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

Malika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ملكة(Arabic)
Pronounced: MA-lee-ka
Rating: 27% based on 10 votes
Means "queen" in Arabic, the feminine form of Malik 1.
Malaika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Rating: 26% based on 9 votes
Means "angel" in Swahili, derived from Arabic ملك (malak).
Malachy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
Anglicized form of Máel Sechnaill or Máel Máedóc, influenced by the spelling of Malachi. Saint Malachy (in Irish, Máel Máedóc) was a 12th-century archbishop of Armagh renowned for his miracles.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 53% based on 10 votes
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.
Máirín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: MA-ryeen
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
Irish diminutive of Mary.
Maiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
From Tupi maya arya meaning "great-grandmother".
Mahalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 46% based on 10 votes
Variant of Mahala.
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Rating: 49% based on 11 votes
Late Latin name meaning "great". It was borne by a 7th-century saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Magalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-GA-LEE
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Variant of Magali.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 46% based on 15 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband Ailill fought against the Ulster king Conchobar and the hero Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Mae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Personal remark: Mae Aisling Rose
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
Variant of May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Maddox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAD-əks
Rating: 32% based on 12 votes
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.
Macsen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: MAK-sehn(Welsh)
Rating: 16% based on 5 votes
Welsh form of Maximus. Magnus Maximus (known as Macsen Wledig in Welsh) was a 4th-century co-ruler of the Western Roman Empire. In Wales he was regarded as the founder of several royal lineages. He appears in the medieval Welsh tale The Dream of Macsen.
Mabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-bəl
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Medieval feminine form of Amabilis. This spelling and Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's 1854 novel The Heir of Redclyffe [1], which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
Rating: 50% based on 12 votes
An elaboration of Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-a(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Rating: 55% based on 11 votes
Feminine form of Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.
Lowanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian), Indigenous Australian, Literature
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Means "girl" in the Gumbaynggir language from mid-north New South Wales. It occurs as the name of a village near Coffs Harbour, where the language originates. It also means "woman" or "beauty" in a Tasmanian dialect. The name appeared in Castleden Dove's Lowanna: An Australian School Story (1925), about a rich, worldly girl called Lowanna Laurenson.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 76% based on 11 votes
From German Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.

In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).

Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 36% based on 9 votes
Means "little fierce one", derived from Old Irish lorcc "fierce" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.
Liron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִירוֹן(Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "my song, my joy" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and רֹן (ron) "joy, song".
Lillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
Probably originally a diminutive of Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of Lily, from the Latin word for "lily" lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
Possibly means "joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers Moses and Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the New Testament, where it is borne by a son of Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle Matthew.

As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 62% based on 11 votes
Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.

In some cases this name can be a short form of longer names that start with Leo, such as Leonard.

Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
Rating: 31% based on 11 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms". This name steadily rose in popularity in the 2000s, at the same time as the similar-sounding (but unrelated) names Lennon and Knox.
Leni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEH-nee
Rating: 28% based on 10 votes
German diminutive of Helene or Magdalena.
Leilani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 13 votes
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.

Kleio
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Κλειώ(Greek)
Pronounced: KLEH-AW(Classical Greek)
Rating: 41% based on 12 votes
Derived from Greek κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". In Greek mythology she was the goddess of history and heroic poetry, one of the nine Muses. She was said to have introduced the alphabet to Greece.
Kinborough
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Middle English form of Cyneburg.
Keziah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-ZIE-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name קְצִיעָה (Qetsiʿa) meaning "cassia, cinnamon", from the name of the spice tree. In the Old Testament she is a daughter of Job.
Kenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of Kenneth.
Kamaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Comorian
Rating: 30% based on 10 votes
From Arabic qamar meaning "moon", also the root of the name of the island country of the Comoros.
Jove
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: JOV(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From Latin Iovis, the genitive case of Iuppiter (see Jupiter). Though this form is grammatically genitive, post-classically it has been used nominatively as another name for Jupiter.
Josiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יֹאשִׁיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jo-SIE-ə(English)
Rating: 39% based on 11 votes
From the Hebrew name יֹאשִׁיָהוּ (Yoshiyahu) meaning "Yahweh supports", from אָשְׁיָה (ʾashya) meaning "support" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a king of Judah famous for his religious reforms. He was killed fighting the Egyptians at Megiddo in the 7th century BC. In England this name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Joseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Ancient Hebrew) ജോസഫ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JO-sif(American English) JO-zif(British English) ZHO-ZEHF(French) YO-zehf(German)
Rating: 57% based on 11 votes
From Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add", from the root יָסַף (yasaf) meaning "to add, to increase". In the Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the first with his wife Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.

In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.

This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).

Joash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאָשׁ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-ash(English)
Rating: 29% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name יוֹאָשׁ (Yoʾash), possibly meaning "fire of Yahweh". In the Old Testament this name is borne by several characters including the father of Gideon, a king of Judah, and a son of King Ahab of Israel.
Jeremiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִרְמְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jehr-i-MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ (Yirmeyahu) meaning "Yahweh will exalt", from the roots רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Jedidiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְדִידְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jehd-i-DIE-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
Means "beloved of Yahweh" in Hebrew, derived from יָדִיד (yaḏiḏ) meaning "beloved, friend" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is a name given to Solomon by Nathan.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 72% based on 13 votes
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.
Jarvis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAHR-vis(American English) JAH-vis(British English)
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Gervais.
Jacob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יַעֲקֹב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-kəb(English) YA-kawp(Dutch) YAH-kawp(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish)
Rating: 72% based on 12 votes
From the Latin Iacob, which was from the Greek Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿaqov). In the Old Testament Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Yaʿaqovʾel) meaning "may God protect".

The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.

In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages [1], though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.

A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Jackson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK-sən
Rating: 63% based on 11 votes
From an English surname meaning "son of Jack". A famous bearer of the surname was American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845).
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Rating: 71% based on 12 votes
Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.

In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Jabin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יָבִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-bin(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means "perceptive" in Hebrew. This name was borne by two kings of Hazor according to the Old Testament.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 74% based on 14 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Means "nocturnal journey" in Arabic, derived from سرى (sarā) meaning "to travel by night". According to Islamic tradition, the Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet Muhammad.
Isidore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Georgian (Rare), Jewish
Other Scripts: ისიდორე(Georgian)
Pronounced: IZ-ə-dawr(American English) IZ-ə-daw(British English) EE-ZEE-DAWR(French)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
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.

Isidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese (Rare), Italian (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Исидора(Serbian, Russian) Ἰσιδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-see-DHO-ra(Spanish) ee-zee-DAW-ra(Italian) iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 69% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian saint and hermitess.
Isibéal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 34% based on 12 votes
Irish form of Isabel.
Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
Rating: 63% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yeshaʿyahu) meaning "Yahweh is salvation", from the roots יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name, Isaiah was first used after the Protestant Reformation.
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִצְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
Rating: 67% based on 14 votes
From the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (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).

Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Rating: 61% based on 14 votes
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
The name of the daughter of King Cymbeline in the play Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended. Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Idony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Medieval English vernacular form of Idonea.
Hope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HOP
Rating: 57% based on 13 votes
From the English word hope, ultimately from Old English hopian. This name was first used by the Puritans in the 17th century.
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Rating: 42% based on 13 votes
Variant of Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the Normans.
Hillary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HIL-ə-ree
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Variant of Hilary. A famous bearer of the surname was Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first man to climb Mount Everest. It is borne by the American politician Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947-). The name dropped in popularity in 1993 after she became the first lady as the wife of Bill Clinton.
Henrietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish
Pronounced: hehn-ree-EHT-ə(English) HEHN-ree-eht-taw(Hungarian) HEHN-ree-eht-tah(Finnish)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Latinate form of Henriette. It was introduced to England by Henriette Marie, the wife of the 17th-century English king Charles I. The name Henriette was also Anglicized as Harriet, a form that was initially more popular.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
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.
Harvey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-vee(American English) HAH-vee(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From the Breton given name Haerviu, which meant "battle worthy", from haer "battle" and viu "worthy". This was the name of a 6th-century Breton hermit who is the patron saint of the blind. Settlers from Brittany introduced it to England after the Norman Conquest. During the later Middle Ages it became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Harriette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee-it, HEHR-ee-it
Rating: 35% based on 12 votes
Variant of Harriet.
Harriet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee-it, HEHR-ee-it
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
Hadassah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: הֲדַסָּה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: hə-DAS-ə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 11 votes
From Hebrew הֲדַס (haḏas) meaning "myrtle tree". In the Old Testament this is the Hebrew name of Queen Esther.
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Possibly means "white ring", derived from Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed" and dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle [1]. Geoffrey later used it in Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name Guendoleu by Geoffrey [3].

This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).

Gratian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: GRAY-shən(English)
Rating: 20% based on 10 votes
From the Roman name Gratianus, which was derived from Latin gratus meaning "grateful". Saint Gratian was the first bishop of Tours (4th century). This was also the name of a Roman emperor.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 67% based on 14 votes
From the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.

Govannon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Variant of Gofannon.
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Rating: 57% based on 12 votes
Italian form of Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning "juniper".
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
From the Hebrew name גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning "feller, hewer", derived from גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew" [1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 67% based on 11 votes
From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
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.

Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Personal remark: Frances Alison
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
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.
Fionn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYIN(Irish) FYUWN(Irish) FYOON(Irish) FIN(English)
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
From the Old Irish name Finn, derived from finn meaning "white, blessed". It occurs frequently in Irish history and legends, the most noteworthy bearer being Fionn mac Cumhaill, the central character of one of the four main cycles of Irish mythology, the Fenian Cycle. Fionn was born as Deimne, and acquired his nickname because of his fair hair. He grew all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon, and later became the leader of the Fianna after defeating the fire-breathing demon Áillen. He was the father of Oisín and grandfather of Oscar.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Rating: 50% based on 12 votes
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.
Fenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Frisian, Dutch
Pronounced: FEH-na(Dutch)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Fen 2.
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yeḥezqel) meaning "God will strengthen", from the roots חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name, Ezekiel has been used since the Protestant Reformation.
Evren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehv-REHN
Rating: 35% based on 12 votes
Means "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Evelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
Personal remark: Evelyn Maura
Rating: 75% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to Eve and Evelina.

This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.

Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Ḥawwa), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (ḥawa) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (ḥaya) meaning "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.

Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 13 votes
Variant of Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning "good of man", derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Roman mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Eseld
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 46% based on 12 votes
Cornish form of Iseult.
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 75% based on 15 votes
From Old French Emeline, a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element amal meaning "unceasing, vigorous, brave". The Normans introduced this name to England.
Emily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-lee
Rating: 57% based on 14 votes
English feminine form of Aemilius (see Emil). In the English-speaking world it was not common until after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century; the princess Amelia Sophia (1711-1786) was commonly known as Emily in English, even though Amelia is an unrelated name.

This name was moderately popular through most of the 20th century, and became very popular around the turn of the 21st century. It was the highest ranked name for girls in the United States from 1996 to 2007, attaining similar levels in other English-speaking countries around the same time.

Famous bearers include the British author Emily Brontë (1818-1848), known for the novel Wuthering Heights, and the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).

Elva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of Ailbhe.
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Ellen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EHL-ən(English) EHL-lehn(Finnish)
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
Medieval English form of Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form Helen also became common.
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 81% based on 14 votes
German and Dutch form of Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 13 votes
From the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning "my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots אֵל (ʾel) and יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and Moses appear next to Jesus when he is transfigured.

Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.

Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr(American English) EHL-ə-naw(British English)
Rating: 79% based on 16 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Elam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עֵילָם(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-ləm(English)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Possibly means either "hidden" or "eternity" in Hebrew. This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament, including a son of Shem who was the ancestor of the Elamite peoples.
Eira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AY-ra
Rating: 63% based on 13 votes
Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.
Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Rating: 39% based on 13 votes
Diminutive of Eilionoir, also taken to be a Gaelic form of Helen.
Eibhlín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lyeen, ie-LYEEN
Rating: 29% based on 12 votes
Irish form of Aveline.
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish, Dutch)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
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.
Edie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-dee
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Diminutive of Edith.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 55% based on 13 votes
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight" [1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Edana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Latinized form of Étaín. This was the name of an early Irish saint.
Éamonn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EH-mən
Rating: 35% based on 10 votes
Irish form of Edmund.
Éadaoin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: EH-deen(Irish)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Modern Irish form of Étaín.
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik(American English) DAWM-i-nik(British English)
Rating: 71% based on 14 votes
From the Late Latin name Dominicus meaning "of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.
Despina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Δέσποινα(Greek)
Pronounced: DHEH-spee-na
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Modern Greek form of Despoina.
Dermot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 34% based on 11 votes
Anglicized form of Diarmaid.
Derek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHR-ik
Rating: 40% based on 11 votes
From the older English name Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Deirbhile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: DYEHR-ə-vyə-lyə
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Means "daughter of a poet" from Old Irish der "daughter" and fili "poet" (genitive filed). This was the name of a 6th-century Irish saint, also called Dervla.
Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Rating: 38% based on 11 votes
Anglicized form of Irish Deaglán, Old Irish Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.

In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).

Darcy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see(American English) DAH-see(British English)
Rating: 35% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
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.

Croía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Modern)
Pronounced: KREE-ə
Rating: 90% based on 1 vote
From Irish croí meaning "heart". This name was used by Irish martial artist Conor McGregor for his daughter born 2019.
Cormac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Irish
Rating: 35% based on 11 votes
From Old Irish Cormacc or Corbmac, of uncertain meaning, possibly from corb "chariot, wagon" or corbbad "defilement, corruption" combined with macc "son". This is the name of several characters from Irish legend, including the semi-legendary high king Cormac mac Airt who supposedly ruled in the 3rd century, during the adventures of the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. This name was also borne by a few early saints.
Constance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAHN-stəns(American English) KAWN-stəns(British English) KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Rating: 34% based on 14 votes
Medieval form of Constantia. The Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Connor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(American English) KAWN-ə(British English)
Rating: 71% based on 14 votes
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.
Colette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-LEHT
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Short form of Nicolette. Saint Colette was a 15th-century French nun who gave her money to the poor. This was also the pen name of the French author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954).
Clíodhna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KLYEE-nə(Irish)
Rating: 40% based on 14 votes
Meaning unknown. In Irish legend this was the name of a beautiful goddess. She fell in love with a mortal named Ciabhán and left the Land of Promise with him, but when she arrived on the other shore she was swept to sea by a great wave.
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(American English) SHAH-lət(British English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 77% based on 14 votes
French feminine diminutive of Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of Jane Eyre and Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.

Charlie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAHR-lee(American English) CHAH-lee(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
Diminutive or feminine form of Charles. A famous bearer was the British comic actor Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977). It is also borne by Charlie Brown, the main character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz.
Channary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Khmer
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Means "moon-faced girl" from Khmer ចន្ទ (chan) meaning "moon" and នារី (neari) meaning "woman, girl".
Cerys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Variant of Carys.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
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".

Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 58% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of Cecilia.
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
English form of Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KA-ris
Rating: 32% based on 13 votes
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Caroline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: KA-RAW-LEEN(French) KAR-ə-lien(English) KAR-ə-lin(English) ka-ro-LEE-nə(German, Dutch) ka-ro-LEEN(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 15 votes
French feminine form of Carolus.
Carmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian, German
Pronounced: KAR-mehn(Spanish, Italian) KAHR-mən(American English) KAH-mən(British English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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).
Carita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: ka-REE-ta
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Derived from Latin caritas meaning "dearness, esteem, love".
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Personal remark: Caoimhe Amelie
Rating: 31% based on 14 votes
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Callum
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: KAL-əm
Variant of Calum.
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 55% based on 13 votes
Most likely related to Hebrew כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning "dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of" [2] and לֵב (lev) meaning "heart" [3]. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.

As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.

Calanthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee-ə
Rating: 38% based on 15 votes
Elaborated form of Calanthe.
Caitlín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KAT-lyeen
Rating: 48% based on 15 votes
Irish form of Cateline, the Old French form of Katherine.
Byron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIE-rən
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds" in Old English. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), the writer of Don Juan and many other works.
Brigid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Rating: 51% based on 15 votes
Irish variant of Brighid (see Bridget).
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Personal remark: Bridget Maeve Honora
Rating: 61% based on 19 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name Brighid, Old Irish Brigit, from old Celtic *Brigantī meaning "the exalted one". In Irish mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Blythe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BLIEDH
Rating: 35% based on 14 votes
From a surname meaning "cheerful" in Old English.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
Rating: 41% based on 14 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.
Bindi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, Nyungar
Pronounced: Bind-ee(Indigenous Australian)
Rating: 10% based on 4 votes
Means "butterfly" from the word bindi-bindi in Nyungar, spoken in Western Australian near Perth.

It could also mean "little girl" in other southern Australian languages.

Bindi Cole (1975-) is a new media artist and writer while Bindi Sue Irwin is the daughter of Steve Irwin (1962-2006) known as "The Crocodile Hunter".

Bindi is also the informal name of Soliva sessilis, a weedy plant known for its tiny sharp-needled seeds originate from Southern Australia.

Billie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Diminutive of Bill. It is also used as a feminine form of William.
Bedivere
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Rating: 29% based on 7 votes
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.
Beckett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHK-it
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Rating: 64% based on 17 votes
Italian form of Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Baxter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAK-stər(American English) BAK-stə(British English)
Rating: 27% based on 12 votes
From an occupational surname that meant "(female) baker", from Old English bæcere and a feminine agent suffix.
Baila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: ביילאַ(Yiddish)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Variant of Beyle.
Azélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: A-ZEH-LEE
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Perhaps a form of Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.
Ayla 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֵלָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 46% based on 15 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew אֵלָה (see Ela 3).
Avis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-vis
Rating: 44% based on 16 votes
Probably a Latinized form of the Germanic name Aveza, which was derived from the element awi, of unknown meaning. The Normans introduced this name to England and it became moderately common during the Middle Ages, at which time it was associated with Latin avis "bird".
Avi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִי(Hebrew)
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
Means "my father" in Hebrew. It is also a diminutive of Avraham or Aviram.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Rating: 64% based on 16 votes
Variant of Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 56% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of Aurelius.
Augustus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-toos(Latin) aw-GUS-təs(English) ow-GHUYS-tuys(Dutch)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "exalted, venerable", derived from Latin augere meaning "to increase". Augustus was the title given to Octavian, the first Roman emperor. He was an adopted son of Julius Caesar who rose to power through a combination of military skill and political prowess. In 26 BC the senate officially gave him the name Augustus, and after his death it was used as a title for subsequent emperors. This was also the name of three kings of Poland (called August in Polish).
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 79% based on 7 votes
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).
Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Rating: 61% based on 15 votes
Latinized form of Greek Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning "from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Astrophel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
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.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
Latinized form of the Greek Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
Aspasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀσπασία(Ancient Greek) Ασπασία(Greek)
Pronounced: A-SPA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 47% based on 9 votes
Derived from Greek ἀσπάσιος (aspasios) meaning "welcome, embrace". This was the name of the lover of Pericles (5th century BC).
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 14 votes
Means "happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the Old Testament is a son of Jacob by Leah's handmaid Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in Genesis 30:13.
Asha 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: आशा(Hindi, Marathi) ಆಶಾ(Kannada) ആശാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 31% based on 16 votes
Derived from Sanskrit आशा (āśā) meaning "wish, desire, hope".
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo(American English) AH-lo(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 10 votes
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
Arielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-RYEHL(French)
Rating: 43% based on 16 votes
French feminine form of Ariel, as well as an English variant.
Ari 3
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Արի(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-REE
Rating: 29% based on 14 votes
Means "brave" in Armenian.
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər(American English) AH-chə(British English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 52% based on 22 votes
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

April
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-prəl
Rating: 38% based on 18 votes
From the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
Aphra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Meaning uncertain; possibly a variant of Afra 1, or possibly a variant of Aphrah, a biblical place name meaning "dust". This name was borne by the English writer Aphra Behn (1640-1689).
Aonghus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Mythology
Rating: 36% based on 15 votes
From Old Irish Óengus, possibly meaning "one strength" from óen "one" and guss "force, strength". Aonghus (sometimes surnamed Mac Og meaning "young son") was an Irish god of love and youth, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He was the son of Dagda and Boann. The name was also borne by an 8th-century Pictish king, several Irish kings, and a few saints, including a 9th-century bishop of Tallaght.
Aodhán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 35% based on 15 votes
From the Old Irish name Áedán meaning "little fire", a diminutive of Áed (see Aodh). This name was borne by a 6th-century king of Dál Riata. It was also the name of a few early Irish saints, including a 6th-century bishop of Ferns and a 7th-century bishop of Lindisfarne.
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 54% based on 19 votes
Medieval English variant of Honora.
Annella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scots, Scottish
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Elaboration of Anne 1.
Annabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AN-ə-beth
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Combination of Anna and Beth.
Aneirin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh, Welsh
Pronounced: a-NAY-rin(Welsh)
Old Welsh name, possibly from the Latin name Honorius [1]. This was the name of a 6th-century Brythonic poet, also known as Neirin or Aneurin [2], who is said to be the author of the poem Y Gododdin.
Anara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh, Kyrgyz
Other Scripts: Анара(Kazakh, Kyrgyz)
Pronounced: ah-nah-RAH(Kazakh)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From Kazakh and Kyrgyz анар (anar) meaning "pomegranate", a word ultimately derived from Persian.
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
Rating: 52% based on 19 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of Anne 1 or Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as Anaitis or Athénaïs.

A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.

Amice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 26% based on 18 votes
Medieval name derived from Latin amicus meaning "friend". This was a popular name in the Middle Ages, though it has since become uncommon.
Amélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MEH-LEE
Rating: 59% based on 19 votes
French form of Amelia.
Amela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Bosnian feminine form of Amal 1.
Amedea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-meh-DEH-a
Rating: 34% based on 17 votes
Italian feminine form of Amadeus.
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 85% based on 2 votes
From the Late Latin name Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning "immortal". Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amarantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 37% based on 19 votes
From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek ἀμάραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading". Ἀμάραντος (Amarantos) was also an Ancient Greek given name.
Alix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-LEEKS
Rating: 37% based on 19 votes
Medieval French variant of Alice, also sometimes used as a masculine name. This is the name of the hero (a young Gaulish man) of a French comic book series, which debuted in 1948.
Alida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German, Hungarian
Pronounced: a-LEE-da(Dutch, German) AW-lee-daw(Hungarian)
Rating: 42% based on 19 votes
Diminutive of Adelaide.
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)
Rating: 82% based on 22 votes
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).

Alexandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αλεξάνδρα(Greek) Александра(Russian, Ukrainian) Ἀλεξάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-drə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-drə(British English) a-leh-KSAN-dra(German, Romanian) a-lehk-SAHN-dra(Dutch) A-LEHK-ZAHN-DRA(French) a-leh-KSAN-dhra(Greek) u-li-SHUN-dru(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dru(Brazilian Portuguese) A-lehk-san-dra(Czech, Slovak) AW-lehk-sawn-draw(Hungarian) A-LEH-KSAN-DRA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 22 votes
Feminine form of Alexander. In Greek mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess Hera, and an alternate name of Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name Alix, but was renamed Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-də(British English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 83% based on 23 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Alethea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-ə-THEE-ə, ə-LEE-thee-ə
Rating: 57% based on 20 votes
Derived from Greek ἀλήθεια (aletheia) meaning "truth". This name was coined in the 16th century.
Albert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, French, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Albanian, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Альберт(Russian)
Pronounced: AL-bərt(American English) AL-bət(British English) AL-behrt(German, Polish) AL-BEHR(French) əl-BEHRT(Catalan) ul-BYEHRT(Russian) AHL-bərt(Dutch) AL-bat(Swedish) AWL-behrt(Hungarian)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
From the Germanic name Adalbert meaning "noble and bright", composed of the elements adal "noble" and beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. The Normans introduced it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Æþelbeorht. Though it became rare in England by the 17th century, it was repopularized in the 19th century by the German-born Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.

This name was borne by two 20th-century kings of Belgium. Other famous bearers include the German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), creator of the theory of relativity, and Albert Camus (1913-1960), a French-Algerian writer and philosopher.

Alban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Albanian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-ban(German) AL-BAHN(French) AL-bən(English) AWL-bən(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the Roman cognomen Albanus, which meant "from Alba". Alba (from Latin albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. Another 4th-century martyr by this name was Saint Alban of Mainz.

As an English name, Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.

Alastríona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ə-ləs-TRYEE-nə, A-ləs-tryee-nə
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Alastar.
Alaia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Rating: 41% based on 21 votes
Means "joyful, happy" from Basque alai.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 50% based on 23 votes
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Agatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀγαθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-ə-thə(English) a-GHA-ta(Dutch)
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀγαθή (Agathe), derived from Greek ἀγαθός (agathos) meaning "good". Saint Agatha was a 3rd-century martyr from Sicily who was tortured and killed after spurning the advances of a Roman official. The saint was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). The mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a famous modern bearer of this name.
Afton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AF-tən
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Transferred use of the surname Afton. It is also the name of a river in Scotland, and it coincides with the Swedish noun afton meaning "evening".

This name enjoyed a brief revival in the early 1980s, thanks to the character of Afton Cooper from the popular American television series Dallas (1978-1991).

Aella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄελλα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-EHL-LA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 43% based on 21 votes
Means "whirlwind" in Greek. In Greek myth this was the name of an Amazon warrior killed by Herakles during his quest for Hippolyta's girdle.
Adeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DU-LEEN(French) AD-ə-lien(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
French and English form of Adelina.
Adelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ee-ə(English) a-DHEH-lya(Spanish)
Rating: 57% based on 11 votes
Elaborated form of Adela.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 58% based on 25 votes
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.

Abigail
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Italian, Biblical Portuguese, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֲבִיגַיִל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AB-i-gayl(English)
Rating: 49% based on 27 votes
From the Hebrew name אֲבִיגָיִל (ʾAviḡayil) meaning "my father is joy", derived from the roots אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and גִּיל (gil) meaning "joy". In the Old Testament this is the name of Nabal's wife. After Nabal's death she became the third wife of King David.

As an English name, Abigail first became common after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans. The biblical Abigail refers to herself as a servant, and beginning in the 17th century the name became a slang term for a servant, especially after the release of the play The Scornful Lady (1616), which featured a character named Abigail. The name went out of fashion at that point, but it was revived in the 20th century.

Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
Rating: 45% based on 14 votes
From the Hebrew name הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning "breath". In the Old Testament he is the second son of Adam and Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the Puritan era.
Aamaal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: آمال(Arabic)
Pronounced: a-MAL
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Means "hopes, aspirations" in Arabic (a plural form of Amal 1).
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