Nanashi's Personal Name List

From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Wyard or Wyot, from the Old English name Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.

Polish form of Vitus.

From a surname that was derived from the Anglo-Scandinavian given name Waltheof [1]. Its present use in the English-speaking world is usually in honour of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American transcendentalist, poet and author. His name came from a surname from his father's side of the family.

Roman name meaning "victor, conqueror" in Latin. It was common among early Christians, and was borne by several early saints and three popes. It was rare as an English name during the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the French writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who authored The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.

Means "my light" in Hebrew, a possessive form of אוּר (ʾur) meaning "light". This is the name of the father of Bezalel in the Old Testament.

From a Welsh surname, originally taken from the name of towns in Wales meaning "big village", derived from Middle Welsh tref "village" and maur "large". As a given name it became popular in the United Kingdom in the middle of the 20th century, then caught on in the United States in the 1960s.

From the English surname Travis (a variant of Travers). It was used in America in honour of William Travis (1809-1836), the commander of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo.

From the Gothic name *Þiudareiks meaning "ruler of the people", derived from the elements þiuda "people" and reiks "ruler, king". It was notably borne by Theodoric the Great, a 6th-century king of the Ostrogoths who eventually became the ruler of Italy. By Theodoric's time the Ostrogoths were partially Romanized and his name was regularly recorded as Theodoricus. This was also the name of two earlier (5th century) Visigothic kings.

Italian form of Simon 1.

Italian and Spanish form of Sergius.

Alternate transcription of Russian/Bulgarian Сергей (see Sergey).

Means "fairy tale, fable" in Finnish.

Russian and Ukrainian diminutive of Aleksandr or Aleksandra.

Possibly from Sanskrit सत् (sat) meaning "existence, essence". A famous bearer is the retired Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar (1973-).

From an English surname, of Norman origin, meaning "little red one" (a diminutive of Old French rous "red"). A notable bearer of the surname was the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), who wrote on many subjects including logic, epistemology and mathematics. He was also a political activist for causes such as pacifism and women's rights.

This name was common throughout the English-speaking world for most of the 20th century, though in the 1960s it began a slow decline in most places.

From a Scottish and English surname that originally indicated a person from a place called Ross (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), derived from Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland". A famous bearer of the surname was James Clark Ross (1800-1862), an Antarctic explorer.

Means "rosary", and is taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Rosario meaning "Our Lady of the Rosary". This name is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Italian.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Raghailligh, derived from the given name Raghailleach, meaning unknown.

From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Randel.

From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series Charmed, which debuted in 1998 [1].

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.

From the surname Nowell (a variant of Noel).

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

Anglicized form of Naomhán.

Latinate form of Natalia (see Natalie).

Russian and Belarusian form of Michael, and an alternate transcription of Bulgarian Михаил (see Mihail). This was the name of two Russian tsars. Other notable bearers include the Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841), the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022), and the Latvian-Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948-).

Elaboration of Mel, either from names such as Melissa or from Greek μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". A famous bearer was Greek-American actress Melina Mercouri (1920-1994), who was born Maria Amalia Mercouris.

Diminutive of Matilda or Matthew.

Italian form of Marcellus.

Variant of Lisette.

Probably a variant of Loren or Lorena 2.

Unaccented variant of Llŷr.

Combination of Lise and Charlotte.

Means "my song, my joy" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and רֹן (ron) "joy, song".

Means "my light" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and אוֹר (ʾor) "light".

Means "brave lion", derived from the Old German elements lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of a 6th-century Frankish saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The Normans brought this name to England, where it was used steadily through the Middle Ages, becoming even more common in the 20th century.

Originally a diminutive of Magdaléna or Helena. It is now used as an independent name.

Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.

Anglicized form of Ciarán.

From a Brythonic name in which the second element is Celtic *tigernos "lord, ruler". The first element may be *kentus "first" or *kū "dog, hound" (genitive *kunos). This was the name of a 6th-century saint from the Kingdom of Strathclyde. He is the patron saint of Glasgow.

From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac Aodhagáin, which was derived from the given name Aodhagán, a double diminutive of Aodh.

Italian and French form of Katya, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name.

From the Greek name Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek αἰκία (aikia) meaning "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθαρός (katharos) meaning "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.

The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel. The saint was initially venerated in Syria, and returning crusaders introduced the name to Western Europe. It has been common in England since the 12th century in many different spellings, with Katherine and Catherine becoming standard in the later Middle Ages. To this day both spellings are regularly used in the English-speaking world. In the United States the spelling Katherine has been more popular since 1973.

Famous bearers of the name include Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century mystic, and Catherine de' Medici, a 16th-century French queen. It was also borne by three of Henry VIII's wives, including Katherine of Aragon, and by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great.

English form of Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the New Testament.

Latvian form of John.

Originally a Lowland Scots diminutive of James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.

Means "deer" in Choctaw.

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).

From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Eoforwine.

From a Scottish surname that was derived from the town of Irvine in North Ayrshire, itself named for the River Irvine, which is derived from Brythonic elements meaning "green water". Historically this name has been relatively common among Jews, who have used it as an American-sounding form of Hebrew names beginning with I such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah [1]. A famous bearer was the Russian-American songwriter and lyricist Irving Berlin (1888-1989), whose birth name was Israel Beilin.

Variant of Ilse.

Welsh and Galician form of Iacobus (see James). This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603).

From Japanese 蛍 (hotaru) meaning "firefly".

Means "evening" in Greek. This was the name of the personification of the Evening Star (the planet Venus) in Greek mythology.

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.

From the Late Latin name Aegidius, which is derived from Greek αἰγίδιον (aigidion) meaning "young goat". Saint Giles was an 8th-century miracle worker who came to southern France from Greece. He is regarded as the patron saint of the crippled. In Old French the name Aegidius became Gidie and then Gilles, at which point it was imported to England. Another famous bearer was the 13th-century philosopher and theologian Giles of Rome (Egidio in Italian).

Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named Beaumains) is a brother of Gawain. He goes with Lynet to rescue her sister Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on Gaheriet or Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name Gwrhyd meaning "valour" (found in the tale Culhwch and Olwen) or Gwairydd meaning "hay lord" (found in the chronicle Brut y Brenhinedd).

From Chinese 芬 (fēn) meaning "fragrance, aroma, perfume" (which is usually only feminine) or 奋 (fèn) meaning "strive, exert" (usually only masculine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.

Italian form of Aetius.

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.

Anglicized form of Iomhar.

From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "elder tree forest" in Old English.

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.

Means "bright, beautiful" in Welsh [1].

From the Greek name Δωρίς (Doris), which meant "Dorian woman". The Dorians were a Greek tribe who occupied the Peloponnese starting in the 12th century BC. In Greek mythology Doris was a sea nymph, one of the many children of Oceanus and Tethys. It began to be used as an English name in the 19th century. A famous bearer is the American actress Doris Day (1924-2019).

Russian variant of Dmitriy, as well as the Georgian form.

From a surname, either the Irish surname Devin 1 or the English surname Devin 2.

French feminine form of Denis.

French form of Damian.

From the Greek name Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek δαμάζω (damazo) meaning "to tame". Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.

French form of Cyril, sometimes used as a feminine form.

From the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos), which was derived from Greek κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord", a word used frequently in the Greek Bible to refer to God or Jesus.

This name was borne by a number of important saints, including Cyril of Jerusalem, a 4th-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, and Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th-century theologian. Another Saint Cyril was a 9th-century Greek missionary to the Slavs, who is credited with creating the Glagolitic alphabet with his brother Methodius in order to translate the Bible into Slavic. The Cyrillic alphabet, named after him, is descended from Glagolitic.

This name has been especially well-used in Eastern Europe and other places where Orthodox Christianity is prevalent. It came into general use in England in the 19th century.

From an English surname that originally meant "courteous" in Old French.

Means "little wolf" or "little hound" from Old Irish cú meaning "wolf, hound" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of an 8th-century saint.

From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic creag meaning "crag, rocks, outcrop", originally indicating a person who lived near a crag.

From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.

From the Latin title Clarensis, which belonged to members of the British royal family. The title ultimately derives from the name of the town of Clare in Suffolk. As a given name it has been in use since the 19th century.

Diminutive of Ciro.

From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and 夏 (natsu) meaning "summer", as well as other kanji combinations.

From the name of a district in London, originally derived from Old English and meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone". It has been in general use as an English given name since the 1970s.

Derived from Old English cene "bold" and ric "ruler, king".

French feminine form of Caelinus. This name can also function as a short form of Marceline.

Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus meaning "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.

From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).

French feminine and masculine form of Camilla. It is also used in the English-speaking world, where it is generally only feminine.

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.

Roman variant of Gaius.

Possibly a form of Caitríona.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname Braonán, itself from Irish braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to Brendan or Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.

From an occupational surname that meant "(female) baker", from Old English bæcere and a feminine agent suffix.

From the Greek name Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning "king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.

French form of Herleva.

Derived from Greek ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "the best".

From Japanese 新 (arata) meaning "fresh, new". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

The surname of one of the musketeers in The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas based the character on the 17th-century Henri d'Aramitz, whose surname was derived from the French village of Aramits (itself from Basque aran meaning "valley").

Means "altar of the sky" from Latin ara "altar" and coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.

Russian diminutive of Anna.

From the English word for the herb, also called aniseed.

Basque form of Andreas (see Andrew).

Means "Yahweh has said" in Hebrew, derived from the roots אָמַר (ʾamar) meaning "to say" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.

Variant of Alicia. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with λύσσα (lyssa) meaning "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.

From the Old Norse Alvíss meaning "all wise". In Norse mythology this was the name of a dwarf who was to marry Thor's daughter Thrud. Thor was not pleased with this so he tricked Alvis by asking him questions until the sun rose, at which time the dwarf was turned into stone.

Spanish variant of Alfonso.

Possibly from Hungarian álom "dream", though perhaps of Turkic origin meaning "bought". This was the name of the semi-legendary father of Árpád, the founder of the Hungarian state. Álmos's mother Emese supposedly had a dream in which a turul bird impregnated her and foretold that her son would be the father of a great nation.

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.

Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

Form of Agatha in several languages.

Spanish diminutive of Adela. It is used especially in Mexico, where it is the name of a folk song about a female soldier.

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Edgar.