eschantie's Personal Name List

Diminutive of Yann or Yanna 2.

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.

From a surname that was derived from the name of a town in England, itself from Old English wer "weir, dam" and wic "settlement".

From a surname that was a variant of Warwick.

Diminutive of Ursula.

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

Feminine form of Ulysses.

Dutch diminutive of Katrijn.

From the name of a New Jersey city established in the 17th century by William Trent. It means "Trent's town".

Feminine form of Timothy.

From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.

Means "southern people" in the Algonquin language. The Shawnee were an Algonquin tribe who originally lived in the Ohio valley.

Alternate transcription of Arabic صالح (see Salih), as well as the usual Indonesian form.

Variant of Roxane.

Breton diminutive of Pierre.

From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.

Variant of Maisie.

From the English word misty, ultimately derived from Old English. The jazz song Misty (1954) by Erroll Garner may have helped popularize the name.

Variant of Misty.

From the English word melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".

Feminine form of Lysandros (see Lysander).

Possibly an Old French diminutive of Lanzo (see Lance). In Arthurian legend Lancelot was the bravest of the Knights of the Round Table. He became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere, ultimately causing the destruction of Arthur's kingdom. His earliest appearance is in the works of the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes: briefly in Erec and Enide and then as a main character in Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart.

Short form of Kyllikki.

Czech form of Christopher.

Anglicized form of Ciarán.

Anglicized form of the Irish given name Ceallach or the surname derived from it Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).

As a given name it was mostly masculine before 1940, but it rose in popularity as a name for girls during the 40s and 50s, probably due both to Grace Kelly (who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956) and a female character on the 1957 television series Bachelor Father [1]. By the end of the 1970s it was on the decline.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caolaidhe, itself derived from the given name Caoladhe, from Irish caol "slender".

Variant of Keely.

Dutch (especially Flemish) form of Katherine.

Anglicized form of Caitlín.

Diminutive of Katherine.

Diminutive of Katherine.

Breton form of Katherine.

From Hebrew אִיזֶבֶל (ʾIzevel), probably from a Phoenician name, possibly containing the Semitic root zbl meaning "to exalt, to dwell". According to one theory it might be an altered form of the Phoenician name 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤀𐤆𐤁𐤋 (Baʿlʾizbel) meaning "Ba'al exalts" with the first element removed or replaced [1].

According to the Old Testament Jezebel was the Phoenician wife of Ahab, a king of Israel. She is portrayed as an evil figure because she encouraged the worship of the god Ba'al. After she was thrown from a window to her death her body was eaten by dogs, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.

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

Latinized form of Greek Ἕκτωρ (Hektor), which was derived from ἕκτωρ (hektor) meaning "holding fast", ultimately from ἔχω (echo) meaning "to hold, to possess". In Greek legend Hector was one of the Trojan champions who fought against the Greeks. After he killed Achilles' friend Patroclus in battle, he was himself brutally slain by Achilles, who proceeded to tie his dead body to a chariot and drag it about. This name also appears in Arthurian legends where it belongs to King Arthur's foster father.

Hector has occasionally been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, probably because of the noble character of the classical hero. It has been historically common in Scotland, where it was used as an Anglicized form of Eachann.

Scottish diminutive of Hector.

From the English word heather for the variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers, which commonly grow in rocky areas. It is derived from Middle English hather. It was first used as a given name in the late 19th century, though it did not become popular until the last half of the 20th century.

Hungarian form of George.

Derived from the Old German element ger meaning "spear" combined with hart meaning "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This name was borne by saints from Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy. The Normans introduced it to Britain. It was initially much more common there than the similar name Gerald [1], with which it was often confused, but it is now less common.

Means "victor" in Basque.

Means "white shoulder" from Old Irish finn "white, blessed" and gúala "shoulder". In Irish legend Fionnuala was one of the four children of Lir who were transformed into swans for a period of 900 years.

Variant of Fionnuala.

Anglicized form of Fionnuala.

Anglicized form of Ifan, a Welsh form of John.

Catalan form of Stephen.

Diminutive of Euphemia. In Scotland it has been used as an Anglicized form of Oighrig.

Breton form of Daniel.

From Welsh del "pretty" combined with gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used as a given name since the start of the 20th century.

Feminine form of David.

Feminine form of Ciar. This is another name for Saint Ciar.

Irish form of Cateline, the Old French form of Katherine.

Short form of Caitríona.

Sometimes explained as deriving from the Irish surname Caden, which is an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac Cadáin, itself from the given name Cadán (of unknown meaning). In actuality, the popularity of this name in America beginning in the 1990s is due to its sound — it shares its fashionable den suffix sound with other trendy names like Hayden, Aidan and Braden.

Variant of Bethany.

French form of Barnabas.

From Old Irish Aífe, derived from oíph meaning "beauty" (modern Irish aoibh). This was the name of several characters in Irish legend, including a woman at war with Scáthach (her sister in some versions). She was defeated in single combat by the hero Cúchulainn, who spared her life on the condition that she bear him a child (Connla). Another legendary figure by this name appears in the Children of Lir as the jealous third wife of Lir.

This name is sometimes Anglicized as Eve or Eva.

Old English name composed of the elements æðele "noble" and flæd, possibly meaning "beauty". This was the name of a 10th-century ruler of Mercia (a daughter of Alfred the Great).