WillowDancer's Personal Name List

Alternate transcription of Greek Ζηνοβία (see Zinovia).

From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.

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.

From an English surname that originally denoted someone who lived by the River Trent. A famous bearer is the American musician Trent Reznor (1965-).

Trent is also a city in Italy, though the etymology is unrelated.

Variant of Tara 1, perhaps influenced by the Latin word terra meaning "land, earth".

French diminutive of Susanna.

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.

Swedish and German form of Søren.

Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.

In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).

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.

From Japanese 忍 (shinobu) meaning "endurance, patience", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations having the same pronunciation.

Means "moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess Artemis.

Feminine form of Sabinus, a Roman cognomen meaning "a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early saints.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.

From Latin pomus "fruit tree". This was the name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees.

Feminine form of Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.

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

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.

From the name of a type of African antelope, ultimately derived from the Bantu word nyálà.

From Japanese 勝 (masaru) meaning "victory" or 優 (masaru) meaning "excellence". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.

Variant of Marilyn.

From an English surname meaning "son of Maud". It was not commonly used as a feminine name until after the movie Splash (1984), in which the main character adopted it as her name after seeing a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City. It was ranked second for girls in the United States by 2001. This rise from obscurity to prominence in only 18 years represents an unprecedented 550,000 percent increase in usage.

A famous bearer of the surname was James Madison (1751-1836), one of the authors of the American constitution who later served as president (and after whom Madison Avenue was named).

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).

Diminutive of Alexandra.

Means "wave" in Estonian.

Diminutive of Christina or Christine.

Greek contracted form of Katerina. This name had a spike in popularity in America in 1972 when it was used for a newborn baby on the soap opera Where the Heart Is.

Means "echo" in Estonian.

Finnish and Estonian diminutive of Katherine.

From Hawaiian kai "ocean, sea" and mana "power". It is also Hawaiian meaning "diamond", derived from the English word diamond.

Short form of Kaia.

Variant of Jane.

From Japanese 拓 (hiraku) meaning "expand, open, support". Other kanji can also form this name.

Ancient Greek form of Helen, as well as the modern Scandinavian and German form.

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

From the Greek Ἑκάτη (Hekate), possibly derived from ἑκάς (hekas) meaning "far off". In Greek mythology Hecate was a goddess associated with witchcraft, crossroads, tombs, demons and the underworld.

From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as Braden and Aidan.

From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing". An American name for boys since the 19th century, it began to be used for girls after a character with the name began appearing on the soap opera Guiding Light in 1987.

French feminine form of Fabianus (see Fabian).

Latinate form of Evangeline.

From the Greek Εὐρυδίκη (Eurydike) meaning "wide justice", derived from εὐρύς (eurys) meaning "wide" and δίκη (dike) meaning "justice, custom, order". In Greek myth she was the wife of Orpheus. Her husband tried to rescue her from Hades, but he failed when he disobeyed the condition that he not look back upon her on their way out.

From Japanese 悦 (etsu) meaning "joy, pleased" and 子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.

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).

Variant of Eloise.

French form of Alodia.

From the Greek word ἠχώ (echo) meaning "echo, reflected sound", related to ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.

Feminine form of Darshan.

From Lithuanian dalis meaning "portion, share". This was the name of the Lithuanian goddess of weaving, fate and childbirth, often associated with Laima.

Combination of Cindy and Sandra.

Feminine form of Chrysanthos.

French diminutive of Christine.

Variant of Chastity.

From Greek Καλυψώ (Kalypso), which probably meant "she that conceals", derived from καλύπτω (kalypto) meaning "to cover, to conceal". In Greek myth this was the name of the nymph who fell in love with Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island of Ogygia. When he refused to stay with her she detained him for seven years until Zeus ordered her to release him.

Variant of Callie.

Feminine form of Callistus. As an English name it might also be a variant of Kallisto.

Anglicized form of Brígh. It can also be a short form of Brianna, Gabriella and other names containing bri.

From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".

Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.

Means "crown" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Atarah is a minor character, the wife of Jerahmeel.

Derived from Sanskrit आशा (āśā) meaning "wish, desire, hope".

Feminine form of Arcadius. This is the name of a region on the Greek Peloponnese, long idealized for its natural beauty.

Means "friendly" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin amicus "friend".

From Sanskrit अमर (amara) meaning "immortal".

From the Greek name Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek ἄλθος (althos) meaning "healing". In Greek myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.

Diminutive of Alison 1, Alexandra and other names beginning with the same sound. This name jumped in popularity in 1997 after the premiere of the American television series Ally McBeal.

French diminutive of Alexandra. This was the name of a Danish queen, the wife of King Christian X.

Elaborated form of Alexandra. This was the first name of Queen Victoria; her middle name was Victoria.

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.

Form of Alexandra in several languages.

From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" and 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens", as well as other character combinations.

Feminine form of Aelius.

Short form of Adriana.