Rat's Personal Name List
Zinnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə
Rating: 48% based on 13 votes
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zelda 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: זעלדאַ(Yiddish)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Possibly a feminine form of
Zelig.
Zelda 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHL-də
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Short form of
Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the
Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called
ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).
Zeev
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זְאֵב(Hebrew)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Means
"wolf" in Hebrew, an animal particularly associated with the tribe of
Benjamin (see
Genesis 49:27).
Zebulon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: זְבוּלֻן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZEHB-yə-lən(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
York
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: YAWRK(American English) YAWK(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally
Eburacon, Latinized as
Eboracum, meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to
Eoforwic, as if from Old English
eofor "boar" and
wic "village". This was rendered as
Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to
York.
Xanthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
Modern elaborated form of
Xanthe.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 85% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Winslow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WINZ-lo
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning
"hill belonging to Wine". A famous bearer of this name was American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910).
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 52% based on 14 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Willoughby
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WIL-ə-bee
Rating: 43% based on 13 votes
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "willow town" in Old English.
Wilder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From an English surname meaning "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", from Old English wilde.
Whitney
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIT-nee
Rating: 36% based on 13 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "white island" in Old English. Its popular use as a feminine name was initiated by actress Whitney Blake (1925-2002) in the 1960s, and further boosted in the 1980s by singer Whitney Houston (1963-2012).
Waverly
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAY-vər-lee(American English) WAY-və-lee(British English)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
From the rare English surname
Waverley, derived from the name of a place in Surrey, itself possibly from Old English
wæfre "flickering, wavering" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
The surname was borne by the title character in the novel Waverley (1814) by Walter Scott. Streets in New York and San Francisco have been named Waverly after the novel, and a female character in Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club (1989) is named after the San Francisco street. The name received a small boost in popularity for girls after the 1993 release of the novel's movie adaptation, and it rose further after the debut of the television series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012).
Warrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WAWR-ik
Rating: 43% based on 12 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Warwick.
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
From the Latin name
Vivianus, which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
Bébinn or a variant of
Vivien 2.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 71% based on 17 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: 58% based on 4 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.
Verne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: VURN(American English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Vern, or transferred use of the surname
Verne.
Vega 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Rating: 42% based on 13 votes
The name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Wāqiʿ) meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
Vaughn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAWN
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From a Welsh surname, a variant of
Vaughan.
Uther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: OOTH-ər(American English) YOOTH-ər(American English) OOTH-ə(British English) YOOTH-ə(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From the Welsh name
Uthyr, derived from Welsh
uthr meaning
"terrible". In Arthurian legend Uther was the father of King
Arthur. He appears in some early Welsh texts, but is chiefly known from the 12th-century chronicles
[1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth.
Thyme
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From Old French thym, from Latin thymum, from Ancient Greek θύμον (thúmon).
Thierry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TYEH-REE
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
French form of
Theodoric. It was very popular in France from the 1950s, peaking in the mid-1960s before falling away. A famous bearer is the French former soccer player Thierry Henry (1977-).
Theron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θήρων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-RAWN(Classical Greek) THEHR-ən(English)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Thaddeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Θαδδαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-əs(English) tha-DEE-əs(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
From
Θαδδαῖος (Thaddaios), the Greek form of the Aramaic name
תַדַּי (Ṯaddai). It is possibly derived from Aramaic
תַּד (taḏ) meaning
"heart, breast", but it may in fact be an Aramaic form of a Greek name such as
Θεόδωρος (see
Theodore). In the Gospel of Matthew, Thaddaeus is listed as one of the twelve apostles, though elsewhere in the
New Testament his name is omitted and
Jude's appears instead. It is likely that the two names refer to the same person.
Tesla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHS-lə
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Tesla. This was the surname or Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943). He is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. There has been a resurgence in popular interest in Tesla since the 1990s.
Tenzin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese
Other Scripts: བསྟན་འཛིན(Tibetan)
Pronounced: TEHN-TSEEN(Tibetan) tehn-ZIN(English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From Tibetan
བསྟན་འཛིན (bstan-'dzin) meaning
"upholder of teachings". This is one of the given names of the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (1935-).
Tennyson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHN-ə-sən
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that meant
"son of Tenney",
Tenney being a medieval form of
Denis. A notable bearer of the surname was the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), commonly called Lord Tennyson after he became a baron in 1884.
Temple
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHM-pəl
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who was associated with the Knights Templar, a medieval religious military order.
Tempest
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHM-pist
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).
Teague
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: TAYG(English) TEEG(English)
Rating: 40% based on 12 votes
Anglicized form of
Tadhg. This name is also used as a slang term for an Irish Catholic.
Taurus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: TOW-roos(Latin) TAW-rəs(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Means "bull" in Latin. This is the name of a constellation and the second sign of the zodiac.
Tamsen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TAM-zən
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 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.
Taj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: تاج(Arabic)
Pronounced: TAJ
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Means "crown" in Arabic.
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Means
"gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the
New Testament was a woman restored to life by
Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as
Dorcas (see
Acts 9:36). As an English name,
Tabitha became common after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show
Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Sylvester
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish
Pronounced: sil-VEHS-tər(American English) sil-VEHS-tə(British English) zil-VEHS-tu(German)
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
Medieval variant of
Silvester. This is currently the usual English spelling of the name. A famous bearer is the American actor Sylvester Stallone (1946-).
Sybil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
Variant of
Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.
Sterling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STUR-ling(American English) STU-ling(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 14 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".
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 14 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Sören
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, German
Pronounced: SUU-rehn(Swedish) ZUU-rən(German)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Swedish and German form of
Søren.
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SAWR-kə(American English) SAWR-shə(American English) SAW-kə(British English) SAW-shə(British English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
Means
"radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times
[2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as
Sarah (in Ireland) and
Clara (in Scotland).
Simon 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Симон(Macedonian) სიმონ(Georgian) Σίμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-mən(English) SEE-MAWN(French) SEE-mawn(Danish, Dutch, Macedonian) ZEE-mawn(German) SHEE-mon(Hungarian)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
From
Σίμων (Simon), the
New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁמְעוֹן (Shimʿon) meaning
"hearing, listening", derived from
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear, to listen". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the
Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
Simon 2.
In the New Testament Simon is the name of several characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Most importantly however it was borne by the leading apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus).
Because of the apostle, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became more rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Shiloh
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 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.
Shea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAY(English)
Rating: 33% based on 11 votes
Anglicized form of
Séaghdha, sometimes used as a feminine name.
Shannon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAN-ən
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
From the name of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, called
an tSionainn in Irish. It is associated with the legendary figure
Sionann and is sometimes said to be named for her. However it is more likely she was named after the river, which may be related to Old Irish
sen "old, ancient"
[1]. As a given name, it first became common in America after the 1940s.
Sequoia
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-KWOI-ə
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
From the name of huge trees that grow in California. The tree got its name from the 19th-century Cherokee scholar
Sequoyah (also known as George Guess), the inventor of the Cherokee writing system.
Seeley
Usage: English
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Rating: 69% based on 13 votes
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Saul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Jewish, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: שָׁאוּל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: SAWL(English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name
שָׁאוּל (Shaʾul) meaning
"asked for, prayed for". This was the name of the first king of Israel, as told in the
Old Testament. Before the end of his reign he lost favour with God, and after a defeat by the Philistines he was succeeded by
David as king. In the
New Testament, Saul was the original Hebrew name of the apostle
Paul.
Santiago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: san-TYA-gho(Spanish) sun-tee-A-goo(European Portuguese) sun-chee-A-goo(Brazilian Portuguese) sahn-tee-AH-go(English) san-tee-AH-go(English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Means
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
James, the patron saint of Spain. It is the name of the main character in the novella
The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Salvador
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan
Pronounced: sal-ba-DHOR(Spanish) sal-vu-DOR(European Portuguese) sow-va-DOKH(Brazilian Portuguese) səl-bə-DHO(Catalan)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan form of the Late Latin name
Salvator, which meant
"saviour", referring to
Jesus. A famous bearer of this name was the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
Salem 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سالم(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA-leem
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سالم (see
Salim).
Sage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 66% based on 13 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
Rating: 61% based on 13 votes
Rye
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RIE
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the English surname
Rye.
It is occasionally used as a diminutive of names that contain the -rye sound/element, for example Zachariah and Rylie.
Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Derived from Old Norse
rún meaning
"secret lore, rune".
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek
ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of
Ruth 1.
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Rating: 60% based on 5 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].
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(American English) rawk-SAN-ə(British English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements
hroð "fame" and
wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements
ron "spear" and
gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819).
Rosella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 46% based on 12 votes
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 74% based on 20 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.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 82% based on 5 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-).
Robin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Rating: 55% based on 14 votes
Medieval English
diminutive of
Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ri-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Rating: 68% based on 5 votes
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *
Rīgantonā meaning
"great queen" (Celtic *
rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix
-on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish
Epona. As
Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the
Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to
Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married
Pwyll instead. Their son was
Pryderi.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Rhea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Ῥέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: REH-A(Classical Greek) REE-ə(English) REH-a(Latin)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Means
"behold, a son" in Hebrew, derived from
רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son". In the
Old Testament he is the eldest son of
Jacob and
Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine
Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the
Protestant Reformation.
Reason
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Puritan)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Puritanical name.
Raven
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY-vən
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English
hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god
Odin.
Raquel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: ra-KEHL(Spanish) ru-KEHL(European Portuguese) ha-KEW(Brazilian Portuguese) rə-KEHL(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Rachel.
Rain 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RAYN
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.
Ptolemy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Other Scripts: Πτολεμαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAHL-ə-mee(American English) TAWL-ə-mee(British English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 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.
Priya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Other Scripts: प्रिया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) பிரியா(Tamil) ప్రియ(Telugu) പ്രിയാ(Malayalam) ಪ್ರಿಯಾ(Kannada) প্রিয়া(Bengali)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Means
"beloved" in Sanskrit. It appears briefly in the
Puranas belonging to a daughter of King
Daksha.
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee(American English) PAWP-ee(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Phineas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פִּינְחָס(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Rating: 53% based on 14 votes
Feminine form of
Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Perseus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEWS(Classical Greek) PUR-see-əs(American English) PU-see-əs(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Possibly derived from Greek
πέρθω (pertho) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Perseus was a hero who was said to have founded the ancient city of Mycenae. He was the son of
Zeus and
Danaë. Mother and child were exiled by Danaë's father Acrisius, and Perseus was raised on the island of Seriphos. The king of the island compelled Perseus to kill the Gorgon
Medusa, who was so ugly that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone. After obtaining winged sandals and other tools from the gods, he succeeded in his task by looking at Medusa in the reflection of his shield and slaying her in her sleep. On his return he defeated a sea monster in order to save
Andromeda, who became his wife.
Percival
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: PUR-si-vəl(American English) PU-si-vəl(British English)
Rating: 54% based on 13 votes
Created by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem
Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien may have derived the name from Old French
perce val "pierce the valley", or he may have based it loosely on the Welsh name
Peredur [1]. In the poem Perceval is a boy from Wales who hopes to become a knight under King
Arthur. Setting out to prove himself, he eventually comes to the castle of the Fisher King and is given a glimpse of the Grail.
Penrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Penrose.
Pauwel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Flemish (Archaic)
Pronounced: POW-vəl
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Older Dutch form of
Paul.
Osvaldo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: oz-BAL-do(Spanish) oz-VAL-do(Italian) awzh-VAL-doo(European Portuguese) oz-VOW-doo(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of
Oswald.
Orville
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWR-vil(American English) AW-vil(British English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
This name was invented by the 18th-century writer Fanny Burney, who perhaps intended it to mean "golden city" in French. Orville Wright (1871-1948), together with his brother Wilbur, invented the first successful airplane.
Orion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Rating: 57% based on 11 votes
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
Oriole
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
From the English word "oriole" referring to "any of various colorful passerine birds, the New World orioles from the family Icteridae and the Old World orioles from the family Oriolidae (typically yellow in color)". From the French oriole, from the Late Latin oriolus, from the Latin aureolus "made of gold, golden; adorned, covered, or decorated with gold, gilded; of the color gold, golden; golden, beautiful, splendid, magnificent, excellent".
Onyx
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHN-iks(American English) AWN-iks(British English)
Rating: 78% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the gemstone (a variety of chalcedony), which can be black, red or other colours. It is derived from Greek
ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning "claw, nail".
Obsidian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare), Popular Culture
Pronounced: ahb-SID-ee-yən
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Derived from
obsidian, the English name for a specific type of volcanic glass. The name is ultimately derived from Latin
obsidianus meaning "of Obsidius", after the Roman (also called Obsius in some instances) who supposedly was the first to discover this type of volcanic glass. The name Obsidius is possibly a corruption of
Opsidius, which is apparently a very obscure Roman nomen gentile.** Etymologically, Opsidius may be a more elaborate form of
Opsius. It could also be Oscan in origin, in which case it may have been derived from Oscan
úpsed meaning "worked, laboured" (which would thus make the name related to
Oppius). Last but not least, if the discoverer's name was Obsius rather than Obsidius, then his name was probably a corruption of
Opsius. In either case the etymology is very similar. Finally, in popular culture, Obsidian is the name of a character in the "Transformers" franchise as well as a character in a comic published by DC Comics.
** Please see page 638 of the book "The Italic Dialects" written by Robert Seymour Conway.
Oberon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: O-bə-rahn(American English) O-bə-rawn(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Auberon. Oberon and
Titania are the king and queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's comedy
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595). A moon of Uranus bears this name in his honour.
Nikola 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Czech, Basque
Other Scripts: Никола(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: NI-ko-la(Czech) nee-KO-la(Basque)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Form of
Nicholas in several languages. Note, in Czech this is also a feminine name (see
Nikola 2). A famous bearer was the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943).
Neil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: NEEL(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From the Irish name
Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly connected to the old Celtic root *
nītu- "fury, passion" or the (possibly related) Old Irish word
nia "hero" [1][2]. A derivation from Old Irish
nél "cloud" has also been suggested. This was the name of a few early Irish kings, notably Niall of the Nine Hostages, a semi-legendary high king of the 4th or 5th century.
In the early Middle Ages the name was adopted by Norse raiders and settlers in Ireland in the form Njáll. The Norse transmitted it to England and Scotland, as well as bringing it back to Scandinavia. It was also in use among the Normans, who were of Scandinavian origin. A famous bearer of this name was American astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), the first person to walk on the moon.
Myrtle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-təl(American English) MU-təl(British English)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Simply from the English word
myrtle for the evergreen shrub, ultimately from Greek
μύρτος (myrtos). It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
Morgana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mawr-GAN-ə(American English) maw-GAN-ə(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 14 votes
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(American English) MAW-gən(British English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 51% based on 14 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name
Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh
mor "sea" and
cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America
Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of
Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Mordecai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: מָרְדֳּכַי, מָרְדְּכַי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAWR-də-kie(American English) MAW-də-kie(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Means
"servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the
Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of
Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor
Haman.
Monserrat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: moon-sə-RAT
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
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 5 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.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(American English) mi-NU-və(British English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From the Germanic name
Milo, introduced by the
Normans to England in the form
Miles. The meaning is not known for certain. It is possibly connected to the Slavic name element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear". From an early date it was associated with Latin
miles meaning
"soldier".
A notable bearer was the American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991). In Scotland this name was historically used to Anglicize Maoilios.
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Merrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHR-ik
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From a Welsh surname that was originally derived from the given name
Meurig.
Mercer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Mercer.
Mavis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-vis
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
From the name of the type of bird, also called the song thrush, derived from Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin. It was first used as a given name by the British author Marie Corelli, who used it for a character in her novel The Sorrows of Satan (1895).
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
Matthaios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Ματθαῖος, Μαθθαῖος(Ancient Greek) Ματθαίος(Greek)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Form of
Matthew used in the Greek
New Testament. It is more accurately transcribed
Mattheos in modern Greek.
Matteo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-o
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Marx
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval German, East Frisian (Archaic), Medieval Jewish, English (American, Modern, Rare), Alsatian (Archaic)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Medieval German and archaic Alsatian and East Frisian short form of
Marcus, recorded numerous times in the Rhineland region of what is now Germany in the early 16th century, as well as in East Frisia in the same time period.
As a medieval Jewish name, it was occasionally used to translate
Mordechai, probably via the phonetic similarity of the form
Mortge.
Marlowe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAHR-lo(American English) MAH-lo(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "remnants of a lake" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).
Marlon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-lən(American English) MAH-lən(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown. This name was popularized by the American actor Marlon Brando (1924-2004), who was named after his father.
Marisol
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-SOL
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
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".
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Rating: 80% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Máel Coluim, which means
"disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing
Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father
Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy
Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 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.
Lynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of
Linda or names that end in
lyn or
line.
Lux
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 49% based on 15 votes
Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
Lotus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LO-təs
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From the name of the lotus flower (species Nelumbo nucifera) or the mythological lotus tree. They are ultimately derived from Greek
λωτός (lotos). In Greek and Roman
mythology the lotus tree was said to produce a fruit causing sleepiness and forgetfulness.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 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).
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Lisbon
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIZ-bən
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
From Portuguese
Lisboa derived from Latin
Olisīpō, which is of uncertain meaning. Folk etymologies state that it comes from the name
Odysseus or
Ulysses, though it may have been derived from Phoenician
ʿlyṣ ʿbʾ or
ʿaliṣ-ʿuboʾ meaning "safe harbour". This is the name of the capital city of Portugal.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Linden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dən
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From a German and Dutch surname that was derived from Old High German
linta meaning
"linden tree".
Lincoln
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LING-kən
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was originally from the name of an English city, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This name is usually given in honour of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.
Leto
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λητώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LEH-TAW(Classical Greek) LEE-to(English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Possibly from Lycian
lada meaning
"wife". Other theories connect it to Greek
λήθω (letho) meaning
"hidden, forgotten". In Greek
mythology she was the mother of
Apollo and
Artemis by
Zeus.
Leolin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Llywelyn influenced by Latin
leo "lion".
Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
Rating: 57% based on 3 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.
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 46% based on 12 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Lazarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, English (African)
Other Scripts: Λάζαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LAZ-ə-rəs(English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Latinized form of
Λάζαρος (Lazaros), a Greek form of
Eleazar used in the
New Testament. Lazarus was a man from Bethany, the brother of
Mary and
Martha, who was restored to life by
Jesus.
At present this name is most commonly used in English-speaking Africa.
Larkin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: LAHR-kin(American English) LAH-kin(British English)
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK(American English) LAHK(British English)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS(American English) NAWKS(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Kali 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Bengali, Tamil
Other Scripts: काली(Sanskrit) কালী(Bengali) காளி(Tamil)
Pronounced: KAH-lee(Sanskrit, English) KA-li(Tamil)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Means
"the black one", derived from Sanskrit
काल (kāla) meaning "black". The Hindu goddess Kali is the fierce destructive form of the wife of
Shiva. According to stories in the
Puranas, she springs from the forehead of
Durga in order to defeat various demons. She is typically depicted with black skin and four arms, holding a severed head and brandishing a sword. As a personal name, it is generally masculine in India.
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
Rating: 59% based on 13 votes
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess
Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 90% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 62% based on 14 votes
From the Roman name
Iulianus, which was derived from
Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early
saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from
Juliana, eventually becoming
Gillian).
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
Jocelyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(American English) JAHS-ə-lin(American English) JAWS-lin(British English) JAWS-ə-lin(British English) ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French)
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
From a Frankish masculine name, variously written as
Gautselin,
Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element *
gautaz, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Geats, combined with a Latin
diminutive suffix. The
Normans brought this name to England in the form
Goscelin or
Joscelin, and it was common until the 14th century. It was revived in the 20th century primarily as a feminine name, perhaps an adaptation of the surname
Jocelyn (a medieval derivative of the given name). In France this is a masculine name only.
Jocasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ἰοκάστη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: jo-KAS-tə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name
Ἰοκάστη (Iokaste), which is of unknown meaning. In Greek
mythology she was the mother
Oedipus by the Theban king
Laius. In a case of tragic mistaken identity, she married her own son.
Joan 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JON
Rating: 43% based on 13 votes
Medieval English form of
Johanne, an Old French form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna). This was the usual English feminine form of
John in the Middle Ages, but it was surpassed in popularity by
Jane in the 17th century. It again became quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, entering the top ten names for both the United States and the United Kingdom, though it has since faded.
This name (in various spellings) has been common among European royalty, being borne by ruling queens of Naples, Navarre and Castile. Another famous bearer was Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France (where she is known as Jeanne d'Arc). She was a 15th-century peasant girl who, after claiming she heard messages from God, was given leadership of the French army. She defeated the English in the battle of Orléans but was eventually captured and burned at the stake.
Other notable bearers include the actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and the comedian Joan Rivers (1933-2014), both Americans.
Jethro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יִתְרוֹ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JETH-ro(English)
Rating: 15% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִתְרוֹ (Yiṯro), which was derived from the Hebrew word
יֶתֶר (yeṯer) meaning
"abundance" [1]. According to the
Old Testament, Jethro was a Midianite priest who sheltered
Moses when he fled Egypt. He was the father of
Zipporah, who became Moses's wife. A famous bearer of the name was Jethro Tull (1674-1741), an English inventor and agriculturist.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 62% based on 17 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.
Jacqueline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: ZHAK-LEEN(French) JAK-ə-lin(English) JAK-wə-lin(English) JAK-ə-leen(English)
Rating: 84% based on 5 votes
French feminine form of
Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
Rating: 67% based on 15 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Ivor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English (British)
Pronounced: IE-və(British English) IE-vər(American English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From the Old Norse name
Ívarr, which was probably derived from the elements
ýr "yew tree, bow" and
herr "army, warrior". During the Middle Ages it was brought to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders, and it was adopted in Ireland (Irish
Íomhar), Scotland (Scottish Gaelic
Iomhar) and Wales (Welsh
Ifor).
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
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: 63% based on 4 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.
Irene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εἰρήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-REEN(English) ie-REE-nee(English) ee-REH-neh(Italian, Spanish) EE-reh-neh(Finnish) ee-REH-nə(German, Dutch)
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
From Greek
Εἰρήνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning
"peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the
Ὥραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian
saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.
This name has traditionally been more popular among Eastern Christians. In the English-speaking world it was not regularly used until the 19th century.
Ilsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: IL-za
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
From the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several
saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact
Íñigo.
Idris 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Means
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Icarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἴκαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IK-ə-rəs(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
From the Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek
myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Means
"violet flower", derived from Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek
mythology.
Horatio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: hə-RAY-shee-o, hə-RAY-sho
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Horatius. Shakespeare used it for a character in his tragedy
Hamlet (1600). It was borne by the British admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), famous for his defeat of Napoleon's forces in the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he was himself killed. Since his time the name has been occasionally used in his honour.
Holly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-ee(American English) HAWL-ee(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
From the English word for the holly tree, ultimately derived from Old English holen. Holly Golightly is the main character in the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) by Truman Capote.
Hero 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἡρώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HIR-o(English)
Rating: 40% based on 9 votes
Derived from Greek
ἥρως (heros) meaning
"hero". In Greek legend she was the lover of
Leander, who would swim across the Hellespont each night to meet her. He was killed on one such occasion when he got caught in a storm while in the water, and when Hero saw his dead body she drowned herself. This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's play
Much Ado About Nothing (1599).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 74% based on 15 votes
From the Germanic name
Heimirich meaning
"home ruler", composed of the elements
heim "home" and
rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled
Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like
Haganrich, in which the first element is
hag "enclosure".
Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.
The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 80% based on 6 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.
Harper
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər(American English) HAH-pə(British English)
Rating: 46% based on 10 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Hana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Sorbian
Other Scripts: חַנָּה(Hebrew) Хана(Macedonian)
Pronounced: HA-na(Czech)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Form of
Hannah in several languages.
Guthrie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Guthrie, borne by the jazz musician Guthrie Govan.
Guillermo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: gee-YEHR-mo
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Gregor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Scottish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: GREH-go(German) GREH-gawr(Slovak)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
German, Scottish, Slovak and Slovene form of
Gregorius (see
Gregory). A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.
Greer
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GRIR(American English) GREEY(British English)
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the given name
Gregor.
Grayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
Rating: 35% based on 13 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of the steward", derived from Middle English
greyve "steward". It became common towards the end of the 20th century because of its similarity to popular names like
Jason,
Mason and
Graham.
Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old German element
gisal meaning
"hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *
gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of
Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.
The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
Rating: 67% based on 3 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.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Gawain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: gə-WAYN(English) GAH-win(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Meaning uncertain, from the Latin form
Gualguainus used in the 12th-century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth (appearing also as
Walganus,
Gwalguanus and other spellings in different copies of the text), where he is one of the knights who serve his uncle King
Arthur. He can be identified with the earlier Welsh hero Gwalchmai, and it is possible that the name derives from
Gwalchmai or a misreading of it.
Gawain was a popular hero in medieval tales such as those by Chrétien de Troyes, where his name appears in the French form Gauvain or Gauvains. He is the main character of the 14th-century anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which he accepts a potentially fatal challenge from the mysterious Green Knight.
Gareth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English (British), Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAR-əth(British English)
Rating: 31% based on 12 votes
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).
Gaheris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: gə-HE-ris
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
This is the name of a character in Arthurian tales, a brother of
Gawain (as well as
Gareth, Mordred and Agravain), and the son of King Lot and either
Belisent or
Morgause. 'The earliest form of his name is so similar to the earliest form of Gareth (
Gahariet) that the two brothers may have originally been the same character.' First mentioned by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, although scholars have suggested a derivation from the Welsh name
Gweir, which belongs to a number of warriors in Welsh legends and can mean "hay", "collar", "circle", "loop" or "bend".
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 60% 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.
Fraser
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English (Rare)
Pronounced: FRAY-zər(American English) FRAY-zə(British English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From a Scottish surname, originally Norman French de Fresel, possibly from a lost place name in France.
Franklin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRANGK-lin
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English frankelin "freeman". A famous bearer of the surname was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher. The name has commonly been given in his honour in the United States. It also received a boost during the term of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 59% based on 13 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname
Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie
Tangled in 2010.
Fiona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: fee-O-nə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of
Fionn. This name was (first?) used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in his poem
Fingal (1761), in which it is spelled as
Fióna.
Finnegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FIN-ə-gən
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Fionnagáin, itself derived from the given name
Fionnagán, a
diminutive of
Fionn. This is the surname of a relatively minor character in James Joyce's novel
Finnegans Wake (1939), the title of which was based on a 19th-century Irish ballad called
Finnegan's Wake.
Faith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAYTH
Rating: 51% based on 14 votes
Simply from the English word
faith, ultimately from Latin
fidere "to trust". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
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: 66% based on 5 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.
Étienne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-TYEHN(European French) EH-TSYEHN(Quebec French)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Estrella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TREH-ya
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Spanish form of
Stella 1, coinciding with the Spanish word meaning "star".
Emmett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a
diminutive of the feminine given name
Emma.
Elspeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: EHLS-peth
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Elliot
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
Rating: 63% based on 12 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Elliott.
Elle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHL
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Diminutive of
Eleanor and other names beginning with
El. This name can also be given in reference to the French pronoun
elle meaning "she".
Already growing in popularity due to Australian model Elle Macpherson (1964-), this name received a boost in the United States after the release of the 2001 movie Legally Blonde featuring the main character Elle Woods. In the United Kingdom the name was already fairly common at the time the movie came out, and it actually started declining there shortly afterwards. A famous bearer is American actress Elle Fanning (1998-).
Eleazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: אֶלְעָזָר(Ancient Hebrew) Ἐλεάζαρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ehl-ee-AY-zər(American English) ehl-ee-AY-zə(British English)
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֶלְעָזָר (ʾElʿazar) meaning
"God has helped", derived from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
עָזַר (ʿazar) meaning "to help". In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the sons of
Aaron. The name also appears in the
New Testament belonging to one of the ancestors of
Jesus in the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew.
Edison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Latin American), Albanian
Pronounced: EHD-i-sən(English) EH-dhee-son(Spanish)
Rating: 46% based on 10 votes
From an English surname that meant either
"son of Eda 2" or
"son of Adam". A famous bearer of the surname was the American inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).
Echo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠχώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-ko(English)
Rating: 22% based on 5 votes
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.
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
Rating: 83% based on 4 votes
From the Welsh prefix
dy meaning "to, toward" and
llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of
Arianrhod and the twin brother of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle
Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.
Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.
Duncan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUNG-kən(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name
Donnchadh, derived from Old Irish
donn "brown" and
cath "battle". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play
Macbeth (1606).
Dresden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From the name of the city in Germany, which is derived from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning "people of the riverside forest".
Draven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: DRAY-vən(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From a surname (of unknown meaning) that was used in the movie The Crow (1994).
Draco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δράκων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DRAY-ko(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Δράκων (Drakon), which meant
"dragon, serpent". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Athenian legislator. This is also the name of a constellation in the northern sky.
Dorothea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δωροθέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: do-ro-TEH-a(German, Dutch) dawr-ə-THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of the Greek name
Δωρόθεος (Dorotheos), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift" and
θεός (theos) meaning "god". The name
Theodore is composed of the same elements in reverse order. Dorothea was the name of two early
saints, notably the 4th-century martyr Dorothea of Caesarea. It was also borne by the 14th-century Saint Dorothea of Montau, who was the patron saint of Prussia.
Diantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: die-AN-thə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
From dianthus, the name of a type of flower (ultimately from Greek meaning "heavenly flower").
Delancy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
Dashiell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-SHEEL, DASH-il
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
In the case of American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) it was from his mother's surname, which was possibly an Anglicized form of French de Chiel, of unknown meaning.
Darwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-win(American English) DAH-win(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
From a surname that was derived from the Old English given name
Deorwine. The surname was borne by the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the man who first proposed the theory of natural selection and subsequently revolutionized biology.
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Dante
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: DAN-teh(Italian) DAHN-tay(English) DAN-tee(English)
Rating: 64% based on 13 votes
Medieval short form of
Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the
Divine Comedy.
Crowley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: KRO-lee(American English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Clyde
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLIED
Rating: 33% based on 11 votes
From the name of the River Clyde in Scotland, from Cumbric
Clud, which is of uncertain origin. It became a common given name in America in the middle of the 19th century, perhaps in honour of Colin Campbell (1792-1863) who was given the title Baron Clyde in 1858
[1].
Circe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κίρκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SUR-see(American English) SU-see(British English)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κίρκη (Kirke), possibly from
κίρκος (kirkos) meaning
"hawk". In Greek
mythology Circe was a sorceress who changed
Odysseus's crew into hogs, as told in Homer's
Odyssey. Odysseus forced her to change them back, then stayed with her for a year before continuing his voyage.
Charles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: CHAHRLZ(American English) CHAHLZ(British English) SHARL(French)
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
French and English form of
Carolus, the Latin form of the Germanic name
Karl, which was derived from a word meaning
"man" (Proto-Germanic *
karlaz). However, an alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic name element *
harjaz meaning "army".
The popularity of the name in continental Europe was due to the fame of Charles the Great (742-814), commonly known as Charlemagne, a king of the Franks who came to rule over most of Europe. His grandfather Charles Martel had also been a noted leader of the Franks. It was subsequently the name of several Holy Roman emperors, as well as rulers of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary (in various spellings). After Charlemagne, his name was adopted as a word meaning "king" in many Eastern European languages, for example Czech král, Hungarian király, Russian король (korol), and Turkish kral.
The name did not become common in Britain until the 17th century when it was borne by the Stuart king Charles I. It had been introduced into the Stuart royal family by Mary Queen of Scots, who had been raised in France. Two other kings of the United Kingdom have borne this name, including the current monarch.
Other famous bearers include naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution, novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote such works as Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities, French statesman Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), and American cartoonist Charles Schulz (1922-2000), the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.
Charity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHEHR-ə-tee, CHAR-ə-tee
Rating: 73% based on 4 votes
From the English word
charity, ultimately derived from Late Latin
caritas "generous love", from Latin
carus "dear, beloved".
Caritas was in use as a Roman Christian name. The English name
Charity came into use among the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation. It is currently most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.
Charis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Χάρις(Ancient Greek) Χάρης, Χάρις(Greek)
Pronounced: KA-REES(Classical Greek) KHA-rees(Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Ancient Greek feminine form of
Chares. This was the word (in the singular) for one of the three Graces (plural
Χάριτες).
This is also a Modern Greek transcription of the masculine form Chares.
Chance
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHANS
Rating: 38% based on 13 votes
Originally a
diminutive of
Chauncey. It is now usually given in reference to the English word
chance meaning "luck, fortune" (ultimately derived from Latin
cadens "falling").
Celestina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: theh-lehs-TEE-na(European Spanish) seh-lehs-TEE-na(Latin American Spanish) cheh-leh-STEE-na(Italian)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name
Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of
Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name
Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Cassiopeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-ee-ə-PEE-ə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κασσιόπεια (Kassiopeia) or
Κασσιέπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning
"cassia juice". In Greek
myth Cassiopeia was the wife of
Cepheus and the mother of
Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Casimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAZ-i-mir(American English) KAZ-i-meey(British English) KA-ZEE-MEER(French)
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
English form of the Polish name
Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic element
kaziti "to destroy" combined with
mirŭ "peace, world". Four kings of Poland have borne this name, including Casimir III the Great, who greatly strengthened the Polish state in the 14th century. It was also borne
Saint Casimir, a 15th-century Polish prince and a patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. The name was imported into Western Europe via Germany, where it was borne by some royalty.
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: 38% based on 4 votes
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).
Carlisle
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kahr-LIEL(American English) kah-LIEL(British English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From a surname that was derived from the name of a city in northern England. The city was originally called by the Romans
Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of
Lugus". Later the Brythonic element
ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city.
Calypso
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλυψώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIP-so(English)
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
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.
Callista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-tə
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Cairo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ro
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From the name of the city in Egypt, called
القاهرة (al-Qāhira) in Arabic, meaning "the victorious"
[1].
Bronte
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRAHN-tee(American English) BRAWN-tee(British English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From a surname, an Anglicized form of Irish
Ó Proinntigh, itself derived from the given name
Proinnteach, probably from Irish
bronntach meaning "generous". The Brontë sisters — Charlotte, Emily, and Anne — were 19th-century English novelists. Their father changed the spelling of the family surname from
Brunty to
Brontë, possibly to make it coincide with Greek
βροντή meaning "thunder".
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 66% based on 14 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.
Branwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: BRAN-wehn(Welsh)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Means
"white raven" from Old Welsh
bran "raven" and
gwen "white, blessed". According to the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi [1] she was the daughter of
Llŷr. After she was mistreated by her husband Matholwch, the king of Ireland, she managed to get a message to her brother
Brân, the king of Britain. Brân launched a costly invasion to rescue her, but she died of grief shortly after her return.
Booker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUWK-ər(American English) BUWK-ə(British English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From an English occupational surname meaning "maker of books". A famous bearer was Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), an African-American leader.
Bogart
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Bogart.
The use of the name is likely due to legendary American screen actor Humphrey Bogart (1899 - 1957), who more popularly went by the nickname Bogie.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
Rating: 53% based on 15 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.
Bingham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British, Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: Bingum(British English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Bingham.
Bellatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: bə-LAY-triks(English) BEHL-ə-triks(English)
Rating: 37% based on 13 votes
Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
Bellamy
Usage: French, English
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
Belladonna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: behl-ə-DAHN-ə(American English) behl-ə-DAWN-ə(British English)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
From the name of a toxic plant, also called deadly nightshade (species Atropa belladonna). The plant's name is of Italian origin, probably derived from Latin bladona "mullein plant" and altered through association with the Italian words bella "beautiful, fair" and donna "lady".
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German, Dutch) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Probably from
Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name
Viator meaning
"voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin
beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century
saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.
In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-), the former queen.
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: 55% 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.
Bastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: BAS-tee-an
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Basil 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAZ-əl
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
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.
Balthazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: BAL-thə-zahr(American English) BAL-thə-zah(British English)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Belshazzar. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia. This name was utilized by Shakespeare for minor characters in
The Comedy of Errors (1594) and
The Merchant of Venice (1596).
Baird
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 20% based on 5 votes
Avis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-vis
Rating: 30% based on 4 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".
Avery
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 46% based on 16 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Rating: 64% based on 13 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: 23% based on 3 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.
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 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: 33% based on 4 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
आशा (āśā) meaning
"wish, desire, hope".
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Possibly means
"healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the
Old Testament.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AHR-thər(American English) AH-thə(British English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
Rating: 64% based on 14 votes
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *
artos "bear" (Old Welsh
arth) combined with *
wiros "man" (Old Welsh
gur) or *
rīxs "king" (Old Welsh
ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name
Artorius.
Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.
The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(American English) AH-tə-mis(British English)
Rating: 49% based on 13 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek
ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning
"safe" or
ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning
"a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of
Apollo and the daughter of
Zeus and
Leto. She was known as
Diana to the Romans.
Armand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan
Pronounced: AR-MAHN(French) ər-MAN(Catalan)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
French and Catalan form of
Herman.
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means
"most holy", composed of the Greek prefix
ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek
mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King
Minos. She fell in love with
Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god
Dionysus.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Arcturus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Other Scripts: Ἀρκτοῦρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ahrk-TYUWR-əs(American English) ahk-TYUWR-əs(British English) ark-TOO-roos(Latin)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From Ancient Greek
Ἀρκτοῦρος (Arktouros), the name of the fourth brightest star in the sky, part of the constellation Boötes. It means
"guardian of the bear", derived from
ἄρκτος (arktos) meaning "bear" and
οὖρος (ouros) meaning "guardian", referring to the star's position close to the constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major.
Archibald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: AHR-chi-bawld(American English) AH-chi-bawld(British English)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
Derived from the Germanic name
Ercanbald, composed of the elements
erkan meaning "pure, holy, genuine" and
bald meaning "bold, brave". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element
ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". The
Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages (sometimes used to Anglicize the Gaelic name
Gilleasbuig, for unknown reasons).
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər(American English) AH-chə(British English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
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.
Araminta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by John Vanbrugh in his comedy The Confederacy (1705). This was the original given name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
Rating: 50% based on 6 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.
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amaranth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek αμαραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading".
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: am-ə-DAY-əs(English)
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
Means
"love of God", derived from Latin
amare "to love" and
Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang
Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
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.
Algernon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-jər-nən(American English) AL-gər-nən(American English) AL-jə-nən(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Originally a Norman French nickname, derived from aux gernons "having a moustache", which was applied to William de Percy, a companion of William the Conqueror. It was first used a given name in the 15th century (for a descendant of William de Percy). This name was borne by a character (a mouse) in the short story Flowers for Algernon (1958) and novel of the same title (1966) by the American author Daniel Keyes.
Alastair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(American English) AL-i-stə(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Akiva
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֲקִיבָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-KEE-vah
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
From an Aramaic form of
Yaakov. Akiva (or Akiba) ben Joseph was a prominent 1st-century Jewish rabbi.
Aeronwy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Aerona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 33% based on 7 votes
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Form of
Hadrianus (see
Hadrian) used in several languages. Several
saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
Acheron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀχέρων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AK-U-RAWN(Classical Greek) ash-U-rawn(Modern)
Rating: 24% based on 7 votes
Derived from Greek ἄχεα ῥέων (áchea rhéōn) meaning "the stream of woe". Also compare Greek αχος (achos) meaning "pain". Some consider the aforementioned meaning to be folk etymology, saying that instead the name might be derived from Greek acherousai meaning "marsh-like water". In Greek mythology, the Acheron was a branch of the underworld river of Styx, which newly dead souls needed to cross in order to get into Hades.
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