Pellaro's Personal Name List

This is the Hebrew word for "man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew אדם (ʾaḏam) meaning "to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian adamu meaning "to make".

According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew אֲדָמָה (ʾaḏama) meaning "earth"). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result they were expelled from Eden to the lands to the east, where they gave birth to the second generation, including Cain, Abel and Seth.

As an English Christian name, Adam has been common since the Middle Ages, and it received a boost after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

Combination of Aeron and the Welsh element gwen meaning "white, blessed".

Variant of Aidan.

Irish form of Alice.

Short form of Alexander.

Possibly means "healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the Old Testament.

From an English surname derived from Middle English baili meaning "bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.

Already an uncommon masculine name, it slowly grew in popularity for American girls beginning in 1978 after the start of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which featured a character with this name. Though it remained more common as a feminine name, it got a boost for boys in 1994 from another television character on the drama Party of Five. In the United Kingdom and Australia it has always been more popular for boys.

Means "baptist" in French, originally deriving from Greek βάπτω (bapto) meaning "to dip". This name is usually given in honour of Saint John the Baptist, and as such it is often paired with the name Jean.

From the Middle English personal name Baye, from Old English Beaga (masculine) or Beage (feminine).

A diminutive of Baylee, or any name containing the element or sound -bay-.

May also be given in reference to the English word "bay," from the Middle English baye, from the Old English beġ 'berry', as in beġbēam 'berry-tree'.

From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name Bláán.

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.

Seemingly derived from Welsh bron "breast" and gwen "white, blessed", though it has sometimes occurred as a variant spelling of the legendary name Branwen [1]. It has been used as a given name in Wales since the 19th century. It is borne by a character in Richard Llewellyn's 1939 novel How Green Was My Valley, as well as the 1941 movie adaptation.

Feminine variant of Bryn. It was brought to limited public attention in 1978 when the actress Brynn Thayer (1949-) began appearing on the American soap opera One Life to Live [1].

From an English surname that was originally derived from a nickname meaning "round" in Old English.

Variant of Calista.

From the Italian phrase cara mia meaning "my beloved".

Either from the name of the Irish county, which is derived from Irish cabhán "hollow", or else from the Irish surname Cavan.

Scandinavian variant of Kristoffer.

From a common Jewish surname that was derived from Hebrew כֹּהֵן (kohen) meaning "priest". This surname was traditionally associated with the hereditary priests who claimed descent from the biblical Aaron.

Scottish form of Elizabeth.

Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.

Variant of Esti 1.

Italian and Catalan feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

From Welsh gwen, the feminine form of gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of Gwendolen, Gwenllian and other names beginning with Gwen.

Diminutive of Indiana. This is the nickname of the hero of the Indiana Jones movies, starring Harrison Ford.

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

Diminutive of Jessica.

From a variant spelling of the English word jasmine (see Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.

Contracted form of Jehoiachin or Jehoiakim. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James, Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of the Virgin Mary. Due to his popularity in the Middle Ages, the name came into general use in Christian Europe (though it was never common in England).

English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ἰωάννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yoḥanan). It means "Yahweh is gracious", from the roots יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and חָנַן (ḥanan) meaning "to be gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the Old Testament (spelled Johanan or Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles Peter and James (John's brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.

This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians in the Byzantine Empire, but it flourished in Western Europe after the First Crusade. In England it became extremely popular, typically being the most common male name from the 13th to the 20th century (but sometimes outpaced by William). During the later Middle Ages it was given to approximately a fifth of all English boys. In the United States it was the most common name for boys until 1923.

The name (in various spellings) has been borne by 21 popes and eight Byzantine emperors, as well as rulers of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary. It was also borne by the poet John Milton (1608-1674), philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), American founding father and president John Adams (1735-1826), and poet John Keats (1795-1821). Famous bearers of the 20th century include author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and musician John Lennon (1940-1980).

The forms Ian (Scottish), Sean (Irish) and Evan (Welsh) have also been frequently used in the English-speaking world, as has the medieval diminutive Jack.

Short form of Kameron.

Slovene and Slovak form of Christopher.

Scandinavian form of Christopher.

Variant of Leah, the spelling influenced by that of Leigh.

Diminutive of Margaret.

Means "bitter" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is a name that Naomi calls herself after the death of her husband and sons (see Ruth 1:20).

Variant of Maia 1. This name can also be given in reference to the Maya, an indigenous people of southern Mexico and parts of Central America whose civilization flourished between the 3rd and 8th centuries. A famous bearer was the American poet and author Maya Angelou (1928-2014).

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-).

From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.

Dutch, Estonian, Danish and Norwegian short form of Alexander.

Anglicized form of Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie Shane (1953).

Anglicized form of Seán, occasionally used as a feminine form. This is the most common spelling of this name in the United States and Canada, with Shaun being more typical in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Medieval feminine form of Thomas.

From the Roman cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen Valens meaning "strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.

As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

Short form of Wesley.

From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.

From the English word, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *wes-pero- "evening, night". It may also be considered transferred use of the surname West or a short form of Weston.

From a surname that was a variant of Wesley.

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

Variant of Xander.

Variant of Xavier.

From the Hebrew name ץְפַןְיָה (Tsefanya) meaning "Yahweh has hidden", derived from צָפַן (tsafan) meaning "to hide" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Zephaniah.