mairinn's Personal Name List

Feminine form of Albus.

Originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element alb meaning "elf" (Proto-Germanic *albaz).

From the Roman cognomen Albanus, which meant "from Alba". Alba (from Latin albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. Another 4th-century martyr by this name was Saint Alban of Mainz.

As an English name, Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.

Feminine form of Albert. This is the name of a Canadian province, which was named in honour of a daughter of Queen Victoria.

Variant of Elora.

Welsh form of Alan. It is also the name of two rivers in Wales.

Variant of Ally 1.

Variant of Alice.

Variant of Alice.

Derived from Persian ازلی (azalee) or (azali) meaning "eternal, everlasting", which is ultimately derived from Persian ازل (azal) meaning "to eternally be" or "eternity without beginning". Also compare Persian ازلیت (azaliyyat) meaning "eternity" as well as "pre-existence".

Brazilian Portuguese diminutive of Fábio or Fabiano.

Portuguese diminutive of Beatriz. In Brazilian Portuguese this can also function as a diminutive of Gabriela, Fabiana, Bianca and other names containing a similar sound. This was borne by the Brazilian actress and singer Abigail 'Bibi' Ferreira (1922-2019).

Means "hostess" in Bashkir.

From Japanese 日 (bi) meaning "day, sun, Japan", 妃 (bi) meaning "a ruler's wife; queen; empress" or 美 (bi) meaning "beautiful" and duplicated using 々. Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also be used to form this name.

Usage of this name is, most likely, influenced by the name Vivi.

Diminutive of Binyamin. This is borne by Israeli prime minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (1949-).

Variant of Kees.

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of Caelestinus.

Polish form of Caelestinus.

Polish feminine form of Caelestinus.

Feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of Cecilia.

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

Variant of Céline.

Means "holly" in Welsh. It appears briefly in the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen [1], belonging to a son of Caw, but was not typically used as a given name until the 20th century.

Meaning uncertain. It could come from the name of the Ceri River in Ceredigion, Wales; it could be a short form of Ceridwen; it could be derived from Welsh caru meaning "to love".

Possibly from cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh cwrr "corner") combined with ben "woman" or gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard Taliesin.

This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".

Variant of Carys.

From Sanskrit चन्द्रिका (chandrika) meaning "moonlight, illumination, splendour". It is sometimes used as a masculine name in India while it is solely feminine in Sri Lanka.

Medieval variant of Cecily.

Diminutive of Cecilia and other names beginning with or containing the sound Ci.

Means "heavenly, from the sky" in Esperanto, from ĉielo "sky", ultimately derived from Latin caelum.

Either a modern variant of Cielo or a truncated form of names that end in -ciela.

Means "sky, heaven" in Spanish. In Mexico this name was popularized by a character named María del Cielo, called Cielo, on the telenovela Por tu amor (1999).

Probably from Old Irish cell meaning "church" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 7th-century Irish saint who evangelized in Franconia. He was martyred in Würzburg.

Romanian form of Cyprianus (see Cyprian).

French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

Medieval English form of Clara. The preferred spelling in the English-speaking world is now the French form Claire, though Clare has been fairly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.

This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish clár meaning "plank, level surface".

Diminutive of Clara.

Diminutive of Clara.

Combination of Clara and the common name suffix bel, from Latin bella "beautiful". This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590; in the form Claribell) and by Shakespeare in his play The Tempest (1611). Alfred Tennyson also wrote a poem entitled Claribel (1830).

Medieval vernacular form of the Late Latin name Claritia, which was a derivative of Clara.

Combination of Clara and the popular name suffix inda. It was first used by Edmund Spenser in his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590).

Latinate form of Clarice. This is the name of the title character in a 1748 novel by Samuel Richardson. In the novel Clarissa Harlowe is a virtuous woman who is tragically exploited by her family and her lover. Another literary character by this name is Clarissa Dalloway from the novel Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf.

French form of Clarice.

Possibly a derivative of Clara.

French feminine form of Claudius.

Feminine form of Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.

French feminine variant of Claude.

French diminutive of Claude.

Anglicized form of Conchobar (or the Modern Irish form Conchúr).

Feminine form of Constantinus (see Constantine).

From Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles [1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.

The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).

Feminine form of Cornelius. In the 2nd century BC it was borne by Cornelia Scipionis Africana (the daughter of the military hero Scipio Africanus), the mother of the two reformers known as the Gracchi. After her death she was regarded as an example of the ideal Roman woman. The name was revived in the 18th century.

French form of Cornelia.

Variant of Cornelia, which was probably influenced by its French form Cornélie.

Roman family name that possibly derives from the Latin element cornu meaning "horn". In Acts in the New Testament Cornelius is a centurion who is directed by an angel to seek Peter. After speaking with Peter he converts to Christianity, and he is traditionally deemed the first gentile convert. The name was also borne by a few early saints, including a 3rd-century pope. In England it came into use in the 16th century, partly due to Dutch influence.

Romanian diminutive of Constantin.

Transferred from the originally Irish surname Costello.

Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Oisdealbhaigh meaning "son of Oisdealbhach". The given name Oisdealbhach is derived from Irish os meaning "deer, fawn" and dealbhach meaning "resembling, shapely".

Feminine form of Crescentius. Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.

Anglicization of the German surname Köster or Küster, literally "sexton". A famous bearer was George Custer (1839-1876), the American cavalry general. General Custer and his army were defeated and killed by Sioux and Cheyenne forces under Sitting Bull in the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876; also known colloquially as Custer's Last Stand).

Medieval Welsh name of uncertain meaning [1].

Diminutive of Danielle.

Dutch form of Daniel.

From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.

Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

Feminine form of Daniel.

French feminine form of Daniel.

Italian form of Daniel.

Lithuanian form of Daniel.

Feminine form of Daniel.

Dutch feminine form of Daniel.

French feminine form of Daniel. It has been commonly used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.

Latvian form of Daniel.

Form of Daniel used in the Latin Bible.

Form of Daniel in several languages.

Feminine form of Daniel.

Biblical Hebrew form of Daniel.

Diminutive of Daniel or Danielle.

Diminutive of Daniel.

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.

Feminine form of Darius. Saint Daria was a 3rd-century woman who was martyred with her husband Chrysanthus under the Roman emperor Numerian. It has never been a particularly common English given name. As a Russian name, it is more commonly transcribed Darya.

Derived from Slavic dar, meaning "gift". It is sometimes also considered a derivative of Darius.

Croatian, Serbian, Slovene and Macedonian form of Daria.

Ukrainian form of Daria.

From the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Dawiḏ), which was derived from דּוֹד (doḏ) meaning "beloved" or "uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament, Jesus was descended from him.

This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.

Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).

Feminine form of David. It originated in Scotland.

Polish form of David, as well as the Biblical Hebrew form.

Short form of names beginning with D. It may also be given in reference to the Dee River in Scotland.

French form of Delphina.

Masculine form of Delphina. Saint Delphinus was a 4th-century bishop of Bordeaux.

French feminine form of Denis.

Short form of Diana.

Means "divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin dia or diva meaning "goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *dyew- found in Zeus. Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). A notable bearer was the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.

French form of Diana, also regularly used in the English-speaking world.

Croatian, Serbian, Slovene and Macedonian form of Diana.

Diminutive of Delia 2.

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

Variant of Dia.

Means "lamp, light" in Hindi.

Alternate transcription of Arabic ضياء (see Ziya).

Alternate transcription of Russian Дмитрий (see Dmitriy), as well as a transcription of the medieval Slavic form.

Polish transcription of Dmitriy.

Russian form of Demetrius. This name was borne by several medieval princes of Moscow and Vladimir. Another famous bearer was Dmitriy Mendeleyev (or Mendeleev; 1834-1907), the Russian chemist who devised the periodic table.

Means "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.

Spanish feminine form of Dominicus (see Dominic).

From the Late Latin name Dominicus meaning "of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.

Variant of Dominic.

French feminine and masculine form of Dominicus (see Dominic).

Feminine form of Donald.

Feminine form of Don.

From Italian donna meaning "lady". It is also used as a feminine form of Donald.

Romanian, possibly a form of Dorian or a diminutive of Teodor.

Diminutive of Dorin.

Diminutive of Adriana or Alexandrina.

Yiddish diminutive of David.

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

Modern Greek form of Euphemia.

From a Semitic root meaning "god". This was a title applied to several Semitic gods. The Canaanites used it as the name of their chief deity, the father of the gods and mankind. The Hebrews used it to refer to Yahweh.

Possibly a Spanish variant form of Alba 3.

Variant of Hele.

Short form of Ellen 1, Elizabeth, Helen and other similar-looking names. There are also instances where this is a variant of Elle and Ellie.

Latinized form of Greek Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning "amber". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and the sister of Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

Greek form of Electra.

From the name of a Welsh river, also called the Leri, of unknown meaning. This was also the name of a 7th-century Welsh saint (masculine).

Short form of Eleriin.

Combination of Ele and Riin.

Italian form of Electra.

Feminine form of Alf 1.

Kurdish form of Ali 1.

Means "my God" in Hebrew.

Italian form of the mythological name Helle 2.

Sami variant of Ella 2.

Originally a short form of Eliisabet and Helena, now used as a given name in its own right.

Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.

Feminine form of Alf 1.

From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek σμάραγδος (smaragdos).

Middle English vernacular form of Emma. In modern times it is used as a variant of Em or Emmy, and is often said to be a short form of Emmeline. This is the name of the only daughter of American actress and singer Jennifer Lopez born in 2008 (in whose case it is pronounced as two syllables).

Anglicized form of Éireann. It was initially used by people of Irish heritage in America, Canada and Australia. It was rare until the mid-1950s.

Feminine form of Ernest.

Diminutive of Ernest.

Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Romani girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.

Short form of Henrietta and other names that end with etta. A famous bearer was the American singer Etta James (1938-2012), who took her stage name from her real given name Jamesetta.

Variant of Etta.

Italian and Spanish form of Euphemia.

Means "to use words of good omen" from Greek εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare". Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.

Alternate transcription of Arabic فضل (see Fadl).

Derived from Arabic فطم (faṭama) meaning "to abstain, to wean" [1]. Fatima was a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the wife of Ali, the fourth caliph. She is regarded as the exemplary Muslim woman, especially among Shias.

Alternate transcription of Arabic فاطمة (see Fatima), as well as the usual Malay and Indonesian form.

Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kurdish form of Fatima, as well as an Arabic variant.

Variant of Fay.

Diminutive of Euphemia.

Shortened form of Fiona, Finnian, and other names that combine this element. Used more often as a nickname or pet name.

Hakka Chinese form of Hui.

Diminutive of Sofia and other names containing the element -fia-.

Allegedly derived from Irish fia "deer" (via Old Irish fíad "wild animals, game, especially deer", ultimately from fid "wood").

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.

From the Old Irish name Finn, derived from finn meaning "white, blessed". It occurs frequently in Irish history and legends, the most noteworthy bearer being Fionn mac Cumhaill, the central character of one of the four main cycles of Irish mythology, the Fenian Cycle. Fionn was born as Deimne, and acquired his nickname because of his fair hair. He grew all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon, and later became the leader of the Fianna after defeating the fire-breathing demon Áillen. He was the father of Oisín and grandfather of Oscar.

Diminutive of Françoise.

German feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

Dutch, Flemish and German short form of Fridolin and its feminine forms Fridolina and Fridoline.

In German and Yiddish, the name has also been encountered as a diminutive of names that contain the Germanic element frid meaning "peace". In those cases, the name is basically a German and Yiddish variant of Friedl. It should be noted, though, that it appears that the name is strictly feminine in Yiddish.

Known German bearers of this name include the former soccer player Friedel Rausch (b. 1940), the luger Friedel Tietze (born after 1908, died after 1953) and Frieda "Friedel" Adler Bergman (1884-1918), the mother of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982). In the Netherlands, a known bearer of this name is the singer Roxeanne Hazes (b. 1993), a daughter of the popular singer André Hazes (1951-2004). She carries the name as a middle name, which was given to her in honor of her maternal grandmother Friedel van Galen-Mak (c. 1946-2009).

Short form of Gemma or directly from the English word gem, "precious stone" from Latin gemma "precious stone, jewel".

French feminine form of George.

Feminine form of George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.

Diminutive of Gianna.

Italian short form of Giovanna and a Modern Greek variant of Ioanna.

Its use in America started increasing in the late 20th century. It spiked in popularity in 2020 after the death of Gianna Bryant and her father, the basketball player Kobe Bryant, in a helicopter crash.

French diminutive of Georgine or Virginie.

Short form of Griffin or Griffith.

Anglicized form of Gruffudd.

Means "son of Gruffudd".

From the Old Welsh name Grifud, the second element deriving from Old Welsh iudd "lord, prince" but the first element being of uncertain meaning (possibly cryf "strong"). This was a common name among medieval Welsh royalty. Gruffudd (or Gruffydd) ap Llywelyn was an 11th-century Welsh ruler who fought against England.

Short form of Helena as well as a derivation from Estonian hele ''bright, clear, light''.

Latinate form of Henriette. It was introduced to England by Henriette Marie, the wife of the 17th-century English king Charles I. The name Henriette was also Anglicized as Harriet, a form that was initially more popular.

Means "ocean" and is often combined with a second character to form a given name. For example, the female name 海婷 (Hoi Ting).

Variant of Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the Normans.

Feminine form of Honoratus.

Feminine form of Honorius. This name was borne by the sister of the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III. After her brother had her engaged to a man she did not like, she wrote to Attila the Hun asking for help. Attila interpreted this as a marriage proposal and subsequently invaded.

From the English word honour, which is of Latin origin. This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century. It can also be viewed as a form of Honoria or Honorata, which are ultimately derived from the same source.

Bulgarian and Macedonian short form of Christopher or Christian.

Akkadian cognate of El, often used to refer to Anu.

Short form of names ending with or otherwise containing ina, such as Martina, Christina and Carolina.

Short form of Isabella.

Variant of Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).

Variant of Isobel.

Feminine form of Ivan.

From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.

Diminutive of Isidore, Isabel, Israel and other names beginning with a similar sound.

Short form of Janet, Janice and other names beginning with Jan.

From the name of the month, which was named for the Roman god Janus. This name briefly charted on the American top 1000 list for girls after it was borne by the protagonist of Jacqueline Susann's novel Once Is Not Enough (1973).

Polish form of Januarius.

Short form of names beginning with the sound J, such as James or Jason. It was originally used in America in honour of founding father John Jay (1749-1825), whose surname was derived from the jaybird.

Serbian form of Euphemia. This name was adopted by a 14th-century Serbian poet (born Jelena Mrnjavčević).

Short form of Jennifer.

Originally a medieval English diminutive of Jane. Since the middle of the 20th century it has been primarily considered a diminutive of Jennifer.

Diminutive of Virginia.

Diminutive of Joan 1.

Diminutive of Joseph. It is occasionally used as a feminine diminutive of Josephine or Johanna.

Diminutive of Joseph, Jolene and other names that begin with Jo.

From Chinese 菊 (jú) meaning "chrysanthemum" (which is usually only feminine) or 巨 (jù) meaning "big, enormous" (usually only masculine), besides other characters that are pronounced similarly.

Diminutive of Júlia, Joana, João and other similar-sounding names.

Diminutive of Julia or Julian.

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.

From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.

Short form of Kaia.

Variant of Callie or Kaylee.

Variant of Callie or Kaylee.

Polish, Russian and Croatian form of Calista.

Variant of Callie.

Derived from Greek κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning "most beautiful", a derivative of καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.

Greek form of Callistus.

Variant of Calista.

Variant of Carita.

Contracted form of Katherine.

German, Swedish and Estonian short form of Katherine.

Diminutive of Kate.

Short form of Katherine and other names beginning with K.

Diminutive of names beginning with or containing the sound K.

Diminutive of Katherine.

Norwegian form of Christina.

Variant of Kai 1.

Diminutive of names beginning in ky, such as Kylie.

Variant of Qiana as well as a feminine form of Kyan.

Derived from Finnish kyllä "abundance" or kyllin "enough". This is the name of a character in the Finnish epic the Kalevala.

Means "of God" in Hebrew. This is the name of the father of Eliasaph in the Old Testament. It is misspelled as Δαήλ (Dael) in the Greek translation, the Septuagint.

Variant of Laney.

From Bulgarian лале (lale) meaning "tulip" (of Persian origin).

Directly taken from Romani lala "ruby; red; fiery".
Occasionally found in the 1800s.

Diminutive of Laura. As a Spanish name, it may also be used as a diminutive of Eulalia, Alejandra or Esmeralda.

Hawaiian form of Laura.

"Flower"

Means "boy" in Hindi, derived from Sanskrit लल (lālā) meaning "playing, caressing, cajoling". It can also be interpreted to mean "garnet" or "red, ruby" from Persian لال (lâl) or لعل (la'l).

Possibly derived from the name of the ancient city of Larisa in Thessaly, which meant "citadel". In Greek legends, the nymph Larisa was either a daughter or mother of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the mythical Pelasgians. This name was later borne by a 4th-century Greek martyr who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Church. The name (of the city, nymph and saint) is commonly Latinized as Larissa, with a double s. As a Ukrainian name, it is more commonly transcribed Larysa.

Diminutive of Laurence 1. A notable bearer is former basketball player Larry Bird (1956-).

French feminine form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).

Diminutive of Laura or Laurence 1.

Short form of Leonard.

Diminutive of Leonard, sometimes a feminine form.

Diminutive of Leonard.

Short form of Elenora.

Short form of Eleanor. This is the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven (1845).

Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix ἴδης (ides). Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.

From a Scottish surname that was derived from a place in Aberdeenshire, probably from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century. In America it was more common as a feminine name after the 1940s.

From the Late Latin name Laetitia meaning "joy, happiness". This was the name of an obscure saint, who is revered mainly in Spain. It was in use in England during the Middle Ages, usually in the spelling Lettice, and it was revived in the 18th century.

Diminutive of Alexandra or Alexis.

Short form of names starting, containing, or ending with li. In some cases it may be seen as a strictly feminine form of Lee.

From Chinese 理 (lǐ) meaning "reason, logic", 立 (lì) meaning "stand, establish", 黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn", 力 (lì) meaning "power, capability, influence" (which is usually only masculine) or 丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.

Means "to me" in Hebrew.

German, Danish and Finnish variant of Lili.

Icelandic and Faroese feminine form of Líni as well as the Faroese form of Hlín.

Spanish form of Linus.

From Chinese 林 (lín) meaning "forest" or 琳 (lín) meaning "fine jade, gem". Other characters can also form this name.

Bulgarian, French, Russian and Ukrainian form of Linus.

Means "bright, clear" in Burmese.

Short form of names ending in lina.

Short form of Caroline and other names ending in line.

Short form of Linnéa and other names containing the same sound.

Combination of the names Lin and Na.

Variant of both Lina 2 and Linn.

Transferred use of the surname Linney.

From an Old English female personal name Lindgifu, Lindgeofu, composed of the elements lind ‘lime (wood)’, i.e. ‘shield’ (a transferred sense) + gifu, geofu ‘gift’.

Diminutive of Linda and other names beginning with Lin.

Combination of Lise and Charlotte.

Variant of Liv 1.

Short form of Elizabeth. This is the familiar name of actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).

Short form of Charlotte or Liselotte.

Diminutive of Charlotte or Liselotte.

From the name of a French town. It became a popular center of pilgrimage after a young girl from the town had visions of the Virgin Mary in a nearby grotto.

Slovak form of Ljuba.

Alternate transcription of Russian/Ukrainian Люба (see Lyuba).

Slovak form of Ljubica.

Alternate transcription of Russian Любовь or Ukrainian Любов (see Lyubov).

Latvian form of Lyubov.

Diminutive of Ludovic.

Diminutive of names beginning with Lou or Lu, such as Louise or Lucinda.

Means "pearls" in Arabic.

Diminutive of Lourdes and Maria de Lourdes.

Portuguese variant of Lourdes.

Means "heather" in Norwegian and Danish.

Means "land" in Sumerian. In Sumerian mythology, Ma is referred to as the mother of the mountain.

From Chinese 馬 (mǎ) meaning "horse". Other Han characters are possible.

Short for names beginning with Ma-, such as Margareta and Margrethe.

Short form of Maria, most often spelled as "Ma.", this name is most commonly used in legal documents and the like when paired with another name following it (example: Ma. Consuelo). It's not actually used as a diminutive.

Diminutive of Madeline or Madison.

Diminutive of Madeline or Madison.

Variant of Maddie.

Variant of May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.

French form of Breton Mael meaning "prince, chieftain, lord". Saint Mael was a 5th-century Breton hermit who lived in Wales.

Breton form of Maël.

Feminine form of Maël.

Feminine form of Maël.

Feminine form of Maël.

English form of Maëlle.

Feminine form of Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of Mailys.

Anglicized form of the Irish name Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband Ailill fought against the Ulster king Conchobar and the hero Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic The Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Diminutive of Margaret (English) or Marged (Welsh).

Short form of Magdalena.

Latinate form of Magdalene.

Sami form of Maja.

Finnish and Latvian variant of Maria or Marija. The Latvian playwright Anna Brigadere used this name for the main character in her play Maija un Paija (1922).

Variant of Maylis.

Variant of Maisie.

The name means "Illusion" in Sanskrit, having to do with the hindu belief that the world is all an illusion which one must overcome to reach moksha or nirvana

From 舞 (mai) "circle, wheel" and 弥 (ya) "increasingly"

Variant of Maisie.

Hungarian variant of Mária, and a Croatian and Serbian variant of Marija.

French form of Marcellinus.

Polish, Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Marcellinus.

French feminine form of Marcellinus.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellinus.

French form of Marcellinus.

Feminine form of Marcellinus.

French feminine form of Marcellinus.

Italian form of Marcellinus.

Roman family name that was derived from Marcellus. Saint Marcellinus was a pope of the early 4th century who was supposedly martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian.

Variant of Marceline.

Estonian form of Margaret.

Latinate form of Margaret. This is also the Spanish word for the daisy flower (species Bellis perennis, Leucanthemum vulgare and others).

French short form of Margaret.

Variant of Marion 1. This name was borne in English legend by Maid Marian, Robin Hood's love. It is sometimes considered a combination of Mary and Ann.

This name spiked in popularity in several places around the world in 1954 after Pope Pius declared it to be a Marian year, in honour of the Virgin Mary. A similar declaration in 1987 did not have as marked an effect.

From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of Mary and the English word gold.

Elaborated form of Marisa.

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".

Latinate form of Marlene.

Blend of Maria and Magdalene. It refers, therefore, to Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament. The name was popularized by the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich.

Dutch diminutive of Marleen as well as a combination of Maria and names that end in lie.

Variant of Marnie.

Possibly a diminutive of Marina. This name was brought to public attention by Alfred Hitchcock's movie Marnie (1964), itself based on a 1961 novel by Winston Graham.

Feminine form of Martinus (see Martin). Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.

From the name of a town in southern France, said to derive from Occitan mair "mother" and French lys "lily". It is also sometimes considered a combination of Marie and lys.

Found in 18th- and 19th-century America, of uncertain origin, though it could have been a variant of Maisie or Matty 2, or a short form of the compound name Mary Elizabeth. Alternative theories suggest that it may be a feminine derivative of the Old Testament name Amaziah, or even a nickname based on the English word amazing (in which case it might have been influenced by the popular hymn Amazing Grace, first published in 1744).

This is also a modern name in the United States, likely influenced by the American music group Mazzy Star.

Means "blackbird" in Dutch.

Means "pearl, gem" in Welsh, derived from Latin margarita.

From Michaj or Michał in Polish usage. From Michael in English.

Variant of Madge.

Diminutive of Maria and other names beginning with M.

Latinate form of Mirabelle.

Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.

Derived from Latin mirandus meaning "admirable, worthy of being admired". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.

Hebrew diminutive of Miriam.

Diminutive of Melissa. This is also a slang term meaning "young woman".

Short form of Maureen, Maurice, Morris and other names beginning with a similar sound.

Scandinavian short form of Monica.

Variant of Maura 2.

Variant of Morgan 2, from a French form.

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-).

Modern form of Morgen, which was used by Geoffrey of Monmouth [1] in the 12th century for the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, who was unnamed in earlier stories. Geoffrey probably did not derive it from the Welsh masculine name Morgan, which would have been spelled Morcant in his time. It is likely from Old Welsh mor "sea" and the suffix gen "born of" [2].

Feminine form of Morgan 1.

French, either a form of Morgan 2 or a feminine form of Morgan 1.

Means "born of the sea" in Irish. In Irish legend this was the name of a woman (originally named Lí Ban) who was transformed into a mermaid. After 300 years she was brought to shore, baptized, and transformed back into a woman.

Originally a diminutive of Ann. It may have originated with the affectionate phrase mine Ann, which was later reinterpreted as my Nan. It is now also used as a short form of Nancy.

Previously a medieval diminutive of Annis, though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of Ann. It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source.

Possibly derived from Old Norse nanþ meaning "daring, brave". In Norse mythology she was a goddess who died of grief when her husband Balder was killed.

Means "son of Niels 1".

Derived from Sanskrit निकेत (niketa) meaning "house, habitation".

Variant of Nonie.

Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.

Combination of Nova and the popular name suffix -lie (see also Novalee).

Derived from Latin novellus meaning "new, young, novel", a diminutive of novus "new". This name was borne by the 14th-century Italian scholar Novella d'Andrea, who taught law at the University of Bologna.

The name Oleander originated as an Greek name. In Greek, the name Oleander means "an evergreen tree."
The origin of the name was said to have come from a young man whose ardour to his Lady Love ended in a tragedy. The young man was named Leander, and his precious lady longing for his love shouting with such forlorn “O Leander!”, “O Leander!” in the banks, until finally he was found. And clasped in his hands were sweet flowers, who have become a symbol of everlasting love, known as oleanders.

Possibly taken from the plant family, Nerium oleander (flowering shrub known as oleanders), Cascabela thevetia (yellow oleander), Acacia neriifolia (oleander wattle); or a species of moth, Daphnis nerii (oleander hawk-moth).

In the complex language of love practiced during the time of Queen Victoria, the Oleander flower means caution.

A diminutive use of Oleander could be Ollie, Lee, Lee-Ann, or Anders.

Variant of Patty, also used as a diminutive of Patrick.

Medieval variant of Meggy, a diminutive of Margaret. The reason for the change in the initial consonant is unknown.

French form of Penelope.

Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.

It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.

Meaning unknown, probably of Pre-Greek origin, but perhaps related to Greek πέρθω (pertho) meaning "to destroy" and φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She was abducted to the underworld by Hades, but was eventually allowed to return to the surface for part of the year. The result of her comings and goings is the changing of the seasons. With her mother she was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at the city of Eleusis near Athens.

From the Greek Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning "bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of Theseus in Greek mythology. Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.

In the case of singer-songwriter Phildel, it is a combination of her parents names - Philip and Della. -

Modern Greek form of Penelope.

Diminutive of Philippa.

From the English word pixie referring to a playful sprite or elf-/fairy-like creature, originating from Devon and Cornwall in southwest England.

Roman name, a diminutive of Prisca. In Acts in the New Testament Paul lived with Priscilla (also known as Prisca) and her husband Aquila in Corinth for a while. It has been used as an English given name since the Protestant Reformation, being popular with the Puritans. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used it in his 1858 poem The Courtship of Miles Standish [1].

Feminine form of Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.

Short form of Raymond, often used as an independent name. It coincides with an English word meaning "beam of light". Science-fiction author Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) and musician Ray Charles (1930-2004) are two notable bearers of the name.

Either a Bulgarian form of Regina or a feminine form of Rayno.

Short form of Marie and other names containing the same sound. A known bearer of the nickname is Ann Marie "Ree" Drummond (1969-), host of the Food Network show 'The Pioneer Woman'. It was also used for the central character in the film 'Winter's Bone' (2010).

Either a variant of Renée or a diminutive of names ending in reen.

From Japanese 蓮 (ren) meaning "lotus", 恋 (ren) meaning "romantic love", or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.

Feminine form of Renatus.