hesione's Personal Name List

Old French form of Alice.

Derived from Basque abe meaning "pillar". It is a Basque equivalent of Pilar.

Means "giving off light, shining" in Amharic.

From the Hebrew name אַבְנֵר (ʾAvner) meaning "my father is a light", derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light". In the Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother Joab.

A famous bearer was the 14th-century Jewish philosopher Abner of Burgos, called Alfonso of Valladolid after he converted to Christianity. It has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. It was popular with the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.

Shortened form of Adalheidis.

Alternate transcription of Hebrew עֲדִינָה (see Adina 3).

Contracted form of Adalia. This is the name of the father of one of King David's herdsmen in the Old Testament.

Feminine form of Adrian. A famous bearer is the Brazilian model Adriana Lima (1981-).

Means "small wave, ripple" in Hebrew.

Latinized form of the Greek Αἴγλη (Aigle), which meant "light, radiance, glory". This was the name of several characters in Greek myth, including one of the Heliades and one of the Hesperides.

Roman family name that was possibly derived from the Greek word ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun". This was the family name of the Roman emperor Hadrian.

Means "fire" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Vedic Hindu fire god, typically depicted as red-skinned with three legs, seven arms, and two faces, and riding on the back of a ram.

Balearic form of Anna.

From the name of a town in southwestern France where there is a famous image of the Virgin Mary.

Variant of Alana, probably influenced by Elaine.

Irish form of Alexander.

From Basque alatz meaning "miracle". It is an equivalent of Milagros, proposed by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque saints names.

Created by Bulgarian writer Yordan Yovkov for the heroine in his drama Albena (1930). He may have based it on ablen, the name of a type of peony (a flowering plant).

Germanic name, derived from the elements alt "old" and gunda "war". Alternatively, it could be a metathesized form of Adalgund. Saint Aldegund (or Aldegundis or Adelgundis) was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Maubeuge.

Portuguese and Galician form of Alexius.

Form of Alexandra in several languages.

Lithuanian form of Alexander.

Basque form of Alexander.

French variant of Alexandra.

Feminine form of Alon 1.

From the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements alfr "elf" and herr "army, warrior".

Originally a Russian diminutive of Yelena. It is now used independently.

Feminine form of Amabilis.

Italian cognate of Amber.

Italian feminine form of Amadeus.

Means "dream" in Basque.

Means "my people are alive" in Hebrew.

Portuguese form of Annabel.

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.

Means "cloud" in Hebrew. This name is mentioned very briefly in the Old Testament.

Means "my cloud" in Hebrew, a possessive form of עָנָן (ʿanan) meaning "cloud". This name is mentioned in the Old Testament as belonging to a descendant of King David.

Means "will understand" in Azerbaijani [1].

Russian and Bulgarian form of Anastasius.

Possibly derived from a Semitic root meaning "water spring". Anat was a goddess of fertility, hunting and war worshipped by the Semitic peoples of the Levant. She was the sister and consort of the god Hadad.

Basque form of Antonius (see Anthony).

Basque form of Anna.

Polish, Czech, Bulgarian and Macedonian diminutive of Anna.

Polish diminutive of Anna, and an alternate transcription of Russian Аня (see Anya).

Slovene, Croatian and Serbian diminutive of Anna.

Hungarian diminutive of Anna.

Diminutive of Anna.

This name was first brought to public attention in 1966 by the child actress Anissa Jones (1958-1976) [1]. In her case it was a transcription of the Arabic name أنيسة (see Anisa), given to honour her Lebanese heritage. Other parents who have since used this name may view it simply as an elaboration of Anna using the popular name suffix issa.

Possibly from Sanskrit अनीत (anīta) meaning "not guided".

Variant of Aniyah.

Diminutive of Anna.

Low German and Dutch diminutive of Anna and other names beginning with An.

Scottish Gaelic diminutive of Anna.

Variant of Annika.

Finnish, Estonian and Swedish form of Annelie, as well as a German variant.

Combination of Anna and lien (from names such as Carolien).

Dutch variant of Annette.

French diminutive of Anne 1. It has also been widely used in the English-speaking world, and it became popular in America in the late 1950s due to the fame of actress Annette Funicello (1942-2013).

French form of Breton Annaig, a diminutive of Anna.

Finnish diminutive of Anna.

Norwegian diminutive of Anna.

Finnish diminutive of Anna.

Means "announced" in Italian, referring to the event in the New Testament in which the angel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary of the imminent birth of Jesus.

Variant of Anouska.

Dutch and French diminutive of Anna.

Alternate transcription of Hindi अनुष्का or Sinhala අනුෂ්කා (see Anushka).

Croatian diminutive of Antonia.

Croatian form of Antonius (see Anthony).

From Old Irish Áed, which meant "fire". This was a very popular name in early Ireland, being borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings. It has been traditionally Anglicized as Hugh.

Russian feminine form of Apollinaris.

Bulgarian, Macedonian and Romanian form of Apostolos.

Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

From the name of a place near the Spanish town of Oñati where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its name is derived from Basque arantza "thornbush".

Means "light" in Basque.

Feminine form of Argi. This is a Basque equivalent of Luz.

Croatian form of Arianna.

Means "rock" in Basque.

Means "afternoon, dusk" in Basque.

Ukrainian form of Artemios. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian Артём (see Artyom).

Meaning unknown, probably of Turkic origin. This was the name of a 12th-century Bulgarian emperor (Ivan Asen I) and several of his successors.

Feminine form of Audo (see Otto).

Old German form of Otto.

Derived from the Old German element awi, of unknown meaning. Rarely, this name may be given in honour of the 16th-century mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila, Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.

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".

Modern Hebrew form of Abishai.

Created by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli for his 12th-century epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin. Rustaveli based it on Persian آفتاب (āftāb) meaning "sunshine" and دل (del) meaning "heart". In the poem Avtandil is a knight who is sent by Tinatin to search for the mysterious knight of the title.

Means "stag, male deer" in Hebrew.

Means "free" in Persian. This word has derivatives in several other languages, such as Hindi and Turkish.

Means "fire" in Persian.

Masculine form of Bakarne.

From Basque bakar meaning "alone". It was proposed by Sabino Arana in 1910 as an equivalent of the Spanish name Soledad.

Basque form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

Means "lord of the woods" from Basque baso "woods" and jaun "lord". This is the name of a character in Basque folklore, the Old Man of the Woods.

Variant reading of Bastet.

Basque form of Bernard.

Means "special" in Basque.

Catalan form of Bernard.

Means "way" in Basque.

Means "heart" in Basque.

Basque form of Vincent.

Basque form of Victor.

Means "thunderstorm" in Turkish.

Old Norse byname meaning "fire, torch, sword".

Derived from the Slavic element borna "protection" combined with mirŭ "peace, world".

From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning "Bryni's town". Bryni was an Old English name meaning "fire".

Means "thunderer" in Greek. In Greek mythology (according to Hesiod), this was the name of one of the three Cyclopes, who were the sons of Uranus and Gaia.

Variant of Kajsa.

Variant of Callie.

Variant of Carrie.

Variant of Karin.

Variant of Karina.

Feminine diminutive of Carl.

Feminine form of Carolus.

German feminine form of Carolus.

Portuguese, Occitan and Galician form of Katherine.

German short form of Katharina.

Biblical Hebrew form of Hannah.

Means "to shine from happiness" from Greek χαρά (chara) meaning "happiness" combined with λάμπω (lampo) meaning "to shine".

Means "born at night" in Swahili.

Derived from a Persian word meaning "leader, dignitary".

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.

French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.

Derived from Slovene cvet meaning "blossom, flower".

Means "laurel" in Hebrew, of Greek origin.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Daphne.

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

Means "hanging branch" in Hebrew.

From Hebrew דָּלִיָּה (daliyya) meaning "hanging branch".

Basque form of Daniel.

Italian diminutive of Daniela.

Form of Daniel used in the Latin Bible.

Meaning uncertain, possibly a feminine form of Daniel. It is found in Lithuania from at least 14th century, being borne by a sister of Vytautas the Great.

Turkish form of Daniel.

Means "mother-of-pearl, nacre" in Hebrew.

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 the Slavic word darŭ meaning "gift". It is sometimes used as a diminutive of names beginning with Dar.

Means "sea, ocean" in Persian.

Meaning uncertain, possibly from an old Slavic exclamation expressing joy or sorrow. This was the name of a supposed Slavic war god. His name was the basis for the word davorije, a type of patriotic war song popular in the 19th century [1].

Welsh form of Daniel.

Means "Yahweh has drawn up" in Hebrew, from דָּלָה (dala) meaning "to draw up, to hang" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.

Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Деница (see Denitsa).

Breton form of Daniel.

Bulgarian form of Dejan.

Means "judged" in Hebrew, derived from דִּין (din) meaning "to judge". According to the Old Testament, Dinah was a daughter of Jacob and Leah who was abducted by Shechem. It has been used as an English given name since after the Protestant Reformation.

Derived from Greek δυσμή (dysme) meaning "sunset". This is the name traditionally assigned to the repentant thief who was crucified beside Jesus.

Polish and French form of Donatus (see Donato).

French form of Donatianus.

Composed of the Old Irish element donn "brown" combined with dub "dark" and a diminutive suffix.

Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Dubhghall meaning "dark stranger", from Old Irish dub "dark" and gall "stranger". This name was borne by a few medieval Scottish chiefs.

Derived from the Slavic element dorgŭ (South Slavic drag) meaning "precious".

Derived from the Slavic element dorgŭ (South Slavic drag) meaning "precious", originally a diminutive of names beginning with that element.

Means "freedom" or "sparrow" in Hebrew.

Derived from Old Irish dub "dark, black" and either slán "challenge, defiance" or Sláine, the Irish name of the River Slaney [1].

Means "flock" in Hebrew. This is the name of a minor character in the Old Testament.

Means "handsome, beautiful" in Basque.

Feminine variant of Eder 2.

Form of Edith in several languages.

Basque form of Edward.

Form of Edward in various languages.

Form of Edward in several languages. Notable bearers include the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) and the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

Finnish form of Edward.

Means "dusk" in Estonian.

Scottish Gaelic form of Edward.

Feminine form of Eder 2.

Latinate form of Eleanor.

Variant of Eleanor.

Welsh and modern Armenian form of Helen, as well as a Czech variant form. This was the name of a 4th-century Welsh saint, traditionally said to be the wife of the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus. According to the Welsh legend The Dream of Macsen Wledig (Macsen Wledig being the Welsh form of Magnus Maximus), she convinced her husband to build the roads in Wales.

Georgian, Sardinian and Basque form of Helen.

Finnish, Estonian and Swedish form of Helen.

Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.

Scandinavian form of Eleanor.

Means "light of the people" in Azerbaijani, ultimately derived from Turkic el meaning "country, society" and Arabic نور (nūr) meaning "light".

Short form of Irena.

From the Hebrew name אֶףְרָיִם (ʾEfrayim) meaning "fruitful". In the Old Testament Ephraim is a son of Joseph and Asenath and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name was also borne by two early saints: Ephraim or Ephrem the Syrian, a 4th-century theologian, and Ephraim of Antioch, a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.

Means "fruitful place" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this name is borne by one of the wives of Caleb. Also in the Bible, it is the name of the place where Rachel was buried.

Derived from Albanian erë meaning "wind".

Means "cedar" in Hebrew.

Feminine form of Ermenegildo.

Bulgarian form of Eudocia, and an alternate transcription of Russian Евдокия (see Yevdokiya).

Bulgarian and Georgian form of Eugene, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Евгений (see Yevgeniy).

From an English and Scottish surname that was either based on a Norman form of Edward, or else derived from a place name of unknown meaning.

Means "unique, precious" in Arabic, derived from فرد (farada) meaning "to be unique, to be alone" [1]. This was the name of a 13th-century Persian poet.

Alternate transcription of Persian فیروزه (see Firouzeh).

Breton feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

Feminine form of Gaetano.

Variant of Gal 1.

Latinized form of the Greek name Γεννάδιος (Gennadios), which was derived from Greek γεννάδας (gennadas) meaning "noble, generous". Saint Gennadius was an early martyr from North Africa.

Means "light" in Mongolian.

Italian form of Jade.

From the Late Latin name Iucunda, which meant "pleasant, delightful, happy". Leonardo da Vinci's painting the Mona Lisa is also known as La Gioconda because its subject is Lisa del Giocondo.

Italian form of Josette.

Derived from Basque goiz "morning" and argi "light".

Means "pomegranate flower", derived from Persian گل (gol) meaning "flower" and نار (nār) meaning "pomegranate".

Derived from South Slavic gora meaning "mountain". It was popularized by the Croatian poet Ivan Goran Kovačić (1913-1943), who got his middle name because of the mountain town where he was born.

Means "grace" in Italian, making it a cognate of Grace.

Derived from the Turkic elements gün "sun" and ay "moon".

Derived from the Turkic elements gün "sun" and el "country, society".

Means "thunder" in Indonesian.

Means "blessed and generous" from Breton gwenn meaning "white, blessed" and hael meaning "generous". Saint Gwenhael was a 6th-century abbot of Brittany.

Derived from Breton gwenn meaning "white, blessed" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Gwenneg was an 8th-century monk of Brittany.

Derived from a Semitic root meaning "thunder". Hadad was a Western Semitic (Levantine) god of thunder and storms, often called Ba'al. He was imported to Mesopotamia by the Amorites, where he was known as Adad to the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Possibly means "flight" in Hebrew, though it could also be of unknown Egyptian origin. According to the Old Testament she was the second wife of Abraham and the mother of Ishmael, the founder of the Arab people. After Abraham's first wife Sarah finally gave birth to a child, she had Hagar and Ishmael expelled into the desert. However, God heard their crying and saved them.

Form of Hannah in several languages.

Polish diminutive of Hanna 1.

Variant of Hanna 1.

Finnish diminutive of Johanna or Hannah.

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

Diminutive of Helena. In Estonian this coincides with the word heli meaning "sound".

Yiddish diminutive of Hannah.

Yiddish variant of Hannah.

Yiddish variant of Hannah.

Means "halo, aura" in Hebrew, from the root הָלַל (halal) meaning "to praise, to shine".

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

Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian form of Christina.

Possibly a Romanian variant of Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.

Romanian diminutive of Elena.

Means "air" in Finnish.

From the Hebrew name יִסְכָּה (Yiska) meaning "to behold". In the Old Testament this is the name of Abraham's niece, mentioned only briefly. This is the basis of the English name Jessica.

Short form of Ivana.

Perhaps derived from an old Bulgar name meaning "wolf". This was the name of a 13th-century emperor of Bulgaria. It is possible that this spelling was the result of a 15th-century misreading of his real name Vulo from historical documents.

Germanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the element iwa meaning "yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a cognate Celtic element [2]. This was the name of saints (who are also commonly known as Saint Yves or Ives), hailing from Cornwall, France, and Brittany.

Croatian, Serbian and Slovene form of Adrian.

From the Hebrew name יָעֵל (Yaʿel) meaning "ibex, mountain goat". This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to the wife of Heber the Kenite. After Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army, was defeated in battle by Deborah and Barak he took refuge in Heber's tent. When he fell asleep Jael killed him by hammering a tent peg into his head.

Bosnian masculine form of Jasmine.

Derived from South Slavic jasno meaning "clearly, obviously".

Means "maple tree" in South Slavic.

Form of Yelena in several languages. In Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia it is also associated with the South Slavic words jelen meaning "deer, stag" and jela meaning "fir tree".

Diminutive of Jelena. It also means "fir tree" in Slovene.

Means "taught by Yahweh" in Hebrew, from יָרָה (yara) meaning "to teach" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament, Jeriah is a descendant of Hebron.

Croatian form of Hieronymos (see Jerome).

From the Hebrew name יוֹאָשׁ (Yoʾash), possibly meaning "fire of Yahweh". In the Old Testament this name is borne by several characters including the father of Gideon, a king of Judah, and a son of King Ahab of Israel.

French, Danish and Norwegian form of Iohanna (see Joanna).

Croatian form of Joséphine.

French form of the Old Breton name Iudicael, derived from the elements iudd "lord" and hael "generous". This was the name of a 7th-century Breton king, also regarded as a saint.

Variant of Kaylee.

Diminutive of Karolína.

Scandinavian diminutive of Katarina.

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.

Means "rock, boulder" in Estonian.

Swedish diminutive of Karl. It is used in Finland and Estonia as a full name.

Dutch, Czech and Slovene form of Charles.

Feminine form of Carolus.

Lithuanian form of Carolus.

Variant of Carrie.

Hungarian short form of Katalin, Finnish short form of Katariina and Croatian short form of Katarina.

Breton form of Katherine.

Diminutive of Yekaterina.

Ukrainian form of Katherine.

German short form of Katharina.

Diminutive of Kateřina or Katarína.

Lithuanian short form of Kotryna.

Belarusian form of Katherine.

Variant of Kay 1.

Means "the fire" from Hawaiian ke, a definite article, and ahi "fire".

Variant of Kiana 1.

Means "lion cub" in Hebrew.

Means "dawn" in Estonian.

Means "heart, soul, desire" in Azerbaijani.

From Croatian koralj meaning "coral", ultimately from Latin corallium.

Lithuanian form of Katherine.

From the Slavic elements krěsiti "to spark, to flare up, to bring to life, to resurrect" and mirŭ "peace, world". This was the name of four kings of Croatia in the 10th and 11th centuries. Their names were recorded in Latin as Cresimirus.

Original Latin form of Letitia, as well as a French variant. This name began rising in popularity in France around the same time that Serge Gainsbourg released his 1963 song Elaeudanla Téïtéïa (this title is a phonetic rendering of the letters in the name Lætitia). It peaked in 1982 as the fourth most common name for girls.

Means "goose" in Estonian.

Derived from the poetic Arabic word لمى (lamā) meaning "dark red lips".

Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian and Macedonian form of Lazarus. This name was borne by a 14th-century Serbian ruler who was killed at the Battle of Kosovo.

French form of Lazarus.

Irish form of Helen.

Short form of Eleanora.

Italian form of Laelia.

German diminutive of Helene or Magdalena.

Originally a diminutive of Magdaléna or Helena. It is now used as an independent name.

Romanian diminutive of Elena.

French masculine and feminine form of Leonidas.

Means "to me" in Hebrew.

Short form of Carolien and other names ending in lien.

Finnish and Estonian diminutive of Elisabet or Eliisabet.

Derived from Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.

Short form of Caroline and other names ending in line.

Short form of Elisabeth or Elizabeth.

French and Czech feminine form of Livius.

Roman family name that may be related to either Latin liveo "to envy" or lividus "blue, envious". Titus Livius, also known as Livy, was a Roman historian who wrote a history of the city of Rome.

Variant of Livna.

Derived from the rare Serbo-Croatian word lijer meaning "lily" (the usual word is ljiljan).

Possibly a variant of Loreto.

Possibly from a feminine form of Leutwin. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the French miniseries Les Gens de Mogador.

Possibly from one of the Indo-European roots *lewk- "light, brightness", *lewg- "dark" or *lewgh- "oath". This was the name of a Celtic (Gaulish) god of commerce and craftsmanship, who was equated by the Romans with Mercury. He probably forms the basis for the characters and names of Lugh (Irish) and Lleu (Welsh).

Means "poetry" in Estonian.

Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".

Means "light" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de la Luz, meaning "Our Lady of Light".

Means "spring of water" in Hebrew.

Irish form of Magdalene.

Italian form of Magdalene.

Variant of Madeline.

Originally a medieval Portuguese form of Matilda. This name was borne by the wife of Afonso, the first king of Portugal. In modern times it was the name of the titular character in a popular Argentine comic strip (published from 1964 to 1973) by Quino.

Occitan form of Magdalene.

From a title meaning "of Magdala". Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered Madeline, while Magdalene or Magdalen is the learned form.

Old Church Slavic form of Magdalene, as well as a Bulgarian variant form.

From the Hebrew name מָחֲלַת (Maḥalaṯ) meaning "lyre". In the Old Testament she is the daughter of Ishmael and the wife of Esau.

Short form of Magdalena.

Derived from Georgian მაყვალი (maqvali) meaning "blackberry".

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.

Means "raspberry" in several Slavic languages.

Means "a light" in Hebrew.

Feminine form of Marcellus.

From the name of a type of flowering plant common in Israel, called the scarlet pimpernel in English.

Croatian and Slovene form of Marianus.

Finnish form of Magdalene.

Means "illusion, magic" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the mother of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha). This is also another name of the Hindu goddess Durga.

Derived from Hebrew מַיִם (mayim) meaning "water".

Means "sea wind" in Turkish.

From the Hebrew name םְנַחֵם (Menaḥem) meaning "comforter", a derivative of נָחַם (naḥam) meaning "to comfort". This was the name of a king of Israel, appearing in the Old Testament. His reign was noted for its brutality.

Means "tranquility" in Hebrew.

Belarusian form of Niketas.

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.

Short form of Miroslava and other names beginning with Mir (often the Slavic element mirŭ meaning "peace, world").

Italian form of Mireille.

From Serbo-Croatian miran meaning "peaceful, calm".

Spanish, Italian and Croatian cognate of Myrtle.

Derived from the Slavic element myslĭ "thought" or mojĭ "my" combined with slava "glory". This was the name of a 9th-century duke of Croatia, also called Mojslav. His name was recorded in Latin as Muisclavo.

Possibly a Slovene diminutive of Marija. Alternatively, it could be related to Slovene moj meaning "my, mine".

Means "myrrh" in Hebrew.

Means "wish, desire" in Arabic. This name was borne by five Ottoman sultans.

Means "hope" in South Slavic.

French form of Nadezhda.

Belarusian cognate of Nadezhda, being the Belarusian word meaning "hope".

Means "stream" in Hebrew.

Irish form of Nancy.

Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Nathanael.

Means "found", derived from Bulgarian найда (nayda) meaning "to find".

Means "fearless" in Serbian and Croatian, from the Old Slavic root nebojĭ.

Derived from Croatian nedjelja and Serbian недеља (nedelja) meaning "Sunday".

Possibly an elaboration of Nell using the popular phonetic suffix da.

Created by French author Marie d'Agoult for her semi-autobiographical novel Nélida (1846), written under the name Daniel Stern. It was probably an anagram of her pen name Daniel.

Croatian form of Nancy.

Means "plant, shrub" in Hebrew.

Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Nikephoros.

From Sanskrit नील (nīla) meaning "dark blue".

Means "fire" in Quechua and Aymara.

French diminutive of Anne 1.

Variant of Nisa.

Means "flower bud" in Hebrew.

Means either "speech, expression" or "fang, tusk" in Hebrew.

Italian form of Nieves.

From Kazakh нұр (nur) meaning "light" and асыл (asyl) meaning "precious, noble" (both words ultimately of Arabic origin).

Means "buttercup (flower)" in Hebrew (genus Ranunculus).

Means "light" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic نور (nūr).

From Kazakh нұр (nur) meaning "light" (of Arabic origin) and жан (zhan) meaning "soul" (of Persian origin).

Derived from Breton oan "lamb" (ultimately from Latin agnus) and used as a Breton form of Agnes.

Possibly an elaboration of Odilia used in Latin America. In most countries it is a feminine name, but in the Dominican Republic it is commonly masculine.

Means "horizon" in Hebrew.

Derived from Bulgarian огнен (ognen) meaning "fiery".

Means "light" in Hebrew.

Created by the Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio for his novel La Figlia di Jorio (1904). It is derived from Tuscan Italian ornello meaning "flowering ash tree".

Means "born at night" in Luo.

Polish form of Odilia.

Finnish and Estonian form of Paul.

Feminine form of Palmiro.

Derived from Greek παρασκευή (paraskeue) meaning "preparation" or "Friday" (being the day of preparation). This was the name of a 2nd-century saint who was martyred in Rome.

Italian feminine form of Pascal.

Means "breach, burst forth" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the twin brother of Zerah.

From Greek Φιλομήλη (Philomele), derived from φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend" and μῆλον (melon) meaning "fruit". The second element has also been interpreted as Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song". In Greek myth Philomela was the sister-in-law of Tereus, who raped her and cut out her tongue. Prokne avenged her sister by killing her son by Tereus, after which Tereus attempted to kill Philomela. However, the gods intervened and transformed her into a nightingale.

From Greek Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning "to be loved", an inflection of φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word φιλουμένη, not a name.

From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".

Derived from Greek φῶς (phos) meaning "light" (genitive φωτός (photos)).

Means "flame, fire" in South Slavic.

Derived from the Slavic element dorgŭ meaning "precious" combined with a superlative prefix.

Derived from Slavic radovati meaning "to make happy, to gladden".

Derived from South Slavic raj meaning "paradise".

Feminine form of Ranko.

Means "good sense, good guidance" in Arabic, from the root رشد (rashada) meaning "to be on the right path".

Means "planner, architect" in Arabic.

Croatian form of Ratomir.

Means "friendship" in Hebrew, making it a variant of the biblical name Ruth.

Short form of names ending in rino.

Derived from Old Irish rígain meaning "queen". According to some sources, this was the name of a wife of the semi-legendary Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Hebrew form of Rebecca.

Breton form of Robert.

Means "dew" in the South Slavic languages.

Diminutive of Rosa 2.

From the name of a desert plant (species Retama raetam), possibly related to Hebrew רָתַם (ratam) meaning "to harness, to bind".

Old German short form of feminine names beginning with Old Frankish hroþi or Old High German hruod meaning "fame" (Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz).

Croatian diminutive of Rozalija.

Derived from Portuguese rubi or Italian rubino meaning "ruby", ultimately from Latin ruber "red".

Maori form of Louisa.

Means "hollyhock" in Bulgarian (referring to flowering plants from the genera Alcea and Althaea). This is also an alternate transcription of Macedonian Ружа (see Ruža).

From the English word meaning "black", derived from the name of the black-furred mammal native to northern Asia, ultimately of Slavic origin.

Means "venom of God" in Hebrew. This is the name of an archangel in Jewish tradition, described as a destructive angel of death.

Russian and Bulgarian form of Samuel.

Romanian, Croatian and Latvian short form of Alexandra.

Diminutive of Aleksandar or Aleksander.

Derived from South Slavic sanjati meaning "to dream".

Finnish short form of Alexander.

Diminutive of Sándor.

Means "sapphire" in Hebrew.

Bulgarian diminutive of Aleksandra, as well as an alternate transcription of Macedonian Сашка (see Saška).

Bulgarian diminutive of Alexander, as well as an alternate transcription of Macedonian Сашо (see Sašo).

Swedish diminutive of Astrid, Alexandra or Sara [1].

Irish form of Charlotte.

Irish form of Charles.

Yiddish form of Alexander.

Means "shadow, shade" in Serbian and Croatian. It can also be a diminutive of Ksenija.

Means "love, infatuation" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, ultimately from Arabic سوداء (sawdāʾ) meaning "black bile, melancholy, sadness" [1].

Variant of Charla.

Means "heard by Yahweh" in Hebrew, from שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name is borne by many characters in the Old Testament including a prophet in the reign of Rehoboam.

Means "song" in Hebrew.

Russian diminutive of Aleksandra or Aleksandr.

Welsh form of Charles.

Means "violet flower" in Hebrew.

Variant of Sigal.

Urdu and Pashto form of Alexander.

Short form of Silviya or Silvija.

From South Slavic sloboda meaning "freedom".

From the Serbo-Croatian word smilje, a type of plant, known as everlasting or immortelle in English (genus Helichrysum).

Derived from the Serbo-Croatian word snežan meaning "snowy".

From Croatian spomenak meaning "forget-me-not (flower)".

Late Greek name derived from Greek σπυρίδιον (spyridion) meaning "basket" or Latin spiritus meaning "spirit". Saint Spyridon was a 4th-century sheep farmer who became the bishop of Tremithus and suffered during the persecutions of Diocletian.

Derived from Slovene sreča meaning "luck".

Means "autumn" in Hebrew.

Means "cross" in Greek, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.

Serbian form of Stephen.

From Croatian sunčan meaning "sunny", a derivative of sunce meaning "sun".

Derived from Russian свет (svet) meaning "light, world". It was popularized by the poem Svetlana (1813) by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It is sometimes used as a translation of Photine.

Derived from Croatian and Serbian tajiti "to keep secret".

Means "honest, innocent" in Hebrew.

Finnish form of Daniel.

Western Armenian transcription of Daniel.

Means "vigour, energy, drive" in Estonian and Finnish.

Diminutive of Atanas.

From the English word, ultimately deriving from Old French tané, which means "light brown".

Means "praise" in Hebrew, from the root הָלַל (halal) meaning "to praise, to shine".

Form of Theresa in various languages.

Means "light" in Tamazight [1].

Derived from the Slavic elements tixŭ "quiet" and mirŭ "peace, world".

Means "hope" in Hebrew.

From the Hebrew name תִּרְצָה (Tirtsa) meaning "favourable". Tirzah is the name of one of the daughters of Zelophehad in the Old Testament. It also occurs in the Old Testament as a place name, the early residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.

Means "palm tree" in Hebrew.

Short form of Victoria.

Hebrew form of Tobiah, also used as a feminine form.

Derived from Greek τρυφή (tryphe) meaning "softness, delicacy". Saint Tryphon, a gooseherder from Syria, was martyred in the 3rd century.

Derived from Bulgarian цвет (tsvet) meaning "flower, blossom".

Means "wind" in Finnish and Estonian.

Means "little wind" in Finnish, derived from tuuli "wind". This was the name of a Finnish forest goddess, the daughter of Tapio.

Hebrew form of Zephyr.

Biblical Hebrew form of Zillah.

Hebrew form of Zipporah.

Alternate transcription of Hebrew צִבְיָה (see Tzivya).

Means "watching" in Hebrew.

Means "sunbird" in Hebrew (referring to birds in the family Nectariniidae).

Means "gazelle, roebuck" in Hebrew, an animal particularly associated with the tribe of Naphtali (see Genesis 49:21).

Scottish Gaelic form of Valentine 1.

Derived from Lithuanian ugnis meaning "fire".

Irish form of Vincent.