skylerrae's Personal Name List

From a place name mentioned briefly in the New Testament. It is probably from Hebrew אָבֵל (ʾavel) meaning "meadow, grassy area". It has occasionally been used as a given name in modern times.

Spanish and Catalan form of April.

From the name of a type of tree, ultimately derived from Greek ἀκή (ake) meaning "thorn, point".

Means "noble" in Hebrew.

Spanish form of Adelaide.

Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

From a Germanic name that was derived from the element adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz).

French and English form of Adelina.

Spanish diminutive of Adela. It is used especially in Mexico, where it is the name of a folk song about a female soldier.

Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.

From the Hebrew name עֲדִינָא (ʿAḏina), derived from עָדִין (ʿaḏin) meaning "delicate". This name is borne by a soldier in the Old Testament.

The feminine name Adina 3 is from the same root, but is spelled differently in Hebrew.

Feminine form of Adrastos. In Greek mythology this name was borne by a nymph who fostered the infant Zeus. This was also another name of the goddess Nemesis.

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

Feminine form of Aelianus.

Possibly inspired by Aylin. It is the name of a character in the 'Throne of Glass' series by Sarah J. Maas.

Created by Russian author Aleksey Tolstoy for his science fiction novel Aelita (1923), where it belongs to a Martian princess. In the book, the name is said to mean "starlight seen for the last time" in the Martian language.

Derived from airelle, the French name for the plant genus Vaccinium. The French derived the name from Portuguese airella, which in turn was derived from Latin atra "dark, black, gloomy".

From the name of a mountain range in Valencia, eastern Spain. The Spanish poet Rafael Alberti used it for his daughter in 1941.

Variant of Ayanna.

Alternate transcription of Arabic عقيلة (see Aqila).

From Japanese 昭 (akira) meaning "bright", 明 (akira) meaning "bright" or 亮 (akira) meaning "clear". Other kanji with the same pronunciation can also form this name. A famous bearer was the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), given name written 明.

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

Used by Ludovico Ariosto in his poem Orlando Furioso (1532), where it belongs to a sorceress who abducts Ruggiero. Ariosto may have borrowed the name from the mythological Alcinoe or directly from the Greek word ἀλκή (alke) meaning "strength, prowess". George Frideric Handel adapted the story into his opera Alcina in 1735.

Latinized form of Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning "kingfisher". In Greek myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, supposedly the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

Galician form of the Visigothic name *Hildiwara, which was composed of the Gothic elements hilds "battle" and wars "aware, cautious". This was the name of the 7th-century wife of the Visigothic king Gundemar. It was also borne by the mother of Saint Rosendo (10th century).

Feminine form of Aldo.

Dutch and Spanish short form of Adelaide.

Spanish form of Alexandra.

Short form of Magdalena or Helena. This was the name of a saint, possibly legendary, who was martyred near Brussels in the 7th century.

Italian feminine form of Alexius.

Feminine form of Alexander. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.

Derived from Arabic الهنعه (al-Han'āh) "sign (on the neck of a camel)", this is the name of the third-brightest star in the constellation of Gemini.

From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).

Latinized form of Alice.

Short form of Adelina, Albina and names that end in alina.

Means "clear quartz crystal" from the word allirea in Wurundjeri, spoken near Melbourne, Australia.

Means "niece" in Arrernte, spoken in Alice Springs, central Australia. It can also mean "daughter" in other Aboriginal languages.

Hungarian form of Alice.

From French alizé meaning "trade wind".

Means "moon" in the Yawaru language.

Variant of Alkinoe.

Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).

Variant of Alira.

Derived from Arabic المدينة (al-mudayna) meaning "the citadel", a diminutive form of the word مدينة (madīna) meaning "city". According to legend, it was in a building by this name that a concealed statue of the Virgin Mary was discovered during the Reconquista in Madrid. The Virgin of Almudena, that is Mary, is the patron saint of Madrid.

Possibly from a Visigothic name, maybe from Gothic elements such as alls "all" or aljis "other" combined with auds "riches, wealth". Saint Alodia was a 9th-century Spanish martyr with her sister Nunilo.

Derived from Spanish alondra meaning "lark".

Means "grace" in Igbo.

From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek ἀμάραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading". Ἀμάραντος (Amarantos) was also an Ancient Greek given name.

Variant of Amaia.

In America, this name was popularized in 1999 by a contestant on the reality television series The Real World [1].

Variant of Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.

Variant of Emery.

From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix ἀ (a) and μέθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness. It is the traditional birthstone of February.

Alternate transcription of Arabic Amina 1 or Amina 2, as well as the usual form in Malay and Indonesian.

Feminine form of Amir 1.

Catalan and Spanish form of Anaïs.

From Kazakh and Kyrgyz анар (anar) meaning "pomegranate", a word ultimately derived from Persian.

Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.

Variant of Nayeli.

Derived from Basque andere "lady" in combination with a diminutive suffix.

Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.

Combination of Anna and Lee.

Combination of Anna and Lise.

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

Medieval English variant of Honora.

Feminine form of Antonius (see Anthony).

Means "very beautiful" in Welsh, from the intensive prefix an- combined with gwen "white, blessed".

Russian diminutive of Anna.

From a Roman cognomen meaning "eagle" in Latin. In Acts in the New Testament Paul lives with Aquila and his wife Priscilla (or Prisca) for a time.

Feminine form of Aquillius. This name was borne by Aquilia Severa, the second and fourth wife of Emperor Elagabalus.

From Wampanoag Âhqunah meaning "the end of the island". This is also the name of a town on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. American actor Michael J. Fox gave this name to his daughter Aquinnah Kathleen born in 1995.

Means "altar of the sky" from Latin ara "altar" and coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.

Variant of Araceli.

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.

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

Variant of Araceli.

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.

Derived from Thai ปริญญา (parinya) meaning "knowledge, awareness, understanding".

Means "noble maiden" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Arwen was the daughter of Elrond and the lover of Aragorn.

The name Asana is a derivative of Hassan.
In Northern Ghana, it is the name given to the second born of a pair of twin girls. The first born twin is named Fuseina According to superstition, the second twin is considered to be the older twin because it is said that during the trauma of birth, the older twin send the younger twin ahead to make sure the world is safe.
Male versions of the names are Alhassan and Fuseini.

Possibly of Scythian origin meaning "blue". In Turkic mythology Asena was a grey wolf who gave birth to the ancestor of the Ashina tribe of Turks.

From an English surname, itself derived from a place name meaning "ash tree town" in Old English. This was a rare masculine name until the 1980s, when it gradually began becoming more common for both genders. Inspired by the female character Ashton Main from the 1985 miniseries North and South, parents in America gave it more frequently to girls than boys from 1986 to 1997 [1]. Since then it has been overwhelmingly masculine once again, perhaps due in part to the fame of the actor Ashton Kutcher (1978-).

Modern Scandinavian form of Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.

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

Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.

The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.

Means "storm" in Lithuanian.

Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

Feminine form of Augustus. It was introduced to Britain when King George III, a member of the German House of Hanover, gave this name to his second daughter in 1768.

Feminine form of Aurelius.

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

From the name of the island paradise to which King Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.

Derived from Latin avellana "hazel", literally "from Avella". Alternatively, it could be a transferred use of the Spanish surname Avellana.

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).

Means "doe, female deer" in Hebrew.

Alternate transcription of Hebrew אֵלָה (see Ela 3).

Means "of the moon" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, from Turkic ay "moon".

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".

Perhaps a form of Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.

Means "madonna lily" in Spanish.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Beatrix.

Spanish form of Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King David and Jesus were born. The town's name is from Hebrew בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beṯ-leḥem) meaning "house of bread".

Probably derived from the Latin elements bella "beautiful" and mira "wondrous" (cf. Mirabella). This name belongs to a courtesan in the play The Jew of Malta (written c. 1589 or 1590) by English dramatist Christopher Marlowe.

Derived from Latin bellare meaning "to fight". This was the name of the Roman goddess of war, a companion of Mars.

Italian cognate of Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and Othello (1603).

From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.

In the United States it became more common for girls in the early 1980s, shortly after the debut of the television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979-1988), which featured a character named Blair Warner. The name left the American top 1000 rankings two decades later, but was resurrected by another television character, this time Blair Waldorf from the series Gossip Girl (2007-2012).

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.

Possibly a variant of Brenda or a feminine form of Brennan.

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.

Variant of Brianne. This is the name of a character in George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, as well as the TV show based on the books 'Game of Thrones'. Martin did not originate this form, though, for it was in use in the United States well before the first book in the series was published in 1996.

Irish variant of Brighid (see Bridget).

Previously a short form of Briseida, though it is now regarded as an independent name directly from the Spanish word brisa "breeze". In Mexico this name was popularized by a character named Brisa (played by actress Margarita Magaña) on the telenovela "Por tu amor" (1999).

Form of Briseis used in medieval tales about the Trojan War.

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".

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.

Norwegian form of Brynhildr.

Feminine form of Caelius.

Feminine form of Caelinus.

Latinized form of Kalliope.

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.

From a Scottish surname meaning "crooked nose" from Gaelic cam "crooked" and sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms Camryn and Kamryn are now more popular than Cameron for girls.

From the Greek name Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.

Feminine form of Cassian.

From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Caiside), which is derived from the byname Caiside. Very rare as a given name before the 1970s, it established itself in the 80s and then surged in popularity during the 90s.

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.

Variant of cattleya, a genus of orchids native to Central and South America, which were named for the British horticulturist William Cattley. This name was popularized by the main character from the movie Colombiana (2011).

Spanish and Corsican form of Katherine.

Anglicized form of Caitríona (Irish) or Caitrìona (Scottish Gaelic).

Spanish feminine form of Caietanus (see Gaetano).

Italian feminine and masculine form of Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.

Derived from the Lakota word šahiyena meaning "red speakers". This is the name of a Native American people of the Great Plains. The name was supposedly given to the Cheyenne by the Lakota because their language was unrelated to their own. As a given name, it has been in use since the 1950s.

Variant of Sierra.

Variant of Sierra.

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.

Spanish form of Clarissa.

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

Short form of Cleopatra, Cleon or Cleopas.

From the English word for the wild flower, ultimately deriving from Old English clafre.

From an aristocratic English surname that was derived either from the French place name Courtenay (originally a derivative of the personal name Curtenus, itself derived from Latin curtus "short") or else from a Norman nickname meaning "short nose".

Originally more common as a name for boys in America, it became more popular for girls in the 1960s. It began rapidly increasing after 1973, possibly due to a character (played by Natalie Wood) in the television movie The Affair. It reached an apex in the United States ranked 17th in 1990, though it has quickly fallen away since then.

Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).

Latinized form of Greek Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means "woman from Cynthus". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then.

Archaic North Frisian form of Severine, recorded on the isle of Sylt in the 1600s.

Feminine form of Dacius and Dacio.

Of uncertain origin and meaning.

Either a phonetic spelling of Dacia or a variant of Deja, the spelling possibly influenced by Daisy or Aisha.

Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.

Meaning uncertain, perhaps an elaboration of Dalia 1. This name was used by Mexican-American musician Larry Hernandez for his daughter born 2010.

Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian form of Daria.

Either from Latin deliciae "delight, pleasure" or a variant of the English word delicious. It has been used since the 17th century (rarely).

Means "Earth (the planet); world".

Variant of Dolores.

Feminine form of Demetrius.

From a surname, either the Irish surname Devin 1 or the English surname Devin 2.

Means "sweet" or "candy" in Spanish.

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.

Possibly from Old Norse meaning "great-grandmother". This was the name of two 13th-century Icelandic literary works: the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. This is also the name of a character in the Poetic Edda, though it is unclear if her name is connected to the name of the collection.

From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight" [1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.

Anglicized form of Eibhlín. It is also sometimes considered an Irish form of Helen. It first became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland near the end of the 19th century.

Irish Gaelic form of Elizabeth (or sometimes of Alice).

Perhaps means "white brow", derived from Welsh ael "brow" and gwen "white, blessed". This is a recently created Welsh name.

Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.

Ancient Greek form of Irene.

Means "white snow" from the Welsh elements eira "snow" and gwen "white, blessed". This name was created in the early 20th century.

Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Katherine, and an alternate transcription of Russian Екатерина (see Yekaterina).

Variant of Elaine.

From an Old French form of Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of Pelles, the lover of Lancelot, and the mother of Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic Idylls of the King (1859).

Feminine form of Elan.

From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Latinate form of Eleanor.

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.

Form of Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Елена (see Yelena).

Modern Greek form of Helen.

Variant of Eleanor.

Form of Eleanor in several languages.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Éliane.

Perhaps a combination of Elisavet or Eleni with Anna.

Scandinavian and Welsh form of Helen.

Finnish, Estonian and Swedish form of Helen.

Variant of Eleanor.

Feminine form of Elior.

Short form of Elisabeth.

Short form of Elizabeth.

Short form of Elizabeth. It was borne by the character Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (1913) and the subsequent musical adaptation My Fair Lady (1956).

Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.

Scottish form of Elizabeth.

Derived from Welsh eilun meaning "image, likeness, idol". This was the name of a legendary 5th-century Welsh saint, also known as Eiliwedd, one of the supposed daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.

Diminutive of Elizabeth. It was popularized in the early 1980s by a character from the television comedy Family Ties.

From Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman mythology.

From the English word ember, ultimately from Old English æmerge.

From an English surname meaning "son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.

From Japanese 恵 (e) meaning "favour, benefit" and 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" and 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.

Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of Iago.

Means "bliss" in Amharic.

Variant of Emery.

Probably derived from Welsh enaid meaning "soul, spirit, life". In Arthurian tales she first appears in the 12th-century French poem Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes, where she is the wife of Erec. In later adaptations she is typically the wife of Geraint. The name became more commonly used after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian poem Enid in 1859, and it was fairly popular in Britain in the first half of the 20th century.

Means "horse joy" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden of Rohan. She slays the Lord of the Nazgul in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

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.

Means "strife, discord" in Greek. In Greek mythology Eris was the goddess of discord. She was the sister and companion of Ares.

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.

Spanish form of the Late Latin name Sperantia, which was derived from sperare "to hope".

Possibly a Turkish form of Asra.

From the Hebrew name אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was Hadassah.

This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].

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.

Feminine form of Eugenius (see Eugene). It was borne by a semi-legendary 3rd-century saint who escaped persecution by disguising herself as a man. The name was occasionally found in England during the Middle Ages, but it was not regularly used until the 19th century.

From Greek Εὐάδνη (Euadne), from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" possibly combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". This name was borne by several characters in Greek legend, including the wife of Capaneus. After Capaneus was killed by a lightning bolt sent from Zeus she committed suicide by throwing herself onto his burning body.

Means "good news" from Greek εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.

Either the feminine form of Evan and a combination of Eva and Anna.

A famous bearer is Irish actress Evanna Lynch (1991-) known for her role as Luna Lovegood in the movie adaptation of 'Harry Potter' saga.

German, Estonian and Hungarian form of Evelina.

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to Eve and Evelina.

This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.

Means "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.

Derived from the Old Norse elements ey "good fortune" or "island" and dís "goddess".

Variant of Fay.

Variant of Fay.

From the English word felicity meaning "happiness", which ultimately derives from Latin felicitas "good luck". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans around the 17th century. It can sometimes be used as an English form of the Latin name Felicitas. This name jumped in popularity in the United States after the premiere of the television series Felicity in 1998. It is more common in the United Kingdom.

From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.

Anglicized form of Fionnlagh. This spelling is more common in Scotland, though in England and Wales the variant Finley has been more popular since 2007.

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.

Spanish feminine form of Florentius (see Florence).

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.

Originally a short form of names containing the Old German element fridu meaning "peace" (Proto-Germanic *friþuz). A famous bearer was the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).