Bleuette's Personal Name List
Ada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AY-də(English) A-dha(Spanish) A-da(Polish) AH-dah(Finnish)
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as
Adelaide or
Adelina that begin with the element
adal meaning "noble".
Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.
Adamina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ad-ə-MEEN-ə
Adamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), French (Rare), Scottish (Rare), German (Rare)
Ainash
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Айнаш(Kazakh) ايناش(Kazakh Arabic)
Pronounced: ie-NAHSH
Derived from Kazakh айна (ayna) meaning "mirror", of Persian origin.
Aino
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian, Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: IE-no(Finnish)
Means
"the only one" in Finnish. In the Finnish epic the
Kalevala this is the name of a girl who drowns herself when she finds out she must marry the old man
Väinämöinen.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Akakios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ακάκιος(Greek) Ἀκάκιος(Ancient Greek)
From a Greek word meaning
"innocent, not evil", derived from
ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with
κάκη (kake) meaning "evil". This was the name of three early
saints, two of whom were martyred.
Alasdair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Alastair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Algernon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-jər-nən
Originally a Norman French nickname, derived from aux gernons "having a moustache", which was applied to William de Percy, a companion of William the Conqueror. It was first used a given name in the 15th century (for a descendant of William de Percy). This name was borne by a character (a mouse) in the short story Flowers for Algernon (1958) and novel of the same title (1966) by the American author Daniel Keyes.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alondra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: a-LON-dra
Derived from Spanish alondra meaning "lark".
Altynshash
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Алтыншаш(Kazakh) التىنشاش(Kazakh Arabic)
Means "golden hair" from Kazakh алтын (altyn) meaning "gold" combined with шаш (shash) meaning "hair".
Anay-ool
Usage: Tuvan
Other Scripts: Анай-оол(Tuvan)
Derived from Tuvan анай (anay) meaning "goat, kid" combined with оол (ool) meaning "son, boy".
Aphrah
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, English (Puritan)
Pronounced: AH-frah(English)
From the biblical place Aphrah in the Book of Micah, meaning "dust." This name was used by Puritans, but has since become rare.
Arcangelo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ar-KAN-jeh-lo
Means "archangel" in Italian.
Archibald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: AHR-chi-bawld
Derived from the Germanic name
Ercanbald, composed of the elements
erkan meaning "pure, holy, genuine" and
bald meaning "bold, brave". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element
ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". The
Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages (sometimes used to Anglicize the Gaelic name
Gilleasbuig, for unknown reasons).
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Arsène
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AR-SEHN
Arsenio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ar-SEH-nyo
Ashok
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali
Other Scripts: अशोक(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) অশোক(Bengali) અશોક(Gujarati) ಅಶೋಕ್(Kannada) அசோக்(Tamil) అశోక్(Telugu)
Ashoka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sanskrit
Other Scripts: अशोक(Sanskrit)
Means
"without sorrow" in Sanskrit, from
अ (a) meaning "not" and
शोका (śokā) meaning "sorrow, grief". This name was borne by Ashoka (or Aśoka) the Great, a 3rd-century BC emperor of the Maurya Empire in northern India.
Asra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أسرى(Arabic)
Pronounced: AS-ra
Means "travel at night" in Arabic.
Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning
"from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Aytaç
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ie-TACH
Derived from Turkish
ay meaning "moon" and
taç meaning "crown" (of Persian origin).
Azrael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Variant of
Azarel. This is the name of an angel in Jewish and Islamic tradition who separates the soul from the body upon death. He is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Death.
Azzurra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ad-DZOOR-ra
Means "azure, sky blue" in Italian.
Balganym
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Балғаным(Kazakh) بالعانىم(Kazakh Arabic)
Derived from Kazakh бал (bal) meaning "honey" and ханым (khanym) meaning "lady, madame".
Bard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
A significant supporting character in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, Bard the Bowman (abbreviated to Bard) of Esgaroth was a skilled archer and the heir of Girion, the last king of old Dale. He was described as "grim faced" and while a guardsman of Esgaroth he was often predicting floods and poisoned fish. He rallied the guards to defend the town when the Dragon came. Bard was able to slay the dragon Smaug with the Black Arrow after a tip from the old thrush (who had overheard Bilbo Baggins' description of Smaug) had revealed an unarmoured spot on the dragon's underside. Bard claimed a fourteenth of the treasure amassed by the dragon, which he subsequently shared with the Master of Esgaroth to rebuild the town, but the Master stole the money and ran off into the wild where he died. After its rebuilding, Bard was the first king of restored Dale, followed by his son Bain, grandson Brand, and great-grandson Bard II.
Bayram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: bie-RAM
Means "festival" in Turkish.
Beausoleil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Cajun)
Joseph Broussard 1702-1765; also known as beausoleil. Leader of Acadian people of Nova Scotia.
Benjamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BEHN-ZHA-MEEN
Benvenuto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: behn-veh-NOO-to
Means "welcome" in Italian. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance sculptor and writer Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571).
Bernadine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUR-nə-deen
Bilal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Urdu
Other Scripts: بلال(Arabic, Urdu)
Pronounced: bee-LAL(Arabic)
Means
"wetting, moistening" in Arabic. This was the name of a companion of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Birch
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BURCH
From the English word for the birch tree. Famous bearers include Birch Evans Bayh III, senator from Indiana, who assumed office in 1999. Birch Evans Bayh II was a senator from Indiana 1963-1981.
Bonaccorso
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Italian
Medieval Italian name derived from bono "good" and accorso "haste, rush, help".
Bonaparte
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare), French (Rare)
Bonaventura
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: baw-na-vehn-TOO-ra(Italian)
Means
"good fortune" in Italian, from Latin
bonus "good" and
venturas "the things that will come, the future".
Saint Bonaventura was a 13th-century Franciscan monk who is considered a Doctor of the Church.
Bonaventure
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: BAW-NA-VAHN-TUYR(French) bahn-ə-VEHN-chər(English)
French and English form of
Bonaventura. As a French name it is most common in Francophone Africa, while as an English name it is mostly used in reference to the
saint.
Botagoz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Ботагөз(Kazakh) بوتاگوز(Kazakh Arabic)
Pronounced: bo-tah-GUUZ
From Kazakh бота (bota) meaning "camel calf, colt" and көз (koz) meaning "eye". The name was traditionally given to girls who were believed to possess the "evil eye" due to the appearance of their eyes at birth.
Brindabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian
Pronounced: brin-duh-BEL-uh
Locational name, from the Brindabella mountain range on the border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Usually said to be from a local language, meaning "two hopping mice" - hopping mice are native Australian mice. Another theory is that it is from brindy brindy, meaning "water running over rocks", with a European -bella added to suggest "beautiful".
Brogán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
From the Old Irish name
Broccán, derived from
bróc "shoe, sandal, greave" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several Irish
saints, including Saint
Patrick's scribe.
Bulut
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: boo-LOOT
Means "cloud" in Turkish.
Buonaparte
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Derived from Italian elements bona (or buona) "good" and parte "solution".
Cairbre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KAR-bryə
Means "charioteer" in Irish. This was the name of two semi-legendary high kings of Ireland.
Caprice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kə-PREES
From the English word meaning "impulse", ultimately (via French) from Italian capriccio.
Capucine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KA-PUY-SEEN
Means
"nasturtium" in French. This was the
stage name of the French actress and model Capucine (1928-1990).
Cedar
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEE-dər
From the English word for the coniferous tree, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
κέδρος (kedros). Besides the true cedars from the genus Cedrus, it is also used to refer to some tree species in the cypress family.
Cherubina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Italian, Italian (Rare)
Choygan-ool
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Tuvan
Other Scripts: Чойган-оол(Tuvan)
From Tuvan чойган (choygan) meaning "fir" and оол (ool) meaning "boy, son".
Chrysalis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Filipino (Rare)
Pronounced: KRIS-ə-lis(English)
From the word referring to the pupa of a butterfly or moth or the cocoon where the pupa is enclosed inside, derived via Latin from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς
(khrusallís), from χρυσός
(khrusós) meaning "gold."
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic villain bears this name.
Cian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEEN(Irish)
Means
"ancient, enduring" in Irish. In Irish
mythology this was the name of the father of
Lugh Lámfada. It was also borne by the mythical ancestor of the Ciannachta and by a son-in-law of
Brian Boru.
Cipactli
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl
Means
"crocodile, alligator, caiman, monster" in Nahuatl
[1]. This is the name of the first day in the tonalpohualli, the Aztec 260-day calendar.
Clarity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KLAR-i-tee
Simply means "clarity, lucidity" from the English word, ultimately from Latin clarus "clear".
Clémentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN-TEEN
French feminine form of
Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).
Cloelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Feminine form of
Cloelius. In Roman legend Cloelia was a maiden who was given to an Etruscan invader as a hostage. She managed to escape by swimming across the Tiber, at the same time helping some of the other captives to safety.
Clotaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLO-TEHR
Colby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL-bee
From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.
Colombano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Colombe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-LAWNB
Colombina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Italian feminine
diminutive of
Columba. In traditional Italian pantomimes this is the name of a stock character, the female counterpart of Arlecchino (also called Harlequin). This is also the Italian word for the columbine flower.
Columbine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KAHL-əm-bien
From the name of a variety of flower. It is also an English form of
Colombina, the pantomime character.
Comfort
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: KUM-fərt
From the English word
comfort, ultimately from Latin
confortare "to strengthen greatly", a derivative of
fortis "strong". It was used as a given name after the
Protestant Reformation. It is now most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.
Corbin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWR-bin
From a French surname that was derived from
corbeau "raven", originally denoting a person who had dark hair. The name was probably popularized in America by actor Corbin Bernsen (1954-)
[1].
Corentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton (Gallicized), French
Corona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ko-RO-na(Italian, Spanish)
Means
"crown" in Latin, as well as Italian and Spanish. This was the name of a 2nd-century
saint who was martyred with her companion Victor.
Corvi
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAWR-vee
Nickname derived from Italian corvo meaning "crow".
Cotton
English: habitational name from any of numerous places named from Old English
cotum (dative plural of
cot) ‘at the cottages or huts’ (or sometimes possibly from a Middle English plural,
coten). Examples include Coton (Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire), Cottam (East Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire), and Cotham (Nottinghamshire).
French: from a diminutive of Old French
cot(t)e ‘coat (of mail)’ (see
Cott).
Cumhur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: joom-HOOR
Means "public, people" in Turkish.
Custodio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: koos-TO-dhyo
Means "guardian" in Spanish, from Latin custodia "protection, safekeeping".
Cygnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan.
Damascus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: də-MAS-kəs(American English)
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Daphnée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: DAF-NEH
French variant form of
Daphne.
Darayavaush
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Persian
Other Scripts: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Darius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: də-RIE-əs(English) DAR-ee-əs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means
"possessing goodness", composed of
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good"
[1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.
Davida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
December
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: dis-EM-bər, DEE-səm-bər
Derived from the Latin word decem, meaning "ten". December is the twelfth month on the Gregorian calendar. This name is used regularly in America, mostly on females.
Defrim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian dëfrim "entertainment, amusement; fun".
Deja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-zhə(English)
Means "already" from the French phrase déjà vu meaning "already seen". It received a popularity boost in 1995 when a character named Deja appeared in the movie Higher Learning.
Deograzia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: de-o-GRAHT-syah
Means "grace of God" or "gratitude, thanks to God", from Latin Deus "God" and gratia "grace".
Desen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means "pattern" in Turkish.
Desiderius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Derived from Latin
desiderium meaning
"longing, desire". It was the name of several early
saints. It was also borne in the 8th century by the last king of the Lombard Kingdom.
Désiré
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEH-ZEE-REH
Désirée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, German
Pronounced: DEH-ZEE-REH(French)
French form of
Desiderata. In part it is directly from the French word meaning "desired, wished".
Diarmaid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: DYEER-ə-məd(Irish)
Meaning unknown, though it has been suggested that it means
"without envy" in Irish. In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior who became the lover of
Gráinne. It was also the name of several ancient Irish kings.
Dimas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: DEE-mas(Spanish)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Dismas.
Dolorette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare), French (Quebec, Rare)
Combination of
Dolores with the suffix
-ette.
Donatello
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: do-na-TEHL-lo
Diminutive of
Donato. The Renaissance sculptor Donato di Niccolò di Bette Bardi (1386-1466) was better known as Donatello.
Dubois
Usage: French
Pronounced: DUY-BWA
Means "from the forest", from French bois "forest".
Dulce
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: DOOL-theh(European Spanish) DOOL-seh(Latin American Spanish)
Means "sweet" or "candy" in Spanish.
Dulcibella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
From Latin
dulcis "sweet" and
bella "beautiful". The usual medieval spelling of this name was
Dowsabel, and the Latinized form
Dulcibella was revived in the 18th century.
Dymphy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: DIM-fee
Edern
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle, Medieval Breton, Breton
Derived from Old Welsh
edyrn "immense; heavy; prodigious, wonderful, marvellous", in the past this name has been (falsely) considered a derivation from Latin
aeternus "eternal".
This was the name of the father of the legendary 5th-century war leader
Cunedda. It was also the name of a Breton saint, frequently depicted riding a stag.
Eleuterio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: eh-lew-TEH-ryo(Spanish)
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
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).
Emmanuelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-MA-NWEHL
Enid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: EH-nid(Welsh) EE-nid(English)
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.
Énna
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish
Possibly from Old Irish
én meaning
"bird". This was the name of several Irish kings and heroes. It was also borne by a 6th-century
saint who built the monastery of Killeany on Aran.
Enoli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cherokee
Means "black fox" in Cherokee.
Esmeralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Albanian, Literature
Pronounced: ehz-meh-RAL-da(Spanish) izh-mi-RAL-du(European Portuguese) ehz-meh-ROW-du(Brazilian Portuguese) ehz-mə-RAHL-də(English)
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.
Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Latinate form of
Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
Estelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL(English) EHS-TEHL(French)
From an Old French name meaning
"star", ultimately derived from Latin
stella. It was rare in the English-speaking world in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due to the character Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens' novel
Great Expectations (1860).
Estera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Slovak, Romanian, Lithuanian
Pronounced: eh-STEH-ra(Polish)
Polish, Slovak, Romanian and Lithuanian form of
Esther.
Estrella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TREH-ya
Spanish form of
Stella 1, coinciding with the Spanish word meaning "star".
Eteri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ეთერი(Georgian)
Pronounced: EH-TEH-REE
Form of
Eter with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Étiennette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
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.
Ever
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ər
Simply from the English word ever, derived from Old English æfre.
Evidence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EV-i-dəns
This name comes from a word which can mean "a fact/observation presented in support of an assertion" or "an appearance from which inferences may be drawn." The word is derived from Old French evidence, which originates from Late Latin evidentia meaning "proof" (for Classical Latin, "distinction, vivid presentation, clearness,") stemming from Latin evidens meaning "obvious, apparent."
Fable
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY-bel
Derived from the word for a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are given human qualities, and that illustrates a moral lesson.
The word "fable" comes from the Latin fabula (a "story"), itself derived from fari ("to speak") with the -ula suffix that signifies "little".
Fairlight
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
A transferred use of the surname
Fairlight used as far back as the 1800's in England and the States.
Fanthorpe
Fan means "From France" and Thorpe is a Middle English word meaning "Small Village, Hamlet"
Faris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian
Other Scripts: فارس(Arabic)
Pronounced: FA-rees(Arabic)
Means "horseman, knight" in Arabic.
Fawnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani
Derived from the Romani word fawnie "ring; finger ring".
Fayette
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: fah-YET(English)
Short form of
Lafayette, or else from a surname ultimately derived from Old French
faie "beech", which originally denoted a person who lived in or by a beech wood, or who was from any of various places in France named with the word.
Felina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Feline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: feh-LEE-nə
Fereshteh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: فرشته(Persian)
Pronounced: feh-resh-TEH
Means "angel" in Persian.
Ffion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: FEE-awn, FI-awn
Means "foxglove" in Welsh (species Digitalis purpurea). This is a recently created Welsh name.
Fiachra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYEEKH-rə(Irish)
From Old Irish
Fiachrae, possibly from
fiach "raven" or
fích "battle" combined with
rí "king". This was the name of several legendary figures, including one of the four children of
Lir transformed into swans for a period of 900 years. This is also the name of the patron
saint of gardeners: a 7th-century Irish abbot who settled in France, usually called Saint Fiacre.
Fiamma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: FYAM-ma
Means "flame" in Italian.
Fiammetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: fyam-MEHT-ta
Diminutive of
Fiamma. This is the name of a character appearing in several works by the 14th-century Italian author Boccaccio. She was probably based on the Neapolitan noblewoman Maria d'Aquino.
Finch
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: FINCH(English)
Transferred use of the surname
Finch.
Fioralba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Combination of Italian
fiore "flower" (Latin
flos) and
alba "dawn".
Firmin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Medieval English
Pronounced: FEER-MEHN(French)
From the Late Latin name
Firminus meaning
"firm". This was the name of several early
saints, notably the 3rd-century bishop Saint Firmin (or Fermin) of Amiens who is especially venerated in Navarre, Spain.
Flaithrí
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish
Means
"king of princes" from Old Irish
flaith "ruler, sovereign, prince" and
rí "king".
Florence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
From the Latin name
Florentius or the feminine form
Florentia, which were derived from
florens "prosperous, flourishing".
Florentius was borne by many early Christian
saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
Florry
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLAWR-ee
Flossie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLAHS-ee
Folkvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Swedish
Forest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWR-ist
Variant of
Forrest, or else directly from the English word
forest.
Freeman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREE-mən
From an English surname meaning "free man". It originally denoted a person who was not a serf.
Friday
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: FRIE-day
From the English word for the day of the week, which was derived from Old English
frigedæg meaning "
Frig's day". Daniel Defoe used it for a character in his novel
Robinson Crusoe (1719). As a given name, it is most often found in parts of Africa, such as Nigeria and Zambia.
Gage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYJ
From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).
Galaxy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: GAL-əks-ee(American English)
From the English word galaxy, "a collection of star systems", ultimately from from Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías, "Milky Way"), from γάλα (gála, "milk").
Galileo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: ga-lee-LEH-o
Medieval Italian name derived from Latin
galilaeus meaning
"Galilean, from Galilee". Galilee is a region in northern Israel, mentioned in the
New Testament as the site of several of
Jesus's miracles. It is derived from the Hebrew root
גָּלִיל (galil) meaning "district, roll".
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an important Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer. Both his name and surname were from an earlier 15th-century ancestor (a doctor).
Gallus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Roman
cognomen meaning
"rooster" in Latin. It could also refer to a person from Gaul (Latin
Gallia). This was the name of a 7th-century Irish
saint, a companion of Saint
Columbanus, who later became a hermit in Switzerland.
Gamaliel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: גַּםְלִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαμαλιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: gə-MAY-lee-əl(English)
Means
"my reward is God" in Hebrew, from the roots
גָּמַל (gamal) meaning "to reward" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name appears in the
Old Testament belonging to a son of Pedahzur. It was also borne by a 1st-century Jewish priest and scholar, mentioned in Acts in the
New Testament as a teacher of
Saint Paul.
Garland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-lənd
From a surname meaning "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. The surname originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.
Garnet 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-nət
From the English word garnet for the precious stone, the birthstone of January. The word is derived from Middle English gernet meaning "dark red".
Gelsomina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jehl-so-MEE-na
Gentian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
From the name of the flowering plant called the gentian, the roots of which are used to create a tonic. It is derived from the name of the Illyrian king
Gentius, who supposedly discovered its medicinal properties.
Gérard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEH-RAR
Gib
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GIB
Giuvanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sicilian
Gizem
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: gyee-ZEHM
Means "mystery" in Turkish.
Glauco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: GLOW-ko(Italian, Spanish) GLOW-koo(Portuguese)
Italian, Portuguese and Spanish form of
Glaucus.
Godfrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHD-free
From the Germanic name
Godefrid, which meant
"peace of god" from the Old German elements
got "god" and
fridu "peace". The
Normans brought this name to England, where it became common during the Middle Ages. A notable bearer was Godfrey of Bouillon, an 11th-century leader of the First Crusade and the first ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Goldie 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GOL-dee
From a nickname for a person with blond hair, from the English word gold.
Goliath
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: גָּלְיָת(Ancient Hebrew) Γολιάθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: gə-LIE-əth(English)
From the Hebrew name
גָּלְיָת (Golyaṯ), possibly derived from
גָּלָה (gala) meaning
"uncover, reveal" [1]. This is the name of the giant Philistine who is slain by
David in the
Old Testament.
Gormlaith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Irish [1]
Derived from Old Irish
gorm "blue" or "illustrious" and
flaith "ruler, sovereign, princess". This was the name of several medieval Irish royals, including the wife of the 11th-century king
Brian Boru.
Grímr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse, Norse Mythology
Means "masked person" or "shape-changer" in Old Norse (derived from
gríma "mask, helmet"). This was a byname of the god
Odin, perhaps given to boys in an attempt to secure the protection of the god.
Grímúlfur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic (Rare)
Grímur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic, Faroese
Icelandic and Faroese form of
Grímr.
Guadalupe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ghwa-dha-LOO-peh
From a Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, meaning "Our Lady of Guadalupe". Guadalupe is a Spanish place name, the site of a famous convent, derived from Arabic
وادي (wādī) meaning "valley, river" possibly combined with Latin
lupus meaning "wolf". In the 16th century Our Lady of Guadalupe supposedly appeared in a vision to a native Mexican man, and she is now regarded as a patron
saint of the Americas.
Gwenaëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: GWEH-NA-EHL(French)
Hamo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Norman form of
Haimo. The
Normans brought this name to Britain.
Hans-Günther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Hans-Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Harland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lənd
From a surname that was a variant of
Harlan.
Haze
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: HAYZ
Variant of
Hayes, sometimes used as a short form of
Hazel.
Heaven
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HEHV-ən
From the English vocabulary word meaning "paradise". It is derived via Middle English hevene from Old English heofon "sky".
Hector
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Arthurian Cycle
Other Scripts: Ἕκτωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHK-tər(English) EHK-TAWR(French)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἕκτωρ (Hektor), which was derived from
ἕκτωρ (hektor) meaning
"holding fast", ultimately from
ἔχω (echo) meaning "to hold, to possess". In Greek legend Hector was one of the Trojan champions who fought against the Greeks. After he killed
Achilles' friend
Patroclus in battle, he was himself brutally slain by Achilles, who proceeded to tie his dead body to a chariot and drag it about. This name also appears in Arthurian legends where it belongs to King
Arthur's foster father.
Hector has occasionally been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, probably because of the noble character of the classical hero. It has been historically common in Scotland, where it was used as an Anglicized form of Eachann.
Hero 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἡρώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HIR-o(English)
Derived from Greek
ἥρως (heros) meaning
"hero". In Greek legend she was the lover of
Leander, who would swim across the Hellespont each night to meet her. He was killed on one such occasion when he got caught in a storm while in the water, and when Hero saw his dead body she drowned herself. This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's play
Much Ado About Nothing (1599).
Herod
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἡρῴδης, Ἡρώδης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-əd(English)
From the Greek name
Ἡρῴδης (Herodes), which probably means
"song of the hero" from
ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior" combined with
ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song, ode". This was the name of several rulers of Judea during the period when it was part of the Roman Empire. This includes two who appear in the
New Testament: Herod the Great, the king who ordered the slaughter of the children, and his son Herod Antipas, who had
John the Baptist beheaded.
Heroides
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἡρωΐδης(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek form of
Herod.
Hestiyar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Kurdish
Derived from Kurdish hestyar meaning "sentimental".
Hina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu, Punjabi, Indian (Muslim)
Other Scripts: حنا(Urdu, Shahmukhi) हिना(Hindi)
Derived from the Arabic حناء (ḥinnāʾ), which refers to a dye taken from the Lawsonia inermis plant (called "henna" in English). In South Asian and Middle Eastern culture, it was traditionally used for body art and dying.
Holiday
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: HAHL-i-day
Transferred use of the surname
Holiday.
Hollis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-is
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English holis "holly trees". It was originally given to a person who lived near a group of those trees.
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Variant of
Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the
Normans.
Horacio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: o-RA-thyo(European Spanish) o-RA-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Personal remark: is also a Esperanto name
Horsa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon Mythology
From Old English or Old Saxon
hors meaning
"horse". According to medieval chronicles, Horsa and his brother
Hengist were the leaders of the first Saxon settlers to arrive in Britain. Horsa was said to have died in battle with the Britons. He is first mentioned in the 8th-century writings of the English historian Bede.
Hoshiko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 星子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ほしこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HO-SHEE-KO, HO-SHKO
From Japanese
星 (hoshi) meaning "star" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Hotaru
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 蛍(Japanese Kanji) ほたる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HO-TA-ROO
From Japanese
蛍 (hotaru) meaning "firefly".
Huguette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UY-GEHT
Humayra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: حميراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: hoo-mie-RA
Means
"red" in Arabic. This was a name given by the Prophet
Muhammad to his wife
Aisha.
Ibrahima
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Western African
Form of
Ibrahim used in parts of West Africa.
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
From the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several
saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact
Íñigo.
Innocent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical), English (African)
Pronounced: IN-ə-sənt(English, African English)
From the Late Latin name
Innocentius, which was derived from
innocens "innocent". This was the name of several early
saints. It was also borne by 13 popes including Innocent III, a politically powerful ruler and organizer of the Fourth Crusade.
As an English-language name in the modern era, it is most common in Africa.
Israfil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: إسرافيل(Arabic)
Meaning unknown. In Islamic tradition this is the name of the angel who will blow the trumpet that signals the coming of Judgement Day. He is sometimes equated with the angels
Raphael or
Uriel from Judeo-Christian tradition.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Jacobina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: ya-ko-BEE-na
Jacobine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian (Archaic), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: ya-ko-BEE-nə(Dutch)
Norwegian and Dutch feminine form of
Jacob.
Jagoda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Јагода(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ya-GAW-da(Polish)
Means
"strawberry" in South Slavic, and
"berry" in Polish. Also in Poland, this can be a
diminutive of
Jadwiga.
Jamyang
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese
Other Scripts: འཇམ་དབྱངས(Tibetan)
Means
"gentle song" in Tibetan, from
འཇམ ('jam) meaning "gentle, soft" and
དབྱངས (dbyangs) meaning "song, voice".
Jasmin 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bosnian
Jasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAZ-min(English) ZHAS-MEEN(French)
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian
یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans
[1]. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie
Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.
Jawahir
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: جواهر(Arabic)
Pronounced: ja-WA-heer
Means
"jewels" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian
گوهر (gōhar) meaning "jewel, essence".
Johannes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Late Roman
Pronounced: yo-HA-nəs(German) yo-HAH-nəs(Dutch) yo-HAN-əs(Danish) YO-hahn-nehs(Finnish)
Latin form of Greek
Ioannes (see
John). Notable bearers include the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).
Journey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JUR-nee
From the English word, derived via Old French from Latin diurnus "of the day".
Jupiter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: JOO-pi-tər(English)
From Latin
Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *
Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements
Dyēws (see
Zeus) and
pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman
mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.
Juvela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: yoo-VEH-la
From Esperanto juvelo meaning "jewel".
Kálmán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: KAL-man
Probably of Turkic origin, meaning
"remainder". This was the name of a 12th-century king of Hungary. It was also borne in the 13th-century by the first king of Galicia-Volhynia, who was also a member of the Hungarian Árpád royal family. This name has been frequently confused with
Koloman.
Kandaĵa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: kan-DA-zha
Means "made of candy" in Esperanto, a derivative of kando meaning "candy, rock sugar".
Kara-kis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tuvan, Khakas
Means "black girl" in Tuvan and Khakas.
Keitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Kestrel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEHS-trəl
From the name of the bird of prey, ultimately derived from Old French crecelle "rattle", which refers to the sound of its cry.
Keturah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְטוּרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-TOO-rə(English)
Kewê
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kurdish
Derived from Kurdish kew meaning "partridge".
Killara
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Indigenous Australian (Rare), Darug
Means "permanent, always there" in Darug.
It's the name of a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, Australia.
Kinneret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כִּנֶּרֶת(Hebrew)
Kizil-ool
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Siberian, Khakas
Means "red boy" in Khakas.
Kleid
Occupational name for a tailor, from Old High German kleid meaning "garment, clothing".
Kohinoor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From Koh-i-noor, the name of a famous gemstone, meaning "mountain of light" in Persian.
Kokoro
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 心, etc.(Japanese Kanji) こころ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KO-KO-RO
From Japanese
心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Kolgrímur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic (Rare), Faroese
Koraljka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
From Croatian koralj meaning "coral", ultimately from Latin corallium.
Koralo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: ko-RA-lo
Means "coral" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin corallium.
Korbinian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: kawr-BEE-nee-an
Derived from Latin
corvus meaning
"raven". This was the name of an 8th-century Frankish
saint who was sent by Pope Gregory II to evangelize in Bavaria. His real name may have been
Hraban.
Kreka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
Meaning unknown, possibly of Turkic or Germanic origin. This name was borne by the most powerful of
Attila's wives.
Kreshnik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian kreshnik "valiant hero; valiant; valorous".
Kuğu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means "swan" in Turkish.
Kulpynai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh (Rare)
Other Scripts: Құлпынай(Kazakh)
Means "strawberry" in Kazakh.
Kuškaš-ool
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Tuvan
Means "bird boy" in Tuvan.
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Lachtna
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
From Old Irish
Lachtnae meaning
"milk-coloured", from
lacht "milk" (borrowed from Latin). This was the name of a great-grandfather of the Irish king
Brian Boru.
Lake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
Lamya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: لمياء(Arabic)
Pronounced: lam-YA
Derived from the poetic Arabic word
لمى (lamā) meaning
"dark red lips".
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Leelo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Means "folk song" in Estonian.
Legend
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHJ-ənd
From the English word, referring to a story about the past (or by extension, a heroic character in such a story), ultimately from Latin legere "to read".
Léopoldine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AW-PAWL-DEEN
Líadan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: LYEE-dən
Possibly from Old Irish
líath meaning
"grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century
saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.
Liselotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LEE-zeh-law-tə(German)
List
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Rare)
From Old Norse list meaning "art, craft" as well as "skill, adroitness, dexterity". This is also the Icelandic word for "art".
Listalín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern, Rare)
Combination of the Old Norse name elements list "skill; dexterity; art; craft" and lín "flax; linen; linen garment".
Livilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Roman diminutive of
Livia 1. It was a family nickname for the elder sister of the Roman emperor Claudius, Livia Julia (c.13 BC-31 AD), apparently called
Livilla "little Livia" in order to distinguish her from her grandmother and namesake, Livia (wife of Augustus).
Llinos
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SHEE-naws, SHI-naws
Means "linnet, finch" in Welsh. The linnet (species Linaria cannabina) is a small European bird in the finch family.
Lockie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWK-ee(British English)
Lolita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: lo-LEE-ta
Diminutive of
Lola. This is the name of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.
Lonán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: LUW-nan(Irish)
Means
"little blackbird", derived from Old Irish
lon "blackbird" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This name was borne by several early
saints.
Luc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Welsh
Pronounced: LUYK(French)
French and Welsh form of
Lucas (see
Luke).
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Latin form of Greek
Λουκᾶς (see
Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.
This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).
Lujayn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: لجين(Arabic)
Pronounced: loo-JIEN
Means "silver" in Arabic.
Lunette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Archaic), English (Archaic)
Pronounced: loo-NEHT(English)
Means "little moon" in Medieval French. It is derived from French
lune "moon" combined with a diminutive suffix. So, in other words, one could say that this name is the diminutive form of
Lune.
Lupita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: loo-PEE-ta
Luqman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: لقمان(Arabic, Urdu)
Pronounced: look-MAN(Arabic) luwk-MAHN(Urdu) LOOK-man(Malay, Indonesian)
Meaning uncertain. This is the name of a figure mentioned several times in the Quran, described as a sage who was bestowed with wisdom by God. He is also the namesake of the 31st chapter of the Quran (surah Luqman).
Lycus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύκος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύκος (Lykos) meaning
"wolf". This name was borne by several characters in Greek
mythology including a legendary ruler of Thebes.
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German) LEE-dee-ya(Dutch)
Means
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the
Protestant Reformation.
Macbeth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: mək-BETH(English)
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic given name
Mac Beatha meaning
"son of life", implying holiness. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king who came to power after defeating and killing King
Duncan in battle. Years later he was himself slain in battle with Duncan's son
Malcolm. Shakespeare based his play
Macbeth (1606) loosely on this king's life, drawing from the tales related in
Holinshed's Chronicles (1587).
Maeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tahitian, French
Pronounced: MA-EH-VA(French)
Means "welcome" in Tahitian. It gained popularity in France during the 1980s.
Magdala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Haitian Creole, Portuguese (Brazilian), African American, Spanish (Caribbean)
Pronounced: mugh-DHA-lu(Brazilian Portuguese) magh-DHA-la(Caribbean Spanish)
Either a short form of
Magdalena or from the biblical village that Mary
Magdalene was from, which means "tower" in Hebrew.
It is the name of a central character in the Agatha Christie mystery novel Peril at End House (1932), which features detective Hercule Poirot.
Makvala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: მაყვალა(Georgian)
Derived from Georgian
მაყვალი (maqvali) meaning
"blackberry".
Marigold
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of
Mary and the English word
gold.
Marine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Armenian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Մարինէ(Armenian) მარინე(Georgian)
Pronounced: MA-REEN(French)
French, Armenian and Georgian form of
Marina.
Maristela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: mu-reesh-TEH-lu(European Portuguese) ma-rees-TEH-lu(Brazilian Portuguese) ma-rees-TEH-la(Spanish)
From the title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning
"star of the sea" in Latin. It can also be a combination of
Maria and
Estela.
Marjanah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Indonesian
Other Scripts: مرجانة(Arabic)
Feminine form of
Marjan. It is notably used within the Arabian Nights as the name of the clever slave of Ali Baba within 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. Nowadays it is mostly used in Indonesia, being virtually unused by Arabic speakers.
Marjolaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-ZHAW-LEHN
Means "marjoram" in French, from Latin maiorana. Marjoram is a minty herb.
Mars
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MARS(Latin) MAHRZ(English)
Possibly related to Latin
mas meaning
"male" (genitive
maris). In Roman
mythology Mars was the god of war, often equated with the Greek god
Ares. This is also the name of the fourth planet in the solar system.
Martial
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, History
Pronounced: MAR-SYAL(French) MAHR-shəl(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Martialis, which was derived from the name of the Roman god
Mars. The name was borne by Marcus Valerius Martialis, now commonly known as Martial, a Roman poet of the 1st century.
Matryoshka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: матрёшка(Russian)
The diminutive of
Matrona 1. This is also the name of the Russian nesting dolls.
Medraut
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Mehetabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: םְהֵיטַבְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mə-HEHT-ə-behl(English)
From the Hebrew name
םְהֵיטַבְאֵל (Meheṭavʾel) meaning
"God makes happy", derived from the roots
יָטַב (yaṭav) meaning "to be happy" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name is mentioned briefly in the
Old Testament.
Mélanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MEH-LA-NEE
Melanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-nee(English) MEH-la-nee(German) meh-la-NEE(German)
From
Mélanie, the French form of the Latin name
Melania, derived from Greek
μέλαινα (melaina) meaning
"black, dark". This was the name of a Roman
saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Her grandmother was also a saint with the same name.
The name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and was introduced from there to England, though it eventually became rare. Interest in it was revived by the character Melanie Wilkes from the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939).
Melchior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, French (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHL-kee-awr(English) MEHL-KYAWR(French) MEHL-khee-awr(Dutch)
Possibly from the Hebrew roots
מֶלֶךְ (meleḵ) meaning "king" and
אוֹר (ʾor) meaning "light". This was a name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.
Meliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Derived from Latin melior meaning "better".
Meliton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Georgian
Other Scripts: Μελίτων(Ancient Greek) მელიტონ(Georgian)
Derived from Greek
μέλι (meli) meaning
"honey" (genitive
μέλιτος). This was the name of a 2nd-century bishop of Sardis who is regarded as a
saint in the Orthodox Church.
Mélodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MEH-LAW-DEE
Mercan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means "coral" in Turkish, of Arabic origin.
Mercurio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: mehr-KOO-ryo
Mercury
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: MURK-yə-ree(English)
From the Latin
Mercurius, probably derived from Latin
mercari "to trade" or
merces "wages". This was the name of the Roman god of trade, merchants, and travellers, later equated with the Greek god
Hermes. This is also the name of the first planet in the solar system and a metallic chemical element, both named for the god.
Meriwether
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-i-wedh-ər
From a surname meaning "happy weather" in Middle English, originally belonging to a cheery person. A notable bearer of the name was Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), who, with William Clark, explored the west of North America.
Mihangel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Welsh name of the archangel Michael, formed from a contraction of
Michael and
angel.
Minodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
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.
Modest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Модест(Russian)
Moïsette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Monday
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: MUN-day
From the English word for the day of the week, which was derived from Old English mona "moon" and dæg "day". This can be given to children born on Monday, especially in Nigeria.
Mordred
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
From Welsh
Medraut, possibly from Latin
moderatus meaning
"controlled, moderated". In Arthurian legend Mordred was the illegitimate son (in some versions nephew) of King
Arthur. Mordred first appears briefly (as
Medraut) in the 10th-century
Annales Cambriae [1], but he was not portrayed as a traitor until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth. While Arthur is away he seduces his wife
Guinevere and declares himself king. This prompts the battle of Camlann, which leads to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur.
Morganna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Morgiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Form of
Marjanah used in some versions of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', one of the tales of 'The 1001 Nights', where it is the name of a clever slave girl. It was also used by Shinobu Ohtaka for a character in her manga 'Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic' (2009-), based loosely on 'The 1001 Nights'.
Morrígan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Means either
"demon queen" or
"great queen", derived from Old Irish
mor "demon, evil spirit" or
mór "great, big" combined with
rígain "queen". In Irish
mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.
Na'im
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نعيم(Arabic)
Pronounced: na-‘EEM
Alternate transcription of Arabic
نعيم (see
Naim).
Na'ima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نعيمة(Arabic)
Pronounced: na-‘EE-ma
Alternate transcription of Arabic
نعيمة (see
Naima).
Naime
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Turkish feminine form of
Naim.
Napoleon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, English
Pronounced: nə-PO-lee-ən(English)
From the old Italian name Napoleone, used most notably by the French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who was born on Corsica. The etymology is uncertain, but it is possibly derived from Old German Nibelungen meaning "sons of mist", a name used in Germanic legend to refer to the keepers of a hoard of treasure, often identified with the Burgundians. Alternatively, it could be connected to the name of the Italian city of Napoli (Naples).
Natyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian natyrë "nature".
Neifion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Pronounced: NAY-vyon
Neige
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian, Rare), French (Quebec)
Pronounced: NEZH(French, Belgian French) NIEZH(Quebec French)
Derived from French
neige "snow". The name is ultimately derived from the title of the Virgin Mary
Notre-Dame des Neiges "Our Lady of the Snows" (compare
Nieves).
Nenetl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl
Means "doll, idol" in Nahuatl.
Neonila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Неоніла(Ukrainian)
Neonilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Greek [1], Russian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Νεόνιλλα(Ancient Greek) Неонилла(Russian)
Personal remark: "Neon" nickname Russians also use the same word
From a Greek name derived from
νέος (neos) meaning
"new". This was the name of an Orthodox Christian
saint, a 3rd-century Syrian woman martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius.
Nephele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νεφέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-PEH-LEH(Classical Greek) NEHF-ə-lee(English)
From Greek
νέφος (nephos) meaning
"cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by
Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like
Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.
Neptune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: NEHP-toon(English) NEHP-tyoon(English)
From the Latin
Neptunus, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Indo-European root *
nebh- "wet, damp, clouds". Neptune was the god of the sea in Roman
mythology, approximately equivalent to the Greek god
Poseidon. This is also the name of the eighth planet in the solar system.
Nevio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: NEH-vyo
Italian form of the Roman family name Naevius, which was derived from Latin naevus "mole (on the body)". A famous bearer was the 3rd-century BC Roman poet Gnaeus Naevius.
Noctis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Derived from Latin noctis "of the night". This is the name of a character in Final Fantasy XIII Versus.
Non
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Possibly derived from Latin
nonna meaning
"nun". According to tradition, this was the name of the mother of
Saint David.
Nóttolfr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse
Combination of nátt "night" and ulfr "wolf".
Nubia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: NOO-bya
From the name of the ancient region and kingdom in Africa, south of Egypt. It possibly derives from the Egyptian word nbw meaning "gold".
Nuh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish
Other Scripts: نوح(Arabic)
Pronounced: NOOH(Arabic)
Arabic and Turkish form of
Noah 1.
Oak
Topographic surname for someone who lived near an oak tree or in an oak wood, from Middle English oke "oak".
Océane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-SEH-AN
Derived from French océan meaning "ocean".
Odharnait
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Derived from
odar "dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of an early Irish
saint.
Okeanosi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ოკეანოსი(Georgian)
Georgian form of
Okeanos. Also compare the Georgian noun ოკეანე
(okeane) meaning "ocean".
Ondina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Italian
Portuguese and Italian form of
Undine.
Onni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: ON-nee
Means "happiness, luck" in Finnish.
Orpheus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὀρφεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: OR-PEWS(Classical Greek) AWR-fee-əs(English)
Perhaps related to Greek
ὄρφνη (orphne) meaning
"the darkness of night". In Greek
mythology Orpheus was a poet and musician who went to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. He succeeded in charming Hades with his lyre, and he was allowed to lead his wife out of the underworld on the condition that he not look back at her until they reached the surface. Unfortunately, just before they arrived his love for her overcame his will and he glanced back at her, causing her to be drawn back to Hades.
Pakuna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Miwok (?)
Allegedly a variant of Pukuna, a Miwok name meaning "deer jumping when running downhill".
Panther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Πάνθηρ(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek name meaning "panther".
Parvaneh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پروانه(Persian)
Pronounced: par-vaw-NEH
Means "butterfly" in Persian.
Perrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: PEH-REEN
Persephone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεφόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEH-PO-NEH(Classical Greek) pər-SEHF-ə-nee(English)
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.
Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEE-tər(English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Derived from Greek
Πέτρος (Petros) meaning
"stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the
New Testament of the name
Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle
Simon by
Jesus (compare
Matthew 16:18 and
John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.
Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].
Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.
Peynirci
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: pay-neer-JEE
From Turkish peynir meaning "cheese".
Phalaris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Φάλαρις(Ancient Greek)
Probably derived from Greek φάλαρον (phalaron), which was the name for a metal disc or boss that was worn as a military ornament on the breast. Phalaris was the name of a tyrant of Acragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, who lived in the 6th century BC.
Philippa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), German
Pronounced: FI-li-pə(British English)
Latinate feminine form of
Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.
Philippine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: FEE-LEE-PEEN
Phillip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIL-ip
Variant of
Philip, inspired by the usual spelling of the surname.
Phlox
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Taken from the name of the flower, whose name is derived from Greek phlox "flame". As a given name, it has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world from the late 19th century onwards.
Phyllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Φυλλίς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FIL-is(English)
Means
"foliage" in Greek. In Greek
mythology this was the name of a woman who killed herself out of love for Demophon and was subsequently transformed into an almond tree. It began to be used as a given name in England in the 16th century, though it was often confused with
Felicia.
Pine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (East Prussian)
Pipaluk
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic
Means
"sweet little thing who belongs to me" in Greenlandic
[1].
Piper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PIE-pər
From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series
Charmed, which debuted in 1998
[1].
Pocahontas
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Powhatan (Anglicized)
Means
"little playful one" in Powhatan, an Algonquian language. This was the nickname of a 17th-century Powhatan woman, a daughter of the powerful chief
Wahunsenacawh. She married the white colonist John Rolfe and travelled with him to England, but died of illness before returning.
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Porcia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Prosper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: PRAWS-PEHR(French) PRAHS-pər(English)
From the Latin name
Prosperus, which meant
"fortunate, successful". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint, a supporter of Saint
Augustine. It has never been common as an English name, though the
Puritans used it, partly because it is identical to the English word
prosper.
Prospero
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PRAW-speh-ro
Italian form of
Prosper. This is the name of the main character, a shipwrecked magician, in
The Tempest (1611) by William Shakespeare.
Quadratus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman, History (Ecclesiastical)
Cognomen from the Roman Republic and Roman Empire derived from Latin quadratus meaning "square, squared" as well as "proportionate; regular, well made; vigorous". This name was borne by several saints, such as Quadratus the Apologist of Athens.
Quieta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian (Rare), Romanian (Rare), English (Rare), German (Swiss, Rare), Caribbean (Rare)
Derived from Latin quietus, -a, -um "quiet". This was the name of a saint.
Ramadan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: رمضان(Arabic)
Pronounced: ra-ma-DAN
From the name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is derived from Arabic
رمض (ramaḍ) meaning "parchedness, scorchedness"
[1]. Muslims traditionally fast during this month.
Ratti
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: RAT-tee
From Italian ratto meaning "rat", originally denoting a sly individual.
Ravenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: rə-VEHN-ə
Either an elaboration of
Raven, or else from the name of the city of Ravenna in Italy.
Regan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: REE-gən(English)
Meaning unknown. In the chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth it is the name of a treacherous daughter of King
Leir. Shakespeare adapted the story for his tragedy
King Lear (1606). In the modern era it has appeared in the horror movie
The Exorcist (1973) belonging to a girl possessed by the devil. This name can also be used as a variant of
Reagan.
Renard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: RU-NAR
French form of
Reynard. Because of the medieval character Reynard the Fox,
renard became a French word meaning "fox".
Reverie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: REHV-ə-ree
From the English word meaning "daydream, fanciful musing", derived from Old French resverie, itself from resver meaning "to dream, to rave".
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
From Old Welsh
Ris, probably meaning
"ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading
Normans.
Richardine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: rich-ər-DEEN
Rim
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ريم(Arabic)
Pronounced: REEM
Means "white antelope" in Arabic.
Ringo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Japanese
Pronounced: RIN-go(English) RIN-GO(Japanese)
Transferred use of the surname
Ringo. A famous bearer of this name was Beatles drummer Richard Starkey (1940), who was nicknamed Ringo due to the many rings he would wear. He ultimately adopted this nickname into a stagename, Ringo Starr, with Starr being an abbreviated form of his surname.
This name can also be Japanese for "apple" or "peace be with you".
Rirette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: RI-RET
Probably derived from the French word
rire "laughter".
It can also be seen as a nickname of Henriette.
The name was borne as a pseudonym by the French individual anarchist Rirette Maîterejean.
Robinette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French, French (Rare), English (American, Rare)
Medieval French diminutive of
Robine (as
-ette is a French feminine diminutive suffix). In other words: you could say that this name is the feminine form of
Robinet. This given name is extremely rare in France nowadays, as there are only a handful of bearers in the country today. It doesn't fare much better as a matronymic surname either, what with only 8 bearers of the Robinette surname having been born in France between 1966 and 1990.
As a given name, Robinette is nowadays more used in English-speaking countries (primarily the United States), where its use is often inspired by the surname Robinette (as surnames are often used as given names in the English-speaking world), which is more prevalent there than in France.
Roin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: როინ(Georgian)
Derived from the Middle Persian adjective
rōyēn meaning "brazen", which is ultimately derived from the Middle Persian noun
rōy meaning "brass, copper".
Also compare the name Royintan from the Shahnameh, which might possibly have been the inspiration behind the use of Roin as a given name in Georgia.
Known bearers of this name include the Georgian historian Roin Metreveli (b. 1939) and the Georgian soccer player Roin Kvaskhvadze (b. 1989).
Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Means
"little seal", derived from Old Irish
rón "seal" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish
saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Roshanak
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: روشنک(Persian)
Feminine form of
Roshan, used in Persian to refer to
Roxana the wife of Alexander the Great.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Rubina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Italian (Rare)
Derived from Portuguese rubi or Italian rubino meaning "ruby", ultimately from Latin ruber "red".
Rudolphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), Dutch (Surinamese, Rare)
Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Derived from Old Norse
rún meaning
"secret lore, rune".
Saladin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: SAL-ə-din(English)
Saltanat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Салтанат(Kazakh)
Means "festival, celebration" in Kazakh.
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Saturday
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (African), Afro-American (Slavery-era)
Pronounced: SAT-ər-day(English) SA-tə-day(English)
From the English word for the day of the week, which derives from Old English
sæterdæġ, meaning "
Saturn's day".
Saturn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: SAT-ərn(English)
From the Latin
Saturnus, which is of unknown meaning. In Roman
mythology he was the father of
Jupiter,
Juno and others, and was also the god of agriculture. This is also the name of the ringed sixth planet in the solar system.
Sauda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Meaning uncertain, possibly a variant of
Sawda.
Schnuckenack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romani
Pronounced: shnuwk-ə-nak
From Romani
schuker nak "beautiful nose".
The name is borne by the musician Schnuckenack Reinhardt, a cousin of Django Reinhardt.
Şehrazad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish (Rare)
September
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sehp-TEHM-bər
From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
Séraphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-RA-FEEN
Shahrazad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian (Rare), Arabic
Other Scripts: شهرزاد(Persian, Arabic)
Pronounced: shahr-ZAWD(Persian) shah-ra-ZAD(Arabic)
Possibly means
"noble lineage" from Persian
چهر (chehr) meaning "lineage, origin" and
آزاد (āzād) meaning "free, noble"
[1]. Alternatively, it might mean
"child of the city" from
شهر (shahr) meaning "city, land" combined with the suffix
زاد (zād) meaning "child of". This is the name of the fictional storyteller in
The 1001 Nights. She tells a story to her husband the king every night for 1001 nights in order to delay her execution.
Shakur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شكور(Arabic)
Pronounced: sha-KOOR
Means
"thankful" in Arabic, from the root
شكر (shakara) meaning "to thank". In Islamic tradition
الشكور (al-Shakūr) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
Shama
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Urdu, Marathi
Other Scripts: शमा(Hindi, Marathi) شمع(Urdu)
Means
"lamp, candle" in Hindi and other Indian languages, ultimately from Arabic
شمْع (shamʿ).
Shandar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: شاندار(Urdu)
Means "fabulous" in Urdu.
Sheba
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁבָא(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHEE-bə(English)
Probably from the name of the Sabaean people, who had a kingdom in the southern Arabian Peninsula and eastern Ethiopia.
Sheba is a place name in the
Old Testament, famous as the home of the Queen of Sheba, who visited King
Solomon after hearing of his wisdom. This name is also borne by several male characters in the Bible.
Sheraga
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish
Other Scripts: שְׁרַגָא(Hebrew)
Means "light, candle" in Aramaic.
Shihab
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شهاب(Arabic)
Pronounced: shee-HAB
Means "shooting star, meteor" in Arabic.
Shikoba
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Choctaw
Means "feather" in Choctaw.
Shkurte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian, Kosovar
Derived from Albanian shkurt "short; February".
Shorena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian, Literature
Other Scripts: შორენა(Georgian)
Pronounced: SHOR-EN-AH(Georgian)
Variant of
Borena. It came about due to people confusing or misreading the letters
bani (b) and
shini (sh) of the medieval Georgian scripts Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri, which are very similar to each other. In other words: this name is basically a corruption of Borena.
Due to close similarity with the Georgian words შორს (shors) meaning "far away, far" and შორეული (shoreuli) meaning "far", people often mistakenly believe that Shorena is derived from these words (or otherwise related to them) and means something along the lines of "distant, remote" (as in, hard to reach).
Lastly, it should be noted that there are sources that claim that the name is derived from Parthian sura meaning "strong, powerful".
In Georgian literature, Shorena is the name of a character from the historical novel The Right Hand of the Grand Master (1939) written by Konstantine Gamsakhurdia (1893-1975).
Shqipe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
From Albanian shqip meaning "Albanian". Additionally, the word shqipe means "eagle" in modern Albanian, a variant of older shkabë. These interrelated words are often the subject of competing claims that the one is derived from the other. The ultimate origin of shqip "Albanian" is uncertain, but it may be from shqipoj meaning "to say clearly".
Shula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شعلة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SHOO‘-la
Means "flame" in Arabic.
Siavash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Persian Mythology
Other Scripts: سیاوش(Persian)
Pronounced: see-yaw-VASH(Persian)
Persian form of Avestan
𐬯𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬱𐬀𐬥 (Siiāuuarshan) meaning
"possessing black stallions". This was the name of a virtuous prince in Iranian
mythology. He appears briefly in the
Avesta, with a longer account recorded in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.
Siegfried
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: ZEEK-freet(German)
Derived from the Old German elements
sigu "victory" and
fridu "peace". Siegfried was a hero from German legend, the chief character in the
Nibelungenlied. He secretly helped the Burgundian king
Gunther overcome the challenges set out by the Icelandic queen
Brunhild so that Gunther might win her hand. In exchange, Gunther consented to the marriage of Siegfried and his sister
Kriemhild. Years later, after a dispute between Brunhild and Kriemhild, Siegfried was murdered by
Hagen with Gunther's consent. He was stabbed in his one vulnerable spot on the small of his back, which had been covered by a leaf while he bathed in dragon's blood. He is a parallel to the Norse hero
Sigurd. The story was later adapted by Richard Wagner to form part of his opera
The Ring of the Nibelung (1876).
Sieglinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: zeek-LIN-də(German)
Derived from the Old German elements
sigu "victory" and
lind "soft, flexible, tender". Sieglinde was the mother of
Siegfried in the medieval German saga the
Nibelungenlied.
Sinopa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Siksika
Means, "kit fox."
Sissinnguaq
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic
Means
"squirrel" in Greenlandic
[1].
Skúla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern, Rare)
Smaranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: sma-RAND-a
Derived from Romanian smarand meaning "emerald". Smaranda Brăescu (1897 – 1948) was a Romanian parachuting and aviation pioneer, former multiple world record holder. Her achievements earned her the nickname "Queen of the Heights".
Snowden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SNO-dən
Transferred use of the surname
Snowden.
Songül
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
From Turkish son meaning "last, final" and gül meaning "rose".
Spomenka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
From Croatian spomenak meaning "forget-me-not (flower)".
Spring
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SPRING
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English springan "to leap, to burst forth".
Spurling
From Middle English
sparewe "sparrow" and the
diminutive suffix
-ling.
Stelara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: steh-LA-ra
From Esperanto stelaro meaning "constellation", ultimately from Latin stella "star".
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Sterling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STUR-ling
From a Scots surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
Şule
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means "flame" in Turkish.
Sultana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
Other Scripts: سلطانة(Arabic) سلطانہ(Urdu) সুলতানা(Bengali)
Pronounced: sool-TA-na(Arabic) SOOL-ta-na(Bengali)
Sunday
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-day
From the name of the day of the week, which ultimately derives from Old English sunnandæg, which was composed of the elements sunne "sun" and dæg "day". This name is most common in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Suzu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 鈴, etc.(Japanese Kanji) すず(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SOO-ZOO
From Japanese
鈴 (suzu) meaning "bell" or other kanji having the same pronunciation.
Svitlana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Світлана(Ukrainian)
Sweet
Usage: English
Pronounced: SWEET
From a nickname meaning "sweet, pleasant", from Old English swete.
Tadhg
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: TIEG(Irish)
From Old Irish
Tadg meaning
"poet" [1]. This was the name of an 11th-century king of Connacht, as well as several other kings and chieftains of medieval Ireland. According to Irish
mythology it was the name of the grandfather of
Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Means
"little girl" in Aramaic. The name is taken from the phrase
talitha cumi meaning "little girl arise" spoken by
Jesus in order to restore a young girl to life (see
Mark 5:41).
Tawus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Kurdish
Pronounced: Ta:vus(Arabic)
Means "peacock".
Télesphore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Archaic)
French form of the Greek name
Τελεσφόρος (Telesphoros) meaning
"bringing fulfillment" or
"bearing fruit" [1].
Saint Telesphorus was a 2nd-century pope and martyr.
Temperance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHM-prəns, TEHM-pər-əns
From the English word meaning
"moderation" or
"restraint". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century. It experienced a modest revival in the United States during the run of the television series
Bones (2005-2017), in which the main character bears this name.
Terence
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHR-əns
From the Roman family name
Terentius, which is of unknown meaning. Famous bearers include Publius Terentius Afer, a Roman playwright, and Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar. It was also borne by several early
saints. The name was used in Ireland as an Anglicized form of
Toirdhealbhach, but it was not found as an English name until the late 19th century. It attained only a moderate level of popularity in the 20th century, though it has been common as an African-American name especially since the 1970s.
Thankful
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: THANGK-fəl
From the English word
thankful. This was one of the many virtue names used by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Thomasina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: tahm-ə-SEE-nə
Medieval feminine form of
Thomas.
Thrussell
From Old English þrostle meaning "song thrush", referring to a cheerful person.
Thulile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zulu
Means "quiet, peaceful" in Zulu.
Thurayya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ثريّا, ثريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: thoo-RIE-ya
Means "the Pleiades" in Arabic. The Pleiades are a group of stars in the constellation Taurus.
Tiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: tee-AHR-ə
From the English word for a semicircle crown, ultimately of Greek origin.
Tiger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TIE-gər
From the name of the large striped cat, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
τίγρις (tigris), ultimately of Iranian origin. A famous bearer is American golfer Tiger Woods (1975-).
Tilly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIL-ee
Tlilpotonqui
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Nahuatl
A type of priestly regalia, possibly derived from Nahuatl tliltic "black" and either potonia "to cover in feathers" or potonqui "something stinky".
Tolkyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Толқын(Kazakh) تولقىن(Kazakh Arabic)
Pronounced: tol-KUN
Means "wave" in Kazakh.
Torako
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: トラコ(Japanese Katakana) とら子(Kanji/Hiragana) トラ子(Kanji/Katakana) 虎子, 登羅子, 寅子, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: TO-ṘA-KO
From Japanese 虎 (tora) meaning "tiger" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Tuesday
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TYOOZ-day, TOOZ-day, CHOOZ-day
From the English word for the day of the week, which derives from Old English
tiwesdæg meaning "
Tiw's day".
Tui
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Maori
Pronounced: Too-ee
Tui is the Maori name for the bird (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), which are easily identified for their small tuft of white feathers at the neck.
In my experience Tui is solely a feminine name, although it could be equally masculine.
Tuya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Egyptian
Tuya was the wife of Pharaoh
Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (1292-1189). She was mother of
Tia,
Ramesses II,
Nebchasetnebet, and perhaps
Henutmire.
Ramesses II himself chose this name for one of his daughters.
Twila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word
twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French
étoile "star"
[1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.
Tybalt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: TIB-əlt(English)
The name of a cousin of
Juliet killed by
Romeo in William Shakespeare's drama
Romeo and Juliet (1596). The character earlier appears as Tebaldo, an Italian form of
Theobald, in Luigi Da Porto's novella
Giulietta e Romeo (1524), one of Shakespeare's sources. Shakespeare was also inspired by the character of Tybalt the Cat (from
Thibault the French form of
Theobald) in medieval fables of Reynard the Fox (evidenced by
Mercutio calling Tybalt the "prince of cats").
Tzufit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: צוּפִית(Hebrew)
Means "sunbird" in Hebrew (referring to birds in the family Nectariniidae).
Uaithne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish [1]
Possibly from Old Irish
úaine meaning
"green". Alternatively, it may come from the name of the Irish tribe the Uaithni
[2].
Umeko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 梅子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) うめこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: OO-MEH-KO
From Japanese
梅 (ume) meaning "apricot, plum" (referring to the species Prunus mume) and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Ùna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic
Pronounced: OO-nə
Scottish Gaelic form of
Úna.
Universina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Universo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Upton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: UP-tən
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "upper town" in Old English. A famous bearer of this name was the American novelist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968).
Uranus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Οὐρανός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-RAY-nəs(English) YOOR-ə-nəs(English)
From Greek
Οὐρανός (Ouranos), the name of the husband of
Gaia and the father of the Titans in Greek
mythology. His name is derived from
οὐρανός (ouranos) meaning
"the heavens". This is also the name of the seventh planet in the solar system.
Uzma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عظمى(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘OODH-ma
Means
"supreme, greatest" in Arabic, a derivative of
عظم (ʿaẓuma) meaning "to be great".
Üzüm
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means "grapes" in Turkish.
Vaduny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian (Rare), Slavic Mythology
Possibly means "to see; to know", if derived from the Proto-Slavic věděti, from the Proto-Indo-European wóyd 'to know', from weyd 'to see, to know'. The name itself appears to be a variation of the Russian word vedun'ia "witch, sorceress", the feminine form of vedun 'sorcerer'.
Väinämöinen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: VIE-na-mui-nehn(Finnish)
Derived from Finnish
väinä meaning
"wide and slow-flowing river". In Finnish
mythology Väinämöinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess
Ilmatar. He is the hero of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala.
Valentine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
From the Roman
cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Valentine 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VA-LAHN-TEEN
Valérian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
French form of
Valerianus (see
Valerian).
Valerian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, Romanian, History
Other Scripts: Валериан(Russian) ვალერიან(Georgian)
Pronounced: və-LIR-ee-ən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Valerianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name
Valerius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Roman emperor (Publius Licinius Valerianus) who was captured by the Persians. Several
saints have also borne this name, including a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons.
Venus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEH-noos(Latin) VEE-nəs(English)
Means
"love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite. As the mother of
Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.
Vercingetorix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gaulish
Pronounced: wehr-king-GEH-taw-riks(Latin) vər-sin-JEHT-ə-riks(English)
Means "king over warriors" from Gaulish wer "on, over" combined with kingeto "marching men, warriors" and rix "king". This name was borne by a 1st-century BC chieftain of the Gaulish tribe the Arverni. He led the resistance against Julius Caesar's attempts to conquer Gaul, but he was eventually defeated, brought to Rome, and executed.
Veronica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: və-RAHN-i-kə(American English) və-RAWN-i-kə(British English) veh-RAW-nee-ka(Italian)
Latin alteration of
Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning
"true image". This was the name of a legendary
saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Véronique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEH-RAW-NEEK
Violante
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Italian
Pronounced: vee-o-LAN-teh(Italian)
Vitória
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: vee-TAW-ryu
Wednesday
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: WENZ-day(English)
From the name of the day of the week, which was derived from Old English
wodnesdæg meaning "
Woden's day". On the
Addams Family television series (1964-1966) this was the name of the daughter, based on an earlier unnamed character in Charles Addams' cartoons. Her name was inspired by the popular nursery rhyme line
Wednesday's child is full of woe.
Wickaninnish
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Nuu-chah-nulth (Anglicized)
Pronounced: wik-ə-NIN-ish(English)
Possibly means "having no one in front of him in the canoe" in Nuu-chah-nulth. This was the name of a chief of the Clayoquot in the late 18th century, at the time of European contact.
Widogast
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Old German name composed of the elements
witu "wood" and
gast "guest, stranger".
Wilbur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-bər
From an English surname that was originally derived from the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English. This name was borne by Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), one half of the Wright brothers, who together invented the first successful airplane. Wright was named after the Methodist minister Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839). A famous fictional bearer is the main character (a pig) in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
Wilder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From an English surname meaning "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", from Old English wilde.
Wing
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Canadian)
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Wisteria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: wis-TEHR-ee-ə, wis-TEER-ee-ə
From the name of the flowering plant, which was named for the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.
Wulfsige
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Derived from the Old English elements
wulf "wolf" and
sige "victory".
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Zamziya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh (Rare)
Other Scripts: Замзия(Kazakh) زامزىييا(Kazakh Arabic)
Derived from Arabic شَمْسِيّ (šamsiyy) meaning "solar".
Zbigniew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ZBEEG-nyehf
Derived from the Slavic elements
jĭzbyti "to dispel" and
gněvŭ "anger". This was the name of a 12th-century duke of Poland.
Zinat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Bengali
Other Scripts: زینت(Persian) জিনাত(Bengali)
Means "ornament" in Persian (of Arabic origin).
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
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