Darkbone's Personal Name List
Aatxe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque Mythology, Popular Culture
Means "calf" or more specifically, "young bull" in Basque. In Basque mythology, Aatxe is either the androgynous deity
Mari 3 embodied as a young cow or bull, or a lesser shapeshifting spirit that takes the form of a bull and occasionally a human; the latter emerges at night, especially in stormy weather, from his cave dwelling in the Basque mountains.
Abenanka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: アベナンカ(Ainu Katakana)
Pronounced: a-beh-nan-ka
Probably from アベ (abe) meaning "fire" and ナンカ (nanka), combined from ナン (nan) meaning "face" and カ (ka) meaning "top."
Abraxas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology, Gnosticism, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: ΑΒΡΑΞΑΣ(Greek)
Pronounced: ə-BRAK-səs(English)
From a word thought to have originated with the Gnostics or the Egyptians, found on many amulets during the last years of the Roman Empire. Abraxas was used by the Basilideans, a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century, to refer to the Supreme Being or god whom they worshipped; they believed it to be a name of power because it contained the seven Greek letters which, computed numerically, equal the number 365 (the number of days in the year). However, older mythologists placed Abraxas among the Egyptian gods, while some demonologists cite him as a demon with the head of a king and serpents forming his feet. He has been represented on amulets with a whip in his hand. The mystic word
abracadabra is supposedly derived from his name (itself perhaps derived from Aramaic
avra kedabra "what was said, occurred" or "I will create as I speak"). Many stones and gems were cut with his capricious symbolic markings, such as a human body having a fowl's or lion's head, and snakes as limbs, which were worn by the Basilideans as amulets. Gnostic symbols were later adopted by many societies devoted to magic and alchemy, therefore it is likely that most "abraxas-stones" made in the Middle Ages that contained kabbalistic symbols were talismans.
According to some sources this was an alternative name of one of the four immortal horses of the Greek sun god Helios. It was used by author J. K. Rowling in her 'Harry Potter' series of books for a minor character, the grandfather of Draco Malfoy.
Ada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Biblical German, Croatian (Rare), Galician, Slovene, Polish, Kashubian, Hungarian, Spanish, Biblical Spanish
Pronounced: A-da(Polish) A-dha(Spanish, Biblical Spanish)
German, Croatian, Galician, Slovene, Hungarian, Polish, Kashubian and Spanish form of
Adah.
Ada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Filipino
Pronounced: ah-da
From the Tagalog word ada "fairy", borrowed from Spanish hada with the same meaning.
Adiñe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Derived from Basque adin "age".
Adonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Aide
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque Mythology, Basque (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: IE-deh(Basque)
Derived from Basque aide "air", Aide is a supernatural entity that either helps or hinders the living. He could manifest herself in both good (gentle breeze) and evil (storm wind) forms.
Áila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami
Inari Sami variant form of
Áile and
Aili possibly related to
Láilá.
Áillun
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Sami
This name derives from the Old Norse name
Áslæikr, composed of two elements:
*ansuz (heathen god,
áss, god) plus
lėih (joke, amusement, exercise, sport, dance, magic, music, melody, song). Ansuz is the conventional name given to the a-rune of the Elder Futhark, ᚨ. The name is based on Common Germanic
*ansuz "a god, one of the main deities in Germanic paganism".
Ainhize
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Taken from the name of a town, Ainhize-Monjolose, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. It is located in the former province of Lower Navarre, not far from the "Croix de Galcetaburu", and used to be the town where meetings were held in Lower Navarre. The toponym was first recorded as Anfiz in 1135; according to Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, its origin and meaning is lost to time. The medieval village of Monjolose was established in 1240 as subject to the King of Navarre. Formerly subject to Ainhize, they were reunited on 16 August 1841.
Aku
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Igbo
Pronounced: A-KUW
Means "wealth" in Igbo.
Alafare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Romani
Pronounced: AL-ə-fehr(English)
Of uncertain meaning, possibly a corruption of
Alethea (compare
Alethaire). In the United States, this name was first found in 1768; in the United Kingdom, there were several uses throughout the 1800s (and most likely before that as well). While the background of the American bearers of this name is unknown, almost all British bearers were born to traveling Romani families.
Alazraki
Usage: Judeo-Spanish
Other Scripts: אלזרקי(Hebrew)
From Arabic اَلأَزْرَق (al-ʾazraq) meaning "the blue one".
Alazraqi
Usage: Judeo-Spanish
Other Scripts: אלאזרקי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AL-AZ-RA-KEE(French)
Alberad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic
Derived from Old High German alb (which comes from Old Norse âlfr) "elf" combined with Old High German rât "counsel."
Alberada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic
Aleĸa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic
Means "older sister (of a boy)" in Greenlandic.
Aleka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Low German (Rare), Old Swedish, Swedish (Archaic)
Originally a Low German diminutive of names containing the element
adal, particularly
Adelheid, now used as a given name in its own right.
Alinta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, Nyari, Popular Culture
Pronounced: ah-lin-ta(Indigenous Australian)
Means "fire, flame" in Nyari, spoken in Victoria state and New South Wales state, south-eastern Australia.
Alinta was the name of one of the main characters in the 1981 SBS television mini-series 'Women of the Sun' which portrayed the lives of four Indigenous women in Australian society from 1820 to 1980.
Alrik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: AHL-rik
Modern Swedish form of Old Norse
Alríkr.
Alríkr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse
Possibly a variant of
Alarik,
Adalrik or
Alfríkr. Alternatively, it may be derived from the Old Norse elements
ǫl "ale" and
rikr "mighty, distinguished".
Altine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hausa
Pronounced: AL-TEE-NEH
From the Hausa word Lī̀tìnîn "Monday". This name is traditionally given to girls born on Monday.
Alvi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: AHL-vi
Finnish variant of
Albin.
Alvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: AHL-vi
Short form of names starting with
Alvi-, such as
Alvina and
Alvilda.
Amanaki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Tongan
Means "expectation" in Tongan.
Amandla
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Xhosa, Zulu
Means "power, strength" in Xhosa and Zulu.
A famous bearer is Amandla Stenberg (b. 1998) an American actress and singer.
Amar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Амар(Mongolian Cyrillic) ᠠᠮᠠᠷ, ᠠᠮᠤᠷ(Traditional Mongolian)
Means "rest, bliss, comfort, peace" or "simple, easy" in Mongolian.
Amatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cherokee
Pronounced: Am-ah-tha
Means "fish" in Cherokee.
Amestris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Persian (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἄμηστρις(Ancient Greek)
Ionic Greek variant of Άμαστρις
(Amāstris), the Hellenized form of an Old Persian name, perhaps from a hypothetic name like *
Amāstrī- (composed of the elements *
ama- "strength, strong" and *
strī- "woman"). It could be connected to the biblical name
Esther, both perhaps derived from the Akkadian
Ummu-Ishtar "
Ishtar is (my) mother" (or
Ammu-Ishtar). Alternatively it could be derived from an Old Persian word meaning "friend". It was borne by the wife of Xerxes and mother of Artaxerxes.
Amleth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Medieval Scandinavian
Origins uncertain. This earlier form of
Hamlet appeared in a story published by Danish writer
Christiern Pedersen in 1514, based on a legend recorded by Saxo Grammaticus in his 'History of the Danes'.
Ammon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mormon
In the Book of Mormon, the character of Ammon is one of the four sons of King
Mosiah, who initially opposes the Church, but is converted alongside his brothers and
Alma the Younger after an experience with an angel, and becomes a missionary to the Lamanites. Joseph Smith likely reappropriated the name from Genesis 19:38, where it appears as an alternate name for
Benammi, forefather of the Ammonites.
Amshel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish
Variant form of
Anshel. It should be noted that there are also sources that claim that it is derived from Hebrew
amsel or
amzal meaning "thrush".
Anaël
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Modern), Breton (Gallicized, Modern)
Coined in the 1960s as a Breton masculine form of
Anne 1.
Anael
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: אָנָּאֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-nah-EL(Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, Biblical English, Hebrew) ə-NAYL(Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, Biblical English, Hebrew) ə-NAY-əl(Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, Biblical English, Hebrew) AN-yul(English)
Biblical Hebrew name of uncertain meaning, possibly "God answers" (making it an equivalent of
Anaiah, using
el "God" as the second element as opposed to
yah "
Yahweh"); alternatively the first element may be related to
chanah "favour, grace" (making it a relative of
Hananiah and perhaps a form of
Hanniel or
Channiel). This name is mentioned only briefly in the Apocrypha (Tobit 1:21) belonging to a brother of
Tobit. In Jewish tradition Anael is an angel (also known as
Aniel or
Hanael), often named as one of the seven archangels and associated with the planet
Venus.
Andere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Medieval Basque
Pronounced: an-deh-reh
First documented in inscriptions in Roman-era Aquitaine, this name was fairly common in the Middle Ages. Its origin and meaning are debated; theories include a derivation from
Andos and a derivation from Basque
andere "lady; woman; wife". In this day and age, it is considered a feminine form of
Ander and a Basque cognate of
Andresa and
Andrée.
Aneira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: a-NAY-ra
Feminine form of
Aneirin, also considered a combination of Welsh
an, an intensifying prefix, and
eira "snow" (see
Eira 1), with the intended meaning of "much snow" or "very snowy". It was first used in the late 19th century.
Anfim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Анфим(Russian)
Ang
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 洪(Chinese)
Pronounced: ANG(Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of
Hong.
Annet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French, French (Archaic)
Masculine diminutive of
Anne 1.
Anthimos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄνθιμος(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek adjective ἄνθιμος
(anthimos) meaning "of flowers, like flowers, blooming, flowered". It is ultimately derived from the Greek noun ἄνθος
(anthos) meaning "flower, blossom".
Anthimus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of
Anthimos. This name was borne by several patriarchs of Constantinople.
Antilochos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀντίλοχος(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek ἀντί (anti) meaning "against, compared to, like" combined with the Greek noun λόχος (lochos) meaning "ambush", a word that later came to signify a tactical sub unit of the ancient Greek army. The word is ultimately derived from the Greek verb λοχάω (lochao) meaning "to lie in wait for, to waylay" as well as "to snare".
Aoibhgréine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Pronounced: eev-GREN-ya
Derived from Irish aoibh "smile, pleasant expression" and grian "sun". This name belonged to the daughter of Deirdre and Naoise in Longas Mac nUislenn (The Exile of the Sons of Uisnech), a story of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She was thought to marry Rinn, king of the Otherworld.
Aran
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kurdish
Means "desert, wilderness" in Kurdish.
Aran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: อรัญ(Thai)
Pronounced: a-RAN
Means "forest, jungle" in Thai.
Aran
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: a-ran
Derived from Basque haran "valley" (ultimately from Proto-Basque *(h)aran). The name coincides with Basque aran "plum (fruit)".
Arcade
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (African), Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AR-KAD(French)
French masculine and feminine form of
Arcadius.
It appears in the 13th-century Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin belonging to a female character, the maiden loved by Pelleas. Thomas Malory renamed the character Ettard (possibly a corruption of Arcade) in his 15th-century compilation Le Morte d'Arthur, and used the name Archade for a knight who was slain by Palamedes while trying to avenge his brother's death.
Ariëtte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Arla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish, Danish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Pronounced: AHR-lah(Finnish) AHR-la(Swedish)
Short form of
Arnlaug. Also associated with Swedish
arla meaning "early (in the morning)".
Aro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Arrietty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ar-ee-EH-tee
Possibly a variant of
Harriet. This is the name of a character from 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton.
Artemis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αρτέμης(Greek)
Artesia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Theatre, Arthurian Cycle
Likely from
Artois, the name of a region in France (for which "artesian wells" are named), itself derived from
Atrebates, a Belgic tribe that inhabited the region of Gaul and Britain during Julius Caesar's time; Atrebates is cognate with Irish
aittrebaid meaning "inhabitant".
In the Elizabethan play The Birth of Merlin, this is the name of the sister of the Saxon leader Ostorius, who used her wiles to seduce King Aurelius Ambrosius of Britain, blinding him to the gradual Saxon invasion of his kingdom. Uther Pendragon discovered her treachery, but she managed to have Aurelius banish his brother from court. In the end, Artesia and her brother betrayed and murdered Aurelius. When Uther reclaimed the kingdom, he had Artesia executed.
Arthen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Welsh
Derived from Welsh arth "bear" (ultimately from Proto-Celtic *arto- "bear") and geni "to be born".
Arvin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English (Archaic)
Either a Scandinavian form of
Arwin (see
Erwin) or a combination of the Old Norse name elements
ari "eagle" and
vinr "friend".
Ásbjǫrg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse
Derived from the Old Norse name elements áss "god" and bjǫrg "help, save, rescue".
Asce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French
Ashbel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אשבל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ash-BAYL(English)
Possibly means "flowing" from a prosthetic aleph (Hebrew: א) and the Hebrew verb שבל
(shobel) "to flow forth" (the source of
Shobal), or possibly derived from the noun אֵשׁ
('esh) "fire" and the verb בעל
(ba'al) "to be lord (over), to own, to control". In the Old Testament this name belonged to the second son of
Benjamin. A known bearer was American pioneer physician Ashbel Smith (1805-1886), a leader in the development of Texas.
Ástá
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami
Pronounced: AHS-ta
Åsta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Ateist
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Атеист(Russian)
Pronounced: u-teh-EEST(Russian)
Derived from the Russian noun атеист (ateist) meaning "atheist". This name was used by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
Athabasca
Name of numerous towns, lakes, rivers, a glacier, and a mountain, in
Canada, primarily in the province of
Alberta. from the Cree word
āthap-āsk-ā-w, meaning "grass or reeds here or there".
Átoko
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hopi
Means "crane" in Hopi.
Attawapiskat
Usage: Cree
Other Scripts: ᐊᑕᐗᐱᐢᑲᑐᐎ ᐃᓂᓂᐧᐊᐠ(Cree)
River and town in
Ontario,
Canada. From the Attawapiskat people, meaning "people of the parting of the rocks", or
Āhtawāpiskatowi ininiwak.
Audéarde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Audun
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian (Rare)
Either a combination of the Old Norse name elements
aud "wealth, fortune" and
unna "to love", or feminine usage of the masculine name
Audun (see
Auðin). Audun was first used as a feminine name in 1908.
Auri
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare), Estonian (Rare)
Pronounced: OW-ri(Finnish)
Finnish diminutive of
Aura, occasionally also used in Estonia.
Aurisma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French, Medieval Latin (?)
Derived from Proto-Indo-European
aues meaning "brilliant, shining" (related to Proto-Italic *
auzōs, from the Proto-Indo-European root *
h₂éwsōs meaning "dawn" - the source also of
Aurora and
Auster) combined with -
isma, a variant of the Latin superlative suffix -
issima.
Auðin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse
Derived from Old Norse auðr "prosperity, fortune, riches" and vinr "friend".
Auvo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Modern, Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: OW-voh
Old poetic Finnish word, meaning "happiness". In archaic texts it also meant "eminence".
Auyong
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 欧阳(Chinese) 歐陽(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: OW-YAWNG(Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of
Ouyang.
Axelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Aya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Baoulé
Derived from Baoulé ya "Friday", referring to the day of the week on which the child was born and hence to be understood as "born on Friday".
Aya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: איה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: a-YA
Directly taken from Hebrew אַיָּה (ayá) meaning "honey buzzard".
Azenor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton, Breton Legend, Theatre
Pronounced: ah-ZAY-nor(Breton)
Breton name of uncertain origin and meaning.
It is sometimes linked to Breton
enor "honor", a theory which goes back to the fact that Saint Azénore is occasionally rendered as
Honora in Latin texts. Another theory, however, links this name to
Eleanor (via
Aenor, which is occasionally considered a contracted form of
Azenor. Compare also
Aanor), while yet another theory was put forth that Azenor might in fact represent an unknown Celtic name, possibly one containing the theonym
Esus.
In Breton legend it is borne by the mother of Saint Budoc, a 6th-century princess of Brest (however, the name Eleanor was not coined until the 12th century). It was used for a character in Paul Le Flem's opera Le Rossignol de Saint-Malo (1938) and also occurred briefly in the French TV series Kaamelott (as Azénor).
Azoulay
Usage: Judeo-Spanish
Other Scripts: אזולאי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: A-ZOO-LEH(French)
Meaning uncertain. It may derived from Spanish
azul or French
azur meaning "blue" (both ultimately derived from Persian via Arabic), possibly used as a nickname for someone with blue eyes or an occupational name for a maker of blue ceramic ware. Alternately it could be from the Tamazight word
izil meaning "good, pure".
A third theory suggests that it is an acronym of the phrase אשה זונה וחללה לא יקחו ('ish-shah zo-nah wa-ha-la-lah lo yiq-qa-hu) from the Hebrew Bible (part of Leviticus 21:7). The verse means "a woman that is a harlot or profaned, they shall not take", referring to restrictions on whom a kohen (priest) may marry; ultimately this suggests priestly descent.
Bacal
Derived from Romanian bacal, an alternative form of băcan meaning "grocer".
Badhild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic
Derived from the Germanic element badu "battle" combined with Old Norse hildr "battle."
Bael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Near Eastern Mythology
Baia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Taken from the name of a Basque river that has its source in Gorbeia and flows into the Ebro.
The source of its name is not quite so certain; there is, however, a theory that derives Baia from Basque ibai "river".
Bajgalmaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Байгалмаа(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Means "nature woman" or "mother nature" in Mongolian, from байгаль
(baigal') meaning "nature" and the feminine suffix маа
(maa).
Baltasara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare), Galician (Rare)
Banba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Pronounced: BAHN-vah
One of a trinity of Irish goddesses, with
Ériu and
Fódla.
Basilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Norman, Medieval English, Spanish, Spanish (Latin American), German (Rare), Italian (Rare), Romani (Archaic)
Feminine form of
Basil 1 via its latinized form
Basilius. This was borne by an obscure early saint. As an English name it has long been obsolete, but was much used in the Middle Ages; perhaps a reference to Saint Veronica as Basilia in the medieval
Mors Pilati (
Death of Pilate) was responsible for the name's popularity.
Bathild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic
Beaivi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sami
Means "day, sun" in Sami. Its Finnish cognate is
Päivä.
Beauvis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French
Derived from Middle French beau (via Old French biau, bel) "beautiful, fair; handsome, comely" and Old French viz or vit "sight, visage".
Beleth
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
In demonology, Beleth is a mighty and terrible king of Hell, who has eighty-five legions of demons under his command. He rides a pale horse, and a variety of music is heard before him, according to most authors on demonology, and the most known grimoires.
Belov
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Белов(Russian)
Pronounced: BEH-ləf, BYEH-ləf
From Russian белый (beliy) meaning "white".
Benally
From Navajo binálí meaning "his grandchild", derived from análí meaning "(paternal) grandchild". It was commonly adopted when Native Americans were required to take surnames for record purposes.
Bensimon
Usage: Judeo-Spanish
Other Scripts: בן שמעון(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-SEE-MAWN(French)
Bensoussan
Usage: Judeo-Spanish
Other Scripts: בן שושן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-SOO-SAHN(French)
Benzaquen
Usage: Judeo-Spanish
Other Scripts: בןזקן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-ZA-KAHN(French) behn-SA-kehn(Spanish)
Bethsabe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Judeo-French
Betua
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gaulish
Derived from Gaulish *betua "birch tree".
Bhatt
Usage: Indian, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Nepali
Other Scripts: भट्ट(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) ಭಟ್(Kannada) ભટ્ટ(Gujarati) ഭട്ട്(Malayalam)
Derived from Sanskrit भट्ट (bhatta) meaning "lord" or "learned one".
Bilius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gaulish
Derived from Gaulish bilio- "tree".
Bindi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, Nyungar
Pronounced: Bind-ee(Indigenous Australian)
Means "butterfly" from the word
bindi-bindi in Nyungar, spoken in Western Australian near Perth.
It could also mean "little girl" in other southern Australian languages.
Bindi Cole (1975-) is a new media artist and writer while Bindi Sue Irwin is the daughter of Steve Irwin (1962-2006) known as "The Crocodile Hunter".
Bindi is also the informal name of Soliva sessilis, a weedy plant known for its tiny sharp-needled seeds originate from Southern Australia.
Bitsuie
From bitsóí meaning "his grandchild", a commonly adopted surname when the BIA required Native Americans to take surnames for the purpose of official records.
Bleiddudd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Welsh
Pronounced: BLIE-dhidh
Welsh form of the Brythonic name *Bledjojüd- meaning "wolf lord", from Proto-Brythonic *blėð meaning "wolf" (Welsh blaidd) and *jʉð meaning "lord" (Welsh udd).
Bleiz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton
Pronounced: BLAYS, BLAY
Derived from Breton
bleiz "wolf; gray" and thus nowadays commonly considered the Breton equivalent of French
Loup, this name was in former times also used as a phonetic approximation to
Blois and given in honor of the Blessed Charles of Blois, Duke of Brittany.
From the early 1600s onwards, when every given name had to be linked with a Catholic saint, Bleiz was also used as a Breton bona fide equivalent of Saint
Blaise due to its phonetic similarities.
Bleiza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton (Rare)
Bodhidharma
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Buddhism, History, Sanskrit
Other Scripts: बोधिधर्म(Sanskrit)
Means "dharma of enlightenmemt" in Sanskrit, from Sanskrit धर्म (dhárma) "virtue, religious and moral duties" and बोधि (bodhi) "the illuminated or enlightened intellect". This was the name of a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch.
Boettcher
Occupational name for a cooper, from Middle High German botecher, bötticher, bütticher, an agent derivative of botech(e), bottich, bütte "vat", "barrel".
Breesha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Manx
Cador
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, Cornish
Probably a form of
Cadeyrn, perhaps derived from its Cornish cognate. In Arthurian romance this was the name of Guinevere's guardian. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, Cador was a ruler of Cornwall and the father of Constantine, King Arthur's successor.
K.M. Sheard writes, 'It is not even beyond the realms of possibility that it derives ultimately from the name of the Celtic god Belactucadros.'
Cairns
From Gaelic carn "cairn", a topographic name for someone who lived by a cairn, i.e. a pile of stones raised as a boundary marker or a memorial.
Caterino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare, Archaic)
Cathelan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French (Rare)
Pronounced: kah-te-LAHN(Old French)
Cathelin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French
Pronounced: kah-te-LAHN(Old French)
Caucasus
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAW-kə-səs
From Greek Καύκασος (Kaúkasos), which is of uncertain origin; it may be derived from Scythian *xrohukäsi meaning "ice-shining" or "white snow". Alternatively, it may be from Greek κήξ (kḗx) meaning "sea swallow (a kind of bird)" and κάσος (kásos) possibly meaning "mountain" or "rock". This is the name of a mountain range in Eurasia.
Céneri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Cenerina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Archaic)
Derived from Italian
ceneri "ashes". This was traditionally given to girls born on Ash Wednesday (
mercoledì delle ceneri or
Ceneri in Italian). It is a cognate of
Cendrillon.
Cenerino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare, Archaic)
Cha'risa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hopi
Means "moose; elk" in Hopi.
Chernov
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Чернов(Russian)
Pronounced: chir-NOF
From Russian чёрный (chyorniy) meaning "black".
Chikap
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: チカプ(Ainu Katakana)
Means "bird" in Ainu.
Choo
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien), Chinese (Teochew)
Other Scripts: 朱(Chinese)
Pronounced: TSOO(Hokkien, Teochew)
Hokkien and Teochew romanization of
Zhu.
Ciba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Caló)
Pronounced: SEE-ba(Caló)
Means "marvel, wonder" in Caló. This name is used as the Caló form of
Maravilla.
Cillian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Swiss)
Claremonde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare, Archaic), Louisiana Creole (Rare, Archaic), French (Cajun)
Old French form of Claremunda, which may have been derived from Latin clarus "clear, bright" and Germanic mund "protector".
Cly
From Navajo tłʼaaí meaning "lefty, left-handed one", from the verb nishtłʼa "to be left-handed".
Conomor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton Legend, History, Medieval Breton (?)
From a Brythonic name, possibly *Cunomāros, derived from Common Celtic *kwon- "hound" or *kuno- "high" and *māros "great". This was the name of Conomor the Cursed, a 6th-century king of Domnonée (modern-day northern Brittany) notorious for his cruelty, who was ultimately excommunicated at the behest of Saint Samson of Dol. He survives as a villain in Breton folklore, and is often considered the basis for the legends of Bluebeard and of King Mark of Cornwall in the tale of Tristan & Isolde.
Corentyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Cormoran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Folklore, Literature
Pronounced: KAWR-mə-rən
Name of a legendary giant in Cornish folklore; he appears in the fairy tale 'Jack the Giant Killer'. The name was also used for the main character, Cormoran Strike, in 'The Cuckoo's Calling' (2013) by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling).
Cunorix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Celtic
Derived from Old Celtic
koun "hound" combined with Celtic
rix "king." The name might also be a form of
Cyneric (see
Kendrick).
Cuzco
Usage: Inca (Hispanicized), Quechua (Hispanicized), Spanish (Archaic)
Traditional spelling of
Cusco, a city in Peru which was the capital of the Inca Empire.
Cusco is the Hispanicized form of Quechua
Qusqu meaning "rock, boundary stone; heap of earth and stones; nucleus; navel; bed, dry bed of a lake".
Cynddelw
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Welsh name of uncertain origin, perhaps from an Old Celtic element meaning "high, exalted" combined with Welsh or Old Celtic delw "image, effigy".
Cyran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French, French (Rare)
Dáidu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sami
Means "skill, knowledge" in Sami. Its Finnish cognate is
Taito.
Dália
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Slovak (Rare)
Hungarian and Slovak form of
Dahlia.
Dangerfield
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romani (Archaic)
Đào
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: DOW
Vietnamese form of
Tao, from Sino-Vietnamese 陶
(đào).
Dazmir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian (Rare), Georgian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Дазмир(Russian) დაზმირ(Georgian)
Contraction of the Soviet slogan Да здравствует мировая революция! (Da zdravstvuet mirovaya revolyutsiya!) meaning "Long live the world revolution!" as well as of Да здравствует мир! (Da zdravstvuet mir!) meaning "Long live the peace!" This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
Defiance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Archaic)
Pronounced: di-FIE-əns
Derived from the English word denoting a disposition to resist.
Dekabrin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Декабрин(Russian)
Pronounced: dyi-ku-BRYEEN(Russian)
Derived from Russian декабрь
(dekabr) meaning "December". This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names, and was used in order to commemorate the Decembrist revolt of 1825. Also compare the related name
Dekabrist.
Dekabrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Декабрина(Russian)
Pronounced: dyi-ku-BRYEE-nə(Russian)
Feminine form of
Dekabrin. A known bearer of this name was the Russian chess player Dekabrina Kazatsker (1913-1983).
Delila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1], Biblical German
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Hebrew form of
Delilah, as well as the German form.
Delina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Sicilian, Spanish (Rare), Spanish (Latin American), Romani
English truncated form of
Adeline and Sicilian truncated form of
Adelina. This name was borne by Delina Filkins, the first person verified to reach the age of 113, in 1928.
Dian Cécht
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Pronounced: dyee-ən kyekht
Derived from Old Irish
dían meaning "swift" and
cécht meaning "power". Name borne by one of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, who was the grandfather of the god
Lugh.
Digory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British, Rare), Medieval English, Cornish
Pronounced: DIG-ə-ree(British English)
Variant of
Diggory, used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his 'Chronicles of Narnia' series.
Diskin
Usage: Irish (Anglicized)
Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Díscín "descendant of Díscín", which may be derived from díosc "barren". The place name Ballyeeskeen, now Ballydiscin, in County Sligo, is derived from the surname.
Dolma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese, Buddhism
Other Scripts: སྒྲོལ་མ(Tibetan)
From Tibetan སྒྲོལ་མ
(sgrol-ma) meaning "saviouress" (referring to enlightenment), derived from སྒྲོལ
(sgrol) meaning "to liberate, to save" and the feminine particle མ
(ma). This is the Tibetan name for the bodhisattva
Tara.
Donara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Soviet, Russian (Rare), Armenian
Other Scripts: Донара(Russian) Դոնարա(Armenian)
Pronounced: du-NA-rə(Russian)
Contraction of Russian дочь народа (doč naroda) meaning "daughter of the people". This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
Dua
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Pronounced: DOO-a
Derived from Albanian dua "I want; I love".
Dyfan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: DUV-an
The name of an obscure 2nd-century Welsh saint.
Éadbhard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EEAD-vərd, EHD-wərd
Eanswith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon
From the Old English feminine name
Eanswið or
Eanswiþ, of which the meaning of the first element is uncertain. It might possibly be derived from Old English
eane meaning "lamb" or the Old English verb
eanian meaning "to give birth" (usually of animals), which is etymologically related to the modern English verb
to yean. All are descended from (or otherwise etymologically related to) the Proto-Germanic verb
*aunōną meaning "to lamb, to yean". With that said, the second element of this name is derived from Old English
swiþ meaning "strong".
This name was borne by a daughter of king Eadbald of Kent (7th century AD), who was canonized by the Catholic Church sometime after her death.
Ector
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: EHK-tuyr
Sir Ector is the father of Sir
Kay and the foster father of King
Arthur in the Arthurian legend.
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.
Efnisien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
From the welsh efnys, meaning "hostile, enemy". This name was borne by the son of Llyr's wife Penarddun by Euroswydd, who eventually causes the fall of Ireland when his half-sister Branwen is married off to the Irish king Matholwch without his permission.
Eigr
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Eiludd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh
Welsh form of the old Celtic name *
Elujüd- meaning "many lords", from Proto-Celtic *
ėl meaning "second, other; all" and *
jʉð meaning "lord" (Middle Welsh
udd "lord"; compare
Bleiddudd,
Gruffudd,
Maredudd). This name was borne by an early 7th-century king of Powys.
Einstein
Usage: Jewish
Pronounced: IEN-shtien(German) IEN-stien(English)
Ornamental name derived from German ein "one" and stein "stone". A famous bearer was the German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955).
Eisner
Occupational name for an ironworker, smith, or ironmonger, from an agent derivative of Middle High German
īsen and German
Eisen, meaning ‘iron’ (see
Eisen).
Ekaitza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Modern, Rare), Basque Mythology
Feminine form of
Ekaitz, meaning "storm", that had long been forgotten and was eventually rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century.
In Basque mythology, this name is closely linked to Mari 3, one of the mythological key figures, because she is said to occasionally transform herself into a storm to go from place to place.
Ekhi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Eastern Basque variant of eki "sun".
Elar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian
Ele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Modern), Basque Mythology
Ele is first and foremost the modern Basque feminine form of
Elias.
However, this name also coincides with a Basque word
ele "word; story; conversation" and finally it is also the name of a (masculine) god known from inscriptions found in Aquitaine between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
Even though said deity was masculine, the name is understood as a strictly feminine name in this day and age.
Elfin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English (?), History (Ecclesiastical)
This was the name of an obscure local saint venerated in medieval Warrington, a town in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. It is allegedly a British derivative of Latin
Alpinus (see
Alpin; also
Elphin,
Alvin).
Elisaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Derived from Old French
Elis, itself a truncation of
Élisabeth and Old High German
heri "host, army".
Elisiard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French
Derived from Old French
elis(i), itself a truncation of
Elisabeth, and Old High German
hart "strong, hard".
Eliud
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish, Medieval Welsh
Cornish and Middle Welsh form of
Eiludd.
Elorri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Derived from Basque elorri "hawthorn". In Basque folklore, the hawthorn has been considered a sacred plant.
Elphin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Possibly a Welsh cognate of the Gaelic name
Ailpein (see
Alpin). In the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth, he was one of
Arthur's warriors, the son of
Gwyddno Long Shanks. In other sources he is the bard
Taliesin's foster father. The name was also borne by an obscure British saint (see
Elfin).
Elsinore
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: EHLS-ə-nawr(English)
Anglicized form of
Helsingør. This is the name of Hamlet's castle in William Shakespeare's play.
Elyabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
A medieval form of
Elizabeth used in the 13th-century Prose
Tristan and its adaptations, where it belongs to the mother of
Tristan.
Emblyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Medieval English
Late medieval English variant of
Emmeline. Common in the 16th and 17th centuries, this name eventually died out in England in the 19th century, though it survived in Cornwall.
Emmeram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare), History (Ecclesiastical)
Germanic name, in which the second element is
hramn meaning "raven". The first element is often said to be
heim meaning "home" (which would thus make this name a relative of
Heimeran), but it could also be
amal meaning "work, labour" or
ermen meaning "whole, universal". Also compare the similar-looking name
Emmerich, where the first element is similarly ambiguous.
This name was borne by a saint from the 7th century AD.
Endelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Cornish form of
Endellion (which survives in the place name
San Endelyn).
Enea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Derived from Basque
enea "mine" (compare
Nerea).
Eneka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Basque, Basque
Medieval Basque variant of
Oneka and feminine form of
Eneko. This name was recorded in Pamplona from 1096 onwards.
Energiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Энергия(Russian)
Pronounced: eh-NEHR-gyi-yə(Russian)
Derived from Russian энергия (energiya) meaning "energy, power". This name was used by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
Engelais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Old French form of the Germanic name Engilheid, which was composed of the elements Angil, the name of a Germanic tribe known in English as the Angles, and heid "kind, sort, type".
Enoli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cherokee
Means "black fox" in Cherokee.
Ephrem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Variant of
Ephraim. A known bearer of this name was Ephrem the Syrian, a 4th-century Syrian deacon who was also a prolific Syriac language hymn writer and theologian. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially among Syriac Orthodox Christians, as a saint.
Epstein
A habitational name for someone from a place named Eppstein, which is from Old High German ebur meaning ‘wild boar’ and stein meaning ‘stone’.
Erc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish, Irish Mythology, History (Ecclesiastical)
Probably means "speckled, spotted, motley", derived from the descendant of modern Irish earc "lizard, newt".
Erec
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Possibly derived from the Old Breton name
Guerec, which may be related to Welsh
Gweir, the name of several of King
Arthur's warriors and relatives in early Welsh tales. This is borne by the hero of the Arthurian romantic poem
Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes (completed c. 1170). This poem is thought to be the basis for the later Welsh story
Geraint and Enid in the Mabinogion.
Ersa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ερσα(Ancient Greek)
Doric Greek form of
Herse, the Greek goddess of dew whose name ultimately derives from Ἑρση (
herse) meaning "dew".
Esclarmonde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French, Medieval Occitan, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ehs-klar-mawnd(Old French)
Probably a medieval Provençal form of
Claremonde. According to a folk etymology it means "light of the world" from Old French
esclair "light" and
monde "world". In medieval legend Esclarmonde was a Muslim princess, lover of the Christian knight Huon de Bordeaux. It was borne by Esclarmonde de Foix (1151-1215), a princess and Cathar Perfecta from Occitania.
Este
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French
Recorded once in Paris of 1292. Possible masculine variation of
Estee.
Etobicoke
Usage: Iroquois (Anglicized), Algonquin (Anglicized)
Pronounced: et-TOH-be-koh(Iroquoian)
From the Mississagua name for the area, wah-do-be-kang (wadoopikaang), and means "the place where alders grow". Anglicized by Augustus Jones as 'ato-be-coake', but adopted by John Graves Simcoe as 'Etobicoke' in 1795.
Etruria
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman, History
Meaning unknown. This was the name of an ancient country in the Italian Peninsula (located in what is now Tuscany) inhabited by the Etruscans.
It was known to the Ancient Greeks as Tyrrhenia (Τυρρηνία).
Ettarre
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: e-TAHR, e-TAHR-ə
Used by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his Arthurian epic 'Idylls of the King' (1859) as the name of the lady loved by
Pelleas. An earlier form,
Ettard, was used by Sir Thomas Malory in his 'Le Morte d'Arthur' and may have been a variant or corrupted form of
Arcade, the original name of the character in the Post-Vulgate Cycle.
Euanthes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-AN-theez(Greek Mythology)
Derived from Greek εὐανθής
(euanthês) meaning "blooming, flowery". It is the masculine equivalent of
Euanthe. This name occurs in the 'Odyssey' belonging to the father of Maron, a priest of Apollo at Ismarus in Thrace.
Euna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Anglicized, Rare), Scottish Gaelic (Anglicized, Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: YOO-nah, OO-nah
Anglicized form of
Úna and
Ùna.
Eunie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, American (South)
Pronounced: YOO-nee
Diminutive of
Eunice. This was the birth name of American screenwriter and actress Ouida Bergère (1886-1974).
Euria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Modern, Rare)
Derived from Basque euri "rain".
Evaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
In Arthurian tales, Evaine is the sister of Lancelot's mother
Elaine, wife of King Bors of Gaul and mother of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors the Younger. Her character first appears in the Old French prose
Lancelot of the Lake (c.1215–20), which was incorporated into the Vulgate
Lancelot.
The name suffix -vain appears in this and other Arthurian names such as Yvain and Agravain.
Evanthis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek (Cypriot)
Other Scripts: Ευάνθης(Greek)
Exa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Archaic)
Personal remark: Coincides with the SI prefix for 10^18
Fanchon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Louisiana Creole (Archaic)
Pronounced: FAHN-SHAWN(French)
Diminutive of
Françoise. It may have developed from the Breton name
Fañchenn, the feminine form of
Fañch. This name was borne by two mistresses of Louis, the Great Dauphin: Françoise "Fanchon" Pitel (1662-1721), an actress; and Françoise "Fanchon" Moreau (1668-after 1743), an opera singer.
Fanchon, the Cricket is a 1915 silent film starring Mary Pickford in the title role.
Featherstonhaugh
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAN-shaw
Indicates a person lived in or near Featherstonhaugh in Northumberland, England. From Old English feðere "feather", stān "stone", and healh "corner."
Feirefiz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
The half-brother of
Parsifal in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Arthurian poem.
Fekeila
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Tongan
Means "spotted octopus" in Tongan.
Feng
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 风(Chinese) 風(Traditional Chinese)
Derived from Chinese 风 (fēng) meaning "wind".
Fódla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
One of a trinity of Irish goddesses, with
Banba and
Ériu.
Frederius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French (Latinized)
Derived from Old High German fridu "peace" and Old High German heri "host, army".
Fresno
From Spanish meaning "ash tree".
Fuji
Usage: Japanese, English
Other Scripts: 富士(Japanese Kanji) ふじ(Japanese Hiragana) フジ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: FOO-ZHEE(Japanese) FOO-jee(English)
The name of a mountain (a symbol for the Japanese for centuries), known in Japanese as
Fuji-san or
Fujiyama (富士山), located on the boundaries of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in central Japan. It is written as 富
(fu) meaning "wealth" combined with 士
(shi) meaning "warrior; samurai."
The etymology of this place name is still being debated, though the theory that it is derived from Ainu フヂ (fuji), its meaning referring to (the goddess of) fire, a common association with volcanoes by the Ainu, is widely accepted.
One other theory, proposed by linguist and philologist Alexander Vovin, suggests that it is derived from a combination of 火 (pu), the Eastern Old Japanese term of hi (or ho when on its own) meaning "fire" that is only attested once in the Man'yōshū, and 主 (nushi) meaning "master."
Furrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Furrina was an ancient Roman goddess whose function had become obscure by the 1st century BC. Her cult dated to the earliest period of Roman religious history, since she was one of the fifteen deities who had their own flamen, the Furrinalis, one of the flamines minores. There is some evidence that Furrina was associated with water. The name itself might be related to the Indo-European root *bhr-u-n, indicating the moving or bubbling of water.
Gabriel
Usage: English, Cornish, Welsh, Scottish, French, German, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Jewish, Indian (Christian)
Other Scripts: גבריאל(Hebrew) גאַבריעל(Yiddish) ഗബ്രിയേൽ(Malayalam)
Pronounced: GAY-bree-əl(English) GA-BREE-YEHL(French) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Derived from the given name
Gabriel.
Galehaut
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Meaning unknown. However, like many given names from Arthurian legend, this name is probably of Celtic origin (either Breton or Welsh, to be precise). It was subsequently gallicized and due to this, it is sometimes thought to be connected to Middle French
hault (which is
haut in modern French) meaning "high, elevated".
In Arthurian legend, Galehaut was a knight (sometimes referred to as the High Prince) who was the son of a giantess. He was a good friend of Lancelot and loved him so dearly that he made many sacrifices for him, which ultimately led to his death.
Needless to say, Galehaut is not to be confused with Sir Galahad, even though their names are quite similar in appearance.
Garfinkel
Jewish (Ashkenazic) ornamental name or nickname from Yiddish
gorfinkl ‘carbuncle’, German
Karfunkel. This term denoted both a red precious or semi-precious stone, especially a garnet or ruby cut into a rounded shape (in which case it is an ornamental name), and a large inflamed growth on the skin like a large boil (in which case it is a descriptive nickname).
Garfunkel
Usage: Jewish, Yiddish
Other Scripts: גאָרפֿינקל(Hebrew, Yiddish)
From גאָרפֿינקל (
gorfinkl), "carbuncle" in Yiddish, which in turns derives from German
Karfunkel. A notable bearer of this surname is Art Garfunkel.
Carbuncle is an archaic term for a number of red gemstones, usually red garnet.
Gari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ga-ree
Derived from Basque gari "wheat".
Gari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Alsatian (Archaic)
Geliy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Гелий(Russian)
Pronounced: GYEH-lyee(Russian)
Derived from the Russian noun гелий
(geliy) meaning "helium". This name was used by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names, in reference to all the scientific progress in the Soviet Union.
A known bearer of this name was the Russian painter Geliy Korzhev (1925-2012).
Gertruda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Гертруда(Russian)
Pronounced: gyir-TROO-də(Russian)
Contraction of Russian герой труда
(geroy truda) meaning "hero of labour" and of героиня труда
(geroinya truda) meaning "heroine of labour". In a way, one could say that this name is a Soviet (re-)interpretation of the Germanic name
Gertruda.
This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
Giđeš
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami
Derived from Sami giđđa 'spring.'
Gilgen
Usage: German, German (Swiss)
Derived from Middle High German gilge "lily", this was a habitational name from the inflected form of a house name meaning "at the lily".
Ginsburg
Usage: German, Jewish
Pronounced: GINS-bərg(German) GINZ-bərg(Jewish)
Habitational name for someone who came from Gunzberg in Bavaria, Günsburg in Swabia, or Gintsshprik (Königsburg) in East Prussia. Its origin is from the name of the river Günz, written in early Latin documents as Guntia, which was probably of Celtic origin, and Old High German burg meaning "Fortress, walled town".
Gintvilas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "to defend hope", derived from Lithuanian
ginti meaning "to defend, to protect" combined with Baltic
vil meaning "hope" (see
Viltautas). In other words: this given name is basically the same as
Vilgintas, but with the name elements in different places.
Godevaert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Dutch
Pronounced: KHO-də-vah:rt
Medieval Dutch form of
Godefrid. In very rare cases, it can also be derived from
Godehard.
Gola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cherokee
Other Scripts: ᎪᎳ(Cherokee)
Means "winter" in Cherokee.
Goncharov
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Гончаров(Russian)
Pronounced: gən-chi-ROF
Derived from Russian гончар (gonchar) meaning "potter".
Gòrzëmira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kashubian
Govaert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Dutch
Pronounced: KHO-vah:rt
Short form of
Godevaert. A known bearer of this name was the Flemish astronomer Govaert Wendelen (1580-1667), who is known as Godefroy Wendelin in English.
Graná
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Caló)
Pronounced: gra-NAH(Caló)
Grañita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Caló)
Pronounced: gra-NYEE-ta(Caló)
Hania
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hopi
From Hopi hónawuu "bear".
Hanneman
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Medieval Dutch, Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: HAHN-nə-mahn(Dutch)
Medieval Dutch pet form of
Hanne 1, as the Germanic element
man has been used as a suffix for pet forms of both masculine and feminine names since the 7th century AD. Also compare the related name
Janneman.
Hannemann
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval German
Harkliss
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romani (Archaic)
Harlacher
Habitational name for someone from Ober- or Unter-Harlachen, near Überlingen.
Harukor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: ハルコル(Ainu Katakana)
Means "one who has food" in Ainu.
Hatathli
From Navajo hataałii meaning "medicine man, shaman", literally "singer" (from the verb hataał "he sings, he is chanting").
Heifetz
An invented Jewish name based on Hebrew chefets "pleasure". Lithuanian-born US violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) was a known bearer.
Hélias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French, French (Modern)
French form of
Helias. The name was revived in the 1990s.
Herakleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ἡράκλεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-RA-KLEH-A(Classical Greek)
Hextilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Scottish (Latinized)
Latinized form of an Old English name, the deuterotheme of which is
hild "battle, war" (cf.
Hilda,
Hildr). The prototheme is disputed, but may be Old English
hīehst,
hēhst "highest, greatest, most illustrious".
This name was borne by Hextilda of Tynedale, a 12th-century Anglo-Scottish noblewoman who was a granddaughter of Donald III, King of Scotland.
Hezelo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval German, Medieval French
A hypocoristic of any of various names beginning with Old Saxon
hētha, Old High German
heida and Gothic
haiþi meaning "heath". Hezelo, as well as
Hezel, can also be a Middle High German diminutive of either
Herman or
Henry.
Himari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 陽葵, 向日葵(Japanese Kanji) ひまり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HEE-MA-REE
Himari is most commonly spelled as 陽葵, a combination of Japanese 陽 (hi) meaning "sunshine" and 葵 (mari) meaning "hollyhock". This spelling ranked at #1 for girls in Japan in 2020. It can also be spelled as 向日葵 (himari) meaning "sunflower". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Hirschfeld
Usage: German, Jewish, Yiddish
Ornamental name composed of German hirsch or Yiddish hirsh meaning "deer" and feld meaning "field". It is also a topographic name for someone who lived in an area of land frequented by deer or where millets grew.
Hou Yi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese Mythology
Other Scripts: 后羿(Chinese)
Pronounced: KHO-EE(Chinese)
From Chinese 后羿
(Hòuyì) meaning "king Yi" or "monarch Yi". In Chinese mythology this is the name of a legendary archer and the husband of the moon goddess
Chang'e.
Huamán
Usage: Quechua (Hispanicized)
Pronounced: wa-MAN(Latin American Spanish)
Hispanicized form of Quechua waman meaning "falcon, hawk".
Huntress
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUNT-ris
From huntress, referring to a female hunter.
Huynh
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: HWING(Vietnamese) HWIN(Vietnamese, English) WIN(Vietnamese, English)
Simplified variant of
Huỳnh.
Ia
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian (Rare)
Other Scripts: ია(Georgian)
Short form of
Iakob and
Ilia. In some cases, it might also be derived from the Arabic name
Yahya, which is written as იაჰია
(Iahia) in Georgian.
This given name is rare today, but it was common in the 9th century.
Known Georgian bearers of this name include the composer Ilia "Ia" Kargareteli (1867-1939) and the writer Ia Ekaladze (1872-1933).
Ia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: EE-ə(History)
Of unknown origin and meaning. Saint Ia was a 5th-century Cornish virgin martyr, an Irish princess, according to popular tradition, who travelled to Cornwall as a missionary and was martyred on the River Hayle under
Tudur Mawr, ruler of Penwith. Ia gave her name to her burial place; St Ia's Church was erected over her grave and around the church grew the town of Porth Ia (later renamed St Ives in honour of a bishop named
Ivo or
Ive).
Ia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ია(Georgian)
Pronounced: EE-AH
Derived from the Georgian noun ია
(ia) meaning "violet", as in the spring flower (also see
Violet). In turn, it is thought to be derived from the Georgian noun იასამანი
(iasamani) meaning "lilac", which might possibly be of Persian origin. However, ია
(ia) could also be derived from ancient Greek ἴα
(ia), which is the plural form of ἴον
(ion) meaning "violet".
Known bearers of this name include the Georgian actresses Ia Parulava (b. 1967) and Iamze "Ia" Sukhitashvili (b. 1980).
Ideya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Идея(Russian)
Pronounced: i-DYAY-ə(Russian)
Derived from the Russian noun идея
(ideya) meaning "idea, thought, notion". This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names, possibly in reference to the word идеология
(ideologiya) meaning "ideology" or to communist ideas, concepts or ideals in general.
A known bearer of this name was the Russian animated film director and screenwriter Ideya "Ida" Garanina (1937-2010).
Iera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Ikerne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Coined by Sabino Arana Goiri and Koldo Elizalde as a Basque equivalent of
Visitación (compare
Iker).
Ilazki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Derived from Navarrese Basque ilazki "moon".
Iluka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indigenous Australian
Pronounced: ie-LOO-ka
Named for the village of Iluka in northern New South Wales. Often translated as "by the sea" in an Australian Aboriginal language, it is probably derived from the Djangati term yiluga, of unknown meaning.
Iluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Ancient Basque name that was first found on inscriptions in Aquitaine dating back to the 1st to 3rd centuries.
Its origin and meaning are uncertain; there is, however, a theory that it might be derived from the Basque adjective ilun (illun in Old Basque, ilunn in Aquitain), meaning "darkness; dark; sombre; gloomy; mysterious; obscure".
Imi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic
Presumably from Greenlandic imeq "water".
Inari
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Sami
Pronounced: I-nah-ri(Finnish)
Meaning unknown.
The name of a lake, municipality, and village in Finland (Aanaar in the Inari Sami language). Their names are derived from the name of the Inari Sami people who live in the area around Lake Inari.
Industriya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Soviet, Russian (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Индустрия(Russian)
Pronounced: in-duw-STRYEE-yə(Russian)
Derived from the Russian noun индустрия
(industriya) meaning "industry". In some cases, this name can also be a contracted form of
Industrializatsiya.
This name was used by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names, in reference to all the industries that emerged in the Soviet Union after the industrialization process was set into motion.
Iola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan (Rare), Galician (Rare)
Pronounced: YAW-lə(Catalan) YAW-la(Catalan)
Iola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Ioulos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Late Greek
Other Scripts: Ἴουλος(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek noun ἴουλος
(ioulos) meaning "down" (the first growth of the whiskers and beard) as well as "corn sheaf".
For the latter meaning, compare Ioulo, which was an epithet of the Greek goddess Demeter 1.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Ioulos (Iulus in Latin) was an alternative name of Ascanius, the legendary king of Alba Longa.
Ipar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque, Basque Mythology
Pronounced: ee-par(Basque)
Derived from Basque ipar "north; north wind". In Basque mythology, Ipar, the north wind, is married to the daughter of the north-easterly wind who calms his anger.
Izail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Изаиль(Russian)
Contraction of Russian исполнитель заветов Ильича
(ispolnitel' zavetov Il'icha) meaning "executor of the testament of Ilyich" or of the Soviet slogan Исполняй заветы Ильича!
(Ispolnyay zavety Il'icha!) meaning "Fulfill the legacy of Ilyich!" The last word in both sentences refers to the Russian politician and communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), whose patronymic was Ilyich.
This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
Jamukha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Mongolian
Other Scripts: Жамуха(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Of uncertain etymology. Jamukha was a Mongol military and political leader and the chief rival to Temüjin (later Genghis Khan) in the unification of the Mongol tribes.
Jesena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian (Rare), Croatian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Јесена(Serbian)
From jesen meaning "autumn".
Jigme
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese
Other Scripts: འཇིགས་མེད(Tibetan)
From Tibetan འཇིགས་མེད ('jigs-med) meaning "fearless, brave".
Jork
Gender: Masculine
Usage: West Frisian (Rare)
Originally a short form of names containing the element
ever- such as
Everhard.
Jugemu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Folklore, Japanese Mythology
Other Scripts: 寿限無(Japanese Kanji) じゅげむ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: zhi-geh-moo
Means "limitless life", from Japanese 寿
(ju) meaning "age; years", 限
(ge) meaning "limit" and 無
(mu) meaning "none". This is only the initial part of a ridiculously long name in a humorous
rakugo story of a couple who could not decide on a name for their infant son, which resulted in the father being suggested several names by a Buddhist priest. However, he was unable to decide and therefore gave his son all of the names.
The full name in the story is 寿限無、寿限無、五劫の擦り切れ、海砂利水魚の、水行末・雲来末・風来末、食う寝るところに住むところ、薮ら柑子のブラ柑子、パイポ・パイポ・パイポのシューリンガン、シューリンガンのグーリンダイ、グーリンダイのポンポコピーのポンポコナーの、長久命の長助 (Jugemu, Jugemu, Gokō no Surikire, Kaijari Suigyo no, Suigyōmatsu, Unraimatsu, Fūraimatsu, Kū Neru Tokoro ni Sumu Tokoro, Yaburakōji no Burakōji, Paipo, Paipo, Paipo no Shūringan, Shūringan no Gūrindai, Gūrindai no Pompokopī no Pompokonā no, Chōkyūmei no Chōsuke) meaning "limitless life, limitless life, 21,600,000,000 years frictioning (on a rock), the sea's gravel and the water's fish, where water eventually ends, where clouds originate, where wind originates, a place to eat and sleep and a place to live, the hanging ardisia japonica, Paipo (a made-up kingdom set in Ancient China), Paipo, Shūringan (the king) of Paipo, Gūrindai (the queen) of Shūringan, Pompokopī (the daughter) of Gūrindai, Pompokonā (the sister) of Pompokopī, a long-lasting life and blessed for a long time".
Juoksa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sami
Means "bow" in Sami.
Kaeo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: แก้ว(Thai)
Pronounced: KEW
Means "crystal, glass, diamond" in Thai.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Konkani
Other Scripts: कइअ(Hindi) کایا(Urdu) કઇઅ(Gujarati) കയ(Malayalam)
Pronounced: kɑiɑ
Form of
Gaea in many Indian languages.
Kaio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Kallfüray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Pronounced: kəl-fi-RIE(Mapudungun) kal-foo-RIE(Spanish)
Kalonymos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Greek, Judeo-Greek
Other Scripts: Καλώνυμος(Greek) קָלוֹנִימוּס(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ka-LO-nee-mos(Judeo-Greek)
Means "beautiful name", derived from the Greek adjective καλός
(kalos) meaning "beautiful, lovely, fair" combined with the Greek noun ὄνυμα
(onyma) meaning "name".
This given name was eventually adopted by Greek Jews, for whom it was a direct translation of the Hebrew name Shem-tov. It is now best known as a (patronymic) surname in the Jewish community, with the most prominent bearers being members of the Italian branch of the Kalonymos family.
A known bearer of this given name was the Byzantine naval commander Kalonymos of Alexandria (6th century AD), who is better known under the latinized form of his name, namely Calonymus.
Karelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Rare), Danish (Archaic), Norwegian (Archaic)
Karin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 華鈴, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KAH-RIN, KA-REEN
From Japanese 華 (ka) meaning "flower" and 鈴 (rin) meaning "bell". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Kassiani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Κασσιανή(Greek)
Feminine form of
Kassianos. This was the name of a 9th-century Byzantine saint famous as a hymnographer, who supposedly fell in love with the emperor Theophilos but was rejected when she proved to be more intelligent than he.
Keile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
German-Yiddish form of
Kelila.
Kek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology
Kek is the deification of the concept of primordial darkness in the Ancient Egyptian Ogdoad cosmogony of Hermopolis.
Kele
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hopi
Means "sparrow" in Hopi.
Kensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern)
Derived from Cornish kensa "first". This is a modern Cornish name.
Kerra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern)
Derived from Cornish kerra "dearer" (the comparative form of ker "dear, precious"). This is a modern Cornish name.
Keyle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Pronounced: KAY-leh
Derived from the Yiddish word for "merry".
Khashmaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Хашмаа(Mongolian Cyrillic)
From Mongolian хаш
(khash) meaning "jade" and the feminine suffix маа
(maa).
Khôi
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: KHOI, KOI
From Sino-Vietnamese 魁 (khôi) meaning "first, chief, leader" or 瑰 (khôi) meaning "precious stone, extraordinary".
Khoo
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien), Chinese (Teochew)
Other Scripts: 邱(Chinese)
Pronounced: KOO(Hokkien)
Hokkien and Teochew romanization of
Qiu.
Kinvara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Apparently from an Irish place name, which meant "head of the sea" in Gaelic. Lady Kinvara Balfour (1975-) is an English playwright and novelist.
Kolbeinn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse, Icelandic
Compound of Old Norse elements kolr meaning ''coal'' (synonym for 'black, dark') and bein meaning ''bone, leg''.
Kolbjǫrn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse
Combination of Old Norse kolr "coal, black as coal" and bjǫrn "bear".
Kotori
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 小鳥, 琴梨, 琴莉, 琴里(Japanese Kanji) ことり(Japanese Hiragana) コトリ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: KO-TO-REE
Directly taken from Japanese 小鳥 (kotori) meaning "small bird". It can also be formed from Japanese 琴 (koto) meaning "harp" combined with 梨 (ri) meaning "pear tree", 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or 里 (ri) meaning "village". Other kanji combinations are possible. This name is often spelled in hiragana.
Kuuklekle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: クーカㇽクㇽ(Ainu Katakana)
Pronounced: KUU-KL-KL
Meaning "People who make Bows" in Ainu.
Leanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Pronounced: lee-AN-də(British English) lee-AHN-də(British English)
Possibly a variant of
Leandra or a blend of
Leanna and
Linda. In the case of Welsh triathlete Leanda Cave (1978-) perhaps it was formed using the Welsh suffix
da "good" (compare
Glenda). A literary bearer is English historian Leanda de Lisle.
Lemmitty
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare, Archaic)
Means "beloved" in Finnish (i.e., the past passive participle of
lempiä; compare
Lempi). It has occasionally been used as a feminine given name (and sometimes a masculine name; it is rare for either sex, and mostly a middle name).
Lien
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 林(Chinese)
Pronounced: LEEN(Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of
Lin.
Lienhard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, German (Swiss), Upper German
Upper German and Alemannic German form of
Leonhard.
Linddís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern, Rare)
Combination of the Old Norse name elements lind "lime-tree, linden tree; (protective shield of) linden wood; linden spear-shaft" and dís "goddess; woman, lady; sister".
Líndís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Combination of the Old Norse name elements lín "flax; linen; linen garment, linen gear" and dís "goddess; woman, lady; sister" or dis "wise woman, seeress; woman, virgin".
Lindis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Finnish (Rare)
Norwegian form of
Líndís as well as of
Linddís. This name is also occasionally used as a truncated form of Germanic names ending in
-lindis.
Linhart
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval German
Lintrude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Medieval French (?), Frankish (?)
A dithematic Germanic name formed from the name elements
linta "linden tree, lime; shield (made of lime wood); gentle, soft" and
drud "strength."
Saint Lintrude (or Lindru) has a feast day on September 22 in France.
Lleision
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Welsh
Pronounced: SHAY-shawn
Of debated origin and meaning. Theories include a derivation from Welsh llais "voice", a derivation from Welsh lleisiol "vocal" and a Welsh contraction of kyrie eleision, an Ecclesiastical Latin phrase from Ancient Greek Κύριε, ἐλέησον, "Lord, have mercy".
Lowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern, Rare)
Derived from Cornish lowena "happiness, bliss, joy". This is a modern Cornish name.
Lowenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Lunet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Lycoris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Other Scripts: Λυκωρίς(Greek)
Pronounced: lie-KAWR-is(English)
Supposedly related to Greek λυκοφως (lykophos) "twilight" or λυκαυγές (lykauges) "morning twilight, dawn", derived from λυκος (lykos) "wolf" and αυγη (auge) "dawn, daylight". It was used by Latin poet Cornelius Gallus as a pseudonym for the actress-courtesan (Volumnia) Cytheris. A genus of flowering plants in the Amaryllis family is named after her.
Lyonors
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Appears in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends 'Le Morte d'Arthur', belonging to the daughter of Earl Sanam. Lyonors had an affair with Arthur and bore him a son, Borre. Alfred Lord Tennyson used the name in his poem 'Gareth and Lynette' (1872) for the sister of Lynette, a character usually called
Lyonesse in medieval versions of the story.
Mæva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse
Old Norse feminine form of
Már.
Mahina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, Polynesian Mythology
Pronounced: mə-HEE-nə(Hawaiian)
Means "moon, month" in Hawaiian, from Proto-Polynesian
*masina. In Hawaiian mythology, Mahina is a lunar deity and the mother of
Hema.
Mai
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 麦(Chinese) 麥(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: MIE
From Chinese 麦 (mài) meaning "wheat, barley, oats". It was adopted as a family name by the descendants of Maiqiu, a figure from the Spring and Autumn Period, or Mai Tiezheng, a Sui dynasty military general.
Mai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Pronounced: mie
Welsh form of
May as well as a direct adoption of Welsh
mai "(month of) May".
Mai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton
Breton contracted form of
Mari 1.
Máilá
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami
Pronounced: MIEL-la
Maila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian, Finnish
Pronounced: MIE-lah(Finnish)
Mäki
Finnish surname from the word mäki meaning "hill".
Marduniya
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Persian
Other Scripts: 𐎶𐎼𐎯𐎢𐎴𐎡𐎹(Old Persian)
Means "the soft one" in Old Persian, derived from mṛdu meaning "soft, mild" combined with the nominal suffix -𐎴 (-na) and the adjectival suffix -𐎡𐎹 (-ya).
Maya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: MA-yu(Tupi, Brazilian Portuguese)
Derived from Tupi maya "mother".
Maya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Мая(Bulgarian)
Mayari
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Philippine Mythology
Other Scripts: ᜋᜌᜍᜒ(Baybayin)
Etymology uncertain, possibly from Tagalog
mayari meaning "to make, to finish" or
may-ari meaning "owner, master". In Tagalog mythology, as well as the mythologies of other Philippine ethnic groups, Mayari is a deity of the moon, night, war, revolution, equality, and strength. The figure is regarded as female in Tagalog belief and male by other groups. She is considered the daughter of
Bathala by the Tagalogs. In some stories, she is also the the sister of
Tala and
Hanan while in others, she is the sister of Tala and
Apolaki. In one myth, Mayari battled Apolaki, resulting in the loss of one of her eyes.
Mazillia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Archaic)
Meleri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: meh-LEH-ri(Welsh)
Combination of the intensifying prefix
my- and
Eleri. Saint Meleri was a daughter of Brychan Brycheiniog who married Ceredig ap Cunedda and became the grandmother of Saint
David.
Meliodas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, Popular Culture, German (Modern, Rare)
Meaning unknown. This is the name of
Tristan's father in medieval French literature. It was reused for the main protagonist in the manga
The Seven Deadly Sins (first published in 2012).
Mencía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Medieval Spanish, Galician
Pronounced: mehn-THEE-a(Spanish)
Spanish and Galician name of unclear origin, maybe from Basque mendi "mountain". It was born by many noble women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and revived in the 2000's.
Mencia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Spanish, Medieval Basque
Of uncertain origin and meaning. Current theories include a derivation from Gallo-Latin
Mincius, which itself may be contracted from
Minicius or
Minucius, or a variant of
Minthius.
Meriadeg
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, Breton Legend
From an old Breton name composed of the elements mer "sea" and iatoc "forehead". Conan Meriadeg was the legendary founder of Brittany.
Merwenn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare, Archaic), Medieval English
From the Old English name
Mærwynn which was derived from
mær meaning "famous" and
wynn "joy". This was the name of a 10th-century saint, the first abbess of Rumsey convent in Hampshire, England after its 967 restoration under King Edward the Peaceful, and the spiritual teacher of Saint
Elfleda.
Meryasek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Mielat
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sami
Means "mind" in Sami.
Mi-Na
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 미나(Korean Hangul) 美娜, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: MEE-NA
From Sino-Korean 美
(mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with 娜
(na) meaning "elegant, graceful, delicate". Other hanja combinations can form this name as well.
Mina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Derived from Old High German minne "love".
Mina
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bosnian (Archaic), Bulgarian (Archaic), Gagauz, Georgian (Archaic), Romanian (Rare), Russian (Archaic), Serbian (Archaic), Ukrainian (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Мина(Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian) მინა(Georgian) Міна(Ukrainian)
Form of
Menas in several languages, which came about via its modern Greek form
Minas.
A known bearer of this name was the Gagauz poet and folklorist Mina Kiosea (1933-1999).
Mina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Pashto
Other Scripts: مينه(Pashto)
Pronounced: mee-NA
Means "love" in Pashto.
Mindel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Mínea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Hungarian borrowing of
Minea.
Möbius
Patronymic surname derived from the given name Bartholomäus, the German form of Bartholomew.
Moki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hopi, Indigenous American
Pronounced: mo-ke(Hopi)
Means "deer" in Hopi.
Molinaro
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: maw-lee-NA-ro
Occupational name for a miller, derived from Italian mulino meaning "mill".
Morien
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish, Arthurian Cycle
Meaning unknown. In Arthurian Romance, Morien was the son of Sir Aglovale and a Moorish princess.
Morowa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Akan
Means "queen" in Akan.
Muisashimats
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: ムイサシマッ(Ainu Katakana)
Pronounced: MU-I-SA-SHI-MATS
Meaning "Sweeping Woman" in Ainu.
Muna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hopi
Means "spring" in Hopi.
Namar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Mongolian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Намар(Mongolian Cyrillic) ᠨᠠᠮᠤᠷ(Traditional Mongolian)
Pronounced: NA-mar
Means "autumn" in Mongolian.
Násti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sami (?)
Pronounced: NAHS-tee
Means "star" in Sami.
Naula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
Nemi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Swedish (Modern), Norwegian (Rare), Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: NEH-mee(Swedish)
Nemi is the title character of the comic strip Nemi (1997), written and drawn by Norwegian cartoonist Lisa Myhre. Its origin and meaning are unknown, there have, however, been speculations that Myhre might have based the name on the name of the Italian town and lake which is ultimately derived from from Latin nemus Aricinum "grove of Ariccia".
Nessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern)
Derived from Cornish nessa "second; nearest".
Ngoia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, Warlpiri
Of Australian Aboriginal origin (Warlpiri, to be precise), the meaning of this name is not yet known to me at the moment. A known bearer of this name is Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri (b. circa 1948), an Australian Aboriginal painter.
Niharika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indian, Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Punjabi
Other Scripts: निहारिका(Hindi) ନିହାରିକା(Odia) నీహారిక(Telugu) ਨਿਹਾਰਿਕਾ(Gurmukhi)
Pronounced: nee-hah-ri-KAH(Hindi)
Means "nebula" in Hindi.
Nilak
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic
Means "fresh water ice" in Greenlandic.
Nimrat
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Indian (Sikh), Punjabi
Other Scripts: ਨਿਮਰਤ(Gurmukhi)
Niutanimats
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: イウタニマッ(Ainu Katakana)
Pronounced: NI-U-TA-NI-MATS
Meaning "Woman with a Pestle" in Ainu.
Novalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-vah-lee
Combination of
Nova and the popular name suffix
-lie (see also
Novalee).
Noya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cherokee
Means "sand" in Cherokee language.
Nunavut
Usage: Inuit, English, French
Other Scripts: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ(Inuktitut)
Pronounced: NOO-na-voot(Inuktitut) NYOO-nə-voot(English) NOO-nə-voot(English) NU-nə-vət(English) NOO-NA-VOOT(French)
Means "our land" in Inuktitut. This is the name of a territory of Canada.
Nune
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Նունե(Armenian)
Pronounced: noo-NEH(Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian)
Armenian cognate of the Georgian name
Nino 2.
Nyima
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tibetan
Other Scripts: ཉི་མ(Tibetan)
Pronounced: NYEE-MU
From Tibetan ཉི་མ (nyi-ma) meaning "sun, day".
Nyneve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Form of
Ninniane used by Thomas Malory for one of the Ladies of the Lake in his 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends 'Le Morte d'Arthur' (as she is called
Ninniane in Malory's source, the continuation to the Vulgate 'Merlin', known as the 'Suite du Merlin'). In Malory, Nyneve imprisons Merlin, twice rescues Arthur from the sorceress Morgan le Fay, and marries Sir Pelleas after punishing Ettarde for her mistreatment of him.
Oaván
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sami
From Sami oaván meaning "brave".
Olette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian (Rare)
Olivo
Topographic name from
olivo "olive tree" or occupational name for someone who sold olives. Or from the given name
Olivo given to someone born on Palm Sunday.
Oltion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Personal remark: Investigation required into meaning of name and its family tree
Ölziit
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Өлзийт(Mongolian Cyrillic) ᠥᠯᠵᠡᠶᠢᠲᠦ(Traditional Mongolian)
Personal remark: Common name element meaning "lucky".
Means "lucky, auspicious, blessed" in Mongolian.
Oneka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Basque
Medieval Basque feminine form of
Eneko.
This was the name of a daughter of Fortún Garcés of Pamplona, king of Pamplona, and his wife Auria / Oria.
Opora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Ὀπώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-paw-ra(Attic Greek) o-PO-ra(Koine Greek, Byzantine Greek)
Means "autumn, end of summer; fruit", or figuratively "summer-bloom, the bloom of youth" in Ancient Greek. This was the name of a minor goddess connected to fruit, the harvest, the wine harvest, and the season of autumn.
Oran
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: aw-RAHN(English) ə-RAHN(English) ə-RAN(English) o-RAHN(English) o-RAN(English) AW-RAHN(French)
From the Arabic name وهران (Wahran), which is ultimately derived from the Berber root hr meaning "lion". This is the name of a city in Algeria.
Orvo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
From the archaic Finnish word orvo meaning "orphan".
Ouyang
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 欧阳(Chinese) 歐陽(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: O-YAHNG
From Chinese 歐 (ōu) referring to Mount Sheng in present-day Huzhou, China, combined with 陽 (yáng) meaning "southern face (of a mountain)". The name supposedly originated with a prince of the Yue state that settled in the area surrounding the mountain. This is one of the most common compound Chinese surnames.
Oviya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil
Other Scripts: ஓவியா(Tamil)
Pronounced: O-vee-ya
From Tamil ஓவியம் (oviyam) meaning "painting".
Pakur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Persian
Of Middle Iranian origin, most likely Parthian. The meaning of this name is uncertain, but sources regularly associate it with Parthian
bgpwhr or
bag-puhr meaning "son of a god".
Pakur was the name of several rulers of Parthian origin, who are usually known under the latinized form of their name. The territories over which they ruled include Armenia, Caucasian Iberia (modern-day Georgia), Colchis (now Georgia), Media Atropatene (modern-day Iran), Parthia (now Iran) and Persis (now Iran).
Palaimon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παλαίμων(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek verb παλαιμονέω (palaimoneo) meaning "to wrestle, to fight", which is ultimately derived from the Greek verb παλαίω (palaio) meaning "to wrestle". Also compare the similar-looking Greek words πάλαι (palai) meaning "long ago" and παλαιός (palaios) meaning "old (in years), aged, ancient".
Palamedes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Other Scripts: Παλαμήδης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: pal-ə-MEE-deez
Possibly derived from Greek πάλαι
(palai) "long ago, in days of yore" and μῆδος
(mêdos) "plans, schemes" (itself from the verb μηδομαι
(medomai) "to think, to plan"). In Greek mythology Palamedes was the son of Nauplius, king of Nauplia, and Clymene, a Cretan princess. In medieval Arthurian tales, this was the name of a Saracen Knight of the Round Table.
Pasang
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese
Other Scripts: པ་སངས(Tibetan)
Pronounced: PA-SANG(Tibetan)
From Tibetan པ་སངས (pa-sangs) meaning "Venus (the planet)" or "Friday".
Persky
Usage: Belarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish
Other Scripts: Перскі(Belarusian)
Derived from the village of Pershai in the Valozhyn District of Belarus, or the place named Perki in Lithuania.
Pinal
From Spanish meaning "pine grove".
Polychronios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Πολυχρόνιος(Ancient Greek)
Derived from the Greek adjective πολυχρόνιος
(polychronios) meaning "long-lasting, long-lived" as well as "of olden time, ancient". It consists of the Greek adjective πολύς
(polys) meaning "many" as well as "much" combined with the Greek adjective χρόνιος
(chronios) meaning "after a long time, late". The latter word is ultimately derived from the Greek noun χρόνος
(chronos) meaning "time" (see
Chronos).
Polychronios was the name of a hieromartyr and two saints. The hieromartyr is strongly venerated on the Greek island of Cyprus.
Pomnislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Slavic
Other Scripts: Помнислав(Church Slavic)
Derived from Church Slavic pomineti or pominiti meaning "to think" (which corresponds with Russian помнить (pomnit) meaning "to think") combined with the Slavic element slava meaning "glory".
Pompeii
Possibly derived from the Oscan
pompe "five", becoming the Latin second declension plural,
pompeii. This may be because the community formerly consisted of five hamlets, or was perhaps settled by a family group (gens
Pompeia).
The city of Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Portola
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Romani (Caló)
Pronounced: Por,to,la(Spanish)
Portola is Spanish and Portuguese for Port and is a Romani calo surname. People include Gaspar de Portolá, a Spanish explorer who was the first governor of Baja and Alta California and had many names after him in California cities and streets.
Ptelea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πτελεα(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Ancient Greek
πτελέα (
ptelea) meaning "wych elm", another name for the European elm tree. This was the name of one of the eight hamadryad daughters of
Oxylos and
Hamadryas, associated with the elm tree.
Rabat
Usage: English, French, Spanish
Pronounced: rə-BAT(English) rə-BAHT(English) RA-BA(French) ra-BAT(Spanish)
From Arabic الرباط (ar-Ribat) meaning "the ribat", referring to a type of fortification used during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. It is also used as a shortened form of the city's Arabic nickname, رباط الفتح (ribatu l-fath), which means "fortification of conquest, fortification of victory". This is the name of the capital city of Morocco.
Raij
Usage: Spanish, Judeo-Spanish, Portuguese, Romani (Caló)
Borrowed from Hindi राइज (raij) meaning "rice". This surname is found among Christian and Jewish Caló families.
Rajnold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: RIE-nawld
Polish form of
Reginald. A famous bearer was Count Ranjnold Przezdziecki, an interbellum Polish diplomat.
Rana
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Sami
A name which means 'green, fertile earth.'
Ravn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Norwegian and Danish form of
Hrafn.
Rbaṭ
Usage: Kabyle
Other Scripts: ⵔⴱⴰⵟ(Kabyle Tifinagh)
Relmu
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Mapuche (Rare)
Pronounced: REHL-moo(Mapudungun) rehl-MOO(Spanish)
From Mapudungun relmu meaning "rainbow."
Rem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Рем(Russian)
Contraction of Russian революция мировая
(revolyutsiya mirovaya) meaning "world revolution". This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
A known bearer of this name was the Russian businessman Rem Vyakhirev (1934-2013).
Rem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Soviet, Russian
Other Scripts: Рэм(Russian)
Acronym consisting of the Russian word революция
(revolyutsiya) meaning "revolution" and the surnames of Энгельс
(Engels) and Маркс
(Marx), which refer to Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) and Karl Marx (1818-1883).
There are also instances where this name is an acronym of (mostly) different words, such as the aforementioned революция (revolyutsiya) meaning "revolution" combined with электрификация (elektrifikatsiya) meaning "electrification" and механизация (mekhanizatsiya) meaning "mechanization" or мир (mir) meaning "peace" as well as "world".
This name was created by Communist parents who were eager to reject traditional names.
A known bearer of this name is the Russian immunologist Rem Petrov (b. 1930).
Resunotek
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: レスノテク(Ainu Katakana)
Means "skilled at child rearing" in Ainu.
Rhidian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: HRID-yan
Possibly a derivative of Old Welsh
rudd "red", in which case it is a cognate of
Ruadhán. This was the name of an early Welsh saint, remembered in the parish and village of Llanrhidian on Gower.
Rixende
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Romi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Modern), Hungarian (Rare)
Roscigniew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Derived from the Slavic name element rasti "to grow" and gnyevu "anger".
Rǫskva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse, Norse Mythology
Derived from
rǫskr "brave". In Norse mythology Rǫskva is a farmer's daughter;
Thor takes her and her brother
Þjálfi with him as servants when he goes to Utgarðaloki.
Rostov
Usage: Russian, Literature
Other Scripts: Ростов, Ростова(Russian)
Either derived from Rostov Oblast, a Russian federal subject, the town of Rostov in Yaroslavl Oblast, or Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city in the Rostov Oblast. This is also the surname of multiple characters from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel "War and Peace".
Sälla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare)
Directly taken from Swedish säll "blissful, happy".
Salla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SAHL-lah
A variant of
Salli. Salla is also the name of both a fell and a municipality in Lapland, Finland.
Sallali
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Cherokee
Pronounced: sah-LAH-lee
Means "squirrel", from the Cherokee sa lo li 'squirrel'.
Sarahild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic
Derived from Old High German saro "armor" combined with Old Norse hildr "battle."
Satanaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Caucasian Mythology
Other Scripts: Сэтэнай(Western Circassian) Сэтэней(Eastern Circassian)
Pronounced: sa-ta-nie(Adyghe, Kabardian)
Means "mother of one-hundred (sons)" from Persian صد
(sad) (through the Iranian root
*/sata-/) meaning "(one) hundred" combined with the Northwest Caucasian root
/na/ meaning "mother" (descended into Kabardian анэ
(ānă) and Adyghe ны
(nə)) and the Indo-Iranian suffix
/-ya/ meaning "the one who is". This refers to Satanaya’s one-hundred giant sons (Narts) in Caucasian mythology.
Satanaya Guasha (or Satana) was the matriarch of the Narts (a race of giants) and an important figure in the 'Nart' sagas and Caucasian mythology. To the Ossetians, she was the daughter of the Uastyrdzhi and mother of Soslan. She was also viewed as a deity of fertility similar to the Greek Demeter but was portrayed as a goddess of crafts and women's work in Vainakh (Chechen and Ingush) belief.
Sella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Variant of
Sälla as well as a Norwegian diminutive of
Cecilia.
Selyf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Welsh form of
Solomon via Old Welsh
Seleu. Selyf ap Cynan, also known as Selyf Sarffgadau, (died 616) appears in Old Welsh genealogies as an early 7th-century King of Powys, the son of Cynan Garwyn.
Semena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Basque
Senara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Pronounced: ze-NAH-rah
From the name of the patron saint of Zennor, a village in Cornwall, which is of obscure origin. Conceivably it may be derived from the Breton name
Azenor or the old Celtic
Senovara. According to local legend Saint Senara was originally Princess Azenor of Brest in Lower Brittany, the mother of Saint Budoc. She is also said to have been a mermaid before her conversion (though even after becoming a Christian, "she continued to pine for the sea"). This name was given to 52 girls born in England and Wales in the years 1916-2005.
Sénery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Senni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian (Rare)
Pronounced: SEN-ni(Finnish)
Senniija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Archaic)
Sérenic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Serilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Archaic), American (South, Archaic)
Pronounced: sə-RIL-də(American English)
Of uncertain origin and meaning; theories include a derivation from
Sarahild. It was regionally popular in the Midwestern and Southern United States in the 19th century (see also
Zerelda).
Seved
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: seh-ved
A more modern variant of the old Norse name Sigvid consisting of the Old Norse elements 'sig' meaning victory and 'vidh' meaning forest. It is also possible that Seved is a Swedish spelling change of the Latin name Severinus.
Shamir
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical, African American
Sidor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Сидор(Russian)
Pronounced: SEE-dahr
Variant or short form of
Isidor.
Sigbritt
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Dutch, Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: SEEG-brit(Swedish)
Combination of
Sig (from
Signe,
Sigrid, or other names beginning with the Old Norse element
sigr "victory") and
Britt. It might also be used as a Dutch feminine form of
Siegbert.
Silène
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Gallicized), French (Modern), French (Belgian, Modern)
French form of
Silenus. While as a mythologcial name, Silène is masculine, it is used as an exclusively feminine given name today.
Sipala
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hopi
Means "peach" in Hopi.
Siran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
French contracted or vernacular form of
Sigiramnus.
Sirona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Celtic Mythology, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: si-RO-na(Celtic Mythology)
The name of a Celtic goddess mainly worshipped in middle Europe and the region of the Danube. She was associated with healing, wolves, and children.
The name comes from a combination of Gaulish roots - ser- or ster- meaning "star" (cognate with the first element in Welsh Seren) plus the -ona termination common to the names of female deities (as in Epona, Angerona.)
The Gaulish goddess of astronomy, and goddess of the Mosel Valley.
Solen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Breton
Breton variant of
Solène used as both a masculine and feminine name.
Sparsh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian, Hinduism
Other Scripts: સ્પર્શ(Gujarati)
Pronounced: Spa - arsh
act of touching; touch; contact; the quality of touch or tangibility; whit, jot; effect of touch or contact; any of the consonants.
Sparta
Usage: English, Czech, Danish, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Manx, Polish, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Σπάρτα(Doric Greek) Σπάρτη(Ancient Greek)
From Doric Greek Σπάρτα (Sparta) and Attic Greek Σπάρτη (Spartē), which is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from σπάρτον (sparton) meaning "rope, cable" - a reference to the cords laid as the city’s foundation boundaries, though this could be just a folk etymology.
This was the name of a prominent city-state in Ancient Greece, known for being a dominant military land-power.
Sparta was also known as Lacedaemon (Λακεδαίμων).
Storme
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greenlandic, English
Greenlandic form of
Storm, as well as an English variant.
Sulis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Celtic Mythology (Anglicized, Archaic)
Pronounced: SOO-lis, soo-LIS
The name of a deity worshipped at the thermal spring in Bath as a part of localised Celtic polytheism. She was then worshipped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva.
Tae
Usage: Taiwanese, Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 鄭(Traditional Chinese) 郑(Chinese)
Min Nan and Hokkien romanization of
Zheng.
Taiel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Mapuche, Spanish (Latin American)
From Mapuche
tayül denoting a song by a shaman.
Used as a given name in Argentina and Uruguay.
Taillte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Irish
Derived from a Brythonic loan word represented by Welsh telediw "well formed, beautiful".
Talesia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Basque
Tália
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Hungarian
Portuguese and Hungarian form of
Thalia.
Talia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sicilian
Short form of
Italia. Actress Talia Shire (sister of film director and producer Francis Ford Coppola) was named after her mother, Italia Pennino Coppola (1912-2004).
Talia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sardinian
Both a short form of
Vitalia and an adoption of the title of
Nostra Segnora de Talia (which itself is a corruption of
Vitalia).
Tanaquil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Etruscan (Latinized), Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: 𐌈𐌀𐌍𐌙𐌅𐌉𐌋(Etruscan)
Pronounced: TA-na-kweel(Classical Latin)
Latinized form of the Etruscan name
Thanchvil which meant "gift of
Thana 1", composed of the name of the goddess Thana and
cvil meaning "gift". This was the name of the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome in the 7th century BC. In modern times it was borne by prima ballerina Tanaquil Le Clercq (1929-2000).
Taran
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Norwegian dialectal variant of
Torunn.
Tarina
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Means "story" in Finnish.
Tassilo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare), Medieval German, Medieval Italian, Medieval French, Lombardic
Diminutive of
Tasso. The Blessed Tassilo III (c. 741 – c. 796) was duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings. Modern-day bearers include Tassilo Thierbach (1956-), a German former pair skater, and Prince Tassilo Preslavski of Bulgaria (2002-).
Tatenen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology
Means "risen land" or "exalted earth", and also refers to the silt of the Nile River.
In Egyptian mythology he was the primordial mound, and as a primeval chthonic deity he was associated with creation. He was viewed as the source of food and viands, divine offers, all good things", as his realms deep beneath the earth were "from which everything emerges". His father was the creator god Khnum who fashioned him on a potter's wheel using Nile mud, granting him the titles "creator and mother who gave birth to all gods" and "father of all the gods". Eventually he became an aspect of Geb.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuak
Usage: English (New Zealand), Maori
Pronounced: /tɐ.ʉ.mɐ.tɐ.ɸɐ.kɐ.tɐ.ŋi.hɐ.ŋɐ.koː.ɐ.ʉ.ɐ.ʉ.ɔ.tɐ.mɐ.tɛ.ɐ.tʉ.ɾi.pʉ.kɐ.kɐ.pi.ki.mɐ.ʉ.ŋɐ.hɔ.ɾɔ.nʉ.kʉ.pɔ.kɐ.i.ɸɛ.nʉ.ɐ.ki.tɐ.nɐ.tɐ.hʉ/(Maori)
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is a hill near Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The height of the hill is 305 meters (1,001 ft). The hill is notable primarily for its unusually long name, which is of Māori origin; it is often shortened to Taumata for brevity. It has gained a measure of fame as it is the longest place-name found in any English-speaking country, and possibly the longest place name in the world; according to World Atlas. The name of the hill (with 85 characters) has also been listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest place name. Other versions of the name, including longer ones, are also sometimes used.
The name "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu" translates roughly as "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his kōauau (flute) to his loved one".
Tearoha
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Maori
Pronounced: te-ah-ro-ha
Means "the love" in Maori (
te, "the" and
aroha, "love"). A variant of
Aroha. May also be spelled Te Aroha.
Tejada
Meaning "roof" or "lime tree."
Teleri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: teh-LEH-ri(Welsh)
Contraction of Welsh
ty meaning "thy, your" and
Eleri. This name is mentioned in
Culhwch and Olwen as one of the maidens of King Arthur's court.
Teneu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Teneu is a legendary Christian saint who was venerated in medieval Glasgow, Scotland. Traditionally she was a sixth-century Brittonic princess of the ancient kingdom of Gododdin and the mother of Saint
Kentigern, apostle to the Britons of Strathclyde and founder of the city of Glasgow. Saint Teneu has been described as "Scotland's first recorded rape victim, battered woman and unmarried mother". Her son was conceived when the Welsh prince
Owain mab Urien raped her. Upon discovering her pregnancy, her angry father King
Lleuddun sentenced her to death and she was hurled from Traprain Law. Miraculously she survived the fall; when discovered alive at the foot of the cliff, Teneu was set adrift in a coracle and travelled across the Firth of Forth to Culross, where she was given shelter at the community of Saint
Serf.
Teo
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien), Chinese (Teochew)
Other Scripts: 张(Chinese) 張(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: TYAWN(Hokkien) TYNON(Teochew)
Hokkien and Teochew romanization of
Zhang.
Themistoclea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of
Themistokleia. This was the name of a Greek priestess, philosopher and mathematician from the 6th century BC, who was the teacher of Pythagoras. After Pythagoras coined the term "philosophy", Themistoclea became the first woman in history to whom the word "philosopher" was applied.
Themistokleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Θεμιστόκλεια(Ancient Greek)
Theudo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic, Medieval Italian, Medieval German, Medieval French
From the Gothic element
þiuda meaning "people" (Old High German
diota, Old Frankish
þeoda), either a short form of Germanic names beginning with this element or used independently as a standalone name.
Thyrsus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), History (Ecclesiastical)
Latinized form of
Thyrsos. This name was borne by a Christian martyr from the 3rd century AD, who was killed for his faith in Sozopolis (Apollonia), Phrygia during the persecution of Emperor
Decius.
Tiva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hopi
Means "dance" in Hopi.
Togos
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Тогос(Mongolian Cyrillic) ᠲᠣᠭᠤᠰ(Traditional Mongolian)
Pronounced: TAW-gəs
Means "peacock, peafowl" in Mongolian.
Tokori
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hopi
Means "screech owl" in Hopi.
Tôn
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: TON, TONG
Vietnamese form of
Sun, from Sino-Vietnamese 孫
(tôn).
Treeve
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Derived from Cornish tre "farmstead, dwelling, town, village, home".
Tressa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Modern)
Pronounced: TRES-sa
Derived from Cornish tressa "third". This is a modern Cornish name.
Truly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Popular Culture, Theatre
Pronounced: TROO-lee
From Old English trēowlīce meaning ‘faithfully’.
Turushno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ainu
Other Scripts: トウルシノ(Ainu Katakana)
Means "covered with grime" in Ainu.
Twardosław
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
The first element of this name is derived from Polish twardy "hard, tough, firm", which is ultimately derived from Proto-Slavic tvьrdъ "hard". Compare Croatian tvrd and Czech/Slovak tvrdý, all of which mean "hard, tough, firm". The second element is derived from Slavic slav "glory".
Uentillie
From Navajo ayóí meaning "very" and áníldííl meaning "husky, large".
Umiaktorvik
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Inuit
Means "river" in Inuit.
Uparmiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Persian
Possibly from Old Persian uparva meaning "pre-eminent" or upara meaning "higher, superior", both derived from 𐎢𐎱𐎼𐎡𐎹 (upariy) meaning "over, above".
Urso
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval German, Medieval French, Medieval Italian, Medieval Portuguese, Medieval Spanish, Medieval English (Rare), Swiss (Archaic)
Pronounced: OOR-so(Medieval German, Old French, Medieval Italian, Medieval Portuguese, Medieval Spanish, Middle English, Swiss)
Form of
Urs in several languages. It was borne by a martyr in the 3rd century and two French and Italian saints in the 6th century.
Uy
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 黄(Chinese)
Pronounced: WEEN(Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of
Huang primarily used in the Philippines.
Vaea
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tongan, Samoan, Tahitian, Polynesian Mythology
Meaning unknown, though it likely means "king, prince, noble, chief" based on the fact that the meaning of Mapu 'a Vaea, natural blowholes in Houma on the island of Tongatapu in Tonga, is known to be 'Whistle of the Noble/Chief/King' in Tongan.
The name has been born by Tongan kings and chiefs in antiquity. Baron Vaea, born Siaosi Tuʻihala ʻAlipate Vaea Tupou, was the Prime Minister of Tonga from 1991-2000. Mount Vaea is a mountain overlooking the Samoan capital of Apia on the island of Upolu, and is best known as the burial site of writer Robert Louis Stevenson. The name of the mountain comes from the Samoan myth of the giant Vaea who, in grieving for the loss of his son, petrified and became the mountain.
Vaiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tahitian
Means "water cave" or "rock water" in Tahitian, from the phrase vai ana o te mato teitei meaning "water from the cave of the high rock".
Valenzuela
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ba-lehn-THWEH-la, ba-lehn-SWEH-la
Habitational name from places named
Valenzuela in Córdoba and Ciudad Real. The place name is a diminutive of
Valencia, literally "little Valencia".
Valia
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian, Georgian (Rare), Greek, Russian
Other Scripts: Валя(Bulgarian, Russian) ვალია(Georgian) Βάλια(Greek)
In Bulgaria and Russia, this name is a variant transcription of the unisex name
Valya.
In Georgia, this name is a diminutive of Valentina and Valerian, though there can certainly be cases where it is the georgianized form of the aforementioned Valya. In this day and age, Valia is primarily used on women in Georgia.
In Greece, this name is strictly feminine and is a pet form of Vasilia and Vasiliki.
Known bearers of this name include the Georgian revolutionary Valerian "Valia" Bakhtadze (1896-1930) and the Greek model Valia Kakouti (b. 1981).
Valo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VAH-law
Means "light" in Finnish.
Valo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ვალო(Georgian)
Vėjas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: VYEH-yus
Derived from the Lithuanian noun vėjas meaning "wind".
Vera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil
Other Scripts: வீரா(Tamil)
Pronounced: VEE-ra
From Tamil வீரம் (veeram) meaning "bravery, valor".
Vương
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: VWUNG, YWUNG
Vietnamese form of
Wang 1, from Sino-Vietnamese 王
(vương).
Wadjet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology
Means "green one; papyrus-colored one". From the Ancient Egyptian
wadj, which was the word for the color green, in reference to the color of papyrus, and
et, which indicated the name of a woman.
In Egyptian mythology she was originally the ancient local goddess of the city of Dep, which eventually came to be known as Per-Wadjet ("house of Wadjet"). She was said the be the patron and protector of Egypt, formerly just of Lower Egypt. As a patron goddess she was associated with the land and thus frequently depicted as a woman with a snake's head, typically an Egyptian cobra, or a woman with two snakes' heads, or a snake with a woman's head. Because of her association with Lower Egypt she is sometimes also depicted as the sun disk, uraeus, which was the emblem on the crown of Lower Egypt.
Wayu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: วายุ(Thai)
Pronounced: wa-YOO
Means "wind, air, storm" in Thai, derived from the name of the Hindu god
Vayu.
Wehran
Usage: Kabyle
Other Scripts: ⵡⴻⵀⵔⴰⵏ(Kabyle Tifinagh)
Wenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Cornish
Early Cornish form of
Gwen. It was borne by two 5th-century Cornish saints.
Wrenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Pronounced: REN-ə
Elaborated form of
Wren. It coincides with Old English
wrenna meaning "(male) wren".
Xuanyuan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 轩辕(Chinese)
From the characters 轩 (xuān, meaning “curtained chariot”, “pavilion” or “lofty”) and 辕 (yuán, meaning “shaft of a cart”). This is the purported personal name of Huangdi (黄帝) or the Yellow Emperor, one of the mythical progenitors of Chinese civilization. It is also used as an extremely rare surname in China.
Yangchen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese
Other Scripts: དབྱངས་ཅན(Tibetan)
Pronounced: YANG-CHEHN(Tibetan)
From Tibetan དབྱངས་ཅན
(dbyangs-can) meaning "singer" or "vowel, song". This is the Tibetan name for the Hindu goddess
Saraswati.
Yeo
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 杨(Chinese) 楊(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: YOON(Hokkien) YAWN(Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of
Yang.
Yeoh
Usage: Chinese (Hokkien)
Other Scripts: 杨(Chinese) 楊(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: YOON(Hokkien) YAWN(Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of
Yang.
Yoki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hopi
Means "rain" in Hopi.
Yona
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cherokee
Means "bear" in Cherokee.
Yoshino
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 吉野, 吉乃, 芳野, 芳乃, 好野, 好乃, 良野, 良乃, 美野, 美乃, 佳野, 佳乃, 嘉野, 嘉乃, 由野, 由乃(Japanese Kanji) よしの(Japanese Hiragana) ヨシノ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: YO-SHEE-NO
This name can be used to combine 吉 (kichi, kitsu,
yoshi) meaning "good luck," 芳 (hou, kanba.shii,
yoshi) meaning "fragrant, aromatic," 好 (kou, i.i, kono.mu, su.ku, yo.i,
yoshi) or 良 (ryou, (-)yo.i, (-)i.i,
yoshi), both meaning "good," 美 (bi, mi, utsuku.shii,
yoshi) meaning "beauty," 佳 (ka,
yoshi) meaning "beautiful, excellent, good," 嘉 (ka, yomi.suru, yoi,
yoshi) meaning "auspicious" or 由 (yu, yuu, yui,
yoshi, yo.ru) meaning "reason, cause" with 野 (ya, sho,
no(-)) meaning "plain, field" or 乃 (nai, dai, ai,
no, sunawa.chi, nanji), a possessive particle.
Bearers of this name include video game music composer Yoshino Aoki (青木 佳乃) (1971-), actress Yoshino Kimura (木村 佳乃) (1976-) and photojournalist Yoshino Ōishi (大石 芳野) (1944-).
Ysella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Derived from Cornish ysel "modest". This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Yuhana
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mandaean
Yupanqui
Usage: Quechua (Hispanicized)
Pronounced: gyoo-PANG-kee(Latin American Spanish)
Hispanicized form of Quechua yupanki meaning "accountant".
Zeltīte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
Derived from Latvian
zelts "gold" (compare
Zelta). Latvian poet and playwright Aspazija used this name for her play
Zeltīte (1901).
Zennor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Cornish (Rare)
Name of a Cornish village derived from the local saint, St Senara. In current use.
Zumar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Means "elm" in Basque.
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