mv1029's Personal Name List

Italian form of Abel.

Italian form of Abraham.

Italian form of Adam.

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

Italian feminine form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1).

Italian form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1).

This name is derived from two distinct names, Alba 2 and Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter, alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Albert.

Feminine form of Aldo.

Originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element alt meaning "old" (Proto-Germanic *aldaz), and sometimes also with adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz).

Short form of Alessandra.

Italian form of Alexandra.

Italian form of Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.

Italian feminine form of Alexius.

Italian form of Alexius.

Italian form of Alphaeus.

Feminine form of Alfred.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Alfred.

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

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

Spanish form of Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).

Italian form of Amatus.

Italian feminine form of Amadeus.

Italian form of Amadeus. A notable bearer of this name was Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856), an Italian chemist most famous for the constant that now bears his name: Avogadro's Number. Another famous bearer was the Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920).

Medieval Italian form of Emmerich. Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) was the Italian explorer who gave the continent of America its name (from Americus, the Latin form of his name).

Italian form of Hamilcar.

Italian form of Andreas (see Andrew). A notable bearer of this name was Andrea Verrocchio, a Renaissance sculptor who taught Leonardo da Vinci and Perugino.

Italian form of Angelus (see Angel).

Combination of Anna and Lisa.

Combination of Anna and Maria.

Latinate diminutive of Anna.

Diminutive of Antonia.

Feminine form of Antonius (see Anthony).

Spanish and Italian form of Antonius (see Anthony). This has been a common name in Italy since the 14th century. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys in the 1950s and 60s.

Famous bearers include the Renaissance painter Antonio Pisanello (c. 1395-1455) and the Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). It is also the name of the main character in The Merchant of Venice (1596) by William Shakespeare.

Probably created by the 16th-century Italian poet Torquato Tasso for his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580). In the poem Armida is a beautiful enchantress who bewitches many of the crusaders.

Italian variant form of Heinrich (see Henry).

Italian and Spanish form of Artemios.

Italian and Spanish form of Arthur.

Means "taken up, received, assumed" in Italian, referring to the assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven.

Italian form of the Roman family name Atilius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. Marcus Atilius Regulus was a Roman consul and hero of the First Punic War.

Feminine form of Aurelius.

Italian and Spanish form of Aurelius.

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

Means "azure, sky blue" in Italian.

Italian short form of Bartholomew.

Italian and Spanish form of Basil 1.

Italian form of Baptiste.

Italian form of Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.

Italian form of Benjamin.

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of the Late Latin name Benignus, which meant "kind, friendly". This was the name of several saints including a 5th-century disciple of Saint Patrick who later became the archbishop of Armagh.

Italian form of Blaise.

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

Derived from the Old German element brunna meaning "armour, protection" (Proto-Germanic *brunjǭ) or brun meaning "brown" (Proto-Germanic *brūnaz). Saint Bruno of Cologne was a German monk of the 11th century who founded the Carthusian Order. The surname has belonged to Giordano Bruno, a philosopher burned at the stake by the Inquisition. A modern bearer is the American singer Bruno Mars (1985-), born Peter Gene Hernandez.

Italian form of Charles.

Variant of Carmen.

Italian masculine form of Carmen.

Latinate feminine form of Carolus. This is the name of two American states: North and South Carolina. They were named for Charles I, king of England.

Italian and Catalan form of Katherine.

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

Italian and Spanish form of Caelinus or a short form of Marcelino.

Italian and Spanish form of Caelius.

Portuguese, Galician, Spanish and Italian form of Celsus.

Italian form of Caesar.

Italian form of Clara. Saint Chiara (commonly called Clare in English) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Diminutive of Chiara.

Italian form of Cynthia.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Cyprianus (see Cyprian).

Diminutive of Clara.

Spanish and Italian form of Chloe.

Means "conceived" in Italian, referring to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Masculine form of Concetta.

Italian form of Conrad. This was a 14th-century saint from Piacenza, Italy.

Italian feminine form of Cosimo.

Italian form of Cosmas. A famous bearer was Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464), the founder of Medici rule in Florence, who was a patron of the Renaissance and a successful merchant. Other members of the Medici family have also borne this name.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Daphne.

Italian form of Damian.

Italian form of Daniel.

Medieval short form of Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the Divine Comedy.

Italian form of Darius.

Italian form of David.

Feminine form of Donatus (see Donato).

Diminutive of Donata.

Diminutive of Donato. The Renaissance sculptor Donato di Niccolò di Bette Bardi (1386-1466) was better known as Donatello.

From the Late Latin name Donatus meaning "given". Several early saints had this name. The name was also borne by two Renaissance masters: the sculptor Donato di Niccolo di Bette Bardi (also known as Donatello), and the architect Donato Bramante.

Form of Dorothea in several languages.

Italian form of the Late Latin name Durans, which meant "enduring".

Italian form of Hedda.

Italian form of Edward.

From the Latin byname Ephesius, which originally belonged to a person who was from the city of Ephesus in Ionia. This was the name of a saint martyred on Sardinia in the 4th century.

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

Italian form of Electra.

Italian form of Elijah.

Short form of Elisabeth.

Italian form of Eloise.

Italian, Portuguese and Romanian feminine form of Emmanuel.

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

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of the Roman cognomen Aemilianus, which was itself derived from the family name Aemilius (see Emil). This was the name of a 6th-century Spanish saint.

Italian and Spanish form of Aemilius (see Emil).

Italian form of Heinrich (see Henry). Enrico Fermi (1901-1954) was an Italian physicist who did work on the development of the nuclear bomb.

The meaning of this name is uncertain. In some cases it seems to be an old Italian form of Heinz, though in other cases it could be a variant of the Germanic name Anzo. In modern times it is also used as a short form of names ending in enzo, such as Vincenzo or Lorenzo.

A famous bearer was the Italian racecar driver and industrialist Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988).

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Erasmus.

Italian feminine form of Herminius.

Italian form of Hersilia.

Italian form of Hector.

Italian form of Aetius.

Feminine form of Fabius.

Italian and Spanish form of Fabius.

Latin diminutive of Fabia. This was the name of a 4th-century saint from Rome.

Feminine form of Faustus.

Feminine form of Faustinus (see Faustino).

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of the Roman cognomen Faustinus, which was itself derived from the Roman name Faustus. Faustinus was the name of several early saints.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Faustus.

Italian form of Fidel.

Spanish and Italian form of Frederick. Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (1920-1993) are famous bearers of this name.

Italian form of Felix.

Derived from the Late Latin name Ferrutius, a derivative of ferrum meaning "iron, sword". Saint Ferrutius was a 3rd-century martyr with his brother Ferreolus.

Italian form of Philip.

Short form of Serafina. Saint Fina, also known as Saint Serafina, was a 13th-century girl from the town of San Gimignano in Italy.

From Italian fiore "flower" combined with a diminutive suffix.

Italian feminine form of Florentius (see Florence).

Italian form of Florinus.

Feminine form of Flavius.

Italian and Spanish form of Flavius.

Contracted form of Francesca.

Italian and Catalan feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

Italian form of Franciscus (see Francis). Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) was an Italian Renaissance poet, usually known in English as Petrarch.

Italian form of Gabriel.

Italian form of the Latin name Caietanus, which meant "from Caieta". Caieta (now called Gaeta) was a town in ancient Italy, its name deriving either from Kaiadas, the name a Greek location where prisoners were executed, or else from Caieta, the name of the nurse of Aeneas. Saint Gaetano was a 16th-century Italian priest who founded the Theatines.

From the Greek word γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of γῆ (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.

Italian form of Jasper.

From the Late Latin name Gabinus, which possibly referred to the ancient city of Gabii in central Italy. Saint Gavino was martyred in Sardinia in the 3rd century.

Italian form of Geneviève.

Italian and Spanish form of Gervasius.

Italian form of Iacob (see Jacob).

Italian form of Iacomus (see James). Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was an Italian composer of operas.

Italian form of Jade.

Combination of Gianni and Paolo.

Combination of Gianni and Piero.

Short form of Giovanni.

Combination of Gianni and Carlo.

Combination of Gianni and Luca 1.

Combination of Gianni and Marco.

Italian short form of Giovanni.

Diminutive of Giovanna.

Combination of Gianni and Paolo.

Italian form of Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning "juniper".

Italian form of Joachim.

Italian form of Joachim. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).

Italian form of Joel.

Means "joy" in Italian.

Italian form of Jonathan.

Italian form of Jordan. A notable bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), who was burned at the stake by the Inquisition.

Italian feminine form of George, as well as a Greek variant form.

Italian form of George.

Italian form of Joshua.

Italian form of Iohanna (see Joanna), making it the feminine form of Giovanni.

Italian form of Iohannes (see John). This name has been very common in Italy since the late Middle Ages, as with other equivalents of John in Europe. The Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were famous bearers of the name.

Italian form of Giselle.

Italian form of Judith.

Feminine form of Giuliano.

Diminutive of Giulia.

Feminine form of Giuseppe.

Italian form of Joseph. Two noteworthy bearers were Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), a military leader who united Italy, and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), a composer of operas.

Feminine form of Giuseppe.

Italian form of Iustina (see Justina).

Italian form of Justin.

Italian feminine form of Gratianus (see Gratian).

Italian form of Gratianus (see Gratian).

Diminutive of Grazia.

Italian form of Iacobus (see James).

Italian feminine form of Hilarius.

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

Short form of Immacolata or Immaculada.

Italian, Slovene and Croatian form of Inés.

Latinate form of Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called Isabel).

In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.

A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).

Italian form of Isaiah, as well as the Old Church Slavic form.

Italian form of Iseult.

Italian form of Iacobus (see James).

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.

As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.

Italian diminutive of Laura. This is the name of one of the narrators in Boccaccio's book The Decameron (1350).

Italian form of Laurus (see Laura).

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard. A notable bearer was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an Italian artist and scientist of the Renaissance. He is known as the inventor of several contraptions, including flying machines, as well as the painter of the Mona Lisa. Another famous bearer was Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician. A more recent bearer is American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (1974-).

Italian form of Leo and Leon.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leopold.

Italian, Portuguese, Georgian and Greek form of Leah.

Short form of Juliana, Liliana and other names that end in liana. This is also the word for a type of vine that grows in jungles.

Polish, Italian, Spanish and Georgian form of Lydia.

Spanish and Italian form of Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Лилия or Ukrainian Лілія (see Liliya).

Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Galician form of Linus.

Feminine form of Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.

Italian form of Livius.

Italian and Spanish feminine form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).

Italian and Spanish form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1). Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), known as the Magnificent, was a ruler of Florence during the Renaissance. He was also a great patron of the arts who employed Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists.

Italian and Romanian form of Lucas (see Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.

Feminine form of Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.

Feminine form of Lucianus.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Lucianus.

Italian form of Louis. It has been borne by five prime ministers of Italy since the 19th century. This is also the name of Mario's brother in Nintendo video games (debuting 1983), called ルイージ (Ruīji) in Japanese.

Feminine form of Luis.

Italian form of Magdalene.

Feminine form of Manuel.

Italian variant of Manuel.

Feminine form of Marcellus.

Italian form of Marcellus.

Italian form of Marcus (see Mark). During the Middle Ages this name was common in Venice, where Saint Mark was supposedly buried. A famous bearer was the Venetian explorer Marco Polo, who travelled across Asia to China in the 13th century.

Combination of Maria and Anna. It can also be regarded as a variant of the Roman name Mariana, or as a Latinized form of Mariamne.

Italian diminutive of Maria.

Diminutive of Maria.

Combination of Maria and Elena.

Feminine form of Marinus. This name was borne by a few early saints. This is also the name by which Saint Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Diminutive of Marina.

Italian and Spanish form of Marinus.

Italian and Spanish form of Marius. Famous bearers include American racecar driver Mario Andretti (1940-) and Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux (1965-). It is also borne by a Nintendo video game character, a moustached Italian plumber, who debuted as the playable hero of Donkey Kong in 1981. Spelled マリオ (Mario) in Japanese Katakana, he was reportedly named after Mario Segale (1934-2018), an American businessman who rented a warehouse to Nintendo.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese combination of Maria and Luisa.

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

Italian form of Maximus.

Italian feminine form of Matthew.

Italian form of Matthew.

Italian form of Matthias.

Italian form of Michael.

Feminine diminutive of Michele 1.

Feminine form of Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of Maria and Elena.

Latinate form of Mirabelle.

Italian form of Mireille.

Latinate form of Natalia (see Natalie).

Short form of Antonella.

Short form of Raniero. It also coincides with the Italian word nero meaning "black".

Italian form of Nicholas. Famous bearers include Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), a Florentine political philosopher, and Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), a Genoese composer and violinist.

Italian form of Nicholas. A notable bearer was the 13th-century sculptor Nicola Pisano.

Feminine diminutive of Nicola 1.

Italian variant form (particularly Sicilian) of Nicholas.

Short form of Giannino, Antonino and other names ending in nino.

Form of Naomi 1 in several languages.

Spanish and Italian form of Ophelia.

Form of Olympias in several languages.

Italian and Spanish form of Orpheus.

Possibly derived from Latin aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish oro or French or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight Amadis.

Feminine form of Orsino.

Italian form of the Roman name Ursinus, itself derived from Ursus (see Urs). This is the name of a duke in Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602).

Italian form of Octavia.

Italian form of Octavius.

Feminine form of Palmiro.

Means "pilgrim" in Italian. In medieval times it denoted one who had been a pilgrim to Palestine. It is ultimately from the word palma meaning "palm tree", because of the custom of pilgrims to bring palm fronds home with them. The name is sometimes given to a child born on Palm Sunday.

Italian feminine form of Paul.

Italian feminine form of Paulinus (see Paulino).

Italian form of Paulus (see Paul). Paolo Uccello and Paolo Veronese were both Italian Renaissance painters.

Italian form of Paris 1.

Italian form of Pascal.

Italian feminine form of Patricius (see Patrick).

Italian form of Patricius (see Patrick).

Italian and Spanish cognate of Pearl.

Feminine form of Pius.

Italian feminine form of Peter.

Feminine diminutive of Piero.

Diminutive of Piero.

Italian form of Peter. Piero della Francesca was an Italian Renaissance painter.

Italian feminine form of Peter.

Italian form of Peter. Pietro was the given name of the Renaissance painter known as Perugino.

Italian form of the Late Latin name Primus, which meant "first". This was the name of three early saints, each of whom was martyred.

Italian form of Prosper. This is the name of the main character, a shipwrecked magician, in The Tempest (1611) by William Shakespeare.

Italian form of Rachel.

Italian form of Raphael.

Italian feminine form of Raphael.

Italian form of Raphael.

Italian form of Rayner.

Italian and Spanish form of Remigius (see Rémy).

Feminine form of Renatus.

Italian feminine form of Richard.

Italian form of Richard.

Short form of Caterina or Catharina as well as other names ending in rina.

Italian form of Reynold. This is the Italian name of the hero Renaud, appearing as the cousin of Orlando in the Orlando poems (1483 and 1532) by Boiardo and Ariosto. A different version of this character features in the poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580) by Torquato Tasso.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Robert. Saint Roberto Bellarmine was a 16th-century cardinal who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Another famous bearer was Roberto de Nobili (1577-1656), a Jesuit missionary to India.

Feminine form of Romanus (see Roman).

Italian form of Romanus (see Roman).

Possibly a variant of Romana.

Generally this can be considered to be from Latin rosa meaning "rose", though originally it may have come from the unrelated Germanic name Roza 2. This was the name of a 13th-century saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).

Italian name meaning "white rose", derived from Latin rosa "rose" and alba "white". A famous bearer was the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757).

Late Latin name derived from rosa "rose". This was the name of a 12th-century Sicilian saint.

Latinate form of Rosalind.

Combination of Rosa 1 and Anna.

Italian diminutive of Rosa 1.

Italian diminutive of Rosa 1.

Italian diminutive of Rosa 1. This is the name of a character in Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville (1816).

Italian form of Roxana.

Diminutive of Rossa.

Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of Rufinus.

Feminine form of Sabinus, a Roman cognomen meaning "a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early saints.

Italian cognate of Salvador.

Variant of Samantha used in several languages.

Italian feminine form of Samuel.

Italian form of Samuel.

Short form of Alessandro (Italian) or Aleksandre (Georgian). Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was an Italian Renaissance artist, the painter of The Birth of Venus and other famous works.

Italian form of Samson.

Feminine diminutive of Santo.

Diminutive of Santo.

Means "saint" in Italian, ultimately from Latin sanctus.

Italian variant of Sabina.

Italian variant form of Sabinus (see Sabina).

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Seraphina.

Italian form of Sextus.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Severus.

Italian feminine form of Silvanus.

Italian form of Silvanus.

Feminine form of Silvius. Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled Sylvia in the English-speaking world.

Feminine form of Simon 1.

Italian form of Simon 1.

Form of Sophia used in various languages.

Italian form of Stephen.

Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.

From Σουσάννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshanna). This was derived from the Hebrew word שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian sšn "lotus". In the Old Testament Apocrypha this is the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves. It also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a woman who ministers to Jesus.

As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.

Italian form of Tacitus.

Feminine form of the Roman name Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.

Short form of Teodoro and other names that begin with Teo. In Georgian this is a feminine name, a short form of Teona.

Feminine form of Theodoros (see Theodore).

Italian form of Theophilus.

Form of Theresa used in several languages. Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish nun who reformed the Carmelite monasteries and wrote several spiritual books. It was also borne by the Albanian missionary Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor in India. She adopted the name in honour of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the patron of missionaries.

Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of Timothy.

Italian form of Thomas.

Short form of Antonio.

Feminine form of Tullius (see Tullio).

Italian form of the Roman family name Tullius, derived from the praenomen Tullus, which is of unknown meaning. A famous bearer was Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman orator and author.

Italian form of Hugh.

Feminine form of Urban.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Urbanus (see Urban).

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Valens.

Feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.

Italian form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

Feminine form of Valerius. This was the name of a 2nd-century Roman saint and martyr.

From the medieval Spanish name Velasco, which possibly meant "crow" in Basque. A famous bearer was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524), the first person to sail from Europe around Africa to India.

Latin alteration of Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase vera icon meaning "true image". This was the name of a legendary saint who wiped Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.

French feminine form of Vincent.

Italian feminine form of Vincent.

Italian form of Vincent.

Italian and Spanish form of the Roman family name Vinicius, which was possibly derived from Latin vinum "wine".

Italian, Russian and Hungarian form of Violet.

Sardinian feminine form of Vincent.

Sardinian form of Vincent.

Italian form of Victor.

Italian form of Victoria.

Italian form of Victorius.

Feminine form of Vivianus (see Vivian). Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.