Feiticeiro's Personal Name List
Abarrane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure (Rare)
Meaning unknown, though it may be a feminine form of
Abraham.
Adella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə
Aderyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.
Aelita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Russian, Latvian
Other Scripts: Аэлита(Russian)
Pronounced: ui-LYEE-tə(Russian)
Created by Russian author Aleksey Tolstoy for his science fiction novel Aelita (1923), where it belongs to a Martian princess. In the book, the name is said to mean "starlight seen for the last time" in the Martian language.
Aileen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ie-LEEN(English) IE-leen(English)
Ailie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scots, English (Australian)
Pronounced: EH-li(Scots)
Of uncertain origin and meaning. This name is, however, considered both an Anglicization of
Eilidh and a diminutive of
Aileen and
Ailison.
Aimee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-mee
Variant of
Amy, influenced by French
Aimée.
Áine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: A-nyə(Irish)
Means
"radiance, brilliance" in Irish. This was the name of a goddess of love and fertility in Irish legend, thought to dwell at the hill of Cnoc Áine in Limerick. It has sometimes been Anglicized as
Anne.
Alaina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-LAYN-ə
Alanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LAN-ə
Almudena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: al-moo-DHEH-na
Derived from Arabic
المدينة (al-mudayna) meaning
"the citadel", a
diminutive form of the word
مدينة (madīna) meaning "city". According to legend, it was in a building by this name that a concealed statue of the Virgin
Mary was discovered during the Reconquista in Madrid. The Virgin of Almudena, that is Mary, is the patron
saint of Madrid.
Altagracia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Caribbean)
Pronounced: al-ta-GRA-sya(Latin American Spanish) al-ta-GRA-thya(European Spanish)
Means
"high grace", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, meaning "Our Lady of High Grace". She is considered the patron
saint of the Dominican Republic, and it is there that this name is most often used.
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-mi-tee
From the English word meaning "friendship", ultimately deriving from Latin amicitia.
Amparo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: am-PA-ro
Means
"protection, shelter, refuge" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora del Amparo, meaning "Our Lady of Refuge".
Ander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: AN-dehr
Basque form of
Andreas (see
Andrew).
Angelica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: an-JEHL-i-kə(English) an-JEH-lee-ka(Italian)
Derived from Latin
angelicus meaning
"angelic", ultimately related to Greek
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger". The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1483 and 1532), where she is the love interest of both
Orlando and
Rinaldo. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.
Annie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch
Pronounced: AN-ee(English) A-NEE(French) AH-nee(Dutch)
Anzu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 杏, 杏子, 杏珠(Japanese Kanji) あんず(Japanese Hiragana) アンズ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: AN-ZOO
From 杏 or 杏子
(anzu), referring to a type of apricot known as Prunus armeniaca (also called the ansu, Siberian or Tibetan apricot).
The second kanji can be substituted with one that can be read as
zu, like 珠 meaning "gem, jewel."
One bearer of this name is actress Anzu Nagai (永井 杏) (1992-).
Aparecida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Means
"appeared" in Portuguese, taken from the Brazilian title of the Virgin
Mary Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, meaning "Our Lady of the Conception Who Appeared". It refers to a statue of the Virgin Mary that was said to have been pulled from a river by fishermen in the 18th century. Our Lady of Aparecida is regarded as the patron
saint of Brazil.
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron
saint of Lucena, Spain.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Aureole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWR-ee-ol
From the English word meaning "radiant halo", ultimately derived from Latin aureolus "golden".
Aviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Probably an elaboration of
Ava 1, influenced by names such as
Ariana. In some cases it could be inspired by the word
avian meaning
"bird" or
"related to birds, bird-like".
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Feminine variant of
Aviv.
Ayala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַיָּלָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ah-LAH
Means "doe, female deer" in Hebrew.
Begoña
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Basque
Pronounced: beh-GHO-nya(Spanish)
From a title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de Begoña, meaning "Our Lady of Begoña", the patron
saint of Biscay, Spain. Begoña is a district and basilica in the city of Bilbao.
Bellamy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
From an English surname derived from Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
Bethanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BETH-ə-nee
Beulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: בְּעוּלָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: BYOO-lə(English)
Blaine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYN
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name
Bláán.
Blaise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BLEHZ
From the Roman name
Blasius, which was derived from Latin
blaesus meaning
"lisping".
Saint Blaise was a 4th-century Armenian martyr. A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
Bleta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian
bletë "bee". According to Albanian folk belief, the bee is a sacred animal: when an animal ceases to live, Albanians predominantly use the verb ngordh while when a bee ceases to live, the verb vdes is used (which is used to refer to human death), alluding that bees are beings of a higher caste, comparable to humans.
A famous bearer of this name is Bleta "Bebe" Rexha (b. 1989), an Albanian-American singer and songwriter.
Bora 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian borë meaning "snow".
Brenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ə
Bronte
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRAHN-tee
From a surname, an Anglicized form of Irish
Ó Proinntigh, itself derived from the given name
Proinnteach, probably from Irish
bronntach meaning "generous". The Brontë sisters — Charlotte, Emily, and Anne — were 19th-century English novelists. Their father changed the spelling of the family surname from
Brunty to
Brontë, possibly to make it coincide with Greek
βροντή meaning "thunder".
Callie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ee
Candida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, English
Pronounced: KAN-di-də(English)
Late Latin name derived from
candidus meaning
"white". This was the name of several early
saints, including a woman supposedly healed by Saint
Peter. As an English name, it came into use after George Bernard Shaw's play
Candida (1898).
Cassian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman (Anglicized)
Pronounced: KASH-ən(English) KAS-ee-ən(English)
From the Roman family name
Cassianus, which was derived from
Cassius. This was the name of several
saints, including a 3rd-century martyr from Tangier who is the patron saint of stenographers and a 5th-century mystic who founded a monastery in Marseille.
Cassiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
From Hebrew
קַפצִיאֵל (Qaftsiʾel), of uncertain meaning. Suggested meanings include
"leap of God",
"drawn together by God" or
"wrath of God". This is the name of an angel in medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic mysticism.
Cassius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-oos(Latin) KASH-əs(English) KAS-ee-əs(English)
Roman family name that was possibly derived from Latin
cassus meaning
"empty, vain". This name was borne by several early
saints. In modern times, it was the original first name of boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), who was named after his father Cassius Clay, who was himself named after the American abolitionist Cassius Clay (1810-1903).
Caterra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
An invented name derived from the Latin word terra (meaning "earth").
Celestial
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: sə-LES-chəl(American English) sə-LES-tee-əl(American English)
Derived from the English adjective
celestial meaning "of the sky, heavenly", which is ultimately derived from the Latin adjective
caelestis meaning "of the heavens" (see
Caelestis).
Celestine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHL-ə-steen
English form of
Caelestinus. It is more commonly used as a feminine name, from the French feminine form
Célestine.
Cerise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SU-REEZ
Means "cherry" in French.
Chanel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: shə-NEHL
From a French surname that meant either "channel", indicating a person who lived near a channel of water, or "jug, jar, bottle", indicating a manufacturer of jugs. It has been used as an American given name since 1970s, influenced by the Chanel brand name (a line of women's clothing and perfume), which was named for French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
Charline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SHAR-LEEN
Cherish
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHEHR-ish
From the English word meaning "to treasure".
Christiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Late Roman
Pronounced: kris-tee-AN-ə(English) kris-tee-AHN-ə(English)
Colombe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-LAWNB
Concepción
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kon-thehp-THYON(European Spanish) kon-sehp-SYON(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"conception" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
Mary. A city in Chile bears this name.
Concetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: kon-CHEHT-ta
Means
"conceived" in Italian, referring to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
Mary.
Conor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Constance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAHN-stəns(English) KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Medieval form of
Constantia. The
Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Coy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOI
From a surname that meant "quiet, shy, coy" from Middle English coi.
Daria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Romanian, English, Croatian, Russian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Дарья(Russian) Δαρεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-rya(Italian, Polish, Romanian) DAHR-ee-ə(English) DAR-ee-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Darius.
Saint Daria was a 3rd-century woman who was martyred with her husband Chrysanthus under the Roman emperor Numerian. It has never been a particularly common English given name. As a Russian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Darya.
Darius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: də-RIE-əs(English) DAR-ee-əs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means
"possessing goodness", composed of
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good"
[1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.
Delphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-fee-ə
Possibly from the name of the Greek city of Delphi, the site of an oracle of
Apollo, which is possibly related to Greek
δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". It was used in the play
The Prophetess (1647), in which it belongs to the title prophetess.
Delthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), American (South, Rare)
Possibly a variation of the name
Delphia.
Doireann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: DEH-ryən(Irish)
Possibly from the Old Irish prefix
der "daughter" and
finn "white, blessed". Alternatively it may be derived from Irish
doireann "sullen, tempestuous" [1]. This was the name of several characters in Irish legend, including a daughter of Bodb Derg who poisoned
Fionn mac Cumhaill after he spurned her advances.
Duncan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUNG-kən(English)
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name
Donnchadh, derived from Old Irish
donn "brown" and
cath "battle". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play
Macbeth (1606).
Earlene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: UR-leen
Ecaterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Edurne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: eh-DHOOR-neh
Means
"snow" in Basque, from
edur, a variant of
elur "snow". It is an equivalent of
Nieves, proposed by the writer Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque
saints names.
Egyptia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure (Rare), Ancient Greek (Anglicized)
From
Aegyptia, the Latinized form of Greek Αἰγυπτία
(Aigyptia) meaning "of Egypt". This may be used as a given name in reference to Saint Mary of Egypt, sometimes known as Maria Aegyptia. Also see
Égyptienne,
Aegyptius and
Egypt.
Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Elaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)
From an Old French form of
Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation
Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of
Pelles, the lover of
Lancelot, and the mother of
Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic
Idylls of the King (1859).
Eliana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: eh-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish) ehl-lee-AN-ə(English) ehl-lee-AHN-ə(English)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Éliane.
Ellice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Anglo-Norman, Medieval Irish (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of
Eilíse and
Eilís. This name was recorded in late medieval Ireland on women born into English and Anglo-Norman families. It is still used in the modern English-speaking world.
Ember
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-bər
From the English word ember, ultimately from Old English æmerge.
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek
σμάραγδος (smaragdos).
Ethel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ETH-əl
Short form of names beginning with the Old English element
æðele meaning
"noble". It was coined in the 19th century, when many Old English names were revived. It was popularized by the novels
The Newcomes (1855) by William Makepeace Thackeray and
The Daisy Chain (1856) by C. M. Yonge. A famous bearer was American actress and singer Ethel Merman (1908-1984).
Fajr
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: فجر(Arabic)
Pronounced: FAJR
Means "dawn, beginning" in Arabic. This is the name of a daily prayer that is recited in the morning by observant Muslims.
Feline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: feh-LEE-nə
Frieda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: FREE-da(German) FREE-də(English)
Fruzsina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: FROO-zhee-naw
Gal·la
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: GAL-lə
Catalan feminine form of
Gallus.
Garance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GA-RAHNS
From the French name for a variety of flowering plant (genus Rubia; called madder in English), which is used to make red dye. This name was borne by the central character in the French film Les Enfants du Paradis (1945).
Garrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-ik
From an English surname, of French Huguenot origin, that was derived from Occitan garric meaning "oak tree grove".
Gianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Greek, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Γιάννα(Greek)
Pronounced: JAN-na(Italian) YA-na(Greek) jee-AHN-ə(English) JAHN-ə(English)
Italian short form of
Giovanna and a Modern Greek variant of
Ioanna.
Its use in America started increasing in the late 20th century. It spiked in popularity in 2020 after the death of Gianna Bryant and her father, the basketball player Kobe Bryant, in a helicopter crash.
Glenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GLEHN-ə
Gráinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: GRA-nyə(Irish)
Possibly derived from Old Irish
grán meaning
"grain" or
gráin meaning
"hatred, fear". In the Irish legend
The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne she escaped from her arranged marriage to
Fionn mac Cumhaill by fleeing with her lover
Diarmaid. Another famous bearer was the powerful 16th-century Irish landowner and seafarer Gráinne Ní Mháille (known in English as Grace O'Malley), who was sometimes portrayed as a pirate queen in later tales.
Hana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian
Other Scripts: هناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-NA(Arabic)
Means
"bliss, happiness" in Arabic, from the root
هنأ (hanaʾa) meaning "to gladden, to enjoy".
Hiba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: هبة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HEE-ba
Means
"gift" in Arabic, a derivative of
وهب (wahaba) meaning "to give".
Inaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: عناية(Arabic) عنایا(Urdu)
Means "care, concern" in Arabic.
Indie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-dee
Possibly a
diminutive of
India or
Indiana, but also likely inspired by the term
indie, short for
independent, which is typically used to refer to media produced outside of the mainstream.
Ioana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Йоана(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ee-WA-na(Romanian)
Romanian feminine form of
John. This is also an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Йоана (see
Yoana).
Irada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Ирада(Kazakh) ىيرادا(Kazakh Arabic)
Derived from Arabic إرادة (irada) meaning "willpower" as well as "will, intention, desire".
Itziar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: ee-TSEE-ar(Basque) ee-CHEE-ar(Spanish) ee-THEE-ar(Spanish)
From the name of a Basque village that contains an important shrine to the Virgin
Mary, possibly meaning "old stone".
Ivory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: IE-və-ree(English) IEV-ree(English)
From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.
Jannat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bengali, Urdu
Other Scripts: জান্নাত(Bengali) جنّت(Urdu)
Means
"paradise, garden" in Bengali and Urdu, derived from Arabic
جنّة (janna).
Joceline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAWS-LEEN
French feminine form of
Joscelin (see
Jocelyn).
Joelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jo-EHL
Jolie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-lee(English) ZHAW-LEE(French)
Means "pretty" in French. This name was popularized by American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-), whose surname was originally her middle name. It is not used as a given name in France.
Joya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare), Dutch (Modern, Rare)
Elaborated form of
Joy. The name coincides with the Spanish word
joya "jewel, gem".
Julianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Polish, English
Pronounced: YOO-lee-awn-naw(Hungarian) yoo-LYAN-na(Polish) joo-lee-AN-ə(English) joo-lee-AHN-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Iulianus (see
Julian). It can also be considered a combination of
Julia and
Anna.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Kalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ka-LEH-a
Means "joy, happiness" in Hawaiian.
Kaliyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: kə-LEE-ə(English)
An invented name, based on the sound of
Aaliyah.
Kersti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Estonian
Kiera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ə(English)
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(English)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Leigha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(American English)
Variant of
Leah, the spelling influenced by that of
Leigh.
Leland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).
Leocadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhya(Spanish)
Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of
Leucadia or from Greek
λευκός (leukos) meaning
"bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name).
Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Leonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: LEH-o-nee(German) leh-o-NEE(Dutch)
German and Dutch feminine form of
Leonius.
Levana 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: לְבָנָה(Hebrew)
Hebrew form of
Lebanah. In modern Hebrew it is typically a feminine name.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Lisann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Lumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LOO-mee
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Lune
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Modern, Rare), Dutch (Modern)
Derived from French
lune "moon", making it a cognate of
Luna.
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Malaika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Means
"angel" in Swahili, derived from Arabic
ملك (malak).
Malavika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indian
Malou
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Maple
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-pəl
From the English word for the tree (comprising the genus Acer), derived from Old English mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.
Marcelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: mar-tseh-LEE-na(Polish) mar-theh-LEE-na(European Spanish) mar-seh-LEE-na(Latin American Spanish)
Polish, Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of
Marcellinus.
Mardene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare), Afrikaans (Rare)
Pronounced: mahr-DEEN(American English)
Margarita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Greek, Albanian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Маргарита(Russian, Bulgarian) Μαργαρίτα(Greek)
Pronounced: mar-gha-REE-ta(Spanish) mər-gu-RYEE-tə(Russian) mahr-gə-REE-tə(English)
Latinate form of
Margaret. This is also the Spanish word for the daisy flower (species Bellis perennis, Leucanthemum vulgare and others).
Marjorie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-jə-ree
Medieval variant of
Margery, influenced by the name of the herb
marjoram. After the Middle Ages this name was rare, but it was revived at the end of the 19th century.
Marlene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: mar-LEH-nə(German) MAHR-leen(English) mahr-LEEN(English)
Blend of
Maria and
Magdalene. It refers, therefore, to Mary Magdalene, a character in the
New Testament. The name was popularized by the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich.
Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English) MAR-ee(English)
Usual English form of
Maria, the Latin form of the
New Testament Greek names
Μαριάμ (Mariam) and
Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of
Moses in the
Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including
"sea of bitterness",
"rebelliousness", and
"wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from
mry "beloved" or
mr "love".
This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.
Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.
This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.
The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.
Meara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEER-ə
Transferred use of the surname
Meara.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Nandita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: नंदिता, नन्दिता(Hindi) नंदिता(Marathi)
Nanette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: nə-NEHT
Niamh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYEEW(Irish) NYEEV(Irish)
Means
"bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god
Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet
Oisín, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.
Noelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: no-EH-lya
Spanish feminine form of
Noël.
Nurcan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means
"bright soul" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic
نور (nūr) meaning "light" and Persian
jān meaning "soul, life".
Nyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIE-lə
Probably a feminine form of
Niles. It gained popularity in the early 2000s, influenced by similar-sounding names such as
Kyla.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Odhrán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: UW-ran
From Old Irish
Odrán, derived from
odar "dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of a
saint who travelled with Saint Columba through Scotland.
Oisín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: aw-SHEEN(Irish) o-SHEEN(English)
Means
"little deer", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer, stag" combined with a
diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.
Órlaith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: OR-lə(Irish)
Means
"golden ruler", from Old Irish
ór "gold" combined with
flaith "ruler, sovereign, princess". This name was borne by several medieval Irish royals, including a sister of the king
Brian Boru.
Orsolya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: OR-sho-yaw
Ottoline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Diminutive of
Ottilie. A famous bearer was the British socialite Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938).
Pansy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAN-zee
From the English word for a type of flower, ultimately deriving from Old French pensee "thought".
Perpetua
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: pehr-PEH-twa(Spanish)
Derived from Latin
perpetuus meaning
"continuous". This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint martyred with another woman named Felicity.
Phebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Pia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Slovene, Late Roman
Pronounced: PEE-a(Italian, Danish, Swedish, German)
Ramunė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "chamomile (plant)" in Lithuanian.
Randa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: رندة(Arabic)
Pronounced: RAN-da
Means "scented tree" in Arabic.
Rim
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ريم(Arabic)
Pronounced: REEM
Means "white antelope" in Arabic.
Rivka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: רִבְקָה(Hebrew)
Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Means
"little seal", derived from Old Irish
rón "seal" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish
saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Rosaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ro-SOW-ra
Means
"golden rose", derived from Latin
rosa "rose" and
aurea "golden". This name was (first?) used by Pedro Calderón de la Barca for a character in his play
Life Is a Dream (1635).
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements
hroð "fame" and
wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements
ron "spear" and
gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819).
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek
ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of
Ruth 1.
Ryland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIE-lənd
From an English surname, which was originally derived from a place name meaning "rye land" in Old English.
Sabrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: sə-BREEN-ə(English) sa-BREE-na(Italian, Spanish) za-BREE-na(German) SA-BREE-NA(French) su-BREE-nu(European Portuguese) sa-BREE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Latinized form of
Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque
Comus (1634).
The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.
Sahasra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Telugu, Indian
Other Scripts: सहस्र(Hindi)
Means "a thousand" or "infinite" in Sanskrit.
Salma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian
Other Scripts: سلمى(Arabic) سلمیٰ(Urdu) সালমা(Bengali)
Pronounced: SAL-ma(Arabic)
Means
"safe" in Arabic, derived from
سلم (salima) meaning "to be safe".
Salome
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: სალომე(Georgian) Σαλώμη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-LO-mee(English)
From an Aramaic name that was related to the Hebrew word
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning
"peace". According to the historian Josephus this was the name of the daughter of
Herodias (the consort of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee). In the
New Testament, though a specific name is not given, it was a daughter of Herodias who danced for Herod and was rewarded with the head of
John the Baptist, and thus Salome and the dancer have traditionally been equated.
As a Christian given name, Salome has been in occasional use since the Protestant Reformation. This was due to a second person of this name in the New Testament: one of the women who witnessed the crucifixion and later discovered that Jesus' tomb was empty. It is used in Georgia due to the 4th-century Salome of Ujarma, who is considered a saint in the Georgian Church.
Salut
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: sə-LOOT
Means "health" or "cheers" in Catalan.
Sanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: SAHN-nah(Finnish)
Short form of
Susanna. It can also be derived from Swedish
sann meaning "true".
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
From the Old German element
sahso meaning
"a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Selah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: סֶלַה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə(English)
From a Hebrew musical term that occurs many times in the
Old Testament Psalms. It was probably meant to indicate a musical pause.
Shanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAN-ə
Possibly a feminine variant of
Shannon.
Shion
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 紫苑, 詩音, etc.(Japanese Kanji) しおん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SHEE-ON
From Japanese
紫苑 (shion) meaning "aster". It can also come from
詩 (shi) meaning "poem" and
音 (on) meaning "sound". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Sole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: SO-leh
Means "sun" in Italian.
Sunday
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-day
From the name of the day of the week, which ultimately derives from Old English sunnandæg, which was composed of the elements sunne "sun" and dæg "day". This name is most common in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Tess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS
Short form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891).
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Theresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English) teh-REH-za(German)
From the Spanish and Portuguese name
Teresa. It was first recorded as
Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of
Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek
θέρος (theros) meaning
"summer", from Greek
θερίζω (therizo) meaning
"to harvest", or from the name of the Greek island of Therasia (the western island of Santorini).
The name was mainly confined to Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. After the 16th century it was spread to other parts of the Christian world, due to the fame of the Spanish nun and reformer Saint Teresa of Ávila. Another famous bearer was the Austrian Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), who inherited the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession.
Tove
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: TOO-veh(Norwegian, Swedish) TO-və(Danish)
Modern form of the Old Norse name
Tófa, a short form of
Þórfríðr.
Tresonica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Rare)
Velda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHL-də
Meaning unknown, possibly a derivative of the Old German element
walt meaning
"power, authority".
Verena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Late Roman
Pronounced: veh-REH-na(German)
Possibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
Berenice.
Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Winnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIN-ee
Diminutive of
Winifred. Winnie-the-Pooh, a stuffed bear in children's books by A. A. Milne, was named after a real bear named
Winnipeg who lived at the London Zoo.
Winterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Xanthippe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξανθίππη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEEP-PEH(Classical Greek) zan-TIP-ee(English) zan-THIP-ee(English)
Feminine form of
Xanthippos. This was the name of the wife of
Socrates. Because of her supposedly argumentative nature, the name has been adopted (in the modern era) as a word for a scolding, ill-tempered woman.
Xavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Modern feminine form of
Xavier.
Xavian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAY-vee-ən, ZAY-vee-awn
Xaviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Possibly a feminine form of
Xavian or an elaboration of
Xavia.
Yadira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic)
Pronounced: gya-DHEE-ra(Spanish)
Meaning unknown, possibly derived from an Arabic name. It has been used in Mexico since at least the 1940s
[1], perhaps inspired by the Colombian actress Yadira Jiménez (1928-?), who performed in Mexican films beginning in 1946.
Yesenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: gyeh-SEH-nya
From
Jessenia, the genus name of a variety of palm trees found in South America. As a given name, it was popularized by the writer Yolanda Vargas Dulché in the 1970 Mexican telenovela
Yesenia and the 1971 film adaptation
[1].
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
From Arabic
زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of
أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatima.
See also the related name Zahra 2.
Zaynab
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زينب(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIE-nab
Meaning uncertain. It is possibly related to Arabic
زين (zayn) meaning "beauty"; it could be from the name of a fragrant flowering tree; or it could be an Arabic form of
Zenobia, a name borne by a pre-Islamic queen of Palmyra. Zaynab was the name of a daughter, a granddaughter, and two wives of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Zena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Meaning unknown. It could be a variant of
Xenia or a
diminutive of names featuring this sound, such as
Alexina,
Rosina or
Zenobia. This name has occasionally been used since the 19th century.
Zlatka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Златка(Bulgarian)
Zula 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZOOL-ə
Meaning unknown. It has been in use since the 19th century. It is possibly related to the name of the African tribe that lives largely in South Africa, the Zulus. In the 19th century the Zulus were a powerful nation under their leader Shaka.
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