eveglob's Personal Name List

Form of Hadrianus (see Hadrian) used in several languages. Several saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.

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

English form of the Roman family name Antonius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. The most notable member of the Roman family was the general Marcus Antonius (called Mark Antony in English), who for a period in the 1st century BC ruled the Roman Empire jointly with Augustus. When their relationship turned sour, he and his mistress Cleopatra were attacked and forced to commit suicide, as related in Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (1606).

The name became regularly used in the Christian world due to the fame of Saint Anthony the Great, a 4th-century Egyptian hermit who founded Christian monasticism. Its popularity was reinforced in the Middle Ages by the 13th-century Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of Portugal. It has been commonly (but incorrectly) associated with Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower", which resulted in the addition of the h to this spelling in the 17th century.

Variant of Anthony. This was formerly the usual English spelling of the name, but during the 17th century the h began to be added.

Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".

Greek form of Aura.

Short form of Beatrix or Beáta.

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.

From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".

French feminine form of Carolus.

From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Cathasaigh, a patronymic derived from the given name Cathassach. This name can be given in honour of Casey Jones (1863-1900), a train engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers. In his case, Casey was a nickname acquired because he was raised in the town of Cayce, Kentucky.

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

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

Latinate form of Clarice. This is the name of the title character in a 1748 novel by Samuel Richardson. In the novel Clarissa Harlowe is a virtuous woman who is tragically exploited by her family and her lover. Another literary character by this name is Clarissa Dalloway from the novel Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf.

From Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles [1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.

The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).

French form of Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel Corinne (1807).

Anglicized form of Irish Deaglán, Old Irish Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.

In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).

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

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

From an English surname that was derived from a diminutive of the medieval name Elias.

Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.

From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).

Variant of Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word isla meaning "island".

From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.

From the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ (Yirmeyahu) meaning "Yahweh will exalt", from the roots רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.

From Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add", from the root יָסַף (yasaf) meaning "to add, to increase". In the Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the first with his wife Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.

In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.

This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).

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.

From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.

Variant of Caitlin.

Derived from Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.

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.

Romanian and English form of Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.

Variant of May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.

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.

French and Czech form of Maria. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.

A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.

In France it is occasionally used as a masculine name in pairings such as Jean-Marie.

Anglicized form of Muadhnait. It is also associated with Greek monos "one" and Leonardo da Vinci's painting the Mona Lisa (in which case it is a contraction of Italian ma donna meaning "my lady").

Variant of Miles.

Variant of Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century [1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-) [2].

Latinate form of Natalia (see Natalie).

Russian diminutive of Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.

Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wuotan, Wotan or Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.

In Norse mythology Odin is the highest of the gods, presiding over war, wisdom and death. He is the husband of Frigg and resides in Valhalla, where warriors go after they are slain. He is usually depicted as a one-eyed older man, carrying two ravens on his shoulders who inform him of all the events of the world. At the time of Ragnarök, the final battle, it is told that he will be killed fighting the great wolf Fenrir.

From Old French Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero Roland.

In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.

From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".

Variant of Porcia, the feminine form of the Roman family name Porcius, used by William Shakespeare for the heroine of his play The Merchant of Venice (1596). In the play Portia is a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to defend Antonio in court. It is also the name of a moon of Uranus, after the Shakespearean character.

French form of the Roman name Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).

From the Hebrew name רִבְקָה (Rivqa), probably from a Semitic root meaning "join, tie, snare". This is the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob in the Old Testament. It came into use as an English Christian name after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular with the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been consistently used since then, becoming especially common in the second half of the 20th century.

This name is borne by a Jewish woman in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe (1819), as well as the title character (who is deceased and unseen) in Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca (1938).

French feminine form of René.

Medieval English diminutive of Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.

Anglicized form of Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).

From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).

Variant of Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.

Short form of Theodore, Theobald and other names that begin with Theo.

From the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of god" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.

This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).

English form of the Greek name Τιμόθεος (Timotheos) meaning "honouring God", derived from τιμάω (timao) meaning "to honour" and θεός (theos) meaning "god". Saint Timothy was a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys and was the recipient of two of Paul's epistles that appear in the New Testament. He was of both Jewish and Greek ancestry. According to tradition, he was martyred at Ephesus after protesting the worship of Artemis. As an English name, Timothy was not used until after the Protestant Reformation.

Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.

Short form of Zachary.