Melpel's Personal Name List

This name was brought to some public attention by the American actress Acquanetta (1921-2004), born Mildred Davenport. Though she claimed her stage name meant "laughing water" or "deep water" in Arapaho, it appears to be an invented name, possibly an elaboration of Italian acqua "water" using Netta 1.

Variant of Ælfþryð (see Elfreda).

Ancient Greek form of Alcmene.

This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".

Germanic name, in which the second element was derived from Old High German runa or Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune" (Proto-Germanic *rūnō). Modern-day scholars consider it a younger form of the Old High German name Ailrun, in which the first element is agi "terror" (which quite often became ail- in names). At the same time, it is also a contracted form of Adelruna (or Adelrun, Adelrune), in which the first element is adal "noble". Lastly, those same academics also consider it a younger form of the Old Norse name Alfrún, in which the first element is alfr "elf".

The Old Norse cognate Ǫlrún occurs in the Eddic poem the Völundarkviða, belonging to a Valkyrie who marries the archer Egil. This form of the name was borne by an 11th-century Bavarian recluse, Alruna of Cham, a patron saint of pregnancy. Also see Aurinia. It coincides with the name of the mandrake plant, being alruna in Swedish, alrune in Danish and Norwegian and Alraune in German.

Feminine form of Alvin.

Means "spring, fountain" in Nahuatl [1].

Old Welsh form of Armel.

From a diminutive form of Auberi, an Old French form of Alberich. It is the name of the fairy king in the 13th-century epic Huon de Bordeaux.

Means "daughter of the oath" in Hebrew, derived from בַּת (baṯ) meaning "daughter" and שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) meaning "oath". According to the Old Testament, this was the name of a woman married to Uriah the Hittite. She became pregnant by King David, so he arranged to have her husband killed in battle and then married her. She was the mother of Solomon.

Feminine form of Bohumír.

From Old Welsh Catigirn meaning "battle king", derived from cat "battle" and tigirn "king, monarch". This was the name of a 5th-century king of Powys in Wales, the son of Vortigern.

From a Scottish surname meaning "crooked nose" from Gaelic cam "crooked" and sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms Camryn and Kamryn are now more popular than Cameron for girls.

English form of the Polish name Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic element kaziti "to destroy" combined with mirŭ "peace, world". Four kings of Poland have borne this name, including Casimir III the Great, who greatly strengthened the Polish state in the 14th century. It was also borne Saint Casimir, a 15th-century Polish prince and a patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. The name was imported into Western Europe via Germany, where it was borne by some royalty.

Feminine form of Cloelius. In Roman legend Cloelia was a maiden who was given to an Etruscan invader as a hostage. She managed to escape by swimming across the Tiber, at the same time helping some of the other captives to safety.

The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.

Feminine form of Dragoslav.

Variant of Drust.

Variant of Elfreda.

Spanish form of Alodia.

Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.

Derived from Old High German ercan "native, freeborn, honest" combined with Old High German fridu "peace."

Middle English form of Æðelþryð.

From Everardus, the Latinized form of Eberhard. The Normans introduced it to England, where it joined the Old English cognate Eoforheard. It has only been rarely used since the Middle Ages. Modern use of the name may be inspired by the surname Everard, itself derived from the medieval name.

From an English surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English eofor "boar" and leah "woodland, clearing". Notable bearers of the surname were the musical duo the Everly Brothers, Don (1937-2021) and Phil (1939-2014).

This name began rising on the American popularity charts in 2008, slowly until 2012 and then rapidly after that. This might have been triggered by the folk band Everly (not associated with the Everly Brothers), which had music featured on the television series One Tree Hill in that period. It also might have simply been inspired by similar-sounding names like Everett, Evelyn and Beverly.

Macedonian form of Philomena.

Derived from Old Irish finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).

Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.

Bulgarian form of Gabriel.

Transferred use of the surname Hilliard.

Possibly derived from the name of a Turkish water sprite.

Russian form of Hilarion.

Ukrainian form of Elijah.

Variant of Jason.

From a Cornish form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar (see Guinevere). This name has only been common outside of Cornwall since the beginning of the 20th century, after it was featured in George Bernard Shaw's play The Doctor's Dilemma (1906). It barely ranked in the United until the late 1930s, when it began steadily growing in popularity, accelerating into the early 1970s. It was the most popular name for girls in America between 1970 and 1984, though it was not as common in the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include the American actresses Jennifer Aniston (1969-), Jennifer Garner (1972-) and Jennifer Lawrence (1990-), as well as the singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (1969-).

Scandinavian, Macedonian and Serbian form of Joachim.

French form of the Old Breton name Iudicael, derived from the elements iudd "lord" and hael "generous". This was the name of a 7th-century Breton king, also regarded as a saint.

From Hawaiian kai "ocean, sea" and lani "sky, heaven".

From the name of the bird of prey, ultimately derived from Old French crecelle "rattle", which refers to the sound of its cry.

Either a variant of Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.

From German Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.

In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).

Feminine form of the Roman family name Lucretius, possibly from Latin lucrum meaning "profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.

Means "snow" in Finnish.

Danish and Norwegian diminutive of Maria.

Anglicized form of Máel Sechnaill or Máel Máedóc, influenced by the spelling of Malachi. Saint Malachy (in Irish, Máel Máedóc) was a 12th-century archbishop of Armagh renowned for his miracles.

Short form of María Soledad. It is sometimes considered a combination of María and Sol 1, or from Spanish mar y sol "sea and sun".

Feminine form of Maurus.

Probably a combination of Mel (from names such as Melanie or Melissa) with the suffix antha (from Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). John Dryden used this name in his play Marriage a la Mode (1672).

Possibly from the Hebrew roots מֶלֶךְ (meleḵ) meaning "king" and אוֹר (ʾor) meaning "light". This was a name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.

From the Welsh name Maredudd or Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as Margetud, possibly from mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).

From the English word merle or the French surname Merle, which both mean "blackbird" (from Latin merula). It was borne by the devious character Madame Merle (in fact her surname) in Henry James' novel The Portrait of a Lady (1880).

This name is also common for girls in Estonia, though a connection to the English-language name is uncertain.

Meaning unknown. This was the name of an early Cornish (male) saint.

Alternate transcription of Arabic مسعودة (see Masuda) chiefly used in North Africa.

From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).

From Old Cornish moroin meaning "maiden, girl" (related to the Welsh word morwyn [1]). This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint, said to be one of the daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.

French form of Miriam.

Means "lord of snakes" from Sanskrit नाग (nāga) meaning "snake" (also "elephant") combined with the name of the Hindu god Indra, used here to mean "lord". This is another name for Vasuki, the king of snakes, in Hindu mythology.

From Sanskrit नलिनी (nalinī) meaning "lotus".

An Orthodox saint in the 4th century. Son of Ss. Emmelia and Basil the Elder, and brother to St. Basil the Great, Ss. Theosebia and Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Macrina the younger.

Derived from Greek Νηρηΐδες (Nereides) meaning "nymphs, sea sprites", ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god Nereus, who supposedly fathered them.

From the Breton phrase Noyal Gwenn meaning "holy one from Noyal". This was the epithet of a 6th-century saint and martyr from Brittany.

Means "ruler of heaven, owner of heaven" in Yoruba, derived from either olú "chief, ruler" or the prefix ọní "owner" combined with ọ̀run "heaven, sky". Ọlọrun is a manifestation of the supreme god in traditional Yoruba religion. In some modern contexts this name is used to refer to the Christian or Islamic god.

Means "lotus" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form पद्मा and the masculine form पद्म.

According to some Hindu traditions a lotus holding the god Brahma arose from the navel of the god Vishnu. The name Padma is used in Hindu texts to refer to several characters, including the goddess Lakshmi and the hero Rama.

Means "prayer" in Chewa.

From the English word for the type of flower. It was originally believed to have healing qualities, so it was named after the Greek medical god Pæon.

Old French form of Percival used by Chrétien de Troyes.

From the Late Latin name Peregrinus, which meant "traveller". This was the name of several early saints.

From Greek Φιλομήλη (Philomele), derived from φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend" and μῆλον (melon) meaning "fruit". The second element has also been interpreted as Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song". In Greek myth Philomela was the sister-in-law of Tereus, who raped her and cut out her tongue. Prokne avenged her sister by killing her son by Tereus, after which Tereus attempted to kill Philomela. However, the gods intervened and transformed her into a nightingale.

From the name of a Spanish sanctuary (in Catalonia) that is devoted to the Virgin Mary.

Means "feather (from the quetzal bird)" or "precious thing" in Nahuatl [1].

Derived from the Slavic element radŭ "happy, willing" and mirŭ "peace, world".

Portuguese diminutive of Rafael.

Romanian diminutive of the Greek name Rallou, of uncertain meaning. It was popularized by the actress Rallou Karatza (1778-1870), a daughter of the prince of Wallachia Ioannis Karatzas, who was of Greek background.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Rachel.

Latin form of Romeo.

Variant of Rosalba.

Upper German and Swiss variant of Rosemarie.

French diminutive of Sandra.

From the Old Norse elements sól "sun" and fríðr "beautiful, beloved". This name was coined in the 19th century.

Latin form of Solange.

Means "star" in Cornish.

Possibly means "drop" in Hebrew. According to the Old Testament Taphath was a daughter of Solomon.

Old German form of Tancred.

Derived from the Slavic elements tixŭ "quiet" and mirŭ "peace, world".

Feminine form of Triantafyllos. This is also the Greek word for "rosebush".

Means "peace of mind" in Urhobo.

Variant of Uʻilani.

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.

Polish form of Valentina.

Polish form of Valerianus (see Valerian).

Variant of Walburga.

Means "born during the brewing season" in Luhya.

Hawaiian form of Victoria.

Form of Wulfrun sometimes used in reference to the 10th-century noblewoman.

From the name of an Indian river, a major tributary of the Ganges, derived from Sanskrit यम (yama) meaning "twin". As a Hindu goddess, she is a personification of the river.

Variant of Yesenia.

From Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬚𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀 (Zarathushtra), in which the second element is 𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀 (ushtra) meaning "camel". Proposed meanings for the first element include "old", "moving", "angry" and "yellow". Zarathustra was an Iranian prophet who founded the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism around the 10th century BC. He is also called Zoroaster in English, from the Greek form of his name Ζωροάστρης (Zoroastres).

Perhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel Don Quixote (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.

English form of Zarathustra, via the Greek form Ζωροάστρης (Zoroastres).