lunarssong's Personal Name List
Adoni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Adonis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄδωνις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-DAW-NEES(Classical Greek) ə-DAHN-is(English) ə-DO-nis(English)
From Phoenician
𐤀𐤃𐤍 (ʾadon) meaning
"lord, master". In Greek
myth Adonis was a handsome young shepherd killed while hunting a wild boar. The anemone flower is said to have sprung from his blood. Because he was loved by
Aphrodite,
Zeus allowed him to be restored to life for part of each year. The Greeks borrowed this character from Semitic traditions, originally Sumerian (see
Dumuzi).
Adorata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian (Rare)
Derived from Romanian adorata, the feminine form of the adjective adorat, "adored".
Aletheia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀλήθεια(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek ἀλήθεια
(aletheia) meaning "truth". (Compare English
Alethea.) According to some Greek myths she was the personification of truth, a daughter of Zeus and one of the nurses to Apollo.
Alin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Possibly a Romanian masculine form of
Alina. Alternatively it may derive from Romanian
alina "to soothe".
Alkmene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀλκμήνη(Ancient Greek)
Amynta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English (Australian, Rare)
Feminine form of
Amyntas. It was used in 18th-century pastoral poetry.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Feminine form of
Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian
saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Anastasios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστάσιος(Greek) Ἀναστάσιος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-NAS-TA-SEE-OS(Classical Greek)
Anatolie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Moldovan, Romanian, History (Ecclesiastical)
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.
Anișoara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Aristomache
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀριστομάχη(Ancient Greek)
Arsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Arta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Possibly derived from the name of the city of Arta in southwestern Greece. A city with connections to Albania and Albanians. The name of the city is popularly held to be derived from Albanian artë "golden" (compare ar "gold")
Astraia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Athenais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀθηναΐς(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek personal name that was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
Athena.
Aurica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Basileios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Βασίλειος(Ancient Greek)
Bojan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Бојан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: BO-yan(Serbian, Croatian) BAW-yan(Macedonian)
Derived from Old Slavic
bojĭ meaning
"battle". This was the name of a 9th-century Bulgarian
saint and martyr, also called Enravota, a son of the Bulgarian khan Omurtag.
Brândușa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Means "crocus" in Romanian.
Branimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Бранимир(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Derived from the Slavic element
borna "protection" combined with
mirŭ "peace, world".
Călina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Moldovan
Feminine form of
Călin. This name was borne by Ana-Călina, the mother of
Mircea I of Wallachia.
Codrin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
From Romanian codru meaning "forest", a word of uncertain origin.
Cosmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: kos-MEE-na
Crăița
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Derived from Romanian crăiță "marigold".
Crina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: KREE-na
Derived from Romanian crin meaning "lily".
Cyme
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kosovar
Decebal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Means "powerful, brave" in Dacian. This was the name adopted by Diurpaneus, a 1st-century king of Dacia. For many years he successfully resisted Roman expansion into his territory but was finally defeated by the forces of Emperor Trajan in 106.
Delia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-lee-ə(English) DEH-lya(Italian, Spanish) DEH-lee-a(Romanian)
Means
"of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Artemis, given because she and her twin brother
Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
Demostrate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δημοστράτη(Ancient Greek)
Means
"army of the people", derived from the Greek elements
δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people" and
στρατός (stratos) meaning "army".
Denis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Russian, English, German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Romanian, Croatian, Albanian
Other Scripts: Денис(Russian)
Pronounced: DU-NEE(French) dyi-NYEES(Russian) DEHN-is(English) DEH-nis(German, Czech)
From
Denys or
Denis, the medieval French forms of
Dionysius.
Saint Denis was a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul and the first bishop of Paris. He was martyred by decapitation, after which legend says he picked up his own severed head and walked for a distance while preaching a sermon. He is credited with converting the Gauls to Christianity and is considered the patron saint of France.
This name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and it was imported by the Normans to England. It is now regularly spelled Dennis in the English-speaking world. A notable bearer was the French philosopher Denis Diderot (1713-1784).
Dione 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Διώνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-AW-NEH(Classical Greek) die-O-nee(English)
From Greek
Διός (Dios) meaning
"of Zeus". By extension, it means
"goddess". This was the name of an obscure Greek goddess who, according to some legends, was the mother of
Aphrodite.
Doina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Means "folk song", from Romanian doină.
Dorin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: DO-reen
Drago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Драго(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Slavic element
dorgŭ (South Slavic
drag) meaning
"precious".
Eirene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εἰρήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-REH-NEH(Classical Greek) ie-REE-nee(English)
Ancient Greek form of
Irene.
Elpis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἐλπίς(Ancient Greek)
Means
"hope" in Greek. In Greek
mythology Elpis was the personification of hope. She was the last spirit to remain in the jar after
Pandora unleashed the evils that were in it.
Emilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Polish
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lyan(Polish)
Romanian and Polish form of
Aemilianus (see
Emiliano).
Enyo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἐνυώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-NIE-o(English)
Meaning unknown. She was a bloodthirsty Greek war goddess and a companion of
Ares.
Eos
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-AWS(Classical Greek) EE-ahs(English)
Means "dawn" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn.
Eris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἔρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHR-is(English)
Means
"strife, discord" in Greek. In Greek
mythology Eris was the goddess of discord. She was the sister and companion of
Ares.
Eudoxia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐδοξία(Ancient Greek)
From Greek
εὐδοξία (eudoxia) meaning
"good repute, good judgement", itself from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
δόξα (doxa) meaning "notion, reputation, honour".
Flavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: FLA-vya(Italian) FLA-bya(Spanish) FLA-wee-a(Latin)
Floare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian (Rare)
Directly taken from Romanian floare "flower".
Florina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Feminine form of Albanian
Florin.
Horică
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Hypatia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὑπατία(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
ὕπατος (hypatos) meaning
"highest, supreme". Hypatia of Alexandria was a 5th-century philosopher and mathematician, daughter of the mathematician Theon.
Hypatos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὕπατος(Ancient Greek)
Ileana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ee-LYA-na(Romanian) ee-leh-A-na(Spanish)
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.
Ilinca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Iolanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian
Pronounced: yo-LAN-da(Italian, Romanian) yoo-LAN-də(Catalan)
Italian, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian form of
Yolanda.
Ionela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: yo-NEH-la
Romanian feminine form of
John.
Ionică
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Romani
Pronounced: yo-NEE-kə(Romanian)
Iraida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Spanish
Other Scripts: Ираида(Russian)
Pronounced: ee-RIE-dha(Spanish)
Russian and Spanish form of
Herais.
Irina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Georgian, Finnish, Estonian
Other Scripts: Ирина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ირინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-RYEE-nə(Russian) EE-ree-nah(Finnish)
Form of
Irene in several languages.
Iuliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Ancient Roman
Latin and Romanian form of
Juliana.
Jagoda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Јагода(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ya-GAW-da(Polish)
Means
"strawberry" in South Slavic, and
"berry" in Polish. Also in Poland, this can be a
diminutive of
Jadwiga.
Janja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Јања(Serbian)
Croatian, Serbian and Slovene form of
Agnes. It also may be inspired by Serbo-Croatian
janje meaning
"lamb".
Kallisto
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Καλλιστώ(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning
"most beautiful", a derivative of
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek
mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by
Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by
Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.
Kallistrate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Καλλιστράτη(Ancient Greek)
Kleio
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Κλειώ(Greek)
Pronounced: KLEH-AW(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
κλέος (kleos) meaning
"glory". In Greek
mythology she was the goddess of history and heroic poetry, one of the nine Muses. She was said to have introduced the alphabet to Greece.
Ledina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Of uncertain origin and meaning.
Ledina has been debated to be a variant of Lëndina, an Albanian name directly taken from the word lëndina "(the) meadow".
However, "ledina" also seems to be an Old Church Slavonic word with a similar meaning, going back to the same Proto-Indoeuropean root as the common English word "land". So Ledina might in fact be a borrowing from this source.
Lëndina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian (Rare)
Derived from Albanian lëndinë "meadow".
Liana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, English, Georgian
Other Scripts: ლიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LYA-na(Italian)
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.
Ligeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λιγεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lie-JEE-ə(English)
Derived from Greek
λιγύς (ligys) meaning
"clear-voiced, shrill, whistling". This was the name of one of the Sirens in Greek legend. It was also used by Edgar Allan Poe in his story
Ligeia (1838).
Ligia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish
Pronounced: LEE-khya(Spanish)
Romanian and Spanish form of
Ligeia.
Liliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, English
Pronounced: lee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) lil-ee-AN-ə(English) lil-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Ljilja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Љиља(Serbian)
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Italian and Romanian form of
Lucas (see
Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Luminița
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: loo-mee-NEE-tsa
Means
"little light", derived from Romanian
lumina "light" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Lupa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Medieval Romanian, Esperanto
Feminine form of
Lupus (Late Roman) and
Lup (Medieval Romanian).
In Esperanto, the name means "lupine, wolfish" and is therefore etymologically related to the aforementioned two names.
Magda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian, Slovene, Romanian, Portuguese, Greek
Other Scripts: Μάγδα(Greek)
Pronounced: MAK-da(German) MAHKH-da(Dutch) MAG-da(Czech, Slovak, Polish) MAWG-daw(Hungarian)
Mălina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Romanian form of the Slavic name
Malina 2.
The name could also be directly taken from the ordinary vocabulary word mălin, which has multiple meanings. Its primary meaning is "bird cherry, hackberry" (species Prunus padus, a type of cherry native to northern Europe and northern Asia), which ultimately derives from the same source as the Slavic personal name. More rarely, mălin can also indicate either "common lilac" (the flower, species Syringa vulgaris) or "bat" (the animal, order Chiroptera).
Mănunta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Romanian
Derived from Romanian mănuntă, a regional variant of măruntă, itself the feminine form of the adjectiv mărunt "very small, tiny".
Marcius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Roman family name that was a derivative of the
praenomen Marcus. This was the name of an early, possibly legendary, king of Rome.
Mica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Romanian
Either a contracted form of
Marica or a derivation from Romanian
mică, the feminine form of the adjective
mic "small, little".
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Mira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Мира(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MEE-ra(Polish)
Short form of
Miroslava and other names beginning with
Mir (often the Slavic element
mirŭ meaning
"peace, world").
Mircea
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: MEER-chya, MEER-cha
Romanian form of
Mirče. This name was borne by a 14th-century ruler of Wallachia, called Mircea the Great.
Mirela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Croatian, Albanian
Romanian, Croatian and Albanian form of
Mireille.
Miruna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Possibly derived from the Slavic word mir meaning "peace" or Romanian mira meaning "to wonder, to astound".
Nada 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Нада(Serbian, Macedonian)
Means "hope" in South Slavic.
Nadica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Надица(Serbian)
Narcisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: nar-THEE-sa(European Spanish) nar-SEE-sa(Latin American Spanish) nar-CHEE-za(Italian)
Natasa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Νατάσα(Greek)
Nebojša
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Небојша(Serbian)
Means "fearless" in Serbian and Croatian, from the Old Slavic root nebojĭ.
Nemanja
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian
Other Scripts: Немања(Serbian)
Possibly from Slavic
ne maniti meaning
"not deceiving, not luring, not attracting" [1]. Another theory states that it means
"without possessions", derived from Serbo-Croatian
nemati meaning "have not". This was the name of a 12th-century Serbian king, and the name of the dynasty he began.
Nike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Νίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEE-KEH(Classical Greek) NIE-kee(English)
Means "victory" in Greek. Nike was the Greek goddess of victory.
Nikephoros
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νικηφόρος(Ancient Greek)
Means
"carrying victory" from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
φέρω (phero) meaning "to carry, to bear". This name was borne by several Byzantine emperors, including the 10th-century Nikephoros II Phokas. Besides being a masculine personal name, it was also a title borne by the goddess
Athena.
Nikias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Νικίας(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning
"victory". This was the name of an Athenian general who fought in the Peloponnesian war.
Oana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: WA-na
Romanian short form of
Ioana.
Odochia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Romanian
Pallas 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παλλάς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAL-LAS(Classical Greek) PAL-əs(English)
Probably derived from a Greek word meaning
"maiden, young woman". This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Athena. According to some legends it was originally the name of a friend of the goddess. Athena accidentally killed her while sparring, so she took the name in honour of her friend.
Pallas 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάλλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAL-LAS(Classical Greek) PAL-əs(English)
Possibly derived from Greek
πάλλω (pallo) meaning
"to brandish". In Greek
mythology this was the name of a Titan and several other characters. It was also the name of a female character, though her name is probably from a different source (see
Pallas 1).
Phaidra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PIE-DRA(Classical Greek)
Philomena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλουμένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-nə(English)
From Greek
Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning
"to be loved", an inflection of
φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early
saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name
Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word
φιλουμένη, not a name.
Phoibe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: POI-BEH(Classical Greek)
Phoibos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Φοῖβος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: POI-BOS(Classical Greek)
Romeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: ro-MEH-o(Italian) RO-mee-o(English)
Italian form of the Late Latin
Romaeus or Late Greek
Ρωμαῖος (Romaios), which meant
"from Rome" or
"Roman". Romeo is best known as the lover of
Juliet in William Shakespeare's tragedy
Romeo and Juliet (1596). Shakespeare based his play on earlier Italian stories by Luigi Da Porto (1524) and Matteo Bandello (1554), which both featured characters named Giulietta and Romeo.
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Sabina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Сабина(Russian)
Pronounced: sa-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) SA-bi-na(Czech)
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.
Saša
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Саша(Serbian)
Senka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Сенка(Serbian)
Means
"shadow, shade" in Serbian and Croatian. It can also be a
diminutive of
Ksenija.
Soara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Romanian
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Sophos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σόφος(Ancient Greek)
Sorina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: so-REE-na
Stelian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Steliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Theokleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεόκλεια(Ancient Greek)
Theophania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεοφάνια(Ancient Greek)
Tiberiu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Tihana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Тихана(Serbian)
Derived from the Slavic element
tixŭ (Serbo-Croatian
tih) meaning
"quiet".
Vali
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Veaceslav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Romanian (Moldovan) form of
Veceslav (see
Václav).
Vesna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Slavic Mythology
Other Scripts: Весна(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: VEHS-na(Croatian, Serbian)
Means "spring" in many Slavic languages. This was the name of a Slavic spirit associated with the springtime. It has been used as a given name only since the 20th century.
Viorica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: vee-o-REE-ka
Derived from Romanian
viorea (see
Viorel).
Voica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Romanian
Vuk
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian
Other Scripts: Вук(Serbian)
Pronounced: VOOK
Means "wolf" in Serbian.
Xenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξένια(Greek) Ξενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-nya(Spanish)
Means
"hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of
ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
Ylli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Derived from Albanian yll meaning "star".
Yllka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Yllnore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian (Rare)
Derived from Albanian yll "star" and, figuratively, "fate, luck" combined with the feminine adjective suffix -ore.
Zana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian, Albanian Mythology
Zana is an Albanian mythological figure of pre-Roman Paleo-Balkan origin, usually associated with mountains, vegetation and sometimes destiny. The derivation of the name itself is somewhat debated; theories include a derivation from Albanian
zâni "voice" or from Gheg Albanian
zana "voices" (with the sense of "muse") as well as a cognate of Romanian
zână "fairy", itself ultimately derived from the name of the goddess
Diana.
Žarko
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Жарко(Serbian, Macedonian)
Derived from South Slavic žar meaning "ember, zeal, fervour".
Zenais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηναΐς(Ancient Greek)
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Means
"life of Zeus", derived from Greek
Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of
Zeus" and
βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor
Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
Zlata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Злата(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ZLA-ta(Czech) ZLA-tə(Russian)
Zosime
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζωσίμη(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Zosimos (see
Zosimus).
Zvezdana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Звездана(Serbian)
Pronounced: ZVEHZ-da-na(Serbian)
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