DRmillions's Personal Name List
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
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.
Aia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 愛亜, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: AH-EE-AH
From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" combined with 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Aiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən
Alban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Albanian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-ban(German) AL-BAHN(French) AL-bən(English) AWL-bən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Albanus, which meant
"from Alba". Alba (from Latin
albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by
Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. Another 4th-century martyr by this name was Saint Alban of Mainz.
As an English name, Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.
Alessandria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: al-less-an-dria
Alex
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Czech, Russian
Other Scripts: Άλεξ(Greek) Алекс(Russian)
Pronounced: AL-iks(English) A-lehks(Dutch, German, Romanian, Czech) A-LEHKS(French) A-lekhs(Icelandic) AW-lehks(Hungarian)
Aloe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Aloe is a genus containing over 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most widely known species is Aloe vera, or "true aloe". It is called this because it is cultivated as the standard source for assorted pharmaceutical purposes.
Anders
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: AN-desh(Swedish) AHN-nəsh(Norwegian) AHN-us(Danish)
Scandinavian form of
Andreas (see
Andrew). A famous bearer was the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814-1874).
Andre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, African American
Pronounced: AHN-dray(English)
Ann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Manx
Pronounced: AN(English)
English and Manx form of
Anne 1. In the English-speaking world, both this spelling and
Anne have been used since the late Middle Ages. Currently
Ann is less popular than
Anne (and both are less popular than their relatives
Anna and
Hannah).
Archambaud
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval French
Ashlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-lin
Combination of
Ashley and the popular name suffix
lyn.
Ashton
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-tən
From an English surname, itself derived from a place name meaning
"ash tree town" in Old English. This was a rare masculine name until the 1980s, when it gradually began becoming more common for both genders. Inspired by the female character Ashton Main from the 1985 miniseries
North and South, parents in America gave it more frequently to girls than boys from 1986 to 1997
[1]. Since then it has been overwhelmingly masculine once again, perhaps due in part to the fame of the actor Ashton Kutcher (1978-).
Aster
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-tər
From the name of the flower, which is derived via Latin from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star".
Astro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Atalanta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀταλάντη(Ancient Greek)
From the Greek
Ἀταλάντη (Atalante) meaning
"equal in weight", derived from
ἀτάλαντος (atalantos), a word related to
τάλαντον (talanton) meaning "a scale, a balance". In Greek legend she was a fast-footed maiden who refused to marry anyone who could not beat her in a race. She was eventually defeated by Hippomenes, who dropped three golden apples during the race causing her to stop to pick them up.
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Baylee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BAY-lee
Beau
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: BO
Means
"beautiful, handsome" in French. It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. In Margaret Mitchell's novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) this is the name of Ashley and Melanie's son.
Although this is a grammatically masculine adjective in French, it is given to girls as well as boys in Britain and the Netherlands. In America it is more exclusively masculine. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Ben 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BEHN
Short form of
Benjamin or
Benedict. A notable bearer was Ben Jonson (1572-1637), an English poet and playwright.
Bennett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-it
Medieval form of
Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname
Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.
Breanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: bree-AN-ə, bree-AHN-ə
Brendon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-dən
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname
Braonán, itself from Irish
braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a
diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to
Brendan or
Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.
Brennen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Brescia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Bridger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIJ-ər
From an English surname that originally indicated a person who lived near or worked on a bridge.
Brielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-EHL
Short form of
Gabrielle. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
Bryan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE-ən
Variant of
Brian, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name.
Buffy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUF-ee
Diminutive of
Elizabeth, from a child's pronunciation of the final syllable. It is now associated with the main character from the television series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003).
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Most likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of"
[2] and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart"
[3]. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by
Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and
Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.
As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.
Carol 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAR-əl
Short form of
Caroline. It was formerly a masculine name, derived from
Carolus. The name can also be given in reference to the English vocabulary word, which means "song" or "hymn".
Carson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-sən
From a Scottish surname of uncertain meaning. A famous bearer of the surname was the American scout Kit Carson (1809-1868).
Catrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Chanler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Chanler.
Cheryl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHR-əl
Elaboration of
Cherie, perhaps influenced by
Beryl. This name was very rare before the 20th century. It seems to have been popularized in America by the actress Cheryl Walker (1918-1971), who had a prominent role in the 1943 movie
Stage Door Canteen. After peaking in the 1950s the name has subsequently faded from the popularity charts.
Chris
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Danish
Pronounced: KRIS(English, Dutch, German)
Claude
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLOD(French) KLAWD(English)
French masculine and feminine form of
Claudius. In France the masculine name has been common since the Middle Ages due to the 7th-century
Saint Claude of Besançon. It was imported to Britain in the 16th century by the aristocratic Hamilton family, who had French connections. A famous bearer of this name was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Coco
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: KO-ko(English)
Diminutive of names beginning with
Co, influenced by the word
cocoa. However, this was not the case for French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971; real name Gabrielle), whose nickname came from the name of a song she performed while working as a cabaret singer.
Connie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHN-ee
Connor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Variant of
Conor, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name. This is currently the most common way of spelling it in the English-speaking world, apart from Ireland.
Conrad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: KAHN-rad(English) KAWN-rat(German)
Means
"brave counsel", derived from the Old German elements
kuoni "brave" and
rat "counsel, advice". This was the name of a 10th-century
saint and bishop of Konstanz, in southern Germany. It was also borne by several medieval German kings and dukes, notably Conrad II, the first of the Holy Roman Emperors from the Salic dynasty. In England it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has only been common since the 19th century when it was reintroduced from Germany.
Corin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Cosmo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: KAWZ-mo(Italian) KAHZ-mo(English)
Italian variant of
Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom
Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.
Danielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: DA-NYEHL(French) dan-YEHL(English)
French feminine form of
Daniel. It has been commonly used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
From the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawiḏ), which was derived from
דּוֹד (doḏ) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the
Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the
New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.
Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).
Dezmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: Dehs-mawnd
Variant spelling of Desmond.
Didina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Dimitrius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δημήτριος(Greek)
Douglas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUG-ləs
From a Scottish surname that was from the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water. It means "dark river", derived from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period. The Gaelic form is Dùghlas or Dùbhghlas. It has been used as a given name since the 16th century.
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί, Ἡλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Means
"ascension" in Hebrew, a derivative of
עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend". In the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young
Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.
Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
Elira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Popularly derived from Albanian
i lirë /
e lirë "to be free", this is more likely a variant of
Ilira. This name goes back to the tribal name of the Illyrians, who are believed to be the forefathers of modern-day Albanians.
Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
irmin meaning
"whole" or
"great" (Proto-Germanic *
ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian
saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).
In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).
Emmy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Dutch, German
Pronounced: EHM-ee(English) EH-mee(Dutch)
Enna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Various
Pronounced: EN-ə(Literature)
Probably a variant of
Ena or
Énna.
There is a female character named Enna in the Elsie Dinsmore book series by Martha Finley.
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
From the Hebrew name
אֵיתָן (ʾEṯan) meaning
"solid, enduring, firm". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.
After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Everard.
Fernand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: FEHR-NAHN
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Fiorentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Gabe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYB
Genoa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEN-o-ah
From the name of the Italian city of Genoa. "Genoa" comes from "Genua" the name of an ancient city of the Ligurians. Its name is probably Ligurian, meaning "knee" (from Ancient Greek gony "knee"), i.e. "angle", from its geographical position, thus akin to the name of Geneva. Or it could derive from the Celtic root genu-, genawa (pl. genowe), meaning "mouth", i.e., estuary, or from the Latin word of Celtic origin "ianua", meaning "door".
A genoa is also a type of sail, also known as the Genoa jib (named after the city of Genoa).
Georgia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Γεωργία(Greek)
Pronounced: JAWR-jə(English) yeh-or-YEE-a(Greek)
Latinate feminine form of
George. This is the name of an American state, which was named after the British king George II. The country of Georgia has an unrelated etymology. A famous bearer was the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986).
Gigi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZHEE
Guy 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: GIE(English) GEE(French)
Old French form of
Wido. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it was common until the time of Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), a revolutionary who attempted to blow up the British parliament. The name was revived in the 19th century, due in part to characters in the novels
Guy Mannering (1815) by Walter Scott and
The Heir of Redclyffe (1854) by C. M. Yonge.
Hailey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HAY-lee
Variant of
Hayley. This is currently the most common spelling in the United States, surpassing
Haley in 2001 and attaining a high rank of 19th in 2010.
Hakka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese (Rare)
Other Scripts: 薄荷(Japanese Kanji) はっか(Japanese Hiragana) ハッカ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: HAK-KA
From Japanese 薄荷 (hakka) meaning "mint, peppermint". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name as well.
Harris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-is, HEHR-is
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Harry.
Hex
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: HEKS
Hialeah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous American
Pronounced: haee-LEE
Derived from the Muskogee
haiyakpo meaning "prairie" and
hili meaning "pretty". Alternatively, the name is of Seminole origin meaning "upland prairie". It also is the name of the 6th largest city in Florida.
Possibly a spelling alternative to Hailey or Haley.
Howie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HOW-ee
Hudson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUD-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
Ibis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: EE-bees
From Latin
ibis, referring to a type of long-legged bird with long downcurved bill, ultimately coming from Egyptian
hbj. It was the symbol of
Thoth, thus having a great importance in Egyptian mythology.
Idalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1], Greek Mythology, Polish (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ἰδαλία(Ancient Greek)
Probably from a Germanic name derived from the element
idal, an extended form of
id possibly meaning
"work, labour" [1]. Unrelated, this was also an epithet of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite, given because the city of Idalion on Cyprus was a center of her cult.
This name was borne by the heroine of the Polish writer Juliusz Słowacki's play Fantazy (1841, published 1866).
Ike
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IEK
Diminutive of
Isaac. This was the nickname of the American president Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), based on the initial sound of his surname.
Irene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εἰρήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-REEN(English) ie-REE-nee(English) ee-REH-neh(Italian, Spanish) EE-reh-neh(Finnish) ee-REH-nə(German, Dutch)
From Greek
Εἰρήνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning
"peace". This was the name of the Greek goddess who personified peace, one of the
Ὥραι (Horai). It was also borne by several early Christian
saints. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an 8th-century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone.
This name has traditionally been more popular among Eastern Christians. In the English-speaking world it was not regularly used until the 19th century.
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִץְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
From the Hebrew name
יִץְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning
"he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from
צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The
Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that
Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife
Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see
Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see
Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of
Esau and
Jacob with his wife
Rebecca.
As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).
Izzie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romani (Archaic)
Diminutive of
Isabel and its variants. As a Romani name, it was also used as a diminutive of
Esmeralda.
Jade
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAYD(English) ZHAD(French)
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.
Jaryn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Jayden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-dən
Variant of
Jaden. This spelling continued to rapidly rise in popularity in the United States past 2003, unlike
Jaden, which stalled. It peaked at the fourth rank for boys in 2010, showing tremendous growth over only two decades. It has since declined.
Jean 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: JEEN
Medieval English variant of
Jehanne (see
Jane). It was common in England and Scotland during the Middle Ages, but eventually became rare in England. It was reintroduced to the English-speaking world from Scotland in the 19th century.
Jeffery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHF-ree
Jesse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Finnish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)
From
Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
יִשַׁי (Yishai). This could be a derivative of the word
שַׁי (shai) meaning
"gift" or
יֵשׁ (yesh) meaning
"existence". In the
Old Testament Jesse is the father of King
David. It began to be used as an English given name after the
Protestant Reformation.
A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.
Joey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-ee
John
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Biblical
Pronounced: JAHN(American English) JAWN(British English, Dutch) YAWN(Swedish, Norwegian)
English form of
Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name
Ἰωάννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name
יוֹחָנָן (Yoḥanan). It means
"Yahweh is gracious", from the roots
יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and
חָנַן (ḥanan) meaning "to be gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the
Old Testament (spelled
Johanan or
Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two
New Testament characters, both highly revered
saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of
Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by
Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles
Peter and
James (John's brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.
This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians in the Byzantine Empire, but it flourished in Western Europe after the First Crusade. In England it became extremely popular, typically being the most common male name from the 13th to the 20th century (but sometimes outpaced by William). During the later Middle Ages it was given to approximately a fifth of all English boys. In the United States it was the most common name for boys until 1923.
The name (in various spellings) has been borne by 21 popes and eight Byzantine emperors, as well as rulers of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary. It was also borne by the poet John Milton (1608-1674), philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), American founding father and president John Adams (1735-1826), and poet John Keats (1795-1821). Famous bearers of the 20th century include author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and musician John Lennon (1940-1980).
The forms Ian (Scottish), Sean (Irish) and Evan (Welsh) have also been frequently used in the English-speaking world, as has the medieval diminutive Jack.
Jonas 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, French, Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἰωνᾶς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: YOO-nas(Swedish) YO-nas(German) YO-nahs(Dutch) JO-nəs(English)
From
Ἰωνᾶς (Ionas), the Greek form of
Jonah. This spelling is used in some English translations of the
New Testament.
Jonty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: JAWN-tee
Jorah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Literature
Other Scripts: יוֹרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
From the Hebrew name
יוֹרָה (Yora), derived from the root
יָרָה (yara) meaning variously
"to teach, to throw, to rain". This name is mentioned briefly in the Book of Ezra in the
Old Testament. It was used by George R. R. Martin for a character in his fantasy series
A Song of Ice and Fire (first published 1996) and the television adaptation
Game of Thrones (2011-2019). It is not known if Martin took the name from the Bible.
Joseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Ancient Hebrew) ജോസഫ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JO-səf(English) ZHO-ZEHF(French) YO-zehf(German)
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).
Joshua
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHSH-oo-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshuaʿ) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save". As told in the
Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of
Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was
Hoshea.
The name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshuaʿ), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.
Kaleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb
English variant of
Caleb.
Katelynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYT-lin
Kennedy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: KEHN-ə-dee(English)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cinnéidigh, itself derived from the given name
Cennétig. The name has sometimes been given in honour of assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). It was popularized as a name for girls by Lisa Kennedy Montgomery (1972-), known simply as Kennedy, the host of the television program
Alternative Nation on MTV from 1992 to 1997.
Kenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-tən
From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning either "town on the River Kenn" or "royal town" in Old English.
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Klara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian
Other Scripts: Клара(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Polish) KLA-rə(Russian)
Form of
Clara in various languages.
Koda
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-də
At least in part inspired by the name of a character from the animated movie Brother Bear (2003). The moviemakers apparently took it from Lakota or Dakota koda meaning "friend, companion".
Kotoka
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 琴奏, 琴楓, 言郁, 言華, 言香, 古都華, 琴郁, 恩香, 寿冬花, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KO-TO-KAH
From Japanese 琴 (koto), which refers to a type of musical instrument similar to a harp (mostly feminine) or 言 (koto) meaning "to say" (mostly masculine), combined with 奏 (ka) meaning "to play (music)" or 郁 (ka) meaning "fragrance, perfume". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Kunai
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Pronounced: KOO-NIE
A tool and weapon used by Ninja and Samurai in Japanese history.
Kyle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIEL
From a Scottish surname that was derived from various place names, themselves from Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait". As a given name it was rare in the first half of the 20th century. It rose steadily in popularity throughout the English-speaking world, entering the top 50 in most places by the 1990s. It has since declined in all regions.
Kylee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIE-lee
Kyo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 協, 京, 郷, 杏, etc.(Japanese Kanji) きょう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KYO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
協 or
京 or
郷 or
杏 (see
Kyō).
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Laurus, which meant
"laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr
Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.
Lindsay
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-zee
From an English and Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of the eastern English region of Lindsey, which means "
Lincoln island" in Old English. As a given name it was typically masculine until the 1960s (in Britain) and 70s (in America) when it became popular for girls, probably due to its similarity to
Linda and because of American actress Lindsay Wagner (1949-)
[1].
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
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.
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
English form of Latin
Lucas, from the Greek name
Λουκᾶς (Loukas), probably a shortened form of
Λουκανός (Loukanos) meaning
"from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy. Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the
New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a
saint by many Christian denominations.
Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.
Maddox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAD-əks
From a Welsh surname meaning
"son of Madoc". It was brought to public attention when the actress Angelina Jolie gave this name to her adopted son in 2002.
Maria
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μαρία(Greek) Մարիա(Armenian) Мария(Russian, Bulgarian) Марія(Ukrainian) Маріа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: ma-REE-a(Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Romanian, Basque) mu-REE-u(European Portuguese) ma-REE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) mə-REE-ə(Catalan, English) mah-REE-ah(Norwegian, Danish) MAR-ya(Polish) MAH-ree-ah(Finnish) mu-RYEE-yə(Russian) mu-RYEE-yu(Ukrainian)
Latin form of Greek
Μαρία, from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (see
Mary).
Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is
Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy,
Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.
This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.
Maryland
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-il-ənd(English)
From the place name
Maryland, literally "
Mary's land". A known bearer of this name was Maryland Mathison Hooper McCormick (1897-1985), an American socialite and the second wife of newspaper editor and publisher Robert McCormick.
Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
English form of
Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which is the
New Testament Greek form of
Mattithiah. Matthew, probably also called
Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the New Testament. He is considered a
saint in many Christian traditions. The variant
Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle.
As an English given name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. It became popular throughout the English-speaking world around the middle of the 20th century, ranked near the top of the popularity lists for boys in the 1980s and 90s. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led an expedition to Japan. Famous modern bearers include the actors Matthew Broderick (1962-), Matthew McConaughey (1969-) and Matthew Perry (1969-2023).
Maximus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: MAK-see-moos
Roman family name that was derived from Latin
maximus "greatest".
Saint Maximus was a monk and theologian from Constantinople in the 7th century.
Melbourne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romani (Archaic)
After the capital of the Australian state of Victoria. It is named for the British prime minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. His title comes from his estate, Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire, whose name means "mill stream". The was the middle name of former Australian prime minister Stanley Bruce.
Merritt
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-it
From an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant "boundary gate" in Old English.
Mika 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美香, 美加, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みか(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-KA
From Japanese
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" or
加 (ka) meaning "increase". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Milan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: Милан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MI-lan(Czech) MEE-lan(Slovak, Serbian, Croatian) MEE-lahn(Dutch)
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. It was originally used in Czech, Slovak, and the South Slavic languages, though it has recently become popular elsewhere in Europe.
A city in Italy bears this name, though in this case it originates from Latin Mediolanum, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin meaning "middle of the plain". In some cases the city name may be an influence on the use of the given name.
Millie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-ee
Milton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: MIL-tən(English) MEEL-ton(Spanish)
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "mill town" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was John Milton (1608-1674), the poet who wrote Paradise Lost.
Modena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Modena or taken from the name of the city of
Modena, Italy.
Myles 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Nev
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British, Rare), Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: NEV(British English, Irish)
Short form of
Neville (English),
Nevan and
Nevin (both Irish). Known bearers of this name include the American former sports broadcaster Nev Chandler (1946-1994) and the Australian former politician Nev Warburton (b. 1932).
Nichael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Nico
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: NEE-ko(Italian, Dutch, Spanish)
Nina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Нина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian) Ніна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: NYEE-nə(Russian) NEE-na(Italian, German, Slovak) NEE-nə(English) NEE-NA(French) NEE-nah(Finnish) nyi-NU(Lithuanian) NYEE-na(Polish) NI-na(Czech)
Short form of names that end in
nina, such as
Antonina or
Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).
A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
From the Hebrew name
נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning
"rest, repose", derived from the root
נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the
Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of
Shem,
Ham and
Japheth.
As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.
A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).
Octavio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ok-TA-byo
Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish) o-LEE-vee-ya(Dutch)
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time
[1] that may have been based on
Oliva or
Oliver, or directly on the Latin word
oliva meaning
"olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke
Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually
Viola in disguise.
Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.
A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).
Pär
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: PAR
Parker
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHR-kər
From an English occupational surname that meant "keeper of the park".
Patria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (Philippines)
Pronounced: PA-trya(Latin American Spanish)
Derived from Spanish patria, meaning "homeland".
Per
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Breton
Pronounced: PAR(Swedish, Norwegian) PEW(Danish)
Scandinavian and Breton form of
Peter.
Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Feminine form of
Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Petunia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: pə-TOON-yə
From the name of the flower, derived ultimately from a Tupi (South American) word.
Pia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Slovene, Late Roman
Pronounced: PEE-a(Italian, Danish, Swedish, German)
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Raoul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: RA-OOL
French form of
Radulf (see
Ralph).
Reece
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Reimu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 霊夢(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: Ray-moo
Reimu means "Spirit dream".
The main character of the Touhou Project, Reimu Hakurei, has this name.
Ren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 蓮, 恋, etc.(Japanese Kanji) れん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REHN
From Japanese
蓮 (ren) meaning "lotus",
恋 (ren) meaning "romantic love", or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Revan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: REH-vən
Revan is the name of a fictional character in the 'Star Wars' universe, known as both a Jedi and a Sith (as Darth Revan). Revan is the main character in the RPG 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic' (2003) and appears in numerous other 'Star Wars' media. In the game the player may chose Revan's gender and much of the dialog is gender neutral. However, canonically, Revan is male.
The origin of his name is unknown, but it is probably not his birth name. An out-of-universe explanation is that the name is derived from revanchism, ultimately from French revanche "revenge".
Robert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Catalan, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Роберт(Russian)
Pronounced: RAHB-ərt(American English) RAWB-ət(British English) RAW-BEHR(French) RO-beht(Swedish) RO-behrt(German, Finnish, Czech) RO-bərt(Dutch) RAW-bərt(Dutch) RAW-behrt(Polish) RO-byirt(Russian) roo-BEHRT(Catalan)
From the Germanic name
Hrodebert meaning
"bright fame", derived from the elements
hruod "fame" and
beraht "bright". The
Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English
cognate Hreodbeorht. It has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century. In the United States it was the most popular name for boys between 1924 and 1939 (and again in 1953).
This name has been borne by two kings of the Franks, two dukes of Normandy, and three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce who restored the independence of Scotland from England in the 14th century. Several saints have also had the name, the earliest known as Saint Rupert, from an Old German variant. The author Robert Browning (1812-1889) and poets Robert Burns (1759-1796) and Robert Frost (1874-1963) are famous literary namesakes. Other bearers include Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), the commander of the Confederate army during the American Civil War, and American actors Robert Redford (1936-), Robert De Niro (1943-) and Robert Downey Jr. (1965-).
Rodger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHJ-ər(American English) RAWJ-ə(British English)
Roma 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From the name of the Italian city, commonly called Rome in English.
Rushia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 流志亜, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
From Japanese 流 (ru) meaning "to flow", 志 (shi) meaning "purpose, will, determination, aspiration, ambition" combined with 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Usage of this name is, most likely, influenced by the name Lucia.
Russell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RUS-əl
From an English surname, of Norman origin, meaning
"little red one" (a
diminutive of Old French
rous "red"). A notable bearer of the surname was the agnostic British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), who wrote on many subjects including logic, epistemology and mathematics. He was also a political activist for causes such as pacifism and women's rights.
This name was common throughout the English-speaking world for most of the 20th century, though in the 1960s it began a slow decline in most places.
Rylee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIE-lee
Ryōma
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 涼真, 諒真, 亮真, 良真, 稜真, 遼馬, 凌磨, 凌雅, 龍馬, 竜馬, etc.(Japanese Kanji) りょうま(Japanese Hiragana) リョウマ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: RYO-MA
From
Ryō (also 龍/竜 meaning "dragon") combined with a
ma kanji, such as 真 meaning "truth," 馬 meaning "horse," 磨 meaning "polish, shine" 雅 meaning "elegance, grace."
One bearer of this name was Ryōma Sakamoto (坂本 龍馬) (1836-1867), a prominent Bakumatsu period (around 1853-1867) figure in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.
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.
Sammie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAM-ee
Savanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Sean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAWN(English)
Anglicized form of
Seán. This name name, along with variants
Shawn and
Shaun, began to be be used in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland around the middle of the 20th century.
Selen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: seh-LEHN
Means "good news" in Turkish.
Shelly
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHL-ee
Sheryl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHR-əl
Shinri
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 心利, 新理, 深李, 真履, 真理, 芯倫, 眞理, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SHEEN-ṘEE
From Japanese 心 (shin) meaning "heart, mind, soul" combined with 利 (ri) meaning "profit, benefit". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Shoto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Variant transcription of
Shouto.
Shu
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 種(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SHOO
Means "seed", "seedling", "sprout", in Japanese. It is mostly used as a boy name but rarely used as a girl name.
Soluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Sonny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-ee
From a nickname that is commonly used to denote a young boy, derived from the English word son.
Spencer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SPEHN-sər
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).
Staria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Possibly an elaborated form of
Star.
Stirling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: STUR-ling
From a surname that was a variant
Sterling. This is the name of a city in Scotland.
Subaru
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 昴(Japanese Kanji) すばる(Japanese Hiragana) スバル(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: SOO-BA-ROO
This name is used as 昴 (kou, bou, subaru), referring to the Chinese "Hairy Head" constellation or the Pleiades.
The noun is an extension of the verb 統ばる (subaru) meaning "to bunch together, to unite," from the way the stars in the Pleiades cluster together.
Taylor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAY-lər
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who was a tailor, from Norman French
tailleur, ultimately from Latin
taliare "to cut".
Its modern use as a feminine name may have been influenced by the British-American author Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985). Since 1990 it has been more popular for girls in the United States. Other England-speaking regions have followed suit, with the exception of England and Wales where it is still slightly more popular for boys. Its popularity peaked in America the mid-1990s for both genders, ranked sixth for girls and 51st for boys. A famous bearer is the American musician Taylor Swift (1989-).
Teagan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TEE-gən
Variant of
Tegan. It also coincides with a rare Irish surname
Teagan. This name rose on the American popularity charts in the 1990s, probably because of its similarity to names like
Megan and
Reagan.
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAS(Greek)
Greek form of the Aramaic name
תְּאוֹמָא (Teʾoma) meaning
"twin". In the
New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that
Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.
In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.
Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).
Tisha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, African American
Pronounced: TISH-ə(English)
Torin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.
Treyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
Meaning son of the third
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Twila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word
twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French
étoile "star"
[1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.
Tyrnan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEE-r-nin
Uki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 受け(Kanji/Hiragana) うき(Japanese Hiragana) 浮氣(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: U-KEE
The meaning of the name is "Floating" Other names include
Uke or in Japan 受け
Vance
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VANS
From an English surname that was derived from Old English fenn meaning "marsh, fen".
Vee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: VEE(American English)
Short form of names beginning with V.
Venezia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ve-NE-tsyah
Variant of
Venetia. It also coincides with the Italian name of the city Venice.
Ver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bosnian, Catalan, Croatian
Bosnian, Catalan and Croatian form of
Verus.
Verona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From the name of the city in Italy, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Vesper
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: WEHS-pehr(Latin) VEHS-pər(English, Dutch)
Latin
cognate of
Hesperos. This name was used by the British author Ian Fleming for a female character, a love interest of James Bond, in his novel
Casino Royale (1953). She also appears in the film adaptations of 1967 and 2006.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Means
"victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from North Africa.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
Vox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (South, Rare, Archaic)
Transferred use of the surname
Vox.
Warren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAWR-ən
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
Wayne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAYN
From an occupational surname meaning "wagon maker", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". Use of it as a given name can be partly attributed to the popularity of the actor John Wayne (1907-1979). Another famous bearer is Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky (1961-), generally considered the greatest player in the history of the sport.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
From the Germanic name
Willehelm meaning
"will helmet", composed of the elements
willo "will, desire" and
helm "helmet, protection". An early
saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of
Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the
Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with
John,
Thomas and
Robert).
This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).
In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.
Wilson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese
Pronounced: WIL-sən(English) WEEL-son(Spanish)
From an English surname meaning
"son of William". The surname was borne by Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the American president during World War I.
Wyatt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIE-ət
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Wyard or
Wyot, from the Old English name
Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.
Xander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAHN-dər(Dutch) KSAHN-dər(Dutch) ZAN-dər(English)
Short form of
Alexander. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by a character on the television series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003).
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(English) ig-ZAY-vyər(English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)
Derived from the Basque place name
Etxeberria meaning
"the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest
Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Zach
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAK
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