mushroom13's Personal Name List

Form of Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.

French and English form of Adelina.

Italian form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1).

French feminine diminutive of Alfonso.

Variant of Alfonso.

French form of Ambrosius (see Ambrose).

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.

French form of Angelica.

Italian form of Angelus (see Angel).

Anglicized form of Aonghus.

Russian form of Onesimus.

Feminine form of Antona.

French form of Anysia.

Feminine form of Arcangelo.

French cognate of Arcangelo.

From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".

Meaning unknown, possibly invented by Michael William Balfe for the main character in his opera The Bohemian Girl (1843).

French and Catalan form of Herman.

Variant of Harutyun.

Form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1) in several languages.

Means "powerful, respected, beloved" in Arabic, derived from the root عزّ ('azza) meaning "to be powerful" or "to be cherished". In Islamic tradition العزيز (al-'Aziz) is one of the 99 names of Allah. A notable bearer of the name was Al-'Aziz, a 10th-century Fatimid caliph.

Means "baptist" in French, originally deriving from Greek βάπτω (bapto) meaning "to dip". This name is usually given in honour of Saint John the Baptist, and as such it is often paired with the name Jean.

French form of Barbara. In modern times it is usually only used in reference to the saint, while Barbara is more common as a given name.

French form of Barnabas.

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.

Diminutive of Elizabeth.

From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.

From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning "Bryni's town". Bryni was an Old English name meaning "fire".

French and German form of Bridget. A famous bearer is the French model and actress Brigitte Bardot (1934-).

Latinization of Celeste. In some cases it might also be considered a contracted form of Celestina.

French feminine form of Caelestinus.

Variant of Céline.

From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who came from Chester, an old Roman settlement in Britain. The name of the settlement came from Latin castrum "camp, fortress".

Italian and Spanish form of Cyriacus.

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

Transferred use of the surname Davila.

Variant of Dolores.

Means "of the snows" in French, taken from the title of the Virgin Mary Notre Dame des Neiges meaning "Our Lady of the Snows" (see Nieves).

French feminine and masculine form of Dominicus (see Dominic).

Possibly a Hispanic variant of Doralice or simply an elaboration of Dora using the popular name suffix lis (which in turn is derived from Lisbeth or a related name).

Means "rich protection", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.

Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Variant of Edwige.

Variant of Elvira. It was most notably borne by American dancer Elvera Sanchez (1905-2000), the mother of actor Sammy Davis Jr.

French form of Emmeline.

French feminine form of Emerentius.

Norman French form of Emmerich. The Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, now typically feminine, it is likely inspired by the surname Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.

Hungarian, Albanian, Croatian and Estonian form of Erwin.

French form of Stephen.

Short form of Henrietta and other names that end with etta. A famous bearer was the American singer Etta James (1938-2012), who took her stage name from her real given name Jamesetta.

German and English form of Eugénie, the French form of Eugenia.

French and German form of Euphrosyne.

French form of Expeditus.

French form of Fabianus (see Fabian).

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of the Roman cognomen Faustinus, which was itself derived from the Roman name Faustus. Faustinus was the name of several early saints.

French form of Felicitas.

Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian form of Philomena.

French form of Flavian.

From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.

This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.

French form of Floria.

Short form of names ending in freda or fred, such as Winifred or Alfreda.

From a surname that was derived from Middle English gaile "jovial". It also coincides with the English word gale meaning "storm".

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Gerald or Gerard. A famous bearer of the surname was Pat Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid.

From the medieval name Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.

French feminine form of Germain. Saint Germaine was a 16th-century peasant girl from France.

French form of Gervasius.

Feminine form of Giuseppe.

Western Armenian transcription of Hakob.

Creole form of Hilaire.

From Phoenician 𐤇𐤓𐤌 (Ḥirom) meaning "exalted brother". This was the name of a king of Tyre in the Old Testament. He may have reigned in the 10th century BC. As an English given name, Hiram came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the Puritans brought it to America, where it gained some currency.

French form of Homer.

From the Old German elements hun "bear cub" and fridu "peace". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Hunfrith, and it was regularly used through the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the American actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), who starred in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.

Variant of Jeannine. It has only been in use since the 20th century.

Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John).

Diminutive of Joséphine.

From an English surname that meant "son of Jud", Jud being a medieval diminutive of Jordan.

French form of Iustina (see Justina). This is the name of the heroine in the novel Justine (1791) by the Marquis de Sade.

Western Armenian transcription of Garegin.

Western Armenian transcription of Grigor.

Latinized form of the Greek name Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.

Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is Лев in Russian.

German and Dutch feminine form of Leonius.

French diminutive of Léon. It appears in Arthurian legend in the 13th-century Lancelot-Grail Cycle, belonging to a knight who was the brother of Sir Bors. A notable modern bearer is the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi (1987-).

Feminine form of Lucien.

Italian feminine form of Louis.

Created by the Scottish poet James MacPherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossian poems. He probably intended it to mean "smooth brow", from Scottish Gaelic mala "brow" and mìn "smooth, fine" (lenited to mhìn and pronounced with a v sound).

Form of Marcellus used in several languages. Notable bearers include the French author Marcel Proust (1871-1922) and the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968).

French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).

Medieval English and French form of Matilda. Though it became rare after the 14th century, it was revived and once more grew popular in the 19th century, perhaps due to Alfred Tennyson's 1855 poem Maud [1].

Diminutive of Wilhelmina. This name was used by Walt Disney for the cartoon character Minnie Mouse, introduced 1928.

Armenian form of Meshach.

French masculine and feminine form of Modestus.

Judeo-Italian variant of Moisè, itself a variant of Mosè, and Romanian form of Moses.

French form of Monica.

Variant of Murdoc.

Anglicized form of Irish Muirgel and Scottish Muireall. A form of this name was also used in Brittany, and it was first introduced to medieval England by Breton settlers in the wake of the Norman Conquest. In the modern era it was popularized by a character from Dinah Craik's novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856).

Simply from the English word myrtle for the evergreen shrub, ultimately from Greek μύρτος (myrtos). It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

From the old Italian name Napoleone, used most notably by the French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who was born on Corsica. The etymology is uncertain, but it is possibly derived from Old German Nibelungen meaning "sons of mist", a name used in Germanic legend to refer to the keepers of a hoard of treasure, often identified with the Burgundians. Alternatively, it could be connected to the name of the Italian city of Napoli (Naples).

Means "Christmas" in French. In the Middle Ages it was used for children born on the holiday. A famous bearer was the English playwright and composer Noël Coward (1899-1973).

Armenian form of Iohannes (see John).

Italian form of Pantaleon.

Italian form of Pascal.

From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.

French form of Pelagia.

Italian form of Peregrinus (see Peregrine).

French form of Petronilla.

French form of Philemon.

Possible variant of Phileas

French form of Philomena.

From the English word prince, a royal title, which comes ultimately from Latin princeps. This name was borne by the American musician Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016), who is known simply as Prince.

French form of Prisca and Priscus.

Diminutive of Queen.

Italian form of Raphael.

Means "queen" in French, ultimately from Latin regina.

Germanic name possibly derived from hruoh meaning "crow, rook". This was the name of a 14th-century French saint who nursed victims of the plague but eventually contracted the disease himself. He is the patron saint of the sick.

Diminutive of Ronan.

Italian diminutive of Rosa 1. This is the name of a character in Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville (1816).

English form of Rudolf, imported from Germany in the 19th century. Robert L. May used it in 1939 for his Christmas character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Variant of Sahak.

Italian cognate of Salvador.

French feminine form of Sebastianus (see Sebastian).

Italian form of Seraphinus (see Seraphina).

While apparently originally a unisex name, Théotiste seems to have been used predominantly on females since at least the early 1800s.
It is said to be a variant (or, now strictly feminine form) of Théoctiste.
According to some scholars, in France itself this name used to be given to foundlings, no doubt due to its meaning.

Armenian form of Theodore.

French form of Ursula.

Means "rose lady", from Armenian վարդ (vard) meaning "rose" and the feminine suffix ուհի (uhi).

From a Norman surname, which was from a French place name, ultimately derived from the Gaulish word vern meaning "alder".

French form of Veronica.

French feminine form of Vincent.

Means "violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke Orsino, she attempts to convince Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.

Feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.

This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).

From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "willow ford" in Old English.

Means "desiring peace" from Old English willa "will, desire" and friþ "peace". Saint Wilfrid was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop. The name was rarely used after the Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 19th century.

From an English surname that was derived from the Old German given name Willihard (or the Old English cognate Wilheard).

Armenian form of Euphrosyne.

Alternate transcription of Arabic يوسف (see Yusuf).

Variant of Yvonne.

Basque form and English variant of Celia as well as a Portuguese variant of Zélia. It may also be the Latinate form of Zélie.