Ambitious_Aranel's Personal Name List
Abdiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: עֲבְדִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἀβδιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Means
"servant of God" in Hebrew, from
עֶבֶד (ʿeveḏ) meaning "servant, slave" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the
Old Testament, this is the name of a member of the tribe of Gad. In John Milton's
Paradise Lost (1667), this is the name of a seraph who withstands Satan when he urges the angels to revolt.
Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
From the Hebrew name
הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning
"breath". In the
Old Testament he is the second son of
Adam and
Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother
Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the
Puritan era.
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).
Adriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עַדְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Aiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən
Alec
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ik
Alijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-LIE-zhə
Alonzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Variant of
Alonso in use in America.
Amias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Amos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עָמוֹס(Hebrew) Ἀμώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-məs(English)
From Hebrew
עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning
"load, burden" [3]. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name,
Amos has been used since the
Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the
Puritans.
Anakin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: AN-ə-kin(English)
Meaning unknown. This is the name of a character (also known as Darth Vader) in the Star Wars movie saga, created by George Lucas. Lucas may have based it on the surname of his friend and fellow director Ken Annakin.
Anas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أنس(Arabic)
Pronounced: A-nas
Means
"friendliness" in Arabic. Anas ibn Malik was one of the Prophet
Muhammad's companions.
Angel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Ангел(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AYN-jəl(English)
From the medieval Latin masculine name
Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger"). It has never been very common in the English-speaking world, where it is sometimes used as a feminine name in modern times.
Angus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ANG-gəs(English)
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(English)
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Archibald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: AHR-chi-bawld
Derived from the Germanic name
Ercanbald, composed of the elements
erkan meaning "pure, holy, genuine" and
bald meaning "bold, brave". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element
ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". The
Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages (sometimes used to Anglicize the Gaelic name
Gilleasbuig, for unknown reasons).
Armando
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: ar-MAN-do(Spanish, Italian) ur-MUN-doo(European Portuguese) ar-MUN-doo(Portuguese)
Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of
Herman.
Armani
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ahr-MAHN-ee
From an Italian surname meaning
"son of Ermanno". It has been used as a given name due to the fashion company Armani, which was founded by the clothing designer Giorgio Armani (1934-).
Arnie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-nee
Arnold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AHR-nəld(English) AR-nawlt(German, Polish) AHR-nawlt(Dutch)
From a Germanic name meaning
"eagle power", derived from the elements
arn "eagle" and
walt "power, authority". The
Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Earnweald. It died out as an English name after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Saints bearing the name include an 8th-century musician in the court of Charlemagne and an 11th-century French bishop who is the patron saint of brewers. It was also borne by Arnold of Brescia, a 12th-century Augustinian monk who rebelled against the Church and was eventually hanged. Famous modern bearers include American golfer Arnold Palmer (1929-2016) and Austrian-American actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).
Aryan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: आर्यन(Hindi)
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Possibly means
"healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the
Old Testament.
Ash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
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-).
Aston
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-tən
From a surname that was originally derived from either a place name meaning "east town" in Old English or from the given name
Æðelstan.
Atlas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
Possibly means
"enduring" from Greek
τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek
mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
Atreus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀτρεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TREWS(Classical Greek)
Means
"fearless", derived from the Greek negative prefix
ἀ (a) and
τρέω (treo) meaning "to fear, to flee". In Greek
mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae and the father of
Agamemnon and
Menelaus.
Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning
"from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Axl
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AK-səl
Variant of
Axel, used famously by musician Axl Rose (1962-).
Ayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən
Azariah
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: עֲזַרְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: az-ə-RIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
עֲזַרְיָה (ʿAzarya) meaning
"Yahweh has helped", derived from
עָזַר (ʿazar) meaning "help" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of many
Old Testament characters including of one of the three men the Babylonian king ordered cast into a fiery furnace. His Babylonian name was
Abednego.
Aziel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עֲזִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Possibly means
"God comforts" in Hebrew, from the roots
עוּז (ʿuz) meaning "to take refuge" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Otherwise it might a variant of
Uzziel. This is the name of a musician (also called Jaaziel) in the
Old Testament.
Azrael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Variant of
Azarel. This is the name of an angel in Jewish and Islamic tradition who separates the soul from the body upon death. He is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Death.
Azriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: עֲזְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AZ-ree-əl(English)
Means
"my help is God" in Hebrew, derived from
עֶזְרָה (ʿezra) meaning "help" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is the name of three minor characters in the
Old Testament.
Baker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BAY-kər
From an English occupational surname derived from Old English bakere meaning "baker".
Banks
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BANGKS
From an English surname that that was given to a person who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.
Barney
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAHR-nee(American English) BAH-nee(British English)
Barrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAR-it, BEHR-it
From a surname probably meaning "quarrelsome, deceptive" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Baylor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BAY-lər
From a surname, possibly an Americanized form of the German surname Beiler, derived from Middle High German beile meaning "measuring stick".
Bear
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHR
From the English word for the animal, derived from Old English bera, probably derived from a root meaning "brown".
Beauden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (New Zealand, Modern)
Pronounced: BO-dən
Elaboration of French
beau "beautiful" using the popular phonetic suffix
den, found in such names as
Hayden and
Aidan. This name has become popular in New Zealand due to rugby player Beauden Barrett (1991-).
Beckett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHK-it
From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".
Beckham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHK-əm
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "Becca's homestead". The Old English byname Becca meant "pickaxe". A famous bearer of the surname is retired English soccer player David Beckham (1975-).
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.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
From the Late Latin name
Benedictus, which meant
"blessed".
Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
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.
Benson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-sən
From an English surname that originally meant
"son of Benedict".
Bentley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BENT-lee
From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.
Bodhi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BO-dee
From a term referring to enlightenment in Buddhism, derived from Sanskrit
बोधि (bodhi).
Bodie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BO-dee
Boone
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BOON
From an English surname that was either derived from Old French bon meaning "good" or from the name of the town of Bohon, France.
Bowen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BO-ən
From a Welsh surname, derived from
ap Owain meaning
"son of Owain".
Brantley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRANT-lee
From a surname, an Americanized form of the German surname Brändle, ultimately from Old High German brant "fire".
Braxton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAK-stən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English. In some cases it is given in honour of the Confederate general Braxton Bragg (1817-1876).
Brayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-dən
Variant of
Braden. This is currently the more popular spelling of the name.
Braylen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-lən
Braylon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-lən
An invented name, using the same sounds found in names such as
Braden and
Jalen.
Briggs
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
From a surname that was derived from Middle English brigge, Old English brycg meaning "bridge".
Brooks
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWKS
From an English surname, a variant of
Brook.
Bruce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BROOS
From a Scottish surname, of Norman origin, which probably originally referred to the town of Brix in France. The surname was borne by Robert the Bruce, a Scottish hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland. It has been in use as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in the 1940s and 50s. Notable bearers include Chinese-American actor Bruce Lee (1940-1973), American musician Bruce Springsteen (1949-), and American actor Bruce Willis (1955-). It is also the real name of the comic book superheroes Batman (Bruce Wayne), created 1939, and the Hulk (Bruce Banner), created 1962.
Bryson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Brice". Starting in the 1970s this name began steadily growing in popularity, likely because it features the same popular sounds found in other names such as
Brice and
Tyson.
Buddy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUD-ee
From the English word meaning "friend". It probably originated as a nursery form of the word brother.
Caden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Sometimes explained as deriving from the Irish surname
Caden, which is an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Mac Cadáin, itself from the given name
Cadán (of unknown meaning). In actuality, the popularity of this name in America beginning in the 1990s is due to its sound — it shares its fashionable
den suffix sound with other trendy names like
Hayden,
Aidan and
Braden.
Caiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Cairo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ro
From the name of the city in Egypt, called
القاهرة (al-Qāhira) in Arabic, meaning "the victorious"
[1].
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.
Camden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-dən
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).
Camila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: ka-MEE-la(Spanish)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Camilla.
Cannon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAN-ən
From an English surname, which was derived from Middle English canon, referring to a church official or servant who worked in a clergy house. This name may also be used in reference to the vocabulary word for the large gun, derived from Italian cannone "large tube", from Latin canna "cane, reed".
Carson
Gender: Masculine
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).
Carter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-tər
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Cash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KASH
From an English occupational surname for a box maker, derived from Norman French casse meaning "case", from Latin capsa. It coincides with the English word cash meaning "money" (derived from the same French and Latin roots). A famous bearer of the surname was American musician Johnny Cash (1932-2003).
Caspar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Cayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Cian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KYEEN(Irish)
Means
"ancient, enduring" in Irish. In Irish
mythology this was the name of the father of
Lugh Lámfada. It was also borne by the mythical ancestor of the Ciannachta and by a son-in-law of
Brian Boru.
Cillian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Probably from Old Irish
cell meaning
"church" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 7th-century Irish
saint who evangelized in Franconia. He was martyred in Würzburg.
Clay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAY
From an English surname that originally referred to a person who lived near or worked with clay. This name can also be a short form of
Clayton.
Clayton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAY-tən
From a surname that was originally derived from various English place names, all meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.
Cohen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-ən
From a common Jewish surname that was derived from Hebrew
כֹּהֵן (kohen) meaning
"priest". This surname was traditionally associated with the hereditary priests who claimed descent from the biblical
Aaron.
Colby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL-bee
From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.
Collin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHL-in, KOL-in
Colt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOLT
From the English word for a young male horse or from the surname of the same origin. It may be given in honour of the American industrialist Samuel Colt (1814-1862) or the firearms company that bears his name. It was brought to public attention in 1981 by the main character on the television series
The Fall Guy [1].
Colter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL-tər
From an English surname that was originally given to a keeper of horses, derived from Middle English colt.
Colton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"Cola's town". It started being used as a given name in the 1980s. Likely in some cases it was viewed as an elaborated or full form of
Cole or
Colt.
Conor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Cooper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOO-pər
From a surname meaning "barrel maker", from Middle English couper.
Crew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Either from a surname that was derived from the English town of Crewe (from Old Welsh criu meaning "weir"), or from the English vocabulary word for a group of people.
Cyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κῦρος(Ancient Greek) 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: SIE-rəs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning
"young" or
"humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".
The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.
Dallas
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAL-əs
From a surname that could either be of Old English origin meaning "valley house" or of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "meadow dwelling". A city in Texas bears this name, probably in honour of American Vice President George M. Dallas (1792-1864).
Dalton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWL-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "valley town" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was John Dalton (1766-1844), the English chemist and physicist who theorized about the existence of atoms.
Damon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Δάμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAY-mən(English)
Derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.
Danny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: DAN-ee(English) DEH-nee(Dutch) DAH-nee(Dutch)
Dariel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern), Spanish (Caribbean, Modern)
Pronounced: da-RYEHL(Spanish)
Probably an elaborated form of
Darrell, with an ending similar to biblical names such as
Daniel.
Davis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-vis
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
David. A famous bearer of the surname was Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), the only president of the Confederate States of America.
Dax
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAKS
From an English surname, which was derived either from the town of Dax in France or from the Old English given name
Dæcca (of unknown meaning). The name was brought to public attention by the main character in the 1966 novel
The Adventurers and its 1970 movie adaptation. It became popular in the 2010s due to its similarity to other names like
Max and
Jax.
Daxton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAK-stən
Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Anglicized form of Irish
Deaglán, Old Irish
Declán, which is of unknown meaning.
Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.
In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).
Denver
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHN-vər
From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "Dane ford" in Old English. This is the name of the capital city of Colorado, which was named for the politician James W. Denver (1817-1892).
Derek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHR-ik
From the older English name
Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of
Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
From the Late Latin name
Dominicus meaning
"of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several
saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.
Dominick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik
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.
Duke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DOOK
From the noble title duke, which was originally derived from Latin dux "leader".
Easton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EES-tən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.
Edgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, German
Pronounced: EHD-gər(English) EHD-GAR(French)
Derived from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, Edgar the Peaceful. The name did not survive long after the
Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Walter Scott's novel
The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), which tells of the tragic love between Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton
[1]. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).
Edison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Latin American), Albanian
Pronounced: EHD-i-sən(English) EH-dhee-son(Spanish)
From an English surname that meant either
"son of Eda 2" or
"son of Adam". A famous bearer of the surname was the American inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).
Eithan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern), Hebrew (Rare)
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Hebrew)
Emmitt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Variant of
Emmett. The American football player Emmitt Smith (1969-) is a famous bearer.
Enzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, French
Pronounced: EHN-tso(Italian) EHN-ZO(French)
The meaning of this name is uncertain. In some cases it seems to be an old Italian form of
Heinz, though in other cases it could be a variant of the Germanic name
Anzo. In modern times it is also used as a short form of names ending in
enzo, such as
Vincenzo or
Lorenzo.
A famous bearer was the Italian racecar driver and industrialist Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988).
Eric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, German, Spanish
Pronounced: EHR-ik(English) EH-rik(Swedish, German) EH-reek(Spanish)
Means
"ever ruler", from the Old Norse name
Eiríkr, derived from the elements
ei "ever, always" and
ríkr "ruler, king". A notable bearer was Eiríkr inn Rauda (Eric the Red in English), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. This was also the name of several early kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
This common Norse name was first brought to England by Danish settlers during the Anglo-Saxon period. It was not popular in England in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, in part due to the children's novel Eric, or Little by Little (1858) by Frederic William Farrar.
Erick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHR-ik
Erik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, German, Dutch, English, Spanish
Pronounced: EH-rik(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, German, Dutch) EH-reek(Finnish, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Spanish) EHR-ik(English)
Scandinavian form of
Eric. This was the name of kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. King Erik IX of Sweden (12th century) is the patron
saint of that country.
Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yeḥezqel) meaning
"God will strengthen", from the roots
חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name,
Ezekiel has been used since the
Protestant Reformation.
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Means
"help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the
Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Fabian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: FA-bee-an(German) FA-bee-ahn(Dutch) FA-byan(Polish) FAY-bee-ən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Fabianus, which was derived from
Fabius.
Saint Fabian was a 3rd-century pope.
Fergus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FUR-gəs(English)
Means
"man of vigour", derived from the Old Irish elements
fer "man" and
guss "vigour, strength, force". This was the name of several early rulers of Ireland and Dál Riata, as well as many characters from Irish legend. Notably it was borne by the hero Fergus mac Róich, who was tricked into giving up the kingship of Ulster to
Conchobar. However, he remained loyal to the new king until Conchobar betrayed
Deirdre and
Naoise, at which point he defected to Connacht in anger. The name was also borne by an 8th-century
saint, a missionary to Scotland.
This is the Old Irish form of the name, as well as the usual Anglicized form of Modern Irish Fearghas or Fearghus.
Finnley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Fletcher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLECH-ər
From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.
Ford
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWRD
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "ford" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).
Forest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWR-ist
Variant of
Forrest, or else directly from the English word
forest.
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS
Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.
Francis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
English form of the Late Latin name
Franciscus meaning
"Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *
frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century
Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).
In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.
Frank
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, French
Pronounced: FRANGK(English, German) FRAHNGK(Dutch) FRAHNK(French)
From an Old German name that referred to a member of the Germanic tribe, the Franks. The Franks settled in the regions now called France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the 3rd and 4th century. They possibly derived their tribal name from a type of spear that they used, from Proto-Germanic *
frankô. From medieval times, the various forms of this name have been commonly conflated with the various forms of
Francis. In modern times it is sometimes used as a short form of
Francis or
Franklin.
The name was brought to England by the Normans. Notable bearers include author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), and singer Frank Sinatra (1915-1998).
Franklin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRANGK-lin
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English frankelin "freeman". A famous bearer of the surname was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher. The name has commonly been given in his honour in the United States. It also received a boost during the term of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
English form of an Old German name meaning
"peaceful ruler", derived from
fridu "peace" and
rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.
The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.
Gael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, English (Modern), Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYL(English) ga-EHL(Spanish)
Probably from the ethno-linguistic term Gael, which refers to speakers of Gaelic languages.
Gage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYJ
From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).
Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Medieval form of
Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name
גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning
"feller, hewer", derived from
גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew"
[1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the
Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world,
Gideon has been used as a given name since the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the
Puritans.
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Grayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of the steward", derived from Middle English
greyve "steward". It became common towards the end of the 20th century because of its similarity to popular names like
Jason,
Mason and
Graham.
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Latinized form of
Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Gunnar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: GUYN-nar(Swedish, Icelandic) GOON-nahr(Norwegian)
From the Old Norse name
Gunnarr, which was derived from the elements
gunnr "war" and
herr "army, warrior" (making it a
cognate of
Gunther). In Norse legend Gunnar was the husband of
Brynhildr. He had his brother-in-law
Sigurd murdered based on his wife's false accusations that Sigurd had taken her virginity.
Gunner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GUN-ər
English variant of
Gunnar, influenced by the vocabulary word
gunner.
Hank
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HANGK
Originally a short form of
Hankin, which was a medieval
diminutive of
John. Since the 17th century in the United States this name has also been used as a diminutive of
Henry, probably under the influence of the Dutch diminutive
Henk. A famous bearer is the American former baseball player Hank Aaron (1934-2021).
Harrison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-i-sən, HEHR-i-sən
From an English surname that meant
"son of Harry". This was the surname of two American presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). As a given name it reached a low point in America in 1977 before it was revived by the career of actor Harrison Ford (1942-), who starred in such movies as
Star Wars in 1977 and
Indiana Jones in 1984.
Harvey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-vee
From the Breton given name
Haerviu, which meant
"battle worthy", from
haer "battle" and
viu "worthy". This was the name of a 6th-century Breton hermit who is the patron
saint of the blind. Settlers from Brittany introduced it to England after the
Norman Conquest. During the later Middle Ages it became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Hayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-dən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as
Braden and
Aidan.
Hayes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAYZ
From a surname, either
Hayes 1 or
Hayes 2. It was borne by American president Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
Hezekiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: חִזְקִיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: hehz-ə-KIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
חִזְקִיָהוּ (Ḥizqiyahu), which means
"Yahweh strengthens", from the roots
חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strength" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name was borne by a powerful king of Judah who reigned in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Also in the
Old Testament, this is the name of an ancestor of the prophet
Zephaniah.
Holden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HOL-dən
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Holden Caulfield.
Houston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HYOO-stin
From a Scottish surname meaning "
Hugh's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow, but this is also the name of a city in Texas, named after the Texas president Sam Houston (1793-1863).
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).
Huxley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HUKS-lee
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English
leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be
hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer of the surname was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Indigo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
From the English word
indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".
Ioan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Welsh, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Йоан(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ee-WAN(Romanian) YAW-an(Welsh)
Romanian and Welsh form of
John. This is also an alternate transcription of Bulgarian
Йоан (see
Yoan 2).
Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
From the Hebrew name
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yeshaʿyahu) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the
Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name,
Isaiah was first used after the
Protestant Reformation.
Isaias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Late Latin form of
Isaiah used in some versions of the Bible.
Izaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Jace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYS
Short form of
Jason, sometimes used independently. It was brought to limited attention in America by the lead character in the western television series
Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955-1958). Towards the end of the 20th century it began steadily increasing in popularity, reaching the 66th spot for boys in the United States in 2013.
Jaden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-dən
An invented name, using the popular
den suffix sound found in such names as
Braden,
Hayden and
Aidan. This name first became common in America in the 1990s when similar-sounding names were increasing in popularity. The spelling
Jayden has been more popular since 2003. It is sometimes considered a variant of the biblical name
Jadon.
Jaiden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-dən
Jaime 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KHIE-meh(Spanish) ZHIE-mi(European Portuguese) ZHIE-mee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Iacomus (see
James).
Jalen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-lən(English)
An invented name. In America it was popularized in the 1990s by basketball player Jalen Rose (1973-), whose name was a combination of those of his father
James and maternal uncle
Leonard [1].
Jamari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: jə-MAHR-ee(English)
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (see
Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the
New Testament. The first was
Saint James the Greater, the apostle
John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of
Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of
Jesus.
This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.
Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Jamir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: jə-MEER(English)
Variant of
Jamar, probably influenced by names such as
Jamil.
Jamison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYM-ə-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of James".
Jase
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAYS
Jax
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAKS
Short form of
Jackson. It appeared in the video game
Mortal Kombat II in 1993. It first registered as a given name in the United States in 1995 (when it was used only five times) but steadily grew in popularity for two decades, probably inspired by similar names like
Max and
Dax and helped by a character of this name on the American television series
Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014).
Jaxon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAK-sən
Jaxson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAK-sən
Jaxton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAK-stən
Elaboration of
Jax influenced by similar-sounding names such as
Paxton and
Braxton.
Jaxx
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAKS
Jayce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYS
Jayceon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-sən
Jaylen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern), English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAY-lən(English)
Jayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAY-sən
Jeffrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHF-ree
Medieval variant of
Geoffrey. In America,
Jeffrey has been more common than
Geoffrey, though this is not true in Britain.
Jeremiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִרְםְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jehr-i-MIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
יִרְםְיָהוּ (Yirmeyahu) meaning
"Yahweh will exalt", from the roots
רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.
In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.
Jesus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Theology, Biblical, Portuguese
Pronounced: JEE-zəs(English) zhi-ZOOSH(European Portuguese) zheh-ZOOS(Brazilian Portuguese)
English form of
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous), which was the Greek form of the Aramaic name
יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshuaʿ).
Yeshuaʿ is itself a contracted form of
Yehoshuaʿ (see
Joshua). Yeshua ben Yoseph, better known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of the
New Testament and the source of the Christian religion. The four gospels state that he was the son of God and the Virgin
Mary who fulfilled the
Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. He preached for three years before being crucified in Jerusalem.
Joe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO
Short form of
Joseph. Five famous sports figures who have had this name are boxers Joe Louis (1914-1981) and Joe Frazier (1944-2011), baseball player Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999), and football quarterbacks Joe Namath (1943-) and Joe Montana (1956-). It is also borne by the American president Joe Biden (1942-).
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.
Jordan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Macedonian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Јордан(Macedonian, Serbian) יַרְדֵן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAWR-dən(American English) JAW-dən(British English) ZHAWR-DAHN(French)
From the name of the river that flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is
יַרְדֵן (Yarḏen), and it is derived from
יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning
"descend, flow down". In the
New Testament John the Baptist baptizes
Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Latin name
Jordanes, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.
This name died out after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. In America and other countries it became fairly popular in the second half of the 20th century. A famous bearer of the surname is former basketball star Michael Jordan (1963-).
Josiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יֹאשִׁיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jo-SIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
יֹאשִׁיָהוּ (Yoshiyahu) meaning
"Yahweh supports", from
אָשְׁיָה (ʾashya) meaning "support" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the
Old Testament this is the name of a king of Judah famous for his religious reforms. He was killed fighting the Egyptians at Megiddo in the 7th century BC. In England this name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Judah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוּדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JOO-də(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדָה (Yehuḏa), probably derived from
יָדָה (yaḏa) meaning
"praise". In the
Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of
Jacob by
Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in
Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King
David and
Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife
Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the deuterocanonical Books of Maccabees.
The name appears in the New Testament with the spellings Judas and Jude.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
From the Roman name
Iulianus, which was derived from
Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early
saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from
Juliana, eventually becoming
Gillian).
Julius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Finnish, Lithuanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: YOO-lee-oos(Latin, Swedish) JOO-lee-əs(English) YOO-lee-uws(German) YOO-leews(Finnish) YUW-lyuws(Lithuanian) YOO-lyoos(Danish) YUY-lee-uys(Dutch) YOO-li-yuws(Czech)
From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Greek
ἴουλος (ioulos) meaning
"downy-bearded". Alternatively, it could be related to the name of the Roman god
Jupiter. This was a prominent patrician family of Rome, who claimed descent from the mythological Julus, son of
Aeneas. Its most notable member was Gaius Julius Caesar, who gained renown as a military leader for his clever conquest of Gaul. After a civil war he became the dictator of the Roman Republic, but was eventually stabbed to death in the senate.
Although this name was borne by several early saints, including a pope, it was rare during the Middle Ages. It was revived in Italy and France during the Renaissance, and was subsequently imported to England.
Kade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYD
Kaden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Kaiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Kairo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ro
Kaison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-sən, KAY-sən
Kalani
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ka-LA-nee
Means "the heavens" from Hawaiian ka "the" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Kaleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb
English variant of
Caleb.
Kamari
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: kə-MAHR-ee(English)
Kamden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-dən
Kameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-rən
Kane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Catháin, derived from the given name
Cathán.
Karson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHR-sən
Karter
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHR-tər
Kasen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Kash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KASH
Kashton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KASH-tən
Probably a combination of
Kash and the popular name suffix
ton, inspired by names such as
Ashton.
Kason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Kayce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-see, KAYS
Variant of
Casey or
Case (depending on the pronunciation). It was popularized by the character Kayce Dutton (pronounced like Casey) from the television series
Yellowstone (2018-).
Kayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-dən
Kaysen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Kayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Keegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEE-gən
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Mac Aodhagáin, which was derived from the given name
Aodhagán, a double
diminutive of
Aodh.
Kendall
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-dəl
From an English surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwestern England meaning "valley on the river Kent". Originally mostly masculine, the name received a boost in popularity for girls in 1993 when the devious character Kendall Hart began appearing on the American soap opera All My Children.
Kendrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drik
From a surname that has several different origins. It could be from the Old English given names
Cyneric "royal power" or
Cenric "bold power", or from the Welsh name
Cynwrig "chief hero". It can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname
Mac Eanraig meaning "son of
Henry".
As an American given name, it got a boost in popularity in 2012 after the rapper Kendrick Lamar (1987-) released his debut album.
Kenzie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-zee
Kenzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese, French (Modern)
Other Scripts: 謙三, 健三, 賢三(Japanese Kanji) けんぞう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KEWN-ZO(Japanese)
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
謙三 or
健三 or
賢三 (see
Kenzō). Use of the name in France can probably be attributed to the fashion brand Kenzo, founded in 1970 by the Japanese-French designer Kenzō Takada (1939-2020).
Kian 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEER-ən(English) KEER-awn(English)
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Anglicized form of
Cillian, also used in France.
King
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KING
From the English vocabulary word king, ultimately derived from Old English cyning. This was also a surname, derived from the same source, a famous bearer being the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Kobe 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Flemish
Pronounced: KO-bə
Koby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-bee
Kody
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-dee
Koen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: KOON
Kohen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-ən
Kolton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL-tən
Kylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-lən
Invented name based on the sounds found in other names such as
Kyle and
Rylan.
Kyler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-lər
Probably a blend of the sounds of
Kyle and
Tyler. It also coincides with the surname
Kyler, an Anglicized form of Dutch
Cuyler.
Kylian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Kylo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: KIE-lo(English)
Meaning unexplained. This is the name of the villain, Kylo Ren, in the Star Wars movie sequels, starting with The Force Awakens in 2015. Originally named Ben Solo, he is the son of Han Solo and Leia Skywalker. His name might simply be formed from the ky of Skywalker and the lo of Solo.
Kyran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Kyree
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ree
Kyrie 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ree
Invented name, based on the sounds found in names such as
Tyree and
Kyle. It was popularized as a masculine name by American basketball player Kyrie Irving (1992-).
Kyro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ro
Kyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-sən
An invented name, using the same sound found in names such as
Bryson and
Tyson.
Landon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAN-dən
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "long hill" (effectively meaning "ridge"). Use of the name may have been inspired in part by the actor Michael Landon (1936-1991).
Lane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAYN
From an English surname, meaning "lane, path", which originally belonged to a person who lived near a lane.
Lawson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAW-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Laurence 1".
Layne
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAYN
Layton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-tən
From a surname that was originally derived from the name of English towns meaning
"town with a leek garden" in Old English. Like similar-sounding names such as
Peyton and
Dayton, this name began rising in popularity in the 1990s.
Legend
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHJ-ənd
From the English word, referring to a story about the past (or by extension, a heroic character in such a story), ultimately from Latin legere "to read".
Leland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).
Lewis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-is
Medieval English form of
Louis. A famous bearer was Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the author of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This was also the surname of C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), the author of the
Chronicles of Narnia series.
Lincoln
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LING-kən
From an English surname that was originally from the name of an English city, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". This name is usually given in honour of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Romanian and English form of
Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Mac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAK
Mack 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAK
From a surname, originally a shortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with Mac or Mc (from Irish mac meaning "son"). It is also used as a generic slang term for a man.
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.
Major
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-jər
From an English surname that was originally derived from the given name Mauger, a Norman French form of the Germanic name Malger meaning "council spear". The name can also be given in reference to the English word major.
Marcel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German
Pronounced: MAR-SEHL(French) mər-SEHL(Catalan) mar-CHEHL(Romanian) MAR-tsehl(Polish, Czech, Slovak) mahr-SEHL(Dutch) mar-SEHL(German)
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).
Mario
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, German, Croatian
Pronounced: MA-ryo(Italian, Spanish, German)
Italian and Spanish form of
Marius. Famous bearers include American racecar driver Mario Andretti (1940-) and Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux (1965-). It is also borne by a Nintendo video game character, a moustached Italian plumber, who debuted as the playable hero of
Donkey Kong in 1981. Spelled
マリオ (Mario) in Japanese Katakana, he was reportedly named after Mario Segale (1934-2018), an American businessman who rented a warehouse to Nintendo.
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
Max
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan
Other Scripts: Макс(Russian)
Pronounced: MAKS(German, English, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan) MAHKS(Dutch)
Short form of
Maximilian or
Maxim. In English it can also be short for
Maxwell, and it coincides with the informal word
max, short for
maximum.
Famous bearers include the German intellectual Max Weber (1864-1920) and the German physicist Max Planck (1858-1947). This name is also borne by the title character in the Mad Max series of movies, starting 1979.
Maximilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: mak-see-MEE-lee-an(German) mak-sə-MIL-yən(English)
From the Roman name
Maximilianus, which was derived from
Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see
Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.
Memphis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHM-fis
From the name of an important city of ancient Egypt, or the city in Tennessee that was named after it. It is derived from a Greek form of Egyptian mn-nfr meaning "enduring beauty".
Messiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Theology, English (Modern)
Pronounced: mə-SIE-ə(English)
From the English word meaning
"saviour", ultimately from Hebrew
מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyaḥ) meaning "anointed"
[1]. The word appears in the
Old Testament referring to a future king of the Jewish people. In the
New Testament it is translated as
Christ and is used as a title of
Jesus.
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Miller
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-ər
From an English occupational surname for a miller, derived from Middle English mille "mill".
Montgomery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mənt-GUM-ə-ree, mənt-GUM-ree
From an English surname meaning
"Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Monty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHN-tee
Moses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מֹשֶׁה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MOZ-is(English)
From the Hebrew name
מֹשֶׁה (Moshe), which is most likely derived from Egyptian
mes meaning
"son". The meaning suggested in the
Old Testament of
"drew out" from Hebrew
מָשָׁה (masha) is probably an invented etymology (see
Exodus 2:10).
The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.
In England, this name has been commonly used by Christians since the Protestant Reformation, though it had long been popular among Jews.
Myles 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Nash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: NASH
From an English surname that was derived from the Middle English phrase
atten ash "at the ash tree". A famous bearer of the surname was the mathematician John Nash (1928-2015).
As a given name for boys, it gained some popularity in the mid-1990s after the debut of the American television series Nash Bridges. It got more exposure beginning 2005 when a character by this name started appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live.
Nehemiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: ןְחֶםְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nee-hi-MIE-ə(English)
Means
"Yahweh comforts" in Hebrew, derived from
נָחַם (naḥam) meaning "to comfort" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. According to the Book of Nehemiah in the
Old Testament he was a leader of the Jews who was responsible for the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian captivity.
Niall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: NYEEL(Irish)
Nikolas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, English
Other Scripts: Νικόλας(Greek)
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs(English) NIK-ləs(English)
Oakley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: OK-lee
From an English surname that was from various place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Olly
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHL-ee
Omari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swahili
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Swahili variant of
Umar.
Onyx
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHN-iks
From the English word for the gemstone (a variety of chalcedony), which can be black, red or other colours. It is derived from Greek
ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning "claw, nail".
Orson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWR-sən
From a Norman nickname derived from a
diminutive of Norman French
ors "bear", ultimately from Latin
ursus. American actor and director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was a famous bearer of this name.
Oscar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AHS-kər(English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-kahr(Dutch) AWS-KAR(French)
Possibly means
"deer friend", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer" and
carae "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name
Osgar or its Old Norse
cognate Ásgeirr, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet
Oisín and the grandson of the hero
Fionn mac Cumhaill.
This name was popularized in continental Europe by the works of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson [1]. Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson, and he suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, who eventually became king of Sweden as Oscar I. Other notable bearers include the Irish writer and humorist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012).
Otis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-tis
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Ode, a
cognate of
Otto. In America it has been used in honour of the revolutionary James Otis (1725-1783).
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(English) OT-to(Finnish)
Later German form of
Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish
aud or Old High German
ot meaning
"wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as
Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great.
Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).
Palmer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHL-mər, PAH-mər
From an English surname meaning "pilgrim". It is ultimately from Latin palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.
Parker
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHR-kər
From an English occupational surname that meant "keeper of the park".
Paul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Romanian, Biblical
Pronounced: PAWL(English, French) POWL(German, Dutch)
From the Roman family name
Paulus, which meant
"small" or
"humble" in Latin. Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. According to Acts in the
New Testament, he was a Jewish Roman citizen who converted to Christianity after the resurrected
Jesus appeared to him. After this he travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a missionary. His original Hebrew name was
Saul. Many of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him.
Due to the renown of Saint Paul the name became common among early Christians. It was borne by a number of other early saints and six popes. In England it was relatively rare during the Middle Ages, but became more frequent beginning in the 17th century. In the United States it was in the top 20 names for boys from 1900 to 1968, while in the United Kingdom it was very popular from the 1950s to the 80s. It has also been heavily used in Germany and France and continues to be popular there, though it is currently on the decline in the English-speaking world.
A notable bearer was the American Revolutionary War figure Paul Revere (1735-1818), who warned of the advance of the British army. Famous bearers in the art world include the French impressionists Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and the Swiss expressionist Paul Klee (1879-1940). It is borne by actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) and the musicians Paul Simon (1941-) and Paul McCartney (1942-). This is also the name of the legendary American lumberjack Paul Bunyan and the fictional Paul Atreides from Frank Herbert's novel Dune (1965).
Paxton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PAK-stən
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "Pœcc's town". Pœcc is an Old English given name of unknown meaning.
Phillip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIL-ip
Variant of
Philip, inspired by the usual spelling of the surname.
Phoenix
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FEE-niks
From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek
mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek
φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".
Porter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAWR-tər
From an occupational English surname meaning "doorkeeper", ultimately from Old French porte "door", from Latin porta.
Preston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PREHS-tən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest town" (Old English preost and tun).
Prince
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PRINS
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.
Princeton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PRIN-stən
From the name of the town or university in New Jersey. Established in the early 18th century, it is said to have been named for William III, the Prince of Orange.
Quincy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN-see
From an English surname that was derived (via the place name
Cuinchy) from the personal name
Quintus. A famous bearer was John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth president of the United States, who was born in the town of Quincy, Massachusetts. Both the town and the president were named after his maternal great-grandfather John Quincy (1689-1767). Another notable bearer is the American musician Quincy Jones (1933-).
Raiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese Mythology
Other Scripts: 雷電(Japanese Kanji) らいでん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: RA-EE-DEHN(Japanese)
From Japanese
雷 (rai) meaning "thunder" and
電 (den) meaning "lightning". This is a regional epithet of the Japanese god
Raijin.
Ralph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish
Pronounced: RALF(English, German) RAYF(British English)
Contracted form of the Old Norse name
Ráðúlfr (or its Norman form
Radulf). Scandinavian settlers introduced it to England before the
Norman Conquest, though afterwards it was bolstered by Norman influence. In the Middle Ages it was variously spelled
Rauf,
Rafe or
Ralf reflecting the usual pronunciation. The
Ralph spelling became more common in the 18th century. A famous bearer of the name was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.
Reece
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Reed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
From an English surname that was derived from Old English read meaning "red", originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Unconnected, this is also the English word for tall grass-like plants that grow in marshes.
Reid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
From a surname, a Scots variant of
Reed.
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Means
"behold, a son" in Hebrew, derived from
רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son". In the
Old Testament he is the eldest son of
Jacob and
Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine
Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the
Protestant Reformation.
Rex
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHKS
From Latin rex meaning "king". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Rian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1][2], English
Pronounced: REEN(Irish) RIE-ən(English)
Irish form of
Ryan, as well as an English variant.
Ridge
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIJ
From the English vocabulary word denoting a continuous elevated mountain crest, or from the English surname derived from the word.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Robbie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHB-ee
Rocco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: RAWK-ko(Italian)
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.
Rocky
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHK-ee
Diminutive of
Rocco and other names beginning with a similar sound, or else a nickname referring to a tough person. This is the name of the boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) in the movie
Rocky (1976) and its sequels.
Ronald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: RAHN-əld(English) RO-nahlt(Dutch)
Scottish form of
Ragnvaldr, a name introduced to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders. It became popular outside Scotland during the 20th century. A famous bearer was the American actor and president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). It is also associated with Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot for the McDonald's chain of restaurants, first appearing in 1963.
Ronin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-nən
Variant of
Ronan, also coinciding with the Japanese term
浪人 (ronin) meaning
"masterless samurai".
Royal
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROI-əl, ROIL
From the English word royal, derived (via Old French) from Latin regalis, a derivative of rex "king". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century.
Royce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROIS
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Royse, a variant of
Rose.
Rufus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Biblical
Pronounced: ROO-foos(Latin) ROO-fəs(English)
Roman
cognomen meaning
"red-haired" in Latin. Several early
saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of
Paul's epistles in the
New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the
Protestant Reformation.
Ryker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIE-kər
Possibly a variant of the German surname
Riker, a derivative of Low German
rike "rich". As a modern English name, it has become popular because it shares the same trendy sounds found in other names such as
Ryan and
Ryder.
Rylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIE-lən
Possibly a variant of
Ryland, though it could also be an invented name inspired by other names like
Ryan and
Riley.
Saint
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYNT
From the English word, ultimately from Latin sanctus "holy, saintly".
Sawyer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər, SAW-yər
From an English surname meaning
"sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Very rare as an American given name before 1980, it increased in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It got a boost in 2004 after the debut of the television series Lost, which featured a character by this name.
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Seth 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שֵׁת(Ancient Hebrew) Σήθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SETH(English)
Shane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAYN(English)
Anglicized form of
Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie
Shane (1953).
Shay 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAY(English)
Anglicized form of
Séaghdha, sometimes used as a feminine name.
Shepherd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHP-ərd
From an English occupational surname meaning "sheep herder, shepherd".
Sidney
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SID-nee
From the English surname
Sidney. It was first used as a given name in honour of executed politician Algernon Sidney (1622-1683). Another notable bearer of the surname was the poet and statesman Philip Sidney (1554-1586).
As a given name, it has traditionally been more masculine than feminine. In America however, after the variant Sydney became popular for girls, Sidney was used more for girls than boys between 1993 and 2019.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Simon 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Симон(Macedonian) სიმონ(Georgian) Σίμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-mən(English) SEE-MAWN(French) SEE-mawn(Danish, Dutch, Macedonian) ZEE-mawn(German) SHEE-mon(Hungarian)
From
Σίμων (Simon), the
New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁםְעוֹן (Shimʿon) meaning
"hearing, listening", derived from
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear, to listen". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the
Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
Simon 2.
In the New Testament Simon is the name of several characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Most importantly however it was borne by the leading apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus).
Because of the apostle, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became more rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Sincere
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: sin-SEER
From the English word meaning genuine or heartfelt.
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.
Stanley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAN-lee
From an English surname meaning
"stone clearing" (Old English
stan "stone" and
leah "woodland, clearing"). A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).
Stetson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: STEHT-sən
From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of the village of Stidston in Devon, meaning "Stithweard's town". This is a type of wide-brimmed hat, originally made by the John B. Stetson Company.
Sylas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern), Biblical Polish
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
Tate
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAYT
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name
Tata.
Titus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: TEE-toos(Latin) TIE-təs(English) TEE-tuws(German)
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to Latin
titulus "title of honour". It is more likely of Oscan origin, since it was borne by the legendary Sabine king Titus Tatius.
This name appears in the New Testament belonging to a companion of Saint Paul. He became the first bishop of Crete and was the recipient of one of Paul's epistles. This was also the praenomen of all three Roman emperors of the 1st-century Flavian dynasty, and it is the name by which the second of them is commonly known to history. Shakespeare later used it for the main character in his tragedy Titus Andronicus (1593). As an English name, Titus has been occasionally used since the Protestant Reformation.
Toby
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TO-bee
Medieval form of
Tobias. It was sometimes used as a feminine name in the 1930s and 40s due to the influence of American actress Toby Wing (1915-2001).
Tom 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: TAHM(American English) TAWM(British English, Dutch, Norwegian)
Short form of
Thomas. Tom Sawyer is the main character in several of Mark Twain's novels, first appearing in
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Other famous bearers include American actors Tom Hanks (1956-) and Tom Cruise (1962-), as well as American football player Tom Brady (1977-).
Tommie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAHM-ee(American English) TAWM-ee(British English)
Tommy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAHM-ee(American English) TAWM-ee(British English)
Tomos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: TO-maws
Travis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAV-is
From the English surname
Travis (a variant of
Travers). It was used in America in honour of William Travis (1809-1836), the commander of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo.
Trenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TREHN-tən
From the name of a New Jersey city established in the 17th century by William Trent. It means "
Trent's town".
Trevor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: TREHV-ər(English)
From a Welsh surname, originally taken from the name of towns in Wales meaning
"big village", derived from Middle Welsh
tref "village" and
maur "large". As a given name it became popular in the United Kingdom in the middle of the 20th century, then caught on in the United States in the 1960s.
Tripp
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TRIP
From a surname derived from Middle English trippen "to dance". It could also be inspired by the English word trip "journey, stumble".
Tucker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TUK-ər
From an occupational surname for a cloth fuller, derived from Old English tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.
Tudor 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Anglicized form of the medieval Welsh name
Tudur, possibly from a hypothetical Celtic name *
Toutorīxs meaning "ruler of the people" (
cognate with
Theodoric). As a surname it was borne by five monarchs of England beginning with Henry VII in the 15th century. These monarchs were descended from Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur, a Welsh nobleman.
Tymon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: TI-mawn
Tyson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIE-sən
From an English surname, originally a nickname for a quarrelsome person, from Old French
tison meaning
"firebrand". A famous bearer of the surname is boxer Mike Tyson (1966-). This was a rare given name in America before 1960, but it increased in popularity through the 1960s and 70s, maybe because of its similarities with names such as
Tyler and
Tyrone [1].
Uriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: אוּרִיאֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: YUWR-ee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
אוּרִיאֵל (ʾUriʾel) meaning
"God is my light", from
אוּר (ʾur) meaning "light, flame" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Uriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition. He is mentioned only in the Apocrypha, for example in the Book of Enoch where he warns
Noah of the coming flood.
Walker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAWK-ər
From an English surname that referred to the medieval occupational of a walker, also known as a fuller. Walkers would tread on wet, unprocessed wool in order to clean and thicken it. The word ultimately derives from Old English wealcan "to walk".
Waylon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAY-lən
Variant of
Wayland. This name was popularized by country music singer Waylon Jennings (1937-2002), who was originally named Wayland
[1].
Wells
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WELZ
From an English surname that originally denoted a person who lived near a well or spring, from Middle English wille.
Wesley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-lee, WEHZ-lee
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning
"west meadow" from Old English
west "west" and
leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.
Westley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEST-lee
From a surname that was a variant of
Wesley.
Weston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-tən
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English
west "west" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Wilbur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-bər
From an English surname that was originally derived from the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English. This name was borne by Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), one half of the Wright brothers, who together invented the first successful airplane. Wright was named after the Methodist minister Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839). A famous fictional bearer is the main character (a pig) in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
Woody
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WUWD-ee
Either a
diminutive of names containing
wood such as
Woodrow, or else from a nickname derived from the English word
wood. Famous bearers include the folk singer Woodrow "Woody" Guthrie (1912-1967), the comedian and film director Heywood "Woody" Allen (1935-; born as Allan Stewart Konigsberg), and the actor Woodrow "Woody" Harrelson (1961-). It is also borne by the cartoon characters Woody Woodpecker (debuting 1940) and Woody from the
Toy Story movies (beginning 1995).
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.
Zaiden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAY-dən
Zaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: zah-EER(English)
From the name of a country in Africa from 1971 to 1997, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is said to be derived from Kikongo nzadi o nzere meaning "river swallowing rivers", referring to the Congo River.
Zak
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAK
Zander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAN-dər
Zane 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAYN
From an English surname of unknown meaning. It was introduced as a given name by American author Zane Grey (1872-1939). Zane was in fact his middle name — it had been his mother's maiden name.
Zayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAY-dən
Zayne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAYN
Zeke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEEK
Zion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: צִיוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZIE-ən(English)
From the name of a citadel that was in the center of Jerusalem. Zion is also used to refer to a Jewish homeland and to heaven.
Zyaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
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