lanaaaaa_d's Personal Name List

From the Hebrew name אַבְרָהָם (ʾAvraham), which may be viewed either as meaning "father of many" or else as a contraction of Abram 1 and הָמוֹן (hamon) meaning "many, multitude". The biblical patriarch Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name (see Genesis 17:5). With his father Terah, he led his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot and their other followers from Ur into Canaan. He is regarded by Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son Isaac and by Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son Ishmael.

As an English Christian name, Abraham became common after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the American president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who pushed to abolish slavery and led the country through the Civil War.

Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Georgian form of Abraham.

Spanish form of Adam.

Feminine form of Adrastos. In Greek mythology this name was borne by a nymph who fostered the infant Zeus. This was also another name of the goddess Nemesis.

Catalan form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1).

Spanish form of Augustinus (see Augustine 1).

Balearic form of Anna.

From the name of a mountain range in Valencia, eastern Spain. The Spanish poet Rafael Alberti used it for his daughter in 1941.

Short form of Aitana.

Possibly means "good fathers" from Basque aita "father" and on "good". This was the name of a legendary ancestor of the Basques.

The name Aizen is derived from two Japanese kanji characters: “ai” (愛) meaning “love” or “affection,” and “zen” (善) meaning “good” or “virtuous.” Together, Aizen can be translated as “lover of good” or “one who does good deeds out of love and compassion.”

Aizen has significant cultural roots in both Japanese and Buddhist traditions. In Japanese culture, Aizen is associated with the goddess of love and beauty, Benzaiten, who is often portrayed holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute. In Buddhist tradition, Aizen is one of the Five Wisdom Kings, a group of deities who represent different aspects of enlightenment. Aizen is specifically associated with desire, passion, and love, and is often depicted with a sword or a rope to symbolize his power over these emotions.

Russian form of Joachim.

This name is derived from two distinct names, Alba 2 and Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter, alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.

Finnish short form of Aleksanteri or Aleksi, an Italian short form of Alessandro, and a Spanish short form of Alejandro or Alejandra.

Spanish form of Alexander. This was the most popular name for boys in Spain from the 1990s until 2006 (and again in 2011).

Italian form of Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.

Italian feminine form of Alexius.

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

Means "diamond" in Armenian, ultimately from Persian الماس (almās).

Short form of Almudena.

Derived from Arabic المدينة (al-mudayna) meaning "the citadel", a diminutive form of the word مدينة (madīna) meaning "city". According to legend, it was in a building by this name that a concealed statue of the Virgin Mary was discovered during the Reconquista in Madrid. The Virgin of Almudena, that is Mary, is the patron saint of Madrid.

Spanish form of Alvarus, the Latinized form of a Visigothic name, possibly derived from the elements alls "all" and wars "aware, cautious" or wards "guard". Álvar Fáñez was an 11th-century military commander and duke of Toledo, who appears as a general of El Cid in the epic poem El Cantar de mio Cid. Verdi also used the name in his opera The Force of Destiny (1862).

Spanish form of Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).

Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).

Means "commander, prince" in Arabic. This was originally a title, which has come into English as the Arabic loanword emir.

Diminutive of Anastasiya (and any other spelling of the name).

Combination of Ana and María.

Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.

Greek form of Anastasius.

Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of Anastasia. This name was borne by the wife of the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible.

Means "carnival", "game", or "February" in Aymara.

Meaning unknown, possibly from the Spanish surname Anaya (itself from the name of a Spanish town), used because of its similarity to Amaya [1].

Basque form of Andreas (see Andrew).

Feminine form of Andrejs (Latvian) or Andres (Estonian).

Spanish and Icelandic form of Andrew.

Basque form of Anna.

Diminutive of Ana.

Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Combination of Anna and Chiara.

Combination of Anna and Christine.

German diminutive of Anna or short form of Anneliese.

Combination of Anne 1 and Liese.

Georgian form of Henri.

Spanish and Italian form of Antonius (see Anthony). This has been a common name in Italy since the 14th century. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys in the 1950s and 60s.

Famous bearers include the Renaissance painter Antonio Pisanello (c. 1395-1455) and the Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). It is also the name of the main character in The Merchant of Venice (1596) by William Shakespeare.

Russian diminutive of Anna.

Russian feminine form of Apollinaris.

From the name of a mountainous region in the north of Catalonia where the Occitan language is spoken, originally derived from Basque haran meaning "valley".

From Thai อารย (araya) meaning "good, noble, righteous", ultimately from Sanskrit आर्य (arya).

Diminutive of Ariel or Arieh.

Catalan form of Arlette.

Originally a medieval feminine form of Germanic masculine names beginning with the Old High German element arn, Old Norse ǫrn meaning "eagle" (Proto-Germanic *arnuz). This name was in use during the Middle Ages, died out, and was eventually revived in the 19th century.

Possibly derived from the name of the city of Arta in southwestern Greece. A city with connections to Albania and Albanians. The name of the city is popularly held to be derived from Albanian artë "golden" (compare ar "gold")

Armenian form of *Artavazda (see Artabazos). This name was borne by three kings of Armenia, ruling between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD.

Ukrainian form of Artemios. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian Артём (see Artyom).

Form of Artemis in various languages.

Italian and Spanish form of Artemios.

Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning "safe" or ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning "a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was known as Diana to the Romans.

Spanish, Albanian and Galician form of Artemis.

Ukrainian form of Artemisia. Artemiziya Halytska (1912-1985) was an Ukrainian nationalist.

Italian and Spanish form of Arthur.

Either a Scandinavian form of Arwin (see Erwin) or a combination of the Old Norse name elements ari "eagle" and vinr "friend".

Means "the beginning", from Basque hasi.

Diminutive of Anastasiya or Aleksandra.

Spanish and Italian form of Athanasius.

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.

Created by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli for his 12th-century epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin. Rustaveli based it on Persian آفتاب (āftāb) meaning "sunshine" and دل (del) meaning "heart". In the poem Avtandil is a knight who is sent by Tinatin to search for the mysterious knight of the title.

Short form of Avtandil.

Basque form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

Spanish and Portuguese form of Beatrix.

French feminine form of Bernard. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was a young woman from Lourdes in France who claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary. She was declared a saint in 1933.

Diminutive of Elisabeth (German), Benedetta or Elisabetta (Italian), or Erzsébet (Hungarian).

Catalan short form of Gabriel.

Feminine form of Carlo, Carlos or Carl.

Catalan form of Charles.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Charles.

Spanish and Corsican form of Katherine.

Italian and Catalan form of Katherine.

Portuguese, Catalan, Slovak and Hungarian form of Cecilia.

Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus meaning "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.

Spanish and Italian form of Caecilius.

Diminutive of Francesca.

French feminine diminutive of Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of Jane Eyre and Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.

Italian form of Clara. Saint Chiara (commonly called Clare in English) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Diminutive of Chiara.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

Feminine form of Cvetko.

Derived from South Slavic cvet meaning "blossom, flower".

Meaning unknown. Saint Cyra was a 5th-century Syrian hermit who was martyred with her companion Marana.

Form of Daniel in various languages.

Ukrainian form of Daniel.

Catalan and Aragonese form of David.

Georgian and Armenian form of David.

From Denys or Denis, the medieval French forms of Dionysius. Saint Denis was a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul and the first bishop of Paris. He was martyred by decapitation, after which legend says he picked up his own severed head and walked for a distance while preaching a sermon. He is credited with converting the Gauls to Christianity and is considered the patron saint of France.

This name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and it was imported by the Normans to England. It is now regularly spelled Dennis in the English-speaking world. A notable bearer was the French philosopher Denis Diderot (1713-1784).

Usual English, German and Dutch form of Denis.

From the name of a monument erected by Samuel in the Old Testament, from Hebrew אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר (ʾEven Haʿazer) meaning "stone of help". Charles Dickens used it for the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in his novel A Christmas Carol (1843). Currently the name is most common in parts of English-influenced Africa, such as Ghana.

Spanish form of Everard.

Spanish and Italian form of Edgar.

Form of Edward in various languages.

Feminine form of Eder 2.

Short form of Ekaterine.

Means "June (month)" in Basque.

Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Katherine, and an alternate transcription of Russian Екатерина (see Yekaterina).

Georgian form of Katherine.

Means "sun" in Basque, a variant of Eguzki.

Form of Eleanor in several languages.

Spanish and Icelandic form of Elijah.

Catalan form and Sardinian variant of Elias.

Scandinavian and Finnish form of Elizabeth. It is also used in Spain alongside the traditional form Isabel.

Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Elizabeth.

Basque form of Elizabeth.

Means "hand" in Turkish.

Alternate transcription of Russian Елизавета (see Yelizaveta).

Catalan form of Elmo, as well as a short form of Elmer. The name may also be taken directly from the English word elm, a type of tree.

Short form of Wilhelmine or names ending in elma, such as Anselma. It has also been recorded as a combination of Elizabeth and Mary, as in the case of the 19th-century daughter of the Earl of Elgin, who was named using her mother's first and middle names [1].

Popularized Catalan name that refers to the northern Catalan city of Elna. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, a Maternity Hospital was set up in Elna, run by a Swiss nurse - Elisabeth Eidenbenz - who looked after pregnant women from the Republican refugee camps who were fleeing Franco's fascist troops. When this story became known, many girls began to be named Elna, in tribute and memory of Elna's Motherhood and the many children and mothers she saved. Currently, according to official data from the Catalan Government's IDESCAT (2020) there are 910 women with the name Elna in the territory of Catalonia alone, with many more in the rest of the Catalan domain (Balearic Islands, Valencia , Northern Catalonia, Andorra and Catalan-speaking areas of Aragon and Sardinia.

Feminine form of Alf 1.

Portuguese, Latvian, Hungarian and Georgian form of Elsa.

Means "golden nation" from Turkic el meaning "people, country, nation" combined with Persian زر (zar) meaning "gold".

Turkish form and Bosnian variant of Amir 1.

Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element irmin meaning "whole" or "great" (Proto-Germanic *ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called Hemma.

After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).

In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).

Short form of Maddalena.

Means "snowdrop (flower)" in Georgian (genus Galanthus).

Possibly derived from Basque ene "my" and ko, a diminutive suffix. This was the name of the first king of Pamplona or Navarre (9th century), whose name is usually rendered as Íñigo.

Catalan form of Heinrich (see Henry).

Italian form of Heinrich (see Henry). Enrico Fermi (1901-1954) was an Italian physicist who did work on the development of the nuclear bomb.

Spanish form of Heinrich (see Henry).

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.

Italian form of Eric.

From Turkish er "man, hero, brave" combined with either kan "blood" or han "khan, leader".

Feminine form of Ernest.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Ernest.

Derived from either Albanian erza, itself is a hypocorism of erë "scent; fragrance; smell; wind", or from Albanian erza, an archaic term meaning "honor; sense of honor; honesty, fidelity".

Hungarian form of Elizabeth. This is the native name of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. It was also borne by the infamous Erzsébet Báthory (1560-1614), a countess and alleged murderer.

Diminutive of Erzsébet.

Latinate form of Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).

From the Hebrew name אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was Hadassah.

This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].

Latinized form of Greek Εὐρώπη (Europe), which meant "wide face" from εὐρύς (eurys) meaning "wide" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted and taken to Crete by Zeus in the guise of a bull. She became the first queen of Crete, and later fathered Minos by Zeus. The continent of Europe said to be named for her, though it is more likely her name is from that of the continent. This is also the name of a moon of Jupiter.

Form of Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the New Testament, while Hava is used in the Latin Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.

This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).

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

Bulgarian and Georgian form of Eugene, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian Евгений (see Yevgeniy).

Polish form of Eve.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Ezekiel.

Means "my helper" in Hebrew. In the Bible Ezri was an overseer during King David's reign.

Catalan form of Franciscus (see Francis).

Italian and Catalan feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

Combination of Francisco and Javier, referring to Saint Francis Xavier.

Italian form of Frank, also used as a short form of the related name Francesco.

German form of Franciscus (see Francis). This name was borne by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828), the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) and the Austrian-Czech author Franz Kafka (1883-1924), whose works include The Trial and The Castle. It was also the name of rulers of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire.

Means "lord" in Old Norse, derived from the Germanic root *fraujô. This is the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called Yngvi, with the name Freyr being his title. Freyr is associated with fertility, sunlight and rain, and is the husband of the giantess Gerd. With his twin sister Freya and father Njord he is one of the group of deities called the Vanir.

From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Basque variant form of John.

Hebrew form of Gabriel.

From the Greek name Γεώργιος (Georgios), which was derived from the Greek word γεωργός (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γῆ (ge) meaning "earth" and ἔργον (ergon) meaning "work". Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Cappadocia who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art.

Initially Saint George was primarily revered by Eastern Christians, but returning crusaders brought stories of him to Western Europe and he became the patron of England, Portugal, Catalonia and Aragon. The name was rarely used in England until the German-born George I came to the British throne in the 18th century. Five subsequent British kings have borne the name.

Other famous bearers include two kings of Greece, the composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732-1797), and the Pacific explorer George Vancouver (1757-1798). This was also the pen name of authors George Eliot (1819-1880) and George Orwell (1903-1950), real names Mary Anne Evans and Eric Arthur Blair respectively.

This name is also used by Christians in India, notably Saint Thomas Christians in the state of Kerala in the spelling ജോർജ്ജ് (Jōrjj).

Latinate feminine form of George. This is the name of an American state, which was named after the British king George II. The country of Georgia has an unrelated etymology. A famous bearer was the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986).

Georgian form of George. This was the name of several kings of Georgia.

Russian form of the Old Norse name Guðleifr, which was derived from the elements guð "god" and leif "inheritance, legacy". This was the name of an 11th-century saint, a member of the ruling family of Kievan Rus. Along with his brother Boris he was killed in the power struggles that followed the death of his father Vladimir the Great, and he is regarded as a martyr.

Catalan form of Gloria.

Means "glory", from the Portuguese and Spanish titles of the Virgin Mary Maria da Glória and María de Gloria. Maria da Glória (1819-1853) was the daughter of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, eventually becoming queen of Portugal as Maria II.

The name was introduced to the English-speaking world by E. D. E. N. Southworth's novel Gloria (1891) and George Bernard Shaw's play You Never Can Tell (1898), which both feature characters with a Portuguese background [1]. It was popularized in the early 20th century by American actress Gloria Swanson (1899-1983). Another famous bearer is feminist Gloria Steinem (1934-).

Armenian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Gregory. This is the name of the patron saint of Armenia (known as Saint Gregory the Illuminator in English).

Means "wind" in Basque.

Anglicized form of the Danish name Amleth. Shakespeare used this name for the main character in his tragedy Hamlet (1600), which he based upon earlier Danish tales. In the play, Hamlet is a prince of Denmark seeking to avenge the death of his father (also named Hamlet) at the hands of his uncle Claudius.

Diminutive of Hamo. This was the name of a son of Shakespeare who died in childhood. His death may have provided the inspiration for his father's play Hamlet.

From the English word harmony, ultimately deriving from Greek ἁρμονία (harmonia).

English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).

Means "jasmine" in Armenian.

Diminutive of Harriet.

Dutch and Estonian cognate of Heinrich (see Henry).

Feminine form of Hendrik.

Form of Heinrich (see Henry) in several languages. A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).

Armenian form of Joseph.

Judeo-Catalan form of Jacob.

Basque variant form of John.

Arabic form of Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.

Spanish form of Ignatius.

Russian form of the Old Norse name Yngvarr (see Ingvar). The Varangians brought it with them when they began settling in Eastern Europe in the 9th century. It was borne by two grand princes of Kyiv, notably Igor I the son of Rurik and the husband of Saint Olga. Other famous bearers include Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), a Russian composer known for The Rite of Spring, and Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), the Russian-American designer of the first successful helicopter.

Ukrainian form of Igor.

Short form of names ending with iina.

Means "tree" in Hebrew.

Georgian form of Elijah. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian Илья or Belarusian Ілья (see Ilya) or Bulgarian Илия (see Iliya).

Short form of Elizabete.

Basque form of Emmanuel.

Variant of Indie.

Spanish form of Indigo, the purplish-blue colour.

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".

Diminutive of Indiana. This is the nickname of the hero of the Indiana Jones movies, starring Harrison Ford.

Medieval Spanish form of Eneko. This was the birth name of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who changed it in honour of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. As such, this name is sometimes regarded as a form of Ignatius.

Basque form of Íñigo and medieval Spanish variant of Yñigo.

Georgian form of Herakles.

Possibly a Portuguese and Galician form of Irene. This was the name of a 7th-century saint (also known as Irene) from Tomar in Portugal. This is also the name of an ancient town in Galicia (now a district of Padrón).

Medieval French variant of Isabel. A famous bearer of this name was Isabeau of Bavaria (1385-1422), wife of the French king Charles VI.

Variant of Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).

Late Latin name meaning "from Isauria". Isauria was the name of a region in Asia Minor.

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of Isidore.

Means "spark" in South Slavic.

From Basque meaning "extraordinary" or a variant of Itzal.

Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.

Spanish form of Ethan, reflecting the English pronunciation.

In the Basque country and French-speaking areas, this name is now generally considered a variant of Izar and Izarra. There is, however, another theory which derives Izara from izar, the Pyrenean French cognate of French isard "chamois".
Whichever theory might be true, this name is extremely rare in the French-speaking world with 7 births in France between 1916 and 1990 and 5 births in French-speaking Belgium from 2002 to present.

Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.

In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Basque form of Jacob (or James).

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.

Form of Jasmine in several languages.

From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans [1]. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.

Derived from South Slavic jasno meaning "clearly, obviously".

Spanish form of Xavier.

Diminutive of Jazmine/Jasmine or Jazper/Jasper, or possibly given in reference to "jazz", the genre of music, or the English word jazz meaning "energy, excitement, excitability; very lively; of excellent quality, the genuine article".

Diminutive of names with the syllable jaz or jas such as Jasmine, Jasper and Jazzabelle

Combination of Jean 1 and Paul. A famous bearer was the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).

Catalan and Occitan form of Iohannes (see John).

Diminutive of Joan 1.

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-).

Dutch diminutive of Jozef.

Diminutive of Joseph. It is occasionally used as a feminine diminutive of Josephine or Johanna.

Scandinavian and Basque form of Iohannes (see John).

Catalan form of George.

Basque form of Joseph.

Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish feminine form of Joseph.

Catalan form of Joseph.

Spanish variant of Joseph.

From Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add", from the root יָסַף (yasaf) meaning "to add, to increase". In the Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the first with his wife Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.

In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.

This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).

English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.

French, Spanish and Portuguese form of Joshua.

Combination of Juan 1 and Antonio.

Combination of Juan 1 and Carlos.

Diminutive of Juan José.

Combination of Juan 1 and José.

Combination of Juan 1 and Pablo.

Basque form of Iulianus (see Julian).

Feminine form of the Roman family name Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the New Testament. It was also borne by a few early saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).

Feminine form of Iulianus (see Julian). This was the name of a 4th-century saint and martyr from Nicomedia, and also of the Blessed Juliana of Norwich, also called Julian, a 14th-century mystic and author. The name was also borne by a 20th-century queen of the Netherlands. In England, this form has been in use since the 18th century, alongside the older form Gillian.

Anglicized form of Giulietta or Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.

Polish and Hungarian form and English elaboration of Juliet.

French diminutive of Julie.

Spanish form of Julius.

From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.

Feminine form of Junius. This is the name of an early Christian mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a woman Junia or a man Junias).

Meaning uncertain, possibly a Frisian diminutive of Gerhard, Nicolaas, Cornelis or Gaius [1]. It is borne by a boy captured by the Snow Queen in an 1844 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Spreading from Germany and Scandinavia, this name became popular in the English-speaking world and other places in Western Europe around the end of the 20th century.

Hungarian short form of Katalin, Finnish short form of Katariina and Croatian short form of Katarina.

Hungarian and Basque form of Katherine.

Macedonian and Albanian form of Katherine, a Russian short form of Yekaterina, a Bulgarian short form of Ekaterina, and a Greek variant of Aikaterine.

Basque form of Katherine.

Anglicized form of both Coinneach and Cináed. This name was borne by the Scottish king Kenneth (Cináed) mac Alpin, who united the Scots and Picts in the 9th century. It was popularized outside of Scotland by Walter Scott, who used it for the hero in his 1825 novel The Talisman [1]. A famous bearer was the British novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), who wrote The Wind in the Willows.

Basque form of Cephas.

Tongan form of Gabriel.

Diminutive of names beginning with or containing the sound K.

Diminutive of Iakob.

Polish diminutive of Jakub.

Means "barker" from the Russian лаять (layat') meaning "to bark". This was the name of a Soviet dog who became one of the first animals to go to space.

Diminutive of both Lara 1 and Larisa.

Alternate transcription of Russian Лаврентий (see Lavrentiy), as well as the Georgian form.

Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.

In some cases this name can be a short form of longer names that start with Leo, such as Leonard.

Anglicized form of Llywelyn influenced by Latin leo "lion".

Combination of Leone 1 and Luca 1. This was the name of a 9th-century Sicilian saint.

Armenian form of Leon. This was the name of several kings of Cilician Armenia, including the first king Levon I the Magnificent.

Armenian form of Lilith. This is the name of a 1921 poem by the Armenian poet Avetik Isahakyan, based on the myth of Lilith.

Transferred use of the surname Lillis.

Lillis was Bing Crosby's middle name. (He was born Harold Lillis Crosby.)

Means "the day is born" in Albanian, from lind "to give birth" and ditë "day".

Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Galician form of Linus.

Romanian form of Livius.

Short form of Elizabeth. This is the familiar name of actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).

Short form of Elizabeth (English), Yelizaveta (Russian), Elisavet (Greek) or Elisabed (Georgian).

Diminutive of Elizabeth.

Catalan form of Louis.

Catalan feminine form of Louis.

Means "rain" in Spanish.

Spanish diminutive of Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.

Diminutive of Lola. This is the name of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

Latin form of Greek Λουκᾶς (see Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.

This name became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. It reached the top ten names for boys in France (by 1997), Belgium (1998), Denmark (2003), Canada (2008), the Netherlands (2009), New Zealand (2009), Australia (2010), Scotland (2013), Spain (2015) and the United States (2018).

Form of Lucas (see Luke) in several languages.

Basque form of Lucianus.

Icelandic form of Magnus.

Spanish diminutive of Manuel.

Spanish and Portuguese form of Emmanuel. In the spelling Μανουήλ (Manouel) it was also used in the Byzantine Empire, notably by two emperors. It is possible this form of the name was transmitted to Spain and Portugal from Byzantium, since there were connections between the royal families (king Ferdinand III of Castile married Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, who had Byzantine roots, and had a son named Manuel). The name has been used in Iberia since at least the 13th century and was borne by two kings of Portugal.

French, Catalan and Welsh form of Marcus (see Mark). This name was borne by the Russian-French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985).

Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcus (see Mark).

Ukrainian and Belarusian form of Margaret.

Latin form of Greek Μαρία, from Hebrew מִרְיָם (see Mary). Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy, Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.

This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.

Means "Mary of Mount Carmel" in Spanish, a devotional title of the Virgin Mary (see Carmen).

Means "Mary of the sea" in Catalan, a devotional title of the Virgin Mary.

Combination of Maria and Francesca.

Variant of Marion 1. This name was borne in English legend by Maid Marian, Robin Hood's love. It is sometimes considered a combination of Mary and Ann.

This name spiked in popularity in several places around the world in 1954 after Pope Pius declared it to be a Marian year, in honour of the Virgin Mary. A similar declaration in 1987 did not have as marked an effect.

Short form of María Isabel.

Diminutive of Maria and other names beginning with Mari.

Feminine form of Marinus. This name was borne by a few early saints. This is also the name by which Saint Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Means "of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".

Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of Maria, as well as an alternate transcription of Belarusian Марыя (see Maryia).

Form of Mark in several languages.

Latinate form of Marlene.

Form of Martha used in various languages.

Catalan form of Martin.

From the Roman name Martinus, which was derived from Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god Mars. Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.

An influential bearer of the name was Martin Luther (1483-1546), the theologian who began the Protestant Reformation. The name was also borne by five popes (two of them more commonly known as Marinus). Other more recent bearers include the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), and the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese (1942-).

Feminine form of Martinus (see Martin). Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.

Russian and Ukrainian diminutive of Mariya.

Catalan form of Matthew.

French variant form of Matthew.

Spanish form of Matthias.

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

From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.