novak_boglarka's Personal Name List
Aaron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Finnish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: אַהֲרֹן(Hebrew) Ἀαρών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHR-ən(English) AR-ən(English) A-RAWN(French) A-rawn(German) AH-ron(Finnish)
From the Hebrew name
אַהֲרֹן (ʾAharon), which is most likely of unknown Egyptian origin. Other theories claim a Hebrew derivation, and suggest meanings such as
"high mountain" or
"exalted". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by the older brother of
Moses. He acted as a spokesman for his brother when they appealed to the pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. Aaron's rod produced miracles and plagues to intimidate the pharaoh. After the departure from Egypt and arrival at Mount Sinai, God installed Aaron as the first high priest of the Israelites and promised that his descendants would form the priesthood.
As an English name, Aaron has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. This name was borne by the American politician Aaron Burr (1756-1836), notable for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
Abigail
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Italian, Biblical Portuguese, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֲבִיגַיִל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AB-i-gayl(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֲבִיגָיִל (ʾAviḡayil) meaning
"my father is joy", derived from the roots
אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and
גִּיל (gil) meaning "joy". In the
Old Testament this is the name of Nabal's wife. After Nabal's death she became the third wife of King
David.
As an English name, Abigail first became common after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans. The biblical Abigail refers to herself as a servant, and beginning in the 17th century the name became a slang term for a servant, especially after the release of the play The Scornful Lady (1616), which featured a character named Abigail. The name went out of fashion at that point, but it was revived in the 20th century.
Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
Aino
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian, Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: IE-no(Finnish)
Means
"the only one" in Finnish. In the Finnish epic the
Kalevala this is the name of a girl who drowns herself when she finds out she must marry the old man
Väinämöinen.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Aizhan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Айжан(Kazakh)
Pronounced: ie-ZHAHN
From Kazakh
ай (ay) meaning "moon" and
жан (zhan) meaning "soul".
Ajla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bosnian, Albanian
Bosnian and Albanian form of
Ayla 2.
Alan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish, Breton, French, Polish
Pronounced: AL-ən(English) A-lahn(Breton) A-LAHN(French)
The meaning of this name is not known for certain. It was used in Brittany at least as early as the 6th century, and it possibly means either
"little rock" or
"handsome" in Breton. Alternatively, it may derive from the tribal name of the Alans, an Iranian people who migrated into Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries.
This was the name of several dukes of Brittany, and Breton settlers introduced it to England after the Norman Conquest. Famous modern bearers include Alan Shepard (1923-1998), the first American in space and the fifth man to walk on the moon, and Alan Turing (1912-1954), a British mathematician and computer scientist.
Alexis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French, English, Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αλέξης(Greek) Ἄλεξις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SEE(French) ə-LEHK-sis(English) a-LEHK-sees(Spanish)
From the Greek name
Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning
"helper" or
"defender", derived from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several
saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name
Ἀλέξιος or
Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors.
In the English-speaking world this name is more commonly given to girls. This is due to the American actress Alexis Smith (1921-1993), who began appearing in movies in the early 1940s. It got a boost in popularity in the 1980s from a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Alisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bosnian, Finnish, Georgian
Other Scripts: Алиса(Russian) Аліса(Ukrainian) ალისა(Georgian)
Pronounced: u-LYEE-sə(Russian) AH-lee-sah(Finnish)
Form of
Alice used in several languages.
Alison 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AL-i-sən(English) A-LEE-SAWN(French)
Norman French
diminutive of
Aalis (see
Alice)
[1]. It was common in England, Scotland and France in the Middle Ages, and was later revived in England in the 20th century via Scotland. Unlike most other English names ending in
son, it is not derived from a surname.
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(English)
Alizée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Modern)
Pronounced: A-LEE-ZEH
From French alizé meaning "trade wind".
Alma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: AL-mə(English) AL-ma(Spanish) AHL-ma(Dutch)
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".
Alyona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Алёна(Russian) Альона(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: u-LYUY-nə(Russian)
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ahm-ə-DAY-əs(English) ahm-ə-DEE-əs(English)
Means
"love of God", derived from Latin
amare "to love" and
Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang
Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.
Anatoliy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Анатолий(Russian) Анатолій(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: u-nu-TO-lyee(Russian) u-nu-TAW-lyee(Ukrainian)
Andrea 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: an-DREH-a
Italian form of
Andreas (see
Andrew). A notable bearer of this name was Andrea Verrocchio, a Renaissance sculptor who taught Leonardo da Vinci and Perugino.
Andrés
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Icelandic
Pronounced: an-DREHS(Spanish) AN-tryehs(Icelandic)
Spanish and Icelandic form of
Andrew.
Ángel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ANG-khehl
Spanish form of
Angelus (see
Angel).
Angélique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-ZHEH-LEEK
Anja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, German, Dutch
Other Scripts: Ања(Serbian)
Pronounced: AN-ya(Swedish, Croatian, Serbian, German) AHN-yah(Finnish) AHN-ya(Dutch)
Form of
Anya in several languages.
Anka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Анка(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: ANG-ka(Polish)
Anne 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, Basque
Pronounced: AN(French, English) A-neh(Swedish) A-nə(Danish, German) AHN-neh(Finnish) AH-nə(Dutch)
French form of
Anna. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant
Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.
The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London. Another notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne (Annelies) Frank, a young victim of the Holocaust in 1945. This is also the name of the heroine in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.
Annette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: A-NEHT(French) ə-NEHT(English) a-NEH-tə(German)
French
diminutive of
Anne 1. It has also been widely used in the English-speaking world, and it became popular in America in the late 1950s due to the fame of actress Annette Funicello (1942-2013).
Anush
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Անուշ(Armenian)
Pronounced: ah-NOOSH
Means "sweet" in Armenian. This was the name of an 1890 novel by the Armenia writer Hovhannes Tumanyan. It was adapted into an opera in 1912 by Armen Tigranian.
Aodhán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
From the Old Irish name
Áedán meaning
"little fire", a
diminutive of
Áed (see
Aodh). This name was borne by a 6th-century king of Dál Riata. It was also the name of a few early Irish
saints, including a 6th-century bishop of Ferns and a 7th-century bishop of Lindisfarne.
Arevik
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Արեւիկ(Armenian)
Means "like the sun" in Armenian.
Arnbjörg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(English)
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.
Artyom
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Артём(Russian)
Pronounced: ur-TYUYM
Ashley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH-lee
From an English surname that was originally derived from place names meaning
"ash tree clearing", from a combination of Old English
æsc and
leah. Until the 1960s it was more commonly given to boys in the United States, but it is now most often used on girls. It reached its height of popularity in America in 1987, but it did not become the highest ranked name until 1991, being overshadowed by the likewise-popular
Jessica until then. In the United Kingdom it is still more common as a masculine name.
Atėnė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Athina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αθηνά(Greek)
Pronounced: a-thee-NA
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Aylin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh
Other Scripts: Айлин(Kazakh)
Means
"of the moon" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, from Turkic
ay "moon".
Benjamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Biblical
Other Scripts: בִּןְיָמִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-jə-min(English) BEHN-ZHA-MEHN(French) BEHN-ya-meen(German) BEHN-ya-min(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name
בִּןְיָמִין (Binyamin) meaning
"son of the south" or
"son of the right hand", from the roots
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son" and
יָמִין (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the
Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of
Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named
בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-ʾoni) meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother
Rachel, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see
Genesis 35:18).
As an English name, Benjamin came into general use after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.
Bianca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: BYANG-ka
Italian
cognate of
Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in
The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and
Othello (1603).
Björn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Icelandic, German
Pronounced: BYUUN(Swedish) PYUURTN(Icelandic) BYUURN(German)
From an Old Norse byname derived from
bjǫrn meaning
"bear".
Bojan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Бојан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: BO-yan(Serbian, Croatian) BAW-yan(Macedonian)
Derived from Old Slavic
bojĭ meaning
"battle". This was the name of a 9th-century Bulgarian
saint and martyr, also called Enravota, a son of the Bulgarian khan Omurtag.
Borna
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian
Pronounced: BOR-na
Derived from the Slavic element
borti meaning
"fight, battle". This was the name of a 9th-century duke of Croatia.
Caitríona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: kə-TRYEE-nə, KAT-ryee-nə
Cameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-rən
From a Scottish surname meaning
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms
Camryn and
Kamryn are now more popular than
Cameron for girls.
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KA-ris
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Casper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KAHS-pər(Dutch) KAHS-pehr(Swedish) KAS-bu(Danish)
Dutch and Scandinavian form of
Jasper. This is the name of a friendly ghost in an American series of cartoons and comic books (beginning 1945).
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian)
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.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
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.
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
French form of
Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by
Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
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.
Conor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: KAHN-ər(English)
Corentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: ko-REHN-teen(Breton) KAW-RAHN-TEHN(French)
French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.
Damir 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Дамир(Serbian)
Pronounced: DA-meer(Croatian, Serbian)
Possibly derived from the Slavic elements
danŭ "given" and
mirŭ "peace, world". Otherwise, it might be of Turkic or Russian origin (see
Damir 2). It was popularized by a character from Marija Jurić Zagorka's novel
Gordana (1935).
Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
Darija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Дарија(Serbian)
Croatian, Serbian and Slovene form of
Daria.
Darina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian, Russian
Other Scripts: Дарина(Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: DA-ree-na(Slovak) DA-ri-na(Czech)
Derived from the Slavic word
darŭ meaning
"gift". It is sometimes used as a
diminutive of names beginning with
Dar.
Davide
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: DA-vee-deh
Dean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEEN
From a surname, see
Dean 1 and
Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
Denis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Russian, English, German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Romanian, Croatian, Albanian
Other Scripts: Денис(Russian)
Pronounced: DU-NEE(French) dyi-NYEES(Russian) DEHN-is(English) DEH-nis(German, Czech)
From
Denys or
Denis, the medieval French forms of
Dionysius.
Saint Denis was a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul and the first bishop of Paris. He was martyred by decapitation, after which legend says he picked up his own severed head and walked for a distance while preaching a sermon. He is credited with converting the Gauls to Christianity and is considered the patron saint of France.
This name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and it was imported by the Normans to England. It is now regularly spelled Dennis in the English-speaking world. A notable bearer was the French philosopher Denis Diderot (1713-1784).
Diego
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: DYEH-gho(Spanish) DYEH-go(Italian)
Spanish name, possibly a shortened form of
Santiago. In medieval records
Diego was Latinized as
Didacus, and it has been suggested that it in fact derives from Greek
διδαχή (didache) meaning
"teaching".
Saint Didacus (or Diego) was a 15th-century Franciscan brother based in Alcalá, Spain.
Other famous bearers of this name include Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona (1960-2020).
Dolores
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English
Pronounced: do-LO-rehs(Spanish) də-LAWR-is(English)
Means
"sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.
Dominik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Polish, Hungarian, Croatian
Pronounced: DAW-mee-nik(German) DO-mi-nik(Czech) DAW-mee-neek(Slovak) daw-MEE-nyeek(Polish) DO-mee-neek(Hungarian)
Form of
Dominic used in various languages.
Dorothea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δωροθέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: do-ro-TEH-a(German) dawr-ə-THEE-ə(English)
Feminine form of the Greek name
Δωρόθεος (Dorotheos), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift" and
θεός (theos) meaning "god". The name
Theodore is composed of the same elements in reverse order. Dorothea was the name of two early
saints, notably the 4th-century martyr Dorothea of Caesarea. It was also borne by the 14th-century Saint Dorothea of Montau, who was the patron saint of Prussia.
Dragan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Драган(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian)
Derived from the Slavic element
dorgŭ (South Slavic
drag) meaning
"precious".
Dražen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Дражен(Serbian)
Pronounced: DRA-zhehn
Derived from the Slavic element
dorgŭ (South Slavic
drag) meaning
"precious", originally a
diminutive of names beginning with that element.
Dušan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovak, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Душан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DOO-shan(Slovak, Czech)
Derived from Slavic
duša meaning
"soul, spirit".
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
From the Welsh prefix
dy meaning "to, toward" and
llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of
Arianrhod and the twin brother of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle
Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.
Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish)
From the Old English name
Eadgyð, derived from the elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by
Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the
Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.
Eithne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: EH-nyə(Irish)
Possibly from Old Irish
etne meaning
"kernel, grain". In Irish
mythology Eithne or Ethniu was a Fomorian and the mother of
Lugh Lámfada. It was borne by several other legendary and historical figures, including a few early
saints.
Eivor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
From the Old Norse name
Eyvǫr, which was derived from the elements
ey "good fortune" or "island" and
vǫr "vigilant, cautious".
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
Eliška
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: EH-lish-ka(Czech) EH-leesh-ka(Slovak)
Embla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: EHM-blah(Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian)
Meaning uncertain, perhaps related to Old Norse
almr "elm". In Norse
mythology Embla and her husband
Ask were the first humans. They were created by three of the gods from two trees.
Emil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, English
Other Scripts: Емил(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Эмиль(Russian)
Pronounced: EH-mil(Swedish, Czech) EH-meel(German, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian) eh-MEEL(Romanian) eh-MYEEL(Russian) ə-MEEL(English) EHM-il(English)
From the Roman family name Aemilius, which was derived from Latin aemulus meaning "rival".
Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
irmin meaning
"whole" or
"great" (Proto-Germanic *
ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian
saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).
In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).
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).
Erika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, English, Italian
Pronounced: eh-REE-kah(Swedish, Norwegian) EH-ree-kah(Finnish) EH-ree-ka(German, Slovak) EH-ree-kaw(Hungarian) EHR-i-kə(English)
Feminine form of
Erik. It also coincides with the word for
"heather" in some languages.
Esteban
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TEH-ban
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
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.
Fabián
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: fa-BYAN
Spanish form of
Fabianus (see
Fabian).
Facundo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: fa-KOON-do
From the Late Latin name
Facundus, which meant
"eloquent". This was the name of a few early
saints, including a 3rd-century Spanish martyr.
Federico
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: feh-dheh-REE-ko(Spanish) feh-deh-REE-ko(Italian)
Spanish and Italian form of
Frederick. Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (1920-1993) are famous bearers of this name.
Félix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian
Pronounced: FEH-LEEKS(French) FEH-leeks(Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian)
French, Spanish, Portuguese and Hungarian form of
Felix.
Fiadh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Modern)
Pronounced: FYEE
Means "wild, wild animal, deer" (modern Irish fia) or "respect" in Irish.
Flavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: FLA-vya(Italian) FLA-bya(Spanish) FLA-wee-a(Latin)
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Means
"flower" in French.
Saint Fleur of Issendolus (
Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels
The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLAW-ra(Italian) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Dutch, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese) FLAW-RA(French)
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Frida 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: FREE-dah(Swedish)
Derived from Old Norse
fríðr meaning "beautiful, beloved".
Fritz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: FRITS
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
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.
Gabriela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, German, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Габриела(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: gab-RYEH-la(Polish) ga-BRYEH-la(Spanish) ga-bree-EH-la(German) GA-bri-yeh-la(Czech) GA-bree-eh-la(Slovak)
Gijsberta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Giles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIELZ
From the Late Latin name
Aegidius, which is derived from Greek
αἰγίδιον (aigidion) meaning
"young goat".
Saint Giles was an 8th-century miracle worker who came to southern France from Greece. He is regarded as the patron saint of the crippled. In Old French the name
Aegidius became
Gidie and then
Gilles, at which point it was imported to England. Another famous bearer was the 13th-century philosopher and theologian Giles of Rome (
Egidio in Italian).
Gilles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEEL
Gisèle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL
Goran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Горан(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: GO-ran(Croatian, Serbian)
Derived from South Slavic gora meaning "mountain". It was popularized by the Croatian poet Ivan Goran Kovačić (1913-1943), who got his middle name because of the mountain town where he was born.
Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
From Welsh
gwen, the feminine form of
gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of
Gwendolen,
Gwenllian and other names beginning with
Gwen.
Harmony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-mə-nee
From the English word
harmony, ultimately deriving from Greek
ἁρμονία (harmonia).
Hedwig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: HEHT-vikh(German)
From the Old German name
Hadewig, derived from the Old German elements
hadu "battle, combat" and
wig "war". This was the name of a 13th-century German
saint, the wife of the Polish duke Henry the Bearded. It was subsequently borne by a 14th-century Polish queen (usually known by her Polish name
Jadwiga) who is now also regarded as a saint.
Heinrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: HIEN-rikh(German)
German form of
Henry. This was the name of several German kings.
Hélène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LEHN
Helga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, German, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Czech, Portuguese, Old Norse [1]
Pronounced: HEHL-ga(German) HEHL-gha(Dutch) HEHL-gaw(Hungarian) EHL-gu(European Portuguese) EW-gu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Herbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Czech, Swedish, French
Pronounced: HUR-bərt(English) HEHR-behrt(German) HEHR-bərt(Dutch) HAR-bat(Swedish) EHR-BEHR(French)
Derived from the Old German elements
heri "army" and
beraht "bright". It was borne by two Merovingian Frankish kings, usually called
Charibert. The
Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced an Old English
cognate Herebeorht. In the course of the Middle Ages it became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by a few medieval saints, including a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon priest and an 11th-century archbishop of Cologne.
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Old German form of
Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and
Les Misérables.
Hugues
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UYG
Íde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EE-dyə
From Old Irish
Íte, possibly derived from
ítu meaning
"thirst". This was the name of a 6th-century Irish nun, the patron
saint of Killeedy.
Ignacio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eegh-NA-thyo(European Spanish) eegh-NA-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Ilona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, German, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech
Pronounced: EE-lo-naw(Hungarian) ee-LO-na(German) EE-lo-na(German) EE-lo-nah(Finnish) ee-LAW-na(Polish) I-lo-na(Czech)
Old Hungarian form of
Helen, possibly via a Slavic form. In Finland it is associated with the word
ilona, a derivative of
ilo "joy".
Ingrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ING-rid(Swedish) ING-ri(Norwegian) ING-grit(German) ING-greet(German) ING-ghrit(Dutch)
From the Old Norse name
Ingríðr meaning
"Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god
Ing combined with
fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
Inzhu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Інжу(Kazakh)
Means "pearl" in Kazakh.
Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Medieval Occitan form of
Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.
This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.
Iva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Ива(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Means "willow tree" in South Slavic.
Jamie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
Janek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian, Polish, Czech
Pronounced: YA-nehk(Polish, Czech)
Janja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Јања(Serbian)
Croatian, Serbian and Slovene form of
Agnes. It also may be inspired by Serbo-Croatian
janje meaning
"lamb".
Jared
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יָרֶד, יֶרֶד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAR-əd(English)
From the Hebrew name
יָרֶד (Yareḏ) or
יֶרֶד (Yereḏ) meaning
"descent". This is the name of a close descendant of
Adam in the
Old Testament. It has been used as an English name since the
Protestant Reformation, and it was popularized in the 1960s by the character Jarrod Barkley on the television series
The Big Valley [1].
Jaromír
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: YA-ro-meer(Czech) YA-raw-meer(Slovak)
Derived from the Slavic elements
jarŭ "fierce, energetic" and
mirŭ "peace, world". This name was borne by an 11th-century duke of Bohemia.
Jaroslav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: YA-ro-slaf(Czech) YA-raw-slow(Slovak)
Jérôme
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEH-ROM
João
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: ZHWOWN, zhoo-OWN
Portuguese form of
Iohannes (see
John).
Jökull
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic
Means "glacier, ice" in Icelandic.
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.
Josep
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: zhoo-ZEHP
Jules 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUYL
French form of
Julius. A notable bearer of this name was the French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905), author of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and other works of science fiction.
Juliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: yuy-lee-A-na(Dutch) yoo-lee-A-na(German) joo-lee-AN-ə(English) joo-lee-AHN-ə(English) khoo-LYA-na(Spanish) YOO-lee-a-na(Slovak)
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.
Juraj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovak, Czech, Croatian
Pronounced: YOO-rie(Slovak, Croatian)
Slovak, Czech and Croatian form of
George.
Jurij
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovene, Sorbian
Pronounced: YOO-ree(Slovene)
Slovene and Sorbian form of
George.
Justin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Slovene
Pronounced: JUS-tin(English) ZHUYS-TEHN(French)
From the Latin name
Iustinus, which was derived from
Justus. This was the name of several early
saints including Justin Martyr, a Christian philosopher of the 2nd century who was beheaded in Rome. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors. As an English name, it has occasionally been used since the late Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the second half of the 20th century. Famous modern bearers include pop stars Justin Timberlake (1981-) and Justin Bieber (1994-).
Katinka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch
Pronounced: ka-TING-ka(German, Dutch) KAW-teeng-kaw(Hungarian)
Katja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: KAT-ya(German) KAHT-ya(Dutch)
Form of
Katya in various languages.
Keijo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Derived from Finnish keiju meaning "elf, fairy".
Kevin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, French (Modern), German (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: KEHV-in(English) KEH-VEEN(French) KEH-vin(German, Dutch)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Caoimhín meaning
"beloved birth", derived from Old Irish
Cóemgein, composed of
cóem "dear, beloved, gentle" and
gein "birth".
Saint Caoimhín established a monastery in Glendalough, Ireland in the 6th century and is the patron saint of Dublin.
The name became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland in the middle of the 20th century, and elsewhere in Europe in the latter half of the 20th century. Famous bearers include the American actors Kevin Costner (1955-) and Kevin Bacon (1958-). It was also borne by the character Kevin McCallister in the 1990 comedy movie Home Alone.
Kjell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: SHEHL(Swedish) KHEHL(Norwegian)
Kristina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Russian, German, Slovene, Czech, Lithuanian, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Faroese, English, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Кристина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: kris-TEE-na(Swedish, German) KRIS-ti-na(Czech) kryis-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) kris-TEE-nə(English)
Ladislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Ладислав(Serbian)
Pronounced: LA-gyi-slaf(Czech) LA-gyee-slow(Slovak)
Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian and Serbian variant of
Vladislav.
Lasha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: ლაშა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAH-SHAH
Possibly from a Northwest Caucasian word meaning "light". This was a name of Giorgi IV, a 13th-century king of Georgia.
László
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: LAS-lo
Hungarian form of
Vladislav.
Saint László was an 11th-century king of Hungary, looked upon as the embodiment of Christian virtue and bravery.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Leon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λέων(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-ahn(English) LEH-awn(German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene)
Derived from Greek
λέων (leon) meaning
"lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin
cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is
Лев in Russian.
Lín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Faroese, Icelandic
Icelandic and Faroese feminine form of
Líni as well as the Faroese form of
Hlín.
Lindsay
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-zee
From an English and Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of the eastern English region of Lindsey, which means "
Lincoln island" in Old English. As a given name it was typically masculine until the 1960s (in Britain) and 70s (in America) when it became popular for girls, probably due to its similarity to
Linda and because of American actress Lindsay Wagner (1949-)
[1].
Liv 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: LEEV
Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Ljubica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Љубица(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: LYOO-bee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian)
From the Slavic element
ľuby meaning
"love" combined with a
diminutive suffix. It can also come from the Serbian and Croatian word
ljubica meaning
"violet (flower)".
Ljubiša
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian
Other Scripts: Љубиша(Serbian)
From the Slavic element
ľuby meaning
"love" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Ljudmila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene
Llewelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Variant of
Llywelyn influenced by the Welsh word
llew "lion".
Lluc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: LYOOK
Catalan form of
Lucas (see
Luke).
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Luka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Russian, Georgian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Лука(Serbian, Macedonian, Russian) ლუკა(Georgian) Лꙋка(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: LOO-ka(Croatian) LOO-KAH(Georgian)
Form of
Lucas (see
Luke) in several languages.
Lumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LOO-mee
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
Magdaléna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovak, Czech, Hungarian
Pronounced: MAG-da-leh-na(Slovak, Czech) MAWG-daw-leh-naw(Hungarian)
Slovak and Czech form of
Magdalene, as well as a Hungarian variant form.
Magnus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MANG-nuys(Swedish) MAHNG-noos(Norwegian) MOW-noos(Danish) MAG-nəs(English)
Late Latin name meaning
"great". It was borne by a 7th-century
saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after
Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name
Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Mai 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 舞, 麻衣, 真愛, etc.(Japanese Kanji) まい(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MA-EE
From Japanese
舞 (mai) meaning "dance" or
麻衣 (mai) meaning "linen robe". It can also come from
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
Maral
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Turkmen
Other Scripts: Марал(Mongolian Cyrillic) Մարալ(Armenian)
Means "deer" in Mongolian, Azerbaijani, Armenian and Turkmen, referring to the Caspian Red Deer.
Marc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan, Welsh
Pronounced: MARK(French, Catalan)
French, Catalan and Welsh form of
Marcus (see
Mark). This name was borne by the Russian-French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985).
Margarita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Greek, Albanian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Маргарита(Russian, Bulgarian) Μαργαρίτα(Greek)
Pronounced: mar-gha-REE-ta(Spanish) mər-gu-RYEE-tə(Russian) mahr-gə-REE-tə(English)
Latinate form of
Margaret. This is also the Spanish word for the daisy flower (species Bellis perennis, Leucanthemum vulgare and others).
Marta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Swedish, Icelandic, Latvian, Estonian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Марта(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian) მართა(Georgian)
Pronounced: MAR-ta(Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German) MAR-tu(European Portuguese) MAKH-tu(Brazilian Portuguese) MAR-tə(Catalan) MAHR-ta(Dutch) MAHR-TAH(Georgian)
Form of
Martha used in various languages.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Matthias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ματθίας, Μαθθίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(German) MA-TYAS(French) mah-TEE-yahs(Dutch) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
From Greek
Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of
Ματθαῖος (see
Matthew). This form appears in the
New Testament as the name of the apostle chosen to replace the traitor
Judas Iscariot. This was also the name of kings of Hungary (spelled
Mátyás in Hungarian), including Matthias I who made important reforms to the kingdom in the 15th century.
Maurice
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: MAW-REES(French) maw-REES(English) MAWR-is(English)
From the Roman name
Mauritius, a derivative of
Maurus.
Saint Maurice was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Egypt. He and the other Christians in his legion were supposedly massacred on the orders of Emperor Maximian for refusing to worship Roman gods. Thus, he is the patron saint of infantry soldiers.
This name was borne by a 6th-century Byzantine emperor. Another notable bearer was Maurice of Nassau (called Maurits in Dutch), a 17th-century prince of Orange who helped establish the Dutch Republic. The name has been used in England since the Norman Conquest, usually in the spelling Morris or Moris.
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.
Mercedes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mehr-THEH-dhehs(European Spanish) mehr-SEH-dhehs(Latin American Spanish) mər-SAY-deez(English)
Means
"mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word
merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity"
[1].
Meruert
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Меруерт(Kazakh) مەرۋەرت(Kazakh Arabic)
Means "pearl" in Kazakh, ultimately from Persian مروارید (morvarid).
Michael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: מִיכָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Μιχαήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MIE-kəl(English) MI-kha-ehl(German, Czech) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish) MEE-kah-ehl(Norwegian) mee-KA-ehl(Latin)
From the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning
"who is like God?", derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see
Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the
New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron
saint of soldiers in Christianity.
The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).
In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.
Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).
Mihail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek
Other Scripts: Михаил(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Μιχαήλ(Greek)
Pronounced: mee-ha-EEL(Romanian)
Romanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of
Michael. This is also an alternate transcription of Greek
Μιχαήλ (see
Michail).
Miloš
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Милош(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MI-losh(Czech) MEE-lawsh(Slovak) MEE-losh(Serbian, Croatian)
Originally a
diminutive of names beginning with the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear". This was the name of a 14th-century Serbian hero who apparently killed the Ottoman sultan Murad I at the Battle of Kosovo.
Mimika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Μιμίκα(Greek)
Miomir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian
Other Scripts: Миомир(Serbian)
Derived from the element
mio, a Serbian form of the Slavic element
milŭ meaning "dear", combined with
mirŭ meaning "peace" or "world".
Mitchell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MICH-əl
From an English surname, itself derived from the given name
Michael or in some cases from Middle English
michel meaning "big, large".
Momčilo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian
Other Scripts: Момчило(Serbian)
Monica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: MAHN-i-kə(English) MAW-nee-ka(Italian) mo-NEE-ka(Romanian) MO-nee-ka(Dutch)
Meaning unknown, most likely of Berber or Phoenician origin. In the 4th century this name was borne by a North African
saint, the mother of Saint
Augustine of Hippo, whom she converted to Christianity. Since the Middle Ages it has been associated with Latin
moneo "advisor" and Greek
μονός (monos) "one, single".
As an English name, Monica has been in general use since the 18th century. In America it reached the height of its popularity in the 1970s, declining since then. A famous bearer was the Yugoslavian tennis player Monica Seles (1973-).
Neil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: NEEL(English)
From the Irish name
Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly connected to the old Celtic root *
nītu- "fury, passion" or the (possibly related) Old Irish word
nia "hero" [1][2]. A derivation from Old Irish
nél "cloud" has also been suggested. This was the name of a few early Irish kings, notably Niall of the Nine Hostages, a semi-legendary high king of the 4th or 5th century.
In the early Middle Ages the name was adopted by Norse raiders and settlers in Ireland in the form Njáll. The Norse transmitted it to England and Scotland, as well as bringing it back to Scandinavia. It was also in use among the Normans, who were of Scandinavian origin. A famous bearer of this name was American astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), the first person to walk on the moon.
Nico
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: NEE-ko(Italian, Dutch, Spanish)
Nicole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: NEE-KAWL(French) ni-KOL(English) nee-KAWL(Dutch, German)
French feminine form of
Nicholas, commonly used in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. A famous bearer is American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman (1967-).
Nikita 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Никита(Russian) Нікіта(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nyi-KYEE-tə(Russian)
Russian form of
Niketas. This form is also used in Ukrainian and Belarusian alongside the more traditional forms
Mykyta and
Mikita. A notable bearer was the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971).
Olga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ольга(Russian, Ukrainian) Олга(Serbian, Bulgarian) Όλγα(Greek)
Pronounced: OL-gə(Russian) AWL-ga(Polish, German) AWL-ka(Icelandic) OL-gaw(Hungarian) OL-gha(Spanish) OL-ga(Czech)
Russian form of the Old Norse name
Helga. The 10th-century
Saint Olga was the wife of
Igor I, the ruler of Kievan Rus (a state based around the city of Kyiv). Like her husband she was probably a Varangian, who were Norse people who settled in Eastern Europe beginning in the 9th century. Following Igor's death she ruled as regent for her son
Svyatoslav for 18 years. After she was baptized in Constantinople she attempted to convert her subjects to Christianity, though this goal was only achieved by her grandson
Vladimir.
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).
Pablo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: PA-blo
Spanish form of
Paulus (see
Paul). Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) were famous bearers of this name.
Pierre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Swedish
Pronounced: PYEHR(French)
French form of
Peter. This name has been consistently popular in France since the 13th century, but fell out of the top 100 names in 2017. It was borne by the philosopher and theologian Pierre Abélard (1079-1142), the scholar Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827), the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), and Pierre Curie (1859-1906), a physicist who discovered radioactivity with his wife Marie.
Plamen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Пламен(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Means "flame, fire" in South Slavic.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
French form of the Roman name
Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The
Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Radu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: RA-doo
Old Romanian
diminutive of Slavic names beginning with the element
radŭ meaning
"happy, willing". Radu Negru was the semi-legendary founder of Wallachia in the 13th century.
Raphaël
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: RA-FA-EHL
Rasmus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: RAHS-moos(Danish, Norwegian, Finnish) RAS-smuys(Swedish)
Scandinavian, Finnish and Estonian form of
Erasmus.
Regina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: ri-JEE-nə(English) ri-JIE-nə(English) reh-GEE-na(German, Polish) reh-JEE-na(Italian) reh-KHEE-na(Spanish) ryeh-gyi-NU(Lithuanian) REH-gi-na(Czech) REH-gee-naw(Hungarian)
Means
"queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century
saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin
Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.
Renata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Croatian, Slovene, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: reh-NA-ta(Italian, Spanish, German, Polish) REH-na-ta(Czech)
Renaud
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: RU-NO(French)
French form of
Reynold. This name was used in medieval French literature for the hero Renaud de Montauban, a young man who flees with his three brothers from the court of
Charlemagne after killing the king's nephew. Charlemagne pardons the brothers on the condition that they enter the Crusades. A loose version of the character also appears in medieval Italian extensions of the tales, in the Italian form
Rinaldo.
Renée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: RU-NEH(French) rə-NEH(Dutch) reh-NEH(Dutch)
French feminine form of
René.
Robin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Medieval English
diminutive of
Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
Róisín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ro-SHEEN
Diminutive of
Róis or the Irish word
rós meaning
"rose" (of Latin origin). It appears in the 17th-century song
Róisín Dubh.
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
From the Late Latin name
Romanus meaning
"Roman". This name was borne by several early
saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
Rós
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Means "rose" in Icelandic.
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Rupert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: ROO-pehrt(German) ROO-pərt(English)
German variant form of
Robert, from the Old German variant
Hrodperht. It was borne by the 7th century
Saint Rupert of Salzburg and the 8th-century Saint Rupert of Bingen. The military commander Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a nephew of Charles I, introduced this name to England in the 17th century. A notable bearer is the Australian-American businessman Rupert Murdoch (1931-).
Sabina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Сабина(Russian)
Pronounced: sa-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) SA-bi-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Sabinus, a Roman
cognomen meaning
"a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early
saints.
Sabine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Danish
Pronounced: SA-BEEN(French) za-BEE-nə(German) sa-BEE-nə(Dutch)
French, German, Dutch and Danish form of
Sabina.
Samantha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: sə-MAN-thə(English) sa-MAN-ta(Italian) sa-MAHN-ta(Dutch)
Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of
Samuel, using the name suffix
antha (possibly inspired by Greek
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show
Bewitched.
Samson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, French, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: שִׁםְשׁוֹן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SAM-sən(English) SAHN-SAWN(French)
From the Hebrew name
שִׁםְשׁוֹן (Shimshon), derived from
שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) meaning "sun". Samson was an
Old Testament hero granted exceptional strength by God. His mistress
Delilah betrayed him and cut his hair, stripping him of his power. Thus he was captured by the Philistines, blinded, and brought to their temple. However, in a final act of strength, he pulled down the pillars of the temple upon himself and his captors.
This name was known among the Normans due to the Welsh bishop Saint Samson, who founded monasteries in Brittany and Normandy in the 6th century. In his case, the name may have been a translation of his true Celtic name. As an English name, Samson was common during the Middle Ages, having been introduced by the Normans. It is currently most common in Africa, especially in countries that have an British colonial past.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) SA-muy-ehl(Dutch) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
From the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning
"name of God", from the roots
שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).
Sanja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Сања(Serbian)
Pronounced: SA-nya(Croatian, Serbian)
Derived from South Slavic sanjati meaning "to dream".
Sarah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שָׂרָה(Hebrew) سارة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SEHR-ə(English) SAR-ə(English) SA-RA(French) ZA-ra(German) SA-ra(Danish, Dutch, Arabic)
From the Hebrew name
שָׂרָה (Sara) meaning
"lady, princess, noblewoman". In the
Old Testament this is the name of
Abraham's wife, considered the matriarch of the Jewish people. She was barren until she unexpectedly became pregnant with
Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally
Sarai, but God changed it at the same time Abraham's name was changed (see
Genesis 17:15).
In England, Sarah came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was consistently popular in the 20th century throughout the English-speaking world, reaching the top of the charts for England and Wales in the 1970s and 80s.
Notable bearers include Sarah Churchill (1660-1744), an influential British duchess and a close friend of Queen Anne, and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).
Sarangerel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Сарангэрэл(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Pronounced: sah-RAHN-geh-rehl
Means
"moonlight" in Mongolian, from
саран (saran) meaning "moon" and
гэрэл (gerel) meaning "light".
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
From the Old German element
sahso meaning
"a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Seán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAN
Irish form of
John, derived via the Old French form
Jehan.
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.
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Sonja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Соња(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZAWN-ya(German) SAWN-ya(Dutch) SON-yah(Finnish)
Form of
Sonya in various languages.
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SUR-kə(English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Means
"radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times
[2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as
Sarah (in Ireland) and
Clara (in Scotland).
Stanislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Станислав(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian) Станіслав(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: STA-nyi-slaf(Czech) STA-nyee-slow(Slovak) stə-nyi-SLAF(Russian)
Derived from the Slavic element
stati "stand, become" (inflected forms in
stan-) combined with
slava "glory". This name was borne by a few medieval
saints (typically called by the Polish form
Stanisław or Latinized form
Stanislaus), including a bishop of Krakow who was martyred in the 11th century.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Svetlana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Armenian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Светлана(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Սվետլանա(Armenian) სვეტლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: svyit-LA-nə(Russian) svyeht-lu-NU(Lithuanian)
Derived from Russian
свет (svet) meaning
"light, world". It was popularized by the poem
Svetlana (1813) by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It is sometimes used as a translation of
Photine.
Tamara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Hungarian, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Тамара(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian) თამარა(Georgian)
Pronounced: tu-MA-rə(Russian) TA-ma-ra(Czech, Slovak) ta-MA-ra(Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian) TAW-maw-raw(Hungarian) tə-MAR-ə(English) tə-MAHR-ə(English) TAM-ə-rə(English) tu-mu-RU(Lithuanian)
Russian form of
Tamar. Russian performers such as Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978), Tamara Drasin (1905-1943), Tamara Geva (1907-1997) and Tamara Toumanova (1919-1996) introduced it to the English-speaking world. It rapidly grew in popularity in the United States starting in 1957. Another famous bearer was the Polish cubist painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980).
Tara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAHR-ə, TEHR-ə, TAR-ə
Anglicized form of the Irish place name Teamhair, which possibly means "elevated place". This was the name of the sacred hill near Dublin where the Irish high kings resided. It was popularized as a given name by the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939), in which it is the name of the O'Hara plantation.
Tara 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Buddhism, Hindi, Nepali
Other Scripts: तारा(Sanskrit, Hindi, Nepali)
Means
"star" in Sanskrit. Tara is the name of a Hindu astral goddess, the wife of Brhaspati. She was abducted by
Chandra, the god of the moon, leading to a great war that was only ended when
Brahma intervened and released her. This name also appears in the epic the
Ramayana belonging to the wife of Vali and, after his death, his younger brother Sugriva. In Buddhist belief this is the name of a bodhisattva associated with salvation and protection.
Tatjana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, German, Latvian, Lithuanian, Finnish, Estonian
Other Scripts: Татјана(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: tu-tyu-NU(Lithuanian) TAH-tyah-nah(Finnish)
Form of
Tatiana in several languages, in some cases via Russian
Татьяна (Tatyana).
Taylor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAY-lər
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who was a tailor, from Norman French
tailleur, ultimately from Latin
taliare "to cut".
Its modern use as a feminine name may have been influenced by the British-American author Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985). Since 1990 it has been more popular for girls in the United States. Other England-speaking regions have followed suit, with the exception of England and Wales where it is still slightly more popular for boys. Its popularity peaked in America the mid-1990s for both genders, ranked sixth for girls and 51st for boys. A famous bearer is the American musician Taylor Swift (1989-).
Terence
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHR-əns
From the Roman family name
Terentius, which is of unknown meaning. Famous bearers include Publius Terentius Afer, a Roman playwright, and Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar. It was also borne by several early
saints. The name was used in Ireland as an Anglicized form of
Toirdhealbhach, but it was not found as an English name until the late 19th century. It attained only a moderate level of popularity in the 20th century, though it has been common as an African-American name especially since the 1970s.
Théodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TEH-AW-DAWR
Tim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Slovene, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: TIM(English, German, Dutch, Slovene)
Short form of
Timothy or (in Germany)
Dietmar. It is borne by the fictional character Tiny Tim, the ill son of Bob Cratchit in Charles Dickens' novel
A Christmas Carol (1843).
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Tuuli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: TOO-lee(Finnish)
Means "wind" in Finnish and Estonian.
Ulrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: UWL-rikh(German)
From the Old German name
Odalric, derived from the element
uodil "heritage" combined with
rih "ruler, king". This was the name of two German
saints. Another famous bearer was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), also known as Huldrych, the leader of the
Protestant Reformation in Switzerland.
Ursula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: UR-sə-lə(English) UR-syoo-lə(English) UWR-zoo-la(German) OOR-soo-lah(Finnish)
Means
"little bear", derived from a
diminutive form of the Latin word
ursa "she-bear".
Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.
Valentino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-no
Veronica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: və-RAHN-i-kə(American English) və-RAWN-i-kə(British English) veh-RAW-nee-ka(Italian)
Latin alteration of
Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning
"true image". This was the name of a legendary
saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Vitaliy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Виталий(Russian) Віталій(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: vyi-TA-lyee(Russian)
Russian and Ukrainian form of
Vitalis (see
Vitale).
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
From the Latin name
Vivianus, which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
Bébinn or a variant of
Vivien 2.
Warren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WAWR-ən
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
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.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Wolfgang
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: VAWLF-gang(German) WUWLF-gang(English)
Derived from the Old German elements
wolf meaning "wolf" and
gang meaning "path, way".
Saint Wolfgang was a 10th-century bishop of Regensburg. Two other famous bearers of this name were Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and German novelist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832).
Xenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξένια(Greek) Ξενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-nya(Spanish)
Means
"hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of
ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.
Yannick
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: YA-NEEK(French)
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Željko
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Жељко(Serbian)
Pronounced: ZHEHL-ko(Croatian, Serbian)
Derived from South Slavic
želja meaning
"desire", ultimately from Old Slavic
želěti.
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
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