sillygoober's Personal Name List
Ace 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AYS
From the English word meaning "highest rank". More commonly a nickname, it is occasionally used as a given name.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Adelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Аделина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-deh-LEE-na(Italian) a-dheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
From a Germanic name that was derived from the element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Agatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀγαθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-ə-thə(English) a-GHA-ta(Dutch)
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀγαθή (Agathe), derived from Greek
ἀγαθός (agathos) meaning
"good".
Saint Agatha was a 3rd-century martyr from Sicily who was tortured and killed after spurning the advances of a Roman official. The saint was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). The mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a famous modern bearer of this name.
Aisha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Hausa, Swahili, Kazakh, African American
Other Scripts: عائشة(Arabic) عائشہ(Urdu) Айша(Kazakh)
Pronounced: ‘A-ee-sha(Arabic) ie-EE-shə(English)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Means
"living, alive" in Arabic. This was the name of
Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of
Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against
Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. Her name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.
This name began to be used in America in the 1970s, possibly inspired by Princess Aisha of Jordan (1968-), the daughter of King Hussein and his British-born wife. It received a boost in popularity after Stevie Wonder used it for his first daughter in 1975.
Ajax
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Αἴας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-jaks(English)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From the Greek name
Αἴας (Aias), perhaps deriving from Greek
αἰαστής (aiastes) meaning
"mourner" or
αἶα (aia) meaning
"earth, land". In Greek
mythology this was the name of two of the heroes who fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War: the son of
Telamon and the son of Oileus. When the armour of the slain hero
Achilles was not given to Ajax Telamonian, he became mad with jealousy and killed himself.
Alula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chamorro
Means "hasten" in Chamorro.
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Anubis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἄνουβις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-NOO-bis(English)
Latinized form of
Ἄνουβις (Anoubis), the Greek form of Egyptian
jnpw (reconstructed as
Anapa and other forms), which coincided with a word meaning
"royal child, prince". However, it might alternatively be derived from the root
jnp meaning
"to decay". Anubis was the Egyptian god who led the dead to the underworld. He was often depicted as a man with the head of a jackal. The Greeks equated him with their god
Hermes.
Argos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄργος(Ancient Greek)
Aruna
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi
Other Scripts: अरुण, अरुणा(Sanskrit) అరుణ(Telugu) அருணா(Tamil) ಅರುಣ(Kannada) അരുണ(Malayalam) अरुणा(Hindi)
Means
"reddish brown, dawn" in Sanskrit. The Hindu god Aruna (
अरुण) is the charioteer who drives the sun god
Surya across the sky. The modern feminine form
अरुणा (spelled with a final long vowel) is also transcribed as
Aruna, however the modern masculine form is
Arun.
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.
Aster
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AS-tər
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the name of the flower, which is derived via Latin from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star".
Audie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWD-ee
In the case of the famed American soldier Audie Murphy (1925-1971), it is of uncertain meaning. As a feminine name, it can be a
diminutive of
Audrey.
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Azalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-ZAY-lee-ə
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek
ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".
Bailey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAY-lee
From an English surname derived from Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.
Already an uncommon masculine name, it slowly grew in popularity for American girls beginning in 1978 after the start of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which featured a character with this name. Though it remained more common as a feminine name, it got a boost for boys in 1994 from another television character on the drama Party of Five. In the United Kingdom and Australia it has always been more popular for boys.
Basil 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAZ-əl
From the Greek name
Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from
βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning
"king".
Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
Baxter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAK-stər
From an occupational surname that meant
"(female) baker", from Old English
bæcere and a feminine agent suffix.
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Italian form of
Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the
Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy
Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and
Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEH-ya-triks(Dutch) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Probably from
Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name
Viator meaning
"voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin
beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century
saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.
In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-).
Benji
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-jee
Bertie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUR-tee(American English) BU-tee(British English)
Biff
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BIF
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
From a nickname that was based on the English word biff, which means "punch, hit, strike".
Blair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BLEHR(English)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
blàr meaning
"plain, field, battlefield". In Scotland this name is typically masculine.
In the United States it became more common for girls in the early 1980s, shortly after the debut of the television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979-1988), which featured a character named Blair Warner. The name left the American top 1000 rankings two decades later, but was resurrected by another television character, this time Blair Waldorf from the series Gossip Girl (2007-2012).
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid, Old Irish
Brigit, from old Celtic *
Brigantī meaning
"the exalted one". In Irish
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god
Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by
Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Bryn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN(English)
Means
"hill, mound" in Welsh. In Wales it is almost always a masculine name, though elsewhere in the English-speaking world it can be unisex (see
Brynn).
Canyon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAN-yən
From the English word canyon, ultimately from Greek kanna "small reed", after the plants that grow in the bottom of canyons.
Carolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Swedish
Pronounced: ka-ro-LEE-na(Italian, Spanish) ka-roo-LEE-nu(European Portuguese) ka-ro-LEE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) kar-ə-LIE-nə(English)
Latinate feminine form of
Carolus. This is the name of two American states: North and South Carolina. They were named for Charles I, king of England.
Carolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAR-ə-lin
Casey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY-see
Rating: 90% based on 1 vote
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Cathasaigh, a patronymic derived from the given name
Cathassach. This name can be given in honour of Casey Jones (1863-1900), a train engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers. In his case,
Casey was a nickname acquired because he was raised in the town of Cayce, Kentucky.
Celeste
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cobalt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KO-bahlt
From the metal or the shade of blue. Derived from German kobold, a type of house spirit. This in turn, has a few possible etymologies. One is that it come from Greek koba'los, meaning "rogue". Another theory is that it comes from the Old High German root chubisi, "house, building, hut" and the suffix -old meaning "to rule".
Colt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOLT
From the English word for a young male horse or from the surname of the same origin. It may be given in honour of the American industrialist Samuel Colt (1814-1862) or the firearms company that bears his name. It was brought to public attention in 1981 by the main character on the television series
The Fall Guy [1].
Conrad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: KAHN-rad(English) KAWN-rat(German)
Means
"brave counsel", derived from the Old German elements
kuoni "brave" and
rat "counsel, advice". This was the name of a 10th-century
saint and bishop of Konstanz, in southern Germany. It was also borne by several medieval German kings and dukes, notably Conrad II, the first of the Holy Roman Emperors from the Salic dynasty. In England it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has only been common since the 19th century when it was reintroduced from Germany.
Dakota
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: də-KO-tə
From the name of the Native American people of the northern Mississippi Valley, or from the two American states that were named for them: North and South Dakota (until 1889 unified as the Dakota Territory). The tribal name means
"allies, friends" in the Dakota language.
It was rare as an American given name before 1975. In the mid-1980s it began growing in popularity for boys after a character by this name began appearing on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. It is now more common as a feminine name, probably due to the fame of the actress Dakota Fanning (1994-).
Dalila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: DA-LEE-LA(French) DA-lee-la(Italian) da-LEE-la(Spanish) du-LEE-lu(European Portuguese) da-LEE-lu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Form of
Delilah used in the Latin
Old Testament, as well as in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Darcy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Dawn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWN
From the English word dawn, ultimately derived from Old English dagung.
Edgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, German
Pronounced: EHD-gər(English) EHD-GAR(French)
Derived from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, Edgar the Peaceful. The name did not survive long after the
Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Walter Scott's novel
The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), which tells of the tragic love between Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton
[1]. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).
Eirwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"white snow" from the Welsh elements
eira "snow" and
gwen "white, blessed". This name was created in the early 20th century.
Elain
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EH-lien
Means
"fawn" in Welsh. This name was created in the 19th century
[1].
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.
Elora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Modern)
Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.
Emerson
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.
Emery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-ree
Norman French form of
Emmerich. The
Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, now typically feminine, it is likely inspired by the surname
Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.
Ethel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ETH-əl
Short form of names beginning with the Old English element
æðele meaning
"noble". It was coined in the 19th century, when many Old English names were revived. It was popularized by the novels
The Newcomes (1855) by William Makepeace Thackeray and
The Daisy Chain (1856) by C. M. Yonge. A famous bearer was American actress and singer Ethel Merman (1908-1984).
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.
Fallon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
From an Irish surname that was an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Ó Fallamháin, itself derived from the given name Fallamhán meaning "leader". It was popularized in the 1980s by a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Fern
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FURN
From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Finch
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: FINCH(English)
Transferred use of the surname
Finch.
Glade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mormon
Pronounced: GLAYD
Almost exclusively found in Utah and used by members of the Mormon church. Transferred use of the surname
Glade.
Glenn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GLEHN
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". It was borne by the American actor Glenn Ford (1916-2006), whose birth name was Gwyllyn. A famous bearer of the surname was American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016). The name peaked in popularity in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the earth.
Though this name is borne by the American actress Glenn Close (1947-), it has never caught on as a feminine name.
Gretta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GREHT-ə
Harlow
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lo
From an English surname derived from a place name, itself derived from Old English
hær "rock, heap of stones" or
here "army", combined with
hlaw "hill". As a name for girls, it received some attention in 2008 when the American celebrity Nicole Richie used it for her daughter.
Haze
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: HAYZ
Variant of
Hayes, sometimes used as a short form of
Hazel.
Herb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HURB
Huckleberry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: HUK-əl-behr-ee(English)
From the name of the variety of shrubs (genus Vaccinium) or the berries that grow on them. It was used by author Mark Twain for the character of Huckleberry (Huck) Finn in his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).
Jace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYS
Short form of
Jason, sometimes used independently. It was brought to limited attention in America by the lead character in the western television series
Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955-1958). Towards the end of the 20th century it began steadily increasing in popularity, reaching the 66th spot for boys in the United States in 2013.
Jay 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAY
Short form of names beginning with the sound
J, such as
James or
Jason. It was originally used in America in honour of founding father John Jay (1749-1825), whose surname was derived from the jaybird.
Jean 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAHN
Modern French form of
Jehan, the Old French form of
Iohannes (see
John). Since the 12th century it has consistently been the most common male name in France. It finally dropped from the top rank in 1958, unseated by
Philippe.
The French theologian Jean Calvin (1509-1564) and the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) are well-known bearers of this name. It was also borne by the German-French Dadaist artist Jean Arp (1886-1966).
Jezebel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אִיזֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHZ-ə-behl(English)
From Hebrew
אִיזֶבֶל (ʾIzevel), probably from a Phoenician name, possibly containing the Semitic root
zbl meaning
"to exalt, to dwell". According to one theory it might be an altered form of the Phoenician name
𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤀𐤆𐤁𐤋 (Baʿlʾizbel) meaning "Ba'al exalts" with the first element removed or replaced
[1].
According to the Old Testament Jezebel was the Phoenician wife of Ahab, a king of Israel. She is portrayed as an evil figure because she encouraged the worship of the god Ba'al. After she was thrown from a window to her death her body was eaten by dogs, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.
Jude 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOOD
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning
"young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman
mythology Juno was the wife of
Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.
Kai 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: KIE(German, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English)
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.
Kelsey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHL-see
From an English surname that is derived from town names in Lincolnshire. It may mean "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce" in combination with eg "island".
Kimberly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIM-bər-lee
From the name of the city of
Kimberley in South Africa, which was named after Lord
Kimberley (1826-1902). The city came to prominence in the late 19th century during the Boer War.
Kimberly has been used as a given name since the mid-20th century, eventually becoming very popular as a feminine name.
Kimya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Pronounced: kee-mee-ya
Variant transcription of
Kimiya.
Kip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIP
From a nickname, probably from the English word kipper meaning "male salmon".
Kit
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Kris
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Flemish, Danish
Pronounced: KRIS(English, Flemish)
Lacey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-see
Variant of
Lacy. This is currently the most popular spelling of this name.
Lain
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
The name of the main character in Serial Experiments Lain (1998), a Japanese anime television series.
Lake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
Larkin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: LAHR-kin(English)
Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms". This name steadily rose in popularity in the 2000s, at the same time as the similar-sounding (but unrelated) names
Lennon and
Knox.
Lillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən
Probably originally a
diminutive of
Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of
Lily, from the Latin word for "lily"
lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.
Lindy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dee
Originally this was a masculine name, coming into use in America in 1927 when the dance called the Lindy Hop became popular. The dance was probably named for aviator Charles Lindbergh. Later this name was used as a
diminutive of
Linda.
Mae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Variant of
May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Marilyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAR-ə-lin, MAR-lin
Combination of
Mary and the common name suffix
lyn. It was very rare before the start of the 20th century. It was popularized in part by the American stage star Marilyn Miller (1898-1936), who was born Mary Ellen Reynolds and took her
stage name from a combination of her birth name and her mother's middle name
Lynn. It became popular in the United States during the 1920s, reaching a high point ranked 13th in 1936. Famous bearers include American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962; real name Norma Jeane Mortenson) and American opera singer Marilyn Horne (1934-).
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
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.
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Misty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIS-tee
From the English word misty, ultimately derived from Old English. The jazz song Misty (1954) by Erroll Garner may have helped popularize the name.
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".
Mitsy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIT-see
Mitzi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: MIT-see
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
From the Hebrew name
נָעֳמִי (Naʿomi) meaning
"my pleasantness", a derivative of
נָעַם (naʿam) meaning "to be pleasant". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of
Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be
Mara because of her misfortune (see
Ruth 1:20).
Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).
Nash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: NASH
From an English surname that was derived from the Middle English phrase
atten ash "at the ash tree". A famous bearer of the surname was the mathematician John Nash (1928-2015).
As a given name for boys, it gained some popularity in the mid-1990s after the debut of the American television series Nash Bridges. It got more exposure beginning 2005 when a character by this name started appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live.
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.
Nerþuz
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Germanic Mythology (Hypothetical)
Niko
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian, German
Other Scripts: ნიკო(Georgian)
Pronounced: NEE-ko(Finnish)
Finnish form of
Nicholas, as well as a Croatian, Slovene, Georgian and German short form.
Norbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: NAWR-behrt(German, Polish, Slovak) NAWR-bərt(English, Dutch) NAWR-BEHR(French) NOR-behrt(Hungarian)
Derived from the Old German elements
nord meaning "north" and
beraht meaning "bright". This was the name of an 11th-century German
saint who made many reforms within the Church.
Norma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Literature
Pronounced: NAWR-mə(English)
Created by Felice Romani for the main character in the opera
Norma (1831). He may have based it on Latin
norma "rule". This name is also frequently used as a feminine form of
Norman.
Nostradamus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: naws-trə-DAH-məs(English) naws-trə-DAY-məs(English) nos-trə-DAH-məs(English)
Latinized form of the surname of Michel de Nostredame (1503-1566), a French astrologer famous for his book of prophecies. The surname, meaning "our lady" in Old French, was acquired by his father upon his conversion from Judaism to Christianity.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Oak
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Old English āc, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch eik and German Eiche.
Oakley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: OK-lee
From an English surname that was from various place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Paige
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAYJ
From an English surname meaning
"servant, page" in Middle English. It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Italian) from Greek
παιδίον (paidion) meaning "little boy".
As a given name for girls, it received some public attention from a character in the 1958 novel Parrish and the 1961 movie adaptation [1]. It experienced a larger surge in popularity in the 1980s, probably due to the character Paige Matheson from the American soap opera Knots Landing.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Probably derived from Greek
πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from
πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of the wife of
Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.
It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel
Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Ripley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RIP-lee
From a surname that was derived from the name of various English towns, from Old English
rippel "grove, thicket" and
leah "clearing". A famous fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley (usually only called by her surname) from the
Alien series of movies, beginning 1979.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Sadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAY-dee
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.
Sedona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: se-DO-na(American English)
In the United States, this name is usually given in honour of the city of Sedona in Arizona. The city itself had been named after Sedona Arabella Schnebly (née Miller), who was the wife of Theodore Carlton Schnebly, the city's first postmaster. Sedona herself is said to have gotten her name from her mother, who had allegedly thought up the name herself, thinking it sounded pretty. However, it could just as well be that her mother had taken the existing names
Sidonia or
Sidony and slightly altered them to her liking. She may even have been inspired by
Cydonia to some degree, which is the Latin name of the quince plant.
Shay 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAY(English)
Anglicized form of
Séaghdha, sometimes used as a feminine name.
Sidney
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SID-nee
From the English surname
Sidney. It was first used as a given name in honour of executed politician Algernon Sidney (1622-1683). Another notable bearer of the surname was the poet and statesman Philip Sidney (1554-1586).
As a given name, it has traditionally been more masculine than feminine. In America however, after the variant Sydney became popular for girls, Sidney was used more for girls than boys between 1993 and 2019.
Skyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE-lə
Feminine variant of
Skyler, formed using the popular name suffix
la.
Skyler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE-lər
Variant of
Schuyler, based on the pronunciation of the surname but respelled as if it was a blend of the English word
sky with names such as
Tyler. It was rare before 1980, and first gained popularity as a name for boys. It is now more common for girls, though it is more evenly unisex than the mostly feminine variant
Skylar.
Sona 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: सोना(Hindi)
Means
"gold" in Hindi, derived from Sanskrit
सुवर्ण (suvarṇa) meaning literally "good colour".
Stanford
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAN-fərd
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "stone ford" in Old English.
Starla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-lə
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SIL-vee-ya(Dutch) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Sylvian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Talon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAL-ən
From the English word meaning "talon, claw", ultimately derived (via Norman French) from Latin talus "anklebone".
Tea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovene, Finnish, Georgian
Other Scripts: თეა(Georgian)
Pronounced: TEH-ah(Finnish)
Thistle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: THIHS-uhl
From the name of the flowering plant, or in some cases taken from the surname.
Trent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRENT
From an English surname that originally denoted someone who lived by the River
Trent. A famous bearer is the American musician Trent Reznor (1965-).
Trent is also a city in Italy, though the etymology is unrelated.
Ty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIE
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.
Vi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Means
"victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from North Africa.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
Vincent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak
Pronounced: VIN-sənt(English, Dutch) VEHN-SAHN(French) VIN-sent(Dutch) VEEN-tsent(Slovak)
From the Roman name
Vincentius, which was derived from Latin
vincere meaning
"to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many
saints. As an English name,
Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Means
"violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke
Orsino, she attempts to convince
Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
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.
Vivica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Swedish (Rare), German (Modern, Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: VIV-ee-kah(English, Swedish)
Variant of
Viveca. A famous bearer is actress Vivica Fox.
Walter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: WAWL-tər(English) VAL-tu(German) VAL-tehr(Swedish, Italian)
From the Germanic name
Waltheri meaning
"power of the army", from the elements
walt "power, authority" and
heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably
Waltharius by Ekkehard of
Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The
Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Wealdhere.
A famous bearer of the name was the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). It was also borne by Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish novelist who wrote Ivanhoe and other notable works.
Winston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIN-stən
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name
Wynnstan. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel
1984.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
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