Delphi_Blue's Personal Name List
Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
Rating: 45% based on 51 votes
From the Hebrew name
הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning
"breath". In the
Old Testament he is the second son of
Adam and
Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother
Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the
Puritan era.
Adah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: עָדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-də(English)
Rating: 43% based on 57 votes
Adara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַדָרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 42% based on 50 votes
Means "noble" in Hebrew.
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)
Rating: 72% based on 78 votes
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.
Adélaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-DEH-LA-EES
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
Adelet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French, French (Swiss, Archaic)
Rating: 30% based on 8 votes
Adélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-DEH-LEE
Rating: 49% based on 12 votes
Elaborated form of
Adèle. Adélie Land in Antarctica was named in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville in honour of his wife Adèle (who was sometimes called Adélie).
Adelie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Medieval English
Pronounced: AD-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 56% based on 21 votes
Anglicized form of
Adélie and medieval English short form of
Adelicia.
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)
Rating: 59% based on 22 votes
From a Germanic name that was derived from the element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Adeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DU-LEEN(French) AD-ə-lien(English)
Rating: 63% based on 49 votes
French and English form of
Adelina.
Adelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian, Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian), Norman
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Aderyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Rating: 42% based on 63 votes
Means "bird" in Welsh. This is a modern Welsh name.
Adia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igede, Swahili
Pronounced: A-dee-ya(Igede)
Rating: 33% based on 17 votes
Means "queen" in Igede and "(valuable) gift" in Swahili, from Hausa adia "gift".
Aerie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: ER-ee, EE-ree
Personal remark: Nickname only
Rating: 26% based on 10 votes
Diminutive of names beginning with Aer, coinciding with the English word aerie, "a bird of prey's nest".
Aeron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 32% based on 22 votes
From the name of the Welsh river Aeron, itself probably derived from the hypothetical Celtic goddess
Agrona. Alternatively, the name could be taken from Welsh
aeron meaning
"berries".
Aeryn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: EHR-in, EHR-ən
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
Variant of
Aaryn or
Eryn. Aeryn is one of the female aliens on the show Farscape.
Afton
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AF-tən
Rating: 22% based on 16 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Afton. It is also the name of a river in Scotland, and it coincides with the Swedish noun
afton meaning "evening".
This name enjoyed a brief revival in the early 1980s, thanks to the character of Afton Cooper from the popular American television series Dallas (1978-1991).
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: 45% based on 45 votes
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.
Aglaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀγλαΐα(Ancient Greek) Αγλαΐα(Greek)
Pronounced: ə-GLIE-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 54 votes
Means
"splendour, beauty" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites). This name was also borne by a 4th-century
saint from Rome.
Agnes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Late Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἅγνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-nis(English) AK-nəs(German) AHKH-nehs(Dutch) ANG-nehs(Swedish) OW-nes(Danish)
Rating: 42% based on 40 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἅγνη (Hagne), derived from Greek
ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning
"chaste".
Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin
agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.
As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.
Aisling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-lyən
Rating: 47% based on 63 votes
Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Alaia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Rating: 42% based on 56 votes
Means "joyful, happy" from Basque alai.
Alba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Catalan
Pronounced: AL-ba(Italian, Spanish) AL-bə(Catalan)
Rating: 41% based on 40 votes
This name is derived from two distinct names,
Alba 2 and
Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter,
alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
Albertine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AL-BEHR-TEEN
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
French feminine form of
Albert.
Alcyone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλκυόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-SIE-ə-nee(English)
Rating: 30% based on 56 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), derived from the word
ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning
"kingfisher". In Greek
myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, supposedly the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 77% based on 75 votes
From the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).
Alodia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gothic (Latinized)
Rating: 36% based on 10 votes
Possibly from a Visigothic name, maybe from Gothic elements such as
alls "all" or
aljis "other" combined with
auds "riches, wealth".
Saint Alodia was a 9th-century Spanish martyr with her sister Nunilo.
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 20 votes
From the Greek name
Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek
ἄλθος (althos) meaning
"healing". In Greek
myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.
Alys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-is
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Amabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 45% based on 57 votes
Amaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Rating: 36% based on 7 votes
Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).
Amani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أماني(Arabic)
Pronounced: a-MA-nee
Rating: 31% based on 51 votes
Means
"wishes" in Arabic, related to the root
منا (manā) meaning "to tempt, to put to the test".
Amara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igbo
Rating: 50% based on 30 votes
Means "grace" in Igbo.
Amaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: a-MA-ya(Spanish) ə-MIE-ə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Variant of
Amaia.
In America, this name was popularized in 1999 by a contestant on the reality television series The Real World [1].
Amélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MEH-LEE
Rating: 70% based on 28 votes
Amity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-mi-tee
Rating: 37% based on 30 votes
From the English word meaning "friendship", ultimately deriving from Latin amicitia.
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
Rating: 44% based on 40 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of
Anne 1 or
Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera
Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant
Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as
Anaitis or
Athénaïs.
A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.
Anais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Galician, Spanish, Catalan (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-nə-EES(Catalan) a-na-EES(Catalan)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
English and Galician form of
Anaïs and Spanish and Catalan variant of
Anaís.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 65 votes
Feminine form of
Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian
saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Anisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Indonesian, Albanian
Other Scripts: أنيسة(Arabic)
Pronounced: a-NEE-sa(Arabic)
Rating: 30% based on 33 votes
Anise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AN-is, a-NEES
Rating: 26% based on 28 votes
From the English word for the herb, also called aniseed.
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 61% based on 67 votes
Annika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, German, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AN-ni-ka(Swedish) AH-nee-ka(Dutch) AHN-nee-kah(Finnish) A-nee-ka(German) AN-i-kə(English) AHN-i-kə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 61 votes
Anouk
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, French
Pronounced: a-NOOK(Dutch)
Rating: 39% based on 51 votes
Aoibhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EE-vyə
Rating: 37% based on 45 votes
Variant of
Aoife, or directly from Irish
aoibh meaning
"beauty".
Apolline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-PAW-LEEN
Rating: 39% based on 32 votes
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 45% based on 53 votes
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Apphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἀπφία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AF-ee-ə(English) AP-fee-ə(English)
Rating: 19% based on 30 votes
Greek form of a Hebrew name that possibly meant
"increasing". This is a name mentioned in
Paul's epistle to
Philemon in the
New Testament.
Arden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-dən(American English) AH-dən(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 23 votes
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
Rating: 64% based on 61 votes
Means
"most holy", composed of the Greek prefix
ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek
mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King
Minos. She fell in love with
Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god
Dionysus.
Ariana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ar-ee-AN-ə(English) ar-ee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 64% based on 29 votes
Portuguese form of
Ariadne. This name steadily grew in popularity in America in the last few decades of the 20th century. A famous bearer is the American pop singer Ariana Grande (1993-).
Arielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-RYEHL(French)
Rating: 55% based on 59 votes
French feminine form of
Ariel, as well as an English variant.
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo(American English) AH-lo(British English)
Rating: 44% based on 27 votes
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
Arnold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AHR-nəld(American English) AH-nəld(British English) AR-nawlt(German, Polish) AHR-nawlt(Dutch)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From a Germanic name meaning
"eagle power", derived from the elements
arn "eagle" and
walt "power, authority". The
Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Earnweald. It died out as an English name after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Saints bearing the name include an 8th-century musician in the court of Charlemagne and an 11th-century French bishop who is the patron saint of brewers. It was also borne by Arnold of Brescia, a 12th-century Augustinian monk who rebelled against the Church and was eventually hanged. Famous modern bearers include American golfer Arnold Palmer (1929-2016) and Austrian-American actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AHR-thər(American English) AH-thə(British English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 50 votes
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *
artos "bear" (Old Welsh
arth) combined with *
wiros "man" (Old Welsh
gur) or *
rīxs "king" (Old Welsh
ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name
Artorius.
Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.
The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Rating: 41% based on 52 votes
Possibly means
"healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the
Old Testament.
Asha 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: आशा(Hindi, Marathi) ಆಶಾ(Kannada) ആശാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 36% based on 20 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
आशा (āśā) meaning
"wish, desire, hope".
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 64% based on 17 votes
Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.
The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.
Athénaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA-EES
Rating: 40% based on 34 votes
Atherton
Usage: English
Rating: 29% based on 14 votes
Placename meaning "
Ather's town".
Atlas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Possibly means
"enduring" from Greek
τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek
mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 67% based on 62 votes
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of
Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.
As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 62% based on 46 votes
Aurelian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, History
Rating: 52% based on 13 votes
Romanian form of
Aurelianus, as well as the usual English form when referring to the Roman emperor.
Aurélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LEE
Rating: 56% based on 37 votes
Aurélien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LYEHN
Rating: 52% based on 11 votes
Aveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lien, AV-ə-leen
Rating: 58% based on 32 votes
From the Norman French form of the Germanic name
Avelina, a
diminutive of
Avila. The
Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century
[1].
Avénie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton (Gallicized, Rare), French (Rare)
Pronounced: a-vay-NEE(Breton) A-VAY-NEE(French)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
French variant of
Awen. Saint Avénie was a sister of the 9th-century Achaean saint Benoît of Massérac.
Aviela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew
Other Scripts: אביאלה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-vee-EL-ə(English)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Avielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American), Trinidadian Creole
Pronounced: ah-vee-el(American English) ah-vee-el-uh(Trinidadian Creole)
Rating: 40% based on 7 votes
Avigail
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיגַיִל(Hebrew)
Rating: 39% based on 51 votes
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Rating: 50% based on 57 votes
Feminine variant of
Aviv.
Ayala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַיָּלָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ah-LAH
Rating: 31% based on 24 votes
Means "doe, female deer" in Hebrew.
Ayda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Turkish
Other Scripts: عائدة(Arabic) آیدا(Persian)
Pronounced: ‘A-ee-da(Arabic)
Rating: 35% based on 28 votes
Means "returning, visitor" in Arabic. In Turkey this is also associated with ay meaning "moon".
Ayelet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַיֶלֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 34% based on 28 votes
Means
"doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase
אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר (ʾayeleṯ hashaḥar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.
Aysu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
Rating: 20% based on 29 votes
Derived from Turkish and Azerbaijani
ay meaning "moon" and
su meaning "water".
Azélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: A-ZEH-LEE
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Perhaps a form of
Azalaïs. It was borne by
Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.
Aziza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Uzbek, Kyrgyz
Other Scripts: عزيزة(Arabic) Азиза(Uzbek, Kyrgyz)
Pronounced: ‘a-ZEE-za(Arabic)
Rating: 39% based on 11 votes
Bailey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAY-lee
Rating: 41% based on 9 votes
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.
Brigitta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Hungarian
Pronounced: bree-GI-ta(German) BREE-geet-taw(Hungarian)
Rating: 43% based on 51 votes
German, Dutch and Hungarian form of
Bridget.
Caius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: GA-ee-oos(Latin) KIE-əs(English)
Rating: 48% based on 52 votes
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
Rating: 50% based on 52 votes
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Camille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-MEE(French) kə-MEEL(English)
Rating: 60% based on 35 votes
French feminine and masculine form of
Camilla. It is also used in the English-speaking world, where it is generally only feminine.
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Rating: 50% based on 52 votes
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Carmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian, German
Pronounced: KAR-mehn(Spanish, Italian) KAHR-mən(American English) KAH-mən(British English)
Rating: 49% based on 34 votes
Medieval Spanish form of
Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word
carmen meaning
"song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera
Carmen (1875).
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KA-ris
Rating: 54% based on 58 votes
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 71% based on 59 votes
French form of
Katherine, and also a common English variant.
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 66% based on 61 votes
English form of
Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Rating: 54% based on 52 votes
Possibly from
cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh
cwrr "corner") combined with
ben "woman" or
gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the
Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard
Taliesin.
This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".
Chaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חַיָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: KHA-ya
Rating: 39% based on 28 votes
Derived from Hebrew
חָיָה (ḥaya) meaning
"living", considered a feminine form of
Chaim.
Ciel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 23 votes
Means "sky" in French. It is not used as a given name in France itself.
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)
Rating: 71% based on 63 votes
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.
Deacon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DEE-kən
Rating: 43% based on 51 votes
Either from the occupational surname
Deacon or directly from the vocabulary word
deacon, which refers to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek
διάκονος (diakonos) meaning "servant").
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Rating: 47% based on 54 votes
Diarmuid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Rating: 33% based on 53 votes
Diego
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: DYEH-gho(Spanish) DYEH-go(Italian)
Rating: 45% based on 50 votes
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).
Edmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Albanian
Pronounced: EHD-MAWN(French)
Rating: 53% based on 53 votes
French and Albanian form of
Edmund. A notable bearer was the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), for whom Halley's comet is named.
Edwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: EHD-win(English) EHT-vin(Dutch)
Rating: 62% based on 5 votes
Means
"rich friend", from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
wine "friend". This was the name of a 7th-century Northumbrian king, regarded as a
saint. After the
Norman Conquest the name was not popular, but it was eventually revived in the 19th century. A notable bearer was the astronaut Edwin Aldrin (1930-), also known as
Buzz, the second man to walk on the moon.
Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Rating: 46% based on 38 votes
Eirlys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AYR-lis
Rating: 50% based on 31 votes
Means
"snowdrop (flower)" in Welsh, a compound of
eira "snow" and
llys "plant".
Eisley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IEZ-lee
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Eisley. In the fictional
Star Wars universe, Mos Eisley is a town on the planet Tatooine. This name is pronounced identically to
Eisele, which was used by American country singer Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum for her daughter born 2013.
Elah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֵלָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 30% based on 27 votes
Means
"terebinth tree" in Hebrew. This was the name of the fourth king of Israel, as told in the
Old Testament. He was murdered by
Zimri, who succeeded him.
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 70% based on 62 votes
German and Dutch form of
Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the
New Testament.
Ella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə
Rating: 59% based on 55 votes
Norman name, originally a short form of Germanic names containing the element
alles meaning
"other" (Proto-Germanic *
aljaz). It was introduced to England by the
Normans and used until the 14th century, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the American singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996).
Elodia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eh-LO-dhya
Rating: 50% based on 52 votes
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 64% based on 58 votes
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 64% based on 64 votes
From the Old French name
Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name
Helewidis, composed of the elements
heil meaning "healthy, whole" and
wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word
ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name
Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.
There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 62% based on 25 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Elska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Low German (Rare)
Pronounced: ELS-kuh
Rating: 42% based on 12 votes
Elysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ee-ə(English) i-LIS-ee-ə(English) i-LEE-zhə(English)
Rating: 48% based on 48 votes
From
Elysium, the name of the realm of the dead in Greek and Roman
mythology.
Émeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-MU-LEEN
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Emerson
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ər-sən(American English) EHM-ə-sən(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 49 votes
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.
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 69% based on 59 votes
From Old French
Emeline, a
diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal meaning
"unceasing, vigorous, brave". The
Normans introduced this name to England.
Emmelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Emmy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Dutch, German
Pronounced: EHM-ee(English) EH-mee(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 49 votes
Emrys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-ris
Rating: 60% based on 27 votes
Welsh form of
Ambrose. Emrys Wledig (or Ambrosius Aurelianus) was a Romano-British military leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Tales of his life were used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to help shape the early character of
Merlin, whom he called Merlinus Ambrosius in Latin.
Errol
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHR-əl
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from village by this name in Perthshire. It was popularized as a given name by the Australian actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959).
Eseld
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 40% based on 11 votes
Esi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Akan
Rating: 21% based on 16 votes
Means "born on Sunday" in Akan.
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(American English, Dutch) EHS-tə(British English) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
Rating: 59% based on 63 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means
"star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess
Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the
Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor
Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin
Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was
Hadassah.
This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].
Étienne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-TYEHN(European French) EH-TSYEHN(Quebec French)
Rating: 46% based on 54 votes
Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish, Italian) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Rating: 39% based on 31 votes
Derived from Greek
εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning
"sweetly-speaking", itself from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Eulalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-LA-LEE
Rating: 37% based on 23 votes
Evadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 56% based on 53 votes
From Greek
Εὐάδνη (Euadne), from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" possibly combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". This name was borne by several characters in Greek legend, including the wife of Capaneus. After Capaneus was killed by a lightning bolt sent from
Zeus she committed suicide by throwing herself onto his burning body.
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
Rating: 66% based on 56 votes
Means
"good news" from Greek
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem
Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.
Evelien
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: eh-və-LEEN
Rating: 39% based on 20 votes
Evelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Belgian, Rare)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Evren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehv-REHN
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
Means
"cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic
mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Eydís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Rating: 48% based on 11 votes
Derived from the Old Norse elements
ey "good fortune" or "island" and
dís "goddess".
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 54 votes
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.
Farrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: فرح(Arabic)
Pronounced: FA-rah
Rating: 36% based on 30 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
فرح (see
Farah).
Faye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
Rating: 50% based on 30 votes
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
Rating: 66% based on 59 votes
From a Roman
cognomen meaning
"lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an
agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the
New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned
Saint Paul.
Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
Fergus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FUR-gəs(American English) FU-gəs(British English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Means
"man of vigour", derived from the Old Irish elements
fer "man" and
guss "vigour, strength, force". This was the name of several early rulers of Ireland and Dál Riata, as well as many characters from Irish legend. Notably it was borne by the hero Fergus mac Róich, who was tricked into giving up the kingship of Ulster to
Conchobar. However, he remained loyal to the new king until Conchobar betrayed
Deirdre and
Naoise, at which point he defected to Connacht in anger. The name was also borne by an 8th-century
saint, a missionary to Scotland.
This is the Old Irish form of the name, as well as the usual Anglicized form of Modern Irish Fearghas or Fearghus.
Ffion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: FEE-awn, FI-awn
Rating: 45% based on 19 votes
Means "foxglove" in Welsh (species Digitalis purpurea). This is a recently created Welsh name.
Florence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Rating: 59% based on 59 votes
From the Latin name
Florentius or the feminine form
Florentia, which were derived from
florens "prosperous, flourishing".
Florentius was borne by many early Christian
saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Rating: 61% based on 58 votes
Feminine form of
Francis. The distinction between
Francis as a masculine name and
Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century
[1]. A notable bearer was
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
Franklin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRANGK-lin
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Middle English frankelin "freeman". A famous bearer of the surname was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher. The name has commonly been given in his honour in the United States. It also received a boost during the term of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Freja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: FRIE-ah(Danish) FRAY-ah(Swedish)
Rating: 55% based on 51 votes
Danish and Swedish form of
Freya.
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 64% based on 59 votes
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Geneva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEE-və
Rating: 51% based on 53 votes
Possibly a shortened form of
Genevieve. It could also be inspired by the name of the city in Switzerland. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 68% based on 40 votes
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 56% based on 58 votes
From the English word
grace, which ultimately derives from Latin
gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the
Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.
This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Rating: 58% based on 52 votes
Latinized form of
Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word
griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Grover
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRO-vər(American English) GRO-və(British English)
Rating: 29% based on 27 votes
From an English surname derived from Old English graf meaning "grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), who popularized the name in the United States at the end of the 19th century. The name is now associated with a muppet character from the children's television program Sesame Street.
Hadassah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: הֲדַסָּה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: hə-DAS-ə(English)
Rating: 42% based on 46 votes
Hanaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: هناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-NA
Rating: 19% based on 29 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
هناء (see
Hana 1).
Hanako
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 花子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) はなこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HA-NA-KO
Rating: 42% based on 46 votes
From Japanese
花 (hana) meaning "flower" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
Hania 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: هنيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-NEE-ya
Rating: 34% based on 28 votes
Hannelore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: HA-nə-lo-rə
Rating: 47% based on 53 votes
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 63% based on 53 votes
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Hudson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUD-sən
Rating: 29% based on 13 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 48% based on 26 votes
Means
"violet flower", derived from Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek
mythology.
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
Rating: 46% based on 45 votes
From the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several
saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact
Íñigo.
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 66% based on 58 votes
The name of the daughter of King
Cymbeline in the play
Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named
Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended.
Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic
inghean meaning
"maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Indira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: इन्दिरा(Sanskrit) इन्दिरा, इंदिरा(Hindi) इंदिरा(Marathi) ಇಂದಿರಾ(Kannada) இந்திரா(Tamil)
Pronounced: IN-di-ra(Hindi)
Rating: 48% based on 45 votes
Means
"beauty" in Sanskrit. This is another name of
Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god
Vishnu. A notable bearer was India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).
Iona 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: ie-O-nə(English)
Rating: 51% based on 50 votes
From the name of the island off Scotland where
Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from
ey meaning "island".
Ione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἰόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-O-nee(English)
Rating: 56% based on 33 votes
From Ancient Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning
"violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek
mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name
Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 46 votes
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 48 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yeshaʿyahu) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the
Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name,
Isaiah was first used after the
Protestant Reformation.
Iselin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Pronounced: is-e-LEEN
Rating: 42% based on 11 votes
Norwegian adoption of an originally German short form of Old High German names containing the element
isarn meaning "iron" (e.g.,
Isengard,
Iselinde,
Isburg), as well as an adoption of an obsolete German diminutive of
Isa 2 and a Norwegian adoption and adaption of the Irish name
Aisling (compare
Isleen).
Iseult
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-SOOLT(English) i-ZOOLT(English) EE-ZUU(French)
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
The origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, from a hypothetical name like *
Ishild, composed of the elements
is "ice" and
hilt "battle".
According to tales first recorded in Old French in the 12th century, Yseut or Ysolt was an Irish princess betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. After accidentally drinking a love potion, she became the lover of his nephew Tristan. Their tragic story, which was set in the Arthurian world, was popular during the Middle Ages and the name became relatively common in England at that time. It was rare by the 19th century, though some interest was generated by Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).
Isidore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Georgian (Rare), Jewish
Other Scripts: ისიდორე(Georgian)
Pronounced: IZ-ə-dawr(American English) IZ-ə-daw(British English) EE-ZEE-DAWR(French)
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
From the Greek name
Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning
"gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess
Isis combined with Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift".
Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.
Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 57% based on 54 votes
German form of
Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem
Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera
Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Rating: 43% based on 47 votes
Means
"nocturnal journey" in Arabic, derived from
سرى (sarā) meaning "to travel by night". According to Islamic tradition, the
Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet
Muhammad.
Iveliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare), English (Rare)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Ivelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Caribbean), Spanish (Latin American)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Ivelys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic)
Pronounced: i-VEH-lis(Latin American Spanish) i-ve-LEES(Latin American Spanish) IV-lees(Hispanic American)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 45 votes
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian
ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Jedda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, Nyungar, Popular Culture
Rating: 31% based on 13 votes
Means "wren" or "little wild goose" from
djida, a word in Noongar, spoken in South West Region, Western Australia.
Jedda is the name of the Aboriginal main character in the 1955 Australian film 'Jedda' by Charles Chauvel.
Jem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHM
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Jemima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְמִימָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jə-MIE-mə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 53 votes
Traditionally said to mean
"dove", it may actually be related to Hebrew
יוֹמָם (yomam) meaning
"daytime" [1]. This was the oldest of the three daughters of
Job in the
Old Testament. As an English name,
Jemima first became common during the
Puritan era.
Jenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French
Pronounced: JEHN-ə(English) YEHN-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 45% based on 50 votes
Variant of
Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series
Dallas [1].
Jeremy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JEHR-ə-mee(English) JEHR-mee(American English)
Rating: 62% based on 9 votes
English form of
Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the
New Testament.
Joash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאָשׁ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-ash(English)
Rating: 34% based on 17 votes
From the Hebrew name
יוֹאָשׁ (Yoʾash), possibly meaning
"fire of Yahweh". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by several characters including the father of
Gideon, a king of Judah, and a son of King
Ahab of Israel.
Judah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוּדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JOO-də(English)
Rating: 35% based on 25 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדָה (Yehuḏa), probably derived from
יָדָה (yaḏa) meaning
"praise". In the
Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of
Jacob by
Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in
Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King
David and
Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife
Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the deuterocanonical Books of Maccabees.
The name appears in the New Testament with the spellings Judas and Jude.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Rating: 51% based on 50 votes
Keziah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-ZIE-ə(English)
Rating: 51% based on 50 votes
From the Hebrew name
קְצִיעָה (Qetsiʿa) meaning
"cassia, cinnamon", from the name of the spice tree. In the
Old Testament she is a daughter of
Job.
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KIR-ən(English) KIR-awn(English)
Rating: 54% based on 45 votes
Kinneret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כִּנֶּרֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 40% based on 12 votes
Klaus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KLOWS(German, Finnish)
Rating: 40% based on 43 votes
German short form of
Nicholas, now used independently.
Lærke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Rating: 36% based on 39 votes
Means "lark" in Danish.
Larkin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: LAHR-kin(American English) LAH-kin(British English)
Rating: 35% based on 6 votes
Laurits
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Danish and Norwegian form of
Laurentius (see
Laurence 1).
Leni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEH-nee
Rating: 24% based on 21 votes
Leonidas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λεωνίδας(Greek)
Rating: 54% based on 49 votes
Derived from Greek
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix
ἴδης (ides). Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.
Léonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AW-NEE
Rating: 55% based on 21 votes
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Rating: 59% based on 51 votes
Possibly means
"joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the
Old Testament, Levi was the third son of
Jacob and
Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers
Moses and
Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, where it is borne by a son of
Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle
Matthew.
As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Liat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאַת(Hebrew)
Rating: 32% based on 44 votes
Means "you are mine" in Hebrew.
Liesel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEE-zəl
Rating: 52% based on 49 votes
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 66% based on 38 votes
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 66% based on 37 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Liora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 55% based on 51 votes
Strictly feminine form of
Lior.
Liron
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִירוֹן(Hebrew)
Rating: 40% based on 43 votes
Means
"my song, my joy" in Hebrew, from
לִי (li) "for me" and
רֹן (ron) "joy, song".
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-a(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Rating: 66% based on 58 votes
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-SYEHN
Rating: 52% based on 51 votes
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 68% based on 61 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lykke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Rating: 36% based on 39 votes
Means "good fortune, happiness" in Danish.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 51 votes
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Rating: 39% based on 47 votes
Means simply
"lyric, songlike" from the English word, ultimately derived from Greek
λυρικός (lyrikos).
Maëlys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-EH-LEES
Rating: 47% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of
Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of
Mailys.
Maeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tahitian, French
Pronounced: MA-EH-VA(French)
Rating: 50% based on 9 votes
Means "welcome" in Tahitian. It gained popularity in France during the 1980s.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 61% based on 60 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Mahtab
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: مهتاب(Persian)
Pronounced: mah-TAWB
Rating: 27% based on 42 votes
Means "moonlight" in Persian.
Maia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
Other Scripts: Μαῖα(Ancient Greek) მაია(Georgian)
Pronounced: MIE-A(Classical Greek) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English) MIE-ya(Latin) MAH-EE-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 59% based on 36 votes
From Greek
μαῖα (maia) meaning
"good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of
μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman
mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione. Her son by
Zeus was
Hermes.
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 45% based on 49 votes
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Makena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kikuyu
Rating: 30% based on 23 votes
Means "happy one" in Kikuyu.
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
Rating: 59% based on 47 votes
From the Hebrew name
מַלְאָכִי (Malʾaḵi) meaning
"my messenger" or
"my angel", derived from a possessive form of
מַלְאָךְ (malʾaḵ) meaning "messenger, angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Malaika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Rating: 35% based on 42 votes
Means
"angel" in Swahili, derived from Arabic
ملك (malak).
Maryam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Indonesian, Bashkir, Tatar
Other Scripts: مريم(Arabic) مریم(Persian, Urdu) Мәрйәм(Bashkir) Мәрьям(Tatar)
Pronounced: MAR-yam(Arabic) mar-YAM(Persian) MUR-yəm(Urdu)
Rating: 45% based on 44 votes
Arabic form of
Miryam (see
Mary) appearing in the
Quran. It is also the form used in several other languages. In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.
Mathis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French
Pronounced: MA-tis(German) MA-TEES(French)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Matias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Portuguese
Pronounced: MAH-tee-ahs(Finnish)
Rating: 49% based on 43 votes
Finnish and Portuguese form of
Matthias.
Matteo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-o
Rating: 53% based on 27 votes
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-ahs(Dutch) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 51 votes
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.
Mattias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Estonian
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(Swedish)
Rating: 58% based on 48 votes
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
Rating: 42% based on 26 votes
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Meital
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מֵיטַל(Hebrew)
Rating: 26% based on 25 votes
Means "dew drop" in Hebrew.
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 53% based on 46 votes
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Micaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: מִיכָיָהוּ, מִיכָיְהוּ, מִיכָיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mi-KIE-ə(English)
Rating: 38% based on 41 votes
Means
"who is like Yahweh?" in Hebrew, derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name occurs in the
Old Testament in a variety of Hebrew spellings, belonging to both males and females. It is the full name of
Micah, both the prophet and the man from the Book of Judges. As a feminine name it belongs to the mother of King
Abijah (at
2 Chronicles 13:2), though her name is listed as
Maacah in other passages.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(American English) mi-NU-və(British English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 54% based on 26 votes
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Monet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 31% based on 22 votes
From a French surname that was derived from either
Hamon or
Edmond. This was the surname of the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Mordecai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: מָרְדֳּכַי, מָרְדְּכַי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAWR-də-kie(American English) MAW-də-kie(British English)
Rating: 54% based on 43 votes
Means
"servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the
Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of
Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor
Haman.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(American English) MAW-gən(British English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 62% based on 55 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name
Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh
mor "sea" and
cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America
Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of
Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Moritz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: MO-rits
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Moses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מֹשֶׁה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MOZ-is(English)
Rating: 41% based on 43 votes
From the Hebrew name
מֹשֶׁה (Moshe), which is most likely derived from Egyptian
mes meaning
"son". The meaning suggested in the
Old Testament of
"drew out" from Hebrew
מָשָׁה (masha) is probably an invented etymology (see
Exodus 2:10).
The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.
In England, this name has been commonly used by Christians since the Protestant Reformation, though it had long been popular among Jews.
Na'ima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نعيمة(Arabic)
Pronounced: na-‘EE-ma
Rating: 37% based on 24 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
نعيمة (see
Naima).
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 70% based on 54 votes
Variant of
Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling
Nathanael is found in most versions of the
New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Nayeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Pronounced: na-YEH-lee(Spanish)
Rating: 31% based on 29 votes
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".
Nephele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νεφέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-PEH-LEH(Classical Greek) NEHF-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 42% based on 41 votes
From Greek
νέφος (nephos) meaning
"cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by
Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like
Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.
Niven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 34% based on 11 votes
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 60% based on 37 votes
From the Hebrew name
נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning
"rest, repose", derived from the root
נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the
Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of
Shem,
Ham and
Japheth.
As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.
A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).
Noam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, French
Other Scripts: נוֹעַם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-am(Hebrew) NOM(English) NAW-AM(French)
Rating: 43% based on 34 votes
Means "pleasantness" in Hebrew. A famous bearer is Noam Chomsky (1928-), an American linguist and philosopher.
November
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: no-VEHM-bər, nə-VEHM-bə, no-VEHM-bə
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
From the Latin word
novem, meaning "nine". November was the ninth month of the Roman calendar before January and February were added around 713 BC. It is now the eleventh month of the year.
This is the name of one of the main adult female characters in Catherynne M. Valente's adult fantasy novel "Palimpsest" (2009). In the novel November remembers having read a book called "The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making" when she was a child, and the heroine of that book was called September. Valente later wrote that book as a crowd-funded work. It became the first volume in her bestselling "Fairyland" series.
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(American English) awk-TAY-vee-ə(British English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 58% based on 55 votes
Feminine form of
Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Octavian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, Romanian
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ən(American English) awk-TAY-vee-ən(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 47 votes
From the Roman name
Octavianus, which was derived from the name
Octavius. After Gaius Octavius (later the Roman emperor
Augustus) was adopted by Julius Caesar he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
Rating: 51% based on 45 votes
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Rating: 42% based on 43 votes
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
Rating: 42% based on 43 votes
From the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Opaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), French (Rare)
Pronounced: O-pə-leen(English) AW-PA-LEEN(French)
Rating: 41% based on 18 votes
Elaborated form of
Opal. This is also an English and French word meaning
"resembling an opal".
Oscar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AHS-kər(American English) AWS-kə(British English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-kahr(Dutch) AWS-KAR(French)
Rating: 49% based on 50 votes
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).
Ottilie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: aw-TEE-lyə
Rating: 53% based on 52 votes
Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Rating: 41% based on 17 votes
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 54% based on 50 votes
From the Latin name
Patricius, which meant
"nobleman". This name was adopted in the 5th-century by
Saint Patrick, whose birth name was Sucat. He was a Romanized Briton who was captured and enslaved in his youth by Irish raiders. After six years of servitude he escaped home, but he eventually became a bishop and went back to Ireland as a missionary. He is traditionally credited with Christianizing the island, and is regarded as Ireland's patron saint. He is called
Pádraig in Irish.
In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.
Pax
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: PAKS(Latin, English)
Rating: 29% based on 26 votes
Means
"peace" in Latin. In Roman
mythology this was the name of the goddess of peace.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL(American English) PUL(British English)
Rating: 42% based on 32 votes
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
Peninnah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פְּנִנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: pi-NIN-ə(English) pi-NEE-nə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 18 votes
Means
"pearl, coral, precious stone" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the wives of
Elkanah, the other being
Hannah.
Priya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Other Scripts: प्रिया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) பிரியா(Tamil) ప్రియ(Telugu) പ്രിയാ(Malayalam) ಪ್ರಿಯಾ(Kannada) প্রিয়া(Bengali)
Rating: 44% based on 44 votes
Means
"beloved" in Sanskrit. It appears briefly in the
Puranas belonging to a daughter of King
Daksha.
Prosper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: PRAWS-PEHR(French) PRAHS-pər(American English) PRAWS-pə(British English)
Rating: 43% based on 44 votes
From the Latin name
Prosperus, which meant
"fortunate, successful". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint, a supporter of Saint
Augustine. It has never been common as an English name, though the
Puritans used it, partly because it is identical to the English word
prosper.
Raphael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Biblical
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל, רְפָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: RA-fa-ehl(German) RAF-ee-əl(English) RAF-ay-ehl(English) rah-fie-EHL(English)
Rating: 62% based on 34 votes
From the Hebrew name
רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning
"God heals", from the roots
רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named
Azarias and accompanies
Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father
Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the
New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in
John 5:4.
This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 66% based on 28 votes
French form of the Latin name
Remigius, which was derived from Latin
remigis "oarsman, rower".
Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.
Reverie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: REHV-ə-ree
Rating: 35% based on 12 votes
From the English word meaning "daydream, fanciful musing", derived from Old French resverie, itself from resver meaning "to dream, to rave".
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 71% based on 33 votes
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).
Rufus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Biblical
Pronounced: ROO-foos(Latin) ROO-fəs(English)
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
Roman
cognomen meaning
"red-haired" in Latin. Several early
saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of
Paul's epistles in the
New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the
Protestant Reformation.
Safiyyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: صفيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-FEE-ya
Rating: 34% based on 40 votes
Sakura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 桜, 咲良, etc.(Japanese Kanji) さくら(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SA-KOO-RA
Rating: 51% based on 29 votes
From Japanese
桜 (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom", though it is often written using the hiragana writing system. It can also come from
咲 (saku) meaning "blossom" and
良 (ra) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable" as well as other kanji combinations.
Salome
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: სალომე(Georgian) Σαλώμη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: sə-LO-mee(English)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
From an Aramaic name that was related to the Hebrew word
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning
"peace". According to the historian Josephus this was the name of the daughter of
Herodias (the consort of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee). In the
New Testament, though a specific name is not given, it was a daughter of Herodias who danced for Herod and was rewarded with the head of
John the Baptist, and thus Salome and the dancer have traditionally been equated.
As a Christian given name, Salome has been in occasional use since the Protestant Reformation. This was due to a second person of this name in the New Testament: one of the women who witnessed the crucifixion and later discovered that Jesus' tomb was empty. It is used in Georgia due to the 4th-century Salome of Ujarma, who is considered a saint in the Georgian Church.
Samara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Rating: 51% based on 46 votes
Possibly derived from the name of the city of Samarra (in Iraq) or Samara (in Russia). The former appears in the title of the novel
Appointment in Samarra (1934) by John O'Hara, which refers to an ancient Babylonian legend about a man trying to evade death. Alternatively, this name could be derived from the word for the winged seeds that grow on trees such as maples and elms.
The name received a boost in popularity after it was borne by the antagonist in the horror movie The Ring (2002).
Samira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: سميرة(Arabic) سمیرا(Persian)
Pronounced: sa-MEE-ra(Arabic) sa-mee-RAW(Persian)
Rating: 46% based on 39 votes
Sana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-NA
Rating: 39% based on 43 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سناء (see
Sanaa).
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 61% based on 15 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sariah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mormon
Pronounced: sə-RIE-ə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 45 votes
Possibly from an alternate reading of Hebrew
שׂריה (see
Seraiah). In the Book of Mormon this is the name of
Lehi's wife.
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
Rating: 51% based on 47 votes
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.
Sayen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Rating: 22% based on 25 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of Mapuche ayün "love".
Schuyler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKIE-lər(American English) SKIE-lə(British English)
Rating: 37% based on 41 votes
From a Dutch surname meaning
"scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804)
[1].
Selah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: סֶלַה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə(English)
Rating: 41% based on 18 votes
From a Hebrew musical term that occurs many times in the
Old Testament Psalms. It was probably meant to indicate a musical pause.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 66% based on 32 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
Séraphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-RA-FEEN
Rating: 53% based on 20 votes
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 53% based on 45 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Shiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁירי(Hebrew)
Rating: 32% based on 21 votes
Means "my song" in Hebrew.
Sidney
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SID-nee
Rating: 42% based on 45 votes
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.
Siena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHN-ə
Rating: 34% based on 23 votes
Variant of
Sienna, with the spelling perhaps influenced by that of the Italian city.
Solomon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, Jewish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: שְׁלֹמֹה(Hebrew) Σολομών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SAHL-ə-mən(American English) SAWL-ə-mən(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 50 votes
From the Hebrew name
שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomo), which was derived from
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". As told in the
Old Testament, Solomon was a king of Israel, the son of
David and
Bathsheba. He was renowned for his wisdom and wealth. Towards the end of his reign he angered God by turning to idolatry. Supposedly, he was the author of the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.
This name has never been overly common in the Christian world, and it is considered typically Jewish. It was however borne by an 11th-century Hungarian king.
Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
Rating: 42% based on 29 votes
From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements
sól "sun" and
veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt (1876).
Sonnet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SAHN-it
Rating: 42% based on 13 votes
Diminutive of Italian
sonetto - song, sound; little song. Also the term for a short lyric poem, usually with eight line stanzas, followed by six line
stanzas.
The sonnets of William Shakespeare, on the other hand, are typically three Sicilian quatrains, followed by an heroic couplet.
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 66% based on 58 votes
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Soraya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Spanish, French, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Other Scripts: ثریا(Persian)
Pronounced: so-ra-YAW(Persian) so-RA-ya(Spanish)
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
Persian form of
Thurayya. It became popular in some parts of Europe because of the fame of Princess Soraya (1932-2001), wife of the last Shah of Iran, who became a European socialite.
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SAWR-kə(American English) SAWR-shə(American English) SAW-kə(British English) SAW-shə(British English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Rating: 43% based on 43 votes
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).
Søren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SUUW-ən
Rating: 49% based on 43 votes
Danish form of
Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.
Sparrow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
Rating: 52% based on 21 votes
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər(American English) SUM-ə(British English)
Rating: 54% based on 50 votes
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Sunniva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Rating: 44% based on 27 votes
Scandinavian form of the Old English name
Sunngifu, which meant
"sun gift" from the Old English elements
sunne "sun" and
giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English
saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.
Sunrise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 25% based on 12 votes
From the English word sunrise, referring to a time in the morning when the sun appears.
Suvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SOO-vee
Rating: 33% based on 25 votes
Means "summer" in Finnish.
Sylviane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEEL-VYAN
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Sylvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: SEEL-VEE(French) SIL-vi-yeh(Czech)
Rating: 53% based on 48 votes
French and Czech form of
Silvia.
Tadhg
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: TIEG(Irish)
Rating: 34% based on 34 votes
From Old Irish
Tadg meaning
"poet" [1]. This was the name of an 11th-century king of Connacht, as well as several other kings and chieftains of medieval Ireland. According to Irish
mythology it was the name of the grandfather of
Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 48 votes
Means
"little girl" in Aramaic. The name is taken from the phrase
talitha cumi meaning "little girl arise" spoken by
Jesus in order to restore a young girl to life (see
Mark 5:41).
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
Rating: 49% based on 48 votes
This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Tesni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 16% based on 7 votes
Means "warmth" in Welsh.
Tess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS
Rating: 45% based on 38 votes
Short form of
Theresa. This is the name of the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891).
Tessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS-ə(English) TEH-sa(Dutch)
Rating: 59% based on 38 votes
Thaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], French
Other Scripts: Θαΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TA-EES(French)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Possibly means
"bandage" in Greek. This was the name of a companion of Alexander the Great. It was also borne by a 4th-century
saint from Alexandria, a wealthy socialite who became a Christian convert, though in her case the name may have had a distinct Coptic origin. She has been a popular subject of art and literature, including an 1891 novel by Anatole France and an 1894 opera by Jules Massenet.
Thea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English
Pronounced: TEH-a(German) THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 20 votes
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr(American English) THEE-ə-daw(British English)
Rating: 70% based on 53 votes
From the Greek name
Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
θεός (theos) meaning "god" and
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name
Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several
saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.
This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).
Thurayya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ثريّا, ثريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: thoo-RIE-ya
Rating: 16% based on 7 votes
Means "the Pleiades" in Arabic. The Pleiades are a group of stars in the constellation Taurus.
Tiago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: tee-A-goo(European Portuguese) chee-A-goo(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 34% based on 24 votes
Tirzah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: תִּרְצָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: TIR-zə(American English) TEEY-zə(British English)
Rating: 42% based on 44 votes
From the Hebrew name
תִּרְצָה (Tirtsa) meaning
"favourable". Tirzah is the name of one of the daughters of
Zelophehad in the
Old Testament. It also occurs in the Old Testament as a place name, the early residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.
Tora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Rating: 41% based on 43 votes
Tovah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טוֹבָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 45% based on 42 votes
Tu
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 图, etc.(Chinese) 圖, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: TOO
Rating: 10% based on 6 votes
From Chinese
图 (tú) meaning "chart, map" or other characters with similar pronunciations.
Twila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Rating: 31% based on 19 votes
Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word
twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French
étoile "star"
[1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.
Vega 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Rating: 32% based on 11 votes
The name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Wāqiʿ) meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
Rating: 52% based on 46 votes
From the English word meaning
"verity, truth", from Latin
verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Vienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: vee-EHN-ə
Rating: 37% based on 7 votes
From the name of the capital city of Austria,
Vienna.
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 62% based on 55 votes
Viviette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Diminutive of
Vivienne. William John Locke used this name for the title character in his novel
Viviette (1910).
Walter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: WAWL-tər(American English) WAWL-tə(British English) VAL-tu(German) VAL-tehr(Swedish, Italian)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
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.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 62% based on 57 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Winston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIN-stən
Rating: 42% based on 45 votes
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.
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər(American English) WIN-tə(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 10 votes
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 59% based on 25 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 49 votes
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(American English) ig-ZAY-vyər(American English) ZAY-vyə(British English) ig-ZAY-vyə(British English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 48 votes
Derived from the Basque place name
Etxeberria meaning
"the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest
Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Xiomara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: syo-MA-ra
Rating: 33% based on 23 votes
Possibly a Spanish form of
Guiomar.
Xochiquetzal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Pronounced: sho-chee-KEHT-sash(Nahuatl)
Rating: 20% based on 46 votes
Derived from Nahuatl
xōchitl "flower" and
quetzalli "quetzal feather, precious thing"
[1]. This was the name of the Aztec goddess of love, flowers and the earth, the twin sister of
Xochipilli.
Yael
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יָעֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ya-EHL(Hebrew)
Rating: 37% based on 44 votes
Yveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EEV-LEEN
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Yvelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EEV-LEEZ
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Yves (or an elaboration using
Élise). It was (first?) borne by the title character in the Italian novel
Yvelise (1923) by Guido da Verona. It later appeared in the photonovel
Yvelise devant l'amour published in the French magazine
Nous Deux in 1950.
Yvelys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: i-VE-lees(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Zahir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali
Other Scripts: ظهير(Arabic) ظهیر(Persian) ظہیر(Shahmukhi, Urdu) জহির(Bengali)
Pronounced: dha-HEER(Arabic)
Rating: 27% based on 26 votes
Means
"helper, supporter" in Arabic, related to
ظهر (ẓahara) meaning "to be visible, to be clear". This can also be an alternate transcription of Arabic
زاهر (see
Zaahir 1) or
ظاهر (see
Zaahir 2).
Zahira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ظهيرة, زاهرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: dha-HEE-ra, ZA-hee-ra
Rating: 25% based on 26 votes
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
Rating: 40% based on 46 votes
From Arabic
زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of
أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatima.
See also the related name Zahra 2.
Zemirah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Zénaïde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: ZEH-NA-EED
Rating: 32% based on 29 votes
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 48 votes
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zéphyrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 42% based on 48 votes
French feminine form of
Zephyrinus (see
Zeferino).
Zhaleh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: ژاله(Persian)
Pronounced: zhaw-LEH
Rating: 19% based on 27 votes
Means "dew" or "hoarfrost" in Persian.
Zimri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: זִמְרִי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ZIM-ree(English) ZIM-rie(English)
Rating: 32% based on 46 votes
Probably means
"my music" in Hebrew, a possessive form of
זִמְרָה (zimra) meaning "music, song". This was the name of a king of Israel according to the
Old Testament. He ruled for only seven days, when he was succeeded by the commander of the army
Omri. Another Zimri in the Old Testament was the lover of the Midianite woman
Cozbi.
Zinnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə
Rating: 50% based on 30 votes
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Rating: 46% based on 47 votes
Ziva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זִיוָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 44% based on 36 votes
Zoë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English
Pronounced: ZO-veh(Dutch) ZO-ee(English)
Rating: 59% based on 34 votes
Dutch form and English variant of
Zoe.
Zuri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Rating: 43% based on 8 votes
Means "beautiful" in Swahili.
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