Norah Namenerd's Personal Name List

Originally a short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide or Adelina that begin with the element adal meaning "noble". Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.

French and English form of Adelina.

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

From Sanskrit अञ्जलि (añjali) meaning "salutation".

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

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

Latinized form of Kleio.

From Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles [1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.

The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).

Variant of Darlene using the suffix la.

Means "judged" in Hebrew, derived from דִּין (din) meaning "to judge". According to the Old Testament, Dinah was a daughter of Jacob and Leah who was abducted by Shechem. It has been used as an English given name since after the Protestant Reformation.

From the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and ric "ruler, king". After the Norman Conquest this Old English name was not commonly used. It has occasionally been revived in modern times.

French form of Emmeline.

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.

From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Ḥawwa), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (ḥawa) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (ḥaya) meaning "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.

Possibly means either "white fire" or "white ancient" in Irish. According to legend this was the name of the only Irish person to survive the great flood. This name was also borne by many Irish saints.

Diminutive of Flann. This was the name of a 7th-century saint.

Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named Beaumains) is a brother of Gawain. He goes with Lynet to rescue her sister Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on Gaheriet or Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name Gwrhyd meaning "valour" (found in the tale Culhwch and Olwen) or Gwairydd meaning "hay lord" (found in the chronicle Brut y Brenhinedd).

Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Feminine form of Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian saint and hermitess.

From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.

Medieval English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John). This became the most common feminine form of John in the 17th century, surpassing Joan. In the first half of the 20th century Joan once again overtook Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.

From an English surname that was derived from the given name Gervais.

Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.

Either a variant of Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.

Unaccented variant of Llŷr.

Means "little fierce one", derived from Old Irish lorcc "fierce" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.

Latin diminutive of Lucia. This was the name of a 3rd-century saint martyred in Rome.

Roman family name that was derived either from Mars, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root mas, maris meaning "male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC. Since the start of the Christian era, it has occasionally been used as a masculine form of Maria.

Diminutive of Miroslav and other names beginning with the Slavic element mirŭ meaning "peace, world". It is sometimes used independently.

From the Late Latin name Romanus meaning "Roman". This name was borne by several early saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.

Means "little seal", derived from Old Irish rón "seal" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.

Diminutive of Sarah, often used independently.

German and Scandinavian form of Severinus.

Danish form of Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.

Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.