ScrapFan's Personal Name List

Alanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LAN-ə
Feminine form of Alan.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

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)
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).

Alise 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-LEES, AL-is
Variant of Alice.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alodia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gothic (Latinized)
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.
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Medieval English variant of Honora.
Anwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means "very beautiful" in Welsh, from the intensive prefix an- combined with gwen "white, blessed".
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Arwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Means "noble maiden" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Arwen was the daughter of Elrond and the lover of Aragorn.
Arya 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Persian, Hindi, Malayalam
Other Scripts: آریا(Persian) आर्य, आर्या(Hindi) ആര്യ, ആര്യാ(Malayalam)
Pronounced: aw-ree-YAW(Persian) awr-YAW(Persian) AR-yə(Hindi) AR-ya(Hindi, Malayalam) AR-yu(Malayalam)
From an old Indo-Iranian root meaning "Aryan, noble". In India, this is a transcription of both the masculine form आर्य and the feminine form आर्या. In Iran it is only a masculine name.
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
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.

Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
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)
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)
Feminine form of Aurelius.
Ava 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: آوا(Persian)
Pronounced: aw-VAW
Means "voice, sound" in Persian.
Aylen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mapuche
Variant of Ayelen.
Batel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: בַּת־אֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: baht-EHL
Means "daughter of God" in Hebrew.
Bella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL-ə
Short form of Isabella and other names ending in bella. It is also associated with the Italian word bella meaning "beautiful". It was used by the American author Stephenie Meyer for the main character in her popular Twilight series of novels, first released 2005, later adapted into a series of movies beginning 2008.
Benjamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Slovene, Croatian, Biblical
Other Scripts: בִּןְיָמִין(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: BEHN-jə-min(English) BEHN-ZHA-MEHN(French) BEHN-ya-meen(German) BEHN-ya-min(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name בִּןְיָמִין (Binyamin) meaning "son of the south" or "son of the right hand", from the roots בֵּן (ben) meaning "son" and יָמִין (yamin) meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-ʾoni) meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother Rachel, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see Genesis 35:18).

As an English name, Benjamin came into general use after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.

Besnik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Means "faithful" in Albanian.
Bethan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: BETH-an
Welsh diminutive of Elizabeth.
Bianca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: BYANG-ka
Italian cognate of Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and Othello (1603).
Blaine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYN
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name Bláán.
Bláithín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Modern Irish form of Bláthíne.
Boaz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Dutch, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: בֹּעַז(Hebrew)
Pronounced: BO-az(English) BO-ahz(Dutch)
Means "swiftness" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of the man who marries Ruth. This was also the name of one of the two pillars that stood outside Solomon's Temple (with Jachin).
Brielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-EHL
Short form of Gabrielle. This is also the name of towns in the Netherlands and New Jersey, though their names derive from a different source.
Byron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIE-rən
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds" in Old English. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), the writer of Don Juan and many other works.
Cade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAYD
From an English surname that was originally derived from a nickname meaning "round" in Old English.
Caedmon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: KAD-mən(English)
Meaning unknown, though the first element is likely connected to Brythonic kad meaning "battle". Saint Caedmon was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon poet who supposedly received his poetic inspiration from a dream. Our only knowledge of him is through the 8th-century writings of the historian Bede.
Cáel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
From Old Irish cáel meaning "slender". In Irish legend Cáel was a warrior of the Fianna and the lover of Créd.
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Most likely related to Hebrew כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning "dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of" [2] and לֵב (lev) meaning "heart" [3]. In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.

As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.

Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".
Callie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ee
Diminutive of Caroline, or sometimes of names beginning with Cal.
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Latinized form of Kalliope.
Caoimhe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-vyə
Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".
Cara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
From an Italian word meaning "beloved" or an Irish word meaning "friend". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, though it did not become popular until after the 1950s.
Carrie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAR-ee, KEHR-ee
Diminutive of Caroline. This name declined in use shortly after the 1976 release of the horror movie Carrie, which was based on a 1974 novel by Stephen King.
Carter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-tər
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Carys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: KA-ris
Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
From the Greek name Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.

Catalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Corsican
Pronounced: ka-ta-LEE-na(Spanish)
Spanish and Corsican form of Katherine.
Charis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Χάρις(Ancient Greek) Χάρης, Χάρις(Greek)
Pronounced: KA-REES(Classical Greek) KHA-rees(Greek)
Ancient Greek feminine form of Chares. This was the word (in the singular) for one of the three Graces (plural Χάριτες).

This is also a Modern Greek transcription of the masculine form Chares.

Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
French feminine diminutive of Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of Jane Eyre and Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

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

Chava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: kha-VA
Modern Hebrew form of Eve.
Chloe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Ancient Greek [2], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Χλόη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KLO-ee(English)
Means "green shoot" in Greek, referring to new plant growth in the spring. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess Demeter. The name is also mentioned by Paul in one of his epistles in the New Testament.

As an English name, Chloe has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. It started getting more popular in the 1980s in the United Kingdom and then the United States. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 1997 to 2002. This is one of the few English-language names that is often written with a diaeresis, as Chloë.

Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR
French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Clarity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KLAR-i-tee
Simply means "clarity, lucidity" from the English word, ultimately from Latin clarus "clear".
Clayton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAY-tən
From a surname that was originally derived from various English place names, all meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.
Constance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAHN-stəns(English) KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Medieval form of Constantia. The Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Latinized form of Kore. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel The Last of the Mohicans (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of Cordula, Corinna and other names beginning with a similar sound.
Corbin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWR-bin
From a French surname that was derived from corbeau "raven", originally denoting a person who had dark hair. The name was probably popularized in America by actor Corbin Bernsen (1954-) [1].
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEE-lee-ə(English) kawr-DEEL-yə(English)
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).

Cyrano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: SIR-ə-no(English)
Possibly derived from the name of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, which was located in North Africa. Edmond Rostand used this name in his play Cyrano de Bergerac (1897). He based his character upon a real person, the French satirist Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655).
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.

Danica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English
Other Scripts: Даница(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DA-nee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian) DA-nyee-tsa(Slovak) DAN-i-kə(English)
From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nyehl(German) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.

Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

Dashiell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-SHEEL, DASH-il
In the case of American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) it was from his mother's surname, which was possibly an Anglicized form of French de Chiel, of unknown meaning.
Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Anglicized form of Irish Deaglán, Old Irish Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.

In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).

Delaney
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: di-LAYN-ee
From a surname: either the English surname Delaney 1 or the Irish surname Delaney 2.
Delia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-lee-ə(English) DEH-lya(Italian, Spanish) DEH-lee-a(Romanian)
Means "of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, given because she and her twin brother Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Delyth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
From an elaboration of Welsh del "pretty". This is a recently created name.
Diego
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: DYEH-gho(Spanish) DYEH-go(Italian)
Spanish name, possibly a shortened form of Santiago. In medieval records Diego was Latinized as Didacus, and it has been suggested that it in fact derives from Greek διδαχή (didache) meaning "teaching". Saint Didacus (or Diego) was a 15th-century Franciscan brother based in Alcalá, Spain.

Other famous bearers of this name include Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona (1960-2020).

Dimitri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, French
Other Scripts: Димитрий(Russian) დიმიტრი(Georgian)
Pronounced: dyi-MYEE-tryee(Russian) DEE-MEE-TREE(Georgian, French)
Russian variant of Dmitriy, as well as the Georgian form.
Donovan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHN-ə-vən
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Donndubháin, itself derived from the given name Donndubán. This name is borne by the Scottish folk musician Donovan Leitch (1946-), known simply as Donovan.
Dylan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: DUL-an(Welsh) DIL-ən(English)
From the Welsh prefix dy meaning "to, toward" and llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of Arianrhod and the twin brother of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.

Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.

Ealasaid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EHL-ə-sət
Scottish Gaelic form of Elizabeth.
Eamon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EH-mən
Variant of Éamonn.
Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Means "rich protection", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.

Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Edward
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-wərd(English) EHD-vart(Polish)
Means "rich guard", derived from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and weard "guard". This was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings, the last being Saint Edward the Confessor shortly before the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. He was known as a just ruler, and because of his popularity his name remained in use after the conquest when most other Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. The 13th-century Plantagenet king Henry III named his son and successor after the saint, and seven subsequent kings of England were also named Edward.

This is one of the few Old English names to be used throughout Europe (in various spellings). A famous bearer was the British composer Edward Elgar (1857-1934). It was also used by author Charlotte Brontë for the character Edward Rochester, the main love interest of the title character in her novel Jane Eyre (1847).

Edwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: EHD-win(English) EHT-vin(Dutch)
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
Diminutive of Eilionoir, also taken to be a Gaelic form of Helen.
Elanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί, Ἡλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Means "ascension" in Hebrew, a derivative of עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend". In the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.

Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).

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)
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.
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Short form of Elizabeth.
Eliza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Hungarian, Georgian
Other Scripts: ელიზა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-LIE-zə(English) eh-LEE-za(Polish) EH-lee-zaw(Hungarian)
Short form of Elizabeth. It was borne by the character Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (1913) and the subsequent musical adaptation My Fair Lady (1956).
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
French form of Alodia.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
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.

Emma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Latvian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EHM-ə(English) EH-MA(French) EHM-ma(Spanish) EHM-mah(Finnish) EH-ma(Dutch, German) EHM-maw(Hungarian)
Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element irmin meaning "whole" or "great" (Proto-Germanic *ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called Hemma.

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

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

Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
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.
Enoch
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: חֲנוֹך(Ancient Hebrew) Ἐνώχ, Ἑνώχ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-nək(English)
From the Hebrew name חֲנוֹך (Ḥanoḵ) meaning "dedicated". In Genesis in the Old Testament this is the name of the son of Cain. It is also the name of a son of Jared and the father of Methuselah, who was the supposed author of the apocryphal Books of Enoch.
Éowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: AY-ə-win(English)
Means "horse joy" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden of Rohan. She slays the Lord of the Nazgul in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Esmé
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.
Esmeralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Albanian, Literature
Pronounced: ehz-meh-RAL-da(Spanish) izh-mi-RAL-du(European Portuguese) ehz-meh-ROW-du(Brazilian Portuguese) ehz-mə-RAHL-də(English)
Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Romani girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.
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(English, Dutch) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
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].

Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
From the Hebrew name אֵיתָן (ʾEṯan) meaning "solid, enduring, firm". In the Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.

After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.

Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Form of Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the New Testament, while Hava is used in the Latin Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.

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

Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
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.

Ezekiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-ZEE-kee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name יְחֶזְקֵאל (Yeḥezqel) meaning "God will strengthen", from the roots חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strengthen" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Ezekiel is a major prophet of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Ezekiel. He lived in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest and captivity of Israel, at which time he was taken to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel describes his vivid symbolic visions that predict the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. As an English given name, Ezekiel has been used since the Protestant Reformation.
Faolán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: FEH-lan, FEE-lan
Means "little wolf", derived from Old Irish fáel "wolf" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of an Irish saint who did missionary work in Scotland.
Felicity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: fə-LIS-i-tee
From the English word felicity meaning "happiness", which ultimately derives from Latin felicitas "good luck". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans around the 17th century. It can sometimes be used as an English form of the Latin name Felicitas. This name jumped in popularity in the United States after the premiere of the television series Felicity in 1998. It is more common in the United Kingdom.
Finley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Variant of Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.
Finnegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FIN-ə-gən
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Fionnagáin, itself derived from the given name Fionnagán, a diminutive of Fionn. This is the surname of a relatively minor character in James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake (1939), the title of which was based on a 19th-century Irish ballad called Finnegan's Wake.
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Derived from Old Irish finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).
Florian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Romanian, Polish, History
Pronounced: FLO-ree-an(German) FLAW-RYAHN(French) FLAW-ryan(Polish)
From the Roman cognomen Florianus, a derivative of Florus. This was the name of a short-lived Roman emperor of the 3rd century, Marcus Annius Florianus. It was also borne by Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie Tangled in 2010.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

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

Gaspard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GAS-PAR
French form of Jasper.
Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Medieval form of Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Georgia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Γεωργία(Greek)
Pronounced: JAWR-jə(English) yeh-or-YEE-a(Greek)
Latinate feminine form of George. This is the name of an American state, which was named after the British king George II. The country of Georgia has an unrelated etymology. A famous bearer was the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986).
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning "feller, hewer", derived from גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew" [1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Italian form of Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word ginepro meaning "juniper".
Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Derived from the Old German element gisal meaning "hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.

The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.

Grady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAY-dee
From an Irish surname, itself derived from the byname Gráda meaning "noble, illustrious".
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Variant of Gray.
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
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).
Gry
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Means "to dawn" in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Possibly means "white ring", derived from Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed" and dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle [1]. Geoffrey later used it in Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name Guendoleu by Geoffrey [3].

This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).

Gypsy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JIP-see
Simply from the English word Gypsy for the nomadic people who originated in northern India. The word was originally a corruption of Egyptian. As an ethnic term it is sometimes considered offensive.
Hadassah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: הֲדַסָּה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: hə-DAS-ə(English)
From Hebrew הֲדַס (haḏas) meaning "myrtle tree". In the Old Testament this is the Hebrew name of Queen Esther.
Hai
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: , etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: KHIE
From Chinese (hǎi) meaning "sea, ocean" or other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Hannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, German, Dutch, Arabic, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַנָּה(Hebrew) حنّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HAN-ə(English) HA-na(German) HAH-na(Dutch) HAN-na(Arabic)
From the Hebrew name חַנָּה (Ḥanna) meaning "favour, grace", derived from the root חָנַן (ḥanan) meaning "to be gracious". In the Old Testament this is the name of the wife of Elkanah. Her rival was Elkanah's other wife Peninnah, who had children while Hannah remained barren. After a blessing from Eli she finally became pregnant with Samuel.

As an English name, Hannah was not regularly used until after the Protestant Reformation, unlike the vernacular forms Anne and Ann and the Latin form Anna, which were used from the late Middle Ages. In the last half of the 20th century Hannah surged in popularity and neared the top of the name rankings for both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Harmony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-mə-nee
From the English word harmony, ultimately deriving from Greek ἁρμονία (harmonia).
Harper
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Hava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Hebrew)
Alternate transcription of Hebrew חַוָּה (see Chava).
Heidi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, English
Pronounced: HIE-dee(German, English) HAY-dee(Finnish)
German diminutive of Adelheid. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel Heidi (1880) by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hermia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: HUR-mee-ə(English)
Feminine form of Hermes. Shakespeare used this name in his comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595).
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(English)
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god Hermes. In Greek myth Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. This is also the name of the wife of Leontes in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hezekiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: חִזְקִיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: hehz-ə-KIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name חִזְקִיָהוּ (Ḥizqiyahu), which means "Yahweh strengthens", from the roots חָזַק (ḥazaq) meaning "to strength" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This name was borne by a powerful king of Judah who reigned in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Also in the Old Testament, this is the name of an ancestor of the prophet Zephaniah.
Hosea
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: הוֹשֵׁעַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ho-ZAY-ə(English) ho-ZEE-ə(English)
Variant English form of Hoshea, though the name is spelled the same in the Hebrew text. Hosea is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Hosea. Written in the northern kingdom, it draws parallels between his relationship with his unfaithful wife and the relationship between God and his people.
Ian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: EE-ən(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Iain, itself from Latin Iohannes (see John). It became popular in the United Kingdom outside of Scotland in the first half of the 20th century, but did not begin catching on in America until the 1960s.
Icarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἴκαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IK-ə-rəs(English)
From the Greek Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek myth Icarus was the son of Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Ichabod
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אִי־כָבוֹד(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: IK-ə-bahd(English)
Means "no glory" in Hebrew, from the roots אִי (ʾi) meaning "not" and כָּבַד (kavaḏ) meaning "to be glorious". In the Old Testament this is the grandson of Eli and the son of Phinehas. He was named this because his mother despaired that "the glory has departed from Israel" (1 Samuel 4:21).

This name was used by Washington Irving for Ichabod Crane, the main character in his short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820).

Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
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.
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִץְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
From the Hebrew name יִץְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning "he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of Esau and Jacob with his wife Rebecca.

As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).

Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Medieval Occitan form of Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.

This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.

Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Latinate form of Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called Isabel).

In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.

A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).

Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
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.
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Anglicized form of Iseabail.
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)
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.
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

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

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

Jacob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jewish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יַעֲקֹב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-kəb(English) YA-kawp(Dutch) YAH-kawp(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish)
From the Latin Iacob, which was from the Greek Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿaqov). In the Old Testament Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Yaʿaqovʾel) meaning "may God protect".

The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.

In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages [1], though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.

A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Jake
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYK
Medieval variant of Jack. It is also sometimes used as a short form of Jacob.
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
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.

Jasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAZ-min(English) ZHAS-MEEN(French)
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans [1]. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
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.
Jemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: JEHM-ə
Variant of Gemma.
Jeremiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִרְםְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jehr-i-MIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name יִרְםְיָהוּ (Yirmeyahu) meaning "Yahweh will exalt", from the roots רוּם (rum) meaning "to exalt" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations (supposedly). He lived to see the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

In England, though the vernacular form Jeremy had been occasionally used since the 13th century, the form Jeremiah was not common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Jeremy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JEHR-ə-mee(English) JEHR-mee(English)
English form of Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the New Testament.
Jocelyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(English) JAHS-ə-lin(English) ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French)
From a Frankish masculine name, variously written as Gaudelenus, Gautselin, Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element *gautaz, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Geats, combined with a Latin diminutive suffix. The Normans brought this name to England in the form Goscelin or Joscelin, and it was common until the 14th century. It was revived in the 20th century primarily as a feminine name, perhaps an adaptation of the surname Jocelyn (a medieval derivative of the given name). In France this is a masculine name only.
Joel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-əl(English) JOL(English) kho-EHL(Spanish) ZHWEHL(European Portuguese) zho-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) YO-ehl(Swedish, Finnish)
From the Hebrew name יוֹאֵל (Yoʾel) meaning "Yahweh is God", from the elements יוֹ (yo) and אֵל (ʾel), both referring to the Hebrew God. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel, which describes a plague of locusts. In England, it was first used as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation.
Jonathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHN-ə-thən(American English) JAWN-ə-thən(British English) ZHAW-NA-TAHN(French) YO-na-tan(German) YO-na-tahn(Dutch)
From the Hebrew name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonaṯan), contracted to יוֹנָתָן (Yonaṯan), meaning "Yahweh has given", derived from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and נָתַן (naṯan) meaning "to give". According to the Old Testament, Jonathan was the eldest son of Saul. His relationship with his father was strained due to his close friendship with his father's rival David. Along with Saul he was killed in battle with the Philistines.

As an English name, Jonathan did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who wrote Gulliver's Travels and other works.

Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.
Joshua
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAHSH-oo-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshuaʿ) meaning "Yahweh is salvation", from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save". As told in the Old Testament, Joshua was a companion of Moses. He went up Mount Sinai with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments from God, and later he was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan. After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hoshea.

The name Jesus comes from a Greek transcription of the Aramaic short form יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshuaʿ), which was the real name of Jesus. As an English name, Joshua has been in use since the Protestant Reformation.

Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Variant of Judas. It is used in many English versions of the New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world, Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the Protestant Reformation.
Julia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ə(English) YOO-lya(German, Danish, Polish) YOO-lee-ah(Swedish, Finnish) YUY-lee-a(Dutch) KHOO-lya(Spanish) YOO-lyi-yə(Russian) YOO-lee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of the Roman family name Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the New Testament. It was also borne by a few early saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

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

June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Kai 3
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: KIE
Means "sea" in Hawaiian.
Kalliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAL-LEE-O-PEH(Classical Greek)
Means "beautiful voice" from Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine Muses.
Kara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-ə, KEHR-ə, KAR-ə
Variant of Cara.
Kari 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Norwegian short form of Katarina.
Kate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Croatian
Pronounced: KAYT(English)
Short form of Katherine, often used independently. It is short for Katherina in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew (1593). It has been used in England since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer is the British actress Kate Winslet (1975-).
Kaylee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lee
Combination of the popular phonetic elements kay and lee. This name, in various spellings, steadily rose in popularity starting in the 1980s. This particular spelling peaked in America in 2009, ranked 26th, and has since declined.
Keeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-və(English)
Anglicized form of Caoimhe.
Keira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEER-ə
Variant of Ciara 1. This spelling was popularized by British actress Keira Knightley (1985-).
Kiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: kee-AHR-ə
Variant of Ciara 1 or Chiara. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie The Lion King II (1998).
Kira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кира(Russian) Кіра(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KYEE-rə(Russian)
Russian feminine form of Cyrus.
Kiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Means "skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).
Larisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovene, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Лариса(Russian, Ukrainian) Λάρισα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lu-RYEE-sə(Russian) lu-ryi-SU(Lithuanian)
Possibly derived from the name of the ancient city of Larisa in Thessaly, which meant "citadel". In Greek legends, the nymph Larisa was either a daughter or mother of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the mythical Pelasgians. This name was later borne by a 4th-century Greek martyr who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Church. The name (of the city, nymph and saint) is commonly Latinized as Larissa, with a double s. As a Ukrainian name, it is more commonly transcribed Larysa.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word לָאָה (laʾa) meaning "weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian littu meaning "cow". In the Old Testament Leah is the first wife of Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.

Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.

Leena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: LEH-nah(Finnish)
Finnish and Estonian short form of Helena or Matleena.
Leland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).
Lesedi
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Tswana
Means "light" in Tswana.
Lía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Galician
Pronounced: LEE-u
Galician form of Leah.
Liam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French (Modern), Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), Swedish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: LYEEM(Irish) LEE-əm(English) LYAM(French) LEE-yahm(Dutch)
Irish short form of William. It became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, and elsewhere in Europe and the Americas after that. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States beginning in 2017. Famous bearers include British actor Liam Neeson (1952-), British musician Liam Gallagher (1972-), and Australian actor Liam Hemsworth (1990-).
Logan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LO-gən
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from a place in Ayrshire meaning "little hollow" (from Gaelic lag "hollow, pit" combined with a diminutive suffix). This name started slowly rising on the American popularity charts in the mid-1970s, perhaps partly inspired by the movie Logan's Run (1976). The comic book character Wolverine, alias Logan, was also introduced around the same time.

The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since end of the 20th century. In the United States it reached a high point in 2017, when it ranked as the fifth most popular name for boys.

Lorccán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish [1]
Old Irish form of Lorcán.
Luca 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOO-ka
Italian and Romanian form of Lucas (see Luke). This name was borne by Luca della Robbia, a Renaissance sculptor from Florence.
Lucas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: LOO-kəs(English) LUY-kahs(Dutch) LUY-KA(French) LOO-kush(European Portuguese) LOO-kus(Brazilian Portuguese) LOO-kas(Spanish, Swedish, Latin)
Latin form of Greek Λουκᾶς (see Luke), as well as the form used in several other languages.

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

Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Romanian and English form of Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Luka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Russian, Georgian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Лука(Serbian, Macedonian, Russian) ლუკა(Georgian) Лꙋка(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: LOO-ka(Croatian) LOO-KAH(Georgian)
Form of Lucas (see Luke) in several languages.
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
English form of Latin Lucas, from the Greek name Λουκᾶς (Loukas), probably a shortened form of Λουκανός (Loukanos) meaning "from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy. Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a saint by many Christian denominations.

Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.

Mabyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Possibly from Old Cornish mab meaning "son". This was the name of a 6th-century Cornish saint, said to be one of the children of Brychan Brycheiniog. She is now regarded as a woman, but some early sources describe her as a man.
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
French form of Magdalene.
Madelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin
Variant of Madeline.
Maeleth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Μαελέθ(Ancient Greek)
Form of Mahalath used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
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.
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Mairead
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MA-ryəd
Scottish Gaelic form of Margaret.
Malakai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Fijian, Tongan, English (Modern)
Fijian and Tongan form of Malachi, as well as a modern English variant.
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Máel Coluim, which means "disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Marek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovak, Estonian
Pronounced: MA-rehk(Polish, Czech, Slovak)
Polish, Czech and Slovak form of Mark.
Maren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: MAH-rehn(Danish)
Danish diminutive of Marina or Maria.
Margh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Cornish form of Mark.
Maribel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-BEHL
Short form of María Isabel.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
From the Germanic name Mahthilt meaning "strength in battle", from the elements maht "might, strength" and hilt "battle". Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.

The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.

Maxen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: MAK-sən(English)
Anglicized form of Macsen.
Maximus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: MAK-see-moos
Roman family name that was derived from Latin maximus "greatest". Saint Maximus was a monk and theologian from Constantinople in the 7th century.
Maya 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מַיָּה(Hebrew)
Derived from Hebrew מַיִם (mayim) meaning "water".
Mélisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
French form of Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
From the English word melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".
Micaiah
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: מִיכָיָהוּ, מִיכָיְהוּ, מִיכָיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: mi-KIE-ə(English)
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.
Miela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: mee-EH-la
Means "sweet" in Esperanto, derived from mielo "honey", ultimately from Latin mel.
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Catalan form of Mirèio (see Mireille).
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Form of Mary used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee
Medieval diminutive of Mary, now often used independently. It developed from Malle and Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
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-).
Murron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Used in the 1995 movie Braveheart for William Wallace's wife, who is murdered early in the film. In reality, Wallace may have been married to a woman named Marion.
Naida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dagestani
Other Scripts: Наида(Russian)
Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Greek Ναϊάς (Naias), a type of water nymph in Greek mythology (plural Ναϊάδες). Alternatively it might be related to Persian Nahid.
Naomi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: נָעֳמִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: nay-O-mee(English) nie-O-mee(English)
From the Hebrew name נָעֳמִי (Naʿomi) meaning "my pleasantness", a derivative of נָעַם (naʿam) meaning "to be pleasant". In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of Ruth. After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be Mara because of her misfortune (see Ruth 1:20).

Though long common as a Jewish name, Naomi was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).

Nathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: נָתָן(Hebrew) Ναθάν(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NAY-thən(English) NA-TAHN(French)
From the Hebrew name נָתָן (Naṯan) meaning "he gave". In the Old Testament this is the name of a prophet during the reign of King David. He chastised David for his adultery with Bathsheba and for the death of Uriah the Hittite. Later he championed Solomon as David's successor. This was also the name of a son of David and Bathsheba.

It has been used as a Christian given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Nathan Hale (1755-1776), an American spy executed by the British during the American Revolution.

Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: ןְתַןְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
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.
Nava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: נָאוָה(Hebrew)
Means "beautiful" in Hebrew.
Nessa 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew (Rare)
Means "miracle" in Hebrew.
Neva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Short form of Geneva.
Nicodemus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Νικόδημος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nik-ə-DEE-məs(English) nee-ko-DEH-moos(Latin)
From the Greek name Νικόδημος (Nikodemos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people". This is the name of a character in the New Testament who helps Joseph of Arimathea entomb Jesus.
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)
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).

Nolan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-lən(English)
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Nualláin, itself derived from the given name Nuallán. The baseball player Nolan Ryan (1947-) is a famous bearer. This name has climbed steadily in popularity since the 1970s.
Octavius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ok-TA-wee-oos(Latin) ahk-TAY-vee-əs(English)
Roman family name derived from Latin octavus meaning "eighth". This was the original family name of the emperor Augustus (born Gaius Octavius). It was also rarely used as a Roman praenomen, or given name.
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.
Odin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern)
Pronounced: O-din(English)
Anglicized form of Old Norse Óðinn, which was derived from óðr meaning "inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz. The name appears as Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as Wuotan, Wotan or Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.

In Norse mythology Odin is the highest of the gods, presiding over war, wisdom and death. He is the husband of Frigg and resides in Valhalla, where warriors go after they are slain. He is usually depicted as a one-eyed older man, carrying two ravens on his shoulders who inform him of all the events of the world. At the time of Ragnarök, the final battle, it is told that he will be killed fighting the great wolf Fenrir.

Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
From Old French Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse Áleifr (see Olaf) or Frankish Alawar (see Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero Roland.

In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.

Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish) o-LEE-vee-ya(Dutch)
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time [1] that may have been based on Oliva or Oliver, or directly on the Latin word oliva meaning "olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually Viola in disguise.

Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.

A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).

Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.
Osanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
French form of Osanna.
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Anglicized form of Owain.
Paden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PAY-dən
From a surname, itself probably a derivative of the given name Pate, a short form of Patrick. It was an obscure given name in America until 1985, when it appeared in the western movie Silverado. Its modest usage after that can probably be attributed to the fact that it ends in the popular den sound found in more-popular names such as Braden, Hayden and Aidan.
Päivä
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: PAY-va
Means "day" in Finnish.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Probably derived from Greek πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.

It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.

Peter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical
Pronounced: PEE-tər(English) PEH-tu(German) PEH-tər(Dutch, Danish, Slovene) PEH-tehr(Slovak)
Derived from Greek Πέτρος (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Simon Peter was the most prominent of the apostles during Jesus' ministry and is often considered the first pope.

Due to the renown of the apostle, this name became common throughout the Christian world (in various spellings). In England the Normans introduced it in the Old French form Piers, which was gradually replaced by the spelling Peter starting in the 15th century [1].

Besides the apostle, other saints by this name include the 11th-century reformer Saint Peter Damian and the 13th-century preacher Saint Peter Martyr. It was also borne by rulers of Aragon, Portugal, and Russia, including the Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725), who defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War. Famous fictional bearers include Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter's children's books, Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play, and Peter Parker, the real name of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.

Peyton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAY-tən
From an English surname, originally a place name meaning "Pæga's town". This was a rare masculine name until the 1990s. In 1992 it was used for a female character in the movie The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and, despite the fact that it was borne by the villain, the name began to rise in popularity for girls as well as boys [1].

Famous bearers include Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), the first president of the Continental Congress, and American football quarterback Peyton Manning (1976-).

Phineas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פִּיןְחָס(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(English)
Variant of Phinehas used in some English versions of the Old Testament.
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Prosper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: PRAWS-PEHR(French) PRAHS-pər(English)
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.
Prudence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: PROO-dəns(English) PRUY-DAHNS(French)
Medieval English form of Prudentia, the feminine form of Prudentius. In France it is both the feminine form and a rare masculine form. In England it was used during the Middle Ages and was revived in the 17th century by the Puritans, in part from the English word prudence, ultimately of the same source.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
French form of the Roman name Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Quinn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.
Remus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian
Pronounced: REH-moos(Latin) REE-məs(English)
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Old Latin *yemos meaning "twin" with the initial consonant altered due to the influence of Romulus. In Roman legend the twin brothers Romulus and Remus were the founders of the city of Rome. Remus was later slain by his brother.
Reuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: רְעוּאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOL(English)
Means "friend of God" in Hebrew, from רֵעַ (reaʿ) meaning "friend" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament this is another name for Jethro. The fantasy author John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a famous bearer.
Ronen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: רוֹנֶן(Hebrew)
Derived from Hebrew רֹן (ron) meaning "song, joy".
Rosalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: RAW-ZA-LEE(French) ro-za-LEE(German, Dutch) RO-sa-lee(Dutch) ro-sa-LEE(Dutch) RO-za-lee(Dutch) RO-zə-lee(English)
French, German and Dutch form of Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind
Derived from the Old German elements hros meaning "horse" and lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy As You Like It (1599).
Rosalyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RO-zə-lin, RAHZ-ə-lin
Variant of Rosaline. It can also be considered an elaboration of Rose with the common name suffix lyn.
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Ruth 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רוּת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOTH(English) ROOT(German, Spanish)
From the Hebrew name רוּת (Ruṯ), probably derived from the word רְעוּת (reʿuṯ) meaning "female friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married Boaz. She was an ancestor of King David.

As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
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.
Thane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: THAYN
From the Scottish and English noble title, which was originally from Old English thegn.
Tilly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIL-ee
Diminutive of Matilda.
Torben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, German
Pronounced: TOR-behn(Danish) TAWR-bən(German)
Danish form of Torbjörn.
Tova 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טוֹבָה(Hebrew)
Means "good" in Hebrew.
Ulyssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: yoo-LIS-ə
Feminine form of Ulysses.
Uma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi
Other Scripts: उमा(Sanskrit, Hindi) ఉమ(Telugu) ಉಮಾ(Kannada) ഉമ(Malayalam) உமா(Tamil)
Means "flax" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati. In Hindu texts it is said to derive from the Sanskrit exclamation उ मा (u mā) meaning "O do not (practice austerities)!", which was addressed to Parvati by her mother.
Úna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Medieval Irish [1]
Pronounced: OO-nə(Irish)
Probably derived from Old Irish úan meaning "lamb". This was a common name in medieval Ireland.
Uriah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אוּרִיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: yuw-RIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name אוּרִיָה (ʾUriya) meaning "Yahweh is my light", from the roots אוּר (ʾur) meaning "light, flame" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a Hittite warrior in King David's army, the first husband of Bathsheba. David desired Bathsheba so he placed Uriah in the forefront of battle so he would be killed.
Uzziah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: עֻזִּיָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: oo-ZIE-ə(English)
Means "my power is Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots עֹז (ʿoz) meaning "strength, power" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several Old Testament characters including a king of Judah.
Valerian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, Romanian, History
Other Scripts: Валериан(Russian) ვალერიან(Georgian)
Pronounced: və-LIR-ee-ən(English)
From the Roman cognomen Valerianus, which was itself derived from the Roman name Valerius. This was the name of a 3rd-century Roman emperor (Publius Licinius Valerianus) who was captured by the Persians. Several saints have also borne this name, including a 2nd-century martyr of Lyons.
Vanessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch
Pronounced: və-NEHS-ə(English) VA-NEH-SA(French) va-NEHS-sa(Italian) vu-NEH-su(European Portuguese) va-NEH-su(Brazilian Portuguese) ba-NEH-sa(Spanish) va-NEH-sa(German) vah-NEH-sa(Dutch)
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem Cadenus and Vanessa [1]. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
Vered
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: וֶרֶד(Hebrew)
Means "rose" in Hebrew, originally a borrowing from an Iranian language.
Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
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.
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Means "violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke Orsino, she attempts to convince Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Virginia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Βιργινία(Greek)
Pronounced: vər-JIN-yə(English) veer-JEE-nya(Italian) beer-KHEE-nya(Spanish)
Feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.

This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).

Vladimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian
Other Scripts: Владимир(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: vlu-DYEE-myir(Russian) VLA-dee-meer(Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian)
From the Old Slavic name *Voldiměrŭ, derived from the elements volděti meaning "to rule" and měrŭ meaning "great, famous". The second element has also been associated with mirŭ meaning "peace, world".

This was the name of a 9th-century ruler of Bulgaria. It was also borne by an 11th-century grand prince of Kyiv, Vladimir the Great, who is venerated as a saint because of his efforts to Christianize his realm. Other notable bearers include the revolutionary and first leader of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), the Russian author Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977), and the Russian president and prime minister Vladimir Putin (1952-).

Wesley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHS-lee, WEHZ-lee
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Wyatt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIE-ət
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Wyard or Wyot, from the Old English name Wigheard. Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral.
Yasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, French (Modern), English (Modern)
Other Scripts: ياسمين(Arabic)
Pronounced: yas-MEEN(Arabic) YAS-MEEN(French) YAZ-min(English)
Alternate transcription of Arabic ياسمين (see Yasmin).
Zahrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زهرة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZAH-ra
Alternate transcription of Arabic زهرة (see Zahra 2).
Zander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAN-dər
Variant of Xander.
Zane 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAYN
From an English surname of unknown meaning. It was introduced as a given name by American author Zane Grey (1872-1939). Zane was in fact his middle name — it had been his mother's maiden name.
Zayd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: زيد(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIED
Means "growth" in Arabic, derived from زاد (zāda) meaning "to grow, to increase". This was the name of a slave who became the adopted son of the Prophet Muhammad.
Zephaniah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: ץְפַןְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: zeh-fə-NIE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name ץְפַןְיָה (Tsefanya) meaning "Yahweh has hidden", derived from צָפַן (tsafan) meaning "to hide" and יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Zephaniah.
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian) THO-eh(European Spanish) SO-eh(Latin American Spanish)
Means "life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of Eve. It was borne by two early Christian saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.

As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).

Zuri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Means "beautiful" in Swahili.
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