silly_rabbit's Personal Name List
Abby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AB-ee
Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
From the Hebrew name
הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning
"breath". In the
Old Testament he is the second son of
Adam and
Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother
Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the
Puritan era.
Adam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Catalan, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Georgian, Malay, Indonesian, Dhivehi, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: Адам(Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian) Αδάμ, Άνταμ(Greek) אָדָם(Hebrew) آدم(Arabic) ადამ(Georgian) އާދަމް(Dhivehi) Ἀδάμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AD-əm(English) A-DAHN(French) A-dam(German, Polish, Czech, Arabic, Indonesian) A-dahm(Dutch) AH-dam(Swedish) u-DAM(Russian, Ukrainian) ə-DHAM(Catalan)
This is the Hebrew word for
"man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew
אדם (ʾaḏam) meaning
"to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Akkadian
adamu meaning
"to make".
According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew אֲדָמָה (ʾaḏama) meaning "earth"). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result they were expelled from Eden to the lands to the east, where they gave birth to the second generation, including Cain, Abel and Seth.
As an English Christian name, Adam has been common since the Middle Ages, and it received a boost after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).
Addilyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AD-ə-lin
Variant of
Adeline using the popular name suffix
lyn.
Ahna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Akhil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam
Other Scripts: अखिल(Hindi) అఖిల్(Telugu) അഖിൽ(Malayalam)
From Sanskrit
अखिल (akhila) meaning
"whole, complete".
Akiko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 晶子, 明子, 秋子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あきこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-KYEE-KO
From Japanese
晶 (aki) meaning "clear, crystal",
明 (aki) meaning "bright, light, clear" or
秋 (aki) meaning "autumn" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.
Akio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 昭夫, 昭男, 昭雄, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あきお(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-KYEE-O
From Japanese
昭 (aki) meaning "bright, luminous" combined with
夫 (o) meaning "man, husband",
男 (o) meaning "male, man" or
雄 (o) meaning "hero, manly". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Akol
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: African
Pronounced: A KOOL
From Iteso in eastern uganda. Meaning nicelooking.
Alaire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Pronounced: ah-LAIR(Old French)
Alicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Swedish, French
Pronounced: a-LEE-thya(European Spanish) a-LEE-sya(Latin American Spanish) ə-LEE-shə(English) ə-LEE-see-ə(English)
Alissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ə-LIS-ə
Amada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-MA-dha
Amali
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
From Arabic أملي ('amali) "my hope".
Amalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Αμαλία(Greek)
Pronounced: a-MA-lya(Spanish, Italian, German) a-MA-lee-a(Dutch)
Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal. This element means
"unceasing, vigorous, brave", or it can refer to the Gothic dynasty of the Amali (derived from the same root).
This was another name for the 7th-century saint Amalberga of Maubeuge.
Amarachi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igbo
Means "God's grace" in Igbo.
Ami 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 亜美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-MEE
From Japanese
亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Amoura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Variant of
Amora (perhaps based on French
amour).
Ana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Slovene, Bulgarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Fijian, Tongan
Other Scripts: Ана(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) ანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: A-na(Spanish, Romanian) U-nu(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese) AH-NAH(Georgian)
Form of
Anna used in various languages.
Anca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Andreas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Welsh, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Ανδρέας(Greek) Ἀνδρέας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: an-DREH-as(German, Swedish) ahn-DREH-ahs(Dutch) AN-DREH-AS(Classical Greek)
Ancient Greek and Latin form of
Andrew. It is also the form used in Modern Greek, German and Welsh.
Andrew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: AN-droo(English)
English form of the Greek name
Ἀνδρέας (Andreas), which was derived from
ἀνδρεῖος (andreios) meaning
"manly, masculine", a derivative of
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". In the
New Testament the apostle Andrew, the first disciple to join
Jesus, is the brother of
Simon Peter. According to tradition, he later preached in the Black Sea region, with some legends saying he was crucified on an X-shaped cross.
Andrew, being a Greek name, was probably only a nickname or a translation of his real Hebrew name, which is not known.
This name has been common (in various spellings) throughout the Christian world, and it became very popular in the Middle Ages. Saint Andrew is regarded as the patron of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. The name has been borne by three kings of Hungary, American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), and, more recently, English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-).
Angelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: an-JEHL-ee-ə
Anina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: a-NEE-na
Aniston
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Transferred use of the surname
Aniston.
The first is that it is an obscure English locational surname, which is said to mean "town of Anis". Anis is a medieval English form of Agnes, which is also found spelled as Annice, Annise, Annis and Annys. Interestingly, there is no town in the modern-day United Kingdom that is called Aniston or a variant spelling thereof. It seems that over time, the original town must either have perished or been renamed. Perhaps we could even go so far as to say that such a town never existed in the first place, in that Aniston might have originated as a nickname for any town (with a different name) that had a church that was devoted to Saint Agnes.
The second possibility is that the surname is an anglicization of the Gaelic surname McAniston, which in turn is a variant spelling of McAnistan. The meaning of the surname as a whole is uncertain, but we can at least say that it is a patronymic surname, as Mc means "son of".
The third possibility is that the surname is a variant spelling of the rare English surname Aneston, which itself may be a variant form of the surname Haneston (also found spelled as Haniston, Heneston and Heniston). The meaning of these surnames is uncertain.
The fourth and final possibility is that the surname Aniston is an anglicization of Greek surnames starting with Anastas-, such as Anastasides. A famous example of this is the Greek-American actor John Aniston (b. 1933), who is best known for his role as Victor Kiriakis on the NBC daytime drama "Days of our Lives" (1965-present). His father anglicized the family's surname of Anastasakis to Aniston, sometime after the family had emigrated to the United States. The family's original surname meant "little Anastasius" in Greek. John Aniston's daughter Jennifer (b. 1969) went on to become an actress in her own right, her fame eventually surpassing that of her father's. Due to her iconic role as Rachel Green in the television sitcom "Friends" (1994-2004), her popularity became such that it can be argued that most parents naming their child Aniston were probably inspired (to do so) by her in one way or the other.
Finally, as a given name, Aniston can be a variant spelling of Anniston in some cases, which has an entirely different etymology.
Anjali
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Nepali
Other Scripts: अञ्जली, अंजली(Hindi) अंजली(Marathi, Nepali) அஞ்சலி(Tamil) అంజలి(Telugu) അഞ്ജലി(Malayalam)
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Medieval English variant of
Honora.
Aolani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian (Rare)
Derived from Hawaiian ao "cloud" and lani "sky, heaven".
Apphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: Ἀπφία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AF-ee-ə(English) AP-fee-ə(English)
Greek form of a Hebrew name that possibly meant
"increasing". This is a name mentioned in
Paul's epistle to
Philemon in the
New Testament.
April
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-prəl
From the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
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).
Assata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African
Pronounced: a-sot-u
Unknown Country- West African- adopted by Revolutionary Black activist Assata Shakur. Assata means "she who struggles", Shakur means "thankful one"
Astraia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
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.
Audrea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWD-ree-ə
Aya 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 彩, 綾, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あや(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-YA
From Japanese
彩 (aya) meaning "colour",
綾 (aya) meaning "design", or other kanji characters with the same pronunciation.
Ayanda
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele
Means "they are increasing" in Zulu, Xhosa and Ndebele.
Ayane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 彩音, 綾音, 絢音, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あやね(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-YA-NEH
From Japanese
彩 (aya) meaning "colour",
綾 (aya) meaning "design" or
絢 (aya) meaning "brilliant fabric design, kimono design" combined with
音 (ne) meaning "sound". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Bahiyya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: بهيّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ba-HEE-ya
Means "beautiful" in Arabic.
Bailyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BAY-Lin
Variant of
Bailey using the popular name suffix
lyn.
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.
Belle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHL
Short form of
Isabella or names ending in
belle. It is also associated with the French word
belle meaning "beautiful". A famous bearer was Belle Starr (1848-1889), an outlaw of the American west, whose real given name was Maybelle.
Blaire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLEHR(American English) BLEH(British English)
Blakely
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLAYK-lee
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland clearing".
Blanca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Catalan
Pronounced: BLANG-ka(Spanish) BLANG-kə(Catalan)
Blaze
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLAYZ
Modern variant of
Blaise influenced by the English word
blaze.
Blossom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAHS-əm(American English) BLAWS-əm(British English)
From the English word blossom, ultimately from Old English blóstm. It came into use as a rare given name in the 19th century.
Brady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAY-dee
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Brádaigh, itself derived from the byname
Brádach. A famous bearer of the surname is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-). It was also borne by a fictional family on the television series
The Brady Bunch (1969-1974).
Brahm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Indian
Braith
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Australian, Rare)
Pronounced: BRAYTH
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from Welsh brith, braith meaning "speckled".
Bray
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRAY
Transferred use of the surname
Bray, derived from Cornish
bre meaning "hill".
Braylon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRAY-lən
An invented name, using the same sounds found in names such as
Braden and
Jalen.
Brenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ə
Brent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRENT
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, perhaps derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".
Brenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-tən
From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning "Bryni's town". Bryni was an Old English name meaning "fire".
Bri
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE, BREE
Bría
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern, Rare)
Icelandic adoption of
Bria.
Brook
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRUWK
From an English surname that denoted one who lived near a brook.
Bryan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRIE-ən
Variant of
Brian, based on the usual spelling of the surname that is derived from the name.
Cahaya
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Indonesian, Malay
Pronounced: cha-HA-ya(Indonesian, Malay) cha-HA-yə(Malay)
Means
"light" in Malay and Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit
छाया (chāyā).
Cameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-rən
From a Scottish surname meaning
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms
Camryn and
Kamryn are now more popular than
Cameron for girls.
Canaan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: כְּנַעַן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-nən(English)
From
כְּנַעַן (Kenaʿan), the Hebrew name of the ancient region of Canaan, which was possibly derived from a root meaning
"low, humble". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Ham. He is said to be the ancestor and namesake of the Canaanite peoples.
Caprice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kə-PREES
From the English word meaning "impulse", ultimately (via French) from Italian capriccio.
Carmel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish
Other Scripts: כַּרְמֶל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAHR-məl(American English) KAR-məl(American English) KAH-məl(British English)
From the title of the Virgin
Mary Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
כַּרְמֶל (Karmel) (meaning "garden" in Hebrew) is a mountain in Israel mentioned in the
Old Testament. It was the site of several early Christian monasteries. As an English given name, it has mainly been used by Catholics. As a Jewish name it is unisex.
Carmella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kahr-MEHL-ə(American English) kah-MEHL-ə(British English)
Caroline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: KA-RAW-LEEN(French) KAR-ə-lien(English) KAR-ə-lin(English) ka-ro-LEE-nə(German, Dutch) ka-ro-LEEN(Dutch)
Cataleya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Variant of cattleya, a genus of orchids native to Central and South America, which were named for the British horticulturist William Cattley. This name was popularized by the main character from the movie Colombiana (2011).
Cattleya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Pronounced: kat-LEE-ə(American English) KAT-lee-ə(American English)
From the name of a tropical American orchid (genus
Cattleya) with purple, pink or white flowers, which was named after William
Cattley (1788-1835).
Cece
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEE-see
Chai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: KHAI
Means "alive, living" in Hebrew.
Chancellor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
Pronounced: Chants-lor
Somewhat popular in the United States 1700's. Very rare today.
Chantal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAHN-TAL(French) shahn-TAHL(English, Dutch) shahn-TAL(English)
From a French surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"stony". It was originally given in honour of
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, the founder of the Visitation Order in the 17th century. It has become associated with French
chant "song".
Chara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Χαρά(Greek)
Means "happiness, joy" in Greek.
Charla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAHR-lə(American English) CHAHR-lə(American English) SHAH-lə(British English) CHAH-lə(British English)
Charlize
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Afrikaans
Pronounced: shar-LEEZ
Feminine form of
Charles using the popular Afrikaans name suffix
ize. This name was popularized by South African actress Charlize Theron (1975-), who was named after her father Charles.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(American English) SHAH-lət(British 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.
Chelsea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHEHL-see
From the name of a district in London, originally derived from Old English and meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone". It has been in general use as an English given name since the 1970s.
Christiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Late Roman
Pronounced: kris-tee-AN-ə(English) kris-tee-AHN-ə(English)
Cicely
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIS-ə-lee
Clarisse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLA-REES
Clark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAHRK(American English) KLAHK(British English)
From an English surname meaning "cleric" or "scribe", from Old English clerec originally meaning "priest". A famous bearer of the surname was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer of the west of North America. As a first name it was borne by the American actor Clark Gable (1901-1960), as well as the comic book character Clark Kent, the mild-mannered alter ego of Superman, first created 1938.
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Cleo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEE-o
Colby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL-bee
From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.
Collin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHL-in(American English) KOL-in(American English, British English) KAWL-in(British English)
Cruz
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: KROOTH(European Spanish) KROOS(Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese) KROOSH(European Portuguese)
Means "cross" in Spanish or Portuguese, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
Daina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Latvian
Means "song" in Lithuanian and Latvian.
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Dani 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAN-ee
Davy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-vee
Deeann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: dee-AN
Dia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African, Mbama
Pronounced: dee-ya
Means "love" in Lembaama.
Diah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Diana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Armenian, Georgian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Диана(Russian, Bulgarian) Діана(Ukrainian) Դիանա(Armenian) დიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: die-AN-ə(English) DYA-na(Spanish, Italian, Polish) dee-U-nu(European Portuguese) jee-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) dee-A-na(Romanian, German, Dutch, Latin) dee-A-nə(Catalan) dyee-A-nu(Ukrainian) DI-ya-na(Czech) DEE-a-na(Slovak)
Means
"divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin
dia or
diva meaning
"goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *
dyew- found in
Zeus. Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess
Artemis.
As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). A notable bearer was the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.
Duncan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUNG-kən(English)
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name
Donnchadh, derived from Old Irish
donn "brown" and
cath "battle". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in Shakespeare's play
Macbeth (1606).
Elam
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עֵילָם(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-ləm(English)
Possibly means either
"hidden" or
"eternity" in Hebrew. This is the name of several characters in the
Old Testament, including a son of
Shem who was the ancestor of the Elamite peoples.
Elea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Short form of
Eleanor. This was also the name of an ancient Italian town (modern Velia) that is well known for being the home of the philosopher Parmenides and his student Zeno of Elea, who was famous for his paradoxes.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr(American English) EHL-ə-naw(British English)
From the Old French form of the Occitan name
Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named
Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase
alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.
The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.
Ella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə
Norman name, originally a short form of Germanic names containing the element
alles meaning
"other" (Proto-Germanic *
aljaz). It was introduced to England by the
Normans and used until the 14th century, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the American singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996).
Ellia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare), French (Modern, Rare)
Ellie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee
Diminutive of
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 and other names beginning with
El. This name became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, being ranked second for girls in 2003.
Ellis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Embry
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Literature, English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: EHM-bree
Transferred use of the surname
Embry. It was used by Stephenie Meyer for a character in her 'Twilight' series of books.
Emeka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Igbo
Short form of
Chukwuemeka and other Igbo names ending with the same element.
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.
Evony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Félice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Flick
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FLIK
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Italian and Catalan feminine form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Galatea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Γαλάτεια(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of Greek
Γαλάτεια (Galateia), probably derived from
γάλα (gala) meaning
"milk". This was the name of several characters in Greek
mythology including a sea nymph who was the daughter of
Doris and
Nereus and the lover of Acis. According to some sources, this was also the name of the ivory statue carved by
Pygmalion that came to life.
Gem
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEM
Short form of
Gemma or directly from the English word
gem, "precious stone" from Latin
gemma "precious stone, jewel".
Gemma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan, English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: JEHM-ma(Italian) ZHEHM-mə(Catalan) JEHM-ə(British English) GHEH-ma(Dutch)
Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Georgie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAWR-jee(American English) JAW-jee(British English)
Gia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: JEE-a
Gracia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: GRA-thya(European Spanish) GRA-sya(Latin American Spanish)
Graciana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: gra-THYA-na(European Spanish) gra-SYA-na(Latin American Spanish) gru-SYU-nu(European Portuguese) gra-SYU-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Gracious
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Puritan), English (African), English
From the English word
gracious, ultimately from Latin
gratiosus, a derivative of
gratia "esteem, favor". This was one of the virtue names coined by the Puritans in the 17th century, possibly inspired by Psalm 145:8: 'The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.'
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Grayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of the steward", derived from Middle English
greyve "steward". It became common towards the end of the 20th century because of its similarity to popular names like
Jason,
Mason and
Graham.
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Probably a variant of
Gwynedd. It has been common in Wales since the 19th century, perhaps after the Welsh novelist Gwyneth Vaughan (1852-1910), whose real name was Ann Harriet Hughes. A modern famous bearer is the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).
Hadrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: HAY-dree-ən(English)
From the Roman
cognomen Hadrianus, which meant
"from Hadria" in Latin. Hadria was the name of two Roman settlements. The first (modern Adria) is in northern Italy and was an important Etruscan port town. The second (modern Atri) is in central Italy and was named after the northern town. The Adriatic Sea is also named after the northern town.
A famous bearer of the name was Publius Aelius Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian, a 2nd-century Roman emperor who built a wall across northern Britain. His family came from the town of Atri in central Italy.
Halen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: HAY-LEN, HAY-len
Transferred use of the surname
Halen.
Hana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Sorbian
Other Scripts: חַנָּה(Hebrew) Хана(Macedonian)
Pronounced: HA-na(Czech)
Form of
Hannah in several languages.
Hana 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 花, 華, etc.(Japanese Kanji) はな(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HA-NA
From Japanese
花 (hana) or
華 (hana) both meaning "flower". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Hark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (South)
Possibly a religious themed named from the word Hark, meaning "listen," a popular word used in the Bible.
Harrison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-i-sən, HEHR-i-sən
From an English surname that meant
"son of Harry". This was the surname of two American presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901). As a given name it reached a low point in America in 1977 before it was revived by the career of actor Harrison Ford (1942-), who starred in such movies as
Star Wars in 1977 and
Indiana Jones in 1984.
Hayden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-dən
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as
Braden and
Aidan.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Heath
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEETH
From an English surname that denoted one who lived on a heath. It was popularized as a given name by the character Heath Barkley from the 1960s television series
The Big Valley [1].
Hillary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HIL-ə-ree
Variant of
Hilary. A famous bearer of the surname was Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first man to climb Mount Everest. It is borne by the American politician Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947-). The name dropped in popularity in 1993 after she became the first lady as the wife of Bill Clinton.
Hoku
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Means "night of the full moon" in Hawaiian.
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.
Hudson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUD-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
Huey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HYOO-ee
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.
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.
Ileana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ee-LYA-na(Romanian) ee-leh-A-na(Spanish)
Possibly a Romanian variant of
Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
Ilia
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian, Russian, Bulgarian, Belarusian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: ილია(Georgian) Илья(Russian) Илия(Bulgarian) Ілья(Belarusian) Илїа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: EE-LEE-AH(Georgian) i-LYA(Russian)
Georgian form of
Elijah. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian
Илья or Belarusian
Ілья (see
Ilya) or Bulgarian
Илия (see
Iliya).
Ilo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Feminine given name derived from the name of a minor goddess of feasts, via the Estonian ilu meaning "beauty" but also possibly the word ilo meaning "delight, joy, happiness", the Livonian word īla meaning "nature" or the Pite Sami word âllo meaning "urge".
Inez
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Dutch
Pronounced: i-NEHZ(English) ee-NEHZ(English) ie-NEHZ(English)
Ingram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1][2][3], English (Rare)
Pronounced: ING-grəm(English)
Germanic name composed of either the element
angil, from the name of the Germanic tribe of the Angles, or
engil meaning "angel" combined with
hram meaning "raven". This name was brought to England by the
Normans, though it died out after the medieval era. These days it is usually inspired by the surname that was derived from the medieval name.
Ingrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ING-rid(Swedish) ING-ri(Norwegian) ING-grit(German) ING-greet(German) ING-ghrit(Dutch)
From the Old Norse name
Ingríðr meaning
"Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god
Ing combined with
fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
Ione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἰόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-O-nee(English)
From Ancient Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning
"violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek
mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name
Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.
Ira 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עִירָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-rə(English)
Means
"watchful" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of King
David's priest. As an English Christian given name,
Ira began to be used after the
Protestant Reformation. In the 17th century the
Puritans brought it to America, where remained moderately common into the 20th century.
Iria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Galician
Pronounced: EE-ryu(Galician)
Possibly a Portuguese and Galician form of
Irene. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint (also known as Irene) from Tomar in Portugal. This is also the name of an ancient town in Galicia (now a district of Padrón).
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
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.
Isis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἶσις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IE-sis(English)
Greek form of Egyptian
ꜣst (reconstructed as
Iset,
Aset or
Ueset), possibly from
st meaning
"throne". In Egyptian
mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of
Osiris and the mother of
Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess
Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.
Ismene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰσμήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EEZ-MEH-NEH(Classical Greek) is-MEE-nee(English)
Possibly from Greek
ἰσμή (isme) meaning
"knowledge". This was the name of the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta in Greek legend.
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Issa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عيسى(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘EE-sa
Alternate transcription of Arabic
عيسى (see
Isa 1).
Ivana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Italian
Other Scripts: Ивана(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: I-va-na(Czech) EE-va-na(Slovak) ee-VA-na(Italian)
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Iyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Most often a variant form of
Isla and
Ila, but sometimes also of
Ayla 3 and
Elah.
In at least one case - namely, the youngest daughter of British pop singer Steve Hart (b. 1972) and his wife Ashley Scott (b. 1977) - the name is a corruption of the phrase "I love you". In these cases, the name is essentially a name invented by the parents.
Jaci 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Jaci 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Tupi
From Tupi îasy meaning "moon".
Jadon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יָדוֹן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAH-dən(English) JAY-dən(English)
From the Hebrew name
יָדוֹן (Yaḏon), of uncertain meaning. It might mean
"thankful" from the root
יָדָה (yaḏa), or it could mean
"he will judge" from the root
דִּין (din). This name is borne by a minor character in the
Old Testament.
Jael
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Portuguese
Other Scripts: יָעֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAY-əl(English) JAYL(English)
From the Hebrew name
יָעֵל (Yaʿel) meaning
"ibex, mountain goat". This name appears in the
Old Testament belonging to the wife of
Heber the Kenite. After Sisera, the captain of the Canaanite army, was defeated in battle by
Deborah and
Barak he took refuge in Heber's tent. When he fell asleep Jael killed him by hammering a tent peg into his head.
Jakob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Slovene
Pronounced: YA-kawp(German, Icelandic, Dutch) YAH-kawp(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish)
Form of
Jacob (or
James) used in several languages.
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.
Jaya
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: जया, जय(Sanskrit) ஜெயா, ஜெய(Tamil) జయ(Telugu) जया(Hindi, Marathi)
Pronounced: JU-yah(Sanskrit) JU-yu(Sanskrit)
Derived from Sanskrit
जय (jaya) meaning
"victory". In Sanskrit this is a transcription of both the feminine form
जया (long final vowel) and the masculine form
जय (short final vowel), both of which are used as names or epithets for several characters in Hindu texts. As a modern personal name, this transcription is both feminine and masculine in southern India, but typically only feminine in the north.
Jazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare), Filipino (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: jə-ZEL(American)
Jazelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern), Filipino
Pronounced: jə-ZEHL(American English)
Jenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French
Pronounced: JEHN-ə(English) YEHN-nah(Finnish)
Variant of
Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series
Dallas [1].
Jesse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Finnish, Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשַׁי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English) YEH-sə(Dutch) YEHS-seh(Finnish)
From
Ἰεσσαί (Iessai), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
יִשַׁי (Yishai). This could be a derivative of the word
שַׁי (shai) meaning
"gift" or
יֵשׁ (yesh) meaning
"existence". In the
Old Testament Jesse is the father of King
David. It began to be used as an English given name after the
Protestant Reformation.
A famous bearer was Jesse James (1847-1882), an American outlaw who held up banks and stagecoaches. He was eventually shot by a fellow gang member for a reward. Another famous bearer was the American athlete Jesse Owens (1913-1980), whose real name was James Cleveland (or J. C.) Owens.
Jessie 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JEHS-ee(English)
Jillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIL-ee-ən
Joëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: ZHAW-EHL(French)
French and Dutch feminine form of
Joel.
Joelynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: Jo-lin
Formed from
Joel and popular name suffix
lynn, perhaps inspired by
Jolene. It is probably used as a feminine form of Joel.
Johanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: yo-HA-na(German) yuw-HAN-na(Swedish) yo-HAHN-nah(Danish) yo-HAH-na(Dutch) YO-hawn-naw(Hungarian) YO-hahn-nah(Finnish) jo-HAN-ə(English) jo-AN-ə(English)
Latinate form of Greek
Ioanna (see
Joanna).
Jordane
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French
French variant of
Jordan, also used as a feminine form.
Jordyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAWR-dən(American English) JAW-dən(British English)
Jorjanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Josie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-zee
Judah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְהוּדָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JOO-də(English)
From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדָה (Yehuḏa), probably derived from
יָדָה (yaḏa) meaning
"praise". In the
Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of
Jacob by
Leah, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in
Genesis 29:35. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King
David and
Jesus were among the descendants of him and his wife
Tamar. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the deuterocanonical Books of Maccabees.
The name appears in the New Testament with the spellings Judas and Jude.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
From the Roman name
Iulianus, which was derived from
Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early
saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from
Juliana, eventually becoming
Gillian).
Julius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Finnish, Lithuanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: YOO-lee-oos(Latin, Swedish) JOO-lee-əs(English) YOO-lee-uws(German) YOO-leews(Finnish) YUW-lyuws(Lithuanian) YOO-lyoos(Danish) YUY-lee-uys(Dutch) YOO-li-yuws(Czech)
From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Greek
ἴουλος (ioulos) meaning
"downy-bearded". Alternatively, it could be related to the name of the Roman god
Jupiter. This was a prominent patrician family of Rome, who claimed descent from the mythological Julus, son of
Aeneas. Its most notable member was Gaius Julius Caesar, who gained renown as a military leader for his clever conquest of Gaul. After a civil war he became the dictator of the Roman Republic, but was eventually stabbed to death in the senate.
Although this name was borne by several early saints, including a pope, it was rare during the Middle Ages. It was revived in Italy and France during the Renaissance, and was subsequently imported to England.
Jun 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese, Korean
Other Scripts: 君, 俊, 军, etc.(Chinese) 君, 俊, 軍, etc.(Traditional Chinese) 준(Korean Hangul) 俊, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: CHUYN(Chinese) CHOON(Korean)
From Chinese
君 (jūn) meaning "king, ruler",
俊 (jùn) meaning "talented, handsome" (which is usually only masculine) or
军 (jūn) meaning "army" (also usually only masculine)
[1]. This is also a single-character Korean name, often from the hanja
俊 meaning "talented, handsome". This name can be formed by other characters besides those shown here.
Jun 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 淳, 潤, 純, 順, etc.(Japanese Kanji) じゅん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: JOON
From Japanese
淳 (jun) meaning "pure",
潤 (jun) meaning "moisture",
純 (jun) meaning "pure, clean, simple", or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Justin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Slovene
Pronounced: JUS-tin(English) ZHUYS-TEHN(French)
From the Latin name
Iustinus, which was derived from
Justus. This was the name of several early
saints including Justin Martyr, a Christian philosopher of the 2nd century who was beheaded in Rome. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors. As an English name, it has occasionally been used since the late Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the second half of the 20th century. Famous modern bearers include pop stars Justin Timberlake (1981-) and Justin Bieber (1994-).
Kacey
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-see
Kaila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lə
Kaira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KIE-ra, KAY-rah
Kaiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: カイヤ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: K-IE-y-AH
Kaiya means Forgiveness.
Kalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ka-LEH-a
Means "joy, happiness" in Hawaiian.
Kami
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Pronounced: ca-me
In Japanese it means Divine
-------------------------------------
means "God"
Kamini
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: कामिनी(Hindi)
Means "desirable" in Sanskrit.
Kane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYN
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Catháin, derived from the given name
Cathán.
Kanga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, Literature
Kanga is a female kangaroo and the doting mother of
Roo in the Winnie-the-Pooh books.
Kapri
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Variant spelling of
Capri.
Karen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, English, German
Pronounced: KAH-rehn(Danish) KAR-ən(English) KEHR-ən(English) KA-rən(German)
Danish short form of
Katherine. It became common in the English-speaking world after the 1930s.
Karlee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHR-lee(American English) KAH-lee(British English)
Karli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAHR-lee(American English) KAH-lee(British English)
Kassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAS-SAN-DRA(Classical Greek) kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Greek form of
Cassandra, as well as a modern English variant.
Katalin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Basque
Pronounced: KAW-taw-leen(Hungarian) ka-TA-leen(Basque)
Keanu
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: keh-A-noo
Means "the cool breeze" from Hawaiian ke, a definite article, and anu "coolness". This name is now associated with Canadian actor Keanu Reeves (1964-).
Keaton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KEE-tən
From an English surname that was derived from a few different place names (see the surname
Keaton).
Keenan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-nən(English)
Kegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Keila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian), English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lə(English)
Kelea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Kian 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
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).
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KIR-ən(English) KIR-awn(English)
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Anglicized form of
Cillian, also used in France.
Kirra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, English (Australian)
Kirra is a beach-side suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland which has been popular with holidaymakers since the early 20th century. The name of the suburb is believed to be an Indigenous name, however the specific language and meaning are unknown. It was possibly derived from the Yuggera language in which kaiyar means "white cockatoo" or the Kabi language, in which kirran means "fire". It may also have been named after the boomerang.
Klaus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KLOWS(German, Finnish)
German short form of
Nicholas, now used independently.
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS(American English) NAWKS(British English)
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Kolby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL-bee
Krista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian
Pronounced: KRIS-ta(German) KRIS-tə(English) KREES-tah(Finnish)
Kristin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, German, Estonian, English
Pronounced: kris-TEEN(Swedish, German) KRIS-tin(English)
Lakota
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Other Scripts: Lakȟótiyapi
Pronounced: lə-KO-tə
Means "alliance of friends, the allies" or "feeling affection, friendly, united, allied" in the Lakota language.
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Laurus, which meant
"laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr
Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.
Leigha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(American English)
Variant of
Leah, the spelling influenced by that of
Leigh.
Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms". This name steadily rose in popularity in the 2000s, at the same time as the similar-sounding (but unrelated) names
Lennon and
Knox.
Leyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, English (Modern)
Other Scripts: لەیلا(Kurdish Sorani) لیلا(Persian) ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: lay-LA(Turkish) LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English) LEE-lə(English) LIE-lə(English)
Variant of
Leila, and the usual Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kurdish form.
Li 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 理, 立, 黎, 力, 丽, etc.(Chinese) 理, 立, 黎, 力, 麗, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: LEE
From Chinese
理 (lǐ) meaning "reason, logic",
立 (lì) meaning "stand, establish",
黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn",
力 (lì) meaning "power, capability, influence" (which is usually only masculine) or
丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
Lia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Georgian, Greek, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: ლია(Georgian) Λεία(Greek)
Pronounced: LEE-a(Italian, Greek) LEE-u(Portuguese) LEE-AH(Georgian)
Italian, Portuguese, Georgian and Greek form of
Leah.
Lilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лилия(Russian) Лілія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LEE-lya(Spanish) LYEE-lyi-yə(Russian)
Latinate form of
Lily, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Лилия or Ukrainian
Лілія (see
Liliya).
Lilo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEE-lo
Lisha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LISH-ə
Short form of
Alicia,
Felicia and other names ending with the same sound.
Lissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIS-ə
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.
Lorena 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: law-REHN-ə
Latinized form of
Lauren. This name was first brought to public attention in America by the song
Lorena (1856), written by Joseph Webster, who was said to have created the name as an anagram of
Lenore (from the character in Poe's poem
The Raven)
[1].
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-a(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lux
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Lyrae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: lə-RAY
Variant of
LaRae, coinciding with a term in astronomy.
Mackenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern)
Mackenzie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mə-KEHN-zee
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic
Mac Coinnich, itself derived from the given name
Coinneach. As a feminine given name it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-), especially after she began appearing on the television comedy
One Day at a Time in 1975. In the United Kingdom it is more common as a masculine name.
Macklin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAK-lihn
Transferred use of the surname
Macklin.
Maddalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mad-da-LEH-na
Madden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish
Transferred use of the surname
Madden.
Maija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Latvian
Pronounced: MIE-yah(Finnish)
Finnish and Latvian variant of
Maria or
Marija. The Latvian playwright Anna Brigadere used this name for the main character in her play
Maija un Paija (1922).
Maiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 舞弥(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: MIE-YAH
From 舞 (mai) "circle, wheel" and 弥 (ya) "increasingly"
Makeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
Possibly means
"greatness" in Ethiopic. This was the name of an Ethiopian queen of the 10th-century BC. She is probably the same person as the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon in the
Old Testament.
Makiya
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Pronounced: mə-KIE-ə(English)
Malachi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מַלְאָכִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-kie(English)
From the Hebrew name
מַלְאָכִי (Malʾaḵi) meaning
"my messenger" or
"my angel", derived from a possessive form of
מַלְאָךְ (malʾaḵ) meaning "messenger, angel". This is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Malachi, which some claim foretells the coming of Christ. In England the name came into use after the
Protestant Reformation.
Malia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ma-LEE-a(Hawaiian) mə-LEE-ə(English)
Hawaiian form of
Maria. This name experienced a spike in popularity in 2009, due to the eldest daughter (born 1998) of the new American president Barack Obama.
Mallory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-ree
From an English surname was derived from Old French
maleüré meaning
"unfortunate" [1]. It first became common in the 1980s due to the American sitcom
Family Ties (1982-1989), which featured a character by this name.
Maple
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-pəl
From the English word for the tree (comprising the genus Acer), derived from Old English mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.
Marta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Swedish, Icelandic, Latvian, Estonian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Марта(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian) მართა(Georgian)
Pronounced: MAR-ta(Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German) MAR-tu(European Portuguese) MAKH-tu(Brazilian Portuguese) MAR-tə(Catalan) MAHR-ta(Dutch) MAHR-TAH(Georgian)
Form of
Martha used in various languages.
Mattea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-a
Maude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Mavery
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: MAY-və-ree, MAYV-ree
Maximilienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: MAK-SEE-MEE-LYEHN
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
From a Scottish surname meaning
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].
Meera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Other Scripts: मीरा(Hindi, Marathi) മീര(Malayalam) மீரா(Tamil) ಮೀರಾ(Kannada)
Mia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, English
Pronounced: MEE-ah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) MEE-a(Dutch, German, Italian) MEE-ə(English)
Diminutive of
Maria. It coincides with the Italian word
mia meaning
"mine".
This name was common in Sweden and Denmark in the 1970s [1]. It rose in popularity in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, entering the top ten for girls in the United States in 2009. It was also popular in many other countries at that time. Famous bearers include American actress Mia Farrow (1945-) and American soccer player Mia Hamm (1972-), birth names Maria and Mariel respectively.
Miia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: MEE-ah
Millicent
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-i-sənt
From the Gothic name *
Amalaswinþa, composed of the elements
amals "unceasing, vigorous, brave" and
swinþs "strong". Amalaswintha was a 6th-century queen of the Ostrogoths. The
Normans introduced this name to England in the form
Melisent or
Melisende. Melisende was a 12th-century queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Baldwin II.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Minuet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic)
From the English word "minuet" referring to a type of "dance" or "a movement which is part of a longer musical composition such as a suite, sonata, or symphony, inspired by or conforming to the dance of the same name". From the French menuet, from menu 'small' and et, a diminutive, from the Latin minutus 'very small'.
Morgana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: mawr-GAN-ə(American English) maw-GAN-ə(British English)
Morley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MAWR-lee(American English) MAW-lee(British English)
From a surname that was originally from an Old English place name meaning "marsh clearing".
Moss
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Archaic), Jewish
Pronounced: MAWS(English)
Murphy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-fee(American English) MU-fee(British English)
From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Murchadha, itself derived from the given name
Murchadh. As a given name, it has been borne by female characters on the American television series
Murphy Brown (1988-1998) and the movie
Interstellar (2014).
Mya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MIE-ə
Myah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern)
Nadia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Надя(Russian, Bulgarian) Надія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: NA-DYA(French) NA-dya(Italian, Polish) NA-dhya(Spanish) NAD-ee-ə(English) NAHD-ee-ə(English) NA-dyə(Russian)
Variant of
Nadya 1 used in Western Europe, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name. It began to be used in France in the 19th century
[1]. The name received a boost in popularity from the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci (1961-)
[2].
Nadine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, English, Dutch
Pronounced: NA-DEEN(French) na-DEE-nə(German, Dutch) na-DEEN(German, Dutch) nay-DEEN(English)
Nala 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism
Other Scripts: नल(Sanskrit)
Means
"stem" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a king of the Nishadha people in the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata.
Nālani
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: na-LA-nee
Means "the heavens" or "the chiefs" from Hawaiian nā, a definite article, and lani "heaven, sky, chief".
Nasir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Malay
Other Scripts: ناصر, نصير(Arabic) ناصر, نصیر(Persian, Urdu) নাসির(Bengali)
Pronounced: NA-seer(Arabic) na-SEER(Arabic)
Means
"helper" in Arabic, from the root
نصر (naṣara) meaning "to help, to aid". This transcription represents two related yet distinct Arabic names:
ناصر, in which the first vowel is long, and
نصير, in which the second vowel is long.
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.
Nayeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Pronounced: na-YEH-lee(Spanish)
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".
Neal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEEL
Nekoda
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: נְקוֹדָא(Ancient Hebrew) Νεκωδά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nə-KO-də(English) NEH-ko-də(English)
Means
"marked" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of the head of a family of temple servants.
Neve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Anglicized form of
Niamh.
Newlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Cornish form of
Nolwenn. It belonged to a 5th-century Cornish saint.
Niall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: NYEEYL(Irish)
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
From the Greek name
Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
λαός (laos) meaning "people".
Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch
Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
Nikai
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (American), Dutch (Rare)
Nikhil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: निखिल(Hindi, Marathi) નિખિલ(Gujarati) ନିଖିଳ(Odia) నిఖిల్(Telugu) നിഖിൽ(Malayalam) ನಿಖಿಲ್(Kannada) நிகில்(Tamil)
Nissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Noble
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NO-bəl
From an English surname meaning "noble, high-born". The name can also be given in direct reference to the English word noble.
Noelani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: no-eh-LA-nee
Means "heavenly mist" from Hawaiian noe "mist" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
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.
Nolwenn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton
From the Breton phrase
Noyal Gwenn meaning
"holy one from Noyal". This was the epithet of a 6th-century
saint and martyr from Brittany.
Norelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian, Rare)
Nova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-və(English) NO-va(Swedish, Dutch)
Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
Novelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Nubia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: NOO-bya
From the name of the ancient region and kingdom in Africa, south of Egypt. It possibly derives from the Egyptian word nbw meaning "gold".
Oakley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: OK-lee
From an English surname that was from various place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Onna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Frisian
Orion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
Osiris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ὄσιρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-SIE-ris(English)
Greek form of the Egyptian
wsjr (reconstructed as
Asar,
Usir and other forms), which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to
wsr "mighty" or
jrt "eye". In Egyptian
mythology Osiris was the god of fertility, agriculture, and the dead and served as the judge of the underworld. In one tale he was slain by his brother
Seth, but restored to life by his wife
Isis in order to conceive their son
Horus, who would go on to avenge his father.
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(American English) AWT-o(British English) OT-to(Finnish)
Later German form of
Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish
aud or Old High German
ot meaning
"wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as
Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great.
Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).
Panther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Πάνθηρ(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek name meaning "panther".
Parker
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHR-kər(American English) PAH-kə(British English)
From an English occupational surname that meant "keeper of the park".
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL(American English) PUL(British English)
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
Perri
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ee
Variant of
Perry. Also used as a diminutive of names that begin with
Per-, e.g.
Persephone.
Pilar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pee-LAR
Means
"pillar" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María del Pilar, meaning "Mary of the Pillar". According to legend, when
Saint James the Greater was in Saragossa in Spain, the Virgin Mary appeared on a pillar.
Presley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PREHS-lee
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest clearing" (Old English preost and leah). This surname was borne by musician Elvis Presley (1935-1977).
Raelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RAY-lin
Combination of
Rae and the popular name suffix
lyn.
Raina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Райна(Bulgarian)
Randall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAN-dəl
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Randel.
Read
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: REED
From a surname that was a variant of
Reed.
Reece
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Reese
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Anglicized form of
Rhys. It is also used as a feminine name, popularized by the American actress Reese Witherspoon (1976-).
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
From Old Welsh
Ris, probably meaning
"ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading
Normans.
Rio 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 莉央, 莉緒, 里桜, etc.(Japanese Kanji) りお(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REE-O
From Japanese
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or
里 (ri) meaning "village" combined with
央 (o) meaning "center",
緒 (o) meaning "thread" or
桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Roxanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(American English) rawk-SAN-ə(British English)
Roxanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: rahk-SAN(American English) rawk-SAN(British English) RAWK-SAN(French)
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Saija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SIE-yah
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) SA-muy-ehl(Dutch) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
From the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning
"name of God", from the roots
שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).
Sandrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SAHN-DREEN
Sanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: SAHN-nah(Finnish)
Short form of
Susanna. It can also be derived from Swedish
sann meaning "true".
Santana
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian), English (Modern)
Pronounced: san-TA-na(Spanish) sun-TU-nu(Portuguese) san-TAN-ə(English)
From a contraction of
Santa Ana (referring to
Saint Anna) or from a Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from any of the numerous places named for the saint. It can be given in honour of the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-), the founder of the band Santana. The name received a boost in popularity for American girls after the character Santana Andrade began appearing on the soap opera
Santa Barbara in 1984.
Sasha
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, English, French
Other Scripts: Саша(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: SA-shə(Russian) SASH-ə(English) SAH-shə(English) SA-SHA(French)
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit(American English) SKAH-lit(British English)
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Sera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEHR-ə
Shannon
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAN-ən
From the name of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, called
an tSionainn in Irish. It is associated with the legendary figure
Sionann and is sometimes said to be named for her. However it is more likely she was named after the river, which may be related to Old Irish
sen "old, ancient"
[1]. As a given name, it first became common in America after the 1940s.
Shaw
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SHAW
From a surname. As an English surname it is derived from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket". As a Scottish surname it is derived from the Gaelic byname Sitheach meaning "wolf".
Shayne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAYN
Shelby
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHEHL-bee
From an English surname, which was possibly a variant of
Selby. Though previously in use as a rare masculine name, it was popularized as a feminine name by the main character in the movie
The Woman in Red (1935). It was later reinforced by the movie
Steel Magnolias (1989) in which Julia Roberts played a character by this name.
Shreya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati
Other Scripts: श्रेया(Hindi, Marathi) শ্রেয়া(Bengali) શ્રેયા(Gujarati)
Sicilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Catalan, Spanish (Rare)
Possibly a variant of
Cecilia or after the island of
Sicily (
Sicilia). If the latter case, it could be a reference to Saint Silvia of Sicily.
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Simone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEE-MAWN(French) sə-MON(English) zee-MO-nə(German) see-MO-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Sky
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKIE
Simply from the English word sky, which was ultimately derived from Old Norse ský "cloud".
Slade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SLAYD
From an English surname that was derived from Old English slæd meaning "valley".
Slater
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SLAY-ter
Transferred use of the surname
Slater.
Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements
sól "sun" and
veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt (1876).
Sophie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: SAW-FEE(French) SO-fee(English) zo-FEE(German) so-FEE(Dutch)
Soraia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Soraya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Spanish, French, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Other Scripts: ثریا(Persian)
Pronounced: so-ra-YAW(Persian) so-RA-ya(Spanish)
Persian form of
Thurayya. It became popular in some parts of Europe because of the fame of Princess Soraya (1932-2001), wife of the last Shah of Iran, who became a European socialite.
Spark
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Originally a transferred use of the surname
Spark. It is now used as an adoption of the English word (which is derived from Old English
spearca via Middle English
sparke "spark").
Spencer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SPEHN-sər(American English) SPEHN-sə(British English)
From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Streeter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Streeter.
Summer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUM-ər(American English) SUM-ə(British English)
From the name of the season, ultimately from Old English sumor. It has been in use as a given name since the 1970s.
Sunny
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-ee
From the English word meaning "sunny, cheerful".
Suraya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Malay
Other Scripts: ثريّا, ثريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: thoo-RIE-ya(Arabic)
Alternate transcription of Arabic
ثريّا or
ثريّة (see
Thurayya), as well as the usual Malay form.
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Syrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), Dutch (Modern, Rare)
Variant of
Sarah.
It can also be a reference to the type of wine, alternately called Syrah or Shiraz, the latter being the name of the city in Iran whence the wine is theorized to have originated.
Tai
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 太, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: TIE
From Chinese
太 (tài) meaning "very, extreme" or other characters pronounced in a similar way.
Taj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: تاج(Arabic)
Pronounced: TAJ
Means "crown" in Arabic.
Thaddea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Filipino (Rare), German (Rare)
Pronounced: THAD-ee-ə(English)
Thaleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Ancient Greek)
Thomasin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare, Archaic), Cornish (Archaic)
English vernacular form of
Thomasina. This was one of the most popular English girls' names in the 16th century. It was used by Thomas Hardy for a character in his novel
The Return of the Native (1878).
Tielle
Possibly related to
Thiel.
Trillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Used in Douglas Adams's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.' In the story, Trillian is an elided form of her full name, Tricia McMillan.
Trish
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRISH
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Tucker
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TUK-ər(American English) TUK-ə(British English)
From an occupational surname for a cloth fuller, derived from Old English tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.
Tyann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Tyler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIE-lər(American English) TIE-lə(British English)
From an English surname meaning "tiler of roofs", derived from Old English tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
Ugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: OO-go
Uxía
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Galician
Pronounced: oo-SHEE-u
Vaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Estonian
Possibly derived from Lithuanian
vaidytis / vaidentis "to appear; to ghost; to haunt" or else a short form of
Vaidota and
Vaidotė.
Valen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Valen.
Veda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Telugu, Kannada
Other Scripts: వేద(Telugu) ವೇದ(Kannada)
Means "knowledge" in Sanskrit.
Vida 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: ویدا(Persian)
Means "visible" in Persian.
Vienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: VYEHN(French)
From the French name for
Vienna, the capital city of Austria.
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.
Vita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Danish, Slovene
Pronounced: VEE-ta(Italian)
Vivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Late Roman
Vivien 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Hungarian
Pronounced: VEE-vee-ehn(Hungarian)
Used by Alfred Tennyson as the name of the Lady of the Lake in his Arthurian epic
Idylls of the King (1859). Tennyson may have based it on
Vivienne, but it possibly arose as a misreading of
Ninian [1]. A famous bearer was British actress Vivien Leigh (1913-1967), who played Scarlett O'Hara in
Gone with the Wind.
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.
Zachary
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: ZAK-ə-ree(English)
Usual English form of
Zacharias, used in some English versions of the
New Testament. This form has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until after the
Protestant Reformation. It was borne by American military commander and president Zachary Taylor (1784-1850).
Zade
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Zaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAHR-ee-ə
Possibly based on
Zahra 2 or the Nigerian city of Zaria.
Zayne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZAYN
Zoë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English
Pronounced: ZO-veh(Dutch) ZO-ee(English)
Dutch form and English variant of
Zoe.
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