Jezzie80s's Personal Name List
Ace 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AYS
From the English word meaning "highest rank". More commonly a nickname, it is occasionally used as a given name.
Adlai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עַדְלָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AD-lay(English)
Adrien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-DREE-YEHN
Aeson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Αἰσών(Ancient Greek)
From the Greek
Αἰσών (Aison), which is of unknown meaning. Aeson was the father of
Jason in Greek
mythology.
Ailín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish
Ailin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese (Modern, Rare)
Other Scripts: 爱琳, 蔼林, etc.(Chinese)
Alba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Catalan
Pronounced: AL-ba(Italian, Spanish) AL-bə(Catalan)
This name is derived from two distinct names,
Alba 2 and
Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter,
alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
Albert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, French, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Albanian, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Альберт(Russian)
Pronounced: AL-bərt(English) AL-behrt(German, Polish) AL-BEHR(French) əl-BEHRT(Catalan) ul-BYEHRT(Russian) AHL-bərt(Dutch) AL-bat(Swedish) AWL-behrt(Hungarian)
From the Germanic name
Adalbert meaning
"noble and bright", composed of the elements
adal "noble" and
beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Æþelbeorht. Though it became rare in England by the 17th century, it was repopularized in the 19th century by the German-born Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
This name was borne by two 20th-century kings of Belgium. Other famous bearers include the German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), creator of the theory of relativity, and Albert Camus (1913-1960), a French-Algerian writer and philosopher.
Aldric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AL-DREEK(French)
From a Germanic name, derived from the elements
alt "old" and
rih "ruler, king".
Saint Aldric was a 9th-century bishop of Le Mans.
Alton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWL-tən
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "town at the source of the river" in Old English.
Amalric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized) [1]
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: AM-əl-rik(English) ə-MAL-rik(English)
From the Visigothic name *
Amalareiks, derived from the Gothic element
amals meaning "unceasing, vigorous, brave", also referring to the royal dynasty of the Amali, combined with
reiks meaning "ruler, king". This was the name of a 6th-century king of the Visigoths, as well as two 12th-century rulers of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Amaury
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MAW-REE
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
From the Late Latin name
Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name
Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning
"immortal".
Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Amery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-ə-ree
Angel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Ангел(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AYN-jəl(English)
From the medieval Latin masculine name
Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger"). It has never been very common in the English-speaking world, where it is sometimes used as a feminine name in modern times.
Angelita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ang-kheh-LEE-ta
Anson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Agnes".
Apollinaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
French form of
Apollinaris. It was adopted as a surname by the Polish-French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who based it on his Polish middle name Apolinary.
Aristide
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Italian
Pronounced: A-REES-TEED(French) a-REES-tee-deh(Italian)
Ash
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-strid(Swedish) AHS-tri(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French) AS-trid(English)
Modern Scandinavian form of
Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of
Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Atsuko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 温子, 篤子, 敦子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あつこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-TSOO-KO
From Japanese
温 (atsu) meaning "warm",
篤 (atsu) meaning "deep, true, sincere" or
敦 (atsu) meaning "honest" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Aude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: OD
French feminine form of
Aldo.
Audie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWD-ee
In the case of the famed American soldier Audie Murphy (1925-1971), it is of uncertain meaning. As a feminine name, it can be a
diminutive of
Audrey.
Audley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWD-lee
From a surname that was taken from a place name meaning
"Ealdgyð's clearing" in Old English.
Audo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Medieval
diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Aureole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWR-ee-ol
From the English word meaning "radiant halo", ultimately derived from Latin aureolus "golden".
Autumn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-təm
From the name of the season, ultimately from Latin autumnus. This name has been in general use since the 1960s.
Aveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lien, AV-ə-leen
From the Norman French form of the Germanic name
Avelina, a
diminutive of
Avila. The
Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century
[1].
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Avril
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-VREEL(French) AV-ril(English)
French form of
April. A famous bearer is the Canadian musician Avril Lavigne (1984-).
Axel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German, French, English
Pronounced: A-ksehl(Swedish) A-ksəl(German) A-KSEHL(French) AK-səl(English)
Bairre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Balthazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: BAL-thə-zahr(English)
Variant of
Belshazzar. Balthazar is the name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who visited the newborn
Jesus. He was said to have come from Arabia. This name was utilized by Shakespeare for minor characters in
The Comedy of Errors (1594) and
The Merchant of Venice (1596).
Baojing
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 宝璟, 宝京, 宝晶, 宝静, 保京, 保靖, 保晶, etc.(Chinese) 寶璟, 寶京, 寶晶, 寶靜, 保京, 保靖, 保晶, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: POW-CHEENG
From Chinese 宝
(bǎo) meaning "treasure, jewel, precious, rare" or 保
(bǎo) meaning "protect, maintain" combined with 璟
(jǐng) meaning "lustre of gems", 京
(jīng) meaning "capital city", 晶
(jīng) meaning "clear, crystal", 静
(jìng) meaning "quiet, still, gentle" or 靖
(jìng) meaning "peaceful, tranquil". Other character combinations can form this name as well.
Barclay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BAHR-klee
From a Scottish and English surname that was derived from the English place name
Berkeley, itself from Old English
beorc "birch" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Barrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAR-it, BEHR-it
From a surname probably meaning "quarrelsome, deceptive" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Barrie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAR-ee, BEHR-ee
Barry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BAR-ee(English) BEHR-ee(English)
Anglicized form of
Barra.
Basil 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAZ-əl
From the Greek name
Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from
βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning
"king".
Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Italian form of
Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the
Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy
Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and
Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Beau
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: BO
Means
"beautiful, handsome" in French. It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. In Margaret Mitchell's novel
Gone with the Wind (1936) this is the name of Ashley and Melanie's son.
Although this is a grammatically masculine adjective in French, it is given to girls as well as boys in Britain and the Netherlands. In America it is more exclusively masculine. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Benji
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-jee
Betrys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: BEHT-rees
Björn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Icelandic, German
Pronounced: BYUUN(Swedish) PYUURTN(Icelandic) BYUURN(German)
From an Old Norse byname derived from
bjǫrn meaning
"bear".
Blaise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BLEHZ
From the Roman name
Blasius, which was derived from Latin
blaesus meaning
"lisping".
Saint Blaise was a 4th-century Armenian martyr. A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
Blossom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAH-səm
From the English word blossom, ultimately from Old English blóstm. It came into use as a rare given name in the 19th century.
Boniface
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English (Rare)
Pronounced: BAW-NEE-FAS(French) BAHN-ə-fəs(English) BAHN-ə-fays(English)
From the Late Latin name
Bonifatius, which meant
"good fate" from
bonum "good" and
fatum "fate, destiny". This was the name of nine popes and also several
saints, including an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon missionary to Germany (originally named
Winfrið) who is now regarded as the patron saint of that country. It came into use in England during the Middle Ages, but became rare after the
Protestant Reformation.
Bonnibel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Apparently a combination of
Bonnie and the popular name suffix
-bel.
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid, Old Irish
Brigit, from old Celtic *
Brigantī meaning
"the exalted one". In Irish
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god
Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by
Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Briony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
Bronwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: BRAWN-wehn
Seemingly derived from Welsh
bron "breast" and
gwen "white, blessed", though it has sometimes occurred as a variant spelling of the legendary name
Branwen [1]. It has been used as a given name in Wales since the 19th century. It is borne by a character in Richard Llewellyn's 1939 novel
How Green Was My Valley, as well as the 1941 movie adaptation.
Bryn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN(English)
Means
"hill, mound" in Welsh. In Wales it is almost always a masculine name, though elsewhere in the English-speaking world it can be unisex (see
Brynn).
Casimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAZ-i-meer(English) KA-ZEE-MEER(French)
English form of the Polish name
Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic element
kaziti "to destroy" combined with
mirŭ "peace, world". Four kings of Poland have borne this name, including Casimir III the Great, who greatly strengthened the Polish state in the 14th century. It was also borne
Saint Casimir, a 15th-century Polish prince and a patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. The name was imported into Western Europe via Germany, where it was borne by some royalty.
Cass
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Charlot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SHAR-LO
Chihiro
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 千尋, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ちひろ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: CHEE-KHEE-RO
From Japanese
千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and
尋 (hiro) meaning "fathom, armspan", as well as other kanji combinations. This is the name of the main character in the Japanese animated movie
Spirited Away (2001).
Chiyo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 千代, 千世, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ちよ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: CHEE-YO
From Japanese
千 (chi) meaning "thousand" combined with
代 (yo) meaning "generation" or
世 (yo) meaning "world". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Cicero
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KEE-keh-ro(Latin) SIS-ə-ro(English)
Roman
cognomen derived from Latin
cicer meaning
"chickpea". Marcus Tullius Cicero (now known simply as Cicero) was a statesman, orator and author of the 1st century BC. He was a political enemy of Mark Antony, who eventually had him executed.
Clotilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Pronounced: KLAW-TEELD(French) kloo-TEEL-di(European Portuguese) klo-CHEEW-jee(Brazilian Portuguese) klo-TEEL-deh(Spanish)
French form of
Chrodechildis, the Latin form of a Frankish name composed of the elements
hruod "fame, glory" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Clotilde (whose name was originally recorded in forms such as
Chrodechildis or
Chrotchildis in Latin sources
[1]) was the wife of the Frankish king Clovis, whom she converted to Christianity. It was also borne by others in the Merovingian royal family. In the Middle Ages this name was confused with
Chlodechilda, in which the first element is
hlut "famous, loud".
Cyan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIE-an
From the English word meaning
"greenish blue, cyan", ultimately derived from Greek
κύανος (kyanos).
Cynthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυνθία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIN-thee-ə(English) SEEN-TYA(French)
Latinized form of Greek
Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means
"woman from Cynthus". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess
Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother
Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then.
Cyril
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: SIR-əl(English) SEE-REEL(French) TSI-ril(Czech)
From the Greek name
Κύριλλος (Kyrillos), which was derived from Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning
"lord", a word used frequently in the Greek Bible to refer to God or Jesus.
This name was borne by a number of important saints, including Cyril of Jerusalem, a 4th-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, and Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th-century theologian. Another Saint Cyril was a 9th-century Greek missionary to the Slavs, who is credited with creating the Glagolitic alphabet with his brother Methodius in order to translate the Bible into Slavic. The Cyrillic alphabet, named after him, is descended from Glagolitic.
This name has been especially well-used in Eastern Europe and other places where Orthodox Christianity is prevalent. It came into general use in England in the 19th century.
Cyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κῦρος(Ancient Greek) 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: SIE-rəs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning
"young" or
"humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".
The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Darby
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-bee
From an English surname, which was derived from the name of the town of Derby, itself from Old Norse djúr "animal" and býr "farm, settlement".
Davie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish [1]
Pronounced: DAY-vee(English)
Davy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-vee
Delia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Deorwine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1]
Derived from the Old English elements
deore "dear" and
wine "friend".
Desiderio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: deh-zee-DEH-ryo(Italian) deh-see-DHEH-ryo(Spanish)
Desiderius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Derived from Latin
desiderium meaning
"longing, desire". It was the name of several early
saints. It was also borne in the 8th century by the last king of the Lombard Kingdom.
Echo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠχώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-ko(English)
From the Greek word
ἠχώ (echo) meaning
"echo, reflected sound", related to
ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek
mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by
Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with
Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight"
[1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Eileen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: ie-LEEN(English) IE-leen(English)
Anglicized form of
Eibhlín. It is also sometimes considered an Irish form of
Helen. It first became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland near the end of the 19th century.
Elen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Armenian, Czech
Other Scripts: Էլեն(Armenian)
Pronounced: EHL-ehn(Welsh) eh-LEHN(Armenian)
Welsh and modern Armenian form of
Helen, as well as a Czech variant form. This was the name of a 4th-century Welsh
saint, traditionally said to be the wife of the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus. According to the Welsh legend
The Dream of Macsen Wledig (
Macsen Wledig being the Welsh form of
Magnus Maximus), she convinced her husband to build the roads in Wales.
Elin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Welsh
Pronounced: EH-lin(Swedish, Norwegian, Welsh)
Scandinavian and Welsh form of
Helen.
Elis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Medieval English
Pronounced: EH-lis(Swedish)
Swedish variant of
Elias, as well as a medieval English form.
Elisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Finnish, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za(Italian, German) eh-LEE-sa(Spanish) EH-lee-sah(Finnish) ə-LEE-sə(English)
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Elle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHL
Diminutive of
Eleanor and other names beginning with
El. This name can also be given in reference to the French pronoun
elle meaning "she".
Already growing in popularity due to Australian model Elle Macpherson (1964-), this name received a boost in the United States after the release of the 2001 movie Legally Blonde featuring the main character Elle Woods. In the United Kingdom the name was already fairly common at the time the movie came out, and it actually started declining there shortly afterwards. A famous bearer is American actress Elle Fanning (1998-).
Ellery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-ree
From an English surname that was originally derived from the medieval masculine name
Hilary.
Ellis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: EHL-is(English)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Elis, a medieval vernacular form of
Elias. This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Welsh
Elisedd.
Elma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English, German (Rare)
Pronounced: EHL-mə(English) EHL-ma(German)
Short form of
Wilhelmine or names ending in
elma, such as
Anselma. It has also been recorded as a combination of
Elizabeth and
Mary, as in the case of the 19th-century daughter of the Earl of Elgin, who was named using her mother's first and middle names
[1].
Elpis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἐλπίς(Ancient Greek)
Means
"hope" in Greek. In Greek
mythology Elpis was the personification of hope. She was the last spirit to remain in the jar after
Pandora unleashed the evils that were in it.
Els
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: EHLS
Elsie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish
Pronounced: EHL-see(English)
Emery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-ree
Norman French form of
Emmerich. The
Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, now typically feminine, it is likely inspired by the surname
Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.
Emi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 恵美, 絵美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) えみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: EH-MEE
From Japanese
恵 (e) meaning "favour, benefit" or
絵 (e) meaning "picture, painting" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Emmanuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, French, English
Other Scripts: עִמָּנוּאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EH-MA-NWEHL(French) i-MAN-yoo-ehl(English)
From the Hebrew name
עִמָּנוּאֵל (ʿImmanuʾel) meaning
"God is with us", from the roots
עִם (ʿim) meaning "with" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This was the foretold name of the Messiah in the
Old Testament. It has been used in England since the 16th century in the spellings
Emmanuel and
Immanuel, though it has not been widespread
[1]. The name has been more common in continental Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal (in the spellings
Manuel and
Manoel).
Emmerich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EH-mə-rikh(German)
Germanic name, in which the second element is
rih "ruler, king". The first element may be
irmin "whole, great" (making it a relative of
Ermenrich),
amal "unceasing, vigorous, brave" (making it a relative of
Amalric) or
heim "home" (making it a relative of
Henry). It is likely that several forms merged into a single name.
Emory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-ree
Eren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: eh-REHN
Means
"saint, holy person" in Turkish.
Eri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 恵理, 恵里, 恵利, 絵里, 絵理, 絵利, 江里, 江理, 江利, 栄理, 栄利, 栄里(Japanese Kanji) えり(Japanese Hiragana) エリ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: E-ṘEE
This name combines 恵 (e, kei, megu.mi, megu.mu) meaning "blessing, favour, grace, kindness", 絵 (e, kai) meaning "drawing, picture, painting, sketch", 江 (kou, e) meaning "bay, creek, inlet" or 栄 (ei, you, e, saka.eru, ha.e, ha.eru, -ba.e) meaning "flourish, glory, honour, prosperity, splendour" with 理 (ri, kotowari) meaning "arrangement, justice, logic, reason, truth", 里 (ri, sato) meaning "league, parent's home, ri (unit of distance - equal to 3.927 km), village" or 利 (ri, ki.ku) meaning "advantage, benefit, profit."
Erin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: EHR-in(English)
Anglicized form of
Éireann. It was initially used by people of Irish heritage in America, Canada and Australia. It was rare until the mid-1950s.
Errol
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHR-əl
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from village by this name in Perthshire. It was popularized as a given name by the Australian actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959).
Etsuko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 悦子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) えつこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: EH-TSOO-KO
From Japanese
悦 (etsu) meaning "joy, pleased" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
Euphemia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Εὐφημία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-FEE-mee-ə(English) yoo-FEH-mee-ə(English)
Means
"to use words of good omen" from Greek
εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare".
Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.
Farah
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay
Other Scripts: فرح(Arabic, Persian, Urdu)
Pronounced: FA-rah(Arabic)
Means
"joy, happiness" in Arabic, from the root
فرح (fariḥa) meaning "to be happy".
Fatou
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Western African
Faunus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: FOW-noos(Latin) FAW-nəs(English)
Possibly means "to befriend" from Latin. Faunus was a Roman god of fertility, forests, and agriculture.
Faustine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
French feminine form of
Faustinus (see
Faustino).
Femi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yoruba
Fenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FEHN-tən
From a surname that was originally taken from a place name meaning "marsh town" in Old English.
Ferdinand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, English, Slovak, Czech, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: FEHR-dee-nant(German) FEHR-DEE-NAHN(French) FEHR-dee-nahnt(Dutch) FUR-də-nand(English) FEHR-dee-nand(Slovak) FEHR-di-nant(Czech)
From
Fredenandus, the Latinized form of a Gothic name composed of the elements
friþus "peace" (or perhaps
farþa "journey"
[1]) and
nanþa "boldness, daring". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth.
Fern
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FURN
From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Firdaus
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu
Other Scripts: فردوس(Arabic, Urdu)
Pronounced: feer-DOWS(Arabic)
Derived from Arabic
فردوس (firdaws) meaning
"paradise", ultimately from an Iranian language, akin to Avestan
𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌⸱𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬰𐬀 (pairi daēza) meaning "garden, enclosure".
Florence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
From the Latin name
Florentius or the feminine form
Florentia, which were derived from
florens "prosperous, flourishing".
Florentius was borne by many early Christian
saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
Florianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: FLAW-RYAN
Florine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Francis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
English form of the Late Latin name
Franciscus meaning
"Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *
frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century
Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).
In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Freyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic
Pronounced: FRAYR(English, Icelandic)
Means
"lord" in Old Norse, derived from the Germanic root *
fraujô. This is the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called
Yngvi, with the name
Freyr being his title. Freyr is associated with fertility, sunlight and rain, and is the husband of the giantess
Gerd. With his twin sister
Freya and father
Njord he is one of the group of deities called the Vanir.
Frigg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Pronounced: FRIG(English)
Means
"beloved", from Proto-Germanic *
Frijjō, derived from the root *
frijōną meaning "to love". In Norse
mythology she was the wife of
Odin and the mother of
Balder. Some scholars believe that she and the goddess
Freya share a common origin (though their names are not linguistically related).
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the
Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the
New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the
Quran to
Muhammad.
This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.
Gage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GAYJ
From an English surname of Old French origin meaning either "measure", originally denoting one who was an assayer, or "pledge", referring to a moneylender. It was popularized as a given name by a character from the book Pet Sematary (1983) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1989).
Gail
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
Gayle
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
Gordie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAWR-dee
Diminutive of
Gordon. A famous bearer was Canadian hockey star Gordie Howe (1928-2016).
Guanliang
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 关良, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: KWAN-LYAHNG
From Chinese 关
(guān) meaning "frontier pass, shut, relation" combined with 良
(liáng) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable", as well as other character combinations.
Guiying
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 桂英, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: KWAY-EENG
From Chinese
桂 (guì) meaning "laurel, cassia, cinnamon" combined with
英 (yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero". This name can be formed from other character combinations as well.
Hadrien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-DREE-YEHN
French variant form of
Adrian.
Harold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-əld, HEHR-əld
From the Old English name
Hereweald, derived from the elements
here "army" and
weald "powerful, mighty". The Old Norse
cognate Haraldr was also common among Scandinavian settlers in England. This was the name of five kings of Norway and three kings of Denmark. It was also borne by two kings of England, both of whom were from mixed Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, including Harold II who lost the Battle of Hastings (and was killed in it), which led to the
Norman Conquest. After the conquest the name died out, but it was eventually revived in the 19th century.
Hitomi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 瞳, 史美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ひとみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KHEE-TO-MEE
From Japanese
瞳 (hitomi) meaning "pupil of the eye". It can also come from
史 (hito) meaning "history" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", as well as other kanji combinations. This name is often written with the hiragana writing system.
Icarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἴκαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IK-ə-rəs(English)
From the Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek
myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Imre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: EEM-reh
Hungarian form of
Emmerich. This was the name of an 11th-century Hungarian
saint, the son of Saint Istvan. He is also known as Emeric.
Imrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovak
Iseul
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 이슬(Korean Hangul)
Pronounced: EE-SUL
Means "dew" in Korean.
Isidore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Georgian (Rare), Jewish
Other Scripts: ისიდორე(Georgian)
Pronounced: IZ-ə-dawr(English) EE-ZEE-DAWR(French)
From the Greek name
Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning
"gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess
Isis combined with Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift".
Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.
Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.
Ivor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English (British)
Pronounced: IE-və(British English) IE-vər(American English)
From the Old Norse name
Ívarr, which was probably derived from the elements
ýr "yew tree, bow" and
herr "army, warrior". During the Middle Ages it was brought to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders, and it was adopted in Ireland (Irish
Íomhar), Scotland (Scottish Gaelic
Iomhar) and Wales (Welsh
Ifor).
Jiaoyue
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 月娇, 月皎, etc.(Chinese)
From Chinese 月 (yuè) meaning "moon" combined with 娇 (jiāo) meaning "charming, tender, delicate" or 皎 (jiǎo) "bright, brilliant", as well as other character combinations that can form this name.
Jiaqin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 佳芹, etc.(Chinese)
From Chinese 佳 (jiā) meaning "good, auspicious" combined with 芹 (qín) meaning "celery", as well as other character combinations that can form this name.
Jiaying
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 佳颖, 嘉莹, 佳莹, 家英, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: CHYA-EENG
From Chinese 佳 or 嘉
(jiā) meaning "good, auspicious, beautiful" or 家
(jiā) meaning "home, family" combined with 颖
(yǐng) meaning "clever, gifted", 莹
(yíng) meaning "bright, lustrous", or 英
(yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero". This name can also be formed from other character combinations.
Ji-U
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 지우(Korean Hangul) 芝雨, 志宇, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: CHEE-OO
From Sino-Korean
芝 (ji) meaning "sesame" or
志 (ji) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" combined with
雨 (u) meaning "rain" or
宇 (u) meaning "house, universe". Other combinations of hanja characters can form this name as well.
Jocelyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(English) JAHS-ə-lin(English) ZHO-SEH-LEHN(French)
From a Frankish masculine name, variously written as
Gaudelenus,
Gautselin,
Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element *
gautaz, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Geats, combined with a Latin
diminutive suffix. The
Normans brought this name to England in the form
Goscelin or
Joscelin, and it was common until the 14th century. It was revived in the 20th century primarily as a feminine name, perhaps an adaptation of the surname
Jocelyn (a medieval derivative of the given name). In France this is a masculine name only.
Joss
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAWS
Julien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUY-LYEHN
French form of
Iulianus (see
Julian).
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess
Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Kelly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KEHL-ee(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish given name
Ceallach or the surname derived from it
Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
As a given name it was mostly masculine before 1940, but it rose in popularity as a name for girls during the 40s and 50s, probably due both to Grace Kelly (who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956) and a female character on the 1957 television series Bachelor Father [1]. By the end of the 1970s it was on the decline.
Kiriko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 桐子, 霧子(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KEE-REE-KO
From Japanese 桐 (kiri) "paulownia" or 霧 (kiri) "mist" combined with 子 (ko) "child"
Kirushi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sinhalese (Rare, ?)
Kiyoko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 清子, 聖子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) きよこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KYEE-YO-KO
From Japanese
清 (kiyo) meaning "clear, pure, clean" or
聖 (kiyo) meaning "holy" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji characters.
Koharu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 小春, 心春, etc.(Japanese Kanji) こはる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KO-HA-ROO
From Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" or
心 (ko) meaning "heart" combined with
春 (haru) meaning "spring". The compound word
小春 means "late summer". Other combinations of kanji characters can form this name as well.
Kokoro
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 心, etc.(Japanese Kanji) こころ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KO-KO-RO
From Japanese
心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Lalita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Thai
Other Scripts: ललिता(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) ลลิตา(Thai)
Pronounced: la-lee-TA(Thai)
Means
"playful, charming, desirable" in Sanskrit. According to the
Puranas this was the name of one of the gopis, who were milkmaids devoted to the young
Krishna. Additionally, in Shaktism, this is the name of a goddess who is also called Tripura Sundari.
Lanying
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 兰英, 蘭英, 岚英, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: LAN-EENG
From Chinese 兰 or 蘭
(lán) meaning "orchid, elegant" or 岚
(lán) meaning "mountain mist" combined with 英
(yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero". Other character combinations can form this name as well.
Lauressa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: lə-REHS-ə
Léan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Leatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Possibly a combination of
Leah and
Beatrice. This name was first brought to public attention by the American actress Leatrice Joy (1893-1985).
Len
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEHN
Lenore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-NAWR
Short form of
Eleanor. This is the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem
The Raven (1845).
Leonore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: leh-o-NO-rə
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Lilibeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lindsay
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-zee
From an English and Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of the eastern English region of Lindsey, which means "
Lincoln island" in Old English. As a given name it was typically masculine until the 1960s (in Britain) and 70s (in America) when it became popular for girls, probably due to its similarity to
Linda and because of American actress Lindsay Wagner (1949-)
[1].
Linwood
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-wuwd
From an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning "stream forest" in Old English.
Lisbeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: LEES-beht(German)
German and Scandinavian short form of
Elisabeth. A notable fictional bearer is Lisbeth Salander from Swedish author Stieg Larsson's novel
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005) as well as its sequels and movie adaptations.
Lisette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: LEE-ZEHT(French)
Liz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIZ
Short form of
Elizabeth. This is the familiar name of actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).
Lizbeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Lora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə
Lore 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: lo-REH
Means "flower" in Basque.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
From German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
Loren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ən
Either a short form of
Laurence 1 (masculine) or a variant of
Lauren (feminine).
Lorn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAWRN
Lorne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWRN
From the title Marquis of Lorne, which was based on the Scottish place name Lorne, itself possibly derived from the name of the legendary king of Dál Riata, Loarn mac Eirc. This was the title of the first Governor General of Canada, where it has since been most frequently used as a given name. A famous bearer was the Canadian actor Lorne Greene (1915-1987).
Louise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LWEEZ(French) loo-EEZ(English) loo-EE-sə(Danish) loo-EE-zə(German)
French feminine form of
Louis.
Love 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LUV
Simply from the English word love, derived from Old English lufu.
Lowri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: LOW-ri
Lucifer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: LOO-si-fər(English)
Means
"bringing light", derived from Latin
lux "light" and
ferre "to bring". In Latin this name originally referred to the morning star, Venus, but later became associated with the chief angel who rebelled against God's rule in heaven (see
Isaiah 14:12). In later literature, such as the
Divine Comedy (1321) by Dante and
Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton, Lucifer became associated with Satan himself.
Lyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Lyle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIEL
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Lyric
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LIR-ik
Means simply
"lyric, songlike" from the English word, ultimately derived from Greek
λυρικός (lyrikos).
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Magdalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: mak-da-LEH-nə(German) MAG-də-lin(English)
From a title meaning
"of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the
New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala — a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular
saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
Maimu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Pronounced: MIE-moo
Means "little" in Estonian. This is the name of a girl in the story Maimu (1889) by the Estonian writer August Kitzberg.
Malene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Danish and Norwegian short form of
Magdalena.
Mallory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAL-ə-ree
From an English surname that meant "unfortunate" in Norman French. It first became common in the 1980s due to the American sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989), which featured a character by this name.
Marcel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Catalan, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German
Pronounced: MAR-SEHL(French) mər-SEHL(Catalan) mar-CHEHL(Romanian) MAR-tsehl(Polish, Czech, Slovak) mahr-SEHL(Dutch) mar-SEHL(German)
Form of
Marcellus used in several languages. Notable bearers include the French author Marcel Proust (1871-1922) and the French artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968).
Marcelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-SEHL
Margo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-go
Marise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-REEZ
Marnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-nee
Possibly a
diminutive of
Marina. This name was brought to public attention by Alfred Hitchcock's movie
Marnie (1964), itself based on a 1961 novel by Winston Graham.
Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.
Masuyo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 益世, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ますよ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MA-SOO-YO
From Japanese
益 (masu) meaning "profit, benefit" and
世 (yo) meaning "world". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Maude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Maureen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: maw-REEN(English)
Maurice
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: MAW-REES(French) maw-REES(English) MAWR-is(English)
From the Roman name
Mauritius, a derivative of
Maurus.
Saint Maurice was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Egypt. He and the other Christians in his legion were supposedly massacred on the orders of Emperor Maximian for refusing to worship Roman gods. Thus, he is the patron saint of infantry soldiers.
This name was borne by a 6th-century Byzantine emperor. Another notable bearer was Maurice of Nassau (called Maurits in Dutch), a 17th-century prince of Orange who helped establish the Dutch Republic. The name has been used in England since the Norman Conquest, usually in the spelling Morris or Moris.
Maurine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: maw-REEN
Mavis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-vis
From the name of the type of bird, also called the song thrush, derived from Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin. It was first used as a given name by the British author Marie Corelli, who used it for a character in her novel The Sorrows of Satan (1895).
Michiko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美智子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みちこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-CHEE-KO
From Japanese
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful",
智 (chi) meaning "wisdom, intellect" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can also be comprised of other combinations of kanji.
Miwa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 三和 三輪 美和 美輪 美環(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: Mee:-wə
From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" or 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 和 (wa) meaning "peace, harmony", 輪 (wa) meaning "wheel, flower" or 環 (wa) "circle, ring, wheel". Other kanji combinations are also possible. A famous bearer of this name is Miwa Oshiro (1983-) She is a Japanese gravure idol, model and actress. Her father is Okinawan.
Mordecai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: מָרְדֳּכַי, מָרְדְּכַי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAWR-də-kie(English)
Means
"servant of Marduk" in Persian. In the
Old Testament Mordecai is the cousin and foster father of
Esther. He thwarted a plot to kill the Persian king, though he made an enemy of the king's chief advisor
Haman.
Murray
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MUR-ee
From a surname, which is either Scottish or Irish in origin (see
Murray 1 and
Murray 2).
Nanami
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 七海, 菜々美(Japanese Kanji) ななみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NA-NA-MEE
From Japanese
七 (nana) meaning "seven" and
海 (mi) meaning "sea". It can also come from
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" duplicated and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Natsumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 夏美, 菜摘, etc.(Japanese Kanji) なつみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NA-TSOO-MEE
From Japanese
夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". It can also come from
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and
摘 (tsumi) meaning "pick, pluck". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Medieval
diminutive of names beginning with
El, such as
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 or
Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase
mine El, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nel.
Nicolas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: NEE-KAW-LA
Nimue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: NIM-ə-way(English)
Meaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have
Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Noor 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: NOR
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.
Odin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern)
Pronounced: O-din(English)
Anglicized form of Old Norse
Óðinn, which was derived from
óðr meaning
"inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from Proto-Germanic *
Wōdanaz. The name appears as
Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as
Wuotan,
Wotan or
Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.
In Norse mythology Odin is the highest of the gods, presiding over war, wisdom and death. He is the husband of Frigg and resides in Valhalla, where warriors go after they are slain. He is usually depicted as a one-eyed older man, carrying two ravens on his shoulders who inform him of all the events of the world. At the time of Ragnarök, the final battle, it is told that he will be killed fighting the great wolf Fenrir.
Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(English) AW-LEEV(French)
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
From Old French
Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin
oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse
Áleifr (see
Olaf) or Frankish
Alawar (see
Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic
La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero
Roland.
In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
From the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Orville
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWR-vil
This name was invented by the 18th-century writer Fanny Burney, who perhaps intended it to mean "golden city" in French. Orville Wright (1871-1948), together with his brother Wilbur, invented the first successful airplane.
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(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).
Paget
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PAJ-it
From a French and English surname that meant
"little page" (see
Paige).
Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
Means
"all gifts", derived from a combination of Greek
πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". In Greek
mythology Pandora was the first mortal woman.
Zeus gave her a jar containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind now knows, and told her not to open it. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it, unleashing the evil spirits into the world.
Pari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پری(Persian)
Pronounced: pa-REE
Means "fairy" in Persian.
Paris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PA-REES(Classical Greek) PAR-is(English) PEHR-is(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Luwian or Hittite origin. In Greek
mythology he was the Trojan prince who kidnapped
Helen and began the Trojan War. Though presented as a somewhat of a coward in the
Iliad, he did manage to slay the great hero
Achilles. He was himself eventually slain in battle by Philoctetes.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Probably derived from Greek
πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from
πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of the wife of
Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.
It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.
Perry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PEHR-ee
From a surname that is either English or Welsh in origin. It can be derived from Middle English
perrie meaning "pear tree", or else from Welsh
ap Herry, meaning "son of
Herry". A famous bearer of the surname was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.
Petru
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Corsican
Pronounced: PEH-troo
Romanian and Corsican form of
Peter.
Petula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: pə-TYOO-lə
Meaning unknown, created in the 20th century. The name is borne by the British singer Petula Clark (1932-), whose name was invented by her father.
Phemie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FEHM-ee
Pomona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: po-MO-na(Latin)
From Latin pomus "fruit tree". This was the name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees.
Priya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Other Scripts: प्रिया(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) பிரியா(Tamil) ప్రియ(Telugu) പ്രിയാ(Malayalam) ಪ್ರಿಯಾ(Kannada) প্রিয়া(Bengali)
Means
"beloved" in Sanskrit. It appears briefly in the
Puranas belonging to a daughter of King
Daksha.
Raguel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: RAG-oo-əl(English) RAG-əl(English)
From Latin
Raguhel, a scriptural variant of
Reuel. This appears in some versions of the
Old Testament at
Exodus 2:18 as another name of
Jethro, while other translations use
Reuel. There is an archangel by this name mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Enoch.
Ramón
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ra-MON
Ramon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: rə-MON
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel
Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Regan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: REE-gən(English)
Meaning unknown. In the chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth it is the name of a treacherous daughter of King
Leir. Shakespeare adapted the story for his tragedy
King Lear (1606). In the modern era it has appeared in the horror movie
The Exorcist (1973) belonging to a girl possessed by the devil. This name can also be used as a variant of
Reagan.
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
French form of the Latin name
Remigius, which was derived from Latin
remigis "oarsman, rower".
Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.
Ren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 蓮, 恋, etc.(Japanese Kanji) れん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REHN
From Japanese
蓮 (ren) meaning "lotus",
恋 (ren) meaning "romantic love", or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
René
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Slovak, Czech
Pronounced: RU-NEH(French) rə-NEH(German, Dutch) reh-NEH(Dutch, Spanish) REH-neh(Slovak, Czech)
French form of
Renatus. Famous bearers include the French mathematician and rationalist philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) and the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte (1898-1967).
Rhett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHT
From a surname, an Anglicized form of the Dutch de Raedt, derived from raet "advice, counsel". Margaret Mitchell used this name for the character Rhett Butler in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936).
Rin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 凛, etc.(Japanese Kanji) りん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REEN
From Japanese
凛 (rin) meaning "dignified, severe, cold" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
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.
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Sawyer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər, SAW-yər
From an English surname meaning
"sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Very rare as an American given name before 1980, it increased in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It got a boost in 2004 after the debut of the television series Lost, which featured a character by this name.
Saya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 沙耶(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SIE-YAH
This is a Japanese name which refers to a scabbard or sheath for a sword. Beyond being a simple noun, Saya connotes peace because of the image of a sword that remains in its scabbard.
-------------------------------------
From 沙 (sa) "sand" and 耶 (ya), a kanji used exclusively in names meaning "question mark."
Sayori
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: さより(Japanese Hiragana) サヨリ(Japanese Katakana) 沙よ理(Kanji/Hiragana) 小夜里, 小由, 紗依, 桜依, 咲依, 早和, 颯依, 沙頼, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SAH-YO-ṘEE
From Japanese 小 (sa) meaning "small", 夜 (yo) meaning "night" combined with 里 (ri) meaning "village". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Scout
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKOWT
From the English word scout meaning "one who gathers information covertly", which is derived from Old French escouter "to listen". Harper Lee used this name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).
Séamus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEH-məs
Severin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Norwegian (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: zeh-veh-REEN(German) ZEH-veh-reen(German)
Seward
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SOO-ərd
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.
Shiloh
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
From an
Old Testament place name possibly meaning
"tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see
Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.
This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.
Shiori
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 詩織, 栞, 撓, etc.(Japanese Kanji) しおり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SHEE-O-REE
As a feminine name it can be from Japanese
詩 (shi) meaning "poem" combined with
織 (ori) meaning "weave". It can also be from
栞 (shiori) meaning "bookmark" (usually feminine) or
撓 (shiori) meaning "lithe, bending" (usually masculine), as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.
Sigurd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: SEE-gurd(Swedish)
From the Old Norse name
Sigurðr, which was derived from the elements
sigr "victory" and
vǫrðr "guard, guardian". Sigurd was the hero of the Norse epic the
Völsungasaga, which tells how his foster father Regin sent him to recover a hoard of gold guarded by the dragon Fafnir. After slaying the dragon Sigurd tasted some of its blood, enabling him to understand the language of birds, who told him that Regin was planning to betray him. In a later adventure, Sigurd disguised himself as
Gunnar (his wife
Gudrun's brother) and rescued the maiden
Brynhildr from a ring of fire, with the result that Gunnar and Brynhildr were married. When the truth eventually came out, Brynhildr took revenge upon Sigurd. The stories of the German hero
Siegfried were in part based on him.
Simon 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Симон(Macedonian) სიმონ(Georgian) Σίμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-mən(English) SEE-MAWN(French) SEE-mawn(Danish, Dutch, Macedonian) ZEE-mawn(German) SHEE-mon(Hungarian)
From
Σίμων (Simon), the
New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name
שִׁםְעוֹן (Shimʿon) meaning
"hearing, listening", derived from
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear, to listen". This name is spelled
Simeon, based on Greek
Συμεών, in many translations of the
Old Testament, where it is borne by the second son of
Jacob. The New Testament spelling may show influence from the otherwise unrelated Greek name
Simon 2.
In the New Testament Simon is the name of several characters, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Most importantly however it was borne by the leading apostle Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus).
Because of the apostle, this name has been common in the Christian world. In England it was popular during the Middle Ages, though it became more rare after the Protestant Reformation.
Síofra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEE-frə
Means "elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Sloane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SLON
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Sluaghadháin, itself derived from the given name
Sluaghadhán.
Sly
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SLIE
Short form of
Sylvester. The actor Sylvester Stallone (1946-) is a well-known bearer of this nickname.
Sofia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek) София(Russian, Bulgarian) Софія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: saw-FEE-a(Greek) so-FEE-a(Italian) soo-FEE-u(European Portuguese) so-FEE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) soo-FEE-ə(Catalan) suw-FEE-a(Swedish) zo-FEE-a(German) SO-fee-ah(Finnish) su-FYEE-yə(Russian)
Form of
Sophia used in various languages.
Soleil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: SAW-LAY(French)
Means "sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Sóley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Pronounced: SO-lay
Means
"buttercup (flower)" in Icelandic (genus Ranunculus), derived from
sól "sun" and
ey "island".
Spiro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Σπύρο(Greek)
Spiros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Σπύρος(Greek)
Tacey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Derived from Latin tace meaning "be silent". It was in use from the 16th century, though it died out two centuries later.
Talitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: TAL-i-thə(English) tə-LEE-thə(English)
Means
"little girl" in Aramaic. The name is taken from the phrase
talitha cumi meaning "little girl arise" spoken by
Jesus in order to restore a young girl to life (see
Mark 5:41).
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Tatum
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAY-təm
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead" in Old English. It was brought to public attention by the child actress Tatum O'Neal (1963-) in the 1970s, though it did not catch on. It attained a modest level of popularity after 1996, when it was borne by a character in the movie Scream.
Tegan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: TEH-gan(Welsh) TEE-gən(English)
Means
"darling" in Welsh, derived from a
diminutive of Welsh
teg "beautiful, pretty". It was somewhat common in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada in the 1980s and 90s. It was borne by an Australian character on the television series
Doctor Who from 1981 to 1984.
Thierry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TYEH-REE
French form of
Theodoric. It was very popular in France from the 1950s, peaking in the mid-1960s before falling away. A famous bearer is the French former soccer player Thierry Henry (1977-).
Trine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Tullia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: TOOL-lya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Tullius (see
Tullio).
Tully
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: TUL-ee(English)
Form of
Tullius (see
Tullio) used to refer to the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Tybalt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: TIB-əlt(English)
The name of a cousin of
Juliet killed by
Romeo in William Shakespeare's drama
Romeo and Juliet (1596). The character earlier appears as Tebaldo, an Italian form of
Theobald, in Luigi Da Porto's novella
Giulietta e Romeo (1524), one of Shakespeare's sources. Shakespeare was also inspired by the character of Tybalt the Cat (from
Thibault the French form of
Theobald) in medieval fables of Reynard the Fox (evidenced by
Mercutio calling Tybalt the "prince of cats").
Willa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-ə
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Wright
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RIET
From an occupational surname meaning "craftsman", ultimately from Old English wyrhta. Famous bearers of the surname were the Wright brothers (Wilbur 1867-1912 and Orville 1871-1948), the inventors of the first successful airplane, and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), an American architect.
Yasmin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, English (Modern), Spanish (Modern), Portuguese (Modern)
Other Scripts: ياسمين(Arabic) יַסְמִין(Hebrew) یاسمین(Urdu)
Pronounced: yas-MEEN(Arabic) YAZ-min(English) gyas-MEEN(Spanish)
Means
"jasmine" in Arabic and Hebrew, derived from Persian
یاسمین (yāsamīn). In modern times it has been used in the western world, as an Arabic-influenced variant of
Jasmine.
Yeong-Hui
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 영희(Korean Hangul) 英姬, 英嬉, 泳姬, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: YUNG-YEE
From Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero" or
泳 (yeong) meaning "dive, swim" combined with
姬 (hui) meaning "beauty" or
嬉 (hui) meaning "enjoy, play". Other combinations of hanja characters can form this name as well.
Yori
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 頼, etc.(Japanese Kanji) より(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: YO-REE
From Japanese
頼 (yori) meaning "rely" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Yumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 弓, 由美, 友美, 弓美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ゆみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: YOO-MEE
From Japanese
弓 (yumi) meaning "archery bow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause",
友 (yu) meaning "friend" or a
nanori reading of
弓 (yu) meaning "archery bow" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
Zoya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Зоя(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ZO-yə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Bulgarian form of
Zoe.
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