Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Meri f JapaneseFrom Japanese 愛 (me) meaning "love, affection" combined with 里 (ri) meaning "village". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Meribah f English (American)From an Old Testament place name meaning "quarreling, strife, contention" in Hebrew. This occurs in the Old Testament belonging to one of the locations visited by the Israelites following their exodus from Egypt.
Meriç m & f TurkishMeans "Maritsa River" in Turkish. The river between Greece and Turkey.
Mericke f Manx (Archaic)Of uncertain origin and meaning. Current theories include a transcription/reading error of
Avericke, an adoption of the Yorkshire name
Merica or a transferred use of the surname
Mericke (which shares its source with the English surname
Merick).
Meridel f EnglishThis was the name of communist and feminist writer Meridel le Sueur (1900 - 1996), possibly taken from her mother's nickname "Mary Del."
Meridian f & m LiteratureFrom the English word, which is directly from Latin
meridianus meaning "of midday, of noon, southerly, to the south". It was used by Alice Walker for the heroine of her novel 'Meridian' (1976).
Merilee f Popular Culture, EnglishVariant of
Merrily, ultimately from English "merrily" meaning "showing happiness or enjoyment".
Donnie Iris released a song called "Sweet Merilee" in 1981.
Merili f EstonianOf uncertain origin and meaning. Theories include a borrowing of
Muriel and a contraction of
Meri 1 and the syllable
-li-, most commonly derived from
Eliisabet.
Merina f JapaneseFrom Japanese 芽 (me) meaning "bud, sprout, shoot", 里 (ri) meaning "village" combined with 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Merion f WelshWelsh - feminine form of Meirion, the Welsh name of the county of Merioneth. Other feminine forms are Meiriona and Meirionwen.
Merisa f JapaneseFrom Japanese 愛 (me) meaning "love, affection", 梨 (ri) meaning "pear" combined with 沙 (sa) meaning "sand". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Merit f Ancient Egyptian, Arabic (Egyptian)From Egyptian
mryt meaning "the beloved one", the feminine perfective relative form of
mrj "to love, to have affection for, to be fond of" as well as "to want, to wish, to desire".
Merjana f ArabicA version of
Marjana, from the Arabic, ultimately meaning "coral". This is linked via language borrowing to the African name
Marjani.
Merkada f Judeo-SpanishDerived from Judeo-Spanish
merkado or Spanish
mercado, both meaning "market". This name literally refers to the fact that the child in question was sold by its parents.
Merliah f English (Modern)A combination of the prefix ‘mer’ and the suffix ‘lia’. This name was used in the movie “Barbie in a Mermaid Tale” where Barbie plays Merliah Summers, a surfing teenager who is half mermaid and half human.
Merneith f Ancient EgyptianThe name of a consort and potential queen regent during the First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Her name means "beloved of
Neith".
Mernua f MeroiticMeaning uncertain. Name borne by a Kandake of Kush (fl. 600 BCE), known solely from her burial at Meroe.
Mero f JapaneseFrom Japanese 愛 (me) meaning "love, affection", 雌 (me) meaning "feminine, female" or 夢 (me) meaning "dream" combined with 蕗 (ro) meaning "butterbur, bog rhubarb", 路 (ro) meaning "path, route, road, distance" or 露 (ro) meaning "dew, tears, expose"... [
more]
Merodi- f JapaneseFrom Japanese 奏 (merodi-) meaning "play music, complete" or from 美 (me) meaning "beautiful" or 和 (me) meaning "harmony" combined with 音 (rodi) meaning "sound".... [
more]
Meroë f English (Rare), LiteratureThe name of a witch in Lucius Apuleius's 2nd-century Latin novel 'The Golden Ass', who murders a man named Socrates with her accomplice Panthia. It was probably taken from the name of an ancient city on the Nile.... [
more]
Merofleda f Germanic, HistoryDerived from Old High German
mâri "famous" combined with
flâdi "beauty, respectability." Merofleda was one of the wives of Charibert I, a 6th-century Merovingian king of Paris.
Meron f JapaneseFrom Japanese 奏 (me) meaning "play music, speak to a ruler, complete", 愛 (me) meaning "love, affection", 芽 (me) meaning "bud, sprout" or 萌 (me) meaning "sprout, bud" combined with 音 (ron) meaning "sound", 論 (ron) meaning "argument, discourse" or 倫 (ron) meaning "ethics, companion"... [
more]
Meronym f Literature, Popular CultureThis is the name of a character from the book "Cloud Atlas" written by David Mitchell, which was adapted to film (with the same title) in 2012. The author of the book probably derived the name from the English word
meronym, which is a linguistic term used to refer to a part of the whole... [
more]
Merriam f English (Rare)Variant of
Miriam derived from a Welsh surname which is derived from either the personal name Meuric, which is the Welsh form of
Maurice, or ultimately from the Latin personal name Mauritius, which means "dark".
Merrily f English (American, Rare)Old English
myrge "pleasing, agreeable, pleasant, sweet; pleasantly, melodiously" from Proto-Germanic
murgijaz, which probably originally meant "short-lasting."
Merrin f & m CornishAlthough the exact origin and meaning of this name are unknown, many modern-day academics believe this name to be the (possibly Anglicized) Cornish form of
Morien.... [
more]
Merryweather f Popular CultureFeminine variant of
Meriwether influenced by the phrase "merry weather". A notable fictional bearer of the name is one of the three good fairies from Disney's 'Sleeping Beauty' (1959).
Meruert f KazakhMeans "pearl" in Kazakh, ultimately from Persian مروارید
(morvarid).
Mervana f BosnianProbably a Bosnian feminine form of
Marwan. A notable bearer is Bosnian former tennis player Mervana Jugić-Salkić (1980-).
Merwenn f English (Rare, Archaic), Medieval EnglishFrom the Old English name
Mærwynn which was derived from
mær meaning "famous" and
wynn "joy". This was the name of a 10th-century saint, the first abbess of Rumsey convent in Hampshire, England after its 967 restoration under King Edward the Peaceful, and the spiritual teacher of Saint
Elfleda.
Merytkhet f Ancient EgyptianEtymology uncertain. The first element is probably
mryt, the feminine form of
mry "beloved" (see
mrj "to love"). This was the name of a daughter of
Ramesses II.
Mescal f English (American, Rare, Archaic), LiteratureFrom the English word for the peyote cactus, from Nahuatl. It was used by American author Zane Grey for a half-Navajo, half-Spanish woman in his novel
The Heritage of the Desert (1910) and the subsequent silent film adaptation (1924), in which the character was played by actress Bebe Daniels... [
more]
Mesedu f AvarDerived from Avar месед
(mesed) meaning "gold".
Mesembria f Greek MythologyMesembria is the name of the of the Greek Horae, goddesses of the hours. Her name means "midday", or "noon".
Mesike f EstonianDerived from Estonian
mesi, the genitive case of
mee, "honey".
Meskhenet f Egyptian MythologyIn Egyptian mythology she was a goddess of childbirth, and the creator of each child's 'ka', a part of their soul, which she breathed into them at the moment of their birth. Because she was responsible for 'ka', she was also associated with fate, and so would sometimes be associated with
Shai... [
more]
Meskwaopwaganikwe f OjibweAnishinaabek (Ojibwe) name meaning "red pipe woman." Meskwa means red, opwagan means pipe, and ikwe means woman. inini can replace ikwe to make it a male name.
Messalina f Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, CatalanFeminine diminutive of the Roman family name
Messalla, which was originally an agnomen derived from the place name
Messana, applied to the 3rd-century BC Roman general Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus to commemorate his victory at the city of Messana in Sicily... [
more]
Messua f HindiProbably mean “One Who Prays” in Hindi. A notable bearer was the woman who took in Mowgli when he joined the humans in a version of ‘The Jungle Book’.
Mestra f Greek MythologyIn Greek mythology, Mestra was a daughter of Erysichthon of Thessaly. According to Ovid's "Metamorphoses," she was granted the ability to change her shape at will by her lover, Poseidon. Mestra used her shape-shifting ability and trickery to provide her father with nourishment after he had been cursed with an insatiable appetite by Demeter... [
more]
Mesuli m & f Xhosa, ZuluMeans "wiper (of tears)" in Xhosa, suggesting someone who brings an end to sorrow.
Mėta f LithuanianDerived from the Lithuanian noun
mėta meaning "mint" (as in, the plant). This name is not to be confused with the similar-looking name
Meta.
Metaksia f ArmenianAlternate transcription of Armenian Մետաքսյա (see
Metaksya). This name was borne by the Soviet Armenian actress Metaksia Simonyan (1926-1987).
Metaksya f ArmenianFrom Armenian մետաքսյա
(metakʿsya) meaning "silken", idiomatically meaning someone who is gentle and pleasant. It is a cognate of
Metaxia.
Metanira f Greek MythologyIn Greek mythology, Metanira (Ancient Greek: Metaneira or Metaenira; also Meganeira) was a queen of Eleusis and wife of Celeus.
Metaxia f GreekComes from the word for silk in Greek metaxi (μετάξι).
Metheven f CornishMeans "June" in Cornish (literally "midsummer"). This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Methika f ThaiDerived from Thai เมธี
(methi) meaning "philosopher, sage".
Methini f ThaiMeans "earth, land" in Thai, ultimately from Sanskrit मेदिनी
(medini).
Metida f SerbianSerbian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Kazakh, Bosnian, and Croatian name for the goddess Metis.
Metka f SloveneOriginally a diminutive of
Meta, used as a given name in its own right.