BrasiasmArthurian Cycle A hermit living near Windsor, he hosted Lancelot when the latter left Arthur’s court in London after a quarrel with Guenevere. It was this quarrel that led to the dinner at which Sir Patrise was poisoned, for Guenevere gave the dinner to show outward that she had as great joy in all other knights of the Round Table as she had in Sir Lancelot.
BrasidasmAncient Greek, History Derived from Greek βράσις (brasis) meaning "boiling" combined with ίδας (idas), which is the Aeolic and Doric Greek form of the patronymic suffix ἴδης (ides).... [more]
BrassmEnglish (Rare) Transferred use of the surname Brass. Alternately, could be taken directly from the English word brass, a metal alloy of copper and zinc, possibly derived from Proto-Germanic brasō "fire, pyre"... [more]
BratachmArthurian Cycle Son of Gwawrddur Hunchback, brother of Duach, Nerthach, and the lady Gwenwledyr, and one of Arthur’s warriors.... [more]
BratanmBulgarian Derived from the Slavic element bratu "brother".
BratimirmCroatian, Serbian There are two possible explanations for the etymology of the first element of this name. The first explanation is that it is derived from Slavic brati "reap, gather", which would make the whole name an older form of Berimir... [more]
BratomirmCroatian, Polish, Serbian Means "brother of peace", derived from Slavic bratu "brother" combined with Slavic mir "peace". Also compare Bratimir.
BráuliomPortuguese Portuguese form of Braulio. Known bearers of this name include former Brazilian soccer player Bráulio Barbosa de Lima (b. 1948) and Bráulio Tavares (b... [more]
BrauliomSpanish, Galician Apparently derived from Germanic brahuila meaning "bright, radiant" - with one source saying that it is etymologically related to Old High German brand or brant "sword". However, I am not sure how much stock should be put into that, since it seems like its pronunciation would be akin to brilla (BREEL-lah), which makes it look suspiciously close to the Italian verb brillare "to shine, to sparkle" and ultimately comes from berillus, a latinized form of Greek beryllos... [more]
Bravem & fEnglish From the French brave, from the Italian bravo, itself either from Provençal brau 'show-off', from the Gaulish *bragos 'fine', or from the Latin *bravus, from a fusion of pravus and barbarus into a root *bravus.
BravenmEnglish Variant of Brave, with the popular name suffix -en, possibly influenced by Raven.
BraverymEnglish From the English word "bravery" meaning "being Brave, a brave act".
BrawleighmEnglish Variant of Brawley. A known bearer of this name is American Republican politician Brawleigh Graham.
BrawleymEnglish Transferred use of the surname Brawley. A known bearer of this name is American actor Brawley Nolte (b. 1986), the son of American actor Nick Nolte (b... [more]
BraxmEnglish (Australian) Short form of Braxton, popularized by the character Darryl 'Brax' Braxton of the soap opera Home and Away.
BraytonmEnglish (Modern, Rare) Likely a variant of Braden, or else a transferred use of the English habitational surname Brayton (which is derived from Old Norse breithr "broad", or from the Old Norse personal name Breithi, combined with Old English tun "town, farmstead").
BreacánmIrish Derived from Gaelic breac "speckled, spotted" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 6th-century Irish saint who was famous as a healer.
BrecamAnglo-Saxon Mythology Breca (sometimes spelled Breoca) was a Bronding who, according to the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, was Beowulf’s childhood friend.
BreccánmMedieval Irish Derived from Irish brecc "freckled, speckled" combined with a diminutive suffix, making it a cognate of Brychan. This was a common name in early Ireland, borne by at least 13 saints.
BreckmEnglish Likely taken from the Old Irish word brecc meaning “speckled, spotted; trout”. It probably originated as a nickname given to somebody with freckles.
BredonmLiterature This is one of the many names of Lord Peter Wimsey, a fictional character created by Dorothy L. Sayers. It is also the name of his firstborn son.
BreesmObscure Transferred use of the surname Brees. A notable bearer of the surname is quarterback Drew Brees
Breezef & mEnglish From the English word "breeze" referring to "a light, gentle wind". From the Dutch bries 'breeze', from the Eastern Frisian brîse 'breeze', from brisen 'to blow fresh and strong'.
BregaladmLiterature A fictional character created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Bregalad, known in the common tongue as Quickbeam, was an Ent at the time of the War of the Ring. He was significantly younger than elder Ents such as Treebeard... [more]
BregomLiterature The second king of Rohan, in J.R.R. Tolkien's literary works. In Peter Jackson's film versions, Aragorn rides a horse by the name of Brego (apparently in honor of the king).
BreifnemIrish Likely derived from Bréifne (also Bréfne), the name of a medieval Irish kingdom. The meaning of its name is uncertain, as it is disputed amongst scholars. Some derive the name from Old Irish brí meaning "hill", whilst others state that it is derived from the feminine given name Bréfne.
BrennosmGaulish, History Brennos, chieftain of the Senones, led an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their attack on Rome in the Battle of the Allia, in 387 BC. Another Brennos was one of the leaders of the army of Gauls who attempted to invade and settle in the Greek mainland in 278 BC... [more]
BreogánmCeltic Mythology, Galician Related to the Celtic root brixs "high, hill". This is the name of the mythological ancestor of the Irish in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a medieval Christian history of Ireland... [more]
BreokmCornish Cornish form of Brioc. This name was borne by a Welsh saint who is commemorated in St. Breock.
BressalmMedieval Irish Old Irish name derived from Celtic *brestelo-s "strife, war". It was borne by Bressal mac Ailello Thassaig, an early king of the Uí Liatháin, an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland.
BretmanmObscure In the case of Filipino-American beauty influencer and social media personality Bretman Rock (1998-) he was named after wrestlers Bret Hart and The Rock.
BrevalmBreton Derived from the place name Bréval, ubicated in north-central France. Recorded as other forms, ultimately comes from the Germanic name Berher and French val "valley", albeit the first element was later reinterpreted as bref "small".
BriacmFrench, Breton From a Brythonic name derived from the Celtic element *brigo "high, noble, mighty". As such this name can be viewed as a Breton cognate of Brian. In the case of Saint Briac, who arrived in Brittany with Saint Tugdual circa 548, this was a short form of the old Welsh name Briafael.
BriadanmArthurian Cycle In Palamedes, one of two knights who murdered the Good Knight Without Fear. His companion was Ferrant.
BriadasmArthurian Cycle A powerful jouster who guarded the Spring of the Two Sycamores. He was considered undefeatable; he had even knocked down Gawaine. This lasted until he was conquered by Lancelot and received a mortal wound... [more]
BriainsmArthurian Cycle A knight who joined Nogant in an assault on Queen Fenise of Ireland. Arthur’s forces joined Nogant but Arthur soon learned that he was a coward, and the siege was lifted.
BriamailmMedieval Welsh, Brythonic Old Welsh form of the Brythonic name *Brigomaglos, which was composed of the Proto-Celtic elements *brigos, *brigā meaning "might, power" and *maglos "chief, noble".
BrickmPopular Culture Originally a nickname from the English word brick (having the slang meaning "a good fellow" from 1840). It was used for a character in Tennessee Williams' play 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (1955).
Brightenf & mEnglish (American) Variant of Brighton, or from the English word brighten meaning "to become or make bright or brighter, to become more cheerful".
BrigomCeltic Mythology, Galician Mythology Related to the Celtic root brixs meaning "high, hill". According to Galician mythology, Brigo was the first person who settled in Galicia, and he was grandson of Noah and father of Artai... [more]
BrihadrathamSanskrit, History From Sanskrit बृहद्रथ (Bṛhadratha), meaning "one with a great chariot", from Sanskrit बृहत् (bŕhat) "large, great" and रथ (rátha) "chariot". This was the name of the founder of the Brihadratha dynasty, the earliest ruling dynasty of Magadha featured in Hindu literature.
Brihaspatim & fHinduism, Indian, Bengali, Hindi From Sanskrit बृहस्पति (bṛhaspati) meaning "Jupiter (the planet)" or "Thursday". This is the name of a Hindu deity of piety and religious devotion who is often identified with the planet Jupiter.
BrijendramIndian Means "ruler of Brij" from the place name ब्रज (Braj), also known as Brij or Brijbhumi, which is a region in Uttar Pradesh, India, considered to be the land of the Hindu god Krishna, combined with the name of the god Indra, used here to mean "lord".
BrillantemSpanish, Filipino Means "brilliant, sparkly, gemstone" in Spanish. A notable bearer was Brillante Mendoza (1960-), a Filipino independent film director.
BriocmHistory (Ecclesiastical), Guernésiais English and Guernésiais form of Briog via the Latinization Briocus. Brioc (died c. 502) was a 5th-century Welsh holy man who became the first abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany... [more]
BriocánmIrish Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Bhreacain (see Brecan). This was the name of a saint from the 5th century AD, who brought christianity to the village Rosmuck in Ireland.
BriogmBreton, Welsh, History (Ecclesiastical) Derived from Breton and Middle Welsh bri, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *brigo "high, noble" or *brīgos "importance". Briog (died c. 502) was a 5th-century Welsh holy man who became the first abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany... [more]
BriseusmGreek Mythology Possibly derived from Greek βρίθω (britho) or (vritho), which can mean "to be laden with, to abound" as well as "to be heavy". In Greek mythology, Briseus was the father of Briseis.
BritannicusmAncient Roman Latin byname meaning "of Britain". This was one of the bynames of Emperor Claudius after the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. Claudius also gave it to his son, Britannicus (full name Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus; 41-55 AD).
BrochwelmWelsh From the old Welsh name Brochfael, in which the second element is mael "prince". This was the name of a legendary Welsh king who gave land to Saint Melangell.