BelidefArthurian Cycle She fell in love with Tristan while he was living and serving in Faramon’s court. When Tristan did not reciprocate, she became enraged and staged a “rape” scene for which Tristan was convicted and sentenced to execution.
Believef & mAmerican (Rare), English (Puritan) Late Old English belȳfan, belēfan, alteration of gelēfan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch geloven and German glauben, also to lief.
BelimirmCroatian The first element of this name is derived from Proto-Slavic bělъ "white, pale". Also see Běla, which is of the same etymology. The second element is derived from Slavic mir "peace".
BelinafGascon, Italian Gascon diminutive of Isabèl. Belina (known as Béline in French, died 1153) was a Roman Catholic virgin martyr who was canonized by Pope Innocent III in 1203... [more]
BélinefFrench (Rare), Literature, Theatre, History Gallicized form of Belina. It was used by Molière in his play 'The Imaginary Invalid' (1673) ('Le Malade imaginaire' in French), where it belongs to the wife of Argan.
BelisamafCeltic Mythology Belisama was a goddess worshipped in ancient Gaul and Britain, associated with lakes and rivers, fire, crafts and light, who was identified with Minerva in the interpretatio romana... [more]
BelisariusmGreek (Latinized), History From Greek Βελισάριος (Belisarios), probably of Illyric origin. This was the name of a famed Byzantine general and war hero who served the emperor Justinian. He was possibly of Slavic ancestry which has led to speculation that the name derives from Slavonic Beli-tzar "white prince" (the -sarius element being interpreted as coming from the old Slavic word tsesar or tsesari, which was derived from Caesar, thus giving Belisarius a "princely" connotation), but this etymology has since been discounted as somewhat dubious.
BellafSpanish Means "beautiful, fair; lovely" in Spanish, taken from the titles of the Virgin Mary, La Virgen de la Bella and Nuestra Señora de la Bella, meaning "The Virgin of the Beautiful" and "Our Lady of the Beautiful" respectively.... [more]
BellamirafSpanish (Latin American, Rare), Theatre Probably derived from the Latin elements bella "beautiful" and mira "wondrous" (cf. Mirabella). This name belongs to a courtesan in the play The Jew of Malta (written c. 1589 or 1590) by English dramatist Christopher Marlowe.
BellamourmArthurian Cycle, Literature Bellamour is the lord of a castle and Pastorella's true father. He appears in Book 6, Canto 12. of "The Faerie Queene".
BellangeremArthurian Cycle Alteration of Berengar, possibly influenced by French bel, beau meaning "fine, beautiful, great" and anger "anger" (thus "righteous anger")... [more]
BellariafLiterature Perhaps derived from Latin bellare meaning "to fight". This name was used by Robert Greene for a character in his prose romance 'Pandosto: The Triumph of Time' (1588). It was also used by Henry Fielding in his play 'The Temple Beau' (1730), and by Aaron Hill (1685-1750) in his poem 'Bellaria, at her Spinnet'.
BelldandyfPopular Culture Variant of Verdandi, representing an Anglicization of the name's Japanese transcription. This is the name of a major character in the manga series "Oh My Goddess!"
BellicentfLiterature, Arthurian Cycle From an Old French form of the Germanic name Belissendis, possibly composed of the elements bili "suitable, proper, fitting, decent, amiable" (cf. Biligard) and swind "strong, brave, powerful".... [more]
BellomMedieval Italian, Spanish Short form of Jacobello or other names ending in bello. It is also associated with the Italian word meaning "beautiful, handsome".
BellottefLiterature, French (Rare, Archaic) Derived from French belle meaning "beautiful". This is the name of Laidronette's sister in Madame d'Aulnoy's fairy tale The Green Serpent.
BellulsfJewish From the Latin bellule (pretty, nice, well-formed), this is found in a Jewish catacomb in Rome as the name of a woman. It is possibly the precursor to such names as the Sephardic Bela and the Yiddish Shayna
BelmirafPortuguese Most likely a version of Elmira 1, which derives from Edelmira, stemming from Adelmar, which combines the Germanic elements adal meaning "noble" and mari meaning "famous"... [more]
BelocmGreek (Cypriot, Archaic) Beloc is a classical rendering of the Semitic words bēlu and ba'al, which both mean "lord". It can be used as a theonym, personal name, or royal title. Beloc has multiple meanings, including: ... [more]
BeloslavafBulgarian Feminine form of Beloslav. Beloslava of Bulgaria was a Bulgarian princess and Queen consort of Serbia between 1234 and 1243. She was the wife of king Stefan Vladislav I.
BelphegormJudeo-Christian-Islamic Legend From Ba'al Pe'or, the name of a Semitic god mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, meaning "Ba'al of Mount Pe'or" or "lord of the opening". In Christian demonology this is the name of a demon that represents the deadly sin of sloth.
Bēl-ṣarbimNear Eastern Mythology, Akkadian Means "lord of the poplar", deriving from the Akkadian elements bēlu ("boss, chief, master, lord") and ṣarbat (deriving from a place name, that presumably later became associated with groves of trees... [more]
BeltránmSpanish, Galician Spanish and Galician form of Bertram or Bertrand. It is sometimes given in reference to the 16th-century Spanish saint Louis Bertrand (known as Luis Beltrán in Spanish), a Dominican friar who preached in South America; he is called the "Apostle to the Americas".
BeltsomMedieval Basque Of uncertain origin and meaning. One current theory, however, connects this name to Basque beltxo, a diminutive of beltz / baltz "black".
BeltzanefBasque Derived from the Basque adjective beltz "black; dark" in combination with the feminine name suffix -ne.
BelusmGreek Mythology King of Egypt and brother of Aegyptus and Danaus in Greek Mythology.
BelvafEnglish (American, Rare, Archaic) Apparently a feminine form of Belvedere. A notable bearer of this name was Belva Lockwood (1830-1917), one of the first female lawyers in the United States.
BelvederemEnglish (American, Rare, Archaic) From an Italian word meaning "beautiful sight", from Italian bel "beautiful" and vedere "a view, sight". It was apparently coined in the early 19th century, when it first appears as a given name in United States historical records (for both Northern and Southern states), along with its feminine variant Belva.... [more]
BelviderafTheatre Derived from Italian belvedere meaning "a fair sight" (compare Belvedere). This was used by English dramatist Thomas Otway for a character in his tragedy Venice Preserv'd (1682).
BelvinafLiterature Apparently from the Latin word meaning "beast-like" (also written beluina), derived from bēlua "beast, monster" (Italian belva) with the adjectival suffix -īnus "of, like"... [more]
BelzorafEnglish (American, Rare) Meaning unknown. It might possibly be derived from Belzora, the name of a port town in Texas that was abandoned in the 1870s.
Benm & fJapanese This name is used as 勉 (ben, tsuto.meru) meaning "exertion," 弁/辨 (hen, ben, araso.u, hanabira, wakima.eru, wa.keru) meaning "dialect, petal, speech" or 便 (bin, ben, tayo.ri) meaning "convenience."... [more]
BenmHebrew Derived from Hebrew בן (ben), meaning "son".
Ben-abinadabmBiblical Menas "son of Abinadab" or "son of a generous father", ultimately derived from Hebrew בן (ben) meaning "son", אב ('ab) meaning "father", and נדב (nadab) meaning "to willingly give"... [more]
BenaëlmFrench, Breton It might derive from the breton name Gwenael, formed by "gwenn", that means "white", the second part might be "maël", that means "prince", so the meaning is "white prince".
Benazirf & mUrdu, Bengali From Persian بینظیر (bi-nazir) meaning "incomparable, matchless". It is used as a feminine name in Pakistan while it is typically masculine in Bangladesh. A famous bearer was Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), the first female prime minister of Pakistan.
Benchaf & mThai Means "baldachin, canopy, dais" in Thai.
BenchakanlayanifThai (Rare) Means "woman of fivefold beauty" in Thai, from เบญจ (bencha) meaning "five, fivefold" and กัลยาณี (kanlayani) meaning "beautiful girl, belle". In Buddhism this term refers to a woman with five favourable attributes: beautiful hair, beautiful teeth, beautiful flesh, beautiful skin and beauty at any age.
BencomomGuanche, Spanish (Canarian) Derived from Guanche benčom meaning "ambitious" or benchomo meaning "the greatest". It belonged to the penultimate mencey (leader) (1423-1495) of Taoro, Tenerife.
BendidorafAncient Greek Means "gift of Bendis", derived from the name of the Thracian goddess Bendis (genitive Βενδῖδος) combined with Greek δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift".
BendigeidmArthurian Cycle The giant son of Llyr and Penardun and brother Branwen and Manawydan Fab Llyr. Some sources, however, make Bendigeid Vran and Branwen the children of Llyr by Iweriadd, while Manawydan fab Llyr was the son of Llyr by Penardun.... [more]
BendofAfrican This means is from a Liberian dialect. It means beautiful...
BendormEnglish (Rare) In the case of Dr Bendor Grosvenor, art historian, the name Bendor is derived from the Grosvenor family's medieval heraldic shield, a bend or, a golden bend (diagonal stripe), which they used until 1389 when it was claimed instead by the Scrope family, in the case Scrope v Grosvenor... [more]
BeneathafTheatre Meaning unknown, possibly invnted from the English word "beneath" and the feminine suffix "a". Beneatha Younger is character in the play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry.
BenebafAfro-American (Slavery-era) English corruption of Abena. This was used by early slaves in the American south. Attested in the 1730's in South Carolina.