Ottilie's Personal Name List

Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 18 votes
From the Greek Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning "west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zelda 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: זעלדאַ(Yiddish)
Rating: 59% based on 16 votes
Possibly a feminine form of Zelig.
Zaharina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Захарина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Rating: 49% based on 16 votes
Bulgarian and Macedonian feminine form of Zechariah.
Zachary
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: ZAK-ə-ree(English)
Rating: 46% based on 20 votes
Usual English form of Zacharias, used in some English versions of the New Testament. This form has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation. It was borne by American military commander and president Zachary Taylor (1784-1850).
Zacharias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Ζαχαρίας(Greek)
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-əs(English) za-kha-REE-as(Late Greek)
Rating: 46% based on 17 votes
Greek form of Zechariah. This form of the name is used in most English translations of the New Testament to refer to the father of John the Baptist. It was also borne by an 8th-century pope (called Zachary in English).
Zachariah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: zak-ə-RIE-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 16 votes
Variant of Zechariah. This spelling is used in the King James Version of the Old Testament to refer to one of the kings of Israel (called Zechariah in other versions).
Yannick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: YA-NEEK(French)
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
Diminutive of Yann or Yanna 2.
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(American English) ig-ZAY-vyər(American English) ZAY-vyə(British English) ig-ZAY-vyə(British English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)
Rating: 68% based on 9 votes
Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Wren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 66% based on 19 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər(American English) WIN-tə(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 21 votes
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Winston
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIN-stən
Rating: 46% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name Wynnstan. A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II. This name was also borne by the fictional Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984.
Winslow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WINZ-lo
Rating: 42% based on 15 votes
From a surname that was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hill belonging to Wine". A famous bearer of this name was American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910).
Winifred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: WIN-ə-frid(English)
Rating: 62% based on 15 votes
From Latin Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name Gwenfrewi (maybe influenced by the Old English masculine name Winfred). Saint Winifred was a 7th-century Welsh martyr, probably legendary. According to the story, she was decapitated by a prince after she spurned his advances. Where her head fell there arose a healing spring, which has been a pilgrimage site since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has been historically more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 75% based on 22 votes
From the Germanic name Willehelm meaning "will helmet", composed of the elements willo "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". An early saint by this name was the 8th-century William of Gellone, a cousin of Charlemagne who became a monk. The name was common among the Normans, and it became extremely popular in England after William the Conqueror was recognized as the first Norman king of England in the 11th century. From then until the modern era it has been among the most common of English names (with John, Thomas and Robert).

This name was later borne by three other English kings, as well as rulers of Scotland, Sicily (of Norman origin), the Netherlands and Prussia. Other famous bearers include William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero, and William Tell, a legendary 14th-century Swiss hero (called Wilhelm in German, Guillaume in French and Guglielmo in Italian). In the literary world it was borne by dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), and author William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

In the American rankings (since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it one of the most consistently popular names (although it has never reached the top rank). In modern times its short form, Liam, has periodically been more popular than William itself, in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and the United States in the 2010s.

Willem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: VI-ləm
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Dutch form of William. Willem the Silent, Prince of Orange, was the leader of the Dutch revolt against Spain that brought about the independence of the Netherlands. He is considered the founder of the Dutch royal family. In English he is commonly called William of Orange.
Wilhelmina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare), English
Pronounced: vil-hehl-MEE-na(Dutch, German) wil-ə-MEEN-ə(English) wil-hehl-MEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 68% based on 18 votes
Dutch and German feminine form of Wilhelm. This name was borne by a queen of the Netherlands (1880-1962).
Wilhelm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: VIL-helm(German) VEEL-khelm(Polish)
Rating: 50% based on 17 votes
German cognate of William. This was the name of two German emperors. It was also the middle name of several philosophers from Germany: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), who was also a notable mathematician. Another famous bearer was the physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845-1923).
Wilfred
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-frəd
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
Means "desiring peace" from Old English willa "will, desire" and friþ "peace". Saint Wilfrid was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop. The name was rarely used after the Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Wilde
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 40% based on 16 votes
Transferred use of the surname Wilde.
Wilbur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-bər(American English) WIL-bə(British English)
Rating: 52% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English. This name was borne by Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), one half of the Wright brothers, who together invented the first successful airplane. Wright was named after the Methodist minister Wilbur Fisk (1792-1839). A famous fictional bearer is the main character (a pig) in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
Walter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: WAWL-tər(American English) WAWL-tə(British English) VAL-tu(German) VAL-tehr(Swedish, Italian)
Rating: 48% based on 17 votes
From the Germanic name Waltheri meaning "power of the army", from the elements walt "power, authority" and heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably Waltharius by Ekkehard of Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Wealdhere.

A famous bearer of the name was the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). It was also borne by Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish novelist who wrote Ivanhoe and other notable works.

Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 73% based on 21 votes
French form of Viviana.
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Rating: 56% based on 19 votes
Means "violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke Orsino, she attempts to convince Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Vincent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak
Pronounced: VIN-sənt(English, Dutch) VEHN-SAHN(French) VIN-sent(Dutch) VEEN-tsent(Slovak)
Rating: 60% based on 21 votes
From the Roman name Vincentius, which was derived from Latin vincere meaning "to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many saints. As an English name, Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Viggo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: VEE-go(Danish) VIG-go(Swedish)
Rating: 52% based on 17 votes
Short form of names containing the Old Norse element víg "war".
Victor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late Roman
Pronounced: VIK-tər(American English) VIK-tə(British English) VEEK-TAWR(French) VEEK-tor(Romanian) VIK-tawr(Dutch)
Rating: 47% based on 21 votes
Roman name meaning "victor, conqueror" in Latin. It was common among early Christians, and was borne by several early saints and three popes. It was rare as an English name during the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the French writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who authored The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Valentine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
Rating: 69% based on 12 votes
From the Roman cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen Valens meaning "strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.

As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

Ulysses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English
Pronounced: yoo-LI-seez(Latin) yoo-LIS-eez(American English, British English) YOOL-i-seez(British English)
Rating: 38% based on 17 votes
Latin form of Odysseus. It was borne by Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), the commander of the Union forces during the American Civil War, who went on to become an American president. Irish author James Joyce used it as the title of his book Ulysses (1922), which loosely parallels Homer's epic the Odyssey.
Tristram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TRIS-trəm
Rating: 61% based on 17 votes
Medieval English form of Tristan.
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Rating: 78% based on 22 votes
Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Rating: 57% based on 18 votes
Greek form of Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the Old Testament. It relates how Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation.
Thomasin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare, Archaic), Cornish (Archaic)
Rating: 50% based on 16 votes
English vernacular form of Thomasina. This was one of the most popular English girls' names in the 16th century. It was used by Thomas Hardy for a character in his novel The Return of the Native (1878).
Thomas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θωμάς(Greek) Θωμᾶς(Ancient Greek) തോമസ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: TAHM-əs(American English) TAWM-əs(British English) TAW-MA(French) TO-mas(German) TO-mahs(Dutch) tho-MAS(Greek)
Rating: 71% based on 18 votes
Greek form of the Aramaic name תְּאוֹמָא (Teʾoma) meaning "twin". In the New Testament this is the name of an apostle. When he heard that Jesus had risen from the dead he initially doubted the story, until Jesus appeared before him and he examined his wounds himself. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.

In England the name was used by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. It was reliably among the top five most common English names for boys from the 13th to the 19th century, and it has remained consistently popular to this day.

Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).

Thisbe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Θίσβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEEZ-BEH(Classical Greek) THIZ-bee(English) TEES-beh(Latin)
Rating: 46% based on 17 votes
From the name of an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, itself supposedly named after a nymph. In a Greek legend (the oldest surviving version appearing in Latin in Ovid's Metamorphoses) this is the name of a young woman from Babylon. Believing her to be dead, her lover Pyramus kills himself, after which she does the same to herself. The splashes of blood from their suicides is the reason mulberry fruit are red.
Theodosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδοσία(Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-O-DO-SEE-A(Classical Greek) thee-ə-DO-see-ə(English) thee-ə-DO-shə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of Theodosius.
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr(American English) THEE-ə-daw(British English)
Rating: 68% based on 21 votes
From the Greek name Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant "gift of god" from Greek θεός (theos) meaning "god" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.

This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).

Thelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEHL-mə
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. It was a rare name when British author Marie Corelli used it for the Norwegian heroine of her novel Thelma (1887). The name became popular around the end of the 19th century after the novel was published. It is sometimes claimed to derive from Greek θέλημα (thelema) meaning "will", though this seems unlikely.
Tempest
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEHM-pist
Rating: 52% based on 17 votes
From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).
Temperance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHM-prəns, TEHM-pər-əns
Rating: 58% based on 11 votes
From the English word meaning "moderation" or "restraint". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century. It experienced a modest revival in the United States during the run of the television series Bones (2005-2017), in which the main character bears this name.
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Means "gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the New Testament was a woman restored to life by Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as Dorcas (see Acts 9:36). As an English name, Tabitha became common after the Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Sybil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Variant of Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Rating: 64% based on 19 votes
Form of Susanna found in some versions of the Old Testament.
Stanley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAN-lee
Rating: 51% based on 17 votes
From an English surname meaning "stone clearing" (Old English stan "stone" and leah "woodland, clearing"). A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).
Sparrow
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
Rating: 39% based on 15 votes
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Síofra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEE-frə
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Means "elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
Rating: 60% based on 19 votes
The name of a companion of Saint Paul in the New Testament. It is probably a short form of Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that Silvanus and Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name Saul (via Aramaic).

As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).

Shoshanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
Biblical Hebrew form of Susanna.
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Rating: 70% based on 21 votes
From the Latin name Sebastianus, which meant "from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition, Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.

Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.

Schuyler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKIE-lər(American English) SKIE-lə(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 18 votes
From a Dutch surname meaning "scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) [1].
Saturnina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Spanish
Pronounced: sa-toor-NEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 13 votes
Feminine form of Saturninus. This was the name of a legendary saint who was supposedly martyred in northern France.
Samson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English, French, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: שִׁמְשׁוֹן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SAM-sən(English) SAHN-SAWN(French)
Rating: 49% based on 17 votes
From the Hebrew name שִׁמְשׁוֹן (Shimshon), derived from שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) meaning "sun". Samson was an Old Testament hero granted exceptional strength by God. His mistress Delilah betrayed him and cut his hair, stripping him of his power. Thus he was captured by the Philistines, blinded, and brought to their temple. However, in a final act of strength, he pulled down the pillars of the temple upon himself and his captors.

This name was known among the Normans due to the Welsh bishop Saint Samson, who founded monasteries in Brittany and Normandy in the 6th century. In his case, the name may have been a translation of his true Celtic name. As an English name, Samson was common during the Middle Ages, having been introduced by the Normans. It is currently most common in Africa, especially in countries that have an British colonial past.

Ruth 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רוּת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOTH(English) ROOT(German, Spanish)
Rating: 67% based on 20 votes
From the Hebrew name רוּת (Ruṯ), probably derived from the word רְעוּת (reʿuṯ) meaning "female friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married Boaz. She was an ancestor of King David.

As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

Rupert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: ROO-pehrt(German) ROO-pərt(American English) ROO-pət(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 20 votes
German variant form of Robert, from the Old German variant Hrodperht. It was borne by the 7th century Saint Rupert of Salzburg and the 8th-century Saint Rupert of Bingen. The military commander Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a nephew of Charles I, introduced this name to England in the 17th century. A notable bearer is the Australian-American businessman Rupert Murdoch (1931-).
Rufus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, Biblical
Pronounced: ROO-foos(Latin) ROO-fəs(English)
Rating: 59% based on 18 votes
Roman cognomen meaning "red-haired" in Latin. Several early saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of Paul's epistles in the New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the Protestant Reformation.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 77% based on 21 votes
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).
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 80% based on 23 votes
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind(American English) RAWZ-ə-lind(British English)
Rating: 71% based on 22 votes
Derived from the Old German elements hros meaning "horse" and lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy As You Like It (1599).
Romilly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name Romilius.
Romilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
Means "famous battle" from the Germanic elements hruom "fame, glory" and hilt "battle".
Romana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Late Roman
Pronounced: ro-MA-na(Italian) RO-ma-na(Czech) RAW-ma-na(Slovak)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of Romanus (see Roman).
Roman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovene, Croatian, Estonian, German, English
Other Scripts: Роман(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ru-MAN(Russian) RAW-man(Polish, Slovak) RO-man(Czech, German) RO-mən(English)
Rating: 66% based on 21 votes
From the Late Latin name Romanus meaning "Roman". This name was borne by several early saints including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen, as well as medieval rulers of Bulgaria, Kyiv and Moldavia.
Roger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: RAHJ-ər(American English) RAWJ-ə(British English) RAW-ZHEH(French) roo-ZHEH(Catalan) RO-gu(German) ro-ZHEH(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
From the Germanic name Hrodger meaning "famous spear", derived from the elements hruod "fame" and ger "spear". The Normans brought this name to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Hroðgar (the name of the Danish king in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf). It was a common name in England during the Middle Ages. By the 18th century it was rare, but it was revived in following years. The name was borne by the Norman lords Roger I, who conquered Sicily in the 11th century, and his son Roger II, who ruled Sicily as a king.

This name was very popular in France in the first half of the 20th century. In the English-speaking world it was popular especially from the 1930s to the 50s. Famous bearers include British actor Roger Moore (1927-2017) and Swiss tennis player Roger Federer (1981-).

Roberta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: rə-BUR-tə(American English) rə-BU-tə(British English) ro-BEHR-ta(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 47% based on 19 votes
Feminine form of Robert.
Robert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Catalan, Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: Роберт(Russian)
Pronounced: RAHB-ərt(American English) RAWB-ət(British English) RAW-BEHR(French) RO-beht(Swedish) RO-behrt(German, Finnish, Czech) RO-bərt(Dutch) RAW-bərt(Dutch) RAW-behrt(Polish) RO-byirt(Russian) roo-BEHRT(Catalan)
Rating: 60% based on 20 votes
From the Germanic name Hrodebert meaning "bright fame", derived from the elements hruod "fame" and beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English cognate Hreodbeorht. It has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century. In the United States it was the most popular name for boys between 1924 and 1939 (and again in 1953).

This name has been borne by two kings of the Franks, two dukes of Normandy, and three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce who restored the independence of Scotland from England in the 14th century. Several saints have also had the name, the earliest known as Saint Rupert, from an Old German variant. The author Robert Browning (1812-1889) and poets Robert Burns (1759-1796) and Robert Frost (1874-1963) are famous literary namesakes. Other bearers include Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), the commander of the Confederate army during the American Civil War, and American actors Robert Redford (1936-), Robert De Niro (1943-) and Robert Downey Jr. (1965-).

Ridley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RID-lee
Rating: 51% based on 18 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from various place names meaning either "reed clearing" or "stripped clearing" in Old English.
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 67% based on 23 votes
From Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning "ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading Normans.
Reynard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: REHN-ərd(American English) RAY-nahrd(American English) REHN-əd(British English) RAY-nahd(British English)
Rating: 36% based on 17 votes
From the Germanic name Raginhard, composed of the elements regin "advice, counsel, decision" and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". The Normans brought it to England in the form Reinard, though it never became very common there. In medieval fables the name was borne by the sly hero Reynard the Fox (with the result that renard has become a French word meaning "fox").
Rex
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REHKS
Rating: 45% based on 17 votes
From Latin rex meaning "king". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Means "behold, a son" in Hebrew, derived from רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and בֵּן (ben) meaning "son". In the Old Testament he is the eldest son of Jacob and Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the Protestant Reformation.
Renard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: RU-NAR
Rating: 41% based on 15 votes
French form of Reynard. Because of the medieval character Reynard the Fox, renard became a French word meaning "fox".
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 61% based on 17 votes
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.
Raphael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Biblical
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל, רְפָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: RA-fa-ehl(German) RAF-ee-əl(English) RAF-ay-ehl(English) rah-fie-EHL(English)
Rating: 65% based on 18 votes
From the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning "God heals", from the roots רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named Azarias and accompanies Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in John 5:4.

This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.

Raoul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: RA-OOL
Rating: 41% based on 17 votes
French form of Radulf (see Ralph).
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 19 votes
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.
Raleigh
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAW-lee, RAH-lee
Rating: 41% based on 17 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning either "red clearing" or "roe deer clearing" in Old English. A city in North Carolina bears this name, after the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618).
Quinn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 54% based on 19 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series Glee.
Quincey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWIN-see
Rating: 46% based on 16 votes
Variant of Quincy.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
Rating: 63% based on 17 votes
French form of the Roman name Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Prudence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: PROO-dəns(English) PRUY-DAHNS(French)
Rating: 48% based on 16 votes
Medieval English form of Prudentia, the feminine form of Prudentius. In France it is both the feminine form and a rare masculine form. In England it was used during the Middle Ages and was revived in the 17th century by the Puritans, in part from the English word prudence, ultimately of the same source.
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee(American English) PAWP-ee(British English)
Rating: 59% based on 18 votes
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Piper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PIE-pər(American English) PIE-pə(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
From an English surname that was originally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute). It was popularized as a given name by a character from the television series Charmed, which debuted in 1998 [1].
Phineas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פִּינְחָס(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 53% based on 19 votes
Variant of Phinehas used in some English versions of the Old Testament.
Philomena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλουμένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-nə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 18 votes
From Greek Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning "to be loved", an inflection of φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word φιλουμένη, not a name.
Philippa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), German
Pronounced: FI-li-pə(British English)
Rating: 77% based on 21 votes
Latinate feminine form of Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.
Petrova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature
Rating: 45% based on 16 votes
Russian patronymic last name. Petrova is the name of one of the Fossil sisters in the book (and movie) 'Ballet Shoes' by Noel Streatfeild.
Persis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Περσίς(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Greek name meaning "Persian woman". This is the name of a woman mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament.
Percy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PUR-see(American English) PU-see(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a Norman town Perci, which was itself perhaps derived from a Gaulish given name that was Latinized as Persius. The surname was borne by a noble English family, and it first used as a given name in their honour. A famous bearer was Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), an English romantic poet whose works include Adonais and Ozymandias. This name can also be used as a short form of Percival.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 64% based on 23 votes
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.

Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Rating: 68% based on 16 votes
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(American English) AWT-o(British English) OT-to(Finnish)
Rating: 61% based on 21 votes
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).
Oskar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Basque
Pronounced: AWS-kar(German, Swedish, Polish) OS-kar(Basque)
Rating: 71% based on 17 votes
Form of Oscar in several languages. A famous bearer was Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), who is credited for saved over 1,000 Polish Jews during World War II.
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 74% based on 22 votes
Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Rating: 59% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of Olympos.
Olwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: OL-wehn(English)
Rating: 42% based on 15 votes
Means "white footprint" from Welsh ol "footprint, track" and gwen "white, blessed". In the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen she was a beautiful maiden, the lover of Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry.
Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(American English) AWL-iv(British English) AW-LEEV(French)
Rating: 62% based on 17 votes
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Olga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ольга(Russian, Ukrainian) Олга(Serbian, Bulgarian) Όλγα(Greek)
Pronounced: OL-gə(Russian) AWL-ga(Polish, German) AWL-ka(Icelandic) OL-gaw(Hungarian) OL-gha(Spanish) OL-ga(Czech)
Rating: 44% based on 17 votes
Russian form of the Old Norse name Helga. The 10th-century Saint Olga was the wife of Igor I, the ruler of Kievan Rus (a state based around the city of Kyiv). Like her husband she was probably a Varangian, who were Norse people who settled in Eastern Europe beginning in the 9th century. Following Igor's death she ruled as regent for her son Svyatoslav for 18 years. After she was baptized in Constantinople she attempted to convert her subjects to Christianity, though this goal was only achieved by her grandson Vladimir.
Oleander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: AW-lee-an-der(Greek)
Rating: 42% based on 15 votes
The name Oleander originated as an Greek name. In Greek, the name Oleander means "an evergreen tree."
The origin of the name was said to have come from a young man whose ardour to his Lady Love ended in a tragedy. The young man was named Leander, and his precious lady longing for his love shouting with such forlorn “O Leander!”, “O Leander!” in the banks, until finally he was found. And clasped in his hands were sweet flowers, who have become a symbol of everlasting love, known as oleanders.


Possibly taken from the plant family, Nerium oleander (flowering shrub known as oleanders), Cascabela thevetia (yellow oleander), Acacia neriifolia (oleander wattle); or a species of moth, Daphnis nerii (oleander hawk-moth).


In the complex language of love practiced during the time of Queen Victoria, the Oleander flower means caution.


A diminutive use of Oleander could be Ollie, Lee, Lee-Ann, or Anders.

Nora 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English) NO-ra(German, Dutch, Spanish)
Rating: 63% based on 18 votes
Short form of Honora or Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play A Doll's House (1879).
Noor 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: NOR
Rating: 54% based on 14 votes
Dutch short form of Eleonora.
Nikita 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Никита(Russian) Нікіта(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nyi-KYEE-tə(Russian)
Rating: 60% based on 7 votes
Russian form of Niketas. This form is also used in Ukrainian and Belarusian alongside the more traditional forms Mykyta and Mikita. A notable bearer was the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971).
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 72% based on 19 votes
From the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people", derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.

Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.

Nerissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: nə-RIS-ə(English)
Rating: 61% based on 16 votes
Created by Shakespeare for a character in his play The Merchant of Venice (1596). He possibly took it from Greek Νηρηΐς (Nereis) meaning "nymph, sea sprite", ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god Nereus, who supposedly fathered them.
Nereida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: neh-RAY-dha
Rating: 72% based on 10 votes
Derived from Greek Νηρηΐδες (Nereides) meaning "nymphs, sea sprites", ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god Nereus, who supposedly fathered them.
Nephele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νεφέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-PEH-LEH(Classical Greek) NEHF-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 63% based on 16 votes
From Greek νέφος (nephos) meaning "cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Rating: 58% based on 17 votes
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.
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Rating: 66% based on 18 votes
Variant of Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling Nathanael is found in most versions of the New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Narcissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: nahr-SIS-ə(American English) nah-SIS-ə(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of Narcissus.
Moses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מֹשֶׁה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MOZ-is(English)
Rating: 43% based on 15 votes
From the Hebrew name מֹשֶׁה (Moshe), which is most likely derived from Egyptian mes meaning "son". The meaning suggested in the Old Testament of "drew out" from Hebrew מָשָׁה (masha) is probably an invented etymology (see Exodus 2:10).

The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.

In England, this name has been commonly used by Christians since the Protestant Reformation, though it had long been popular among Jews.

Morgane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAWR-GAN
Rating: 49% based on 14 votes
French, either a form of Morgan 2 or a feminine form of Morgan 1.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(American English) MAW-gən(British English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 63% based on 18 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Montgomery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mənt-GUM-ə-ree, mənt-GUM-ree
Rating: 49% based on 14 votes
From an English surname meaning "Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Moira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: MOI-rə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 16 votes
Anglicized form of Máire. It also coincides with Greek Μοῖρα (Moira) meaning "fate, destiny", the singular of Μοῖραι, the Greek name for the Fates. They were the three female personifications of destiny in Greek mythology.
Misha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Миша(Russian)
Pronounced: MYEE-shə
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Russian diminutive of Mikhail.
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Rating: 65% based on 20 votes
Form of Mary used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.
Miranda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: mi-RAN-də(English) mee-RAHN-da(Dutch)
Rating: 72% based on 20 votes
Derived from Latin mirandus meaning "admirable, worthy of being admired". The name was created by Shakespeare for the heroine in his play The Tempest (1611), in which Miranda and her father Prospero are stranded on an island. It did not become a common English given name until the 20th century. This is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus, named after the Shakespearean character.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(American English) mi-NU-və(British English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Rating: 63% based on 16 votes
Possibly derived from Latin mens meaning "intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Millicent
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-i-sənt
Rating: 64% based on 18 votes
From the Gothic name *Amalaswinþa, composed of the elements amals "unceasing, vigorous, brave" and swinþs "strong". Amalaswintha was a 6th-century queen of the Ostrogoths. The Normans introduced this name to England in the form Melisent or Melisende. Melisende was a 12th-century queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Baldwin II.
Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 61% based on 17 votes
From the Germanic name Milo, introduced by the Normans to England in the form Miles. The meaning is not known for certain. It is possibly connected to the Slavic name element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear". From an early date it was associated with Latin miles meaning "soldier".

A notable bearer was the American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991). In Scotland this name was historically used to Anglicize Maoilios.

Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Rating: 51% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of Maria and Elena.
Milana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Милана(Serbian, Russian) Мілана(Belarusian, Ukrainian)
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of Milan.
Milan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: Милан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MI-lan(Czech) MEE-lan(Slovak, Serbian, Croatian) MEE-lahn(Dutch)
Rating: 48% based on 17 votes
From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. It was originally used in Czech, Slovak, and the South Slavic languages, though it has recently become popular elsewhere in Europe.

A city in Italy bears this name, though in this case it originates from Latin Mediolanum, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin meaning "middle of the plain". In some cases the city name may be an influence on the use of the given name.

Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
Rating: 65% based on 17 votes
From the Slavic element milŭ meaning "gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 17 votes
Contracted form of Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 70% based on 21 votes
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a diminutive of Mary, Margaret or Mabel.
Maximilian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: mak-see-MEE-lee-an(German) mak-sə-MIL-yən(English)
Rating: 65% based on 17 votes
From the Roman name Maximilianus, which was derived from Maximus. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (see Emiliano), whom Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.
Matthias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ματθίας, Μαθθίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as(German) MA-TYAS(French) mah-TEE-ahs(Dutch) mə-THIE-əs(English) MAT-tee-as(Latin)
Rating: 55% based on 19 votes
From Greek Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of Ματθαῖος (see Matthew). This form appears in the New Testament as the name of the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. This was also the name of kings of Hungary (spelled Mátyás in Hungarian), including Matthias I who made important reforms to the kingdom in the 15th century.
Mathilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MA-TEELD(French) ma-TIL-də(German, Dutch)
Rating: 72% based on 19 votes
Form of Matilda in several languages.
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(American English) MAH-thə(British English) MAHR-ta(Dutch) MAR-ta(German)
Rating: 54% based on 15 votes
From Aramaic מַרְתָּא (marta) meaning "the lady, the mistress", feminine form of מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the New Testament this is the name of the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.

The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).

Marla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-lə(American English) MAH-lə(British English)
Rating: 49% based on 7 votes
Variant of Marlene using the suffix la.
Marius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, French, Lithuanian
Pronounced: MA-ree-oos(Latin) MEHR-ee-əs(English) MAR-ee-əs(English) MA-ryoos(Romanian) MA-ree-uws(German) MA-ree-uys(Dutch) MA-RYUYS(French)
Rating: 56% based on 17 votes
Roman family name that was derived either from Mars, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root mas, maris meaning "male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC. Since the start of the Christian era, it has occasionally been used as a masculine form of Maria.
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 67% based on 19 votes
Feminine form of Marinus. This name was borne by a few early saints. This is also the name by which Saint Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Marguerite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GU-REET
Rating: 58% based on 18 votes
French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 62% based on 16 votes
French short form of Margaret.
Margaret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-grit(American English) MAHR-gə-rit(American English) MAH-grit(British English) MAH-gə-rit(British English)
Rating: 74% based on 23 votes
Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language. Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.

As an English name it has been very popular since the Middle Ages. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, but it declined in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of Gone with the Wind, and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-). Others include American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

Marcus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MAR-koos(Latin) MAHR-kəs(American English) MAH-kəs(British English) MAR-kuys(Swedish)
Rating: 61% based on 16 votes
Roman praenomen, or given name, that was probably derived from the name of the Roman god Mars. This was among the most popular of the Roman praenomina. Famous bearers include Marcus Tullius Cicero (known simply as Cicero), a 1st-century BC statesman and orator, Marcus Antonius (known as Mark Antony), a 1st-century BC politician, and Marcus Aurelius, a notable 2nd-century emperor. This was also the name of a pope of the 4th century. This spelling has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world, though the traditional English form Mark has been more common.
Malina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Serbian, Polish
Other Scripts: Малина(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: ma-LEE-na(Polish)
Rating: 54% based on 16 votes
Means "raspberry" in several Slavic languages.
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) mahgh-da-LEH-na(Dutch) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 66% based on 11 votes
Latinate form of Magdalene.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 69% based on 20 votes
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.
Maëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: MA-EHL(French)
Rating: 54% based on 15 votes
Feminine form of Maël.
Mabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-bəl
Rating: 62% based on 18 votes
Medieval feminine form of Amabilis. This spelling and Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's 1854 novel The Heir of Redclyffe [1], which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 70% based on 22 votes
Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
Ludvig
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: LUYD-vig(Swedish)
Rating: 50% based on 16 votes
Scandinavian form of Ludwig.
Lucius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Biblical, English
Pronounced: LOO-kee-oos(Latin) LOO-shəs(English) LOO-si-əs(English)
Rating: 67% based on 17 votes
Roman praenomen, or given name, which was derived from Latin lux "light". This was the most popular of the praenomina. Two Etruscan kings of early Rome had this name as well as several prominent later Romans, including Lucius Annaeus Seneca (known simply as Seneca), a statesman, philosopher, orator and tragedian. The name is mentioned briefly in the New Testament belonging to a Christian in Antioch. It was also borne by three popes, including the 3rd-century Saint Lucius. Despite this, the name was not regularly used in the Christian world until after the Renaissance.
Lucian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, English
Pronounced: LOO-chyan(Romanian) LOO-shən(English)
Rating: 79% based on 19 votes
Romanian and English form of Lucianus. Lucian is the usual name of Lucianus of Samosata in English.
Lowri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: LOW-ri
Rating: 33% based on 12 votes
Welsh form of Laura.
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 61% based on 16 votes
Means "little fierce one", derived from Old Irish lorcc "fierce" combined with a diminutive suffix. Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.
Llewelyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 52% based on 19 votes
Variant of Llywelyn influenced by the Welsh word llew "lion".
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
Rating: 57% based on 16 votes
From the Greek name Λίνος (Linos) meaning "flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 77% based on 21 votes
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Lillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən
Rating: 75% based on 22 votes
Probably originally a diminutive of Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of Lily, from the Latin word for "lily" lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.
Leopold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Polish
Pronounced: LEH-o-pawlt(German, Dutch) LEE-ə-pold(English) LEH-o-polt(Czech) LEH-aw-pawld(Slovak) leh-AW-pawlt(Polish)
Rating: 55% based on 18 votes
Derived from the Old German elements liut "people" and bald "bold, brave". The spelling was altered due to association with Latin leo "lion". This name was common among German royalty, first with the Babenbergs and then the Habsburgs. Saint Leopold was a 12th-century Babenberg margrave of Austria, who is now considered the patron of that country. It was also borne by two Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, as well as three kings of Belgium. Since the 19th century this name has been occasionally used in England, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's uncle, a king of Belgium, after whom she named one of her sons. It was later used by James Joyce for the main character, Leopold Bloom, in his novel Ulysses (1922).
Leonas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: LYA-aw-nus
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Lithuanian form of Leon.
Leonard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: LEHN-ərd(American English) LEHN-əd(British English) LEH-o-nahrt(Dutch) LEH-o-nart(German) leh-AW-nart(Polish)
Rating: 53% based on 18 votes
Means "brave lion", derived from the Old German elements lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of a 6th-century Frankish saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The Normans brought this name to England, where it was used steadily through the Middle Ages, becoming even more common in the 20th century.
Leolin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 43% based on 18 votes
Anglicized form of Llywelyn influenced by Latin leo "lion".
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 69% based on 23 votes
Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.

In some cases this name can be a short form of longer names that start with Leo, such as Leonard.

Lennart
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Low German, Dutch
Pronounced: LEH-nahrt(Low German, Dutch)
Rating: 34% based on 17 votes
Swedish and Low German form of Leonard.
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
László
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: LAS-lo
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Hungarian form of Vladislav. Saint László was an 11th-century king of Hungary, looked upon as the embodiment of Christian virtue and bravery.
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK(American English) LAHK(British English)
Rating: 65% based on 18 votes
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Rating: 68% based on 19 votes
Anglicized form of Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Kit
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Rating: 71% based on 19 votes
Diminutive of Christopher or Katherine. A notable bearer was Kit Carson (1809-1868), an American frontiersman and explorer.
Kinneret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כִּנֶּרֶת(Hebrew)
Rating: 50% based on 17 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew כִּנֶּרֶת (see Kineret).
Kingsley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KINGZ-lee
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's wood" in Old English. This name may have received a minor boost in popularity after the release of the 2007 movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, featuring the character Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Rating: 66% based on 16 votes
Anglicized form of Cillian, also used in France.
Keziah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-ZIE-ə(English)
Rating: 53% based on 18 votes
From the Hebrew name קְצִיעָה (Qetsiʿa) meaning "cassia, cinnamon", from the name of the spice tree. In the Old Testament she is a daughter of Job.
Keturah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְטוּרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-TOO-rə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 18 votes
From the Hebrew name קְטוּרָה (Qeṭura) meaning "incense". In the Old Testament she is Abraham's wife after Sarah dies.
Kerensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 58% based on 18 votes
Means "love" in Cornish.
Katya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Катя(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: KA-tyə(Russian)
Rating: 57% based on 19 votes
Russian diminutive of Yekaterina.
Katsiaryna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кацярына(Belarusian)
Pronounced: ka-tsya-RI-na
Rating: 41% based on 15 votes
Belarusian form of Katherine.
Katharine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English) ka-ta-REE-nə(German)
Rating: 73% based on 23 votes
English variant of Katherine and German variant of Katharina. A famous bearer was American actress Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003).
Kasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KAHS-pər(Dutch) KAS-bu(Danish) KAHS-pehr(Swedish)
Rating: 70% based on 17 votes
Dutch and Scandinavian form of Jasper.
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Rating: 71% based on 17 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning "young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman mythology Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 20 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
Rating: 80% based on 21 votes
From the Roman name Iulianus, which was derived from Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from Juliana, eventually becoming Gillian).
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 67% based on 19 votes
Variant of Judas. It is used in many English versions of the New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world, Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the Protestant Reformation.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 73% based on 23 votes
English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 64% based on 18 votes
From the Hebrew name יוֹנָה (Yona) meaning "dove". This was the name of a prophet swallowed by a fish, as told in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach in Nineveh, but instead fled by boat. After being caught in a storm, the other sailors threw Jonah overboard, at which point he was swallowed. He emerged from the fish alive and repentant three days later.

Jonah's story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the Hellenized form Jonas was occasionally used in England. The form Jonah did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Joan 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JON
Rating: 49% based on 19 votes
Medieval English form of Johanne, an Old French form of Iohanna (see Joanna). This was the usual English feminine form of John in the Middle Ages, but it was surpassed in popularity by Jane in the 17th century. It again became quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, entering the top ten names for both the United States and the United Kingdom, though it has since faded.

This name (in various spellings) has been common among European royalty, being borne by ruling queens of Naples, Navarre and Castile. Another famous bearer was Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France (where she is known as Jeanne d'Arc). She was a 15th-century peasant girl who, after claiming she heard messages from God, was given leadership of the French army. She defeated the English in the battle of Orléans but was eventually captured and burned at the stake.

Other notable bearers include the actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and the comedian Joan Rivers (1933-2014), both Americans.

Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 74% based on 23 votes
From Latin Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning "treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Janelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEHL
Rating: 39% based on 7 votes
Diminutive of Jane. It has been in use only since the 20th century.
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Rating: 72% based on 24 votes
Medieval English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John). This became the most common feminine form of John in the 17th century, surpassing Joan. In the first half of the 20th century Joan once again overtook Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.

Jana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, Latvian
Pronounced: YA-na(Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German) ZHA-nə(Catalan)
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of Jan 1.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 75% based on 24 votes
English form of the Late Latin name Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form Iacobus, from the Hebrew name Yaʿaqov (see Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the New Testament. The first was Saint James the Greater, the apostle John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of Jesus.

This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.

Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.

Ivor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English (British)
Pronounced: IE-və(British English) IE-vər(American English)
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
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).
Ivan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, English, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian
Other Scripts: Иван(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Іван(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: i-VAN(Russian) ee-VAN(Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Romanian) yee-VAN(Belarusian) EE-van(Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Slovak, Slovene, Italian) I-van(Czech) IE-vən(English) ee-VUN(Portuguese)
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
Newer form of the Old Church Slavic name Іѡаннъ (Ioannŭ), which was derived from Greek Ioannes (see John). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote Fathers and Sons, and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
Israel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Jewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: יִשְׂרָאֵל(Hebrew) Ἰσραήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IZ-ray-əl(English) IZ-ree-əl(English) eez-ra-EHL(Spanish)
Rating: 43% based on 22 votes
From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) meaning "God contends", from the roots שָׂרָה (sara) meaning "to contend, to fight" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Means "nocturnal journey" in Arabic, derived from سرى (sarā) meaning "to travel by night". According to Islamic tradition, the Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet Muhammad.
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 72% based on 10 votes
German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 71% based on 22 votes
Variant of Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Irena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Ирена(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ee-REH-na(Polish) I-reh-na(Czech) EE-reh-na(Slovak) i-ryeh-NU(Lithuanian)
Rating: 65% based on 22 votes
Form of Irene in several languages.
Iphigeneia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰφιγένεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-PEE-GEH-NEH-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek ἴφιος (iphios) meaning "strong, stout" and γενής (genes) meaning "born". In Greek myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King Agamemnon. When her father offended Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.

In Christian tradition this was also the name of a legendary early saint, the daughter of an Ethiopian king Egippus.

Innogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 38% based on 18 votes
Probably derived from Old Irish ingen meaning "daughter" or "girl" (see Imogen).
This was the form of Ignoge used by Milton. (According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Ignoge was the name of a princess who was given in marriage by her father, King Pandrasus of Greece, to the Trojan exile Brutus in exchange for Pandrasus' freedom. In Britain, she became the mother of Locrine, Albanact and Humber.)
The spelling Inogen was used by Richard Hole in his prose Arthur (1789), where the name belonged to the daughter of Merlin, later the wife of Arthur.
Ingrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ING-rid(Swedish) ING-ri(Norwegian) ING-grit(German) ING-greet(German) ING-ghrit(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 23 votes
From the Old Norse name Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god Ing combined with fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).
India
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-dee-ə(English) EEN-dya(Spanish)
Rating: 62% based on 20 votes
From the name of the country, which is itself derived from the name of the Indus River. The river's name is ultimately from Sanskrit सिन्धु (Sindhu) meaning "body of trembling water, river". India Wilkes is a character in the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell.
Imelda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: ee-MEHL-da
Rating: 52% based on 18 votes
Italian and Spanish form of Irmhild. The Blessed Imelda Lambertini was a young 14th-century nun from Bologna.
Ianto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: YAN-taw
Rating: 58% based on 16 votes
Diminutive of Ifan.
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 62% based on 18 votes
Means "violet flower", derived from Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek mythology.
Humphrey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUM-free
Rating: 31% based on 20 votes
From the Old German elements hun "bear cub" and fridu "peace". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Hunfrith, and it was regularly used through the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the American actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), who starred in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Rating: 63% based on 20 votes
Old German form of Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
Hugh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HYOO
Rating: 58% based on 20 votes
From the Germanic name Hugo, derived from Old Frankish hugi or Old High German hugu meaning "mind, thought, spirit" (Proto-Germanic *hugiz). It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of Aodh and Ùisdean.
Howard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HOW-ərd(American English) HOW-əd(British English)
Rating: 43% based on 15 votes
From an English surname that can derive from several different sources: the Anglo-Norman given name Huard, which was from the Germanic name Hughard; the Anglo-Scandinavian given name Haward, from the Old Norse name Hávarðr; or the Middle English term ewehirde meaning "ewe herder". This is the surname of a British noble family, members of which have held the title Duke of Norfolk from the 15th century to the present. A famous bearer of the given name was the American industrialist Howard Hughes (1905-1976).
Holiday
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: HAHL-i-day
Rating: 39% based on 20 votes
Transferred use of the surname Holiday.
Holden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: HOL-dən
Rating: 44% based on 20 votes
From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "deep valley" in Old English. This is the name of the main character in J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Holden Caulfield.
Hester
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: HEHS-tər(American English, Dutch) HEHS-tə(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 20 votes
Latin form of Esther. Like Esther, it has been used in England since the Protestant Reformation. Nathaniel Hawthorne used it for the heroine of his novel The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman forced to wear a red letter A on her chest after giving birth to a child out of wedlock.
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(American English) hə-MIE-ə-nee(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 23 votes
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god Hermes. In Greek myth Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. This is also the name of the wife of Leontes in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hercule
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EHR-KUYL
Rating: 40% based on 16 votes
French form of Hercules. It was used by the British writer Agatha Christie for the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, the protagonist in many of her mystery novels (debuting 1920).
Herbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Czech, Swedish, French
Pronounced: HUR-bərt(American English) HU-bət(British English) HEHR-behrt(German) HEHR-bərt(Dutch) HAR-bat(Swedish) EHR-BEHR(French)
Rating: 39% based on 19 votes
Derived from the Old German elements heri "army" and beraht "bright". It was borne by two Merovingian Frankish kings, usually called Charibert. The Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced an Old English cognate Herebeorht. In the course of the Middle Ages it became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by a few medieval saints, including a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon priest and an 11th-century archbishop of Cologne.

Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 22 votes
Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hedwig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: HEHT-vikh(German)
Rating: 50% based on 17 votes
From the Old German name Hadewig, derived from the Old German elements hadu "battle, combat" and wig "war". This was the name of a 13th-century German saint, the wife of the Polish duke Henry the Bearded. It was subsequently borne by a 14th-century Polish queen (usually known by her Polish name Jadwiga) who is now also regarded as a saint.
Hector
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Arthurian Cycle
Other Scripts: Ἕκτωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHK-tər(American English) HEHK-tə(British English) EHK-TAWR(French)
Rating: 53% based on 21 votes
Latinized form of Greek Ἕκτωρ (Hektor), which was derived from ἕκτωρ (hektor) meaning "holding fast", ultimately from ἔχω (echo) meaning "to hold, to possess". In Greek legend Hector was one of the Trojan champions who fought against the Greeks. After he killed Achilles' friend Patroclus in battle, he was himself brutally slain by Achilles, who proceeded to tie his dead body to a chariot and drag it about. This name also appears in Arthurian legends where it belongs to King Arthur's foster father.

Hector has occasionally been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, probably because of the noble character of the classical hero. It has been historically common in Scotland, where it was used as an Anglicized form of Eachann.

Hebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἥβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-BEH(Classical Greek) HEE-bee(English)
Rating: 43% based on 20 votes
Derived from Greek ἥβη (hebe) meaning "youth". In Greek mythology Hebe was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was a goddess of youth who acted as the cupbearer to the gods.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 69% based on 21 votes
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Hayden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-dən
Rating: 61% based on 20 votes
From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill". Its popularity at the end of the 20th century was due to the sound it shared with other trendy names of the time, such as Braden and Aidan.
Harriet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee-it, HEHR-ee-it
Rating: 77% based on 27 votes
English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
Harper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-pər(American English) HAH-pə(British English)
Rating: 52% based on 21 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who played or made harps (Old English hearpe). A notable bearer was the American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. It rapidly gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s, entering the American top ten for girls in 2015.
Harold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-əld, HEHR-əld
Rating: 51% based on 15 votes
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.
Hadley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAD-lee
Rating: 35% based on 19 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather field" in Old English.
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Rating: 68% based on 20 votes
Possibly means "white ring", derived from Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed" and dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle [1]. Geoffrey later used it in Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name Guendoleu by Geoffrey [3].

This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).

Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
Rating: 70% based on 19 votes
From Welsh gwen, the feminine form of gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of Gwendolen, Gwenllian and other names beginning with Gwen.
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(American English) GWIN-ə-veey(British English)
Rating: 76% based on 24 votes
From the Norman French form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar meaning "white phantom", ultimately from the old Celtic roots *windos meaning "white" (modern Welsh gwen) and *sēbros meaning "phantom, magical being" [1]. In Arthurian legend she was the beautiful wife of King Arthur. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, she was seduced by Mordred before the battle of Camlann, which led to the deaths of both Mordred and Arthur. According to the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, she engaged in an adulterous affair with Sir Lancelot.

The Cornish form of this name, Jennifer, has become popular in the English-speaking world.

Guillaume
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GEE-YOM
Rating: 36% based on 19 votes
French form of William.
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 49% based on 22 votes
Variant of Gray.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 73% based on 24 votes
From the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.

Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Rating: 60% based on 13 votes
Derived from the Old German element gisal meaning "hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.

The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.

Gisèle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
French variant of Giselle.
Giovanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jo-VAN-na
Rating: 54% based on 19 votes
Italian form of Iohanna (see Joanna), making it the feminine form of Giovanni.
Gilbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: GIL-bərt(American English) GIL-bət(British English) ZHEEL-BEHR(French) GHIL-bərt(Dutch)
Rating: 52% based on 18 votes
Means "bright pledge", derived from the Old German elements gisal "pledge, hostage" and beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it was common during the Middle Ages. It was borne by a 12th-century English saint, the founder of the religious order known as the Gilbertines.
Gideon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: גִּדְעוֹן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: GID-ee-ən(English) GHEE-deh-awn(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 22 votes
From the Hebrew name גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿon) meaning "feller, hewer", derived from גָּדַע (gaḏaʿ) meaning "to cut, to hew" [1]. Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans.
Georgiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Romanian
Pronounced: jawr-JAY-nə(American English) jawr-jee-AN-ə(American English) jaw-JAY-nə(British English) jaw-jee-AN-ə(British English)
Rating: 57% based on 19 votes
Feminine form of George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.
George
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Indian (Christian)
Other Scripts: ജോർജ്ജ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JAWRJ(American English) JAWJ(British English) JYOR-jeh(Romanian)
Rating: 65% based on 21 votes
From the Greek name Γεώργιος (Georgios), which was derived from the Greek word γεωργός (georgos) meaning "farmer, earthworker", itself derived from the elements γῆ (ge) meaning "earth" and ἔργον (ergon) meaning "work". Saint George was a 3rd-century Roman soldier from Cappadocia who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. Later legends describe his defeat of a dragon, with which he was often depicted in medieval art.

Initially Saint George was primarily revered by Eastern Christians, but returning crusaders brought stories of him to Western Europe and he became the patron of England, Portugal, Catalonia and Aragon. The name was rarely used in England until the German-born George I came to the British throne in the 18th century. Five subsequent British kings have borne the name.

Other famous bearers include two kings of Greece, the composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732-1797), and the Pacific explorer George Vancouver (1757-1798). This was also the pen name of authors George Eliot (1819-1880) and George Orwell (1903-1950), real names Mary Anne Evans and Eric Arthur Blair respectively.

This name is also used by Christians in India, notably Saint Thomas Christians in the state of Kerala in the spelling ജോർജ്ജ് (Jōrjj).

Gaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Italian
Other Scripts: Γαῖα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GIE-A(Classical Greek) GIE-ə(English) GAY-ə(English) GA-ya(Italian)
Rating: 70% based on 19 votes
From the Greek word γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of γῆ (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.
Gaëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: GA-EHL(French)
Rating: 56% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of Gaël.
Frida 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Rating: 66% based on 18 votes
Originally a short form of names containing the Old German element fridu meaning "peace" (Proto-Germanic *friþuz). A famous bearer was the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).
Frederick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FREHD-ə-rik, FREHD-rik
Rating: 75% based on 21 votes
English form of an Old German name meaning "peaceful ruler", derived from fridu "peace" and rih "ruler, king". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Notables among these rulers include the 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and crusader Frederick I Barbarossa, the 13th-century emperor and patron of the arts Frederick II, and the 18th-century Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great.

The Normans brought the name to England in the 11th century but it quickly died out. It was reintroduced by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. A famous bearer was Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American ex-slave who became a leading advocate of abolition.

Françoise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: FRAHN-SWAZ
Rating: 48% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of François.
François
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: FRAHN-SWA
Rating: 46% based on 18 votes
French form of Franciscus (see Francis). François Villon (1431-1463) was a French lyric poet. This was also the name of two kings of France.
Francis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
Rating: 74% based on 23 votes
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.

Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Rating: 70% based on 21 votes
Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century [1]. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
Florence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Rating: 65% based on 25 votes
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.

Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Rating: 64% based on 22 votes
Means "flower" in French. Saint Fleur of Issendolus (Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Fionnuala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Rating: 66% based on 14 votes
Means "white shoulder" from Old Irish finn "white, blessed" and gúala "shoulder". In Irish legend Fionnuala was one of the four children of Lir who were transformed into swans for a period of 900 years.
Fintan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FIN-tan(English)
Rating: 63% based on 19 votes
Possibly means either "white fire" or "white ancient" in Irish. According to legend this was the name of the only Irish person to survive the great flood. This name was also borne by many Irish saints.
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 65% based on 19 votes
Derived from Old Irish finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).
Finnegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FIN-ə-gən
Rating: 65% based on 19 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Fionnagáin, itself derived from the given name Fionnagán, a diminutive of Fionn. This is the surname of a relatively minor character in James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake (1939), the title of which was based on a 19th-century Irish ballad called Finnegan's Wake.
Finlay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: FIN-lee(English)
Rating: 70% based on 21 votes
Anglicized form of Fionnlagh. This spelling is more common in Scotland, though in England and Wales the variant Finley has been more popular since 2007.
Fingal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 48% based on 21 votes
Means "white stranger", derived from the Old Irish elements finn "white, blessed" and gall "foreigner, stranger". This was the name of the hero in the Scottish author James Macpherson's 1761 poem Fingal [1], which he claimed to have based on early Gaelic legends about Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Finbarr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: FIN-bahr(American English) FIN-bah(British English)
Rating: 59% based on 20 votes
Variant of Finbar.
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 25 votes
From a Roman cognomen meaning "lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned Saint Paul.

Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).

Fay
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY
Rating: 54% based on 20 votes
In part from the English word fay meaning "fairy", derived from Middle English faie meaning "magical, enchanted", ultimately (via Old French) from Latin fata meaning "the Fates". It appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's chronicles in the name of Morgan le Fay. In some cases it may be used as a short form of Faith. It has been used as a feminine given name since the 19th century.

As a rarer (but older) masculine name it is probably derived from a surname: see Fay 1 or Fay 2.

Fabienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: FA-BYEHN
Rating: 45% based on 19 votes
French feminine form of Fabianus (see Fabian).
Fabian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Polish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: FA-bee-an(German) FA-bee-ahn(Dutch) FA-byan(Polish) FAY-bee-ən(English)
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
From the Roman cognomen Fabianus, which was derived from Fabius. Saint Fabian was a 3rd-century pope.
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 25 votes
Means "help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Evelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eh-BEH-lya
Rating: 56% based on 9 votes
Elaborated form of Eva.
Eve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EEV(English)
Rating: 63% based on 24 votes
From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Ḥawwa), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (ḥawa) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (ḥaya) meaning "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion. At the urging of a serpent she ate the forbidden fruit and shared some with Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Despite this potentially negative association, the name was occasionally used by Christians during the Middle Ages. In the English-speaking world both Eve and the Latin form Eva were revived in the 19th century, with the latter being more common.

Evanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 65% based on 22 votes
Latinized form of Euanthe.
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Rating: 66% based on 21 votes
Variant of Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning "good of man", derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Roman mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Eulalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-LA-LEE
Rating: 57% based on 23 votes
French form of Eulalia.
Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish, Italian) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Rating: 62% based on 23 votes
Derived from Greek εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning "sweetly-speaking", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Eugénie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-ZHEH-NEE
Rating: 55% based on 21 votes
French form of Eugenia. This was the name of the wife of Napoleon III.
Esther
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶסְתֵר(Hebrew) Ἐσθήρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHS-tər(American English, Dutch) EHS-tə(British English) EHS-TEHR(French) ehs-TEHR(Spanish) EHS-tu(German)
Rating: 70% based on 22 votes
From the Hebrew name אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was Hadassah.

This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].

Estella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehs-TEHL-ə
Rating: 74% based on 14 votes
Latinate form of Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).
Emmett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
Rating: 67% based on 20 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a diminutive of the feminine given name Emma.
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 83% based on 23 votes
From Old French Emeline, a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element amal meaning "unceasing, vigorous, brave". The Normans introduced this name to England.
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 82% based on 22 votes
Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of Iago.
Elowen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 72% based on 20 votes
Means "elm tree" in Cornish. This is a recently coined Cornish name.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 76% based on 25 votes
From the Old French name Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil meaning "healthy, whole" and wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.

There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.

Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 72% based on 23 votes
French form of Alodia.
Ellis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: EHL-is(English)
Rating: 57% based on 19 votes
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.
Elliott
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
Rating: 74% based on 24 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a diminutive of the medieval name Elias.
Elke 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Low German, Frisian, German, Dutch
Pronounced: EHL-kə(German, Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 17 votes
Low German and Frisian diminutive of Adelheid.
Eliza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Hungarian, Georgian
Other Scripts: ელიზა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-LIE-zə(English) eh-LEE-za(Polish) EH-lee-zaw(Hungarian)
Rating: 68% based on 23 votes
Short form of Elizabeth. It was borne by the character Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (1913) and the subsequent musical adaptation My Fair Lady (1956).
Elisha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אֱלִישַׁע(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-shə(English)
Rating: 52% based on 19 votes
From the Hebrew name אֱלִישַׁע (ʾElishaʿ), a contracted form of אֱלִישׁוּעַ (ʾElishuaʿ) meaning "my God is salvation", derived from אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save, to deliver". According to the Old Testament, Elisha was a prophet and miracle worker. He was the attendant of Elijah and succeeded him after his ascension to heaven.
Elisabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: eh-LEE-za-beht(German) eh-LEE-sa-beht(Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 70% based on 24 votes
German and Dutch form of Elizabeth. It is also a variant English form, reflecting the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament.
Elin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Welsh
Pronounced: EH-lin(Swedish, Norwegian, Welsh)
Rating: 48% based on 21 votes
Scandinavian and Welsh form of Helen.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 72% based on 23 votes
From the Hebrew name אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning "my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots אֵל (ʾel) and יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by Elisha. In the New Testament, Elijah and Moses appear next to Jesus when he is transfigured.

Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.

Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish, Dutch) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Rating: 64% based on 24 votes
Form of Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Eleanora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehl-ə-NAWR-ə
Rating: 75% based on 24 votes
Latinate form of Eleanor.
Eithne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: EH-nyə(Irish)
Rating: 54% based on 18 votes
Possibly from Old Irish etne meaning "kernel, grain". In Irish mythology Eithne or Ethniu was a Fomorian and the mother of Lugh Lámfada. It was borne by several other legendary and historical figures, including a few early saints.
Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Rating: 53% based on 20 votes
Diminutive of Eilionoir, also taken to be a Gaelic form of Helen.
Eidyia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ειδυια(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 42% based on 10 votes
Derived from Greek εἶδος (eidos) meaning "to see" or "to know". In Greek mythology she was the mother of the sorceress Medea, and may have personified 'the magical power of the eye, which in Greek superstition was the source of the witch's supernatural power - strengthened by the beams of the ancestral sun.'
Eglantine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHG-lən-tien, EHG-lən-teen
Rating: 39% based on 19 votes
From the English word for the flower also known as sweetbrier. It is derived via Old French from Vulgar Latin *aquilentum meaning "prickly". It was early used as a given name (in the form Eglentyne) in Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century story The Prioress's Tale (one of The Canterbury Tales).
Edward
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-wərd(American English) EHD-wəd(British English) EHD-vart(Polish)
Rating: 61% based on 22 votes
Means "rich guard", derived from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and weard "guard". This was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings, the last being Saint Edward the Confessor shortly before the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. He was known as a just ruler, and because of his popularity his name remained in use after the conquest when most other Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. The 13th-century Plantagenet king Henry III named his son and successor after the saint, and seven subsequent kings of England were also named Edward.

This is one of the few Old English names to be used throughout Europe (in various spellings). A famous bearer was the British composer Edward Elgar (1857-1934). It was also used by author Charlotte Brontë for the character Edward Rochester, the main love interest of the title character in her novel Jane Eyre (1847).

Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Rating: 69% based on 22 votes
Means "rich protection", from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.

Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.

Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish, Dutch)
Rating: 60% based on 24 votes
From the Old English name Eadgyð, derived from the elements ead "wealth, fortune" and guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.
Edgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, German
Pronounced: EHD-gər(American English) EHD-gə(British English) EHD-GAR(French)
Rating: 50% based on 23 votes
Derived from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and gar "spear". This was the name of a 10th-century English king, Edgar the Peaceful. The name did not survive long after the Norman Conquest, but it was revived in the 18th century, in part due to a character by this name in Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), which tells of the tragic love between Edgar Ravenswood and Lucy Ashton [1]. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917), and author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950).
Dulcie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DUL-see
Rating: 38% based on 22 votes
From Latin dulcis meaning "sweet". It was used in the Middle Ages in the spellings Dowse and Duce, and was recoined in the 19th century.
Douglas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: DUG-ləs
Rating: 51% based on 24 votes
From a Scottish surname that was from the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water. It means "dark river", derived from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period. The Gaelic form is Dùghlas or Dùbhghlas. It has been used as a given name since the 16th century.
Dorothy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWR-ə-thee(American English, British English) DAWR-thee(American English)
Rating: 72% based on 25 votes
Usual English form of Dorothea. It has been in use since the 16th century. The author L. Frank Baum used it for the central character, Dorothy Gale, in his fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and several of its sequels.
Dorothea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δωροθέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: do-ro-TEH-a(German, Dutch) dawr-ə-THEE-ə(English)
Rating: 68% based on 12 votes
Feminine form of the Greek name Δωρόθεος (Dorotheos), which meant "gift of god" from Greek δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift" and θεός (theos) meaning "god". The name Theodore is composed of the same elements in reverse order. Dorothea was the name of two early saints, notably the 4th-century martyr Dorothea of Caesarea. It was also borne by the 14th-century Saint Dorothea of Montau, who was the patron saint of Prussia.
Dorian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian, Polish
Pronounced: DAWR-ee-ən(English) DAW-RYAHN(French)
Rating: 64% based on 21 votes
The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.
Dickon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Rating: 21% based on 28 votes
Variant of Dicun.
Dexter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHK-stər(American English) DEHK-stə(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 21 votes
From an occupational surname meaning "one who dyes" in Old English. It also coincides with the Latin word dexter meaning "right-handed, skilled".
Desmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: DEHZ-mənd(English)
Rating: 53% based on 21 votes
Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Rating: 62% based on 22 votes
Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Dean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEEN
Rating: 56% based on 19 votes
From a surname, see Dean 1 and Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
Dashiell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-SHEEL, DASH-il
Rating: 52% based on 22 votes
In the case of American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) it was from his mother's surname, which was possibly an Anglicized form of French de Chiel, of unknown meaning.
Darcy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see(American English) DAH-see(British English)
Rating: 62% based on 20 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 61% based on 24 votes
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.
Damon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Δάμων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAY-mən(English)
Rating: 48% based on 22 votes
Derived from Greek δαμάζω (damazo) meaning "to tame". According to Greek legend, Damon and Pythias were friends who lived on Syracuse in the 4th century BC. When Pythias was sentenced to death, he was allowed to temporarily go free on the condition that Damon take his place in prison. Pythias returned just before Damon was to be executed in his place, and the king was so impressed with their loyalty to one another that he pardoned Pythias. As an English given name, it has only been regularly used since the 20th century.
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
Rating: 58% based on 24 votes
From the Greek name Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek δαμάζω (damazo) meaning "to tame". Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Cybele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Near Eastern Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυβέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIB-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 59% based on 8 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly from Phrygian roots meaning either "stone" or "hair". This was the name of the Phrygian mother goddess associated with fertility and nature. She was later worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.
Currer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 27% based on 23 votes
Transferred use of the surname Currer.
Crispin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KRIS-pin
Rating: 61% based on 21 votes
From the Roman cognomen Crispinus, which was derived from the name Crispus. Saint Crispin was a 3rd-century Roman who was martyred with his twin brother Crispinian in Gaul. They are the patrons of shoemakers. They were popular saints in England during the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since that time.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 56% based on 19 votes
Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Rating: 65% based on 23 votes
Italian feminine form of Cosimo.
Clémence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHNS
Rating: 66% based on 20 votes
French feminine form of Clementius (see Clement).
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 80% based on 26 votes
English form of Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian) sə-SEE-lee-a(Dutch)
Rating: 71% based on 24 votes
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus meaning "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.

Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 75% based on 21 votes
Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.
Casper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KAHS-pər(Dutch) KAHS-pehr(Swedish) KAS-bu(Danish)
Rating: 74% based on 22 votes
Dutch and Scandinavian form of Jasper. This is the name of a friendly ghost in an American series of cartoons and comic books (beginning 1945).
Casimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAZ-i-mir(American English) KAZ-i-meey(British English) KA-ZEE-MEER(French)
Rating: 56% based on 20 votes
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.
Camille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-MEE(French) kə-MEEL(English)
Rating: 69% based on 22 votes
French feminine and masculine form of Camilla. It is also used in the English-speaking world, where it is generally only feminine.
Camilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: kə-MIL-ə(English) ka-MEEL-la(Italian) kah-MEEL-lah(Danish) KAH-meel-lah(Finnish) ka-MI-la(German)
Rating: 62% based on 26 votes
Feminine form of Camillus. This was the name of a legendary warrior maiden of the Volsci, as told by Virgil in the Aeneid. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Fanny Burney's novel Camilla (1796).
Calder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
Rating: 47% based on 17 votes
Transferred use of the surname Calder.
Byron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIE-rən
Rating: 48% based on 19 votes
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds" in Old English. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), the writer of Don Juan and many other works.
Bryn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN(English)
Rating: 48% based on 22 votes
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).
Bronwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: BRAWN-wehn
Rating: 69% based on 20 votes
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.
Bronte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRAHN-tee(American English) BRAWN-tee(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 19 votes
From a surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Ó Proinntigh, itself derived from the given name Proinnteach, probably from Irish bronntach meaning "generous". The Brontë sisters — Charlotte, Emily, and Anne — were 19th-century English novelists. Their father changed the spelling of the family surname from Brunty to Brontë, possibly to make it coincide with Greek βροντή meaning "thunder".
Bronagh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 37% based on 19 votes
Anglicized form of Brónach.
Bridie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 43% based on 19 votes
Anglicized diminutive of Bríd.
Branwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 51% based on 18 votes
Variant of Bramwell. A famous namesake is Patrick Branwell Brontë, brother of the famous Brontë sisters.
Bram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: BRAM(English) BRAHM(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 20 votes
Short form of Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote Dracula.
Bertram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BUR-trəm(American English) BU-trəm(British English) BEHR-tram(German)
Rating: 48% based on 23 votes
Means "bright raven", derived from the Old German element beraht "bright" combined with hram "raven". This name has long been conflated with Bertrand. The Normans introduced it to England, and Shakespeare used it in his play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Bennett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-it
Rating: 64% based on 24 votes
Medieval form of Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 73% based on 24 votes
From the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Beckett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHK-it
Rating: 59% based on 20 votes
From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English bec meaning "beak" or bekke meaning "stream, brook".
Beauregard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BO-rə-gahrd(American English) BO-rə-gahd(British English)
Rating: 33% based on 25 votes
From a French surname meaning "beautiful outlook".
Beau
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: BO
Rating: 47% based on 26 votes
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.

Basil 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAZ-əl
Rating: 51% based on 22 votes
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.
Bartholomew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: bahr-THAHL-ə-myoo(American English) bah-THAWL-ə-myoo(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 21 votes
English form of Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning "son of Talmai". In the New Testament Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.
Barnaby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: BAH-nə-bee(British English) BAHR-nə-bee(American English)
Rating: 52% based on 25 votes
English form of Barnabas, originally a medieval vernacular form.
Avery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 54% based on 22 votes
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).

Augustus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-toos(Latin) aw-GUS-təs(English) ow-GHUYS-tuys(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 21 votes
Means "exalted, venerable", derived from Latin augere meaning "to increase". Augustus was the title given to Octavian, the first Roman emperor. He was an adopted son of Julius Caesar who rose to power through a combination of military skill and political prowess. In 26 BC the senate officially gave him the name Augustus, and after his death it was used as a title for subsequent emperors. This was also the name of three kings of Poland (called August in Polish).
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
Rating: 68% based on 24 votes
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.

As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.

Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Rating: 68% based on 23 votes
Latinized form of Greek Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning "from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Rating: 54% based on 23 votes
Means "happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the Old Testament is a son of Jacob by Leah's handmaid Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in Genesis 30:13.
Asa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָסָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-sə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 7 votes
Possibly means "healer" in Hebrew. This name was borne by the third king of Judah, as told in the Old Testament.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AHR-thər(American English) AH-thə(British English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 23 votes
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *artos "bear" (Old Welsh arth) combined with *wiros "man" (Old Welsh gur) or *rīxs "king" (Old Welsh ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name Artorius.

Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.

The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).

Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 58% based on 22 votes
Feminine form of Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(American English) AH-tə-mis(British English)
Rating: 68% based on 26 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning "safe" or ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning "a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was known as Diana to the Romans.
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo(American English) AH-lo(British English)
Rating: 49% based on 24 votes
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
Archibald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: AHR-chi-bawld(American English) AH-chi-bawld(British English)
Rating: 39% based on 24 votes
Derived from the Germanic name Ercanbald, composed of the elements erkan meaning "pure, holy, genuine" and bald meaning "bold, brave". The first element was altered due to the influence of Greek names beginning with the element ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". The Normans brought this name to England. It first became common in Scotland in the Middle Ages (sometimes used to Anglicize the Gaelic name Gilleasbuig, for unknown reasons).
Araminta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 48% based on 23 votes
Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by John Vanbrugh in his comedy The Confederacy (1705). This was the original given name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 46% based on 24 votes
Means "altar of the sky" from Latin ara "altar" and coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 61% based on 24 votes
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Antoinette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AHN-TWA-NEHT
Rating: 55% based on 24 votes
Feminine diminutive of Antoine. This name was borne by Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. She was executed by guillotine.
Anouk
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, French
Pronounced: a-NOOK(Dutch)
Rating: 58% based on 21 votes
Dutch and French diminutive of Anna.
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Combination of Anne 1 and Liese.
Anna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Scottish Gaelic, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Άννα(Greek) Анна(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Church Slavic) Աննա(Armenian) Ἄννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-ə(English) AN-na(Italian, Polish, Icelandic) A-na(German, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Czech) AH-na(Dutch) AHN-nah(Norwegian, Finnish, Armenian) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan) ahn-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 67% based on 27 votes
Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Angus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ANG-gəs(English)
Rating: 44% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of Aonghus.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 66% based on 25 votes
Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Amos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עָמוֹס(Hebrew) Ἀμώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-məs(English)
Rating: 49% based on 23 votes
From Hebrew עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning "load, burden" [3]. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name, Amos has been used since the Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the Puritans.
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 56% based on 24 votes
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.
Amaury
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MAW-REE
Rating: 32% based on 24 votes
French form of Amalric.
Amara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igbo
Rating: 58% based on 23 votes
Means "grace" in Igbo.
Amaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Rating: 52% based on 24 votes
Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).
Amabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 54% based on 25 votes
Medieval feminine form of Amabilis.
Alfred
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Polish, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: AL-frəd(English) AL-FREHD(French) AL-freht(German, Polish) AHL-frət(Dutch)
Rating: 51% based on 23 votes
Means "elf counsel", derived from the Old English name Ælfræd, composed of the elements ælf "elf" and ræd "counsel, advice". Alfred the Great was a 9th-century king of Wessex who fought unceasingly against the Danes living in northeastern England. He was also a scholar, and he translated many Latin books into Old English. His fame helped to ensure the usage of this name even after the Norman Conquest, when most Old English names were replaced by Norman ones. It became rare by the end of the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 18th century.

Famous bearers include the British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), the Swedish inventor and Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), and the British-American film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980).

Alexis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Greek, Spanish, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αλέξης(Greek) Ἄλεξις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SEE(French) ə-LEHK-sis(English) a-LEHK-sees(Spanish)
Rating: 54% based on 27 votes
From the Greek name Ἄλεξις (Alexis) meaning "helper" or "defender", derived from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, to help". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Greek comic poet, and also of several saints. It is used somewhat interchangeably with the related name Ἀλέξιος or Alexius, borne by five Byzantine emperors.

In the English-speaking world this name is more commonly given to girls. This is due to the American actress Alexis Smith (1921-1993), who began appearing in movies in the early 1940s. It got a boost in popularity in the 1980s from a character on the soap opera Dynasty.

Alexei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Алексей(Russian)
Pronounced: u-lyi-KSYAY
Rating: 52% based on 26 votes
Alternate transcription of Russian Алексей (see Aleksey).
Alexandrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-LEHK-SAHN-DREEN
Rating: 58% based on 28 votes
French diminutive of Alexandra. This was the name of a Danish queen, the wife of King Christian X.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-də(British English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 72% based on 34 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

Alden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWL-dən
Rating: 55% based on 22 votes
From a surname that was derived from the Old English given name Ealdwine.
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(American English) AL-bət(British English) AL-behrt(German, Polish) AL-BEHR(French) əl-BEHRT(Catalan) ul-BYEHRT(Russian) AHL-bərt(Dutch) AL-bat(Swedish) AWL-behrt(Hungarian)
Rating: 57% based on 30 votes
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.

Albany
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 38% based on 24 votes
Agnes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Late Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἅγνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-nis(English) AK-nəs(German) AHKH-nehs(Dutch) ANG-nehs(Swedish) OW-nes(Danish)
Rating: 48% based on 27 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἅγνη (Hagne), derived from Greek ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning "chaste". Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.

As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.

Aglaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀγλαΐα(Ancient Greek) Αγλαΐα(Greek)
Pronounced: ə-GLIE-ə(English)
Rating: 39% based on 27 votes
Means "splendour, beauty" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was one of the three Graces or Χάριτες (Charites). This name was also borne by a 4th-century saint from Rome.
Agatha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀγαθή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-ə-thə(English) a-GHA-ta(Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 27 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀγαθή (Agathe), derived from Greek ἀγαθός (agathos) meaning "good". Saint Agatha was a 3rd-century martyr from Sicily who was tortured and killed after spurning the advances of a Roman official. The saint was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). The mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a famous modern bearer of this name.
Adeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DU-LEEN(French) AD-ə-lien(English)
Rating: 71% based on 28 votes
French and English form of Adelina.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 74% based on 20 votes
Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

Ada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AY-də(English) A-dha(Spanish) A-da(Dutch, Polish) AH-dah(Finnish)
Rating: 57% based on 13 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide or Adelina that begin with the element adal meaning "noble". Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.
Acton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AK-tən
Rating: 36% based on 27 votes
Transferred use of the surname Acton.
Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
Rating: 44% based on 30 votes
From the Hebrew name הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning "breath". In the Old Testament he is the second son of Adam and Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the Puritan era.
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