QuillHeart's Personal Name List
Zephaniah
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: צְפַנְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: zeh-fə-NIE-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
From the Hebrew name
צְפַנְיָה (Tsefanya) meaning
"Yahweh has hidden", derived from
צָפַן (tsafan) meaning "to hide" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Zephaniah.
Zeph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHF
Personal remark: Nn for Zephaniah
Rating: 39% based on 11 votes
Zelda 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHL-də
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
Short form of
Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the
Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called
ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).
Yrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Scandinavian
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Medieval Scandinavian form of
Jurian.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Wren
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: REHN
Rating: 53% based on 12 votes
From the English word for the small songbird. It is ultimately derived from Old English wrenna.
Wolfe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WUWLF
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Wolf, influenced by the spelling of the surname (which is also derived from the animal).
Wolf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Jewish, English (Rare), Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: װאָלףֿ(Yiddish)
Pronounced: VAWLF(German) WUWLF(English)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Short form of
Wolfgang,
Wolfram and other names containing the Old German element
wolf meaning
"wolf" (Proto-Germanic *
wulfaz). It can also be simply from the German or English word. As a Jewish name it can be considered a vernacular form of
Zeev.
William
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-yəm
Rating: 69% based on 12 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.
Will
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL
Rating: 47% based on 9 votes
Short form of
William and other names beginning with
Will. A famous bearer is American actor Will Smith (1968-), whose full name is Willard.
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: 53% based on 10 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.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Rating: 73% based on 11 votes
Means
"victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from North Africa.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
Victoire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEEK-TWAR
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Vespérine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Quebec)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Presumably a feminized form of
Vesper. It was used in 'Le Désespoir du singe' (2006-), a series of French-language graphic novels.
Verona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Personal remark: GP
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the name of the city in Italy, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Valens
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
Thracius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From a Roman name meaning "of Thracia". Thracia was a region in southeastern Europe, now divided between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Thistle
Usage: English
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Derived from Middle English thistel "thistle", this was either a nickname or a topographic name for someone who lived near a place overgrown with thistles.
Theron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θήρων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-RAWN(Classical Greek) THEHR-ən(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Themis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θέμις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) THEE-mis(English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means
"law of nature, divine law, custom" in Greek. In Greek
mythology this was the name of a Titan who presided over custom and natural law. She was often depicted blindfolded and holding a pair of scales. By
Zeus she was the mother of many deities, including the three
Μοῖραι (Moirai) and the three
Ὥραι (Horai).
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Thales
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Portuguese (Brazilian)
Other Scripts: Θαλῆς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TA-LEHS(Classical Greek) THAY-leez(English) TA-leezh(Portuguese)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". Thales of Miletus was a 6th-century BC Greek philosopher and mathematician.
Thaleia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Terpsichore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Τερψιχόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEHR-PSEE-KO-REH(Classical Greek) tərp-SIK-ə-ree(American English) təp-SIK-ə-ree(British English)
Rating: 18% based on 5 votes
Means
"enjoying the dance" from Greek
τέρψις (terpsis) meaning "delight" and
χορός (choros) meaning "dance". In Greek
mythology she was the goddess of dance and dramatic chorus, one of the nine Muses.
Teddy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHD-ee
Rating: 56% based on 10 votes
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
Symphony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIM-fə-nee
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Simply from the English word, ultimately deriving from Greek
σύμφωνος (symphonos) meaning "concordant in sound".
Steren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means "star" in Cornish.
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SAWR-kə(American English) SAWR-shə(American English) SAW-kə(British English) SAW-shə(British English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means
"radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times
[2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as
Sarah (in Ireland) and
Clara (in Scotland).
Sophronia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Late Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σωφρονία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem
Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of
Olindo.
Sonnet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SAHN-it
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Diminutive of Italian
sonetto - song, sound; little song. Also the term for a short lyric poem, usually with eight line stanzas, followed by six line
stanzas.
The sonnets of William Shakespeare, on the other hand, are typically three Sicilian quatrains, followed by an heroic couplet.
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Sollemnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Sirius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: SIR-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 40% based on 8 votes
The name of a bright star in the constellation Canis Major, derived via Latin from Greek
σείριος (seirios) meaning
"burning".
Siorus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Síofra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEE-frə
Rating: 25% based on 2 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: 65% based on 14 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).
Severus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: seh-WEH-roos(Latin) si-VIR-əs(English) SEHV-ə-rəs(English)
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Roman family name meaning
"stern" in Latin. This name was borne by several early
saints including a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Séraphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-RA-FEEN
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
Septimus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: SEHP-tee-moos
Rating: 23% based on 7 votes
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which meant
"seventh" in Latin.
Seoirse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHOR-shə
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Séamus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHEH-məs
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
Scout
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKOWT
Rating: 15% based on 8 votes
From the English word scout meaning "one who gathers information covertly", which is derived from Old French escouter "to listen". Harper Lee used this name in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).
Scarlett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit(American English) SKAH-lit(British English)
Rating: 69% based on 11 votes
From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.
Scarlet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit(American English) SKAH-lit(British English)
Rating: 62% based on 10 votes
Either a variant of
Scarlett or else from the English word for the red colour (both of the same origin, a type of cloth).
Saturnina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Spanish
Pronounced: sa-toor-NEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Saturninus. This was the name of a legendary
saint who was supposedly martyred in northern France.
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Georgian
Other Scripts: სანდრო(Georgian)
Pronounced: SAN-dro(Italian) SAHN-DRAW(Georgian)
Rating: 21% based on 7 votes
Short form of
Alessandro (Italian) or
Aleksandre (Georgian). Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was an Italian Renaissance artist, the painter of
The Birth of Venus and other famous works.
Samwise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: SAM-wiez(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means "simple, half wise" from Old English sam "half" and wis "wise". This is the name of a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954). Samwise Gamgee, often called Sam, is the faithful companion of Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring. Samwise is an English-like translation of his true hobbit name Banazîr.
Rupert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: ROO-pehrt(German) ROO-pərt(American English) ROO-pət(British English)
Rating: 63% based on 4 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-).
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
Meaning uncertain. According to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, this was the name of a daughter of the Saxon chief Hengist. It is possible (but unsupported) that Geoffrey based it on the Old English elements
hroð "fame" and
wynn "joy", or alternatively on the Old Welsh elements
ron "spear" and
gwen "white". It was popularized by Walter Scott, who used it for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819).
Rosen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Росен(Bulgarian)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Derived from Bulgarian росен (rosen) "dittany (a type of flower)". This name is borne by Rosen Plevneliev (1964-), the fourth president of Bulgaria.
Rosemonde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Rating: 76% based on 14 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.
Rosamund
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-mənd(English) RAHZ-ə-mənd(American English) RAWZ-ə-mənd(British English)
Rating: 83% based on 4 votes
Derived from the Old German elements
hros "horse" and
munt "protection". This name was borne by the wife of the Lombard king Alboin in the 6th century. The
Normans introduced it to England. It was subsequently interpreted as coming from Latin
rosa munda "pure rose" or
rosa mundi "rose of the world". This was the name of the mistress of Henry II, the king of England in the 12th century. According to legends she was murdered by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 46% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Remus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian
Pronounced: REH-moos(Latin) REE-məs(English)
Rating: 55% based on 11 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Old Latin *
yemos meaning
"twin" with the initial consonant altered due to the influence of
Romulus. In Roman legend the twin brothers
Romulus and Remus were the founders of the city of Rome. Remus was later slain by his brother.
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: 72% based on 5 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.
Quinn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 55% based on 10 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.
Quinlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWIN-lən
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Caoindealbháin, itself from the given name
Caoindealbhán (Old Irish
Caíndelbán).
Quin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 28% based on 9 votes
Posy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PO-zee
Personal remark: Nn for Josephine
Rating: 40% based on 12 votes
Diminutive of
Josephine. It can also be inspired by the English word
posy for a bunch of flowers.
Poppy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHP-ee(American English) PAWP-ee(British English)
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.
Poet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: East Frisian (Archaic)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
As an East Frisian name, Poet is a short form of names containing the element
boto "messenger", for example
Boeterich.
This name was in use as a strictly masculine name during the 1700s and 1800s.
Pippin 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: PIP-in(English)
Rating: 24% based on 8 votes
The name of a hobbit in The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien. His full given name is Peregrin, a semi-translation into English of his true hobbit name Razanur meaning "traveller".
Philander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Archaic), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φίλανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 23% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name
Φίλανδρος (Philandros) meaning
"friend of man" from Greek
φίλος (philos) meaning "friend" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). It was the name of a son of
Apollo with the nymph Acalle. In the 18th century this was coined as a word meaning "to womanize", and the name subsequently dropped out of use.
Phelim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Phelan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Persephone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεφόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEH-PO-NEH(Classical Greek) pər-SEHF-ə-nee(American English) pə-SEHF-ə-nee(British English)
Rating: 53% based on 11 votes
Meaning unknown, probably of Pre-Greek origin, but perhaps related to Greek
πέρθω (pertho) meaning "to destroy" and
φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". In Greek
myth she was the daughter of
Demeter and
Zeus. She was abducted to the underworld by
Hades, but was eventually allowed to return to the surface for part of the year. The result of her comings and goings is the changing of the seasons. With her mother she was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at the city of Eleusis near Athens.
Perrin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Archaic), Medieval English, Romani, Guernésiais
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Peregrine
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ə-grin
Rating: 61% based on 9 votes
From the Late Latin name
Peregrinus, which meant
"traveller". This was the name of several early
saints.
Peredur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: peh-REH-dir(Welsh)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Meaning uncertain. It possibly means
"hard spears" from Welsh
peri "spears" and
dur "hard, steel"
[1]. In early Welsh poetry and histories, the brothers Peredur and Gwrgi were chieftains in Cumbria who defeated
Gwenddoleu at the Battle of Arfderydd. This name was later used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Latin form
Peredurus for an early (fictitious) king of Britain. Entering into Arthurian romance, Peredur is an aspiring knight in the 14th-century Welsh tale
Peredur son of Efrawg (an adaptation or parallel of Chrétien de Troyes' hero
Percival).
Percy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PUR-see(American English) PU-see(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 11 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.
Percival
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: PUR-si-vəl(American English) PU-si-vəl(British English)
Personal remark: Nn Percy.
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
Created by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem
Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien may have derived the name from Old French
perce val "pierce the valley", or he may have based it loosely on the Welsh name
Peredur [1]. In the poem Perceval is a boy from Wales who hopes to become a knight under King
Arthur. Setting out to prove himself, he eventually comes to the castle of the Fisher King and is given a glimpse of the Grail.
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: 65% based on 11 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.
Parthenope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παρθενόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: pahr-THEHN-ə-pee(American English) pah-THEHN-ə-pee(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
Means
"maiden's voice", derived from Greek
παρθένος (parthenos) meaning "maiden, virgin" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek legend this is the name of one of the Sirens who enticed
Odysseus.
Parthenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παρθενία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: pahr-THEE-nee-ə(American English) pah-THEE-nee-ə(British English)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
παρθένος (parthenos) meaning
"maiden, virgin". This was the name of one of the mares of Marmax in Greek
mythology.
Orpheus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὀρφεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: OR-PEWS(Classical Greek) AWR-fee-əs(American English) AW-fee-əs(British English)
Rating: 36% based on 8 votes
Perhaps related to Greek
ὄρφνη (orphne) meaning
"the darkness of night". In Greek
mythology Orpheus was a poet and musician who went to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. He succeeded in charming Hades with his lyre, and he was allowed to lead his wife out of the underworld on the condition that he not look back at her until they reached the surface. Unfortunately, just before they arrived his love for her overcame his will and he glanced back at her, causing her to be drawn back to Hades.
Orion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Rating: 56% based on 11 votes
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
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: 71% based on 7 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: 40% based on 2 votes
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(American English) AWL-i-və(British English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Rating: 75% based on 13 votes
From Old French
Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin
oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse
Áleifr (see
Olaf) or Frankish
Alawar (see
Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic
La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero
Roland.
In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.
Oisín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: aw-SHEEN(Irish) o-SHEEN(English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means
"little deer", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer, stag" combined with a
diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.
Odilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1][2]
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
Derived from the Old German element
uodil meaning
"heritage" or
ot meaning
"wealth, fortune".
Saint Odilia (or Odila) was an 8th-century nun who is considered the patron saint of Alsace. She was apparently born blind but gained sight when she was baptized.
Odhrán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: UW-ran
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
From Old Irish
Odrán, derived from
odar "dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of a
saint who travelled with Saint Columba through Scotland.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Odessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 50% based on 10 votes
From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of
Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of
Odysseus.
Odelia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 58% based on 11 votes
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(American English) awk-TAY-vee-ə(British English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Nimue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: NIM-ə-way(English)
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Meaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have
Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Niamh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: NYEEYW(Irish) NYEEYV(Irish) NYEEV(Irish)
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
Means
"bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god
Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet
Oisín, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.
Neville
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: NEHV-əl(English)
Rating: 43% based on 12 votes
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "new town" in Norman French. As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Myrtle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-təl(American English) MU-təl(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Simply from the English word
myrtle for the evergreen shrub, ultimately from Greek
μύρτος (myrtos). It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
Myrthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: MEER-tə
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Morpheus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μορφεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MOR-PEWS(Classical Greek) MAWR-fee-əs(American English) MAW-fee-əs(British English)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
μορφή (morphe) meaning
"shape", referring to the shapes seen in dreams. In Greek
mythology Morpheus was the god of dreams.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(American English) MAW-gən(British English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 61% based on 12 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-).
Mona 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: MO-nə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of
Muadhnait. It is also associated with Greek
monos "one" and Leonardo da Vinci's painting the
Mona Lisa (in which case it is a contraction of Italian
ma donna meaning "my lady").
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee(American English) MAWL-ee(British English)
Rating: 68% based on 13 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Mary, now often used independently. It developed from
Malle and
Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel
Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Mirthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: MIR-tə
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Melusine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mythology
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Meaning unknown. In European folklore Melusine was a water fairy who turned into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She made her husband, Raymond of Poitou, promise that he would never see her on that day, and when he broke his word she left him forever.
Mélisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 72% based on 6 votes
French form of
Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play
Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).
May
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 64% based on 10 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.
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
Rating: 55% based on 12 votes
English form of
Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which is the
New Testament Greek form of
Mattithiah. Matthew, probably also called
Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the New Testament. He is considered a
saint in many Christian traditions. The variant
Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle.
As an English given name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. It became popular throughout the English-speaking world around the middle of the 20th century, ranked near the top of the popularity lists for boys in the 1980s and 90s. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led an expedition to Japan. Famous modern bearers include the actors Matthew Broderick (1962-), Matthew McConaughey (1969-) and Matthew Perry (1969-2023).
Matthan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ματθάν(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Matteo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-o
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
Matt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAT
Rating: 31% based on 9 votes
Short form of
Matthew. Famous bearers include American actors Matt Dillon (1964-) and Matt Damon (1970-).
Mateo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Croatian
Pronounced: ma-TEH-o(Spanish)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Spanish form of
Matthew. This form is also sometimes used in Croatia, from the Italian form
Matteo.
Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English)
Rating: 70% based on 7 votes
Usual English form of
Maria, the Latin form of the
New Testament Greek names
Μαριάμ (Mariam) and
Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of
Moses in the
Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including
"sea of bitterness",
"rebelliousness", and
"wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from
mry "beloved" or
mr "love".
This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.
Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.
This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.
The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.
Marie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: MA-REE(French) MA-ri-yeh(Czech) ma-REE(German, Dutch) mə-REE(English)
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
French and Czech form of
Maria. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.
A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.
In France it is occasionally used as a masculine name in pairings such as Jean-Marie.
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: 64% based on 11 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.
Máire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: MA-ryə
Rating: 31% based on 8 votes
Irish form of
Maria (see
Mary). The form
Muire is used to refer to the Virgin Mary.
Mae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY
Rating: 67% based on 13 votes
Variant of
May. A famous bearer was the American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 70% based on 11 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek
λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 12 votes
The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).
Lynne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN
Rating: 33% based on 9 votes
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 12 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.
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
Rating: 49% based on 10 votes
English form of Latin
Lucas, from the Greek name
Λουκᾶς (Loukas), probably a shortened form of
Λουκανός (Loukanos) meaning
"from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy. Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the
New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a
saint by many Christian denominations.
Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 74% based on 15 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Lucanus, which was derived from the name of the city of Luca in Tuscany (modern Lucca). Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, commonly called Lucan, was a 1st-century Roman poet.
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 38% based on 4 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.
Linnet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: li-NEHT, LIN-it
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Either a variant of
Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.
Linnéa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a
Rating: 44% based on 5 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.
Link
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Short form of
Lincoln. This is the name of the hero in the
Legend of Zelda video game series (first appearing in 1986), derived from the English word
link meaning
"link, connection". He is called
リンク (Rinku) in Japanese.
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 10 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.
Laur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Lark
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK(American English) LAHK(British English)
Rating: 33% based on 7 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: 49% based on 8 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.
Keturah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְטוּרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-TOO-rə(English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 12 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 78% based on 13 votes
Joseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Ancient Hebrew) ജോസഫ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JO-sif(American English) JO-zif(British English) ZHO-ZEHF(French) YO-zehf(German)
Rating: 61% based on 9 votes
From
Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek
Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name
יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning
"he will add", from the root
יָסַף (yasaf) meaning "to add, to increase". In the
Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of
Jacob and the first with his wife
Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, belonging to
Saint Joseph the husband of
Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.
In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.
This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 44% based on 8 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.
Joel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-əl(English) JOL(English) kho-EHL(Spanish) ZHWEHL(European Portuguese) zho-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) YO-ehl(Swedish, Finnish)
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
יוֹאֵל (Yoʾel) meaning
"Yahweh is God", from the elements
יוֹ (yo) and
אֵל (ʾel), both referring to the Hebrew God. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel, which describes a plague of locusts. In England, it was first used as a Christian name after the
Protestant Reformation.
Jethro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יִתְרוֹ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JETH-ro(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִתְרוֹ (Yiṯro), which was derived from the Hebrew word
יֶתֶר (yeṯer) meaning
"abundance" [1]. According to the
Old Testament, Jethro was a Midianite priest who sheltered
Moses when he fled Egypt. He was the father of
Zipporah, who became Moses's wife. A famous bearer of the name was Jethro Tull (1674-1741), an English inventor and agriculturist.
Jeremy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JEHR-ə-mee(English) JEHR-mee(American English)
Rating: 53% based on 9 votes
English form of
Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the
New Testament.
Jenny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Dutch, French, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHN-ee(English) YEH-nuy(Swedish) YEH-nee(German, Dutch) JEH-nee(German, Dutch) GYEH-nee(Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 9 votes
Originally a medieval English
diminutive of
Jane. Since the middle of the 20th century it has been primarily considered a diminutive of
Jennifer.
Jenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French
Pronounced: JEHN-ə(English) YEHN-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 52% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series
Dallas [1].
Jean 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: JEEN
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Medieval English variant of
Jehanne (see
Jane). It was common in England and Scotland during the Middle Ages, but eventually became rare in England. It was reintroduced to the English-speaking world from Scotland in the 19th century.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 12 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.
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Rating: 73% based on 6 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.
Jamie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish [1], English
Pronounced: JAY-mee
Rating: 38% based on 8 votes
Originally a Lowland Scots
diminutive of
James. Since the late 19th century it has also been used as a feminine form.
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 72% based on 10 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.
Ivo 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Czech, Italian, Portuguese, Estonian, Latvian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EE-vo(German, Dutch, Italian) EE-fo(German) I-vo(Czech) EE-voo(Portuguese)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Germanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the element
iwa meaning
"yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a
cognate Celtic element
[2]. This was the name of
saints (who are also commonly known as Saint
Yves or
Ives), hailing from Cornwall, France, and Brittany.
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Rating: 27% based on 3 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.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Isaure
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Isaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: ee-SOW-ra(Spanish)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Late Latin name meaning "from Isauria". Isauria was the name of a region in Asia Minor.
Irenaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εἰρηναῖος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Εἰρηναῖος (Eirenaios), which meant
"peaceful".
Saint Irenaeus was an early bishop of Lyons for whom the Greek island of Santorini is named.
Iphigeneia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰφιγένεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-PEE-GEH-NEH-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 2 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.
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 63% based on 7 votes
The name of the daughter of King
Cymbeline in the play
Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named
Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended.
Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic
inghean meaning
"maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.
Ilia
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian, Russian, Bulgarian, Belarusian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: ილია(Georgian) Илья(Russian) Илия(Bulgarian) Ілья(Belarusian) Илїа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: EE-LEE-AH(Georgian) i-LYA(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Georgian form of
Elijah. It is also an alternate transcription of Russian
Илья or Belarusian
Ілья (see
Ilya) or Bulgarian
Илия (see
Iliya).
Icarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἴκαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IK-ə-rəs(English)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
From the Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros), of unknown meaning. In Greek
myth Icarus was the son of
Daedalus, locked with his father inside the Labyrinth by
Minos. They escaped from the maze using wings devised from wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax melted, plunging him to his death.
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 43% based on 6 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.
Iago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Galician, Portuguese
Pronounced: YA-gaw(Welsh) ee-AH-go(English) YA-ghuw(Galician)
Rating: 37% based on 9 votes
Welsh and Galician form of
Iacobus (see
James). This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603).
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: 73% based on 10 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.
Holly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-ee(American English) HAWL-ee(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 12 votes
From the English word for the holly tree, ultimately derived from Old English holen. Holly Golightly is the main character in the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) by Truman Capote.
Hestia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑστία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHS-TEE-A(Classical Greek) HEHS-tee-ə(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
ἑστία (hestia) meaning
"hearth, fireside". In Greek
mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.
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: 64% based on 11 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.
Herminia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ehr-MEE-nya(Spanish)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Hermes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], Spanish
Other Scripts: Ἑρμῆς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEHS(Classical Greek) HUR-meez(American English) HU-meez(British English) EHR-mehs(Spanish)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Probably from Greek
ἕρμα (herma) meaning
"cairn, pile of stones, boundary marker". Hermes was a Greek god associated with speed and good luck, who served as a messenger to
Zeus and the other gods. He was also the patron of travellers, writers, athletes, merchants, thieves and orators.
This was also used as a personal name, being borne for example by a 1st-century saint and martyr.
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 80% based on 12 votes
From the Germanic name
Heimirich meaning
"home ruler", composed of the elements
heim "home" and
rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled
Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like
Haganrich, in which the first element is
hag "enclosure".
Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.
The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).
Helias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Latin
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Latin form of
Elijah used in some versions of the Vulgate.
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: 76% based on 12 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Hefina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: heh-VEE-na
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 58% based on 10 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.
Hawthorne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Harry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, German
Pronounced: HAR-ee(English) HEHR-ee(English) HAH-ree(Dutch) HA-ree(German)
Rating: 74% based on 7 votes
Medieval English form of
Henry. In modern times it is used as a
diminutive of both
Henry and names beginning with
Har. Famous bearers include the American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), who was named after his uncle Harrison, and the British royal Prince Harry (1984-), who is actually named Henry. It is also the name of the boy wizard in J. K. Rowling's
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Harmonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἁρμονία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HAR-MO-NEE-A(Classical Greek) hahr-MO-nee-ə(American English) hah-MO-nee-ə(British English)
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Means
"harmony, agreement" in Greek. She was the daughter of
Ares and
Aphrodite, given by
Zeus to
Cadmus to be his wife.
Hamish
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: HAY-mish(English)
Rating: 60% based on 11 votes
Anglicized form of
a Sheumais, the vocative case of
Seumas.
Gwyneira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwi-NAY-ra
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means
"white snow" from the Welsh element
gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with
eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.
Guinevere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GWIN-ə-vir(American English) GWIN-ə-veey(British English)
Rating: 64% based on 12 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.
Greer
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GRIR(American English) GREEY(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 7 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the given name
Gregor.
Ginny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIN-ee
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
Ginger
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIN-jər(American English) JIN-jə(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 15 votes
From the English word
ginger for the spice or the reddish-brown colour. It can also be a
diminutive of
Virginia, as in the case of actress and dancer Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), by whom the name was popularized.
George
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Indian (Christian)
Other Scripts: ജോർജ്ജ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JAWRJ(American English) JAWJ(British English) JYOR-jeh(Romanian)
Rating: 86% based on 9 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).
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 77% based on 12 votes
Geneva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEE-və
Personal remark: GP
Rating: 64% based on 12 votes
Possibly a shortened form of
Genevieve. It could also be inspired by the name of the city in Switzerland. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.
Gale 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From a surname that was derived from Middle English gaile "jovial". It also coincides with the English word gale meaning "storm".
Fyodor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Фёдор(Russian)
Pronounced: FYUY-dər
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Russian form of
Theodore. It was borne by three tsars of Russia. Another notable bearer was Fyodor Dostoyevsky (or Dostoevsky; 1821-1881), the Russian author of such works as
Crime and Punishment and
The Brothers Karamazov.
Francesca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: fran-CHEHS-ka(Italian) frən-SEHS-kə(Catalan)
Rating: 55% based on 11 votes
Italian and Catalan feminine form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS(American English) FAWKS(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname
Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie
Tangled in 2010.
Florin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: flo-REEN
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Florian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Romanian, Polish, History
Pronounced: FLO-ree-an(German) FLAW-RYAHN(French) FLAW-ryan(Polish)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
From the Roman
cognomen Florianus, a derivative of
Florus. This was the name of a short-lived Roman emperor of the 3rd century, Marcus Annius Florianus. It was also borne by
Saint Florian, a martyr of the 3rd century, the patron saint of Poland and Upper Austria.
Florence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Rating: 77% based on 7 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.
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLAW-ra(Italian) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Dutch, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese) FLAW-RA(French)
Rating: 65% based on 13 votes
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Fiorenza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: fyo-REHN-tsa
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Italian feminine form of
Florentius (see
Florence).
Fionn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYIN(Irish) FYUWN(Irish) FYOON(Irish) FIN(English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
From the Old Irish name
Finn, derived from
finn meaning
"white, blessed". It occurs frequently in Irish history and legends, the most noteworthy bearer being Fionn mac Cumhaill, the central character of one of the four main cycles of Irish
mythology, the Fenian Cycle. Fionn was born as
Deimne, and acquired his nickname because of his fair hair. He grew all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon, and later became the leader of the Fianna after defeating the fire-breathing demon Áillen. He was the father of
Oisín and grandfather of
Oscar.
Fiona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: fee-O-nə(English)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Fionn. This name was (first?) used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in his poem
Fingal (1761), in which it is spelled as
Fióna.
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 60% based on 3 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).
Finnén
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish [1]
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Fina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: FEE-na
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Short form of
Serafina.
Saint Fina, also known as Saint Serafina, was a 13th-century girl from the town of San Gimignano in Italy.
Fiera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: fee-EH-ra
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means "proud" in Esperanto.
Fiachra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYEEYKH-rə(Irish)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From Old Irish
Fiachrae, possibly from
fiach "raven" or
fích "battle" combined with
rí "king". This was the name of several legendary figures, including one of the four children of
Lir transformed into swans for a period of 900 years. This is also the name of the patron
saint of gardeners: a 7th-century Irish abbot who settled in France, usually called Saint Fiacre.
Fergus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FUR-gəs(American English) FU-gəs(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Means
"man of vigour", derived from the Old Irish elements
fer "man" and
guss "vigour, strength, force". This was the name of several early rulers of Ireland and Dál Riata, as well as many characters from Irish legend. Notably it was borne by the hero Fergus mac Róich, who was tricked into giving up the kingship of Ulster to
Conchobar. However, he remained loyal to the new king until Conchobar betrayed
Deirdre and
Naoise, at which point he defected to Connacht in anger. The name was also borne by an 8th-century
saint, a missionary to Scotland.
This is the Old Irish form of the name, as well as the usual Anglicized form of Modern Irish Fearghas or Fearghus.
Feodor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Феодор(Russian)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Fëanor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means "spirit of fire". In The Silmarillion, Fëanor was the mightiest of the Noldor and the creater of the legendary Silmarils.
Faolán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: FEH-lan, FEE-lan
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"little wolf", derived from Old Irish
fáel "wolf" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of an Irish
saint who did missionary work in Scotland.
Fallon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 49% based on 10 votes
From an Irish surname that was an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Ó Fallamháin, itself derived from the given name Fallamhán meaning "leader". It was popularized in the 1980s by a character on the soap opera Dynasty.
Fáelán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Irish [1]
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 53% based on 6 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.
Evren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehv-REHN
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Means
"cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic
mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Evra
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Turkish, Literature, Popular Culture
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
In Irish author Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak series, Evra Von is a member of the sideshow where he is displayed as a 'snake boy'.
Evelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eh-BEH-lya
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Evanthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ευανθία(Greek)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Modern Greek feminine form of
Εὐανθία (Euanthia), a variant of
Euanthe. This was the name of a 1st-century martyr from Skepsis who is considered a
saint in the Orthodox Church.
Evanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
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: 53% based on 6 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.
Evadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From Greek
Εὐάδνη (Euadne), from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" possibly combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". This name was borne by several characters in Greek legend, including the wife of Capaneus. After Capaneus was killed by a lightning bolt sent from
Zeus she committed suicide by throwing herself onto his burning body.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Euanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek
εὐανθής (euanthes) meaning
"blooming, flowery", a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". According to some sources, this was the name of the mother of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites) in Greek
mythology.
Ethelinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
English form of the Germanic name
Adallinda. The name was very rare in medieval times, but it was revived in the early 19th century.
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֵיתָן (ʾEṯan) meaning
"solid, enduring, firm". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.
After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.
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: 65% based on 6 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].
Esmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHZ-mənd
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Esmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHZ-mənd
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Derived from the Old English elements
est "grace" and
mund "protection". This Old English name was rarely used after the
Norman Conquest. It was occasionally revived in the 19th century.
Erin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: EHR-in(English)
Rating: 63% based on 6 votes
Anglicized form of
Éireann. It was initially used by people of Irish heritage in America, Canada and Australia. It was rare until the mid-1950s.
Epona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gaulish Mythology
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
Derived from Gaulish epos meaning "horse" with the divine or augmentative suffix -on. This was the name of a Gaulish goddess of horses and fertility. She was worshipped not only in Gaul, but elsewhere in the Roman Empire.
Ephraim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֶפְרָיִם(Hebrew) Ἐφραίμ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EEF-ree-əm(English) EEF-rəm(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֶפְרָיִם (ʾEfrayim) meaning
"fruitful". In the
Old Testament Ephraim is a son of
Joseph and
Asenath and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name was also borne by two early
saints: Ephraim or Ephrem the Syrian, a 4th-century theologian, and Ephraim of Antioch, a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.
Enoch
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: חֲנוֹך(Ancient Hebrew) Ἐνώχ, Ἑνώχ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-nək(English)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
חֲנוֹך (Ḥanoḵ) meaning
"dedicated". In Genesis in the
Old Testament this is the name of the son of
Cain. It is also the name of a son of
Jared and the father of
Methuselah, who was the supposed author of the apocryphal Books of Enoch.
Émeric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EHM-REEK
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Elvan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehl-VAN
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means "colours" in Turkish.
Elva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Elora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Modern)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.
Elizabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: i-LIZ-ə-bəth(English)
Rating: 79% based on 14 votes
From
Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name
אֱלִישֶׁבַע (ʾElishevaʿ) meaning
"my God is an oath", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) referring to the Hebrew God and
שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the
Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of
Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the
New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of
John the Baptist.
Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.
Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).
Eliseus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Latin
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Eliseo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: eh-lee-ZEH-o(Italian) eh-lee-SEH-o(Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Italian and Spanish form of
Elisha.
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: 75% based on 6 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: 30% based on 3 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: 57% based on 11 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.
Eli 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עֵלִי(Hebrew) Ἠλί, Ἡλί(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-lie(English)
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Means
"ascension" in Hebrew, a derivative of
עָלָה (ʿala) meaning "to ascend". In the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament he is a high priest of the Israelites. He took the young
Samuel into his service and gave him guidance when God spoke to him. Because of the misdeeds of his sons, Eli and his descendants were cursed to die before reaching old age.
Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).
Elettra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-LEHT-tra
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Slovak, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish, Romanian, German) eh-LEH-nu(Bulgarian) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) EH-leh-nah(Finnish) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Form of
Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
Yelena).
Electra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἠλέκτρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEHK-trə(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Ἠλέκτρα (Elektra), derived from
ἤλεκτρον (elektron) meaning
"amber". In Greek
myth she was the daughter of
Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra and the sister of
Orestes. She helped her brother kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus in vengeance for Agamemnon's murder. Also in Greek mythology, this name was borne by one of the Pleiades, who were the daughters of
Atlas and
Pleione.
Eirenaios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εἰρηναῖος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Eira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: AY-ra
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.
Edward
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-wərd(American English) EHD-wəd(British English) EHD-vart(Polish)
Rating: 69% based on 7 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 7 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.
Dymphna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical), Irish
Pronounced: DIMF-nə(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Form of
Damhnait. According to legend,
Saint Dymphna was a young 7th-century woman from Ireland who was martyred by her father in the Belgian town of Geel. She is the patron saint of the mentally ill.
Draco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δράκων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DRAY-ko(English)
Rating: 44% based on 10 votes
From the Greek name
Δράκων (Drakon), which meant
"dragon, serpent". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Athenian legislator. This is also the name of a constellation in the northern sky.
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik(American English) DAWM-i-nik(British English)
Rating: 69% based on 9 votes
From the Late Latin name
Dominicus meaning
"of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several
saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.
Domhnall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: DO-nəl
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Doe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Archaic)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Devon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHV-ən
Rating: 34% based on 10 votes
Variant of
Devin. It may also be partly inspired by the name of the county of Devon in England, which got its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe.
Desideria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: deh-zee-DEH-rya(Italian) deh-see-DHEH-rya(Spanish)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Desiderio. This was the Latin name of a 19th-century queen of Sweden, the wife of Karl XIV. She was born in France with the name
Désirée.
Desdemona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: dehz-də-MO-nə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Derived from Greek
δυσδαίμων (dysdaimon) meaning
"ill-fated". This is the name of the wife of
Othello in Shakespeare's play
Othello (1603).
Demetrius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δημήτριος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 43% based on 9 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Δημήτριος (Demetrios), which was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
Demeter 1. Kings of Macedon and the Seleucid kingdom have had this name. This was also the name of several early
saints including Demetrius of Thessalonica, a martyr of the 4th century who is regarded as a warrior.
Demetria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English
Other Scripts: Δημητρία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Delphia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-fee-ə
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Possibly from the name of the Greek city of Delphi, the site of an oracle of
Apollo, which is possibly related to Greek
δελφύς (delphys) meaning "womb". It was used in the play
The Prophetess (1647), in which it belongs to the title prophetess.
Delia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-lee-ə(English) DEH-lya(Italian, Spanish) DEH-lee-a(Romanian)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means
"of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Artemis, given because she and her twin brother
Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
Declan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: DEHK-lən(English)
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of Irish
Deaglán, Old Irish
Declán, which is of unknown meaning.
Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.
In America, this name received boosts in popularity from main characters in the movies The Jackal (1997) and Leap Year (2010).
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: 52% based on 5 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.
Dante
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: DAN-teh(Italian) DAHN-tay(English) DAN-tee(English)
Rating: 42% based on 9 votes
Medieval short form of
Durante. The most notable bearer of this name was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the Italian poet who wrote the
Divine Comedy.
Dale
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAYL
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From an English surname that originally belonged to a person who lived near a dale or valley.
Dáithí
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: DA-hee
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means
"swiftness, nimbleness" in Irish. This was the name of a semi-legendary high king of Ireland, also called
Nathí. It is sometimes Anglicized as
David.
Dáirine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Possibly derived from
Dáire. This was the name of the daughter of the legendary Irish king
Túathal Techtmar.
Dáire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: DA-ryə(Irish)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Means
"fruitful, fertile" in Irish. This name is borne by many figures in Irish legend, including the Ulster chief Dáire mac Fiachna who reneged on his promise to loan the Brown Bull of Cooley to
Medb, starting the war between Connacht and Ulster as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
Rating: 53% based on 6 votes
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Cyril
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: SIR-əl(English) SEE-REEL(French) TSI-ril(Czech)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
From the Greek name
Κύριλλος (Kyrillos), which was derived from Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning
"lord", a word used frequently in the Greek Bible to refer to God or Jesus.
This name was borne by a number of important saints, including Cyril of Jerusalem, a 4th-century bishop and Doctor of the Church, and Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th-century theologian. Another Saint Cyril was a 9th-century Greek missionary to the Slavs, who is credited with creating the Glagolitic alphabet with his brother Methodius in order to translate the Bible into Slavic. The Cyrillic alphabet, named after him, is descended from Glagolitic.
This name has been especially well-used in Eastern Europe and other places where Orthodox Christianity is prevalent. It came into general use in England in the 19th century.
Clara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, English, Swedish, Danish, Late Roman
Pronounced: KLA-ra(German, Spanish, Italian) KLA-ru(Portuguese) KLA-RA(French) KLEHR-ə(American English) KLAR-ə(American English) KLAH-rə(British English)
Rating: 72% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Clarus, which meant
"clear, bright, famous". The name
Clarus was borne by a few early
saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called
Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.
As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.
Chryseis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Χρυσηΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KRUY-SEH-EES(Classical Greek) krie-SEE-is(English)
Rating: 34% based on 9 votes
Patronymic derived from
Chryses. In Greek legend she was the daughter of Chryses, a priest of
Apollo. After she was taken prisoner by the Greeks besieging Troy, Apollo sent a plague into their camp, forcing the Greeks to release her.
Chase
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAYS
Rating: 22% based on 5 votes
From an English surname meaning "chase, hunt" in Middle English, originally a nickname for a huntsman.
Charlie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAHR-lee(American English) CHAH-lee(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 11 votes
Diminutive or feminine form of
Charles. A famous bearer was the British comic actor Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977). It is also borne by Charlie Brown, the main character in the comic strip
Peanuts by Charles Schulz.
Cerys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
Celia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish
Pronounced: SEEL-yə(English) SEE-lee-ə(English) THEHL-ya(European Spanish) SEHL-ya(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 74% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Caelius. Shakespeare used it in his play
As You Like It (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of
Cecilia.
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Rating: 65% based on 14 votes
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name
Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of
Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name
Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Cebrail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Cavan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 20% based on 4 votes
Either from the name of the Irish county, which is derived from Irish
cabhán "hollow", or else from the Irish surname
Cavan.
Cassandrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Jamaican Patois (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Cassandre
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 12 votes
From the Greek name
Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of
Priam and
Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by
Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.
Cassander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κάσσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 60% based on 9 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Κάσσανδρος (Kassandros), the masculine form of
Cassandra. This was the name of a 3rd-century BC king of Macedon.
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 14 votes
Bryn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIN(English)
Rating: 39% based on 11 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).
Briseis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Βρισηΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: brie-SEE-is(English)
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
Patronymic derived from
Βρισεύς (Briseus), a Greek name of unknown meaning. In Greek
mythology Briseis (real name Hippodameia) was the daughter of Briseus. She was captured during the Trojan War by
Achilles. After
Agamemnon took her away from him, Achilles refused to fight in the war.
Brígh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From Old Irish
bríg meaning
"might, power". This was the name of a daughter of the Irish god
Dagda.
Briar
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər(American English) BRIE-ə(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Brianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: bree-AN-ə, bree-AHN-ə
Rating: 48% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Briana. This is currently the more popular spelling of the name.
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname
Braonán, itself from Irish
braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a
diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to
Brendan or
Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.
Brenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ə
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Bree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREE
Rating: 38% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of
Brígh. It can also be a short form of
Brianna,
Gabriella and other names containing
bri.
Braith
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Australian, Rare)
Pronounced: BRAYTH
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Meaning uncertain, perhaps from Welsh brith, braith meaning "speckled".
Billie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Rating: 12% based on 10 votes
Bernadette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: BEHR-NA-DEHT(French) bər-nə-DEHT(American English) bə-nə-DEHT(British English)
Rating: 70% based on 4 votes
French feminine form of
Bernard. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was a young woman from Lourdes in France who claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin
Mary. She was declared a
saint in 1933.
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
Rating: 55% based on 6 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.
Bellamy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From an English surname derived from Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".
Avra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αύρα(Greek)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 50% based on 12 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).
Aven
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: AY-vən(Biblical English)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
A
Biblical place name meaning "vanity", "nothingness", "iniquity" and "sorrow".
Aven is mentioned in the Bible as the once magnificent city of Heiropolis or 'city of the sun'. Forty-two miles outside of Damascus, this city is now known for the colossal ruins of its temples.
Aveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lien, AV-ə-leen
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
From the Norman French form of the Germanic name
Avelina, a
diminutive of
Avila. The
Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century
[1].
Avan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Sanskrit, Indian, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali, Sinhalese, Indian (Sikh), Bengali
Other Scripts: अवन(Sanskrit, Hindi, Nepali)
Pronounced: Av-one(Sanskrit) avan(Sanskrit)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Meaning, "favour, preservation, protection,(= तर्पण) satisfaction , joy, pleasure, desire, speed, preserving, a preserver."
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn(American English) AV-ə-lawn(British English)
Personal remark: Nn Ava.
Rating: 58% based on 15 votes
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Rating: 79% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 71% based on 17 votes
Aurea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
Late Latin name that was derived from
aureus "golden". This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint from Ostia (near Rome), as well as an 11th-century Spanish saint.
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 74% based on 16 votes
Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.
The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.
Atara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עֲטָרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 51% based on 13 votes
Astrophel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Probably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star" and
φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets
Astrophel and Stella.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 59% based on 7 votes
Latinized form of the Greek
Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning
"star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
Astoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: as-TAWR-ee-ə
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Astor. This is also the name of several American towns, after the businessman John Jacob Astor.
Asra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أسرى(Arabic)
Pronounced: AS-ra
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Means "travel at night" in Arabic.
Asphodel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: AS-fə-dehl
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
From the name of the flower. J. R. R. Tolkien used this name on one of his characters in The Lord of the Rings.
Ashling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ASH-ling(English)
Rating: 46% based on 11 votes
Arwa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أروى(Arabic)
Pronounced: AR-wa
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Means
"female ibex, mountain goat" in Arabic. This name was borne by some relatives of the Prophet
Muhammad. It was also the name of a 12th-century queen of Yemen.
Arthurine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Archaic), French (Belgian, Rare)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
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: 70% based on 14 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).
Arthémise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Quebec, Rare), Louisiana Creole
Rating: 78% based on 5 votes
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 65% based on 6 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: 70% based on 7 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.
Arlen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lən
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly from a surname.
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Rating: 74% based on 5 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).
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(American English) ə-PAWL-o(British English)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Aphrodite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀφροδίτη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-PRO-DEE-TEH(Classical Greek) af-rə-DIE-tee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly of Phoenician origin. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, identified with the Roman goddess
Venus. She was the wife of
Hephaestus and the mother of
Eros, and she was often associated with the myrtle tree and doves. The Greeks connected her name with
ἀφρός (aphros) meaning
"foam", resulting in the story that she was born from the foam of the sea. Many of her characteristics are based on the goddess known as
Ashtoreth to the Phoenicians and
Ishtar to the Mesopotamian Semitic peoples, and on the Sumerian goddess
Inanna.
Aoede
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀοιδή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ay-EE-dee(English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Annabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AN-ə-beth
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Angus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: ANG-gəs(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(American English) an-DRAW-mi-də(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
Derived from Greek
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words
μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or
μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek
mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
Andrew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: AN-droo(English)
Rating: 61% based on 15 votes
English form of the Greek name
Ἀνδρέας (Andreas), which was derived from
ἀνδρεῖος (andreios) meaning
"manly, masculine", a derivative of
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". In the
New Testament the apostle Andrew, the first disciple to join
Jesus, is the brother of
Simon Peter. According to tradition, he later preached in the Black Sea region, with some legends saying he was crucified on an X-shaped cross.
Andrew, being a Greek name, was probably only a nickname or a translation of his real Hebrew name, which is not known.
This name has been common (in various spellings) throughout the Christian world, and it became very popular in the Middle Ages. Saint Andrew is regarded as the patron of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. The name has been borne by three kings of Hungary, American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), and, more recently, English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-).
Amelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Medieval French
Pronounced: ə-MEE-lee-ə(English) ə-MEEL-yə(English) a-MEH-lya(Spanish, Italian, Polish)
Rating: 87% based on 9 votes
Variant of
Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with
Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel
Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
Alyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AL-iks
Rating: 36% based on 11 votes
Feminine variant of
Alex.
Alva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: AL-va(Swedish)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 16 votes
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-LEEKS
Rating: 57% based on 13 votes
Medieval French variant of
Alice, also sometimes used as a masculine name. This is the name of the hero (a young Gaulish man) of a French comic book series, which debuted in 1948.
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 74% based on 17 votes
From the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).
Alfie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-fee
Rating: 53% based on 15 votes
Alfher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Rating: 40% based on 10 votes
Old German name composed of the elements
alb "elf" and
heri "army" (making it a
cognate of
Alvar).
Alfeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: al-FEH-o
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Alexei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Алексей(Russian)
Pronounced: u-lyi-KSYAY
Rating: 68% based on 13 votes
Alexandria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dree-ə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-dree-ə(British English)
Rating: 72% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of
Alexander. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.
Alexandrea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dree-ə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-dree-ə(British English)
Rating: 49% based on 15 votes
Alexandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αλεξάνδρα(Greek) Александра(Russian, Ukrainian) Ἀλεξάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-drə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-drə(British English) a-leh-KSAN-dra(German, Romanian) a-lehk-SAHN-dra(Dutch) A-LEHK-ZAHN-DRA(French) a-leh-KSAN-dhra(Greek) u-li-SHUN-dru(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dru(Brazilian Portuguese) A-lehk-san-dra(Czech, Slovak) AW-lehk-sawn-draw(Hungarian) A-LEH-KSAN-DRA(Classical Greek)
Rating: 76% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of
Alexander. In Greek
mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess
Hera, and an alternate name of
Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian
saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name
Alix, but was renamed
Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.
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: 82% based on 15 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.
Alessandro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dro
Rating: 30% based on 13 votes
Italian form of
Alexander. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.
Alessandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-lehs-SAN-dra
Rating: 62% based on 17 votes
Alec
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ik
Rating: 51% based on 9 votes
Aidan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: AY-dən(English)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Anglicized form of
Aodhán. In the latter part of the 20th century it became popular in America due to its sound, since it shares a sound with such names as
Braden and
Hayden. It peaked ranked 39th for boys in 2003.
Afra 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عفرا(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘AF-ra
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Means "whitish red" in Arabic.
Aelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: IE-lee-a
Rating: 59% based on 14 votes
Adria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-dree-ə
Personal remark: Prefer it spelt Adrea.
Rating: 55% based on 19 votes
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: 67% based on 15 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.
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