skinnyminnie's Personal Name List
Živa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slavic Mythology, Slovene, Serbian
Other Scripts: Жива(Serbian)
From the Old Slavic word
živŭ meaning
"alive, living". According to the 12th-century Saxon priest Helmold, this was the name of a Slavic goddess possibly associated with life or fertility.
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
Zealand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare), Romani (Archaic)
Yasi
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Fijian
Pronounced: YAH-zee, YAH-see
Means "sandalwood" in Fijian.
Yamina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic (Maghrebi)
Other Scripts: يمينة(Arabic)
Derived from Arabic
يمين (yamīn) meaning
"right hand, oath".
Yalim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Means "sharp edge of a blade" in Turkish. Also means "fire, flame, blaze".
Xinran
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 歆然, 馨燃(Chinese)
From the Chinese 歆 (xīn) meaning "like, admire" and 然 (rán) meaning "yes, certainly, pledge, promise" and 燃 (rán) meaning "light fire, ignite".
Wednesday
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: WENZ-day(English)
From the name of the day of the week, which was derived from Old English
wodnesdæg meaning "
Woden's day". On the
Addams Family television series (1964-1966) this was the name of the daughter, based on an earlier unnamed character in Charles Addams' cartoons. Her name was inspired by the popular nursery rhyme line
Wednesday's child is full of woe.
Waimarie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Means "good luck" in Maori.
Vonzell
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: VAUGHN-zell
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Viviana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Late Roman
Pronounced: vee-VYA-na(Italian) bee-BYA-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Vivianus (see
Vivian).
Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.
Vito 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: VEE-to(Italian) BEE-to(Spanish)
Italian and Spanish form of
Vitus. A notable fictional bearer is Vito Corleone from
The Godfather novel (1969) and movie (1972).
Vítek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: VEE-tehk
Vitaliy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Виталий(Russian) Віталій(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: vyi-TA-lyee(Russian) vyee-TA-lyee(Ukrainian)
Russian and Ukrainian form of
Vitalis (see
Vitale).
Vitalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Personal remark: Top name for a girl
Vita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Danish, Slovene
Pronounced: VEE-ta(Italian)
Vít
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: VEET
Czech and Slovak form of
Vitus.
Vilém
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: VI-lehm
Vienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: vee-EHN-ə
From the name of the capital city of Austria,
Vienna.
Vida 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: VEE-daw
Vesper
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: WEHS-pehr(Latin) VEHS-pər(American English, Dutch) VEHS-pə(British English)
Latin
cognate of
Hesperos. This name was used by the British author Ian Fleming for a female character, a love interest of James Bond, in his novel
Casino Royale (1953). She also appears in the film adaptations of 1967 and 2006.
Veda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Telugu, Kannada
Other Scripts: వేద(Telugu) ವೇದ(Kannada)
Means "knowledge" in Sanskrit.
Valerie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Czech
Pronounced: VAL-ə-ree(English) VA-lə-ree(German)
English and German form of
Valeria, as well as a Czech variant of
Valérie.
Valencia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: ba-LEHN-sya(Latin American Spanish) ba-LEHN-thya(European Spanish) və-LEHN-see-ə(English)
From the name of cities in Spain and Venezuela, both derived from Latin valentia meaning "strength, vigour".
Twila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word
twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French
étoile "star"
[1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.
Trace
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAYS
Tor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: TOOR
Modern Scandinavian form of
Þórr (see
Thor). It was not used as a personal name until the 18th century. It is sometimes used as a short form of names of Old Norse origin that begin with the element
Tor, which is also a derivative of
Þórr.
Tobiáš
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: TO-bi-yash
Tierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: TYEH-ra(Spanish)
Means "earth" in Spanish.
Tereza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian
Other Scripts: Тереза(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: TEH-reh-za(Czech) teh-REH-za(Romanian)
Form of
Theresa in various languages.
Tennise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Anglicized), English (American)
Anglicized form of both
Teunisje and the Dutch patronymic
Teunis(s)e(n), which means "son of
Teunis". In some cases, this name can also be a modern variant spelling of the name
Denise, via its variant spelling
Dennise.
According to the website of The Corpus of First Names in The Netherlands, this name has never been in use in the Netherlands, which was to be expected, since this name is an anglicization and therefore originated in English-speaking countries.
An example of a bearer of this name is the American author Tennise Broeck Morse (born ca. 1946), who is of Dutch descent.
Tawny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAW-nee
From the English word, ultimately deriving from Old French tané, which means "light brown".
Tasmin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: Tasmin
Taryn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAR-in, TEHR-in
Probably a feminine form of
Tyrone. Actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian created it for their daughter Taryn Power (1953-).
Taru
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: TAH-roo
Taranis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gaulish Mythology
Derived from the old Celtic root *
toranos meaning
"thunder",
cognate with
Þórr (see
Thor). This was the name of the Gaulish thunder god, who was often identified with the Roman god
Jupiter.
Talia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
From the name of a town in South Australia, perhaps meaning "near water" in an Australian Aboriginal language.
Talfryn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From a Welsh place name meaning
"front hill", derived from Welsh
tal "front, extremity" and
bryn "hill".
Tadeáš
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: TA-deh-ash(Czech)
Sydney
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SID-nee
From a surname that was a variant of the surname
Sidney. This is the name of the largest city in Australia, which was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney in 1788. Formerly used by both genders, since the 1980s this spelling of the name has been mostly feminine.
Starla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAHR-lə(American English) STAH-lə(British English)
Stanislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Станислав(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian) Станіслав(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: STA-nyi-slaf(Czech) STA-nyee-slow(Slovak) stə-nyi-SLAF(Russian)
Derived from the Slavic element
stati "stand, become" (inflected forms in
stan-) combined with
slava "glory". This name was borne by a few medieval
saints (typically called by the Polish form
Stanisław or Latinized form
Stanislaus), including a bishop of Krakow who was martyred in the 11th century.
Silva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Силва(Bulgarian)
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
September
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sehp-TEHM-bər(American English) sehp-TEHM-bə(British English)
From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.
Schuyler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKIE-lər(American English) SKIE-lə(British English)
From a Dutch surname meaning
"scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804)
[1].
Sandy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAN-dee
Samir 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati
Other Scripts: समीर(Hindi, Marathi) সমীর(Bengali) સમીર(Gujarati)
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek
ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of
Ruth 1.
Rudolf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Dutch, Russian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Рудольф(Russian) Ռուդոլֆ(Armenian)
Pronounced: ROO-dawlf(German, Slovak) ROO-dolf(Czech, Hungarian) RUY-dawlf(Dutch)
From the Germanic name
Hrodulf, which was derived from the elements
hruod meaning "fame" and
wolf meaning "wolf". It was borne by three kings of Burgundy and a king of West Francia, as well as several Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. Anthony Hope used this name for the hero in his popular novel
The Prisoner of Zenda (1894).
Rostislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Czech
Other Scripts: Ростислав(Russian)
Pronounced: rəs-tyi-SLAF(Russian) ROS-kyi-slaf(Czech)
Derived from the Slavic elements
orsti "to grow" and
slava "glory".
Ronan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, Irish, French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-nahn(Breton) RAW-NAHN(French) RO-nən(English)
Breton and Anglicized form of
Rónán.
Rigel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: RIE-jəl(English)
Derived from Arabic
الرجل (al-Rijl) meaning
"foot". This is the name of the star that forms the left foot of the constellation Orion.
Ridge
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIJ
From the English vocabulary word denoting a continuous elevated mountain crest, or from the English surname derived from the word.
Ricgis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic
The first element of this name is derived from the Germanic element
rîcja "powerful, strong, mighty." This element is also closely related to Celtic
rîg or
rix and Gothic
reiks, which all mean "king, ruler." The meaning and origin of the second element is rather uncertain: we know that it comes from
gis (the original form was possibly
gîs), but we don't exactly know where
gis itself comes from. But there are a few possibilities. It might come from Gallo-Celtic
gaiso "spear" (see
Gaiseric) or it might be a short form of
gisel, which means "hostage" or "pledge" (see
Giselle).
Rembrandt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: REHM-brahnt
From a Germanic name that was composed of the elements
regin "advice, counsel, decision" and
brant "fire, torch, sword". This name belonged to the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).
Radomír
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: RA-do-meer(Czech)
Radmila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Czech
Other Scripts: Радмила(Serbian)
Pronounced: RAD-mi-la(Czech)
Serbian, Croatian and Czech feminine form of
Radomil.
Qamar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: قمر(Arabic, Urdu)
Pronounced: KA-mar(Arabic)
Means "moon" in Arabic.
Plato
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Πλάτων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PLAY-to(English)
From the Greek name
Πλάτων (Platon), which was derived from Greek
πλατύς (platys) meaning
"broad-shouldered". Plato was one of the most important of the Greek philosophers. He was a pupil of
Socrates and a teacher of
Aristotle. He constructed the theory of Forms and wrote several works, including the
Republic.
Phoenix
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FEE-niks
From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek
mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek
φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".
Phocas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φωκᾶς(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Φωκᾶς (Phokas), which meant
"seal (animal)" from Greek
φώκη (phoke). This was the name of an early
saint and martyr from Asia Minor. Sentenced to death for being a Christian, he is said to have given his killers lodging and then dug his own grave before he was executed.
Petra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Swedish, Finnish, English
Other Scripts: Петра(Bulgarian) Πέτρα(Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-tra(German, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak) PEH-traw(Hungarian) PEHT-rah(Finnish) PEHT-rə(English)
Feminine form of
Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.
Otieno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Luo
Means "born at night" in Luo.
Oriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: o-RYA-na
Possibly derived from Latin
aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish
oro or French
or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight
Amadis.
October
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ahk-TO-bər(American English) awk-TO-bə(British English)
From the name of the tenth month. It is derived from Latin octo meaning "eight", because it was originally the eighth month of the Roman year.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
November
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: no-VEHM-bər, nə-VEHM-bə, no-VEHM-bə
From the Latin word
novem, meaning "nine". November was the ninth month of the Roman calendar before January and February were added around 713 BC. It is now the eleventh month of the year.
This is the name of one of the main adult female characters in Catherynne M. Valente's adult fantasy novel "Palimpsest" (2009). In the novel November remembers having read a book called "The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making" when she was a child, and the heroine of that book was called September. Valente later wrote that book as a crowd-funded work. It became the first volume in her bestselling "Fairyland" series.
Noctis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Derived from Latin noctis "of the night". This is the name of a character in Final Fantasy XIII Versus.
Nishant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Other Scripts: निशान्त, निशांत(Hindi) निशांत(Marathi) નિશાંત(Gujarati)
Nila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil, Hindi, Indonesian, Burmese
Other Scripts: நீலா(Tamil) नीला(Hindi) နီလာ(Burmese)
Pronounced: NEE-LA(Burmese)
From Sanskrit
नील (nīla) meaning
"dark blue".
Nightingale
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: NIE-ting-gayl
Possibly a transferred usage of the English surname
Nightingale, in honor of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), an English social reformer.
It is ultimately derived from Middle English nyghtyngale "night singer" (Old English nihtegal, composed of niht "night" and galan "sing"). It could also be used referring to the songbird.
Nevada
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: nə-VAD-ə
From the name of the American state, which means "snow-capped" in Spanish.
Nefeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Νεφέλη(Greek)
Modern Greek transcription of
Nephele.
Narges
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: نرگس(Persian)
Pronounced: nar-GEHS
Means
"daffodil, narcissus" in Persian, ultimately derived from Greek (see
Narcissus).
Montserrat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: moon-sə-RAT
From the name of a mountain near Barcelona, the site of a monastery founded in the 10th century. The mountain gets its name from Latin mons serratus meaning "jagged mountain".
Moana
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Maori, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan
Pronounced: mo-A-na(Hawaiian)
Means "ocean, wide expanse of water, deep sea" in Maori, Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages.
Miyako
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美夜子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みやこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-YA-KO
From Japanese
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful",
夜 (ya) meaning "night" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be formed from other combinations of kanji as well.
Mithra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian Mythology
Other Scripts: 𐎷𐎰𐎼(Old Persian) 𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀(Avestan)
Pronounced: MITH-rə(English)
From Avestan
𐬨𐬌𐬚𐬭𐬀 (mithra) meaning
"oath, covenant, agreement", derived from an Indo-Iranian root *
mitra meaning "that which binds". According Zoroastrian
mythology Mithra was a god of light and friendship, the son of the supreme god
Ahura Mazda. Worship of him eventually spread outside of Persia to the Roman Empire, where it was known as Mithraism.
Miriam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Biblical
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIR-ee-əm(English) MI-ryam(German) MI-ri-yam(Czech) MEE-ree-am(Slovak)
Form of
Mary used in the
Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of
Moses and
Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside
Mary) since the
Protestant Reformation.
Mieczysław
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: myeh-CHI-swaf
Possibly derived from the Slavic elements
mečĭ "sword" and
slava "glory".
Michal 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: MI-khal(Czech) MEE-khal(Slovak)
Michaela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, English, Czech, Slovak, Greek, Hebrew
Other Scripts: Μιχαέλα(Greek) מִיכָאֵלָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: mi-kha-EH-la(German) mi-KAY-lə(English) MI-kha-eh-la(Czech) MEE-kha-eh-la(Slovak)
Michael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: מִיכָאֵל(Hebrew) Μιχαήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MIE-kəl(English) MI-kha-ehl(German, Czech) MEE-kal(Danish) MEE-ka-ehl(Swedish) MEE-kah-ehl(Norwegian) mee-KA-ehl(Latin)
From the Hebrew name
מִיכָאֵל (Miḵaʾel) meaning
"who is like God?", derived from the interrogative pronoun
מִי (mi) combined with
ךְּ (ke) meaning "like" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see
Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the
New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron
saint of soldiers in Christianity.
The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).
In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.
Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).
Meriwether
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-i-wedh-ər(American English) MEHR-i-wedh-ə(British English)
From a surname meaning "happy weather" in Middle English, originally belonging to a cheery person. A notable bearer of the name was Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), who, with William Clark, explored the west of North America.
Mercedes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: mehr-THEH-dhehs(European Spanish) mehr-SEH-dhehs(Latin American Spanish) mər-SAY-deez(American English) mə-SAY-deez(British English)
Means
"mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word
merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity"
[1].
Medard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), German (Rare), Polish, Slovak, Slovene, Lengadocian, Provençal, Gascon
Pronounced: MEH-dart(Polish)
Dutch, German, Occitan, Polish, Slovak and Slovene form of
Medardus.
Maybelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Maryam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Indonesian, Bashkir, Tatar
Other Scripts: مريم(Arabic) مریم(Persian, Urdu) Мәрйәм(Bashkir) Мәрьям(Tatar)
Pronounced: MAR-yam(Arabic) mar-YAM(Persian) MUR-yəm(Urdu)
Arabic form of
Miryam (see
Mary) appearing in the
Quran. It is also the form used in several other languages. In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.
Marinell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Derived from Latin
marinus meaning "of the sea" (see
Marinus). This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590), where it belongs to "the knight of the sea" Sir Marinell, who is the son of a sea nymph and the beloved of
Florimell.
Marijani
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swahili
Means
"coral" in Swahili, originally a borrowing from Arabic
مرْجان (marjān).
Mariam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Greek [1], Georgian, Armenian, Malay, Arabic
Other Scripts: Μαριάμ(Ancient Greek) მარიამ(Georgian) Մարիամ(Armenian) مريم(Arabic)
Pronounced: MA-REE-AM(Georgian) mah-ree-AHM(Armenian) MAR-yam(Arabic)
Form of
Maria used in the Greek
Old Testament. In the Greek
New Testament both this spelling and
Μαρία (Maria) are used. It is also the Georgian, Armenian and Malay form, as well as an alternate transcription of Arabic
مريم (see
Maryam).
Maple
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-pəl
From the English word for the tree (comprising the genus Acer), derived from Old English mapul. This is the name of a girl in Robert Frost's poem Maple (1923) who wonders about the origin of her unusual name.
Maja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Маја(Serbian)
Pronounced: MA-ya(German, Polish)
Form of
Maia 1 in various languages.
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) mahgh-da-LEH-na(Dutch) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Lysander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύσανδρος(Ancient Greek)
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.
London
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LUN-dən
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).
Lilith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Other Scripts: לילית(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: LIL-ith(English)
Derived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning
"of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
Lev 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лев(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LYEHF(Russian)
Means
"lion" in Russian and Ukrainian, functioning as a vernacular form of
Leo. This was the real Russian name of both author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940). This is also the name of the main character, Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, in the novel
The Idiot (1868) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Lestari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Pronounced: ləs-TA-ree
Means "eternal, abiding" in Indonesian.
Leopoldina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), English (Rare), Portuguese (Rare), Galician, Romanian, Slovene, Hungarian
German, Portuguese and English variant and Galician, Romanian, Hungarian and Slovene form of
Leopoldine. Leopoldina of Austria (1797 – 1826) was the first Brazilian empress.
Leonard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: LEHN-ərd(American English) LEHN-əd(British English) LEH-o-nahrt(Dutch) LEH-o-nart(German) leh-AW-nart(Polish)
Means
"brave lion", derived from the Old German elements
lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and
hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of a 6th-century Frankish
saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The
Normans brought this name to England, where it was used steadily through the Middle Ages, becoming even more common in the 20th century.
Leili 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Probably from
Laila 2, but also associated with Estonian
leil meaning
"vapour, steam". It became popular due to Andres Saal's novel
Leili (1892).
Legend
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHJ-ənd
Personal remark: GP for both genders
From the English word, referring to a story about the past (or by extension, a heroic character in such a story), ultimately from Latin legere "to read".
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Laniakea
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian, Astronomy
Pronounced: LA-nee-ə-KAY-ə(Hawaiian)
The name Laniakea means "immeasurable heaven" in Hawaiian, from "lani" for 'heaven' and "akea" for 'spacious' or 'immeasurable'. Laniakea is the galaxy supercluster that is home to the Milky Way, the Solar System and Earth. It was defined in September 2014 by Nawa'a Napoleon, an associate professor of Hawaiian Language at Kapiolani Community College. The name honors Polynesian navigators who used heavenly knowledge to navigate the Pacific Ocean.
Lambert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, French, English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: LAM-behrt(German) LAHM-bərt(Dutch) LAHN-BEHR(French) LAM-bərt(American English) LAM-bət(British English)
Derived from the Old German elements
lant "land" and
beraht "bright".
Saint Lambert of Maastricht was a 7th-century bishop who was martyred after denouncing Pepin II for adultery. The name was also borne by a 9th-century king of Italy who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
Knox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAHKS(American English) NAWKS(British English)
From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.
Knightley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIET-lee
Knight
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Knight.
Kjellaug
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
From the Old Norse name
Ketillaug, derived from the elements
ketill meaning "kettle" and
laug possibly meaning "vowed, promised, bound in oath".
Kindred
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
From the English word "kindred" meaning "family".
Keyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian), English (American)
Pronounced: KAY-la(Spanish) KAY-lu(Portuguese) KAY-lə(English)
Personal remark: pron. KEE-lə
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Kayla reflecting the English pronunciation, as well as an English variant.
Kesha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Кеша(Russian)
Personal remark: NN for Innokentiy
Katrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: kə-TREE-nə(English)
Katla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic, Old Norse [1]
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Jökull
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic
Means "glacier, ice" in Icelandic.
Jeong-Suk
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 정숙(Korean Hangul) 貞淑, 正淑, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: CHUNG-SOOK
From Sino-Korean
貞 (jeong) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal" or
正 (jeong) meaning "right, proper, correct" combined with
淑 (suk) meaning "good, pure, virtuous, charming". Other hanja combinations are possible.
Jaromír
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: YA-ro-meer(Czech) YA-raw-meer(Slovak)
Derived from the Slavic elements
jarŭ "fierce, energetic" and
mirŭ "peace, world". This name was borne by an 11th-century duke of Bohemia.
Jakub
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: YA-koop
Polish, Czech and Slovak form of
Jacob (or
James). In Polish and Slovak this refers to both the
Old Testament patriarch and the
New Testament apostles, while in Czech this is used only for the apostles (with
Jákob for the patriarch).
Ixchel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mayan Mythology, Mayan
Pronounced: eesh-CHEHL(Mayan)
Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.
Istari
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Indian
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
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
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Iridián
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Mexican, Modern)
Pronounced: ee-ree-DHYAN
Means
"related to Iris or rainbows", ultimately from Greek
ἶρις (genitive
ἴριδος). It briefly entered the American top 1000 list in 1995, likely due to a Mexican singer named Iridián.
Innokentiy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Иннокентий(Russian)
Pronounced: i-nu-KYEHN-tyee
Russian form of
Innocentius (see
Innocent).
Imamu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swahili
Means
"spiritual leader" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic
إمام (ʾimām).
Idrissa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Western African
Form of
Idris 1 common in West Africa.
Idris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: إدريس(Arabic)
Pronounced: eed-REES(Arabic) EE-drees(Malay, Indonesian)
Possibly means
"interpreter, teacher" in Arabic, related to the root
درس (darasa) meaning "to study, to learn". According to the
Quran this was the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
Hudson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUD-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
Hobart
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HO-bart
Apparently derived from the given name Hubert. Also a transferred use of the surname
Hobart.
Hitomi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 瞳, 史美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ひとみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KHEE-TO-MEE
From Japanese
瞳 (hitomi) meaning "pupil of the eye". It can also come from
史 (hito) meaning "history" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", as well as other kanji combinations. This name is often written with the hiragana writing system.
Hesperos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἕσπερος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHS-PEH-ROS
Means
"evening" in Greek. This was the name of the personification of the Evening Star (the planet Venus) in Greek
mythology.
Gislin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Giselle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZHEE-ZEHL(French) ji-ZEHL(English)
Derived from the Old German element
gisal meaning
"hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *
gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of
Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.
The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.
Giselhild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic
Derived from the Germanic element gisel "hostage" (or "pledge") combined with Old Norse hildr "battle".
Giselda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare), German (Rare), Italian (Rare), Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: khee-SEL-dah(Dutch) jee-ZEL-dah(Italian)
Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Giselhild. Bearers of this name include Italian actresses Giselda Castrini (b. 1945) and Giselda Volodi (b. 1959).
Gisbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: GIS-behrt(German)
From a Germanic name in which the second element is
beraht "bright". The first element is probably a shortened form of
gisal "pledge, hostage" (making it a variant of
Gilbert), though it could be related to Gaulish *
gaisos "spear" (itself probably of Germanic origin
[2]).
Gildas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, French (Belgian, Rare)
Pronounced: ZHEEL-DA(French) ZHEEL-DAS(French)
Gallicized form of Breton
Gweltaz via its medieval Latinization
Gildasius. Gweltaz is certainly of Celtic origin, its meaning, however, has been lost to time.
Gilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: JEEL-da(Italian)
Originally an Italian short form of
Ermenegilda and other names containing the Old German element
gelt meaning
"payment, tribute, compensation". This is the name of a character in Verdi's opera
Rigoletto (1851). It is also the name of a 1946 American movie, starring Rita Hayworth in the title role.
Ghislain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHEES-LEHN, GEE-LEHN
French form of
Gislenus, a Latinized form of the Germanic name
Gislin, derived from the element
gisal meaning
"hostage" or
"pledge". This was the name of a 7th-century
saint and hermit who built a chapel near Mons, Belgium.
Galileo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: ga-lee-LEH-o
Medieval Italian name derived from Latin
galilaeus meaning
"Galilean, from Galilee". Galilee is a region in northern Israel, mentioned in the
New Testament as the site of several of
Jesus's miracles. It is derived from the Hebrew root
גָּלִיל (galil) meaning "district, roll".
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an important Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer. Both his name and surname were from an earlier 15th-century ancestor (a doctor).
Gaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Italian
Other Scripts: Γαῖα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GIE-A(Classical Greek) GIE-ə(English) GAY-ə(English) GA-ya(Italian)
From the Greek word
γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of
γῆ (ge) meaning
"earth". In Greek
mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of
Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.
Gai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: גַּיְא(Hebrew)
Means "valley, ravine" in Hebrew.
Florence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Personal remark: Girl only, prefer Florencio for a boy
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.
Fionnuala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Means
"white shoulder" from Old Irish
finn "white, blessed" and
gúala "shoulder". In Irish legend Fionnuala was one of the four children of
Lir who were transformed into swans for a period of 900 years.
Finola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Fidelity
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Puritan)
Pronounced: fi-DEHL-i-tee
From the English word fidelity, ultimately from the Latin word fidelis, a derivative of fidere "to trust". This is one of the virtue names coined by the Puritans in the 17th century.
Fidel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: fee-DHEHL
From the Late Latin name Fidelis meaning "faithful", a derivative of fides "faith". A famous bearer was the revolutionary leader and Cuban president Fidel Castro (1926-2016).
Faris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Bosnian, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: فارس(Arabic)
Pronounced: FA-rees(Arabic)
Means "horseman, knight" in Arabic.
Farenorth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare), Popular Culture
Possibly derived from English
fare north, the word
fare meaning "to go, to travel" (as well as "a journey, a voyage"), and perhaps modelled on the English surname
Farnworth. This was adopted as a middle name by Yule Farenorth Kilcher (1913-1998), original name Julius Jakob Kilcher, a Swiss-born Alaskan who helped write the Alaska State Constitution and served as a member of the Alaska State Senate during the mid-1960s. He was the patriarch of a family documented on the reality television series
Alaska: The Last Frontier (2011-); cast members Eivin and Eve Kilcher used the name for their son, Findlay Farenorth Kilcher, born 2013.
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
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.
Estanislao
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-ta-neez-LA-o
Esriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ἐσριήλ, Ἐσριὴλ(Ancient Greek)
Greek form of both
Asriel and
Azriel, as it first appeared in the Septuagint.
Esri
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Other Scripts: Esrie, Esree
Ergis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Demetria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English
Other Scripts: Δημητρία(Ancient Greek)
Demeter 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δημήτηρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEH-MEH-TEHR(Classical Greek) də-MEET-ər(American English) də-MEET-ə(British English)
Possibly means
"earth mother", derived from Greek
δᾶ (da) meaning "earth" and
μήτηρ (meter) meaning "mother". In Greek
mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of
Cronus, the sister of
Zeus, and the mother of
Persephone. She was an important figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites performed at Eleusis near Athens.
Delta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-tə
From the name of the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet,
Δ. It is also the name for an island formed at the mouth of a river.
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
David
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: דָּוִד(Hebrew) Давид(Russian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: DAY-vid(English) da-VEED(Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese) DA-VEED(French) da-BEEDH(Spanish) du-VEED(European Portuguese) də-BEET(Catalan) DA-vit(German, Dutch, Czech) DAH-vid(Swedish, Norwegian) du-VYEET(Russian)
From the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawiḏ), which was derived from
דּוֹד (doḏ) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the
Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the
New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.
Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).
Darwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-win(American English) DAH-win(British English)
From a surname that was derived from the Old English given name
Deorwine. The surname was borne by the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the man who first proposed the theory of natural selection and subsequently revolutionized biology.
Darius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Lithuanian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: də-RIE-əs(English) DAR-ee-əs(English)
Latin form of Greek
Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means
"possessing goodness", composed of
𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good"
[1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nyehl(German) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
From the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).
Danger
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Personal remark: GP only, honoring Dangermond
From the English word "danger" meaning "liability to exposure to harm or risk; an instance or cause of liable harm; or ability to harm; someone's dominion or power to harm". From the Middle English
daunger 'power, dominion, peril', ultimately derived from the Latin
dominus 'lord, master'.
Its usage may be due to the popular saying 'danger is my middle name'.
Cynegils
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon
Pronounced: KUY-neh-yeels(Old English)
From Old English
cyne meaning "royal" and
gisl meaning "pledge, hostage".
An alternative Celtic origin has been suggested, with the given meaning of "grey dog".
Corentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: ko-REHN-teen(Breton) KAW-RAHN-TEHN(French)
French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.
Concordia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: kon-KOR-dee-a(Latin) kən-KAWR-dee-ə(American English) kən-KAW-dee-ə(British English)
Means "harmony" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of harmony and peace.
Cloud
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: KLOWD
Derived from the English word cloud. In Popular Culture, this is the name of the main protagonist (Cloud Strife) in "Final Fantasy VII", who also makes an appearance in "Dissidia: Final Fantasy".
Clifford
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLIF-ərd(American English) KLIF-əd(British English)
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "ford by a cliff" in Old English.
Cipactli
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl
Means
"crocodile, alligator, caiman, monster" in Nahuatl
[1]. This is the name of the first day in the tonalpohualli, the Aztec 260-day calendar.
Cinderella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: sin-də-REHL-ə(English)
Means "little ashes", in part from the French name Cendrillon. This is the main character in the folktale Cinderella about a maltreated young woman who eventually marries a prince. This old story is best known in the English-speaking world from the French author Charles Perrault's 1697 version. She has other names in other languages, usually with the meaning "ashes", such as German Aschenputtel and Italian Cenerentola.
Cierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Chausiku
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swahili
Means "born at night" in Swahili.
Chapel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Chapel and a "subordinate place of worship added to or forming part of a large church or cathedral, separately dedicated and devoted to special services," from Old French
chapele (12c., Modern French
chapelle), from Medieval Latin
capella, cappella "chapel, sanctuary for relics," literally "little cape," diminutive of Late Latin
cappa "cape."
Cerulean
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: sə-ROO-lee-un(American English)
From the colour cerulean meaning “sky blue”, derived from the Latin caeruleus, perhaps related to caelum which means “sky”. It is recently but rarely used as a name.
Ceridwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: keh-RID-wehn
Possibly from
cyrrid "bent, crooked" (a derivative of Old Welsh
cwrr "corner") combined with
ben "woman" or
gwen "white, blessed". According to the medieval Welsh legend the
Tale of Taliesin (recorded by Elis Gruffyd in the 16th century) this was the name of a sorceress who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard
Taliesin.
This name appears briefly in a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen in the form Kyrridven [1] and in a poem in the Book of Taliesin in the form Kerrituen [2]. Some theories connect her to an otherwise unattested Celtic goddess of inspiration, and suppose her name is related to Welsh cerdd "poetry".
Celeste
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cátedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: KA-teh-dhra
From Latin cathedra meaning "chair", referring to the Cathedra Petri or Chair of Saint Peter, also known as the Throne of Saint Peter. Its feast day is February 22 (note, until 1962, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter was also celebrated on January 18).
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.
Carter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAHR-tər(American English) KAH-tə(British English)
From an English surname that meant "one who uses a cart". A famous bearer of the surname is former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Caledonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kal-i-DO-ni-ə
From the Latin name of Scotland, itself derived from Caledones, the Latin name of a tribe that inhabited the region during the Roman era, which is of unknown origin, though it may possibly come from Proto-Celtic *kaletos meaning "hard" and *ɸēdo- meaning "foot", alluding to standfastness or endurance.
Calder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
Transferred use of the surname
Calder.
Burgundy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BUR-gən-dee(American English) BU-gən-dee(British English)
This name can refer either to the region in France, the wine (which derives from the name of the region), or the colour (which derives from the name of the wine).
Brendan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Breton
Pronounced: BREHN-dən(English) BREHN-dahn(Breton)
From
Brendanus, the Latinized form of the Old Irish name
Bréanainn, which was derived from Old Welsh
breenhin meaning
"king, prince".
Saint Brendan was a 6th-century Irish abbot who, according to legend, crossed the Atlantic and reached North America with 17 other monks.
Bolívar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: bo-LEE-bar
From a surname that was taken from the Basque place name Bolibar, which was derived from bolu "mill" and ibar "riverside". A famous bearer of the surname was Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), a South American revolutionary leader, after whom the country of Bolivia is named.
Blue
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BLOO
Personal remark: MN only
From the English word for the colour, derived via Norman French from a Frankish word (replacing the native Old English
cognate blaw). Despite the fact that this name was used by the American musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2012 for their first daughter, it has not come into general use in the United States.
Besnik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Means "faithful" in Albanian.
Berkant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
From Turkish berk meaning "mighty, firm, solid" and ant meaning "oath".
Bentley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BENT-lee
From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.
Australia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to 2nd century legends of an "unknown southern land" (that is terra australis incognita). The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis, which was later abbreviated to the current form.
August
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English
Pronounced: OW-guwst(German) OW-goost(Polish, Norwegian) OW-guyst(Swedish) AW-gəst(English)
German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of
Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.
As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.
Atlas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
Personal remark: Top name for a boy
Possibly means
"enduring" from Greek
τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek
mythology he was a Titan punished by
Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
Atlantis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), South African (Rare)
Taken from the name of the mythological place of the
Atlantis, derived from the Greek
Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος meaning “island of
Atlas.”
Atlanta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: at-LAN-tə
From the name of the city in the American state of Georgia, originally a short form of
Atlantica, which is ultimately from the name of the Atlantic Ocean (itself the genitive of
Atlas).
It may also be considered a contracted form of Atalanta.
Athanagild
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized) [1]
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳(Gothic)
From the Gothic name *
Aþanagild, derived from the elements
aþn meaning "year" combined with
gild meaning "payment, tribute, compensation". Athanagild was a 6th-century king of Visigothic Spain.
Arkady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Аркадий(Russian)
Pronounced: ur-KA-dyee
Areli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אַרְאֵלִי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ə-REE-lie(English)
Possibly means
"lion of God, hero" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of
Gad in the
Old Testament.
Archie
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: AHR-chee(American English) AH-chee(British English)
Diminutive of
Archibald. This name is borne by Archie Andrews, an American comic-book character created in 1941. It was also used by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the name of their son born 2019.
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər(American English) AH-chə(British English)
From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.
Arcelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ar-SEH-lya(Latin American Spanish) ar-THEH-lya(European Spanish)
Arcangelo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ar-KAN-jeh-lo
Means "archangel" in Italian.
Arcangela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Arcadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ar-KA-dhya
Feminine form of
Arcadius. This is the name of a region on the Greek Peloponnese, long idealized for its natural beauty.
Alžběta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: ALZH-byeh-ta
Altair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: al-TEHR(American English) al-TEH(British English)
Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.
Allegra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English (Rare)
Pronounced: al-LEH-gra(Italian) ə-LEHG-rə(English)
Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).
Alisher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik
Other Scripts: Алишер(Uzbek, Tajik, Russian) Әлішер(Kazakh)
From the given name
Ali 1 combined with Persian
شیر (shīr) meaning "lion". It was borne by the Timurid poet Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441-1501), who wrote in the Chagatai Turkic language.
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)
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.
Alena 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: A-leh-na(Czech, Slovak)
Short form of
Magdalena or
Helena. This was the name of a
saint, possibly legendary, who was martyred near Brussels in the 7th century.
Alaula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian (Rare), English (Modern, Rare)
Means "light of the early dawn" or "sunset glow" in Hawaiian, literally "flaming road" from Hawaiian ala "path, road" and ula "flame".
Alagis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic
The first element of this Germanic name comes from Gothic
alls "all" or from Gothic
alhs (
alah in Old High German) "temple." The meaning and origin of the second element is rather uncertain: we know that it comes from
gis (the original form was possibly
gîs), but we don't exactly know where
gis itself comes from. But there are a few possibilities. It might come from Gallo-Celtic
gaiso "spear" (see
Gaiseric) or it might be a short form of
gisel, which means "hostage" or "pledge" (see
Giselle). Alagis was the name of a 7th-century king of the Lombards.
Akif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Urdu
Other Scripts: عاكف(Arabic) عاکف(Urdu)
Pronounced: ‘A-keef(Arabic) a-KYEEF(Turkish)
Means
"devoted, focused" in Arabic. It refers to one who practices
اعتكاف (iʿtikāf), which is seclusion inside a mosque for a period of time to worship.
Aisha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Hausa, Swahili, Kazakh, African American
Other Scripts: عائشة(Arabic) عائشہ(Urdu) Айша(Kazakh)
Pronounced: ‘A-ee-sha(Arabic) ie-EE-shə(English)
Means
"living, alive" in Arabic. This was the name of
Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of
Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against
Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. Her name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.
This name began to be used in America in the 1970s, possibly inspired by Princess Aisha of Jordan (1968-), the daughter of King Hussein and his British-born wife. It received a boost in popularity after Stevie Wonder used it for his first daughter in 1975.
Agamemnon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀγαμέμνων(Ancient Greek) Αγαμέμνων(Greek)
Pronounced: A-GA-MEHM-NAWN(Classical Greek) ag-ə-MEHM-nahn(American English) ag-ə-MEHM-nawn(British English)
Possibly means
"very steadfast" in Greek. In Greek
mythology he was the brother of
Menelaus. He led the Greek expedition to Troy to recover his brother's wife
Helen. After the Trojan War Agamemnon was killed by his wife
Clytemnestra.
Acolmiztli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Nahuatl, Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Pronounced: ah-kol-MEES-chee(Nahuatl)
Derived from Nahuatl
acolli "shoulder" and
miztli "mountain lion, wildcat". This was the name of an Aztec god of the underworld, also known as
Acolnahuacatl. It was also the name of two rulers of Tlatelolco.
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