jasehgal's Personal Name List
Ziya
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish
Other Scripts: ضياء(Arabic)
Pronounced: dee-YA(Arabic)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "splendour, light, glow" in Arabic. This was the name of a 14th-century Islamic Indian historian.
Zelda 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEHL-də
Rating: 75% based on 2 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).
Zeferino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Portuguese form of the Roman name
Zephyrinus, which was derived from the Greek
Zephyros (see
Zephyr).
Saint Zephyrinus was a 3rd-century pope.
Zaira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: DZIE-ra(Italian) dza-EE-ra(Italian) THIE-ra(European Spanish) SIE-ra(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Italian and Spanish form of
Zaïre. It was used by Vincenzo Bellini for the heroine of his opera
Zaira (1829), which was based on Voltaire's 1732 play
Zaïre.
Zahra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian
Other Scripts: زهراء(Arabic) زهرا(Persian)
Pronounced: zah-RA(Arabic)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Arabic
زهراء (zahrāʾ), the feminine form of
أزهر (ʾazhar) meaning
"shining, brilliant, bright". This is an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad's daughter
Fatima.
See also the related name Zahra 2.
Zacarías
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: tha-ka-REE-as(European Spanish) sa-ka-REE-as(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Yves
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EEV
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Medieval French form of
Ivo 1. This was the name of two French
saints: an 11th-century bishop of Chartres and a 13th-century parish priest and lawyer, also known as Ivo of Kermartin, the patron saint of Brittany.
Yaretzi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Modern)
Pronounced: gya-REHT-see(Latin American Spanish) gya-REHT-thee(European Spanish)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Xochitl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl
Pronounced: SHO-cheech
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means
"flower" in Nahuatl
[1].
Xiomara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: syo-MA-ra
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Possibly a Spanish form of
Guiomar.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Wolfe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: WUWLF
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Wolf, influenced by the spelling of the surname (which is also derived from the animal).
Winona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Sioux
Pronounced: wi-NO-nə(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Means
"firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly
Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 93% based on 3 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Willa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WIL-ə
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Vittoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: veet-TAW-rya
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Violette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VYAW-LEHT
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Violetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Виолетта(Russian)
Pronounced: vyo-LEHT-ta(Italian) vyi-u-LYEHT-tə(Russian) VEE-o-leht-taw(Hungarian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Italian, Russian and Hungarian form of
Violet.
Violet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VIE-lit, VIE-ə-lit
Rating: 88% based on 6 votes
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.
Venus
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEH-noos(Latin) VEE-nəs(English)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Means
"love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite. As the mother of
Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.
Thérèse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TEH-REHZ
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
French form of
Theresa. It was borne by the French nun
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church.
Thais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Spanish
Other Scripts: Θαΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TIES(Spanish)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Ancient Greek
Θαΐς (see
Thaïs), as well as the usual Spanish form.
Tatiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, French, Slovak, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Greek, Georgian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Τατιάνα(Greek) ტატიანა(Georgian) Татьяна(Russian) Татяна(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ta-TYA-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish, German) TAH-tee-ah-nah(Finnish) ta-TYAHN-ə(English) tu-TYA-nə(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of the Roman name
Tatianus, a derivative of the Roman name
Tatius. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint who was martyred in Rome under the emperor Alexander Severus. She was especially venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and the name has been common in Russia (as
Татьяна) and Eastern Europe. It was not regularly used in the English-speaking world until the 1980s.
Suraya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Malay
Other Scripts: ثريّا, ثريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: thoo-RIE-ya(Arabic)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Arabic
ثريّا or
ثريّة (see
Thurayya), as well as the usual Malay form.
Sura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Muslim, Berber
Other Scripts: سورة(Arabic, Maghrebi Arabic)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "highness of status, highness of rank, glory" in Arabic.
Suhail
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: سهيل(Arabic) سہیل(Urdu)
Pronounced: soo-HIEL(Arabic)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Derived from Arabic
سهل (sahl) meaning
"level, even, smooth" [1]. This is the Arabic name of the second brightest star in the sky, known in the western world as Canopus. It is also the official (IAU) name of the third brightest star in the constellation Vela.
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Stella 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: STEHL-ə(English) STEHL-la(Italian) STEH-la(Dutch)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
Stelian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Sonnet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SAHN-it
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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.
Sole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: SO-leh
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "sun" in Italian.
Sol 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SOL(Spanish) SAWL(European Portuguese) SOW(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "sun" in Spanish or Portuguese.
Sitara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: ستارہ(Urdu)
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Means "star" in Urdu, ultimately from Persian.
Silver
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIL-vər(American English) SIL-və(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the precious metal or the colour, ultimately derived from Old English seolfor.
Sidra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Pakistani
Other Scripts: سدرہ(Urdu)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
From the Arabic name of a type of tree, known as the lote tree (or "lotus tree") in English, which is given in reference to an Islamic symbol of the upper limit of heaven. When the prophet Muhammad ascended to Paradise, saw at the end of the seventh, highest heaven a lote tree, marking the place "beyond which neither prophets nor angels may pass" (only Allah), which he called سدرة المنتهى (sidra-tul-muntaha) "lote tree of the utmost boundary, of the last frontier".
Ségolène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-GAW-LEHN
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
From the Germanic name
Sigilina, itself a
diminutive derivative of the element
sigu meaning
"victory" (Proto-Germanic *
segiz). This was the name of a 7th-century
saint from Albi, France.
Santiago
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: san-TYA-gho(Spanish) sun-tee-A-goo(European Portuguese) sun-chee-A-goo(Brazilian Portuguese) sahn-tee-AH-go(English) san-tee-AH-go(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
James, the patron saint of Spain. It is the name of the main character in the novella
The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Samir 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Azerbaijani
Other Scripts: سمير(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-MEER(Arabic)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means
"companion in evening talk" in Arabic, from the root
سمر (samara) meaning "to talk in the evening".
Salem 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سالم(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA-leem
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سالم (see
Salim).
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Saffron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAF-rən
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the English word that refers either to a spice, the crocus flower from which it is harvested, or the yellow-orange colour of the spice. It is derived via Old French from Arabic
زعفران (zaʿfarān), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".
Sabriyya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: صبريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: sab-REE-ya
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Sabrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: sə-BREEN-ə(English) sa-BREE-na(Italian, Spanish) za-BREE-na(German) SA-BREE-NA(French) su-BREE-nu(European Portuguese) sa-BREE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of
Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque
Comus (1634).
The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.
Rowena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-EEN-ə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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).
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
Rating: 93% based on 4 votes
Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Rosamund
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-mənd(English) RAHZ-ə-mənd(American English) RAWZ-ə-mənd(British English)
Rating: 77% based on 3 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.
Rosalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: ro-za-LEE-a(Italian)
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Late Latin name derived from
rosa "rose". This was the name of a 12th-century Sicilian
saint.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər(American English) RIV-ə(British English)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Reina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: RAY-na
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "queen" in Spanish.
Raven
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAY-vən
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English
hræfn. The raven is revered by several Native American groups of the west coast. It is also associated with the Norse god
Odin.
Rafael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Hebrew
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל(Hebrew) Рафаел(Macedonian)
Pronounced: ra-fa-EHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) ha-fa-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) RA-fa-ehl(German) RAW-faw-ehl(Hungarian)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Form of
Raphael in various languages. A famous bearer is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (1986-).
Quinn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 75% based on 2 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.
Pomeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: PAWM-EH-LEEN, PAWM-LEEN
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant form of
Pomelline. This name is best known for being one of the middle names of Charlotte Casiraghi (b. 1986), who is the daughter of Princess Caroline of Hanover (formerly of Monaco). She was given this middle name in honour of her ancestor Pomellina Fregoso (c. 1387-1468), a Genovese noblewoman who was the wife of Jean I of Monaco (c. 1382-1454). Her name had been gallicized to
Pomelline in Monaco, as it was (and still is) predominantly a French-speaking country.
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: 77% based on 3 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.
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: 35% based on 2 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.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL(American English) PUL(British English)
Rating: 85% based on 2 votes
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
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: 44% based on 5 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.
Opal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-pəl
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From the English word
opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit
उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".
Olympia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Slovak
Other Scripts: Ολυμπία(Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(American English) AWL-iv(British English) AW-LEEV(French)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Ofelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: o-FEH-lya
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Spanish and Italian form of
Ophelia.
Noëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: NAW-EHL(French)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Nikolai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Николай(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: nyi-ku-LIE(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Nienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: nee-EN-nah
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "she who weeps" from Quenya nie "tear". According to 'The Silmarillion', Nienna is a Vala (angelic being) who constantly mourns all terrible things, though from her is learned not despair but mercy, compassion and hope. It has also been suggested that her name consists of two elements, nie combined with anna "gift", in which case it may refer to the charismatic "gift of tears" in Catholic theology.
Nicolás
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: nee-ko-LAS
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Nicolas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: NEE-KAW-LA
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Niccolò
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: neek-ko-LAW
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Italian form of
Nicholas. Famous bearers include Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), a Florentine political philosopher, and Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), a Genoese composer and violinist.
Natalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Ναταλία(Greek) ნატალია(Georgian) Наталия(Russian, Bulgarian) Наталія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: na-TA-lya(Polish, Italian, Spanish) na-ta-LEE-a(Italian) na-TA-lee-a(Romanian) nə-TAHL-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Latinate form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Muhammad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tajik, Uzbek, Indonesian, Malay, Avar
Other Scripts: محمّد(Arabic, Urdu, Shahmukhi, Pashto) মুহাম্মদ(Bengali) Муҳаммад(Tajik, Uzbek) МухӀаммад(Avar) Мухаммад(Russian)
Pronounced: moo-HAM-mad(Arabic) muw-HAM-əd(English) muw-HUM-məd(Urdu) MOO-ham-mawd(Bengali) moo-ham-MAD(Tajik Persian)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means
"praised, commendable" in Arabic, derived from the root
حمد (ḥamida) meaning "to praise". This was the name of the prophet who founded the Islamic religion in the 7th century. According to Islamic belief, at age 40 Muhammad was visited by the angel
Gabriel, who provided him with the first verses of the
Quran. Approximately 20 years later he conquered Mecca, the city of his birth, and his followers controlled most of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of his death in 632.
Since the prophet's time his name has been very popular in the Muslim world. It was borne by several Abbasid caliphs and six sultans of the Ottoman Empire (though their names are usually given in the Turkish spelling Mehmet). Other famous bearers include Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (9th century), a Persian mathematician and scientist who devised algebra, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd (1126-1198), an Andalusian scholar also called Averroes, and Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273), a Persian poet. In the modern era there is Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948), the founder of Pakistan, and the American boxer Muhammad Ali (1942-2016).
Morena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: mo-REH-na(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Minnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIN-ee
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Diminutive of
Wilhelmina. This name was used by Walt Disney for the cartoon character Minnie Mouse, introduced 1928.
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
Maria and
Elena.
Mihai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: mee-HIE
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Romanian form of
Michael. Mihai the Brave was a prince of Wallachia who united Romania in the early 17th century.
Mercury
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: MUR-kyə-ree(American English) MU-kyuw-ree(British English)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
From the Latin
Mercurius, probably derived from Latin
mercari "to trade" or
merces "wages". This was the name of the Roman god of trade, merchants, and travellers, later equated with the Greek god
Hermes. This is also the name of the first planet in the solar system and a metallic chemical element, both named for the god.
Melquiades
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Galician
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 83% based on 4 votes
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Matías
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-TEE-as
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Mateus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: mu-TEWSH(European Portuguese) ma-TEWS(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
Mateo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Croatian
Pronounced: ma-TEH-o(Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Spanish form of
Matthew. This form is also sometimes used in Croatia, from the Italian form
Matteo.
Maritza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ma-REET-sa
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Elaboration of
Maria used particularly in Latin America. The suffix could be inspired by the name of the Itza people of Central America (as seen in the name of the old Maya city of Chichen Itza, Mexico). It also nearly coincides with the name of the Maritsa River in southeastern Europe.
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Malia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, English (Modern)
Pronounced: ma-LEE-a(Hawaiian) mə-LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Hawaiian form of
Maria. This name experienced a spike in popularity in 2009, due to the eldest daughter (born 1998) of the new American president Barack Obama.
Maja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Маја(Serbian)
Pronounced: MA-ya(German, Polish)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
Form of
Maia 1 in various languages.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 83% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Lyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: LIE-rə(English)
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).
Lux
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
Lutz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LUWTS
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Luna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: LOO-na(Latin, Spanish, Italian) LOO-nə(English)
Rating: 80% based on 3 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.
Lumusi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ewe
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "born face down" in Ewe.
Luminița
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: loo-mee-NEE-tsa
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Means
"little light", derived from Romanian
lumina "light" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Lumina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: LOO-mi-nə, loo-MEE-nə
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Derived from Latin lumina "lights", ultimately from Latin lumen "light". In the English-speaking world, this name was first recorded in the 1800s.
Lumas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romani, African American
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 90% based on 2 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-SYEHN
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Luce
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, French
Pronounced: LOO-cheh(Italian) LUYS(French)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Italian and French variant of
Lucia. This also means "light" in Italian.
Lourdes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: LOOR-dhehs(Spanish) LOR-dhehs(Spanish) LOORD(French) LUWRDZ(American English) LUWDZ(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the name of a French town. It became a popular center of pilgrimage after a young girl from the town had visions of the Virgin
Mary in a nearby grotto.
Linnea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: lin-NEH-a(Swedish) LEEN-neh-ah(Finnish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Lev 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Лев(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LYEHF(Russian)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
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.
León
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: leh-ON
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Spanish form of
Leo and
Leon. This is also the name of a city and province in Spain (see
León), though the etymology is unrelated.
Léo 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-O
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Leila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, Georgian
Other Scripts: لیلا(Persian) ليلى(Arabic) لەیلا(Kurdish Sorani) ლეილა(Georgian)
Pronounced: lay-LAW(Persian) LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English) LEE-lə(English) LIE-lə(English) LAY-LA(French)
Rating: 80% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Layla, and the usual Persian transcription.
This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in The Giaour (1813) and Don Juan (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
Kliment
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Климент(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: KLYEE-myint(Russian)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of
Clemens (see
Clement).
Klaus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KLOWS(German, Finnish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
German short form of
Nicholas, now used independently.
Khalilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic (Rare)
Other Scripts: خليلة(Arabic)
Pronounced: kha-LEE-la
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Kareem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: كريم(Arabic)
Pronounced: ka-REEM
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
كريم (see
Karim). A famous bearer of this name is basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1947-).
Juliette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUY-LYEHT
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Julieta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: khoo-LYEH-ta(Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Juliet.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Judas. It is used in many English versions of the
New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world,
Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the
Protestant Reformation.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Jacqueline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: ZHAK-LEEN(French) JAK-ə-lin(English) JAK-wə-lin(English) JAK-ə-leen(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
French feminine form of
Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.
Jack
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Derived from
Jackin (earlier
Jankin), a medieval
diminutive of
John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name
Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms
jack-o'-lantern,
jack-in-the-box,
lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as
Jack and the Beanstalk,
Jack and Jill,
Little Jack Horner, and
Jack Sprat.
American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.
In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.
Isidore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Georgian (Rare), Jewish
Other Scripts: ისიდორე(Georgian)
Pronounced: IZ-ə-dawr(American English) IZ-ə-daw(British English) EE-ZEE-DAWR(French)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From the Greek name
Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning
"gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess
Isis combined with Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift".
Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.
Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.
Isidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese (Rare), Italian (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Исидора(Serbian, Russian) Ἰσιδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-see-DHO-ra(Spanish) ee-zee-DAW-ra(Italian) iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian
saint and hermitess.
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִצְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִצְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning
"he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from
צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The
Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that
Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife
Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see
Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see
Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of
Esau and
Jacob with his wife
Rebecca.
As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).
Irina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Georgian, Finnish, Estonian
Other Scripts: Ирина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ირინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-RYEE-nə(Russian) EE-ree-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Form of
Irene in several languages.
Iqra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: اقرا(Urdu)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From Arabic
اقْرأ (iqraʾ) meaning
"read, recite, confess". This is another name of the 96th chapter of the
Quran.
Iosif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Romanian, Greek
Other Scripts: Иосиф(Russian) Ιωσήφ(Greek)
Pronounced: i-O-syif(Russian) YO-seef(Romanian)
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
Russian, Romanian and Greek form of
Joseph.
Ionela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: yo-NEH-la
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Romanian feminine form of
John.
Íñigo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: EE-nyee-gho
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Medieval Spanish form of
Eneko. This was the birth name of
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who changed it in honour of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. As such, this name is sometimes regarded as a form of
Ignatius.
Inés
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ee-NEHS
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Inès
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EE-NEHS
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Imogen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: IM-ə-jehn
Rating: 70% based on 5 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.
Ilyas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Indonesian, Kazakh, Chechen, Tatar, Bashkir
Other Scripts: إلياس(Arabic) الیاس(Urdu) Ілияс(Kazakh) Ильяс(Chechen, Tatar, Bashkir)
Pronounced: eel-YAS(Arabic)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Arabic form of
Elijah, also used in several other languages.
Ileana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ee-LYA-na(Romanian) ee-leh-A-na(Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Possibly a Romanian variant of
Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.
Ilaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ee-LA-rya
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Ignacio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eegh-NA-thyo(European Spanish) eegh-NA-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Idris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: إدريس(Arabic)
Pronounced: eed-REES(Arabic) EE-drees(Malay, Indonesian)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
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.
Hussein
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: حسين(Arabic)
Pronounced: hoo-SIEN
Rating: 5% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
حسين (see
Husayn).
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: 60% based on 3 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.
Horatio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: hə-RAY-shee-o, hə-RAY-sho
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Horatius. Shakespeare used it for a character in his tragedy
Hamlet (1600). It was borne by the British admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), famous for his defeat of Napoleon's forces in the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he was himself killed. Since his time the name has been occasionally used in his honour.
Holly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-ee(American English) HAWL-ee(British English)
Rating: 47% based on 3 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.
Holiday
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: HAHL-i-day
Rating: 10% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Holiday.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 75% based on 2 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.
Harry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Swedish, German
Pronounced: HAR-ee(English) HEHR-ee(English) HAH-ree(Dutch) HA-ree(German)
Rating: 100% based on 2 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.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 73% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning
"God is my strong man", derived from
גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the
Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet
Daniel, while in the
New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of
John to
Zechariah and
Jesus to
Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the
Quran to
Muhammad.
This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.
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: 87% based on 3 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.
Ferdinand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Dutch, English, Slovak, Czech, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: FEHR-dee-nant(German) FEHR-DEE-NAHN(French) FEHR-dee-nahnt(Dutch) FUR-də-nand(American English) FU-də-nand(British English) FEHR-dee-nand(Slovak) FEHR-di-nant(Czech)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From
Fredenandus, the Latinized form of a Gothic name composed of the elements
friþus "peace" (or perhaps
farþa "journey"
[1]) and
nanþa "boldness, daring". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth.
Fawn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWN
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the English word fawn for a young deer.
Farouk
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: فاروق(Arabic)
Pronounced: fa-ROOK
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
فاروق (see
Faruq).
Fabián
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: fa-BYAN
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Spanish form of
Fabianus (see
Fabian).
Étienne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-TYEHN(European French) EH-TSYEHN(Quebec French)
Rating: 73% based on 4 votes
Estrella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TREH-ya
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Spanish form of
Stella 1, coinciding with the Spanish word meaning "star".
Estela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-TEH-la(Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Portuguese and Spanish form of
Estelle.
Esmeralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Albanian, Literature
Pronounced: ehz-meh-RAL-da(Spanish) izh-mi-RAL-du(European Portuguese) ehz-meh-ROW-du(Brazilian Portuguese) ehz-mə-RAHL-də(English)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Romani girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.
Ercole
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: EHR-ko-leh
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
From the word for the green precious stone, which is the traditional birthstone of May. The emerald supposedly imparts love to the bearer. The word is ultimately from Greek
σμάραγδος (smaragdos).
Éloi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LWA
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Elio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: EH-lyo
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Eliana 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English (Modern)
Pronounced: eh-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish) ehl-lee-AN-ə(English) ehl-lee-AHN-ə(English)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Éliane.
Eleonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek
Other Scripts: Елеонора(Bulgarian, Ukrainian) Элеонора(Russian) Ελεονώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-leh-o-NAW-ra(Italian) eh-leh-o-NO-ra(German, Dutch) eh-leh-aw-NAW-ra(Polish) eh-lyi-u-NO-rə(Russian)
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
Form of
Eleanor in several languages.
Eiza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Possibly a variant of
Aiza, or a form of
Elsa or
ElizaA noted bearer is Mexican actress Eiza González, born Eiza González Reyna (b.1990), best known for her roles as Lola in the Televisa telenovela 'Lola...Érase una vez' and Santanico Pandemonium in El Rey's television series 'From Dusk Till Dawn' (a role portrayed by noted Mexican actress Salma Hayek in the original film of the same name).
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 83% based on 3 votes
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight"
[1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Echo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠχώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-ko(English)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the Greek word
ἠχώ (echo) meaning
"echo, reflected sound", related to
ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek
mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by
Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with
Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.
Dimitri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Georgian, French
Other Scripts: Димитрий(Russian) დიმიტრი(Georgian)
Pronounced: dyi-MYEE-tryee(Russian) DEE-MEE-TREE(Georgian, French)
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Russian variant of
Dmitriy, as well as the Georgian form.
Cleo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEE-o
Rating: 72% based on 5 votes
Clémentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN-TEEN
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
French feminine form of
Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).
Clemente
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: kleh-MEHN-teh(Italian, Spanish) kli-MEHN-ti(European Portuguese) kleh-MEHN-chee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Clemens (see
Clement).
Clarke
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAHRK
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Clark. As a feminine name it came into use in the early 1990s, influenced by the character Clarke Betancourt from the 1990 film
Mo' Better Blues. It was further popularized by Clarke Griffin, a character in the television series
The 100 (2014-2020).
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(American English) SHAH-lət(British English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
French feminine
diminutive of
Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of
Jane Eyre and
Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.
Cézanne
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Afrikaans
Pronounced: se-zan
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
From the French artist, Paul Cézanne. This name is sometimes used as a feminine name by Afrikaners in South Africa due to its similarity to
Suzanne.
César
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SEH-ZAR(French) THEH-sar(European Spanish) SEH-sar(Latin American Spanish) SEH-zur(European Portuguese) SEH-zukh(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
French, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Caesar. A famous bearer was the American labour organizer César Chávez (1927-1993).
Cerise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SU-REEZ
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "cherry" in French.
Cereza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare)
Pronounced: the-RE-thah(Spanish) se-RE-sa(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Means "cherry" in Spanish.
Célestin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-LEHS-TEHN
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Céleste
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-LEST
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
French feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis.
Carmela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Galician
Pronounced: kar-MEH-la(Italian, Spanish) kahr-MEH-lu(Galician)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Italian, Spanish and Galician form of
Carmel.
Bronte
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRAHN-tee(American English) BRAWN-tee(British English)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From a surname, an Anglicized form of Irish
Ó Proinntigh, itself derived from the given name
Proinnteach, probably from Irish
bronntach meaning "generous". The Brontë sisters — Charlotte, Emily, and Anne — were 19th-century English novelists. Their father changed the spelling of the family surname from
Brunty to
Brontë, possibly to make it coincide with Greek
βροντή meaning "thunder".
Azzurra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ad-DZOOR-ra
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "azure, sky blue" in Italian.
Azra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian, Persian, Urdu
Other Scripts: عذراء(Arabic) عذرا(Persian, Urdu)
Pronounced: ‘adh-RA(Arabic)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "virgin, maiden" in Arabic.
Azhar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu, Malay
Other Scripts: أزهر(Arabic) اظہر(Urdu)
Pronounced: AZ-har(Arabic)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Means
"shining, brilliant, bright" in Arabic, derived from the root
زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine".
Azélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: A-ZEH-LEE
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Perhaps a form of
Azalaïs. It was borne by
Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.
Azahara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-tha-A-ra(European Spanish) a-sa-A-ra(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Azahar. It can also be given in reference to the ruined Moorish city of Medina Azahara in Córdoba, which derives from the related Arabic root
زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine".
Aurélien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LYEHN
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Aurélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LEE
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
Aurel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, German (Rare)
Pronounced: ow-REHL(German)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Aure
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
French form of
Aurea and
Aura.
Aure has been in rare, but steady, use since the Middle Ages (despite also being the Old French vocabulary word for "breeze; soft wind").
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 85% based on 2 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.
Astrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, English
Pronounced: AS-strid(Swedish) AHS-tri(Norwegian) AS-trit(German) AS-TREED(French) AS-trid(English)
Rating: 63% based on 4 votes
Modern Scandinavian form of
Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of
Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 63% based on 3 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.
Asteria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀστερία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Asami
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 麻美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あさみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-SA-MEE
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
From Japanese
麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" and
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
Asad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: أسد(Arabic) اسد(Urdu)
Pronounced: A-sad(Arabic) U-səd(Urdu)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "lion" in Arabic.
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 70% based on 2 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.
Arsenio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ar-SEH-nyo
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Arístides
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-REES-tee-dhehs
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Ariela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Albanian, Croatian, Italian (Rare), Polish
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Hebrew variant of
Ariella, Polish feminine form of
Ariel, Italian feminine form of
Ariele as well as a Croatian and Albanian borrowing of the Italian name.
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Means
"most holy", composed of the Greek prefix
ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek
ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek
mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King
Minos. She fell in love with
Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god
Dionysus.
Ariadna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Catalan, Russian, Polish
Other Scripts: Ариадна(Russian)
Pronounced: a-RYADH-na(Spanish) ə-RYADH-nə(Catalan) a-RYAD-na(Polish)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Spanish, Catalan, Russian and Polish form of
Ariadne.
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Apolline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-PAW-LEEN
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Aoife
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: EE-fyə(Irish)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
From Old Irish
Aífe, derived from
oíph meaning
"beauty" (modern Irish
aoibh). This was the name of several characters in Irish legend, including a woman at war with
Scáthach (her sister in some versions). She was defeated in single combat by the hero
Cúchulainn, who spared her life on the condition that she bear him a child (
Connla). Another legendary figure by this name appears in the
Children of Lir as the jealous third wife of
Lir.
This name is sometimes Anglicized as Eve or Eva.
Antonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian, Greek, Croatian, Bulgarian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Αντωνία(Greek) Антония(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: an-TO-nya(Italian, Spanish, German) an-TO-nee-ə(English) ahn-TO-nee-a(Dutch) an-TO-nee-a(Latin)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Antonius (see
Anthony).
Anton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Dutch, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, Croatian, Romanian, Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, English
Other Scripts: Антон(Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Macedonian) ანტონ(Georgian)
Pronounced: AN-ton(German) AN-tawn(German, British English) un-TON(Russian) AHN-tawn(Dutch) un-TAWN(Ukrainian) an-TON(Belarusian, Slovene, Romanian) AHN-ton(Finnish) AN-TAWN(Georgian) AN-tahn(American English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Form of
Antonius (see
Anthony) used in various languages. A notable bearer was the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904).
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Medieval English variant of
Honora.
Anita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Slovene, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Latvian, Hungarian
Pronounced: a-NEE-ta(Spanish, Dutch, German) ə-NEET-ə(English) AH-nee-tah(Finnish) a-NYEE-ta(Polish) AW-nee-taw(Hungarian)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Andrés
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Icelandic
Pronounced: an-DREHS(Spanish) AN-tryehs(Icelandic)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Spanish and Icelandic form of
Andrew.
Andrei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Russian, Bulgarian, Belarusian, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Андрей(Russian, Bulgarian) Андрэй(Belarusian) Андреи(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: an-DRAY(Romanian) un-DRYAY(Russian)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Romanian form of
Andrew, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian/Bulgarian
Андрей or Belarusian
Андрэй (see
Andrey).
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of
Anne 1 or
Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera
Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant
Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as
Anaitis or
Athénaïs.
A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.
Amir 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Malay, Indonesian, Bosnian
Other Scripts: أمير(Arabic) امیر(Persian, Urdu) Әмір(Kazakh) Әмир(Tatar, Bashkir) Амир(Russian)
Pronounced: a-MEER(Arabic, Persian, Tatar) ə-MEER(Urdu)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Means "commander, prince" in Arabic. This was originally a title, which has come into English as the Arabic loanword emir.
Amélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MEH-LEE
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Amédée
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MEH-DEH
Rating: 60% based on 4 votes
Ambrosio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: am-BRO-syo
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
Spanish form of
Ambrosius (see
Ambrose).
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
From the Late Latin name
Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name
Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning
"immortal".
Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Greek, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, German, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Αμαλία(Greek)
Pronounced: a-MA-lya(Spanish, Italian, German) a-MA-lee-a(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal. This element means
"unceasing, vigorous, brave", or it can refer to the Gothic dynasty of the Amali (derived from the same root).
This was another name for the 7th-century saint Amalberga of Maubeuge.
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: am-ə-DAY-əs(English)
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
Means
"love of God", derived from Latin
amare "to love" and
Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang
Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.
Amadeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: a-ma-DHEH-o(Spanish) a-ma-DEH-o(Italian)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Spanish form of
Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).
Almas
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ألماس(Arabic)
Pronounced: al-MAS
Rating: 25% based on 6 votes
Means
"diamond" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian
الماس (almās).
Alix
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-LEEKS
Rating: 53% based on 3 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.
Aliena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Theatre, Literature
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "stranger" in Latin. This was the false identity of
Celia in Shakespeare's play 'As You Like It' (1599) when she goes into hiding in the forest of Arden, presumably a pun on the word
alias. It was also used by author Ken Follett for a character in his historical novel 'The Pillars of the Earth' (1989).
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: 76% based on 7 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).
Alexandre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Pronounced: A-LEHK-ZAHNDR(French) u-li-SHUN-dri(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dree(Brazilian Portuguese) a-leh-SHAN-dreh(Galician) ə-lək-SAN-drə(Catalan)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Form of
Alexander in several languages. This name was borne by the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), who wrote
The Three Musketeers.
Alaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-LIE-ə, ə-LAY-ə
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Alayah. It coincides with a Buddhist term (meaning "dwelling" in Sanskrit), which refers to the eighth level of human consciousness.
Ainara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: ie-NA-ra
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Aelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: IE-lee-a
Rating: 41% based on 7 votes
Adelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: Аделина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: a-deh-LEE-na(Italian) a-dheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
From a Germanic name that was derived from the element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Adassa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Guanche, Spanish (Canarian)
Pronounced: a-DAH-sah(Guanche, Canarian Spanish)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Guanche *sseḍs, meaning "laughter".
Achilleas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αχιλλέας(Greek)
Pronounced: a-khee-LEH-as
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
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