MissPhrygian's Personal Name List
Zuleika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: zoo-LAY-kə(English)
Meaning uncertain, possibly of Arabic origin. According to medieval tradition, notably related by the 15th-century Persian poet Jami, this was the name of the biblical Potiphar's wife. She has been a frequent subject of poems and tales.
Zenovia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Greek)
Viriato
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
From the Latin name Viriathus or Viriatus, which was derived from viriae "bracelets" (of Celtic origin). Viriathus was a leader of the Lusitani (a tribe of Portugal) who rebelled against Roman rule in the 2nd century BC.
Violante
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Italian
Pronounced: vee-o-LAN-teh(Italian)
Vicente
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: bee-THEHN-teh(European Spanish) bee-SEHN-teh(Latin American Spanish) vee-SEHN-ti(European Portuguese) vee-SEHN-chee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Vincent.
Vasilios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Βασίλειος(Greek)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Valeriya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Валерия(Russian) Валерія(Ukrainian) Валерыя(Belarusian)
Pronounced: vu-LYEH-ryi-yə(Russian)
Russian and Ukrainian feminine form of
Valerius, as well as an alternate transcription of Belarusian
Валерыя (see
Valeryia).
Ulysses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English
Pronounced: yoo-LI-seez(Latin) yoo-LIS-eez(American English, British English) YOOL-i-seez(British English)
Latin form of
Odysseus. It was borne by Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), the commander of the Union forces during the American Civil War, who went on to become an American president. Irish author James Joyce used it as the title of his book
Ulysses (1922), which loosely parallels
Homer's epic the
Odyssey.
Tybalt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: TIB-əlt(English)
The name of a cousin of
Juliet killed by
Romeo in William Shakespeare's drama
Romeo and Juliet (1596). The character earlier appears as Tebaldo, an Italian form of
Theobald, in Luigi Da Porto's novella
Giulietta e Romeo (1524), one of Shakespeare's sources. Shakespeare was also inspired by the character of Tybalt the Cat (from
Thibault the French form of
Theobald) in medieval fables of Reynard the Fox (evidenced by
Mercutio calling Tybalt the "prince of cats").
Tristan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: TRIS-tən(English) TREES-TAHN(French)
Probably from the Celtic name
Drustan, a
diminutive of
Drust, which occurs as
Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As
Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French
triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch
Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King
Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.
Toussaint
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TOO-SEHN
Means
"all saints" in French. This is the name of a Christian festival celebrated on November 1 (All Saints' Day).
Theodosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδοσία(Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-O-DO-SEE-A(Classical Greek) thee-ə-DO-see-ə(English) thee-ə-DO-shə(English)
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Tamarin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare), South African (Rare)
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Means
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
Taalke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: East Frisian
Svala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse, Icelandic, Swedish (Rare), Danish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare)
Derived from Old Norse
svala "swallow (bird)". This name is also considered a short form of
Svalaug.
Solenne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SAW-LEHN
Solange
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Portuguese
Pronounced: SAW-LAHNZH(French)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
French form of the Late Latin name
Sollemnia, which was derived from Latin
sollemnis "religious". This was the name of a French shepherdess who became a
saint after she was killed by her master.
Sirène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Belgian, Modern, Rare)
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
The name of a companion of
Saint Paul in the
New Testament. It is probably a short form of
Silvanus, a name that Paul calls him by in the epistles. It is possible that
Silvanus and
Silas were Latin and Greek forms of the Hebrew name
Saul (via Aramaic).
As an English name it was not used until after the Protestant Reformation. It was utilized by George Eliot for the title character in her novel Silas Marner (1861).
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Feminine form of the Late Latin name
Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word
seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant
"fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
Selvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Means "cypress" in Turkish (derived from Persian, ultimately from Sumerian).
Selinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-LIN-də
This given name can be a Dutch variant of
Sieglinde as well as be a combination of
Selina with
Linde.
Selah
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: סֶלַה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə(English)
From a Hebrew musical term that occurs many times in the
Old Testament Psalms. It was probably meant to indicate a musical pause.
Samarinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Literature, Popular Culture
Pronounced: sah-mah-RIN-də
The use of this extremely rare name was inspired by a character from the 1992 book "Ik ook van jou" (English: "I love you too" - the literal translation is "I also of you"), who is featured much more prominently in the 2000 sequel "Ik omhels je met duizend armen" (English: "I embrace you with a thousand arms"). Both books were written by Dutch author Ronald Giphart (b. 1965) and both have been made into films. The author has stated that he derived the name from Samarinda, a major city on the Indonesian island Borneo. The city derives its name from Indonesian samarenda meaning "equal in height", which was a term originally used in reference to the way in which the Bugis people constructed their houses.
Salvatore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: sal-va-TO-reh
Saemira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian (Rare)
Derived from Albanian sa "so; how (much)", the particle e and mirë "good".
Rosaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RO-zə-leen(English) RAHZ-ə-lin(American English) RAHZ-ə-lien(American English) RAWZ-ə-lin(British English) RAWZ-ə-lien(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Medieval variant of
Rosalind. This is the name of characters in Shakespeare's
Love's Labour's Lost (1594) and
Romeo and Juliet (1596).
Rosaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: RO-ZEHR
Means "rosary" in French.
Romana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Late Roman
Pronounced: ro-MA-na(Italian) RO-ma-na(Czech) RAW-ma-na(Slovak)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Romanus (see
Roman).
Rachel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: רָחֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: RAY-chəl(English) RA-SHEHL(French) RAH-khəl(Dutch) RA-khəl(German)
From the Hebrew name
רָחֵל (Raḥel) meaning
"ewe". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of
Jacob. Her father
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister
Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid
Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of
Joseph and
Benjamin.
The name was common among Jews in the Middle Ages, but it was not generally used as a Christian name in the English-speaking world until after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately popular in the first half of the 20th century, but starting in the 1960s it steadily rose, reaching highs in the 1980s and 90s. The character Rachel Green on the American sitcom Friends (1994-2004) may have only helped delay its downswing.
Notable bearers include American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), British actress Rachel Weisz (1970-), and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams (1978-).
Pryor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Pryor.
Pietro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PYEH-tro
Italian form of
Peter. Pietro was the given name of the Renaissance painter known as Perugino.
Philomena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλουμένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-nə(English)
From Greek
Φιλουμένη (Philoumene) meaning
"to be loved", an inflection of
φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love". This was the name of an obscure early
saint and martyr. The name came to public attention in 1802 after a tomb seemingly marked with the name
Filumena was found in Rome, supposedly belonging to another martyr named Philomena. This may have in fact been a representation of the Greek word
φιλουμένη, not a name.
Perseus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEWS(Classical Greek) PUR-see-əs(American English) PU-see-əs(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Possibly derived from Greek
πέρθω (pertho) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Perseus was a hero who was said to have founded the ancient city of Mycenae. He was the son of
Zeus and
Danaë. Mother and child were exiled by Danaë's father Acrisius, and Perseus was raised on the island of Seriphos. The king of the island compelled Perseus to kill the Gorgon
Medusa, who was so ugly that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone. After obtaining winged sandals and other tools from the gods, he succeeded in his task by looking at Medusa in the reflection of his shield and slaying her in her sleep. On his return he defeated a sea monster in order to save
Andromeda, who became his wife.
Percival
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: PUR-si-vəl(American English) PU-si-vəl(British English)
Created by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem
Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien may have derived the name from Old French
perce val "pierce the valley", or he may have based it loosely on the Welsh name
Peredur [1]. In the poem Perceval is a boy from Wales who hopes to become a knight under King
Arthur. Setting out to prove himself, he eventually comes to the castle of the Fisher King and is given a glimpse of the Grail.
Paris 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PA-REES(Classical Greek) PAR-is(English) PEHR-is(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly of Luwian or Hittite origin. In Greek
mythology he was the Trojan prince who kidnapped
Helen and began the Trojan War. Though presented as a somewhat of a coward in the
Iliad, he did manage to slay the great hero
Achilles. He was himself eventually slain in battle by Philoctetes.
Pallas 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πάλλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAL-LAS(Classical Greek) PAL-əs(English)
Possibly derived from Greek
πάλλω (pallo) meaning
"to brandish". In Greek
mythology this was the name of a Titan and several other characters. It was also the name of a female character, though her name is probably from a different source (see
Pallas 1).
Osias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish, Flemish (Rare)
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.
Ophélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-FEH-LEE
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
Ondina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Italian
Portuguese and Italian form of
Undine.
Odette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-DEHT
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
French
diminutive of
Oda or
Odilia. This is the name of a princess who has been transformed into a swan in the ballet
Swan Lake (1877) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Nikolaus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: NI-ko-lows, NEE-ko-lows
Nikolai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Николай(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: nyi-ku-LIE(Russian)
Nephele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νεφέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-PEH-LEH(Classical Greek) NEHF-ə-lee(English)
From Greek
νέφος (nephos) meaning
"cloud". In Greek legend Nephele was created from a cloud by
Zeus, who shaped the cloud to look like
Hera in order to trick Ixion, a mortal who desired her. Nephele was the mother of the centaurs by Ixion, and was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle by Athamus.
Nazaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: NA-ZEHR
Nausicaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ναυσικάα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: naw-SIK-ee-ə(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Ναυσικάα (Nausikaa) meaning
"burner of ships". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of a daughter of Alcinous who helps
Odysseus on his journey home.
Nathaniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: נְתַנְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: nə-THAN-yəl(English)
Variant of
Nathanael. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. This has been the most popular spelling, even though the spelling
Nathanael is found in most versions of the
New Testament. The American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter, was a famous bearer of this name.
Nathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: נָתָן(Hebrew) Ναθάν(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NAY-thən(English) NA-TAHN(French)
From the Hebrew name
נָתָן (Naṯan) meaning
"he gave". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a prophet during the reign of King
David. He chastised David for his adultery with
Bathsheba and for the death of
Uriah the Hittite. Later he championed
Solomon as David's successor. This was also the name of a son of David and Bathsheba.
It has been used as a Christian given name in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was Nathan Hale (1755-1776), an American spy executed by the British during the American Revolution.
Miervalda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
Mercutio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: mər-KYOO-shee-o(American English) mə-KYOO-shee-o(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 1 vote
Most famously used by William Shakespeare in his tragedy
Romeo and Juliet (1596), where it belongs to a friend of
Romeo. He appears as Marcuccio (a
diminutive of
Marco) in the earlier Italian novella
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto. Later adaptations changed the character's name to
Mercutio, probably alluding to the god
Mercury.
Matteo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mat-TEH-o
Marcello
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mar-CHEHL-lo
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Lyris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Lyris is occasionally listed among the Oceanids of Greek mythology. As such, the name first appears in Hyginus's Fabulae.
However, said text is corrupted in places, meaning that some of the names are only partially legible. Lyris is such a name and thus usually rendered as *lyris (with the * representing an unknown name element).
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).
Lyonors
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Appears in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends 'Le Morte d'Arthur', belonging to the daughter of Earl Sanam. Lyonors had an affair with Arthur and bore him a son, Borre. Alfred Lord Tennyson used the name in his poem 'Gareth and Lynette' (1872) for the sister of Lynette, a character usually called
Lyonesse in medieval versions of the story.
Ludovic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-DAW-VEEK
French form of
Ludovicus, the Latinized form of
Ludwig. This was the name of an 1833 opera by the French composer Fromental Halévy.
Lothaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-TEHR
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
From German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
Llyr
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Unaccented variant of
Llŷr.
Levente
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: LEH-vehn-teh
Old Hungarian name, possibly of Slavic origin, or possibly from Hungarian lesz "will be". This name was used by the Árpád royal family since at least the 10th century.
Léonide
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: LEH-AW-NEED
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
French masculine and feminine form of
Leonidas.
Leonato
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Theatre
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Leonnatus. This is the name of the father of
Hero and/or
Beatrice in William Shakespeare's romantic comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1599).
Leocadio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhyo
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Leocadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of
Leucadia or from Greek
λευκός (leukos) meaning
"bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name).
Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish) LEE-o(English)
Derived from Latin
leo meaning
"lion", a
cognate of
Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including
Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled
Лев in Russian, whose works include
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
In some cases this name can be a short form of longer names that start with Leo, such as Leonard.
Lenore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-NAWR(American English) lə-NAW(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Short form of
Eleanor. This is the name of the departed love of the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's poem
The Raven (1845).
Leandros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Laelius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LIE-lee-oos
Laelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LIE-lee-a
Feminine form of Laelius, a Roman family name of unknown meaning. This is also the name of a type of flower, an orchid found in Mexico and Central America.
Ksenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSEH-nya(Polish) KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Polish form of
Xenia, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Ксения or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Ксенія (see
Kseniya).
Katya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Катя(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: KA-tyə(Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Katarzyna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ka-ta-ZHI-na
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Julius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, English, German, Finnish, Lithuanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Czech
Pronounced: YOO-lee-oos(Latin, Swedish) JOO-lee-əs(English) YOO-lee-uws(German) YOO-leews(Finnish) YUW-lyuws(Lithuanian) YOO-lyoos(Danish) YUY-lee-uys(Dutch) YOO-li-yuws(Czech)
From a Roman family name that was possibly derived from Greek
ἴουλος (ioulos) meaning
"downy-bearded". Alternatively, it could be related to the name of the Roman god
Jupiter. This was a prominent patrician family of Rome, who claimed descent from the mythological Julus, son of
Aeneas. Its most notable member was Gaius Julius Caesar, who gained renown as a military leader for his clever conquest of Gaul. After a civil war he became the dictator of the Roman Republic, but was eventually stabbed to death in the senate.
Although this name was borne by several early saints, including a pope, it was rare during the Middle Ages. It was revived in Italy and France during the Renaissance, and was subsequently imported to England.
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
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.
Judicaël
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: ZHUY-DEE-KA-EHL(French)
French form of the Old Breton name
Iudicael, derived from the elements
iudd "lord" and
hael "generous". This was the name of a 7th-century Breton king, also regarded as a
saint.
Jovaras
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian
Derived from the Lithuanian noun jovaras, which refers to several types of tree, namely: the black poplar, the common hornbeam and the sycamore.
Johannes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Late Roman
Pronounced: yo-HA-nəs(German) yo-HAH-nəs(Dutch) yo-HAN-əs(Danish) YO-hahn-nehs(Finnish)
Latin form of Greek
Ioannes (see
John). Notable bearers include the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).
Johanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Danish, Norwegian, Medieval French
Pronounced: ZHAW-AN(French) yo-HAN-nə(Danish)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
French, Danish and Norwegian form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna).
James
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JAYMZ(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
English form of the Late Latin name
Iacomus, a variant of the Biblical Latin form
Iacobus, from the Hebrew name
Yaʿaqov (see
Jacob). This was the name of two apostles in the
New Testament. The first was
Saint James the Greater, the apostle
John's brother, who was beheaded under Herod Agrippa in the Book of Acts. The second was James the Lesser, son of
Alphaeus. Another James (known as James the Just) is also mentioned in the Bible as being the brother of
Jesus.
This name has been used in England since the 13th century, though it became more common in Scotland where it was borne by several kings. In the 17th century the Scottish king James VI inherited the English throne, becoming the first ruler of all Britain, and the name grew much more popular. In American name statistics (recorded since 1880) this name has never been out of the top 20, making it arguably the era's most consistently popular name. It was the top ranked name for boys in the United States from 1940 to 1952.
Famous bearers include the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779), the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819), and the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941). This name has also been borne by six American presidents. A notable fictional bearer is the British spy James Bond, created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
German form of
Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem
Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera
Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.
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)
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.
Ione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἰόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ie-O-nee(English)
From Ancient Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning
"violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek
mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name
Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.
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)
Arabic form of
Elijah, also used in several other languages.
Illarion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Илларион(Russian)
Ilion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Ileana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ee-LYA-na(Romanian) ee-leh-A-na(Spanish)
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.
Ildikó
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: EEL-dee-ko
Possibly a form of
Hilda. This name was borne by the last wife of
Attila the Hun.
Idonea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of
Iðunn. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin
idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century
[1].
Hyperion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὑπερίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HUY-PEH-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) hie-PIR-ee-ən(English)
Derived from Greek
ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning
"over". In Greek
myth this was the name of a Titan who presided over the sun and light. By
Theia he was the father of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
Hypatia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὑπατία(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
ὕπατος (hypatos) meaning
"highest, supreme". Hypatia of Alexandria was a 5th-century philosopher and mathematician, daughter of the mathematician Theon.
Horatio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: hə-RAY-shee-o, hə-RAY-sho
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.
Helianthe
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Personal remark: Helianthus
Derived from Hélianthe, the French name for Helianthus, which is a genus of plants. It is ultimately derived from Greek helianthos meaning "sun-flower", from Greek helios "sun" and anthos "flower".
Genovefa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Germanic (Latinized, ?) [1][2]
Galatea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Γαλάτεια(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of Greek
Γαλάτεια (Galateia), probably derived from
γάλα (gala) meaning
"milk". This was the name of several characters in Greek
mythology including a sea nymph who was the daughter of
Doris and
Nereus and the lover of Acis. According to some sources, this was also the name of the ivory statue carved by
Pygmalion that came to life.
Francis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
English form of the Late Latin name
Franciscus meaning
"Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *
frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century
Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).
In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.
Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Feminine form of
Francis. The distinction between
Francis as a masculine name and
Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century
[1]. A notable bearer was
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
Finneas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Variant of
Phineas, likely inspired by names containing the Old Irish element
finn "white".
Ezra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: עֶזְרָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EHZ-rə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Means
"help" in Hebrew. Ezra is a prophet of the
Old Testament and the author of the Book of Ezra. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the
Protestant Reformation. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a famous bearer.
Ezio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: EHT-tsyo
Évariste
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-VA-REEST
Evanthe
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Evander 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὔανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name
Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning
"good of man", derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Roman
mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evanas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Lithuanian (Modern)
Lithuanian form of
Evan, in use since the 2000s.
Eurydice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐρυδίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-RUY-dee-keh(Latin) yuw-RID-i-see(English)
From the Greek
Εὐρυδίκη (Eurydike) meaning
"wide justice", derived from
εὐρύς (eurys) meaning "wide" and
δίκη (dike) meaning "justice, custom, order". In Greek
myth she was the wife of Orpheus. Her husband tried to rescue her from Hades, but he failed when he disobeyed the condition that he not look back upon her on their way out.
Euri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque (Rare)
Means "rain" in Basque.
Euphrasie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-FRA-ZEE
Rating: 10% based on 1 vote
Euphemia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Εὐφημία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-FEE-mee-ə(English) yoo-FEH-mee-ə(English)
Means
"to use words of good omen" from Greek
εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare".
Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.
Eulalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-LA-LEE
Eudora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-DAWR-ə(English)
Means
"good gift" in Greek, from the elements
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". This was the name of a nymph, one of the Hyades, in Greek
mythology.
Espiridión
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ehs-pee-ree-DHYON
Epiphania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἐπιφάνεια(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἐπιφάνεια
(Epiphaneia), a feminine form of
Epiphanes. This name was borne by an 8th-century Italian saint from
Pavia. Also compare
Epifania.
Émile
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-MEEL
French form of
Aemilius (see
Emil). This name was borne by the author Émile Zola (1840-1902) and the sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917).
Elvira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian, Russian
Other Scripts: Эльвира(Russian)
Pronounced: ehl-BEE-ra(Spanish) ehl-VEE-ra(Italian, Dutch)
Spanish form of a Visigothic name, recorded from the 10th century in forms such as
Geloyra or
Giluira. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly composed of the Gothic element
gails "happy" or
gails "spear" combined with
wers "friendly, agreeable, true". The name was borne by members of the royal families of León and Castille. This is also the name of a character in Mozart's opera
Don Giovanni (1787).
Eloisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-lo-EE-za
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Elisava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Russian, Bosnian (Rare, Archaic), Albanian (Rare)
Edmund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Polish
Pronounced: EHD-mənd(English) EHT-muwnt(German) EHD-moont(Polish)
Means
"rich protection", from the Old English elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
mund "protection". This was the name of two Anglo-Saxon kings of England. It was also borne by two
saints, including a 9th-century king of East Anglia who, according to tradition, was shot to death with arrows after refusing to divide his Christian kingdom with an invading pagan Danish leader. This Old English name remained in use after the
Norman Conquest (even being used by King Henry III for one of his sons), though it became less common after the 15th century.
Famous bearers of the name include the English poet Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), the German-Czech philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the first person to climb Mount Everest.
Dragomir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Romanian
Other Scripts: Драгомир(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: dra-go-MEER(Romanian)
Derived from the Slavic element
dorgŭ (South Slavic
drag) meaning "precious" combined with
mirŭ meaning "peace, world".
Dorothea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δωροθέα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: do-ro-TEH-a(German, Dutch) dawr-ə-THEE-ə(English)
Feminine form of the Greek name
Δωρόθεος (Dorotheos), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift" and
θεός (theos) meaning "god". The name
Theodore is composed of the same elements in reverse order. Dorothea was the name of two early
saints, notably the 4th-century martyr Dorothea of Caesarea. It was also borne by the 14th-century Saint Dorothea of Montau, who was the patron saint of Prussia.
Dolores
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English
Pronounced: do-LO-rehs(Spanish) də-LAWR-is(English)
Means
"sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.
Dmitriy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Дмитрий(Russian)
Pronounced: DMEE-tree
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Russian form of
Demetrius. This name was borne by several medieval princes of Moscow and Vladimir. Another famous bearer was Dmitriy Mendeleyev (or Mendeleev; 1834-1907), the Russian chemist who devised the periodic table.
Desideria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: deh-zee-DEH-rya(Italian) deh-see-DHEH-rya(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Desiderio. This was the Latin name of a 19th-century queen of Sweden, the wife of Karl XIV. She was born in France with the name
Désirée.
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Delilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דְּלִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: di-LIE-lə(English)
Means
"delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament she is the lover of
Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the
Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.
Damaris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Δάμαρις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAM-ə-ris(English)
Probably means
"calf, heifer, girl" from Greek
δάμαλις (damalis). In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul.
Cyprian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: TSI-pryan(Polish) SIP-ree-ən(English)
From the Roman family name
Cyprianus, which meant
"from Cyprus".
Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage who was martyred under the Roman emperor Valerian.
Cosimo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-mo
Italian form of
Cosmas. A famous bearer was Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464), the founder of Medici rule in Florence, who was a patron of the Renaissance and a successful merchant. Other members of the Medici family have also borne this name.
Cordelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: kawr-DEEL-ee-ə(American English) kaw-DEE-lee-ə(British English)
From
Cordeilla, a name appearing in the 12th-century chronicles
[1] of Geoffrey of Monmouth, borne by the youngest of the three daughters of King
Leir and the only one to remain loyal to her father. Geoffrey possibly based her name on that of
Creiddylad, a character from Welsh legend.
The spelling was later altered to Cordelia when Geoffrey's story was adapted by others, including Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590) and Shakespeare in his tragedy King Lear (1606).
Coralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-RA-LEE
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Either a French form of
Koralia, or a derivative of Latin
corallium "coral" (see
Coral).
Charis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Χάρις(Ancient Greek) Χάρης, Χάρις(Greek)
Pronounced: KA-REES(Classical Greek) KHA-rees(Greek)
Ancient Greek feminine form of
Chares. This was the word (in the singular) for one of the three Graces (plural
Χάριτες).
This is also a Modern Greek transcription of the masculine form Chares.
Celeste
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English
Pronounced: cheh-LEH-steh(Italian) theh-LEHS-teh(European Spanish) seh-LEHS-teh(Latin American Spanish) sə-LEST(English)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Italian feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.
Cécile
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-SEEL
Cato 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KA-to(Latin) KAY-to(English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Roman
cognomen meaning
"wise" in Latin. This name was bestowed upon Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato), a 2nd-century BC Roman statesman, author and censor, and was subsequently inherited by his descendants, including his great-grandson Cato the Younger (Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis), a politician and philosopher who opposed Julius Caesar.
Cassiopeia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσιόπεια, Κασσιέπεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-ee-ə-PEE-ə(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Κασσιόπεια (Kassiopeia) or
Κασσιέπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning
"cassia juice". In Greek
myth Cassiopeia was the wife of
Cepheus and the mother of
Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.
Caspian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAS-pee-ən(English)
Rating: 55% based on 2 votes
Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.
Casimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAZ-i-mir(American English) KAZ-i-meey(British English) KA-ZEE-MEER(French)
English form of the Polish name
Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic element
kaziti "to destroy" combined with
mirŭ "peace, world". Four kings of Poland have borne this name, including Casimir III the Great, who greatly strengthened the Polish state in the 14th century. It was also borne
Saint Casimir, a 15th-century Polish prince and a patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. The name was imported into Western Europe via Germany, where it was borne by some royalty.
Carlotta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: kar-LAWT-ta
Caio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: KIE-oo(Portuguese) KA-yo(Italian)
Portuguese and Italian form of
Gaius.
Cailean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: KA-lan
Means "whelp, young dog" in Scottish Gaelic. This name was borne by Cailean Mór, a 13th-century Scottish lord and ancestor of Clan Campbell.
Caelus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: KIE-luws(Classical Latin)
Means "sky" or "the heavens" in Latin (related to the word
caelum). Caelus is the Roman god of the sky, the equivalent of the Greek god
Uranus.
Caelifer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: KIE-lee-fehr(Classical Latin)
From a poetic Latin epithet of the Greek god
Atlas which meant "supporting the heavens", from
caelum "heaven" and
ferre "to bear, to carry, to bring". In Greek mythology Atlas was a Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.
Caelestis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Late Latin name meaning "of the sky, heavenly", a derivative of Latin caelum "heaven, sky".
Briseis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Βρισηΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: brie-SEE-is(English)
Patronymic derived from
Βρισεύς (Briseus), a Greek name of unknown meaning. In Greek
mythology Briseis (real name Hippodameia) was the daughter of Briseus. She was captured during the Trojan War by
Achilles. After
Agamemnon took her away from him, Achilles refused to fight in the war.
Bedivere
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
From the Welsh name
Bedwyr, possibly from
bedwen "birch" and
gwr "man". In Arthurian legends Bedivere was one of the original companions of King
Arthur. He first appears in early Welsh tales, and his story was later expanded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century. He is the one who throws the sword Excalibur into the lake at the request of the dying Arthur.
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German, Dutch) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Probably from
Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name
Viator meaning
"voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin
beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century
saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.
In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-), the former queen.
Beatrice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Swedish, Romanian
Pronounced: beh-a-TREE-cheh(Italian) BEE-ə-tris(English) BEET-ris(English) BEH-ah-trees(Swedish) beh-ah-TREES(Swedish)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Italian form of
Beatrix. Beatrice Portinari (1266-1290) was the woman who was loved by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. She serves as Dante's guide through paradise in his epic poem the
Divine Comedy (1321). This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy
Much Ado About Nothing (1599), in which Beatrice and
Benedick are fooled into confessing their love for one another.
Aveza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Avdotya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Авдотья(Russian)
Aureus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: AWR-ee-əs(English) OW:-re-oos(Latin)
Means "golden, gilded" in Latin, from
aurum "gold" (see
Aurea). An
aureus was also a gold coin of ancient Rome, equivalent to 25 denarii. This was the name of a Christian saint who was martyred in the 5th century with his sister Saint Justina at the cathedral of Mainz in Germany; they were killed by invading Huns while celebrating Mass.
Aureole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AWR-ee-ol
From the English word meaning "radiant halo", ultimately derived from Latin aureolus "golden".
Aurelio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lyo
Atticus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀττικός(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AT-i-kəs(English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Ἀττικός (Attikos) meaning
"from Attica", referring to the region surrounding Athens in Greece. This name was borne by a few notable Greeks from the Roman period (or Romans of Greek background). The author Harper Lee used the name in her novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for an Alabama lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Atlas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἄτλας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TLAS(Classical Greek) AT-ləs(English)
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.
Athenais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀθηναΐς(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek personal name that was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
Athena.
Astrophel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Literature
Probably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek
ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star" and
φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets
Astrophel and Stella.
Astraia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
Astraea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀστραία(Ancient Greek)
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.
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
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.
Arsène
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AR-SEHN
French form of
Arsenios. A notable fictional bearer is Arsène Lupin, a gentleman burglar in novels by Maurice Leblanc, beginning 1907.
Arkady
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Аркадий(Russian)
Pronounced: ur-KA-dyee
Aristaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀρισταῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ar-is-TEE-əs(English)
From the Greek name
Ἀρισταῖος (Aristaios), derived from
ἄριστος (aristos) meaning
"best". This was the name of a minor Greek god of agriculture, hunting and cattle. He was the son of
Apollo and the mortal Cyrene.
Arcadius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀρκάδιος(Ancient Greek)
Aravis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: ER-ə-vis
Aravis is a main character in C.S. Lewis'
The Horse and his Boy. She is a Tarkheena, a female member of the ruling class of the fictional empire of Calormen, located far to the south of Narnia.
The name possibly originates from this cartographic reference:
The Aravis (French: Chaîne des Aravis) is a mountain range in Haute-Savoie, eastern France. It is part of the French Prealps, a lower chain of mountain ranges west of the main chain of the Alps. Its highest summit is the Pointe Percée, at 2752m. The orientation of the Aravis is north-south, and it stretches from Cluses in the north, to Ugine in the south. The Bornes massif, sometimes considered part of the Aravis, lies to its west. The Aravis is separated from the Chablais mountains in the north-east by the Arve river valley, and from the Pennine Alps in the south-east by the Arly river valley.
Aramis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
The surname of one of the musketeers in The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas based the character on the 17th-century Henri d'Aramitz, whose surname was derived from the French village of Aramits (itself from Basque aran meaning "valley").
Arachne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀράχνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-RA-KNEH(Classical Greek) ə-RAK-nee(English)
Means
"spider" in Greek. In Greek
myth Arachne was a mortal woman who defeated
Athena in a weaving contest. After this Arachne hanged herself, but Athena brought her back to life in the form of a spider.
Apollonia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Italian
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλωνία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-POL-LAW-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Feminine form of
Apollonios. This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Alexandria.
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(American English) ə-PAWL-o(British English)
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Apollinaris
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀπολλινάρις(Ancient Greek)
Ancient Greek name derived from the name of the god
Apollo. This was the name of several early
saints and martyrs, including a bishop of Ravenna and a bishop of Hierapolis.
Anzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Derived from the Old German element
enz meaning
"giant".
Antonín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: AN-to-nyeen
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Czech form of
Antoninus, also used as the Czech form of
Antonius (see
Anthony). A famous bearer was the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904).
Antoni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, Catalan
Pronounced: an-TAW-nyee(Polish) ən-TAW-nee(Catalan)
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
Polish and Catalan form of
Antonius (see
Anthony). A notable bearer was the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926).
Annalise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, English (Modern)
Anka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Анка(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: ANG-ka(Polish)
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Feminine form of
Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian
saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Amoreta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Occitan
Amicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English (Latinized)
Amedeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: a-meh-DEH-o
Italian form of
Amadeus. A notable bearer of this name was Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856), an Italian chemist most famous for the constant that now bears his name: Avogadro's Number. Another famous bearer was the Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920).
Amédée
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MEH-DEH
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
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.
Amaryllis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: am-ə-RIL-is(English)
Derived from Greek
ἀμαρύσσω (amarysso) meaning
"to sparkle". This is the name of a character appearing in
Virgil's pastoral poems
Eclogues [1]. The amaryllis flower is named for her.
Amalthea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀμάλθεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: am-əl-THEE-ə(English)
From the Greek
Ἀμάλθεια (Amaltheia), derived from
μαλθάσσω (malthasso) meaning
"to soften, to soothe". In Greek
myth she was a nymph (in some sources a goat) who nursed the infant
Zeus.
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 90% based on 1 vote
From the Greek name
Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek
ἄλθος (althos) meaning
"healing". In Greek
myth she was the mother of Meleager. Soon after her son was born she was told that he would die as soon as a piece of wood that was burning on her fire was fully consumed. She immediately extinguished the piece of wood and sealed it in a chest, but in a fit of rage many years later she took it out and set it alight, thereby killing her son.
Altaluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Italian
Derived from Italian
alta, the feminine form of the adjective
alto, meaning "high; deep; big; towering; elevated" and, when used in a poetic context, "grand; sublime; noble" and
luna "moon".
A known bearer of this name was Altaluna della Scala, daughter of Mastino II della Scala, a 14th-cenutry lord of Verona, sister of Viridis and wife of Louis V, Duke of Bavaria.
Whether Altalune, the name Uma Thurman gave her daughter born in 2012, is a medieval variant of this name, is still debated.
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.
Alphaeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Ἀλφαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-FEE-əs(English)
From
Ἀλφαῖος (Alphaios), the Greek form of a Hebrew name that meant
"exchange". In the
New Testament this is the name of the fathers of the apostles
James the Lesser and
Levi.
Aloysius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-o-ISH-əs
Latinized form of
Aloys, an old Occitan form of
Louis. This was the name of an Italian
saint, Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591). The name has been in occasional use among Catholics since his time.
Alexandria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dree-ə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-dree-ə(British English)
Rating: 80% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Alexander. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.
Alexander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλέξανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-dər(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-də(British English) a-leh-KSAN-du(German) a-lehk-SAHN-dər(Dutch) a-lehk-SAN-dehr(Swedish, Latin) A-lehk-san-tehr(Icelandic) AW-lehk-sawn-dehr(Hungarian) A-lehk-san-dehr(Slovak)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant
"defending men" from Greek
ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek
mythology this was another name of the hero
Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the
New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.
The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.
Aleria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Corsican (Rare)
Possibly a variant of
Ilaria or
Valeria.
It could also be given because of the town of Aléria in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. While many baby name sites and books list this name as being Latin for 'eagle', that is Aquila. The source of this mistaken etymology may be due to the Avalerion, sometimes called an Alerion, a mythological bird compared to an eagle, and seen in medieval heraldry (coats of arms). Aleria, however, is the Latin and Corsican form of the original Ancient Greek name for the town, Alaliē (Ἀλαλίη). This could possibly have been derived from the Ancient Greek lalia (λαλιά) 'talking, talk, chat; form of speech, dialect', from laleō (λαλέω) meaning 'talk, chatter, chirp, make sound'.
Alaviv
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic
The first element of this Gothic name is derived from Gothic
alls "all" or from Gothic
alhs (
alah in Old High German) "temple." The etymology of the second element is uncertain; it may be derived from Gothic
qvivs "alive, living". It could also have been derived from Gothic
weihan "to battle, to combat" (which is ultimately derived from Proto-Germanic
wigwó or
wihwó "battle"), which would then make this name a cognate or a variant of
Alawig. Last but not least, it could also have been derived from Latin
vivus "alive, living", thus making Alaviv name a hybrid Gothic-Latin name. Since this spelling of the name could possibly have been influenced by Latin, the original Gothic form of Alaviv may have been
Alaweihs or
Alaweigs or
Alaweiws, but this is uncertain.
Alastor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀλάστωρ(Ancient Greek)
Means
"avenger" in Greek. This was an epithet of
Zeus, as well as the name of several other characters from Greek
mythology.
Agneza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
Aerion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: Air-e-on
Probably derived from Greek
aēr "air", though it may also be an elaboration of
Aaron.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Actaeon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀκταίων(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of Greek Άκταίων
(Aktaion), which is derived from Greek ἀκτὴ
(akte), which can mean "headland, foreland, promontory, cape" as well as "coast, shore". In Greek mythology, Actaeon was son of
Aristaeus and
Autonoë in Boeotia. He was a famous Theban hero, trained by the centaur
Chiron, who suffered the fatal wrath of
Artemis (or her Roman counterpart
Diana).
Accalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology (?), English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-KAY-lee-ə(English)
According to questionable sources, such as baby name books and websites, this was another name for Acca, the human foster-mother of Romulus and Remus in Roman legend, also known as Acca Larentia (see
Acca). It coincides with the Latin word
Accalia referring to a Roman festival celebrating Acca Larentia, meaning literally "things pertaining to Acca".
A known bearer of this name is Accalia Hipwood, an English radio personality in Dubai.
Abel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: აბელ(Georgian) Աբել(Armenian) הֶבֶל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἄβελ, Ἅβελ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-bəl(English) A-BEHL(French) a-BEHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) a-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) A-bəl(Dutch) ah-BEHL(Eastern Armenian) ah-PEHL(Western Armenian)
From the Hebrew name
הֶבֶל (Hevel) meaning
"breath". In the
Old Testament he is the second son of
Adam and
Eve, murdered out of envy by his brother
Cain. In England, this name came into use during the Middle Ages, and it was common during the
Puritan era.
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