Proxima's Personal Name List
Zita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, German, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian, Latvian
Pronounced: DZEE-ta(Italian) TSEE-ta(German) ZI-ta(Czech) ZEE-ta(Slovak) zyi-TU(Lithuanian)
Means
"little girl" in Tuscan Italian. This was the name of a 13th-century
saint, the patron saint of servants.
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Zinnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZIN-ee-ə
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.
Zeta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ZEE-tə
English variant of
Zita 1. It is also the name of the sixth letter in the Greek alphabet, Ζ. A famous bearer is Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (1969-); born Catherine Zeta Jones, she was named after her paternal grandmother, Zeta Jones, who was herself named for a ship that her father sailed on.
Yvette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: EE-VEHT(French) ee-VEHT(English) i-VEHT(English)
French feminine form of
Yves.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Wendy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEHN-dee
In the case of the character from J. M. Barrie's play
Peter Pan (1904), it was created from the nickname
fwendy "friend", given to the author by a young friend. However, the name was used prior to the play (rarely), in which case it could be related to the Welsh name
Gwendolen and other names beginning with the element
gwen meaning "white, blessed". The name only became common after Barrie's play ran.
Wendelin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: VEHN-deh-leen(German)
Old
diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element
wentil (see
Wendel).
Saint Wendelin was a 6th-century hermit of Trier in Germany.
Vuokko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VOOK-ko
Means "anemone (flower)" in Finnish.
Vivetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic), Italian (Rare), Greek (Rare)
Other Scripts: Βιβέττα(Greek)
Virginia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Βιργινία(Greek)
Pronounced: vər-JIN-yə(American English) və-JIN-yə(British English) veer-JEE-nya(Italian) beer-KHEE-nya(Spanish)
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Verginius or
Virginius, which is of unknown meaning, but long associated with Latin
virgo "maid, virgin". According to a legend, it was the name of a Roman woman killed by her father so as to save her from the clutches of a crooked official.
This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).
Viorel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Derived from viorea, the Romanian word for the alpine squill flower (species Scilla bifolia) or the sweet violet flower (species Viola odorata). It is derived from Latin viola "violet".
Violett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Norwegian (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Hungarian (Rare), Afrikaans (Rare)
English variant and Swedish form of
Violet as well as a Hungarian borrowing of French
Violette. This name coincides with the Swedish word
violett "purple (the color)".
Viola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: vie-O-lə(English) vi-O-lə(English) VIE-ə-lə(English) VYAW-la(Italian) vi-OO-la(Swedish) VEE-o-la(German) vee-O-la(German) VEE-o-law(Hungarian) VI-o-la(Czech) VEE-aw-la(Slovak)
Means
"violet" in Latin. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's comedy
Twelfth Night (1602). In the play she is the survivor of a shipwreck who disguises herself as a man named Cesario. Working as a messenger for Duke
Orsino, she attempts to convince
Olivia to marry him. Instead Viola falls in love with the duke.
Vesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEHS-ta(Latin) VEHS-tə(English)
Probably a Roman
cognate of
Hestia. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
Vesper
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: WEHS-pehr(Latin) VEHS-pər(American English, Dutch) VEHS-pə(British English)
Latin
cognate of
Hesperos. This name was used by the British author Ian Fleming for a female character, a love interest of James Bond, in his novel
Casino Royale (1953). She also appears in the film adaptations of 1967 and 2006.
Veronica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Late Roman
Pronounced: və-RAHN-i-kə(American English) və-RAWN-i-kə(British English) veh-RAW-nee-ka(Italian)
Latin alteration of
Berenice, the spelling influenced by the ecclesiastical Latin phrase
vera icon meaning
"true image". This was the name of a legendary
saint who wiped
Jesus' face with a towel and then found his image imprinted upon it. Due to popular stories about her, the name was occasionally used in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was borne by the Italian saint and mystic Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727). As an English name, it was not common until the 19th century, when it was imported from France and Scotland.
Verneri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VEHR-neh-ri
Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
From the English word meaning
"verity, truth", from Latin
verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Verbena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: vər-BEEN-ə(American English) və-BEEN-ə(British English)
From the name of the verbena plant, which is derived from Latin verbena meaning "leaves, twigs".
Venetia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Greek
Other Scripts: Βενετία(Greek)
From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name
Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name
Gwynedd [1]. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel
Venetia (1837).
Vasilisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Василиса(Russian)
Pronounced: və-syi-LYEE-sə
Vasiliki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Βασιλική(Greek)
Pronounced: va-see-lee-KYEE
Modern Greek feminine form of
Basil 1.
Varg
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian (Rare), Swedish (Rare)
Pronounced: VAHRG(Norwegian) VARY(Swedish)
Means "wolf" in Old Norse.
Vanessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch
Pronounced: və-NEHS-ə(English) VA-NEH-SA(French) va-NEHS-sa(Italian) vu-NEH-su(European Portuguese) va-NEH-su(Brazilian Portuguese) ba-NEH-sa(Spanish) va-NEH-sa(German) vah-NEH-sa(Dutch)
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem
Cadenus and Vanessa [1]. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of
Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
Valentine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
From the Roman
cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Valentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Romanian, German, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish
Other Scripts: Валентин(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: VA-LAHN-TEHN(French) va-lehn-TEEN(Romanian) VA-lehn-teen(German) VA-lehn-kyin(Czech) və-lyin-TYEEN(Russian)
Form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1) in several languages.
Valdemar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: VAHL-deh-mahr(Finnish)
Scandinavian form of
Waldemar, also used as a translation of the Slavic
cognate Vladimir. This was the name of four kings of Denmark and a king of Sweden. It was introduced to Scandinavia by the 12th-century Danish king Valdemar I who was named after his mother's grandfather: Vladimir II, a grand prince of Kievan Rus.
Valborg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VAHL-bawry(Swedish)
Vadelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: VAH-dehl-mah
Means "raspberry" in Finnish.
Vada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Pronounced: VAY-də(English) VAH-də(English) VA-də(English)
Meaning unknown. Possibly a variant of
Veda or
Valda or short form of
Nevada.
It was used for the heroine of the American film
My Girl (1991).
Uno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Estonian
Meaning uncertain. It is possibly from the Old Norse name
Uni. It could also come from Latin
unus "one".
Tulip
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TOO-lip, TYOO-lip
From the name of the flower. Ultimately from Persian
dulband, "turban", from the shape of the opened flower.
As a given name, it has been occasionally used from the 19th century onwards.
Topaz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TO-paz
From the English word for the yellow precious stone, the traditional birthstone of November, ultimately derived from Greek
τόπαζος (topazos).
Tom 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: TAHM(American English) TAWM(British English, Dutch, Norwegian)
Short form of
Thomas. Tom Sawyer is the main character in several of Mark Twain's novels, first appearing in
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Other famous bearers include American actors Tom Hanks (1956-) and Tom Cruise (1962-), as well as American football player Tom Brady (1977-).
Thisbe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Θίσβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEEZ-BEH(Classical Greek) THIZ-bee(English) TEES-beh(Latin)
From the name of an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, itself supposedly named after a nymph. In a Greek legend (the oldest surviving version appearing in Latin in Ovid's Metamorphoses) this is the name of a young woman from Babylon. Believing her to be dead, her lover Pyramus kills himself, after which she does the same to herself. The splashes of blood from their suicides is the reason mulberry fruit are red.
Theodora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεοδώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: thee-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.
Ted
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHD
Short form of
Edward or
Theodore. A famous bearer was the American baseball player Ted Williams (1918-2002), who was born as Theodore.
Taneli
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: TAH-neh-lee
Tamsin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TAM-zin
Contracted form of
Thomasina. It was traditionally used in Cornwall.
Tamar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: תָּמָר(Hebrew) თამარ(Georgian)
Pronounced: TA-MAR(Georgian) TAHM-ahr(American English) TAY-mahr(American English) TAHM-ah(British English) TAY-mah(British English)
Means
"date palm" in Hebrew. According to the
Old Testament Tamar was the daughter-in-law of
Judah and later his wife. This was also the name of a daughter of King
David. She was raped by her half-brother
Amnon, leading to his murder by her brother
Absalom. The name was borne by a 12th-century ruling queen of Georgia who presided over the kingdom at the peak of its power.
Taimi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: TIE-mee(Finnish)
From Finnish taimi meaning "sapling, young tree" or Estonian taim meaning "plant" (words from a common origin).
Tage
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish
From the medieval Danish byname Taki, derived from Old Norse taka meaning "to take, to capture".
Tabitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ταβιθά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAB-i-thə(English)
Means
"gazelle" in Aramaic. Tabitha in the
New Testament was a woman restored to life by
Saint Peter. Her name is translated into Greek as
Dorcas (see
Acts 9:36). As an English name,
Tabitha became common after the
Protestant Reformation. It was popularized in the 1960s by the television show
Bewitched, in which Tabitha (sometimes spelled Tabatha) is the daughter of the main character.
Sylvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: SEEL-VEE(French) SIL-vi-yeh(Czech)
French and Czech form of
Silvia.
Suvituuli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Finnish name meaning "summer wind". Combination of
Suvi and
Tuuli.
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Susan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SOO-zən
English variant of
Susanna. This has been most common spelling since the 18th century. It was especially popular both in the United States and the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1960s. A notable bearer was the American feminist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906).
Sunshine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-shien
From the English word, ultimately from Old English sunne "sun" and scinan "shine".
Sunniva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Scandinavian form of the Old English name
Sunngifu, which meant
"sun gift" from the Old English elements
sunne "sun" and
giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English
saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.
Sture
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Medieval Scandinavian
Pronounced: STOO-reh(Swedish)
Derived from Old Norse stura meaning "to be contrary". This was the name of three viceroys of Sweden.
Solveig
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
Pronounced: SOOL-vie(Norwegian) SOOL-vay(Swedish)
From an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements
sól "sun" and
veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt (1876).
Sóldís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Sol 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: SOL(Spanish) SAWL(European Portuguese) SOW(Brazilian Portuguese)
Means "sun" in Spanish or Portuguese.
Siv
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Norse Mythology
Pronounced: SEEV(Swedish)
From Old Norse
Sif, which meant
"bride, kinswoman". In Norse
mythology she was the wife of
Thor. After the trickster
Loki cut off her golden hair, an angry Thor forced him to create a replacement.
Sirkka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SEERK-kah
Sini
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SEE-nee
Means "blue" in Finnish. More specifically, sini is a poetic term for the colour blue.
Sindy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIN-dee
Silke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: ZIL-kə(German)
Silas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Greek, Danish, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σίλας(Greek)
Pronounced: SIE-ləs(English)
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).
Sibyl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
From Greek
Σίβυλλα (Sibylla), meaning
"prophetess, sibyl". In Greek and Roman legend the sibyls were female prophets who practiced at different holy sites in the ancient world. In later Christian theology, the sibyls were thought to have divine knowledge and were revered in much the same way as the
Old Testament prophets. Because of this, the name came into general use in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The
Normans imported it to England, where it was spelled both
Sibyl and
Sybil. It became rare after the
Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps helped by Benjamin Disraeli's novel
Sybil (1845).
Severin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Norwegian (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: zeh-veh-REEN(German) ZEH-veh-reen(German)
Set
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Pronounced: SEHT(English)
Scilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: SHEEL-la
Short form of
Priscilla. This is also the Italian word for the squill flower (genus Scilla).
Saron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Swedish (?)
Sandy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAN-dee
Salomon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Biblical French, Biblical Polish, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Σαλωμών(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SA-LO-MAWN(French)
Sally
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SAL-ee
Sakarias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: SAH-kah-ri-ahs(Finnish) sah-kah-REE-ahs(Swedish)
Saffron
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAF-rən
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".
Ruusunen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Folklore
Pronounced: ROO:-soo-nen(Finnish)
Derived from Finnish
ruusu meaning "rose" and the diminutive suffix -
nen. This is the Finnish name for
Briar Rose, or Sleeping Beauty. This is not a given name in Finland, but is occasionally found as a surname.
Ruusu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: ROO-suw
Means "rose" in Finnish.
Ruta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Latvian
Pronounced: ROO-ta(Polish)
Polish and Latvian form of
Ruth 1.
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Simply from the name of the precious stone (which ultimately derives from Latin
ruber "red"), which is the traditional birthstone of July. It came into use as a given name in the 16th century
[1].
Rosetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ro-ZEHT-ta
Rosemonde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Rosemary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree, ROZ-mehr-ee
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.
Rosemaj
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern, Rare)
Combination of Swedish
ros "rose" and
Maj 2 as well as a diminutive of
Rosemarie.
Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: ROZ
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name
Hrodohaidis meaning
"famous type", composed of the elements
hruod "fame" and
heit "kind, sort, type". The
Normans introduced it to England in the forms
Roese and
Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower
rose (derived from Latin
rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.
Rosaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ro-SOW-ra
Means
"golden rose", derived from Latin
rosa "rose" and
aurea "golden". This name was (first?) used by Pedro Calderón de la Barca for a character in his play
Life Is a Dream (1635).
Rosanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: ro-ZAN-na(Italian) ro-ZAN-ə(English)
Rosamund
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-mənd(English) RAHZ-ə-mənd(American English) RAWZ-ə-mənd(British English)
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.
Rosalinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: ro-sa-LEEN-da(Spanish) ro-za-LEEN-da(Italian)
Rosalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ-ə-lind(American English) RAWZ-ə-lind(British English)
Derived from the Old German elements
hros meaning "horse" and
lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender". The
Normans introduced this name to England, though it was not common. During the Middle Ages its spelling was influenced by the Latin phrase
rosa linda "beautiful rose". The name was popularized by Edmund Spencer, who used it in his poetry, and by William Shakespeare, who used it for the heroine in his comedy
As You Like It (1599).
Rosalin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-lin(English) RAHZ-ə-lin(American English) RAWZ-ə-lin(British English)
Rosalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: ro-za-LEE-a(Italian)
Late Latin name derived from
rosa "rose". This was the name of a 12th-century Sicilian
saint.
Rosalba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Italian name meaning
"white rose", derived from Latin
rosa "rose" and
alba "white". A famous bearer was the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757).
Rosaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: RO-ZEHR
Means "rosary" in French.
Rosabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-behl
Combination of
Rosa 1 and the common name suffix
bel, inspired by Latin
bella "beautiful". This name was created in the 18th century.
Rosa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English
Pronounced: RO-sa(Spanish, Dutch) RAW-za(Italian) RAW-zu(European Portuguese) HAW-zu(Brazilian Portuguese) RAW-zə(Catalan) RO-za(German) RO-zə(English)
Generally this can be considered to be from Latin
rosa meaning
"rose", though originally it may have come from the unrelated Germanic name
Roza 2. This was the name of a 13th-century
saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).
Ros
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHZ(American English) RAHS(American English) RAWZ(British English) RAWS(British English)
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Roosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: RO-sah
Finnish form of
Rosa 1. It also means
"pink" in Finnish.
Robin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Medieval English
diminutive of
Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
Rita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian
Pronounced: REE-ta(Italian, Spanish, German) REET-ə(English) REE-taw(Hungarian) ryi-TU(Lithuanian)
Short form of
Margherita and other names ending in
rita.
Saint Rita (born Margherita Lotti) was a 15th-century nun from Cascia, Italy. Another famous bearer was the American actress Rita Hayworth (1918-1987).
Rio 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Various
Means "river" in Spanish or Portuguese. A city in Brazil bears this name. Its full name is Rio de Janeiro, which means "river of January", so named because the first explorers came to the harbour in January and mistakenly thought it was a river mouth.
Rina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Dutch
Pronounced: REE-na
Ria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: REE-a
Rhoda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: Ῥόδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: RO-də(English)
Derived from Greek
ῥόδον (rhodon) meaning
"rose". In the
New Testament this name was borne by a maid in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark. As an English given name,
Rhoda came into use in the 17th century.
Rey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Variant of
Ray. More commonly used for boys, it began being used for girls following the release of 'Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens'.
Reina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: RAY-na
Means "queen" in Spanish.
Radha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: राधा(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) రాధా(Telugu) ராதா(Tamil) ರಾಧಾ(Kannada) രാധാ(Malayalam)
Means
"success, prosperity" in Sanskrit. This was the name of the favourite consort of the Hindu deity
Krishna. She is associated with beauty and compassion, and is considered an avatar of
Lakshmi.
Proxima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English (Rare)
From Latin proximus "nearest; closest."
Prosper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: PRAWS-PEHR(French) PRAHS-pər(American English) PRAWS-pə(British English)
From the Latin name
Prosperus, which meant
"fortunate, successful". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint, a supporter of Saint
Augustine. It has never been common as an English name, though the
Puritans used it, partly because it is identical to the English word
prosper.
Primula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-yuw-lə(English) PREE-moo-la(Italian)
From the name of a genus of several species of flowers, including the primrose. It is derived from the Latin word primulus meaning "very first".
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Pomona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: po-MO-na(Latin)
From Latin pomus "fruit tree". This was the name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees.
Polly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAHL-ee(American English) PAWL-ee(British English)
Medieval variant of
Molly. The reason for the change in the initial consonant is unknown.
Pioni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Means "peony" in Finnish.
Pilar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pee-LAR
Means
"pillar" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María del Pilar, meaning "Mary of the Pillar". According to legend, when
Saint James the Greater was in Saragossa in Spain, the Virgin Mary appeared on a pillar.
Pietro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PYEH-tro
Italian form of
Peter. Pietro was the given name of the Renaissance painter known as Perugino.
Piera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: PYEH-ra
Italian feminine form of
Peter.
Phineas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: פִּינְחָס(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: FIN-ee-əs(English)
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.
Phaedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φαίδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEED-rə(English) FEHD-rə(English)
From the Greek
Φαίδρα (Phaidra), derived from
φαιδρός (phaidros) meaning
"bright". Phaedra was the daughter of Minos and the wife of
Theseus in Greek
mythology.
Aphrodite caused her to fall in love with her stepson
Hippolytos, and after she was rejected by him she killed herself.
Petronella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian
Pronounced: peh-tro-NEH-la(Dutch) PEH-tro-nehl-law(Hungarian)
Petronel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Petrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: pə-TREE-nə
Perrine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: PEH-REEN
Perpetua
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: pehr-PEH-twa(Spanish)
Derived from Latin
perpetuus meaning
"continuous". This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint martyred with another woman named Felicity.
Peronel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Perla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: PEHR-la
Peridot
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PER-i-do, PER-i-daht
Taken from the name of the gemstone, whose name is of uncertain origin and meaning. A current theory, however, derives it from Anglo-Norman
pedoretés, ultimately from Greek
paiderôs (via Latin
paederos):
pais "child" and
erôs "love".
As a given name, it has found occasional usage in the English-speaking world from the late 19th century onwards.
Peri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Perdita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Derived from Latin
perditus meaning
"lost". Shakespeare created this name for the daughter of
Hermione and
Leontes in his play
The Winter's Tale (1610). Abandoned as an infant by her father the king, she grows up to be a shepherdess and falls in love with with
Florizel.
Peony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEE-ə-nee
From the English word for the type of flower. It was originally believed to have healing qualities, so it was named after the Greek medical god Pæon.
Penny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PEHN-ee
Diminutive of
Penelope. It can also be given in reference to the copper coin (a British pound or an American dollar are worth 100 of them), derived from Old English
penning.
Pelagia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek, Polish (Rare)
Other Scripts: Πελαγία(Greek)
Pronounced: peh-LA-gya(Polish)
Feminine form of
Pelagius. This was the name of a few early
saints, including a young 4th-century martyr who threw herself from a rooftop in Antioch rather than lose her virginity.
Peggy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PEHG-ee
Medieval variant of
Meggy, a
diminutive of
Margaret. The reason for the change in the initial consonant is unknown.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL(American English) PUL(British English)
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.
Paul
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Romanian, Biblical
Pronounced: PAWL(English, French) POWL(German, Dutch, Swedish)
From the Roman family name
Paulus, which meant
"small" or
"humble" in Latin. Paul was an important leader of the early Christian church. According to Acts in the
New Testament, he was a Jewish Roman citizen who converted to Christianity after the resurrected
Jesus appeared to him. After this he travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a missionary. His original Hebrew name was
Saul. Many of the epistles in the New Testament were authored by him.
Due to the renown of Saint Paul the name became common among early Christians. It was borne by a number of other early saints and six popes. In England it was relatively rare during the Middle Ages, but became more frequent beginning in the 17th century. In the United States it was in the top 20 names for boys from 1900 to 1968, while in the United Kingdom it was very popular from the 1950s to the 80s. It has also been heavily used in Germany and France and continues to be popular there, though it is currently on the decline in the English-speaking world.
A notable bearer was the American Revolutionary War figure Paul Revere (1735-1818), who warned of the advance of the British army. Famous bearers in the art world include the French impressionists Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and the Swiss expressionist Paul Klee (1879-1940). It is borne by actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) and the musicians Paul Simon (1941-) and Paul McCartney (1942-). This is also the name of the legendary American lumberjack Paul Bunyan and the fictional Paul Atreides from Frank Herbert's novel Dune (1965).
Pärla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: PAIR-lah
Directly taken from Swedish
pärla "pearl" and thus a Swedish cognate of
Pearl.
Pari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: پری(Persian)
Pronounced: pa-REE
Means "fairy" in Persian.
Pamela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PAM-ə-lə
This name was invented in the late 16th century by the poet Philip Sidney for use in his romance
Arcadia (1593). He possibly intended it to mean
"all sweetness" from Greek
πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and
μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". It was later employed by author Samuel Richardson for the heroine in his novel
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740), after which time it became used as a given name. It did not become popular until the 20th century.
Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Pallas 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Παλλάς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAL-LAS(Classical Greek) PAL-əs(English)
Probably derived from a Greek word meaning
"maiden, young woman". This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Athena. According to some legends it was originally the name of a friend of the goddess. Athena accidentally killed her while sparring, so she took the name in honour of her friend.
Otis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: O-tis
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Ode, a
cognate of
Otto. In America it has been used in honour of the revolutionary James Otis (1725-1783).
Ornella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: or-NEHL-la
Created by the Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio for his novel La Figlia di Jorio (1904). It is derived from Tuscan Italian ornello meaning "flowering ash tree".
Onni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: ON-nee
Means "happiness, luck" in Finnish.
Olive
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AHL-iv(American English) AWL-iv(British English) AW-LEEV(French)
From the English and French word for the type of tree, ultimately derived from Latin oliva.
Olimpia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish (Rare), Hungarian (Rare)
Pronounced: o-LEEM-pya(Italian, Spanish) aw-LEEM-pya(Polish) O-leem-pee-aw(Hungarian)
Nilo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: NEE-lo(Italian, Spanish) NEE-loo(Portuguese)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Neilos (and also of the Nile River).
Nella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: NEHL-la
Nell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHL
Medieval
diminutive of names beginning with
El, such as
Eleanor,
Ellen 1 or
Helen. It may have arisen from the medieval affectionate phrase
mine El, which was later reinterpreted as
my Nel.
Ned
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHD
Diminutive of
Edward or
Edmund. It has been used since the 14th century, and may have had root in the medieval affectionate phrase
mine Ed, which was later reinterpreted as
my Ned.
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.
Natanael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: na-ta-na-EHL(Spanish)
Nat
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAT
Nancy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NAN-see
Previously a medieval
diminutive of
Annis, though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of
Ann. It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source.
Moon 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 문(Korean Hangul) 文, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: MOON
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul
문 (see
Mun).
Monty
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHN-tee(American English) MAWN-tee(British English)
Minnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIN-ee
Diminutive of
Wilhelmina. This name was used by Walt Disney for the cartoon character Minnie Mouse, introduced 1928.
Minerva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, English, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-NEHR-wa(Latin) mi-NUR-və(American English) mi-NU-və(British English) mee-NEHR-ba(Spanish)
Possibly derived from Latin
mens meaning
"intellect", but more likely of Etruscan origin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, approximately equivalent to the Greek goddess
Athena. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since after the Renaissance.
Mimosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French, Spanish, Danish, Filipino, Italian
Pronounced: MI-maw-sah(Finnish) Mim-osa(French) mee-MO-sah(Spanish)
From Mimosa, a genus of plants that are sensitive to touch. The best known plant from that genus is the Mimosa pudica, better known in English as the touch-me-not. The plant genus derives its name from Spanish mimosa, which is the feminine form of the Spanish adjective mimoso meaning "cuddly".
Midori
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 緑, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みどり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-DO-REE
From Japanese
緑 (midori) meaning "green", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations that have the same pronunciation.
Melody
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-dee
From the English word
melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with
ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".
Mélisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
French form of
Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play
Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).
Melchior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, French (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHL-kee-awr(American English) MEHL-kee-aw(British English) MEHL-KYAWR(French) MEHL-khee-awr(Dutch)
Possibly from the Hebrew roots
מֶלֶךְ (meleḵ) meaning "king" and
אוֹר (ʾor) meaning "light". This was a name traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.
Melba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL-bə
From the surname of the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba (1861-1931). This was a
stage name that she got from the name of the city Melbourne, where she was born.
Meadowlark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
From the English words
meadow and
lark ("small singing bird"). Meadowlark is the common name for several species songbirds of the genera Sturnella and Leistes, native to the Americas. This was the name of American basketball player Meadowlark Lemon (1932-2015), who changed his legal name from
Meadow to Meadowlark in 1969.
Mary
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MEHR-ee(English)
Usual English form of
Maria, the Latin form of the
New Testament Greek names
Μαριάμ (Mariam) and
Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — which were from Hebrew
מִרְיָם (Miryam), a name borne by the sister of
Moses in the
Old Testament. The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including
"sea of bitterness",
"rebelliousness", and
"wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from
mry "beloved" or
mr "love".
This is the name of several New Testament characters, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. This name was also borne by Mary Magdalene, a woman cured of demons by Jesus. She became one of his followers and later witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.
Due to the Virgin Mary this name has been very popular in the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it has been considered too holy for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century, and it has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880 it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular name for girls (Anna). It remained in the top rank in America until 1946 when it was bumped to second (by Linda). Although it regained the top spot for a few more years in the 1950s it was already falling in usage, and has since dropped out of the top 100 names.
This name has been borne by two queens of England, as well as a queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), the author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character by this name is Mary Poppins from the children's books by P. L. Travers, first published in 1934.
The Latinized form of this name, Maria, is also used in English as well as in several other languages.
Marilou
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Spanish (Philippines)
Pronounced: mar-ee-LOO(English)
Marilène
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-REE-LEHN
Marigold
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAR-i-gold, MEHR-i-gold
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of
Mary and the English word
gold.
Marietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Greek, Hungarian, German, Polish
Other Scripts: Μαριέττα(Greek)
Pronounced: MAW-ree-eht-taw(Hungarian)
Marianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: MA-RYAN(French) mar-ee-AN(English) ma-RYA-nə(German) ma-ree-YAH-nə(Dutch) MAH-ree-ahn-neh(Finnish)
Combination of
Marie and
Anne 1, though it could also be considered a variant of
Mariana or
Mariamne. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Margot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAR-GO
Margareta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Romanian, Slovene, Finnish, Croatian
Pronounced: mar-ga-REH-ta(German) MAHR-gah-reh-tah(Finnish)
Margaret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-grit(American English) MAHR-gə-rit(American English) MAH-grit(British English) MAH-gə-rit(British English)
Derived from Latin
Margarita, which was from Greek
μαργαρίτης (margarites) meaning
"pearl", a word that was probably ultimately a borrowing from an Indo-Iranian language.
Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.
As an English name it has been very popular since the Middle Ages. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, but it declined in the latter half of the 20th century.
Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of Gone with the Wind, and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-). Others include American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
Mandy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAN-dee
Malva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish (Rare), German, Danish, Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: MAHL-vah(Finnish)
Short form of
Malvina. It may be partly inspired by Latin, Swedish and Finnish
malva "mallow, hollyhock (flower)".
Malina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Serbian, Polish
Other Scripts: Малина(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Pronounced: ma-LEE-na(Polish)
Means "raspberry" in several Slavic languages.
Majken
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: MIE-kehn(Swedish)
Maj 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovene
Either a masculine form of
Maja 1, or else from the Slovene name for the month of May.
Magnolia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mag-NO-lee-ə
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Magdalini
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Μαγδαληνή(Greek)
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) mahgh-da-LEH-na(Dutch) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Magdalen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAG-də-lən
Madeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAD-ə-lin, MAD-lin, MAD-ə-lien
English form of
Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
Mabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-bəl
Medieval feminine form of
Amabilis. This spelling and
Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's 1854 novel
The Heir of Redclyffe [1], which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).
Luminosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Mexican), Italian (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Pronounced: loo-mee-NO-sa(Spanish)
Derived from the Latin adjective luminosus meaning "full of light, luminous". This was the name of a 5th-century saint from Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. This was also borne by a 6th-century Byzantine woman, the wife of the tribune Zemarchus. A modern bearer is Italian hurdler Luminosa Bogliolo (1995-).
Lumikki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LUW-mik-ki
Derived from Finnish word lumi "snow". Fairy tale character Snow White is known as Lumikki in Finland.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
An elaboration of
Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel
Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play
The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-a(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: loo-CHEHT-ta
Diminutive of
Luce. Shakespeare used this name for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Lovis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: LOO-vis
Lottie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish
Pronounced: LAHT-ee(American English) LAWT-ee(British English)
Loretta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian
Pronounced: lə-REHT-ə(English) lo-REHT-ta(Italian)
Perhaps a variant of
Lauretta or
Loreto. A famous bearer was the American actress Loretta Young (1913-2000), whose birth name was Gretchen.
Liselot
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Lis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
From the Greek name
Λίνος (Linos) meaning
"flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god
Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of
Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after
Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip
Peanuts.
Linnet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: li-NEHT, LIN-it
Either a variant of
Lynette or else from the name of the small bird, a type of finch.
Linette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: li-NEHT(English)
Lindy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dee
Originally this was a masculine name, coming into use in America in 1927 when the dance called the Lindy Hop became popular. The dance was probably named for aviator Charles Lindbergh. Later this name was used as a
diminutive of
Linda.
Lindis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish (Rare), Swedish (Rare), Finnish (Rare)
Norwegian form of
Líndís as well as of
Linddís. This name is also occasionally used as a truncated form of Germanic names ending in
-lindis.
Linden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIN-dən
From a German and Dutch surname that was derived from Old High German
linta meaning
"linden tree".
Linde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: LIN-də
Lilo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: LEE-lo
Lilja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic, Faroese, Finnish
Pronounced: LIL-ya(Icelandic) LEEL-yah(Finnish)
Lilias
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Form of
Lillian found in Scotland from about the 16th century
[1].
Lilardia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian
Lilardia means "flower".
Lilac
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LIE-lək
From the English word for the shrub with purple or white flowers (genus Syringa). It is derived via Arabic from Persian.
Lila 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Lenora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Lee
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEE
From a surname that was derived from Old English
leah meaning
"clearing". The surname belonged to Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In his honour, it has been used as a given name in the American South. It is common as a middle name.
Lazar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Лазарь(Russian) Лазар(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: LA-zər(Russian) LA-zar(Serbian, Croatian)
Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian and Macedonian form of
Lazarus. This name was borne by a 14th-century Serbian ruler who was killed at the Battle of Kosovo.
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Meaning unknown, probably of Etruscan origin. In Roman legend Lavinia was the daughter of King Latinus, the wife of
Aeneas, and the ancestor of the Roman people. According to the legend Aeneas named the town of Lavinium in honour of his wife.
Lavender
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAV-ən-dər(American English) LAV-ən-də(British English)
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.
Laurent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-RAHN
Laurence 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əns(American English, British English)
From the Roman
cognomen Laurentius, which meant
"from Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin
laurus "laurel".
Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor. Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in the Christian world (in various spellings).
In the Middle Ages this name was common in England, partly because of a second saint by this name, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury. Likewise it has been common in Ireland due to the 12th-century Saint Laurence O'Toole (whose real name was Lorcán). Since the 19th century the spelling Lawrence has been more common, especially in America. A famous bearer was the British actor Laurence Olivier (1907-1989).
László
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: LAS-lo
Hungarian form of
Vladislav.
Saint László was an 11th-century king of Hungary, looked upon as the embodiment of Christian virtue and bravery.
Lark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAHRK(American English) LAHK(British English)
From the English word for the type of songbird.
Lana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Russian, Croatian, Slovene, Georgian
Other Scripts: Лана(Russian) ლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: LAHN-ə(English)
Short form of
Alana (English) or
Svetlana (Russian). In the English-speaking world it was popularized by actress Lana Turner (1921-1995), who was born Julia Jean Turner.
Konstantin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, German, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian
Other Scripts: Константин(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: kən-stun-TYEEN(Russian) KAWN-stan-teen(German) KON-stahn-teen(Finnish) KON-shtawn-teen(Hungarian)
Knut
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, German
Pronounced: KNOOT(Swedish, German)
Derived from Old Norse
knútr meaning
"knot". Knut was a Danish prince who defeated
Æðelræd II, king of England, in the early 11th century and became the ruler of Denmark, Norway and England.
Kitty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT-ee
Kitto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Cornish
Kit
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIT
Kirsikka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: KEER-seek-kah
Means "cherry" in Finnish.
Kip
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIP
From a nickname, probably from the English word kipper meaning "male salmon".
Kinnon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Kinneret
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כִּנֶּרֶת(Hebrew)
Kiki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek
Other Scripts: Κική(Greek)
Pronounced: KEE-kee(English) kee-KEE(Greek)
Diminutive of names beginning with or containing the sound
K.
Kerttu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: KEHRT-too
Kerenza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Kerensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "love" in Cornish.
Kay 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY
Short form of
Katherine and other names beginning with
K.
Karin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Slovene
Pronounced: KAH-rin(Swedish) KA-reen(German) KA-rin(Dutch) KAH-reen(Finnish)
Kali 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Bengali, Tamil
Other Scripts: काली(Sanskrit) কালী(Bengali) காளி(Tamil)
Pronounced: KAH-lee(Sanskrit, English) KA-li(Tamil)
Means
"the black one", derived from Sanskrit
काल (kāla) meaning "black". The Hindu goddess Kali is the fierce destructive form of the wife of
Shiva. According to stories in the
Puranas, she springs from the forehead of
Durga in order to defeat various demons. She is typically depicted with black skin and four arms, holding a severed head and brandishing a sword. As a personal name, it is generally masculine in India.
Kaja 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Estonian, Slovene
Pronounced: KA-ya(Swedish) KAH-yah(Estonian)
Kaj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
Pronounced: KIE(Swedish)
Kai 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: KIE(German, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English)
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Frisian
diminutive of
Gerhard,
Nicolaas,
Cornelis or
Gaius [1]. It is borne by a boy captured by the Snow Queen in an 1844 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Spreading from Germany and Scandinavia, this name became popular in the English-speaking world and other places in Western Europe around the end of the 20th century.
Kaarina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: KAH-ree-nah
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.
Julian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, German
Pronounced: JOO-lee-ən(English) JOOL-yən(English) YOO-lyan(Polish) YOO-lee-an(German)
From the Roman name
Iulianus, which was derived from
Julius. This was the name of the last pagan Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (4th century). It was also borne by several early
saints, including the legendary Saint Julian the Hospitaller. This name has been used in England since the Middle Ages, at which time it was also a feminine name (from
Juliana, eventually becoming
Gillian).
Joss
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAWS
Jody
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-dee
Diminutive of
Josephine,
Joseph,
Joanna and other names beginning with
Jo. It was popularized by the young hero (a boy) in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' novel
The Yearling (1938) and the subsequent film adaptation (1946). As a feminine name, it probably received an assist from the similar-sounding name
Judy, which was at the height of its American popularity when Jody was rising.
Jarl
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Norse Mythology, Old Norse [1]
Pronounced: YAHRL(Norwegian, Swedish, Danish)
Means
"chieftain, nobleman" in Old Norse (a
cognate of the English word
earl). In the Norse poem
Rígsþula Jarl is the son of the god Ríg and the founder of the race of warriors.
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Medieval English form of
Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of
Iohannes (see
John). This became the most common feminine form of
John in the 17th century, surpassing
Joan. In the first half of the 20th century
Joan once again overtook
Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.
Jalmari
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: YAHL-mah-ree
Jacinth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JAY-sinth, JAS-inth
From the English word for the orange precious stone, originating from the same source as
Hyacinth.
Jacinta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: kha-THEEN-ta(European Spanish) kha-SEEN-ta(Latin American Spanish)
Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of
Hyacinthus.
Isotta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ee-ZAWT-ta
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.
Isolda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English)
Ismene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰσμήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EEZ-MEH-NEH(Classical Greek) is-MEE-nee(English)
Possibly from Greek
ἰσμή (isme) meaning
"knowledge". This was the name of the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta in Greek legend.
Isildur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Means "devoted to the moon". This name was used by J. R. R. Tolkien in his novel 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) for the elder son of
Elendil, who was briefly the second king of Gondor and Arnor.
Isbrand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Isaura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: ee-SOW-ra(Spanish)
Late Latin name meaning "from Isauria". Isauria was the name of a region in Asia Minor.
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Irita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
Iris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἶρις(Ancient Greek) Ίρις(Greek)
Pronounced: IE-ris(English) EE-ris(German, Dutch) EE-rees(Finnish, Spanish, Catalan, Italian) EE-REES(French)
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.
Iridessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: eer-ə-DES-ə
This was the name of a character in the Disney
Tinker Bell film series. Perhaps based on the English word
iridescent, which is derived from the Latin elements
iris meaning "rainbow" (see
Iris) and the suffix
-escent "resembling".
Ingemar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: ING-eh-mar
From the Old Norse name
Ingimárr, derived from the name of the Germanic god
Ing combined with
mærr "famous".
Ingeborg
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Pronounced: ING-ə-bawrk(German)
From the Old Norse name
Ingibjǫrg, which was derived from the name of the Germanic god
Ing combined with
bjǫrg meaning "help, save, rescue". This name was borne by a Danish princess who married Philip II of France in the 12th century.
Ines
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Swedish
Indigo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: IN-di-go
From the English word
indigo for the purplish-blue dye or the colour. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ἰνδικόν (Indikon) meaning "Indic, from India".
Imelda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: ee-MEHL-da
Italian and Spanish form of
Irmhild. The Blessed Imelda Lambertini was a young 14th-century nun from Bologna.
Ilta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: EEL-tah
Means "evening" in Finnish.
Ilona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, German, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech
Pronounced: EE-lo-naw(Hungarian) ee-LO-na(German) EE-lo-na(German) EE-lo-nah(Finnish) ee-LAW-na(Polish) I-lo-na(Czech)
Old Hungarian form of
Helen, possibly via a Slavic form. In Finland it is associated with the word
ilona, a derivative of
ilo "joy".
Ilo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Feminine given name derived from the name of a minor goddess of feasts, via the Estonian ilu meaning "beauty" but also possibly the word ilo meaning "delight, joy, happiness", the Livonian word īla meaning "nature" or the Pite Sami word âllo meaning "urge".
Ihanelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: I-hah-nel-mah
Created during the time of Finnish Romantic nationalism by using an old Finnish name
iha. The name was probably inspired by similar names
Anelma and
Sanelma.
Iggy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IG-ee
Idris 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Idalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1], Greek Mythology, Polish (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ἰδαλία(Ancient Greek)
Probably from a Germanic name derived from the element
idal, an extended form of
id possibly meaning
"work, labour" [1]. Unrelated, this was also an epithet of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite, given because the city of Idalion on Cyprus was a center of her cult.
This name was borne by the heroine of the Polish writer Juliusz Słowacki's play Fantazy (1841, published 1866).
Ianto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: YAN-taw
Hyacinth 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: HIE-ə-sinth
From the name of the flower (or the precious stone that also bears this name), ultimately from Greek
hyakinthos (see
Hyacinthus).
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Variant of
Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the
Normans.
Holiday
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: HAHL-i-day
Transferred use of the surname
Holiday.
Hjalmar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: YAL-mar(Swedish)
From the Old Norse name
Hjálmarr meaning
"helmeted warrior" from the element
hjalmr "helmet" combined with
herr "army, warrior".
Hilkka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: HILK-kah
From the word hilkka, which means "a bonnet, a hood". Little Red Riding Hood is known as 'Punahilkka' in Finland, and the fairy tale may have had something to do with the name Hilkka becoming more common. Hilkka is also the Finnish name for plants belonging to the 'Achimenes' genus, many of which are grown for their large, colourful flowers.
Hilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Spanish, Hungarian, Anglo-Saxon (Latinized), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: HIL-də(English) HIL-da(German, Dutch) EEL-da(Spanish) HEEL-daw(Hungarian)
Originally a short form of names containing the Old Frankish element
hildi, Old High German
hilt, Old English
hild meaning
"battle" (Proto-Germanic *
hildiz). The short form was used for both Old English and continental Germanic names.
Saint Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby was a 7th-century English saint and abbess. The name became rare in England during the later Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century.
Hesper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: HES-pər(English)
Hertta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: HEHRT-tah
Finnish form of
Hertha. This is also the Finnish word for the card suit hearts.
Henrietta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hungarian, Finnish, Swedish
Pronounced: hehn-ree-EHT-ə(English) HEHN-ree-eht-taw(Hungarian) HEHN-ree-eht-tah(Finnish)
Latinate form of
Henriette. It was introduced to England by Henriette Marie, the wife of the 17th-century English king Charles I. The name
Henriette was also Anglicized as
Harriet, a form that was initially more popular.
Helvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: HEHL-vee
Finnish vernacular form of
Hedvig.
Helmi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish
Pronounced: HEHL-mee(Finnish)
Hattie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAT-ee
Harriet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAR-ee-it, HEHR-ee-it
English form of
Henriette, and thus a feminine form of
Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of
Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).
Harlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHR-lən(American English) HAH-lən(British English)
From a surname that was from a place name meaning "hare land" in Old English. In America it has sometimes been given in honour of Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911).
Hank
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HANGK
Originally a short form of
Hankin, which was a medieval
diminutive of
John. Since the 17th century in the United States this name has also been used as a diminutive of
Henry, probably under the influence of the Dutch diminutive
Henk. A famous bearer is the American former baseball player Hank Aaron (1934-2021).
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Possibly means
"white ring", derived from Welsh
gwen meaning "white, blessed" and
dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form
Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle
[1]. Geoffrey later used it in
Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet
Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name
Guendoleu by Geoffrey
[3].
This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).
Gullviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare)
Directly taken from Swedish gullviva (literally "golden hood"), the term for the cowslip flower (Primula veris in Latin).
Greta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Polish, English
Pronounced: GREH-ta(German, Italian, Swedish, Polish) GREHT-ə(English)
Short form of
Margareta. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990).
Goldie 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Golda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: גאָלדאַ, גאָלדע(Yiddish) גּוֹלְדָּה(Hebrew)
From Yiddish
גאָלד (gold) meaning
"gold". This is the name of Tevye's wife in the musical
Fiddler on the Roof (1964). It was also borne by the Israeli prime minister Golda Meir (1898-1978).
Gloria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, German
Pronounced: GLAWR-ee-ə(English) GLO-rya(Spanish) GLAW-rya(Italian)
Means
"glory", from the Portuguese and Spanish titles of the Virgin
Mary Maria da Glória and
María de Gloria. Maria da Glória (1819-1853) was the daughter of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, eventually becoming queen of Portugal as Maria II.
The name was introduced to the English-speaking world by E. D. E. N. Southworth's novel Gloria (1891) and George Bernard Shaw's play You Never Can Tell (1898), which both feature characters with a Portuguese background [1]. It was popularized in the early 20th century by American actress Gloria Swanson (1899-1983). Another famous bearer is feminist Gloria Steinem (1934-).
Giacinta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ja-CHEEN-ta
Garnet 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-nət(American English) GAH-nət(British English)
From the English word garnet for the precious stone, the birthstone of January. The word is derived from Middle English gernet meaning "dark red".
Garland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-lənd(American English) GAH-lənd(British English)
From a surname meaning "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. The surname originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.
Frank
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, French
Pronounced: FRANGK(English, German) FRAHNGK(Dutch) FRAHNK(French)
From an Old German name that referred to a member of the Germanic tribe, the Franks. The Franks settled in the regions now called France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the 3rd and 4th century. They possibly derived their tribal name from a type of spear that they used, from Proto-Germanic *
frankô. From medieval times, the various forms of this name have been commonly conflated with the various forms of
Francis. In modern times it is sometimes used as a short form of
Francis or
Franklin.
The name was brought to England by the Normans. Notable bearers include author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), and singer Frank Sinatra (1915-1998).
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS(American English) FAWKS(British English)
Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.
Fortunata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: for-too-NA-ta(Italian, Spanish)
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)
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.
Floor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: FLOR
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Means
"flower" in French.
Saint Fleur of Issendolus (
Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels
The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Fioralba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Combination of Italian
fiore "flower" (Latin
flos) and
alba "dawn".
Fidelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: fi-DEHL-mə(English)
Febe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Italian, Spanish (Rare), Portuguese (Rare)
Pronounced: FEH-beh(Italian, Spanish)
Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Phoebe.
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Eulalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UU-LA-LEE
Esbjörn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Ernest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Catalan, Polish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: UR-nist(American English) U-nist(British English) EHR-NEST(French) ər-NEST(Catalan) EHR-nest(Polish)
Derived from Old High German
ernust meaning
"serious, earnest". It was introduced to England by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century, though it did not become common until the following century. The American author and adventurer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was a famous bearer of the name. It was also used by Oscar Wilde for a character in his comedy
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
Erling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: EHR-ling
Means "descendant of the jarl", a derivative of the Old Norse word jarl meaning "chieftain, nobleman, earl".
Erland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: A-land(Swedish)
From the Old Norse byname Erlendr, which was derived from ørlendr meaning "foreigner".
Endellion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: ehn-DEHL-ee-ən(English)
Anglicized form of
Endelienta, the Latin form of a Welsh or Cornish name. It was borne by a 5th or 6th-century Cornish
saint whose birth name is lost. According to some traditions she was a daughter of
Brychan Brycheiniog (identifying her with Cynheiddon).
Emperatriz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehm-peh-ra-TREETH(European Spanish) ehm-peh-ra-TREES(Latin American Spanish)
Means "empress" in Spanish.
Emerald
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-ə-rəld
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).
Elora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Modern)
Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
From the Old French name
Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name
Helewidis, composed of the elements
heil meaning "healthy, whole" and
wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word
ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name
Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.
There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.
Eloisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-lo-EE-za
Ellis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: EHL-is(English)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Elis, a medieval vernacular form of
Elias. This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Welsh
Elisedd.
Elessar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ELL-ess-ahr
Created by JRR Tolkien for his The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. This is the name, meaning Elfstone, given to Aragorn in Lórien by Galadriel and later adopted by him as King of Gondor.
Eleftheria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελευθερία(Greek)
Edith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: EE-dith(English) EH-dit(German, Swedish, Dutch)
From the Old English name
Eadgyð, derived from the elements
ead "wealth, fortune" and
guð "battle". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by
Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. It was also borne by the Anglo-Saxon wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The name remained common after the
Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 15th century, but was revived in the 19th century.
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
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.
Edelweiss
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: AY-dəl-vies(English) EH-DEHL-VIES(French) EH-DEHL-VEHS(French) eh-dehl-VIES(Italian) EH-dehl-vies(Italian)
From the name of the edelweiss flower (species Leontopodium alpinum). It is derived from the German elements edel "noble" and weiß "white." The name of the flower is spelled Edelweiß in German; Edelweiss is an Anglicized spelling.
Duva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
From *Dufe meaning "dove", derived from either Old English *dūfe "dove" or its Old Norse cognate dúfa, perhaps developing from a byname.
Dulcie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DUL-see
From Latin
dulcis meaning
"sweet". It was used in the Middle Ages in the spellings
Dowse and
Duce, and was recoined in the 19th century.
Dove
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DUV
From the English word for the variety of bird, seen as a symbol of peace.
Dottie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHT-ee(American English) DAWT-ee(British English)
Dorrit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature
Transferred use of a surname deriving either from
Durward or
Dorothy. Made famous by Charles Dickens in his novel
Little Dorrit (1855-7) and first-name usage probably derives from it. Dorrit, Doritt and Dorit have all been used as first names, as have Dorita and Doritha.
Dordi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish (Rare)
Diminutive of
Dorede, which was a variant of
Dorete, the Old Swedish form of
Dorothea. It has been used in Sweden since at least the 16th century.
Dora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, English, German, Dutch
Other Scripts: Ντόρα(Greek) Дора(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: DO-ra(Spanish, Croatian, Serbian, Dutch) DAWR-ə(English)
Dolly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHL-ee(American English) DAWL-ee(British English)
Diminutive of
Dorothy.
Doll and
Dolly were used from the 16th century, and the common English word
doll (for the plaything) is derived from them. In modern times this name is also sometimes used as a diminutive of
Dolores.
Dodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DO-dee
Ditte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Danish
diminutive of
Edith,
Dorothea or names containing
dit. It was popularized by Martin Andersen Nexø's novel
Ditte, Child of Man (1921) and the film adaptation (1946).
Dionisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: dyo-NEE-zya(Italian) dyo-NEE-sya(Spanish)
Italian and Spanish feminine form of
Dionysius.
Diana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Armenian, Georgian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Диана(Russian, Bulgarian) Діана(Ukrainian) Դիանա(Armenian) დიანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: die-AN-ə(English) DYA-na(Spanish, Italian, Polish) dee-U-nu(European Portuguese) jee-U-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) dee-A-na(Romanian, German, Dutch, Latin) dee-A-nə(Catalan) dyee-A-nu(Ukrainian) DI-ya-na(Czech) DEE-a-na(Slovak)
Means
"divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin
dia or
diva meaning
"goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *
dyew- found in
Zeus. Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess
Artemis.
As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). A notable bearer was the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.
Despina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Δέσποινα(Greek)
Pronounced: DHEH-spee-na
Demeter 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δημήτηρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEH-MEH-TEHR(Classical Greek) də-MEET-ər(American English) də-MEET-ə(British English)
Possibly means
"earth mother", derived from Greek
δᾶ (da) meaning "earth" and
μήτηρ (meter) meaning "mother". In Greek
mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of
Cronus, the sister of
Zeus, and the mother of
Persephone. She was an important figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites performed at Eleusis near Athens.
Demelza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Pronounced: də-MEHL-zə
From a Cornish place name meaning "fort of Maeldaf". It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the British television series Poldark, which was set in Cornwall.
Delmar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-mər(American English) DEHL-mə(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French de la mare meaning "from the pond".
Delma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-mə
Possibly a short form of
Adelma.
Della
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-ə
Delia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Darling
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish (Latin American), Filipino
Transferred use of the surname
Darling, or else derived directly from the word.
Darcy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHR-see(American English) DAH-see(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting one who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. This is the surname of a character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Daphne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English, Dutch
Other Scripts: Δάφνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-PNEH(Classical Greek) DAF-nee(English) DAHF-nə(Dutch)
Means
"laurel" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was a nymph turned into a laurel tree by her father in order that she might escape the pursuit of
Apollo. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the end of the 19th century.
Dandelion
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAN-de-lie-on
The English name, Dandelion, is a corruption of the French dent de lion meaning "lion's tooth", referring to the coarsely toothed leaves. It is usually is used as a nickname.
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.
Dalma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: DAWL-maw
Created by the Hungarian poet Mihály Vörösmarty for a male character in his epic poem Zalán Futása (1825). It was used by later writers such as Mór Jókai for female characters.
Dalia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Arabic
Other Scripts: داليا(Arabic)
Pronounced: DA-lya(Spanish) DA-lee-ya(Arabic)
Spanish and Arabic form of
Dahlia. The Dahlia is the national flower of Mexico.
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English
dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.
Dahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DAL-yə, DAHL-yə, DAYL-yə
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
Dag
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: DAHG(Swedish)
Derived from Old Norse
dagr meaning
"day".
Dafne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: DAF-neh(Italian, Spanish) DAF-ni(European Portuguese) DAF-nee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Daphne.
Daffodil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAF-ə-dil
From the name of the flower, ultimately derived from Dutch de affodil meaning "the asphodel".
Cynthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυνθία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIN-thee-ə(English) SEEN-TYA(French)
Latinized form of Greek
Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means
"woman from Cynthus". This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess
Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother
Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Form of
Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play
Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Cosmo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: KAWZ-mo(Italian, British English) KAHZ-mo(American English)
Italian variant of
Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom
Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Italian feminine form of
Cosimo.
Cory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWR-ee
Cornell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kawr-NEHL(American English) kaw-NEHL(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Cornelius.
Corisande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Theatre, French (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Meaning uncertain, from the name of a character in medieval legend, possibly first recorded by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Perhaps it was derived from an older form of Spanish
corazón "heart" (e.g., Old Spanish
coraçon; ultimately from Latin
cor "heart", with the hypothetic Vulgar Latin root
*coratione,
*coraceone) or the Greek name
Chrysanthe. As a nickname it was used by a mistress of King Henry IV of France: Diane d'Andoins (1554-1620),
la Belle Corisande. Some usage may be generated by Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera
Amadis (1684; based on Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo), in which it belongs to the lover of the prince Florestan. The name was also used by Benjamin Disraeli for a character in his play
Lothair (1870).
Coretta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kaw-REHT-ə
Diminutive of
Cora. It was borne by Coretta Scott King (1927-2006), the wife of Martin Luther King Jr.
Corentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: ko-REHN-teen(Breton) KAW-RAHN-TEHN(French)
French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.
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).
Constantine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: KAHN-stən-teen(American English) KAWN-stən-teen(British English)
From the Latin name
Constantinus, a derivative of
Constans. Constantine the Great (272-337), full name Flavius Valerius Constantinus, was the first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. He moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (modern Istanbul).
Conrad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: KAHN-rad(American English) KAWN-rad(British English) KAWN-rat(German)
Means
"brave counsel", derived from the Old German elements
kuoni "brave" and
rat "counsel, advice". This was the name of a 10th-century
saint and bishop of Konstanz, in southern Germany. It was also borne by several medieval German kings and dukes, notably Conrad II, the first of the Holy Roman Emperors from the Salic dynasty. In England it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has only been common since the 19th century when it was reintroduced from Germany.
Colombina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare), Theatre
Pronounced: ko-lom-BEE-na(Italian)
Italian feminine
diminutive of
Columba. In traditional Italian theatre (commedia dell'arte) this is the name of a stock character, a female servant who was often the lover of Arlecchino (
Harlequin). This is also the Italian word for the columbine flower.
Cleo
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEE-o
Clementine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHM-ən-teen, KLEHM-ən-tien
Clement
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHM-ənt
English form of the Late Latin name
Clemens (or sometimes of its derivative
Clementius), which meant
"merciful, gentle". This was the name of 14 popes, including
Saint Clement I, the third pope, one of the Apostolic Fathers. Another saint by this name was Clement of Alexandria, a 3rd-century theologian and church father who attempted to reconcile Christian and Platonic philosophies. It has been in general as a given name in Christian Europe (in various spellings) since early times. In England it became rare after the
Protestant Reformation, though it was revived in the 19th century.
Clemens
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: KLEH-mehns(German) KLEH-məns(Dutch)
Original Latin form of
Clement, as well as the German, Dutch and Scandinavian form.
Claude
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLOD(French) KLAWD(English)
French masculine and feminine form of
Claudius. In France the masculine name has been common since the Middle Ages due to the 7th-century
Saint Claude of Besançon. It was imported to Britain in the 16th century by the aristocratic Hamilton family, who had French connections. A famous bearer of this name was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Clark
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAHRK(American English) KLAHK(British English)
From an English surname meaning "cleric" or "scribe", from Old English clerec originally meaning "priest". A famous bearer of the surname was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer of the west of North America. As a first name it was borne by the American actor Clark Gable (1901-1960), as well as the comic book character Clark Kent, the mild-mannered alter ego of Superman, first created 1938.
Claritia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Possibly a derivative of
Clara.
Clarissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian
Pronounced: klə-RIS-ə(English)
Latinate form of
Clarice. This is the name of the title character in a 1748 novel by Samuel Richardson. In the novel Clarissa Harlowe is a virtuous woman who is tragically exploited by her family and her lover. Another literary character by this name is Clarissa Dalloway from the novel
Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf.
Cindy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIN-dee
Cecilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Romanian, Finnish
Pronounced: seh-SEE-lee-ə(English) seh-SEEL-yə(English) cheh-CHEE-lya(Italian) theh-THEE-lya(European Spanish) seh-SEE-lya(Latin American Spanish) seh-SEEL-yah(Danish, Norwegian) sə-SEE-lee-a(Dutch)
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name
Caecilius, which was derived from Latin
caecus meaning
"blind".
Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.
Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily — the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.
Cato 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Catharina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish
Pronounced: ka-ta-REE-na(Dutch)
Carey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHR-ee
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Ciardha, which is a patronymic derived from the given name
Ciardha.
Calypso
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλυψώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIP-so(English)
From Greek
Καλυψώ (Kalypso), which probably meant
"she that conceals", derived from
καλύπτω (kalypto) meaning "to cover, to conceal". In Greek
myth this was the name of the nymph who fell in love with
Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island of Ogygia. When he refused to stay with her she detained him for seven years until
Zeus ordered her to release him.
Callisto 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιστώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-to(English)
Latinized form of
Kallisto. A moon of Jupiter bears this name.
Calliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-LIE-ə-pee(English)
Calista
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese (Rare), Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LIS-tə(English) ka-LEES-ta(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Callistus. As an English name it might also be a variant of
Kallisto.
Bruno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Croatian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BROO-no(German, Italian, Spanish, Czech) BROO-noo(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese) BRUY-NO(French) BROO-naw(Polish, Slovak)
Derived from the Old German element
brunna meaning
"armour, protection" (Proto-Germanic *
brunjǭ) or
brun meaning
"brown" (Proto-Germanic *
brūnaz).
Saint Bruno of Cologne was a German monk of the 11th century who founded the Carthusian Order. The surname has belonged to Giordano Bruno, a philosopher burned at the stake by the Inquisition. A modern bearer is the American singer Bruno Mars (1985-), born Peter Gene Hernandez.
Bruce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: BROOS
From a Scottish surname, of Norman origin, which probably originally referred to the town of Brix in France. The surname was borne by Robert the Bruce, a Scottish hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland. It has been in use as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in the 1940s and 50s. Notable bearers include Chinese-American actor Bruce Lee (1940-1973), American musician Bruce Springsteen (1949-), and American actor Bruce Willis (1955-). It is also the real name of the comic book superheroes Batman (Bruce Wayne), created 1939, and the Hulk (Bruce Banner), created 1962.
Britta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Bram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: BRAM(English) BRAHM(Dutch)
Short form of
Abraham. This name was borne by Bram Stoker (1847-1912), the Irish author who wrote
Dracula.
Bonnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAHN-ee(American English) BAWN-ee(British English)
Means "pretty" from the Scottish word bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French bon "good". It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century, and it became especially popular after the movie Gone with the Wind (1939), in which it was the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.
Bluebell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Pronounced: BLOO-bel(English)
From the name of the flower, used to some extent as a first name when flower names were in vogue at the end of the 19th century.
Blossom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAHS-əm(American English) BLAWS-əm(British English)
From the English word blossom, ultimately from Old English blóstm. It came into use as a rare given name in the 19th century.
Bloom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
From the English word bloom, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ("to thrive, flower, bloom").
Blåklocka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern, Rare)
From Swedish blåklocka meaning "harebell".
Björnstjerne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish (Rare)
Björn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Icelandic, German
Pronounced: BYUUN(Swedish) PYUURTN(Icelandic) BYUURN(German)
From an Old Norse byname derived from
bjǫrn meaning
"bear".
Birdie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUR-dee(American English) BU-dee(British English)
Diminutive of
Bertha,
Bernice and other names with a similar sound, or sometimes simply from the English word
bird.
Billie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Bill
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL
Short form of
William. This spelling was not commonly used before the 19th century. The change in the initial consonant may have been influenced by an earlier Irish pronunciation of the name. Famous bearers include basketball player Bill Russell (1934-2022), comedian Bill Cosby (1937-), American president Bill Clinton (1946-), and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955-), all of whom were born with the name
William.
Bibi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: BIB-i(Swedish)
Diminutive of
Birgitta and its various forms. It can also be used as a diminutive of other names beginning with or containing
B, such as
Bibiana and
Beata. A known bearer was Swedish actress Berit Elisabet "Bibi" Andersson (1935-2019).
Betty
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHT-ee
Bess
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHS
Berenike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Βερενίκη(Ancient Greek)
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
From the Late Latin name
Benedictus, which meant
"blessed".
Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Bell
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEL
Transferred use of the surname
Bell 1.
Azalea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ə-ZAY-lee-ə
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek
ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".
Ayelet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַיֶלֶת(Hebrew)
Means
"doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase
אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר (ʾayeleṯ hashaḥar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.
Avalon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lahn(American English) AV-ə-lawn(British English)
From the name of the island paradise to which King
Arthur was brought after his death. The name of this island is perhaps related to Welsh
afal meaning "apple", a fruit that was often linked with paradise.
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
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.
Atalanta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀταλάντη(Ancient Greek)
From the Greek
Ἀταλάντη (Atalante) meaning
"equal in weight", derived from
ἀτάλαντος (atalantos), a word related to
τάλαντον (talanton) meaning "a scale, a balance". In Greek legend she was a fast-footed maiden who refused to marry anyone who could not beat her in a race. She was eventually defeated by Hippomenes, who dropped three golden apples during the race causing her to stop to pick them up.
Astoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: as-TAWR-ee-ə
Feminine form of
Astor. This is also the name of several American towns, after the businessman John Jacob Astor.
Astarte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology (Hellenized), Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀστάρτη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: as-TAHR-tee(American English) as-TAH-tee(British English)
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.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(American English) AH-tə-mis(British English)
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek
ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning
"safe" or
ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning
"a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of
Apollo and the daughter of
Zeus and
Leto. She was known as
Diana to the Romans.
Armas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: AHR-mahs
Means "beloved" in Finnish (an archaic poetic word).
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo(American English) AH-lo(British English)
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
Ariadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀριάδνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-REE-AD-NEH(Classical Greek) ar-ee-AD-nee(English)
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.
Arden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-dən(American English) AH-dən(British English)
From an English surname, originally taken from various place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".
Araminta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by John Vanbrugh in his comedy The Confederacy (1705). This was the original given name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron
saint of Lucena, Spain.
Arabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ar-ə-BEHL-ə
Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of
Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin
orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.
Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).
April
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-prəl
From the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin aperire "to open", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.
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.
Anne 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, Basque
Pronounced: AN(French, English) A-neh(Swedish) A-nə(Danish, German) AHN-neh(Finnish) AH-nə(Dutch)
French form of
Anna. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant
Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.
The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London. Another notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne (Annelies) Frank, a young victim of the Holocaust in 1945. This is also the name of the heroine in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.
Angeliki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αγγελική(Greek)
Pronounced: ang-gyeh-lee-KYEE
Angelica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Romanian, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: an-JEHL-i-kə(English) an-JEH-lee-ka(Italian)
Derived from Latin
angelicus meaning
"angelic", ultimately related to Greek
ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger". The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their
Orlando poems (1483 and 1532), where she is the love interest of both
Orlando and
Rinaldo. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.
Amos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עָמוֹס(Hebrew) Ἀμώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-məs(English)
From Hebrew
עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning
"load, burden" [3]. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name,
Amos has been used since the
Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the
Puritans.
Amias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Amethyst
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AM-ə-thist
From the name of the purple semi-precious stone, which is derived from the Greek negative prefix
ἀ (a) and
μέθυστος (methystos) meaning "intoxicated, drunk", as it was believed to be a remedy against drunkenness. It is the traditional birthstone of February.
Ambrosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀμβροσία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AM-BRO-SEE-A
Feminine form of
Ambrosios (see
Ambrose).
Ambros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare), Cornish, Luxembourgish (Archaic), Romansh
German, Luxembourgish, Romansh and Cornish form of
Ambrose. This name was borne by Austrian composer Ambros Rieder (1771-1855).
Ambjörn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Amatus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Late Latin name meaning
"beloved". The 7th-century
Saint Amatus was the first abbot of Remiremont Abbey.
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.
Amabilis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Late Latin name meaning
"lovable".
Saint Amabilis was a 5th-century priest in Riom, central France.
Amabilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Amabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Althea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀλθαία(Ancient Greek)
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.
Altalune
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Possibly a variant of
Altaluna.
This is one of the middle names of the daughter of Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson.
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.
Alkmene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀλκμήνη(Ancient Greek)
Alison 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AL-i-sən(English) A-LEE-SAWN(French)
Norman French
diminutive of
Aalis (see
Alice)
[1]. It was common in England, Scotland and France in the Middle Ages, and was later revived in England in the 20th century via Scotland. Unlike most other English names ending in
son, it is not derived from a surname.
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)
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).
Alaska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
From Aleut alaxsxaq "object to which the action of the sea is directed" or "mainland". It is the name of a US state.
Akleja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: a-KLEY-a
Swedish form of Aquilegia, the name of a genus of plants derived from Latin aquila, "eagle".
Agapi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Αγάπη(Greek)
Pronounced: a-GHA-pee
Modern Greek form of
Agape.
Agape
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀγάπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-GA-PEH
Derived from Greek
ἀγάπη (agape) meaning
"love". This name was borne by at least two early
saints.
Afton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AF-tən
Transferred use of the surname
Afton. It is also the name of a river in Scotland, and it coincides with the Swedish noun
afton meaning "evening".
This name enjoyed a brief revival in the early 1980s, thanks to the character of Afton Cooper from the popular American television series Dallas (1978-1991).
Adora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: a-DHO-ra
Adlai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עַדְלָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AD-lay(English)
Adelmar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Adelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: a-DHEHL-ma(Spanish) a-DEHL-ma(Italian)
Feminine form of
Adelmo. This name was used by Carlo Gozzi for a character in his play
Turandot (1762).
Adeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-DU-LEEN(French) AD-ə-lien(English)
French and English form of
Adelina.
Adelinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: a-deh-LIN-də
Adele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, English, Italian
Pronounced: a-DEH-lə(German) ə-DEHL(English) a-DEH-leh(Italian)
Form of
Adela used in several languages. A famous bearer was the dancer and actress Adele Astaire (1896-1981). It was also borne by the British singer Adele Adkins (1988-), known simply as Adele. Shortly after she released her debut album in 2008 the name reentered the American top 1000 chart after a 40-year absence.
Adelais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Adelaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-dheh-LIE-dha
Adela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: ə-DEHL-ə(English) a-DHEH-la(Spanish) a-DEH-la(Polish) A-deh-la(Slovak)
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning
"noble" (Proto-Germanic *
aþalaz).
Saint Adela was a 7th-century Frankish princess who founded a monastery at Pfazel in France. This name was also borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror.
Adalmiina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Literature
Pronounced: AH-dahl-mee-nah(Finnish)
Used by Zacharias Topelius, a Finnish fairy tale writer, in his story 'Adalmiinan helmi' ('Adalmiina's pearl' in English, 'Adalminas pärla' in Swedish), which was published during the late 1800s.
Constructed of adal, meaning "noble" and mina, a common suffix in female names.
Adalind
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Anglicized), Hungarian (Rare), Popular Culture
Anglicized form of
Adalindis.
The name came to prominence with Adalind Schade, a main character on the television show "Grim" (2011-2017).
Adalet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: a-da-LEHT
Means
"justice" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic
عدل (ʿadala) meaning "to act justly".
Adalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish (Rare)
Adair
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-DEHR(American English) ə-DEH(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Edgar.
Ada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AY-də(English) A-dha(Spanish) A-da(Dutch, Polish) AH-dah(Finnish)
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as
Adelaide or
Adelina that begin with the element
adal meaning "noble".
Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.
Abram 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: אַבְרָם(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-brəm(English)
Abraham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical German, Biblical Swedish, Biblical Norwegian, Biblical Danish, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אַבְרָהָם(Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-brə-ham(English) a-bra-AM(Spanish) A-BRA-AM(French) A-bra-hahm(Dutch) A-bra-ham(German) AH-bra-ham(Swedish)
From the Hebrew name
אַבְרָהָם (ʾAvraham), which may be viewed either as meaning
"father of many" or else as a contraction of
Abram 1 and
הָמוֹן (hamon) meaning "many, multitude". The biblical patriarch Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name (see
Genesis 17:5). With his father
Terah, he led his wife
Sarah, his nephew
Lot and their other followers from Ur into Canaan. He is regarded by Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son
Isaac and by Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son
Ishmael.
As an English Christian name, Abraham became common after the Protestant Reformation. A famous bearer was the American president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who pushed to abolish slavery and led the country through the Civil War.
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