blackelectric's Personal Name List

Archaic variant of Zenobia, prevalent in Cornwall and Devon as well as in the southern states of the US.

Elaboration of Darius.

Variant of Viora.

Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French étoile "star" [1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.

Elaboration of Sina.

Alternate transcription of Arabic / Urdu شالامار باغ (see Shalimar). Though the name began to be used (in very small numbers) in America in the 1950s and 1960s, it gained some recognition there in 1980 following the release of the song "Three for Love" by the R&B group of the same name.

Estonian variant of Rosilde and Italian, Québécois and Walloon form of Roshilda.

Variant of Rosilda.

Variant of Richard.

From the English word, perhaps intended to be an English equivalent of Remedios.

From the word for the silk-like material, introduced by DuPont in 1968 and popular in the fashions of the 1970s [1].

Medieval English form of Prudentia, the feminine form of Prudentius. In France it is both the feminine form and a rare masculine form. In England it was used during the Middle Ages and was revived in the 17th century by the Puritans, in part from the English word prudence, ultimately of the same source.

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.

From the medieval name Plaisance, which meant "pleasant" in Old French.

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the rulers of all Ancient Egyptian dynasties. Historically, however, "pharaoh" only started being used as a title for the king during the New Kingdom, specifically during the middle of the eighteenth dynasty, after the reign of Hatshepsut. From the Middle English pharao, from the Late Latin pharaō, from the Ancient Greek pharaṓ (φαραώ), from the Hebrew par‘ōh (פַּרְעֹה), ultimately derived from the Ancient Egyptian pr ˤ3 'palace, pharaoh', from pr 'house' and ˤ3 'great, big'.

Noted bearers include Grammy Award winning American jazz saxophonist, Pharoah Sanders, born Farrell Sanders (b.1940), and American rapper Pharoahe Monch, born Troy Donald Jamerson (b.1972).

Variant of Parazetta.

Directly taken from the archaic word meaning "prayer", which is derived from Anglo-Norman oreison and ultimately from Latin oro (via Latin oratio) "to beg; to beseech".

As a given name, it has found occasional usage from the 19th century onwards. One known bearer is Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924), who wrote books on positive thinking.

Elaborated form of Opal.

Possibly a feminine form of Moses.

Variant of Mozelle.

Variant of Mozelle.

Also Mizella. These names have been occasionally used in the 20th century and are an etymological mystery, unless they are phonetic variants of Marcella, Marcelle, Michelle. In support of that argument one may point to Masella, Mazella, Mazala, Mazila, Marcalla, Marsella, all recorded in the 19th century after Marcella had come into regular use. By the turn of the century one finds Mesella, Messella, Mezillah. These then appear to have developed into Mizella, Mizela, Mizelli, Mizelly, Myzel, Marzalie. Pet forms Mizzie and Messie also occur as independent names in the 1940s and '50s. Mizelle first appeared in the 1870s but has been reused in more recent times. Most of the names quoted above are unrecorded in name dictionaries or other reference works, and the evidence does point to their being misunderstandings of names that have been heard but not seen.

(Source: Dunkling & Gosling, 1983)

Combination of Minnie and Jean 2. This is borne by Minnijean Brown-Trickey (1941-), who was one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African-American teenagers who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957 after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. Minnijean's mother was named Imogene.

From the English word mercy, ultimately from Latin merces "wages, reward", a derivative of merx "goods, wares". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.

Possibly a variant of Mizela (see also Mozelle), perhaps influenced by Maisie.

Variant of Marquis. Technically, marquise is the feminine form of the title marquis.

Variant of Lucelia.

American English regional name (Appalachian).

Transferred use of the surname Laviolette.

Combination of the popular prefix la with the name Tasha. It can be spelled LaTasha or Latasha.

Combination of the popular prefix la with the name Keisha. It can be spelled LaKeisha or Lakeisha.

Variant of Keziah.

Variant of Keziah.

Popularized by American model Kimora Lee Simmons (1975-), in whose case it possibly derives from the common Japanese surname Kimura, reflecting Simmons's Japanese ancestry (she is African-American on her father's side and Japanese-Korean on her mother's). Alternatively her name could be an elaborated form of Kim 1.

Variant of Qiana [1].

Combination of the popular name prefix ke and Shaun.

From the name of the African country. The country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called Kĩrĩnyaga meaning "the one having stripes". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 1960s.

Possibly invented, or possibly based on Keziah. It began to be used in the 1960s.

An invented name, blending the popular phonetic prefix ka and Maya 2.

Combination of the name prefix ka and Lisha.

Possibly a variant form of Isora.

This name was used at least as early as the 1870s in the Appalachian Mountain area of the eastern United States. Notable bearer is New Jersey born actress Izetta Jewel (1883-1978) who advocated for women's legal right to vote in the US.

From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.

Perhaps an altered form of Inez.

Variant of Imogene used in the southern United States.

Elaboration of Hazel.

From the Italian word for "fantasy, imagination", ultimately deriving from Greek φαντασία (phantasia). A known bearer is the American R&B singer Fantasia Barrino (1984-).

The name of a witch in the movie Oz the Great and Powerful. Could be a female form of Evan, a combination of Eva and Nora 1 or an altered form of Eleanora

Meaning uncertain. This was borne by American botanist Elzada Clover (1897-1980).

From the name of Hamlet's castle, which is an anglicized form of Helsingør, a Danish place name meaning "neck, narrow strait" (see Elsinore). Use of this place name as a feminine personal name is likely due to its similarity to Eleanor and Elsa.

Perhaps a combination of Elnora and Dora. This is the name of a small former mining town in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, which was originally named El Dorado.

Perhaps a blend of Edgenie (itself possibly an anglicized form of Eugénie) and Eleanora.

From the English word ebony for the black wood that comes from the ebony tree. It is ultimately from the Egyptian word hbnj. In America this name is most often used in the black community.

Derived from the Greek element Διός (Dios) meaning "of Zeus". This was the name of a 4th-century BC tyrant of Syracuse. It has been used as an American given name since the middle of the 20th century.

Means "already" from the French phrase déjà vu meaning "already seen". It received a popularity boost in 1995 when a character named Deja appeared in the movie Higher Learning.

Possibly from the surname Dameron.

Meaning uncertain, possibly an elaboration of Corrie using the suffix esta (found in Celesta). This was borne by American physician Corresta Thisba Canfield (1833-1920).

Of debated origin and meaning. Theories include a feminine form of Colas and a corruption of Scholastique (compare Colastia).

From the English word charity, ultimately derived from Late Latin caritas "generous love", from Latin carus "dear, beloved". Caritas was in use as a Roman Christian name. The English name Charity came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation. It is currently most common in parts of English-influenced Africa.

From the Latin name of Scotland, itself derived from Caledones, the Latin name of a tribe that inhabited the region during the Roman era, which is of unknown origin, though it may possibly come from Proto-Celtic *kaletos meaning "hard" and *ɸēdo- meaning "foot", alluding to standfastness or endurance.

Most likely a masculine form of Caledonia. In medieval tales about King Arthur, this is the name of a forest in southern Scotland and northern England. It is probably best known from the 1997 film Titanic, where it belonged to one of the main characters (namely Caledon Hockley, who went by Cal in daily life).

From the English word "blessed" meaning "having divine aid, or protection, or other blessing; held in veneration; revered", ultimately from Old English blētsian, blēdsian "to consecrate (with blood)".

Possibly derived from Swahili asante "thank you".

French form of Antonius (see Anthony). A famous bearer was the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), the author of The Little Prince.

Both a personal name and the name of a resin, it is derived from the Greek word αμυρων (amyron), which means "intensely scented" and refers to the resin's strong, aromatic odor.

Variant of Elinore.

Corruption of Alethea. This name arose among Catholics in Kentucky in the 1700-1800s.

Variant of Alozia.

Of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Elizabeth.

From the name of a colony in New France in North America, derived from Arcadia and coinciding with Mi'kmaq suffix -akadie, meaning "place of abundance". This is also the name of a National Park in Maine.