Anonymous789's Personal Name List

Zoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Canadian, Rare)
Pronounced: ZOR-ee-uh(Canadian English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Zara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: ZAHR-ə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Used by William Congreve for a character in his tragedy The Mourning Bride (1697), where it belongs to a captive North African queen. Congreve may have based it on the Arabic name Zahra 1. In 1736 the English writer Aaron Hill used it to translate Zaïre for his popular adaptation of Voltaire's French play Zaïre (1732).

In England the name was popularized when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981. Use of the name may also be influenced by the trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara.

Winter
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIN-tər
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
From the English word for the season, derived from Old English winter.
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
From the Latin name Vivianus, which was derived from Latin vivus "alive". Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of Bébinn or a variant of Vivien 2.
Vienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: vee-EHN-ə
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From the name of the capital city of Austria, Vienna.
Victoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: vik-TAWR-ee-ə(English) beek-TO-rya(Spanish) vik-TO-rya(German) VEEK-TAW-RYA(French) week-TO-ree-a(Latin)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
Means "victory" in Latin, being borne by the Roman goddess of victory. It is also a feminine form of Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from North Africa.

Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.

Vespera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: vehs-PEH-ra
Rating: 10% based on 2 votes
Means "of the evening", derived from Esperanto vespero "evening", ultimately from Latin vesper.
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)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
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.
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)
Rating: 42% based on 6 votes
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 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VA-LAHN-TEEN
Rating: 10% based on 3 votes
French feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
Twilight
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: TWIE-liet
Rating: 10% based on 3 votes
From the English word referring to the time of day when the sun is just below the horizon. Ultimately from Old English twi- "half" + līht "light".

As a given name, it has been in rare use from the early 20th century onwards.

Sophrosyne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Σωφροσύνη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek σωφροσύνη (sôphrosynê) meaning "moderation, prudence, self-control, temperance". Also compare Sophron. She was the spirit or personification of moderation, self-control, temperance, restraint, and discretion in Greek mythology. In some tales Sophrosyne was one of the good spirits released from Pandora's box, but fled to Olympus and away from humankind.
Sophronia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Late Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σωφρονία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Sophronius. Torquato Tasso used it in his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered (1580), in which it is borne by the lover of Olindo.
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.

In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).

Soni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 仙姫, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SO-NEE
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From Japanese 仙 (so) meaning "immortal, transcendent, celestial being, fairy" combined with 姫 (ni) meaning "princess". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Soleil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: SAW-LAY(French)
Personal remark: soh-LAY
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Means "sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Sofia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek) София(Russian, Bulgarian) Софія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: saw-FEE-a(Greek) so-FEE-a(Italian) soo-FEE-u(European Portuguese) so-FEE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) soo-FEE-ə(Catalan) suw-FEE-a(Swedish) zo-FEE-a(German) SO-fee-ah(Finnish) su-FYEE-yə(Russian)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Form of Sophia used in various languages.
Sofi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian, Swedish, Spanish
Other Scripts: Սոֆի(Armenian)
Pronounced: saw-FEE(Armenian)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Armenian form of Sophie, as well as a Swedish and Spanish short form of Sofia.
Siri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: SEE-ree(Swedish, Norwegian)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
Short form of Sigrid.
Sia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Diminutive of any name containing the element -sia-. A noted bearer is Australian singer-songwriter Sia, born Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (b.1975), best known for her collaboration songs 'Titanium', with David Guetta, and 'Wild Ones', with Flo Rida.
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin serenus meaning "clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).
Seren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: SEH-rehn
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant "fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.

This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.

Serafina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Rare)
Pronounced: seh-ra-FEE-na(Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Seraphina.
Saphira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Judeo-Anglo-Norman, Literature, Various
Pronounced: sə-FIE-rə(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
English variant and Judeo-Anglo-Norman form of Sapphira. This is the name of Eragon's dragon in Christopher Paolini's 'Inheritance Cycle' series of books.
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Safira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Pronounced: su-FEE-ru(European Portuguese) sa-FEE-ru(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Portuguese form of Sapphira. It coincides with the Portuguese word for "sapphire".
Sabrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: sə-BREEN-ə(English) sa-BREE-na(Italian, Spanish) za-BREE-na(German) SA-BREE-NA(French) su-BREE-nu(European Portuguese) sa-BREE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Latinized form of Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque Comus (1634).

The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.

Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Derived from Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune".
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Rune.
Royce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROIS
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Royse, a variant of Rose.
Roy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Dutch
Pronounced: ROI(English, Dutch)
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of Ruadh. A notable bearer was the Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy (1671-1734). It is often associated with French roi "king".
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)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
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.
Rio 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Various
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
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.
Reyna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: RAY-na
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Variant of Reina 1.
Reia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 伶亜, 伶愛, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ṘE:-AH
Rating: 20% based on 2 votes
From Japanese 伶 (rei) meaning "lonely, solitary" combined with 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" or 安 (a) meaning "calm, peaceful". Other kanji combinations are also possible.

Usage of this name is, most likely, influenced by the name Leah.

Rain 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RAYN
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Means "all gifts", derived from a combination of Greek πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". In Greek mythology Pandora was the first mortal woman. Zeus gave her a jar containing all of the troubles and ills that mankind now knows, and told her not to open it. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it, unleashing the evil spirits into the world.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Nova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-və(English) NO-va(Swedish, Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 8 votes
Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
Nightingale
Usage: English
Personal remark: MN only
Rating: 46% based on 7 votes
Nickname for someone with a good voice from Middle English nightegale "nightingale" (Old English nihtegale, ultimately from niht "night" and galan "to sing").
Neo 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: NEE-o(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From a prefix meaning "new", ultimately from Greek νέος (neos).

In the film series beginning with The Matrix (1999), this is the main character's screen alias and the name he later goes by in the real world. The character is also called The One, one being an anagram of Neo.

Naia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NIE-a
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Means "wave, sea foam" in Basque.
Morgan 1
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, French
Pronounced: MAWR-gən(English) MAWR-GAN(French)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
From the Old Welsh masculine name Morcant, which was possibly derived from Welsh mor "sea" and cant "circle". Since the 1980s in America Morgan has been more common for girls than boys, perhaps due to stories of Morgan le Fay or the fame of actress Morgan Fairchild (1950-).
Mireia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: mee-REH-yə(Catalan) mee-REH-ya(Spanish)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
Catalan form of Mirèio (see Mireille).
Mira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Мира(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MEE-ra(Polish)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
Short form of Miroslava and other names beginning with Mir (often the Slavic element mirŭ meaning "peace, world").
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of Maria and Elena.
Merlin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: MUR-lin(English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Form of the Welsh name Myrddin used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century chronicle. Writing in Latin, he likely chose the form Merlinus over Merdinus in order to prevent associations with French merde "excrement".

Geoffrey based parts of Merlin's character on Myrddin Wyllt, a legendary madman and prophet who lived in the Caledonian Forest. Other parts of his life were based on that of the historical 5th-century Romano-British military leader Ambrosius Aurelianus (also known as Emrys Wledig). In Geoffrey's version of the tales and later embellishments Merlin is a magician and counselor for King Arthur.

Meredith
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHR-ə-dith(English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From the Welsh name Maredudd or Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as Margetud, possibly from mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).
Maria
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, Dutch, Frisian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, English, Finnish, Estonian, Corsican, Sardinian, Basque, Armenian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μαρία(Greek) Մարիա(Armenian) Мария(Russian, Bulgarian) Марія(Ukrainian) Маріа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: ma-REE-a(Italian, German, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Romanian, Basque) mu-REE-u(European Portuguese) ma-REE-u(Brazilian Portuguese) mə-REE-ə(Catalan, English) mah-REE-ah(Norwegian, Danish) MAR-ya(Polish) MAH-ree-ah(Finnish) mu-RYEE-yə(Russian) mu-RYEE-yu(Ukrainian)
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
Latin form of Greek Μαρία, from Hebrew מִרְיָם (see Mary). Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy, Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.

This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.

Maia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Portuguese, Georgian
Other Scripts: Μαῖα(Ancient Greek) მაია(Georgian)
Pronounced: MIE-A(Classical Greek) MAY-ə(English) MIE-ə(English) MIE-ya(Latin) MAH-EE-AH(Georgian)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From Greek μαῖα (maia) meaning "good mother, dame, foster mother", perhaps in origin a nursery form of μήτηρ (meter). In Greek and Roman mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Her son by Zeus was Hermes.
Lucifer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: LOO-si-fər(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Means "bringing light", derived from Latin lux "light" and ferre "to bring". In Latin this name originally referred to the morning star, Venus, but later became associated with the chief angel who rebelled against God's rule in heaven (see Isaiah 14:12). In later literature, such as the Divine Comedy (1321) by Dante and Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton, Lucifer became associated with Satan himself.
Luci
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
Spanish diminutive of Lucía and Portuguese diminutive of Lúcia.
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Latinate feminine form of Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of Little Women.
Loren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ən
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Either a short form of Laurence 1 (masculine) or a variant of Lauren (feminine).
Lois 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λωΐς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LO-is(English)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Possibly derived from Greek λωίων (loion) meaning "more desirable" or "better". Lois is mentioned in the New Testament as the mother of Eunice and the grandmother of Timothy. As an English name, it came into use after the Protestant Reformation. In fiction, this is the name of the girlfriend of the comic book hero Superman.
Laurence 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-RAHNS
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
French feminine form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).
Laura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, French, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə(English) LOW-ra(Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch) LOW-ru(Portuguese) LOW-rə(Catalan) LAW-RA(French) LOW-rah(Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LAW-oo-raw(Hungarian)
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.

As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.

Kira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEER-ə
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Variant of Ciara 1.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Rating: 40% based on 6 votes
Diminutive of Katarina or Katariina.
Kai 3
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: KIE
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Means "sea" in Hawaiian.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
English, German and Dutch form of Joséphine.
Jonah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-nə(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name יוֹנָה (Yona) meaning "dove". This was the name of a prophet swallowed by a fish, as told in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach in Nineveh, but instead fled by boat. After being caught in a storm, the other sailors threw Jonah overboard, at which point he was swallowed. He emerged from the fish alive and repentant three days later.

Jonah's story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the Hellenized form Jonas was occasionally used in England. The form Jonah did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Jasmine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAZ-min(English) ZHAS-MEEN(French)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans [1]. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.
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)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
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.
Indi
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Australian)
Pronounced: IN-dee(Australian English)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Variant of Indie.
Ily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: IE-lee
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Acronym of the phrase I love you.
Holly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAHL-ee
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From the English word for the holly tree, ultimately derived from Old English holen. Holly Golightly is the main character in the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) by Truman Capote.
Hana 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 花, 華, etc.(Japanese Kanji) はな(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HA-NA
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From Japanese (hana) or (hana) both meaning "flower". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Grace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRAYS
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
From the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

This name was very popular in the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. Though it declined in use over the next 100 years, it staged a successful comeback at the end of the 20th century. The American sitcom Will and Grace (1998-2006) may have helped, though the name was already strongly rising when it premiered. It was the top name for girls in England and Wales in 2006.

Giovanni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jo-VAN-nee
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Italian form of Iohannes (see John). This name has been very common in Italy since the late Middle Ages, as with other equivalents of John in Europe. The Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were famous bearers of the name.
Galadriel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: gə-LAD-ree-əl(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.
Gabriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, English, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: გაბრიელ(Georgian) גַּבְרִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαβριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: GA-BREE-YEHL(French) ga-BRYEHL(Spanish) ga-bree-EHL(European Portuguese, Romanian) ga-bree-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) GA-bree-ehl(German, Slovak, Latin) GAH-bri-ehl(Swedish) GAH-bree-ehl(Finnish) gə-bree-EHL(Catalan) GAY-bree-əl(English) GAB-ryehl(Polish) GA-bri-yehl(Czech)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name גַבְרִיאֵל (Ḡavriʾel) meaning "God is my strong man", derived from גֶּבֶר (gever) meaning "strong man, hero" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Gabriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition, often appearing as a messenger of God. In the Old Testament he is sent to interpret the visions of the prophet Daniel, while in the New Testament he serves as the announcer of the births of John to Zechariah and Jesus to Mary. According to Islamic tradition he was the angel who dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

This name has been used occasionally in England since the 12th century. It was not common in the English-speaking world until the end of the 20th century.

Florence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
Rating: 38% based on 5 votes
From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.

This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.

Evo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American, Rare)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
Apparently a masculine form of Eva. A notable bearer is Bolivian president Evo Morales.
Espen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Pronounced: EHS-pən
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Variant of Asbjørn.
Erica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Italian
Pronounced: EHR-i-kə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Eric. It was first used in the 18th century. It also coincides with the Latin word for "heather".
Emily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-lee
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
English feminine form of Aemilius (see Emil). In the English-speaking world it was not common until after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century; the princess Amelia Sophia (1711-1786) was commonly known as Emily in English, even though Amelia is an unrelated name.

This name was moderately popular through most of the 20th century, and became very popular around the turn of the 21st century. It was the highest ranked name for girls in the United States from 1996 to 2007, attaining similar levels in other English-speaking countries around the same time.

Famous bearers include the British author Emily Brontë (1818-1848), known for the novel Wuthering Heights, and the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).

Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of Iago.
Ember
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHM-bər
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From the English word ember, ultimately from Old English æmerge.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Eiza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Possibly a variant of Aiza, or a form of Elsa or Eliza

A noted bearer is Mexican actress Eiza González, born Eiza González Reyna (b.1990), best known for her roles as Lola in the Televisa telenovela 'Lola...Érase una vez' and Santanico Pandemonium in El Rey's television series 'From Dusk Till Dawn' (a role portrayed by noted Mexican actress Salma Hayek in the original film of the same name).

Eisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
Means "glowing embers" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology this was the name of the daughter of Logi and Glut.
Eira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: AY-rah(Swedish)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Modern form of Eir.
Dream
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DREEM
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
From the English word dream referring to imaginary events seen in the mind while sleeping or a hope or wish.
Cressida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KREHS-i-də(English)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
Form of Criseida used by Shakespeare in his play Troilus and Cressida (1602).
Cress
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Clove
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English (Modern)
Pronounced: KLOV(Literature)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From the English word meaning either a slice of garlic or the dried flower bud of a tropical tree, used as a spice. This name was recently used in Suzanne Collins' popular book, The Hunger Games.
Cato 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KA-to(Latin) KAY-to(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Roman cognomen meaning "wise" in Latin. This name was bestowed upon Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato), a 2nd-century BC Roman statesman, author and censor, and was subsequently inherited by his descendants, including his great-grandson Cato the Younger (Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis), a politician and philosopher who opposed Julius Caesar.
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of Cassius.
Carmen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Romanian, German
Pronounced: KAR-mehn(Spanish, Italian) KAHR-mən(English)
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
Medieval Spanish form of Carmel, appearing in the devotional title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora del Carmen meaning "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". The spelling has been altered through association with the Latin word carmen meaning "song". This was the name of the main character in George Bizet's opera Carmen (1875).
Azélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: A-ZEH-LEE
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Perhaps a form of Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.
Aviva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיבָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-VEE-vah
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Feminine variant of Aviv.
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)
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Auri
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare), Estonian (Rare)
Pronounced: OW-ri(Finnish)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Finnish diminutive of Aura, occasionally also used in Estonia.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From the word aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Medieval diminutive of Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word tawdry (which was derived from St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Athena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Ἀθηνᾶ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-TEH-NA(Classical Greek) ə-THEE-nə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.

The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.

Atalanta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀταλάντη(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
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.
Artemisia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμισία(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Feminine form of Artemisios. This was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. She built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(English)
Rating: 41% based on 8 votes
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.
Ariel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: אֲרִיאֵל(Hebrew) Ἀριήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-ree-EHL(Hebrew) EHR-ee-əl(English) AR-ee-əl(English) A-RYEHL(French) a-RYEHL(Spanish) A-ryehl(Polish)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).
Anna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Scottish Gaelic, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Άννα(Greek) Анна(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Church Slavic) Աննա(Armenian) Ἄννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-ə(English) AN-na(Italian, Polish, Icelandic) A-na(German, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Czech) AH-na(Dutch) AHN-nah(Norwegian, Finnish, Armenian) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan) ahn-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 56% based on 9 votes
Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Alina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovene, German, Italian, Spanish
Other Scripts: Алина(Russian) Аліна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: a-LEE-na(Romanian, Polish, German, Italian, Spanish)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Short form of Adelina, Albina and names that end in alina.
Alana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Breton
Pronounced: ə-LAN-ə(English) a-LAHN-a(Breton)
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of Alan.
behindthename.com   ·   Copyright © 1996-2024