Behind the Name: Chels's Personal Name List

Xavier

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish

Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(American English) ig-ZAY-vyər(American English) ZAY-vyə(British English) ig-ZAY-vyə(British English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)

Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.

Nicole

Gender: Feminine

Usage: French, English, Dutch, German

Pronounced: NEE-KAWL(French) ni-KOL(English) nee-KAWL(Dutch, German)

French feminine form of Nicholas, commonly used in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. A famous bearer is American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman (1967-).

Lauren

Gender: Feminine & Masculine

Usage: English

Pronounced: LAWR-ən

Variant or feminine form of Laurence 1. Originally a masculine name, it was first popularized as a feminine name by actress Betty Jean Perske (1924-2014), who used Lauren Bacall as her stage name.

Henri

Gender: Masculine

Usage: French, Finnish

Pronounced: AHN-REE(French) HEHN-ree(Finnish)

French form of Heinrich (see Henry). A notable bearer was the French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954).

Chelsea

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: CHEHL-see

From the name of a district in London, originally derived from Old English and meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone". It has been in general use as an English given name since the 1970s.

Cambria

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Various (Rare)

Pronounced: KAM-bree-ə(English)

Latin form of the Welsh Cymru, the Welsh name for the country of Wales, derived from cymry meaning "the people". It is occasionally used as a given name in modern times.

Alexandra

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Catalan, Russian, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology

Other Scripts: Αλεξάνδρα(Greek) Александра(Russian, Ukrainian) Ἀλεξάνδρα(Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: al-ig-ZAN-drə(American English) al-ig-ZAHN-drə(British English) a-leh-KSAN-dra(German, Romanian) a-lehk-SAHN-dra(Dutch) A-LEHK-ZAHN-DRA(French) a-leh-KSAN-dhra(Greek) u-li-SHUN-dru(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dru(Brazilian Portuguese) A-lehk-san-dra(Czech, Slovak) AW-lehk-sawn-draw(Hungarian) A-LEH-KSAN-DRA(Classical Greek)

Feminine form of Alexander. In Greek mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess Hera, and an alternate name of Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name Alix, but was renamed Александра (Aleksandra) upon joining the Russian Church.