thesnowwhiterose's Personal Name List
Zosime
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζωσίμη(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Zosimos (see
Zosimus).
Zivit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: זִיוִית(Hebrew)
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Zinoviya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian (Rare), Ukrainian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Зиновия(Russian) Зіновія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: zyi-NO-vyi-yə(Russian)
Russian and Ukrainian form of
Zenobia.
Ziemowit
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: zheh-MAW-veet
From an old Polish name derived from the elements
sěmĭja "family" and
vitŭ "master, lord". This was the name of a semi-legendary duke of Poland. It was also borne by several other Piast rulers of Masovia.
Zhen
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 珍, 真, 贞, 震, etc.(Chinese) 珍, 真, 貞, 震, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: CHUN
From Chinese
珍 (zhēn) meaning "precious, rare",
真 (zhēn) meaning "real, genuine",
贞 (zhēn) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
Yusuf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Indonesian, Pashto, Tajik, Uzbek, Bengali
Other Scripts: يوسف(Arabic, Pashto) Юсуф(Tajik, Uzbek) ইউসুফ(Bengali)
Pronounced: YOO-soof(Arabic) yoo-SOOF(Turkish, Tajik Persian) EEW-soof(Bengali)
Arabic form of
Yosef (see
Joseph) appearing in the
Quran. This is also the form used in several other languages.
Yumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 弓, 由美, 友美, 弓美, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ゆみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: YOO-MEE
From Japanese
弓 (yumi) meaning "archery bow". It can also come from
由 (yu) meaning "reason, cause",
友 (yu) meaning "friend" or a
nanori reading of
弓 (yu) meaning "archery bow" combined with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful". Other kanji or kanji combinations are also possible.
Yosef
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Hebrew)
Pronounced: yo-SEHF(Hebrew)
Yoni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: יוֹני(Hebrew)
Yong
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese, Korean
Other Scripts: 勇, 永, etc.(Chinese) 용(Korean Hangul) 勇, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: YUWNG(Chinese) YONG(Korean)
From Chinese
勇 (yǒng) meaning "brave" or
永 (yǒng) meaning "perpetual, eternal"
[1]. This can also be a single-character Korean name, for example from the hanja
勇 meaning "brave". It can be formed by other characters besides those listed here.
Yonatan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יוֹנָתָן(Hebrew)
Yiska
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יִסְכָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Yishma'el
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יִשְׁמָעֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Yeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Ева(Russian) Єва(Ukrainian) Եվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: YEH-və(Russian) yeh-VAH(Armenian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Armenian form of
Eve.
Yemima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יְמִימָה(Hebrew)
Yelizaveta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Елизавета(Russian)
Pronounced: yi-lyi-zu-VYEH-tə, i-lyi-zu-VYEH-tə
Russian form of
Elizabeth. This was the name of an 18th-century Russian empress.
Yelena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Елена(Russian)
Pronounced: yi-LYEH-nə, i-LYEH-nə
Yekaterina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian
Other Scripts: Екатерина(Russian)
Pronounced: yi-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə, i-kə-tyi-RYEE-nə
Russian form of
Katherine. This name was adopted by the German princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1744 shortly before she married the future Russian emperor Peter III. She later overthrew her husband and ruled as empress, known as Catherine the Great in English.
Wisteria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: wis-TEHR-ee-ə, wis-TEER-ee-ə
From the name of the flowering plant, which was named for the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.
Winona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Sioux
Pronounced: wi-NO-nə(English)
Means
"firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly
Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.
Vita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Danish, Slovene
Pronounced: VEE-ta(Italian)
Virgilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Theatre, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: veer-JEE-lya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Vergilius (see
Virgil). This is the name of
Coriolanus' wife in Shakespeare's play of the same name.
Véronique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEH-RAW-NEEK
Tuyết
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: TWEEYT, TWEEYK
From Sino-Vietnamese
雪 (tuyết) meaning
"snow".
Tuor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Means
"strength vigour" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the
Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Tuor was the mortal man who came to the hidden city of Gondolin to warn of its imminent doom. When Gondolin was attacked and destroyed he escaped with his wife
Idril and son Eärendil, and sailed into the west.
Tipene
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Maori
Tiffany
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIF-ə-nee
Medieval form of
Theophania. This name was traditionally given to girls born on the Epiphany (January 6), the festival commemorating the visit of the Magi to the infant
Jesus. The name died out after the Middle Ages, but it was revived by the movie
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), the title of which refers to the Tiffany's jewelry store in New York.
Thessaly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Thessaly is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. This name is borne by Thessaly Lerner, American stage, film and voice actress.
Theophania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θεοφάνια(Ancient Greek)
Theodosia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Θεοδοσία(Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-O-DO-SEE-A(Classical Greek) thee-ə-DO-see-ə(English) thee-ə-DO-shə(English)
Thekla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Greek (Rare), Late Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θέκλα(Greek)
From the ancient Greek name
Θεόκλεια (Theokleia), which meant
"glory of God" from the Greek elements
θεός (theos) meaning "god" and
κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". This was the name of a 1st-century
saint, appearing (as
Θέκλα) in the apocryphal
Acts of Paul and Thecla. The story tells how Thecla listens to
Paul speak about the virtues of chastity and decides to remain a virgin, angering both her mother and her suitor.
Teresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Polish, Lithuanian, Finnish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English
Pronounced: teh-REH-sa(Spanish, Polish) teh-REH-za(Italian, German) tə-REH-zə(Catalan) tyeh-ryeh-SU(Lithuanian) TEH-reh-sah(Finnish) tə-REE-sə(English) tə-REE-zə(English)
Form of
Theresa used in several languages.
Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Spanish nun who reformed the Carmelite monasteries and wrote several spiritual books. It was also borne by the Albanian missionary Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), better known as Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor in India. She adopted the name in honour of the French saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who is the patron of missionaries.
Temperance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TEHM-prəns, TEHM-pər-əns
From the English word meaning
"moderation" or
"restraint". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century. It experienced a modest revival in the United States during the run of the television series
Bones (2005-2017), in which the main character bears this name.
Teal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TEEL
From the English word for the type of duck or the greenish-blue colour.
Tavish
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Anglicized form of
a Thàmhais, vocative case of
Tàmhas. Alternatively it could be taken from the Scottish surname
McTavish, Anglicized form of
Mac Tàmhais, meaning "son of
Tàmhas".
Tanya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, English
Other Scripts: Таня(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: TA-nyə(Russian) TAHN-yə(English) TAN-yə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Tatiana. It began to be used in the English-speaking world during the 1930s.
Tamsin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: TAM-zin
Contracted form of
Thomasina. It was traditionally used in Cornwall.
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.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Sylvain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEEL-VEHN
Swanhilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Sverrir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Old Norse form of
Sverre, as well as the modern Icelandic form.
Svantepolk
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Swedish
Old Swedish form of
Svatopluk. It was borne by the prominent 13th-century Swedish nobleman Svantepolk Knutsson. He may have been named after a relative of his Pomeranian mother.
Susannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: soo-ZAN-ə(English)
Suri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: שרה(Yiddish)
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.
Stephanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: STEHF-ə-nee(English) SHTEH-fa-nee(German)
Stavros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Σταύρος(Greek)
Pronounced: STAV-ros
Means "cross" in Greek, referring to the cross of the crucifixion.
Spyridoula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Σπυριδούλα(Greek)
Sorrel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SAWR-əl
From the name of the sour tasting plant, derived from Old French sur "sour", a word of Frankish origin.
Sophronia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, Late Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σωφρονία(Ancient Greek)
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.
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Snow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SNO
From the English word, derived from Old English snāw.
Sinéad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHI-nyehd
Sìne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SHEE-nyə
Sindri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Means
"sparkle" in Old Norse. In Norse
mythology this was the name of a dwarf, also named Eitri. With his brother
Brokkr he made several magical items for the gods, including
Odin's ring Draupnir and
Thor's hammer Mjölnir.
Silviya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Силвия(Bulgarian)
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) SEEL-vyu(European Portuguese) SEEW-vyu(Brazilian Portuguese) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Silvius.
Rhea Silvia was the mother of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century
saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled
Sylvia in the English-speaking world.
Silke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: ZIL-kə(German)
Sigrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Estonian, Finnish (Archaic)
Pronounced: SEE-grid(Swedish) SEEG-reed(Finnish)
From the Old Norse name
Sigríðr, which was derived from the elements
sigr "victory" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved".
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Sidonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEE-DAW-NEE
Siavash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Persian Mythology
Other Scripts: سیاوش(Persian)
Pronounced: see-yaw-VASH(Persian)
Persian form of Avestan
𐬯𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬱𐬀𐬥 (Siiāuuarshan) meaning
"possessing black stallions". This was the name of a virtuous prince in Iranian
mythology. He appears briefly in the
Avesta, with a longer account recorded in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.
Shun 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 顺, etc.(Chinese) 順, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: SHWUN
From Chinese
顺 (shùn) meaning "obey, submit" or other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Shprintza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: שפּרינצאַ(Yiddish)
Shpresa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
From Albanian shpresë meaning "hope".
Shinju
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 真珠(Japanese Kanji) しんじゅ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SHEEN-JOO
From Japanese
真珠 (shinju) meaning
"pearl".
Shikoba
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Choctaw
Means "feather" in Choctaw.
Shi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 时, 实, 史, 石, etc.(Chinese) 時, 實, 史, 石, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: SHUR
From Chinese
时 (shí) meaning "time, era, season",
实 (shí) meaning "real, honest",
史 (shǐ) meaning "history" or
石 (shí) meaning "stone". Other characters can form this name as well.
Shem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: שֵׁם(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHEHM(English)
Means
"name" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament, Shem is one of
Noah's three sons (along with
Japheth and
Ham) and the ancestor of the Semitic peoples.
Shahin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Bengali
Other Scripts: شاهین(Persian) شاهين(Arabic) শাহীন(Bengali)
Pronounced: shaw-HEEN(Persian) sha-HEEN(Arabic)
Means
"falcon" in Persian, referring more specifically to the Barbary falcon (species Falco pelegrinoides). The bird's name is a derivative of Persian
شاه (shāh) meaning "king".
Severi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SEH-veh-ree
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
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-).
Seona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Senja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SEHN-yah
Selim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish, Albanian
Pronounced: seh-LEEM(Turkish)
Turkish and Albanian form of
Salim. This was the name of three Ottoman sultans, including the father of Süleyman the Magnificent.
Scarlet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SKAHR-lit(American English) SKAH-lit(British English)
Either a variant of
Scarlett or else from the English word for the red colour (both of the same origin, a type of cloth).
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
From the Old German element
sahso meaning
"a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sanja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Сања(Serbian)
Pronounced: SA-nya(Croatian, Serbian)
Derived from South Slavic
sanjati meaning
"to dream". Alternatively, it could be from the Russian name
Sanya 2.
Samwise
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: SAM-wiez(English)
Means "simple, half wise" from Old English sam "half" and wis "wise". This is the name of a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954). Samwise Gamgee, often called Sam, is the faithful companion of Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring. Samwise is an English-like translation of his true hobbit name Banazîr.
Sam 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian, Persian Mythology
Other Scripts: سام(Persian)
Pronounced: SAWM(Persian)
Means "fire" in Persian (from an earlier Iranian root meaning "black"). This is the name of a hero in the 10th-century Persian epic the Shahnameh.
Salih
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian, Bengali
Other Scripts: صالح(Arabic) সালেহ(Bengali)
Pronounced: SA-leeh(Arabic) sa-LEEH(Turkish)
Means
"virtuous" in Arabic, a derivative of
صلح (ṣalaḥa) meaning "to be good, to be proper". According to the
Quran this was the name of an early Arabian prophet.
Salem 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سالم(Arabic)
Pronounced: SA-leem
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سالم (see
Salim).
Sakura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 桜, 咲良, etc.(Japanese Kanji) さくら(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SA-KOO-RA
From Japanese
桜 (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom", though it is often written using the hiragana writing system. It can also come from
咲 (saku) meaning "blossom" and
良 (ra) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable" as well as other kanji combinations.
Saija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SIE-yah
Růžena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: ROO-zheh-na
Derived from Czech růže meaning "rose".
Ruth 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: רוּת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROOTH(English) ROOT(German, Spanish)
From the Hebrew name
רוּת (Ruṯ), probably derived from the word
רְעוּת (reʿuṯ) meaning
"female friend". This is the name of the central character in the Book of Ruth in the
Old Testament. She was a Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law
Naomi back to Bethlehem after Ruth's husband died. There she met and married
Boaz. She was an ancestor of King
David.
As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Rue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO
From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek
ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short 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].
Rozenn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton
Means "rose" in Breton.
Roy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Dutch
Pronounced: ROI(English, Dutch)
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".
Roxanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: rahk-SAN(American English) rawk-SAN(British English) RAWK-SAN(French)
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(American English) rawk-SAN-ə(British English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Roslindis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Rosemarie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ROZ-mə-ree(English) ROZ-mehr-ee(English) RO-zə-ma-ree(German)
Roseanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ro-ZAN
Rosaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ro-ZA-rya
Rosalva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ro-SAL-ba
Roksana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Polish
Other Scripts: Роксана(Russian)
Pronounced: ruk-SA-nə(Russian) raw-KSA-na(Polish)
Russian and Polish form of
Roxana.
Róisín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: ro-SHEEN
Diminutive of
Róis or the Irish word
rós meaning
"rose" (of Latin origin). It appears in the 17th-century song
Róisín Dubh.
Roan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
hraban meaning
"raven".
Rivqa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: רִבְקָה(Ancient Hebrew)
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.
Renny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pet form of various names that contain the -ren- sound.
Remiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Remember
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (African), English (Puritan)
Pronounced: ri-MEHM-bə(English)
From the English word remember, ultimately from the Latin rememorārī, "to remember again", containing the root memor, "mindful".
Raquel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: ra-KEHL(Spanish) ru-KEHL(European Portuguese) ha-KEW(Brazilian Portuguese) rə-KEHL(English)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Rachel.
Qiu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 秋, 丘(Chinese)
Pronounced: CHYO
From Chinese
秋 (qiū) meaning "autumn",
丘 (qiū) meaning "hill, mound", or other characters with a similar pronunciation. The given name of the philosopher
Confucius was
丘.
Ptolemy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Other Scripts: Πτολεμαῖος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TAHL-ə-mee(American English) TAWL-ə-mee(British English)
From the Greek name
Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek
πολεμήϊος (polemeios) meaning
"aggressive, warlike". Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a 2nd-century Greek astronomer.
Proteus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πρωτεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PRAW-TEWS(Classical Greek) PRO-tee-əs(English)
Derived from Greek
πρῶτος (protos) meaning
"first". In Greek
mythology this was the name of a prophetic god of the sea. Shakespeare later utilized it for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Portius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Derived from Latin
portus "port, harbour". Also note that there are instances where this name is a variant of
Porcius.
Pól
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: POL
Plutarch
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Other Scripts: Πλούταρχος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PLOO-tahrk(American English) PLOO-tahk(British English)
From the Greek name
Πλούταρχος (Ploutarchos), which was derived from
πλοῦτος (ploutos) meaning "riches, wealth" and
ἀρχός (archos) meaning "master". Plutarch was a 1st-century Greek historian.
Philomela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Φιλομήλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: fil-ə-MEE-lə(English)
From Greek
Φιλομήλη (Philomele), derived from
φίλος (philos) meaning "lover, friend" and
μῆλον (melon) meaning "fruit". The second element has also been interpreted as Greek
μέλος (melos) meaning "song". In Greek
myth Philomela was the sister-in-law of Tereus, who raped her and cut out her tongue. Prokne avenged her sister by killing her son by Tereus, after which Tereus attempted to kill Philomela. However, the gods intervened and transformed her into a nightingale.
Pherenike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Φερενίκη(Ancient Greek)
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.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Probably derived from Greek
πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from
πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of the wife of
Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.
It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.
Peace
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: PEES
From the English word peace, ultimately derived from Latin pax. This name is most common in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Pax
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: PAKS(Latin, English)
Means
"peace" in Latin. In Roman
mythology this was the name of the goddess of peace.
Patricia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Late Roman
Pronounced: pə-TRISH-ə(English) pa-TREE-thya(European Spanish) pa-TREE-sya(Latin American Spanish) pa-TREE-tsya(German) PA-TREE-SYA(French) pah-TREE-see-a(Dutch) pa-TREE-see-a(Dutch)
Feminine form of
Patricius (see
Patrick). In medieval England this spelling appears in Latin documents, but this form was probably not used as the actual name until the 18th century, in Scotland
[1].
Pascal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: PAS-KAL(French) pas-KAL(German) pahs-KAHL(Dutch)
From the Late Latin name
Paschalis, which meant
"relating to Easter" from Latin
Pascha "Easter", which was in turn from Hebrew
פֶּסַח (pesaḥ) meaning "Passover"
[1]. Passover is the ancient Hebrew holiday celebrating the liberation from Egypt. Because it coincided closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the same Latin word was used for both. The name Pascal can also function as a surname, as in the case of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the French philosopher, mathematician and inventor.
Pandora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πανδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PAN-DAW-RA(Classical Greek) pan-DAWR-ə(English)
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.
Paloma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pa-LO-ma
Means "dove, pigeon" in Spanish.
Paisley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: PAYZ-lee
From a Scots surname, originally from the name of a town near Glasgow, maybe ultimately derived from Latin basilica "church". This is also a word (derived from the name of that same town) for a type of pattern commonly found on fabrics.
Pacífica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: pa-THEE-fee-ka(European Spanish) pa-SEE-fee-ka(Latin American Spanish)
Spanish feminine form of the Late Latin name Pacificus meaning "peacemaker".
Ottavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ot-TA-vya
Orla 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: AWR-lə(American English) AW-lə(British English)
Oriane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-RYAN
Oriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: o-RYA-na
Possibly derived from Latin
aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish
oro or French
or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight
Amadis.
Olwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: OL-wehn(English)
Means
"white footprint" from Welsh
ol "footprint, track" and
gwen "white, blessed". In the Welsh tale
Culhwch and Olwen she was a beautiful maiden, the lover of
Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry.
Olujimi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yoruba
Means "God forgives me" in Yoruba.
Olivie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Oleksandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Олександра(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: aw-lehk-SAN-dru
Oksana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Оксана(Ukrainian, Russian)
Pronounced: uk-SA-nə(Russian)
Oisín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: aw-SHEEN(Irish) o-SHEEN(English)
Means
"little deer", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer, stag" combined with a
diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.
Odhrán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: UW-ran
From Old Irish
Odrán, derived from
odar "dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of a
saint who travelled with Saint Columba through Scotland.
Oda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: O-da(German)
Feminine form of
Otto. This was the name of a semi-legendary 8th-century
saint who lived as a hermit in Brabant in the Netherlands.
Octavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ahk-TAY-vee-ə(American English) awk-TAY-vee-ə(British English) ok-TA-bya(Spanish) ok-TA-wee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Octavius. Octavia was the wife of Mark Antony and the sister of the Roman emperor Augustus. In 19th-century England it was sometimes given to the eighth-born child.
Nyx
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Νύξ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NUYKS(Classical Greek) NIKS(English)
Means "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
Nóirín
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Noémie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: NAW-EH-MEE
Njord
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
From Old Norse
Njǫrðr, derived from Proto-Germanic *
Nerþuz. It might derive from the Indo-European root *
hnerto- meaning
"strong, vigorous". Njord was the Norse god associated with the sea, sailing, fishing and fertility. With his children
Freyr and
Freya he was a member of the Vanir gods.
Nita 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Choctaw
Means "bear" in Choctaw.
Nils
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: NILS
Nienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: nee-EN-nah
Means "she who weeps" from Quenya nie "tear". According to 'The Silmarillion', Nienna is a Vala (angelic being) who constantly mourns all terrible things, though from her is learned not despair but mercy, compassion and hope. It has also been suggested that her name consists of two elements, nie combined with anna "gift", in which case it may refer to the charismatic "gift of tears" in Catholic theology.
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-).
Nicolasa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: nee-ko-LA-sa
Nesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: NEHS-ta
Nessa 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew (Rare)
Means "miracle" in Hebrew.
Nerissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: nə-RIS-ə(English)
Created by Shakespeare for a character in his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596). He possibly took it from Greek
Νηρηΐς (Nereis) meaning "nymph, sea sprite", ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god
Nereus, who supposedly fathered them.
Nergüi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Нэргүй(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Pronounced: NEHR-kooy
Means "no name" in Mongolian. This name was traditionally given in order to mislead bad spirits.
Nereus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1], Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [2]
Other Scripts: Νηρεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEH-REWS(Classical Greek) NIR-ee-əs(English)
Derived from Greek
νηρός (neros) meaning
"water". In Greek
myth this was the name of a god of the sea, the father of the Nereids. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament, belonging to a Christian in Rome. This was also the name of a Roman
saint of the 1st century, a member of the army, who was martyred with his companion Achilleus because they refused to execute Christians.
Nensi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
Neil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: NEEL(English)
From the Irish name
Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly connected to the old Celtic root *
nītu- "fury, passion" or the (possibly related) Old Irish word
nia "hero" [1][2]. A derivation from Old Irish
nél "cloud" has also been suggested. This was the name of a few early Irish kings, notably Niall of the Nine Hostages, a semi-legendary high king of the 4th or 5th century.
In the early Middle Ages the name was adopted by Norse raiders and settlers in Ireland in the form Njáll. The Norse transmitted it to England and Scotland, as well as bringing it back to Scandinavia. It was also in use among the Normans, who were of Scandinavian origin. A famous bearer of this name was American astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), the first person to walk on the moon.
Natasha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Belarusian, English
Other Scripts: Наташа(Russian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: nu-TA-shə(Russian) nə-TAHSH-ə(English)
Russian
diminutive of
Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
Natalie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: NAT-ə-lee(English) NA-ta-lee(German, Dutch)
From the Late Latin name
Natalia, which meant
"Christmas Day" from Latin
natale domini. This was the name of the wife of the 4th-century martyr
Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church, and the name has traditionally been more common among Eastern Christians than those in the West. It was popularized in America by actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981), who was born to Russian immigrants.
Nadine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, English, Dutch
Pronounced: NA-DEEN(French) na-DEE-nə(German, Dutch) na-DEEN(German, Dutch) nay-DEEN(English)
Nadezhda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Надежда(Russian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: nu-DYEZH-də(Russian)
Means "hope" in Russian and Bulgarian.
Myfanwy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: mə-VA-nuwy
From the Welsh prefix my- meaning "my, belonging to me" (an older form of fy) combined with either manwy meaning "fine, delicate" or banwy meaning "woman" (a variant of banw). This was the name of an 1875 Welsh song composed by Joseph Parry.
Musa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Hausa, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
Other Scripts: موسى(Arabic) موسیٰ(Urdu) মুসা(Bengali)
Pronounced: MOO-sa(Arabic, Indonesian, Malay) moo-SA(Turkish)
Morwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish, Welsh
Morgane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MAWR-GAN
Morcant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh [1]
Monique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: MAW-NEEK(French) mə-NEEK(English) mo-NEEK(English, Dutch)
Monifa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yoruba (Rare)
Means "I am lucky" in Yoruba.
Moira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: MOI-rə(English)
Anglicized form of
Máire. It also coincides with Greek
Μοῖρα (Moira) meaning "fate, destiny", the singular of
Μοῖραι, the Greek name for the Fates. They were the three female personifications of destiny in Greek
mythology.
Mneme
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μνήμη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MNEH-MEH(Classical Greek) NEE-mee(English)
Means
"memory" in Greek. In Greek
mythology she was one of the original three muses, the muse of memory.
Miren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MEE-rehn
Mireille
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-RAY(French)
From the Occitan name Mirèio, which was first used by the poet Frédéric Mistral for the main character in his poem Mirèio (1859). He probably derived it from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire". It is spelled Mirèlha in classical Occitan orthography. A notable bearer is the French singer Mireille Mathieu (1946-).
Miracle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MIR-ə-kəl
From the English word miracle for an extraordinary event, ultimately deriving from Latin miraculum "wonder, marvel".
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.
Mina 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil
Other Scripts: मीना(Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit) மீனா(Tamil)
From Sanskrit
मीन (mīna) meaning
"fish", which in Hindu astrology is the name of a sign of the zodiac.
Meryem
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Uyghur
Other Scripts: مەريەم(Uyghur Arabic)
Pronounced: mehr-YEHM
Turkish and Uyghur form of
Miriam (see
Mary).
Meri 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: MEH-ree
Means "sea" in Finnish.
Mere
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori, Fijian
Maori and Fijian form of
Mary.
Melanie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: MEHL-ə-nee(English) MEH-la-nee(German) meh-la-NEE(German)
From
Mélanie, the French form of the Latin name
Melania, derived from Greek
μέλαινα (melaina) meaning
"black, dark". This was the name of a Roman
saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Her grandmother was also a saint with the same name.
The name was common in France during the Middle Ages, and was introduced from there to England, though it eventually became rare. Interest in it was revived by the character Melanie Wilkes from the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1939).
Mechthild
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: MEKHT-hilt
Meadow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHD-o
From the English word meadow, ultimately from Old English mædwe. Previously very rare, it rose in popularity after it was used as the name of Tony Soprano's daughter on the television series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
Maxine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mak-SEEN
Feminine form of
Max. It has been commonly used only since the beginning of the 20th century.
Maude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Martha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Μάρθα(Greek) Марѳа(Church Slavic)
Pronounced: MAHR-thə(American English) MAH-thə(British English) MAHR-ta(Dutch) MAR-ta(German)
From Aramaic
מַרְתָּא (marta) meaning
"the lady, the mistress", feminine form of
מַר (mar) meaning "master". In the
New Testament this is the name of the sister of
Lazarus and
Mary of Bethany (who is sometimes identified with Mary Magdalene). She was a witness to
Jesus restoring her dead brother to life.
The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).
Maris 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-is, MAR-is
Means
"of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".
Marijani
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swahili
Means
"coral" in Swahili, originally a borrowing from Arabic
مرْجان (marjān).
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.
Marie
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French, Czech, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: MA-REE(French) MA-ri-yeh(Czech) ma-REE(German, Dutch) mə-REE(English)
French and Czech form of
Maria. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.
A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.
In France it is occasionally used as a masculine name in pairings such as Jean-Marie.
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.
Margriet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: mahr-GHREET
Dutch form of
Margaret. This is also the Dutch word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).
Marged
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
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).
Marcia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: MAHR-shə(American English) mah-SEE-ə(British English) MAH-shə(British English) MAR-thya(European Spanish) MAR-sya(Latin American Spanish)
Feminine form of
Marcius. It was borne by a few very minor
saints. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 18th century
[1].
Mara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1], Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Other Scripts: מָרָא(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MAHR-ə(English) MAR-ə(English) MEHR-ə(English) MA-ra(Spanish)
Means
"bitter" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is a name that
Naomi calls herself after the death of her husband and sons (see
Ruth 1:20).
Makoto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 誠, etc.(Japanese Kanji) まこと(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MA-KO-TO
From Japanese
誠 (makoto) meaning "sincerity", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.
Mairwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Combination of
Mair and Welsh
gwen meaning "white, blessed".
Mairead
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MA-ryəd
Máire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: MA-ryə
Irish form of
Maria (see
Mary). The form
Muire is used to refer to the Virgin Mary.
Maialen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MIE-a-lehn, mie-A-lehn
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)
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.
Mai 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: MIE
From Sino-Vietnamese
梅 (mai) meaning
"plum, apricot" (refers specifically to the species Prunus mume).
Magdolna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: MAWG-dol-naw
Magdalen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAG-də-lən
Madge
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAJ
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).
Lyudmyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Людмила(Ukrainian)
Lyubov
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Любовь(Russian) Любов(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: lyuw-BOF(Russian)
Derived from the Slavic element
ľuby meaning
"love".
Lysandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Lysandros (see
Lysander).
Lynna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LIN-ə
Lydie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: LEE-DEE(French)
French and Czech form of
Lydia.
Ludmila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Latvian, Russian
Other Scripts: Людмила(Russian)
Pronounced: LOOD-mi-la(Czech) lyuwd-MYEE-lə(Russian)
Means
"favour of the people" from the Slavic elements
ľudŭ "people" and
milŭ "gracious, dear".
Saint Ludmila was a 10th-century duchess of Bohemia, the grandmother of Saint Václav. She was murdered on the orders of her daughter-in-law Drahomíra.
As a Russian name, this is an alternate transcription of Людмила (usually rendered Lyudmila).
Lucretia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KREH-tee-a(Latin) loo-KREE-shə(English)
Feminine form of the Roman family name
Lucretius, possibly from Latin
lucrum meaning
"profit, wealth". According Roman legend Lucretia was a maiden who was raped by the son of the king of Rome. This caused a great uproar among the Roman citizens, and the monarchy was overthrown. This name was also borne by a 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida, Spain.
Lucienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LUY-SYEHN
Lovise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Norwegian feminine form of
Louis.
Loviisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LO-vee-sah
Finnish feminine form of
Louis.
Lothar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: LO-tar(German)
From the Germanic name
Hlothar meaning
"famous army", derived from the elements
hlut "famous, loud" and
heri "army". This was the name of medieval Frankish rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Italy and France. It was also borne by four earlier Merovingian kings of the Franks, though their names are usually spelled as
Chlothar.
Lothaire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LAW-TEHR
Lorraine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lə-RAYN
From the name of a region in eastern France, originally meaning "kingdom of
Lothar". Lothar was a Frankish king, the great-grandson of
Charlemagne, whose realm was in the part of France that is now called
Lorraine, or in German
Lothringen (from Latin
Lothari regnum). As a given name, it has been used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century, perhaps due to its similar sound with
Laura. It became popular after World War I when the region was in the news, as it was contested between Germany and France.
Lorna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-nə(American English) LAW-nə(British English)
Created by the author R. D. Blackmore for the title character in his novel
Lorna Doone (1869), set in southern England, which describes the dangerous love between John Ridd and Lorna Doone. Blackmore may have based the name on the Scottish place name
Lorne or on the title
Marquis of Lorne (see
Lorne).
Lochana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लोचना(Hindi)
Lochan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लोचन(Hindi)
Means "the eye" in Sanskrit.
Llyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Unaccented variant of
Llŷr.
Livius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Roman family name that may be related to either Latin liveo "to envy" or lividus "blue, envious". Titus Livius, also known as Livy, was a Roman historian who wrote a history of the city of Rome.
Liviu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: LEE-vyoo
Livia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LEE-vya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Livius. This was the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla.
Lisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian
Pronounced: LEE-sə(English) LEE-za(German, Italian) LEE-sa(Dutch)
Short form of
Elizabeth (though often used independently) and its cognates in other languages. This is the name of the subject of one of the world's most famous paintings, the
Mona Lisa, the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci.
In the United States this form was more popular than the full form Elizabeth from 1958 to 1978, and was in fact the top ranked American name between 1962 and 1969.
Liorit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹרִית(Hebrew)
Strictly feminine form of
Lior.
Ling
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 灵, 铃, etc.(Chinese) 靈, 鈴, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: LEENG
From Chinese
灵 (líng) meaning "spirit, soul",
铃 (líng) meaning "bell, chime", or other Chinese characters that are pronounced similarly.
Lina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: لينا(Arabic)
Pronounced: LEE-na
Means
"soft, tender" in Arabic, derived from
لان (lāna) meaning "to be soft". It can also be from Arabic
لينة (līna), a type of palm tree, likely derived from the same root.
Lillian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIL-ee-ən
Probably originally a
diminutive of
Elizabeth. It may also be considered an elaborated form of
Lily, from the Latin word for "lily"
lilium. This name has been used in England since the 16th century.
Lilja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic, Faroese, Finnish
Pronounced: LIL-ya(Icelandic) LEEL-yah(Finnish)
Liberty
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIB-ər-tee(American English) LIB-ə-tee(British English)
Simply from the English word
liberty, derived from Latin
libertas, a derivative of
liber "free". Interestingly, since 1880 this name has charted on the American popularity lists in three different periods: in 1918 (at the end of World War I), in 1976 (the American bicentennial), and after 2001 (during the War on Terrorism)
[1].
Lettice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Leonius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Late Latin name that was derived from
Leo.
Léonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEH-AW-NEE
Leonardo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: leh-o-NAR-do(Italian) leh-o-NAR-dho(Spanish) lee-ə-NAHR-do(American English) lee-ə-NAH-do(British English)
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
Leonard. A notable bearer was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an Italian artist and scientist of the Renaissance. He is known as the inventor of several contraptions, including flying machines, as well as the painter of the
Mona Lisa. Another famous bearer was Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician. A more recent bearer is American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (1974-).
Leofdæg
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Derived from the Old English element
leof "dear, beloved" combined with
dæg "day".
Lenora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Leilani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: lay-LA-nee
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Legolas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Means "green leaves" in the fictional language Sindarin, from laeg "green" combined with go-lass "collection of leaves". In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Legolas is the son of the elf lord Thranduil and a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Leevi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LEH-vee
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Leaf
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Derived from Old English lēof "dear, beloved".
Lazarus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, English (African)
Other Scripts: Λάζαρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LAZ-ə-rəs(English)
Latinized form of
Λάζαρος (Lazaros), a Greek form of
Eleazar used in the
New Testament. Lazarus was a man from Bethany, the brother of
Mary and
Martha, who was restored to life by
Jesus.
At present this name is most commonly used in English-speaking Africa.
Lazare
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LA-ZAR
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.
Laurus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Original masculine form of
Laura. It was borne by a 2nd-century
saint and martyr from Illyricum.
Laurel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-əl
From the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from Latin laurus.
Launo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Lan 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese, Vietnamese
Other Scripts: 兰, 岚, etc.(Chinese) 蘭, 嵐, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: LAN(Chinese, Vietnamese) LANG(Vietnamese)
From Chinese
兰 (lán) meaning "orchid, elegant" (which is usually only feminine) or
岚 (lán) meaning "mountain mist". Other Chinese characters can form this name as well. As a Vietnamese name, it is derived from Sino-Vietnamese
蘭 meaning "orchid".
Lakshmi
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi, Odia
Other Scripts: लक्ष्मी(Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, Nepali) లక్ష్మి(Telugu) ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ(Kannada) லட்சுமி(Tamil) ലക്ഷ്മി(Malayalam) ଲକ୍ଷ୍ମୀ(Odia)
Pronounced: LUK-shmee(Sanskrit, English, Hindi) lək-SHMEE(Marathi)
Means
"sign, mark" in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu goddess of prosperity, good luck, and beauty. She is the wife of
Vishnu and her symbol is the lotus flower, with which she is often depicted.
Lærke
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Means "lark" in Danish.
Kyrylo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Кирило(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: keh-RI-lo
Koray
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Means "ember moon" in Turkish.
Kojo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Akan
Koa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: KO-a
Means "warrior, koa tree" in Hawaiian.
Kistiñe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: kees-TEE-nyeh
Kerensa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Means "love" in Cornish.
Kekepania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Keahi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: keh-A-hee
Means "the fire" from Hawaiian ke, a definite article, and ahi "fire".
Katri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: KAHT-ree
Katniss
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KAT-nis(English)
From the English word katniss, the name of a variety of edible aquatic flowering plants (genus Sagittaria). Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist of The Hunger Games series of novels by Suzanne Collins, released 2008 to 2010, about a young woman forced to participate in a violent televised battle.
Kateri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
From the Mohawk pronunciation of
Katherine. This was the name adopted by the 17th-century Mohawk
saint Tekakwitha upon her baptism.
Katalin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Basque
Pronounced: KAW-taw-leen(Hungarian) ka-TA-leen(Basque)
Kahina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Berber
Other Scripts: ⴽⴰⵀⵉⵏⴰ(Tifinagh) كهينة(Arabic)
Derived from Arabic
الكاهنة (al-Kāhina) meaning
"the diviner, the fortuneteller". This was a title applied to the 7th-century Berber queen Dihya, who resisted the Arab expansion into North Africa.
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Meaning unknown, possibly related to an Indo-European root meaning
"young", or possibly of Etruscan origin. In Roman
mythology Juno was the wife of
Jupiter and the queen of the heavens. She was the protectress of marriage and women, and was also the goddess of finance.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Junia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: YOO-nee-a(Latin)
Feminine form of
Junius. This is the name of an early Christian mentioned in
Paul's epistle to the Romans in the
New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a woman
Junia or a man
Junias).
June
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOON
From the name of the month, which was originally derived from the name of the Roman goddess
Juno. It has been used as a given name since the 19th century.
Jules 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUYL
French form of
Julius. A notable bearer of this name was the French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905), author of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and other works of science fiction.
Judita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: YOO-di-ta(Czech) YOO-dee-ta(Slovak)
Lithuanian, Czech and Slovak form of
Judith.
Josette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAW-ZEHT
Josepha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Archaic), English (Rare)
Pronounced: yo-SEH-fa(Dutch) YO-sə-fa(Dutch) yo-ZEH-fa(German)
Joseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹסֵף(Ancient Hebrew) ജോസഫ്(Malayalam)
Pronounced: JO-sif(American English) JO-zif(British English) ZHO-ZEHF(French) YO-zehf(German)
From
Ioseph, the Latin form of Greek
Ἰωσήφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name
יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning
"he will add", from the root
יָסַף (yasaf) meaning "to add, to increase". In the
Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of
Jacob and the first with his wife
Rachel. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, belonging to
Saint Joseph the husband of
Mary, and to Joseph of Arimathea.
In the Middle Ages, Joseph was a common Jewish name, being less frequent among Christians. In the late Middle Ages Saint Joseph became more highly revered, and the name became popular in Spain and Italy. In England it became common after the Protestant Reformation. In the United States it has stayed within the top 25 names for boys since 1880, making it one of the most enduringly popular names of this era.
This name was borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Portugal. Other notable bearers include Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1878-1953).
Josefina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish
Pronounced: kho-seh-FEE-na(Spanish) zhoo-zə-FEE-nə(Portuguese) yoo-seh-FEE-nah(Swedish)
Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish feminine form of
Joseph.
José
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, French
Pronounced: kho-SEH(Spanish) zhoo-ZEH(European Portuguese) zho-ZEH(Brazilian Portuguese) ZHO-ZEH(French)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Joseph, as well as a French variant. In Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions it is occasionally used as a feminine middle name (or the second part of a double name), often paired with
María. This was the most popular name for boys in Spain for the first half of the 20th century. A famous bearer was the Portuguese novelist José Saramago (1922-2010).
Joscelin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norman [1]
Jone 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: YO-neh
Basque feminine form of
Jon 1.
Joby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JO-bee
Joachim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Polish, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: YO-a-khim(German) yo-A-khim(German) ZHAW-A-KEEM(French) yaw-A-kheem(Polish) JO-ə-kim(English)
Contracted form of
Jehoiachin or
Jehoiakim. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James,
Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint
Anne and the father of the Virgin
Mary. Due to his popularity in the Middle Ages, the name came into general use in Christian Europe (though it was never common in England).
Jill
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIL
Jessica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHS-i-kə(English) ZHEH-SEE-KA(French) YEH-see-ka(German, Dutch) JEH-see-ka(German) YEHS-si-ka(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) GYEH-see-ka(Spanish)
This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play
The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of
Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name
Iscah, which would have been spelled
Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by
Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).
Jere
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Croatian, English
Pronounced: YEH-reh(Finnish) JEHR-ee(English)
Jenny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, Dutch, French, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHN-ee(English) YEH-nuy(Swedish) YEH-nee(German, Dutch) JEH-nee(German, Dutch) GYEH-nee(Spanish)
Originally a medieval English
diminutive of
Jane. Since the middle of the 20th century it has been primarily considered a diminutive of
Jennifer.
Jemima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: יְמִימָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: jə-MIE-mə(English)
Traditionally said to mean
"dove", it may actually be related to Hebrew
יוֹמָם (yomam) meaning
"daytime" [1]. This was the oldest of the three daughters of
Job in the
Old Testament. As an English name,
Jemima first became common during the
Puritan era.
Jehanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Old French feminine form of
Iohannes (see
John).
Janna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, English
Pronounced: YAH-na(Dutch) YAHN-nah(Finnish) JAN-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Jan 1. As an English name, it is an elaboration of
Jan 2.
Janet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAN-it
Medieval
diminutive of
Jane. This was a popular name throughout the English-speaking world in the 20th century, especially the 1930s to the 60s. Its popularity has since faded.
Jake
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYK
Medieval variant of
Jack. It is also sometimes used as a short form of
Jacob.
Jagoda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Јагода(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ya-GAW-da(Polish)
Means
"strawberry" in South Slavic, and
"berry" in Polish. Also in Poland, this can be a
diminutive of
Jadwiga.
Jace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYS
Short form of
Jason, sometimes used independently. It was brought to limited attention in America by the lead character in the western television series
Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955-1958). Towards the end of the 20th century it began steadily increasing in popularity, reaching the 66th spot for boys in the United States in 2013.
Ivy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: IE-vee
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Ismo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: EES-mo
Isis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Ἶσις(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: IE-sis(English)
Greek form of Egyptian
ꜣst (reconstructed as
Iset,
Aset or
Ueset), possibly from
st meaning
"throne". In Egyptian
mythology Isis was the goddess of the sky and nature, the wife of
Osiris and the mother of
Horus. She was originally depicted wearing a throne-shaped headdress, but in later times she was conflated with the goddess
Hathor and depicted having the horns of a cow on her head. She was also worshipped by people outside of Egypt, such as the Greeks and Romans.
Isidro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ee-SEE-dhro
Isidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese (Rare), Italian (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Исидора(Serbian, Russian) Ἰσιδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-see-DHO-ra(Spanish) ee-zee-DAW-ra(Italian) iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian
saint and hermitess.
Iset
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hypothetical)
Reconstructed Egyptian form of
Isis.
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).
Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Medieval Occitan form of
Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.
This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.
Irina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Georgian, Finnish, Estonian
Other Scripts: Ирина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) ირინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: i-RYEE-nə(Russian) EE-ree-nah(Finnish)
Form of
Irene in several languages.
Iolo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
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".
Ing
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic Mythology
From the Germanic *
Ingwaz, possibly meaning
"ancestor". This was the name of an obscure Germanic fertility god who was considered the ancestor of the tribe the Ingaevones. It is possible he was an earlier incarnation of the god
Freyr.
Imma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Catalan
Pronounced: EEM-ma(Italian) EEM-mə(Catalan)
Ilsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: IL-za
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".
Idonea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Medieval English name, probably a Latinized form of
Iðunn. The spelling may have been influenced by Latin
idonea "suitable". It was common in England from the 12th century
[1].
Huguo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Old German variant of
Hugo.
Hope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HOP
From the English word
hope, ultimately from Old English
hopian. This name was first used by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Honor
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AHN-ər(American English) AWN-ə(British English)
Variant of
Honour, using the American spelling.
Hinrik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Icelandic
Icelandic form of
Heinrich (see
Henry).
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.
Hestia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑστία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHS-TEE-A(Classical Greek) HEHS-tee-ə(English)
Derived from Greek
ἑστία (hestia) meaning
"hearth, fireside". In Greek
mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.
Hesperos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἕσπερος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHS-PEH-ROS
Means
"evening" in Greek. This was the name of the personification of the Evening Star (the planet Venus) in Greek
mythology.
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(American English) hə-MIE-ə-nee(British English)
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god
Hermes. In Greek
myth Hermione was the daughter of
Menelaus and
Helen. This is also the name of the wife of
Leontes in Shakespeare's play
The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hana 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 花, 華, etc.(Japanese Kanji) はな(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HA-NA
From Japanese
花 (hana) or
華 (hana) both meaning "flower". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Halkyone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἁλκυόνη(Ancient Greek)
Greek variant (or misspelling) of
Halcyone.
Gwydion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Probably means
"born of trees" from Old Welsh
guid "trees" and the suffix
gen "born of". In the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Gwydion is the nephew of King
Math of Gwynedd, and like him a powerful magician. In an elaborate plot to give his brother a chance to rape his uncle's footbearer, he arranged a war between Gwynedd and the neighbouring kingdom of Dyfed. Gwydion himself killed King
Pryderi of Dyfed at the end of the war. In punishment for the rape, Math transformed Gwydion and his brother into different animals over the course of three years. Gwydion was the uncle of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he fostered. Math and Gwydion fashioned Lleu a wife,
Blodeuwedd, out of flowers and they later aided him after her betrayal. Gwydion also appears in older Welsh poetry such as the
Book of Taliesin.
Gulisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: გულისა(Georgian)
Means
"of the heart" in Georgian, from
გულის (gulis), the genitive of
გული (guli) meaning "heart".
Gretel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Literature
Pronounced: GREH-təl(German) GREHT-əl(English)
Diminutive of
Grete. It is well-known as a character from an 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale who is captured, with her brother
Hansel, by a witch. The Grimm's story was based on earlier European folktales.
Gregory
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GREHG-ə-ree
English form of Latin
Gregorius, which was from the Late Greek name
Γρηγόριος (Gregorios), derived from
γρήγορος (gregoros) meaning
"watchful, alert". This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important
saints including Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (3rd century), Saint Gregory the Illuminator (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (4th century), Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (4th century), and Saint Gregory of Tours (6th century). It was also borne by the 6th-century pope Saint Gregory I the Great, a reformer and Doctor of the Church, as well as 15 subsequent popes.
Due to the renown of the saints by this name, Gregory (in various spellings) has remained common in the Christian world through the Middle Ages and to the present day. It has been used in England since the 12th century. A famous bearer from the modern era was American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003).
Grégoire
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GREH-GWAR
French form of
Gregorius (see
Gregory).
Godelieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Flemish
Pronounced: gho-də-LEE-və(Dutch)
Glynis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Glyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means "valley" in Welsh.
Glinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: GLIN-də(English)
Created by author L. Frank Baum for his character Glinda the Good Witch, a kind sorceress in his Oz series of books beginning in 1900. It is not known what inspired the name.
Gjergj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Giada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: JA-da
Geneva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-NEE-və
Possibly a shortened form of
Genevieve. It could also be inspired by the name of the city in Switzerland. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century.
Galahad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAL-ə-had(English)
From earlier
Galaad, likely derived from the Old French form of the biblical place name
Gilead. In Arthurian legend Sir Galahad was the son of
Lancelot and
Elaine. He was the most pure of the Knights of the Round Table, and he was the only one to succeed in finding the Holy Grail. He first appears in the 13th-century French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Fulvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: FOOL-vya(Italian)
Feminine form of
Fulvius (see
Fulvio).
Frosina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian
Other Scripts: Фросина(Macedonian)
Frodo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: FRO-do(English)
Derived from Old English froda meaning "wise". This is the name of the hobbit hero in The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, who used Old English to translate some hobbit names (Frodo's true hobbit-language name is Maura). In the novel Frodo Baggins is the bearer of the One Ring on the quest to destroy it in Mount Doom.
Frey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Pronounced: FRAY(English)
Freesia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FREE-zhə
Derived from the English word for the flower.
The flower itself was named after the German physician Friedrich Freese whose surname is a variant of Friese "a Frisian".
This name has been occasionally used in the English-speaking world from the late 1800s onwards.
Fredegar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic, History
Variant of
Fridegar. Fredegar was a 7th-century Burgundian writer who had started "The Chronicle of Fredegar."
Flavius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian
Pronounced: FLA-wee-oos(Latin)
Roman family name meaning
"golden" or
"yellow-haired" from Latin
flavus "yellow, golden". Flavius was the family name of the 1st-century Roman emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. It was used as a personal name by several later emperors, notably by
Constantine.
Flavia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: FLA-vya(Italian) FLA-bya(Spanish) FLA-wee-a(Latin)
Fionola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Filumena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Neapolitan, Sicilian, Sardinian, Czech (Archaic), Croatian (Archaic)
Sardinian, Sicilian and Neapolitan form of
Filomena as well as an obsolete Czech and Croatian variant of
Filomena.
Fife
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish (Rare)
From a Scottish place name that was formerly the name of a kingdom in Scotland. It is said to be named for a Pictish kingdom called Fib.
Fern
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FURN(American English) FUN(British English)
From the English word for the plant, ultimately from Old English fearn. It has been used as a given name since the late 19th century.
Fenella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Form of
Fionnuala used by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Peveril of the Peak (1823).
Falk
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: FALK
Means "falcon" in German.
Fable
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAY-bel
Derived from the word for a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are given human qualities, and that illustrates a moral lesson.
The word "fable" comes from the Latin fabula (a "story"), itself derived from fari ("to speak") with the -ula suffix that signifies "little".
Evren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehv-REHN
Means
"cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic
mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Evaristus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάριστος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Εὐάριστος (Euaristos) meaning
"well pleasing" from the Greek word
εὐάρεστος (euarestos), derived from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good, well" and
ἀρεστός (arestos) meaning "pleasing". This was the name of the fifth pope, supposedly martyred under Emperor Hadrian.
Eurydike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐρυδίκη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EW-RUY-DEE-KEH(Classical Greek)
Esperanza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ehs-peh-RAN-tha(European Spanish) ehs-peh-RAN-sa(Latin American Spanish)
Spanish form of the Late Latin name Sperantia, which was derived from sperare "to hope".
Esmeralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Albanian, Literature
Pronounced: ehz-meh-RAL-da(Spanish) izh-mi-RAL-du(European Portuguese) ehz-meh-ROW-du(Brazilian Portuguese) ehz-mə-RAHL-də(English)
Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Romani girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.
Erazem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovene
Enya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EHN-yə(English)
Emrys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-ris
Welsh form of
Ambrose. Emrys Wledig (or Ambrosius Aurelianus) was a Romano-British military leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Tales of his life were used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to help shape the early character of
Merlin, whom he called Merlinus Ambrosius in Latin.
Emery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-ree
Norman French form of
Emmerich. The
Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, now typically feminine, it is likely inspired by the surname
Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.
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).
Elsabeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Elpida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελπίδα(Greek)
Modern Greek form of
Elpis.
Ellen 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EHL-ən(English) EHL-lehn(Finnish)
Medieval English form of
Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form
Helen also became common.
Elkanah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלְקָנָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ehl-KAY-nə(English)
Means
"God has purchased" in Hebrew, from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
קָנָה (qana) meaning "to acquire, to purchase". In the
Old Testament this is the name of the father of
Samuel.
Elixabete
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: eh-LEE-sha-beh-teh
Elisheva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אֱלִישֶׁבַע(Hebrew)
Elisha
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אֱלִישַׁע(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-shə(English)
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִישַׁע (ʾElishaʿ), a contracted form of
אֱלִישׁוּעַ (ʾElishuaʿ) meaning
"my God is salvation", derived from
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save, to deliver". According to the
Old Testament, Elisha was a prophet and miracle worker. He was the attendant of
Elijah and succeeded him after his ascension to heaven.
Elisabet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Catalan, Spanish, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἐλισάβετ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: eh-LEE-sa-beht(Swedish, Norwegian) eh-LEE-sa-behd(Danish) EH-lee-sah-beht(Finnish) eh-lee-sa-BEHT(Spanish)
Scandinavian and Finnish form of
Elizabeth. It is also used in Spain alongside the traditional form
Isabel.
Elior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹר(Hebrew)
Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.
Elioenai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֶלְיוֹעֵינַי(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"my eyes look to Yahweh" in Hebrew, derived from
אֶל (ʾel) meaning "towards",
יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God, and
עַיִן (ʿayin) meaning "eye". This is the name of several minor characters in the
Old Testament.
Elen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, Armenian, Czech
Other Scripts: Էլեն(Armenian)
Pronounced: EHL-ehn(Welsh) eh-LEHN(Armenian)
Welsh and modern Armenian form of
Helen, as well as a Czech variant form. This was the name of a 4th-century Welsh
saint, traditionally said to be the wife of the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus. According to the Welsh legend
The Dream of Macsen Wledig (
Macsen Wledig being the Welsh form of
Magnus Maximus), she convinced her husband to build the roads in Wales.
Elaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: i-LAYN(English) ee-LAYN(English)
From an Old French form of
Helen. It appears in Arthurian legend; in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation
Le Morte d'Arthur Elaine was the daughter of
Pelles, the lover of
Lancelot, and the mother of
Galahad. It was not commonly used as an English given name until after the publication of Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian epic
Idylls of the King (1859).
Eirwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"white snow" from the Welsh elements
eira "snow" and
gwen "white, blessed". This name was created in the early 20th century.
Einion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From the Old Welsh name
Enniaun, probably from the Latin name
Ennianus, a derivative of
Ennius (see
Ennio). It is also a modern Welsh word meaning "anvil". This was the name of a few early Welsh rulers including Einion Frenin (5th century), who is considered a
saint in some Christian traditions.
Eilwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Perhaps means
"white brow", derived from Welsh
ael "brow" and
gwen "white, blessed". This is a recently created Welsh name.
Eilonwy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
From Welsh eilon meaning "deer, stag" or "song, melody". This name was used by Lloyd Alexander in his book series The Chronicles of Prydain (1964-1968) as well as the Disney film adaptation The Black Cauldron (1985).
Effimia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ευφημία(Greek)
Eevi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: EH-vee(Finnish)
Finnish and Estonian form of
Eva.
Eärwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Means "sea maiden" in Quenya, from
eär meaning "sea" and
wen meaning "maiden". This was the name of a Telerin Elf in the Silmarillion. She was the mother of
Galadriel.
Drust
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Pictish
Pictish name probably derived from the old Celtic root *trusto- meaning "noise, tumult". This name was borne by several kings of the Picts, including their last king Drust X, who ruled in the 9th century.
Drusilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: droo-SIL-ə(English)
Drahomír
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: DRA-ho-meer(Czech) DRA-haw-meer(Slovak)
Dove
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DUV
From the English word for the variety of bird, seen as a symbol of peace.
Dorothy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAWR-ə-thee(American English, British English) DAWR-thee(American English)
Usual English form of
Dorothea. It has been in use since the 16th century. The author L. Frank Baum used it for the central character, Dorothy Gale, in his fantasy novel
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and several of its sequels.
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)
Doon
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Literature
Transferred use of the surname
Doon. Known bearers of this name include the American writer Doon Arbus (b. 1945) and the British comedian Doon Mackichan (b. 1962).
In English literature, this is the name of one of the main characters in The City of Ember (2003) written by Jeanne DuPrau (b. 1944).
Dina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Latvian, Russian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1], Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Дина(Russian) Діна(Ukrainian) דִּינָה(Hebrew) Δίνα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DYEE-nə(Russian) DEE-nah(Dutch) DEE-na(Italian, Spanish)
Form of
Dinah in several languages, as well as the form in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin
Old Testament.
Devrim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: dehv-REEM
Means "revolution" in Turkish.
Daviti
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Georgian
Other Scripts: დავითი(Georgian)
Pronounced: DAH-VEE-TEE
Form of
Davit with the nominative suffix, used in Georgian when the name is written stand-alone.
Danielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: DA-NYEHL(French) dan-YEHL(English)
French feminine form of
Daniel. It has been commonly used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.
Daniel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Armenian, Georgian, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: דָּנִיֵּאל(Hebrew) Даниел(Bulgarian, Macedonian) Դանիէլ(Armenian) დანიელ(Georgian) Δανιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAN-yəl(English) DA-NYEHL(French) DA-nyehl(German) DA-nee-ehl(German, Slovak) DAH-ni-yəl(Norwegian) DA-nyəl(Danish) DA-nyehl(Polish) DA-ni-yehl(Czech) da-NYEHL(Spanish) du-nee-EHL(European Portuguese) du-nee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) də-nee-EHL(Catalan) da-nee-EHL(Romanian)
From the Hebrew name
דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning
"God is my judge", from the roots
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the
Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.
Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).
Danaë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δανάη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-NA-EH(Classical Greek) DAN-ay-ee(English)
From
Δαναοί (Danaoi), a word used by
Homer to designate the Greeks. In Greek
mythology Danaë was the daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. It had been prophesied to her father that he would one day be killed by Danaë's son, so he attempted to keep his daughter childless. However,
Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of
Perseus. Eventually the prophecy was fulfilled and Perseus killed Acrisius, albeit accidentally.
Dalibor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Далибор(Serbian)
Pronounced: DA-li-bor(Czech) DA-lee-bawr(Slovak)
Derived from the Slavic elements
dalĭ "distance" and
borti "to fight".
Cyprian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, History (Ecclesiastical)
Pronounced: TSI-pryan(Polish) SIP-ree-ən(English)
From the Roman family name
Cyprianus, which meant
"from Cyprus".
Saint Cyprian was a 3rd-century bishop of Carthage who was martyred under the Roman emperor Valerian.
Corona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Italian (Rare), Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ko-RO-na(Italian, Spanish)
Means
"crown" in Latin, as well as Italian and Spanish. This was the name of a 2nd-century
saint who was martyred with her companion Victor.
Corin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Corazón
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ko-ra-SON(Latin American Spanish) ko-ra-THON(European Spanish)
Means "heart" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin Mary Inmaculado Corazón de María meaning "Immaculate Heart of Mary".
Coralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-RA-LEE
Either a French form of
Koralia, or a derivative of Latin
corallium "coral" (see
Coral).
Constance
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAHN-stəns(American English) KAWN-stəns(British English) KAWNS-TAHNS(French)
Medieval form of
Constantia. The
Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).
Conchita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kon-CHEE-ta
Columbine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Theatre
Pronounced: KAHL-əm-bien(American English) KAWL-əm-bien(British English)
From the name of a variety of flower. It is also an English form of
Colombina, the theatre character.
Clyde
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLIED
From the name of the River Clyde in Scotland, from Cumbric
Clud, which is of uncertain origin. It became a common given name in America in the middle of the 19th century, perhaps in honour of Colin Campbell (1792-1863) who was given the title Baron Clyde in 1858
[1].
Clémence
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHNS
French feminine form of
Clementius (see
Clement).
Claudette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLO-DEHT
Clare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHR(American English) KLEH(British English)
Medieval English form of
Clara. The preferred spelling in the English-speaking world is now the French form
Claire, though
Clare has been fairly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.
This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish clár meaning "plank, level surface".
Claire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KLEHR(French, American English) KLEH(British English)
French form of
Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by
Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.
Cinna
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: SIN-ə(English)
Roman cognomen of uncertain meaning. This was the name of a Roman politician who was the father-in-law of Julius Caesar.
Cicely
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIS-ə-lee
Chrysanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Χρυσάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Cho
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese (Rare)
Other Scripts: 蝶(Japanese Kanji) ちょう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: CHO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
蝶 (see
Chō).
Chiyoko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 千代子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ちよこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: CHEE-YO-KO
From Japanese
千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and
代 (yo) meaning "generation" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.
Chi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: CHEE, KYEE
From Sino-Vietnamese
枝 (chi) meaning
"branch".
Chen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 晨, 辰, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: CHUN
From Chinese
晨 (chén) or
辰 (chén), both meaning "morning". The character
辰 also refers to the fifth Earthly Branch (7 AM to 9 AM), which is itself associated with the dragon of the Chinese zodiac. This name can be formed from other characters as well.
Chava
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: חַוָּה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: kha-VA
Modern Hebrew form of
Eve.
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(American English) SHAH-lət(British English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Personal remark: French pronunciation
French feminine
diminutive of
Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of
Jane Eyre and
Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.
Chantal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAHN-TAL(French) shahn-TAHL(English, Dutch) shahn-TAL(English)
From a French surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"stony". It was originally given in honour of
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, the founder of the Visitation Order in the 17th century. It has become associated with French
chant "song".
Chanokh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: חֲנוֹך(Ancient Hebrew)
Cenric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Derived from Old English
cene "bold" and
ric "ruler, king".
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.
Cayenne
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: kie-EHN, kay-EHN
From Old Tupi quiínia meaning "hot pepper," referring to any of several very hot chilli peppers or a powder condiment or spice formed from these varieties.
Catina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian (Rare)
Cateline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Casper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: KAHS-pər(Dutch) KAHS-pehr(Swedish) KAS-bu(Danish)
Dutch and Scandinavian form of
Jasper. This is the name of a friendly ghost in an American series of cartoons and comic books (beginning 1945).
Casimir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: KAZ-i-mir(American English) KAZ-i-meey(British English) KA-ZEE-MEER(French)
English form of the Polish name
Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic element
kaziti "to destroy" combined with
mirŭ "peace, world". Four kings of Poland have borne this name, including Casimir III the Great, who greatly strengthened the Polish state in the 14th century. It was also borne
Saint Casimir, a 15th-century Polish prince and a patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. The name was imported into Western Europe via Germany, where it was borne by some royalty.
Carmel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish
Other Scripts: כַּרְמֶל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAHR-məl(American English) KAR-məl(American English) KAH-məl(British English)
From the title of the Virgin
Mary Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
כַּרְמֶל (Karmel) (meaning "garden" in Hebrew) is a mountain in Israel mentioned in the
Old Testament. It was the site of several early Christian monasteries. As an English given name, it has mainly been used by Catholics. As a Jewish name it is unisex.
Capucine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KA-PUY-SEEN
Means
"nasturtium" in French. This was the
stage name of the French actress and model Capucine (1928-1990).
Candela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kan-DEH-la
Calpurnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Feminine form of
Calpurnius. This was the name of Julius Caesar's last wife.
Calanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-LAN-thee
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".
Caiside
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Irish
Irish byname meaning "curly haired", from Irish cas "twisted, curly".
Caerwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Derived from the Welsh elements
caer "fortress" and
gwyn "white, blessed".
Caelius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KIE-lee-oos
Roman family name that was derived from Latin caelum meaning "heaven".
Caelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KIE-lee-a
Bryony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BRIE-ə-nee
From the name of a type of Eurasian vine, formerly used as medicine. It ultimately derives from Greek
βρύω (bryo) meaning "to swell".
Briar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər(American English) BRIE-ə(British English)
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Bluma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: בלומאַ(Yiddish)
Pronounced: BLOO-mah
From Yiddish
בלום (blum) meaning
"flower".
Blackbird
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
From the name of the animal, introduced into popular culture by the 1968 song of the same name performed by The Beatles.
In some cases it might also be a transferred use of the surname
Blackbird.
Bianca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: BYANG-ka(Italian, Romanian) bee-AHNG-kə(English) bee-ANG-kə(English)
Italian
cognate of
Blanche. Shakespeare had characters named Bianca in
The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and
Othello (1603). The German singer Freddy Breck's 1973 song
Bianca boosted the name's popularity elsewhere in Europe.
Beth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BETH
Berengaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized)
Latinized feminine form of
Berengar. This name was borne by a 13th-century queen of Castile.
Benesh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: בענעש(Yiddish)
Belphoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Combination of Old French
bele "beautiful" and the name
Phoebe. This name was first used by Edmund Spenser in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590).
Bellatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: bə-LAY-triks(English) BEHL-ə-triks(English)
Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
Belén
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: beh-LEHN
Spanish form of
Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King
David and
Jesus were born. The town's name is from Hebrew
בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beṯ-leḥem) meaning "house of bread".
Bee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEE
Short form of
Beatrix and other names beginning with
B.
Beatrix
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Hungarian, Dutch, English, Late Roman
Pronounced: beh-A-triks(German) BEH-a-triks(German, Dutch) BEH-aw-treeks(Hungarian) BEE-ə-triks(English) BEE-triks(English)
Probably from
Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name
Viator meaning
"voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin
beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century
saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.
In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-), the former queen.
Bartholomew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: bahr-THAHL-ə-myoo(American English) bah-THAWL-ə-myoo(British English)
English form of
Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning
"son of Talmai". In the
New Testament Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle
Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this
saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.
Azar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: آذر(Persian)
Pronounced: aw-ZAR
Means "fire" in Persian.
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.
Avril
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: A-VREEL(French) AV-ril(English)
French form of
April. A famous bearer is the Canadian musician Avril Lavigne (1984-).
Avila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Derived from the Old German element
awi, of unknown meaning. Rarely, this name may be given in honour of the 16th-century mystic
Saint Teresa of Ávila,
Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.
Aune
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: OW-neh
Aulis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: OW-lees
Means "willing, helpful" in Finnish.
Aspen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AS-pən
From the English word for a variety of deciduous trees in the genus Populus, derived from Old English æspe. It is also the name of a ski resort in Colorado.
Aspasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Ἀσπασία(Ancient Greek) Ασπασία(Greek)
Pronounced: A-SPA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ἀσπάσιος (aspasios) meaning
"welcome, embrace". This was the name of the lover of Pericles (5th century BC).
Aslanbek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian
Other Scripts: Асланбек(Chechen) Аслӕнбег(Ossetian) Аслъанбэч(Western Circassian) Аслъэнбэч(Eastern Circassian)
Derived from Turkish
aslan meaning "lion" combined with the Turkic military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master".
Arvo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: AHR-vo(Finnish)
Means "value, worth" in Finnish and Estonian.
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.
Arminius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Germanic (Latinized)
Latinized form of a Germanic name, possibly derived from the element *
ermunaz meaning
"whole, universal". Other theories claim that it is related to
Herman, or that it is not Germanic at all. Arminius was a 1st-century chief of the Germanic tribe of the Cherusci. Raised in Rome as a hostage, he eventually became a citizen and joined the army. However, he turned against the Empire, leading the Germans in a surprise attack in the Teutoburg Forest and driving the Romans from Germania.
Arkadios
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρκάδιος(Ancient Greek)
From an ancient Greek name meaning
"of Arcadia". Arcadia was a region in Greece, its name deriving from
ἄρκτος (arktos) meaning "bear". This was the name of a 3rd-century
saint and martyr.
Arielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: A-RYEHL(French)
French feminine form of
Ariel, as well as an English variant.
Arianwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: ar-YAN-wehn
Derived from Welsh
arian "silver" and
gwen "white, blessed". This was the name of a 5th-century Welsh
saint, one of the supposed daughters of
Brychan Brycheiniog.
Aravis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: ER-ə-vis
Aravis is a main character in C.S. Lewis'
The Horse and his Boy. She is a Tarkheena, a female member of the ruling class of the fictional empire of Calormen, located far to the south of Narnia.
The name possibly originates from this cartographic reference:
The Aravis (French: Chaîne des Aravis) is a mountain range in Haute-Savoie, eastern France. It is part of the French Prealps, a lower chain of mountain ranges west of the main chain of the Alps. Its highest summit is the Pointe Percée, at 2752m. The orientation of the Aravis is north-south, and it stretches from Cluses in the north, to Ugine in the south. The Bornes massif, sometimes considered part of the Aravis, lies to its west. The Aravis is separated from the Chablais mountains in the north-east by the Arve river valley, and from the Pennine Alps in the south-east by the Arly river valley.
Aquila
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: AK-wil-ə(English) ə-KWIL-ə(English)
Ann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Manx
Pronounced: AN(English)
English and Manx form of
Anne 1. In the English-speaking world, both this spelling and
Anne have been used since the late Middle Ages. Currently
Ann is less popular than
Anne (and both are less popular than their relatives
Anna and
Hannah).
Anita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Slovene, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Latvian, Hungarian
Pronounced: a-NEE-ta(Spanish, Dutch, German) ə-NEET-ə(English) AH-nee-tah(Finnish) a-NYEE-ta(Polish) AW-nee-taw(Hungarian)
Angelo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: AN-jeh-lo
Italian form of
Angelus (see
Angel).
Angelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, English, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Armenian
Other Scripts: Ангелина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Αγγελίνα(Greek) Անգելինա(Armenian)
Pronounced: ang-jeh-LEE-na(Italian) an-jə-LEE-nə(English) un-gyi-LYEE-nə(Russian) ang-kheh-LEE-na(Spanish)
Latinate
diminutive of
Angela. A famous bearer is American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-).
Anakoni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Amis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English, Medieval French
Medieval name, a masculine form of
Amice. It appears in the medieval French poem
Amis and Amiles, about two friends who make sacrifices for one another.
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.
Amber
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AM-bər(American English) AM-bə(British English) AHM-bər(Dutch)
From the English word
amber that denotes either the gemstone, which is formed from fossil resin, or the orange-yellow colour. The word ultimately derives from Arabic
عنبر (ʿanbar) meaning "ambergris". It began to be used as a given name in the late 19th century, but it only became popular after the release of Kathleen Winsor's novel
Forever Amber (1944).
Altan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Means "red dawn" in Turkish.
Alona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אַלוֹנָה(Hebrew)
Alemayehu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Amharic
Other Scripts: አለማየሁ(Amharic)
Means "I have seen the world" in Amharic.
Aleksanteri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: AH-lehk-sahn-teh-ree
Alchemy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: AL-kə-mee
From the English noun
alchemy referring to "the causing of any sort of mysterious sudden transmutation" or "the ancient search for a universal panacea, and of the philosopher's stone, that eventually developed into chemistry", which ultimately comes from Greek χυμεία
(chymeia) "art of alloying metals, alchemy" via Arabic
al-kimiya (the source also of Persian
Kimiya).
Ákos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: A-kosh
Possibly of Turkic origin meaning "white falcon". This was the name of a medieval Hungarian clan.
Akiva
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: עֲקִיבָא(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ah-KEE-vah
From an Aramaic form of
Yaakov. Akiva (or Akiba) ben Joseph was a prominent 1st-century Jewish rabbi.
Akira
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 昭, 明, 亮, 晶, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あきら(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-KYEE-RA
From Japanese
昭 (akira) meaning "bright",
明 (akira) meaning "bright" or
亮 (akira) meaning "clear". Other kanji with the same pronunciation can also form this name. A famous bearer was the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), given name written
明.
Akamu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Aiolos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Αἴολος(Ancient Greek)
Means "quick-moving, nimble" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek god of the winds.
Aino
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian, Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: IE-no(Finnish)
Means
"the only one" in Finnish. In the Finnish epic the
Kalevala this is the name of a girl who drowns herself when she finds out she must marry the old man
Väinämöinen.
Aikaterine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Rare)
Other Scripts: Αἰκατερίνη(Ancient Greek)
Agathe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare), Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀγάθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-GAT(French) a-GA-tə(German) A-GA-TEH(Classical Greek)
Form of
Agatha in several languages.
Afra 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عفرا(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘AF-ra
Means "whitish red" in Arabic.
Aeronwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Combination of
Aeron and the Welsh element
gwen meaning "white, blessed".
Ælfræd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Adrasteia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀδράστεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: A-DRAS-TEH-A(Classical Greek)
Feminine form of
Adrastos. In Greek
mythology this name was borne by a nymph who fostered the infant
Zeus. This was also another name of the goddess
Nemesis.
Adilet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Other Scripts: Адилет(Kyrgyz) Әділет(Kazakh)
Pronounced: a-də-LEHT(Kazakh)
Means
"justice" in Kyrgyz and Kazakh, ultimately from Arabic
عدل (ʿadala) meaning "to act justly".
Adelheid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: A-dəl-hiet(German) A-dəl-hayt(Dutch)
Adalland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic
Means "noble land", derived from Old High German adal "noble" combined with land "land."
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