WillowBelle's Personal Name List
Agnes
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Late Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἅγνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AG-nis(English) AK-nəs(German) AHKH-nehs(Dutch) ANG-nehs(Swedish) OW-nes(Danish)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ἅγνη (Hagne), derived from Greek
ἁγνός (hagnos) meaning
"chaste".
Saint Agnes was a virgin martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The name became associated with Latin
agnus "lamb", resulting in the saint's frequent depiction with a lamb by her side. Due to her renown, the name became common in Christian Europe.
As an English name it was highly popular from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. It was revived in the 19th century and was common into the 20th, but it fell into decline after the 1930s. It last appeared on the American top 1000 rankings in 1972.
Alma 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Slovene, Croatian
Pronounced: AL-mə(English) AL-ma(Spanish) AHL-ma(Dutch)
This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin
almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning
"the soul".
Almandine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
The name of a mineral belonging to the garnet group. It is an alteration of the French
alabandine, from the Latin
alabandina, from the ancient in Caria, Anatolia (modern day Turkey), Alabanda (Αλαβάνδα), which was known for producing dark marbles and garnet-like stones. The city's name is derived from the Carian hero of Greek mythology
Alabandus (Ἀλάβανδος).
Almatine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Meaning unknown. It might possibly be a combination of
Alma 1 with any feminine name that ends in
-tine, such as
Christine and
Martine.
A notable bearer of this name is the Dutch theologian, preacher and writer Almatine Leene (b. 1984).
Alonso
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-LON-so
Aloysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: a-LOI-zya
Amandine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MAHN-DEEN
Amantine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Archaic)
Feminine form of
Amant. This was the name of a French novelist, Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, who wrote under the pseudonym George Sand.
Amrita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali
Other Scripts: अमृता(Hindi) ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਾ(Gurmukhi) অমৃতা(Bengali)
Anselm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English (Rare), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AN-zelm(German) AN-selm(English)
Derived from the Old German elements
ansi "god" and
helm "helmet, protection". This name was brought to England in the late 11th century by
Saint Anselm, who was born in northern Italy. He was archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church.
Anselma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare), German (Rare)
Pronounced: an-SEHL-ma(Spanish, Italian) an-ZEHL-ma(German)
Araminta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Meaning unknown. This name was (first?) used by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor (1693) and later by John Vanbrugh in his comedy The Confederacy (1705). This was the original given name of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), who was born Araminta Ross.
Arleth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: ar-LEHT
Variant of
Arlette in use in Latin America.
Armgard
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare, Archaic)
Dutch and German variant form of
Irmgard. This is one of the middle names of Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands (b. 1938), who was given this name in honour of her paternal grandmother.
Artemas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Biblical, Polish (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμᾶς(Ancient Greek)
Presumably a short form or contraction of
Artemidoros (compare
Zenas,
Alexas,
Phileas). This name is mentioned briefly in the New Testament, in Saint
Paul's letter to
Titus. According to George Rippey Stewart in
American Given Names (1979): 'It is chiefly remembered from General Artemas Ward, of the Revolution (born 1727). But there are other examples. In the mid-19th century the humorist C. F. Browne took
Artemus (thus spelled) as his pseudonym.'
Artemidoros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἀρτεμίδωρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEE-DAW-ROS
Means
"gift of Artemis" from the name of the goddess
Artemis combined with Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". This was the name of a Greek author of the 2nd century who wrote about the interpretation of dreams.
Artemis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek
Other Scripts: Ἄρτεμις(Ancient Greek) Άρτεμις(Greek)
Pronounced: AR-TEH-MEES(Classical Greek) AHR-tə-mis(American English) AH-tə-mis(British English)
Meaning unknown, possibly related either to Greek
ἀρτεμής (artemes) meaning
"safe" or
ἄρταμος (artamos) meaning
"a butcher". Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon and hunting, the twin of
Apollo and the daughter of
Zeus and
Leto. She was known as
Diana to the Romans.
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.
Artemus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Arthelais
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical)
Saint Arthelais (544–560) is venerated as a Christian saint.
Daughter of Roman imperial proconsul Lucius and Aithuesa. The emperor Justinian desired her, but she had taken vows of holy chastity and so fled to Benevento, Italy where she stayed with her uncle Narses Patricius. En route she was kidnapped by highway men, but was miraculously freed after three days.
Arthur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: AHR-thər(American English) AH-thə(British English) AR-TUYR(French) AR-tuwr(German) AHR-tuyr(Dutch)
The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *
artos "bear" (Old Welsh
arth) combined with *
wiros "man" (Old Welsh
gur) or *
rīxs "king" (Old Welsh
ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name
Artorius.
Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.
The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).
Aubin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-BEHN
Augusta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, English, German, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ow-GOOS-ta(Italian) ə-GUS-tə(English) ow-GUWS-ta(German)
Feminine form of
Augustus. It was introduced to Britain when King George III, a member of the German House of Hanover, gave this name to his second daughter in 1768.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Aysel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
Means
"moon flood" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, derived from
ay "moon" and
sel "flood, stream" (of Arabic origin).
Bakisto
Occupational surname for a baker. Comes from baki, meaning "to bake" and -isto, a suffix used for professions.
Balsamia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical), Italian (Archaic, ?)
From Latin
balsamum meaning "balsam; balm", from Ancient Greek βάλσαμον
(balsamon) "balsam tree; fragrant oil of the balsam tree" (ultimately of Semitic origin). Saint Balsamia was the nurse of Saint Remigius (or
Rémy) and the mother of Saint Celsinus. This name was sometimes given in honor of the Blessed
Balsamo di Cava as well as Pietro Balsamo (known as Peter Balsamus and Peter Abselamus in English), and occasionally in honor of the Blessed Carino Pietro of Balsamo.
Barulaganye
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tswana
Means "they are in order" in Setswana.
Beáta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: BEH-a-taw(Hungarian) BEH-a-ta(Czech, Slovak)
Hungarian, Czech and Slovak form of
Beata.
Beathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic
Pronounced: BYA-han
Derived from a
diminutive of Scottish Gaelic
beatha meaning
"life".
Benedict
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-ə-dikt
From the Late Latin name
Benedictus, which meant
"blessed".
Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. After his time the name was common among Christians, being used by 16 popes. In England it did not come into use until the 12th century, at which point it became very popular. This name was also borne by the American general Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), who defected to Britain during the American Revolution.
Beowulf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon Mythology
Pronounced: BAY-ə-wuwlf(English)
Possibly means
"bee wolf" (in effect equal to "bear") from Old English
beo "bee" and
wulf "wolf". Alternatively, the first element may be
beadu "battle". This is the name of the main character in the anonymous 8th-century epic poem
Beowulf. Set in Denmark, the poem tells how he slays the monster Grendel and its mother at the request of King
Hroðgar. After this Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats. The conclusion of the poem tells how Beowulf, in his old age, slays a dragon but is himself mortally wounded in the act.
Berengar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Old German name derived from the elements
bern "bear" and
ger "spear". This was the name of two medieval kings of Italy and a Holy Roman emperor.
Bérengère
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: BEH-RAHN-ZHEHR
Berinthia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Theatre, Literature, English (Rare)
Meaning unknown, perhaps first used by Sir John Vanbrugh for a young widow in his play 'The Relapse' (1697). It was subsequently used by Richard Brinsley Sheridan for a widow in his play 'A Trip to Scarborough' (1777), and also appears in Dickens's 'Dombey and Son' (1848) belonging to Mrs Pipchin's niece.
Blictrud
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic
Derived from Old High German blich "lightning, glow" or blicchan "to flash, to shine" combined with þruþ "strength."
Boglárka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: BOG-lar-kaw
Means "buttercup (flower)" in Hungarian (genus Ranunculus), derived from the archaic word boglár meaning "ornament".
Bolívar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: bo-LEE-bar
From a surname that was taken from the Basque place name Bolibar, which was derived from bolu "mill" and ibar "riverside". A famous bearer of the surname was Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), a South American revolutionary leader, after whom the country of Bolivia is named.
Briseida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Form of
Briseis used in medieval tales about the Trojan War.
Cadmus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κάδμος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAD-məs(English)
Latinized form of Greek
Κάδμος (Kadmos), of uncertain meaning. In Greek
mythology Cadmus was the son of the Phoenician king
Agenor. He was sent by his father to rescue his sister
Europa, who had been abducted by
Zeus, although he did not succeed in retrieving her. According to legend, Cadmus founded the city of Thebes and introduced the alphabet to Greece.
Cadwalader
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Calafia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Probably invented by the 16th-century Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, who likely based it on
califa, the Spanish form of Arabic
خليفة (khalīfa), an Islamic title meaning
"successor" (see
Khalifa). In Montalvo's novel
The Adventures of Esplandián it is borne by the queen of the island of California (the inspiration for the name of the American and Mexican states).
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".
Calluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
From the genus name of common heather, a flowering shrub. It comes from the Greek verb καλλύνω
(kalluno) meaning "to beautify, sweep clean", ultimately from καλός
(kalos) "beautiful".
Cassandane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Persian (Hellenized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), History
Other Scripts: Κασσανδάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kas-san-da-neh(Attic Greek) kas-san-DA-nee(Kione Greek)
Latinized form of Κασσανδάνη
(Kassandanē), the Hellenized form of an uncertain Old Persian name. Cassandane was an Achaemenian Persian noblewoman and the "dearly loved" wife of
Cyrus the Great.
Catrinel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Cedella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Caribbean, Jamaican Patois
This name is best known for being the name of Cedella Booker (1926-2008), the mother of the Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley (1945-1981). Her full name at birth was Sidilla Editha Malcolm. Given how similar the name Sidilla is to her later name Cedella, it is possible that Cedella is a variant spelling or form of Sidilla. Sidilla itself may then possibly be a corrupted form of
Sibylla (see
Sibyl). Alternatively, the name Sidilla could be derived from the Spanish word
cedilla meaning "small letter Z". It was then probably a misspelling, which her parents later changed to the slightly more correct spelling Cedella.
Cedella's son Bob later went on to name his first biological daughter (born in 1967) after her, who would go on to become a musician in her own right, most notably as part of the reggae band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.
Celandine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEHL-ən-deen, SEHL-ən-dien
From the name of the flower, which is derived from Greek
χελιδών (chelidon) meaning "swallow (bird)".
Celinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-LIN-də
Probably a blend of
Celia and
Linda. This is also the Spanish name for a variety of shrub with white flowers, known as sweet mock-orange in English (species Philadelphus coronarius).
Celyn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"holly" in Welsh. It appears briefly in the Welsh tale
Culhwch and Olwen [1], belonging to a son of Caw, but was not typically used as a given name until the 20th century.
Cerelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Possibly derived from
Ceraelia, the name of the ancient Roman festival dedicated to the agricultural goddess
Ceres.
Cleanthes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of
Kleanthes. A known bearer of this name was Cleanthes of Assos, a Greek Stoic philosopher from the 3rd century BC.
Clélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, French (Belgian)
Cloelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Feminine form of
Cloelius. In Roman legend Cloelia was a maiden who was given to an Etruscan invader as a hostage. She managed to escape by swimming across the Tiber, at the same time helping some of the other captives to safety.
Corentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Breton, French
Pronounced: ko-REHN-teen(Breton) KAW-RAHN-TEHN(French)
French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.
Corentine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton (Gallicized), French
Corin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Corinna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Italian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόριννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ko-RI-na(German) kə-REEN-ə(English) kə-RIN-ə(English)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Κόριννα (Korinna), which was derived from
κόρη (kore) meaning
"maiden". This was the name of a Greek lyric poet of the 5th century BC. The Roman poet
Ovid used it for the main female character in his book
Amores [1]. In the modern era it has been in use since the 17th century, when Robert Herrick used it in his poem
Corinna's going a-Maying [2].
Corvus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Derived from Latin corvus "raven." Marcus Valerius Corvus was a Roman hero of the 4th century BC.
Csilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: CHEEL-law
Derived from Hungarian csillag meaning "star". This name was created by the Hungarian author András Dugonics for an 1803 novel and later used and popularized by the poet Mihály Vörösmarty.
Dagda
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Pronounced: DAHG-də(English)
Means
"the good god" from the Old Irish prefix
dag- "good" and
día "god". In Irish
myth Dagda (called also The Dagda) was the powerful god of the earth, knowledge, magic, abundance and treaties, a leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He was skilled in combat and healing and possessed a huge club, the handle of which could revive the dead.
Dagny
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: DAHNG-nuy(Swedish)
From the Old Norse name
Dagný, which was derived from the elements
dagr "day" and
nýr "new".
Davis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-vis
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
David. A famous bearer of the surname was Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), the only president of the Confederate States of America.
Delaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: דְּלָיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: də-LIE-ə(English) də-LAY-ə(English)
Means
"Yahweh has drawn up" in Hebrew, from
דָּלָה (dala) meaning "to draw up, to hang" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of several
Old Testament characters.
Delphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DEHL-FEEN
Delyth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
From an elaboration of Welsh
del "pretty". This is a recently created name.
Dialta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Italian
Donatien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: DAW-NA-SYEHN
Dorota
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: daw-RAW-ta(Polish) DO-ro-ta(Czech) DAW-raw-ta(Slovak)
Polish, Czech and Slovak form of
Dorothea.
Džiuginta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: joo-GEEN-tah
The name is derived from
džiugus meaning "cheerful." Also see
Džiugė
Eglantine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHG-lən-tien, EHG-lən-teen
From the English word for the flower also known as sweetbrier. It is derived via Old French from Vulgar Latin *aquilentum meaning "prickly". It was early used as a given name (in the form Eglentyne) in Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century story The Prioress's Tale (one of The Canterbury Tales).
Eldora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare), Romani (Archaic)
Pronounced: ehl-DAWR-ə(American English)
Perhaps a combination of
Elnora and
Dora. This is the name of a small former mining town in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, which was originally named
El Dorado.
Elma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English, German (Rare)
Pronounced: EHL-ma(Dutch, German) EHL-mə(English)
Short form of
Wilhelmine or names ending in
elma, such as
Anselma. It has also been recorded as a combination of
Elizabeth and
Mary, as in the case of the 19th-century daughter of the Earl of Elgin, who was named using her mother's first and middle names
[1].
Elnora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Elsinore
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: EHL-sin-awr(American English) ehl-si-NAWR(American English)
From the name of
Hamlet's castle, which is an anglicized form of
Helsingør, a Danish place name meaning "neck, narrow strait" (see
Elsinore). Use of this place name as a feminine personal name is likely due to its similarity to
Eleanor and
Elsa.
Elva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Elva 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Icelandic
Elvin 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-vin
Elvina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehl-VEEN-ə
Emil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian, Icelandic, English
Other Scripts: Емил(Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Эмиль(Russian)
Pronounced: EH-mil(Swedish, Czech) EH-meel(German, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian) eh-MEEL(Romanian) eh-MYEEL(Russian) ə-MEEL(English) EHM-il(English)
From the Roman family name Aemilius, which was derived from Latin aemulus meaning "rival".
Emiliana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: eh-mee-LYA-na(Italian, Spanish)
Emmett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-it
From an English surname that was derived from a
diminutive of the feminine given name
Emma.
Enikő
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: EH-nee-kuu
Created by the Hungarian poet Mihály Vörösmarty in the 19th century. He based it on the name of the legendary mother of the Hungarian people, Enéh, of Turkic origin meaning "young hind" (modern Hungarian ünő).
Erianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Popularly claimed to mean "lover of flowers" (apparently due to association with Greek eran "to love, to be in love with"), it may actually mean "woolly-haired flower" from the botanical name eriantha, ultimately from Greek ἔριον (erion) "wool" and ανθος (anthos) "flower".
Euanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
εὐανθής (euanthes) meaning
"blooming, flowery", a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". According to some sources, this was the name of the mother of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites) in Greek
mythology.
Eulalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐλαλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ew-LA-lya(Spanish, Italian) yoo-LAY-lee-ə(English)
Derived from Greek
εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning
"sweetly-speaking", itself from
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century
saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.
Euphemia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], English (Archaic)
Other Scripts: Εὐφημία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: yoo-FEE-mee-ə(English) yoo-FEH-mee-ə(English)
Means
"to use words of good omen" from Greek
εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of
εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and
φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare".
Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.
Euphrasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εὐφρασία(Ancient Greek)
Means
"good cheer" in Greek, a derivative of
εὐφραίνω (euphraino) meaning
"to delight, to cheer". This name was borne by a 5th-century
saint from Constantinople.
Evanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Εὐάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Everard
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
From
Everardus, the Latinized form of
Eberhard. The
Normans introduced it to England, where it joined the Old English
cognate Eoforheard. It has only been rarely used since the Middle Ages. Modern use of the name may be inspired by the surname
Everard, itself derived from the medieval name.
Evienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Elaboration of
Evie with popular suffix -enne.
Évodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical French, French (Rare), French (African), French (Belgian, Rare)
French form of
Euodia via its latinized form
Evodia.
Ferelith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish (Rare), English (British, Rare)
Fiordelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Italian
Fjolla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
From Albanian fjollë meaning "fine snow".
Floella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: flo-EHL-ə
Flora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Φλώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: FLAWR-ə(English) FLAW-ra(Italian) FLO-ra(Spanish, German, Dutch, Latin) FLAW-ru(Portuguese) FLAW-RA(French)
Derived from Latin
flos meaning
"flower" (genitive case
floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of
Fionnghuala.
Francelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Spanish (Caribbean)
Frances
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FRAN-sis
Feminine form of
Francis. The distinction between
Francis as a masculine name and
Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century
[1]. A notable bearer was
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.
Frediano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: freh-DYA-no
Italian form of the Roman name Frigidianus, which was derived from Latin frigidus "cold". This was the name of a 6th-century Irish bishop who made a pilgrimage to Rome and settled as a hermit on Mount Pisano.
Fríða
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse [1], Icelandic
Fritha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Manx (Rare)
Anglicized form of
Fríða.
Frostlilja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Modern, Rare)
Derived from the Old Norse elements frost "frost" and lilja "lily".
Fruzsina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: FROO-zhee-naw
Gabija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Baltic Mythology
Probably from Lithuanian
gaubti meaning
"to cover". In Lithuanian
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire and the home.
Géméline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Quebec, Rare, Archaic)
Most likely derived from Latin
Gemella. Compare the English name
Gemelle.
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.
Gertrude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German
Pronounced: GUR-trood(American English) GU-trood(British English) ZHEHR-TRUYD(French) gehr-TROO-də(German)
Means
"spear of strength", derived from the Old German elements
ger "spear" and
drud "strength".
Saint Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century nun and mystic writer from Thuringia. It was probably introduced to England by settlers from the Low Countries in the 15th century. Shakespeare used the name in his play
Hamlet (1600) for the mother of
Hamlet. Another famous bearer was the American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946).
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Italian form of
Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word
ginepro meaning "juniper".
Gry
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Means "to dawn" in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
Guðríðr
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse [1][2]
Old Norse name derived from the elements
guð "god" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved".
Gwrtheyrn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh (Modernized)
From Old Welsh
Guorthigirn meaning
"supreme king", from
guor meaning "over" and
tigirn meaning "king, monarch". It is possible that this is not a name, but a title. According to medieval chroniclers, Gwrtheyrn (also known as Vortigern) was a 5th-century king of the Britons. It was he who invited the brothers
Hengist and
Horsa to Britain, which eventually led to the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England.
Helewise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Medieval English form of
Eloise.
Hilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: HEEL-lah
Short form of names beginning with Hil. It also means "cloudberry" in Finnish.
Hjördis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: YUUR-dis
Swedish form of the Old Norse name
Hjǫrdís meaning
"sword goddess", derived from the elements
hjǫrr "sword" and
dís "goddess".
Hrafnhildur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Hrothgar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Old German form of
Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and
Les Misérables.
Huguette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: UY-GEHT
Ianthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Means
"violet flower", derived from Greek
ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek
mythology.
Ida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, French, Polish, Finnish, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovene, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: IE-də(English) EE-da(German, Dutch, Italian, Polish) EE-dah(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) EE-daw(Hungarian)
Derived from the Germanic element
id possibly meaning
"work, labour" (Proto-Germanic *
idiz). The
Normans brought this name to England, though it eventually died out there in the Middle Ages. It was strongly revived in the 19th century, in part due to the heroine in Alfred Tennyson's poem
The Princess (1847), which was later adapted into the play
Princess Ida (1884) by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Though the etymology is unrelated, this is the name of a mountain on the island of Crete where, according to Greek myth, the god Zeus was born.
Idris 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Means
"ardent lord" from Old Welsh
iudd "lord" combined with
ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
From the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several
saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact
Íñigo.
Ihintza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-EEN-tsa
From Basque
ihintz meaning
"dew". It is a Basque equivalent of
Rocío.
IJsbrand
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: AYS-brahnt
Derived from the Old German elements
is "ice" and
brant "fire, torch, sword".
Inigo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: IN-i-go
English form of
Íñigo. It became well-known in Britain due to the English architect Inigo Jones (1573-1652). He was named after his father, a Catholic who was named for
Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
Io
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-AW(Classical Greek) IE-o(English)
Meaning unknown. In Greek
mythology Io was a princess loved by
Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from
Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.
Iolanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Pronounced: ie-o-LAN-thee(English)
Probably a variant of
Yolanda influenced by the Greek words
ἰόλη (iole) meaning "violet" and
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This name was (first?) used by Gilbert and Sullivan in their comic opera
Iolanthe (1882).
Iskra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Искра(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: EES-kru(Bulgarian) EES-kra(Macedonian, Croatian)
Means "spark" in South Slavic.
Jacinthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: ZHA-SEHNT
Jarrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAR-it, JEHR-it
From a surname that was a variant of
Garrett.
Jessamine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JEHS-ə-min
From a variant spelling of the English word
jasmine (see
Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.
Joscelin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norman [1]
Kaisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: KIE-sah(Finnish)
Kelda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Possibly derived from Old Norse kildr meaning "a spring".
Kenelm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KEHN-əlm
From the Old English name
Cenhelm, which was composed of the elements
cene "bold, keen" and
helm "helmet".
Saint Kenelm was a 9th-century martyr from Mercia, where he was a member of the royal family. The name was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has since become rare.
Kittum
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
From Akkadian
kīttu meaning
"truth", a derivative of
kīnu "legitimate, true". This was the name of the Akkadian goddess of truth.
Kleanthes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: Κλεάνθης(Ancient Greek)
Means "glorious flower" or "flower of glory", derived from Greek κλεος (kleos) "glory" combined with Greek ανθος (anthos) "flower, blossom".
Krusmynta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare), Literature
From the Swedish name for a type of mint, known as curly mint in English. This is one of the middle names of Pippi Långstrump (English: Pippi Longstocking), full name Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump, a character invented by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren.
Květa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: KVYEH-ta
Either a short form of
Květoslava or directly from Czech
květ "flower, blossom".
Lautilde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval French
Either derived from Gothic lauths "grand" or Gothic laudi "figure, size" and Old High German hiltja "battle".
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.
Leofric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Derived from the Old English element
leof "dear, beloved" combined with
ric "ruler, king".
Leomar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Latin American), Filipino
Pronounced: leh-o-MAR(Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish) lew-MAR(Brazilian Portuguese)
Combination of
Leo-, from names beginning with this pattern such as
Leonardo and
Leopoldo, and
-mar, from names beginning in that pattern, e.g.
María (Spanish)/
Maria (Portuguese).
Known bearers of this name include the Brazilian politician Leomar Quintanilha (b. 1945), the Brazilian soccer player Leomar Francisco Rodrigues (b. 1987) and the Venezuelan soccer player Leomar Pinto (b. 1997).
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Lorenzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: lo-REHN-tso(Italian) lo-REHN-tho(European Spanish) lo-REHN-so(Latin American Spanish)
Italian and Spanish form of
Laurentius (see
Laurence 1). Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), known as the Magnificent, was a ruler of Florence during the Renaissance. He was also a great patron of the arts who employed Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists.
Louvenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South, Archaic)
Lucelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Archaic)
Lucina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: loo-KEE-na(Latin) loo-SIE-nə(English) loo-SEE-nə(English)
Derived from Latin lucus meaning "grove", but later associated with lux meaning "light". This was the name of a Roman goddess of childbirth.
Lucinda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese, Literature
Pronounced: loo-SIN-də(English)
An elaboration of
Lucia created by Cervantes for his novel
Don Quixote (1605). It was subsequently used by Molière in his play
The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1666).
Lucine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Լուսինե(Armenian)
Pronounced: loo-see-NEH
Luitgard
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
From the Old German name
Leutgard, which was derived from the elements
liut "people" and
gart "enclosure, yard". It was borne by
Charlemagne's fifth and last wife. This was also the name of a 13th-century Flemish nun, the patron
saint of easy deliveries.
Lydia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Λυδία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LID-ee-ə(English) LUY-dya(German) LEE-dee-a(Dutch)
Means
"from Lydia" in Greek. Lydia was a region on the west coast of Asia Minor, said to be named for the legendary king
Lydos. In the
New Testament this is the name of a woman converted to Christianity by
Saint Paul. In the modern era the name has been in use since the
Protestant Reformation.
Madoc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
From the Old Welsh name
Matauc, derived from
mad meaning
"good, fortunate" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This is the name of a warrior mentioned in the 7th-century Welsh poem
Y Gododdin. It was also borne by several medieval rulers, including the 12th-century Madoc ap Maredudd, the last prince of Powys. Another bearer, according to later folklore, was a son of the 12th-century
Owain the Great who sailed to the Americas.
Maëlys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-EH-LEES
Feminine form of
Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of
Mailys.
Magdalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Lithuanian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, English
Other Scripts: Магдалена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian)
Pronounced: mag-da-LEH-na(Polish) mak-da-LEH-na(German) mahgh-da-LEH-na(Dutch) magh-dha-LEH-na(Spanish) məg-də-LEH-nə(Catalan) MAG-da-leh-na(Czech) mag-də-LAY-nə(English)
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Máel Coluim, which means
"disciple of Saint Columba". This was the name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing
Macbeth, the usurper who had defeated his father
Duncan. The character Malcolm in Shakespeare's tragedy
Macbeth (1606) is loosely based on him. Another famous bearer was Malcolm X (1925-1965), an American civil rights leader.
Malthe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Marcellus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: mar-KEHL-loos
Roman family name that was originally a
diminutive of
Marcus. This was the name of two popes.
Marjolein
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: MAHR-yo-layn
Marselia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Archaic)
Maude
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: MAWD(English) MOD(French)
Maudelen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: MAWD-lin; MAWD-el-ən(Middle English)
Middle English name used during the early 14th century, it is derived from the Old French name
Madelaine.
Once a flower name, Maudelen Wort was an alternative name for the Great Daisy.
Maxton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAKS-tən
Elaboration of
Max using the popular name suffix
ton.
Melita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Μελίτη(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of
Melite. However, in the case of Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Victoria Melita (1876-1936), it was derived from
Melita, the Latin name of the island country of Malta where she was born.
Meritxell
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: mə-ree-CHEHL
From the name of a village in Andorra where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. The name of the village may derive from Latin
meridies meaning "midday".
Milburga
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon (Latinized)
Mynte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish
Means "mint" in Danish.
Myrrhine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Μυρρίνη(Ancient Greek)
Derived from Greek
μύρρα (myrrha) meaning
"myrrh". This is the name of a character in the comedy
Lysistrata by the Greek playwright Aristophanes.
Nadalinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval, Germanic, Belgian (Archaic), Medieval French
Latin natalis "natal, of birth" + Proto-Germanic linþaz "gentle, sweet, mild".
Naëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Modern)
Pronounced: NA-EHL
Narelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
Meaning unknown. It was borne by the wife of Umbarra, who was a 19th-century leader of the Yuin, an Australian Aboriginal people.
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.
Nettie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NEHT-ee
Nieves
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: NYEH-behs
Means
"snows" in Spanish, derived from the title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows".
Nishant
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Other Scripts: निशान्त, निशांत(Hindi) निशांत(Marathi) નિશાંત(Gujarati)
Nittaalannguaq
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greenlandic
Norbert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: NAWR-behrt(German, Polish, Slovak) NAWR-bərt(American English, Dutch) NAW-bət(British English) NAWR-BEHR(French) NOR-behrt(Hungarian)
Derived from the Old German elements
nord meaning "north" and
beraht meaning "bright". This was the name of an 11th-century German
saint who made many reforms within the Church.
Norbertus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized), Dutch
Norne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Afrikaans (Rare), Filipino (Rare)
Pronounced: NORN(English)
Odovacar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Latinized) [1]
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌺𐍂𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: od-o-VAY-kər(American English) od-ə-VAHK-ə(British English)
Õie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Derived from Estonian õis meaning "flower".
Onesiphorus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Ὀνησίφορος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Ὀνησίφορος (Onesiphoros), which meant
"bringing advantage, beneficial". This name is mentioned briefly in
Paul's second epistle to
Timothy in the
New Testament. According to tradition he was martyred by being tied to horses and then torn apart.
Orlando
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Carolingian Cycle
Pronounced: or-LAN-do(Italian, Spanish)
Italian form of
Roland, as used in the epic poems
Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the continuation
Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. In the poems, Orlando is a knight in
Charlemagne's army who battles against the invading Saracens. A character in Shakespeare's play
As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.
Orson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AWR-sən(American English) AW-sən(British English)
From a Norman nickname derived from a
diminutive of Norman French
ors "bear", ultimately from Latin
ursus. American actor and director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was a famous bearer of this name.
Orvokki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: OR-vok-kee
Means "pansy, violet" in Finnish.
Otho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Roman
cognomen of unknown meaning. This was the name of a short-lived 1st-century Roman emperor (born as Marcus Salvius Otho).
Ovídio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
Portuguese form of
Ovidius (see
Ovid).
Palmyre
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Norman
French form of
Palmira. This also coincides with the French name of the ancient oasis city of Syria, known in English as
Palmyra.
Pekka
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: PEHK-kah
Perdita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Derived from Latin
perditus meaning
"lost". Shakespeare created this name for the daughter of
Hermione and
Leontes in his play
The Winter's Tale (1610). Abandoned as an infant by her father the king, she grows up to be a shepherdess and falls in love with with
Florizel.
Peredur
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: peh-REH-dir(Welsh)
Meaning uncertain. It possibly means
"hard spears" from Welsh
peri "spears" and
dur "hard, steel"
[1]. In early Welsh poetry and histories, the brothers Peredur and Gwrgi were chieftains in Cumbria who defeated
Gwenddoleu at the Battle of Arfderydd. This name was later used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Latin form
Peredurus for an early (fictitious) king of Britain. Entering into Arthurian romance, Peredur is an aspiring knight in the 14th-century Welsh tale
Peredur son of Efrawg (an adaptation or parallel of Chrétien de Troyes' hero
Percival).
Philophrosyne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Φιλοφροσύνη(Ancient Greek)
Means
"friendliness, kindliness" in Greek, a derivative of
φίλος (philos) meaning "friend, lover" and
φρήν (phren) meaning "mind, heart". In Greek
mythology this was the name of the personification of welcome and friendliness.
Phryne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History, Literature
Other Scripts: Φρύνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FRIE-nee
Ancient Greek nickname meaning "toad", literally "the brown animal". Phryne was a 4th-century BC hetaira or courtesan, famed for her beauty, whose stage name - like those of many hetairai - was based on a physical feature; she was called that either because of a dark complexion (*
phrynos being cognate with
brown) or because of a "snub nose" (
phrynē "a kind of toad"). This stage name was borne by other hetairai also.
It is also the name of the detective in Australian author Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mystery series, beginning in 1989.
Priscilla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, French, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Biblical
Pronounced: pri-SIL-ə(English) preesh-SHEEL-la(Italian)
Rhadamanthos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
I am uncertain of the meaning, but it might be etymologically related to Greek adámas "invincible, untamed" or Greek damázo "to overpower, to tame, to conquer." In Greek mythology, Rhadamanthos was a son of Zeus and Europa.
Rhodanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
Other Scripts: Ῥοδάνθη(Greek)
Means "rose flower" from Greek ‘ροδον
(rhodon) "rose" combined with ανθος
(anthos) "flower, blossom". According to the 6th-century Byzantine poet and historian Agathias Scholasticus, this name was borne by a contemporary actress, who may have been his lover; in her case it was likely a stage name. It was later used by the 12th-century Byzantine writer Theodore Prodromos for the heroine of his romance 'Rhodanthe and Dosikles'.
Rhodé
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
From Old Welsh
Ris, probably meaning
"ardour, enthusiasm". Several Welsh rulers have borne this name, including the 12th-century Rhys ap Gruffydd who fought against the invading
Normans.
Richildis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized)
Pronounced: ree-chil-dis
Richmal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Meaning uncertain, possibly a combination of
Richard and
Mary. This name has been used since at least the late 18th century, mainly confined to the town of Bury in Lancashire.
Rogatien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Quebec, Rare)
Romola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: RAW-mo-la
Romulus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian
Pronounced: RO-moo-loos(Latin) RAHM-yuw-ləs(American English) RAWM-yuw-ləs(British English)
From
Roma, the Latin name of the city of
Rome, combined with a
diminutive suffix. In Roman legend Romulus and
Remus were the twin sons of Rhea Silvia and the god
Mars. Romulus killed his brother when they argued about where to found Rome. According to the tale he gave the city its name, though in reality it was likely the other way around.
Ronja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: RON-yah(Swedish)
Invented by Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren, who based it on the middle portion of Juronjaure, the name of a lake in Sweden. Lindgren used it in her 1981 book Ronia the Robber's Daughter (Ronia is the English translation).
Rosaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RO-zə-leen(English) RAHZ-ə-lin(American English) RAHZ-ə-lien(American English) RAWZ-ə-lin(British English) RAWZ-ə-lien(British English)
Medieval variant of
Rosalind. This is the name of characters in Shakespeare's
Love's Labour's Lost (1594) and
Romeo and Juliet (1596).
Ruella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Ruxandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Ruzan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Ռուզան(Armenian)
Meaning unknown. It was used by the Armenian author Muratsan for the main character in his historical play Ruzan (1882).
Ruzanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Ռուզաննա(Armenian)
Saturnina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Spanish
Pronounced: sa-toor-NEE-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Saturninus. This was the name of a legendary
saint who was supposedly martyred in northern France.
Saulė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Baltic Mythology
Pronounced: SUUW-leh(Lithuanian)
Means "sun" in Lithuanian. This was the name of the Lithuanian sun goddess.
Serenella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: se-re-NEL-lah
Diminutive of
Serena. It also coincides with one of the Italian words for "lilac".
Sholto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Probably an Anglicized form of Gaelic
sìoltaich meaning
"sower, propagator". It has occasionally been used in the Douglas family since the 17th century, after David Hume of Godscroft claimed it was the name of the 7th-century founder of the clan
[1].
Sidra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Pakistani
Other Scripts: سدرہ(Urdu)
From the Arabic name of a type of tree, known as the lote tree (or "lotus tree") in English, which is given in reference to an Islamic symbol of the upper limit of heaven. When the prophet Muhammad ascended to Paradise, saw at the end of the seventh, highest heaven a lote tree, marking the place "beyond which neither prophets nor angels may pass" (only Allah), which he called سدرة المنتهى (sidra-tul-muntaha) "lote tree of the utmost boundary, of the last frontier".
Silja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: SEEL-yah(Finnish)
Solfrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Pronounced: SUWL-free
From the Old Norse elements
sól "sun" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved". This name was coined in the 19th century.
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.
Svajonė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "dream, wish" in Lithuanian.
Svea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: SVEH-ah
From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Talvikki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: TAHL-veek-kee
Derived from Finnish talvi meaning "winter". This is also the Finnish word for the wintergreen plant (genus Pyrola).
Tangwystl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Welsh
From Welsh
tanc "peace" and
gwystl "hostage, pledge". This name was borne by a mistress of the 13th-century Welsh ruler
Llywelyn the Great.
Theodoric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: thee-AHD-ə-rik(American English) thee-AWD-ə-rik(British English)
From the Gothic name *
Þiudareiks meaning
"ruler of the people", derived from the elements
þiuda "people" and
reiks "ruler, king". It was notably borne by Theodoric the Great, a 6th-century king of the Ostrogoths who eventually became the ruler of Italy. By Theodoric's time the Ostrogoths were partially Romanized and his name was regularly recorded as
Theodoricus. This was also the name of two earlier (5th century) Visigothic kings.
Theophilus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Θεόφιλος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: thee-AHF-i-ləs(American English) thee-AWF-i-ləs(British English)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Θεόφιλος (Theophilos) meaning
"friend of god", derived from
θεός (theos) meaning "god" and
φίλος (philos) meaning "friend". In the
New Testament the evangelist
Luke addresses his gospel and the Book of Acts to a man named Theophilus.
Théotime
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TEH-O-TEEM
Thierry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TYEH-REE
French form of
Theodoric. It was very popular in France from the 1950s, peaking in the mid-1960s before falling away. A famous bearer is the French former soccer player Thierry Henry (1977-).
Thurayya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: ثريّا, ثريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: thoo-RIE-ya
Means "the Pleiades" in Arabic. The Pleiades are a group of stars in the constellation Taurus.
Tiburcio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: tee-BOOR-thyo(European Spanish) tee-BOOR-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Spanish form of the Roman
cognomen Tiburtius meaning
"of Tibur". Tibur (now called Tivoli) was a resort town near Rome.
Saint Tiburtius was a 3rd-century martyr from Rome.
Tímea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: TEE-meh-aw
Created by the Hungarian author Mór Jókai for a character in his novel
The Golden Man (1873). The name is apparently based on the Greek word
εὐθυμία (euthymia) meaning
"good spirits, cheerfulness".
Tiril
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Possibly inspired by the Norwegian poem Lokkende Toner (1859) by Johan Sebastian Welhaven, which features the folk heroine Tirilil Tove.
Tobias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: Τωβίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: to-BEE-as(German) tuw-BEE-as(Swedish) tə-BIE-əs(English)
Greek form of
Tobiah. This is the name of the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which appears in many English versions of the
Old Testament. It relates how
Tobit's son Tobias, with the help of the angel
Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has plagued Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife. This story was popular in the Middle Ages, and the name came into occasional use in parts of Europe at that time. In England it became common after the
Protestant Reformation.
Tycho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History, Dutch
Pronounced: TUY-go(Danish) TIE-ko(English) TEE-kho(Dutch)
Latinized form of
Tyge. This name was used by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), who was born as
Tyge.
Uiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Úlfarna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Norse
Derived from the Germanic name elements ulfr "wolf" and ǫrn "eagle".
Ulisse
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: oo-LEES-seh
Unelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: OO-nehl-mah
Means "dream" in Finnish.
Urgulania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Meaning unknown, most likely of Etruscan origin. This name was borne by a noblewoman who was a close friend of the empress
Livia 1.
Vaila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, Norwegian (Rare)
Pronounced: VAY-la(Scottish)
Taken from the name of a small island off the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is a traditional Shetlandic girls' name.
Vanamo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Modern)
Pronounced: VAH-nah-mo
Means "twinflower" in Finnish.
Varinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: ba-REE-nya(Spanish)
Vashti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: וַשְׁתִּי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: VASH-tee(English)
Probably of Persian origin, possibly a superlative form of
𐎺𐎢 (vahu) meaning
"good". According to the
Old Testament this was the name of the first wife of King
Ahasuerus of Persia before he married
Esther.
Velasco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Spanish
Pronounced: beh-LAS-ko(Spanish)
Medieval Spanish form of
Vasco.
Venetia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Greek
Other Scripts: Βενετία(Greek)
From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name
Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name
Gwynedd [1]. Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel
Venetia (1837).
Venla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VEHN-lah
Finnish feminine form of
Wendel.
Vera 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Вера(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian) ვერა(Georgian)
Pronounced: VYEH-rə(Russian) VIR-ə(English) VEHR-ə(English) VEH-ra(German, Dutch) VEH-rah(Swedish) BEH-ra(Spanish) VEH-raw(Hungarian)
Means "faith" in Russian, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus "true". It has been in general use in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Verena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Late Roman
Pronounced: veh-REH-na(German)
Possibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
Berenice.
Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Vesta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: WEHS-ta(Latin) VEHS-tə(English)
Probably a Roman
cognate of
Hestia. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth. A continuous fire, tended by the Vestal Virgins, was burned in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.
Vetle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
Norwegian form of the Old Norse name Vetrliði meaning "winter traveller", and by extension "bear cub".
Viona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Viorica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: vee-o-REE-ka
Derived from Romanian
viorea (see
Viorel).
Vuokko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VOOK-ko
Means "anemone (flower)" in Finnish.
Wenceslas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History
Pronounced: WEHN-səs-laws(English) WEHN-səs-ləs(English)
English form of
Václav, via the Latinized form
Venceslaus.
Willehad
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Old German or Old English name derived from the elements
willo "will, desire" and
hadu "battle, combat". This was the name of an 8th-century Northumbrian
saint active in Frisia and Saxony.
Ylva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".
Ysopa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English (Latinized)
Latinized form of
Hyssop. In medieval England this spelling appears in Latin documents.
Zella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Meaning unknown, possibly an invented name. It arose in the 19th century.
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Means
"life of Zeus", derived from Greek
Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of
Zeus" and
βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor
Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
Zolzaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Золзаяа(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Derived from Mongolian зол (zol) meaning "fortune, luck, blessing" and заяа (zayaa) meaning "future, fate, destiny".
Zona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Means "girdle, belt" in Greek. This name was made popular by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet Zona Gale (1874-1938).
Zora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Other Scripts: Зора(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ZO-ra(Czech) ZAW-ra(Slovak)
Means "dawn, aurora" in the South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak.
Zoriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Зоряна(Ukrainian)
Zvezda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian, Bulgarian, Soviet (Rare)
Other Scripts: Звезда(Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: zveh:z-DA(Macedonian) zvehz-DA(Bulgarian) zvyi-ZDA(Russian)
Derived from звезда (zvezda) meaning "star". In Russia, this name was used mostly during the Soviet era as a communist name referencing the red star.
behindthename.com · Copyright © 1996-2024