awesomewriter's Personal Name List

From the Hebrew name אַבְנֵר (ʾAvner) meaning "my father is a light", derived from אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light". In the Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother Joab.

A famous bearer was the 14th-century Jewish philosopher Abner of Burgos, called Alfonso of Valladolid after he converted to Christianity. It has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. It was popular with the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.

Variant of Aidan.

From the Gothic name *Alareiks meaning "ruler of all", derived from the element alls "all" combined with reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.

From the Roman cognomen Albanus, which meant "from Alba". Alba (from Latin albus "white") was the name of various places within the Roman Empire, including the city Alba Longa. This name was borne by Saint Alban, the first British martyr (4th century). According to tradition, he sheltered a fugitive priest in his house. When his house was searched, he disguised himself as the priest, was arrested in his stead, and was beheaded. Another 4th-century martyr by this name was Saint Alban of Mainz.

As an English name, Alban was occasionally used in the Middle Ages and was revived in the 18th century, though it is now uncommon.

Medieval Danish form of Absalom.

From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Variant of Braden.

From an Irish surname, a variant of Brennan.

From an English surname that was originally derived from a nickname meaning "round" in Old English.

Variant of Karsten.

From an English surname that originally referred to a person who lived near or worked with clay. This name can also be a short form of Clayton.

From the name of a Native American tribe of central Canada. Their name derives via French from the Cree word kiristino.

From the English word meaning "greenish blue, cyan", ultimately derived from Greek κύανος (kyanos).

From the Welsh prefix dy meaning "to, toward" and llanw meaning "tide, flow". According to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Dylan was a son of Arianrhod and the twin brother of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Immediately after he was baptized he took to the sea, where he could swim as well as a fish. He was slain accidentally by his uncle Gofannon. According to some theories the character might be rooted in an earlier and otherwise unattested Celtic god of the sea.

Famous bearers include the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and the American musician Bob Dylan (1941-), real name Robert Zimmerman, who took his stage surname from the poet's given name. Due to those two bearers, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s due to a character on the television series Beverly Hills 90210.

From an English surname that was derived from place names meaning "east town" in Old English.

From a biblical place name, also called עַבְדּוֹן (ʿAvdon) meaning "servile", for which it may be a clerical error.

Possibly means either "white fire" or "white ancient" in Irish. According to legend this was the name of the only Irish person to survive the great flood. This name was also borne by many Irish saints.

From an English surname, of French Huguenot origin, that was derived from Occitan garric meaning "oak tree grove".

Variant of Gray.

Variant of Grayson.

Latinized form of Gruffudd. This name can also be inspired by the English word griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, ultimately from Greek γρύψ (gryps).

Short form of Jonathan, or sometimes a variant of John.

Alternate transcription of Arabic قادر (see Qadir).

Variant of Caden.

From an English surname that was derived from a few different place names (see the surname Keaton).

From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac Aodhagáin, which was derived from the given name Aodhagán, a double diminutive of Aodh.

From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning either "town on the River Kenn" or "royal town" in Old English.

Hawaiian form of John.

Anglicized form of Ciarán.

Probably a blend of the sounds of Kyle and Tyler. It also coincides with the surname Kyler, an Anglicized form of Dutch Cuyler.

From an English surname, meaning "lane, path", which originally belonged to a person who lived near a lane.

Possibly means "joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers Moses and Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the New Testament, where it is borne by a son of Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle Matthew.

As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Chiefly Australian feminine form of Peter.

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.

German diminutive of Josef.

From the Hebrew name שֵׁת (Sheṯ) meaning "placed, set". In the Old Testament he is the third named son of Adam and Eve, and the ancestor of Noah and all humankind. In England this name came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Danish form of Torbjörn.

From an English surname meaning "tiler of roofs", derived from Old English tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).

Variant of Wayland. This name was popularized by country music singer Waylon Jennings (1937-2002), who was originally named Wayland [1].