Black_X's Personal Name List

Means "we prayed and we received" in Yoruba.

Greek form of Abigail.

From the Hebrew name אֲבִיגָיִל ('Avigayil) meaning "my father is joy", derived from the roots אָב ('av) meaning "father" and גִּיל (gil) meaning "joy". In the Old Testament this is the name of Nabal's wife. After Nabal's death she became the third wife of King David.

As an English name, Abigail first became common after the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans. The biblical Abigail refers to herself as a servant, and beginning in the 17th century the name became a slang term for a servant, especially after the release of the play The Scornful Lady (1616), which featured a character named Abigail. The name went out of fashion at that point, but it was revived in the 20th century.

Latinized form of Greek Ἄκανθα (Akantha), which meant "thorn, prickle". In Greek legend she was a nymph loved by Apollo.

Originally a short form of Germanic names such as Adelaide or Adelina that begin with the element adal meaning "noble". Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.

Means "noble" in Hebrew.

Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

Derived from Arabic عذارى ('adhara) meaning "maidens". This is the name of the second brightest star (after Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major.

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.

French feminine form of Adrian.

From the name of the Welsh river Aeron, itself probably derived from the hypothetical Celtic goddess Agrona. Alternatively, the name could be taken from Welsh aeron meaning "berries".

Means "whitish red" in Arabic.

Means "moon-like" in Kazakh, from ай (ay) meaning "moon" and the suffix дай (day) meaning "like".

Ancient Greek form of Katherine.

From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" and 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens", as well as other character combinations.

From Japanese 愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" combined with 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or 梨 (ri) meaning "pear". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.

Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

From Japanese 茜 (akane) meaning "deep red, dye from the rubia plant". Other kanji or combinations of kanji can form this name as well.

Feminine form of Alastar.

From Basque alatz meaning "miracle". It is an equivalent of Milagros, proposed by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque saints names.

Latinized form of Greek Ἀληκτώ (Alekto), which was derived from ἄληκτος (alektos) meaning "unceasing". This was the name of one of the Furies or Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek mythology.

From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).

Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).

Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).

Means "wishes" in Arabic.

From the name of the amaranth flower, which is derived from Greek ἀμάραντος (amarantos) meaning "unfading". Ἀμάραντος (Amarantos) was also an Ancient Greek given name.

Means "shining over heaven", from Japanese 天 (ama) meaning "heaven, sky" and 照 (terasu) meaning "shine". This was the name of the Japanese sun goddess, the ruler of the heavens. She was born when Izanagi washed his left eye after returning from the underworld. At one time the Japanese royal family claimed descent from her.

Feminine form of Ambrose.

Means "angel" in Maori.

Possibly means "invincible" in Celtic. According to the Greco-Roman historian Cassius Dio [1], this was the name of a Briton goddess of victory who was invoked by Boudicca before her revolt.

Derived from the Greek elements ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) and μάχη (mache) meaning "battle". In Greek legend she was the wife of the Trojan hero Hector. After the fall of Troy Neoptolemus killed her son Astyanax and took her as a concubine.

Derived from Greek ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.

Possibly from Latin angor "strangulation, torment" or angustus "narrow, constricted". Angerona was the Roman goddess of the winter solstice, death, and silence.

Means "salutation" in Sanskrit.

Derived from Finnish ansio "virtue" or ansa "trap".

Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Means "altar of the sky" from Latin ara "altar" and coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin Mary in her role as the patron saint of Lucena, Spain.

Means "spider" in Greek. In Greek myth Arachne was a mortal woman who defeated Athena in a weaving contest. After this Arachne hanged herself, but Athena brought her back to life in the form of a spider.

Possibly derived from Greek ἀρετή (arete) meaning "virtue". This name was popularized in the 1960s by American singer Aretha Franklin (1942-2018).

From Greek Ἀρέθουσα (Arethousa) meaning "quick water", which is possibly derived from ἄρδω (ardo) meaning "water" and θοός (thoos) meaning "quick, nimble". This was the name of a nymph in Greek mythology who was transformed into a fountain.

Means "most holy", composed of the Greek prefix ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos. She fell in love with Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god Dionysus.

Means "ear of grain" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.

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.

Means "beautiful soul" in Kazakh.

Derived from the Old Norse elements áss "god" and dís "goddess".

Derived from Sanskrit आशा (asha) meaning "wish, desire, hope".

Perhaps derived from Semitic roots meaning "she who walks in the sea". This was the name of a Semitic mother goddess. She was worshipped by the Israelites before the advent of monotheism.

From עַשְׁתֹרֶת ('Ashtoret), the Hebrew form of the name of a Phoenician goddess of love, war and fertility. Her name is cognate to that of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar.

Means "star", ultimately from Greek ἀστήρ (aster). This name has only been (rarely) used since the 20th century.

Latinized form of the Greek Ἀστραία (Astraia), derived from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.

Means "assumption" in Spanish. This name is given in reference to the assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven.

Means "crown" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Atarah is a minor character, the wife of Jerahmeel.

Meaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.

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

Means "storm" in Lithuanian.

French form of Aurora.

Means "dawn" in Lithuanian.

Means "earth" in Sanskrit.

From the Norman French form of the Germanic name Avelina, a diminutive of Avila. The Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century [1].

Means "doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר ('ayelet hashachar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.

Means "moon flood" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, from Turkic ay "moon" and sel "flood, stream".

Means "as beautiful as the moon" in Turkish.

Means "madonna lily" in Spanish.

Elaboration of Azure.

From Egyptian bꜣstt, which was possibly derived from bꜣs meaning "ointment jar" and a feminine t suffix. In Egyptian mythology Bastet was a goddess of cats, fertility and the sun who was considered a protector of Lower Egypt. In early times she was typically depicted with the head of a lioness. By the New Kingdom period she was more associated with domestic cats, while the similar cat goddess Sekhmet took on the fierce lioness aspect.

Means "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.

Latinized form of Βερενίκη (Berenike), the Macedonian form of the Greek name Φερενίκη (Pherenike), which meant "bringing victory" from φέρω (phero) meaning "to bring" and νίκη (nike) meaning "victory". This name was common among the Ptolemy ruling family of Egypt, a dynasty that was originally from Macedon. It occurs briefly in Acts in the New Testament (in most English bibles it is spelled Bernice) belonging to a sister of King Herod Agrippa II. As an English name, Berenice came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

Means "special" in Basque.

From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of a Yorkshire city, itself from Old English beofor "beaver" and (possibly) licc "stream". It came into use as a masculine given name in the 19th century, then became common as an American feminine name after the publication of George Barr McCutcheon's 1904 novel Beverly of Graustark [1]. It was most popular in the 1930s, and has since greatly declined in use.

Means "daughter of Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots בַּת (bat) meaning "daughter" and יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of Pharaoh. She is traditionally equated with the pharaoh's daughter who drew Moses from the Nile.

From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.

From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".

From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".

From an Italian word meaning "beloved" or an Irish word meaning "friend". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century, though it did not become popular until after the 1950s.

Derived from Welsh caru meaning "love". This is a relatively modern Welsh name, in common use only since the middle of the 20th century.

Anglicized form of Caitríona (Irish) or Caitrìona (Scottish Gaelic).

English form of Caelestinus. It is more commonly used as a feminine name, from the French feminine form Célestine.

Means "moonlight" in Khmer.

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.

Greek name derived from χάρμα (charma) meaning "delight". This was the name of one of Cleopatra's servants, as recorded by Plutarch.

From a Slavic word meaning "black".

Derived from Greek χλωρός (chloros) meaning "pale green". Chloris, in Greek mythology, was a minor goddess of vegetation.

Feminine form of Chrysanthos.

Variant of Consuelo.

Latinized form of Kore. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel The Last of the Mohicans (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of Cordula, Corinna and other names beginning with a similar sound.

Feminine form of Crescentius. Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.

Meaning unknown, possibly from Phrygian roots meaning either "stone" or "hair". This was the name of the Phrygian mother goddess associated with fertility and nature. She was later worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.

Meaning unknown. Saint Cyra was a 5th-century Syrian hermit who was martyred with her companion Marana.

Feminine form of Demetrius.

Derived from Greek δυσδαίμων (dysdaimon) meaning "ill-fated". This is the name of the wife of Othello in Shakespeare's play Othello (1603).

Means "mistress, lady" in Greek. In Greek mythology this was the name of the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. She was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at Eleusis near Athens.

Hebrew form of Deborah.

Variant of Diamanto.

Means "judged" in Hebrew. According to the Old Testament, Dinah was a daughter of Jacob and Leah who was abducted by Shechem. It has been used as an English given name since after the Protestant Reformation.

Feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Drusus. In Acts in the New Testament Drusilla is the wife of Felix.

Diminutive of Euphemia. In Scotland it has been used as an Anglicized form of Oighrig.

Modern Greek form of Euphrosyne.

Means "dusk" in Estonian.

Means "snow" in Welsh. This is a recently created name.

Means "bright, beautiful" in Welsh [1].

Means "snowdrop (flower)" in Welsh, a compound of eira "snow" and llys "plant".

Possibly from Old Irish etne meaning "kernel, grain". In Irish mythology Eithne or Ethniu was a Fomorian and the mother of Lugh Lámfada. It was borne by several other legendary and historical figures, including a few early saints.

Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.

Italian form of Hilda.

From Ἐλισάβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath", derived from the roots אֵל ('el) referring to the Hebrew God and שָׁבַע (shava') meaning "oath". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.

Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).

Medieval English form of Helen. This was the usual spelling of the name until the 19th century, when the form Helen also became common.

Means "hope" in Greek. In Greek mythology Elpis was the personification of hope. She was the last spirit to remain in the jar after Pandora unleashed the evils that were in it.

Scottish form of Elizabeth.

Spanish form of a Visigothic name, recorded from the 10th century in forms such as Geloyra or Giluira. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly composed of the Gothic element gails "happy" or gails "spear" combined with wers "friendly, agreeable, true". The name was borne by members of the royal families of León and Castille. This is also the name of a character in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (1787).

Bosnian form of Amirah.

Means "empress" in Spanish.

Meaning unknown. She was a bloodthirsty Greek war goddess and a companion of Ares.

Means "dawn" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn.

Means "horse joy" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden of Rohan. She slays the Lord of the Nazgul in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Derived from Albanian erë meaning "wind".

Means "strife, discord" in Greek. In Greek mythology Eris was the goddess of discord. She was the sister and companion of Ares.

Spanish feminine form of Stephen.

Spanish form of Stella 1, coinciding with the Spanish word meaning "star".

English form of the Germanic name Adallinda. The name was very rare in medieval times, but it was revived in the early 19th century.

Latinized form of Greek Εὐρώπη (Europe), which meant "wide face" from εὐρύς (eurys) meaning "wide" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted and taken to Crete by Zeus in the guise of a bull. She became the first queen of Crete, and later fathered Minos by Zeus. The continent of Europe said to be named for her, though it is more likely her name is from that of the continent. This is also the name of a moon of Jupiter.

From Greek Εὐάδνη (Euadne), from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" possibly combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". This name was borne by several characters in Greek legend, including the wife of Capaneus. After Capaneus was killed by a lightning bolt sent from Zeus she committed suicide by throwing herself onto his burning body.

Means "good news" from Greek εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.

Derived from the Old Norse elements ey "good fortune" or "island" and dís "goddess".

Diminutive of Fiamma.

Means "proud" in Esperanto.

Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian form of Philomena.

From Italian fiore "flower" combined with a diminutive suffix.

French feminine form of Gabriel. This was the real name of French fashion designer Coco Chanel (1883-1971).

From the Greek word γαῖα (gaia), a parallel form of γῆ (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.

Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.

English form of Geneviève.

Latinized form of Gertrud.

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".

Italian form of Iohanna (see Joanna), making it the feminine form of Giovanni.

Possibly derived from the Old German elements gris "grey" and hilt "battle". It is not attested as a Germanic name. This was the name of a patient wife in medieval folklore, adapted into tales by Boccaccio (in The Decameron) and Chaucer (in The Canterbury Tales).

Means "white snow" from the Welsh element gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.

Means "halo around the moon" in Arabic. This was the name of a sister-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

Means "harmony, agreement" in Greek. She was the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, given by Zeus to Cadmus to be his wife.

From Japanese 晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather", 遥 (haru) meaning "distant, remote" or 春 (haru) meaning "spring" combined with 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations are possible.

Greek form of Egyptian ḥwt-ḥrw (reconstructed as Hut-Heru) meaning "the house of Horus", derived from Egyptian ḥwt "house" combined with the god Horus. In Egyptian mythology she was the goddess of love, often depicted with the head of a cow.

From the Greek Ἑκάτη (Hekate), possibly derived from ἑκάς (hekas) meaning "far off". In Greek mythology Hecate was a goddess associated with witchcraft, crossroads, tombs, demons and the underworld.

Latinate form of Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well (1603).

Uncertain meaning, possibly from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior"; ὥρα (hora) meaning "period of time"; or αἱρέω (haireo) meaning "to be chosen". In Greek mythology Hera was the queen of the gods, the sister and wife of Zeus. She presided over marriage and childbirth.

Derived from Greek ἑστία (hestia) meaning "hearth, fireside". In Greek mythology Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domestic activity.

From Japanese 光 (hikari) meaning "light". Other kanji can also form this name. It is often written with the hiragana writing system.

Means "halo, aura" in Hebrew, from the root הָלַל (halal) meaning "to praise, to shine".

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.

Derived from the Old German elements hilt "battle" and gart "enclosure, yard". This was the name of the second wife of Charlemagne (8th century). Also, Saint Hildegard was a 12th-century mystic from Bingen in Germany who was famous for her writings and poetry and also for her prophetic visions.

Swedish and Finnish form of Heilwig.

Variant of Irune.

French form of Honorina, a feminine form of the Roman name Honorinus, a derivative of Honorius. Saint Honorina was a 4th-century martyr from the Normandy region in France.

Means "sparkle brilliance" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Idril was the daughter of Turgon, the king of Gondolin. She escaped the destruction of that place with her husband Tuor and sailed with him into the west.

From the Greek Εἰλείθυια (Eileithyia), which was derived from εἰλήθυια (eilethyia) meaning "the readycomer". This was the name of the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery.

Means "faith" in Swahili, ultimately of Arabic origin.

The name of the daughter of King Cymbeline in the play Cymbeline (1609) by William Shakespeare. He based her on a legendary character named Innogen, but it was printed incorrectly and never emended. Innogen is probably derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". As a given name it is chiefly British and Australian.

Means "queen of Indra" in Sanskrit. This is a Hindu goddess of jealousy and beauty, a wife of Indra.

From the name of the island off Scotland where Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from ey meaning "island".

From Ancient Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.

Derived from Greek ἴφιος (iphios) meaning "strong, stout" and γενής (genes) meaning "born". In Greek myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King Agamemnon. When her father offended Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.

In Christian tradition this was also the name of a legendary early saint, the daughter of an Ethiopian king Egippus.

Means "fern field" in Basque.

Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.

Feminine form of Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian saint and hermitess.

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.

From a South Slavic word meaning "spark".

German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.

Means "nocturnal journey", derived from Arabic سرى (sara) meaning "to travel at night".

From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.

Means "star" in Basque.

Medieval English form of Johanne, an Old French form of Iohanna (see Joanna). This was the usual English feminine form of John in the Middle Ages, but it was surpassed in popularity by Jane in the 17th century. It again became quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, entering the top ten names for both the United States and the United Kingdom, though it has since faded.

This name (in various spellings) has been common among European royalty, being borne by ruling queens of Naples, Navarre and Castile. Another famous bearer was Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France (where she is known as Jeanne d'Arc). She was a 15th-century peasant girl who, after claiming she heard messages from God, was given leadership of the French army. She defeated the English in the battle of Orléans but was eventually captured and burned at the stake.

Other notable bearers include the actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and the comedian Joan Rivers (1933-2014), both Americans.

From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of יְהוּדִי (yehudi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.

As an English name it did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, despite a handful of early examples during the Middle Ages. It was however used earlier on the European continent, being borne by several European royals, such as the 9th-century Judith of Bavaria.

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.

Variant of Cara.

Norwegian short form of Katarina.

German variant form of Katherine.

Means "love" in Cornish.

From Yiddish קרוין (kroin) meaning "crown".

Means "shining, radiant" in Arabic.

Slovene form of Laura.

Short form of names ending in lena, such as Helena, Magdalena or Yelena.

Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of Leucadia or from Greek λευκός (leukos) meaning "bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name). Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.

Means "love" in Sotho.

Means "eternal, abiding" in Indonesian.

Possibly from Old Irish líath meaning "grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.

Meaning uncertain, possibily from Etruscan lupu "dead". Libitina was the Roman goddess of funerals, corpses and death.

From Sino-Vietnamese 蓮 (liên) meaning "lotus, water lily".

Means "amusing, charming, graceful" in Sanskrit. The 12th-century mathematician Bhaskara named one of his systems of mathematics after his daughter Lilavati. This was also the name of a 13th-century queen of Sri Lanka.

English variant of Lillian, as well as a French and Romanian masculine form.

Derived from Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.

Originally a medieval short form of Germanic names containing the element lind meaning "soft, flexible, tender" (Proto-Germanic *linþaz). It also coincides with the Spanish and Portuguese word linda meaning "beautiful". In the English-speaking world this name experienced a spike in popularity beginning in the 1930s, peaking in the late 1940s, and declining shortly after that. It was the most popular name for girls in the United States from 1947 to 1952.

Variant of Llewella.

Meaning unknown. In Finnish mythology Loviatar, also known as Louhi, was a goddess of death and plague.

This name was first used by the poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems called Lucasta (1649). The poems were dedicated to Lucasta, a nickname for the woman he loved Lucy Sacheverel, whom he called lux casta "pure light".

Feminine form of Lucius. Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings Lucy or Luce.

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.

Means "little light", derived from Romanian lumina "light" combined with a diminutive suffix.

Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.

From Armenian լուսին (lusin) meaning "moon".

The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).

Feminine form of Lysandros (see Lysander).

Latinized form of Lysistrate.

From the Latvian name for a type of flowering plant, known as cleavers or bedstraw in English.

Latin form of Greek Μαρία, from Hebrew מִרְיָם (see Mary). Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy, Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.

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

Probably a combination of Mel (from names such as Melanie or Melissa) with the suffix antha (from Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). John Dryden used this name in his play Marriage a la Mode (1672).

Meaning unknown. In European folklore Melusine was a water fairy who turned into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. She made her husband, Raymond of Poitou, promise that he would never see her on that day, and when he broke his word she left him forever.

Means "fish catcher" in Sanskrit.

From a Slavic root meaning "death, plague" [1]. In Slavic mythology this was the name of the goddess of winter and death.

Feminine form of Morgan 1.

Means either "demon queen" or "great queen", derived from Old Irish mor "demon, evil spirit" or mór "great, big" combined with rígain "queen". In Irish mythology Morrígan (called also The Morrígan) was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.

Means "radiance" in Arabic.

From the Basque name of the Spanish city of Nájera, which is Arabic in origin. In the 12th century there was a reported apparition of the Virgin Mary in a nearby cave.

From Aymara nayra meaning "eye" or "early".

Means "the heavens" or "the chiefs" from Hawaiian nā, a definite article, and lani "heaven, sky, chief".

Means "wild rose" in Persian.

From Japanese 菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and 月 (tsuki) meaning "moon". Alternatively, it can come from 夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and 希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.

From Egyptian nfrt-jrj meaning "the most beautiful" [1]. This was the name of an Egyptian queen of the New Kingdom (13th century BC), the favourite wife of Ramesses II.

From the English word opal for the iridescent gemstone, the birthstone of October. The word ultimately derives from Sanskrit उपल (upala) meaning "jewel".

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the 15th-century poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia. It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.

Meaning unknown, probably of Pre-Greek origin, but perhaps related to Greek πέρθω (pertho) meaning "to destroy" and φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". In Greek myth she was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She was abducted to the underworld by Hades, but was eventually allowed to return to the surface for part of the year. The result of her comings and goings is the changing of the seasons. With her mother she was worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites practiced at the city of Eleusis near Athens.

From an English word meaning "nightingale" (ultimately from Philomela). It has been used frequently in poetry to denote the bird.

Means "the dark one" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Kali or Durga.

Feminine form of Raziel.

Meaning unknown, perhaps related to ῥέω (rheo) meaning "to flow" or ἔρα (era) meaning "ground". In Greek mythology Rhea was a Titan, the wife of Cronus, and the mother of the Olympian gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. Also, in Roman mythology a woman named Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.

Italian name meaning "white rose", derived from Latin rosa "rose" and alba "white". A famous bearer was the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757).

Medieval variant of Rosalind. This is the name of characters in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost (1594) and Romeo and Juliet (1596).

Italian feminine form of Rosario.

Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.

Feminine form of Rune.

From a Hebrew name that was derived from the Hebrew word רְעוּת (re'ut) meaning "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.

Means "morning" in Arabic and Turkish.

Short form of Isabella.

Latinized form of Habren, the original Welsh name of the River Severn. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sabrina was the name of a princess who was drowned in the Severn. Supposedly the river was named for her, but it is more likely that her name was actually derived from that of the river, which is of unknown meaning. She appears as a water nymph in John Milton's masque Comus (1634).

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

Variant of Sacnicte.

From Esperanto safiro meaning "sapphire".

From Old Norse Sága, possibly meaning "seeing one", derived from sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word saga "story, fairy tale, saga".

Derived from Latin sal meaning "salt". This was the name of the Roman goddess of salt water.

From Salvatrix, the feminine form of Salvator (see Salvador).

Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.

Means "my princess" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, this was Sarah's name before God changed it (see Genesis 17:15).

Means "moonlight" in Mongolian, from саран (saran) meaning "moon" and гэрэл (gerel) meaning "light".

Possibly from an alternate reading of Hebrew שׂריה (see Seraiah). In the Book of Mormon this is the name of Lehi's wife.

Means "the moon" in Thai (a poetic word).

Means "relating to the sun" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a hymn dedicated to Savitr, a Hindu sun god, and it is also the name of his daughter. It is borne by several other characters in Hindu epics, including a wife of Brahma, a wife of Shiva, and a daughter of Daksha. In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata it is borne by King Satyavan's wife, who successfully pleas with Yama, the god of death, to restore her husband to life.

From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelat)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.

Latin form of Zipporah.

Means "shadow" in Serbian and Croatian. It can also be a diminutive of Ksenija.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus, derived from the biblical word seraphim, which was Hebrew in origin and meant "fiery ones". The seraphim were an order of angels, described by Isaiah in the Bible as having six wings each.

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

French form of Seraphina.

Means "star" in Welsh. This is a recently created Welsh name.

Means "bloom, flower" in Tswana, derived from thunya "to bloom".

Means "dawn" in Hebrew.

Means "red, scarlet" in Hebrew.

From an Old Testament place name, in Hebrew שָׁרוֹן (Sharon), which means "plain", referring to the fertile plain near the coast of Israel. This is also the name of a type of flowering shrub, the rose of Sharon. It has been in use as a given name since the 1920s, possibly inspired by the heroine in the serial novel The Skyrocket (1925) by Adela Rogers St. Johns [1].

Variant of Sheerah used in the King James Version of the Old Testament.

Means "singing" in Hebrew.

Means "my song" in Hebrew.

Means "sweet" in Persian. This was the name of a character in Persian and Turkish legend.

Feminine form of Silvester.

Means "happiness, joy" in Hebrew.

Irish form of Jehanne, a Norman French variant of Jeanne.

Means "elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

From Japanese 空 (sora) or 昊 (sora) both meaning "sky". Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also form this name.

Means "radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times [2]. It is sometimes Anglicized as Sarah (in Ireland) and Clara (in Scotland).

Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.

Derived from Dutch ster meaning "star".

French form of Susanna.

Derived from Russian svet meaning "light, world". It was popularized by the poem Svetlana (1813) by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It is sometimes used as a translation of Photine.

Derived from the Old German elements swan "swan" and hilt "battle". Swanhild (or Swanachild) was the second wife of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel in the 8th century.

Diminutive of Tabitha.

Means "magic, spell" in Finnish.

From Japanese 宝 (takara) meaning "treasure, jewel", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations with the same pronunciation.

Meaning unknown. This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of Ba'al Hammon.

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.

Variant of Tara 1, perhaps influenced by the Latin word terra meaning "land, earth".

Means "warmth" in Welsh.

Means "law of nature, divine law, custom" in Greek. In Greek mythology this was the name of a Titan who presided over custom and natural law. She was often depicted blindfolded and holding a pair of scales. By Zeus she was the mother of many deities, including the three Μοῖραι (Moirai) and the three Ὥραι (Horai).

Feminine form of Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.

Means "daughter of twilight, nightingale" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Tinuviel was another name of Lúthien, the daughter of Thingol the elf king. She was the beloved of Beren, who with her help retrieved one of the Silmarils from the iron crown of Morgoth.

From the Hebrew name תִּרְצָה (Tirtzah) meaning "favourable". Tirzah is the name of one of the daughters of Zelophehad in the Old Testament. It also occurs in the Old Testament as a place name, the early residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.

Means "avenging murder" in Greek, derived from τίσις (tisis) meaning "vengeance" and φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". This was the name of one of the Furies or Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek mythology. She killed Cithaeron with the bite of one of the snakes on her head.

Means "thunderous", from Esperanto tondro meaning "thunder".

Probably derived from Old Irish úan meaning "lamb". This was a common name in medieval Ireland.

Feminine form of Ursus. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Means "rabbit" in Japanese. This name was used on the Japanese television show Sailor Moon, which first aired in the 1990s.

Javanese form of Uttara.

Derived from Old Norse valr meaning "the dead, the slain" and dís meaning "goddess".

From the name of cities in Spain and Venezuela, both derived from Latin valentia meaning "strength, vigour".

English and German form of Valeria, as well as a Czech variant of Valérie.

Means "chooser of the slain", derived from Old Norse valr "the slain" and kyrja "chooser". In Norse myth the Valkyries were maidens who led heroes killed in battle to Valhalla.

Possibly means "thread" in Hebrew, but it is most likely of Persian origin. In the Old Testament this is the name of the first wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia before he marries Esther.

French form of Verena.

Means "spring" in many Slavic languages. This was the name of a Slavic spirit associated with the springtime. It has been used as a given name only since the 20th century.

Means "of the evening", derived from Esperanto vespero "evening", ultimately from Latin vesper.

Earlier form of Beatrix.

French form of Virginia.

Derived from Greek ξανθός (xanthos) meaning "yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek mythology.

Probably a variant of Xenia. This was the name of the main character in the 1990s television series Xena: Warrior Princess.

Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".

Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 優菜 or 優奈 or 柚菜 (see Yūna).

Short form of Griselda. This is the name of a princess in the Legend of Zelda video games, debuting in 1986 and called ゼルダ (Zeruda) in Japanese. According to creator Shigeru Miyamoto she was named after the American socialite Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948).

Feminine form of Ziv.

Perhaps means "enchanting" or "dawn" in Arabic. This was the name of a minor 12th-century Spanish saint, a convert from Islam. The name was used by Cervantes for a character in his novel Don Quixote (1606), in which Zoraida is a beautiful Moorish woman of Algiers who converts to Christianity and elopes with a Spanish officer.

Means "morning star" in Bulgarian.