KathosAnnora's Personal Name List
Amabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 46% based on 29 votes
Amadeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: a-ma-DHEH-o(Spanish) a-ma-DEH-o(Italian)
Rating: 44% based on 27 votes
Spanish form of
Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).
Aminah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: آمنة, أمينة(Arabic)
Pronounced: A-mee-na(Arabic) a-MEE-na(Arabic)
Rating: 54% based on 30 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
Amina 1 or
Amina 2, as well as the usual form in Malay and Indonesian.
Anabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-na-BEHL
Rating: 55% based on 33 votes
Anaïs
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-NA-EES
Rating: 49% based on 32 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of
Anne 1 or
Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera
Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant
Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as
Anaitis or
Athénaïs.
A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.
Ander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: AN-dehr
Rating: 44% based on 25 votes
Basque form of
Andreas (see
Andrew).
Annabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English) ah-na-BEHL(Dutch)
Rating: 59% based on 33 votes
Variant of
Amabel, with the spelling altered as if it were a combination of
Anna and French
belle "beautiful". This name appears to have arisen in Scotland in the Middle Ages.
Annabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English)
Rating: 65% based on 33 votes
Variant of
Annabel. It can also be interpreted as a combination of
Anna and French
belle "beautiful".
Anne 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, German, Dutch, Basque
Pronounced: AN(French, English) A-neh(Swedish) A-nə(Danish, German) AHN-neh(Finnish) AH-nə(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 32 votes
French form of
Anna. It was imported to England in the 13th century, but it did not become popular until three centuries later. The spelling variant
Ann was also commonly found from this period, and is still used to this day.
The name was borne by a 17th-century English queen and also by the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (the mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was eventually beheaded in the Tower of London. Another notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne (Annelies) Frank, a young victim of the Holocaust in 1945. This is also the name of the heroine in the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.
Annora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 59% based on 29 votes
Medieval English variant of
Honora.
Anrijs
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Latvian (Modern)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Latvian borrowing of
Henri.
Anya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, English
Other Scripts: Аня(Russian)
Pronounced: A-nyə(Russian) AN-yə(English)
Rating: 70% based on 32 votes
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər(American English) AH-chə(British English)
Rating: 59% based on 30 votes
From an English surname meaning "bowman, archer", of Old French origin. Although already slowly growing in popularity, this name accelerated its rise after the premiere of the American television series Archer in 2009.
Ari 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲרִי(Hebrew)
Rating: 49% based on 30 votes
Means "lion" in Hebrew.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 56% based on 32 votes
Means "song, melody" in Italian (literally means "air"). An aria is an elaborate vocal solo, the type usually performed in operas. As an English name, it has only been in use since the 20th century, its rise in popularity accelerating after the 2010 premier of the television drama Pretty Little Liars, featuring a character by this name. It is not traditionally used in Italy.
Aro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Rating: 33% based on 28 votes
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Rating: 61% based on 32 votes
Means
"happy, blessed" in Hebrew, derived from
אָשַׁר (ʾashar) meaning "to be happy, to be blessed". Asher in the
Old Testament is a son of
Jacob by
Leah's handmaid
Zilpah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of his name is explained in
Genesis 30:13.
Audra 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Pronounced: OW-dru
Rating: 52% based on 32 votes
Means "storm" in Lithuanian.
Audrey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: AWD-ree(English) O-DREH(French)
Rating: 62% based on 33 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century
saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Aurélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LEE
Rating: 56% based on 30 votes
Aurélien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LYEHN
Rating: 41% based on 28 votes
Baudouin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Rating: 28% based on 24 votes
Bowen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese (Modern)
Other Scripts: 波文, etc.(Chinese)
Rating: 27% based on 23 votes
Bowen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BO-ən
Rating: 40% based on 23 votes
From a Welsh surname, derived from
ap Owain meaning
"son of Owain".
Caelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KIE-lee-a
Rating: 43% based on 26 votes
Cai 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Rating: 31% based on 24 votes
Cainan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: קֵינָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-nən(English) kay-IE-nən(English)
Rating: 34% based on 25 votes
Variant of
Kenan 1 used in some versions of the Bible.
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 55% based on 30 votes
Most likely related to Hebrew
כֶּלֶב (kelev) meaning
"dog" [1]. An alternate theory connects it to Hebrew
כֹּל (kol) meaning "whole, all of"
[2] and
לֵב (lev) meaning "heart"
[3]. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by
Moses into Canaan. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and
Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the Promised Land.
As an English name, Caleb came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was common among the Puritans, who introduced it to America in the 17th century.
Cameron
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-rən
Rating: 45% based on 27 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose". As a given name it is mainly used for boys. It got a little bump in popularity for girls in the second half of the 1990s, likely because of the fame of actress Cameron Diaz (1972-). In the United States, the forms
Camryn and
Kamryn are now more popular than
Cameron for girls.
Canaan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: כְּנַעַן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-nən(English)
Rating: 26% based on 21 votes
From
כְּנַעַן (Kenaʿan), the Hebrew name of the ancient region of Canaan, which was possibly derived from a root meaning
"low, humble". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Ham. He is said to be the ancestor and namesake of the Canaanite peoples.
Cece
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEE-see
Rating: 30% based on 25 votes
Cecily
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHS-ə-lee
Rating: 61% based on 28 votes
English form of
Cecilia. This was the usual English form during the Middle Ages.
Célie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, French (Belgian)
Rating: 47% based on 27 votes
Chase
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAYS
Rating: 51% based on 26 votes
From an English surname meaning "chase, hunt" in Middle English, originally a nickname for a huntsman.
Clarabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Rating: 66% based on 15 votes
Variant of
Claribel. This is the name of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks' cartoon character Clarabelle Cow.
Clare
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHR(American English) KLEH(British English)
Rating: 62% based on 29 votes
Medieval English form of
Clara. The preferred spelling in the English-speaking world is now the French form
Claire, though
Clare has been fairly popular in the United Kingdom and Australia.
This is also the name of an Irish county, which was itself probably derived from Irish clár meaning "plank, level surface".
Claribel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEHR-ə-behl, KLAR-ə-behl
Rating: 50% based on 28 votes
Combination of
Clara and the common name suffix
bel, from Latin
bella "beautiful". This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590; in the form
Claribell) and by Shakespeare in his play
The Tempest (1611). Alfred Tennyson also wrote a poem entitled
Claribel (1830).
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Rating: 57% based on 28 votes
Feminine form of
Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Clíona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KLYEE-nə
Rating: 38% based on 25 votes
Cora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κόρη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAWR-ə(English) KO-ra(German)
Rating: 74% based on 33 votes
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.
Coralie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KAW-RA-LEE
Rating: 63% based on 28 votes
Either a French form of
Koralia, or a derivative of Latin
corallium "coral" (see
Coral).
Corin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 38% based on 22 votes
Corinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAW-REEN(French) kə-REEN(English) kə-RIN(English)
Rating: 59% based on 29 votes
French form of
Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel
Corinne (1807).
Cyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κῦρος(Ancient Greek) 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: SIE-rəs(English)
Rating: 55% based on 24 votes
Latin form of Greek
Κῦρος (Kyros), from the Old Persian name
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kuruš), possibly meaning
"young" or
"humiliator (of the enemy)" [1]. Alternatively it could be of Elamite origin. The name has sometimes been associated with Greek
κύριος (kyrios) meaning "lord".
The most notable bearer of the name was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel after his conquest of Babylon. As an English name, it first came into use among the Puritans after the Protestant Reformation.
Daira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Spanish (Latin American)
Other Scripts: Δαιρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
The name of an Okeanid Nymph of the town in Eleusis in Attika, Greece. It is derived from the element δαο (dao), meaning "the knowing one, teacher".
Dalien
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese (Modern)
Other Scripts: 大蓮, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: DAH-LEE-EN
Rating: 36% based on 21 votes
Dax
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAKS
Rating: 48% based on 20 votes
From an English surname, which was derived either from the town of Dax in France or from the Old English given name
Dæcca (of unknown meaning). The name was brought to public attention by the main character in the 1966 novel
The Adventurers and its 1970 movie adaptation. It became popular in the 2010s due to its similarity to other names like
Max and
Jax.
Deacon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DEE-kən
Rating: 48% based on 21 votes
Either from the occupational surname
Deacon or directly from the vocabulary word
deacon, which refers to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek
διάκονος (diakonos) meaning "servant").
Deegan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEE-guhn
Rating: 33% based on 23 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Deegan.
Derek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHR-ik
Rating: 58% based on 26 votes
From the older English name
Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of
Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Desmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: DEHZ-mənd(English)
Rating: 64% based on 28 votes
Anglicized form of Irish Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Devin 1
Usage: Irish
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Dexter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHK-stər(American English) DEHK-stə(British English)
Rating: 57% based on 23 votes
From an occupational surname meaning "one who dyes" in Old English. It also coincides with the Latin word dexter meaning "right-handed, skilled".
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik(American English) DAWM-i-nik(British English)
Rating: 63% based on 25 votes
From the Late Latin name
Dominicus meaning
"of the Lord". This name was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. Several
saints have borne this name, including the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order of friars. It was in this saint's honour that the name was first used in England, starting around the 13th century. It has historically seen more use among Catholics.
Edan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: עִידָן(Hebrew)
Rating: 36% based on 21 votes
Alternate transcription of Hebrew
עִידָן (see
Idan).
Eden
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: עֵדֶן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-dən(English)
Rating: 58% based on 24 votes
From the biblical place name, itself possibly from Hebrew
עֵדֶן (ʿeḏen) meaning "pleasure, delight"
[1], or perhaps derived from Sumerian
𒂔 (edin) meaning "plain". According to the
Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people,
Adam and
Eve, lived before they were expelled.
Eiji
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 英二, 栄治, etc.(Japanese Kanji) えいじ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: EH-ZHEE
Rating: 25% based on 19 votes
From Japanese
英 (ei) meaning "excellent, fine" or
栄 (ei) meaning "glory, honour, flourish, prosper" combined with
二 (ji) meaning "two" or
治 (ji) meaning "govern, administer". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
Elara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἐλάρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EHL-ə-rə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 23 votes
Possibly derived from Greek
ἄλαρα (alara) meaning
"hazelnut, spear-shaft". In Greek
mythology Elara was one of
Zeus's mortal lovers and by him the mother of the giant Tityos. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.
Eleni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελένη(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-LEH-nee
Rating: 49% based on 22 votes
Modern Greek form of
Helen.
Elicia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ə-LEE-shə, ə-LEE-see-ə
Rating: 35% based on 22 votes
Eliel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1], Biblical Greek, Finnish, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Ἐλιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-lee-ehl(Finnish) eh-lee-EW(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 26% based on 18 votes
Means
"my God is God" in Hebrew. This name is borne by a number of characters in the
Old Testament.
Élienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 63% based on 8 votes
Elior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹר(Hebrew)
Rating: 31% based on 16 votes
Means "my God is my light" in Hebrew.
Eliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 50% based on 22 votes
Eliot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
Rating: 65% based on 8 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Elliott. A famous bearer of the surname was T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), an Anglo-American poet and dramatist, the writer of
The Waste Land. As a given name, it was borne by the American mob-buster Eliot Ness (1903-1957).
Elise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: eh-LEE-zə(German) eh-LEE-seh(Norwegian, Danish, Swedish) i-LEES(English) EE-lees(English)
Rating: 60% based on 24 votes
Elka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Slovene, Sorbian, Polish, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Елка(Bulgarian)
Rating: 41% based on 22 votes
Croatian, Bulgarian and Slovene diminutive of names beginning with the syllable "El-", as well as a Polish diminutive of
Elżbieta and a Sorbian diminutive of
Elžbjeta.
Ellena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 42% based on 20 votes
Ellena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Archaic)
Rating: 38% based on 20 votes
Ellesmere
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Elora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Modern)
Rating: 67% based on 23 votes
Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.
Elric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval English
Pronounced: EHL-rik(English)
Rating: 38% based on 18 votes
Émeric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EHM-REEK
Rating: 42% based on 18 votes
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 60% based on 24 votes
From Old French
Emeline, a
diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element
amal meaning
"unceasing, vigorous, brave". The
Normans introduced this name to England.
Emmerich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: EH-mə-rikh(German)
Rating: 43% based on 18 votes
Germanic name, in which the second element is
rih "ruler, king". The first element may be
irmin "whole, great" (making it a relative of
Ermenrich),
amal "unceasing, vigorous, brave" (making it a relative of
Amalric) or
heim "home" (making it a relative of
Henry). It is likely that several forms merged into a single name.
Emrys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: EHM-ris
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Welsh form of
Ambrose. Emrys Wledig (or Ambrosius Aurelianus) was a Romano-British military leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. Tales of his life were used by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth to help shape the early character of
Merlin, whom he called Merlinus Ambrosius in Latin.
Ender
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Rating: 44% based on 19 votes
Means "very rare" in Turkish.
Enya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: EHN-yə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
Eric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, German, Spanish
Pronounced: EHR-ik(English) EH-rik(Swedish, German) EH-reek(Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 21 votes
Means
"ever ruler", from the Old Norse name
Eiríkr, derived from the elements
ei "ever, always" and
ríkr "ruler, king". A notable bearer was Eiríkr inn Rauda (Eric the Red in English), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. This was also the name of several early kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
This common Norse name was first brought to England by Danish settlers during the Anglo-Saxon period. It was not popular in England in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, in part due to the children's novel Eric, or Little by Little (1858) by Frederic William Farrar.
Erick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHR-ik
Rating: 25% based on 19 votes
Esmée
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British), Dutch
Pronounced: EHZ-may(British English) EHZ-mee(British English) ehs-MEH(Dutch)
Rating: 62% based on 24 votes
Esmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHZ-mənd
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Derived from the Old English elements
est "grace" and
mund "protection". This Old English name was rarely used after the
Norman Conquest. It was occasionally revived in the 19th century.
Evander 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: i-VAN-dər(American English) i-VAN-də(British English)
Rating: 54% based on 18 votes
Evangeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: i-VAN-jə-leen, i-VAN-jə-lien
Rating: 65% based on 24 votes
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.
Everest
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rist
Rating: 55% based on 17 votes
From the English name for the world's highest mountain, itself named after the British surveyor George
Everest (1790-1866).
Evolet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English
Pronounced: EV-o-let(Popular Culture)
Rating: 46% based on 12 votes
It has been suggested that the name was created from an elaboration of
love as a palindrome, or from the backwards spelling of
t(h)e love with the
h omitted for the sake of aesthetics, or from
evolve as an incomplete anagram. It could also be used as a combination of the names
Eve and
Violet.
The name of a prehistoric woman in the 2008 film 10,000 B.C. directed by Roland Emmerich, meaning "the promise of life" in the fictitious language spoken by the character's adopted tribe, the Yaghal.
Evvie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-vee, EHV-ee
Rating: 33% based on 17 votes
Ewan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: YOO-ən(English)
Rating: 61% based on 19 votes
Felicity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: fə-LIS-i-tee
Rating: 66% based on 27 votes
From the English word
felicity meaning
"happiness", which ultimately derives from Latin
felicitas "good luck". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans around the 17th century. It can sometimes be used as an English form of the Latin name
Felicitas. This name jumped in popularity in the United States after the premiere of the television series
Felicity in 1998. It is more common in the United Kingdom.
Felix
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Romanian, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Pronounced: FEH-liks(German, Dutch, Swedish) FEE-liks(English) FEH-leeks(Latin)
Rating: 59% based on 23 votes
From a Roman
cognomen meaning
"lucky, successful" in Latin. It was acquired as an
agnomen, or nickname, by the 1st-century BC Roman general Sulla. It also appears in the
New Testament belonging to the governor of Judea who imprisoned
Saint Paul.
Due to its favourable meaning, this name was popular among early Christians, being borne by many early saints and four popes. It has been used in England since the Middle Ages, though it has been more popular in continental Europe. A notable bearer was the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Rating: 62% based on 20 votes
Old Irish form of
Fionn, as well as the usual Anglicized spelling (with the Irish hero's name Anglicized as Finn McCool). As a surname it is borne by Huckleberry Finn, a character in Mark Twain's novels.
Finola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 58% based on 23 votes
Fintan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: FIN-tan(English)
Rating: 38% based on 18 votes
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.
Fiona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: fee-O-nə(English)
Rating: 80% based on 27 votes
Feminine form of
Fionn. This name was (first?) used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson in his poem
Fingal (1761), in which it is spelled as
Fióna.
Fionn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: FYIN(Irish) FYUWN(Irish) FYOON(Irish) FIN(English)
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
From the Old Irish name
Finn, derived from
finn meaning
"white, blessed". It occurs frequently in Irish history and legends, the most noteworthy bearer being Fionn mac Cumhaill, the central character of one of the four main cycles of Irish
mythology, the Fenian Cycle. Fionn was born as
Deimne, and acquired his nickname because of his fair hair. He grew all-wise by eating an enchanted salmon, and later became the leader of the Fianna after defeating the fire-breathing demon Áillen. He was the father of
Oisín and grandfather of
Oscar.
Fletcher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLECH-ər(American English) FLECH-ə(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 15 votes
From a surname meaning "maker of arrows" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French flechier.
Fleur
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Dutch, English (British)
Pronounced: FLUUR(French, Dutch) FLU(British English) FLUR(American English)
Rating: 60% based on 19 votes
Means
"flower" in French.
Saint Fleur of Issendolus (
Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels
The Forsyte Saga (1922).
Flynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLIN
Rating: 53% based on 18 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Floinn, which was derived from the given name or byname
Flann. A famous bearer of the surname was American actor Errol Flynn (1909-1959). As a given name, it grew in popularity after it was featured as a character in the Disney movie
Tangled in 2010.
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS(American English) FAWKS(British English)
Rating: 39% based on 18 votes
Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.
Gareth
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English (British), Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: GAR-əth(British English)
Rating: 61% based on 20 votes
Meaning uncertain. It appears in this form in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends
Le Morte d'Arthur, in which the knight Gareth (also named
Beaumains) is a brother of
Gawain. He goes with
Lynet to rescue her sister
Lyonesse from the Red Knight. Malory based the name on
Gaheriet or
Guerrehet, which was the name of a similar character in French sources. It may ultimately have a Welsh origin, possibly from the name
Gwrhyd meaning
"valour" (found in the tale
Culhwch and Olwen) or
Gwairydd meaning
"hay lord" (found in the chronicle
Brut y Brenhinedd).
Garrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-it, GEHR-it
Rating: 62% based on 17 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Gerald or
Gerard. A famous bearer of the surname was Pat Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot Billy the Kid.
Garrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-ik
Rating: 62% based on 18 votes
From an English surname, of French Huguenot origin, that was derived from Occitan garric meaning "oak tree grove".
Gavin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: GAV-in(English)
Rating: 50% based on 18 votes
Medieval form of
Gawain. Though it died out in England, it was reintroduced from Scotland in the 20th century.
Geneviève
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHU-NU-VYEHV, ZHUN-VYEHV
Rating: 64% based on 24 votes
From the medieval name
Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *
kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *
wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *
genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by
Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.
Georges
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHAWRZH
Rating: 31% based on 15 votes
French form of
George. This name was borne by the French artists Georges Seurat (1859-1891) and Georges Braque (1882-1963).
Gráinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: GRA-nyə(Irish)
Rating: 28% based on 17 votes
Possibly derived from Old Irish
grán meaning
"grain" or
gráin meaning
"hatred, fear". In the Irish legend
The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne she escaped from her arranged marriage to
Fionn mac Cumhaill by fleeing with her lover
Diarmaid. Another famous bearer was the powerful 16th-century Irish landowner and seafarer Gráinne Ní Mháille (known in English as Grace O'Malley), who was sometimes portrayed as a pirate queen in later tales.
Grania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 33% based on 16 votes
Gratien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GRA-SYEHN
Rating: 27% based on 13 votes
French form of
Gratianus (see
Gratian).
Grey
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: GRAY
Rating: 42% based on 16 votes
Griffin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GRIF-in
Rating: 58% based on 18 votes
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).
Guillaume
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: GEE-YOM
Rating: 24% based on 14 votes
Gwendolen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(English)
Rating: 55% based on 21 votes
Possibly means
"white ring", derived from Welsh
gwen meaning "white, blessed" and
dolen meaning "ring, loop". This name appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century chronicles, written in the Latin form
Guendoloena, where it belongs to an ancient queen of the Britons who defeats her ex-husband in battle
[1]. Geoffrey later used it in
Vita Merlini for the wife of the prophet
Merlin [2]. An alternate theory claims that the name arose from a misreading of the masculine name
Guendoleu by Geoffrey
[3].
This name was not regularly given to people until the 19th century [4][3]. It was used by George Eliot for a character in her novel Daniel Deronda (1876).
Gwenllian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwehn-SHEE-an
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Derived from the Welsh elements
gwen meaning "white, blessed" and possibly
lliain meaning "flaxen, made of linen" or
lliant meaning "flow, flood". This name was used by medieval Welsh royalty, notably by a 12th-century princess of Deheubarth who died in battle with the
Normans. It was also borne by the 13th-century daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last prince of Gwynedd.
Gwenyth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: GWEHN-ith
Rating: 45% based on 17 votes
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Rating: 50% based on 19 votes
Probably a variant of
Gwynedd. It has been common in Wales since the 19th century, perhaps after the Welsh novelist Gwyneth Vaughan (1852-1910), whose real name was Ann Harriet Hughes. A modern famous bearer is the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).
Gwynne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWIN
Rating: 61% based on 10 votes
Feminine variant of
Gwyn. The surname of English actress and royal mistress Nell Gwyn (1650-1687) is variously spelled
Gwynne,
Gwynn and
Gwyn.
Harald
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German
Pronounced: HAH-rahl(Norwegian, Danish) HA-ralt(German)
Rating: 14% based on 15 votes
Scandinavian and German
cognate of
Harold, from the Old Norse elements
herr and
valdr and the Old German elements
heri and
walt. This was the name of several kings of Norway and Denmark.
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Rating: 76% based on 22 votes
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Henri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Finnish
Pronounced: AHN-REE(French) HEHN-ree(Finnish)
Rating: 28% based on 13 votes
French form of
Heinrich (see
Henry). A notable bearer was the French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954).
Henrik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Low German, German, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Հենրիկ(Armenian)
Pronounced: HEHN-rik(Swedish, Norwegian, German) HEHN-rag(Danish) HEHN-reek(Hungarian) hehn-REEK(Eastern Armenian) hehn-REEG(Western Armenian)
Rating: 62% based on 15 votes
Form of
Heinrich (see
Henry) in several languages. A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 69% based on 21 votes
From the Germanic name
Heimirich meaning
"home ruler", composed of the elements
heim "home" and
rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled
Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like
Haganrich, in which the first element is
hag "enclosure".
Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.
The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).
Hermione
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἑρμιόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEHR-MEE-O-NEH(Classical Greek) hər-MIE-ə-nee(American English) hə-MIE-ə-nee(British English)
Rating: 57% based on 21 votes
Derived from the name of the Greek messenger god
Hermes. In Greek
myth Hermione was the daughter of
Menelaus and
Helen. This is also the name of the wife of
Leontes in Shakespeare's play
The Winter's Tale (1610). It is now closely associated with the character Hermione Granger from the
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Hilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Spanish, Hungarian, Anglo-Saxon (Latinized), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: HIL-də(English) HIL-da(German, Dutch) EEL-da(Spanish) HEEL-daw(Hungarian)
Rating: 44% based on 21 votes
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.
Hiro
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: 裕, 寛, 浩(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: HEE-ROH(Japanese)
Rating: 34% based on 15 votes
Means "broad, widespread."
-------------------------------------
Name of a Japanese guy named Hiro in Heroes. He can travel time and stop it.
In addition to what's already listed, another use of this name in popular culture is the Disney film Big Hero 6. Hiro is the main character; a boy of Japanese and Caucasian ancestry (supposedly the first mixed-race Disney character), whose parents died when he was young. He lives with his aunt, Cass, his brother, Tadashi, and their cat, Moshi.
-------------------------------------
Japanese given name with multiple meanings, dependent on the characters used: 裕 means "abundant", 寛 means "generous, tolerant" and 浩 means "prosperous."
-------------------------------------
Honor
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AHN-ər(American English) AWN-ə(British English)
Rating: 36% based on 14 votes
Variant of
Honour, using the American spelling.
Honora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Rating: 61% based on 19 votes
Variant of
Honoria. It was brought to England and Ireland by the
Normans.
Howell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Rating: 34% based on 14 votes
Anglicized form of
Hywel.
Ilse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: IL-zə(German) IL-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Indira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
Other Scripts: इन्दिरा(Sanskrit) इन्दिरा, इंदिरा(Hindi) इंदिरा(Marathi) ಇಂದಿರಾ(Kannada) இந்திரா(Tamil)
Pronounced: IN-di-ra(Hindi)
Rating: 58% based on 18 votes
Means
"beauty" in Sanskrit. This is another name of
Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god
Vishnu. A notable bearer was India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).
Indra
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Nepali, Indonesian
Other Scripts: इन्द्र(Sanskrit, Nepali) इन्द्र, इंद्र(Hindi)
Pronounced: EEN-dru(Sanskrit) IN-drə(English, Hindi) EEN-dra(Indonesian)
Rating: 38% based on 14 votes
Means
"possessing drops of rain" from Sanskrit
इन्दु (indu) meaning "a drop" and
र (ra) meaning "acquiring, possessing". Indra is the name of the ancient Hindu warrior god of the sky and rain, frequently depicted riding the elephant Airavata. He is the chief god in the
Rigveda.
Indy 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: IN-dee(English)
Rating: 20% based on 13 votes
Diminutive of
Indiana. This is the nickname of the hero of the
Indiana Jones movies, starring Harrison Ford.
Irie
Gender: Unknown
Usage: Obscure
Rating: 35% based on 15 votes
Ismene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰσμήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EEZ-MEH-NEH(Classical Greek) is-MEE-nee(English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Possibly from Greek
ἰσμή (isme) meaning
"knowledge". This was the name of the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta in Greek legend.
Isobel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 67% based on 25 votes
Isolde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: ee-ZAWL-də(German) i-SOL-də(English) i-ZOL-də(English) i-SOLD(English) i-ZOLD(English) EE-ZAWLD(French)
Rating: 55% based on 19 votes
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.
Jairus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From
Ἰάϊρος (Iairos), the Greek form of
Jair used in the
New Testament, where it belongs to the father of a young girl brought back to life by
Jesus.
Jewel
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JOO-əl, JOOL
Rating: 46% based on 18 votes
In part from the English word
jewel, a precious stone, derived from Old French
jouel, which was possibly related to
jeu "game". It is also in part from the surname
Jewel or
Jewell (a derivative of the Breton name
Judicaël), which was sometimes used in honour of the 16th-century bishop of Salisbury John Jewel. It has been in use as a given name since the 19th century.
Joelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jo-EHL
Rating: 24% based on 16 votes
John
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Biblical
Pronounced: JAHN(American English) JAWN(British English, Dutch) YAWN(Swedish, Norwegian) SHAWN(Dutch) ZHAWN(Dutch)
Rating: 42% based on 19 votes
English form of
Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name
Ἰωάννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name
יוֹחָנָן (Yoḥanan). It means
"Yahweh is gracious", from the roots
יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and
חָנַן (ḥanan) meaning "to be gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the
Old Testament (spelled
Johanan or
Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two
New Testament characters, both highly revered
saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of
Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by
Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles
Peter and
James (John's brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.
This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians in the Byzantine Empire, but it flourished in Western Europe after the First Crusade. In England it became extremely popular, typically being the most common male name from the 13th to the 20th century (but sometimes outpaced by William). During the later Middle Ages it was given to approximately a fifth of all English boys. In the United States it was the most common name for boys until 1923.
The name (in various spellings) has been borne by 21 popes and eight Byzantine emperors, as well as rulers of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary. It was also borne by the poet John Milton (1608-1674), philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), American founding father and president John Adams (1735-1826), and poet John Keats (1795-1821). Famous bearers of the 20th century include author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and musician John Lennon (1940-1980).
The forms Ian (Scottish), Sean (Irish) and Evan (Welsh) have also been frequently used in the English-speaking world, as has the medieval diminutive Jack.
Joliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 49% based on 17 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Joliet.
Josefina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish
Pronounced: kho-seh-FEE-na(Spanish) zhoo-zə-FEE-nə(Portuguese) yoo-seh-FEE-nah(Swedish)
Rating: 52% based on 19 votes
Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish feminine form of
Joseph.
Josephine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: JO-sə-feen(English) yo-zeh-FEE-nə(German)
Rating: 72% based on 25 votes
Julianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-AN
Rating: 52% based on 17 votes
Feminine form of
Iulianus (see
Julian). It can also be considered a combination of
Julie and
Anne 1.
Julienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUY-LYEHN
Rating: 47% based on 18 votes
French feminine form of
Iulianus (see
Julian).
Juliet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: joo-lee-EHT, JOOL-yət
Rating: 72% based on 26 votes
Anglicized form of
Giulietta or
Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of
Romeo in the play
Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as
Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.
Juliette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHUY-LYEHT
Rating: 67% based on 21 votes
Junia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: YOO-nee-a(Latin)
Rating: 44% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of
Junius. This is the name of an early Christian mentioned in
Paul's epistle to the Romans in the
New Testament (there is some debate about whether the name belongs to a woman
Junia or a man
Junias).
Juno
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: YOO-no(Latin) JOO-no(English)
Rating: 38% based on 18 votes
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.
Justus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman
Pronounced: YUWS-tuws(German) YUYS-tuys(Dutch) JUS-təs(English)
Rating: 27% based on 13 votes
Latin name meaning
"just". This name was borne by at least eight
saints.
Kadri 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Pronounced: KAH-dree
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Kai 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Frisian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English
Pronounced: KIE(German, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, English)
Rating: 46% based on 17 votes
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Frisian
diminutive of
Gerhard,
Nicolaas,
Cornelis or
Gaius [1]. It is borne by a boy captured by the Snow Queen in an 1844 fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Spreading from Germany and Scandinavia, this name became popular in the English-speaking world and other places in Western Europe around the end of the 20th century.
Kai 4
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 凯, etc.(Chinese) 凱, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: KIE
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From Chinese
凯 (kǎi) meaning "triumph, victory, music of triumph", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Rating: 49% based on 17 votes
Kaisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: KIE-sah(Finnish)
Rating: 37% based on 15 votes
Kaito
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 海斗, 海翔, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かいと(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-EE-TO
Rating: 33% based on 13 votes
From Japanese
海 (kai) meaning "sea, ocean" combined with
斗 (to), which refers to a Chinese constellation, or
翔 (to) meaning "soar, fly". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Kalliope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Καλλιόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAL-LEE-O-PEH(Classical Greek)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Means
"beautiful voice" from Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek
mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine Muses.
Kanon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 花音, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かのん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-NON
Rating: 32% based on 16 votes
From Japanese
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" and
音 (non) meaning "sound". Other kanji combinations are possible as well.
Kao
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 佳男, 佳桜, 佳央, 伽夫, 伽央, 伽緒, 佳雄, 加桜, 加男, 加雄, 可雄, 嘉雄, 夏生, 夏男, 果央, 果桜, 歌穂, 華桜, 花男, 花桜, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KAH-O
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
From Japanese 佳 (ka) meaning "beautiful, good" combined with 男 (o) meaning "male" (usually masculine) or 桜 (o) meaning "cherry blossom" (usually feminine). Other kanji combinations are possible.
Kaoru
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 薫, 香, 馨, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かおる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-O-ROO
Rating: 39% based on 16 votes
From Japanese
薫 (kaoru),
香 (kaoru),
馨 (kaoru) all meaning "fragrance, fragrant", as well as other kanji having the same reading.
Karis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 37% based on 15 votes
Katherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KATH-ə-rin, KATH-rin
Rating: 56% based on 22 votes
From the Greek name
Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name
Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from
ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning
"each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess
Hecate; it could be related to Greek
αἰκία (aikia) meaning
"torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning
"my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek
καθαρός (katharos) meaning
"pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from
Katerina to
Katharina to reflect this.
The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel. The saint was initially venerated in Syria, and returning crusaders introduced the name to Western Europe. It has been common in England since the 12th century in many different spellings, with Katherine and Catherine becoming standard in the later Middle Ages. To this day both spellings are regularly used in the English-speaking world. In the United States the spelling Katherine has been more popular since 1973.
Famous bearers of the name include Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century mystic, and Catherine de' Medici, a 16th-century French queen. It was also borne by three of Henry VIII's wives, including Katherine of Aragon, and by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great.
Katia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Катя(Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: KA-tya(Italian) KA-TYA(French) KA-tyə(Russian)
Rating: 51% based on 17 votes
Italian and French form of
Katya, as well as an alternate transcription of the Slavic name.
Keita 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 慶太, 啓太, etc.(Japanese Kanji) けいた(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KEH-TA
Rating: 36% based on 15 votes
From Japanese
慶 (kei) meaning "celebration" or
啓 (kei) meaning "open, begin" combined with
太 (ta) meaning "thick, big, great". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Kendrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEHN-drik
Rating: 65% based on 18 votes
From a surname that has several different origins. It could be from the Old English given names
Cyneric "royal power" or
Cenric "bold power", or from the Welsh name
Cynwrig "chief hero". It can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname
Mac Eanraig meaning "son of
Henry".
As an American given name, it got a boost in popularity in 2012 after the rapper Kendrick Lamar (1987-) released his debut album.
Kento
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 健人(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KEN-TO
Rating: 25% based on 12 votes
From Japanese 健 (ken) "healthy, strong" and 人 (to) "person".
Khayman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Canadian, Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: Kay-Min(Canadian English)
Rating: 27% based on 14 votes
Kiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Rating: 29% based on 15 votes
Means "skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).
Kohei
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 公平, 幸平, 航平, 孝平, 康平, 浩平, 耕平, 弘平, 晃平(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KO:-HEE-E
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
From Japanese 幸 (ko) meaning "happiness, good luck" combined with 平 (hei) meaning "peace, flat". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Kohei Kono is a Japanese professional boxer who is a former WBA Super flyweight Champion and Kōhei Uchimura, a seven-time Olympic medalist (all-around, team, and floor exercise), winning three golds and four silvers, a 19-time World medalist (all-around, team, floor, high bar, and parallel bars) and is considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time.
Kokoro
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 心, etc.(Japanese Kanji) こころ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KO-KO-RO
Rating: 33% based on 17 votes
From Japanese
心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Kotoko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 琴子, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: KO-TO-KO
Rating: 31% based on 16 votes
From Japanese 琴 (koto), which refers to a type of musical instrument similar to a harp, combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Kurai
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African
Rating: 21% based on 14 votes
Kyo
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 協, 京, 郷, 杏, etc.(Japanese Kanji) きょう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KYO
Rating: 25% based on 13 votes
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
協 or
京 or
郷 or
杏 (see
Kyō).
Kyrion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Greek
Other Scripts: Κυρίων, Κύριον(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Derived from either the Greek noun κύριος
(kyrios) meaning "lord, master" or the Greek adjective κύριος
(kyrios) meaning "ruling, governing, having power".
Both words are related to the Greek noun κυρία (kyria) meaning "authority, power".
Kyrion was the name of one of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (4th century AD).
Kyros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Persian (Hellenized), Biblical Greek
Other Scripts: 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian) Κῦρος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 28% based on 12 votes
Greek form of Old Persian
Kuruš (see
Cyrus).
Lachlan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: LAKH-lən(Scottish) LAWK-lən(British English) LAK-lən(American English)
Rating: 58% based on 15 votes
Anglicized form of
Lachlann, the Scottish Gaelic form of
Lochlainn. In the English-speaking world, this name was especially popular in Australia towards the end of the 20th century.
Laelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: LIE-lee-a
Rating: 45% based on 16 votes
Feminine form of Laelius, a Roman family name of unknown meaning. This is also the name of a type of flower, an orchid found in Mexico and Central America.
Laila 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: LIE-lah
Rating: 50% based on 17 votes
Scandinavian and Finnish form of
Láilá.
Laoise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LEE-shə
Rating: 29% based on 14 votes
Possibly a newer form of
Luigsech, or from the name of the county of Laois in central Ireland. It is also used as an Irish form of
Lucy or
Louise.
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Rating: 66% based on 20 votes
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.
Lawson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAW-sən
Rating: 18% based on 5 votes
From an English surname meaning
"son of Laurence 1".
Leander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λέανδρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: lee-AN-dər(American English) lee-AN-də(British English)
Rating: 59% based on 14 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from
λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Lee
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LEE
Rating: 36% based on 14 votes
From a surname that was derived from Old English
leah meaning
"clearing". The surname belonged to Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In his honour, it has been used as a given name in the American South. It is common as a middle name.
Leena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: LEH-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 48% based on 16 votes
Leif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: LAYF
Rating: 51% based on 14 votes
From the Old Norse name Leifr meaning "descendant, heir". Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer who reached North America in the early 11th century. He was the son of Erik the Red.
Leila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, Georgian
Other Scripts: لیلا(Persian) ليلى(Arabic) لەیلا(Kurdish Sorani) ლეილა(Georgian)
Pronounced: lay-LAW(Persian) LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English) LEE-lə(English) LIE-lə(English) LAY-LA(French)
Rating: 60% based on 17 votes
Variant of
Layla, and the usual Persian transcription.
This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in The Giaour (1813) and Don Juan (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
Leland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
From a surname, originally from an English place name, which meant "fallow land" in Old English. A famous bearer was the politician, businessman and Stanford University founder Leland Stanford (1824-1893).
Lena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Georgian, Armenian
Other Scripts: Лена(Russian, Ukrainian) Λένα(Greek) ლენა(Georgian) Լենա(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-na(Swedish, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian) LYEH-nə(Russian) LEE-nə(English) LEH-NA(Georgian) leh-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 52% based on 17 votes
Lennox
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
Rating: 30% based on 15 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the name of a district in Scotland. The district, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly means "place of elms". This name steadily rose in popularity in the 2000s, at the same time as the similar-sounding (but unrelated) names
Lennon and
Knox.
Lenox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LEHN-əks
Rating: 22% based on 14 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Lennox.
Leona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Czech
Pronounced: lee-O-nə(English) LEH-o-na(Czech)
Rating: 74% based on 21 votes
Leonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: LEH-o-nee(German) leh-o-NEE(Dutch)
Rating: 45% based on 15 votes
German and Dutch feminine form of
Leonius.
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 58% based on 18 votes
Light
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIET
Rating: 29% based on 15 votes
Nickname for a happy, cheerful person, from Middle English lyght, Old English lēoht "light (not dark), bright, cheerful".
Lila 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: लीला(Hindi) లీలా(Telugu) ಲೀಲಾ(Kannada) லீலா(Tamil) ലീലാ(Malayalam)
Rating: 58% based on 16 votes
Means "play, amusement" in Sanskrit.
Lilou
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: LEE-LOO
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Liora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 62% based on 20 votes
Strictly feminine form of
Lior.
Lir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology
Pronounced: LIR(American English) LEEY(British English)
Rating: 28% based on 12 votes
Possibly from the patronymic
Manannán mac Lir, in which case
Lir is the genitive case of the name
Ler. The medieval Irish legend the
Children of Lir tells how Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann had his children transformed into swans by his third wife
Aoife. The legendary characters Lir and Ler seem to be distinct.
Lise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English
Pronounced: LEEZ(French, English) LEE-seh(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) LEES(English)
Rating: 36% based on 14 votes
Lisette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: LEE-ZEHT(French)
Rating: 61% based on 9 votes
Llewellyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: loo-EHL-in(English)
Rating: 39% based on 15 votes
Llyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Rating: 37% based on 14 votes
Unaccented variant of
Llŷr.
Lochlann
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 32% based on 13 votes
Lorcán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: LAWR-kan
Rating: 35% based on 13 votes
Means
"little fierce one", derived from Old Irish
lorcc "fierce" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Saint Lorcán was a 12th-century archbishop of Dublin.
Luella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: loo-EHL-ə
Rating: 50% based on 15 votes
Lycaon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λυκάων(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
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)
Rating: 80% based on 24 votes
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.
Lyssa 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIS-ə
Rating: 48% based on 16 votes
Mack 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAK
Rating: 44% based on 14 votes
From a surname, originally a shortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with Mac or Mc (from Irish mac meaning "son"). It is also used as a generic slang term for a man.
Maëlys
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-EH-LEES
Rating: 34% based on 14 votes
Feminine form of
Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling of
Mailys.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 65% based on 20 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Medb meaning
"intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. She and her husband
Ailill fought against the Ulster king
Conchobar and the hero
Cúchulainn, as told in the Irish epic
The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Maewyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Folklore
Rating: 34% based on 13 votes
Mair
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: MIER
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Welsh form of
Maria (see
Mary).
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Makoto
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 誠, etc.(Japanese Kanji) まこと(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MA-KO-TO
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From Japanese
誠 (makoto) meaning "sincerity", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.
Malcolm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAL-kəm(English)
Rating: 70% based on 20 votes
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.
Marek
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovak, Estonian
Pronounced: MA-rehk(Polish, Czech, Slovak)
Rating: 49% based on 14 votes
Polish, Czech and Slovak form of
Mark.
Maren
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Pronounced: MAH-rehn(Danish)
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
Marianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: MA-RYAN(French) mar-ee-AN(English) ma-RYA-nə(German) ma-ree-YAH-nə(Dutch) MAH-ree-ahn-neh(Finnish)
Rating: 49% based on 15 votes
Combination of
Marie and
Anne 1, though it could also be considered a variant of
Mariana or
Mariamne. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.
Marika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Swedish, Georgian, Italian, German
Other Scripts: Μαρίκα(Greek) მარიკა(Georgian)
Pronounced: MA-ri-ka(Czech) ma-REE-ka(Polish, Swedish, German) MAW-ree-kaw(Hungarian) MAH-ree-kah(Finnish)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Marina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Czech, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Georgian, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Μαρίνα(Greek) Марина(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) მარინა(Georgian)
Pronounced: ma-REE-na(Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Macedonian) mə-REE-nə(Catalan) mə-REEN-ə(English) mu-RYEE-nə(Russian) MA-ri-na(Czech)
Rating: 62% based on 19 votes
Feminine form of
Marinus. This name was borne by a few early
saints. This is also the name by which Saint
Margaret of Antioch is known in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Maris 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-is, MAR-is
Rating: 36% based on 13 votes
Means
"of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".
Marius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, French, Lithuanian
Pronounced: MA-ree-oos(Latin) MEHR-ee-əs(English) MAR-ee-əs(English) MA-ryoos(Romanian) MA-ree-uws(German) MA-ree-uys(Dutch) MA-RYUYS(French)
Rating: 51% based on 17 votes
Roman family name that was derived either from
Mars, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root
mas, maris meaning
"male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC. Since the start of the Christian era, it has occasionally been used as a masculine form of
Maria.
Mason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-sən
Rating: 36% based on 18 votes
From an English surname (or vocabulary word) meaning "stoneworker", derived from an Old French word of Frankish origin (akin to Old English macian "to make"). In the United States this name began to increase in popularity in the 1980s, likely because of its fashionable sound. It jumped in popularity after 2009 when Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their son, as featured on their reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2010. It peaked as the second most popular name for boys in 2011.
Mavis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-vis
Rating: 47% based on 15 votes
From the name of the type of bird, also called the song thrush, derived from Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin. It was first used as a given name by the British author Marie Corelli, who used it for a character in her novel The Sorrows of Satan (1895).
Maxwell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAKS-wehl
Rating: 54% based on 18 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning
"Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer of the surname was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
As a given name it has increased in popularity starting from the 1980s, likely because it is viewed as a full form of Max [1].
Meika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Rating: 36% based on 13 votes
Meira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מֵאִירָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Melia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Μελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: MEH-LEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 39% based on 14 votes
Means
"ash tree" in Greek, a derivative of
μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". This was the name of a nymph in Greek
myth, the daughter of the Greek god Okeanos.
Melina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Μελίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: mə-LEE-nə(English)
Rating: 59% based on 19 votes
Elaboration of
Mel, either from names such as
Melissa or from Greek
μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". A famous bearer was Greek-American actress Melina Mercouri (1920-1994), who was born Maria Amalia Mercouris.
Meredith
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHR-ə-dith(English)
Rating: 54% based on 16 votes
From the Welsh name
Maredudd or
Meredydd, from Old Welsh forms such as
Margetud, possibly from
mawredd "greatness, magnificence" combined with
iudd "lord". The Welsh forms of this name were well used through the Middle Ages. Since the mid-1920s it has been used more often for girls than for boys in English-speaking countries, though it is still a masculine name in Wales. A famous bearer of this name as surname was the English novelist and poet George Meredith (1828-1909).
Merrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MEHR-ik
Rating: 54% based on 11 votes
From a Welsh surname that was originally derived from the given name
Meurig.
Merritt
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-it
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
From an English surname, originally from a place name, which meant "boundary gate" in Old English.
Micah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: מִיכָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: MIE-kə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 15 votes
Contracted form of
Micaiah. Micah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament. He authored the Book of Micah, which alternates between prophesies of doom and prophesies of restoration. This is also the name of a separate person in the Book of Judges, the keeper of an idol. It was occasionally used as an English given name by the
Puritans after the
Protestant Reformation, but it did not become common until the end of the 20th century.
Mignonette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature, Popular Culture
Pronounced: mee-yə-NET(English) min-yə-NET(English)
Rating: 73% based on 9 votes
Diminutive of
Mignon, as
-ette is a French feminine diminutive suffix. As such, this given name literally means "little darling" in French.
In the Anglosphere, Mignonette is the name of a flower (genus Reseda). As a given name, Mignonette was especially popular in Victorian times, as that is when more floral names began to be used as given names.
Last but not least, in literature, Mignonette is the middle name of Amelia "Mia" Thermopolis, the main character of the book The Princess Diaries written by the American author Meg Cabot (b. 1967). The book was later adapted into a film with the same title and starred American actress Anne Hathaway (b. 1982) as Mia.
Mika 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美香, 美加, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みか(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-KA
Rating: 56% based on 16 votes
From Japanese
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" combined with
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" or
加 (ka) meaning "increase". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Miki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美紀, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みき(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-KYEE
Rating: 36% based on 14 votes
From Japanese
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" and
紀 (ki) meaning "chronicle". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mikiya
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 樹弥, 幹允, 御喜家, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: MEE-KEE-YAH
Rating: 40% based on 14 votes
From Japanese 幹 (miki) meaning "tree trunk" combined with 允 (ya) meaning "field". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Ukrainian, Russian
Other Scripts: Мила(Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Міла(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: MYEE-lə(Russian)
Rating: 48% based on 14 votes
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
From the Germanic name
Milo, introduced by the
Normans to England in the form
Miles. The meaning is not known for certain. It is possibly connected to the Slavic name element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear". From an early date it was associated with Latin
miles meaning
"soldier".
A notable bearer was the American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991). In Scotland this name was historically used to Anglicize Maoilios.
Milla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: MEEL-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 42% based on 14 votes
Short form of
Camilla and other names that end in
milla.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 51% based on 15 votes
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Mirabelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), English (Rare)
Rating: 59% based on 15 votes
Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.
Mischa
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: MEE-sha
Rating: 42% based on 14 votes
Dutch and German form of
Misha. It is occasionally used as a feminine name in Dutch.
Morgaine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Rating: 51% based on 13 votes
Variant of
Morgan 2, from a French form.
Naoki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 直樹, etc.(Japanese Kanji) なおき(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NA-O-KYEE
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight, direct" and
樹 (ki) meaning "tree", as well as other combinations of different kanji with the same pronunciations.
Nayeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Pronounced: na-YEH-lee(Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 15 votes
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".
Nimue
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: NIM-ə-way(English)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have
Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French
Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Noble
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NO-bəl
Rating: 49% based on 14 votes
From an English surname meaning "noble, high-born". The name can also be given in direct reference to the English word noble.
Noelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: no-EH-lya
Rating: 30% based on 14 votes
Spanish feminine form of
Noël.
Nora 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English) NO-ra(German, Dutch, Spanish)
Rating: 49% based on 18 votes
Short form of
Honora or
Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play
A Doll's House (1879).
Norah 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: NAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 28% based on 16 votes
Novella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: no-VEHL-la
Rating: 42% based on 13 votes
Derived from Latin
novellus meaning
"new, young, novel", a
diminutive of
novus "new". This name was borne by the 14th-century Italian scholar Novella d'Andrea, who taught law at the University of Bologna.
Océane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-SEH-AN
Rating: 49% based on 13 votes
Derived from French océan meaning "ocean".
Ollivander
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare), Popular Culture
Pronounced: AHL-i-van-dər(American English, Popular Culture)
Rating: 48% based on 13 votes
Surname of
Garrick Ollivander, a wizard and the owner of Ollivander's Wand Shop in the Harry Potter book series and movie franchise by J. K. Rowling. In the Harry Potter universe the name is said to be of Mediterranean origin and mean "he who owns the olive wand".
Ophelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Literature, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ὠφελία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: o-FEEL-ee-ə(English) o-FEEL-yə(English)
Rating: 64% based on 18 votes
Derived from Greek
ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning
"help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem
Arcadia (1480). 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.
Ophélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AW-FEH-LEE
Rating: 55% based on 16 votes
Osheen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
Anglicized form of
Oisín.
Osian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: OSH-ann
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 74% based on 19 votes
Anglicized form of
Owain.
Patrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Pronounced: PAT-rik(English) PA-TREEK(French) PA-trik(German)
Rating: 48% based on 15 votes
From the Latin name
Patricius, which meant
"nobleman". This name was adopted in the 5th-century by
Saint Patrick, whose birth name was Sucat. He was a Romanized Briton who was captured and enslaved in his youth by Irish raiders. After six years of servitude he escaped home, but he eventually became a bishop and went back to Ireland as a missionary. He is traditionally credited with Christianizing the island, and is regarded as Ireland's patron saint. He is called
Pádraig in Irish.
In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.
Pearl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PURL(American English) PUL(British English)
Rating: 66% based on 18 votes
From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.
Phoebe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Φοίβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: FEE-bee(English)
Rating: 66% based on 20 votes
Latinized form of the Greek name
Φοίβη (Phoibe), which meant
"bright, pure" from Greek
φοῖβος (phoibos). In Greek
mythology Phoibe was a Titan associated with the moon. This was also an epithet of her granddaughter, the moon goddess
Artemis. The name appears in
Paul's epistle to the Romans in the
New Testament, where it belongs to a female minister in the church at Cenchreae.
In England, it began to be used as a given name after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately common in the 19th century. It began to rise in popularity again in the late 1980s, probably helped along by characters on the American television shows Friends (1994-2004) and Charmed (1998-2006). It is currently much more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand than the United States.
A moon of Saturn bears this name, in honour of the Titan.
Pierce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PIRS(American English) PEEYS(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 14 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Piers. In America this name slowly started to grow in popularity in 1982 when actor Pierce Brosnan (1953-) began starring on the television series
Remington Steele.
Prosper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: PRAWS-PEHR(French) PRAHS-pər(American English) PRAWS-pə(British English)
Rating: 43% based on 12 votes
From the Latin name
Prosperus, which meant
"fortunate, successful". This was the name of a 5th-century
saint, a supporter of Saint
Augustine. It has never been common as an English name, though the
Puritans used it, partly because it is identical to the English word
prosper.
Quentin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KAHN-TEHN(French) KWEHN-tən(English)
Rating: 58% based on 13 votes
French form of the Roman name
Quintinus. It was borne by a 3rd-century
saint, a missionary who was martyred in Gaul. The
Normans introduced this name to England. In America it was brought to public attention by president Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), who was killed in World War I. A famous bearer is the American movie director Quentin Tarantino (1963-).
Quillan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWIL-ən, KWIL-in
Rating: 44% based on 10 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Quillen.
Quillen
Usage: Irish
Rating: 37% based on 3 votes
The surname Quillen is derived from the personal name Hugelin, which is a diminutive of Hugh. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Uighilin.
Quinn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 55% based on 14 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Cuinn, itself derived from the given name
Conn. In the United States it was more common as a name for boys until 2010, the year after the female character Quinn Fabray began appearing on the television series
Glee.
Quinton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN-tən
Rating: 42% based on 11 votes
Variant of
Quentin, also coinciding with an English surname meaning "queen's town" in Old English.
Rainer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: RIE-nu(German)
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
Rainier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: REH-NYEH
Rating: 43% based on 13 votes
Ravi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Nepali
Other Scripts: रवि(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) ରବି(Odia) રવિ(Gujarati) రవి(Telugu) ரவி(Tamil) ರವಿ(Kannada) রবি(Bengali)
Pronounced: RU-vee(Sanskrit) RAH-vee(English) rə-VEE(Hindi) RU-vi(Gujarati) RAW-bee(Bengali)
Rating: 31% based on 11 votes
Means
"sun" in Sanskrit. Ravi is a Hindu god of the sun, sometimes equated with
Surya. A famous bearer was the musician Ravi Shankar (1920-2012).
Rayner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Pronounced: RAY-nər(American English) RAY-nə(British English)
Rating: 34% based on 11 votes
From the Germanic name
Raginheri, composed of the elements
regin "advice, counsel, decision" and
heri "army".
Saint Rainerius was a 12th-century hermit from Pisa. The
Normans brought this name to England where it came into general use, though it was rare by the end of the Middle Ages.
Reika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Pronounced: REH-EE-KA
Rating: 34% based on 11 votes
From Japanese 麗 (rei) meaning "lovely, graceful, beautiful", 玲 (rei) meaning "the sound of jewels", 禮 (rei) meaning "courtesy", 礼 (rei) meaning "ceremony" or 令 (rei) meaning "good, law" combined with Japanese 花 (ka) or 華 (ka) both meaning "flower", 香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" or 加 (ka) meaning "increase". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Reita
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 令太, 伶太, 嶺太, 怜汰, 礼太, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ṘE:-TAH
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
From Japanese 令 (rei) meaning "order, command" combined with 太 (ta) meaning "thick, big". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Rémy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
French form of the Latin name
Remigius, which was derived from Latin
remigis "oarsman, rower".
Saint Rémy was a 5th-century bishop who converted and baptized Clovis, king of the Franks.
Renji
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Pronounced: WREN-GEE, Ren-jee
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
means 'yearning love' or 'second love'
-------------------------------------
Renji Abari is a character in the worlds 2nd most popular manga ' Bleach ' by Tite Kubo .
Rhain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Welsh, Welsh
Rating: 25% based on 2 votes
From Welsh rhain meaning "stiff" or "stretched out", sometimes interpreted as "spear". This was borne by a son of the legendary 5th-century king Brychan Brycheiniog, and by a 9th-century king of Dyfed.
Rhiannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ri-AN-awn(Welsh) ree-AN-ən(English)
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Probably derived from an unattested Celtic name *
Rīgantonā meaning
"great queen" (Celtic *
rīganī "queen" and the divine or augmentative suffix
-on). It is speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps associated with fertility and horses like the Gaulish
Epona. As
Rhiannon, she appears in Welsh legend in the
Mabinogi [1] as a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse. She was betrothed against her will to
Gwawl, but cunningly broke off that engagement and married
Pwyll instead. Their son was
Pryderi.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 54% based on 5 votes
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.
Riku 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 陸, etc.(Japanese Kanji) りく(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REE-KOO
Rating: 23% based on 11 votes
From Japanese
陸 (riku) meaning "land" or different kanji that are pronounced the same way.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər(American English) RIV-ə(British English)
Rating: 59% based on 12 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Roarke
Usage: English
Rating: 44% based on 11 votes
Roderick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish, Welsh
Pronounced: RAHD-ə-rik(American English) RAHD-rik(American English) RAWD-ə-rik(British English) RAWD-rik(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 13 votes
Means
"famous ruler" from the Old German elements
hruod "fame" and
rih "ruler, king". This name was in use among the Visigoths; it was borne by their last king (Gothic form *
Hroþireiks, also known by the Spanish form
Rodrigo), who died fighting the Muslim invaders of Spain in the 8th century. It also had cognates in Old Norse and West Germanic, and Scandinavian settlers and
Normans introduced it to England, though it died out after the Middle Ages. It was revived in the English-speaking world by Walter Scott's 1811 poem
The Vision of Don Roderick [1].
This name has also functioned as an Anglicized form of Scottish Ruaridh or Welsh Rhydderch.
Rohan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada
Other Scripts: रोहन(Hindi, Marathi) রোহন(Bengali) ರೋಹನ್(Kannada)
Rating: 48% based on 13 votes
Derived from Sanskrit
रोहण (rohaṇa) meaning
"ascension".
Róki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Old Norse variant of
Hrókr.
Romilly
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the name of various Norman towns, themselves from the given name
Romilius.
Rónán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: RO-nan(Irish)
Rating: 54% based on 16 votes
Means
"little seal", derived from Old Irish
rón "seal" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This was the name of several early Irish
saints, including a pilgrim to Brittany who founded the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th century.
Rorik
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: RAWR-rik, ROR-rik
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Means "famous ruler", cognates from
Hrœrekr from the Old Norse elements
hróðr meaning "fame" and
ríkr meaning "ruler, mighty, rich". Most notable was a Danish viking Rorik of Dorestad who ruled in current day Dorestad and Utrecht from 841 to 873. Today the name is used in The Netherlands and rarely in other English speaking countries.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
Anglicized form of
Ruaidhrí. Typically a masculine name, it gained some popularity for girls in the United States after it was used on the television series
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), in this case as a nickname for
Lorelai. Despite this, the name has grown more common for boys in America, especially after 2011, perhaps due to Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (1989-).
Rosabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-zə-behl
Rating: 57% based on 18 votes
Combination of
Rosa 1 and the common name suffix
bel, inspired by Latin
bella "beautiful". This name was created in the 18th century.
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)
Rating: 68% based on 18 votes
Medieval variant of
Rosalind. This is the name of characters in Shakespeare's
Love's Labour's Lost (1594) and
Romeo and Juliet (1596).
Rosette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: RO-ZEHT
Rating: 59% based on 17 votes
Ruaidhrí
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: RWU-ryee
Rating: 28% based on 10 votes
From Old Irish
Ruaidrí meaning
"red king", from
rúad "red" combined with
rí "king". This was the name of the last high king of Ireland, reigning in the 12th century.
Ruairi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic
Pronounced: RWU-ryi
Rating: 29% based on 10 votes
Ruairí
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: RWU-ryee
Rating: 31% based on 10 votes
Ruarc
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 27% based on 10 votes
From Old Irish
Ruarcc. It was possibly an early borrowing from the Old Norse name
Hrǿríkr. Alternatively it might be derived from Old Irish elements such as
rúad "red" and
arg "hero, champion". This was the name of a 9th-century king of Leinster.
Ruka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 琉花(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ṘOO-KAH
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
From 琉 (ru) "gem" and 花 (ka) "flower."
Rune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nə(Norwegian) ROO-neh(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Derived from Old Norse
rún meaning
"secret lore, rune".
Ryland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIE-lənd
Rating: 33% based on 10 votes
From an English surname, which was originally derived from a place name meaning "rye land" in Old English.
Ryunosuke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Pronounced: RYOO-NO-SKEH
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Samara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Rating: 57% based on 18 votes
Possibly derived from the name of the city of Samarra (in Iraq) or Samara (in Russia). The former appears in the title of the novel
Appointment in Samarra (1934) by John O'Hara, which refers to an ancient Babylonian legend about a man trying to evade death. Alternatively, this name could be derived from the word for the winged seeds that grow on trees such as maples and elms.
The name received a boost in popularity after it was borne by the antagonist in the horror movie The Ring (2002).
Sandhya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam
Other Scripts: संध्या(Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi) సంధ్యా(Telugu) சந்தியா(Tamil) ಸಂಧ್ಯಾ(Kannada) സന്ധ്യ(Malayalam)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Means
"twilight" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu goddess of twilight, a daughter of
Brahma.
Sanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: SAHN-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 59% based on 10 votes
Short form of
Susanna. It can also be derived from Swedish
sann meaning "true".
Saoirse
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SEER-shə
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Means "freedom" in Irish Gaelic. It was first used as a given name in the 20th century.
Sasha
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, English, French
Other Scripts: Саша(Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: SA-shə(Russian) SASH-ə(English) SAH-shə(English) SA-SHA(French)
Rating: 49% based on 14 votes
Sawyer
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SOI-ər(American English) SOI-ə(British English)
Rating: 72% based on 16 votes
From an English surname meaning
"sawer of wood". Mark Twain used it for the hero in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Very rare as an American given name before 1980, it increased in popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It got a boost in 2004 after the debut of the television series Lost, which featured a character by this name.
Schuyler
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SKIE-lər(American English) SKIE-lə(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 12 votes
From a Dutch surname meaning
"scholar". Dutch settlers brought the surname to America, where it was subsequently adopted as a given name in honour of the American general and senator Philip Schuyler (1733-1804)
[1].
Selene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Σελήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SEH-LEH-NEH(Classical Greek) si-LEE-nee(English) si-LEEN(English)
Rating: 57% based on 13 votes
Means
"moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, a Titan. She was sometimes identified with the goddess
Artemis.
Seneca
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: SEH-neh-ka(Latin) SEHN-ə-kə(English)
Rating: 47% based on 12 votes
From a Roman
cognomen derived from Latin
senectus meaning
"old". This was the name of both a Roman orator (born in Spain) and also of his son, a philosopher and statesman.
This name also coincides with that of the Seneca, a Native American tribe that lived near the Great Lakes, whose name meant "place of stones".
Seraphina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), German (Rare), Late Roman
Pronounced: sehr-ə-FEEN-ə(English) zeh-ra-FEE-na(German)
Rating: 75% based on 17 votes
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.
Serika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 芹伽, 芹佳, 芹夏, 芹架, 芹花, 芹華, 芹香, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: SE-ṘEE-KAH
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
From Japanese 芹 (seri) meaning "celery" combined with 伽 (ka) meaning "nursing or taking care of a person", 佳 (ka) meaning "beautiful, good", 夏 (ka) meaning "summer", 架 (ka) meaning "construct, build", 花 (ka) or 華 (ka) which both mean "flower" or 香 (ka) meaning "fragrance". Additionally, other kanji combinations can form this name.
Shamus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: SHAY-məs(English)
Rating: 44% based on 13 votes
Shane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAYN(English)
Rating: 34% based on 13 votes
Anglicized form of
Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie
Shane (1953).
Shep
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 31% based on 12 votes
Shiloh
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁלוֹ, שִׁילֹה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHIE-lo(English)
Rating: 41% based on 16 votes
From an
Old Testament place name possibly meaning
"tranquil" in Hebrew. It is also used prophetically in the Old Testament to refer to a person, often understood to be the Messiah (see
Genesis 49:10). This may in fact be a mistranslation.
This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.
Sidonie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEE-DAW-NEE
Rating: 50% based on 14 votes
Skylark
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SKIE-lahrk
Rating: 51% based on 15 votes
From the English word for the type of songbird, i.e., the common European lark (Alauda arvensis; which is "famed for its melodious song"). Use of the name is probably inspired by the similar name
Skylar; it could also be viewed as a combination of
Sky and
Lark.
This name has been in occasional use since the late 20th century.
Sorcha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: SAWR-ə-khə(Irish) SAWR-kə(American English) SAWR-shə(American English) SAW-kə(British English) SAW-shə(British English) SAWR-aw-khə(Scottish Gaelic)
Rating: 44% based on 15 votes
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).
Sören
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish, German
Pronounced: SUU-rehn(Swedish) ZUU-rən(German)
Rating: 66% based on 15 votes
Swedish and German form of
Søren.
Søren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Pronounced: SUUW-ən
Rating: 63% based on 16 votes
Danish form of
Severinus. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as a precursor of existentialism.
Spencer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SPEHN-sər(American English) SPEHN-sə(British English)
Rating: 53% based on 13 votes
From an English surname that meant "dispenser of provisions", derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry". A famous bearer was American actor Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). It was also the surname of Princess Diana (1961-1997).
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 43% based on 11 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Sterling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STUR-ling(American English) STU-ling(British English)
Rating: 66% based on 16 votes
From a Scots surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
Sybelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Rating: 43% based on 15 votes
Sybil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SIB-əl
Rating: 53% based on 15 votes
Variant of
Sibyl. This spelling variation has existed since the Middle Ages.
Tallulah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-LOO-lə
Rating: 65% based on 22 votes
This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.
Talulla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Rating: 55% based on 15 votes
Anglicized form of the Old Irish name
Taileflaith,
Tuileflaith or
Tuilelaith, probably from
tuile "abundance" and
flaith "ruler, sovereign, princess". This was the name of an early
saint, an abbess of Kildare.
Tanith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Semitic Mythology
Other Scripts: 𐤕𐤍𐤕(Phoenician)
Rating: 49% based on 15 votes
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.
Taran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology, Pictish
Rating: 43% based on 14 votes
Means
"thunder" in Welsh, from the old Celtic root *
toranos. It appears briefly in the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi [1]. The name is
cognate to that of the Gaulish god
Taranis. It was also borne by the 7th-century Pictish king Taran mac Ainftech.
Tate
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAYT
Rating: 41% based on 14 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the Old English given name
Tata.
Tavi
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Yiddish
Pronounced: ta-vi(Yiddish)
Rating: 38% based on 13 votes
Feminine diminutive of
David. Diminutive of
Octavia. Variation of
Tavish.
A notable bearer is fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson.
Tavish
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 34% based on 12 votes
Anglicized form of
a Thàmhais, vocative case of
Tàmhas. Alternatively it could be taken from the Scottish surname
McTavish, Anglicized form of
Mac Tàmhais, meaning "son of
Tàmhas".
Teague
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: TAYG(English) TEEG(English)
Rating: 45% based on 13 votes
Anglicized form of
Tadhg. This name is also used as a slang term for an Irish Catholic.
Teàrlach
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: TYEH-ar-ləkh
Rating: 27% based on 12 votes
Thalia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Greek
Other Scripts: Θάλεια(Greek)
Pronounced: THAY-lee-ə(English) thə-LIE-ə(English)
Rating: 58% based on 16 votes
From the Greek name
Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from
θάλλω (thallo) meaning
"to blossom". In Greek
mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Thane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: THAYN
Rating: 42% based on 13 votes
From the Scottish and English noble title, which was originally from Old English thegn.
Theon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Literature, Popular Culture
Other Scripts: Θέων(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 49% based on 14 votes
Meaning uncertain. This name could be derived from the Greek noun θεός
(theos) meaning "god", but it can also easily be derived from the Greek verb θέω
(theo) meaning "to run fast, to fly" as well as "to shine, to gleam".
Notable bearers of this name include the Greek philosopher and mathematician Theon of Smyrna (2nd century AD) and the Greek scholar and mathematician Theon of Alexandria (4th century AD).
In modern literature, this name is best known for being the name of Theon Greyjoy, a character from the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels written by the American author George R. R. Martin (b. 1948). He also appears in Game of Thrones (2011-2019), a television series based upon the novels.
Theron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Θήρων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEH-RAWN(Classical Greek) THEHR-ən(English)
Rating: 59% based on 12 votes
Thierry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: TYEH-REE
Rating: 38% based on 12 votes
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-).
Thisbe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Θίσβη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: TEEZ-BEH(Classical Greek) THIZ-bee(English) TEES-beh(Latin)
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
From the name of an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, itself supposedly named after a nymph. In a Greek legend (the oldest surviving version appearing in Latin in Ovid's Metamorphoses) this is the name of a young woman from Babylon. Believing her to be dead, her lover Pyramus kills himself, after which she does the same to herself. The splashes of blood from their suicides is the reason mulberry fruit are red.
Thorin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Germanic Mythology, German (Modern), Popular Culture
Pronounced: THOR-in(Literature) TO-reen(German)
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
German male name representing the Germanic god
Thor.
Used by JRR Tolkien as the name of a dwarf, Thorin Oakensheild, who is the main dwarf in 'The Hobbit'. Tolkien took the name from the Dvergatal "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Völuspá, a part of the Poetic Edda.
Tilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: TIL-də(English) TEEL-dah(Finnish)
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
Tobin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TO-bin
Rating: 46% based on 14 votes
From an English surname that was itself derived from the given name
Tobias.
Turlough
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 24% based on 11 votes
Ulrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: UWL-rikh(German)
Rating: 43% based on 13 votes
From the Old German name
Odalric, derived from the element
uodil "heritage" combined with
rih "ruler, king". This was the name of two German
saints. Another famous bearer was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), also known as Huldrych, the leader of the
Protestant Reformation in Switzerland.
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)
Rating: 62% based on 18 votes
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.
Verina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 55% based on 15 votes
Verity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VEHR-i-tee
Rating: 64% based on 20 votes
From the English word meaning
"verity, truth", from Latin
verus "true, real". This was one of the virtue names adopted by the
Puritans in the 17th century.
Vitali
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Виталий(Russian) Віталій(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: vyi-TA-lyee(Russian) vyee-TA-lyee(Ukrainian)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 66% based on 19 votes
Wallace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: WAHL-əs(American English) WAWL-əs(British English)
Rating: 51% based on 15 votes
From a Scottish and English surname that was derived from Norman French waleis meaning "foreigner, Celt, Welshman" (of Germanic origin). It was first used as a given name in honour of William Wallace, a Scottish hero who led the fight against the English in the 13th century.
Xavier
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish
Pronounced: ZAY-vyər(American English) ig-ZAY-vyər(American English) ZAY-vyə(British English) ig-ZAY-vyə(British English) GZA-VYEH(French) shu-vee-EHR(European Portuguese) sha-vee-EKH(Brazilian Portuguese) shə-bee-EH(Catalan) kha-BYEHR(Spanish) sa-BYEHR(Spanish)
Rating: 53% based on 16 votes
Derived from the Basque place name
Etxeberria meaning
"the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest
Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) who was born in a village by this name. He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
Xian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 现, 弦, 先, 宪, 娴, 贤, 咸, 羨, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: SHYEHN
Rating: 33% based on 12 votes
From Chinese 现
(xiàn) meaning "present, current, appear, manifest", 弦
(xián) meaning "string, chord", 先
(xiān) meaning "first, before", 宪
(xiàn) meaning "law", 娴
(xián) meaning "elegant, refined, skillful", 贤
(xián) meaning "virtuous, good, worthy", 咸
(xián) meaning "all, completely, savoury, salty" or 羨
(xiàn) meaning "envy, admire, covet". Other character combinations can form this name as well.
Xiao
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 曉, 小, 霄, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: SHI-OW
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
From Chinese 曉 (xiǎo) meaning "dawn; daybreak", 小 (xiǎo) meaning "small, tiny" or 霄 (xiāo) meaning "sky, heaven; clouds, mist". Other meanings of this character or other characters with the same sound are possible.
Zen
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZEN
Rating: 33% based on 14 votes
This name is derived from either the word that is the Japanese on'yomi/reading of the Chinese word
chán (禅), which is derived from the Sanskrit word
dhyāna, meaning 'absorption, meditative state' or, in the case of U.S. soccer/football defender Zen Luzniak, a shortened form of
Zenon.
Zen is a school of Buddhism which originated in China during the 7th century, and spread to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It emphasises rigorous meditation practices, and favours direct personal understanding rather than knowledge of doctrine.
Zen meditation became known in the West at the end of the 19th century, and at this time it became used as an English name, albeit sporadically. Interest in the practice and philosophy of Zen grew during the 1950s and '60s, though the name's usage remained sporadic and it wasn't until the late 1990s and 2000s that this name began to be used more frequently.
Zen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 然, 善, 禅(Japanese Kanji) ぜん(Japanese Hiragana) ゼン(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced: ZEN, DZEN
Rating: 37% based on 16 votes
This name can be used as 然 (zen, nen, sa, shika, shika.shi, shika.ri) meaning "if so, in that case, so, sort of thing, well," 善 (zen, i.i, yo.i, yo.ku, yoshi.tosuru) meaning "good(ness), virtuous" or 禅 (sen, zen, shizuka, yuzu.ru) meaning "silent meditation, Zen," the latter being the Japanese on'yomi/reading of the Chinese word chán (禅), which is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, meaning 'absorption, meditative state.'
One bearer of this name is theatre actor Zen Kajiwara (梶原 善) (1966-).
Zoe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Czech, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζώη, Ζωή(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZO-ee(English) DZAW-eh(Italian) THO-eh(European Spanish) SO-eh(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 61% based on 23 votes
Means
"life" in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a translation of
Eve. It was borne by two early Christian
saints, one martyred under Emperor Hadrian, the other martyred under Diocletian. The name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by a ruling empress of the 11th century.
As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).
Zoë
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, English
Pronounced: ZO-veh(Dutch) ZO-ee(English)
Rating: 53% based on 12 votes
Dutch form and English variant of
Zoe.
Zola 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZO-lə
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. It has been in occasional use in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. It coincides with an Italian surname, a famous bearer being the French-Italian author Émile Zola (1840-1902).
Zola 2
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Xhosa
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
From the Xhosa root -zola meaning "calm".
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