skinnyminnie's Personal Name List

Means "living, alive" in Arabic. This was the name of Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. Her name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.

This name began to be used in America in the 1970s, possibly inspired by Princess Aisha of Jordan (1968-), the daughter of King Hussein and his British-born wife. It received a boost in popularity after Stevie Wonder used it for his first daughter in 1975.

Means "light of the early dawn" or "sunset glow" in Hawaiian, literally "flaming road" from Hawaiian ala "path, road" and ula "flame".

Short form of Magdalena or Helena. This was the name of a saint, possibly legendary, who was martyred near Brussels in the 7th century.

Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.

The name has been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia, and eight popes. Other notable bearers include English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), American statesman Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie (1764-1820), Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor of the telephone.

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

Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.

Czech form of Elizabeth.

Feminine form of Arcangelo.

Means "archangel" in Italian.

Alternate transcription of Russian Аркадий (see Arkadiy).

Taken from the name of the mythological place of the Atlantis, derived from the Greek Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος meaning “island of Atlas.”

Possibly means "enduring" from Greek τλάω (tlao) meaning "to endure". In Greek mythology he was a Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the heavens on his shoulders.

German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.

As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.

The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to 2nd century legends of an "unknown southern land" (that is terra australis incognita). The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis, which was later abbreviated to the current form.

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

From the English word for the colour, derived via Norman French from a Frankish word (replacing the native Old English cognate blaw). Despite the fact that this name was used by the American musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2012 for their first daughter, it has not come into general use in the United States.

This name can refer either to the region in France, the wine (which derives from the name of the region), or the colour (which derives from the name of the wine).

Transferred use of the surname Calder.

From the Latin name of Scotland, which may be derived from Caledones, the Latin name of a tribe that inhabited the region during the Roman era, which is of unknown origin, though some Celtic roots have been suggested; it is possible that the exonym means "tough person" from Brythonic caled "hard, tough" and a suffix (unknown to me) meaning either "great" or "person". The name Caledonia has been applied poetically to Scotland since the 18th century.

Used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his Chronicles of Narnia series, first appearing in 1950. Prince Caspian first appears in the fourth book, where he is the rightful king of Narnia driven into exile by his evil uncle Miraz. Lewis probably based the name on the Caspian Sea, which was named for the city of Qazvin, which was itself named for the ancient Cas tribe.

From Latin cathedra meaning "chair", referring to the Cathedra Petri or Chair of Saint Peter, also known as the Throne of Saint Peter. Its feast day is February 22 (note, until 1962, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter was also celebrated on January 18).

Italian feminine and masculine form of Caelestis. It is also the Portuguese, Spanish and English feminine form.

From the colour cerulean meaning “sky blue”, derived from the Latin caeruleus, perhaps related to caelum which means “sky”. It is recently but rarely used as a name.

Transferred use of the surname Chapel and a "subordinate place of worship added to or forming part of a large church or cathedral, separately dedicated and devoted to special services," from Old French chapele (12c., Modern French chapelle), from Medieval Latin capella, cappella "chapel, sanctuary for relics," literally "little cape," diminutive of Late Latin cappa "cape."

Variant of Sierra.

Means "little ashes", in part from the French name Cendrillon. This is the main character in the folktale Cinderella about a maltreated young woman who eventually marries a prince. This old story is best known in the English-speaking world from the French author Charles Perrault's 1697 version. She has other names in other languages, usually with the meaning "ashes", such as German Aschenputtel and Italian Cenerentola.

From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "ford by a cliff" in Old English.

Derived from the English word cloud. In Popular Culture, this is the name of the main protagonist (Cloud Strife) in "Final Fantasy VII", who also makes an appearance in "Dissidia: Final Fantasy".

Means "harmony" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of harmony and peace.

French form of the Breton name Kaourintin, possibly from korventenn meaning "hurricane, storm". Alternatively, it could be connected to the Brythonic root *karid meaning "love" (modern Breton karout). This was the name of a 5th-century bishop of Quimper in Brittany.

From the English word "danger" meaning "liability to exposure to harm or risk; an instance or cause of liable harm; or ability to harm; someone's dominion or power to harm". From the Middle English daunger 'power, dominion, peril', ultimately derived from the Latin dominus 'lord, master'.

Its usage may be due to the popular saying 'danger is my middle name'.

From the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world.

Due to the popularity of the biblical character, the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and American frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820).

From a surname that was derived from the Old English given name Deorwine. The surname was borne by the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the man who first proposed the theory of natural selection and subsequently revolutionized biology.

From the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew דּוֹד (dod) meaning "beloved" or "uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament, Jesus was descended from him.

This name has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. It has been especially popular in Wales, where it is used in honour of the 5th-century patron saint of Wales (also called Dewi), as well as in Scotland, where it was borne by two kings. Over the last century it has been one of the English-speaking world's most consistently popular names, never leaving the top 30 names for boys in the United States, and reaching the top rank in England and Wales during the 1950s and 60s. In Spain it was the most popular name for boys during the 1970s and 80s.

Famous bearers include empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), musician David Bowie (1947-2016), and soccer player David Beckham (1975-). This is also the name of the hero of Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield (1850).

French form of Delphina.

From the name of the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, Δ. It is also the name for an island formed at the mouth of a river.

Possibly means "earth mother", derived from Greek δᾶ (da) meaning "earth" and μήτηρ (meter) meaning "mother". In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of Cronus, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone. She was an important figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were secret rites performed at Eleusis near Athens.

Feminine form of Demetrius.

Greek form of both Asriel and Azriel, as it first appeared in the Septuagint.

Means "horseman, knight" in Arabic.

From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.

This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.

Means "valley, ravine" in Hebrew.

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

Derived from the Old German element gisal meaning "hostage, pledge" (Proto-Germanic *gīslaz). This name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign court. This was the name of both a sister and daughter of Charlemagne. It was also borne by a daughter of the French king Charles III who married the Norman leader Rollo in the 10th century. Another notable bearer was the 11th-century Gisela of Swabia, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II.

The name was popular in France during the Middle Ages (the more common French form is Gisèle). Though it became known in the English-speaking world due to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841), it was not regularly used until the 20th century.

Apparently derived from the given name Hubert. Also a transferred use of the surname Hobart.

From an English surname meaning "son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).

Possibly means "interpreter" in Arabic. According to the Quran this was the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet Enoch.

Means "ardent lord" from Old Welsh iudd "lord" combined with ris "ardent, enthusiastic". This name was borne by Idris the Giant, a 7th-century king of Meirionnydd.

Form of Idris 1 common in West Africa.

Russian form of Innocentius (see Innocent).

Variant of Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word isla meaning "island".

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

Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.

Polish, Czech and Slovak form of Jacob (or James). In Polish and Slovak this refers to both the Old Testament patriarch and the New Testament apostles, while in Czech this is used only for the apostles (with Jákob for the patriarch).

Derived from the Slavic elements jarŭ "fierce, energetic" and mirŭ "peace, world". This name was borne by an 11th-century duke of Bohemia.

Means "glacier, ice" in Icelandic.

From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.

Feminine form of Ketil.

Anglicized form of Caitrìona.

Diminutive of Innokentiy.

Swedish and Spanish phonetic spelling of Kayla, as well as an English variant.

Transferred use of the surname Knight.

Transferred use of the surname Knightley.

From a Scots surname that was derived from various places named Knock, from Gaelic cnoc "round hill". It jumped in popularity after the actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a baby by this name in 2008.

Derived from the Old German elements lant "land" and beraht "bright". Saint Lambert of Maastricht was a 7th-century bishop who was martyred after denouncing Pepin II for adultery. The name was also borne by a 9th-century king of Italy who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

The name Laniakea means "immeasurable heaven" in Hawaiian, from "lani" for 'heaven' and "akea" for 'spacious' or 'immeasurable'. Laniakea is the galaxy supercluster that is home to the Milky Way, the Solar System and Earth. It was defined in September 2014 by Nawa'a Napoleon, an associate professor of Hawaiian Language at Kapiolani Community College. The name honors Polynesian navigators who used heavenly knowledge to navigate the Pacific Ocean.

From the English word, referring to a story about the past (or by extension, a heroic character in such a story), ultimately from Latin legere "to read".

Probably from Laila 2, but also associated with Estonian leil meaning "vapour, steam". It became popular due to Andres Saal's novel Leili (1892).

German, Portuguese and English variant and Galician, Romanian, Hungarian and Slovene form of Leopoldine. Leopoldina of Austria (1797 – 1826) was the first Brazilian empress.

Means "lion" in Russian, functioning as a vernacular form of Leo. This was the real Russian name of both author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).

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

From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain. As a surname it was borne by the American author Jack London (1876-1916).

Latinized form of the Greek name Λύσανδρος (Lysandros), derived from Greek λύσις (lysis) meaning "a release, loosening" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). This was the name of a notable 5th-century BC Spartan general and naval commander.

Latinate form of Magdalene.

Form of Maia 1 in various languages.

Form of Maria used in the Greek Old Testament, as well as the Georgian, Armenian and Malay form. It is also an alternate transcription of Arabic مريم (see Maryam).

Derived from Latin marinus meaning "of the sea" (see Marinus). This name was used by Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590), where it belongs to "the knight of the sea" Sir Marinell, who is the son of a sea nymph and the beloved of Florimell.

Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bashkir and Tatar form of Miryam (see Mary). In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.

Variant of Mabel.

Means "mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity" [1].

From a surname meaning "happy weather" in Middle English, originally belonging to a cheery person. A notable bearer of the name was Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), who, with William Clark, explored the west of North America.

From the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) meaning "who is like God?". This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God. Michael is one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and the only one identified as an archangel in the Bible. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament he is named as a protector of Israel (see Daniel 12:1). In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament he is portrayed as the leader of heaven's armies in the war against Satan, and is thus considered the patron saint of soldiers in Christianity.

The popularity of the saint led to the name being used by nine Byzantine emperors, including Michael VIII Palaeologus who restored the empire in the 13th century. It has been common in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, and in England since the 12th century. It has been borne (in various spellings) by rulers of Russia (spelled Михаил), Romania (Mihai), Poland (Michał), and Portugal (Miguel).

In the United States, this name rapidly gained popularity beginning in the 1930s, eventually becoming the most popular male name from 1954 to 1998. However, it was not as overwhelmingly common in the United Kingdom, where it never reached the top spot.

Famous bearers of this name include the British chemist/physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), musician Michael Jackson (1958-2009), and basketball player Michael Jordan (1963-).

Feminine form of Michael.

Czech and Slovak form of Michael.

Hebrew form of Mary. It is used in the Old Testament, where it belongs to the elder sister of Moses and Aaron. She watched over the infant Moses as the pharaoh's daughter drew him from the Nile. The name has long been popular among Jews, and it has been used as an English Christian name (alongside Mary) since the Protestant Reformation.

From Japanese 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful", 夜 (ya) meaning "night" and 子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can be formed from other combinations of kanji as well.

From the name of a mountain near Barcelona, the site of a monastery founded in the 10th century. The mountain gets its name from Latin mons serratus meaning "jagged mountain".

Means "daffodil, narcissus" in Persian, ultimately derived from Greek (see Narcissus).

Modern Greek transcription of Nephele.

From the name of the American state, which means "snow-capped" in Spanish.

Means "night's end, dawn" in Sanskrit.

From the Latin word novem, meaning "nine". November was the ninth month of the Roman calendar before January and February were added around 713 BC. It is now the eleventh month of the year.

This is the name of one of the main adult female characters in Catherynne M. Valente's adult fantasy novel "Palimpsest" (2009). In the novel November remembers having read a book called "The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making" when she was a child, and the heroine of that book was called September. Valente later wrote that book as a crowd-funded work. It became the first volume in her bestselling "Fairyland" series.

From the name of the tenth month. It is derived from Latin octo meaning "eight", because it was originally the eighth month of the Roman year.

Means "born at night" in Luo.

Feminine form of Peter. This was also the name of an ancient city in the region that is now Jordan.

Latinized form of the Greek name Φωκᾶς (Phokas), which meant "seal (animal)" from Greek φώκη (phoke). This was the name of an early saint and martyr from Asia Minor. Sentenced to death for being a Christian, he is said to have given his killers lodging and then dug his own grave before he was executed.

From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek φοῖνιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".

Means "moon" in Arabic.

Serbian, Croatian and Czech feminine form of Radomil.

Czech and Slovak form of Radomir.

From the English vocabulary word denoting a continuous elevated mountain crest, or from the English surname derived from the word.

Derived from Arabic الرجل (al-Rijl) meaning "foot". This is the name of the star that forms the left foot of the constellation Orion.

Derived from the Slavic elements orsti "to grow" and slava "glory".

From the Germanic name Hrodulf, which was derived from the elements hruod meaning "fame" and wolf meaning "wolf". It was borne by three kings of Burgundy and a king of West Francia, as well as several Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. Anthony Hope used this name for the hero in his popular novel The Prisoner of Zenda (1894).

Means "wind, air" in Sanskrit.

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].

From the name of the ninth month (though it means "seventh month" in Latin, since it was originally the seventh month of the Roman year), which is sometimes used as a given name for someone born in September.

Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.

Short form of Silviya or Silvija.

Derived from the Slavic element stati "stand, become" (inflected forms in stan-) combined with slava "glory". This name was borne by a few medieval saints (typically called by the Polish form Stanisław or Latinized form Stanislaus), including a bishop of Krakow who was martyred in the 11th century.

Elaborated form of Star.

From a surname that was a variant of the surname Sidney. This is the name of the largest city in Australia, which was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney in 1788. Formerly used by both genders, since the 1980s this spelling of the name has been mostly feminine.

Czech and Slovak form of Thaddeus.

From a Welsh place name meaning "front hill", derived from Welsh tal "front, extremity" and bryn "hill".

Derived from the old Celtic root *toranos meaning "thunder", cognate with Þórr (see Thor). This was the name of the Gaulish thunder god, who was often identified with the Roman god Jupiter.

Probably a feminine form of Tyrone. Actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian created it for their daughter Taryn Power (1953-).

Anglicized form of both Teunisje and the Dutch patronymic Teunis(s)e(n), which means "son of Teunis". In some cases, this name can also be a modern variant spelling of the name Denise, via its variant spelling Dennise.

According to the website of The Corpus of First Names in The Netherlands, this name has never been in use in the Netherlands, which was to be expected, since this name is an anglicization and therefore originated in English-speaking countries.

An example of a bearer of this name is the American author Tennise Broeck Morse (born ca. 1946), who is of Dutch descent.

Form of Theresa in various languages.

Czech form of Tobias.

Modern Scandinavian form of Þórr (see Thor). It was not used as a personal name until the 18th century. It is sometimes used as a short form of names of Old Norse origin that begin with the element Tor, which is also a derivative of Þórr.

Short form of Tracy.

Meaning unknown. Perhaps based on the English word twilight, or maybe from a Cajun pronunciation of French étoile "star" [1]. It came into use as an American given name in the late 19th century.

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

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

Means "knowledge" in Sanskrit.

Hungarian form of Vitus.

From the name of the capital city of Austria, Vienna.

Czech form of William.

Czech and Slovak form of Vitus.

Feminine form of Vitus.

Feminine form of Vitale.

Russian and Ukrainian form of Vitalis (see Vitale).

Diminutive of Vít.

Italian and Spanish form of Vitus. A notable fictional bearer is Vito Corleone from The Godfather novel (1969) and movie (1972).

Feminine form of Vivianus (see Vivian). Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.

French form of Viviana.

From the name of the day of the week, which was derived from Old English wodnesdæg meaning "Woden's day". On the Addams Family television series (1964-1966) this was the name of the daughter, based on an earlier unnamed character in Charles Addams' cartoons. Her name was inspired by the popular nursery rhyme line Wednesday's child is full of woe.

Means "sandalwood" in Fijian.

From the Greek Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning "west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.

From the Old Slavic word živŭ meaning "alive, living". According to the 12th-century Saxon priest Helmold, this was the name of a Slavic goddess possibly associated with life or fertility.