hulamigo's Personal Name List
Abbott
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: A-but
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the English surname
Abbott, from Old English
abbot, ultimately from Latin
abbas "priest".
Ada 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AY-də(English) A-dha(Spanish) A-da(Dutch, Polish) AH-dah(Finnish)
Rating: 75% based on 8 votes
Originally a short form of Germanic names such as
Adelaide or
Adelina that begin with the element
adal meaning "noble".
Saint Ada was a 7th-century Frankish abbess at Le Mans. This name was also borne by Augusta Ada King (1815-1852), the Countess of Lovelace (known as Ada Lovelace), a daughter of Lord Byron. She was an assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of an early mechanical computer.
Adelaide
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: A-də-layd(English) a-deh-LIE-deh(Italian) a-di-LIE-di(European Portuguese) a-di-LIED(European Portuguese) a-deh-LIE-jee(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 77% based on 11 votes
Means
"nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis, which was composed of
adal "noble" and the suffix
heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by
Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.
In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.
Adelise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian, Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian), Norman
Rating: 72% based on 6 votes
Adina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Means "good, pleasant" in Boonwurrung, spoken in Victoria State, near Melbourne, Australia.
Adley
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Pronounced: AD-lee(American English)
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Adria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-dree-ə
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Adrian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian
Other Scripts: Адриан(Russian)
Pronounced: AY-dree-ən(English) a-dree-AN(Romanian) A-dryan(Polish) A-dree-an(German) u-dryi-AN(Russian)
Rating: 48% based on 9 votes
Form of
Hadrianus (see
Hadrian) used in several languages. Several
saints and six popes have borne this name, including the only English pope, Adrian IV, and the only Dutch pope, Adrian VI. As an English name, it has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it was not popular until modern times.
Aelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: IE-lee-a
Rating: 80% based on 3 votes
Ailsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AYL-sə(English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From Ailsa Craig, the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland, which is of uncertain derivation.
Aira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: IE-rah
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Airi 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 愛莉, 愛梨, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あいり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-EE-REE
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Japanese
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" combined with
莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or
梨 (ri) meaning "pear". Other combinations of kanji characters are possible.
Airlie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian, Modern)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Airlie.
Aitana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh (Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Derived from Kazakh ай
(ay) meaning "moon" combined with таң
(tañ) meaning "dawn, daybreak", though it is also considered a variant of the name
Aidana.
Aitana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ie-TA-na
Rating: 70% based on 4 votes
From the name of a mountain range in Valencia, eastern Spain. The Spanish poet Rafael Alberti used it for his daughter in 1941.
Alaric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Gothic (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃(Gothic)
Pronounced: AL-ə-rik(English)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the Gothic name *
Alareiks meaning
"ruler of all", derived from the element
alls "all" combined with
reiks "ruler, king". This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.
Alba 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Catalan
Pronounced: AL-ba(Italian, Spanish) AL-bə(Catalan)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
This name is derived from two distinct names,
Alba 2 and
Alba 3, with distinct origins, Latin and Germanic. Over time these names have become confused with one another. To further complicate the matter,
alba means "dawn" in Italian, Spanish and Catalan. This may be the main inspiration behind its use in Italy and Spain.
Aldric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare), Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AL-DREEK(French)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From a Germanic name, derived from the elements
alt "old" and
rih "ruler, king".
Saint Aldric was a 9th-century bishop of Le Mans.
Alec
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AL-ik
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Alessi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Piedmontese
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Alice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch
Pronounced: AL-is(English) A-LEES(French) u-LEE-si(European Portuguese) a-LEE-see(Brazilian Portuguese) a-LEE-cheh(Italian) a-LEES(German) A-li-tseh(Czech)
Rating: 93% based on 3 votes
From the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.
This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).
Alistair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: AL-i-stər(American English) AL-i-stə(British English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Amadea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, German, Italian, Sicilian, Hungarian, Galician, Polish, Slovene
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Late Roman and German feminine form of
Amadeus, Italian and Galician feminine form of
Amadeo, Sicilian feminine form of
Amadeu, Hungarian and Polish feminine form of
Amadeusz and Slovene variant of
Amadeja.
Amadeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: a-ma-DHEH-o(Spanish) a-ma-DEH-o(Italian)
Rating: 47% based on 3 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).
Amaro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Galician, Portuguese, Spanish
Pronounced: a-MA-ro(Spanish)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Meaning uncertain, perhaps related to Latin
amarus "bitter", or maybe from the Visigothic name
Amalric. This was the name of a legendary
saint who was said to have sailed across the Atlantic to a paradise. He is especially popular in Galicia and Asturias in Spain.
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
From the Late Latin name
Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name
Ἀμβρόσιος (Ambrosios) meaning
"immortal".
Saint Ambrose was a 4th-century theologian and bishop of Milan, who is considered a Doctor of the Church. Due to the saint, the name came into general use in Christian Europe, though it was never particularly common in England.
Amos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Hebrew [2]
Other Scripts: עָמוֹס(Hebrew) Ἀμώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AY-məs(English)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From Hebrew
עָמַס (ʿamas) meaning
"load, burden" [3]. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. Written about the 8th century BC, it is among the oldest of the prophetic books. As an English name,
Amos has been used since the
Protestant Reformation, and was popular among the
Puritans.
Anastasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, English, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Αναστασία(Greek) Анастасия(Russian) Анастасія(Ukrainian, Belarusian) ანასტასია(Georgian) Ἀναστασία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-na-sta-SEE-a(Greek) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yə(Russian) u-nu-stu-SYEE-yu(Ukrainian) a-na-sta-SYEE-ya(Belarusian) an-ə-STAY-zhə(English) a-na-STA-sya(Spanish) a-na-STA-zya(Italian) A-NA-STA-SEE-A(Classical Greek)
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian
saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.
Andrew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: AN-droo(English)
Rating: 70% based on 4 votes
English form of the Greek name
Ἀνδρέας (Andreas), which was derived from
ἀνδρεῖος (andreios) meaning
"manly, masculine", a derivative of
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". In the
New Testament the apostle Andrew, the first disciple to join
Jesus, is the brother of
Simon Peter. According to tradition, he later preached in the Black Sea region, with some legends saying he was crucified on an X-shaped cross.
Andrew, being a Greek name, was probably only a nickname or a translation of his real Hebrew name, which is not known.
This name has been common (in various spellings) throughout the Christian world, and it became very popular in the Middle Ages. Saint Andrew is regarded as the patron of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. The name has been borne by three kings of Hungary, American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), and, more recently, English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-).
Ane 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: A-neh
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Anna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Armenian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Scottish Gaelic, Biblical, Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Άννα(Greek) Анна(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Church Slavic) Աննա(Armenian) Ἄννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-ə(English) AN-na(Italian, Polish, Icelandic) A-na(German, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Czech) AH-na(Dutch) AHN-nah(Norwegian, Finnish, Armenian) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan) ahn-NAH(Armenian)
Rating: 68% based on 8 votes
Form of
Hannah used in the Greek and Latin
Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the
Hannah spelling instead of
Anna. The name appears briefly in the
New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of
Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin
Mary.
In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.
The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.
Annabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: AN-ə-behl(English) ah-na-BEHL(Dutch)
Rating: 56% based on 7 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.
Anneliese
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch
Pronounced: A-nə-lee-zə(German) ah-nə-LEE-sə(Dutch)
Rating: 81% based on 11 votes
Archer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-chər(American English) AH-chə(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 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.
Aria 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AHR-ee-ə
Rating: 67% based on 7 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.
Arlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHR-lo(American English) AH-lo(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Meaning uncertain. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands".
Asher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: אָשֵׁר(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ASH-ər(American English) ASH-ə(British English)
Rating: 15% based on 2 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.
Ashwin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
Other Scripts: अश्विन(Hindi, Marathi) அசுவின், அஸ்வின்(Tamil) అశ్విన్(Telugu) ಅಶ್ವಿನ್(Kannada)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Sanskrit
अश्विन् (aśvin) meaning
"possessed of horses". The Ashvins are twin Hindu gods of the sunrise and sunset.
Aura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Finnish
Pronounced: AWR-ə(English) OW-ra(Italian, Spanish) OW-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 68% based on 4 votes
From the word
aura (derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek
αὔρα meaning "breeze") for a distinctive atmosphere or illumination.
Aurelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Polish
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-a(Latin) ow-REH-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish)
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
Aurélie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: O-REH-LEE
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
Aurora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Romanian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: ow-RAW-ra(Italian) ow-RO-ra(Spanish, Latin) ə-RAWR-ə(English) OW-ro-rah(Finnish)
Rating: 67% based on 9 votes
Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.
Ava 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və
Rating: 71% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Eve. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). This name became very popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 21st century, entering the top ten for girls in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It began to rise sharply after 1997, possibly inspired by the actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora when they used it for their baby daughter that year.
Avalena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Avalene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant of
Aveline, though it may also simply be a combination of
Ava 1 with the popular suffix
lene.
Avaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lien, AV-ə-leen
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Avela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton (Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Avelina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Aveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: AV-ə-lien, AV-ə-leen
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From the Norman French form of the Germanic name
Avelina, a
diminutive of
Avila. The
Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century
[1].
Avellana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ah-vel-AH-na
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Derived from Latin
avellana "hazel", literally "from Avella". Alternatively, it could be a transferred use of the Spanish surname
Avellana.
Avery
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AY-və-ree, AYV-ree
Rating: 85% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names
Alberich or
Alfred.
As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
Avi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִי(Hebrew)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Aviel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיאֵל(Hebrew)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Modern Hebrew form of
Abiel.
Avila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Derived from the Old German element
awi, of unknown meaning. Rarely, this name may be given in honour of the 16th-century mystic
Saint Teresa of Ávila,
Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.
Ayla 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
Means "moonlight, halo" in Turkish.
Aytana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kalmyk
Other Scripts: Айтана(Kalmyk Cyrillic)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
From the Kalmyk aйта (ayta) meaning "nice, pleasant".
Barrett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAR-it, BEHR-it
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
From a surname probably meaning "quarrelsome, deceptive" in Middle English, originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Bennett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BEHN-it
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Medieval form of
Benedict. This was the more common spelling in England until the 18th century. Modern use of the name is probably also influenced by the common surname
Bennett, itself a derivative of the medieval name.
Bonnie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAHN-ee(American English) BAWN-ee(British English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Means "pretty" from the Scottish word bonnie, which was itself derived from Middle French bon "good". It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century, and it became especially popular after the movie Gone with the Wind (1939), in which it was the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From an Irish surname (Anglicized from Irish Gaelic
Ó Braonáin) that was derived from the byname
Braonán, itself from Irish
braon meaning "rain, moisture, drop" combined with a
diminutive suffix. As a given name, it has been used since the 1960s as an alternative to
Brendan or
Brandon, though it has not been as popular as them.
Bridget
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BRIJ-it(English)
Rating: 55% based on 8 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Brighid, Old Irish
Brigit, from old Celtic *
Brigantī meaning
"the exalted one". In Irish
mythology this was the name of the goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the god
Dagda. In the 5th century it was borne by
Saint Brigid, the founder of a monastery at Kildare and a patron saint of Ireland. Because of the saint, the name was considered sacred in Ireland, and it did not come into general use there until the 17th century. In the form
Birgitta this name has been common in Scandinavia, made popular by the 14th-century Saint Birgitta of Sweden, patron saint of Europe.
Bronwyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Bronwen used in the English-speaking world (especially Australia and New Zealand).
Cabot
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
The name 'Cabot' comes from the fifteenth century Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto who was commissioned by the Kingdom of England to discover North America. When Caboto arrived in England is name was changed to John Cabot to sound more English. The name also comes from the famous Cabot family who were very powerful in the Massachusetts Bay area around present day Boston.
Caetana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Portuguese feminine form of
Caietanus (see
Gaetano).
Caio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: KIE-oo(Portuguese) KA-yo(Italian)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Portuguese and Italian form of
Gaius.
Cairo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIE-ro
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
From the name of the city in Egypt, called
القاهرة (al-Qāhira) in Arabic, meaning "the victorious"
[1].
Caleb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: כָּלֵב(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-ləb(English)
Rating: 60% based on 4 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.
Calla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning
"beauty".
Callan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ən
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Cathaláin, derived from the given name
Cathalán.
Camden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-dən
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, perhaps meaning "enclosed valley" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the English historian William Camden (1551-1623).
Cameron
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAM-rən
Rating: 63% based on 6 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.
Carita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: ka-REE-ta
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Derived from Latin caritas meaning "dearness, esteem, love".
Cassia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KAS-see-a(Latin) KA-shə(English) KAS-ee-ə(English)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Catalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Corsican
Pronounced: ka-ta-LEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 50% based on 8 votes
Cayetana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ka-yeh-TA-na
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Spanish feminine form of
Caietanus (see
Gaetano).
Cedra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SEHD-rə, SEH-drə
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Cedric. A famous namesake is the child actress in the 2018 movie Capernaüm, Cedra Izzam.
Cedric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SEHD-rik
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Invented by Walter Scott for a character in his novel
Ivanhoe (1819). Apparently he based it on the actual name
Cerdic, the name of the semi-legendary founder of the kingdom of Wessex in the 6th century. The meaning of
Cerdic is uncertain, but it does not appear to be Old English in origin. It could be connected to the Brythonic name
Caratācos. The name was also used by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the main character in her novel
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886).
Charlotte
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: SHAR-LAWT(French) SHAHR-lət(American English) SHAH-lət(British English) shar-LAW-tə(German) sha-LOT(Swedish) shahr-LAW-tə(Dutch)
Rating: 74% based on 8 votes
French feminine
diminutive of
Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of
Jane Eyre and
Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.
This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.
Chiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KYA-ra
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Italian form of
Clara.
Saint Chiara (commonly called
Clare in English) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Ciara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEEY-rə
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Feminine form of
Ciar. This is another name for
Saint Ciar.
Ĉiela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: chee-EH-la
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "heavenly, from the sky" in Esperanto, from ĉielo "sky", ultimately derived from Latin caelum.
Ciela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), Filipino, Spanish (Latin American, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Either a modern variant of
Cielo or a truncated form of names that end in
-ciela.
Cináed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Scottish, Old Irish [1]
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Possibly from Old Irish
cin "respect, esteem, affection" or
cinid "be born, come into being" combined with
áed "fire", though it might actually be of Pictish origin. This was the name of the first king of the Scots and Picts (9th century). It is often Anglicized as
Kenneth. The originally unrelated name
Coinneach is sometimes used as the modern Scottish Gaelic form.
Cohen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KO-ən
Rating: 48% based on 6 votes
From a common Jewish surname that was derived from Hebrew
כֹּהֵן (kohen) meaning
"priest". This surname was traditionally associated with the hereditary priests who claimed descent from the biblical
Aaron.
Colby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KOL-bee
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From an English surname, originally from various place names, derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement". As a given name, its popularity spiked in the United States and Canada in 2001 when Colby Donaldson (1974-) appeared on the reality television show Survivor.
Cosette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Literature
Pronounced: KAW-ZEHT(French)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
From French
chosette meaning
"little thing". This is the nickname of the illegitimate daughter of Fantine in Victor Hugo's novel
Les Misérables (1862). Her real name is
Euphrasie, though it is seldom used. In the novel young Cosette is the ward of the cruel Thénardiers until she is retrieved by Jean Valjean.
Cosima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAW-zee-ma
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Italian feminine form of
Cosimo.
Cullen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KUL-ən
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From a surname, either
Cullen 1 or
Cullen 2. It jumped a little in popularity as a given name after Stephenie Meyer's novel
Twilight (2005), featuring a vampire named Edward Cullen, was adapted into a movie in 2008.
Cyan
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIE-an
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From the English word meaning
"greenish blue, cyan", ultimately derived from Greek
κύανος (kyanos).
Cybele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Near Eastern Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κυβέλη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: SIB-ə-lee(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown, possibly from Phrygian roots meaning either "stone" or "hair". This was the name of the Phrygian mother goddess associated with fertility and nature. She was later worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.
Cyrus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Old Persian (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κῦρος(Ancient Greek) 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced: SIE-rəs(English)
Rating: 77% based on 3 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.
Dacre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAY-kər(American English) DAY-kə(British English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name in Cumbria, of Brythonic origin meaning "trickling stream".
Dafina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Дафина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "laurel" in Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, of Greek origin.
Daisy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-zee
Rating: 90% based on 2 votes
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English
dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.
This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.
Danika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Dashiell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-SHEEL, DASH-il
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
In the case of American author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) it was from his mother's surname, which was possibly an Anglicized form of French de Chiel, of unknown meaning.
Deianeira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηϊάνειρα, Δῃάνειρα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From Greek
δηιόω (deioo) meaning "to slay" and
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man". In Greek
mythology this was the name of the wife of
Herakles. She unwittingly poisoned her husband by giving him the Shirt of Nessus.
Delia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δηλία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-lee-ə(English) DEH-lya(Italian, Spanish) DEH-lee-a(Romanian)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Means
"of Delos" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess
Artemis, given because she and her twin brother
Apollo were born on the island of Delos. The name appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.
Della
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHL-ə
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Demelza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British, Rare)
Pronounced: də-MEHL-zə
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From a Cornish place name meaning "fort of Maeldaf". It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the British television series Poldark, which was set in Cornwall.
Diego
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: DYEH-gho(Spanish) DYEH-go(Italian)
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Spanish name, possibly a shortened form of
Santiago. In medieval records
Diego was Latinized as
Didacus, and it has been suggested that it in fact derives from Greek
διδαχή (didache) meaning
"teaching".
Saint Didacus (or Diego) was a 15th-century Franciscan brother based in Alcalá, Spain.
Other famous bearers of this name include Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona (1960-2020).
Dominic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAHM-i-nik(American English) DAWM-i-nik(British English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 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.
Dorian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Romanian, Polish
Pronounced: DAWR-ee-ən(English) DAW-RYAHN(French)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
The name was first used by Oscar Wilde in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), which tells the story of a man whose portrait ages while he stays young. Wilde may have taken it from the name of the ancient Greek tribe the Dorians.
Edie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-dee
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Eduardo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: eh-DHWAR-dho(Spanish)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Edward.
Eilidh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: EH-li
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
Eiza
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Possibly a variant of
Aiza, or a form of
Elsa or
ElizaA noted bearer is Mexican actress Eiza González, born Eiza González Reyna (b.1990), best known for her roles as Lola in the Televisa telenovela 'Lola...Érase una vez' and Santanico Pandemonium in El Rey's television series 'From Dusk Till Dawn' (a role portrayed by noted Mexican actress Salma Hayek in the original film of the same name).
Elanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.
Eleanor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ə-nawr(American English) EHL-ə-naw(British English)
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
From the Old French form of the Occitan name
Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named
Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase
alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.
The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.
Elena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, Greek, German, English
Other Scripts: Елена(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian) Έλενα(Greek)
Pronounced: EH-leh-na(Italian, Slovak, Czech, German) eh-LEH-na(Spanish, Romanian, German) eh-LEH-nu(Bulgarian) eh-lyeh-NU(Lithuanian) EH-leh-nah(Finnish) yi-LYEH-nə(Russian) i-LYEH-nə(Russian) EHL-ə-nə(English) ə-LAY-nə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Form of
Helen used in various languages, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Елена (see
Yelena).
Eleni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελένη(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-LEH-nee
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Modern Greek form of
Helen.
Elenora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ehl-ə-NAWR-ə
Rating: 67% based on 7 votes
Eleonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek
Other Scripts: Елеонора(Bulgarian, Ukrainian) Элеонора(Russian) Ελεονώρα(Greek)
Pronounced: eh-leh-o-NAW-ra(Italian) eh-leh-o-NO-ra(German, Dutch) eh-leh-aw-NAW-ra(Polish) eh-lyi-u-NO-rə(Russian)
Rating: 70% based on 4 votes
Form of
Eleanor in several languages.
Elia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: eh-LEE-a
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Elias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ηλίας(Greek) ኤልያስ(Amharic) Ἠλίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: i-LEE-ush(European Portuguese) eh-LEE-us(Brazilian Portuguese) eh-LEE-as(German) EH-lee-ahs(Finnish, Dutch) i-LIE-əs(English) ee-LIE-əs(English)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
Form of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek
New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Elijah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיָּהוּ(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIE-jə(English) i-LIE-zhə(English)
Rating: 81% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֱלִיָּהוּ (ʾEliyyahu) meaning
"my God is Yahweh", derived from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) and
יָהּ (yah), both referring to the Hebrew God. Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker, as told in the two Books of Kings in the
Old Testament. He was active in the 9th century BC during the reign of King
Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen
Jezebel. Elijah confronted the king and queen over their idolatry of the Canaanite god
Ba'al and other wicked deeds. At the end of his life he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and was succeeded by
Elisha. In the
New Testament, Elijah and
Moses appear next to
Jesus when he is transfigured.
Because Elijah was a popular figure in medieval tales, and because his name was borne by a few early saints (who are usually known by the Latin form Elias), the name came into general use during the Middle Ages. In medieval England it was usually spelled Elis. It died out there by the 16th century, but it was revived by the Puritans in the form Elijah after the Protestant Reformation. The name became popular during the 1990s and 2000s, especially in America where it broke into the top ten in 2016.
Elio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: EH-lyo
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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: 69% based on 8 votes
Elliott
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-ee-ət
Rating: 69% based on 7 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a
diminutive of the medieval name
Elias.
Élodie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EH-LAW-DEE
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
Eloise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-o-eez, ehl-o-EEZ
Rating: 63% based on 9 votes
From the Old French name
Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name
Helewidis, composed of the elements
heil meaning "healthy, whole" and
wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word
ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name
Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.
There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.
Elowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Cornish
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
Elsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: EHL-za(German) EHL-sah(Finnish) EHL-sa(Italian, Spanish) EHL-sə(English)
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
Short form of
Elisabeth, typically used independently. In medieval German tales Elsa von Brabant was the lover of the hero
Lohengrin. Her story was expanded by Richard Wagner for his opera
Lohengrin (1850). The name had a little spike in popularity after the 2013 release of the animated Disney movie
Frozen, which featured a magical princess by this name.
Elsie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish
Pronounced: EHL-see(English)
Rating: 75% based on 6 votes
Elspeth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: EHLS-peth
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Elva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Embla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: EHM-blah(Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Meaning uncertain, perhaps related to Old Norse
almr "elm". In Norse
mythology Embla and her husband
Ask were the first humans. They were created by three of the gods from two trees.
Emilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Finnish, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Greek, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Αιμιλία(Greek) Емилия(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: eh-MEE-lya(Italian, Spanish, Polish) EH-mee-lee-ah(Finnish) eh-MEE-lee-ah(Swedish) i-MEE-lee-ə(English) eh-mee-LEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 66% based on 7 votes
Feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of
Iago.
Emmeline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHM-ə-leen, EHM-ə-lien
Rating: 65% based on 2 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: 40% based on 1 vote
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.
Enzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, French
Pronounced: EHN-tso(Italian) EHN-ZO(French)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
The meaning of this name is uncertain. In some cases it seems to be an old Italian form of
Heinz, though in other cases it could be a variant of the Germanic name
Anzo. In modern times it is also used as a short form of names ending in
enzo, such as
Vincenzo or
Lorenzo.
A famous bearer was the Italian racecar driver and industrialist Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988).
Éowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: AY-ə-win(English)
Rating: 53% based on 4 votes
Means "horse joy" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden of Rohan. She slays the Lord of the Nazgul in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Essa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عيسى(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘EE-sa
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Arabic
عيسى (see
Isa 1).
Essie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHS-ee
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Ethan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אֵיתָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: EE-thən(English) EH-TAN(French)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name
אֵיתָן (ʾEṯan) meaning
"solid, enduring, firm". In the
Old Testament this name is borne by a few minor characters, including the wise man Ethan the Ezrahite, supposedly the author of Psalm 89.
After the Protestant Reformation it was occasionally used as a given name in the English-speaking world, and it became somewhat common in America due to the fame of the revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789). It only became popular towards the end of the 20th century. It is the name of the main character in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome (1911), about a man in love with his wife's cousin.
Eva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, Czech, Slovak, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, Romanian, Greek, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Biblical Latin, Old Church Slavic
Other Scripts: Εύα(Greek) Ева(Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Church Slavic) ევა(Georgian) Էվա(Armenian)
Pronounced: EH-ba(Spanish) EH-va(Italian, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Icelandic, Greek) EE-və(English) EH-fa(German) EH-vah(Danish) YEH-və(Russian) EH-VAH(Georgian) EH-wa(Latin)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Form of
Eve used in various languages. This form is used in the Latin translation of the
New Testament, while
Hava is used in the Latin
Old Testament. A notable bearer was the Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1919-1952), the subject of the musical
Evita. The name also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) belonging to the character Little Eva, whose real name is in fact Evangeline.
This is also an alternate transcription of Russian Ева (see Yeva).
Evaline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Evan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: EHV-ən(English)
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of
Ifan, a Welsh form of
John.
Evelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Swedish, Lithuanian, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Εβελίνα(Greek) Эвелина(Russian) Евелина(Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ehv-ə-LEE-nə(English) eh-veh-LEE-na(Italian, Swedish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Latinate form of
Aveline. It was revived by the author Fanny Burney for the heroine of her first novel
Evelina (1778). It is often regarded as a variant of the related name
Evelyn or an elaboration of
Eve.
Eveline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch
Pronounced: EHV-ə-leen(English) EHV-ə-lien(English) EHV-LEEN(French) eh-və-LEE-nə(Dutch) eh-və-LEEN(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Everett
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHV-ə-rit, EHV-rit
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Everard.
Évora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Evren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ehv-REHN
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means
"cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic
mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
Federico
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: feh-dheh-REE-ko(Spanish) feh-deh-REE-ko(Italian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Spanish and Italian form of
Frederick. Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (1920-1993) are famous bearers of this name.
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: 15% based on 2 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).
Fia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: fyee-ə
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Allegedly derived from Irish fia "deer" (via Old Irish fíad "wild animals, game, especially deer", ultimately from fid "wood").
Fianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Modern)
Pronounced: FYEEY-nə
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Irish fiann meaning "band of warriors".
Fiera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: fee-EH-ra
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "proud" in Esperanto.
Finella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Finlay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: FIN-lee(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of
Fionnlagh. This spelling is more common in Scotland, though in England and Wales the variant
Finley has been more popular since 2007.
Finley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FIN-lee
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.
Finn 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1], Irish, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: FIN(English, Dutch, German)
Rating: 55% based on 6 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.
Finnea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: Finn-e-ah(American English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Possibly intended as a feminine form of
Finneas.
Finnian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Derived from Old Irish
finn "white, blessed". This was the name of several Irish
saints, including the founders of monasteries at Clonard and Movilla (both 6th century).
Finola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Fleura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare, Archaic)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
Rating: 75% based on 6 votes
From Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse
mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.
Genevieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHN-ə-veev
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Georgia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Γεωργία(Greek)
Pronounced: JAWR-jə(American English) JAW-jə(British English) yeh-or-YEE-a(Greek)
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Latinate feminine form of
George. This is the name of an American state, which was named after the British king George II. The country of Georgia has an unrelated etymology. A famous bearer was the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986).
Ginevra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jee-NEH-vra
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Italian form of
Guinevere. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word
ginepro meaning "juniper".
Gwendolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Variant of
Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.
Gwyneira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwi-NAY-ra
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Means
"white snow" from the Welsh element
gwyn meaning "white, blessed" combined with
eira meaning "snow". This is a recently created Welsh name.
Hazel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAY-zəl
Rating: 90% based on 2 votes
From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.
Heidi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, English
Pronounced: HIE-dee(German, English) HAY-dee(Finnish)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
German
diminutive of
Adelheid. This is the name of the title character in the children's novel
Heidi (1880) by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The name began to be used in the English-speaking world shortly after the 1937 release of the movie adaptation, which starred Shirley Temple.
Henry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HEHN-ree
Rating: 71% based on 8 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).
Hugo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: OO-gho(Spanish) OO-goo(Portuguese) HYOO-go(English) HUY-gho(Dutch) HOO-go(German) UY-GO(French)
Rating: 40% based on 3 votes
Old German form of
Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and
Les Misérables.
Iara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "lady of the water" in Tupi, from y "water" and îara "lady, mistress". In Brazilian folklore this is the name of a beautiful river nymph who would lure men into the water. She may have been based upon earlier Tupi legends.
Idina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew
Pronounced: i-DEE-nə
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Possibly related to
Adina 1. Actress Idina Menzel is a well-known bearer.
Idris 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Malay, Indonesian
Other Scripts: إدريس(Arabic)
Pronounced: eed-REES(Arabic) EE-drees(Malay, Indonesian)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Possibly means
"interpreter, teacher" in Arabic, related to the root
درس (darasa) meaning "to study, to learn". According to the
Quran this was the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
Ieva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Latvian
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Lithuanian and Latvian form of
Eve. This is also the Lithuanian and Latvian word for a type of cherry tree (species Prunus padus).
Ilah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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: 45% based on 2 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).
Iona 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Scottish
Pronounced: ie-O-nə(English)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
From the name of the island off Scotland where
Saint Columba founded a monastery. The name of the island is Old Norse in origin, and apparently derives simply from
ey meaning "island".
Isaac
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: יִצְחָק(Hebrew)
Pronounced: IE-zək(English) ee-sa-AK(Spanish) EE-ZAK(French) EE-ZA-AK(French)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name
יִצְחָק (Yitsḥaq) meaning
"he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from
צָחַק (tsaḥaq) meaning "to laugh". The
Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that
Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife
Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see
Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see
Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of
Esau and
Jacob with his wife
Rebecca.
As an English Christian name, Isaac was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, though it was more common among Jews. It became more widespread after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992).
Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
Medieval Occitan form of
Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.
This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.
Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 58% based on 6 votes
Latinate form of
Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called
Isabel).
In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.
A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).
Isadora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Portuguese
Pronounced: iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 votes
Variant of
Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).
Isaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Other Scripts: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ie-ZAY-ə(American English) ie-ZIE-ə(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
From the Hebrew name
יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Yeshaʿyahu) meaning
"Yahweh is salvation", from the roots
יָשַׁע (yashaʿ) meaning "to save" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. Isaiah is one of the four major prophets of the
Old Testament, supposedly the author of the Book of Isaiah. He was from Jerusalem and probably lived in the 8th century BC, at a time when Assyria threatened the Kingdom of Judah. As an English Christian name,
Isaiah was first used after the
Protestant Reformation.
Isara
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: อิสระ(Thai)
Pronounced: eet-sa-RA
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
Alternate transcription of Thai อิสระ (see
Itsara).
Isidora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese (Rare), Italian (Rare), English (Rare), Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Исидора(Serbian, Russian) Ἰσιδώρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-see-DHO-ra(Spanish) ee-zee-DAW-ra(Italian) iz-ə-DAWR-ə(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Feminine form of
Isidore. This was the name of a 4th-century Egyptian
saint and hermitess.
Isla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: IE-lə
Rating: 73% based on 7 votes
Variant of
Islay, typically used as a feminine name. It also coincides with the Spanish word
isla meaning "island".
Isola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Italian (Rare)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Popularly claimed to be derived from the Italian word
isola "island", this name might actually rather be a variant of
Isolda.
Isola Wilde was the younger sister of author and playwright Oscar Wilde. Isola died aged eight of meningitis, and her brother dedicated the poem Requiescat to her memory.
Isra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Means
"nocturnal journey" in Arabic, derived from
سرى (sarā) meaning "to travel by night". According to Islamic tradition, the
Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet
Muhammad.
Iva 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian
Other Scripts: Ива(Bulgarian, Serbian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "willow tree" in South Slavic.
Iva 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Slovene
Other Scripts: Ива(Serbian)
Pronounced: I-va(Czech)
Rating: 35% based on 2 votes
Iyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Most often a variant form of
Isla and
Ila, but sometimes also of
Ayla 3 and
Elah.
In at least one case - namely, the youngest daughter of British pop singer Steve Hart (b. 1972) and his wife Ashley Scott (b. 1977) - the name is a corruption of the phrase "I love you". In these cases, the name is essentially a name invented by the parents.
Jade
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: JAYD(English) ZHAD(French)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.
Joaquín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kho-a-KEEN, khwa-KEEN
Rating: 60% based on 2 votes
Jovie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern), Popular Culture
Pronounced: JO-vee
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Inspired by the English word
jovial meaning "merry; cheerful and good-humored", which is itself derived from the name of the god
Jove. Zooey Deschanel played a character by this name in the popular 2003 Christmas movie
Elf.
In some cases, it could be a diminutive of Jovan or Jovana or a variant of Jovi.
Jude 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JOOD(English)
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
Variant of
Judas. It is used in many English versions of the
New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was supposedly the author of the Epistle of Jude. In the English-speaking world,
Jude has occasionally been used as a given name since the time of the
Protestant Reformation.
Kaede
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 楓, etc.(Japanese Kanji) かえで(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KA-EH-DEH
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Japanese
楓 (kaede) meaning "maple" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Kaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Estonian
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Kaleo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ka-LEH-o
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "sound, voice" from Hawaiian ka "the" and leo "sound, voice".
Kalina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish
Other Scripts: Калина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: ka-LEE-na(Polish)
Rating: 50% based on 4 votes
Means "viburnum tree" in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish.
Katina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Macedonian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Κατίνα(Greek) Катина(Macedonian, Bulgarian)
Rating: 13% based on 4 votes
Greek contracted form of
Katerina. This name had a spike in popularity in America in 1972 when it was used for a newborn baby on the soap opera
Where the Heart Is.
Keely
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KEE-lee
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Caolaidhe, itself derived from the given name Caoladhe, from Irish caol "slender".
Keeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-və(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Keira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KIR-ə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant of
Ciara 1. This spelling was popularized by British actress Keira Knightley (1985-).
Kelila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כְּלִילָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
From Hebrew
כְּלִיל (kelil) meaning
"crown, wreath, garland" or
"complete, perfect".
Kenzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese, French (Modern)
Other Scripts: 謙三, 健三, 賢三(Japanese Kanji) けんぞう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KEWN-ZO(Japanese)
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
謙三 or
健三 or
賢三 (see
Kenzō). Use of the name in France can probably be attributed to the fashion brand Kenzo, founded in 1970 by the Japanese-French designer Kenzō Takada (1939-2020).
Kian 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Kiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: kee-AHR-ə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant of
Ciara 1 or
Chiara. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song
This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie
The Lion King II (1998).
Kielo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: KEE-lo
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "lily of the valley" in Finnish (species Convallaria majalis).
Kiera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KIR-ə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Kieran
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: KIR-ən(English) KIR-awn(English)
Rating: 43% based on 6 votes
Kieva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare), Irish (Anglicized, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Killian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, French
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Cillian, also used in France.
Kira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кира(Russian) Кіра(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KYEE-rə(Russian)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Russian feminine form of
Cyrus.
Kira 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KIR-ə
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Kirra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indigenous Australian, English (Australian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Kirra is a beach-side suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland which has been popular with holidaymakers since the early 20th century. The name of the suburb is believed to be an Indigenous name, however the specific language and meaning are unknown. It was possibly derived from the Yuggera language in which kaiyar means "white cockatoo" or the Kabi language, in which kirran means "fire". It may also have been named after the boomerang.
Kitana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Name of a character in the 'Mortal Kombat' series of video games, based on the Japanese words
kitsune (see
Kitsune) and
katana (see
Katana).
Ksenia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Ксения(Russian) Ксенія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KSEH-nya(Polish) KSYEH-nyi-yə(Russian)
Rating: 73% based on 4 votes
Polish form of
Xenia, as well as an alternate transcription of Russian
Ксения or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Ксенія (see
Kseniya).
Lavinia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Romanian, Italian
Pronounced: la-WEE-nee-a(Latin) lə-VIN-ee-ə(English) la-VEE-nya(Italian)
Rating: 57% based on 3 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.
Layla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English
Other Scripts: ليلى(Arabic)
Pronounced: LIE-la(Arabic) LAY-lə(English)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
Means
"night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet
Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem
Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song
Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
Leah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew, Biblical
Other Scripts: לֵאָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-ə(English)
Rating: 76% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1]. Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the
Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.
Lennon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHN-ən
Rating: 44% based on 7 votes
From an Irish surname, derived from the Irish byname
Leannán meaning "lover". The surname was borne by musician and Beatle member John Lennon (1940-1980), and it may be used as a given name in his honour. In America it is now more common as a feminine name, possibly inspired in part by the singer Lennon Stella (1999-), who began appearing on the television series
Nashville in 2012
[1].
Leo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Լեո(Armenian)
Pronounced: LEH-o(German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish) LEE-o(English)
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
Derived from Latin
leo meaning
"lion", a
cognate of
Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including
Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled
Лев in Russian, whose works include
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
In some cases this name can be a short form of longer names that start with Leo, such as Leonard.
Leonel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: leh-o-NEHL(Spanish)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Lionel.
Leonora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Lessia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian (Gallicized), Italian, English
Other Scripts: Леся(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LEHS-yə(Italian) LEH-see-ə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
French transcription of
Lesya.
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Rating: 66% based on 5 votes
Possibly means
"joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the
Old Testament, Levi was the third son of
Jacob and
Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers
Moses and
Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, where it is borne by a son of
Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle
Matthew.
As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Levon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Լեւոն(Armenian)
Pronounced: leh-VAWN
Rating: 53% based on 3 votes
Armenian form of
Leon. This was the name of several kings of Cilician Armenia, including the first king Levon I the Magnificent.
Lino 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galician
Pronounced: LEE-no(Italian, Spanish) LEE-nuw(Galician)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Galician form of
Linus.
Lionel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: LYAW-NEHL(French) LIE-ə-nəl(English) LIE-nəl(English)
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
French
diminutive of
Léon. It appears in Arthurian legend in the 13th-century
Lancelot-Grail Cycle, belonging to a knight who was the brother of Sir
Bors. A notable modern bearer is the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi (1987-).
Livia 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIV-ee-ə
Rating: 75% based on 4 votes
Lola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English, French
Pronounced: LO-la(Spanish) LO-lə(English) LAW-LA(French)
Rating: 70% based on 6 votes
Spanish
diminutive of
Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.
Lorelei
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Pronounced: LAWR-ə-lie(English)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From German
Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German
ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.
In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
Lucia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Romanian, Slovak, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHEE-a(Italian) LOO-tsya(German) loo-TSEE-a(German) LUY-see-a(Dutch) LOO-shə(English) loo-SEE-ə(English) luy-SEE-a(Swedish) LOO-chya(Romanian) LOO-kee-a(Latin)
Rating: 68% based on 6 votes
Feminine form of
Lucius.
Saint Lucia was a 4th-century martyr from Syracuse. She was said to have had her eyes gouged out, and thus she is the patron saint of the blind. She was widely revered in the Middle Ages, and her name has been used throughout Christian Europe (in various spellings). It has been used in the England since the 12th century, usually in the spellings
Lucy or
Luce.
Lucy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOO-see
Rating: 64% based on 8 votes
English form of
Lucia, in use since the Middle Ages.
Luena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese
Rating: 63% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown, possibly from the name of a city in Angola. It was popularized in Portugal by a character on the telenovela A Única Mulher (2015-2017).
Luisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: LWEE-sa(Spanish) LWEE-za(Italian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Luisana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Rating: 15% based on 2 votes
Luke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: LOOK(English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
English form of Latin
Lucas, from the Greek name
Λουκᾶς (Loukas), probably a shortened form of
Λουκανός (Loukanos) meaning
"from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy. Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the
New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a
saint by many Christian denominations.
Due to the saint's renown, the name became common in the Christian world (in various spellings). As an English name, Luke has been in use since the 12th century alongside the Latin form Lucas. Both forms became popular throughout the English-speaking world towards the end of the 20th century. A famous fictional bearer was the hero Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies, beginning in 1977.
Lux
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: LUKS(English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Derived from Latin lux meaning "light".
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 10 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.
Lyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIE-lə
Rating: 60% based on 5 votes
Lyle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LIEL, LIE-əl
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".
Madeleine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Swedish
Pronounced: MAD-LEHN(French) MAD-ə-lin(English) MAD-ə-lien(English) MAD-lin(English) mahd-eh-LEHN(Swedish)
Rating: 65% based on 6 votes
Maëlle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Breton
Pronounced: MA-EHL(French)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Maeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tahitian, French
Pronounced: MA-EH-VA(French)
Rating: 82% based on 6 votes
Means "welcome" in Tahitian. It gained popularity in France during the 1980s.
Maeve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: MAYV(English)
Rating: 83% based on 6 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.
Maika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Maisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Rating: 73% based on 3 votes
Maite 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: MIE-teh
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Means "beloved" in Basque.
Marielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-RYEHL
Rating: 85% based on 4 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: 53% based on 6 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.
Marisela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ma-ree-SEH-la
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Marsaili
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: MAR-si-li
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Mateo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Croatian
Pronounced: ma-TEH-o(Spanish)
Rating: 67% based on 6 votes
Spanish form of
Matthew. This form is also sometimes used in Croatia, from the Italian form
Matteo.
Matilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene
Pronounced: mə-TIL-də(English) MAH-teel-dah(Finnish) MA-teel-da(Slovak)
Rating: 73% based on 8 votes
From the Germanic name
Mahthilt meaning
"strength in battle", from the elements
maht "might, strength" and
hilt "battle".
Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by the
Normans, being borne by the wife of William the Conqueror himself. Another notable royal by this name was a 12th-century daughter of Henry I of England, known as the Empress Matilda because of her first marriage to the Holy Roman emperor Henry V. She later invaded England, laying the foundations for the reign of her son Henry II.
The name was very popular until the 15th century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 19th century. This name appears in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda, written in 1895.
Max
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan
Other Scripts: Макс(Russian)
Pronounced: MAKS(German, English, Czech, Russian, French, Catalan) MAHKS(Dutch)
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Maximilian or
Maxim. In English it can also be short for
Maxwell, and it coincides with the informal word
max, short for
maximum.
Famous bearers include the German intellectual Max Weber (1864-1920) and the German physicist Max Planck (1858-1947). This name is also borne by the title character in the Mad Max series of movies, starting 1979.
Mayra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic)
Pronounced: MIE-ra(Spanish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Hispanic variant of
Myra.
Mele
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian, Tongan, Samoan
Pronounced: MEH-leh(Hawaiian)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means
"song" in Hawaiian. This is also the Hawaiian, Tongan and Samoan form of
Mary.
Meliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various (Rare)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Derived from Latin melior meaning "better".
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: 67% based on 6 votes
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names containing that element.
Milan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian, Dutch (Modern), German (Modern), French (Modern)
Other Scripts: Милан(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: MI-lan(Czech) MEE-lan(Slovak, Serbian, Croatian) MEE-lahn(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
From the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear", originally a short form of names that began with that element. It was originally used in Czech, Slovak, and the South Slavic languages, though it has recently become popular elsewhere in Europe.
A city in Italy bears this name, though in this case it originates from Latin Mediolanum, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin meaning "middle of the plain". In some cases the city name may be an influence on the use of the given name.
Milena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Italian
Other Scripts: Милена(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian)
Pronounced: MI-leh-na(Czech) MEE-leh-na(Slovak) mee-LEH-na(Polish, Italian) myi-LYEH-nə(Russian)
Rating: 74% based on 5 votes
Feminine form of
Milan. It began to be used in Italy in honour of Milena Vukotić (1847-1923), mother of Helen of Montenegro, the wife of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In Italy it can also be considered a combination of
Maria and
Elena.
Miles
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
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.
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Rating: 88% based on 5 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].
Mina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: MEE-nə(English) MEE-na(Dutch)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Short form of
Wilhelmina and other names ending in
mina. This was the name of a character in the novel
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker.
Minea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: MEE-neh-ah
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Created by the Finnish writer Mika Waltari for a character in his historical novel
The Egyptian (1945). He may have based it on the name
Minos, as the character is herself of Cretan origin.
Minna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Archaic), Finnish, Swedish
Pronounced: MI-na(German) MEEN-nah(Finnish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means
"love" in Old German, specifically medieval courtly love. It is also used as a short form of
Wilhelmina. This is the name of the title character in the play
Minna von Barnhelm (1767) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
Mirella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: mee-REHL-la
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Molly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHL-ee(American English) MAWL-ee(British English)
Rating: 87% based on 3 votes
Medieval
diminutive of
Mary, now often used independently. It developed from
Malle and
Molle, other medieval diminutives. James Joyce used this name in his novel
Ulysses (1922), where it belongs to Molly Bloom, the wife of the main character.
Monroe
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: mən-RO
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From a Scottish surname meaning
"from the mouth of the Roe". The Roe is a river in Northern Ireland. Two famous bearers of the surname were American president James Monroe (1758-1831) and American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
As a given name it was mostly masculine in America until around 2009. It was already rising in popularity for girls when singer Mariah Carey gave it to her daughter born 2011 (though this probably helped accelerate it).
Naeva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Naeva Okasian of New Thinking Magazine is one bearer of this name.
Nahia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: NA-ya
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From Basque nahi meaning "desire, wish".
Na'ima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نعيمة(Arabic)
Pronounced: na-‘EE-ma
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Arabic
نعيمة (see
Naima).
Naira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Aymara
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
From Aymara nayra meaning "eye" or "early".
Nash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: NASH
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From an English surname that was derived from the Middle English phrase
atten ash "at the ash tree". A famous bearer of the surname was the mathematician John Nash (1928-2015).
As a given name for boys, it gained some popularity in the mid-1990s after the debut of the American television series Nash Bridges. It got more exposure beginning 2005 when a character by this name started appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live.
Nayeli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zapotec (Hispanicized), Spanish (Mexican)
Pronounced: na-YEH-lee(Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Possibly from Zapotec nadxiie lii meaning "I love you" or nayele' meaning "open".
Neira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Nerea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: neh-REH-a
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Possibly from Basque
nere, a dialectal variant of
nire meaning
"mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of
Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
Neva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Geneva. This is also the name of a river in Russia.
Nia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: NEE-a
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Welsh form of
Niamh. The Welsh poet T. Gwynn Jones used it in his long poem
Tir na n-Óg (1916), referring to the lover of
Oisín.
Niall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: NYEEYL(Irish)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Nicholas
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: NIK-ə-ləs, NIK-ləs
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning
"victory of the people", derived from Greek
νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and
λαός (laos) meaning "people".
Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch
Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
Nico
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: NEE-ko(Italian, Dutch, Spanish)
Rating: 88% based on 4 votes
Nicolás
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: nee-ko-LAS
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
Nima 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: نعمة(Arabic)
Pronounced: NEE‘-ma
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Means "blessing" in Arabic.
Nina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Italian, English, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Нина(Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian) Ніна(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: NYEE-nə(Russian) NEE-na(Italian, German, Dutch, Slovak) NEE-nə(English) NEE-NA(French) NEE-nah(Finnish) nyi-NU(Lithuanian) NYEE-na(Polish) NI-na(Czech)
Rating: 75% based on 4 votes
Short form of names that end in
nina, such as
Antonina or
Giannina. It was imported to Western Europe from Russia and Italy in the 19th century. This name also nearly coincides with the Spanish word
niña meaning
"little girl" (the word is pronounced differently than the name).
A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).
Noah 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch (Modern), French (Modern), Biblical
Other Scripts: נֹחַ, נוֹחַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NO-ə(English) NO-a(German)
Rating: 78% based on 8 votes
From the Hebrew name
נֹחַ (Noaḥ) meaning
"rest, repose", derived from the root
נוּחַ (nuaḥ). According to the
Old Testament, Noah was the builder of the Ark that allowed him, his family, and animals of each species to survive the Great Flood. After the flood he received the sign of the rainbow as a covenant from God. He was the father of
Shem,
Ham and
Japheth.
As an English Christian name, Noah has been used since the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans. In the United States it was not overly popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it began slowly growing in the 1970s. Starting 1994 it increased rapidly — this was when actor Noah Wyle (1971-) began starring on the television series ER. A further boost in 2004 from the main character in the movie The Notebook helped it eventually become the most popular name for boys in America between 2013 and 2016. At the same time it has also been heavily used in other English-speaking countries, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and France.
A famous bearer was the American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843).
Noelia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: no-EH-lya
Rating: 20% based on 4 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: 53% based on 7 votes
Short form of
Honora or
Eleanor. Henrik Ibsen used it for a character in his play
A Doll's House (1879).
Nova
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: NO-və(English) NO-va(Swedish, Dutch)
Rating: 92% based on 6 votes
Derived from Latin novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
Nyra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Possibly a variant of
Nyrah.
Nyrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (New Zealand), English (Australian)
Pronounced: NIE-rə(New Zealand English, Australian English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Oliver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Carolingian Cycle
Other Scripts: Оливер(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: AHL-i-vər(American English) AWL-i-və(British English) O-lee-vu(German) O-lee-vehr(Finnish) oo-lee-BEH(Catalan) O-li-vehr(Czech) AW-lee-vehr(Slovak)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From Old French
Olivier, which was possibly derived from Latin
oliva "olive tree" [1]. Alternatively there could be an underlying Germanic name, such as Old Norse
Áleifr (see
Olaf) or Frankish
Alawar (see
Álvaro), with the spelling altered by association with the Latin word. In the Middle Ages the name became well-known in Western Europe because of the French epic
La Chanson de Roland, in which Olivier is a friend and advisor to the hero
Roland.
In England Oliver was a common medieval name, however it became rare after the 17th century because of the military commander Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the country following the civil war. The name was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due in part to the title character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838), about a poor orphan living on the streets of London. It became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top rank for boys in England and Wales in 2009 and entering the top ten in the United States in 2017.
Oscar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Irish Mythology
Pronounced: AHS-kər(American English) AWS-kə(British English) AWS-kar(Italian, Swedish) AWS-kahr(Dutch) AWS-KAR(French)
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Possibly means
"deer friend", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer" and
carae "friend". Alternatively, it may derive from the Old English name
Osgar or its Old Norse
cognate Ásgeirr, which may have been brought to Ireland by Viking invaders and settlers. In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet
Oisín and the grandson of the hero
Fionn mac Cumhaill.
This name was popularized in continental Europe by the works of the 18th-century Scottish poet James Macpherson [1]. Napoleon was an admirer of Macpherson, and he suggested Oscar as the second middle name of his godson, who eventually became king of Sweden as Oscar I. Other notable bearers include the Irish writer and humorist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012).
Owen 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: O-in(English)
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
Anglicized form of
Owain.
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
Rating: 40% based on 2 votes
Probably derived from Greek
πηνέλοψ (penelops), a type of duck. Alternatively it could be from
πήνη (pene) meaning "threads, weft" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "face, eye". In
Homer's epic the
Odyssey this is the name of the wife of
Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy.
It has occasionally been used as an English given name since the 16th century. It was moderately popular in the 1940s, but had a more notable upswing in the early 2000s. This may have been inspired by the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz (1974-), who gained prominence in English-language movies at that time. It was already rapidly rising when celebrities Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick gave it to their baby daughter in 2012.
Phaenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Φαέννα(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Derived from Greek
φαεινός (phaeinos) meaning
"shining". According to some Greek myths this was the name of one of the three Graces or
Χάριτες (Charites).
Quinn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KWIN
Rating: 78% based on 4 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.
Quinna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Feminine elaboration of
Quinn.
Rafael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovene, Hebrew
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל(Hebrew) Рафаел(Macedonian)
Pronounced: ra-fa-EHL(Spanish, European Portuguese) ha-fa-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) RA-fa-ehl(German) RAW-faw-ehl(Hungarian)
Rating: 72% based on 6 votes
Form of
Raphael in various languages. A famous bearer is the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal (1986-).
Ramiro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: ra-MEE-ro(Spanish) ra-MEE-roo(European Portuguese) ha-MEE-roo(Brazilian Portuguese)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Ramirus, earlier
Ranimirus, a Latinized form of a Visigothic name derived from the Gothic element
rana "wedge" or perhaps
ragin "law, decree, assessment, responsibility" combined with
mers "famous".
Saint Ramirus was a 6th-century prior of the Saint Claudius Monastery in León. He and several others were executed by the Arian Visigoths, who opposed orthodox Christianity. This name was subsequently borne by kings of León, Asturias and Aragon.
Raphael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Biblical
Other Scripts: רָפָאֵל, רְפָאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: RA-fa-ehl(German) RAF-ee-əl(English) RAF-ay-ehl(English) rah-fie-EHL(English)
Rating: 73% based on 6 votes
From the Hebrew name
רָפָאֵל (Rafaʾel) meaning
"God heals", from the roots
רָפָא (rafa) meaning "to heal" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In Hebrew tradition Raphael is the name of an archangel. He appears in the Book of Tobit, in which he disguises himself as a man named
Azarias and accompanies
Tobias on his journey to Media, aiding him along the way. In the end he cures Tobias's father
Tobit of his blindness. He is not mentioned in the
New Testament, though tradition identifies him with the angel troubling the water in
John 5:4.
This name has never been common in the English-speaking world, though it has been well-used elsewhere in Europe. A famous bearer was the Italian Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), usually known simply as Raphael in English.
Raya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Russian
Other Scripts: Рая(Bulgarian, Russian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Rayah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Rémi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: REH-MEE
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Remy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
English form of
Rémy, occasionally used as a feminine name.
Reverie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: REHV-ə-ree
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the English word meaning "daydream, fanciful musing", derived from Old French resverie, itself from resver meaning "to dream, to rave".
Rhys
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: REES
Rating: 55% based on 4 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.
Rita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian
Pronounced: REE-ta(Italian, Spanish, German) REET-ə(English) REE-taw(Hungarian) ryi-TU(Lithuanian)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Short form of
Margherita and other names ending in
rita.
Saint Rita (born Margherita Lotti) was a 15th-century nun from Cascia, Italy. Another famous bearer was the American actress Rita Hayworth (1918-1987).
Ritana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Probably an elaboration of
Rita.
Riya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali
Other Scripts: रिया(Hindi, Marathi) রিয়া(Bengali)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means "singer" in Sanskrit.
Rory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Pronounced: RAWR-ee(English)
Rating: 70% based on 3 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-).
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Rua
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 月愛, 月彩, 蕗愛, 琉愛, 瑠亞, 瑠藍, etc.(Japanese Kanji)
Pronounced: ṘOO-AH
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From Japanese 月 (ru) meaning "moon" combined with 愛 (a) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Ruanadh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Scottish
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Gaelic byname meaning "champion".
Ruby
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROO-bee
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Simply from the name of the precious stone (which ultimately derives from Latin
ruber "red"), which is the traditional birthstone of July. It came into use as a given name in the 16th century
[1].
Runa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: ROO-nah(Norwegian) ROO-na(Danish, Swedish)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Rya
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Brazilian (Rare)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Variant of
Ria,
Rhea or
Riya, in Brazil, this is a masculine name.
Samuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Other Scripts: שְׁמוּאֵל(Hebrew) ሳሙኤል(Amharic)
Pronounced: SAM-yoo-əl(English) SAM-yəl(English) SA-MWEHL(French) ZA-mwehl(German) SA-muy-ehl(Dutch) sa-MWEHL(Spanish) su-moo-EHL(European Portuguese) sa-moo-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) sa-MOO-ehl(Polish) SA-moo-ehl(Czech, Slovak, Swedish) SAH-moo-ehl(Finnish)
Rating: 70% based on 5 votes
From the Hebrew name
שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning
"name of God", from the roots
שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of
"God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the
Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed
Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor
David.
As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).
Sana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-NA
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Alternate transcription of Arabic
سناء (see
Sanaa).
Sanaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: سناء(Arabic)
Pronounced: sa-NA
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Means
"brilliance, radiance, splendour" in Arabic, derived from the root
سنا (sanā) meaning "to gleam, to shine".
Sarika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: सारिका(Hindi, Marathi)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From a Sanskrit word referring to a type of thrush (species Turdus salica) or myna bird (species Gracula religiosa).
Sarita 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: sa-REE-ta
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Saskia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, German
Pronounced: SAHS-kee-a(Dutch) ZAS-kya(German)
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
From the Old German element
sahso meaning
"a Saxon". The Saxons were a Germanic tribe, their name ultimately deriving from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife". Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the wife of the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
Sebastian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Finnish, Romanian, Czech
Pronounced: zeh-BAS-tee-an(German) sə-BAS-chən(American English) sə-BAS-tee-ən(British English) seh-BAS-dyan(Danish) seh-BAS-tyan(Polish) SEH-bahs-tee-ahn(Finnish) seh-bas-tee-AN(Romanian) SEH-bas-ti-yan(Czech)
Rating: 64% based on 7 votes
From the Latin name
Sebastianus, which meant
"from Sebaste". Sebaste was the name a town in Asia Minor, its name deriving from Greek
σεβαστός (sebastos) meaning "venerable" (a translation of Latin
Augustus, the title of the Roman emperors). According to Christian tradition,
Saint Sebastian was a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyred during the persecutions of the emperor Diocletian. After he was discovered to be a Christian, he was tied to a stake and shot with arrows. This however did not kill him. Saint Irene of Rome healed him and he returned to personally admonish Diocletian, whereupon the emperor had him beaten to death.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.
Selah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: סֶלַה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEE-lə(English)
Rating: 55% based on 4 votes
From a Hebrew musical term that occurs many times in the
Old Testament Psalms. It was probably meant to indicate a musical pause.
Senna
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: SEH-na
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Meaning uncertain. In some cases it is given in honour of the Brazilian racecar driver Ayrton Senna (1960-1994). It could also be inspired by the senna plant.
Seraina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romansh
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Romansh form of
Serena, traditionally found in the Engadine valley.
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From a Late Latin name that was derived from Latin
serenus meaning
"clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early
saint. Edmund Spenser also used it in his poem
The Faerie Queene (1590). A famous bearer from the modern era is tennis player Serena Williams (1981-).
Shane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHAYN(English)
Rating: 77% based on 3 votes
Anglicized form of
Seán. It came into general use in America after the release of the western movie
Shane (1953).
Sianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature, English
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
In Lady of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Sianna was the daughter of the Faerie Queen.
Sienna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHN-ə
Rating: 69% based on 8 votes
From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.
Sıla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: su-LA
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Means "reunion, arrival" in Turkish.
Sira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: SEE-ra
Rating: 47% based on 3 votes
Spanish and Italian feminine form of
Syrus.
Sirena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Derived from Spanish sirena "mermaid". The Spanish dramatist Jacinto Benavente used this name in his play 'Los intereses creados' (1907), where it belongs to a poor widow and matchmaker called Doña Sirena.
Sophia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Σοφία(Greek)
Pronounced: so-FEE-ə(English) sə-FIE-ə(British English) so-FEE-a(Greek) zo-FEE-a(German)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
Means
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical,
saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.
In the United States this name was only moderately common until the 1990s when it began rising in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular for girls from 2011 to 2013. A famous bearer is the Italian actress Sophia Loren (1934-).
Soren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
Sovanna
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Khmer
Other Scripts: សុវណ្ណា(Khmer)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Stellan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: STEHL-lan
Rating: 46% based on 5 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: 13% based on 3 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".
Sullivan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: SUL-i-vən(English)
Rating: 43% based on 3 votes
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name
Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish
súil "eye" and
dubh "dark, black" combined with a
diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie
Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Sutton
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SUT-ən
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
From a surname, itself derived from the name of numerous English towns, of Old English origin meaning "south town".
Sutton
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUT-ən
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From various English place names meaning "south town".
Svea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: SVEH-ah
From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Tahlia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Australian)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Tali
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלִי(Hebrew)
Means "my dew" in Hebrew.
Talia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Rating: 60% based on 1 vote
Means
"dew from God" in Hebrew, from
טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God.
Tessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: TEHS-ə(English) TEH-sa(Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Theodore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THEE-ə-dawr(American English) THEE-ə-daw(British English)
Personal remark: Nickname Theo or Teddy
Rating: 64% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name
Θεόδωρος (Theodoros), which meant
"gift of god" from Greek
θεός (theos) meaning "god" and
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift". The name
Dorothea is derived from the same roots in reverse order. This was the name of several
saints, including Theodore of Amasea, a 4th-century Greek soldier; Theodore of Tarsus, a 7th-century archbishop of Canterbury; and Theodore the Studite, a 9th-century Byzantine monk. It was also borne by two popes.
This was a common name in classical Greece, and, due to both the saints who carried it and the favourable meaning, it came into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was however rare in Britain before the 19th century. Famous bearers include three tsars of Russia (in the Russian form Fyodor) and American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).
Thora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Danish
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Tiera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Rating: 30% based on 1 vote
Tiernan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Tilda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: TIL-də(English) TEEL-dah(Finnish)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Tilia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: TEE-lee-ah(Swedish)
Rating: 45% based on 2 votes
Tilly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIL-ee
Rating: 70% based on 3 votes
Torin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 70% based on 1 vote
Meaning unknown. It has been suggested that it is of Irish origin, though no suitable derivation can be found.
Valentina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Валентина(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) Βαλεντίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-na(Italian) və-lyin-TYEE-nə(Russian) vu-lyehn-tyi-NU(Lithuanian) ba-lehn-TEE-na(Spanish)
Rating: 75% based on 8 votes
Feminine form of
Valentinus (see
Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.
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: 64% based on 5 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.
Verana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Provençal
Rating: 50% based on 1 vote
Verena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Late Roman
Pronounced: veh-REH-na(German)
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Possibly related to Latin
verus "true". This might also be a Coptic form of the Ptolemaic name
Berenice.
Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who went with the Theban Legion to Switzerland. After the legion was massacred she settled near Zurich.
Vianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: vee-AH-na
Rating: 50% based on 3 votes
Vianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 60% based on 3 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps a combination of
Vi and
Anne 1 or a short form of
Vivianne.
Viviane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Portuguese
Pronounced: VEE-VYAN(French)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
French form of
Viviana, as well as a Portuguese variant. It is also the French form of
Vivien 2.
Vivianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYAN
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
Vivienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEE-VYEHN
Rating: 83% based on 6 votes
Westley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WEST-lee
Rating: 18% based on 4 votes
From a surname that was a variant of
Wesley.
Willow
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: WIL-o
Rating: 100% based on 2 votes
From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.
Wyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: WIN
Rating: 65% based on 2 votes
Derived from Welsh
gwyn meaning
"white, blessed".
Wynn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: WIN
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Yaara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: יַעֲרָה(Hebrew)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Means "honeycomb" and "honeysuckle" in Hebrew.
Yara 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Zada
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, English (American)
Other Scripts: زادا(Arabic)
Pronounced: za-da(Arabic) ZAY-duh(American English)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Zadie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ZAY-dee
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Variant of
Sadie. A known bearer of this name is British author Zadie Smith (1975-), who was born Sadie Smith.
Zaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Rating: 80% based on 2 votes
Zaida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic (Rare), Spanish
Other Scripts: زيدة(Arabic)
Pronounced: ZIE-da(Arabic) THIE-dha(European Spanish) SIE-dha(Latin American Spanish)
Rating: 70% based on 2 votes
Feminine form of
Zayd. This was the name of a Muslim princess who took refuge at the court of (and perhaps married) Alfonso VI of León and Castile in the 11th century.
Zaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: заяа(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Rating: 67% based on 3 votes
Means "fate, destiny" in Mongolian.
Zenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Dutch (Rare), Swedish (Rare)
Rating: 75% based on 2 votes
Zinnea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Rating: 100% based on 1 vote
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: 64% based on 8 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).
behindthename.com · Copyright © 1996-2024