Furcifer's Personal Name List
Alder
Usage: English
Rating: 16% based on 5 votes
Altair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: al-TEHR(American English) al-TEH(British English)
Rating: 14% based on 5 votes
Means "the flyer" in Arabic. This is the name of a star in the constellation Aquila.
Apollo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἀπόλλων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ə-PAHL-o(American English) ə-PAWL-o(British English)
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
From Greek
Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *
apelo- meaning
"strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means
"father lion" or
"father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Arbor
Usage: English
Rating: 33% based on 6 votes
Arend
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, German (Rare)
Pronounced: A-rənt(Dutch)
Rating: 22% based on 5 votes
Dutch and German variant of
Arnold. This is also the Dutch word for "eagle".
Argyros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ἄργυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AR-GUY-ROS
Rating: 5% based on 4 votes
Means "silver" in Greek.
Aries
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: A-ree-ehs(Latin) EHR-eez(English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Means
"ram" in Latin. This is the name of a constellation and the first sign of the zodiac. Some Roman legends state that the ram in the constellation was the one who supplied the Golden Fleece sought by
Jason.
Arnold
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Polish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AHR-nəld(American English) AH-nəld(British English) AR-nawlt(German, Polish) AHR-nawlt(Dutch)
Rating: 20% based on 5 votes
From a Germanic name meaning
"eagle power", derived from the elements
arn "eagle" and
walt "power, authority". The
Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English
cognate Earnweald. It died out as an English name after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Saints bearing the name include an 8th-century musician in the court of Charlemagne and an 11th-century French bishop who is the patron saint of brewers. It was also borne by Arnold of Brescia, a 12th-century Augustinian monk who rebelled against the Church and was eventually hanged. Famous modern bearers include American golfer Arnold Palmer (1929-2016) and Austrian-American actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).
Ash
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ASH
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
Short form of
Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.
Aslan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian, Literature
Other Scripts: Аслан(Kazakh, Chechen, Ossetian) Аслъан(Western Circassian) Аслъэн(Eastern Circassian)
Pronounced: as-LAN(Turkish)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
From Turkic arslan meaning "lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The author C. S. Lewis later used the name Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.
Aurelius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: ow-REH-lee-oos(Latin) aw-REEL-ee-əs(English)
Rating: 15% based on 4 votes
Roman family name that was derived from Latin
aureus meaning
"golden, gilded". Marcus Aurelius was a 2nd-century Roman emperor and philosophical writer. This was also the name of several early
saints.
Balsam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic (Rare)
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
Barry
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: BAR-ee(English) BEHR-ee(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Anglicized form of
Barra.
Basil 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAZ-əl
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name
Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from
βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning
"king".
Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
Bay
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Medieval English, English
Pronounced: BAY(Middle English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From the Middle English personal name
Baye, from Old English
Beaga (masculine) or
Beage (feminine).
A diminutive of Baylee, or any name containing the element or sound -bay-.
May also be given in reference to the English word "bay," from the Middle English baye, from the Old English beġ 'berry', as in beġbēam 'berry-tree'.
Bear
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BEHR(American English) BEH(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From the English word for the animal, derived from Old English bera, probably derived from a root meaning "brown".
Beaumont
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BO-mahnt(American English) BO-mawnt(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From a French surname meaning "beautiful mountain".
Blaze
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BLAYZ
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Modern variant of
Blaise influenced by the English word
blaze.
Branch
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Branch or from Middle English from Old French
branche, from late Latin
branca ‘paw’.
Briar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRIE-ər(American English) BRIE-ə(British English)
Rating: 54% based on 7 votes
From the English word for the thorny plant.
Buck
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUK
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From an English nickname meaning simply "buck, male deer", ultimately from Old English bucc.
Buzz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BUZ
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From a nickname derived from the onomatopoeic word buzz meaning "buzz, hum, murmur". A notable bearer is American astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-), one of the first people to walk on the moon. The character Buzz Lightyear from the movie Toy Story (1995) was named after Aldrin.
Canyon
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAN-yən
Rating: 42% based on 5 votes
From the English word canyon, ultimately from Greek kanna "small reed", after the plants that grow in the bottom of canyons.
Cardinal
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KAHRD-nəl, KAHR-də-nəl
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the name of the (sometimes) bright red bird.
-------------------------------------
Possibly after the bird itself
Castor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κάστωρ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KAS-tər(American English) KAS-tə(British English)
Rating: 36% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name
Κάστωρ (Kastor), possibly related to
κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning
"to excel, to shine" (pluperfect
κέκαστο). Alternatively it could be derived from the Greek word
κάστωρ (kastor) meaning
"beaver", though the legends about Castor do not mention beavers, which were foreign animals to the Greeks. In Greek
myth Castor was a son of
Zeus and the twin brother of
Pollux. The constellation Gemini, which represents the two brothers, contains a star by this name.
Cedar
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEE-dər(American English) SEE-də(British English)
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the coniferous tree, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
κέδρος (kedros). Besides the true cedars from the genus Cedrus, it is also used to refer to some tree species in the cypress family.
Clay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLAY
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that originally referred to a person who lived near or worked with clay. This name can also be a short form of
Clayton.
Cliff
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLIF
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Cobalt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KO-bahlt
Rating: 50% based on 6 votes
From the metal or the shade of blue. Derived from German kobold, a type of house spirit. This in turn, has a few possible etymologies. One is that it come from Greek koba'los, meaning "rogue". Another theory is that it comes from the Old High German root chubisi, "house, building, hut" and the suffix -old meaning "to rule".
Colt
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOLT
Rating: 57% based on 3 votes
From the English word for a young male horse or from the surname of the same origin. It may be given in honour of the American industrialist Samuel Colt (1814-1862) or the firearms company that bears his name. It was brought to public attention in 1981 by the main character on the television series
The Fall Guy [1].
Copper
Usage: English
Rating: 25% based on 4 votes
Corbin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAWR-bin(American English) KAW-bin(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
From a French surname that was derived from
corbeau "raven", originally denoting a person who had dark hair. The name was probably popularized in America by actor Corbin Bernsen (1954-)
[1].
Cosmo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, English
Pronounced: KAWZ-mo(Italian, British English) KAHZ-mo(American English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Italian variant of
Cosimo. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici. On the American sitcom
Seinfeld (1989-1998) this was the seldom-used first name of Jerry's neighbour Kramer.
Cotton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Puritan)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Cotton.
Cypress
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: American (Rare)
Pronounced: SIE-pris
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From the English word cypress, a group of coniferous trees. Ultimately from Greek kuparissos.
Denver
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHN-vər(American English) DEHN-və(British English)
Rating: 50% based on 5 votes
From an English surname that was from a place name meaning "Dane ford" in Old English. This is the name of the capital city of Colorado, which was named for the politician James W. Denver (1817-1892).
Dewey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DYOO-ee, DOO-ee
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Draco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Δράκων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DRAY-ko(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Δράκων (Drakon), which meant
"dragon, serpent". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Athenian legislator. This is also the name of a constellation in the northern sky.
Drake
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DRAYK
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From an English surname derived from the Old Norse byname
Draki or the Old English byname
Draca both meaning "dragon", both via Latin from Greek
δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent". This name coincides with the unrelated English word
drake meaning "male duck". A famous bearer is the Canadian actor and rapper Drake (1986-), who was born as Aubrey Drake Graham.
Dune
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DOON, DYOON
Rating: 30% based on 5 votes
Early 17th century from Dutch duin, from Middle Dutch dūne, probably ultimately from the same Celtic base as down3.
Eagle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EE-gul, EE-gəl
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
From the English word
eagle, ultimately from Latin
aquila. Also from the surname
Eagle, originally a nickname for a lordly or sharp-eyed man.
Elder
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese
Rating: 28% based on 4 votes
Elm
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan, English
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
Catalan form of
Elmo, as well as a short form of
Elmer. The name may also be taken directly from the English word
elm, a type of tree.
Falcon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From the bird "Falcon" Falco
Felinus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Late Latin name meaning
"cat-like". This was the name of a possibly legendary
saint who was martyred with Gratian in the 3rd century.
Field
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Field.
Finch
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Literature
Pronounced: FINCH(English)
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Finch.
Fishel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: פֿישל(Yiddish) פישׁל(Hebrew)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
Means
"little fish" in Yiddish, a
diminutive of
פֿיש (fish) meaning "fish".
Flint
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FLINT
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From the English vocabulary word, from Old English flint.
Ford
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWRD(American English) FAWD(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "ford" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).
Forest
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: FAWR-ist(American English, British English)
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Variant of
Forrest, or else directly from the English word
forest.
Fox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: FAHKS(American English) FAWKS(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Either from the English word fox or the surname Fox, which originally given as a nickname. The surname was borne by George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers.
Frost
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: FRAWST
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
From Old English and Old High German meaning "frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.
Gale 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
Rating: 45% based on 6 votes
From a surname that was derived from Middle English gaile "jovial". It also coincides with the English word gale meaning "storm".
Garland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAHR-lənd(American English) GAH-lənd(British English)
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
From a surname meaning "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. The surname originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.
Gil 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GIL
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Gilbert and other names beginning with
Gil.
Glenn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GLEHN
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From a Scottish surname that was derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". It was borne by the American actor Glenn Ford (1916-2006), whose birth name was Gwyllyn. A famous bearer of the surname was American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016). The name peaked in popularity in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the earth.
Though this name is borne by the American actress Glenn Close (1947-), it has never caught on as a feminine name.
Hawk
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Popular Culture
Rating: 32% based on 5 votes
From the English word for 'hawk', a predatory bird.
Herb
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HURB(American English) HUB(British English)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
Horsa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon Mythology
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
From Old English or Old Saxon
hors meaning
"horse". According to medieval chronicles, Horsa and his brother
Hengist were the leaders of the first Saxon settlers to arrive in Britain. Horsa was said to have died in battle with the Britons. He is first mentioned in the 8th-century writings of the English historian Bede.
Hunter
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HUN-tər(American English) HUN-tə(British English)
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
From an English occupational surname for a hunter, derived from Old English hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).
Ignatius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: ig-NAY-shəs(English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
From the Roman family name
Egnatius, meaning unknown, of Etruscan origin. The spelling was later altered to resemble Latin
ignis "fire". This was the name of several
saints, including the third bishop of Antioch who was thrown to wild beasts by Emperor Trajan, and by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuits, whose real birth name was in fact
Íñigo.
Jasper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: JAS-pər(American English) JAS-pə(British English) YAHS-pər(Dutch)
Rating: 62% based on 6 votes
From Latin
Gaspar, perhaps from the Biblical Hebrew word
גִּזְבָּר (gizbar) meaning
"treasurer" [1], derived from Old Persian
ganzabarah. This name was traditionally assigned to one of the wise men (also known as the Magi, or three kings) who were said to have visited the newborn
Jesus. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since the Middle Ages. The name can also be given in reference to the English word for the gemstone.
Juniper
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOON-i-pər(American English) JOON-i-pə(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin iuniperus.
Jupiter
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: JOO-pi-tər(American English) JOO-pi-tə(British English)
Rating: 57% based on 6 votes
From Latin
Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *
Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements
Dyēws (see
Zeus) and
pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman
mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.
Lake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
Rating: 47% based on 6 votes
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
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: 41% based on 7 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.
Lionel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, English, Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: LYAW-NEHL(French) LIE-ə-nəl(English) LIE-nəl(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 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-).
Lycus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Λύκος(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Latinized form of the Greek name
Λύκος (Lykos) meaning
"wolf". This name was borne by several characters in Greek
mythology including a legendary ruler of Thebes.
Lynx
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Rating: 0% based on 2 votes
Lynx is a constellation in the northern sky, introduced in the 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is named after the lynx, a genus of cats.
Mantis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: man-TIS
Rating: 28% based on 5 votes
From Greek mántis, meaning "soothsayer" or "prophet". This is also the name of and order of large insects that catch their prey using their powerful forelegs. Two fictional bearers of this name is Mantis, a supervillain in Jack Kirby's "Fourth World", and Mantis, a superheroine and member of The Avengers.
Marinus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Dutch
Pronounced: ma-REE-nuys(Dutch)
Rating: 40% based on 4 votes
From the Roman family name
Marinus, which derives either from the name
Marius or from the Latin word
marinus "of the sea".
Saint Marinus was a 4th-century stonemason who built a chapel on Monte Titano, in the country that is today known as San Marino.
Mars
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: MARS(Latin) MAHRZ(American English) MAHZ(British English)
Rating: 17% based on 3 votes
Possibly related to Latin
mas meaning
"male" (genitive
maris). In Roman
mythology Mars was the god of war, often equated with the Greek god
Ares. This is also the name of the fourth planet in the solar system.
Mercury
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: MUR-kyə-ree(American English) MU-kyuw-ree(British English)
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From the Latin
Mercurius, probably derived from Latin
mercari "to trade" or
merces "wages". This was the name of the Roman god of trade, merchants, and travellers, later equated with the Greek god
Hermes. This is also the name of the first planet in the solar system and a metallic chemical element, both named for the god.
Narcissus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Late Roman, Biblical
Other Scripts: Νάρκισσος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: nahr-SIS-əs(American English) nah-SIS-əs(British English)
Rating: 10% based on 3 votes
Latinized form of Greek
Νάρκισσος (Narkissos), possibly derived from
νάρκη (narke) meaning
"sleep, numbness". Narkissos was a beautiful youth in Greek
mythology who stared at his own reflection for so long that he eventually died and was turned into the narcissus flower.
This name appears briefly in the epistles in the New Testament and was also borne by a few early saints, including a 2nd-century patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been used to the present, especially in Catholic regions, usually in honour of the saint as opposed to the mythological character.
Neptune
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: NEHP-toon(English) NEHP-tyoon(English)
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From the Latin
Neptunus, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Indo-European root *
nebh- "wet, damp, clouds". Neptune was the god of the sea in Roman
mythology, approximately equivalent to the Greek god
Poseidon. This is also the name of the eighth planet in the solar system.
Oakley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: OK-lee
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
From an English surname that was from various place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Ocean
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: O-shən
Rating: 46% based on 5 votes
Simply from the English word
ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek
Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.
Oleander
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Greek (Rare), English (Rare)
Pronounced: AW-lee-an-der(Greek)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
The name Oleander originated as an Greek name. In Greek, the name Oleander means "an evergreen tree."
The origin of the name was said to have come from a young man whose ardour to his Lady Love ended in a tragedy. The young man was named Leander, and his precious lady longing for his love shouting with such forlorn “O Leander!”, “O Leander!” in the banks, until finally he was found. And clasped in his hands were sweet flowers, who have become a symbol of everlasting love, known as oleanders.
Possibly taken from the plant family, Nerium oleander (flowering shrub known as oleanders), Cascabela thevetia (yellow oleander), Acacia neriifolia (oleander wattle); or a species of moth, Daphnis nerii (oleander hawk-moth).
In the complex language of love practiced during the time of Queen Victoria, the Oleander flower means caution.
A diminutive use of Oleander could be Ollie, Lee, Lee-Ann, or Anders.
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: 40% based on 4 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.
Onyx
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AHN-iks(American English) AWN-iks(British English)
Rating: 61% based on 8 votes
From the English word for the gemstone (a variety of chalcedony), which can be black, red or other colours. It is derived from Greek
ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning "claw, nail".
Oriole
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the English word "oriole" referring to "any of various colorful passerine birds, the New World orioles from the family Icteridae and the Old World orioles from the family Oriolidae (typically yellow in color)". From the French oriole, from the Late Latin oriolus, from the Latin aureolus "made of gold, golden; adorned, covered, or decorated with gold, gilded; of the color gold, golden; golden, beautiful, splendid, magnificent, excellent".
Orion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ὠρίων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AW-REE-AWN(Classical Greek) o-RIE-ən(English)
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Meaning uncertain, but possibly related to Greek
ὅριον (horion) meaning
"boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning
"light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
Panther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Πάνθηρ(Ancient Greek)
Rating: 8% based on 4 votes
Ancient Greek name meaning "panther".
Peregrine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PEHR-ə-grin
Rating: 13% based on 3 votes
From the Late Latin name
Peregrinus, which meant
"traveller". This was the name of several early
saints.
Perseus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEWS(Classical Greek) PUR-see-əs(American English) PU-see-əs(British English)
Rating: 30% based on 4 votes
Possibly derived from Greek
πέρθω (pertho) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Perseus was a hero who was said to have founded the ancient city of Mycenae. He was the son of
Zeus and
Danaë. Mother and child were exiled by Danaë's father Acrisius, and Perseus was raised on the island of Seriphos. The king of the island compelled Perseus to kill the Gorgon
Medusa, who was so ugly that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone. After obtaining winged sandals and other tools from the gods, he succeeded in his task by looking at Medusa in the reflection of his shield and slaying her in her sleep. On his return he defeated a sea monster in order to save
Andromeda, who became his wife.
Pike
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: West Frisian
Pronounced: PEE-kə
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Pike
Usage: English, Irish
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
English: topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point, from Old English
pic ‘point’, ‘hill’, which was a relatively common place name element.
English: metonymic occupational name for a pike fisherman or nickname for a predatory individual, from Middle English
pike.
English: metonymic occupational name for a user of a pointed tool for breaking up the earth, Middle English
pike.
English: metonymic occupational name for a medieval foot soldier who used a pike, a weapon consisting of a sharp pointed metal end on a long pole, Middle English
pic (Old French
pique, of Germanic origin).
English: nickname for a tall, thin person, from a transferred sense of one of the above.
English: from a Germanic personal name (derived from the root ‘sharp’, ‘pointed’), found in Middle English and Old French as
Pic.
English: nickname from Old French
pic ‘woodpecker’, Latin
picus. Compare
Pye and
Speight.
Irish: in the south, of English origin; in Ulster a variant Anglicization of Gaelic
Mac Péice (see
McPeake).
Americanized spelling of German
Peik, from Middle Low German
pek ‘sharp, pointed tool or weapon’.
Pluto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Other Scripts: Πλούτων(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PLOO-to(English, Latin)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
Latinized form of Greek
Πλούτων (Plouton), derived from
πλοῦτος (ploutos) meaning
"wealth". This was an alternate name of
Hades, the god of the underworld. This is also the name of a dwarf planet (formerly designated the ninth planet) in the solar system.
Pyrrhus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Πύρρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PIR-əs(English)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
From the Greek name
Πύρρος (Pyrrhos) meaning
"flame-coloured, red", related to
πῦρ (pyr) meaning "fire". This was another name of
Neoptolemus the son of
Achilles. This was also the name of a 3rd-century BC king of Epirus who was famed for his victorious yet costly battles against Rome.
Quarry
Usage: English
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
From Middle English quarey "quarry", a topographic name for someone who lived near a stone quarry, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one.
Also Irish and Manx reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Guaire (see Mcquarrie).
Also English (of Norman origin) nickname for a thickset or portly man, from Anglo-Norman French quaré "square". Compare Carre
Quartz
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KWORTZ
Rating: 10% based on 3 votes
Derived from Middle High German
twarc, probably from a West Slavic source (compare Czech
tvrdy and Polish
twardy, both coming from Old Church Slavonic
tvrudu meaning "hard," which is derived from Proto-Slavic
*tvrd- and then a Proto-Indo-European root
*(s)twer- meaning "to grasp, hold, hard.")
In the show Steven Universe, Rose Quartz is Steven's mother. Quartz is also Steven's middle name.
Quetzal
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl, American (Hispanic, Rare), Spanish (Mexican)
Pronounced: ket-zal(Nahuatl)
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From Nahuatl
quetzalli, meaning "plumage of the quetzal bird, beautiful feather", figuratively meaning "something precious, something beautiful". Can also be a short form of
Quetzalcoatl.
Rain 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RAYN
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Simply from the English word rain, derived from Old English regn.
Reed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: REED
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
From an English surname that was derived from Old English read meaning "red", originally a nickname given to a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Unconnected, this is also the English word for tall grass-like plants that grow in marshes.
Rigel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Astronomy
Pronounced: RIE-jəl(English)
Rating: 23% based on 3 votes
Derived from Arabic
الرجل (al-Rijl) meaning
"foot". This is the name of the star that forms the left foot of the constellation Orion.
River
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: RIV-ər(American English) RIV-ə(British English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
From the English word that denotes a flowing body of water. The word is ultimately derived (via Old French) from Latin ripa "riverbank".
Robin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Czech
Pronounced: RAHB-in(American English) RAWB-in(British English) RAW-BEHN(French) RAW-bin(Dutch) RO-bin(Czech)
Rating: 52% based on 6 votes
Medieval English
diminutive of
Robert, now usually regarded as an independent name. Robin Hood was a legendary hero and archer of medieval England who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In modern times it has also been used as a feminine name, and it may sometimes be given in reference to the red-breasted bird.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Rating: 54% based on 5 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).
Sage
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYJ
Rating: 60% based on 6 votes
From the English word sage, which denotes either a type of spice or else a wise person.
Saturn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
Pronounced: SAT-ərn(American English) SAT-ən(British English)
Rating: 0% based on 1 vote
From the Latin
Saturnus, which is of unknown meaning. In Roman
mythology he was the father of
Jupiter,
Juno and others, and was also the god of agriculture. This is also the name of the ringed sixth planet in the solar system.
Shale
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish
Rating: 30% based on 3 votes
From the Hebrew name ùÑÈàåÌì (Sha'ul) which meant "asked for" or "prayed for". This was the name of the first king of Israel who ruled just before King David, as told in the Old Testament.
Silver
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SIL-vər(American English) SIL-və(British English)
Rating: 44% based on 5 votes
From the English word for the precious metal or the colour, ultimately derived from Old English seolfor.
Solar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Rating: 20% based on 3 votes
Solar Pons is a fictional detective created by the writer August Derleth.
Solstice
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: SAWL-stis
Rating: 48% based on 5 votes
Derived from Latin
solsticium and thus ultimately from
sol "sun" and
stito "to stand still". The English word
solstice refers to two times of the year when the sun's apparent position in the sky reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes.
Lionel Shriver (born Margaret Shriver), used Solstice for a character in her novel 'Big Brother' (2013).
Sparrow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
Rating: 27% based on 3 votes
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Spruce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Rating: 7% based on 3 votes
An English word referring to a type of evergreen tree; also a synonym of dapper. Both originally referring to imports, an alternation of Pruce "from Prussia".
Sterling
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STUR-ling(American English) STU-ling(British English)
Rating: 45% based on 4 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".
Stone
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: STON
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
From the English vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English stan.
Storm
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern), Dutch (Modern), Danish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
Pronounced: STAWRM(American English, Dutch) STAWM(British English)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
From the vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English or Old Dutch storm, or in the case of the Scandinavian name, from Old Norse stormr. It is unisex as an English name, but typically masculine elsewhere.
Talon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: TAL-ən
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
From the English word meaning "talon, claw", ultimately derived (via Norman French) from Latin talus "anklebone".
Tarragon
Usage: French (Rare)
Rating: 10% based on 4 votes
Thorne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: THORN
Rating: 35% based on 4 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Thorne. Derived from the Old English word for "thorn." This was the name of a letter in the Old English alphabet, as well as the name of a character from the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Tide
Gender: Masculine
Usage: West Frisian
Pronounced: TEE-də
Rating: 34% based on 5 votes
Tiger
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: TIE-gər(American English) TIE-gə(British English)
Rating: 32% based on 6 votes
From the name of the large striped cat, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek
τίγρις (tigris), ultimately of Iranian origin. A famous bearer is American golfer Tiger Woods (1975-).
Wolf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Jewish, English (Rare), Germanic [1]
Other Scripts: װאָלףֿ(Yiddish)
Pronounced: VAWLF(German) WUWLF(English)
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Short form of
Wolfgang,
Wolfram and other names containing the Old German element
wolf meaning
"wolf" (Proto-Germanic *
wulfaz). It can also be simply from the German or English word. As a Jewish name it can be considered a vernacular form of
Zeev.
Wolverine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture
Rating: 22% based on 6 votes
Wolverine is the 'mutant' name of
James Howlett, more commonly known as
Logan, one of the main protagonists of Marvel's X-Men line of comics. He is commonly just called Wolverine in the comics. As a mutant he has an accelerated healing factor, heightened senses, and bone claws, and bones coated in the fictional metal adamantium.
A wolverine is a small, carnivorous North American mammal belonging to the weasel family. It has a reputation for being solitary, ferocious, and exceptionally strong.
Woody
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: WUWD-ee
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Either a
diminutive of names containing
wood such as
Woodrow, or else from a nickname derived from the English word
wood. Famous bearers include the folk singer Woodrow "Woody" Guthrie (1912-1967), the comedian and film director Heywood "Woody" Allen (1935-; born as Allan Stewart Konigsberg), and the actor Woodrow "Woody" Harrelson (1961-). It is also borne by the cartoon characters Woody Woodpecker (debuting 1940) and Woody from the
Toy Story movies (beginning 1995).
Wulfric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1][2]
Rating: 40% based on 5 votes
Old English name meaning
"wolf ruler", from the elements
wulf "wolf" and
ric "ruler, king".
Yarrow
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Afro-American (Slavery-era)
Pronounced: YAR-o(English)
Rating: 33% based on 4 votes
Transferred use of the surname
Yarrow, and/or from the word for the flowering plant (Achillea millefolium).
Zephyr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ζέφυρος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZEHF-ər(American English) ZEHF-ə(British English)
Rating: 58% based on 4 votes
From the Greek
Ζέφυρος (Zephyros) meaning
"west wind". Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind.
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