NamesAreTreasures's Personal Name List
Aabraham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: AHB-rah-hahm
Aaren
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHR-ən, AR-ən
Variant or feminine form of
Aaron.
Aaric
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: ER-ik
Aarón
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Biblical Spanish
Pronounced: a-RON(Spanish)
Abd ar-Rahman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: عبد الرحمٰن(Arabic)
Pronounced: ‘ab-door-rah-MAN
Means
"servant of the merciful" from Arabic
عبد (ʿabd) meaning "servant" combined with
رحْمن (raḥman) meaning "merciful". This was the name of two early caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain.
Abner
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: אַבְנֵר(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AB-nər(American English) AB-nə(British English)
From the Hebrew name
אַבְנֵר (ʾAvner) meaning
"my father is a light", derived from
אָב (ʾav) meaning "father" and
נֵר (ner) meaning "lamp, light". In the
Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of
Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother
Joab.
A famous bearer was the 14th-century Jewish philosopher Abner of Burgos, called Alfonso of Valladolid after he converted to Christianity. It has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. It was popular with the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.
Accepted
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Puritan)
Pronounced: ak-SEHP-tid
Referring to being accepted into the Kingdom of God.
Actor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Greek Ἄκτωρ (Aktor), which is derived from Greek ἄκτωρ (aktōr) meaning "leader", which in turn is ultimately derived from Greek ἄγω (agō) meaning "to lead". This is the name of at least 10 characters in Greek mythology.
Adler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: AD-lər(American English) AD-lə(British English)
From a German surname meaning "eagle".
Ajani
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yoruba
Pronounced: A-JA-NEEN
Means "one (we) fought to have" in Yoruba.
Albertina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese
Pronounced: al-behr-TEE-na(Italian)
Alexandre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Pronounced: A-LEHK-ZAHNDR(French) u-li-SHUN-dri(European Portuguese) a-leh-SHUN-dree(Brazilian Portuguese) a-leh-SHAN-dreh(Galician) ə-lək-SAN-drə(Catalan)
Form of
Alexander in several languages. This name was borne by the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), who wrote
The Three Musketeers.
Amadeo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: a-ma-DHEH-o(Spanish) a-ma-DEH-o(Italian)
Spanish form of
Amadeus, as well as an Italian variant. This was the name of a 19th-century king of Spain (born in Italy).
Amadeus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Pronounced: am-ə-DAY-əs(English)
Means
"love of God", derived from Latin
amare "to love" and
Deus "God". A famous bearer was the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who was actually born Wolfgang
Theophilus Mozart but preferred the Latin translation of his Greek middle name. This name was also assumed as a middle name by the German novelist E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), who took it in honour of Mozart.
Amanda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Latvian, Late Roman
Pronounced: ə-MAN-də(English) a-MAN-da(Spanish, Italian) a-MAHN-da(Dutch)
In part this is a feminine form of
Amandus. However, it was not used during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century it was recreated by authors and poets who based it directly on Latin
amanda meaning
"lovable, worthy of love". Notably, the playwright Colley Cibber used it for a character in his play
Love's Last Shift (1696). It came into regular use during the 19th century.
Amandine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-MAHN-DEEN
Ambrose
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AM-broz
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.
Amelina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Germanic (Latinized) [1]
Anderson
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-dər-sən(American English) AN-də-sən(British English)
Andrewjames
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Andrewson
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-droo-sən
Andromeda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἀνδρομέδα, Ἀνδρομέδη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AN-DRO-MEH-DA(Classical Greek) an-DRAH-mi-də(American English) an-DRAW-mi-də(British English)
Derived from Greek
ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive
ἀνδρός) combined with one of the related words
μέδομαι (medomai) meaning "to be mindful of, to provide for, to think on" or
μέδω (medo) meaning "to protect, to rule over". In Greek
mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
Ann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Manx
Pronounced: AN(English)
English and Manx form of
Anne 1. In the English-speaking world, both this spelling and
Anne have been used since the late Middle Ages. Currently
Ann is less popular than
Anne (and both are less popular than their relatives
Anna and
Hannah).
Annamária
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: AWN-naw-ma-ree-aw
Annemaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, English (Rare)
Anne-Marie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: AN-MA-REE
Annerose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Anthony
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AN-thə-nee(American English) AN-tə-nee(British English)
English form of the Roman family name
Antonius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. The most notable member of the Roman family was the general Marcus Antonius (called Mark Antony in English), who for a period in the 1st century BC ruled the Roman Empire jointly with Augustus. When their relationship turned sour, he and his mistress Cleopatra were attacked and forced to commit suicide, as related in Shakespeare's tragedy
Antony and Cleopatra (1606).
The name became regularly used in the Christian world due to the fame of Saint Anthony the Great, a 4th-century Egyptian hermit who founded Christian monasticism. Its popularity was reinforced in the Middle Ages by the 13th-century Saint Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of Portugal. It has been commonly (but incorrectly) associated with Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower", which resulted in the addition of the h to this spelling in the 17th century.
Antonino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: an-to-NEE-no
Italian form of
Antoninus. This name was borne by several Roman and Italian
saints.
Ariane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German
Pronounced: A-RYAN(French)
Arianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: A-RYAN
Arienne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Arizona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: ar-i-ZO-nə(American English)
From the name of the state in the Southwestern region of the United States. Its etymology is uncertain; it may be derived from O'odham alĭ ṣonak meaning "small spring", via the Spanish intermediary form Arizonac. Alternatively, it could derive from Basque haritz ona meaning "good oak", brought by Basque settlers.
Arkansas
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: AHR-kən-saw(American English)
Armani
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ahr-MAHN-ee(American English) ah-MAHN-ee(British English)
From an Italian surname meaning
"son of Ermanno". It has been used as a given name due to the fashion company Armani, which was founded by the clothing designer Giorgio Armani (1934-).
Armistice
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Popular Culture, American (Rare)
From the English word armistice meaning "truce, ceasefire", ultimately derived from Latin arma "arms" and -stitium "stoppage". This is the name of a character on the HBO series 'Westworld'.
Artist
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Simply from the English word artist. First recorded as a name in 1916 (where it was given to five boys), this name has seen sporadic usage in the United States until 2017, where it began to rise. It was given to 89 American baby boys in 2021.
Auden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AW-dən
Transferred use of the surname
Auden, which is derived from the Germanic given name
Aldwin (its Old English equivalent is
Ealdwine). Also compare
Alden, which is a surname-turned-given name that has the same etymological origins. The surname Auden was probably formed during the time of the Norman French occupation of England, as Germanic names containing
-al- usually became
-au- in Norman French. Examples of this are
Auberon and
Aubrey (both of which came from
Alberich), but also the medieval French names
Baudry (ultimately from
Baldric) and
Gaudry (ultimately from
Walderic).
The use of Auden as a given name probably started in the 20th century, in honour of the famous English poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973). A known bearer of Auden as a given name is the American climate activist and businessman Auden Schendler (probably born sometime in the 1970s).
Audri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Audriana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Pronounced: awd-ree-AN-ə(American English) awd-ree-AHN-ə(American English)
Audrianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Audriel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: AW-dree-el(American English) aw-dree-EL(American English)
Possibly a combination of
Audrey and
Ariel (or other names ending in -riel), it first appeared in the SSA in 2003 with 5 occurrences. It is also the name of a French musical duo, and in their case the name is a combination of names of the members,
Audrey and
Gabriel, though the name's inclusion in the SSA predates the band's formation.
Audriella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Combination of
Audrey and the suffix -
ella.
Audrielle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American
Babette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, German, Dutch, English
Pronounced: BA-BEHT(French)
Banks
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BANGKS
From an English surname that that was given to a person who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.
Bethlehem
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ethiopian, English (Rare)
Other Scripts: ቤተልሔም(Amharic)
Pronounced: BETH-lə-hehm(English) BETH-lee-hehm(English)
From a biblical place name meaning "house of bread" in Hebrew, the city where
Jesus was born (see
Bethlehem).
Bethlehem
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Biblical
Other Scripts: בֵּית־לֶחֶם(Ancient Hebrew)
Bieber
Usage: German, Jewish
Pronounced: BEE-bu(German) BEE-bər(American English) BEE-bə(British English)
From Middle High German biber meaning "beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.
Bill
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL
Short form of
William. This spelling was not commonly used before the 19th century. The change in the initial consonant may have been influenced by an earlier Irish pronunciation of the name. Famous bearers include basketball player Bill Russell (1934-2022), comedian Bill Cosby (1937-), American president Bill Clinton (1946-), and Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955-), all of whom were born with the name
William.
Billie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Billy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BIL-ee
Diminutive of
Bill. A notable bearer was the American outlaw Billy the Kid (1859-1881), whose real name was William H. Bonney. Others include filmmaker Billy Wilder (1906-2002), actor Billy Crystal (1948-), and musician Billy Joel (1949-).
Bithiah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: בִּתְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: bi-THIE-ə(English)
Means
"daughter of Yahweh" in Hebrew, from the roots
בַּת (baṯ) meaning "daughter" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. In the
Old Testament this is the name of a daughter of Pharaoh. She is traditionally equated with the pharaoh's daughter who drew
Moses from the Nile.
Blessings
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: BLEHS-ings(African English)
Plural form of
Blessing. It is most used in Malawi.
Bliss
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BLIS
Transferred use of the surname
Bliss or simply from the English word "bliss".
Bloom
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
From the English word bloom, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ("to thrive, flower, bloom").
Bob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: BAHB(American English) BAWB(British English) BAWP(Dutch)
Short form of
Robert. It arose later than
Dob,
Hob and
Nob, which were medieval rhyming nicknames of Robert. It is borne by the character Bob Cratchit in Charles Dickens' novel
A Christmas Carol (1843). Other famous bearers include American folk musician Bob Dylan (1941-) and Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).
Bobbi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BAHB-ee(American English) BAWB-ee(British English)
Boyd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BOID
From a Scottish surname that was possibly derived from the name of the island of Bute (Bód in Gaelic).
Brave
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
From the French brave, from the Italian bravo, itself either from Provençal brau 'show-off', from the Gaulish *bragos 'fine', or from the Latin *bravus, from a fusion of pravus and barbarus into a root *bravus.
Braven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Variant of
Brave, with the popular name suffix -
en, possibly influenced by
Raven.
Bravery
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREY-vuh-ree, BREYV-ree
From the English word "bravery" meaning "being
Brave, a brave act".
Braxton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BRAK-stən
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English. In some cases it is given in honour of the Confederate general Braxton Bragg (1817-1876).
Braxtyn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Breathe
English variant of
Breath. It comes from the La Bret family in Daveham.
Breeze
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREEZ
From the English word "breeze" referring to "a light, gentle wind". From the Dutch bries 'breeze', from the Eastern Frisian brîse 'breeze', from brisen 'to blow fresh and strong'.
Brendan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English, Breton
Pronounced: BREHN-dən(English) BREHN-dahn(Breton)
From
Brendanus, the Latinized form of the Old Irish name
Bréanainn, which was derived from Old Welsh
breenhin meaning
"king, prince".
Saint Brendan was a 6th-century Irish abbot who, according to legend, crossed the Atlantic and reached North America with 17 other monks.
Brendon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-dən
Brennan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-ən
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.
Brennen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Brennon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Brenton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-tən
From a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning "Bryni's town". Bryni was an Old English name meaning "fire".
Breonna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: bree-AHN-ə
Brigita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian, Latvian, Czech, Slovak
Pronounced: BRI-gi-ta(Czech) BREE-gee-ta(Slovak)
Form of
Bridget in several languages.
Bro
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: BROO
Means "bridge" in Swedish. This is the name of many localities and parishes in Sweden. It's also a common place name element (see
Örebro).
Cabdiraxmaan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Somali
Cailean
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: KA-lan
Means "whelp, young dog" in Scottish Gaelic. This name was borne by Cailean Mór, a 13th-century Scottish lord and ancestor of Clan Campbell.
Calleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAL-ee
Callie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAL-ee
Camber
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-bər
An invented name, probably based on the sounds found in names such as
Amber,
Cameron and
Kimber.
Camberleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Cambree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Cambrie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Pronounced: KAM-bree(American English)
Combination of
Cambria with the popular suffix
ree.
Cambriella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Combination of
Cambrie and
Ella 1. Cambriella was given to 5 girls in 2018.
Camp
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAMP
Camper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Camper.
Camper
Respelling of German
Kamper or
Kämpfer (see
Kampfer). The surname Camper is recorded in England, in the London and Essex area, in the 19th century; its origin is uncertain, but it may have been taken there from continental Europe.
Canaan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: כְּנַעַן(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: KAY-nən(English)
From
כְּנַעַן (Kenaʿan), the Hebrew name of the ancient region of Canaan, which was possibly derived from a root meaning
"low, humble". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Ham. He is said to be the ancestor and namesake of the Canaanite peoples.
Candela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kan-DEH-la
Candy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAN-dee
Cannon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAN-ən
From an English surname, which was derived from Middle English canon, referring to a church official or servant who worked in a clergy house. This name may also be used in reference to the vocabulary word for the large gun, derived from Italian cannone "large tube", from Latin canna "cane, reed".
Canon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
From the English word "canon" meaning "a generally accepted rule or principle; works considered to be authentic; religious law; or catalog of saints". From the Old French
canon, from Latin
canōn, from Ancient Greek
kanón (κανών) 'measuring rod, standard'. May also be considered a variant of
Cannon.
Caryl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAR-əl
Casen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
Cash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KASH
From an English occupational surname for a box maker, derived from Norman French casse meaning "case", from Latin capsa. It coincides with the English word cash meaning "money" (derived from the same French and Latin roots). A famous bearer of the surname was American musician Johnny Cash (1932-2003).
Cashton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Modern)
Pronounced: KASH-tən(American English)
Cason
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
From the English surname
Cason. It enjoyed a modest level of use in the United States in the early 21st century, due to its similarity to other popular names such as
Mason and
Jason.
Cayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Ceara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Cearra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Chace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: CHAYS
Charis
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1], Greek
Other Scripts: Χάρις(Ancient Greek) Χάρης, Χάρις(Greek)
Pronounced: KA-REES(Classical Greek) KHA-rees(Greek)
Ancient Greek feminine form of
Chares. This was the word (in the singular) for one of the three Graces (plural
Χάριτες).
This is also a Modern Greek transcription of the masculine form Chares.
Charisma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: kə-RIZ-mə
From the English word meaning
"personal magnetism", ultimately derived from Greek
χάρις (charis) meaning "grace, kindness".
Charlize
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Afrikaans
Pronounced: shar-LEEZ
Feminine form of
Charles using the popular Afrikaans name suffix
ize. This name was popularized by South African actress Charlize Theron (1975-), who was named after her father Charles.
Chase
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAYS
From an English surname meaning "chase, hunt" in Middle English, originally a nickname for a huntsman.
Chastity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: CHAS-ti-tee
From the English word chastity, which is ultimately from Latin castus "pure". It was borne by the child of Sonny Bono and Cher, which probably led to the name's increase in popularity during the 1970s.
Christy
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Irish
Pronounced: KRIS-tee(English)
Diminutive of
Christine,
Christina,
Christopher and other names beginning with
Christ. In Ireland this name is typically masculine, though elsewhere in the English-speaking world it is more often feminine (especially the United States and Canada).
Chrysalis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Filipino (Rare)
Pronounced: KRIS-ə-lis(English)
From the word referring to the pupa of a butterfly or moth or the cocoon where the pupa is enclosed inside, derived via Latin from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς
(khrusallís), from χρυσός
(khrusós) meaning "gold."
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic villain bears this name.
Chrysanthi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Χρυσάνθη(Greek)
Chrysanthos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Χρύσανθος(Greek)
Means
"golden flower" from Greek
χρύσεος (chryseos) meaning "golden" combined with
ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This name was borne by a semi-legendary 3rd-century Egyptian
saint.
Chryssa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Χρύσα(Greek)
Cianán
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1]
Ciara 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-AHR-ə, see-EHR-ə
Variant of
Sierra. Use of the name has perhaps been influenced by the brand of perfume called Ciara, which was introduced by Revlon in 1973
[1].
Ciera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Cierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Clarice
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: klə-REES, KLAR-is, KLEHR-is
Medieval vernacular form of the Late Latin name
Claritia, which was a derivative of
Clara.
Clayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare), Portuguese (Brazilian, Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Clayson.
Cleveland
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLEEV-lənd
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "cliff land" (from Old English clif and land). This was the surname of American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908). It is also the name of an American city, which was founded by surveyor Moses Cleaveland (1754-1806).
Clover
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KLO-vər(American English) KLO-və(British English)
From the English word for the wild flower, ultimately deriving from Old English clafre.
Colorado
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Likely given in reference to the state of Colorado in the United States. The state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish explorers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy (in Spanish, colorado, or 'colored red') silt the river carried from the mountains.
Connecticut
Usage: English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from the name of the Connecticut river, from Algonquian quinnitukqut "at the long tidal river," from kwen "long" + ehtekw "tidal river" + enk "place".
Conroy
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KAHN-roi(American English) KAWN-roi(British English)
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Conaire, which means "descendant of Conaire". Conaire is a nickname meaning "hound keeper".
Corleone
Usage: Sicilian, Literature
From the name of the town of Corleone in Sicily, which is of uncertain meaning. This surname is well known from the novel The Godfather (1969) by Mario Puzo, as well as the films based on his characters. The story tells how Vito Andolini comes to America from Sicily, receiving the new surname Corleone at Ellis Island, and starts a criminal empire based in New York.
Courage
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KUR-ij, KOR-ij
Borrowing from Old French corage (French courage), from Vulgar Latin coraticum, from Latin cor (“heart”). Distantly related to cardiac (“of the heart”), which is from Greek, but from the same Proto-Indo-European root.
Coyote
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
From the name of the small dog-like animal. Has been used rarely as a given name since the 1800s, though its use is steadily increasing since the 2000s.
Creed
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: kreed
From the English word "creed" meaning "that which is believed, a set of beliefs, particularly religious, or any set of principals adhered to; a manifesto of religious or spiritual beliefs; or the fact of believing, as in belief, faith". From the Old English credo, creda, from the Latin credo 'I believe', from credere 'to believe'.
Dacian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: da-chee-AN
Derived from Dacia, the old Roman name for the region that is now Romania and Moldova.
Daisylyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Filipino
Pronounced: DAY-si-lin
Combination of
Daisy and the popular suffix
-lyn.
Dajuan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Pronounced: də-WAHN
Variant of
Dejuan. It can be spelled
Dajuan or with a capitalized third letter as
DaJuan.
Dallin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Dallon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Dallon.
Dallyn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Damian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Polish, Romanian, Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: DAY-mee-ən(English) DA-myan(Polish)
From the Greek name
Δαμιανός (Damianos), which was derived from Greek
δαμάζω (damazo) meaning
"to tame".
Saint Damian was martyred with his twin brother
Cosmas in Syria early in the 4th century. They are the patron saints of physicians. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in Christian Europe. Another saint by this name was Peter Damian, an 11th-century cardinal and theologian from Italy.
Dan 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1], Hebrew
Other Scripts: דָּן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: DAN(English)
Means
"he judged" in Hebrew, a derivative of
דִּין (din) meaning "to judge". In the
Old Testament Dan is one of the twelve sons of
Jacob by
Rachel's servant
Bilhah, and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. His name is explained in
Genesis 30:6.
Dana 2
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAY-nə
From a surname that is of unknown origin. It was originally given in honour of American lawyer Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1815-1882), the author of the memoir Two Years Before the Mast.
Daria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Polish, Romanian, English, Croatian, Russian, Late Roman
Other Scripts: Дарья(Russian) Δαρεία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DA-rya(Italian, Polish, Romanian) DAHR-ee-ə(English) DAR-ee-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Darius.
Saint Daria was a 3rd-century woman who was martyred with her husband Chrysanthus under the Roman emperor Numerian. It has never been a particularly common English given name. As a Russian name, it is more commonly transcribed
Darya.
Dario
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Croatian
Pronounced: DA-ryo(Italian) DA-ree-o(Croatian)
Darlene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: dahr-LEEN(American English) DAHR-leen(American English) dah-LEEN(British English) DAH-leen(British English)
From the English word
darling combined with the common name suffix
lene. This name has been in use since the beginning of the 20th century.
Dashiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Dashiell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: də-SHEEL, DASH-il
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.
Davido
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: da-VEE-do
Davien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Elaboration of
Dave with popular suffix
-en.
Davin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAV-in
Dawson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DAW-sən
From an English surname meaning
"son of David". As a given name, it was popularized in the late 1990s by the central character on the television drama
Dawson's Creek (1998-2003). In the United States the number of boys receiving the name increased tenfold between 1997 and 1999. It got another boost in 2014 after it was used for a main character in the movie
The Best of Me.
Deacon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: DEE-kən
Either from the occupational surname
Deacon or directly from the vocabulary word
deacon, which refers to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek
διάκονος (diakonos) meaning "servant").
Dedrick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Diederik.
Delaware
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Archaic)
Denny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHN-ee
Denver
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHN-vər(American English) DEHN-və(British English)
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).
Detroit
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: di-TROIT(American English)
From the French word, meaning “strait.” The full name of the city’s phrase is “le détroit du Lac Érie,” meaning “the strait of Lake Erie.”
Devereaux
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEV-ə-ro, DEV-uh-ro
Devereaux
Usage: English
Pronounced: DEHV-ə-roo
Variant form of
Devereux, based on the common English mis-pronunciation "Devero".
Dewey
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: DYOO-ee, DOO-ee
Díaz
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: DEE-ath(European Spanish) DEE-as(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"son of Diego" in Spanish.
Diaz
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Transferred use of the Spanish surname
Díaz. In the UK, it's more often a unisex name.
Diederich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Archaic)
Pronounced: DEE-deh-rikh
Diedrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: DEET-rikh
Dietrich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German
Pronounced: DEET-rikh
German form of
Theodoric. The character Dietrich von Bern, loosely based on Theodoric the Great, appears in medieval German literature such as the
Hildebrandslied, the
Nibelungenlied and the
Eckenlied.
Dorien
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare), French (Belgian, Rare)
Dorien
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Dutch, Flemish
Dutch form of
Dorine, with its spelling phonetical in nature.
Doris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Swedish, Danish, Croatian, Ancient Greek [1], Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Δωρίς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DAWR-is(English) DO-ris(German)
From the Greek name
Δωρίς (Doris), which meant
"Dorian woman". The Dorians were a Greek tribe who occupied the Peloponnese starting in the 12th century BC. In Greek
mythology Doris was a sea nymph, one of the many children of Oceanus and Tethys. It began to be used as an English name in the 19th century. A famous bearer is the American actress Doris Day (1924-2019).
Dorothee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Eirene
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Εἰρήνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-REH-NEH(Classical Greek) ie-REE-nee(English)
Ancient Greek form of
Irene.
Elvis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHL-vis
Meaning unknown. It could possibly be a derivative of
Alvis or
Elwin. More likely, it is from the rare surname
Elvis, a variant of
Elwes, which is ultimately derived from the given name
Eloise. The name was brought to public attention by the singer Elvis Presley (1935-1977), whose name came from his father's middle name.
This name is also used as an Anglicized form of Irish Ailbhe.
Esa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: EH-sah
Esmae
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: EHZ-may
Esme
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Esmé
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHZ-may, EHZ-mee
Means "esteemed" or "loved" in Old French. It was first recorded in Scotland, being borne by the first Duke of Lennox in the 16th century. It is now more common as a feminine name.
Esmeralda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, Albanian, Literature
Pronounced: ehz-meh-RAL-da(Spanish) izh-mi-RAL-du(European Portuguese) ehz-meh-ROW-du(Brazilian Portuguese) ehz-mə-RAHL-də(English)
Means "emerald" in Spanish and Portuguese. Victor Hugo used this name in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), in which Esmeralda is the Romani girl who is loved by Quasimodo. It has occasionally been used in the English-speaking world since that time.
Esmerelda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani (Archaic), Literature
Corruption of
Esmeralda. Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax (also Granny Weatherwax or Mistress Weatherwax) is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's
Discworld series (1983–2015).
Euphoria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Modern, Rare), Obscure
Pronounced: yoo-FAWR-ee-ə(English)
From the English word meaning "feeling of intense happiness, state of joy", originally a medical Latin term meaning "condition of feeling healthy and comfortable (especially when sick)". It comes from Greek εὐφορία
(euphoria) "power of enduring easily", from εὔφορος
(euphoros) "bearing well, able to endure, patient", ultimately from εὖ
(eu) "good, well" and φέρω
(phero) "to bear".
This name debuted in the United States baby name data in 2007, when it was given to 6 girls born in the US. Use of the name has probably been influenced by the brand of perfume called Euphoria, which was introduced by Calvin Klein in 2005, and more recently by the American television show Euphoria which premiered in 2019 (19 girls born in the United States in 2021 were named Euphoria, and 16 in 2022).
Eveleen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: EHV-ə-leen
Evelyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, German
Pronounced: EHV-ə-lin(English) EEV-lin(British English) EEV-ə-lin(British English) EH-və-leen(German)
From an English surname that was derived from the given name
Aveline. In the 17th century when it was first used as a given name it was more common for boys, but it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, probably in part because of its similarity to
Eve and
Evelina.
This name was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It staged a comeback in the early 21st century, returning to the American top ten in 2017.
Evyn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Felina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman
Florence
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FLAWR-əns(English) FLAW-RAHNS(French)
From the Latin name
Florentius or the feminine form
Florentia, which were derived from
florens "prosperous, flourishing".
Florentius was borne by many early Christian
saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
Florida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, Albanian, Italian (Rare), English (American), Spanish (Latin American), Louisiana Creole
Pronounced: FLAH-rid-ə(American English) FLOOR-i-da(American English)
Feminine form of
Floridus. This is also the name of a state in the United States of America, which was originally named
La Florida by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León (1474-1521). He so named it because he discovered it during the Easter season, which is called
Pascua Florida in Spanish. The literal meaning of the term is "flowery Easter", as it consists of the Spanish noun
pascua meaning "Easter, Passover" (also compare
Pascual) and the Spanish adjective
florida meaning "flourishing, blooming, florid".
Most American bearers of the name Florida will have been named in honor of the state, which is much like other given names that come from state names, such as Dakota and Indiana. This is less likely to be the case for bearers from other countries, especially those that are not part of the Anglosphere.
Francis
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: FRAN-sis(English) FRAHN-SEES(French)
English form of the Late Latin name
Franciscus meaning
"Frenchman", ultimately from the Germanic tribe of the Franks, who were named for a type of spear that they used (Proto-Germanic *
frankô). This name was borne by the 13th-century
Saint Francis of Assisi, who was originally named Giovanni but was given the nickname Francesco by his father, an admirer of the French. Francis went on to renounce his father's wealth and devote his life to the poor, founding the Franciscan order of friars. Later in his life he apparently received the stigmata.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name became widespread in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. However, it was not regularly used in Britain until the 16th century. Famous bearers include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a missionary to East Asia, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the explorer and admiral Francis Drake (1540-1595), and Pope Francis (1936-).
In the English-speaking world this name is occasionally used for girls, as a variant of the homophone Frances.
Frediano
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian (Rare)
Pronounced: freh-DYA-no
Italian form of the Roman name Frigidianus, which was derived from Latin frigidus "cold". This was the name of a 6th-century Irish bishop who made a pilgrimage to Rome and settled as a hermit on Mount Pisano.
Galadriel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: gə-LAD-ree-əl(English)
Means "maiden crowned with a radiant garland" in the fictional language Sindarin. Galadriel was a Noldorin elf princess renowned for her beauty and wisdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The elements are galad "radiant" and riel "garlanded maiden". Alatáriel is the Quenya form of her name.
Gale 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
Variant of
Gail. It also coincides with the English word
gale meaning
"storm".
Gale 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
From a surname that was derived from Middle English gaile "jovial". It also coincides with the English word gale meaning "storm".
Gardenzio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
This name is borne by Sylvester Stallone, who was born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone.
Gawain
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Pronounced: gə-WAYN(English) GAH-win(English)
Meaning uncertain, from the Latin form
Gualguainus used in the 12th-century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth (appearing also as
Walganus,
Gwalguanus and other spellings in different copies of the text), where he is one of the knights who serve his uncle King
Arthur. He can be identified with the earlier Welsh hero Gwalchmai, and it is possible that the name derives from
Gwalchmai or a misreading of it.
Gawain was a popular hero in medieval tales such as those by Chrétien de Troyes, where his name appears in the French form Gauvain or Gauvains. He is the main character of the 14th-century anonymous poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which he accepts a potentially fatal challenge from the mysterious Green Knight.
Gayle
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAYL
Gennifer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: same as jennifer
Modern variant of Jennifer. A famous bearer is the author Gennifer Choldenko.
Geordan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: JOR-den(American English)
Georden
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAWR-dən
Geordyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Georganna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jawrj-AN-ə
Geraldine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEHR-əl-deen
Feminine form of
Gerald. This name was created by the poet Henry Howard for use in a 1537 sonnet praising Lady Elizabeth FitzGerald, whom he terms
The Geraldine.
Gerry
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Dutch
Pronounced: JEHR-ee(English) GHEH-ree(Dutch)
Gian
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: JAN
Gianni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: JAN-nee
Giannino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: jan-NEE-no
Glenn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GLEHN
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.
Glenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GLEHN-ə
Gloría
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern)
Goodman
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare, Archaic)
Pronounced: GOOD-mən
From Middle English
gode "good" and
man "man", in part from use as a term for the master of a household. In Scotland the term denoted a landowner who held his land not directly from the crown but from a feudal vassal of the king. It is also an Anglised form of Jewish
Gutman or German
Gutmann with the same meaning.
Graham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: GRAY-əm(English) GRAM(English)
From a Scottish surname, originally derived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant
"gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by the Norman baron William de Graham
[1]. A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), the Scottish-Canadian-American inventor who devised the telephone. A famous bearer of the given name was the British author Graham Greene (1904-1991).
During the 20th century, Graham was more common in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada than it was in the United States. However, it has been rising on the American charts since around 2006.
Gump
Usage: German (Rare), Popular Culture
Possibly from a nickname derived from Middle High German gumpen meaning "to hop, to jump". This surname was used by author Winston Groom for the hero of his novel Forrest Gump (1986), better known from the 1994 movie adaptation.
Gwen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWEHN
From Welsh
gwen, the feminine form of
gwyn meaning "white, blessed". It can also be a short form of
Gwendolen,
Gwenllian and other names beginning with
Gwen.
Gwendolin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Gwendolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Belgian, Breton, German (Rare)
Gwendoline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English (British), French
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin(British English) GWEHN-DAW-LEEN(French)
Gwendolyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GWEHN-də-lin
Variant of
Gwendolen. This is the usual spelling in the United States.
Gwendolyna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: gwen-də-LEEN-ə
Gwendolynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: GWEN-də-lin
Gwendolynne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Gwenette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: gwə-NET
Elaborated form of
Gwen, using the suffix
-ette.
Gwyn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: GWIN(Welsh)
Means
"white, blessed" in Welsh. In Welsh legend Gwyn was a king of the Otherworld and the leader of the Wild Hunt. He appears in the Welsh tale
Culhwch and Olwen, where he is one of the many who help
Culhwch hunt the monstrous boar Trwyth. The story also tells of his rivalry with
Gwythyr for the beautiful
Creiddylad.
Gwyneth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: GWIN-eth(Welsh) GWIN-ith(English)
Probably a variant of
Gwynedd. It has been common in Wales since the 19th century, perhaps after the Welsh novelist Gwyneth Vaughan (1852-1910), whose real name was Ann Harriet Hughes. A modern famous bearer is the American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-).
Hallelujah
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: hah-le-LOO-yə
From the English word hallelujah, uttered in worship or as an expression of rejoicing, ultimately from Hebrew הַלְּלוּיָהּ (halleluyah) meaning "praise ye the Lord."
Happyness
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (African)
Pronounced: HAP-ee-nəs(African English)
Derived from the English word happiness. It is most common in Tanzania.
Hasan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay, Albanian, Bosnian
Other Scripts: حسن(Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Shahmukhi) হাসান(Bengali)
Pronounced: HA-san(Arabic, Indonesian) ha-SAN(Turkish, Persian)
Means
"handsome" in Arabic, from the root
حسن (ḥasuna) meaning "to be beautiful, to be good". Hasan was the son of
Ali and the grandson of the Prophet
Muhammad. He was poisoned by one of his wives and is regarded as a martyr by Shia Muslims. This was also the name of two kings of Morocco. It is sometimes transcribed as
Hassan, though this is a distinct name in Arabic.
Hassan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay, Dhivehi
Other Scripts: حسن, حسّان(Arabic) حسن(Persian, Urdu) ޙަސަން(Dhivehi)
Pronounced: HA-san(Arabic) has-SAN(Arabic)
Most commonly this is a variant of the Arabic name
حسن, which is typically transcribed
Hasan.
Alternatively, this spelling can represent the distinct but related Arabic name حسّان (having a doubled middle consonant and a final long vowel) meaning "beautifier, improver". Hassan ibn Thabit was a 7th-century poet who was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
Hayleyann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
The name Hayleyann is a combination of the English names Hayley, meaning “meadow” or “hero” and Ann, meaning “gracious.” When combined, the name can mean “gracious meadow” or “gracious hero.”
Hilary
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HIL-ə-ree
Medieval English form of
Hilarius or
Hilaria. During the Middle Ages it was primarily a masculine name. It was revived in Britain at the beginning of the 20th century as a predominantly feminine name. In America, this name and the variant
Hillary seemed to drop in popularity after Hillary Clinton (1947-) became the first lady in 1993. Famous bearers include American actresses Hilary Swank (1974-) and Hilary Duff (1987-).
Honeybelle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
A combination of the names
Honey and
Belle. A type of honeysuckle flower, and a type of small orange. Honeybell Adams is a character in the 1940 movie The Primrose Path.
Hosanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Pronounced: ho-ZAN-ə(English)
From the Aramaic religious expression
הושע נא (Hoshaʿ na) meaning
"deliver us" in Hebrew. In the
New Testament this is exclaimed by those around
Jesus when he first enters Jerusalem.
Hosannah
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English, Nigerian, Spanish
Huell
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: HYOO-il(American English)
Form of the Old English
Howell, which derives from the Old Welsh
Hywel. Notable bearers of the name include television host Huell Howser and
Breaking Bad and
Better Call Saul character Huell Babineaux.
Hugh
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HYOO
From the Germanic name
Hugo, derived from Old Frankish
hugi or Old High German
hugu meaning
"mind, thought, spirit" (Proto-Germanic *
hugiz). It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The
Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop
Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of
Aodh and
Ùisdean.
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)
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.
Iacob
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Biblical Latin
Idaho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Rare)
From the name of a state in the United States of America. The name of the state was made in the early 1860s, when the United States Congress was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing suggested the name "Idaho", which he claimed was derived from a Shoshone language term meaning "the sun comes from the mountains" or "gem of the mountains".
Ignacio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: eegh-NA-thyo(European Spanish) eegh-NA-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Ilmatar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: EEL-mah-tahr(Finnish)
Immanuel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, German (Rare), Biblical, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: עִמָּנוּאֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-MA-nwehl(German)
Form of
Emmanuel used in most translations of the
Old Testament. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher of the Enlightenment who is sometimes called the father of modern philosophy.
Indiana
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: in-dee-AN-ə
From the name of the American state, which means "land of the Indians". This is the name of the hero in the Indiana Jones series of movies, starring Harrison Ford.
Inés
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ee-NEHS
Inez
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Dutch
Pronounced: i-NEHZ(English) ee-NEHZ(English) ie-NEHZ(English)
Iowa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern)
Pronounced: IE-o-ə, IE-ə-wə
By way of French Aiouez, from the Dakota word ayúxba/ayuxwe and named after the Iowa tribe. The name seems to have no further known etymology though some give it the meaning "sleepy ones".
Irena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Ирена(Serbian, Bulgarian)
Pronounced: ee-REH-na(Polish) I-reh-na(Czech) EE-reh-na(Slovak) i-ryeh-NU(Lithuanian)
Form of
Irene in several languages.
Isiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ie-ZIE-ə
Isidore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Georgian (Rare), Jewish
Other Scripts: ისიდორე(Georgian)
Pronounced: IZ-ə-dawr(American English) IZ-ə-daw(British English) EE-ZEE-DAWR(French)
From the Greek name
Ἰσίδωρος (Isidoros) meaning
"gift of Isis", derived from the name of the Egyptian goddess
Isis combined with Greek
δῶρον (doron) meaning "gift".
Saint Isidore of Seville was a 6th-century archbishop, historian and theologian.
Though it has never been popular in the English-speaking world among Christians, it has historically been a common name for Jews, who have used it as an Americanized form of names such as Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.
Izaiah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Jackalyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Jacklyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK-lin
Jacquette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Jacqui
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: JAK-ee
Jane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAYN
Medieval English form of
Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of
Iohannes (see
John). This became the most common feminine form of
John in the 17th century, surpassing
Joan. In the first half of the 20th century
Joan once again overtook
Jane for a few decades in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.
January
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAN-yoo-ehr-ee
From the name of the month, which was named for the Roman god
Janus. This name briefly charted on the American top 1000 list for girls after it was borne by the protagonist of Jacqueline Susann's novel
Once Is Not Enough (1973).
Jaymes
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAYMZ
Jecoliah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יְכָלְיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Jennipher
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JEN-i-fur
Jerome
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: jə-ROM
From the Greek name
Ἱερώνυμος (Hieronymos) meaning
"sacred name", derived from
ἱερός (hieros) meaning "sacred" and
ὄνυμα (onyma) meaning "name".
Saint Jerome was responsible for the creation of the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, in the 5th century. He is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. The name was used in his honour in the Middle Ages, especially in Italy and France, and has been used in England since the 12th century
[1].
Jewison
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Jimmy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JIM-ee
Diminutive of
James. This was the usual name of American actor James Stewart (1908-1997). It is also used by the former American president Jimmy Carter (1924-).
Joachim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, French, Polish, Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend
Pronounced: YO-a-khim(German) yo-A-khim(German) ZHAW-A-KEEM(French) yaw-A-kheem(Polish) JO-ə-kim(English)
Contracted form of
Jehoiachin or
Jehoiakim. According to the apocryphal Gospel of James,
Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint
Anne and the father of the Virgin
Mary. Due to his popularity in the Middle Ages, the name came into general use in Christian Europe (though it was never common in England).
Joanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: jo-AN(English) ZHAW-AN(French)
Joaquín
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: kho-a-KEEN, khwa-KEEN
Joaquin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Americanized)
Pronounced: wah-KEEN(English) hwah-KEEN(English)
Unaccented form of
Joaquín used mainly in America.
Johna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: JAHN-ə(American English) JAWN-ə(British English)
Johnna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAHN-ə(American English) JAWN-ə(British English)
Joi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JOI
Jolie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JO-lee(English) ZHAW-LEE(French)
Means "pretty" in French. This name was popularized by American actress Angelina Jolie (1975-), whose surname was originally her middle name. It is not used as a given name in France.
Joselyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: JAHS-lin(American English) JAHS-ə-lin(American English) JAWS-lin(British English) JAWS-ə-lin(British English)
Jozef
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Slovak, Dutch, Albanian
Pronounced: YAW-zehf(Slovak) YO-zəf(Dutch)
Slovak, Dutch and Albanian form of
Joseph.
Kamber
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Albanian
Kamberly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Kansas
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
From the US state name.
Kasen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Kash
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KASH
Kashlyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Kashlynn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Kashton
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KASH-tən
Probably a combination of
Kash and the popular name suffix
ton, inspired by names such as
Ashton.
Kayce
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-see, KAYS
Variant of
Casey or
Case (depending on the pronunciation). It was popularized by the character Kayce Dutton (pronounced like Casey) from the television series
Yellowstone (2018-).
Kaylee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lee
Combination of the popular phonetic elements
kay and
lee. This name, in various spellings, steadily rose in popularity starting in the 1980s. This particular spelling peaked in America in 2009, ranked 26th, and has since declined.
Kaysen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Kayson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-sən
Keenan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEE-nən(English)
Keighla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Keighley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from an English place name, ultimately meaning
"clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name
Cyhha is of unknown meaning. This name also serves as a variant of
Kaylee.
Kentucky
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Of uncertain etymology, though likely from an Iroquoian name meaning "on the meadow" or "on the prairie".
Kevin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Irish, French (Modern), German (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Pronounced: KEHV-in(English) KEH-VEEN(French) KEH-vin(German, Dutch)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Caoimhín meaning
"beloved birth", derived from Old Irish
Cóemgein, composed of
cóem "dear, beloved, gentle" and
gein "birth".
Saint Caoimhín established a monastery in Glendalough, Ireland in the 6th century and is the patron saint of Dublin.
The name became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland in the middle of the 20th century, and elsewhere in Europe in the latter half of the 20th century. Famous bearers include the American actors Kevin Costner (1955-) and Kevin Bacon (1958-). It was also borne by the character Kevin McCallister in the 1990 comedy movie Home Alone.
Kiana 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
King
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KING
From the English vocabulary word king, ultimately derived from Old English cyning. This was also a surname, derived from the same source, a famous bearer being the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Kingdom
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare), English (African)
Either a transferred use of the surname
Kingdom or else directly from the English word, perhaps taken from the biblical phrase
kingdom of God. A famous bearer was the English engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), whose middle name was his mother's maiden name.
Kleopatra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Κλεοπάτρα(Ancient Greek)
Kohl
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL
Variant of
Cole influenced by the German surname
Kohl.
Kole
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KOL
Kresten
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish
Kristopher
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KRIS-tə-fər(American English) KRIS-tə-fə(British English)
Lala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romani
Directly taken from Romani lala "ruby; red; fiery".
Occasionally found in the 1800s.
Lala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Лала(Bulgarian)
From Bulgarian
лале (lale) meaning
"tulip" (of Persian origin).
LaSandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Combination of the popular prefix
la with the name
Sandra, possibly inspired by
Cassandra.
Lathan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAY-than
Leslea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Rare feminine variant of
Leslie. A notable bearer is American author Lesléa Newman (1955-), whose birth name is Leslie.
Leslee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LES-lee
Lesleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LEHZ-lee, LEHS-lee
Lesli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: LES-lee, LEZ-lee
Lesly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: LEHZ-lee, LEHS-lee
Linus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized), Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German
Other Scripts: Λίνος(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LIE-nəs(English) LEE-nuys(Swedish) LEE-nuws(German)
From the Greek name
Λίνος (Linos) meaning
"flax". In Greek legend he was the son of the god
Apollo, who accidentally killed him in a contest. Another son of Apollo by this name was the music teacher of
Herakles. The name was also borne by the second pope, serving after
Saint Peter in the 1st century. In modern times this was the name of a character in Charles Schulz's comic strip
Peanuts.
Louisiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Louisiana Creole (Rare), English (Rare)
From the name of the state in the southern United States, named after the French king
Louis XIV, who reigned over France from 1643 to 1715.
Luciana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: loo-CHA-na(Italian) loo-THYA-na(European Spanish) loo-SYA-na(Latin American Spanish) loo-SYU-nu(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese)
Lucianus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Roman family name that was derived from the Roman
praenomen Lucius. Lucianus (or
Λουκιανός in his native Greek) of Samosata was a 2nd-century satirist and author. This name was also borne by a 3rd-century
saint and martyr from Beauvais and a 4th-century saint and martyr from Antioch.
Luther
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LOOTH-ər(American English) LOO-thə(British English)
From a German surname, itself derived from the Old German given name
Leuthar. The surname was borne by Martin Luther (1483-1546), a monk and theologian who started the
Protestant Reformation by nailing his famous 95 theses to a church door. It has since been used as a given name in his honour, especially among Protestants. A notable bearer from the modern era was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Mabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-bəl
Medieval feminine form of
Amabilis. This spelling and
Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's 1854 novel
The Heir of Redclyffe [1], which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).
Macaulay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: mə-KAW-lee
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh, itself derived from Amhalghadh, a given name of unknown meaning. A famous bearer of the surname was Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1861), a British Whig politician and noted historian. The given name is borne by the American former child actor Macaulay Culkin (1980-), who was named after the British politician.
Macey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAY-see
Maci
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: MAY-see
Macie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-see
Macy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-see
From an English surname that was from various towns called
Massy in France. The towns themselves were originally derived from a Gallo-Roman personal name that was Latinized as
Maccius. The name was brought to public attention in 1989 when the character Macy Alexander was introduced to the soap opera
The Bold and the Beautiful [1]. It is also notable as the name of a chain of American department stores founded by Rowland Hussey Macy in 1858.
Maeghan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHG-ən
Mærwine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon [1]
Derived from the Old English elements
mære "famous" and
wine "friend".
Maggie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAG-ee
Maine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish
Pronounced: MIE-neh
Maisie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: MAY-zee(English)
Scottish
diminutive of
Mairead. It was long used in the United Kingdom and Australia, becoming popular at the end of the 20th century. In the United States it was brought to public attention by the British actress Maisie Williams (1997-), who played Arya Stark on the television series
Game of Thrones beginning 2011. Her birth name is Margaret.
Malina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Mandy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAN-dee
Mardis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian (Archaic)
Norwegian form of
Mardís recorded in the 19th century.
Marian 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-ee-ən, MAR-ee-ən
Variant of
Marion 1. This name was borne in English legend by Maid Marian, Robin Hood's love. It is sometimes considered a combination of
Mary and
Ann.
This name spiked in popularity in several places around the world in 1954 after Pope Pius declared it to be a Marian year, in honour of the Virgin Mary. A similar declaration in 1987 did not have as marked an effect.
Mariarosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Romansh
Mariarosaria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ma-REE-a-ro-ZAH-rya
Marie-Rose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: MA-REE-ROZ
Marion 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: MA-RYAWN(French) MEHR-ee-ən(English) MAR-ee-ən(English)
Marion 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHR-ee-ən, MAR-ee-ən
From a French surname that was derived from
Marion 1. This was the real name of American actor John Wayne (1907-1979), who was born Marion Robert Morrison.
Marius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, French, Lithuanian
Pronounced: MA-ree-oos(Latin) MEHR-ee-əs(English) MAR-ee-əs(English) MA-ryoos(Romanian) MA-ree-uws(German) MA-ree-uys(Dutch) MA-RYUYS(French)
Roman family name that was derived either from
Mars, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root
mas, maris meaning
"male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC. Since the start of the Christian era, it has occasionally been used as a masculine form of
Maria.
Marlon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-lən(American English) MAH-lən(British English)
Meaning unknown. This name was popularized by the American actor Marlon Brando (1924-2004), who was named after his father.
Martie
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAHR-tee
Maryland
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: MEHR-il-ənd(English)
From the place name
Maryland, literally "
Mary's land". A known bearer of this name was Maryland Mathison Hooper McCormick (1897-1985), an American socialite and the second wife of newspaper editor and publisher Robert McCormick.
Maryrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Massachusetts
Usage: English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, named for the Algonquian native people who lived around the bay, from Algonquian massachusett "at the large hill," in reference to Great Blue Hill, southwest of Boston.
Matthew
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: MATH-yoo(English)
English form of
Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which is the
New Testament Greek form of
Mattithiah. Matthew, probably also called
Levi, was one of the twelve apostles. He was a tax collector, and supposedly the author of the first gospel in the New Testament. He is considered a
saint in many Christian traditions. The variant
Matthias also occurs in the New Testament belonging to a separate apostle.
As an English given name, Matthew has been in use since the Middle Ages. It became popular throughout the English-speaking world around the middle of the 20th century, ranked near the top of the popularity lists for boys in the 1980s and 90s. A notable bearer was the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led an expedition to Japan. Famous modern bearers include the actors Matthew Broderick (1962-), Matthew McConaughey (1969-) and Matthew Perry (1969-2023).
Maury
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAWR-ee
Diminutive of
Maurice. This is the name of talk show host Maury Povich.
Maverick
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAV-ə-rik
Derived from the English word maverick meaning "independent". The word itself is derived from the surname of a 19th-century Texas rancher who did not brand his calves.
Mavis
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAY-vis
From the name of the type of bird, also called the song thrush, derived from Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin. It was first used as a given name by the British author Marie Corelli, who used it for a character in her novel The Sorrows of Satan (1895).
Maycie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Modern)
Pronounced: MAY-SEE
Mccaley
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
McCartney
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Transferred use of the surname
McCartney. This name was given to 15 girls in 2017.
McGill
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ghoill meaning "son of the foreigner", derived from gall "foreigner".
McIntyre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
McIntyre.
McIntyre
From Scottish Gaelic Mac an tSaoir meaning "son of the carpenter".
Meagan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHG-ən
Meagen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Pronounced: MEG-ən(American English) MAY-gən(American English)
Meaghan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHG-ən
Megan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh, English
Pronounced: MEHG-ən(English)
Welsh
diminutive of
Margaret. In the English-speaking world outside of Wales it has only been regularly used since the middle of the 20th century.
Meghan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHG-ən
Variant of
Megan. A notable bearer is Meghan Markle (1981-), the American-born wife of the British royal Prince Harry.
Mel
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEHL
Melchior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Judeo-Christian-Islamic Legend, French (Rare), Dutch (Rare)
Pronounced: MEHL-kee-awr(American English) MEHL-kee-aw(British English) MEHL-KYAWR(French) MEHL-khee-awr(Dutch)
Possibly from the Hebrew roots
מֶלֶךְ (meleḵ) meaning "king" and
אוֹר (ʾor) meaning "light". This was a name 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. According to medieval tradition he was a king of Persia.
Melina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Greek
Other Scripts: Μελίνα(Greek)
Pronounced: mə-LEE-nə(English)
Elaboration of
Mel, either from names such as
Melissa or from Greek
μέλι (meli) meaning "honey". A famous bearer was Greek-American actress Melina Mercouri (1920-1994), who was born Maria Amalia Mercouris.
Merlin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle, English
Pronounced: MUR-lin(American English) MU-lin(British English)
Form of the Welsh name
Myrddin used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century chronicle. Writing in Latin, he likely chose the form
Merlinus over
Merdinus in order to prevent associations with French
merde "excrement".
Geoffrey based parts of Merlin's character on Myrddin Wyllt, a legendary madman and prophet who lived in the Caledonian Forest. Other parts of his life were based on that of the historical 5th-century Romano-British military leader Ambrosius Aurelianus (also known as Emrys Wledig). In Geoffrey's version of the tales and later embellishments Merlin is a magician and counselor for King Arthur.
Merlyn
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-lin(American English) MU-lin(British English)
Variant of
Merlin, sometimes used as a feminine form. It has perhaps been influenced by the Welsh word
merlyn meaning "pony".
Michigan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Obscure
From the name of a state in the United States, originally applied to lake Michigan, perhaps from Old Ojibwa (Algonquian) meshi-gami meaning "big lake".
Mike
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIEK
Mile
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Миле(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: mee-LEH(Croatian, Serbian)
Diminutive of
Miodrag,
Milan, and other names containing the Slavic element
milŭ meaning
"gracious, dear". It is often used independently.
Milka 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: מִלְכָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Milo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: MIE-lo(English)
Old German form of
Miles, as well as the Latinized form. This form was revived as an English name in the 19th century
[2].
Mimi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MEE-mee
Minnesota
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
From the name of the state in the United States of America, which came from the name of the river "Minnesota River". Thus, the river got its name from the Sioux Indian word "Minisota." That word comes from the words minni, meaning "water", and sotah meaning "sky-tinted" or "cloudy." Therefore, Minnesota means "sky-tinted water" or "cloudy water".
Mississippi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: Mis-is-IP-pee
French word derived from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning "great river."
Molina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Archaic), Popular Culture
Murphy
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MUR-fee(American English) MU-fee(British English)
From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Ó Murchadha, itself derived from the given name
Murchadh. As a given name, it has been borne by female characters on the American television series
Murphy Brown (1988-1998) and the movie
Interstellar (2014).
Mykelti
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: American (Modern, Rare)
Pronounced: mi-KEHL-tee, MIE-kəl-tee
A concatenation of
Michael with the initial
T (the phonetic element /ti/). In the case of American actor Mykelti Williamson (1957-), who is of African American descent and self-identifies as being of partial Blackfoot descent, he has claimed that his name means "spirit" in the Blackfoot language, but this is untrue. A female bearer is American television personality Mykelti Brown (1996-), one of the daughters of fundamentalist Mormon polygamist Kody Brown.
Myles 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIELZ
Mylo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIE-lo
Nacho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: NA-cho
Nacio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: NA-thyo(European Spanish) NA-syo(Latin American Spanish)
Nichola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (British)
Pronounced: NIK-ə-lə
Feminine form of
Nicholas (chiefly used in Britain).
Nino 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: NEE-no
Novalee
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Elaboration of
Nova using the popular name suffix
lee. It was used for the central character in the novel
Where the Heart Is (1995), as well as the 2000 film adaptation.
Nyesha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern, Rare)
Rhyming variant of
Iesha.
Nylund
From Swedish
ny (Old Norse
nýr) meaning "new" and
lund (Old Norse
lundr) meaning "grove".
Océan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: O-SE-AHN
French form of
Okeanos via its latinized form
Oceanus. Also compare the French noun
océan meaning "ocean".
Ohio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American
From the name of the state in the United States of America. The origin of the name came from the roquois word, O-Y-O meaning "great river".
Oklahoma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: ok-lə-HO-mə(American English)
From the name of the state in the central United States. It is derived from Choctaw okla "people, nation" and humma "red, crimson, scarlet, ruddy" and by extension "honored, brave".
Otto
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: AW-to(German, Dutch) AHT-o(American English) AWT-o(British English) OT-to(Finnish)
Later German form of
Audo, originally a short form of various names beginning with Old Frankish
aud or Old High German
ot meaning
"wealth, fortune". This was the name of a 9th-century king of the West Franks (name usually spelled as
Odo). This was also the name of four kings of Germany, starting in the 10th century with Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, known as Otto the Great.
Saint Otto of Bamberg was a 12th-century missionary to Pomerania. The name was also borne by a 19th-century king of Greece, originally from Bavaria. Another notable bearer was the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898).
Papaya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
From the fruit papaya, which is a large, yellow, melonlike fruit of a tropical American shrub or small tree, Carica papaya, eaten raw or cooked.
Pauletta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: paw-LEHT-ə
Paulette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: PAW-LEHT(French) paw-LEHT(English)
Paulina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Swedish, Lithuanian, English, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: pow-LEE-na(Spanish, Polish, Swedish) paw-LEE-nə(English)
Feminine form of
Paulinus (see
Paulino).
Pauline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: PAW-LEEN(French) paw-LEEN(English) pow-LEE-nə(German)
French feminine form of
Paulinus (see
Paulino).
Paulino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: pow-LEE-no(Spanish) pow-LEE-noo(European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese)
Spanish and Portuguese form of the Roman family name
Paulinus, which was itself derived from
Paulus (see
Paul).
Saint Paulinus of Nola was a 5th-century nobleman from Gaul who gave up his wealthy lifestyle and became bishop of Nola. He was also noted for his poetry. Another saint by this name was a 7th-century missionary to England who became the first bishop of York.
Paulo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Galician
Pronounced: POW-loo(Portuguese)
Portuguese and Galician form of
Paulus (see
Paul).
Pen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: PEHN
Penelope
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, English
Other Scripts: Πηνελόπη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEH-NEH-LO-PEH(Classical Greek) pə-NEHL-ə-pee(English)
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.
Penn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: PEN
Means "head, top" in Welsh. This was the name of two characters in Welsh legend. It can also come from the English surname which was from a place name meaning "hill" in Old English.
Pennsylvania
Usage: English
Pronounced: pehn-sil-VAY-nee-ə, pehn-sil-VAY-nyə
Name of a state in the United States, literally "Penn's woods". Penn comes from Pennaeth, the welsh word for "head" "top" and Latin silvania (from Latin silvia) "wood, forrest". The state was named by English king Charles II who named it in honor of Admiral William Penn, whose son (also named William Penn) was one of the first settlers.
Pilar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: pee-LAR
Means
"pillar" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María del Pilar, meaning "Mary of the Pillar". According to legend, when
Saint James the Greater was in Saragossa in Spain, the Virgin Mary appeared on a pillar.
Pinkman
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Qiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
From the word for the silk-like material, introduced by DuPont in 1968 and popular in the fashions of the 1970s
[1].
Quiana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Quianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Rare)
Qyara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Ramón
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: ra-MON
Ramon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: rə-MON
Ramona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Romanian, English
Pronounced: ra-MO-na(Spanish) rə-MON-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Ramón. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Helen Hunt Jackson's novel
Ramona (1884), as well as several subsequent movies based on the book.
Ramone
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: rə-MON
Anglicized form of
Ramón. Possibly transferred use of the surname
Ramone in homage to the American punk rock band the Ramones, which was inspired by Paul McCartney's use of the pseudonym Paul Ramon during his Silver Beatles days.
Rayon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: African American (Modern)
Regal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ree-GUL
From late Middle English from Old French, or from Latin regalis, from rex, reg- ‘king’.
Reuben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew, English
Other Scripts: רְאוּבֵן(Hebrew)
Pronounced: ROO-bən(English)
Means
"behold, a son" in Hebrew, derived from
רָאָה (raʾa) meaning "to see" and
בֵּן (ben) meaning "son". In the
Old Testament he is the eldest son of
Jacob and
Leah and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine
Bilhah. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the
Protestant Reformation.
Richmond
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
English place name used as a first name. Richmond is a historic town in North Yorkshire. Its name comes from the town of Richemont in Normandy; its name means "rich hill" in Old French.
Ricochet
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: Rick-uh-shay
From the English word “ricochet”, meaning: “(of a bullet, shell, or other projectile) rebound one or more times off a surface.” As a given name, Ricochet could symbolize strength, resilience, and fearlessness.
Rivera
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare), American (Hispanic)
Pronounced: ri-vair-uh(Hispanic American)
Transferred use of the surname
Rivera or an elaboration of
River.
Rivers
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Transferred use of the surname
Rivers.
Robby
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: RAHB-ee(American English) RAWB-ee(British English)
Romey
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: RO-mee
Romy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, French, English
Pronounced: RO-mee(German, Dutch, English)
Rosaleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern, Rare)
Rosamarie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Roseanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ro-ZAN-ə
Roxana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Romanian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ῥωξάνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə(American English) rawk-SAN-ə(British English) rok-SA-na(Spanish)
Latin form of
Ῥωξάνη (Rhoxane), the Greek form of an Old Persian or Bactrian name, from Old Iranian *
rauxšnā meaning
"bright, shining" [1]. This was the name of Alexander the Great's first wife, a daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes. In the modern era it came into use during the 17th century. In the English-speaking world it was popularized by Daniel Defoe, who used it in his novel
Roxana (1724).
Roy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish, English, Dutch
Pronounced: ROI(English, Dutch)
Anglicized form of
Ruadh. A notable bearer was the Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy (1671-1734). It is often associated with French
roi "king".
Royce
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: ROIS
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name
Royse, a variant of
Rose.
Ruben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, Italian, Armenian, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Ռուբեն(Armenian)
Pronounced: RUY-bən(Dutch) ROO-behn(Swedish, Italian) RUY-BEHN(French) roo-BEHN(Eastern Armenian) roo-PEHN(Western Armenian)
Form of
Reuben in several languages. This was the name of an 11th-century Armenian ruler of Cilicia.
Ryana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: rie-AN-ə
Ryann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: rie-AN
Sabina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Swedish, Ancient Roman
Other Scripts: Сабина(Russian)
Pronounced: sa-BEE-na(Italian, Spanish, Polish) SA-bi-na(Czech)
Feminine form of
Sabinus, a Roman
cognomen meaning
"a Sabine" in Latin. The Sabines were an ancient people who lived in central Italy, their lands eventually taken over by the Romans after several wars. According to legend, the Romans abducted several Sabine women during a raid, and when the men came to rescue them, the women were able to make peace between the two groups. This name was borne by several early
saints.
Saint
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAYNT
From the English word, ultimately from Latin sanctus "holy, saintly".
Salvador
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan
Pronounced: sal-ba-DHOR(Spanish) sal-vu-DOR(European Portuguese) sow-va-DOKH(Brazilian Portuguese) səl-bə-DHO(Catalan)
Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan form of the Late Latin name
Salvator, which meant
"saviour", referring to
Jesus. A famous bearer of this name was the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
Salvatore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: sal-va-TO-reh
Sandler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Sandler
Sanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: SAHN-nah(Finnish)
Short form of
Susanna. It can also be derived from Swedish
sann meaning "true".
Santino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: san-TEE-no
Santo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: SAN-to
Means
"saint" in Italian, ultimately from Latin
sanctus.
Sarai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew [1], Spanish
Other Scripts: שָׂרָי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: SEHR-ie(English) sə-RIE(English)
Seattle
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Duwamish (Anglicized), Popular Culture
Seattle is an anglicization of the modern Duwamish conventional spelling
Si'ahl, equivalent to the modern Lushootseed (Chief Seattle's native language) publishing spelling
Si'aɫ.
A noted bearer is Chief Seattle (c.1780 - 1866) of the Duwamish. A widely publicized speech arguing in favor of ecological responsibility and respect of native Americans' land rights has been attributed to him, and the largest city in Washington state, Seattle, was named after him.
Semper
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SEM-pər
Derived from Latin
semper meaning "forever, always". It also coincides with a surname which derives from multiple distinct sources, including the French place name
Saint-Pierre and the medieval Germanic personal name
Sindperht (see
Sindbert).
It has been occasionally used as a given name from the 18th century onwards.
Serena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Late Roman
Pronounced: sə-REEN-ə(English) seh-REH-na(Italian)
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-).
Sergeant
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: SAHR-jənt(American English) SAH-jənt(British English)
Occupational name derived from Old French sergent meaning "servant", ultimately from Latin servire "to serve".
Shadow
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Pet
Pronounced: SHAD-o
Transferred use of the surname
Shadow or simply from the English word
shadow.
Shahrazad
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian (Rare), Arabic
Other Scripts: شهرزاد(Persian, Arabic)
Pronounced: shahr-ZAWD(Persian) shah-ra-ZAD(Arabic)
Possibly means
"noble lineage" from Persian
چهر (chehr) meaning "lineage, origin" and
آزاد (āzād) meaning "free, noble"
[1]. Alternatively, it might mean
"child of the city" from
شهر (shahr) meaning "city, land" combined with the suffix
زاد (zād) meaning "child of". This is the name of the fictional storyteller in
The 1001 Nights. She tells a story to her husband the king every night for 1001 nights in order to delay her execution.
Shakuntala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: शकुन्तला(Sanskrit) शकुंतला(Hindi, Marathi)
Derived from Sanskrit
शकुन्त (śakunta) meaning
"bird". This is the name of a character in the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata, with the story adapted by Kalidasa for the 5th-century play
Abhijnanashakuntalam. It tells how Shakuntala, who was raised in the forest by birds, meets and marries the king
Dushyanta. After a curse is laid upon them Dushyanta loses his memory and they are separated, but eventually the curse is broken after the king sees the signet ring he gave her.
Shapiro
Usage: Jewish
Other Scripts: שׁפּירא(Hebrew)
Means "pretty, lovely" in Hebrew, from Aramaic.
Shoshana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה(Hebrew)
Shoshanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Jewish, English
Sierra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: see-EHR-ə
Means "mountain range" in Spanish, referring specifically to a mountain range with jagged peaks.
Silvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-vya(Italian) SEEL-bya(Spanish) SEEL-vyu(European Portuguese) SEEW-vyu(Brazilian Portuguese) ZIL-vya(German) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SIL-vee-ə(English)
Feminine form of
Silvius.
Rhea Silvia was the mother of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century
saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled
Sylvia in the English-speaking world.
Silvius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced: SEEL-wee-oos(Latin) SIL-vee-əs(English)
Derived from Latin
silva meaning
"wood, forest". This was the family name of several of the legendary kings of Alba Longa. It was also the name of an early
saint martyred in Alexandria.
Simona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Lithuanian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Симона(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: see-MO-na(Italian) SI-mo-na(Czech) SEE-maw-na(Slovak)
Sofiane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic (Maghrebi)
Other Scripts: سفيان(Arabic)
Pronounced: SAW-FYAN(French)
Alternate transcription of Arabic سفيان (see
Sufyan) chiefly used in North Africa.
Somerled
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Sumarliði meaning "summer traveller". This was the name of a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king of Mann and the Scottish Isles.
Sonny
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-ee
From a nickname that is commonly used to denote a young boy, derived from the English word son.
Sophy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SO-fee
Stanley
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: STAN-lee
From an English surname meaning
"stone clearing" (Old English
stan "stone" and
leah "woodland, clearing"). A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).
Steel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Either transferred use of the surname
Steel or from the English word
steel.
Steele
Usage: English
Pronounced: STEEL
Occupational name for a steelworker, from Old English stele meaning "steel".
Stephini
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: STEHF-i-nee
Stetson
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: STEHT-sən
From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of the village of Stidston in Devon, meaning "Stithweard's town". This is a type of wide-brimmed hat, originally made by the John B. Stetson Company.
Svetlana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Armenian, Georgian
Other Scripts: Светлана(Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian) Սվետլանա(Armenian) სვეტლანა(Georgian)
Pronounced: svyit-LA-nə(Russian) svyeht-lu-NU(Lithuanian)
Derived from Russian
свет (svet) meaning
"light, world". It was popularized by the poem
Svetlana (1813) by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It is sometimes used as a translation of
Photine.
Sylvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: SUYL-vee(Finnish)
Norwegian and Swedish variant of
Solveig. It is also used as a short form of
Sylvia.
Sylvia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: SIL-vee-ə(English) SIL-vee-a(Dutch) SUYL-vee-ah(Finnish)
Variant of
Silvia. This has been the most common English spelling since the 19th century.
Talia 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Means
"dew from God" in Hebrew, from
טַל (ṭal) meaning "dew" and
יָהּ (yah) referring to the Hebrew God.
Tami
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAM-ee
Tamiyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: Tuh-me-yeh
Tammi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAM-ee
Tammie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAM-ee
Tammy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAM-ee
Short form of
Tamara and other names beginning with
Tam.
Tennessee
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American)
Other Scripts: ᏔᎾᏏ(Cherokee)
Pronounced: tehn-ə-SEE(English) TEHN-i-see(English)
From the name of the state located in the Southeastern region of the United States, possibly derived from Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean "winding river", which was originally the name of a village in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee. Alternatively, it could be derived from Yuchi Tana-tsee-dgee, meaning "place of brother waters" or "where the waters meet".
Texas
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: TEHK-səs(English)
From the name of the state in the southern United States. It may be derived from Spanish Texas, itself from Hasinai Caddo táyshaʔ meaning "friend, ally", used to refer to the Caddo nation. Alternatively, it could be derived from Spanish tejo, meaning "yew tree".
Tiffany
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TIF-ə-nee
Medieval form of
Theophania. This name was traditionally given to girls born on the Epiphany (January 6), the festival commemorating the visit of the Magi to the infant
Jesus. The name died out after the Middle Ages, but it was revived by the movie
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), the title of which refers to the Tiffany's jewelry store in New York.
Timothy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: TIM-ə-thee(English)
English form of the Greek name
Τιμόθεος (Timotheos) meaning
"honouring God", derived from
τιμάω (timao) meaning "to honour" and
θεός (theos) meaning "god".
Saint Timothy was a companion of
Paul on his missionary journeys and was the recipient of two of Paul's epistles that appear in the
New Testament. He was of both Jewish and Greek ancestry. According to tradition, he was martyred at Ephesus after protesting the worship of
Artemis. As an English name,
Timothy was not used until after the
Protestant Reformation.
Tniyah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American (Rare)
Pronounced: tə-NIE-ə
Todd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAHD(American English) TAWD(British English)
From an English surname meaning "fox", derived from Middle English todde. As a given name it was rare before 1930. It peaked in popularity in most parts of the English-speaking world in the 1960s or 70s, but it has since declined.
Tom 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Pronounced: TAHM(American English) TAWM(British English, Dutch, Norwegian)
Short form of
Thomas. Tom Sawyer is the main character in several of Mark Twain's novels, first appearing in
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Other famous bearers include American actors Tom Hanks (1956-) and Tom Cruise (1962-), as well as American football player Tom Brady (1977-).
Tomothy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (Rare)
Torri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Torry
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
Tory
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TAWR-ee
Travis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TRAV-is
From the English surname
Travis (a variant of
Travers). It was used in America in honour of William Travis (1809-1836), the commander of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo.
Twyla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: TWIE-lə
Tyre
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Various (Rare)
From the city of
Tyre in modern-day Lebanon. It could derive also from the surnames
Tyre and possibly
McIntyre.
Unity
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: YOO-ni-tee
From the English word unity, which is ultimately derived from Latin unitas.
Utah
Usage: English (American)
Name of a state in the United States, from Spanish yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan) yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).
Utopia
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: Yoo-TOH-Pee-Uh(English) Ooh- TOH-Pyah(Italian)
As a word, "Utopia" stands for an ideal state or place.
Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano is a bearer, which suggest potential usage in Italy.
Väinämöinen
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: VIE-na-mui-nehn(Finnish)
Derived from Finnish
väinä meaning
"wide and slow-flowing river". In Finnish
mythology Väinämöinen was a wise old magician, the son of the primal goddess
Ilmatar. He is the hero of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala.
Valentine 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: VAL-in-tien
From the Roman
cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen
Valens meaning
"strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's Day and love.
As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).
Valérie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: VA-LEH-REE(French)
Valerina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gascon
Valérine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Valor
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
From the English word valor meaning "bravery, courage". From the Latin valor "value".
Vanessa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch
Pronounced: və-NEHS-ə(English) VA-NEH-SA(French) va-NEHS-sa(Italian) vu-NEH-su(European Portuguese) va-NEH-su(Brazilian Portuguese) ba-NEH-sa(Spanish) va-NEH-sa(German) vah-NEH-sa(Dutch)
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem
Cadenus and Vanessa [1]. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of
Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.
Vanni
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: VAN-nee
Vermont
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
From the name of the state in the United States of America (see
Vermont). The place name originated from French
Verd Mont meaning "green mountain", the name that French explorer Samuel de Champlain gave to Vermont's Green Mountains on his 1647 map.
Vincent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak
Pronounced: VIN-sənt(English, Dutch) VEHN-SAHN(French) VIN-sent(Dutch) VEEN-tsent(Slovak)
From the Roman name
Vincentius, which was derived from Latin
vincere meaning
"to conquer". This name was popular among early Christians, and it was borne by many
saints. As an English name,
Vincent has been in use since the Middle Ages, though it did not become common until the 19th century. Famous bearers include the French priest Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Vincenzo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: veen-CHEHN-tso
Washington
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Pronounced: WAHSH-ing-tən(American English) WAWSH-ing-tən(British English) WA-sheen-ton(Spanish) WA-seen-ton(Spanish) WA-sheeng-ton(Spanish) WAW-sheen-ton(Portuguese)
From a surname that was originally derived from the name of an English town, itself meaning
"settlement belonging to Wassa's people". The given name is usually given in honour of George Washington (1732-1799), commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States.
Winifred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Welsh
Pronounced: WIN-ə-frid(English)
From Latin
Winifreda, possibly from a Welsh name
Gwenfrewi (maybe influenced by the Old English masculine name
Winfred).
Saint Winifred was a 7th-century Welsh martyr, probably legendary. According to the story, she was decapitated by a prince after she spurned his advances. Where her head fell there arose a healing spring, which has been a pilgrimage site since medieval times. Her story was recorded in the 12th century by Robert of Shrewsbury, and she has been historically more widely venerated in England than in Wales. The name has been used in England since at least the 16th century.
Winona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Sioux
Pronounced: wi-NO-nə(English)
Means
"firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly
Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.
Wisconsin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: American
Pronounced: Wis-cohn-sihn
Unisex name based of the American state.
Worship
Registered with the Guild of One Name Studies
http://www.one-name.org/name_profile/worship/
Wyoming
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: American
Xyler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: ZIE-lər(American English)
Yeong
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 영(Korean Hangul) 英, 榮, 永, 映, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: YUNG
From Sino-Korean
英 (yeong) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero", as well as other hanja characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name. This name was borne by Jang Yeong-sil (where
Jang is the surname), a 15th-century Korean scientist and inventor.
Young
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 영(Korean Hangul) 英, 榮, 永, 映, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: YUNG
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul
영 (see
Yeong).
Young
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Transferred use of the surname
Young.
Young
Usage: English
Pronounced: YUNG
Derived from Old English geong meaning "young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Yvonne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: EE-VAWN(French) i-VAHN(American English) i-VAWN(British English) ee-VAWN(German) ee-VAW-nə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Yvon. It has been regularly used in the English-speaking world since the late 19th century.
Zbornak
Usage: American
Pronounced: Z-bor-nack
Zbornak is a surname. A famous bearer is Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) from “The Golden Girls”.
Zipporah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: צִפּוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: zi-PAWR-ə(English) ZIP-ə-rə(English)
Zyler
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ZIE-lər
Modern invention based on similar-sounding names such as
Tyler,
Skyler and
Kyler.
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