blackelectric's Personal Name List

Medieval variant of Alexander occurring in Shakespeare and Malory. The herb Smyrnium olusatrum is also known commonly as "alisanders".

The surname of one of the musketeers in The Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas based the character on the 17th-century Henri d'Aramitz, whose surname was derived from the French village of Aramits (itself from Basque aran meaning "valley").

From a diminutive form of Auberi, an Old French form of Alberich. It is the name of the fairy king in the 13th-century epic Huon de Bordeaux.

Possibly means "bee wolf" (in effect equal to "bear") from Old English beo "bee" and wulf "wolf". Alternatively, the first element may be beadu "battle". This is the name of the main character in the anonymous 8th-century epic poem Beowulf. Set in Denmark, the poem tells how he slays the monster Grendel and its mother at the request of King Hroðgar. After this Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats. The conclusion of the poem tells how Beowulf, in his old age, slays a dragon but is himself mortally wounded in the act.

Form of Briseis used in medieval tales about the Trojan War.

Elaborated form of Charis. Edmund Spencer used it in his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590).

Meaning unknown, perhaps a combination of Charmian or the English word charm with the aine suffix from Lorraine. It was (first?) used for a character in the play What Price Glory (1924), which was made into a popular movie in 1926.

In Arthurian legends Clarissant was a daughter of King Lot and Morgause who married Sir Guiromelant. She was the mother of Guigenor. According to a single Arthurian romance she was the sister of Gawain, who lived in a magic castle. In the same text, Sir Percevelle, Percival overcomes her lover Guiromelant. Nowhere else is Gawain said to have a sister.

Meaning uncertain, from the name of a character in medieval legend, possibly first recorded by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Perhaps it was derived from an older form of Spanish corazón "heart" (e.g., Old Spanish coraçon; ultimately from Latin cor "heart", with the hypothetic Vulgar Latin root *coratione, *coraceone) or the Greek name Chrysanthe. As a nickname it was used by a mistress of King Henry IV of France: Diane d'Andoins (1554-1620), la Belle Corisande. Some usage may be generated by Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera Amadis (1684; based on Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo), in which it belongs to the lover of the prince Florestan. The name was also used by Benjamin Disraeli for a character in his play Lothair (1870).

Form of Cunobelinus used by Shakespeare in his play Cymbeline (1609).

Derived from Greek δυσδαίμων (dysdaimon) meaning "ill-fated". This is the name of the wife of Othello in Shakespeare's play Othello (1603).

Derived from Old Welsh edyrn "immense; heavy; prodigious, wonderful, marvellous", in the past this name has been (falsely) considered a derivation from Latin aeternus "eternal".
This was the name of the father of the legendary 5th-century war leader Cunedda. It was also the name of a Breton saint, frequently depicted riding a stag.

Means "noble guest", derived from the Middle Dutch adjective edel meaning "noble" combined with the Middle Dutch noun gast meaning "guest".

In medieval Dutch literature, this is the name of the eponymous character of Karel ende Elegast ("Charles and Elegast"), a 13th-century epic poem about Charlemagne and his friend, the noble knight Elegast.

This is the Haitian Voodoo love goddess and goddess of elemental forces. She is personified as a water snake. She is also called Ezili.

In Arthurian tales, Evaine is the sister of Lancelot's mother Elaine, wife of King Bors of Gaul and mother of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors the Younger. Her character first appears in the Old French prose Lancelot of the Lake (c.1215–20), which was incorporated into the Vulgate Lancelot.

The name suffix -vain appears in this and other Arthurian names such as Yvain and Agravain.

Created by playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais for the central character in his plays The Barber of Seville (1775), The Marriage of Figaro (1784) and The Guilty Mother (1792). Beaumarchais may have based the character's name on the French phrase fils Caron meaning "son of Caron", which was his own nickname and would have been pronounced in a similar way. In modern French the word figaro has acquired the meaning "barber", reflecting the character's profession.

Combination of Latin flos meaning "flower" (genitive floris) and mel "honey". This name was first used by Edmund Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene (1590; in the form Florimell). John Dryden later used this name for the heroine in his play The Maiden Queen (1667).

Possibly from Latin florens meaning "prosperous, flourishing" combined with the Old German element munt meaning "protection". This is the name of the prince in some versions of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty.

Possibly derived from the Old German elements gris "grey" and hilt "battle". It is not attested as a Germanic name. This was the name of a patient wife in medieval folklore, adapted into tales by Boccaccio (in The Decameron) and Chaucer (in The Canterbury Tales).

Form of Guinevere used in Thomas Chestre's romance Sir Launfal and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Anglicized form of the Danish name Amleth. Shakespeare used this name for the main character in his tragedy Hamlet (1600), which he based upon earlier Danish tales. In the play, Hamlet is a prince of Denmark seeking to avenge the death of his father (also named Hamlet) at the hands of his uncle Claudius.

Feminine form of Hermes. Shakespeare used this name in his comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595).

German form of Iseult, appearing in the 13th-century German poem Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg. In 1865 the German composer Richard Wagner debuted his popular opera Tristan und Isolde and also used the name for his first daughter.

Belarusian form of Iseult that was used in the Old Belarusian translation of Tristan and Iseult called Apoviesć pra Tryščana (translates The Tale of Tristan into English) that was made in the XVI century by an unknown author.

Local vernacular form of Clarisse found in the Poitou-Charentes region of France.
In the literary world, it occurs in "Aneut chez d’Autefoués (1983) by Roger Soulard.

Invented by Queen Marie of Romania for her children's book 'Kildine, histoire d'une méchante petite princesse' (Kildine: Story of a Naughty Little Princess), published ca. 1921. Known bearers include the professional tennis player Kildine Chevalier and the French noblewoman Kildine de Sambucy de Sorgue (1979-).

From German Loreley, the name of a rock headland on the Rhine River. It is of uncertain meaning, though the second element is probably old German ley meaning "rock" (of Celtic origin). German romantic poets and songwriters, beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, tell that a maiden named the Lorelei lives on the rock and lures boaters to their death with her song.

In the English-speaking world this name has been occasionally given since the early 20th century. It started rising in America after the variant Lorelai was used for the main character (and her daughter, nicknamed Rory) on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).

Created by the Scottish poet James MacPherson in the 18th century for a character in his Ossian poems. He probably intended it to mean "smooth brow", from Scottish Gaelic mala "brow" and mìn "smooth, fine" (lenited to mhìn and pronounced with a v sound).

Meaning uncertain. The poets Boiardo and Ariosto used this name in their Orlando poems (1495 and 1532), where it belongs to a Saracen warrior queen. She is the twin sister of Ruggiero, though separated at birth.

Possibly based on Middle English maugre meaning "ill-will". This was used by author C. S. Lewis for a character in his novel 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' (1950). Maugrim is a talking wolf and the captain of the White Witch's Secret Police.

Most famously used by William Shakespeare in his tragedy Romeo and Juliet (1596), where it belongs to a friend of Romeo. He appears as Marcuccio (a diminutive of Marco) in the earlier Italian novella Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto. Later adaptations changed the character's name to Mercutio, probably alluding to the god Mercury.

Apparently a feminine form of Musidorus, which was perhaps coined by the poet Sir Philip Sidney in the late 16th century for use in his poem 'Arcadia'. Allegedly it is intended to mean "gift of the Muses" from Greek Μοῦσα (Mousa) "Muse", literally "muse, music, song" (compare Musaeus), and the popular name suffix δωρα (dora) "giving" or "gift". Scottish poet James Thomson used it for the lover of Damon in his work 'The Seasons' (1730). It was later the stage name of French silent film actress Jeanne Roques (1889-1957).

Meaning unknown. In Arthurian legends this is the name of a sorceress, also known as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, or Niniane. Various versions of the tales have Merlin falling in love with her and becoming imprisoned by her magic. She first appears in the medieval French Lancelot-Grail Cycle.

Used by British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton for a blind flower-seller in his novel The Last Days of Pompeii (1834). He perhaps based it on Latin nidus "nest".

Derived from Greek ὠφέλεια (opheleia) meaning "help, advantage". This was a rare ancient Greek name, which was either rediscovered or recreated by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem Arcadia (1480). It was borrowed by Shakespeare for his play Hamlet (1600), in which it belongs to the daughter of Polonius and the potential love interest of Hamlet. She eventually goes insane and drowns herself after Hamlet kills her father. In spite of this negative association, the name has been in use since the 19th century.

Italian form of Roland, as used in the epic poems Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the continuation Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. In the poems, Orlando is a knight in Charlemagne's army who battles against the invading Saracens. A character in Shakespeare's play As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.

Created by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien may have derived the name from Old French perce val "pierce the valley", or he may have based it loosely on the Welsh name Peredur [1]. In the poem Perceval is a boy from Wales who hopes to become a knight under King Arthur. Setting out to prove himself, he eventually comes to the castle of the Fisher King and is given a glimpse of the Grail.

Derived from Latin perditus meaning "lost". Shakespeare created this name for the daughter of Hermione and Leontes in his play The Winter's Tale (1610). Abandoned as an infant by her father the king, she grows up to be a shepherdess and falls in love with with Florizel.

Form of Yeruslan used by Aleksandr Pushkin in his poem Ruslan and Ludmila (1820), which was loosely based on Russian and Tatar folktales of Yeruslan Lazarevich.

Diminutive of Tam 1. Tam Lin was the subject of an Anglo-Scottish border ballad (first recorded in 'The Complaynt of Scotland', 1549), a man abducted by the Queen of the Fairies and rescued at long last by his true love.

Probably from the Celtic name Drustan, a diminutive of Drust, which occurs as Drystan in a few Welsh sources. As Tristan, it first appears in 12th-century French tales, probably altered by association with Old French triste "sad". According to the tales Tristan was sent to Ireland by his uncle King Mark of Cornwall in order to fetch Iseult, who was to be the king's bride. On the way back, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. Later versions of the tale make Tristan one of King Arthur's knights. His tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since then.

Variant of Tristram, used in Eilhart von Oberg's 'Tristrant und Isalde'.

The name of a cousin of Juliet killed by Romeo in William Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Juliet (1596). The character earlier appears as Tebaldo, an Italian form of Theobald, in Luigi Da Porto's novella Giulietta e Romeo (1524), one of Shakespeare's sources. Shakespeare was also inspired by the character of Tybalt the Cat (from Thibault the French form of Theobald) in medieval fables of Reynard the Fox (evidenced by Mercutio calling Tybalt the "prince of cats").

Invented by Paul Claudel for his play L'Annonce faite à Marie (1912), the first version of which was titled La Jeune Fille Violaine (1892). It is often regarded as a variant of Violante, though Claudel may have taken it from a French place name.

Possibly an altered form of Jörg. Shakespeare used this name for a deceased court jester in his play Hamlet (1600).

Old French form of Iseult, appearing in the 12th-century Norman French poem Tristan by Béroul.

Origin unknown, probably unrelated to Ismay. It was used in a 13th-century continuation of Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail, where it belongs to Perceval's cousin who marries the knight Faradien. It also appears in the medieval French Roman de Thèbes in which case it is an Old French form of Ismene.

Form of Owain used by the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for his Arthurian romance Yvain, the Knight of the Lion.

It is most probable that it is the feminine form of the name Yvain. Though, it is commonly thought of as a combination of Yvonne and Elaine.

The name is most popularly recognized as the name of the fallen star in Neil Gaiman's novella 'Stardust'.

The name of a woman in 'A genuine account of the life and transactions of H. ap D. Price ... Written by himself' (1752).