namesarecool285's Personal Name List

Alora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Rating: 51% based on 7 votes
Variant of Elora.
Brooklyn
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: BRUWK-lən
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
From the name of a borough of New York City, originally named after the Dutch town of Breukelen, itself meaning either "broken land" (from Dutch breuk) or "marsh land" (from Dutch broek). It can also be viewed as a combination of Brook and the popular name suffix lyn. It is considered a feminine name in the United States, but is more common as a masculine name in the United Kingdom.
Cassandra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κασσάνδρα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: kə-SAN-drə(English) kə-SAHN-drə(English)
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
From the Greek name Κασσάνδρα (Kassandra), possibly derived from κέκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

In the Middle Ages this name was common in England due to the popularity of medieval tales about the Trojan War. It subsequently became rare, but was revived in the 20th century.

Cassie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAS-ee
Rating: 56% based on 5 votes
Diminutive of Cassandra and other names beginning with Cass.
Cate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: KAYT
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
Variant of Kate. A famous bearer is Australian actress Cate Blanchett (1969-).
Catherine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: KA-TU-REEN(French) KA-TREEN(French) KATH-ə-rin(English) KATH-rin(English)
Rating: 76% based on 14 votes
French form of Katherine, and also a common English variant.
Catrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish
Pronounced: kə-TREE-nə(English)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Anglicized form of Caitrìona.
Cayla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAY-lə
Rating: 38% based on 4 votes
Variant of Kayla.
Elora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture, English (Modern)
Rating: 57% based on 7 votes
Probably an invented name. This is the name of an infant girl in the fantasy movie Willow (1988). Since the release of the movie the name has been steadily used, finally breaking into the top 1000 in the United States in 2015.
Isabel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German, Dutch
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEHL(Spanish) ee-zu-BEHL(European Portuguese) ee-za-BEW(Brazilian Portuguese) IZ-ə-behl(English) EE-ZA-BEHL(French) ee-za-BEHL(German, Dutch)
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
Medieval Occitan form of Elizabeth. It spread throughout Spain, Portugal and France, becoming common among the royalty by the 12th century. It grew popular in England in the 13th century after Isabella of Angoulême married the English king John, and it was subsequently bolstered when Isabella of France married Edward II the following century.

This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.

Isabella
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Romanian
Pronounced: ee-za-BEHL-la(Italian) ee-za-BEH-la(German, Dutch) iz-ə-BEHL-ə(English) is-a-BEHL-la(Swedish) EE-sah-behl-lah(Finnish)
Rating: 56% based on 9 votes
Latinate form of Isabel. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queens consort of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called Isabel).

In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.

A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).

Jessica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: JEHS-i-kə(English) ZHEH-SEE-KA(French) YEH-see-ka(German, Dutch) JEH-see-ka(German) YEHS-si-ka(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) GYEH-see-ka(Spanish)
Rating: 48% based on 8 votes
This name was first used in this form by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name Iscah, which would have been spelled Jescha in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century. It reached its peak of popularity in the United States in 1987, and was the top ranked name for girls between 1985 and 1995, excepting 1991 and 1992 (when it was unseated by Ashley). Notable bearers include actresses Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) and Jessica Lange (1949-).
Karina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, German, Russian, English, Latvian, Spanish
Other Scripts: Карина(Russian)
Pronounced: ka-REE-na(Swedish, Polish, German, Spanish) ku-RYEE-nə(Russian) kə-REE-nə(English)
Rating: 60% based on 10 votes
Elaborated form of Karin.
Kate
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Croatian
Pronounced: KAYT(English)
Rating: 58% based on 5 votes
Short form of Katherine, often used independently. It is short for Katherina in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew (1593). It has been used in England since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer is the British actress Kate Winslet (1975-).
Katelyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KAYT-lin
Rating: 50% based on 7 votes
Variant of Caitlin.
Katrina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish, English
Pronounced: kə-TREE-nə(English)
Rating: 54% based on 10 votes
Anglicized form of Caitrìona.
Kayla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KAY-lə
Rating: 55% based on 6 votes
Combination of the popular phonetic elements kay and la. Use of the name greatly increased after 1982 when the character Kayla Brady began appearing on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives [1].
Leanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lee-AN-ə
Rating: 62% based on 10 votes
Probably this was originally a variant of Liana. It is now often considered a combination of Lee and Anna [1].
Leanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: lee-AN
Rating: 33% based on 3 votes
Combination of Lee and Anne 1.
Louisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Pronounced: loo-EEZ-ə(English) loo-EE-za(German)
Rating: 50% based on 11 votes
Latinate feminine form of Louis. A famous bearer was the American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), the author of Little Women.
Louise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German
Pronounced: LWEEZ(French) loo-EEZ(English) loo-EE-sə(Danish) loo-EE-zə(German)
Rating: 53% based on 7 votes
French feminine form of Louis.
Luann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: loo-AN
Rating: 34% based on 7 votes
Either a combination of Lou and Ann or a variant of Luana. It was popularized in the 1950s by the singer Lu Ann Simms (1933-2003).
Mildred
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MIL-drid
Rating: 50% based on 2 votes
From the Old English name Mildþryð meaning "gentle strength", derived from the elements milde "gentle" and þryþ "strength". Saint Mildred was a 7th-century abbess, the daughter of the Kentish princess Saint Ermenburga. After the Norman Conquest this name became rare, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Nicole
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch, German
Pronounced: NEE-KAWL(French) ni-KOL(English) nee-KAWL(Dutch, German)
Rating: 52% based on 5 votes
French feminine form of Nicholas, commonly used in the English-speaking world since the middle of the 20th century. A famous bearer is American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman (1967-).
Olivia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch
Pronounced: o-LIV-ee-ə(English) ə-LIV-ee-ə(English) o-LEE-vya(Italian, German) o-LEE-bya(Spanish) AW-LEE-VYA(French) O-lee-vee-ah(Finnish) o-LEE-vee-ya(Dutch)
Rating: 65% based on 4 votes
This name was used in this spelling by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy Twelfth Night (1602). This was a rare name in Shakespeare's time [1] that may have been based on Oliva or Oliver, or directly on the Latin word oliva meaning "olive". In the play Olivia is a noblewoman wooed by Duke Orsino. Instead she falls in love with his messenger Cesario, who is actually Viola in disguise.

Olivia has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, though it did not become overly popular until the last half of the 20th century. Its rise in popularity in the 1970s may have been inspired by a character on the television series The Waltons (1972-1982) [2] or the singer Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022). In 1989 it was borne by a young character on The Cosby Show, which likely accelerated its growth. It reached the top rank in England and Wales by 2008 and in the United States by 2019.

A famous bearer was the British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020).

Rivanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (South, Archaic)
Rating: 49% based on 9 votes
Roxanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: rahk-SAN-ə
Rating: 61% based on 7 votes
Variant of Roxana.
Roxanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, French
Pronounced: rahk-SAN(English) RAWK-SAN(French)
Rating: 61% based on 12 votes
Variant of Roxane.
Ruthanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American)
Rating: 40% based on 1 vote
Combination of Ruth 1 and Anna. Also compare Ruthann.
Savannah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: sə-VAN-ə
Rating: 54% based on 12 votes
From the English word for the large grassy plain, ultimately deriving from the Taino (Native American) word zabana. It came into use as a given name in America in the 19th century. It was revived in the 1980s by the movie Savannah Smiles (1982).
Shavonna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Rare)
Pronounced: shə-VAHN-ə(American English)
Rating: 30% based on 2 votes
Elaboration of Shavonne.
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)
Rating: 59% based on 14 votes
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.
Vianne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Rating: 37% based on 6 votes
Meaning unknown, perhaps a combination of Vi and Anne 1 or a short form of Vivianne.
Vivian
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: VIV-ee-ən(English)
Rating: 45% based on 10 votes
From the Latin name Vivianus, which was derived from Latin vivus "alive". Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of Bébinn or a variant of Vivien 2.
Vivianna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian (Rare), Finnish (Rare), English (Rare), Spanish (Latin American, Rare)
Rating: 43% based on 4 votes
Variant of Viviana and Viviána.
Vivica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare), Swedish (Rare), German (Modern, Rare), Danish (Rare)
Pronounced: VIV-ee-kah(English, Swedish)
Rating: 51% based on 11 votes
Variant of Viveca. A famous bearer is actress Vivica Fox.
behindthename.com   ·   Copyright © 1996-2024