ViviLC's Personal Name List

Variant of Abigaïl.

French form of Adelaide.

French form of Adela.

Elaborated form of Adèle. Adélie Land in Antarctica was named in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville in honour of his wife Adèle (who was sometimes called Adélie).

French and English form of Adelina.

Form of Agatha in several languages.

French form of Aglaia.

French and Catalan form of Agnes.

French form of Eleanor.

Medieval French variant of Alice, also sometimes used as a masculine name. This is the name of the hero (a young Gaulish man) of a French comic book series, which debuted in 1948.

From French alizé meaning "trade wind".

French cognate of Amber.

French form of Amelia.

Created in the 20th century, probably modelled on Breton names such as Gaëlle and Maëlle.

Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of Anne 1 or Agnès. It was used in Jean-Henri Guy's opera Anacréon chez Polycrate (1798), where it is borne by the daughter (otherwise unnamed in history) of the 6th-century BC tyrant Polycrates of Samos. Guy could have adapted it from a classical name such as Anaitis or Athénaïs.

A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.

French form of Angelica.

French form of Breton Annaig, a diminutive of Anna.

Dutch and French diminutive of Anna.

French form of Arabella.

French form of Ariadne.

Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).

Modern Scandinavian form of Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.

French feminine form of Aldo.

French feminine form of Aurelius.

Perhaps a form of Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.

French form of Beatrix.

From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair-coloured". This word and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word *blankaz. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.

French form of Camellia.

French feminine and masculine form of Camilla. It is also used in the English-speaking world, where it is generally only feminine.

French variant of Cassandra.

French form of Cassiopeia.

French feminine and masculine form of Caelestis.

French form of Charlene.

French feminine diminutive of Charles. It was introduced to Britain in the 17th century. It was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Another notable bearer was Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), the eldest of the three Brontë sisters and the author of Jane Eyre and Villette. A famous fictional bearer is the spider in the children's novel Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White.

This name was fairly common in France, England and the United States in the early 20th century. It became quite popular in France and England at the end of the 20th century, just when it was at a low point in the United States. It quickly climbed the American charts and entered the top ten in 2014.

French form of Clara. This was a common name in France throughout the 20th century, though it has since been eclipsed there by Clara. It was also very popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the 1970s.

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus, which meant "clear, bright, famous". The name Clarus was borne by a few early saints. The feminine form was popularized by the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi (called Chiara in Italian), a friend and follower of Saint Francis, who left her wealthy family to found the order of nuns known as the Poor Clares.

As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages, originally in the form Clare, though the Latinate spelling Clara overtook it in the 19th century and became very popular. It declined through most of the 20th century (being eclipsed by the French form Claire in English-speaking countries), though it has since recovered somewhat.

French masculine and feminine form of Claudius. In France the masculine name has been common since the Middle Ages due to the 7th-century Saint Claude of Besançon. It was imported to Britain in the 16th century by the aristocratic Hamilton family, who had French connections. A famous bearer of this name was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).

French feminine form of Clementius (see Clement).

French feminine form of Clement. This is also the name of a variety of orange (fruit).

Short form of Cléopâtre.

Medieval form of Constantia. The Normans introduced this name to England (it was the name of a daughter of William the Conqueror).

Either a French form of Koralia, or a derivative of Latin corallium "coral" (see Coral).

French form of Corinna. The French-Swiss author Madame de Staël used it for her novel Corinne (1807).

French form of Delphina.

French form of Dorothea.

French form of Hedwig.

French form of Eleanor.

French form of Elizabeth.

French short form of Élisabeth.

French form of Alodia.

French feminine form of Emmanuel.

From an Old French name meaning "star", ultimately derived from Latin stella. It was rare in the English-speaking world in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps due to the character Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).

From the Hebrew name אֶסְתֵר (ʾEsṯer), which possibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess Ishtar. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was Hadassah.

This name has been used in the English-speaking world since the Protestant Reformation. In America it received a boost in popularity after the birth of Esther Cleveland (1893-1980), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland [1].

French form of Eugenia. This was the name of the wife of Napoleon III.

French form of Eulalia.

Means "good news" from Greek εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἄγγελμα (angelma) meaning "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1847 epic poem Evangeline [1][2]. It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.

French form of Evelina.

Diminutive of Frances, Françoise or Stéphanie. In the English-speaking world this has been a vulgar slang word since the late 19th century, and the name has subsequently dropped out of common use.

French form of Felicitas.

French feminine form of Flavius.

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.

Feminine form of François.

From the medieval name Genovefa, which is of uncertain origin. It could be derived from the Germanic elements *kunją "clan, family, lineage" and *wībą "wife, woman". Alternatively it could be of Gaulish origin, from the related Celtic element *genos "kin, family" combined with a second element of unknown meaning. This name was borne by Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who inspired the city to resist the Huns in the 5th century.

French variant of Giselle.

French form of Guinevere.

Feminine form of Gwenaël.

French form of Helen.

French form of Eloise.

French form of Hortensia.

French form of Inés.

From the Old Norse name Ingríðr meaning "Ing is beautiful", derived from the name of the Germanic god Ing combined with fríðr "beautiful, beloved". A famous bearer was the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982).

The origins of this name are uncertain, though some Celtic roots have been suggested. It is possible that the name is ultimately Germanic, from a hypothetical name like *Ishild, composed of the elements is "ice" and hilt "battle".

According to tales first recorded in Old French in the 12th century, Yseut or Ysolt was an Irish princess betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. After accidentally drinking a love potion, she became the lover of his nephew Tristan. Their tragic story, which was set in the Arthurian world, was popular during the Middle Ages and the name became relatively common in England at that time. It was rare by the 19th century, though some interest was generated by Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (1865).

French cognate of Hyacinth 2.

Modern French form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Iohannes (see John). This has been the most reliably popular French name for girls since the 13th century. Joan of Arc is known as Jeanne d'Arc in France.

French feminine form of Joseph. A notable bearer of this name was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814).

From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehuḏiṯ) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of יְהוּדִי (yehuḏi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.

As an English name it did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, despite a handful of early examples during the Middle Ages. It was however used earlier on the European continent, being borne by several European royals, such as the 9th-century Judith of Bavaria.

French diminutive of Julie.

From the Mohawk pronunciation of Katherine. This was the name adopted by the 17th-century Mohawk saint Tekakwitha upon her baptism.

Variant of Laetitia.

French feminine form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1).

Contraction of Léa and Anne 1. Folk etymology occasionally considers this name a variant of Léonne.

Variant of Layla, and the usual Persian transcription.

This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in The Giaour (1813) and Don Juan (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.

French feminine form of Leonius.

French feminine form of Louis.

Possibly from a feminine form of Leutwin. It was popularized in the 1970s by a character from the French miniseries Les Gens de Mogador.

French form of Lysander and Lysandra.

French form of Magdalene.

Gallicized form of Maite 2.

French diminutive of Marie.

French feminine form of Marcellinus.

French feminine form of Marcellus.

French short form of Margaret.

French form of Margaret. This is also the French word for the daisy flower (species Leucanthemum vulgare).

Combination of Marie and Anne 1, though it could also be considered a variant of Mariana or Mariamne. Shortly after the formation of the French Republic in 1792, a female figure by this name was adopted as the symbol of the state.

French and Czech form of Maria. It has been very common in France since the 13th century. At the opening of the 20th century it was given to approximately 20 percent of French girls. This percentage has declined steadily over the course of the century, and it dropped from the top rank in 1958.

A notable bearer of this name was Marie Antoinette, a queen of France who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. Another was Marie Curie (1867-1934), a physicist and chemist who studied radioactivity with her husband Pierre.

In France it is occasionally used as a masculine name in pairings such as Jean-Marie.

French diminutive of Marie.

Combination of Maria and Louise. In the Philippines it is usually a combination of Maria and Lourdes.

Combination of Marie and Line.

Medieval French diminutive of Marie.

Means "marjoram" in French, from Latin maiorana. Marjoram is a minty herb.

Medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram. After the Middle Ages this name was rare, but it was revived at the end of the 19th century.

Form of Matilda in several languages.

Variant of Maud.

French form of Millicent used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).

French cognate of Melody.

French form of Miriam.

French form of Nadezhda.

French form of Odilia.

French form of Olympias.

French form of Ophelia.

French form of Oriana.

French form of Philomena.

From the Hebrew name רָחֵל (Raḥel) meaning "ewe". In the Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of Jacob. Her father Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

The name was common among Jews in the Middle Ages, but it was not generally used as a Christian name in the English-speaking world until after the Protestant Reformation. It was moderately popular in the first half of the 20th century, but starting in the 1960s it steadily rose, reaching highs in the 1980s and 90s. The character Rachel Green on the American sitcom Friends (1994-2004) may have only helped delay its downswing.

Notable bearers include American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), British actress Rachel Weisz (1970-), and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams (1978-).

French feminine form of Raphael.

French feminine form of René.

French, German and Dutch form of Rosalia. In the English-speaking this name received a boost after the release of the movie Rosalie (1938), which was based on an earlier musical.

French form of Rosalind. Saint Roseline of Villeneuve was a 13th-century nun from Provence.

Alternate transcription of Arabic صفيّة (see Safiyya).

French, Spanish and Portuguese form of Salome.

Meaning uncertain, possibly a derivative of Mapuche ayün "love".

French form of Zipporah.

French form of Serena.

German and French form of Sibyl.

French feminine form of Simon 1. A famous bearer was Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.

French form of the Late Latin name Sollemnia, which was derived from Latin sollemnis "religious". This was the name of a French shepherdess who became a saint after she was killed by her master.

Means "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.

French form of Susanna.

French form of Theresa. It was borne by the French nun Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church.

French feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1).

French form of Victoria.

French form of Violet.

French form of Virginia.

French form of Viviana, as well as a Portuguese variant. It is also the French form of Vivien 2.

French form of Yael.

French form of Zenaida.

French form of Zenobia.