Sharley's Personal Name List

Means "adornment, ornament" in Hebrew. This is the name of the wives of both Lamech and Esau in the Old Testament.

Means "justice" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic عدل (ʿadala) meaning "to act justly".

Means "nobleness, nobility", from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, which was composed of adal "noble" and the suffix heit "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great.

In Britain the parallel form Alice, derived via Old French, has historically been more common than Adelaide, though this form did gain some currency in the 19th century due to the popularity of the German-born wife of King William IV, for whom the city of Adelaide in Australia was named in 1836.

Elaborated form of Adela.

From a Germanic name that was derived from the element adal meaning "noble" (Proto-Germanic *aþalaz).

French and English form of Adelina.

Hispanic variant of Adelissa (compare Adelise).

Feminine form of Adrian. A famous bearer is the Brazilian model Adriana Lima (1981-).

Means "dream" or "vision" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.

Feminine form of Alexander. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.

Medieval short form of Adeline. As an English name, in modern times it has sometimes been regarded as a variant of Eileen. This was the name of a popular 1965 song by the French singer Christophe.

Means "cheerful, lively" in Italian. It was borne by a short-lived illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron (1817-1822).

German feminine form of Aloysius.

Russian form of Amalia.

Variant of Amaia.

In America, this name was popularized in 1999 by a contestant on the reality television series The Real World [1].

Feminine form of Anastasius. This was the name of a 4th-century Dalmatian saint who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Due to her, the name has been common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in various spellings). As an English name it has been in use since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar Nicholas II, who was rumoured to have escaped the execution of her family in 1918.

Possibly a feminine form of Andrei.

Possibly means "invincible" in Celtic. According to the Greco-Roman historian Cassius Dio [1], this was the name of a Briton goddess of victory who was invoked by Boudicca before her revolt.

Romanian variant of Anemone.

Form of Hannah used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Combination of Anne 1 and Liese.

Dutch and French diminutive of Anna.

Variant of Arabella.

In medieval German literature, Arabel is the name of a character from the epic poem Willehalm (13th century) written by the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach (died around 1220). She is the daughter of king Terramer and the wife of king Tybalt, who is wooed and won and eventually taken to wife by the protagonist Willehalm.

In her case, the name might possibly be a reference to Arabia, as she and her family are all Saracens. This would also add more significance to the fact that she changed her name to Gyburc (see Gyburg) after converting to Christianity for Willehalm.

Medieval Scottish name, probably a variant of Annabel. It has long been associated with Latin orabilis meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer", and the name was often recorded in forms resembling this.

Unrelated, this was an older name of the city of Irbid in Jordan, from Greek Ἄρβηλα (Arbela).

Means "most holy", composed of the Greek prefix ἀρι (ari) meaning "most" combined with Cretan Greek ἀδνός (adnos) meaning "holy". In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos. She fell in love with Theseus and helped him to escape the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, but was later abandoned by him. Eventually she married the god Dionysus.

Derived from Greek ἀσπάσιος (aspasios) meaning "welcome, embrace". This was the name of the lover of Pericles (5th century BC).

Greek form of Ashtoreth.

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.

From the Greek Ἀταλάντη (Atalante) meaning "equal in weight", derived from ἀτάλαντος (atalantos), a word related to τάλαντον (talanton) meaning "a scale, a balance". In Greek legend she was a fast-footed maiden who refused to marry anyone who could not beat her in a race. She was eventually defeated by Hippomenes, who dropped three golden apples during the race causing her to stop to pick them up.

Cognate of Athanasia.

Feminine form of Augustus. It was introduced to Britain when King George III, a member of the German House of Hanover, gave this name to his second daughter in 1768.

Feminine form of Aurelius.

Means "dawn" in Latin. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. It has occasionally been used as a given name since the Renaissance.

Means "rainbow" in Malagasy.

Means "doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר (ʾayeleṯ hashaḥar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.

Breton form of Cecilia.

Derived from Latin beatus meaning "blessed". This was the name of a few minor saints.

Probably from Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator meaning "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin beatus "blessed, happy". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian.

In England the name became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, more commonly in the spelling Beatrice. Famous bearers include the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit, and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938-).

Short form of Isabella and other names ending in bella. It is also associated with the Italian word bella meaning "beautiful". It was used by the American author Stephenie Meyer for the main character in her popular Twilight series of novels, first released 2005, later adapted into a series of movies beginning 2008.

Short form of Isabella or names ending in belle. It is also associated with the French word belle meaning "beautiful". A famous bearer was Belle Starr (1848-1889), an outlaw of the American west, whose real given name was Maybelle.

This was the name of multiple characters in Greek mythology, including an old Epidaurian woman who nursed Semele.

Anglicized form of Bríd.

Feminine form of Caius.

From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".

Elaborated form of Calanthe.

From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".

Feminine form of Camillus. This was the name of a legendary warrior maiden of the Volsci, as told by Virgil in the Aeneid. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by Fanny Burney's novel Camilla (1796).

Derived from Irish caomh meaning "dear, beloved, gentle".

From the name of the picturesque Italian island of Capri. It is likely from Greek κάπρος (kapros) meaning "wild boar", though it could also be of Etruscan origin or from Latin capri meaning "goats".

Medieval French form of Katherine.

Derived from Greek χλωρός (chloros) meaning "pale green". Chloris, in Greek mythology, was a minor goddess of vegetation.

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

Feminine form of Codrin.

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

Romanian form of Constantia.

Latinized form of Kore. It was not used as a given name in the English-speaking world until after it was employed by James Fenimore Cooper for a character in his novel The Last of the Mohicans (1826). In some cases it may be a short form of Cordula, Corinna and other names beginning with a similar sound.

Croatian and Serbian form of Cvetka.

Feminine form of Cyprian and Cyprianus.

Feminine form of Dacian.

From the Old Norse name Dagmær, derived from the elements dagr "day" and mær "maid". This was the name adopted by the popular Bohemian wife of the Danish king Valdemar II when they married in 1205. Her birth name was Markéta.

From the Old Norse name Dagný, which was derived from the elements dagr "day" and nýr "new".

Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.

From a Slavic word meaning "morning star, Venus". This name occurs in Slavic folklore as a personification of the morning star. It has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world since the 1970s.

Feminime form of Daren.

Feminine form of Darian or an elaboration of Daria.

Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian form of Daria.

Russian diminutive of Darya 1.

Means "delicate, weak, languishing" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament she is the lover of Samson, whom she betrays to the Philistines by cutting his hair, which is the source of his power. Despite her character flaws, the name began to be used by the Puritans in the 17th century. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world since that time.

From the name of the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, Δ. It is also the name for an island formed at the mouth of a river.

Alternate transcription of Arabic ديمة (see Dima 1).

Feminine form of DeMario or Demarion.

Anglicized form of Damhnait.

From the Greek word ἠχώ (echo) meaning "echo, reflected sound", related to ἠχή (eche) meaning "sound". In Greek mythology Echo was a nymph given a speech impediment by Hera, so that she could only repeat what others said. She fell in love with Narcissus, but her love was not returned, and she pined away until nothing remained of her except her voice.

Means "ivy" in Italian, from Latin hedera "ivy", perhaps related to the Latin root -hendere "to grasp; to take; to cling onto".

Means "star sun" in the fictional language Sindarin. In The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.

From the Old French form of the Occitan name Alienòr. Among the name's earliest bearers was the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother. However, there appear to be examples of bearers prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is not clear whether they were in fact Aenors who were retroactively recorded as having the name Eleanor, or whether there is an alternative explanation for the name's origin.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

Latinate form of Eleanor.

From the name of a Welsh river, also called the Leri, of unknown meaning. This was also the name of a 7th-century Welsh saint (masculine).

Means "my God has answered" in Hebrew.

From the Old French name Héloïse, which was probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil meaning "healthy, whole" and wit meaning "wide". It is sometimes associated with the Greek word ἥλιος (helios) meaning "sun" or the name Louise, though there is no etymological connection. This name was borne by the 12th-century French scholar and philosopher Héloïse. Secretly marrying the theologian Peter Abelard at a young age, she became a nun (and eventually an abbess) after Abelard was violently castrated by order of her uncle Fulbert.

There was a medieval English form of this name, Helewis, though it died out after the 13th century. In the 19th century it was revived in the English-speaking world in the form Eloise.

Feminine form of Aemilius (see Emily). In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello (1603) this is the name of the wife of Iago.

Originally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element irmin meaning "whole" or "great" (Proto-Germanic *ermunaz). It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called Hemma.

After the Norman Conquest this name became common in England. It was revived in the 18th century, perhaps in part due to Matthew Prior's 1709 poem Henry and Emma [2]. It was also used by Jane Austen for the central character, the matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, in her novel Emma (1816).

In the United States, it was third in rank in 1880 (behind only the ubiquitous Mary and Anna). It declined steadily over the next century, beginning another rise in the 1980s and eventually becoming the most popular name for girls in 2008. At this time it also experienced similar levels of popularity elsewhere, including the United Kingdom (where it began rising a decade earlier), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Famous bearers include the actresses Emma Thompson (1959-), Emma Stone (1988-) and Emma Watson (1990-).

From Old French Emeline, a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element amal meaning "unceasing, vigorous, brave". The Normans introduced this name to England.

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.

Alternate transcription of Arabic عيسى (see Isa 1).

Diminutive of Estelle or Esther.

Latinate form of Estelle. This is the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860).

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).

Feminine form of Eugenius (see Eugene). It was borne by a semi-legendary 3rd-century saint who escaped persecution by disguising herself as a man. The name was occasionally found in England during the Middle Ages, but it was not regularly used until the 19th century.

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

Derived from Greek εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning "sweetly-speaking", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.

Russian diminutive of Agrafena, Feodosiya, Feofaniya, Ifigeniya, Trifena and possibly also Yevgeniya. Also compare Genya and Zhenya.

As an Armenian name, it might possibly be a diminutive of Yevgenya.

Lastly, in addition to all of the aforementioned, the name Fenya could possibly also be the Armenian and Russian form of the Greek given name Fenia.

A known bearer of this name was Fenia Chertkoff (1869-1927), a Russian-Argentine educator, feminist and political activist. Please note that Fenia is a variant transcription here: her original name would have been either Феня (Fenya) or Фения (Feniya).

Russian form of Theodosia.

Diminutive of Jozefina.

Maghrebi transcription of Firdaus.

Means "flower" in French. Saint Fleur of Issendolus (Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels The Forsyte Saga (1922).

Feminine form of Francis. The distinction between Francis as a masculine name and Frances as a feminine name did not arise until the 17th century [1]. A notable bearer was Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), a social worker and the first American to be canonized.

Italian and Catalan feminine form of Franciscus (see Francis).

From Old Norse Freyja meaning "lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother Freyr and father Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess Frigg.

This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.

Medieval Italian nickname meaning "gem, precious stone". It was borne by the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Feminine form of George. This form of the name has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century.

German short form of Brigitta and a Hungarian short form of Margit.

Means "grace" in Spanish, making it a cognate of Grace.

Feminine form of Graciano.

Diminutive of Grace.

Polish form of Gracia.

Possibly derived from Old Irish grán meaning "grain" or gráin meaning "hatred, fear". In the Irish legend The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne she escaped from her arranged marriage to Fionn mac Cumhaill by fleeing with her lover Diarmaid. Another famous bearer was the powerful 16th-century Irish landowner and seafarer Gráinne Ní Mháille (known in English as Grace O'Malley), who was sometimes portrayed as a pirate queen in later tales.

Feminine form of Gratianus (see Gratian).

Italian feminine form of Gratianus (see Gratian).

Diminutive of Grete. It is well-known as a character from an 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale who is captured, with her brother Hansel, by a witch. The Grimm's story was based on earlier European folktales.

Feminine form of Hadrianus.

From the English word harmony, ultimately deriving from Greek ἁρμονία (harmonia).

English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).

Diminutive of Harriet. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire had a daughter Harriet, called "Harryo".

Diminutive of Harriet.

From the English word hazel for the tree or the light brown colour, derived ultimately from Old English hæsel. It was coined as a given name in the 19th century and quickly became popular, reaching the 18th place for girls in the United States by 1897. It fell out of fashion in the second half of the 20th century, but has since recovered.

Derived from Greek ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero". In Greek legend she was the lover of Leander, who would swim across the Hellespont each night to meet her. He was killed on one such occasion when he got caught in a storm while in the water, and when Hero saw his dead body she drowned herself. This is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing (1599).

Means "violet flower", derived from Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower". This was the name of an ocean nymph in Greek mythology.

Probably from a Germanic name derived from the element idal, an extended form of id possibly meaning "work, labour" [1]. Unrelated, this was also an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, given because the city of Idalion on Cyprus was a center of her cult.

This name was borne by the heroine of the Polish writer Juliusz Słowacki's play Fantazy (1841, published 1866).

Possibly a Romanian variant of Elena. In Romanian folklore this is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight.

From the Greek Εἰλείθυια (Eileithyia), which was derived from εἰλήθυια (eilethyia) meaning "the readycomer". This was the name of the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery.

Means "bright drop" in Sanskrit. This is a name for the moon.

Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.

Variant of Isidora. A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).

Anglicized form of Iseabail.

Means "nocturnal journey" in Arabic, derived from سرى (sarā) meaning "to travel by night". According to Islamic tradition, the Isra was a miraculous journey undertaken by the Prophet Muhammad.

From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.

From the name of the precious stone that is often used in carvings. It is derived from Spanish (piedra de la) ijada meaning "(stone of the) flank", relating to the belief that jade could cure renal colic. As a given name, it came into general use during the 1970s. It was initially unisex, though it is now mostly feminine.

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.

Diminutive of Jessica.

From a variant spelling of the English word jasmine (see Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.

Variant of Jessie 1.

Variant of Gillian.

Short form of Jolanta.

Feminine form of the Roman family name Julius. Among the notable women from this family were Julia Augusta (also known as Livia Drusilla), the wife of Emperor Augustus, and Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and the wife of Tiberius. A person by this name has a brief mention in the New Testament. It was also borne by a few early saints and martyrs, including the patron saint of Corsica. Additionally, Shakespeare used it in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).

It has been common as a given name in the English-speaking world only since the 18th century. A famous modern bearer is American actress Julia Roberts (1967-).

Anglicized form of Giulietta or Juliette. This spelling was used for the ill-fated lover of Romeo in the play Romeo and Juliet (1596) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare based his story on earlier Italian tales such as Giulietta e Romeo (1524) by Luigi Da Porto.

Estonian form of Katherine.

Feminine form of Kadri 2.

Means "beautiful voice" from Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine Muses.

Diminutive of Katarzyna.

German diminutive of Katherine.

Anglicized form of Caitlín.

Form of Katya in various languages.

German, Swedish and Estonian short form of Katherine.

Variant of Keida.

Means "love" in Cornish.

From the Hebrew name קְטוּרָה (Qeṭura) meaning "incense". In the Old Testament she is Abraham's wife after Sarah dies.

Alternate transcription of Arabic خليلة (see Khalila).

Alternate transcription of Hebrew כִּנֶּרֶת (see Kineret).

Either a corruption of Keziah or else derived from or influenced by Romani kissi "purse" (ultimately from Sanskrit koza "box; pocket; cask; treasure; bud").

Romani name related to Kisaiya.

Polish form of Constantia.

Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian form of Xenia.

Means "lark" in Danish.

Combination of Lea and the prefix La. It also coincides with the Romanian word lalea meaning "tulip".

Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.

As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.

Means "night" in Arabic. Layla was the love interest of the poet Qays (called Majnun) in an old Arab tale, notably retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. This story was a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.

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.

Variant of Leila.

Possibly from Lycian lada meaning "wife". Other theories connect it to Greek λήθω (letho) meaning "hidden, forgotten". In Greek mythology she was the mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus.

Variant of Leila.

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).

From the movie Bird of Paradise (1932), in which it was borne by the main character, a Polynesian girl [1]. The movie was based on a 1912 play of the same name set in Hawaii.

From Amharic ሉል (lul) meaning "pearl".

Means "flower of life" in Albanian, from lule "flower" and jetë "life".

Means "little light", derived from Romanian lumina "light" combined with a diminutive suffix.

Means "the moon" in Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages). Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.

Variant of Leila.

The name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus. This is the name of the main character in the His Dark Materials series of books by Philip Pullman (beginning 1995).

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).

Romanian form of Magdalene.

From the Latvian name for a type of flowering plant, known as cleavers or bedstraw in English.

English form of Madeleine. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by the Austrian-American author Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.

Variant of Madeline.

Short form of Magdalena.

Latinate form of Magdalene.

Combination of Mair and Welsh gwen meaning "white, blessed".

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.

Variant of Margot influenced by the name of the wine-producing French town. It was borne by Margaux Hemingway (1954-1996), granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway, who had it changed from Margot.

Combination of Mary and the common name suffix lyn. It was very rare before the start of the 20th century. It was popularized in part by the American stage star Marilyn Miller (1898-1936), who was born Mary Ellen Reynolds and took her stage name from a combination of her birth name and her mother's middle name Lynn. It became popular in the United States during the 1920s, reaching a high point ranked 13th in 1936. Famous bearers include American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962; real name Norma Jeane Mortenson) and American opera singer Marilyn Horne (1934-).

From the title of the Virgin Mary, Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea" in Latin. It can also be a combination of Maria and Estela.

Scottish Gaelic form of Marcella, now also associated with Marjorie.

Italian feminine form of Matthew.

Feminine form of Maurus.

Anglicized form of Máire. It has also been associated with Irish mór meaning "great". This was the name of an obscure 5th-century Irish martyr.

Feminine form of Maximilianus.

French feminine form of Maximilian.

From the Hebrew name םְהֵיטַבְאֵל (Meheṭavʾel) meaning "God makes happy", derived from the roots יָטַב (yaṭav) meaning "to be happy" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name is mentioned briefly in the Old Testament.

Derived from Greek μέλπω (melpo) meaning "to sing, to celebrate with song". This was the name of one of the nine Muses in Greek mythology, the muse of tragedy.

From Japanese 緑 (midori) meaning "green", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations that have the same pronunciation.

Feminine form of Mihail or Mihael.

Diminutive of Mildred, Millicent and other names containing the same sound.

Contracted form of Marioara. The name coincides with Romanian mioara, the definite form of mioară "lamb".

From Sanskrit मीर (mīra) meaning "sea, ocean". This was the name of a 16th-century Indian princess who devoted her life to the god Krishna.

Latinate form of Mirabelle.

Derived from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful". This name was coined during the Middle Ages, though it eventually died out. It was briefly revived in the 19th century.

Possibly derived from the Slavic word mir meaning "peace" or Romanian mira meaning "to wonder, to astound".

Alternate transcription of Arabic منى (see Muna).

Circassian form of Nafisa.

Latinate form of Natalia (see Natalie).

Russian diminutive of Natalya. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace (1865). It has been used in the English-speaking world only since the 20th century.

Latinized form of Greek Ναυσικάα (Nausikaa) meaning "burner of ships". In Homer's epic the Odyssey this is the name of a daughter of Alcinous who helps Odysseus on his journey home.

Romanian form of Nedelya.

Means "miracle" in Hebrew.

Short form of Geneva.

Variant of Nevena.

Feminine form of Niall.

Means "bright" in Irish. She was the daughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir in Irish legends. She fell in love with the poet Oisín, the son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. It has been used as a given name for people only since the early 20th century.

Means "bright moon" in Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kazakh, ultimately from Arabic نور (nūr) meaning "light" and Turkic ay meaning "moon".

From the name of a Ukrainian city that sits on the north coast of the Black Sea, which was named after the ancient Greek city of Ὀδησσός (Odessos), of uncertain meaning. This name can also be used as a feminine form of Odysseus.

Galician variant of Eulalia.

Anglicized form of Úna, as well as a Finnish form.

Means "golden-beautiful" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin aurea "gold" and bella "beautiful".

Possibly derived from Latin aurum "gold" or from its derivatives, Spanish oro or French or. In medieval legend Oriana was the daughter of a king of England who married the knight Amadis.

Means "maiden's voice", derived from Greek παρθένος (parthenos) meaning "maiden, virgin" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek legend this is the name of one of the Sirens who enticed Odysseus.

From the English word pearl for the concretions formed in the shells of some mollusks, ultimately from Late Latin perla. Like other gemstone names, it has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century. The pearl is the traditional birthstone for June, and it supposedly imparts health and wealth.

Italian and Spanish cognate of Pearl.

Latinate feminine form of Philip. As an English name, it is chiefly British.

Diminutive of Philippa.

Romanian, Croatian and Serbian form of Rachel.

Means "queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.

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.

From the name of the bitter medicinal herb, ultimately deriving from Greek ῥυτή (rhyte). This is also sometimes used as a short form of Ruth 1.

Feminine form of Rune.

Romanian form of Roxana.

Short form of Isabella.

Feminine form of Sabri.

Alternate transcription of Arabic سناء (see Sanaa).

Short form of Susanna. It can also be derived from Swedish sann meaning "true".

Possibly from Greek σάπφειρος (sappheiros) meaning "sapphire" or "lapis lazuli". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Greek poetess from Lesbos.

From an English surname that denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet (a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ)). Margaret Mitchell used it for the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Her name is explained as having come from her grandmother. Despite the fact that the book was adapted into a popular movie in 1939, the name was not common until the 21st century. It started rising around 2003, about the time that the career of American actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-) started taking off.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese feminine form of Sebastianus (see Sebastian).

Norman form of Sibyl.

Means "voice, echo" in Turkish.

Means "cypress" in Turkish (derived from Persian, ultimately from Sumerian).

Derived from Cissot, itself an archaic English diminutive of Cicely.

Welsh form of Jane.

In Lady of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Sianna was the daughter of the Faerie Queen.

From the English word meaning "orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.

Norwegian variant form of Signý.

Italian feminine form of Silvanus.

Finnish version of Sigrid. In Finnish language it means "fragment".

Means "sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.

Feminine form of Sorin.

Means "witty, lively" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin spiritus "breath, energy".

From Esperanto stelaro meaning "constellation", ultimately from Latin stella "star".

Romanian feminine form of Stylianos.

From Latin stella "star" and luna "moon" (compare Stella 1, Luna), used for the title character - a fruit bat - in the popular children's picture book 'Stellaluna' (1993). American television actress Ellen Pompeo gave her daughter the variant Stella Luna in 2009.

Feminine form of Suhail.

Feminine form of Sundara.

Variant of Sibylla.

Variant of Sylvaine.

French and Czech form of Silvia.

This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia. Popularly claimed to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language, it may actually mean "town" in the Creek language. It was borne by American actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), who was named after her grandmother, who may have been named after the waterfalls.

Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Təranə.

From the English word meaning "storm". It appears in the title of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611).

Polish form of Theodosia.

From the Greek name Θάλεια (Thaleia), derived from θάλλω (thallo) meaning "to blossom". In Greek mythology she was one of the nine Muses, presiding over comedy and pastoral poetry. This was also the name of one of the three Graces or Χάριτες (Charites).

Feminine form of Theodore. This name was common in the Byzantine Empire, being borne by several empresses including the influential wife of Justinian in the 6th century.

Feminine form of Theodosius.

Feminine form of Tiziano.

Diminutive of Gertraud or Waltraud.

Feminine form of Tullius (see Tullio).

Means "wind" in Finnish and Estonian.

Variant of Twila.

Scottish Gaelic form of Úna.

Galician form of Eugenia.

Feminine form of Valentinus (see Valentine 1). A famous bearer is the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.

Ukrainian form of Valentina.

French feminine form of Valerianus (see Valerian).

Ukrainian feminine form of Basil 1.

From the Roman family name Velius, which possibly means "concealed" in Latin.

Means "of the evening", derived from Esperanto vespero "evening", ultimately from Latin vesper.

Earlier form of Beatrix.

From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.

Russian and Ukrainian feminine form of Vitalis (see Vitale).

Feminine form of Vivianus (see Vivian). Saint Viviana (also known as Bibiana) was a Roman saint and martyr of the 4th century.

Vocative form of Moirrey.

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.

Modern feminine form of Xavier.

Means "hospitality" in Greek, a derivative of ξένος (xenos) meaning "foreigner, guest". This was the name of a 5th-century saint who is venerated in the Eastern Church.

Possibly a Spanish form of Guiomar.

Ukrainian form of Elizabeth.

Russian form of Euphrosyne.

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'.

Means "dew" or "hoarfrost" in Persian.

Derived from Ukrainian зоря (zorya) meaning "dawn, star".

Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Bulgarian form of Zoe.

Hungarian form of Jeannette.

Possibly means "forever, always" in Zapotec. It appears in the novel Aztec (1980) by the American author Gary Jennings.