thesnowwhiterose's Personal Name List
Aatami
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: AH-tah-mee
Aina 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Pronounced: IE-nah(Finnish) IE-na(Swedish)
Variant of
Aino. It also means "always" in Finnish.
Aina 3
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 愛菜, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あいな(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-EE-NA
From Japanese
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" and
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens", as well as other character combinations.
Aintzane
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ien-TSA-neh
Alasdair
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Alix
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: A-LEEKS
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.
Alpin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish (Rare)
Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Ailpean, possibly derived from a Pictish word meaning "white". This was the name of two kings of Dál Riata and two kings of the Picts in the 8th and 9th centuries.
Altansarnai
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Алтансарнай(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Amaia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Means "the end" in Basque. This is the name of a character in the historical novel Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century (1879) by Francisco Navarro-Villoslada (Amaya in the Spanish original; Amaia in the Basque translation).
Amani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: أماني(Arabic)
Pronounced: a-MA-nee
Means
"wishes" in Arabic, related to the root
منا (manā) meaning "to tempt, to put to the test".
Amarante
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Anahera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Means "angel" in Maori.
Anahita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Persian Mythology
Other Scripts: آناهیتا(Persian) 𐎠𐎴𐏃𐎡𐎫(Old Persian)
Pronounced: aw-naw-hee-TAW(Persian)
Means
"immaculate, undefiled" in Old Persian, from the Old Iranian prefix *
an- "not" combined with *
āhita "unclean, dirty". This was the name of an Iranian goddess of fertility and water. In the Zoroastrian religious texts the
Avesta she is called
𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬛𐬎𐬎𐬍 (Arəduuī) in Avestan, with
𐬀𐬥𐬁𐬵𐬌𐬙𐬀 (anāhita) appearing only as a descriptive epithet
[1]. In origin she is possibly identical to the Indian goddess
Saraswati. She has historically been identified with the Semitic goddess
Ishtar and the Greek goddess
Artemis.
Anaxibia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Άναξίβια(Ancient Greek)
Feminine form of
Anaxibios. This name is carried by several characters in Greek mythology.
Araceli
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: a-ra-THEH-lee(European Spanish) a-ra-SEH-lee(Latin American Spanish)
Means
"altar of the sky" from Latin
ara "altar" and
coeli "sky". This is an epithet of the Virgin
Mary in her role as the patron
saint of Lucena, Spain.
Arantzazu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: a-RAN-tsa-soo
From the name of a place near the Spanish town of Oñati where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. Its name is derived from Basque
arantza "thornbush".
Arathorn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Arathorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe. He is the fifteenth of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, and the father of Aragorn II, one of the major characters in The Lord of the Rings.
Arianrhod
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: ar-YAN-rawd(Welsh)
Probably means
"silver wheel" from Welsh
arian "silver" and
rhod "wheel". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1], Arianrhod was the mother of the twins
Dylan and
Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom she spontaneously birthed when she stepped over a magical wand. It is speculated that in earlier myths she may have been a goddess of the moon.
Aristides
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek (Latinized), Portuguese
Other Scripts: Ἀριστείδης(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: a-rees-TEE-dehs(Latin) ar-is-TIE-deez(English) u-reesh-TEE-dish(European Portuguese) u-reesh-CHEE-jeesh(Brazilian Portuguese)
From the Greek name
Ἀριστείδης (Aristeides), derived from
ἄριστος (aristos) meaning "best" and the patronymic suffix
ἴδης (ides). This name was borne by the 5th-century BC Athenian statesman Aristides the Just, who was renowned for his integrity. It was also the name of a 2nd-century
saint.
Aruzhan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Kazakh
Other Scripts: Аружан(Kazakh)
Means "beautiful soul" in Kazakh.
Asaph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אָסָף(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AY-saf(English)
Means
"collector" in Hebrew. This name belongs to several minor characters in the
Old Testament.
Ásdís
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic, Old Norse [1]
Pronounced: OWS-tees(Icelandic)
Derived from the Old Norse elements
áss "god" and
dís "goddess".
Asenath
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אָסְנַת(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: AS-i-nath(English)
Ashleigh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: ASH-lee
Ask
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Derived from Old Norse
askr "ash tree". In Norse
mythology Ask and his wife
Embla were the first humans created by the gods.
Aulë
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Means "invention" in Quenya. Aulë is the Vala who created the dwarves in 'The Silmarillion' by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Avani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi
Other Scripts: अवनी(Marathi, Hindi) અવની(Gujarati)
Aviv
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֲבִיב(Hebrew)
Pronounced: a-VEEV
Means "spring" in Hebrew.
Ayaka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 彩花, 彩華, 彩香, etc.(Japanese Kanji) あやか(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: A-YA-KA
From Japanese
彩 (aya) meaning "colour" combined with
花 (ka) or
華 (ka) both meaning "flower". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Aysel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani
Means
"moon flood" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, derived from
ay "moon" and
sel "flood, stream" (of Arabic origin).
Bakoly
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Malagasy
Pronounced: bah-kou-lee
Derived from Malagasy bakoly "china, chinaware, porcelain; a crockery" with the intended meaning of "porcelain" and implying that the bearer is just as delicate or fair as this material.
Batsheva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: בַּת־שֶׁבַע(Hebrew)
Beatriu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: beh-ə-TREEW
Beitris
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Beorn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Anglo-Saxon, Literature
Pronounced: beh-orn(Old English)
Derived from Old English
beorn meaning "man, hero, warrior". In some cases it could be an Anglicized form of the Old Norse name
Bjǫrn.
This was used by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Hobbit (1937) Beorn is a shapeshifting woodsman who sometimes takes the form of a great black bear. He receives Gandalf, Bilbo and the thirteen Dwarves into his wooden house between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood and aids them in their quest to reclaim the Dwarves' kingdom.
Berenike
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Βερενίκη(Ancient Greek)
Berezi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: beh-REH-see
Means "special" in Basque.
Bertram
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, German, Germanic [1]
Pronounced: BUR-trəm(American English) BU-trəm(British English) BEHR-tram(German)
Means
"bright raven", derived from the Old German element
beraht "bright" combined with
hram "raven". This name has long been conflated with
Bertrand. The
Normans introduced it to England, and Shakespeare used it in his play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Bilbo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: BIL-bo(English)
This is the name of the hero of
The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien. His real hobbit name is
Bilba, which is of unknown meaning, but this was altered by Tolkien in order to use the more masculine
o ending. In the novel Bilbo Baggins is recruited by the wizard
Gandalf to join the quest to retake Mount Erebor from the dragon Smaug.
Binyamin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Arabic, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: בִּנְיָמִין(Hebrew) بنيامين(Arabic)
Pronounced: been-ya-MEEN(Hebrew, Arabic)
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.
Björk
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Pronounced: PYUURK
Means "birch tree" in Icelandic.
Blaine
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYN
From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Irish given name
Bláán.
Blake
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BLAYK
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" or blac "pale". A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). It was originally a mainly masculine name but in 2007 actress Blake Lively (1987-) began starring in the television series Gossip Girl, after which time it increased in popularity for girls.
Branca
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Portuguese, Galician
Pronounced: BRUN-ku(Portuguese) BRAN-ku(Galician)
Portuguese and Galician form of
Blanche.
Brenda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: BREHN-də
Possibly a feminine form of the Old Norse name
Brandr, meaning
"fire, torch, sword", which was brought to Britain in the Middle Ages. This name is sometimes used as a feminine form of
Brendan.
Brita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Pronounced: BRIT-ah(Swedish) BREE-tah(Finnish)
Britta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Bruna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Croatian
Pronounced: BROO-na(Italian)
Brynja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic, Old Norse
Pronounced: PRIN-ya(Icelandic)
Means "armour" in Old Norse.
Brynjarr
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse
Brynmor
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh
From the Welsh place name Brynmawr meaning "great hill".
Burgundy
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: BUR-gən-dee(American English) BU-gən-dee(British English)
This name can refer either to the region in France, the wine (which derives from the name of the region), or the colour (which derives from the name of the wine).
Caliadne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Καλιαδν(Ancient Greek)
Means "beautiful and holy". From the Greek
kalos (καλή) 'beautiful' and
adnos (αδνος) 'holy'. In Greek mythology she is a naiad of the river Nile in Egypt, a daughter of the god of the Nile,
Neilus. She was one of the wives of
Aegyptus, and bore him twelve sons.
Calogera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: ka-LAW-jeh-ra
Cam 1
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: KAM
From Sino-Vietnamese
柑 (cam) meaning
"orange (fruit)".
Carlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: KAR-lo
Carolina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Swedish
Pronounced: ka-ro-LEE-na(Italian, Spanish) ka-roo-LEE-nu(European Portuguese) ka-ro-LEE-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) kar-ə-LIE-nə(English)
Latinate feminine form of
Carolus. This is the name of two American states: North and South Carolina. They were named for Charles I, king of England.
Catahecassa
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Shawnee
Means "black hoof" in Shawnee. This was the name of an 18th-century Shawnee warrior and chief.
Celeborn
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: KEL-e-born
Means "tree of silver" or "tall and silver" in Sindarin, from the elements celeb "silver" and orne "tree" or possibly a derivative of ornā meaning "tall". In J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', Celeborn was the ruler of Lothlórien along with his wife Galadriel.
Celebrían
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: keh-leh-BREE-an
Means "silver queen" in Sindarin, from
celeb meaning "silver" and
rían meaning "queen". This was the name of an Elf mentioned in Lord of the Rings. She was the daughter of
Galadriel, the wife of
Elrond, and the mother of
Arwen.
Céleste
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: SEH-LEST
French feminine and masculine form of
Caelestis.
Chantrea
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Khmer
Other Scripts: ចន្ទ្រា(Khmer)
Means "moonlight" in Khmer.
Charna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: טשאַרנאַ(Yiddish)
From a Slavic word meaning "black".
Chiamaka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Igbo
Means "God is more beautiful" in Igbo.
Ciar
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: KEEYR(Irish)
Derived from Irish
ciar meaning
"black". In Irish legend Ciar was a son of
Fergus mac Róich and
Medb, and the ancestor of the tribe of the Ciarraige (after whom County Kerry is named). As a feminine name, it was borne by an Irish nun (also called
Ciara) who established a monastery in Tipperary in the 7th century.
Ciara 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: KEEY-rə
Feminine form of
Ciar. This is another name for
Saint Ciar.
Claudia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: KLAW-dee-ə(English) KLOW-dya(German, Italian, Romanian) KLOW-dee-a(Dutch, Latin) KLOW-dhya(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Claudius. It is mentioned briefly in the
New Testament. As a Christian name it was very rare until the 16th century.
Clément
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: KLEH-MAHN
French form of
Clemens (see
Clement).
Cliff
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: KLIF
Clytia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Κλυτίη, Κλυτία(Ancient Greek)
Colobert
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic [1]
Old German name composed of (possibly) the element
kollo meaning "head, peak" and
beraht meaning "bright".
Concordia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: kon-KOR-dee-a(Latin) kən-KAWR-dee-ə(American English) kən-KAW-dee-ə(British English)
Means "harmony" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of harmony and peace.
Cordula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Late Latin name meaning
"heart" from Latin
cor (genitive
cordis).
Saint Cordula was one of the 4th-century companions of Saint Ursula.
Crescent
Gender: Masculine
Usage: History (Ecclesiastical), Biblical Romanian, Biblical French, French (Rare), English (Rare)
French and Romanian form and English variant of
Crescens. In the English-speaking world, it is now considered a nature name referring to the phase of the moon, derived from Old French
creissant, ultimately from Latin
crescere "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive".
As an English name, Crescent has been in use from the 17th century onwards, although increasingly rarely so; it was revived in the early 1970s. As a French name, it is now obsolescent while the Romanian name is not used outside of the biblical context.
Crescentia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German (Rare), Late Roman
Feminine form of
Crescentius.
Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint
Vitus. This is also the name of the eponymous heroine of a 12th-century German romance.
Crescentius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Latin name that was a derivative of the name
Crescens. This was the name of a few early
saints, including a child martyred in Rome during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
Daffodil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: DAF-ə-dil
From the name of the flower, ultimately derived from Dutch de affodil meaning "the asphodel".
Daisuke
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 大輔, etc.(Japanese Kanji) だいすけ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: DA-EE-SOO-KEH, DA-EE-SKEH
From Japanese
大 (dai) meaning "big, great" and
輔 (suke) meaning "help". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Decebal
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Means "powerful, brave" in Dacian. This was the name adopted by Diurpaneus, a 1st-century king of Dacia. For many years he successfully resisted Roman expansion into his territory but was finally defeated by the forces of Emperor Trajan in 106.
Denise
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Pronounced: DU-NEEZ(French) də-NEES(English) deh-NEE-zə(Dutch)
French feminine form of
Denis.
Desislav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Десислав(Bulgarian)
Derived from Slavic elements, possibly
desiti "to find, to encounter" or
desętĭ "ten", combined with
slava "glory".
Desneiges
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Quebec, Rare)
Means "of the snows" in French, taken from the title of the Virgin Mary
Notre Dame des Neiges meaning "Our Lady of the Snows" (see
Nieves).
Devorah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: דְּבוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Dido
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology, Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Διδώ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: DEE-do(Latin) DIE-do(English)
Meaning unknown, probably of Phoenician origin. Dido, also called
Elissa, was the queen of Carthage in
Virgil's
Aeneid. She threw herself upon a funeral pyre after Aeneas left her. Virgil based the story on earlier Greco-Roman accounts.
Dimitar
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Димитър(Bulgarian) Димитар(Macedonian)
Dinah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical, English
Other Scripts: דִּינָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: DIE-nə(English) DEE-nə(English)
Dionysia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Διονυσία(Greek)
Doe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (American, Archaic)
Dolorosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: do-lo-RO-sah
Means "sorrowful" in Latin, taken from the Latin title of the Virgin Mary
Mater Dolorosa "Mother of Sorrows". As such, it is cognate to Spanish
Dolores and Italian
Addolorata.
Domenica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: do-MEH-nee-ka
Italian feminine form of
Dominicus (see
Dominic).
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).
Dovid
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: דוד(Yiddish)
Dubhghall
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Scottish, Medieval Irish
Irish and Scottish Gaelic form of
Dougal.
Dulcinea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: dool-thee-NEH-a(European Spanish) dool-see-NEH-a(Latin American Spanish) dul-si-NEE-ə(English)
Derived from Spanish dulce meaning "sweet". This name was (first?) used by Miguel de Cervantes in his novel Don Quixote (1605), where it belongs to the love interest of the main character, though she never actually appears in the story.
Durin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Germanic Mythology, Literature
Pronounced: doo-rin(Literature)
The oldest dwarf in the works of Tolkien. A line of dwarf kings bore this name.
Tolkien took the name from the Dvergatal "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Völuspá, a part of the Poetic Edda.
Earendil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: EHY-are-EN-deel
Means "lover of the stars" or "illuminator" in Quenya, borrowed from Old Norse
Earendel. Earendil was an Elvish mariner who sailed the Belegaear (Great Sea).
Ebony
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: EHB-ən-ee(English)
From the English word ebony for the black wood that comes from the ebony tree. It is ultimately from the Egyptian word hbnj. In America this name is most often used in the black community.
Edita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Едита(Serbian)
Pronounced: EH-di-ta(Czech) EH-dee-ta(Slovak)
Form of
Edith in several languages.
Eiluned
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Eimyrja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Means "ember" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology she is one of the two beautiful daughters of the fire god Logi and the mother of Viking by Vífil.
Elbereth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Means "queen of the stars" in Sindarin, composed of êl "star" and bereth "queen, spouse". In 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien, this was an epithet of Varda, the deity to whom the Elvish hymn 'A Elbereth Gilthoniel' was directed.
Eldlilja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic (Modern, Rare)
Combination of the Old Norse name elements eldr "fire" and lilja "lily". This is also the Nordic name of a Chinese lily (flower, Lat. Lilium davidii).
Elduara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval Basque
Medieval Basque name recorded in Valpuesta in 864.
Eleftheria
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ελευθερία(Greek)
Eliora
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: אֱלִיאוֹרָה(Hebrew)
Eliphelet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אֱלִיפֶלֶט(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: i-LIF-ə-leht(English)
Means
"my God is deliverance" in Hebrew, from the roots
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God" and
פָּלַט (palaṭ) meaning "to deliver, to rescue". This is the name of several people in the
Old Testament including a son of
David.
Elisedd
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Welsh
Derived from Welsh elus meaning "kind, benevolent". This was the name of two kings of Powys in Wales.
Elsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English
Pronounced: EHL-za(German) EHL-sah(Finnish) EHL-sa(Italian, Spanish) EHL-sə(English)
Short form of
Elisabeth, typically used independently. In medieval German tales Elsa von Brabant was the lover of the hero
Lohengrin. Her story was expanded by Richard Wagner for his opera
Lohengrin (1850). The name had a little spike in popularity after the 2013 release of the animated Disney movie
Frozen, which featured a magical princess by this name.
Embla
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian
Pronounced: EHM-blah(Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian)
Meaning uncertain, perhaps related to Old Norse
almr "elm". In Norse
mythology Embla and her husband
Ask were the first humans. They were created by three of the gods from two trees.
Enki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Sumerian Mythology
Other Scripts: 𒀭𒂗𒆠(Sumerian Cuneiform)
Pronounced: ENG-kee(English)
From Sumerian
𒂗 (en) meaning "lord" and
𒆠 (ki) meaning "earth, ground" (though maybe originally from
𒆳 (kur) meaning "underworld, mountain"). Enki, called
Ea by the Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians, was the Sumerian god of water and wisdom and the keeper of the Me, the divine laws.
Enver
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish, Bosnian, Albanian
Turkish, Bosnian and Albanian form of
Anwar.
Éomer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
From Old English
eoh meaning "horse" and
maer meaning "famous". The name was used by J. R. R. Tolkien in his book "The Lord of the Rings". Éomer is
Éowyn's brother and a nephew of King
Théoden of Rohan.
Éomund
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: Ay-o-mund
Means "horse protector" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) Éomund is the father of
Éowyn and
Éomer.
Eos
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἠώς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EH-AWS(Classical Greek) EE-ahs(American English) EE-aws(British English)
Means "dawn" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn.
Éowyn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: AY-ə-win(English)
Means "horse joy" in Old English. This name was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien who used Old English to represent the Rohirric language. In his novel The Lord of the Rings (1954) Eowyn is the niece of King Theoden of Rohan. She slays the Lord of the Nazgul in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Epona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Gaulish Mythology
Derived from Gaulish epos meaning "horse" with the divine or augmentative suffix -on. This was the name of a Gaulish goddess of horses and fertility. She was worshipped not only in Gaul, but elsewhere in the Roman Empire.
Erzsi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: EHR-zhee
Esben
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Danish, Norwegian
Esteri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: EHS-teh-ree
Étiennette
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Etsuko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 悦子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) えつこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: EH-TSOO-KO
From Japanese
悦 (etsu) meaning "joy, pleased" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
Etta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: EHT-ə
Short form of
Henrietta and other names that end with
etta. A famous bearer was the American singer Etta James (1938-2012), who took her
stage name from her real given name Jamesetta.
Fabiola
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Spanish, Ancient Roman
Pronounced: fa-BEE-o-la(Italian) fa-BYO-la(Spanish)
Faramir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: FAH-rah-meer
Meaning uncertain. Probably "sufficient jewel" from the Sindarin far meaning "sufficient, adequate" and mir meaning "jewel, precious thing." In J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', Faramir was the son of Denethor, brother of Boromir, and eventual husband of Eowyn.
Faustina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: fow-STEE-na(Italian) fows-TEE-na(Spanish)
Feminine form of
Faustinus (see
Faustino).
Faustine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
French feminine form of
Faustinus (see
Faustino).
Feng
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 鳳(Chinese)
Means "phoenix" in Chinese.
Fidelma
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: fi-DEHL-mə(English)
Filimena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Macedonian
Other Scripts: Филимена(Macedonian)
Finarfin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Originally the name was Arafinwë, meaning "noble
Finwë" in Quenya. Finarfin is the Sindarin translation, with Finwë added to the front of the name.
Finarfin was a Noldorin Elf in Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion'. He was the younger son and the fourth and youngest child of Finwë and Indis. He married Eärwen of the Teleri and was the father of Finrod, Angrod, Aegnor, and Galadriel.
When the Noldor were leaving for Middle-earth, Finarfin turned back and ruled over the Noldor in Valinor from then on.
Finlo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Manx
Flann
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, Old Irish [1][2]
Pronounced: FLAN(Irish)
Means "blood red" in Irish. This was the name of a 9th-century high king of Ireland.
Flannery
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: FLAN-ə-ree
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Flannghaile, derived from the given name Flannghal meaning "red valour". A famous bearer was American author Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964).
Flutura
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Means "butterfly" in Albanian.
Francine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: FRAHN-SEEN(French) fran-SEEN(English)
Frea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology
Freya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology, English (Modern), German
Pronounced: FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)
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.
Gamaliel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Biblical Greek [1]
Other Scripts: גַּמְלִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew) Γαμαλιήλ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: gə-MAY-lee-əl(English)
Means
"my reward is God" in Hebrew, from the roots
גָּמַל (gamal) meaning "to reward" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name appears in the
Old Testament belonging to a son of Pedahzur. It was also borne by a 1st-century Jewish priest and scholar, mentioned in Acts in the
New Testament as a teacher of
Saint Paul.
Gandalf
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology, Literature
Pronounced: GAN-dahlf(English)
Means "wand elf" in Old Norse, from the elements gandr "wand, staff, magic, monster" and alfr "elf". This name belongs to a dwarf (Gandálfr) in the Völuspá, a 13th-century Scandinavian manuscript that forms part of the Poetic Edda. The author J. R. R. Tolkien borrowed the name for a wizard in his novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954).
Gary
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: GAR-ee, GEHR-ee
From an English surname that was derived from a Norman given name, which was itself originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
ger meaning
"spear". This name was popularized in the late 1920s the American actor Gary Cooper (1901-1961), who took his
stage name from the city of Gary in Indiana where his agent was born. It was especially popular in the 1940s and 50s, breaking into the American top ten in 1950, though it has since waned.
Gavriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: גַּבְרִיאֵל(Hebrew)
Geneviève
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHU-NU-VYEHV, ZHUN-VYEHV
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.
Genovefa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Old Germanic (Latinized, ?) [1][2]
Gilraen
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: gil-RAY-en
Means "wandering star" and can be found in J.R.R. Tolkien's works as the mother of Aragorn.
Gittel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: גיטל(Yiddish)
From Yiddish
גוט (gut) meaning
"good".
Gobind
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indian (Sikh), Hindi
Other Scripts: ਗੋਬਿੰਦ(Gurmukhi) गोविन्द(Hindi)
Variant of
Govinda used in northern India. This was the name of the last Sikh guru, Gobind Singh (1666-1708).
Gobnait
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: GAWB-nət
Feminine form of
Gobán. This was the name of a 6th-century Irish
saint, the founder of a monastery at Ballyvourney.
Golda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: גאָלדאַ, גאָלדע(Yiddish) גּוֹלְדָּה(Hebrew)
From Yiddish
גאָלד (gold) meaning
"gold". This is the name of Tevye's wife in the musical
Fiddler on the Roof (1964). It was also borne by the Israeli prime minister Golda Meir (1898-1978).
Gopala
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hinduism
Other Scripts: गोपाल(Sanskrit)
Pronounced: go-PAH-lu(Sanskrit)
Means
"cow protector" from Sanskrit
गो (go) meaning "cow" and
पाल (pāla) meaning "guard, protector". This is another name of the Hindu god
Krishna. It was also borne by the 8th-century founder of the Pala Empire in Bengal.
Govannon
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh Mythology
Goyathlay
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Apache
Goyo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: GO-yo
Gráinne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, Irish Mythology, Old Irish [1]
Pronounced: GRA-nyə(Irish)
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.
Griselda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Literature
Pronounced: gri-ZEHL-də(English) gree-SEHL-da(Spanish)
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).
Gulbahar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: گُلباحار(Urdu)
Gwenllian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Pronounced: gwehn-SHEE-an
Derived from the Welsh elements
gwen meaning "white, blessed" and possibly
lliain meaning "flaxen, made of linen" or
lliant meaning "flow, flood". This name was used by medieval Welsh royalty, notably by a 12th-century princess of Deheubarth who died in battle with the
Normans. It was also borne by the 13th-century daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last prince of Gwynedd.
Haizea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ie-SEH-a
Means "wind" in Basque.
Hajar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Malay
Other Scripts: هاجر(Arabic, Persian)
Pronounced: HA-jar(Arabic)
Arabic form of
Hagar. According to Islamic tradition she was a daughter of the king of Egypt, who became the second wife of
Ibrahim and the mother of
Ismail.
Hakeem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: حكيم(Arabic)
Pronounced: ha-KEEM
Alternate transcription of Arabic
حكيم (see
Hakim). A famous bearer is Nigerian-born former basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon (1963-).
Hala
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: هالة(Arabic)
Pronounced: HA-la
Means
"halo around the moon" in Arabic. This was the name of a sister-in-law of the Prophet
Muhammad.
Hallie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: HAL-ee
Hamnet
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Archaic)
Diminutive of
Hamo. This was the name of a son of Shakespeare who died in childhood. His death may have provided the inspiration for his father's play
Hamlet.
Haneul
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Korean
Other Scripts: 하늘(Korean Hangul)
Pronounced: HA-NUL
Means "heaven, sky" in Korean.
Hart
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English
Pronounced: HAHRT
Either a short form of
Hardy,
Hartmann, or other name beginning with the element
hart or
hard, "hardy, strong"; or from the Old English
heorot or Middle Low German
harte, a male deer. A famous bearer is Hart Crane, the 20th century poet.
Harta
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Indonesian
Pronounced: HAR-ta
Means
"wealth, treasure, property" in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit
अर्थ (artha).
Haru
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 陽, 春, 晴, etc.(Japanese Kanji) はる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HA-ROO
From Japanese
陽 (haru) meaning "light, sun, male",
春 (haru) meaning "spring" or
晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather". Other kanji or kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Haruka
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 遥, 春花, 晴香, etc.(Japanese Kanji) はるか(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HA-ROO-KA
From Japanese
遥 (haruka) meaning "distant, remote". It can also come from
春 (haru) meaning "spring" or
晴 (haru) meaning "clear weather" combined with
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" or
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance". Additionally, other kanji combinations can form this name.
Havilah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: חֲוִילָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: HAV-i-lə(English)
Probably means
"to dance, to circle, to twist" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is both a place name and a masculine personal name.
Heikki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: HAYK-kee
Finnish form of
Heinrich (see
Henry).
Helena
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Portuguese, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Finnish, Estonian, Slovene, Croatian, Sorbian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Ἑλένη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: HEH-leh-na(German, Czech) heh-LEH-na(German, Dutch) heh-LEH-nah(Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) i-LEH-nu(European Portuguese) eh-LEH-nu(Brazilian Portuguese) ə-LEH-nə(Catalan) kheh-LEH-na(Polish) HEH-leh-nah(Finnish) HEHL-ə-nə(English) hə-LAYN-ə(English) hə-LEEN-ə(English)
Personal remark: he-LAY-na
Latinate form of
Helen. This is the name of the heroine of William Shakespeare's play
All's Well That Ends Well (1603).
Helmi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Swedish
Pronounced: HEHL-mee(Finnish)
Henna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: HEHN-nah
Finnish feminine form of
Heinrich (see
Henry).
Hephzibah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: חֶפְצִי־בָּה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: HEHF-zi-bə(English) HEHP-zi-bə(English)
Hillevi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Finnish
Pronounced: HIL-leh-vee(Swedish) HEEL-leh-vee(Finnish)
Swedish and Finnish form of
Heilwig.
Honoka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 和花, 穂香, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ほのか(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: HO-NO-KA
From Japanese
和 (hono) meaning "harmony" (using an obscure
nanori reading) and
花 (ka) meaning "flower", as well as other combinations of kanji that have the same pronunciation. Very often it is written using the hiragana writing system.
Hosea
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: הוֹשֵׁעַ(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ho-ZAY-ə(English) ho-ZEE-ə(English)
Variant English form of
Hoshea, though the name is spelled the same in the Hebrew text. Hosea is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Hosea. Written in the northern kingdom, it draws parallels between his relationship with his unfaithful wife and the relationship between God and his people.
Huhana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Ignace
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French
Pronounced: EE-NYAS
Ignasi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: eeg-NA-zee
Ignatz
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German (Rare)
Pronounced: I-gnats
Ignotus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: ig-NO-təs
Means "unknown" in Latin. This was the pen name of the Hungarian writer Hugó Veigelsberg (1869-1949), and was also borne by his son, writer Pál Ignotus (1901-1978). It was later employed by author J. K. Rowling for a character in her Harry Potter series of books.
Ignoto was the baptismal name of a son of one Anne Manners, Lady Roos, a 17th-century English noblewoman, presumably given because his paternity was unknown.
Igraine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arthurian Cycle
Meaning unknown, from
Igerna, the Latinized form of Welsh
Eigyr. In Arthurian legend she is the mother of King
Arthur by Uther Pendragon and the mother of
Morgan le Fay by Gorlois. The Welsh form
Eigyr or
Eigr was rendered into Latin as
Igerna by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth.
Imhotep
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Egyptian
Pronounced: im-HO-tehp(English)
From Egyptian
jj-m-ḥtp meaning
"he comes in peace" [1]. This was the name of a 27th-century BC architect, priest, physician and chief minister to the pharaoh
Djoser. Imhotep apparently designed the step pyramid at Saqqara, near Memphis.
Iñaki
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-NYA-kee
Ioseph
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Greek [1], Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: Ἰωσήφ(Ancient Greek)
Form of
Joseph used in the Greek and Latin Bibles.
Iphigeneia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ἰφιγένεια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: EE-PEE-GEH-NEH-A(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ἴφιος (iphios) meaning "strong, stout" and
γενής (genes) meaning "born". In Greek
myth Iphigenia was the daughter of King
Agamemnon. When her father offended
Artemis it was divined that the only way to appease the goddess was to sacrifice Iphigenia. Just as Agamemnon was about to sacrifice his daughter she was magically transported to the city of Taurus.
In Christian tradition this was also the name of a legendary early saint, the daughter of an Ethiopian king Egippus.
Irati
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque
Pronounced: ee-RA-tee
Means "fern field" in Basque.
Ishmael
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יִשְׁמָעֵאל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ISH-may-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
יִשְׁמָעֵאל (Yishmaʿel) meaning
"God will hear", from the roots
שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the
Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Abraham. He is the traditional ancestor of the Arab people. Also in the Old Testament, it is borne by a man who assassinates
Gedaliah the governor of Judah. The author Herman Melville later used this name for the narrator in his novel
Moby-Dick (1851).
İskender
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: ees-kyehn-DEHR
Israa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: إسراء(Arabic)
Pronounced: ees-RA
Alternate transcription of Arabic
إسراء (see
Isra).
Ithiel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: אִיתִיאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Possibly means
"God is with me" in Hebrew. This is the name of a minor character in the
Old Testament.
Ivory
Gender: Feminine
Usage: African American
Pronounced: IE-və-ree(English) IEV-ree(English)
From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance that comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.
Ixchel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mayan Mythology, Mayan
Pronounced: eesh-CHEHL(Mayan)
Possibly means "rainbow lady", from Classic Maya ix "lady" and chel "rainbow". Ixchel was a Maya goddess associated with the earth, jaguars, medicine and childbirth. She was often depicted with a snake in her hair and crossbones embroidered on her skirt.
Jacqueline
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: ZHAK-LEEN(French) JAK-ə-lin(English) JAK-wə-lin(English) JAK-ə-leen(English)
Personal remark: French pronunciation only!
French feminine form of
Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world.
Jahleel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יַחְלְאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JAH-lee-əl(English)
Means
"God waits" in Hebrew, from
יָחַל (yaḥal) meaning "to wait" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". This name is mentioned briefly in the
Old Testament.
Jasna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Јасна(Serbian, Macedonian)
Derived from South Slavic jasno meaning "clearly, obviously".
Jenna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French
Pronounced: JEHN-ə(English) YEHN-nah(Finnish)
Variant of
Jenny. Use of the name was popularized in the 1980s by the character Jenna Wade on the television series
Dallas [1].
Jeremy
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: JEHR-ə-mee(English) JEHR-mee(American English)
English form of
Jeremiah, originally a medieval vernacular form. This is the spelling used in some English versions of the
New Testament.
Jiro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 二郎(Japanese Kanji) じろう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: JEE-RO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
二郎 (see
Jirō).
Joan 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JON
Medieval English form of
Johanne, an Old French form of
Iohanna (see
Joanna). This was the usual English feminine form of
John in the Middle Ages, but it was surpassed in popularity by
Jane in the 17th century. It again became quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, entering the top ten names for both the United States and the United Kingdom, though it has since faded.
This name (in various spellings) has been common among European royalty, being borne by ruling queens of Naples, Navarre and Castile. Another famous bearer was Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France (where she is known as Jeanne d'Arc). She was a 15th-century peasant girl who, after claiming she heard messages from God, was given leadership of the French army. She defeated the English in the battle of Orléans but was eventually captured and burned at the stake.
Other notable bearers include the actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and the comedian Joan Rivers (1933-2014), both Americans.
Jocasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Anglicized)
Other Scripts: Ἰοκάστη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: jo-KAS-tə(English)
From the Greek name
Ἰοκάστη (Iokaste), which is of unknown meaning. In Greek
mythology she was the mother
Oedipus by the Theban king
Laius. In a case of tragic mistaken identity, she married her own son.
Jocosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Medieval English
Medieval variant of
Joyce, influenced by the Latin word
iocosus or
jocosus "merry, playful".
Joel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹאֵל(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-əl(English) JOL(English) kho-EHL(Spanish) ZHWEHL(European Portuguese) zho-EW(Brazilian Portuguese) YO-ehl(Swedish, Finnish)
From the Hebrew name
יוֹאֵל (Yoʾel) meaning
"Yahweh is God", from the elements
יוֹ (yo) and
אֵל (ʾel), both referring to the Hebrew God. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets of the
Old Testament, the author of the Book of Joel, which describes a plague of locusts. In England, it was first used as a Christian name after the
Protestant Reformation.
Joséphine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: ZHO-ZEH-FEEN
French feminine form of
Joseph. A notable bearer of this name was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814).
Jotham
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: יוֹתָם(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: JO-thəm(English)
Means
"Yahweh is perfect" in Hebrew, derived from
יוֹ (yo) referring to the Hebrew God and
תָּם (tam) meaning "perfect, complete". In the
Old Testament this is the name of both a son of
Gideon and a king of Judah.
Jozefina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian
Julio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: KHOO-lyo
Jun 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese, Korean
Other Scripts: 君, 俊, 军, etc.(Chinese) 君, 俊, 軍, etc.(Traditional Chinese) 준(Korean Hangul) 俊, etc.(Korean Hanja)
Pronounced: CHUYN(Chinese) CHOON(Korean)
From Chinese
君 (jūn) meaning "king, ruler",
俊 (jùn) meaning "talented, handsome" (which is usually only masculine) or
军 (jūn) meaning "army" (also usually only masculine)
[1]. This is also a single-character Korean name, often from the hanja
俊 meaning "talented, handsome". This name can be formed by other characters besides those shown here.
Jyoti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Nepali
Other Scripts: ज्योती, ज्योति(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) জ্যোতি(Bengali, Assamese)
Derived from Sanskrit
ज्योतिस् (jyotis) meaning
"light". This is a transcription of both the feminine form
ज्योती and the masculine form
ज्योति.
Kasia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: KA-sha
Katarzyna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Polish
Pronounced: ka-ta-ZHI-na
Katsiaryna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кацярына(Belarusian)
Pronounced: ka-tsya-RI-na
Kavi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi
Other Scripts: कवि(Hindi)
From a title for a poet, meaning "wise man, sage, poet" in Sanskrit.
Kelila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: כְּלִילָה(Hebrew)
From Hebrew
כְּלִיל (kelil) meaning
"crown, wreath, garland" or
"complete, perfect".
Keshet
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: קֶשֶׁת(Hebrew)
Means "rainbow" in Hebrew.
Keturah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: קְטוּרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: kə-TOO-rə(English)
Khayriyya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: خيريّة(Arabic)
Pronounced: khie-REE-ya
Kida
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: key-DAH
From the animated movie "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" where it was short for Kidagakash.
Kielo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: KEE-lo
Means "lily of the valley" in Finnish (species Convallaria majalis).
Kingsley
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: KINGZ-lee
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's wood" in Old English. This name may have received a minor boost in popularity after the release of the 2007 movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, featuring the character Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Kira 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Кира(Russian) Кіра(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: KYEE-rə(Russian)
Russian feminine form of
Cyrus.
Kiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Maori
Means "skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).
Kjellfrid
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norwegian
Pronounced: SHEHL-free
From the Old Norse name
Ketilríðr, derived from the elements
ketill meaning "kettle" and
fríðr meaning "beautiful, beloved".
Kohar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Գոհար(Armenian)
Pronounced: kaw-HAHR(Western Armenian)
Western Armenian transcription of
Gohar.
Koharu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 小春, 心春, etc.(Japanese Kanji) こはる(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KO-HA-ROO
From Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" or
心 (ko) meaning "heart" combined with
春 (haru) meaning "spring". The compound word
小春 means "late summer". Other combinations of kanji characters can form this name as well.
Kohinoor
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
From Koh-i-noor, the name of a famous gemstone, meaning "mountain of light" in Persian.
Kōnane
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hawaiian
Means "bright" in Hawaiian.
Kóri
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Old Norse [1]
Old Norse name of unknown meaning.
Krešimira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian (Rare)
Krunoslav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian
Derived from the Slavic elements
kruna "crown" (a derivative of Latin
corona) and
slava "glory".
Kuro
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 九郎, etc.(Japanese Kanji) くろう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KOO-RO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
九郎 (see
Kurō).
Kyou
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 協, 京, 郷, 杏, etc.(Japanese Kanji) きょう(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: KYO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
協 or
京 or
郷 or
杏 (see
Kyō).
Laetitia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Late Roman, French
Pronounced: LEH-TEE-SYA(French)
Original Latin form of
Letitia, as well as a French variant. This name began rising in popularity in France around the same time that Serge Gainsbourg released his 1963 song
Elaeudanla Téïtéïa (this title is a phonetic rendering of the letters in the name
Lætitia). It peaked in 1982 as the fourth most common name for girls.
Lagle
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Means "goose" in Estonian.
Lake
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: LAYK
From the English word lake, for the inland body of water. It is ultimately derived from Latin lacus.
Lata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi
Other Scripts: लता(Hindi, Marathi)
From Sanskrit
लता (latā) meaning
"vine, creeping plant".
Lavan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: לָבָן(Ancient Hebrew)
Lavanya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil
Other Scripts: लावण्या(Hindi) లావణ్యా(Telugu) லாவண்யா(Tamil)
From Sanskrit
लावण्य (lāvaṇya) meaning
"beauty, loveliness, charm".
Lavra
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene
Leda
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Italian
Other Scripts: Λήδα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LEH-DA(Classical Greek) LEE-də(English) LAY-də(English) LEH-da(Italian)
Leocadia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Late Roman
Pronounced: leh-o-KA-dhya(Spanish)
Late Latin name that might be derived from the name of the Greek island of
Leucadia or from Greek
λευκός (leukos) meaning
"bright, clear, white" (which is also the root of the island's name).
Saint Leocadia was a 3rd-century martyr from Spain.
Levi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, English, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: לֵוִי(Hebrew)
Pronounced: LEE-vie(English) LEH-vee(Dutch)
Possibly means
"joined, attached" in Hebrew. As told in the
Old Testament, Levi was the third son of
Jacob and
Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers
Moses and
Aaron were members. This name also occurs in the
New Testament, where it is borne by a son of
Alphaeus. He might be the same person as the apostle
Matthew.
As an English Christian name, Levi came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
Líadan
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare)
Pronounced: LYEEY-dən
Possibly from Old Irish
líath meaning
"grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century
saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.
Libitina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: lee-bee-TEE-na(Latin)
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Etruscan lupu "dead". Libitina was the Roman goddess of funerals, corpses and death.
Lidiya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Лидия(Russian, Bulgarian) Лідія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LYEE-dyi-yə(Russian) LYEE-dyee-yu(Ukrainian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of
Lydia.
Liên
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: LEEYN, LEEYNG
From Sino-Vietnamese
蓮 (liên) meaning
"lotus, water lily".
Lieven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Flemish
Pronounced: LEE-vən
Lilavati
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sanskrit
Other Scripts: लीलावती(Sanskrit)
Means "amusing, charming, graceful" in Sanskrit. The 12th-century mathematician Bhaskara gave this name to one of his books on mathematics, possibly after his daughter. This was also the name of a 13th-century queen of Sri Lanka.
Liliya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Лилия(Russian, Bulgarian) Лілія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: LYEE-lyi-yə(Russian)
Lilo
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: LEE-lo
Means "generous" in Hawaiian. It was the name of a title character in Disney's 'Lilo and Stitch'.
Lin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 林, 琳, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: LEEN
From Chinese
林 (lín) meaning "forest" or
琳 (lín) meaning "fine jade, gem". Other characters can also form this name.
Lindiwe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Swazi
Means "waited for, awaited" in Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi, from linda "to wait".
Linh
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Vietnamese
Pronounced: LING, LIN
From Sino-Vietnamese
靈 (linh) meaning
"spirit, soul".
Lior
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִיאוֹר(Hebrew)
Means
"my light" in Hebrew, from
לִי (li) "for me" and
אוֹר (ʾor) "light".
Liraz
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִירָז(Hebrew)
Means
"my secret" in Hebrew, from
לִי (li) "for me" and
רָז (raz) "secret".
Livnat
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: לִבְנַת(Hebrew)
Ljubica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene
Other Scripts: Љубица(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: LYOO-bee-tsa(Serbian, Croatian)
From the Slavic element
ľuby meaning
"love" combined with a
diminutive suffix. It can also come from the Serbian and Croatian word
ljubica meaning
"violet (flower)".
Loxias
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Λοξίας(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: LAWK-see-əs
Derived from Ancient Greek λέγειν
(legen) meaning "to speak, to say", influenced by λοξός
(loxos) "crooked, slanted", figuratively "obscure, indirect, ambiguous (language)". This was one of the epithets of the god
Apollo in his role as the god of prophecy and interpreter of
Zeus.
Lucasta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
This name was first used by the poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems called Lucasta (1649). The poems were dedicated to Lucasta, a nickname for the woman he loved Lucy Sacheverel, whom he called lux casta "pure light".
Lucho
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: LOO-cho
Lucie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, Czech
Pronounced: LUY-SEE(French) loo-TSI-yeh(Czech)
French and Czech form of
Lucia.
Ludovica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: loo-do-VEE-ka
Italian feminine form of
Ludwig.
Luljeta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Albanian
Means "flower of life" in Albanian, from lule "flower" and jetë "life".
Lumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: LOO-mee
Means "snow" in Finnish.
Luminița
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: loo-mee-NEE-tsa
Means
"little light", derived from Romanian
lumina "light" combined with a
diminutive suffix.
Lúthien
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: loo-thee-an
Means "daughter of flowers" in a Beleriandic dialect of Sindarin. his was the real name of
Tinúviel in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels.
Lyubomir
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Любомир(Bulgarian)
Madara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Latvian
From the Latvian name for a type of flowering plant, known as cleavers or bedstraw in English.
Mæja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Icelandic
Pronounced: MIE-yah
Mahalath
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: מָחֲלַת(Ancient Hebrew)
Maiara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tupi
From Tupi maya arya meaning "great-grandmother".
Mālie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hawaiian
Pronounced: ma-LEE-eh
Means "calm" in Hawaiian.
Manyara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Shona
Means "you have been humbled" in Shona.
Margalit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מַרְגָלִית(Hebrew)
Mariamne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: History
From
Μαριάμη (Mariame), the form of
Maria used by the historian Josephus when referring to the wife of King Herod.
Marino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian, Spanish
Pronounced: ma-REE-no
Italian and Spanish form of
Marinus.
Mariona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: mə-ree-O-nə
Maryam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Indonesian, Bashkir, Tatar
Other Scripts: مريم(Arabic) مریم(Persian, Urdu) Мәрйәм(Bashkir) Мәрьям(Tatar)
Pronounced: MAR-yam(Arabic) mar-YAM(Persian) MUR-yəm(Urdu)
Arabic form of
Miryam (see
Mary) appearing in the
Quran. It is also the form used in several other languages. In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.
Mega
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Indonesian
Pronounced: MEH-ga
Means
"cloud" in Indonesian, ultimately from Sanskrit
मेघ (megha).
Megumi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 恵, 愛, etc.(Japanese Kanji) めぐみ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEH-GOO-MEE
From Japanese
恵 (megumi) meaning "favour, benefit" or
愛 (megumi) meaning "love, affection", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations that have the same reading. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Mei 1
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 美, 梅, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: MAY
From Chinese
美 (měi) meaning "beautiful" or
梅 (méi) meaning "Chinese plum" (species Prunus mume), as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Melanija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, Latvian, Lithuanian
Other Scripts: Меланија(Serbian, Macedonian)
Form of
Melanie used in various languages.
Melian
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: MEL-ee-en
"Dear gift" in Sindarin. Melian was the queen of Doriath in J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion.
Menashe
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: מְנַשֶּׁה(Hebrew)
Merav
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: מֵרַב(Hebrew)
Michi 1
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 道, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みち(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-CHEE
From Japanese
道 (michi) meaning "path". Other kanji can also form this name.
Miguel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese, Galician
Pronounced: mee-GHEHL(Spanish) mee-GEHL(European Portuguese) mee-GEW(Brazilian Portuguese)
Spanish, Portuguese and Galician form of
Michael. A notable bearer of this name was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), the Spanish novelist and poet who wrote
Don Quixote.
Mihovil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian
Miki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 美紀, etc.(Japanese Kanji) みき(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: MEE-KYEE
From Japanese
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" and
紀 (ki) meaning "chronicle". Other kanji combinations are possible.
Mimosa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Finnish, French, Spanish, Danish, Filipino, Italian
Pronounced: MI-maw-sah(Finnish) Mim-osa(French) mee-MO-sah(Spanish)
From Mimosa, a genus of plants that are sensitive to touch. The best known plant from that genus is the Mimosa pudica, better known in English as the touch-me-not. The plant genus derives its name from Spanish mimosa, which is the feminine form of the Spanish adjective mimoso meaning "cuddly".
Miri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various, Romani, Literature, Popular Culture
Pronounced: Mee-ree(Various) MEE-REE(Romani) MIE-REE(Romani) MEER-ree(Romani, Literature)
Shortened version or nickname of
Mirabelle,
Mirabella, or
Miriam in various languages.
It was used by Shannon Hale in her fantasy novel The Princess Academy, in which the main character was named this. She was named for the small, sturdy pink 'miri flowers' that bloomed on mountains, therefore in that context the name meant "flower".
Mirja
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: MEER-yah
Miryam
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Spanish, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: מִרְיָם(Hebrew)
Hebrew form of
Miriam, as well as a Spanish variant.
Mortimer
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAWR-ti-mər(American English) MAW-ti-mə(British English)
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Normandy, itself meaning "dead water, still water" in Old French.
Moses
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Other Scripts: מֹשֶׁה(Hebrew)
Pronounced: MOZ-is(English)
From the Hebrew name
מֹשֶׁה (Moshe), which is most likely derived from Egyptian
mes meaning
"son". The meaning suggested in the
Old Testament of
"drew out" from Hebrew
מָשָׁה (masha) is probably an invented etymology (see
Exodus 2:10).
The biblical Moses was drawn out of the Nile by the pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. With his brother Aaron he demanded the pharaoh release the Israelites, which was only done after God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Moses led the people across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai, where he received the Ten Commandments from God. After 40 years of wandering in the desert the people reached Canaan, the Promised Land, but Moses died just before entering it.
In England, this name has been commonly used by Christians since the Protestant Reformation, though it had long been popular among Jews.
Myrna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish (Rare), English
Pronounced: MUR-nə(American English) MU-nə(British English)
Anglicized form of
Muirne. The popularity of this name spiked in the United States in the 1930s due to the fame of the actress Myrna Loy (1905-1993).
Naamah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: נַעֲמָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: NAY-ə-mə(English)
Means
"pleasant" in Hebrew. This name is borne in the
Old Testament by both a daughter of
Lamech and a wife of
Solomon. Some later Jewish texts give Naamah as the name of
Noah's wife, even though she is not named in the Old Testament.
Nadim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: نديم(Arabic) ندیم(Urdu)
Pronounced: na-DEEM(Arabic)
Means
"drinking companion" in Arabic, derived from
ندم (nadima) meaning "to drink together"
[1].
Naheed
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: ناهید(Persian)
Pronounced: naw-HEED
Alternate transcription of Persian
ناهید (see
Nahid).
Naira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Aymara
From Aymara nayra meaning "eye" or "early".
Najden
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Macedonian
Other Scripts: Најден(Macedonian)
Naoko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 直子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) なおこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NA-O-KO
From Japanese
直 (nao) meaning "straight, direct" and
子 (ko) meaning "child", as well as other kanji combinations.
Nasrin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian, Bengali
Other Scripts: نسرین(Persian) নাসরীন(Bengali)
Pronounced: nas-REEN(Persian)
Means "wild rose" in Persian.
Nataliya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Наталия(Russian, Bulgarian) Наталія(Ukrainian)
Pronounced: nu-TA-lyi-yə(Russian)
Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of
Natalia (see
Natalie).
Natsuki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 菜月, 夏希, etc.(Japanese Kanji) なつき(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NA-TSOO-KYEE, NATS-KYEE
From Japanese
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and
月 (tsuki) meaning "moon". Alternatively, it can come from
夏 (natsu) meaning "summer" and
希 (ki) meaning "hope". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Nausikaa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Ναυσικάα(Ancient Greek)
Nayara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, Portuguese
Pronounced: na-YA-ra(Spanish)
Spanish and Portuguese form of
Naiara.
Neela
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tamil, Hindi
Other Scripts: நீலா(Tamil) नीला(Hindi)
Alternate transcription of Tamil
நீலா or Hindi
नीला (see
Nila).
Nefertari
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Egyptian
Pronounced: nehf-ər-TAHR-ee(American English) nehf-ə-TAHR-ee(British English)
From Egyptian
nfrt-jrj meaning
"the most beautiful" [1]. This was the name of an Egyptian queen of the New Kingdom (13th century BC), the favourite wife of
Ramesses II.
Neifion
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh (Rare)
Pronounced: NAY-vyon
Neith
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology (Hellenized)
Other Scripts: Νηΐθ(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: NEE-ith(English)
Greek form of Egyptian
nt, possibly from
nt "water" or
nrw "fear, dread". This was the name of an early Egyptian goddess of weaving, hunting and war. Her character may have some correspondences with the goddesses
Tanith,
Anat or
Athena.
Nerea
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Basque, Spanish
Pronounced: neh-REH-a
Possibly from Basque
nere, a dialectal variant of
nire meaning
"mine". Alternatively, it could be a feminine form of
Nereus. This name arose in Basque-speaking regions of Spain in the first half of the 20th century, though it is now popular throughout the country.
Neriah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: נֵרִיָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: ni-RIE-ə(English)
Nesrin
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Netuno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology (Portuguese-style)
Brazilian Portuguese form of
Neptune.
Neven
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Невен(Serbian, Macedonian)
Nidia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: NEE-dhya
Nieve
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Rare)
Pronounced: NYEH-beh
Nieves
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronounced: NYEH-behs
Means
"snows" in Spanish, derived from the title of the Virgin
Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows".
Nilofer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indian (Muslim)
Other Scripts: نیلوفر(Urdu) नीलोफर(Hindi)
Niloofar
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: نیلوفر(Persian)
Pronounced: nee-loo-FAR
Niraj
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Nepali
Other Scripts: नीरज(Hindi, Marathi, Nepali) નીરજ(Gujarati)
From Sanskrit
नीरज (nīraja) meaning
"water-born, lotus".
Nissa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Nitin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada
Other Scripts: नितिन(Hindi) नितीन(Marathi) નિતિન(Gujarati) నితిన్(Telugu) ನಿತಿನ್(Kannada)
From Sanskrit
नीति (nīti) meaning
"guidance, moral conduct".
Nizhóní
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Navajo
From Navajo
nizhóní meaning
"beautiful" [1].
Nolwenn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Breton
From the Breton phrase
Noyal Gwenn meaning
"holy one from Noyal". This was the epithet of a 6th-century
saint and martyr from Brittany.
Nori
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 儀, etc.(Japanese Kanji) のり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: NO-REE
From Japanese
儀 (nori) meaning "ceremony, rites" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Nuray
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh
Other Scripts: Нұрай(Kazakh)
Means
"bright moon" in Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kazakh, ultimately from Arabic
نور (nūr) meaning "light" and Turkic
ay meaning "moon".
Nyree
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (New Zealand)
Pronounced: NIE-ree
Anglicized form of
Ngaire. It was borne by New Zealand actress Nyree Dawn Porter (1936-2001).
Oenone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Οἰνώνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ee-NO-nee(English)
Latinized form of the Greek
Οἰνώνη (Oinone), derived from
οἶνος (oinos) meaning
"wine". In Greek
mythology Oenone was a mountain nymph who was married to Paris before he went after Helen.
Olayinka
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Yoruba
Means "wealth surrounds me" in Yoruba.
Ona 2
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Catalan
Pronounced: O-nə
Short form of
Mariona. It also coincides with a Catalan word meaning "wave".
Orpha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Greek, Biblical Latin, English
Other Scripts: Ὀρφά(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: AWR-fə(American English) AW-fə(British English)
Ortzi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Basque
Means "sky" in Basque.
Ovidiu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Romanian form of
Ovidius (see
Ovid). In the 1st century the Roman poet Ovid was exiled to the city of Tomis, now Constanța in Romania.
Pádraic
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish
Pronounced: PA-drək
Pàdraig
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Scottish Gaelic [1]
Pronounced: PA-trik
Parvana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Azerbaijani
Pronounced: par-vah-NA
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani
Pərvanə.
Patigül
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Uyghur
Other Scripts: پاتىگۈل(Uyghur Arabic)
Uyghur elaboration of
Patime using the suffix
گۈل (gül) meaning "flower, rose" (of Persian origin).
Pavel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, Macedonian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Павел(Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: PA-vyil(Russian) PA-vehl(Czech)
Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, Macedonian and Belarusian form of
Paul.
Peeta
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: PEE-tə
This is the name of the male protagonist in Suzanne Collins' young adult novel "The Hunger Games" and its sequels. Collins has never stated how she came up with the name but it has been speculated that it is related to
pita bread, given that the character was born into a family of bakers, or that it could be a form of
Peter.
Pembe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Turkish
Pronounced: pehm-BEH
Means "pink" in Turkish.
Pentti
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: PENT-tee
Perseus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Περσεύς(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PEHR-SEWS(Classical Greek) PUR-see-əs(American English) PU-see-əs(British English)
Possibly derived from Greek
πέρθω (pertho) meaning
"to destroy". In Greek
mythology Perseus was a hero who was said to have founded the ancient city of Mycenae. He was the son of
Zeus and
Danaë. Mother and child were exiled by Danaë's father Acrisius, and Perseus was raised on the island of Seriphos. The king of the island compelled Perseus to kill the Gorgon
Medusa, who was so ugly that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone. After obtaining winged sandals and other tools from the gods, he succeeded in his task by looking at Medusa in the reflection of his shield and slaying her in her sleep. On his return he defeated a sea monster in order to save
Andromeda, who became his wife.
Petru
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian, Corsican
Pronounced: PEH-troo
Romanian and Corsican form of
Peter.
Phrixos
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Φρίξος(Ancient Greek)
Pich
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Khmer
Other Scripts: ពេជ្រ(Khmer)
Pronounced: PIK
Means "diamond" in Khmer.
Pim
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Pronounced: PIM
Pippin 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: PIP-in(English)
The name of a hobbit in The Lord of the Rings (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien. His full given name is Peregrin, a semi-translation into English of his true hobbit name Razanur meaning "traveller".
Pollux
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: POL-looks(Latin) PAHL-əks(American English) PAWL-əks(British English)
Roman form of Greek
Πολυδεύκης (Polydeukes) meaning
"very sweet", from Greek
πολύς (polys) meaning "much" and
δευκής (deukes) meaning "sweet". In
mythology he was the twin brother of
Castor and a son of
Zeus. The constellation Gemini, which represents the two brothers, contains a star by this name.
Polymnia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Πολύμνια, Πολυύμνια(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: PO-LUYM-NEE-A(Classical Greek)
Means
"abounding in song", derived from Greek
πολύς (polys) meaning "much" and
ὕμνος (hymnos) meaning "song, hymn". In Greek
mythology she was the goddess of dance and sacred songs, one of the nine Muses.
Pomona
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Roman Mythology
Pronounced: po-MO-na(Latin)
From Latin pomus "fruit tree". This was the name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees.
Prairie
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Rare)
From the English word for a flat treeless grassland, taken from French prairie "meadow". This was used by Thomas Pynchon for a character in his novel 'Vineland' (1990).
Primrose
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: PRIM-roz
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".
Prunaprismia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Used by C.S. Lewis in 'Prince Caspian' as the name of Caspian's aunt and Miraz's wife. He apparently based it on the phrase "prunes and prisms".
Ptah
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Egyptian Mythology
Pronounced: pə-TAH(English)
From Egyptian ptḥ meaning "opener, creator". Ptah was an Egyptian god associated with creation and the arts.
Qetzi'a
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: קְצִיעָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Quetzalcoatl
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Pronounced: keh-tsash-KO-ach(Nahuatl) keht-səl-ko-AHT-əl(English)
Means
"feathered snake" in Nahuatl, derived from
quetzalli "quetzal feather, precious thing" and
cōātl "snake"
[1]. In Aztec and other Mesoamerican
mythology he was the god of the sky, wind, and knowledge, also associated with the morning star. According to one legend he created the humans of this age using the bones of humans from the previous age and adding his own blood.
Radomil
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Czech
Pronounced: RA-do-mil
Derived from the Slavic elements
radŭ "happy, willing" and
milŭ "gracious, dear".
Raisel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Yiddish (Rare)
Other Scripts: רייזל(Yiddish)
Ramandu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
An old man who is a retired star in 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' by C.S. Lewis.
Raniya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: رانية(Arabic)
Pronounced: RA-nee-ya
Possibly related to the Arabic root
رنا (ranā) meaning
"to gaze, to look intently".
Ransu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: RAHN-soo
Finnish form of
Franciscus (see
Francis).
Raziël
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Dutch
Ren
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 蓮, 恋, etc.(Japanese Kanji) れん(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: REHN
From Japanese
蓮 (ren) meaning "lotus",
恋 (ren) meaning "romantic love", or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
Rita
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian
Pronounced: REE-ta(Italian, Spanish, German) REET-ə(English) REE-taw(Hungarian) ryi-TU(Lithuanian)
Short form of
Margherita and other names ending in
rita.
Saint Rita (born Margherita Lotti) was a 15th-century nun from Cascia, Italy. Another famous bearer was the American actress Rita Hayworth (1918-1987).
Roswitha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German
Pronounced: raws-VEE-ta
Derived from the Old German elements
hruod "fame" and
swind "strong". This was the name of a 10th-century nun from Saxony who wrote several notable poems and dramas.
Rowan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Irish, English (Modern)
Pronounced: RO-ən(English)
Anglicized form of the Irish name
Ruadhán. As an English name, it can also be derived from the surname Rowan, itself derived from the Irish given name. It could also be given in reference to the rowan tree, a word of Old Norse origin (coincidentally sharing the same Indo-European root meaning "red" with the Irish name).
Rowanne
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: ro-AN
Feminine variant of
Rowan.
Rozalija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Розалија(Macedonian)
Form of
Rosalia in several languages.
Rožė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Rózsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: RO-zhaw
Ruzha
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Ружа(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Means
"hollyhock" in Bulgarian (referring to flowering plants from the genera Alcea and Althaea). This is also an alternate transcription of Macedonian
Ружа (see
Ruža).
Sacnite
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mayan (Hispanicized)
Sahak
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Սահակ(Armenian)
Pronounced: sah-HAHK(Eastern Armenian) sah-HAHG(Western Armenian)
Armenian form of
Isaac. This was the name of a 5th-century patriarch of the Armenian Church.
Saki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 咲希, 沙紀, 早紀, etc.(Japanese Kanji) さき(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SA-KYEE
From Japanese
咲 (sa) meaning "blossom" and
希 (ki) meaning "hope", besides other combinations of kanji characters.
Sakina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic, Urdu
Other Scripts: سكينة(Arabic) سکینہ(Urdu)
Pronounced: sa-KEE-na(Arabic)
Means "calmness, peace" in Arabic.
Sakineh
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Persian
Other Scripts: سکینه(Persian)
Sapphire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: SAF-ie-ər(American English) SAF-ie-ə(British English)
From the name of the gemstone, typically blue, which is the traditional birthstone of September. It is derived from Greek
σάπφειρος (sappheiros), ultimately from the Hebrew word
סַפִּיר (sappir).
Sarangerel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Mongolian
Other Scripts: Сарангэрэл(Mongolian Cyrillic)
Pronounced: sah-RAHN-geh-rehl
Means
"moonlight" in Mongolian, from
саран (saran) meaning "moon" and
гэрэл (gerel) meaning "light".
Sasithorn
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Thai
Other Scripts: ศศิธร(Thai)
Pronounced: sa-see-TAWN
Means "the moon" in Thai (a poetic word).
Sayuri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 小百合, etc.(Japanese Kanji) さゆり(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: SA-YOO-REE
From Japanese
小 (sa) meaning "small" and
百合 (yuri) meaning "lily". This name can also be composed of other kanji combinations.
Scholastique
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French (Rare)
Pronounced: SKAW-LAS-TEEK
French form of
Scholastica. It is more common in French-speaking Africa than France.
Senka
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Serbian, Croatian
Other Scripts: Сенка(Serbian)
Means
"shadow, shade" in Serbian and Croatian. It can also be a
diminutive of
Ksenija.
Septima
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Septimus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: SEHP-tee-moos
Roman
praenomen, or given name, which meant
"seventh" in Latin.
Sethunya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Tswana
Means "bloom, flower" in Tswana, derived from thunya "to bloom".
Severus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: seh-WEH-roos(Latin) si-VIR-əs(English) SEHV-ə-rəs(English)
Roman family name meaning
"stern" in Latin. This name was borne by several early
saints including a 6th-century patriarch of Antioch.
Shania
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Modern)
Pronounced: shə-NIE-ə
In the case of singer Shania Twain (1965-), who chose it as her
stage name, it was apparently based on an Ojibwe phrase meaning
"on my way".
Shannon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SHAN-ən
From the name of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, called
an tSionainn in Irish. It is associated with the legendary figure
Sionann and is sometimes said to be named for her. However it is more likely she was named after the river, which may be related to Old Irish
sen "old, ancient"
[1]. As a given name, it first became common in America after the 1940s.
Sharon
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁרון(Hebrew)
Pronounced: SHAR-ən(English)
From an
Old Testament place name, in Hebrew
שָׁרוֹן (Sharon) meaning
"plain", referring to a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel. This is also the name of a flowering plant in the Bible, the rose of Sharon, a term now used to refer to several different species of flowers.
It has been in use as a feminine given name in the English-speaking world since the 1920s, possibly inspired by the heroine in the serial novel The Skyrocket (1925) by Adela Rogers St. Johns [1]. As a Hebrew name it is unisex.
Sheila
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish, English
Pronounced: SHEE-lə(English)
Shiphrah
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: שִׁפְרָה(Ancient Hebrew)
Means
"beautiful" in Hebrew. In the
Old Testament this is the name of one of the midwives (the other being
Puah) who disobeys the Pharaoh's order to kill any Hebrew boys they deliver.
Shir 2
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Persian (Rare)
Other Scripts: شیر(Persian)
Modern Persian form of
Sher.
Shiri
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: שׁירי(Hebrew)
Means "my song" in Hebrew.
Shula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: شعلة(Arabic)
Pronounced: SHOO‘-la
Means "flame" in Arabic.
Sieglinde
Gender: Feminine
Usage: German, Germanic Mythology
Pronounced: zeek-LIN-də(German)
Derived from the Old German elements
sigu "victory" and
lind "soft, flexible, tender". Sieglinde was the mother of
Siegfried in the medieval German saga the
Nibelungenlied.
Sigalit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: סִיגָלִית(Hebrew)
Simonetta
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: see-mo-NEHT-ta
Sini
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SEE-nee
Means "blue" in Finnish. More specifically, sini is a poetic term for the colour blue.
Sionann
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Irish Mythology
In Irish legend this was the name of a granddaughter of the sea god
Lir who went to Connla's Well, which was forbidden. The well burst and drowned her, leaving her body in the river thereafter known as the
Sionainn (see
Shannon).
Sitara
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Urdu
Other Scripts: ستارہ(Urdu)
Means "star" in Urdu, ultimately from Persian.
Soleil
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Various
Pronounced: SAW-LAY(French)
Means "sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Soluna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Obscure
Possibly a combination of the Spanish words sol (meaning "sun") and luna (meaning "moon").
Sonrisa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: American (Hispanic), American
Pronounced: son-RREE-sah(Hispanic American) Son-ri-sa(Hispanic American)
Means "smile" in Spanish. Created name not actually used in Spanish-speaking countries.
Sophronius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Greek (Latinized)
Other Scripts: Σωφρόνιος(Ancient Greek)
Latinized form of the Greek name
Σωφρόνιος (Sophronios), which was derived from Greek
σώφρων (sophron) meaning
"self-controlled, sensible".
Saint Sophronius was a 7th-century patriarch of Jerusalem.
Sparrow
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English (Rare)
Pronounced: SPAR-o, SPEHR-o
From the name of the bird, ultimately from Old English spearwa.
Stavroula
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Σταυρούλα(Greek)
Sukarno
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Javanese
Pronounced: soo-KAR-naw(Javanese) soo-KAR-no(Indonesian)
From the Sanskrit prefix
सु (su) meaning "good" combined with the name of the mythological hero
Karna. Sukarno (1901-1970), who did not have a surname, was the first president of Indonesia.
Sumati
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hinduism, Hindi
Other Scripts: सुमती(Sanskrit, Hindi)
Means
"wise, good mind", derived from Sanskrit
सु (su) meaning "good" and
मति (mati) meaning "mind, thought". According to Hindu tradition this was the name of King Sagara's second wife, who bore him 60,000 children.
Sunshine
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: SUN-shien
From the English word, ultimately from Old English sunne "sun" and scinan "shine".
Suvi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: SOO-vee
Means "summer" in Finnish.
Svajonė
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Means "dream, wish" in Lithuanian.
Tacitus
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Pronounced: TA-kee-toos(Latin) TAS-i-tuws(English)
Roman
cognomen meaning
"silent, mute" in Latin. This was the name of a 1st-century Roman historian, known for writing the
Histories and the
Annals.
Taika
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish (Rare)
Pronounced: TAH-ee-kah
Means "magic, spell" in Finnish.
Taimi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: TIE-mee(Finnish)
From Finnish taimi meaning "sapling, young tree" or Estonian taim meaning "plant" (words from a common origin).
Takara
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 宝, etc.(Japanese Kanji) たから(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: TA-KA-RA
From Japanese
宝 (takara) meaning "treasure, jewel", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations with the same pronunciation.
Takashi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 孝, 隆, 崇, 尊, etc.(Japanese Kanji) たかし(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: TA-KA-SHEE
From Japanese
孝 (takashi) meaning "filial piety",
隆 (takashi) meaning "noble, prosperous" or
崇 (takashi) meaning "esteem, honour, venerate", as well as other kanji or kanji combinations that result in the same pronunciation.
Taliba
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Arabic
Other Scripts: طالبة(Arabic)
Pronounced: TA-lee-ba
Taliesin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Pronounced: tal-YEH-sin(Welsh) tal-ee-EHS-in(English)
Means
"shining brow", derived from Welsh
tal "brow, head" and
iesin "shining, radiant". This was the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century Welsh poet and bard, supposedly the author of the collection of poems the
Book of Taliesin. He appears briefly in the Welsh legend
Culhwch and Olwen and the Second Branch of the
Mabinogi. He is the central character in the
Tale of Taliesin, a medieval legend recorded in the 16th century, which tells how
Ceridwen's servant Gwion Bach was reborn to her as Taliesin; how he becomes the bard for Elffin; and how Taliesin defends Elffin from the machinations of the king
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
Talya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: טַלְיָה, טַלְיָא(Hebrew)
Tāne
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Maori, Polynesian Mythology
Means
"man" in Maori. In Maori and other Polynesian
mythology Tāne was the god of forests and light. He was the son of the sky god
Rangi and the earth goddess
Papa, who were locked in an embrace and finally separated by their son. He created the tui bird and, by some accounts, man.
Tarmo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Estonian, Finnish
Pronounced: TAHR-mo(Finnish)
Means "vigour, energy, drive" in Estonian and Finnish.
Télesphore
Gender: Masculine
Usage: French (Archaic)
French form of the Greek name
Τελεσφόρος (Telesphoros) meaning
"bringing fulfillment" or
"bearing fruit" [1].
Saint Telesphorus was a 2nd-century pope and martyr.
Telesphoros
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Τελεσφόρος(Ancient Greek)
Tenzin
Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Usage: Tibetan, Bhutanese
Other Scripts: བསྟན་འཛིན(Tibetan)
Pronounced: TEHN-TSEEN(Tibetan) tehn-ZIN(English)
From Tibetan
བསྟན་འཛིན (bstan-'dzin) meaning
"upholder of teachings". This is one of the given names of the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (1935-).
Tesni
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Welsh
Means "warmth" in Welsh.
Thingol
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature
The King of Doriath and High King of the Sindar in 'The Silmarillion' by J.R.R. Tolkien. He was the husband of Melian and father of Luthien. His name, which is an honorific, means "Greycloak" in Quenya from thind "grey" and coll "mantle".
Thokozani
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Chewa
Pronounced: to-ko-ZAH-nee
Means "thank" in Chewa.
Thorin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Literature, Germanic Mythology, German (Modern), Popular Culture
Pronounced: THOR-in(Literature) TO-reen(German)
German male name representing the Germanic god
Thor.
Used by JRR Tolkien as the name of a dwarf, Thorin Oakensheild, who is the main dwarf in 'The Hobbit'. Tolkien took the name from the Dvergatal "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Völuspá, a part of the Poetic Edda.
Thráin
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norse Mythology (Anglicized), Literature
Anglicized form of
Þráinn.
Tolkien used this name for two characters. Thráin I, son of Náin I, was the king of Durin's Folk and founder of the Kingdom under the Mountain. Thráin II, son of Thrór, was the king of Durin's Folk and the father of Thorin Oakenshield. Tolkien took the name from the Dvergatal "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Völuspá, a part of the Poetic Edda.
Thulani
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Zulu
Means "be quiet, be peaceful" in Zulu.
Tiberia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Medieval Italian, Romanian
Tiberiu
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Romanian
Tichaona
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Shona
Means "we will see" from Shona ticha "we will" and ona "see".
Timoti
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Maori
Tinúviel
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Means "daughter of twilight, nightingale" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Tinuviel was another name of Lúthien, the daughter of Thingol the elf king. She was the beloved of Beren, who with her help retrieved one of the Silmarils from the iron crown of Morgoth.
Tisiphone
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: Τισιφόνη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ti-SIF-ə-nee(English)
Means
"avenging murder" in Greek, derived from
τίσις (tisis) meaning "vengeance" and
φόνος (phonos) meaning "murder". This was the name of one of the Furies or
Ἐρινύες (Erinyes) in Greek
mythology. She killed Cithaeron with the bite of one of the snakes on her head.
Toivo
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish, Estonian
Pronounced: TOI-vo(Finnish)
Means "hope" in Finnish.
Topi
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: TO-pee
Torleif
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Norwegian
From the Old Norse name
Þórleifr, derived from the name of the Norse god
Þórr (see
Thor) combined with
leif "inheritance, legacy".
Triinu
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Estonian
Truth
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English (Puritan), English (Modern, Rare)
From the English word "truth" from Old English trīewth, trēowth meaning ‘faithfulness.'
Tuulikki
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish, Finnish Mythology
Pronounced: TOO-leek-kee(Finnish)
Means "little wind" in Finnish, derived from tuuli "wind". This was the name of a Finnish forest goddess, the daughter of Tapio.
Uriel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, Hebrew
Other Scripts: אוּרִיאֵל(Hebrew)
Pronounced: YUWR-ee-əl(English)
From the Hebrew name
אוּרִיאֵל (ʾUriʾel) meaning
"God is my light", from
אוּר (ʾur) meaning "light, flame" and
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Uriel is an archangel in Hebrew tradition. He is mentioned only in the Apocrypha, for example in the Book of Enoch where he warns
Noah of the coming flood.
Usagi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Popular Culture
Pronounced: OO-SA-GYEE(Japanese)
Means "rabbit" in Japanese. This name was used on the Japanese television show Sailor Moon, which first aired in the 1990s.
Valentino
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: va-lehn-TEE-no
Vardan
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Armenian
Other Scripts: Վարդան(Armenian)
Pronounced: vahr-DAHN(Eastern Armenian) vahr-TAHN(Western Armenian)
Derived from Armenian
վարդ (vard) meaning
"rose", ultimately from an Iranian language.
Vasco
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Pronounced: VASH-koo(European Portuguese) VAS-koo(Brazilian Portuguese) BAS-ko(Spanish) VA-sko(Italian)
From the medieval Spanish name Velasco, which possibly meant "crow" in Basque. A famous bearer was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524), the first person to sail from Europe around Africa to India.
Vashti
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Biblical
Other Scripts: וַשְׁתִּי(Ancient Hebrew)
Pronounced: VASH-tee(English)
Probably of Persian origin, possibly a superlative form of
𐎺𐎢 (vahu) meaning
"good". According to the
Old Testament this was the name of the first wife of King
Ahasuerus of Persia before he married
Esther.
Veceslav
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Medieval Czech
Vencel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: VEHN-tsehl
Verdandi
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Norse Mythology
From Old Norse
Verðandi meaning
"becoming, happening". Verdandi was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse
mythology. She was responsible for the present.
Vered
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew
Other Scripts: וֶרֶד(Hebrew)
Means "rose" in Hebrew, originally a borrowing from an Iranian language.
Vesna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Slavic Mythology
Other Scripts: Весна(Serbian, Macedonian)
Pronounced: VEHS-na(Croatian, Serbian)
Means "spring" in many Slavic languages. This was the name of a Slavic spirit associated with the springtime. It has been used as a given name only since the 20th century.
Vespera
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Esperanto
Pronounced: vehs-PEH-ra
Means "of the evening", derived from Esperanto vespero "evening", ultimately from Latin vesper.
Victoire
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: VEEK-TWAR
Vina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Indonesian
Pronounced: VEE-na
From Sanskrit
वीणा (vīṇā) meaning
"lute".
Viorica
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Romanian
Pronounced: vee-o-REE-ka
Derived from Romanian
viorea (see
Viorel).
Viridius
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Celtic Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Roman
Latinized form of Viridios, which is of Celtic origin but the meaning is not known for certain. There are theories that it is derived from Proto-Celtic wird "green", or from Proto-Celtic wīrjā "truth" combined with dī- "from, has" (thus meaning "he who has the truth"). This was the name of a god who was venerated in Roman Gaul.
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From a Roman nomen gentile, which was derived from Latin viridis "green".
Virva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Finnish
Pronounced: VEER-vah
Possibly derived from Finnish virvatuli meaning "will o' the wisp". In folklore, will o' the wisp is a floating ball of light that appears over water.
Vitalija
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Lithuanian
Lithuanian feminine form of
Vitalis (see
Vitale).
Vitalis
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Late Roman
Vittorio
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Italian
Pronounced: veet-TAW-ryo
Vladimira
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Slovene, Croatian
Vox
Gender: Masculine
Usage: American (South, Rare, Archaic)
Transferred use of the surname
Vox.
Wickaninnish
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Nuu-chah-nulth (Anglicized)
Pronounced: wik-ə-NIN-ish(English)
Possibly means "having no one in front of him in the canoe" in Nuu-chah-nulth. This was the name of a chief of the Clayoquot in the late 18th century, at the time of European contact.
Xanthe
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ξάνθη(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: KSAN-TEH(Classical Greek)
Derived from Greek
ξανθός (xanthos) meaning
"yellow, blond, fair-haired". This was the name of a few minor figures in Greek
mythology.
Xochiquetzal
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Pronounced: sho-chee-KEHT-sash(Nahuatl)
Derived from Nahuatl
xōchitl "flower" and
quetzalli "quetzal feather, precious thing"
[1]. This was the name of the Aztec goddess of love, flowers and the earth, the twin sister of
Xochipilli.
Xochitl
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Nahuatl
Pronounced: SHO-cheech
Means
"flower" in Nahuatl
[1].
Yana
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Яна(Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: YA-nə(Russian)
Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian form of
Jana 1.
Yankel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Yiddish
Other Scripts: יאַנקל(Yiddish)
Yavanna
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Literature
Pronounced: yah-VAH-nah
Quenya (High-Elven) for "giver of fruits." Was the Valie (female "angelic spirit") of plants.
Character in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Silmarrilion."
Yechezkel
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יְחֶזְקֵאל(Hebrew)
Yefrem
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Russian (Rare)
Other Scripts: Ефрем(Russian)
Pronounced: yi-FRYEHM, i-FRYEHM
Yehudit
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew [1]
Other Scripts: יְהוּדִית(Hebrew)
Yénifer
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish (Latin American)
Pronounced: GYEH-nee-fehr(Spanish)
Yevheniya
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Євгенія(Ukrainian)
Yin
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 银, 音, 荫, etc.(Chinese) 銀, 音, 蔭, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: EEN
From Chinese
银 (yín) meaning "silver, money",
音 (yīn) meaning "sound, tone" or
荫 (yīn) meaning "shade, shelter, protect", as well as other Chinese characters pronounced similarly.
Ying
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 英, 颖, 影, etc.(Chinese) 英, 穎, 影, etc.(Traditional Chinese)
Pronounced: EENG
From Chinese
英 (yīng) meaning "flower, petal, brave, hero",
颖 (yǐng) meaning "clever", or
影 (yǐng) meaning "image, shadow", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Ylva
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Swedish, Norwegian
Means "she-wolf", a derivative of Old Norse úlfr "wolf".
Yoko
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Japanese
Other Scripts: 陽子, 洋子, etc.(Japanese Kanji) ようこ(Japanese Hiragana)
Pronounced: YO-KO
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
陽子 or
洋子 (see
Yōko).
Yolande
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French
Pronounced: YAW-LAHND
French form of
Yolanda. A notable bearer of the 15th century was Yolande of Aragon, who acted as regent for the French king Charles VII, her son-in-law. She was a supporter of Joan of Arc.
Yule
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: YOOL
Transferred use of the surname
Yule, given for someone who was born on Christmas Day or had some other connection with this time of year, from Middle English
yule ‘Christmastide’ (Old English
geol, reinforced by the cognate Old Norse term
jól).
Yulia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Other Scripts: Юлия(Russian) Юлія(Ukrainian, Belarusian)
Pronounced: YOO-lyi-yə(Russian)
Alternate transcription of Russian
Юлия or Ukrainian/Belarusian
Юлія (see
Yuliya).
Zenobia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Ancient Greek [1]
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced: ZDEH-NO-BEE-A(Classical Greek) zə-NO-bee-ə(English)
Means
"life of Zeus", derived from Greek
Ζηνός (Zenos) meaning "of
Zeus" and
βίος (bios) meaning "life". This was the name of the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, which broke away from Rome in the 3rd-century and began expanding into Roman territory. She was eventually defeated by the emperor
Aurelian. Her Greek name was used as an approximation of her native Aramaic name.
Zhaklina
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian, Macedonian
Other Scripts: Жаклина(Bulgarian, Macedonian)
Zheng
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Chinese
Other Scripts: 正, 政, etc.(Chinese)
Pronounced: CHUNG
From Chinese
正 (zhèng) meaning "right, proper, correct" or
政 (zhèng) meaning "government", as well as other hanja characters with a similar pronunciation.
Zinovia
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Greek
Other Scripts: Ζηνοβία(Greek)
Modern Greek transcription of
Zenobia.
Zlata
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian
Other Scripts: Злата(Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian)
Pronounced: ZLA-ta(Czech) ZLA-tə(Russian)
Zornitsa
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Bulgarian
Other Scripts: Зорница(Bulgarian)
Means "morning star" in Bulgarian.
Zsanett
Gender: Feminine
Usage: Hungarian
Pronounced: ZHAW-neht
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