Louisa

But certainly there are some names which seem to belong to particular classes of character, to form the mind and even influence the destiny: Louisa, now; - is not your Louisa necessarily a die-away damsel, who reads novels, and holds her head on one side, languishing and given to love!

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names::

On being told that Mrs. Bounderby was there, she replied, at cross-purposes, that she had never called him by that name since he married Louisa; that pending her choice of an objectionable name, she had called him J; and that she could not at present depart from that regulation, not being yet provided with a permanent substitute.

1854, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC:

A female given name from the Germanic languages, a latinized form of Louise used since the eighteenth century.


Madonna

From Italian madonna, from Old Italian ma (“my”) + donna (“lady”). The given name is derived from the English term, not used as a given name in Italy. Doublet of madam.

We feel bound to add, however, that it is not very likely, in the usual chances of events, that such names as Alaric Attila Watts should have met in matrimony with those of Zillah Madonna Wiffen; and an unkind world may suggest a mystification somewhere.

1835 June, Fraser's Magazine, volume XI, page 652:

But celebrities actually have a weak effect on baby names. As of 2000, the pop star Madonna had sold 130 million records worldwide but hadn't generated even the ten copycat namings―in California, no less―required to make the master index of four thousand names from which the sprawling list of girls' names on page 227 was drawn.

2005, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics, Allen Lane, published 2005, →ISBN, page 184:

MADONNA(S) Yes. (They look at each other with surprise. The room goes silent.) MR. STEIN Two Madonnas? (Pause.) MR. STEIN Did either of you know God? EIGHTIES MADONNA I knew of Him. BIBLICAL MADONNA We had a Son together. MR. STEIN […] I’m going to have to ask you to leave. (The eighties Madonna gets up with a smile and then without uttering another word flounces out of the room loudly humming the tune ‘Like a Virgin’.)

2013 February, Alan Baggett, God’s Will, →ISBN, page 39:


Dante

From Italian Dante, a reduced form of Durante.

A male given name from Italian, presumably in honor of the poet Dante Alighieri.


Hemant

Transliteration of Hindi हेमंत (hemant).

A male given name from Sanskrit, of Hindu usage


Elsie

From a Scottish diminutive of Alison/Alice and Elspeth/Elizabeth.

Elsie Marley is so neat, / 'Tis hard for one to walk the street / But every lad a lass they meet, / Cries do you ken Elsie Marley, honey?

1784, R. Christopher, The Bishopric Garland, or, Durham Minstrel, Stockton, page 22:

"And did he not speak of me, Heyward?" demanded Alice, with jealous affection; "surely, he forgot not altogether his little Elsie?"

1826, James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans/Chapter 6:

"Obviously I wasn't going to go through life saddled with a name like Elsie. When I got up to London at the age of eighteen everybody laughed at me, so a boyfriend suggested a tiny amendment, two letters swopped, and I've been Elise for thirty years."

2001, Susan Kelly, Killing the Fatted Calf, Allison & Busby, →ISBN, page 34:


Elsie

From a Scottish diminutive of Alexander.

(rare, obsolete) A diminutive of the male given name Alexander.


Rajiv

From Sanskrit राजीव (rājīva), via various Indian languages.

A male given name from Sanskrit. It is a common male name in India. The name means 'lotus flower' in Hindi. In Sanskrit, the word means 'Sri Krishna'.


Salem

From Biblical Hebrew שָׁלֵם (šālēm) (Genesis 14:18).

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Salem.wav


Madison

en-proper noun

Madison (countable and uncountable, plural Madisons)

From Middle English Madde (“Maud”) + -son.

A male given name transferred from the surname.

A female given name transferred from the surname, popular since 1984 when it appeared as the name of a mermaid in the film Splash.


Boaz

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin, in occasional use.


Julien

A male given name from French, equivalent to English Julian.


Bert

Shortened version of Bertrand, Albert, Bertram, Robert, Herbert, Gilbert or any name containing the Germanic element bert/berht/beraht/brecht "bright".

A diminutive form of male given names containing the element bert, such as Albert or Robert, also used as a formal given name.


Canola

Of Celtic origin, a misprint of Irish Cana Cludhmor.


Nicky

A diminutive of the female given names Nicola, Nichola, or Nicole.

A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.


Asha

Borrowed from Sanskrit आशा (āśā, “one having the knowledge of morality”).

bor

A female given name from Sanskrit used in India.


Susy

And trust me, Susy, added the corporal, turning to Susannah, whose eyes were swimming with water, before that time comes round again, a bright eye will be dim.

1765, Laurence Sterne, chapter VIII, in Tristram Shandy:

A diminutive of Susan and of related female given names.


Edlyn

A 20th-century coinage, apparently a blend of Ed + Lyn, or a variant of Edeline.

A female given name from the Germanic languages.


Freddie

A diminutive of the male given name Frederick


Milly

A diminutive of the female given names Mildred, Millicent, Emily and Camilla, also used as a formal given name.


Jennie

A diminutive of the female given names Jane and Jennifer, also used as a formal given name.


Julie

The first-born Child had every dawning Grace / And promis'd Beauty in her form and face. / "We'll call her Julie if you please, my dear," / The Mother cry'd, "I doat on Julie Vere." / "What! no Remembrance of her Aunt! for Shame! / You doat indeed! be Barbara her name!"

1813, George Crabbe, “Tracy”, in Adolphus William Ward, editor, Poems by George Crabbe, The University Press, published 1907, page 455:

"I loathe the name of Julia. Julie, in the French way, is quite pretty, but Julia! - "
"Call her Cousin Julie then; I've no doubt she'll prefer it. She's nothing if not progressive, I believe."

1917, Grace Flandrau, Cousin Julia, D. Appleton and Company, page 3:

They were called Jim & Julie, professionally. It seemed such a waste to deal in fantasy, in illusion and pretend, and not christen one's endeavor more suggestively. Kate wondered if their real names were Letitia and Sylvester, or Cleopatra and Mandrake; perhaps they'd gone undercover with white-bread names in quest of posh children's parties and Yankee suitability.

2000, Jayne Anne Phillips, Mother Kind, page 156:

A female given name from French Julie, equivalent to English Julia. Popular in the latter half of the 20th century.

(rare) A diminutive of the female given name Julia.


Sigourney

According to Ernest Nègre in his book Toponymie générale de la France (1990), the French placename Sigournais comes from Old French Segurniaci, which itself has been derived from Latin Secorinus + -acum. So it appears that the resemblance to Germanic dithematic names starting with *segaz is superficial.

“Please come and see me. . . . Phone book. . . . Under the name of Mrs. Sigourney Howard. . . . My aunt. . . .” [In the novel, "Mrs. Sigourney Howard" means "the wife of Mr. Sigourney Howard".]

1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter 3, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN, →OCLC:

(rare) A male given name transferred from the surname.

The actress Sigourney Weaver took her ‘stage’ name from Sigourney Howard, a minor character mentioned in The Great Gatsby. But what is also worth noting is the fact that the character’s name, ‘Mrs Sigourney Howard’, actually refers to the husband, so Sigourney is a male given name in the novel.

2015, Interesting Literature, Five Fascinating Facts about The Great Gatsby:

(rare) A female given name transferred from the surname.


Vicky

The next people I ran into were my gorgeous sister-in-law Vicky, Mrs. Mike Mulvaney Jr. with the caramel-colored hair—very pregnant—again—and her little girl Chrissy, my firstborn niece, for whom my heart always gave a lurch.

1996, Joyce Carol Oates, We Were the Mulvaneys, Harper Perennial, published 2007, →ISBN, pages 389, 440:

A diminutive of the female given name Victoria, also used as a formal given name.


Mildred

From the name of an 8th-century English saint, Old English Mildþrȳþ (from milde (“mild”) + þrȳþ (“strength”)).

inh

Queens drop away, while blue-legg'd Maukin lives; / Drones thrive when bees are burnt within their hives; / And courtly Mildred dies, while country Madge survives.

~1625 Francis Quarles, Elegy on Lady Luckyn

One day Dunsford told him her name was Mildred. He had heard one of the other girls in the shop address her. "What an odious name," said Philip. "Why?" asked Dunsford. "I like it." . "It's so pretentious."

1915, W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, Pan Books, published 1973, page 268:


Cassius

Borrowed from Latin Cassius, a Roman name derived from the gens Cassia.


Cuthbert

Name of early English saints, from Old English Cūþbeorht (“brightly known, famous”).

"What's the first name?" […]
"I have a horrible feeling that it's Lancelot!"
"Good God!" said Archie.
"It couldn't really be that, could it?"
Archie looked grave. He hated to to give pain, but he felt he must be honest.
"It might," he said. "People give their children all sorts of rummy names. My second name's Tracy. And I have a pal in England who was christened Cuthbert De la Hay Horace. Fortunately everyone calls him Stinker."

1921, P.G.Wodehouse, Indiscretions of Archie, page 162:


Dicky

A diminutive of the male given name Richard.


Nathaniel

Modification, under influence of Daniel, of Nathanael, from Ancient Greek Ναθαναήλ (Nathanaḗl), from Biblical Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (Netan'el, literally “God has given”).

der

Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made,
And Gabriel's pumps were all unpink'd i' the heel.

c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

‘What’s your Christian name, Sir?’ angrily inquired the little judge. ‘Nathaniel, Sir.’ ‘Daniel—any other name?’ ‘Nathaniel, sir—my Lord, I mean.’ ‘Nathaniel Daniel, or Daniel Nathaniel?’ ‘No, my Lord, only Nathaniel —not Daniel at all.’ ‘What did you tell me it was Daniel for, then, sir?’ inquired the judge.

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 34, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

Marcella and Nathaniel. Now I know their names. I haven't thought much about having children, but if I did, I wouldn't give them names like that. They're the sort of names you choose if you think you're someone to be reckoned with.

2010, Sophie Hannah, A Room Swept White, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 102:


Valerie

From French Valérie, from Latin Valeria. Doublet of Valeria.

Cos since I've come home, well my body's been a mess
And I've missed your ginger hair and the way you dress
Won't you come on over stop making a fool out of me?
Why won't you come on over Valerie? Valerie? Valerie? Valerie?

2006, Zutons (lyrics and music), “Valerie”:


Chelsea

From Old English Celchyth, from cealc (“chalk”) + hȳþ (“landing place”).

A female given name transferred from the place name.


Humphrey

Name of a 9th-century French saint, brought to England by Normans; Proto-Germanic *unnaną (“to grant, bestow”) + *friþuz (“peace”). In Ireland it has been used to Anglicize Irish Amhlaoibh (= Olaf).

I never saw but Humphrey, Duke of Gloster, / Did bear him like a noble gentleman.

"Hump?" I asked. "Humphrey, really. But everybody callls him Hump. I know a lot of people who avoid calling him by his first name. For a long time people didn't think it was quite proper. But nowadays nobody seems to mind. What's happening to the power of words, Benny? Time was I used to blush at the words scrawled on the fences, and now I hear them - everywhere. How are writers going to write books if language is going bland on them?"

1988, Howard Engel, A Victim Must Be Found, page 70:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Zoë

From Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”). It was the name of a third century martyr venerated in the Orthodox Church.

"Zoë!" The high-born girl repeated her own name in genuine astonishment. / "Yes," replied the negress. "Rustan is very affectionate. He says that I am his Zoë, his "life", because he would surely die of starvation without me."

1907, Francis Marion Crawford, Arethusa, BiblioBazaar,LLC, published 2009, →ISBN, page 67:


Orlando

/ɔːˈlæn.dəʊ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Orlando.wav

From Italian Orlando (“Roland”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *Hrōþiland. The Florida city has gone by the name since 1857, perhaps in honour of the soldier Orlando Reeves, whom Seminoles killed there in 1835. (Previously, it had been settled in 1844 as Jernigan.) Doublet of Roland.

St. Oswald's boys were not called Ben. St Oswald's boys were called Leon, or Jasper, or Rufus or Sebastian. A St Oswald's boy can pass off a name like Orlando, can make it sound like peppermint.

2010, Joanne Harris, blueeyedboy, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 99:


Jacqueline

From the French feminine diminutive form of Jacques (“James”). From Hebrew יעקב (“Ya‘akov”, from the Hebrew root עקב (‘akev, “heel”)), because Jacob was born just behind Esau, and was grasping Esau’s heel in an effort to prevent him from being born first.

from the Hebrew root <i class="Hebr mention" lang="he">עקב</i> (‘akev, “heel”)

Jacqueline was so named simply because their mother had liked the ring of the word, sounding Parisian and worldly and auguring, to her mind, a good life.

1993, Oscar Hijuelos, The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien, →ISBN, page 6:


Jocelyn

/ˈd͡ʒɒsəlɪn/

From the Middle English male given name from Old French Joscelin, German Gautzelin, diminutive of names beginning with the tribal name Gaut (“a Geat, a Goth”), the root form of which probably comes from Proto-Germanic *Gautalinþiz (from *gautaz + *linþaz); also used as a diminutive form of the Breton name Josse (= Joyce). It survived as a surname and was revived as a given name in the nineteenth century.
* Jocelyn is currently popular among U.S. Hispanics, and in the Philippines, by folk etymology explained as a feminine diminutive form of José (Joseph).

(dated) A male given name from the Germanic languages.

I drove Dorothy immediately to King George V Hospital and two hours later she delivered a beautiful baby daughter. We named her Jocelyn.

2006, Ted Freeman, Doctor in Vanuatu, Suva, Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, →ISBN, page 34:


Eunice

A biblical name from Ancient Greek Εὐνίκη (Euníkē), from εὖ (eû, “good”) + νίκη (níkē, “victory”).

com

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

"Eunice," he said consideringly.
She paused in the midst of licking a dab of frosting off one finger.
"Properly speaking," he said, "it should be 'You-nike-ee'. That's the way Greeks would have said it."
"You-niss is bad enough," she told him. "I've always hated my name."
"Oh, it's a fine name. It means 'victorious'."

2009, Anne Tyler, Noah's Compass, Vintage, →ISBN, pages 109–110:


Pamela

Invented by Sir Philip Sidney for his pastoral poem The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (c 1593). Seemingly created from scratch; some imagine an analysis as Ancient Greek πᾶς (pâs, “all”) + μέλι (méli, “honey”) but there is no evidence that this was intended.

They lived about thirty miles from the Squire; and she told me, that I might be sure to find her out by one circumstance; for that they had a daughter with a very strange name, Pamĕla, or Pamēla; some pronounced it one way, and some the other.

1773, Henry Fielding, The History and Adventures of Joseph Andrews, page 259:

- But, Pamela, did you say? - A queer sort of name! - I've heard of it somewhere! - Is it a Christian or a Pagan name? - Linsey-woolsey - half one, half t'other - like thy girl - Ha, ha, ha.'

1786, Samuel Richardson, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, page 416:

A female given name originating as a coinage.

Philip Sidney
The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia


Morton

From Old English mōr (“moor, marsh”) + tūn (“settlement”).

A male given name transferred from the surname.


François

Borrowed from French François, from Medieval Latin Franciscus (from Francia + -iscus).

der

A male given name from French, equivalent to English Francis.


Antoine

From French Antoine. Doublet of Anthony.

A male given name from French occasionally borrowed from French, mostly in the U.S.


Caleb

From Late Latin Caleb, Calebus, from Koine Greek Χάλεβ (Kháleb), from Biblical Hebrew כָּלֵב (Kālēḇ), possibly related to כֶּלֶב (keleḇ, “dog”), referring to the unconditional devotion of dogs to their masters.

"My brother's name was Caleb Peck."
"What a fine old-fashioned name," said Mrs. Tabor.

1976, Anne Tyler, Searching for Caleb, Berkley Books,New York, published 1983, →ISBN, page 14:

A male given name from Hebrew first used by Puritans.


Olaf

And then all hundred and one of us trooped across the grass and onto the platform and got our diplomas from Mr. Halvorson, the superintendent of schools, and he said my name into the microphone―Tollefson, John Olaf―and there is was, the terrible secret of my middle name, revealed, and I slunk back to my seat and people whispered, 'Hey, Ole.'

1998, Garrison Keillor, Wobegon Boy, Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 71:


Herman

From Old English here (“army”) + man (“man”) It was revived in the 19th century, partly due to American immigrants from continental Europe where the name has been more popular. Compare the German equivalent Hermann.


Edna

From Hebrew עֶדְנָה (“pleasure; delight”); a variant of Eden in the Book of Tobit.
In Ireland and Scotland it has been used as an anglicization of Eithne.

Edna also said to Tobias, The Lord of heaven restore thee, my dear brother, and grant that I may see thy children of my daughter Sara before I die.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Tobit 10:12:

'Edna', forsooth! No doubt her origin and morals are quite as apocryphal as her name.

1866, Augusta Jane Evans, St. Elmo, G. W. Dillingham, page 54:

Conjure faces to go with these names: Edna and Joy. Then I'll tell you that Edna, who has a wicked serve, is our team beauty, and Joy is as plain and dour as they come.


Merlin

From Middle English Merlyn, from Medieval Latin Merlinus and Old French Merlin, from Proto-Brythonic *Mor-ðin (literally “sea-hill”), from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”) + *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”).


Baldwin

en-proper noun

Baldwin (countable and uncountable, plural Baldwins)

From Proto-West Germanic *Balþawini, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz (“bold friend”).

der

(countable) A male given name from the Germanic languages; rather rare in English.

Baldwin IV, king of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1187. Also known as the leper king.


Lucian

From Latin Lūcianus, either a derivative of the Roman praenomen Lūcius, from lūx (“light”); or from Ancient Greek Λουκιανός (Loukianós), of obscure meaning.

A male given name from Latin, rare in the English-speaking world.


Daphne

From Ancient Greek δάφνη (dáphnē, “laurel, bay”).

bor

My wife. Daphne. Yes, that was, is, her name. For some reason people have always found it faintly comic. I think it matches very well her damp, dark, myopic beauty.

1989, John Banville, The Book of Evidence, page 7:


Jem

You may know what one man thinks of another by his manner of calling him. Thomas and James and Richard and William are stupid young gentlemen; Tom and Jem and Dick and Will are fine spirited fellows.

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names:

A diminutive of the male given names James, Jeremy, or Jeremiah.

A diminutive of the female given name Jemima.


Marguerite

Borrowed from French Marguerite in the 1860s. Doublet of Margaret, ultimately from the Greek word for "pearl". The name has also been adopted for a cultivated daisy.


Brooke

Audio (US)

A topographic surname for someone who lived near a brook.

A female given name transferred from the surname, fairly popular since the 1970s. it was further popularized by Brooke Shields in the 80s.


Marcia

From Latin Marcia, feminine form of Marcius, a derivative of Marcus, ultimately from Mārs, the god of war.


Norris

An Anglo-Norman surname, from Old French norreis (“a northerner, a migrant from the north”). More at French norois.


Henriette

From French Henriette, feminine form of Henri (“Henry”) coined in the seventeenth century; in English more popular as Harriet and Henrietta.


Seymour

From a Norman surname from a place in Normandy, from Old French Saint-Maur, from Late Latin Sanctus Maurus (“Saint Maurus”). The name is cognate to Murry and Maurice.


Marcella

Marcella and Nathaniel. Now I know their names. I haven't thought much about having children, but if I did, I wouldn't give them names like that. They're the sort of names you choose if you think you're someone to be reckoned with.


Malcolm

Royal name in Scotland, anglicised from various historical Goidelic names equivalent to Scottish Gaelic Maol Chaluim or Calum, Irish Maol Colm, Middle Irish Máel Coluim, Old Irish Máel Columb (literally “devotee of [Saint] Columba”); proper nouns derived from máel (“tonsured”) from Proto-Celtic *mailos, and columb (“dove”) from Latin columbus.

We will establish our estate upon / Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter / The Prince of Cumberland.

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

Maol Chaluim
Maol Chaluim#Scottish_Gaelic

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic or Goidelic, variant of Calum or Callum, feminine equivalent Malcolmina, equivalent to Scottish Gaelic Maol Chaluim.


Lionel

A Middle English diminutive of French Léon, Latin Leo (“lion”), or of the Middle English nickname Lion + -el (diminutive suffix).

, Scene IV
His grandfather was Lionel, Duke of Clarence,
Third son to the third Edward, King of England.
Spring crestless yeomen from so deep a root?

"Yes. You see, I was born under the sign of Leo, though it's not my real name."
"What is your real name?"
I saw Marcus looking at me, but I couldn't refuse to tell her.
"It's Lionel. But don't tell anyone."
"Why not?"
"Because it's rather a fancy name."

1953, L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between, Hamish Hamilton, published 1974, pages 49–50:

A male given name from Latin of mostly British usage.


Luigi

Borrowed from Italian Luigi. Doublet of Ludovico, Luis, Ludwig, and other cognates.

dbt

A male given name from Italian, equivalent to English Louis.


Horatio

/həˈɹeɪʃiəʊ/

From Latin Horātius, a Roman gens name of uncertain meaning, possibly “timekeeper”. Doublet of Horace.

There are more things in heauen and earth Horatio,
Then are Dream’t of, in your philoſophie, […]

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], signature D, verso:


Wallace

en-proper noun

Wallace (countable and uncountable, plural Wallaces)

An Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Anglo-Norman waleis (“foreign”); see wielisc.

(countable) A male given name transferred from the surname, of 19th century and later usage.


Suzie

A diminutive of Susan and of related female given names.


Susie

Susie has yellow hair, - - - . She has a little breathless voice and a startled little laugh; even her name is like a powder puff.

1988, Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye, page 295:


Whitney

From Old English hwītan, dative of hwīt (“white”) + īeġ (“island”), "white island".

"I don't believe I've ever known a woman named 'Whitney'," I said, trying not to look too deeply into her bright blue eyes. "Or, hell, even a man for that matter."
"You've never heard of Whitney Houston?"
"Who's that?" I said, realizing that I had never gotten really serious about a woman with blue eyes.

1993, James Crumley, The Mexican Tree Duck, Picador, published 1994, →ISBN, page 138:

A female given name transferred from the surname, popular in the 1980s and 1990s due to the fame of Whitney Houston.


Shelley

From Old English, meaning "clearing on a bank".

A male given name transferred from the surname, of mostly before 1930 usage.

A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1930s and later usage, also explained as a variant of Shirley or Michelle.

A city in Bingham County, Idaho, United States.


Juliette

A diminutive of the female given name Julie, from French Juliette


Roderick

Medieval English name from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīks, revived after Walter Scott used it in a poem in 1811, where it is a translation of its Spanish cognate Rodrigo. Roderick is also used to anglicize Scottish Ruairidh and Welsh Rhydderch.

"You must not forget that eventually Roderick will have to succeed whatever title you choose. We must not select anything which would seem ridiculous in connection with Roderick. His actual name is bad enough, as it is. Roderick!" Mrs. Hammond winced. This was a painful subject with her. "How often I pleaded with poor Lucy to call him Thomas!"

1924, P. G. Wodehouse, Bill the Conqueror, George H. Doran, published 1924, page 16:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Vance

From a Southern English dialectal form of Old English fenn (“marsh, bog”).

A male given name transferred from the surname, of mostly American usage.


Boyd

From Scottish Gaelic, either buidhe (“blond, yellow, fair”), or a habitational surname from the Isle of Bute in Scotland.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Bryan

Bryan (countable and uncountable, plural Bryans)

A male given name from Irish, a less common alternative spelling of Brian.


Penelope

From Ancient Greek Πηνελόπη (Pēnelópē), possibly from πηνέλοψ (pēnélops, “duck”).

"She's a sort of pretend auntie - an old friend of Mummy's. Her real name's Miss Penelope Gill but we always call her Gillie."
"Don't you ever let her hear you calling her Penelope!" said Mrs Lindsay, laughing. "She hates the name, though really I can't see why. I suppose it wasn't so fashionable when she was young."

1967, Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There, HarperCollins, published 2014, →ISBN, page 194:

"What's her name?" He meant the baby's. "Penelope. We're never going to call her Penny. Penelope." - - - ""Oh. Well, it's Penelope Henderson - Porteous I guess. Or Porteous - Henderson. But maybe that's too much of a mouthful, when she's already called Penelope? We knew that we wanted Penelope. We'll have to settle it somehow."

2004, Alice Munro, Runaway:Stories, Knopf, page 93:


Clarissa

Clarissa
Clarissa (novel)
Samuel Richardson

Borrowed from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more. Popularized in English by Samuel Richardson's 1748 novel Clarissa. Doublet of Clarisse.

My wife's maiden name—Unmarried name, I should rather say […] was Harlowe—Clarissa Harlowe—you heard me call her my Clarissa—
I did—but I thought it to be a feigned or a love-name, said Miss Rawlins. […]
No—it was her real name, I said.

A female given name from Latin or Italian.


Olympia

From Ancient Greek Ὀλυμπία (Olumpía), from Ὄλυμπος (Ólumpos, “Olympus”).

Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia, Washington

A female given name from Ancient Greek; quite rare in English.


Cyrus

From Latin Cȳrus, from Ancient Greek Κῦρος (Kûros), from Old Persian 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (kuruš). As a saints' name it has been identified by folk etymology with Ancient Greek κύριος (kúrios, “lord”).

Cyrus] There were two Cyri the greater, meant here, Conqueror of Aſia, Scythia, and all the Eaſt, reigning in the time of Tarquin the proud. […] The other was Cyrus the leſſer, ſonne to Darius, brother to Artaxerxes, whoſe iourney into Perſia, Xenophon wrote. [marginal note:] The tvvo Cyri. […] Cyri who they were.

1610, Io[annes] Lod[ovicus] Viues, translated by I[ohn] H[ealey], Sᵗ. Augustine, of the Citie of God: With the Learned Comments of Io. Lod. Viues. […], [London]: […] George Eld, page 125 and index:

At this passage the Behistun inscription does not enumerate the names of all the nine Achaemenians, but from an inscription Aššurbānapli to be dated to 639 B. C. we know that a certain Kuraš was the king of the country of Parsumaš at this time and this could be the grandfather of Cyrus «the Great». In the family tree between the two Cyri appears Cambyses I, who is mentioned by Herodotus.

1973, D. Hegyi, “Historical Authenticity of Herodotus in the Persian «Logoi»”, in Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, volume 21, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, →ISSN, pages 76–77:

Contrast Arrian’s statement that the camp belonged to the younger Cyrus (ii, 4.3). It is unlikely that both Cyri camped in the same area (pace Mützell), for when Cyrus marched against Croesus he entered Asia Minor on the northerly route, as Pteria was his first objective (Hdt. i, 76.1), and he would not therefore have gone through the Cilician Gates.

1980, J[ohn] E[dward] Atkinson, “Commentary on Book 3”, in A Commentary on Q. Curtius Rufus’ Historiae Alexandri Magni, Books 3 and 4, Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, →ISBN, page 137:


Elise

From French Élise or German Elise, both variants of Elisabeth.

"Obviously I wasn't going to go through life saddled with a name like Elsie. When I got up to London at the age of eighteen everybody laughed at me, so a boyfriend suggested a tiny amendment, two letters swopped, and I've been Elise for thirty years."

2001, Susan Kelly, Killing the Fatted Calf, Allison & Busby, →ISBN, page 34:


Angelica

Church Italian Angelica, from Latin angelica or a Latinate elaboration of Angela. Name of a heroine in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1516).

Look to the bak'd meats, good Angelica, / Spare not for cost.

c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:


Cain

From Hebrew קַיִן (Káyin, “craftsman”), present since Old English.


Leonard

From Old French Leonard, name of a 6th century Frankish saint, from Old High German leo (“lion”) or Old High German liut (“person”) and hart (“hard”). As a surname, also used as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Leannáin (Lennon).

- - - save the delight of being called "Leo" by those whom the newspapers call "the leading fashionables", whereas, had he stuck to the city, he might still have been called only Leonard, like his father before him.

1844, Catherine Gore, The Birthright and Other Tales, Henry Colburn, published 1844, page 251:

"You want names, I'll give you names. My name is Leonard Alfred Schneider. What was I doing when I took the name Lenny Bruce? I was moving towards the invisible middle.

1997, Don DeLillo, Underworld, Simon&Schuster, published 1998, →ISBN, page 592:


Annabel

Originally a mishearing or misreading of Latin amabilis (“lovable”) (= Amabel, Mabel), used since the 12th century and by folk etymology interpreted as Anna + belle, "beautiful Anna".

I was a child and she was a child, / In this kingdom by the sea: / But we loved with a love that was more than love — / I and my Annabel Lee;


Cynthia

Borrowed from Latin Cynthia, from Ancient Greek Κυνθία (Kunthía), feminine of Κύνθιος (Kúnthios, “Cynthian (of or pertaining to Mount Cynthus, a mountain of Delos, celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis)”).

“Cynthia seems to me such an out-of-the-way name, only fit for poetry, not for daily use.”

1864 August – 1866 January, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, chapter 10, in Wives and Daughters. An Every-day Story. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1866, →OCLC:

Cynthia, the domestic-minded, looked as dashing as a young commando. It was a pity that her spelling was so bad, but perhaps there was something Elizabethan about her spelling as well as about her name.

1978, Graham Greene, The Human Factor, →ISBN, page 59:


Johanna

/d͡ʒəʊˈhænə/

From Latin Johanna, variant of Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets.
Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.


Sara

Through faith also Sara her selfe receiued strength to conceiue seede, and was deliuered of a child when she was past age, because she iudged him faithful who had promised.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:11:

Olive learnt that her young beauty's name, so far from being anything so fine as Maddalena, was plain Sarah — or Sara, as its owner took care to explain. Olive was rather disappointed - but she thought of Coleridge's ladye love; consoled herself, and tried to console the young lady, with repeating
My pensive Sara! thy soft cheek reclined, &c.
At which Miss Sara Derwent laughed, and asked who wrote that very pretty poetry?

1850 Dinah Craik, Olive, Chapman and Hall, page 151

'I wish I was called Sara,' she said out loud.
'Sarah?' her mother said. 'Why the heck is being called Sarah better than being called Tracy?'
'Not Sarah, Sara,' Tracy said. 'There's no h, you say Saaara.'

2008, Philip Hensher, The Northern Clemency, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 175:

A female given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], variant of Sarah


Pauline

From French Pauline, in turn from Latin Paulina; in regular use since the 19th century.

The youngest child of George and Emily Johnson was named Emily after her mother, and Pauline in honor of the only sibling of Emperor Napoleon of France, whose life was the object of George Johnson's consuming interest.

1987, Betty Keller, Pauline: A Biography of Pauline Johnson, Formac Publ. Co., published 1989, →ISBN, page 19:


Pythagoras

/paɪˈθæɡ.əɹ.əs/

/pɪˈθæɡ.əɹ.əs/

/paɪˈθæɡ.ɚ.əs/

From Ancient Greek Πῡθαγόρᾱς (Pūthagórās).

Pitagora

A male given name from Ancient Greek of mostly historical use, and a transliteration from modern Greek.

Gratiano:
O, be thou damn'd, inexecrable dog!
And for thy life let justice be accused.
Thou almost makest me waver in my faith,
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit
Govern'd a wolf, who, hang'd for human slaughter,
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet,
And, whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallow'd dam,
Infused itself in thee; for thy desires
Are wolfish, bloody, starved, and ravenous.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BC), an Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher.


Manda

A diminutive of the female given name Amanda


Connie

A diminutive of the female given name Constance or, rarely, of Concepción.


Hamish

Anglicized spelling of Scottish Gaelic Sheumais, vocative case of Seumas, from English James.

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic, of mostly Scottish usage


Jimbo

A diminutive of the male given name James


Philippa

A Latinate feminine form of Philip, recorded in medieval England, but originally pronounced like the masculine form.

"You detest every thing insincere, I know, charming Philippa — pardon me, your beautiful name betrays me constantly. Is it not — like your voice — stolen from poetry or music?"

1854, John Esten Cooke, The Youth of Jefferson, Redfield, published 1854, page 22:

They had an expensive, well-cut air which was like a uniform, and their conversation was all about people with names like Terence and Geoffrey, Philippa and Vivien, who lived in London and County Wicklow and who were "terribly amusing".

1963, Jane McIlvaine, Cammie's Cousin, Bobbs-Merrill, page 58:


Ophelia

/əʊˈfiː.lɪə/

Hamlet
Jacopo Sannazaro
William Shakespeare

Borrowed from Italian Ofelia, coined by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro in his poem Arcadia (1504), probably from the Ancient Greek ὠφέλειᾰ (ōphéleia, “help, aid, succour”). The name was used by William Shakespeare for the ill-fated love interest of Hamlet.

uder

I lov’d Ophelia: forty thousand brothers // Could not, with all their quantity of love, // Make up my sum.

1599–1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act V, Scene i


Keavy

Anglicised form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic Caoimhe (“beautiful, precious”).

der

A female given name from Irish used in Ireland and Scotland.


Kendal

From Old English Cent + dæl = "valley of the river Kent".

A town and civil parish with a town council in South Lakeland district, Cumbria, England (OS grid ref SD5192).

A habitational surname from Old English, also as a variant of Kendall.

A female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.


Lou

en-proper noun

Lou (countable and uncountable, plural Lous)

A diminutive of the male given name Louis.

A diminutive of the female given names Louisa or Louise; often also used as a middle name.


Lou

A Southeast Admiralty Islands language spoken on Lou Island of Manus Province, Papua New Guinea.


Ricardo

From Portuguese and Spanish Ricardo. Doublet of Richard.

A male given name from Portuguese or Spanish, equivalent to English Richard.


Sammie

A diminutive of the male given name Samuel, also used as a formal given name.

A diminutive of the female given name Samantha, also used as a formal given name.


Seumas

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic, equivalent to English James.


Wilfred

The name of two early Anglo-Saxon saints Wilfriþ, from Old English wil (“will”) + friþ (“peace”).

A male given name from Old English, popular in the U.K. in the early twentieth century.


Dominique

From French Dominique. Doublet of Dominic.


Dupont

Dupont (countable and uncountable, plural Duponts)

A male given name transferred from the surname


Houston

Houston (countable and uncountable, plural Houstons)

Originally from a place near Glasgow, from the Middle English equivalent of "Hugh's town". Analyzable as Hugh + -s- + -ton

A male given name transferred from the surname, of mainly American usage.


Dallas

Dallas
Dallas (disambiguation)
George M. Dallas

# The Texas city was named after George M. Dallas, vice president to Polk; family name is evolved from dalhous (13th c.), meaning "dweller at the house in the dale," from dale + house.
# The Scottish place-name is from Pictish, equivalent to Welsh dôl (“meadow, haugh”) + gwas (“abode”).

A male given name transferred from the place name.


Immanuel

From Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל (ʿimanuʾél), from עִמָּנוּ אֵל (ʿimánu ʾél, literally “God is with us”).

der

Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל (ʿimanuʾél)

A male given name from Hebrew: alternative form of Emmanuel


Hanna

en-proper noun

Hanna (countable and uncountable, plural Hannas)

Variant spelling of Hannah or romanization of Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥanâ), chiefly for the mother of Samuel, from חַנָּה (ḥanâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). As an Oklahoman town, named for Hanna Bullett, one of the initial settlers. As a Polish village, named for the queen Anna Jagiellon.

(uncommon) A female given name from Hebrew, variant of Hannah.


Felix

From Latin Fēlīx (literally “happy, lucky”).

And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 24:24:

Had a funny first name, like Oscar or maybe - no! I remember now. It was Felix. Felix Tanner.

2005 Marc Cerasini, etc, Operation Hell Gate, HarperEntertainment, page 134


Ahmad

From Arabic أَحْمَد (ʔaḥmad), from حَمِدَ (ḥamida, “to thank or to praise”).

A male given name from Arabic, variant of Ahmed.


Graeme

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Jen

Usually a clipped or hypocoristic form of Jennifer, although also used for Jean, Jeanette, Jeannette, etc.
Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in these secondary derivations.


Dorcha

Borrowed from Irish and Scottish Gaelic Dorcha (literally “dark”).

bor

A female given name from Scottish Gaelic


Elton

From Old English, meaning "Ella's town".


Sorcha

Borrowed from Irish and Scottish Gaelic Sorcha (“light, radiant”).


Trenton

⇒ Translingual: trentonensis

Originally named "Trent's town" in the 17th century, after a Quaker, William Trent.
The town in Nova Scotia is named after the capital of New Jersey.

(chiefly US) A male given name transferred from the place name.


Elisabeth

The spelling of Elizabeth used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament. Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע (Elishéva, “my God is an oath”).

der

A female given name from Hebrew, a less common form of Elizabeth in English.


Maeve

Anglicized from Irish Méabh, from Middle Irish Medb (literally “intoxicating”), name of a legendary queen of Connacht.

A female given name from Irish of mostly Irish usage.


Reynold

From Anglo-Norman Reinald, from Proto-Germanic *Raginawaldaz brought to England by Normans and partly merged with the earlier equivalent Ronald, from Old Norse Rǫgnvaldr. Doublet of Renault.

A male given name from the Germanic languages, today more popular in the forms Reginald and Ronald. Modern use is partly transferred from the surname.


Vaughn

en-proper noun

Vaughn (countable and uncountable, plural Vaughns)

A variant of Vaughan, from Welsh bychan (“small”).

A female given name transferred from the surname.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, named after Robert Vaughn (Montana rancher).

An unincorporated community in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.


Arabella

Uncertain, used in Scotland since the sixteenth century; possibly from Latin orabilis "yielding to prayer" or a variant of Annabel.


Gaston

A male given name transferred from the surname or from French, of occasional usage.


Sophy

Ultimately from Ancient Greek; see Sophia.

I knew Sophy was a good girl, and would not fall in love to make me angry.

A diminutive of the female given name Sophia.


Vivian

Early saints' name from Latin Vīviānus, and of its feminine form Vīviāna, probably from vīvus (“alive”).

Of the you're-going-to-get-it-anyway faction was a young Australian on board by the name, so help me, of Vivian Nankervis. - - - And he was beautiful, even with a name like Vivian; moreover, he had never been ill a day in his life.

1942, Caroline Mytinger, Headhunting in the Solomon Islands, Macmillan, page 13:

'What's your name?' 'Vivian.' 'Isn't that one of the names that mean something?' She said, 'It means my mother used to go to the movies.'

1990, Paul Theroux, Chicago Loop, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, →ISBN, page 70:


Mortimer

A habitational surname from Mortemer in France, from Old Northern French, literally meaning “dead pond”.

I like the names Herbert and Mortimer more all the time. They are so distinguished and new and American. Do you know how I came to think of them? I was reading the newspaper in bed after my first boy was born. I was reading the society page, which is always so interesting.

1941, Delmore Schwartz, Shenandoah, New Directions, page 13:


Randolph

From Old Norse rǫnd (“shield”) + úlfr (“wolf”).

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Curtis

From Old French corteis and curteis (Modern French courtois (“polite, courteous”). Doublet of courteous.

A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine; and therefore, fire.

c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

The night once come, our happiness, our unhappiness, — it is all abolished; vanished, clean gone; a thing that has been: ‘not of the slightest consequence’ whether we were happy as eupeptic Curtis, as the fattest pig of Epicurus, or unhappy as job with potsherds, as musical Byron with Giaours and sensibilities of the heart […]

1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “chapter IV, Happy”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker):

Without undue haste, we named him Curtis simply because we liked the name. It seemed to suit the little guy too. Knowing my love of aviation, several friends and relatives wrongly assumed we have named him after the Curtiss Aircraft Company. I hadn't thought of this, but it was a great idea. There are some terrific aircraft company names to choose. You'll see the likes of Douglas, Martin, Edwards, Ryan, Miles and Albert just to name a few.

1999, Bernie Runstedler, Jr., Breezes Against My Brow, General Store Publishing House., →ISBN, page 77:


Manuel

From Spanish and Portuguese, short for Emanuel.


Rupert

A German name, brought to England by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in the seventeenth century. Doublet of Robert.

A St Oswald's boy can pass off a name like Orlando, can make it sound like peppermint. Even Rupert sounds somehow cool when attached to a navy-blue St Oswald's blazer.

2010, Joanne Harris, blueeyedboy, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 99:

'What about Rupert?' his mother says brightly. 'I've always loved the name Rupert and it's an old family name on my side.'
'Sounds like...a whatdyoucallit?' Ted's father says, folding up the newspaper and tossing it to the floor.
'What?'
'A...' Ted's father puts his hand to his brow '...you know...a thing that children take to bed. Um...Brideshead...um...teddy-bear! That's it. A teddy-bear.'

2010, Maggie O'Farrell, The Hand That First Held Mine, Headline, →ISBN, page 91:

(chiefly UK) A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Aileen

Though her name was Aileen the minister drafted in continually referred to her as Eileen, but neither Louise nor the ramshackle bunch of people who regarded themselves as her mother's friends had bothered to correct him. Louise liked the way 'Eileen' made her mother seem like someone else altogether, a stranger and not her mother.

2006, Kate Atkinson, One Good Turn, Black Swan, published 2007, →ISBN, page age:

A female given name from Irish, variant of Eileen


Estelle

From Old French estelle (“star”), originally from Latin stella. Name of a third century martyr.

A female given name from French borrowed from French.


Montgomery

From a Norman surname, from a place in Normandy (Old French for "Gomeric's hill"). Gumaric was a Germanic personal name composed of *gumô (“man”) and *rīks (“ruler”) (whence the modern French surnames Gomery, Gommery and Gumery or the Galician placename Gomariz).


Freddy

A diminutive of the male given name Frederick.


Cal

A short form of the male given names Caleb, Calum or Calvin.

A diminutive of the female given name Caroline.


Franny

A diminutive of the female given names Frances, Francine, and Francesca.


Johnnie

A diminutive of the male given name John.


Frannie

From Fran + -ie. The town was named after Frannie Morris, daughter of the town's first postmaster.

A diminutive of the female given names Frances and Francine.


Antoinette

From French Antoinette, feminine diminutive of Antoine, equivalent to Anthony.

A female given name from French; best known for the ill-fated French queen Marie Antoinette.

安托瓦妮特

female given name from French Antoinette


Bess

King Edward. Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.

c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi]:

"Jack, couldn't you call me Bette again? You know how much I hate Bess. I don't know what's happened; you've been calling me Bette since we came to California and now, suddenly, you're calling me Bess."
There's a long silence. Dad's still up on his knees; I'm driving along Sepulveda Boulevard toward Olympic.
"Well, Bette, I married you as Bess and I've always liked that name. It's a name you don't hear very often; it's a strong name like you. Every time I call you Bette I'm afraid somebody else might answer."

1981, William Wharton, Dad, Knopf, →ISBN, page 293:

A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth


Bradley

Bradley (countable and uncountable, plural Bradleys)

Ultimately from Old English brād (“broad”) + lēah (“woodland”). Equivalent to broad + -ley.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Matilda

From Middle English Matilda, from Old French Mathilde, from Old High German Mahthilt, from Old High German maht, meht (“might”) + hild, hilta (“battle”); compare German Mechthild, Old English Mæþhild (“Matilda”).

But wondrously begotten, and begonne / By false illusion of a guilefull Spright, / On a faire Ladie Nonne, that whilome hight / Matilda, daughter to Pubidius, […]

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 13:

Countess of Laussitz - Matilda, too, by the mark! A good name, a marvellous good name, is not, Algernon? Musical, pretty, soft, smoothing, loveable. - - - many a fair prospect is spoiled by the mistake in the name. Call Matilda Joan, or Louisa Deborah, and you are ruined forever!

1844, George Payne Rainsford James, Rose D'Albret, Or, Troublous Times, a Romance, Harper, page 20:

At one time Joan invented other names for her. 'Matilda' brought to mind dingy curtains, gray tent flaps, a slack-skinned old woman. How about Sharon? Lilliane? Elizabeth? Then, Joan didn't know how, the name Matilda became transformed. It started shining like silver. The "il" in it was silver. But not metallic. In Joan's mind the name gleamed now like a fold of satin.

1990, Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth, .Stories, →ISBN, page 187:

A female given name from the Germanic languages.

ম্যাটিল্ডা

female given name, cognates and transliterations


Caitlin

Beautiful, charming, rich, clever Caitlin needs one thing: love.

1997, Bernard Alger Drew, The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Biographies, page 327:

Caitlin is sixteen and a sixth former at The Magna and is under a lot of pressure with exams.

2003, Helena Pielichaty, After School Club, page 3:

Sixteen-year-old Caitlin — and all our nieces and sisters and friends — need to grow up in a culture that prizes difference, not conformity.

2006, Suzanne Holland, “The Integrity Conundrum”, in Carol Taylor, Roberto Dell'Oro, editors, Health And Human Flourishing: Religion, Medicine, And Moral Anthropology, page 114:

A female given name from Irish Caitlín, equivalent to English Catherine.


Jules

A male given name A nickname for Julian or Julius.

A female given name A nickname for Julia or Julie.


Henderson

Henderson (countable and uncountable, plural Hendersons)


Ariadne

Ariadne (countable and uncountable, plural Ariadnes)

(rare, countable) A female given name from Ancient Greek.


Hilary

From Latin Hilarius (“cheerful, happy”), name of a fourth-century saint and from its feminine form Hilaria.


Anirban

From Bengali অনির্বাণ (onirban), from Sanskrit अनिर्वाण (anirvāṇa), meaning an eternal or inextinguishable flame (of life), from Sanskrit अ- (a-, “un-”) + निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “dying”).

A male given name from Bengali, one of the most common names found among Bengalis.


Susmita

From Hindi सुष्मिता (suṣmitā, “lovely smile”), from सु- (su-, adjectival prefix) + स्मित (smile) + -आ (-ā, feminine suffix).

af

A female given name from India, of Indian usage.


Kev

A diminutive of the male given name Kevin.


Adolpho

A male given name from the Germanic languages, of rare usage, variant of Adolph.


Allistair

From Scottish Gaelic Alasdair (“Alexander”). A rare spelling of Alistair.


Abey

A diminutive of the male given name Abraham, from Hebrew.


Sameer

Transliteration of Arabic سَمِير (samīr).


Adolphus

Would any man named Adolphus - any man called Dolly! - object to being called something else?

1906, George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara: Act III:

Sometimes as a child I used to wonder why my brother was called after the man whose very name we were later taught to fear. But then who knows what goes on inside the minds of ambitious, proud Ibo fathers? As most Ibo boys born around that time were called Adolphus after the German leader, Adol is still a fairly common name among the Ibos of Nigeria.

1986, Buchi Emecheta, Head Above Water. An Autobiography. p.11:

A male given name from the Germanic languages, a Latinized variant of Adolph.


Aiden

A male given name from Irish, variant of Aidan.


Clem

A diminutive of the male given name Clement.

A diminutive of the female given name Clementine.


Lizzy

A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.


Alejandro

/ˌæləˈhɑndɹoʊ/

From Spanish Alejandro, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros, literally “the man who repels [enemies]”). Doublet of Alexander.

der

A male given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Alexander


Lowell

A Middle English diminutive of Old French lou + -el (diminutive suffix), meaning "little wolf". Akin to Wolfie.


Abdon

en-proper noun

Abdon (countable and uncountable, plural Abdons)

From Hebrew עבדון (abdon, “servant”). Compare Arabic عَبْد (ʕabd) (as in Abdullah), which also means servant.


Lourdes

From French Lourdes, corruption of Medieval Latin Lorus (778), the baptismal name taken by a Moorish leader who converted to Christianity, though of unknown ultimate meaning.
The town in Newfoundland is named after the town in France.

A female given name from Spanish, from the Spanish epithet of Virgin Mary as Nuestra Señora de Lourdes.


Yvonne

From the French feminine form of Yvon, variant of Yves, from a Germanic root for "yew" (see Old English iw). It might have originally been used of an archer, since yew wood was used to make bows.

In your mother's apple orchard
When the world was left behind:
You were shy, so shy, Yvonne!
But your eyes were calm and kind.

1896, Ernest Christopher Dowson, Yvonne of Brittany:

A female given name from French borrowed from France, in regular use since the twentieth century.


Millie

A diminutive of the female given names Mildred, Millicent, Emily, Amelia, or Camilla, also used as a formal given name.


Windsor

Inherited from Middle English Wyndelsore, from Old English Windlesōra (“Windsor”, literally “bank with a windlass, winch by the riverside”), from *windel ("reel, winch"; > Middle English windel (“reel, spool”)) + ōra (“bank, shore”). See windlass.

gloss

"reel, winch"; > Middle English <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">windel</i> (“reel, spool”)

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Bessy

Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vi]:

A diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth; today more often spelled Bessie.


Ariana

Modern simplification of Arianna, Ariane and Arianne, all forms of the Greek name Ariadne ("most holy"; Cretan Greek αρι (ari) "most" and αδνος (adnos) "holy"). There has been some confusion with the similar sounding Adriana and Adrienne.
* By folk etymology also associated with Welsh arian (“silver”).


Hagar

From Hebrew הָגָר (Hagar, “stranger”). Compare Arabic هَاجَر (hājar), Tiberian Hebrew הָגָר (Hāḡār).


Katrine

A female given name from Ancient Greek of Danish origin, occasionally used in English.


Goliath

Ultimately from Hebrew גָּלְיָת (golyāṯ).


Lidia

A female given name from Ancient Greek, a less common spelling of Lydia.


Navid

From Persian نوید (navid, novid, literally “good news”).

bor

نوید نوید#Persian

A transliteration of the Persian male given name نوید (navid, novid).


Naveed

نوید نوید#Persian


Aharon

Transliteration of Hebrew אהרן (Ahărōn).


Abundius

Name of an early Italian saint, from Latin abundiantus (“abundant, plentiful”).


Gina

* (name from Greek): Clipping of Georgina.
* (name from Latin): Clipping of Regina.
* (name from Italian): Italian Gina

Coordinate term: George

A diminutive of the female given name Georgina, from Ancient Greek

Coordinate term: Rex

A diminutive of the female given name Regina, from Latin

Coordinate term: Gino

A female given name
A female given name from Italian


Naved

From Classical Persian نوید (nuwēd, literally “good news”) via Urdu نوید (naved, literally “good news”).

bor

نوید نوید#Persian

A transliteration of the Classical Persian male given name نوید (Nuwēd).

نوید نوید#Urdu

A transliteration of the Urdu male given name نوید (navīd, naved).


Achaius

A male given name of historical usage only.


Micky

A diminutive of the male given name Michael, Mike or Mick.

"What's yor name?" "Micky." "That's a name for a boy or a mouse. So it's probably Michelle. Most women your age are named Michelle or Heather or Courtney." "My age?" "No offense meant." "It's Michelina."

2001, Dean Ray Koontz, One Door Away from Heaven, Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 3:

A diminutive of the female given name Michaela or Michelle.


Adair

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic, of Scottish usage, equivalent to English Edgar.


Mickey

A diminutive of the male given names Michael, Mike or Mick.

A diminutive of the female given name Michaela


Abram

en-proper noun

Abram (countable and uncountable, plural Abrams)


Abie

A diminutive of the male given name Abraham, from Hebrew.


Abi

A diminutive of the female given name Abigail.


Ahab

From Middle English Achab, from Latin Achab, from Ancient Greek Ἀχαάβ (Akhaáb), from Hebrew אַחְאָב (ʼAḥʼāḇ, “uncle”); from אַח (ʼaḥ, “brother”) + אָב (ʼāḇ, “father”). Attested in Akkadian as 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 (Aḫabbu).

A male given name from Hebrew, very rarely used.


Sudip

From Sanskrit, meaning "good light, enlightenment".

A male given name from Sanskrit used in India and Nepal.


Alven

A male given name from Old English, of rare usage, variant of Alvin.


Alfonzo

A male given name from the Germanic languages, variant of Alfonso.


Abdulmalik

Borrowed from Arabic عَبْدُ المَلِك (ʕabdu l-malik).

bor

عَبْدُ المَلِك


Abdunnasir

From the Arabic عَبْد النَّاصِر (ʕabd an-nāṣir, “servant of the Protector”).

der

عَبْد النَّاصِر


Albie

A diminutive of the male given name Albert, from the Germanic languages.


Alfy

A diminutive of the male given names Alfred or Alfonso, from the Germanic languages.


Alwyn

A male given name from Old English, of rare usage, variant of Alwin.


Alby

From place names in England. Variant: Albee.

A habitational surname from Old English.


Alby

Anglicized from Irish Ailbhe, name of an Irish saint also anglicized as Albert, and name of heroines in Irish legend.

A female given name from Irish mainly used in Ireland.


Alfie

A diminutive of the male given names Alfred or Alfonso, from the Germanic languages, also used as a formal given name.


Alwin

From Old English Æþelwine, from æþel (“noble”) + wine (“friend”); partly merged with Ælfwine (“Alvin”, literally “elf friend”).

A male given name from Old English; always rather rare in English.


Aegidius

From Late Latin Aegīdius, from Ancient Greek Αἰγιδιός (Aigidiós, “kid skin”) (sometimes interpreted as “the protecting”).

A male given name from Ancient Greek, of historical usage.


Alphonse

From French Alphonse, from Spanish Alfonso, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *Aþalafunsaz, from *aþalaz + *funsaz. Doublet of Alfonso.

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Aleck

A diminutive of the male given name Alexander, from Ancient Greek, of Scottish usage, variant of Alec


Allistaire

A rare spelling variant of Alistair, from Scottish Gaelic Alasdair (“Alexander”).


Aleksey

Алексе́й Алексей#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Алексе́й (Alekséj), equivalent to Alexius.


Allister

Anglicized from Alasdair, the Scottish Gaelic form of Alexander


Alain

A male given name from French, equivalent to English Alan.


Abdullatif

Borrowed from Arabic عَبْد اللَّطِيف (ʕabd al-laṭīf, “servant of the Kind”).

bor

عَبْد اللَّطِيف


Harley

From Old English hær (“rock”) or hara (“hare”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to hare + -ley (“lea”).

A unisex given name transferred from the surname.


Alastair

From Scottish Gaelic Alasdair (“Alexander”). Doublet of Alexander.


Elmer

Medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, from Old English Æþelmǣr, from æþel (“noble”) + mǣre (“famous”).

A male given name from Old English transferred back from the surname in the 19th century U.S.


Alistair

From Scottish Gaelic Alasdair, from Norman Alexandre or Latin Alexandrus, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros), from ἀλέξω (aléxō, “I defend”) + ἀνδρ- (andr-), the stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”).


Elgar

From Old English Ælfgār (from Proto-Germanic *Albigaizaz, equivalent to ælf (“elf”) + gār (“spear”)) and Old English Æþelgār (from Proto-Germanic *Aþalagaizaz, equivalent to æþele (“noble”) + gār (“spear”)).

(rare) A male given name from Old English.


Ashleigh

"You never asked us," replied Ashleigh, his vexation vanishing, [...]

1879, Stephen Watson Fullom, The man of the world; or, Vanities of the lay, page 132:

"Ashleigh!" her mother called. "Could you bring me a wrap for Slewette's leg from the feed room?" "Okay!" Ashleigh let herself out of Wanderer's stall. She'd check back in a little while to see if the mare had finally eaten anything.

1995, Joanna Campbell, Ashleigh's Diary, Harper Collins, →ISBN, page 22:

She simply smiled and squeezed Gina's arm, her fingers lingering, burning her skin. “Thanks.” Gina couldn't speak. She just nodded. She finally released Ashleigh, her hands falling away from her.

2010, Gerri Hill, Love Waits, Bella Books, →ISBN:

A unisex given name transferred from the surname, variant of Ashley.


Aleksei

Transliteration of Russian Алексе́й (Alekséj)

transliteration

Алексе́й Алексей#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Алексе́й (Alekséj).


Albin

Early saints' name, from the Roman cognomen Albīnus, derivative of Latin albus (“white”). In the case of individuals from Germanic nations, partly also from Germanic (cf. Albwin (literally “elf friend”)), of which Alvin is the native English form.


Erasmus

From Medieval Latin Erasmus. The EU student exchange programme is named after Erasmus of Rotterdam, and also a backronym for “European [Community] Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students”.

A male given name from Ancient Greek, rare in English.


Arjuna

en-proper noun

Arjuna (countable and uncountable, plural Arjunas)

Transliteration of Sanskrit अर्जुन (arjuna).

translit

A male given name from Sanskrit, popular in South Asia.


Alban

From Latin Albānus (“resident of Alba”) (a mountain region and an ancient city of Latium).

Act II, Scene I
Forsooth, a blind man at Saint Alban's shrine
Within this half hour hath receiv'd his sight


Denis

Shall not thou and I, between Saint Denis and Saint George, compound a boy, half French, half English, that shall go to Constantinople and take the Turk by the beard?

1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

A male given name from Ancient Greek, a mostly British and Irish spelling variant of Dennis.


Scheherazade

/ʃəˌhɛɹəˈzɑːd(ə)/

/ʃəˈhɛɹəzɑd/

Borrowed from German Scheherazade, from Russian Шехераза́да (Šexerazáda), from Persian شهرازاد (šahrâzâd), alternative form of شهرزاد (šahrzâd, from شهر (šahr, “city”) + ـزاد (-zâd, “child of”), literally “child of the city”).
Popularized by the fictional character below.


Georges

A male given name from French, equivalent to English George.


Clint

Diminutive of Clinton.
The Yorkshire place name is from Old Danish klint.


Sheridan

A male given name transferred from the surname.

A female given name transferred from the surname, of uncommon modern usage.

A census-designated place in Placer County, California, United States.

A town in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States.


Haakon

A male given name from Old Norse; that of many kings of Norway.


Courtney

en-proper noun

Courtney (countable and uncountable, plural Courtneys)

Variant of Courtenay, an aristocratic Norman surname derived from place names in Normandy, from Latin Curtenus, a personal name from curtus (“short”).

"One girl ten, another one eight. Courtney and Ashley. I'd have named 'em something else. Sara and Diane, Patti and Jill, something like that. I don't even understand girls.

1985, Sue Grafton, B is for Burglar, Macmillan, published 2005, →ISBN, page 125:

A female given name transferred from the surname, popular in the 1980s and the 1990s.

An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Missouri.

An unincorporated community in South Liberty Township, Yadkin County, North Carolina.

Washington County
Washington County#English

A village in Union Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.


Hezekiah

/ˌhɛzəˈkaɪə/

From Hebrew חִזְקִיָּה (chizkiyá, “Hezekiah”).

der

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


Noele

A female given name from French, of rare usage, variant of Noelle.


Delphine

French form of Latin Delphina, meaning woman from Delphi; Bl. Delphine of Glandèves was a 14th century nun from Provence.

A female given name from French, Latin, or Ancient Greek.


Cecile

From French Cécile, from Anglo-Norman Cecile, from Latin Caecilia.

[…] so I named my baby Lynn Cecile. My mother asked, "What are you going to call her? You can't call her "Seal" because then I'll think of something slick and wet."

1989, Ann Richards, Peter Knobler, Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 91:


Trey

A male given name from English of modern usage, derived from the nickname.


Hadrian

From the Latin Hadrianus (“from the Roman harbor Hadria”), from Etruscan 𐌇𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌉𐌀 (hatria), possibly from Venetic adur (“water”), related to English water, Latin unda and Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr), all from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥. Doublet of Adrian. See Adria.

bor

A male given name from Latin, of rare usage, variant of Adrian.


Gus

Clipping of Augustus. From the Latin name Augustus.

A diminutive of the male given name Augustus.


Gus

Clipping of Gustav, Gustave, Gustavus. From the Swedish name Gustav.

A diminutive of the male given name Gustav and its variants.


Gus

Clipping of Kostas.. From the Greek name Κωνσταντίνος (Konstantínos).

A diminutive of the male given name Konstantinos.


Gustav

A royal name in Sweden, traditionally explained (even by Gustav I Vasa himself) as Swedish göt + staf "staff (=support) of the Geats (southern Swedes)". But there is no such name in Old Norse, and Gustav is more probably a Swedish rendering of Old Polish / north-west Slavic Gostislav, from Proto-Slavic *Gostislavъ, from *gostь (“guest”) + *slava (“glory”).

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Meghan

A female given name from Welsh, a pseudo-Irish spelling of the Welsh Megan.


Thelma

A literary invention, first appeared in the Swedish novel Kyrkoinvigningen i Hammarby (1840-1841) by Emilie Flygare-Carlén, translated into English as "The Magic Goblet" (1845). Similar names of ambiguous origin, Elma, Selma, Velma, appeared in the 19th century.
By folk etymology explained as Ancient Greek θέλημα (thélēma, “will”). Notice also the Spanish and Portuguese Telma, a rare feminine form of Telmo, ultimately from Santelmo or Saint Elmo.

"Just the sort of name to suit a Norwegian nymph or goddess. Thelma is quaint and appropriate, and as far as I can remember there's no rhyme to it in the English language. Thelma!"

1887, Marie Corelli, Thelma, a Norwegian Princess, R. Bentley, published 1896, page 14:

A female given name originating as a coinage.


Sandra

A short form of Alexandra and, less often, of Cassandra.

"Sandra, that's no name for anybody; that was a name for movie stars around 1948. Nobody's used it since. But the fact is, her name really is Sandra. - - - In the mills towns like Torrington and Bristol, the Italians might very well call a girl Sandra for real. Straight. It's just short for Alessandra. Alexandra. So she has numerous choices - she can be Sandy, a clean-cut WASP, or she can be Renaissance Alessandra, or movie-star Sandra, or old-fashioned Edwardian Alexandra, all on the one name."

1971, Hugh Hood, The Fruit Man, the Meat Man & the Manager: Stories, Oberon Press, published 1971, page 23:

A young law student, Sandra Fluke, came before this body, before the Members of Congress, and testified regarding coverage for family planning and contraceptives.

2012 March 7, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, “Women's Access to Health Care”, in Congressional Record, page H1218:


Matthias

A male given name from Hebrew, derived from the same source as Matthew.


Raghda

From Arabic رَغْدَة (raḡda, “pleasant, happy life”). The name is more common in North African countries.


Lara

Anglicized from Ла́ра (Lára), a Russian pet form of Larissa, known from the novel (1957) and film (1965) Dr Zhivago.

Long after the divorce, Moran maintained the habit of giving her name as Lara to the Starbucks baristas. She had once met another Lara at Logan airport, both of them waiting for their coffees, both stepping forward when summoned. The other Lara said her parents had gone through a period of thinking that everything Russian was holy,and had named her Larissa―Lara―after the heroine of a Russian novel. Later, her parents left their hippie-hood behind and gave her younger sisters more normal names: Jennifer, Molly, Aimee.

2014, Yiyun Li, Kinder Than Solitude: A Novel, Random House, →ISBN:


Thamar

A female given name from Hebrew. A less common spelling of Tamar.


Denver

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Denver.wav

Named after James W. Denver. The surname Denver ultimately derives from Old English Dene-fær ("crossing or passing of the Danes"), from Dene + fær; or alternatively from den-ōfer ("valley-bank"), from denu + ofer.

A male given name transferred from the place name or surname.


Jericho

/ˈd͡ʒɛɹɪkəʊ/

/ˈd͡ʒɛɹɪˌkoʊ/

From Middle English Iericho, from Old English Iericho, from Latin Ierīchō, from Ancient Greek Ἰερῑχώ (Ierīkhṓ), from Biblical Hebrew יְרִיחוֹ (yərīḥō), recorded early as Ugaritic 𐎊𐎗𐎃 (yrḫ). Regarding the "place of concealment" sense, see 2 Samuel 10:5.


Jeremias

/ˌd͡ʒɛɹəˈmaɪəs/

New Testament name for the prophet Jeremiah.

A male given name from Hebrew, more common in the forms Jeremy and Jeremiah.


Jasper

A name given to one of the Magi in a medieval European cult, from Biblical Hebrew גִּזְבָּר (gizbar), ultimately from Old Median *ganǰabarah; see it for more.

Her husband is...let me see...oh yes, he's Lord Jasper Jayne. His name sounds like the hero of a servant's novelette, but he doesn't look like that. He looks like a chucker-out in a back-street pub.

1920, St. John Greer Ervine, Changing Winds, Macmillan, page 225:


Gail

A female given name, a diminutive of Abigail.


Willis

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Omid

امید امید#Persian

A transliteration of the Persian male given name امید (omid).


Mhairi

From Scottish Gaelic Màiri (“Mary”), which in the vocative case becomes a Mhàiri.

Poor Mhairi Smellie. Her first name, a Scots Gaelic name, was pronounced "vary", which sounded close to very. The name Smellie was common enough in Scotland, but to be called something which sounded like "very smelly" was a singular misfortune, and indicative, surely, of a lack of parental foresight.

2010, Alexander McCall Smith, The Importance of Being Seven, Polygon, →ISBN, page 13:

A female given name from Scottish Gaelic.


Anastasius

From Latin Anastasius, from Ancient Greek Ἀναστάσιος (Anastásios), from ἀνάστασις (anástasis, “resurrection”). The name and its more common female counterpart, Anastasia, were originally given to children who were born around Eastertime during the early years of Christianity.

A male given name from Ancient Greek of mostly historical use.

Anastasi

a Romanization of Russian Анаста́сий (Anastásij)


Samson

From Middle English Sampson, Sampsoun, Samson, from Latin Samson, from Ancient Greek Σαμψών (Sampsṓn), from Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן.

Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן


Stu

A diminutive of the male given name Stuart.


Hussein

A male given name from Arabic: alternative spelling of Husayn


Saddam

Transliteration of Arabic صَدَّام (ṣaddām).

translit

A male given name from Arabic of Arabic usage.

Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi dictator (1979-2003).


Lafayette

en-proper noun

Lafayette (countable and uncountable, plural Lafayettes)

/ˌlɑːfiːˈɛt/

French surname from Occitan, "the little beech tree".

(US, countable) A male given name transferred from the surname, originally in honor of the Marquis.


Canaan

Canaan
Canaan (disambiguation)
Great Vowel Shift
Wycliffe's Bible

Taken (at least as early as Wycliffe's Bible, 1382-1395, which has Chanaan) from Ecclesiastical Latin Chanaān, from Ancient Greek Χαναάν (Khanaán), expanded from Χνᾶ (Khnâ), from Hebrew כְּנַעַן (k'ná'an). The first vowel shifted from /aː/ to /eɪ/ in the Great Vowel Shift; at least as early as Milton (1660s), the word could already be pronounced with two syllables, though at least as late as the 1880s it could also be pronounced with three, /ˈkeɪ.nə.æn/.

(rare) A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


Subaru

Subaru (countable and uncountable, plural Subarus)

A male or female given name from Japanese.


Carys

From Welsh Carus, Carys, from caru (“love”).


Hester

A female given name from Persian, used since the 17th century.


Hannibal

Hannibal (countable and uncountable, plural Hannibals)

From Latin Hannibal, a rendering of Punic 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 (ḥnbʿl /ḥannībaʿl/, “May the Lord (Baal) grace me”).

der

A male given name from Punic of mostly historical use. Most notably borne by the Carthaginian general Hannibal, son of Hamilcar.


Carson

Could originate from the Gaelic name "Carr" or "Carra", meaning "rock" or "fort," combined with "son", thus "son of Carr.".

A female given name transferred from the surname.

Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County#English

A city in Los Angeles County, California.


Maude

- - - he once more changed the subject of Maude's looks to her name, which he heard was really Matilda. She had been called Maude, Matty said, after one who was once a very dear friend both of herself and her husband.
"Then we will call her Matilda," said he, "as it is a maxim of mine never to spoil children by giving them pet names."

1860, Mary Jane Holmes, Cousin Maude, BiblioBazaar,LLC, published 2007, →ISBN, page 14:

"Fine," said Blanche, "but 'Maude' sounds anything but continental."
"Suppose we change her name to 'Meredith Meredro'," I suggested.

1957, Jesse L. Lasky, I blow my own horn, Doubleday, page 71:

A female given name from the Germanic languages; a less common spelling of Maud.


Lambert

en-proper noun

Lambert (countable and uncountable, plural Lamberts)

From Old French, from Old High German lant (“land”) + beraht (“bright”) (Proto-Germanic *berhtaz), a saint's name (of a Bishop of Maastricht) brought to England by the Normans. Cognate with Old English Landbeorht.

At Coventry, upon Saint Lambert's day:
There shall your swords and lances arbitrate
The swelling difference of your settled hate

1597, William Shakespeare, Richard II, act I, scene I:

(countable) A male given name from the Germanic languages; in modern use partly transferred back from the surname.


Maud

From Old French Mahaut. Doublet of Matilda.

Dromio of Ephesus. Maud, Bridget, Marian, Cicely, Gillian, Ginn!
Dromio of Syracuse. Mome, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch! - - - Dost thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st for such a store

c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

Come into the garden, Maud, / For the black bat, night, has flown, / Come into the garden, Maud, / I am here at the gate alone;

1855, Alfred Tennyson, Come into the Garden Maud:

A female given name from the Germanic languages.


Seb

A male given name, diminutive of Sebastian


Debby

A diminutive of the female given name Deborah.


Deb

A diminutive of the female given name Deborah


Jeb

A diminutive of the male given name Jebediah


Cerys

A female given name from Welsh, variant of Carys.


Deborah

From Hebrew דְבוֹרָה (dvorá), meaning bee.

Rapier. Heigho! Deborah! it's an ugly name, a damnable name - the name I mean! - it sounds like Gomorrah! Deb! Debby! - worse still - sounded sharp now I rather like it! - Deborah! Deborah! Deborah!

1851, James Brayshay, The Protector of Houghall, Or the Lily and the Rose, Groombridge and Sons, act I:

He hadn't known, for example, that her middle name was Deborah. It was a name he liked: plucky, Midwestern and reliable-sounding. He was willing to bet that if you went through every women's prison in America, you wouldn't find a half-dozen Deborahs.

1995, Carl Hiaasen, Stormy Weather, Alfred A.Knopf,Inc., →ISBN, page 256:

Your name is Deborah, Deborah / It never suited ya

1995, “Disco 2000”, in Different Class, performed by Pulp:

A female given name from Hebrew, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s, first in the USA, then in the UK.


Jonas

From Latin Iōnās, from Koine Greek Ἰωνᾶς (Iōnâs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹנָה (yônâ). Doublet of Jonah.

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.


Clinton

Clinton
Clinton (disambiguation)
en:DeWitt Clinton
en:Glinton, Cambridgeshire
en:Glympton

* (English habitational surname): A habitational surname, derived from places named Glinton ("town on a hill") or Glympton ("settlement on the River Glyme"), from Old English [Term?] + tun (“enclosure, homestead, town”), equivalent to the modern -ton.
* (given name): Derived from the surnames.
* (DeWitt County): Named after DeWitt Clinton.

A male given name transferred from the surname, of 19th century and later usage.


Josiah

/d͡ʒoʊˈzaɪə/

From Biblical Hebrew יֹאשִׁיָּה (yōšiyyā), יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (yōšiyyā́hū).


Bertha

Definitely from Old English Berþa as a result of metathesis of h, from earlier Old English Berhte (“bright one”), influence of Latin Bercta.
Alternatively, from Old High German berhta (“bright one”), which was an epithet of the goddess Frigg.

You are the beautiful Bertha, the spinner, the queen of Helvetia; / She whose story I read at a stall in the streets of Southampton

1858, Henry Wadswoth Longfellow, The Courtship of Miles Standish:

Why couldn't they have called her by her first name, Bertha, which was beautiful and dignified, instead of that silly "Rilla"?

1921, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Rilla of Ingleside, Echo Library, published 2006, →ISBN, page 12:

"No wonder she never gets anywhere with a name like Bertha," Sally said, while having coffee afterwards with two of the other night-coursers. "It goes with her outfits, though." ( Bertha sports the macrame look, with health-food sandals and hand-weave skirts that don't do a thing for her square figure, [...])

1983, Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard's Egg, McCleland-Bantam, →ISBN, page 135:


Hilda

Short form of Germanic names beginning or ending in hild (“battle”).

A female given name from the Germanic languages used since Middle Ages.


Liesel

A diminutive of the female given name Elisabeth, from German.


Aglaia

From Ancient Greek Ἀγλαΐα (Aglaḯa, from ἀγλαΐα (aglaḯa, “splendour, beauty”)). The youngest of the three Graces, daughter of Zeus and Eurynome, spouse of Hephaestus. It has the same Indo-European root of γελάω (geláō, “to laugh”).

der

from <i class="Polyt mention" lang="grc">ἀγλαΐα</i> (aglaḯa, “splendour, beauty”)

A female given name from Ancient Greek, of mostly historical usage.


Dave

David, with its final "d", sounds finished and complete, whereas Dave just kind of hangs there in the air, indefinitely. - - - Worse, if your name is Dave, the only possible nickname is "Davey", which makes you sound like you should be wearing a coonskin cap.

1994, Caroline Knapp, The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays, Counterpoint Press, published 2004, →ISBN, pages 169, 170:

A diminutive of the male given name David, also used as a formal given name.


Kalie

A female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage, variant of Kaylee.


Quincy

A Norman surname of Old French origin, from a place name Quincy or Quincey in France, ultimately from Latin Quintus (“fifth [born]”).
Use in reference to toilets derives from President John Quincy Adams, who was the first to have one installed at the White House.

(US) A male given name transferred from the surname

Any of a number of places in the US named after people with the surname, including:

A census-designated place, the county seat of Plumas County, California. Originally named Quinsy.

A city, the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida.


Dixie

1859. Unknown, but may come from the Mason-Dixon line, the boundary between the northern states and the southern states, or from the slang term dixie for a Louisiana $10 bill that had the French word dix printed on it.

(US) A female given name transferred from the place name.


Inga

From Danish, Norwegian, Swedish Inga etc., all from Old Norse Inga.


Pammela

A female given name originating as a coinage. A rare nonstandard spelling of Pamela.


Nathalee

A female given name from Latin, a rare nonstandard spelling of Natalie.


Raquelle

A female given name from Hebrew; a fanciful spelling of Raquel.


Roxeanne

A female given name from Persian, a rare nonstandard spelling of Roxane.


Renee

A female given name from Latin Alternative spelling of Renée


Rosemarie

A female given name from Latin, a variant of Rosemary borrowed from continental Europe.


Phebe

I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.

A female given name from Ancient Greek. Alternative spelling of Phoebe


Nathalie

A female given name from Latin, of rather rare usage, variant of Natalie.


Renée

From French Renée, meaning reborn, stemmed from Latin Renata. Feminine form of male René.

"You don't have to call me Reenie if you don't want," she said. "You can call me Renée if it suits you." Reenie, Julian remembered: sweep her hair high and call her Renée. "No," he answered finally, "I'll take things the way they are."

1950, Helen Rich, The Willow-Bender, Simon and Schuster, page 120:


Raquel

Borrowed from Spanish Raquel, from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḥēl). Doublet of Rachel.


Sabina

Name of early saints, Latin Sabīna, feminine of the Roman cognomen Sabīnus (“a Sabine”), from an ancient tribe from Italy.

Nor have our female names fared one bit better; we have discarded them even more ruthlessly than those of our men. Surely Sadhbh (Sive) is a prettier name then Sabina or Sibby; […]

2000, David Pierce, Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century: A Reader, . Cork University Press., →ISBN, page 8:


Alecia

A female given name from the Germanic languages, one of the modern variants of Alicia.


Sahar

Of Arabic or Persian origin. In Persian, سحر (sahar, “dawn”). (In Hebrew, סַהַר (sáhar, “crescent”).)

A female given name from Arabic, used in Arabic countries, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.


Steffi

A diminutive of the female given name Stephanie.


Stace

A diminutive of the female given name Stacey.


Simonetta

Italian feminine diminutive form of Simone ( =Simon).


Symone

A female given name from French, variant of Simone.


Tasha

A female given name, diminutive of Natasha


Steff

I had a show in New York and it did poorly—the art critics beat me over the head with my father. A year later I was supporting myself and Steff with the commercial stuff.


Valarie

A female given name from Latin, a nonstandard spelling variant of Valerie.


Trisha

A diminutive of the female given name Patricia.


Stef

A diminutive of the male given name Stefan.


Vivien

"This habit you have contracted of being a little boy," his mamma said to him, "is most inconvenient. Your name was to be Vivien. Vivien is early English, and picturesque and full of color; Vivian, which is a boy's name, I don't think so much of. - - -

1897, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Piccino and Other Child Stories, Charles Scribner's Sons, page 161:

He didn't like her first name. '"Vivian" - it's neither one thing nor the other. It'll confuse people. They won't know if you're a man or a woman. Will you agree to spelling it "Vivien"?'

1987, Alexander Walker, The Life of Vivien Leigh, Grove Press, published 1994, →ISBN, page 54:

A female given name from Latin, an exclusively feminine spelling variant of Vivian.


Tess

Cynthia and Melinda, reduced to Cindy and Mindy, as Carella had dreaded would happen from the moment she named them. Her older daughter had fared better. Tess, modern and sleek for Teresa, which conjured up cobblestoned streets in a mountain village in Potenza.

1999, Ed McBain, The Big Bad City, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 139:

A diminutive of the female given name Teresa.


Vickey

A diminutive of the female given name Victoria, variant of Vicky.


Sinead

Anglicization of Irish Sinéad, from Old Northern French Jeanette, from Middle French Jehanne + -ette, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets.
Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sioned, and Vanna.


Siobhan

Anglicized spelling of Irish Siobhán, from Middle Irish Sibán, from Anglo-Norman Jehane or Jehanne, from Old French Jehanne, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets.
Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

I think
about biblical names, Tamara, Michaela,
Mira, Shoshana, and Celtic names I can
barely pronounce, Siobhan tangling
between teeth and tongue.

2002, Dave Margoshes, “Faith, Hope, Charity”, in Purity of Absence, Dundurn Press Ltd., →ISBN, page 106:


Sonia

Borrowed from Russian Со́ня (Sónja), pet form of Софи́я (Sofíja, “Sophia”).

A female given name from Russian (the usual UK spelling of the name which is spelled Sonya in the US).


Serena

From the name of an early Christian saint, Latin serena (“serene”).

Of which whilest they discoursed both together, / The faire Serena (so his lady hight)

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 23:


Kester

A diminutive of the male given name Christopher.


Tessa

Contraction of Teresa.; diminutive of Theresa

This, ladie-e-e-s and gentleme-e-n, is Tessa Kosta. Her name sounds like the title of an old-fashioned Italian Opera and she looks like her grandmother, on her father's side.

1920 The Judge, Judge Publishing Company, 1920, v.79, page 27

A female given name from Ancient Greek, variant of Teresa.


Simona

Latinized from French Simone, or borrowed from Italian Simona.

A female given name from Hebrew, variant of Simone.


Naomi

From Hebrew נָעֳמִי (no'omí, literally “my pleasantness”), from נועם / נֹעַם (nó'am, “pleasantness”) + ־ִי (-í, “my, of me”).


Renata

Feminine form of Latin saint's name Renatus, from renatus (“reborn”)


Ramesh

From Sanskrit, meaning "husband of Rama (the goddess Lakshmi)", an epithet of Vishnu and Krishna.

A male given name from Sanskrit used in Nepal and India.


Tristram

But of all names in the universe he had the most unconquerable aversion for Tristram;--he had the lowest and most contemptible opinion of it of any thing in the world,--thinking it could possibly produce nothing in rerum natura, but what was extremely mean and pitiful: - - - --In a word, to behold such a one, in his old age, ill-fitted for troubles, ten times in a day suffering sorrow;--ten times in a day calling the child of his prayers Tristram!-- Melancholy dissyllable of sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nincompoop, and every name vituperative under heaven.

1759, Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy, 1:XIX:

A male given name from the Celtic languages, variant of Tristan.


Vanessa

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-Vanessa.wav

Coined by Jonathan Swift for a lady friend named Esther ("Essy") Vanhomrigh.

Vanessa be the Name / By which thou shalt be known to Fame. / Vanessa, by the Gods enroll'd: / Her Name on Earth - shall not be told.

1726, Jonathan Swift, Cadenus and Vanessa:

A kind of girl that May had before only seen in the pages of fashion magazines, bored, disdainful, elegant, reluctantly admitted her. - - - She was asked to see Vanessa on the way out. She knew that the girl would be called something like Vanessa.

1978, Maeve Binchy, Victoria Line, Central Line, Arrow, published 1993, →ISBN, pages 178, 179:

A female given name originating as a coinage.


Griselda

From the Old English elements *grīs (“gray”) + hild (“battle”), meaning “gray battle-maid”.

A female given name from the Germanic languages used in Middle Ages, but rather rare today.


Reginald

/ˈɹɛd͡ʒɪnəld/

From Latin Reginaldus, Latinization of names deriving from Proto-Germanic *Raginawaldaz.

Reginald Wilfer is a name with rather a grand sound, suggesting on first acquaintance brasses in country churches, scrolls in stained-glass windows, and generally the De Wilfers who came over with the Conqueror. For, it is a remarkable fact in genealogy that no De Any ones ever came over with Anybody else. - - - He was shy, and unwilling to own to the name of Reginald, as being too aspiring and self-assertive a name. In his signature he used only the initial R., and imparted what it really stood for, to none but chosen friends, under the seal of confidence.

1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “Book 1, Chapter 4”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC:

A male given name from the Germanic languages derived from a Latinized form of Reynold.


Wolfgang

Borrowed from German Wolfgang, from Middle High German Wolfgang, from Old High German Wolfgang, from wolf (“wolf”) + gang (“path, course”).


Hammond

en-proper noun

Hammond (countable and uncountable, plural Hammonds)

A patronymic surname from the Anglo-Norman given name Hamo, Hamon, from Germanic names beginning with a derivative of Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“home”), such as descendants of *Haimarīks (“Henry”).
The river in New Brunswick is named after British politician and colonial governor Sir Andrew Hamond, 1st Baronet (1738 - 1828). The civil parish is named after a settlement, named in turn after the river.

The Glen was the prettiest place she knew, so pretty she thought she ought to name her first baby after it. With another "n" added "to make it look more like a name", she called him Glenn Hammond Curtiss. The middle name was taken from the town itself, or its first settler, Lazarus Hammond.

1937, Clara Studer, Sky storming Yankee, Stackpole sons, published 1937, page 19:

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Warner

Warner (countable and uncountable, plural Warners)

* English, Norman, and German surname, all corresponding to German Werner. Also see Warrener.
* As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Murnáin; see Murnane.

(countable) A male given name transferred from the surname, of occasional usage.


Cornelius

There was a certain man in Cesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 10:1-2:

The intern will not call me 'Cornelius―(in fact, that dowdy old name isn't my actual name nor, at the present time, my nom de guerre)―but 'Dr. Hinton*―or 'sir'―will do.

2014, Joyce Carol Oates, Carthage, Fourth Estate, →ISBN, page 213:


Hubert

From Old French Hubert, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hugiz (“mind”) + *berhtaz (“bright, famous”). See Saint Hubert.

An if an angel should have come to me
And told me Hubert should put out mine eyes
I would not have believed him; no tongue but Hubert's.

A male given name from the Germanic languages, borne by an 8th-century bishop of Liège, patron saint of hunters.


Zelda

A female given name from the Germanic languages


Zoltan

From Hungarian Zoltán, from szultán (“sultan”), from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “ruler”). Doublet of sultan.

A male given name from Hungarian Zoltán.


Aimee

Borrowed from French Aimée (“beloved”). A variation of the English Amy.


Lesley

From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”).

der

A female given name transferred from the surname, used since the 18th century. Popular in the U.K. in the mid-20th century.

(rare) A male given name transferred from the surname.


Gaylord

Derived from the Old French surname Gaillard (from gaillard (“strong”)), brought to England by the Normans. Compare Spanish Gallardo (from gallardo (“dashing, strapping, gallant”). Shaped by folk etymology into gay (“joyful”) + lord.

Gaylord Ravenal elevated the right eyebrow and looked down his aristocratic nose at the capering little captain. "I am Gaylord Ravenal, of the Tennessee Ravenals. I failed to catch your name."

1926, Edna Ferber, Show Boat, Doubleday, Page & Co, page 181:

He smiled often, he could make his knuckles crack like pistol shots, and he had the courtesy to address him as Gaylord, and not by some ridiculous title of his own.

1967, Eric Malpass, At the Height of the Moon, House of Stratus, published 2001, →ISBN, page 6:


Lorena

From Italian and Spanish, by folk etymology associated with Laura. Henry Webster's title for his song was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's Lenore.

We loved each other then, Lorena,
More than we ever dared to tell;
And what we might have been, Lorena,

1856 Henry Webster - Joseph Webster, Lorena (song)

She was named Ella Lorena, Ella for her grandmother Ellen, and Lorena because it was the most fashionable name of the day for girls,

1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter XLII, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC:


Jenifer

en-proper noun

Jenifer (countable and uncountable, plural Jenifers)

"If you don't mind," said Sister Jenifer, "you had better dress like a Socialist. Wear a very soft hat, a very low collar, and a very red or green tie, done loose in the French fashion, and nobody will wonder at your looking clean, or at your asking questions."

1912, Laurence Housman, King John of Jingalo:

A female given name from Cornish, a less common form of Jennifer.


Gustavus

Borrowed from Latin Gustavus. From Swedish Gustav.

A male given name from the Germanic languages, a Latinized form of Gustav.


Rowland

A male given name from the Germanic languages, variant of Roland.


Scipio

A male given name from Latin of mostly historical use.

Scipio
Scipio (cognomen)
Scipio Africanus


Osborne

From a medieval given name influenced by, or possibly derived from, Old Norse Ásbjǫrn, from áss (“god”) + bjǫrn (“bear”). See English bear.

A male given name from the Germanic languages, occasionally transferred from the surname.


Honora

Medieval variant of Honoria, feminine form of Honorius.

A female given name from Latin, mainly used in Ireland.


Carroll

A female given name from the Germanic languages, of less common usage, variant of Carol.


Honoria

She comforted herself however, on the first appearance of her pregnancy, that so odious a surname should be qualified in her children with the genteelest and most elegant Christian names that history or romance could supply. - - - My eldest sister, who came into the world a year after, was called Wilhelmina Charlotta, the second Penthesilea, the third Telethusa, and the fourth Honoria.

1776 Adam Fitz-Adam: The World of Adam Fitz-Adam. Edinburgh, Apollo Press 1776: Numb. 187. Thursday, July 29, 1756

She doesn't like being called after Mother Hubbard, who is an old woman in a baby bonnet, even more than she doesn't like to be called Honoria. "That name practically ruined mah entire childhood," she said once. "Ah wanted to make darn sure Ah gave mah little girl a name nobody in creation could make fun of."

1979, Alison Lurie, Only Children, Random House, →ISBN, page 12:

A female given name from Latin, the Latinized feminine of Honorius.


Eliot

A male given name from Hebrew, variant of Elliott.


Frederic

A male given name from the Germanic languages, a French style spelling variant of Frederick


Baxter

From Middle English bakster, bakestre, from Old English bæcestre (“baker”), equivalent to bake + -ster.


Prescott

Prescott (countable and uncountable, plural Prescotts)

(countable) A male given name transferred from the surname.


Everett

Everett (countable and uncountable, plural Everetts)

From Old English Everard, a personal name from eofor (“boar”) + heard (“hardy, brave, strong”).

She had feared it would be absent forever, until she met Everett. "Such a cheeky, English chauffeur's name," he had laughed, when they met.

2000, Alice Walker, The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart, The Women's Press, →ISBN, page 98:

(countable) A male given name from Old English transferred back from the surname.


Huxley

Huxley (countable and uncountable, plural Huxleys)

From the Old English personal name Hucc + -s- + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). The first element could also be husċ (“insult, scorn, mockery”).

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Cato

From Latin Cato. A cognomen made particularly famous by Cato the Elder and Younger, members of the gens Porcia.