Faith

en-proper noun

Faith (countable and uncountable, plural Faiths)

"Now, I was called Faith after the cardinal virtue; and I like my name, though many people would think it too Puritan; that was according to our gentle mother's pious desire.

1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter XVII, in Ruth:

“Faith.”
“No name that—no name that! I can’t stomach such a name. Got any other?”
“No, sir.”
“Don’t like the name, don’t like it. There’s no smeddum to it. Besides, it makes me think of my Aunt Jinny. She called her three girls Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith didn’t believe in anything—Hope was a born pessimist—and Charity was a miser.

1919, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter XVI, in Rainbow Valley, Echo Library, published 2006, →ISBN, page 90:

There was something to be said for all those religiously influenced names – Patience, Grace, Chastity, Faith. Better to be named for a virtue than to be landed with a forgettable name like 'Martin'.

2006, Kate Atkinson, One Good Turn, Black Swan, published 2007, →ISBN, page 81:


Fanagalo

Fanakalo (alternative)
Fanigalo (alternative)

A pidgin language based primarily on Zulu, spoken in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.


Fang

The dominant Bantu language of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, spoken by 1.3 million people, also called Pahouin.

Fang

the language of Guinea which is also called Pahouin

A Beboid language of Cameroon, spoken by only 2400 people, so called because it is spoken in the village of Fang.


Fang

The county sense is from Mandarin 房 (Fáng). The surname sense could be from Mandarin 方 (Fāng), 房 (Fáng), 芳 (Fāng), 仿 (Fǎng) or 放 (Fǎng).

Many valuable medicines are produced in Hupei, particularly in the Shih-nan Prefecture and in the Fang and Hsing-shan districts.

1907, Report for the Year 1907 on the Chemical, Metal and Mining Industries of the Consular District of Lyons, →OCLC, page 23:

FANG COUNTY HYDROELECTRICITY--This year the people in Fang County have developed 135 small hydroelectric power stations with a total installed[...]

1978, Translations on People's Republic of China, numbers 471-479, →OCLC:

After parting with his brothers, Wang Yü-yang journeyed on the southwest road and came to a small town nestled in the rural region of Fang County.

1990, Eva Wong, transl., Seven Taoist Masters: A Folk Novel of China, Boston & London: Shambhala Publications, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 110:

“Its speed was very fast, but it was walking, not running,” Yuan said. As the creature ranged across a mountain in Fang county, bordering the Shennongjia Forestry District, “it walked faster than a human ran”.

2018 August 26, Laurie Chen, “Dreamers, crackpots or realists? The diehards on the trail of China’s ‘Bigfoot’”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-08-25:

Hubei Sanxin Biotechnology Co., LTD, located in Fang County, Shiyan City, has developed a series of traditional Chinese medicine [from] Polygonum Cuspidatum, including "yellow bud stem" vegetables, resveratrol extract, emodin extract, and crude Polygonum cuspidatum extract and so on.

2019, Na Li, Ni Yan, “Present Situation and Development Suggestions of Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry in Hubei Province”, in 2019 4th International Conference on Education and Social Development (ICESD 2019), →DOI, →ISBN, page 147:

Now, the Fang County government is trying “incentives,” according to a statement posted Saturday on its website. People who report their own fevers will receive 1,000 renminbi, the equivalent of $143 — a few days’ salary for the average Hubei resident.

2020 March 12, “Deaths in China Surpass Toll From SARS”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-05-21, Asia Pacific:


Fante

She loved days like this one, where she could speak Fante as fast as she wanted.

2016, Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing, Penguin Books (2017), page 24:

A language spoken in Ghana, a dialect of Akan.


Fauna

Feminine form of Faunus.
Some refer it to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₂w-, whence Ancient Greek θαῦνον (thaûnon, “beast”), Illyrian-related Daunus. Some refer it to faveō.

Fatua (alternative)
Fenta Fauna (alternative)


Fay

A female given name, pet form of Faith or Frances; often used as a middle name.


Felicity

From the noun felicity, and also the English form of Latin Felicitas, a name borne by early martyrs.

Fliss had them. Felicity Benson, Happiness Benson. Except she's not very happy at the moment, not with me.

2010, Sophie Hannah, A Room Swept White, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 130:


Fern

From fern; in the case of the surname, it was given to someone who lived in a place where there was an abundance of these plants.

"Charlotte is the best storyteller I ever heard," said Fern, poking her dish towel into a cereal bowl.


Fi

Short form of the female given name Fiona.


Finn

From Old English Finnas (“the Sami”) (plural), from Old Norse finnr (“a hunter-gatherer”), from Proto-Germanic *finnaz (which see for more). Possibly originally meaning a ‘finder’ of food, referring to nomadic hunter-gatherers, particularly the Sami.

der

a <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">hunter-gatherer</i>


Flathead

From flat + head, from the practice of compressing the skull in infancy by artificial means. However, the Salish tribe never practised this custom, the confusion arising from the fact that the early traders felt compelled to adopt the local Indian classification, which considered the prevailing compressed skull of the neighbouring tribes as pointed and the naturally shaped Salish skull by contrast as flat.


Fleur

French fleur (“flower”), name of a character in Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga.

"Ma petite fleur!" Annette said softly.
"Fleur," repeated Soames: "Fleur! we'll call her that."

1920 John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga: In Chancery:III: Chapter 14

A female given name from French in quiet use since the 1920s.


Flora

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

From Latin Flōra (Roman goddess of flowers).

What lovely names for girls there are! / There's Stella like the Evening Star, / And Sylvia like a rustling tree, / And Lola like a melody, / And Flora like a flowery morn, […]

1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Girls' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 91:


Florentine

en-adj

Florentine (comparative more Florentine, superlative most Florentine)

more Florentine (comparative)
most Florentine (superlative)

From French florentin, from Latin flōrentīnus.

Of or relating to the Italian city of Florence.

florentín

of or relating to the Italian city of Florence


Foster

en-proper noun

Foster (countable and uncountable, plural Fosters)

English surname, reduced from Forster; also from the noun foster.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Frances

From Old French Franceise, feminine form of Franceis, from Late Latin Franciscus (“Frankish”).

Armado. Sirrah Costard, I will enfranchise thee.
Costard. O! marry me to one Frances: I smell some l'envoy, some goose, in this.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

"My name is Frances. Don't call me Fanny!" "Why not?" "Because it's too absurd to be endured! What does the mere sound of Fanny suggest? A flirting dancing creature - plump and fair, and playful and pretty! - - - Call me Frances - a man's name, with only the difference between an i and an e. No sentiment in it, hard, like me."

1883, Wilkie Collins, Heart and Science, Chatto and Windus, page 227:

My other sisters had interesting names. There was Francie, that was Frances, and though she wore slacks and my father seemed angry with her, I thought she was some relation to Saint Francis, who, I believed, kept animals in his pocket and took them out and licked them, the way Francie licked a blackball or acid drop, for pure love.

1961, Janet Frame, Owls Do Cry, →ISBN, page 97:

A female given name from Latin, masculine equivalent Francis.


Frank

The surname derives from the medieval tribal name. The given name is also a form of Francis, with formal given name status since the 19th century.

Mrs. Ford. How now, sweet Frank! why art thou melancholy?

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.

Your name is Francis, is it?
Frank, sir.
Your name is Francis. There was never a St. Frank. That's a name for gangsters and politicians.

1996, Frank McCourt, chapter VII, in Angela's Ashes, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 197:

A diminutive of the male given name Francis.

An unincorporated community in Avery County, North Carolina, United States.


Fred

When I referred to the confusion which would result from the presence in the house of two people with the same name, she tossed her head and said it would be easy to obviate that by calling me Frederick instead of Fred. […] Imagine Harry Bolles and other kindred spirits calling me stiff, august Frederick! I vowed that this should not be brought to pass […]

1892, Robert Grant, The Reflections of a Married Man, Scribner, pages 98–99:

I had great parents, but they made one major mistake. They named me Fred. I'm sorry in case other Freds read this, but Fred is a rather weak name. It just sort of fades away on the tongue. It's not positive like Matt or Jim or Mike or Luke.

2002, Fred Hill, You May as Well Laugh: The Columns of Fred Hill, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 59:

A short version of Frederick, Alfred, or Wilfred, also used as a formal male given name.


Fuchsia

[…] the attic, which since the earliest days Fuchsia could remember had been for her a world undesecrate.

1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, →OCLC:

Slater quotes from a new book titled Sichuan Cookery, by Fuchsia Dunlop, the BBC's East Asia specialist.

2012, William Shurtleff, Akiko Aoyagi, History of Yuba - The Film That Forms Atop Heated Soymilk (1587-2012):


Ga

A Niger-Congo language spoken in Ghana and Togo.


Gabe

A diminutive of the male given name Gabriel.


Gad

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew גָּד (gad), a son of Jacob.


Gage

en-proper noun

Gage (countable and uncountable, plural Gages)

An occupational surname from Middle English gage, guage (“measure”) for an assayer, or gage (“pledge”) for a moneylender.

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

An unincorporated community in Ballard County, Kentucky.

A ghost town in Luna County, New Mexico.

A town in Ellis County, Oklahoma, named after Lyman J. Gage.

An unincorporated community in Barbour County, West Virginia.


Gallo

Gallo (countable and uncountable, plural Gallos or Galloes)

* As an Italian and Spanish surname, from the noun gallo (“rooster”).
* Also as an Italian surname, from the personal name Gallo, from Latin Gallus (“a Gaul”). This is sometimes Americanized from Greek Γάλλος (Gállos). Compare Gallia.
* As a Breton surname, shortened from Le Gallo, a diminutive of Le Gall; compare Legall.
* (language): From Breton gall (“a Gaul or a foreigner”), from being a language found in eastern Brittany of the non-Celts, from Latin Gallus.

A Romance language spoken in north-west France, see Gallo language.

gallaoueg

Romance language spoken in northwest France


Garland

en-prop

Garland (countable and uncountable, plural Garlands)

English surname, from the noun garland. Also derived from Garland in Devon, from an ancestor of the noun gore (“triangular piece of land”) + land.

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


Gav

Short form of the male given name Gavin.


Gay

A female given name from English, from the word gay (“joyful”); rare today.

- - - my father's father, Gaetano Talese (whose name I inherited after my birth in 1932, in the anglicized form "Gay"), was an atypically fearless traveler,

1992, Gay Talese, Unto the Sons, Ballantine Books, published 1993, →ISBN, page 15:

A diminutive of the male given names Gaylord or Gabriel, and similar names

"Mr Gay Brawls. What a name."
"It didn't use to mean what it means now. Plenty were named Gay. Even in Nevada. Was old Gay Pitch had a gas station in Winnemucca. Nobody thought nothin about it and he raised a railroad car of kids.

2004, Annie Proulx, Bad Dirt, Fourth Estate, →ISBN, page 32:

A unisex given name from English.
A male given name from English.


Ge

A group of aboriginal languages of Brazil.


Geat

From Old English Ġēat, from Proto-West Germanic *Gaut, from Proto-Germanic *gautaz (“Geat”).

(history) A member of a North Germanic tribe formerly occupying what is now Götaland in Sweden.


Gem

A diminutive of the female given name Gemma.


Genesis

From Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis, “creation, beginning, origin”).

der

A female given name from Ancient Greek of American usage since the 1980s.


Genie

A male given name Diminutive of Eugene and pet form of Gene

A female given name Diminutive of Eugenie and Eugenia


Gill

* As an English surname, converged from variants of Giles (sometimes through Dutch), Julian, and William.
* As a northern English surname, from Middle English gil (“ravine, glen”), from Old Norse gil. The Old Norse is also a source of the Norwegian surname.
* As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McGill.
* Also as an Irish surname, variant of Gall.
* As a Jewish/Israeli surname, from Hebrew גיל (“joy”).
* As a German surname, variant of Gilger.
* As an Indian/Sikh/Punjabi surname, from ਗਿੱਲ (gill, “moisture”).

A diminutive of the male given names Giles, Julian, or William, of medieval usage.

each Jack with his Gill

1621 August 13 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Ben Jonson, “The Masque of the Gypsies”, in Q. Horatius Flaccus: His Art of Poetry. […], London: […] J[ohn] Okes, for John Benson […], published 1640, →OCLC:

A diminutive of the female given name Gillian, variant of Jill.

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

An unincorporated community in Weld County, Colorado; named for early landowner William H. Gill.


Gin

A Hanyu Pinyin-esque romanization of Vietnamese Kinh (京).

An ethnic Vietnamese, in reference to those whose lands are in China.


Ginger

A diminutive of Virginia; also a nickname for someone or something with ginger-coloured hair.

A female given name from English and nickname. Popularized by actress Ginger Rogers

A given name for animals having ginger- or orange-coloured fur or feathers.


Glen

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Gloria

/ˈɡlɔːɹ.ɪ.ə/

/ˈɡlɔːɹ.iː.ə/

From Latin gloria (“glory”), first used as a name in 19th-century literature.

Miss Flax, the little thin sister, and Miss Gloria, the stout able-bodied sister, lifted up their hands and eyes in horror at the mere hint of a wet nurse.

1835 October, Jacobus Flax: The Knickerbocker, page 291:

Crampton. […] What's your name? I mean your pet name. They can't very well call you Sophronia.
Gloria. Sophronia! My name is Gloria. I am always called by it.
Crampton. Your name is Sophronia, girl: you were called after your aunt Sophronia, my sister: she gave you your first Bible with your name written in it.
Gloria: Then my mother gave me a new name.

1898, George Bernard Shaw, You Never Can Tell, act II:

A female given name from Latin, popular during the first half of the 20th century.


Grace

en-proper noun

Grace (countable and uncountable, plural Graces)

From the noun grace, first used by Puritans in the 16th century. In Roman Catholic use it may refer to Our Lady of Graces, cognate with Italian Grazia.

To The Handsome Mistress Grace Potter: As is your name, so is your comely face / Touch'd everywhere with such a diffused grace /

Grace does not belie her name; for she is indeed a sweet girl, modest and unassuming, and appearing to be unconscious of having done anything great or noble. - OBSERVER, Dec.16, 1838.

1839, George William MacArthur Reynolds, Grace Darling, or the Heroine of the Fern Islands, page 24:

They named me Grace and waited for a light and agile dancer. / But some trick of genes mixed me up / And instead I turned out big and black and burly.

1965 Naomi Long Madgett: Her Story, Star By Star, Harlo Press

Had I given birth to a daughter of my own, I'd like to have called her Grace, a classic and poetic name, one that illuminates a person of dignity and poise.

2002 June, Deborah Paul, “Amazing Grace”, in Indianapolis Monthly, page 249:

(countable) A female given name from English.


Gram

(US) A male given name Alternative form of Graham


Grant

Grant (countable and uncountable, plural Grants)

From Scottish Gaelic Grannd, from Anglo-Norman graunt (“big, large”), from Old French grant, from Latin grandis. Doublet of grand.


Gray

Gray (surname)
Gray, Haute-Saône
Graye-sur-Mer
Grey (disambiguation)

* As an English, Irish, Scottish, and Norman surname, from the placename Graye-sur-Mer in Calvados, from Late Latin Graecus (“Greek”).
* Also as an English surname, from the adjective gray. Compare the Irish calque McGreevy.
* As a French surname, from Gray, Haute-Saône in France, from the personal name Gradus, a Gallo-Roman/Celtic pronunciation of Gratus, from the name Gratius.


Greens

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of Latin prasinī (“Leek-Greens”) or factio prasina (“the leek-green faction”) and Byzantine Greek Πράσινοι (Prásinoi, “Leek-Greens”).

bor

(informal) Synonym of Green Party in various other contexts.


Griffin

A male given name from Welsh derived from Griffinus, a latinized form of Gruffudd.

A male given name from Cornish derived from Gryffyn, of relation to the Welsh name.


Gun

A Gbe language spoken in parts of Benin and Nigeria.


Gunter

From German Gunther, from Proto-West Germanic *Gunþihari, from Proto-Germanic *Gunþiharjaz.

(obsolete) A male given name from the Germanic languages used in medieval England.


Guy

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Old French Gui, a form of Proto-Germanic *Wido, a short form of names beginning with the element *widuz (“wood”), such as Witold and Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido and thus a doublet of Guido. More at wood.

I am not Samson, nor Sir Guy, nor Colbrand,
 To mow 'em down before me;

1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:

"Guy," he said. He said it slowly and with a certain puzzlement. He said it again, thoughtfully, as if it were a name of someone he had known long ago but couldn't quite place. "Guy. Yes - don't you find it difficult being called that? I mean, if Nora hadn't said, I'd have put you down as a Kevin, or a Barry. Yes, Barry would suit you."
He looked like an innocent child, smiling, wide-eyed, his cheeks plump and rosy, defying the object of his insults to take offence. For they were insults, Guy was in no doubt about that. Leonora's brother was implying that his name was far too upper-class for its possessor.

1990, Ruth Rendell, Going Wrong, →ISBN, page 157:

“She was a new student. I was a counterculture hero. Back then I went by a different name. Sebastian. Sexy, right? And so much better than Guy. You can't be a counterculture hero and a Guy. That name is way too average. […]

2016, Nathan Hill, The Nix: A novel, Vintage, →ISBN, page 596:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Guy

From the Hebrew name גַּיְא (gáy, literally “valley”), with the spelling influenced by the existing English name.


Gypsy

A clipping of Gyptian (in Early Modern English roughly /ˈd͡ʒɪp.sɪ.æn/), itself an aphetic form of Egyptian, from Middle English Egipcian (“Egyptian”) (rarely Gypcian), from Old French egyptien, from Latin aegyptianus, from aegyptius (“Egypt”), because when Roma first appeared in England in the sixteenth century, they were wrongly believed to have come from Egypt. The Albanian evgjit, Greek γύφτος (gýftos), Italian gitano and Spanish gitano have the same origin. Doublet of Egyptian and Copt.
The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Rom (words related to the Romani people's autonyms) and cognates of tzigane (words derived from Greek); see those entries for more information.

"Why, good afternoon, Miss Gypsy," said Sir Simms; "I'm surprised to see you such a warm day — very much surprised. But you always were a remarkable young lady ..."

1894, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Gypsy Breynton, page 130:


Hal

A diminutive lambdacism of Harry (compare Sally from Sarah and Moll from Mary).

I prethee, good Prince Hal, help me to my horſe, good Kings ſonne.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 54, column 1:

A diminutive of the male given names Henry, Harold and Harry.


Hamlet

François de Belleforest
Hamlet
Hamlet (disambiguation)#Places
Hamlet (name)
Saxo Grammaticus

From Latin Amlethus, as written by 13th-century Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, and borrowed into English by way of François de Belleforest's French Hamlet, originally rendered as Hamblet in English. Ultimately from Old Danish Amlethæ, corresponding to Old Norse Amlóði (“fool”), claimed to be suggestive of the way that Hamlet acts in the play, from ama (“to annoy”).


Han

An early romanization of the Mandarin 漢 /汉 (Hàn), later reinforced by Wade-Giles and pinyin. Originally a river within present-day Shaanxi and Hubei. As a Chinese dynasty, from the founder Liu Bang's short-lived realm in Sichuan and Shaanxi among China's Eighteen Kingdoms, named for the Qin Empire's Hanzhong Commandery, headquartered in a city which also became known as Hanzhong, named for its placement along the middle reaches of the river.
The usage for the Chinese ethnicity first appeared during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, claiming the Han dynasty as one of the golden ages of Chinese history.

Trade was the major economic link between Tibet and other regions in China. Special economic systems (estate, serfdom) made it impossible for Han immigrants to engage in agriculture and animal husbandry in Tibet. The geographic features of the plateau (high elevation, rarefied air, mountains, etc.) limited the volume of trade and migration between Tibet and other regions.

1995, Rong Ma, edited by Calvin Goldscheider, Economic Patterns, Migration, and Ethnic Relationships in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China (Population, Ethnicity, and Nation-Building), Westview Press, →ISBN, page 50:

According to the 2000 census, the Han make up 92 percent of China's population; the minority groups combine for about 8 percent (about 106 million people).

2006, Sheila Hollihan-Elliot, Muslims in China, Mason Crest Publishers, →ISBN, page 55:

“The people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the Chinese nation, are children of Yandi and the Yellow Emperor,” he told a group of Chinese and Taiwanese reporters who had been allowed to follow him on the trip, referring to mythical emperors revered as founders of China’s dominant Han ethnicity.

2023 March 29, Han Guan Ng, Huizhong Wu, Olivia Zhang, “Former Taiwan leader Ma views Sun Yat-sen tomb in China tour”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2023-03-28:

The Chinese ethnicity, when distinguished from other peoples of the Chinese state


Han

Atonal form of the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 邗 (Hán).

(history) A canal in Jiangsu, China, connecting Hancheng (now Yangzhou) on the Yangtze with Mokou (now Huai'an) on the Huai.

邗溝 /邗沟

canal in Jiangsu, now mostly part of the Grand Canal


Han

From Korean 한(韓) (han). Cognate with English Han (from Mandarin).


Han

A First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group.

The Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Han people, or Hän Hwëch'in, in Alaska and the Yukon.


Handy

Originating as a nickname for a handy person.


Hans

From German Hans (occasionally used in English), a medieval short form of Johannes (“John”).


Hanzi

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 漢字 /汉字 (Hànzì). Doublet of kanji and hanja.

On May 21, 1957, the Jen min je pao published the text of the previous day’s discussions during which writers and scholars of various tendencies had examined before the Commission the proposed reform (which, in the opinion of certain “leftists,” entailed in fact the suppression of the han tzŭ, the Chinese characters).

[1959, Etiemble, “One China or Two?”, in Evergreen Review, volume 2, number 8, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 31:

Chinese character
Chinese character#English

Synonym of Chinese character (specifically in relation to Chinese)


Hardy

* As an English, Scottish, and French surname, from Middle English hardy, hardi, from Old French hardi (“hardy, daring, stout, bold”).
* As an Irish surname, via mac giolla deacair (“son of the hard lad”) as a calque of the above.
* Also as a Scottish surname, variant of Hardie.


Harry

Medieval English spoken form of Old French Henri.

A male given name from French, originating as an Anglicization of Henri

A diminutive of the male given name Henry, Harold.

Yet weep that Harry's dead, and so will I; / But Harry lives that shall convert those tears / By number into hours of happiness.

c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:

Henry now, what a soft swain your Henry is! the proper theme of gentle poesy; a name to fall in love withal; devoted at the font to song and sonnet, and the tender passion; a baptized inamorato; a christened hero. Call him Harry, and see how you ameliorate his condition. The man is free again, turned out of song and sonnet and romance, and young ladies' hearts. Shakspeare understood this well, when he wrote of prince Hal and Harry Hotspur. To have called them Henry would have spoiled both characters.

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

'I suppose you think I should call him Harry,' says Ruth.
'Harry? No. Ever since Harry bloody Potter that's been a nightmare.[…]

2010, Elly Griffiths, “The Janus Stone”, in Ruth Galloway: The Early Cases: A Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries Collection, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

The digital ads open over a shot of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, while a narrator declares: “For years, it paralyzed Washington: Partisan political dysfunction.”

2015 May 12, Alexandra Jaffe, “First on CNN: New Rove-linked group spends $2M to boost GOP incumbents”, in CNN:

(rare nickname) A diminutive of the female given name Harriet.


Hazel

en-proper noun

Hazel (countable and uncountable, plural Hazels)

Hazels (plural)
Hasell (alternative)
Hazell (alternative)

GREEN. - - Squire Rodney has been looking into your affairs, and, by Jove! he swears you've deceived Hazel Kirke!
ARTHUR. Deceived her? How?
GREEN. He says that your marriage to her was a pretence, a farce, a lie.

1880, Steele MacKaye, Hazel Kirke ( An Iron Will):

In the month of May,
When all nature seems in touch with hidden jewels,
We called her Hazel,
Hazel May.

1908, S. Florence Ray, Fallen Petals, page 17:

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I never liked the name Hazel. I didn't like being called after a nut. I wanted to be called Rosemary, something pretty.

2002, Susan Starbuck, Hazel Wolf: Fighting the Establishment., →ISBN, page 26:

A female given name from English from the plant or colour hazel. Popular in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century.


Heather

From heather; the given name is one of the plant names taken up in the 19th century. The surname is habitational, also meaning someone living on a heath.

She struck his fancy - that pretty girl with the quaint name: sweet Heather Bell, as Mr. Travers always called her.
"The name was a fancy of her godfather, an eccentric bachelor," the lady explained. " She was the youngest of three daughters, and the other two were called, respectively, 'Lily' and 'Rose'. 'Call this one Heather,' said Mr. Stewart, who loved Scotland and her purple mountains, 'she will grow up like the heather, perhaps - strong, hardy, a wild flower, worth of a hundred of your garden rarities.'

1867, J.H.Riddell, Far Above Rubies, Bernhard Tauchnitz, page 50:

"I like Hazel and Heather," Angel said, after a while. "They're both names of plants, so they sort of go with Rose."
"I don't have no plant, I got a little girl," Rose Rose said, smiling.

2001, John Irving, The Cider House Rules, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 506:


Heaven

(rare) A female given name from English of modern usage from the noun heaven.


Hector

From Latin Hectōr or Ancient Greek Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr), from ἕκτωρ (héktōr, “holding fast”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “to have, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold; to overpower”).

der

Eachann

unrelated, but usually Anglicised as Hector


Henry

Henrys (plural)
Henries (plural)
Henri (alternative)
Henrie (alternative)

From Middle English Henry, from Old French (and Anglo-Norman) Henri, from Frankish *Haimrik, from Proto-Germanic *Haimarīks. Cognate with German Heinrich, Dutch Hendrik, Estonian Hendrik, and Old Norse Heimríkr (Danish Henrik).

And now I feare that fatall Prophecie, / Which in the time of Henry, nam'd the Fift, / Was in the mouth of euery ſucking Babe, / That Henry borne at Monmouth ſhould winne all, / And Henry borne at Windſor, looſe all: […]

1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First 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 III, scene i], page 107, column 1:

Henry now, what a soft swain your Henry is! the proper theme of gentle poesy; a name to fall in love withal; devoted at the font to song and sonnet, and the tender passion; a baptized inamorato; a christened hero. Call him Harry, and see how you ameliorate his condition.

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, “Cottage Names”, in Our Village: Sketches of Rural Character and Scenery, volume IV, London: Whittaker, Treacher, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 72:

Walter [Map] was one of the remarkable men who stand before us as the representatives of a sudden outburst of literary, social, and religious criticism which followed the growth of romance and the appearance of a freer historical tone in the court of the two Henrys.

1878, Charles K[ittredge] True, “Dawn of the Reformation in Scotland—[…]”, in The Life and Times of John Knox, the Soul of the Scottish Reformation, Cincinnati, Oh.: Hitchcock and Walden; New York, N.Y.: Nelson & Phillips, page 18:

Eight Henries, one Mary, / One Elizabeth; / Crowned and throned Kings and Queens / Now lie still in death.

1924, Walter de la Mare, “Kings and Queens”, in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes […], London; Bombay; Sydney, N.S.W.: Constable & Company Ltd, page 4:

A male given name from the Germanic languages, popular in England since the Middle Ages.


Herb

Herb and Greta poured through “name” books and the only name they could agree on was “Rosalie.” Greta told Herb that she didn't want her daughter's name to end in a “lie,” and so they named her Rosalee.

2015, Janice Dickson, Herbert Peppard: The Eternal Man, FriesenPress, →ISBN:

A diminutive of the male given name Herbert.


Hetty

A diminutive of the female given names Henrietta, Hester and Esther.


Himalayan

A domestic cat breed similar to (and, in some places, considered a variety of) the Persian breed, but with the colourpoint coat pattern of the Siamese.


Ho

A Munda language spoken in India and Bangladesh.


Holly

Breakfast at Tiffany's
Holly (disambiguation)
Holly (name)

* As an Irish surname, calque of mac cuilinn (“holly”) (see McCullen) and sometimes McQuillan.
* As an English surname, variant of Holley.
* As a Czech and Slovak surname, variant of Holý, Holy.
* Also as a locational English surname, from Old English hol leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”), compare Hollywood.
* Also as an English surname, short form of Holiday.
* Also as an English surname, after the holly tree.
* As a feminine given name popularized by Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (especially the 1961 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn).

Hollie (alternative)
Hollee (alternative)
Holli (alternative)
Hollye (alternative)
Holley (alternative)

Grandma said, "I used to know a little girl called Holly - she always had her dresses trimmed with red or green." Milly-Molly-Mandy thought that was quite a nice name.

1929, Joyce Lankester Brisley, chapter 8, in More of Milly-Molly-Mandy:

"Holly, would you mind if I named my little girl 'Holly'? I mean, it's right around Christmas time, and I always think of holly with Christmas.

2006, Joyce Winters, Let Your Light Shine, →ISBN, page 209:

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

A town in Prowers County, Colorado, named after cattleman Hiram S. Holly.

A township and village therein, in Oakland County, Michigan.

An unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, named for a large holly tree.

An unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia.


Honor

Shortened from Honoria and Honora; later also interpreted as a virtue name by Puritans.

They had named the baby Honor because Eugenie had been moved by Honoré de Balzac's Le Père Goriot in her French class.

2004, Annie Proulx, Bad Dirt, Fourth Estate, →ISBN, page 104:


Honour

A female given name from English, a less common spelling of Honor.


Hope

en-proper noun

Hope (usually uncountable, plural Hopes)

Nadine f (from Nadia (pet form from Надежда) + -ine)

A female given name from English from the virtue, like Faith and Charity first used by Puritans.


Hub

(informal) Nickname for Boston, Massachusetts, United States.


Hun

From Old English Hūnas, Hūne (both plural), from Late Latin Hunni, from Koine Greek Οὗννοι (Hoûnnoi), borrowed through Middle Iranian. Cognate with Old Norse húnir, Old High German Hunni. See also etymology of Xiongnu.
Compare Sogdian [script needed] (xwn), Sanskrit हूण (hūṇa), and 匈奴 (OC *hoŋ-nâ) (c. 318 BCE) > *hɨoŋ-nɑ (Eastern Han), which Schuessler (2014:264) proposes to be transcription of foreign *Hŏna ~ Hŭna. More at Huns.
As a derogatory term for Germans popularized by Rudyard Kipling, reacting to Germany's proposal that the Royal Navy be used to collect debts from Venezuela.

(slang, derogatory, UK, Ireland) A Protestant.


Hunt

Hunt (countable and uncountable, plural Hunts)


Hunter

Hunter (countable and uncountable, plural Hunters)


Hyacinth

From Latin Hyacinthus, a saint's name from the name of an Ancient Greek Ὑάκινθος (Huákinthos), a mythological character .

(rare) A male given name from Ancient Greek.

A female given name from English. One of the less common flower names used since the 19th century.


Ido

Borrowing from Ido Ido. Began as a pseudonym, probably directly from Esperanto ido (“offspring”).

constructed language
constructed language

A constructed language; a reform of Esperanto and Idiom Neutral.

إِيدُو

artificial language reformed from Esperanto


Indigo

Details of Thunberg’s charge came as Just Stop Oil said its cofounders, Indigo Rumbelow and Roger Hallam, were arrested on Wednesday morning following dawn raids at their homes.

2023 October 18, Damien Gayle, “Greta Thunberg charged with public order offence after London oil protest”, in The Guardian:


Ira

From a Hebrew name עִירָא ('ira), from a word meaning "watchful".

So is Ira Gershwin something to do with the more famous George Gershwin? Caroline says.
She was his wife, wasn't she? Jen says coming in with plates balanced on her arm.
He was his brother, Mark says. It comes into his head how much Faye loved songs. He had quite forgotten how much.
It does sound like a girl's name, though, doesn't it? Caroline is saying.
There's no way I'd ever call a daughter that, Hannah says.

2011, Ali Smith, There but for the, Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, pages 140–141:

A male given name from Hebrew, mostly of American usage.

An unincorporated community in Laclede County, Missouri.

An unincorporated community in Scurry County, Texas.


Ira

From the Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Czech diminutive of the cognates of Irene.

A female given name from the Slavic languages.


Iris

From Ancient Greek Ἶρις (Îris, “rainbow”).

Persia tells Iris she is named for something special: the iris of the eye. "I thought I was named for a flower," Iris says, disappointed. "An iris is a flower, of course," Persia says, smiling, "but it's this other, too. Our secret. 'The iris of the eye'." "The eye?" Persia snaps her fingers in Iris's eyes. The gesture is so rude and unexpected, Iris will remember it all her life. After this disclosure, Iris doesn't know whether she likes her name any more.

1990, Joyce Carol Oates, Because It Is Bitter, And Because It Is My Heart, →ISBN, page 39:

A female given name from Ancient Greek; a flower name used since the end of the 19th century.


Ish

A diminutive of the male given name Ishmael.

A diminutive of the female given name Ishani.


Islander

Prince Edward Islander
Prince Edward Islander#English

Vancouver Islander
Vancouver Islander#English

Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander#English


Italic

Via Latin ītalicus from Ancient Greek Ἰταλικός (Italikós), from Ἰταλία (Italía, “Italy”).

իտալյան

pertaining to a subfamily of a branch of the Indo-European language family

Of or relating to the Italian peninsula.

Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies

(Indo-European studies) Pertaining to a subfamily of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family, that includes Latin and other languages (as Oscan, Umbrian) spoken by the peoples of ancient Italy

The ancient Italic languages that are now extinct include Oscan, Umbrian, and South Picene.

(dated) Osco-Umbrian; an extinct branch of such language family, which excludes the Latino-Faliscan languages

There were several Italic alphabets, one being the Etruscan alphabet.

(historical) Pertaining to various peoples that lived in Italy before the establishment of the Roman Empire, or to any of several alphabet systems used by those peoples.

itàlic

pertaining to various peoples that lived in Italy


Italic

The centum families include Celtic, Germanic, Greek, and Italic.


Ivy

From ivy, the name of a plant. An ivy branch used to be hung outside an establishment to advertise that it sold alcohol, so it may originally been an occupationational surname for the proprietor of such an establishment.

A female given name from English; popular in the UK in the beginning of the 20th century.

Ivy Andrews, Ivy Calvin, Ivy Lee

A unisex given name from English.
(rare) A male given name from English.

A unisex given name from English.
A male given name from English.

Little Ivy's life, as the months pass on, is a quiet, uneventful one, but exceedingly happy withal: - - - "You have a strange name, my dear," the old lady says one day, and the child answers in her serious, old-fashioned way, "Yes, so everyone has always said. You know my mamma died when I was born, and papa named me that because he said that I came when his heart was all aching with sorrow, and twined around it and comforted him."

1882 Something to Read. (Edited by) Edwin John Bret: Something to read novelette. page 254

Kind people apply all the milder words to your face; only Father ever called it ugly. Ugly Ivy mingy as her name. Father himself was handsome and drunken. Mother had wanted 'Ivy' simple and yet pretty and for once stuck to her guns. You wished she hadn't.

1974, Patrick White, The Cockatoos: Shorter Novels and Stories., Cape, →ISBN, page 204:

Ivy Olson, Ivy Williamson

(rare) A diminutive of the male given name Ivan.


Jack

Jack (countable and uncountable, plural Jacks)

→ Danish: Jack

→ Swedish: Jack

From Middle English Jackin, Jankin, a popular pet form of John; rarely also an anglicized form of French Jacques (equivalent of Jacob and James). It can be also used as nickname for Jacob. Though the name was originally a pet form, it has become more of an independent name. Equivalent to John + -kin, Jake or Jacques. See also Middle French Hennequin, Jannequin and Middle Dutch Janneken.

Since every Jack became a gentleman
there's many a gentle person made a Jack.

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

Heere comes leane Iacke, heere comes bare-bone. How now my ſweet Creature of Bombaſt, how long is't agoe, Iacke, ſince thou ſaw'ſt thine owne Knee?

c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry, Sirnamed Hot-spvrre”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act II, scene iv, page 58, column 1:

JACK. Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think that there are lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a charming name.
GWENDOLEN. Jack?...No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations...I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John!

1895, Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest […] , [Act I]:

A unisex given name, also used as a pet form of John or more rarely, Jacob.

An unincorporated community in Dent County, Missouri, United States.

Ellipsis of Monterey Jack., a type of cheese.


Jack

all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

When he went home on leave he rioted on a large scale—pompously. Jack ashore—with a difference—in externals only.

1899, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, section 1:

(informal, archaic) Ellipsis of Jack Tar., a sailor.


Jade

Cebuano: Jade

Mandarin: 傑德 /杰德 (Jiédé)

Japanese: ジェイド (jeido)

From the precious stone jade; taken into general use in the 1970s.

Emily. Em-il-y, three syllables, like a knock on the door of destiny. Such an odd, old-fashioned name, compared to those Kylies and Traceys and Jades — names that reeked of Impulse and grease and stood out in gaudy neon colours —

2010, Joanne Harris, blueeyedboy, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 102:


Jak

(rare) Alternative form of Jack (male given name)


Jas

A diminutive of the male given name James.

A diminutive of the female given name Jasmine.


Javanese

An indigenous language spoken by Javanese people.


Jay

A diminutive of the male given names James, Jacob, Jack, John, or Jason, or for any other name beginning with ⟨J⟩; also used as a formal given name.

To Lt. and Mrs. John Ellingston (Beth Vollstedt), a daughter, Jay Karen, on September 17, 1945.

1947, Alpha Delta Pi, The Adelphean, volume 40, number 2, page 102:

In 1993, my daughter Jay returned home aged 21 after a disastrous marriage.

2007, Gráinne Smith, Families, Carers and Professionals: Building Constructive Conversations:

Within a few weeks, having endured a number of lengthy interviews, Jay found herself working in the Beijing office of the bureau of information.

2010, Ray Thompson, Fires Within, page 206:


Jay

Borrowed from Hindi जय (jay, literally “victory”).


Jazz

A fanciful spelling variant of Jaz and Jas.

His real name was James, but those who knew him seemed never to call him that. He was Jamesy, or more often Jazz.

2001, Ian Rankin, Resurrection Men, Orion, page 4:

"He calls you Jazzikins." He would. He had. Couldn't call me Jazz or Jasmine the way everyone else did.

2012? Madeleine Oh, At Long Last, in The Mammoth Book of Erotica: Volume 4, Constable and Robinson Ltd (2012)


Jean

Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Old French Jehane, 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). Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
The unincorporated community in Nevada, originally named Goodsprings Junction, was renamed Jean on 28 June 1905 by postmaster George Arthur Fayle in honor of his wife.

doublet

There's not a bonnie flower that springs
By fountain, shaw, or green,
There's not a bonnie bird that sings
But minds me o' my Jean.

1788, Robert Burns, Of A' the Airts the Wind Can Blaw:

Isn't Jean a pretty name?"
"Not bad; but why don't you call her Miss Muir?"
"She begged me not. She hates it, and loves to be called Jean, alone."

1866, Louisa May Alcott, chapter II, in Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power:

He was trying to think of her name; she had come to cook him dinner twice last spring. Jean, maybe. Or Betty. One of these plain names.

1972, Anne Tyler, The Clock Winder, Knopf, page 67:


Jean

From French Jean, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוחנן (Yôḥānān, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of John, Jack, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Sean, Shaun, Shane, Ian, Evan, Ivan, Juan, and Giovanni.


Jed

A diminutive of the male given name Jedidiah.


Jehu

Borrowed from Hebrew יֵהוּא (yehu). Attested to in Akkadian as 𒅀𒌑𒀀 𒈥 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 (Iaúa mar Chumrii, literally “Jehu of the people of the land of Omri”).


Jenny

Jennys (plural)
Jennies (plural)
Jenni (alternative)
Jennie (alternative)

→ Dutch: Jenny

→ Faroese: Jenný

→ Finnish: Jenny

→ German: Jenny

→ Spanish: Jenny

→ Swedish: Jenny

From Jen + -y, historically as a hypochoristic form of Janet, Jane, etc. or (rarely) Eugenia, Virginia, etc. but now more often used as a diminutive of Jennifer.
Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in derivations from Jane etc.
In senses related to inanimate objects, partially derived from the generic senses of Jane and partially an informal pronunciation of engine.

Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me.

All this I recollect, but little more, except my mother gave me several beatings for calling my sister "Jenny", which I had learnt to do from others who knew her; but when my mother heard them, she was always very angry, and told them that her child had not such a vulgar name; at which many would laugh, and make a point of calling out "Jenny" to Virginia whenever they passed and saw her at the door.

1840, Frederick Marryat, chapter IV, in Poor Jack:

Jennifer Jo McIntire (with two Jennys now, everyone had followed Matthew’s lead and taken to calling her by her full name) […]

1994, Gerald N[iels] Lund, chapter 27, in A Season of Joy: A Historical Novel (The Work and the Glory; 5), Salt Lake City, Ut.: Bookcraft, published 1996 (3rd printing), →ISBN, pages 452–453:


Jewel

Jewel he called her; and he would say this as he might have said ‘Jane,’ don’t you know, with a marital, homelike, peaceful effect. I heard the name for the first time ten minutes after I had landed in his courtyard, when, after nearly shaking my arm off, he darted up the steps and began to make a joyous, boyish disturbance at the door under the heavy eaves. ‘Jewel! O! Jewel. Quick! Here’s a friend come,’ …

1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter XXVIII, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, pages 297–298:

"Of course Gladys and Eleanor, having graced the last generation of heroines and being at present in their social prime, will be passed on to the next generation of shopgirls——" / "Displacing Ella and Stella," interrupted Dick. / "And Pearl and Jewel,", Gloria added cordially, "and Earl and Elmer and Minnie." / "And then I'll come along," remarked Dick, "and picking up the obsolete name, Jewel, I'll attach it to some quaint and attractive character and it'll start its career all over again."

1922, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “Portrait of a Siren”, in The Beautiful and Damned, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, book 1, pages 58–59:

A female given name from English from the noun jewel, used since the end of the 19th century.

A male given name from English, a variant of Jewell, or from "jewel" like the female name.


Jo

Clipping or hypochoristic form of various female given names beginning with Jo..., primarily Joan, Joanna, etc. but also Josephine and Jolene.
Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in reference to the first derivation.

"Its name is Samantha Jo, after Josiah and me. You know they call girls Jo and Josie a sight lately; its name is agreeable to Josiah and me, very.

1888, Marietta Holley, Josiah Allen's Wife as a P.A. and P.I.: Samantha at the Centennial, page 577:


Joan

A clipped or hypochoristic form of Joanna, from Latin 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. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack.
Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

Jo (alternative)
Ione (alternative)
Jone (alternative)
Ioane (alternative)
Joane (alternative)

Maybe my mother didn't name me after Joan Crawford after all, I thought; she just told me that to cover up. She named me after Joan of Arc, didn't she know what happened to women like that?

1979, Margaret Atwood, Lady Oracle, page 336:

A female given name from French, a feminine form of John.


Joanna

/ˌd͡ʒoʊˈænə/

From Latin 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, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

A female given name from Latin [in turn from Hebrew].

جُوَانَّا

transliterations of the given name — see also Jane

喬安娜 /乔安娜 (Qiáo'ānnà, literally “tall, peaceful, graceful”)


Job

From Latin Iob, from Ancient Greek Ἰώβ (Iṓb), from Biblical Hebrew אִיּוֹב (ʾiyyōḇ), related to אָיַב (ʾāyaḇ, “to be an enemy”) and אוֹיֵב (ʾōyēḇ, “enemy”).


Jock

Believed to be a Scots variant of Jack. Because of its specific association with Scotland, the British English slang term is believed by most sources to be derived from the frequency of the use of the given name in Scotland, rather than from the "common man" etymology.


Joey

Indeed what do the tensomethings, who might be watching the show at that hour, make of jokes like Joey telling Chandler that his uncle Sal has a really big tongue.

1996, Television Quarterly: The Journal of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, volume XXVIII, number 3, page 4:

A diminutive of the male given names Joe or Joseph.

A diminutive of the female given name Josephine.


Joh

How Joh inspired a generation.

Nationals shake off Joh era.

Abolishing compulsory voting would take Queensland back to Joh era, says Wayne Swan.

diminutive of Johannes — notably used in reference to:

(Australian politics) Sir Johannes “Joh” Bjelke-Petersen (1911–2005), Premier of Queensland 1968–1987.


Joh

Various origins:
* Borrowed from German Joh.
* Variant of Cho, a Korean surname.


John

Johns (plural)
Jon (alternative)
Joh. (alternative)

→ Arabic: جُون (jōn)

→ Cebuano: John

→ French: John

→ Italian: John

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

From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”).
Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.

a John Doe murder case; the dreaded Dear John letter; if we were to ask John Q. Public his opinion

A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.

(informal) Used generically for a man whose actual name may not be known.

মিঞা

name used to address a man whose name is not known

sir

name used to address a man whose actual name is not known (standard)

boy

name used to address a man whose actual name is not known (colloquial or slang)

(informal) Used frequently to form an idea personified, as in John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below).

John is a most excellent name, and Smith is a surname which is worthy of respect and honor, but wo to the man on whom they are conjoined! For John Smith to aspire to senatorial dignities or to the laurel of a poet is simply ridiculous. Who is John Smith? He is lost in the multitude of John Smiths, and individual fame is impossible.

1852 August, D. H. Jacques, “A Chapter on Names”, in The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XL, page 114:

The name I refer to is John. It has been borne by many illustrious men and an innumerable multitude of the obscure. - - - It is as fixed as the English landscape and the procession of seasons. It never becomes wearisome or tarnished. Nothing affects it; nothing can bring it into contempt; it stands like a rock amid the turbulent waves of human history, as fine and noble a thing now as it was when it first took shape on human lips. It is a name to live up to; but if one who bears it sinks into disrepute it falls not with him, but rather stays in the firmament above him, shining down upon him like a reproachful star.

1920, John Collings Squire, “Initials”, in Life and Letters: Essays, Hodder & Stoughton, pages 233–235:

The vote was 54-46. The vote was mostly along party lines though Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined Republicans in supporting Bondi.

2025 February 4, Shania Shelton and Morgan Rimmer, “Senate votes to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general”, in CNN:


Johnson

en-proper noun

Johnson (countable and uncountable, plural Johnsons)

⇒ Translingual: johnsoni, johnsonii

A patronymic surname from John + -son, literally “son of John”.
* In the U.S. the name Johnson has been adopted by numerous European immigrant families originally named Johansson, Johnsson, Johansen, Jonsson, etc.
* Doublet of Johansson, Johansen, Jansen, and Hansen.

doublet

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Jon

In that Summer of 1909 the simple souls who even then desired to simplify the English tongue, had, of course, no cognizance of little Jon, or they would have claimed him for a disciple. But one can be too simple in this life, for his real name was Jolyon, and his living father and dead half-brother had usurped of old the other shortenings, Jo and Jolly. As a fact little Jon had done his best to conform to convention and spell himself first Jhon, then John; not till his father had explained the sheer necessity, had he spelled his name Jon.

1920 October, John Galsworthy, Awakening, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 6:

A male given name from Hebrew, variant of John.

"I suppose I ought to call you Uncle Jack now." "Please don't. My name is Jonathan, and I've never had a nickname. Doesn't go with my character. So, Uncle Jon - if you must."

1994, Robertson Davies, The Cunning Man, Viking, published 1995, →ISBN, page 16:

A diminutive of the male given name Jonathan.


Josh

Senators Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren are teaming up on a bill that targets pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) as the health care industry faces growing scrutiny following last week's shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO.

2024 December 11, Andrew Stanton, “Senators Turn Screws on Health Care Industry as CEO Shooting Fuels Scrutiny”, in Newsweek:

A diminutive of the male given name Joshua.


Joy

From the noun joy, first used by Puritans in the 17th century.

"I have no name: / I am but two days old." / What shall I call thee? / "I happy am, / Joy is my name." / Sweet joy befall thee!

She was named Muriel — after the rather peculiar name of John's mother. Her own mother would have it so; only wishing out of her full heart, happy one! that there should be a slight alteration made in the second name. Therefore the baby was called Muriel Joy — Muriel Joy Halifax.

1857, Dinah Craik, John Halifax, Gentleman, Chapter XXI

All the while, our baby Joyce was growing to be a very outgoing baby. ( - - - ) Given the joy we felt watching her grow and from our connection to the church, the name Joy seemed appropriate for our baby girl. Soon that's what we shortened it to, and what she is known by to this day.

2009, Princess Kasune Zulu, Warrior Princess, IVP Books, →ISBN, page 80:


Judas

From Middle English Iudas, from Latin Iudas, from Ancient Greek Ἰούδας (Ioúdas), from Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá). Doublet of Judah.


Jute

From Latin plural Iuti, Iutae (in Bede), from Old English Ēotas. Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *eut, from Proto-Germanic *eutaz, *eutaniz. The spelling was later influenced by Medieval Latin Jutae, Juti.

A member of the Germanic tribe that existed in modern-day Denmark that invaded England about the same time as the Angles and the Saxons in the beginning of the Middle Ages, but were eventually integrated by the time of the Norman Conquest.


Kai

Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the rare medieval English male given name Kay. The German Kai may also derive from a West Frisian pet form of Gerard, Cornelius, Nicholas, or Kampe "warrior". In the U.S. Kai has also been explained as Hawaiian kai (“sea”).

A male given name from the Germanic languages, of modern usage.

(rare) A female given name of modern usage.


Kali

From Sanskrit काली (kālī) or कालिका (kālikā).

A female given name from Sanskrit used especially in India.


Kan

Borrowed from Japanese 菅 (Kan) or かん (Kan).


Kat

During her childhood she was a romanticized Katherine, dressed by her misty-eyed, fussy mother in dresses that looked like ruffled pillowcases. By high school she'd shed the frills and emerged as a bouncy, round-faced Kathy - - - At university she was Kath, blunt and no-bullshit in her Take-Back-the-Night jeans and checked shirt - - - When she ran away to England, she sliced herself down to Kat. It was economical, street-feline, and pointed as a nail.

1991, Margaret Atwood, Wilderness Tips, →ISBN, page 36:

A short form of the female given names Katharine and Katherine.


Kay

A male given name from Welsh derived from the surnames, or from a rare medieval given name (as the Sir Kay of Arthurian legend), Welsh Cai, Latinized as Caius, related to the modern male name Kai.


Kelvin

Of Celtic/Scottish Gaelic origin, possibly from caol (“narrow”) or coille (“wooded”) + abhainn (“river”). The surname is derived from the river.
The surname was also possibly influenced by Calvert (Middle English calfhirde).

A male given name transferred from the surname, of rather rare usage.


Ken

A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth.


Khan

As a surname via Hindi खान (khān), Persian خان (xân), among others. As a title, a proper noun form of khan.

A male given name used extensively among Muslims of South Asia.

MNIK

abbreviation of the Hindi film My Name Is Khan


Kim

Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.

The half-caste woman who looked after him (she smoked opium, and pretended to keep a second-hand furniture shop by the square where the cheap cabs wait) told the missionaries that she was Kim’s mother’s sister; but his mother had been nursemaid in a colonel's family and had married Kimball O’Hara, a young color-sergeant of the Mavericks, an Irish regiment.

1900 December – 1901 October, Rudyard Kipling, chapter I, in Kim (Macmillan’s Colonial Library; no. 414), London: Macmillan and Co., published 1901, →OCLC, page 1:

Kim McCone ― (name of an Irish linguist)

Bizarre as was the name she bore, Kim Ravenal always said she was thankful it had been no worse. […] It is no secret that the absurd monosyllable which comprises her given name is made up of the first letters of three states — Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri — in all of which she was, incredibly enough, born.

1926, Edna Ferber, Show Boat, Doubleday, Page & Co, page 1:

It will take some getting used to, a husband named Kim. She has known girls named Kim since she was a squirt in a sunsuit. Quite a few really. Kimberleys and plain Kims.

1991, Don DeLillo, Mao II, Viking, →ISBN, page 16:

A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1940s and later usage.


Kirk

en-prop

Kirk (countable and uncountable, plural Kirks)

From kirk (“church”). Doublet of Church.

President Joe Biden sent a heartfelt letter to ESPN “College GameDay” football analyst Kirk Herbstreit after his adored golden retriever, Ben, died of cancer last month.

2024 December 4, Wayne Sterling, “President Biden honors Kirk Herbstreit’s late, football-loving dog Ben in heartfelt letter”, in CNN:


Kit

A diminutive of the male given name Christopher.


Kit

A diminutive of the female given name Katherine and related female given names.


Kit

(Hong Kong) A male given name from Cantonese 傑 /杰 (git⁶).


Kitty

A diminutive of Katherine and related female given names.


Koko

A Khoisan language of Namibia and Botswana.


Kris

A diminutive of the female given names Kristina, Kristin, Kristine and related given names (Christina, etc).

A diminutive of the male given names Christopher, Christian, and related given names.


Kuna

* As a Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian/Bosnian, Hungarian and Jewish surname, from Kuna, from kuna (“marten”), nickname for a quick-tempered or aggressive person.
* Also as a Czech surname, from the personal name Kuna, a pet form of Kunrat, medieval form of Konrad.


Labor

(UK politics, American spelling, Australian spelling) Misspelling of Labour. (UK political party)


Ladino

From Ladino לאדינו (ladino) (or from Spanish ladino), from Latin Latīnus (“Latin”).

A Romance language mainly spoken by Sephardic Jews (Wikipedia), derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew.


Lai

A Tibeto-Burman language of India and Burma.


Lance

The surname is derived from a medieval given name Lanzo, short form of names beginning with the Germanic element *land; see land. Doublet of Lanzo.

A male given name from the Germanic languages; by folk etymology associated with a lance.

A diminutive of the male given name Lancelot.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Lane

As an English surname, from lane; as an Irish surname, from several origins, including Laighin. See Lane.

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Kootenai County, Idaho.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Atoka County, Oklahoma.

Williamsburg County
Williamsburg County#English

A town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina.


Lark

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

Mama had chosen the name Lark. Lark Browning Erhardt. Papa had wanted to call me Beverly Mary; Mary after the Blessed Virgin. Mama said she wouldn't hang a name like Beverly Mary on a pet skunk. Where she got the idea for Lark, I don't know, though one time when I asked, she said that larks flew high and had a happy song.

1989, Faith Sullivan, The Cape Ann, Penguin, published 1989, →ISBN, page 2:

A female given name from English from the lark bird.


Latin

Jamaican Creole: Latn

From Middle English Latyn, Latyne, Latin, from Old French latin, latyn, from Latin latīnus, from Latium (“the region around Rome”) + -īnus (adjective suffix). Displaced or merged with Old English Lǣden. Doublet of Ladino.

Africa was the natural leader because there the number of Christians who were of Roman origin and Latin speech was probably far greater than in so cosmopolitan a city as Rome.

1948, L. E. Elliott-Binns, The Beginnings of Western Christendom, page 257:

Of or relating to Latin: the language spoken in ancient Rome and other cities of Latium.

The Serbo-Croatian incunabula printed in Latin letters are indubitably the products of a very modest establishment.

1968, Mladen Bošnjak, A Study of Slavic Incunabula, page 62:

Of or relating to the script of the language spoken in ancient Rome and many modern alphabets.

The Latin bishop now took the Greek bishop by the hand and conducted him to his throne[…]

1901, John Hackett, A History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, page 117:

(Christianity) Roman Catholic; of or pertaining to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.


Latin

en-proper noun

Latin (countable and uncountable, plural Latins)

From Middle English Latin, Latyn, from Old English Lǣden, from Vulgar Latin *ladinum (“Latin”) and Old French latin (“Latin”); all from Latin Latinus (“belonging to Latium”). Later influenced in form by the Latin word. Compare Dutch Latijn (“Latin”), German Latein (“Latin”), Swedish Latin (“Latin”).

Supper being over, the lawyer took his leave, and the doctor began to ſound the learned clerk reſpecting his proficiency in the dead languages. "As to dead languages," replied the ſchoolmafter, "I was once a vaſt pretty ſcholar indeed, but want of exercise has made me main ſlack—I can't get over my ground as I uſed to do. Then as to the t'other dead fellow, I could never greek it at all, that's flat. And, Lord bleſs you! my Latin is of no more uſe to me here than—than—" Here he ſtuck for want of a ſimile; when Mr. Le Dupe helped him out by ſaying, "that it is to a young man at college, where it is conſidered a pedantic inſult, and an unpardonable bore, to utter a Latin ſentence."

1799, Edward Dubois, A Piece of Family Biography, volume II, page 20:

To Hall [Robert A. Hall, Jr.], the development would be something as follows: Latin > Proto-Romance (dated late Republic and Early Empire) > Proto-Continental Romance > Proto-Italo-Western Romance (to which Hall would limit the term "Vulgar Latin") > Proto-Western Romance > Proto-Gallo Romance, etc. Each of these main divisions splits off into further languages: Latin > Classical Latin; Proto-Romance > Proto-Southern Romance > Sardinian, Lucianian, Sicilian; Proto-Continental Romance > Proto-Eastern Romance > Proto-Balkan Romance, etc.

1999, Karl Strecker, transl. by Robert B. Palmer, Introduction to Medieval Latin: English Tranlation and Revision, 2nd ed. (2nd reprint of the ed. Dublin/Zürich 1971 (Berlin 1957)), Weidmann: Zürich & Hildesheim, p. 29

When the Christian Church rose in stature in the Dark Ages, its adoption of Latin as the official language assured its eternal life.

2003, Natalie Harwood, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Latin, 2nd edition, page 13:

Like Copernicus and Galileo, Johannes Kepler was a renowned astronomer who wrote in Latin.

2010, Elizabeth Heimbach, A Roman Map Workbook, page 134:

(uncountable) The language of the ancient Romans, other Latins and of the Roman Catholic church, especially Classical Latin.

ܠܸܫܵܢܵܐ ܠܵܛܝܼܢܵܝܵܐ

liššānā lāṭīnāyā


Latine

Borrowed from Spanish latine (“Latine; Latino or Latina”). The gender-neutral suffix -e replaces the gendered suffixes -a and -o.

-a-o-x

(gender-neutral, neologism) Someone of Latin American descent; a Latino or Latina.


Latine

(gender-neutral, neologism) Hispanic; Latino or Latina.


Laurel

"What on earth made Becky give you a name like that?" she'd asked Laurel, on that first occasion.
"It's the state flower of West Virginia," Laurel told her, smiling. "Where my mother came from."

1972, Eudora Welty, The Optimist's Daughter, Random House, →ISBN, page 27:

A female or male given name from English from the laurel plant.


Laurin

Laurins (plural)
Lauren (alternative)
Lauryn (alternative)


Lea

A female given name from Hebrew, form of Leah.


Lee

en-proper noun

Lee (countable and uncountable, plural Lees)

Lees (plural)
Lea (alternative)
Leigh (alternative)

From Old English lēa, the dative case of lēah (“meadow”), originally to denote someone who lived near a meadow.

A male given name derived from the surname, masculine of Leigh

“Nora?” She frowned, puzzled.
“My name's Leonora,” I said. “At school I was Lee, but now I prefer Nora. I did mention it in the e-mail.”
I'd always hated being Lee. It was a boy's name, a name that lent itself to teasing and rhyme.

2016, Ruth Ware, In a Dark, Dark Wood, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 21:

A female given name popular in conjoined names such as Lee Ann or Mary Lee.


Lee

A nickname for various given names with the first syllable as Lee; Clipping of Leo, Leroy.


Leo

From Latin leō (“lion”), from Ancient Greek λέων (léōn). Doublet of Leon, leu, lev, lion, and Lyon.

doublet

A male given name from Latin, borne by numerous saints and 13 popes.


Les

A diminutive of the male given names Lester or Leslie.

A diminutive of the female given name Leslie.


Lex

A pet form of the male given name Alexander.

A pet form of the female given names Alexandra, Alexia, and Alexis.


Lez

(informal) A diminutive of the male given name Leslie.


Lil

A diminutive of the female given name Lilian/Lillian/Lily.


Lily

A 19th-century flower name, from lily. Also a diminutive of Lilian and sometimes Elizabeth.

"Poor little thing! She is very wee and frail, isn't she? Only two months old. We came away from the north, as soon as I was able to travel. She is called Lily."
I remembered Horace having once told me that his mother's name had been Lilias.

1866 August 11, Frances Eleanor Trollope, “The Tale of Aunt Margaret's Trouble”, in All the Year Round, page 100:

"Lily is such a romantic name. It sounds to me like soft music; it's the sort of name to make one dream of fanciful things."
Lily smiled. "It's my grandmother's name. Coincidence, maybe, but she grew the most beautiful lilies."

2001, Catherine Coulter, Hemlock Bay, Jove, published 2002, →ISBN, page 57:

A female given name from English, popular around 1900 and currently returning to favor.


Limburgish

A Germanic language or dialect continuum spoken near the common border between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Limburgisch

Dutch and Belgian dialects; sometimes the whole group


Lincoln

en-proper noun

Lincoln (countable and uncountable, plural Lincolns)

Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford. In the United States, many of the places established since 1865 are named after Abraham Lincoln.

der

A male given name transferred from the surname, of American usage, originally in honor of Abraham Lincoln.


Linda

Latinised short form of Germanic compound names ending in -lind, -linde (“tender, soft”) (English -inda), such as Sieglinde and Dietlinde, and earlier names such as Old High German Irmilinda and Old Dutch Frithelind, from Proto-Germanic *linþaz (“gentle, mild”), whence also Old English līþe (“gentle, mild, pliable, limber”) (English lithe). Later misassociated with unrelated Spanish linda (“beautiful”). The name became known through 19th century literature and the opera Linda di Chamounix (1842). More at lithe.
The coordination language is named after Linda Lovelace, a reference to the programming language Ada, itself named after Ada Lovelace.

cog

The Orange-Tree stood in a Wood which belong'd to a Princess, who liv'd in a magnificent Palace not far off, and us'd to walk there. This Princess was young, beautiful and witty, and her Name Linda.

1752, Countess D'Aulnoi, Thomas Parnell, The Court of Queen Mab. Tales of Fairies, London: M.Cooper, MDCCLII, page 328:

When I go to sleep / I never count sheep / I count all the charms about Linda.

1946 Jack Lawrence: Linda ( a popular song )

A female given name from the Germanic languages.


Link

(rare) A diminutive of the male given name Lincoln.


Logan

From Scottish Gaelic lag (“little hollow”).

Col. Cresop, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. - - - Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? No one.

1782 Thomas Jefferson: Notes on the State of Virginia: ( Chief Logan's Lament )

"How about Logan?"
"That's it. The perfect name!" I exclaimed. Starla liked the name, and I thought it was exceedingly cool because one of the most exciting characters in the X-Men comics is also named Logan (nicknamed Wolverine). - - - I didn't tell Starla about the comic book connection because she would probably think I was being stupid.

2003, Dale Alderman, Being a Dad: The Stuff No One Told Me., →ISBN, page 18:

A male given name transferred from the surname. Used since at least the 19th century, and popular in the 2000s.

A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1990s and later usage; much less common than the male name.


Lords

(British, UK politics, plural only) Ellipsis of House of Lords.


Lot

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin; rare today.


Love

en-proper noun

Love (countable and uncountable, plural Loves)

An unincorporated community in Butler County, Kentucky.


Lu

Clipping of Lucy, Lucille, and similar names.

"Why?" said Lucy in amazement, "haven't you all been wondering where I was?" "So you've been hiding, have you?" Peter said. "Poor old Lu, hiding and nobody noticed!

1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Fontana Lions, published 1980, →ISBN, page 27:

A diminutive of the female given name Lucy and related names.


Luka

From the common Slavic (Macedonian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Ukrainian, etc) male given name Luka and from Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian Лука́ (Luká), all cognates of English Luke and Lucas.

bor

My name is Luka / I live on the second floor / I live upstairs from you / Yes I think you've seen me before

A male given name from the Slavic languages, of modern usage.

A transliteration of the Macedonian, Russian, or Ukrainian male given name Лука́ (Luká).


Lulu

Lulus (plural)
Lulues (plural)
Loulou (alternative)

diminutive of Lucy, Lucille, Louise, Louisa, .... From given names with the first syllable of "lu", "lou", thence reduplicated.

diminutive of

"Do excuse me, and forgive my inquisitiveness. I was struck with the name Lulu." "You think it a baby name," she said, laughing. "O, no; it is wonderfully sweet to me! and may I sometimes call you so?"

1860, Minnie S. Davis, “The Rival School-Mates”, in The Ladies' Repository, volumes 28-29, A. Tompkins, page 500:

There emerged from the fringe of things, where she perpetually hovered, Mrs. Deacon's older sister, Lulu Bett, who was "making her home with us." And that was precisely the case. They were not making her a home, goodness knows. Lulu was the family beast of burden.

A diminutive of the female given names Louisa, Louise, Lucy, or Lucille.


Lulu

Lulus (plural)
Lulues (plural)
Lu Lu (alternative)
Lu-Lu (alternative)
Lu-lu (alternative)
Lou Lou (alternative)
Lou-Lou (alternative)
Lou-lou (alternative)
Loulou (alternative)

Borrowed from Chinese 璐璐, 露露, 璐露, 露璐, etc.; in turn from 璐, 露, etc. From the Chinese practice of reduplicating a syllable or character to create a female name.
* From Mandarin Lù Lù, Lù-Lù, Lù-lù, Lùlù / Lu4lu4 / ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ; in turn from Lù/lù, ㄌㄨˋ, Lu4/lu4. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH
* From Cantonese Lou6lou6; in turn from Lou6/lou6. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH
* From Taishanese Lu5lu5; in turn from Lu5/lu5. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH


Lulu

From Arabic لُؤْلُؤ (luʔluʔ, literally “pearl”).

A female given name from Arabic, equivalent to English Pearl.


Luna

From Middle English lune, luna (“the moon”), from Latin lūna/Lūna, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh₂. Doublet of Roxane.

- - - and it so happened, that in one of old Bryan's daughters named Luna, or more familiarly Loony, he perceived, or thought he perceived, some imaginary similarity in form and air to the lovely apparition.

1837, James Hogg, “The Mysterious Bride”, in Talks and Sketches: The Shepherd's Calendar, Blackie & Son, page 343:

A few seconds later, Luna Lovegood emerged, trailing behind the rest of the class, a smudge of earth on her nose, and her hair tied in a knot on the top of her head.

2003, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 236:


Lyn

A short form of female given names ending in -lyn, such as Evelyn and Carolyn; also used as a formal unisex middle name.


Lynne

A female given name transferred from the surname, of common usage, variant of Lynn.


Lyra

Borrowed from Latin Lyra/lyra, from Ancient Greek λύρα (lúra, “a lyre; the constellation Lyra”). Doublet of lira and lyre.

der

A little parapet ran all the way around the square roof, and Pantalaimon often draped his pine-marten form over the mock-battlements on the corner facing south, and dozed while Lyra sat below with her back against the sun-drenched stone, studying the books she'd brought up with her.

(rare) A female given name from Ancient Greek.


Mac

A diminutive of the male given name Max.


Mace

en-proper noun

Mace (countable and uncountable, plural Maces)

* As an English surname, from the personal name Masse, probably shortened from Matthew. Compare Massey, Massett.
* As a French and Breton surname, from Macé, vernacular form of Mathieu. Compare Maze.
* Also as a French surname, from Macé in Orne, from Late Latin Macciacum, from the personal name Maccius.
* Also as a French surname, variant of Massé; see Masse.

(countable) A male given name, a name derived from the war instrument, a mace


Madeleine

From French Madeleine. Doublet of Magdalene.

"We've been making up the most glamorous names for you, Marguerite and Marlene and Madeleine―"
"And Melanie and Marianne and Marietta," put in Jane.

1967, Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There, HarperCollins, published 2014, →ISBN, page 185:


Magnus

From Latin magnus (“great”), taken from the title of Carolus Magnus "Charlemagne" by an eleventh century king of Norway, and brought to Scotland in medieval times.

A male given name from Latin of mostly Scottish and Scandinavian usage.


Mai

Chinese surname with several origins:
* from Mandarin 麥 /麦 (“wheat”),
* from Mandarin and Cantonese 買 /买 (maai⁵, “buy”)
* Cantonese form of 米 (see Mi).
* Romanized from 马 (mǎ) (see Ma)
* Romanized from 梅 (méi) (see Mei)
As a German surname, variant of May.

A female given name, a rare spelling variant of Mae/May, or borrowed from Scandinavia, with the same ultimate origin.


Mamba

a dialect of the Zimba language spoken in the Congo


Mandarin

Calque from Chinese 官話／官话 (Guānhuà, “spoken language of the mandarins”). An extension of mandarin (“bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire”) to the language used by the imperial court and sometimes by imperial officials elsewhere. As such, it was adopted as a synonym for Modern Standard Chinese in the 20th century. The term became ambiguous, however, as its use was extended to the various Northern dialects of Chinese.

zh-l

[...]and though the ſame word hath one ſignification in the Mandorines Language, and a contrary in Japan and other places, yet knowing one Speech and their Character, you may Travel not only through the Empire of China, but the adjacent Kingdoms.

[1669, John Nievhoff, “Athanasius Kircher Description of China”, in John Ogilby, transl., An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 106:

Far fewer people understood Mandarin in Hotan than anywhere else I'd been in Xinjiang. It made getting around difficult, as not only did the taxi drivers fail to understand what I was saying, but they couldn't read an address either. Most ignored or didn't know the Chinese names given to the streets anyway.

2014, David Eimer, The Emperor Far Away: Travels at the Edge of China, Bloomsbury USA, →ISBN, page 75:

Owner David Yeh says his Little-One bar -- a homophone to Lithuania's Mandarin name "Litaowan" -- started getting more attention last year after Vilnius became the first EU government to donate vaccines.

2022 March 9, “'Lithuania mania' sweeps Taiwan as China spat sizzles”, in France 24, archived from the original on 2022-03-09:

Standard Mandarin, an official language of China and Taiwan, and one of four official languages in Singapore; Putonghua, Guoyu or Huayu.

標準中国語

ひょうじゅんちゅうごくご


Manu

Transliteration of Sanskrit मनु (manu, “man, mankind”). Doublet of man.

translit

A male given name from Sanskrit commonly used in India.


Manual

A male given name from Spanish: a rare spelling variant of Manuel, sometimes considered erroneous.


Marc

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


Marcel

Borrowed from French Marcel, from Latin Marcellus, diminutive of Marcus. Doublet of Marcellus.


March

en-proper noun

March (usually uncountable, plural Marches)

Bislama: maj

→ Bengali: মার্চ (marco)

→ Burmese: မတ် (mat)

→ Chichewa: Malichi

→ Dari: مارچ (mârč)

→ Hausa: Maris

→ Hawaiian: Malaki

→ Hindi: मार्च (mārc)

→ Malay: Mac

→ Maori: Māehe

→ Marshallese: M̧aaj

→ Tokelauan: Māti

→ Tongan: Maʻasi

From Middle English March, Marche, borrowed from Anglo-Norman marche, from Old French marz, from Latin mensis Mārtius (“the Martian month”), from earlier Mavors.

der

“Kendall told me about a man named March Flack. A radio actor who disappeared years ago. I assumed that was here.”

2001, John Dunning, Two O'Clock, Eastern Wartime: A Novel, →ISBN, page 82:

Alexander Garden Jr., the long-serving rector of South Carolina's St. Thomas parish, twice advertised in 1747 to offer a reward for the return of an enslaved Igbo man named March, who had run away from the parsonage house.

2012, Travis Glasson, Mastering Christianity: Missionary Anglicanism and Slavery, →ISBN:

However, Patty seems to have been the only one of more than seventy slaves at Ossabaw Island who did not perform some duty on the plantation, which is evidence that elderly and disabled slaves were indeed put to work despite their impairments. The overseer's journals for Kollock's Ossabaw Island plantation allow us to trace the career of one disabled slave, a blind man named March, to demonstrate the utility of slaves with debilities. At the time Kollack was consolidating his assets on his new plantation, March was rated to be a "quarter hand," with no indication of what jobs he was expected to perform at that time. In the 1850 and 1851 journals, March is not included in tallies of cotton pickings by weight, unlike most other male slaves [...]

2013, Dea H. Boster, African American Slavery and Disability: Bodies, Property and Power, →ISBN:

What suited her much better was a young man named March whom she had met at a friend's wedding in London. Both Linda and March Hancock had grown up far east of Eden, [...] March Hancock was born in 1944 [...]

2016, Mary V. T. Cattan, Pilgrimage of Awakening: The Extraordinary Lives of Murray and Mary Rogers, →ISBN, page 157:

(uncommon) A male given name from English.


Mare

A diminutive of the female given names Mary, Maria, Marianne, or other female names beginning with Mar-, from Hebrew.


Margarita

Borrowed from the Latin and Spanish Margarita (“Margaret”).


Marge

A diminutive of the female given names Marjorie or Margaret.


Mari

Borrowed from Western Mari мари (mari, “Mari language term for the Mari”).


Mari

Our colleague, Mari Takahashi Parker (1993), compared schools in the United States and in Japan. She found that in the United States, principals tended to feel the weight of just about everything on their shoulders.

2010 March 9, Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal, Reframing the Path to School Leadership: A Guide for Teachers and Principals, Corwin Press, →ISBN:

He hopped across and went to lift Mari, but she shook her head and jumped over [by] herself.

2018, Emiko Jean, Empress of All Seasons, HMH Books For Young Readers, →ISBN, page 40:


Marina

Name of an early virgin martyr venerated in the Orthodox Church, Latin Marīna, probably a feminine form of Marīnus, from marīnus (“of the sea”), or a variant of Marīa.

My gentle babe Marina - whom, / for she was born at sea, I have nam'd so -

c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry Gosson, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

Marina Ovsyannikova, b. 1978

Марина Марина#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian female given name Марина (Marina).


Mark

en-prop

Mark (countable and uncountable, plural Marks)

Translingual: markmitchelli

From Middle English Mark, from the Latin praenomen (i.e. first name) Mārcus, derived from Mārs, the Roman god of war, originally Māvors, from Proto-Italic *Māwortis.

"And your name?" she said, "I suppose it's quite unremarkable?" "Very funny." "Mark. It could stand as a symbol of a man, for men as a category," she reflected, "but I don't suppose that's why your mother gave it to you?" "My mother's motives always were impenetrable to me. I was her only child, she wanted a simple life. So she gave me a simple name to go along with it. --- It wasn't a popular name until the nineteenth century. People were put off by King Mark in the Tristram and Iseult."

1988, Ann Oakley, Men's Room, pages 25–26:

One Nation, a new 501(c)4 linked to the Karl-Rove-backed American Crossroads super PAC, is spending more than $1.9 million on print, radio and digital ads highlighting the efforts of Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey to pass the “doc fix” legislation that realigned payments to Medicare providers with inflation.

2015 May 12, Alexandra Jaffe, “First on CNN: New Rove-linked group spends $2M to boost GOP incumbents”, in CNN:


Mart

He looked at me when introduced and said “Mart's boy!” 'I was in fact Martin's grandson, but didn't bother splitting hairs — […]

2015, Deborah Coddington, The Good Life On Te Muna Road:

A diminutive of the male given name Martin.


Martin

en-proper noun

Martin (countable and uncountable, plural Martins)

From Middle English Martin, from Latin Mārtīnus (“of or like Mars” or “little Mars”), Mārs, Mārtis + -īnus (diminutive suffix). See Mārs for further etymology.

af

Expect Saint Martin's summer, halcyon days, / Since I have entered into these wars.

Luther was not born in the year 1483, but in 84; and not on the 22nd day of October, but on the 10th of November, the eve of Martinmas day, from whence he had the name of Martin. - - - Now you see, brother Toby, he would say, looking up, "that christian names are not such indifferent things;" - Had Luther here been called by any other name but Martin, he would have been damned to all eternity - Not that I look upon Martin, he would add, as a good name - far from it - 'tis something better than a neutral, and but a little - yet little as it is, you see it was of some service to him.

1767 Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy, Book IV ( Slawkenbergius's Tale )

What splendid names for boys there are! / There's Carol like a rolling car, / And Martin like a flying bird,/

1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Boys' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 90:

Martin was pretty dull as names went but 'Alex Blake' had a certain dash to it. His publishers hadn't considered Martin's own name to be 'punchy' enough.

2006, Kate Atkinson, One Good Turn, Black Swan, published 2007, →ISBN, page 81:

A male given name from Latin originally given in honor of a fourth century soldier-saint.


Mason

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Mat

A diminutive of the male given name Matthew.


Mato

A Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in Papua New Guinea.


Matt

During the boom times, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Reese Witherspoon and Matt Damon all gushed about or invested in crypto projects, bringing a mainstream audience to the wonky world of digital currencies.

2023 July 6, Erin Griffith, David Yaffe-Bellany, “How Tom Brady’s Crypto Ambitions Collided With Reality”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A diminutive of the male given name Matthias.


Max

Borrowed from the German Max, diminutive of Maximilian in the 19th century, later also used as a nickname for Maxwell.

Since it seems to me that this fad of child-rearing has turned into an actual trend, that babies are an increasingly popular accessory for people-on-the-go, I first want to say to stop naming your boys Max. Max is a perfectly nice name, ensuring its owner a certain precocious sensibility, but there are enough Maxes now. Any more Maxes and the breed will go to the dogs.

2002, Cynthia Heimel, If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?, Grove Press, →ISBN, page 177:

Kyle: Okay, Max. Search.

A diminutive of the female given name Maxine.


May

en-proper noun

May (countable and uncountable, plural Mays)

Mays (plural)
Ma (alternative)
Mae (alternative)

Bislama: mei

Pitcairn-Norfolk: Mieh

Tok Pisin: Mei

→ Bengali: মে (me)

→ Burmese: မေ (me)

→ Chichewa: Meyi

→ Dari: می (mey)

→ Hausa: Mayu

→ Hawaiian: Mei

→ Hindi: मई (maī)

→ Marshallese: Māe

→ Maori: Mei

→ Swahili: Mei

→ Tokelauan: Me

→ Tongan: Mē, Me

From Middle English May, Mai, from Old French mai, from Latin Maius (“Maia's month”), from Maia, a Roman earth goddess.

[…] I will not send Owen's Lily May to the almshouse." "Lily―what?" demanded Mrs. Morley rather sharply, for she was half provoked with what she mentally called Amy's whim of keeping the outcast child when she might send it to the asylum. "Lily May," said Amy, smiling. "Her name is Mary, and we called her first Little Mary, and then Little May. But Owen calls her Lily May."

1856, E. D. E. N. Southworth, The Widow's Son, T. B. Peterson, published 1867, page 210:

Their parents named them June and May because their birthdays occurred in those months. […] May was like the time of year in which she had been born, changeable, chilly and warm by turns, sullen yet able to know and show loveliness that couldn't last.

1982, Ruth Rendell, The Fever Tree and Other Stories, Hutchinson, →ISBN, page 119:

It's an awkward name: Isamay, pronounced Is-a-may. Isa is my paternal grandmother's name (shortened from Isabel) and May my maternal grandmother's (it comes, somehow, from Margaret). The amalgamation is, as you see, strictly alphabetical. Life, I feel, would have been much easier if they had chosen Maybel.

2010, Margaret Forster, Isa & May, Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, page 5:

A female given name, usually pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning.


Me

(organic chemistry) Abbreviation of methyl.


Median

The northwestern Old Iranian language of the Medes, attested only by numerous loanwords in Old Persian, few borrowings in Old Armenian and some glosses in Ancient Greek; nothing is known of its grammar.


Mel

Short form of female given names such as Melanie, Melinda, Melissa, Melina, Melody and Carmel.

Short form of the male given names Melvin, Melvyn and Melchor.


Mel

A language family, a branch of Atlantic-Congo, spoken from Guinea-Bissau to Liberia.


Melissa

From Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee, honey, or honeybee”). In Ireland it is sometimes used as a feminine form of the Gaelic male name Maol Íosa (literally “servant of Jesus”).

der

And her owne handmayd, that Melissa hight / Appointed to attend her dewly day and night

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

Miss Melissa Wackles was the eldest daughter, Miss Sophy the next, and Miss Jane the youngest.

1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter number or name)”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1841, →OCLC:

- - - by Mrs. Melissa Blaydon and Miss Ianthe Ambrose.
"Well, they may be sisters," said Nigel. "Those elegant, classical Christian names suggest one father.

1959, Nicholas Blake, The Widow's Cruise, page 9:

A female given name from Ancient Greek, popular in the latter half of the 20th century.


Melody

From the noun melody; in regular use since the 20th century.

Melody, for this, impossibly, was her mother's name, twinkled in a searching manner over the glasses.

2000, Anne Enright, What Are You Like?, Random House, published 2001, →ISBN, page 150:


Mercy

From mercy in the 17th century; one of the less common Puritan virtue names. In modern use sometimes used to anglicize Spanish Mercedes.

Mr Pecksniff was a moral man — a grave man, a man of noble sentiments and speech — and he had had her christened Mercy. Mercy! oh, what a charming name for such a pure–souled Being as the youngest Miss Pecksniff! Her sister’s name was Charity. There was a good thing! Mercy and Charity!

1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 2, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:


Meri

A diminutive of the female given name Merida.


Merle

Merle Haggard is a name out of a morality play. And that's the kind of songs he sings.

1968 May 3, Al Aronowitz, “New Country Twang Hits Town”, in Life Magazine, page 12:


Merle

English 19th-century bird name from merle (“blackbird”), possibly also a variant of Muriel, Merrill, etc.

Her name was Merle, and to her name she always said she owed the fact that Gilbert Vanborough ever looked at her.

1887, Emily Frances Adeline Sergeant, Jacob's Wife, page 92:

"I wish I had a name like Merle Oberon or Miriam Hopkins," Mary Agnes said dreamily as she scanned the display of Coming Attractions.

1976, From These Hills, From These Valleys: Pennsylvania Writers' Collection, University of Pittsburgh Press, →ISBN, page 186:


Merry

'Is he handsome, Pa?' inquired the younger daughter.
'Silly Merry!' said the eldest: Merry being fond for Mercy. 'What is the premium, Pa? tell us that.'

It was on account of she had such a happy temperament I persuaded Mr. van der Most to let me call her Merry. Lots of folks, when they first meet her, they think she's called Mary - Maria, as you would say it, Signor Lumaca - but no, her name is really Merry, M-E-double-R-Y, because, I always tell them, she is.

1964 Brigid Brophy, The Waste Disposal Unit, Best Short Plays of the World Theatre 1958-1967, page 50

A diminutive of the female given name Mercy.

A diminutive of the male given name Meredith.


Met

(US) The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.


Mia

A German, Dutch and North Germanic diminutive of Maria.

- - - I know he thinks my name is awkward to say. He rarely calls me Mia." Christened Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow, she couldn't pronounce Maria when she was a toddler and called herself Mia.

1991 February 24, Eric Lax, “Woody and Mia: A New York Story”, in New York Times:

A female given name from German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish.


Mich

A diminutive of the female given name Michelle.


Mien

A group of related languages spoken by the Yao people.


Mike

en-prop

Mike (countable and uncountable, plural Mikes)

→ Hebrew: מייק (maik)

West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin was not impressed with the executive orders, calling them a “troubling example” of executive overreach that “could harm us for generations.”

2025 January 14, Leah Willingham, “West Virginia governor axes DEI and enacts vaccine exemptions on first full day in office”, in AP News:

(countable) A diminutive of the male given name Michael.

(countable) A diminutive of the female given name Michaela.


Miles

en-proper noun

Miles (countable and uncountable, plural Miles or Mileses)

Miles (plural)
Mileses (plural)
Myles (alternative)

From Old French given name Milo, of problematic origin, possibly from an unknown Germanic element, or a short form of Slavic names beginning with mil- "grace, favor". The English form is associated by folk etymology with Latin mīles (“soldier”).
As a surname, it is also derived from a Middle English Miles form of Michael.

Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather, / Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.

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

Just one thing, if I may, Mark said. It's Miles, his name. Not Milo.
Yeah, I know, Anna's always going on about that too. But Milo's better, Milo's got something about it, hasn't it? the man said. It's catchier. It's catching on round the camp, Milo, where Miles sounds a bit, well, wet. A bit middle class, you know?

2011, Ali Smith, There but for the, Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, page 191:

A male given name from the Germanic languages.


Mills

From mills, in reference to mill owners and workers.

A male given name transferred from the surname.


Mina

Borrowed from Arabic مِينَا (mīnā) and South Asian मीना (mīnā).


Molly

→ Irish: Mallaidh

→ Swedish: Molly

From Moll, diminutive lambdacism of Mary + -y.


Mon

A member of a people living primarily in the Mon State of Myanmar (also known as Burma), and in Thailand.


Mon

The language of this people, in the Austroasiatic language family.


Mon

Phoebe: Oh, hey, Mon, do you still have your like... old blouses and dresses from high school? Monica: Yeah, I think I have some around here somewhere. Why?

2009, Paulo Quaglio, Television Dialogue: The sitcom Friends vs. natural conversation, page 19:

A diminutive of the female given name Monica.


Mona

Anglicized from Irish and Scottish Gaelic Muadhnait, from Middle Irish múad (“noble”). In northern Europe, where the name is much more popular, Mona is interpreted as a diminutive of Monica or, rarely, of Ramona, and sometimes associated with the title of da Vinci's painting Mona (=madonna) Lisa.
The Arabic and Persian name مُنىٰ (munā) is sometimes Romanised as Mona.