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2007-05-16 11:42:02

Etymology and History of First Names

          “As his name is, so is he…” : It is from Samuel, Old Testament. “My Lord, do not take seriously this ill natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young man of my lord, whom you sent.”

1. Adrian (m) represents the personality characteristics of diplomatic, friendly, lacking in energy, confidence and initiative and a procrastinator. This name is the English form of Hadrian, the name of a Roman Emperor who built a wall across northern Britain.

2. Barbara (f) represents the personality characteristics of sensitive, artistic, unstable, and self-conscious and comes from the Greek barbaros, meaning “foreign”. Saint Barbara was a woman killed by her father, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen.

3. Bertha (f) represents the personality characteristics of idealistic, generous, kind, caring, possessive and comes from German, meaning “bright, famous”. Bertha is well known in German legends as a character who sneaks into nurseries and rocks children to sleep.

4. Carol (f or m) represents the personality characteristics of quiet, practical, clever, methodical, creative, inventive, analytical, studious and moody and is an English feminine form of Carolus meaning “song” or “hymn” in English. Note that Carol used to be a masculine name as well but now it is for girls only.

5. Cindy (f) represents the personality characteristics of idealistic, proactive, impressionable, receptive, candid, imaginative, visionary and perfectionist. Cindy is a short form of Cynthi which comes from the Greek “Kynthos”, the name of the Greek moon goddess Artemis who was named after the mountain Kynthos on which she and her twin brother Apollo were presumably born.

6. Debbie (f) represents the personality characteristics of generous, understanding, honest, creative, and intense. It is a short name of Deborah originally from a Hebrew name for a woman described in the Old Testament history of the Bible.

7. Diane (f) represents the personality characteristics of clever, responsible, friendly, serious, reliable and independent and comes from the French form of Diana, originally from the Roman goddess of nature and fertility.

8. Elmer (m) represents the personality characteristics of shrewd, aggressive, decisive, self-centered and independent and comes from Old English, meaning “noble, famous”.

9. Harry (m) represents the personality characteristics of individual, reserved, serious, stubborn, alone, loyal and thoughtful. It is the Medieval English form of Henry, the name of eight kings of England.

10. Hubert (m) represents the personality characteristics of pleasant, diplomatic, sensitive, passive and procrastinator and comes form German, meaning “bright heart”. The Saint Hubert who lived in the 8th century is the patron saint of hunters.

11. Joe (m) represents the personality characteristics of spontaneous, social, easy-going, warm, generous, lacking in initiative and is a short form of Joseph, originally from a Hebrew name of a famous man in the Old Testament history of the Bible.

12. Julian (m) represents the personality characteristics of patient, careful, cautious, conservative and intense and comes from Julius, the name of the last Roman emperor.

13. Linda (f) represents the personality characteristics of hard worker, careful, patient, independent, reliable and practical and comes from Spanish or Italian, meaning “beautiful”.

14. Lynne (f) or Lynn (m) represents the personality characteristics of sensitive, deeply artistic and creative, intense and nature-lover and comes from Welsh meaning “lake” or is a short form of Linda (Spanish), or Belinda (Italian), both meaning “beautiful”.

15. Michael (m) represents the personality characteristics of clever, responsible, serious, self-confident and independent and from the Hebrew name Mikha’el meaning “who is like God”. The New Testament of the Bible identifies Michael as the archangel who leads heaven’s armies. He is the patron saint of soldiers.

16. Nigel (m) represents the personality characteristics of imaginative, creative, inconsistent, insecure, gullible and talkative and is an Italian form of Neil, or a French name meaning “hero”. It is sometimes associated with the Latin niger, meaning “black”.

17. Pope Mel is a humorous reference, meant to show how foolish it would be to put the two names together. “Pope” is a title given to the highest authority of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. “Mel” is possibly a short form of either Melvin (m.), or Melanie (f.) or Melissa (f.), and is a playful name which has no meaning in and of itself.

18. Rory (m) represents the personality characteristics of practical, logical, analytical, systematic, particular and serious and comes from the Irish Ruaidhri, meaning “red king”. It is the name of the last high king of Ireland who reigned in the 12th century.

19. Susan (f) represents the personality characteristics of pleasant, easy-going, friendly, patient, social and cautious and is a short form of Susanna. It is from the Hebrew Shoshanna name for a woman in the Old Testament history of the Bible.

20. Webster (m) represents the personality characteristics of original, inventive, friendly, positive, outspoken, and procrastinator and comes from old English, meaning “weaver”.

Some More

1. ABRAHAM           Gender: Masculine

This name may be viewed either as meaning "father of many" in Hebrew or else as a contraction of ABRAM and Hebrew(hamon) "many, multitude". The biblical Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name . He led his followers from Ur into Canaan, and is regarded by the Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son Isaac and by the Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son Ishmael. A famous bearer of this name was Abraham Lincoln, the American president during the American Civil War.

2. ADAIR          Gender: Masculine

From a Scottish surname which was derived from the first name EDGAR Derived from the Old English element ead "rich, blessed" combined with gar "spear". This was the name of a Saxon king of Wessex who was also a saint. The name was rarely used after the Norman conquest. Famous bearers include author and poet Edgar Allan Poe and the French impressionist painter Edgar Degas.

3. ADAM      Gender: Masculine

This is the Hebrew word for "man". It could be ultimately derived from Hebrew ??? ('adam) meaning "to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin, or from Assyrian adamu meaning "to make". According to Genesis in the Old Testament Adam was created from the earth by God (there is a word play on Hebrew ??????? ('adamah) "earth"). He and Eve were supposedly the first humans, living happily in the Garden of Eden until Adam ate a forbidden fruit given to him by Eve.

4. ADDISON   Gender: Masculine & Feminine

From a surname which meant "son of ADAM".

5. ALAN     Gender: Masculine

The meaning of this name is not known for certain, though it possibly means either "little rock" or "handsome" in Breton. It was introduced to England by Bretons after the Norman invasion. Famous modern bearers include Alan Shepard, the first American in space and the fifth man to walk on the moon, and Alan Turing, a British mathematician and computer scientist.

6.  ALBERT     Gender: Masculine

From the Germanic name Adalbrecht which meant "bright nobility", composed of the elements adal "noble" and beraht "bright". It was introduced to England by the Normans. This name, in its various forms, has belonged to kings of Belgium and Germany, as well as others among European royalty. Other famous bearers include the physicist Albert Einstein, creator of the theory of relativity, and Albert Camus, a French-Algerian writer and philosopher.

7. ALEXANDER    Gender: Masculine

From the Greek name (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek  (alexo) "to defend, help" and  (aner) "man" (genitive  (andros)). Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, is the most famous bearer of this name. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. This was also the name of emperors of Russia, kings of Scotland and Yugoslavia, and eight popes. Also, Sir Alexander MacKenzie was an explorer of the north and west of Canada in the 18th century.

8. ANGEL          Gender: Masculine & Feminine

From the medieval Latin masculine name Angelus which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word  (angelos) meaning "messenger").

9. ANNA        Gender: Feminine

Latinate form of HANNAH. It appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was also borne by an 18th-century empress of Russia and by the main character in Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina', a woman forced to chose between her son and her lover.

10. AUSTIN          Gender: Masculine

From a surname which was derived from a contracted form of the given name AUGUSTINE. A city in Texas bears this name.

11. BENJAMIN         Gender: Masculine

From the Hebrew name  (Binyamin) which means "son of the south" or "son of the right hand". Benjamin in the Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. This name was also borne by Benjamin Franklin, an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.

12. BOB        Gender: Masculine

Medieval short form of ROBERT. Other rhyming nicknames of Robert used in the Middle Ages were Dob, Hob and Nob.

13. BUD       Gender: Masculine     From the English nickname that means "friend".

14.  BYRON    Gender: Masculine

From a surname which was originally from a place name meaning "place of the cow sheds" in Old English. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron, the writer of 'Don Juan' and many other works.

15. COLIN     Gender: Masculine

Medieval pet form of NICHOLAS .  NICHOLAS  Gender: Masculine

From the Greek name (Nikolaos) which meant "victory of the people" from Greek  (nike) "victory" and  (laos) "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is also known as Santa Claus (from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, and Greece and Russia. Nicholas was also the name of two czars of Russia and five popes.

16. DANIEL     Gender: Masculine

From the Hebrew name (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. He lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams. The book also presents Daniel's four visions of the end of the world. Famous bearers of this name include English author Daniel Defoe, Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli, and American frontiersman Daniel Boone.

17. DONALD         Gender: Masculine

From the Gaelic name Domhnall which means "ruler of the world", composed of the Old Celtic elements dumno "world" and val "rule". Two kings of Scotland have borne this name.

18. EDEN          Gender: Feminine

Means "place of pleasure" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament the Garden of Eden was the place where the first people, Adam and Eve, lived before they were expelled.

19. ELIZABETH       Gender: Feminine

From (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath" or perhaps "my God is abundance". In the New Testament this is the name of the mother of John the Baptist. It was also borne by the 12th-century Saint Elizabeth, a daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary who became a Franciscan nun and lived in poverty. It was also the name of a ruling queen of England and an empress of Russia. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

20. EMERSON    Gender: Masculine

From a surname meaning "son of EMERY". The surname has been borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th-century American poet and author who wrote about transcendentalism.

21. EMILY      Gender: Feminine

Medieval feminine form of Aemilius (see EMIL). The British writer Emily Bronte, author of 'Wuthering Heights', and the American poet Emily Dickinson are two famous bearers of this name.

22. EVE            Gender: Feminine

From the Hebrew name (Chavvah), which was derived from the Hebrew word  (chavah) "to breathe" or the related word  (chayah) "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis Eve and Adam were the first humans. She gave the forbidden fruit to Adam, causing their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

23. FRANCIS      Gender: Masculine & Feminine

From the Late Latin name Franciscus which meant "Frenchman". Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order of friars, was the son of a wealthy merchant who renounced his father's wealth and devoted his life to the poor. Later in his life Francis apparently received the stigmata. Another saint of this name was Saint Francis Xavier, a missionary to eastern Asia. Two other famous bearers were philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon, and explorer and admiral Sir Francis Drake. This name is occasionally used for girls.

24. GRACE       Gender: Feminine

Means "grace" from the English word, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. The actress Grace Kelly was a famous bearer of this name.

25. GYPSY          Gender: Feminine

Means simply "Gypsy" from the English word for the nomadic people who originated in northern India. The word was originally a corruption of Egyptian.

26. HAMILTON       Gender: Masculine

From a surname (meaning "falt hill" in Old English) which was originally taken from the name of a town in England (which no longer exists). A famous bearer of the surname was Alexander Hamilton, a founding father of the United States who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.

27. HUGO    Gender: Masculine

Latinized form of HUGH.As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo, the writer of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Les Misérables'.

28. ISAAC     Gender: Masculine

From the Hebrew name (Yitzchaq) which meant "he laughs". Isaac in the Old Testament was the son of Abraham and the father of Esau and Jacob. Famous bearers of this name include the physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton and the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov.

29. ISABEL          Gender: Feminine

Most likely a medieval Spanish form of ELIZABETH, although some theories state that Isabel actually derives from an old Semitic name meaning "daughter of BA'AL". Queens of Castile and Portugal and a queen of England have borne this name.

30. JACK        Gender: Masculine

Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval pet form of JOHN. American writers Jack London and Jack Kerouac were two famous bearers of this name.

31. JOHN         Gender: Masculine

English form of Iohannes, which was the Latin form of the Greek name (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious". This name owes its consistent popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered as saints. The first was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ and a victim of beheading by Herod Antipas. The second was the apostle John, also supposedly the author of the fourth Gospel and Revelation. The name has been borne by 23 popes, as well as kings of England, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and France. It was also borne by the poet John Milton and the philosopher John Locke

YAHWEH 

A name of the Hebrew God, represented in Hebrew by the tetragrammaton ("four letters")(Yod Heh Waw Heh), transliterated into Roman script Y H W H. Because it was considered blasphemous to utter the name of God it was only written and never spoken. This resulted in the original pronunciation being lost. The name may have originally been derived from the old Semitic root ??? (havah) meaning "to be" or "to become".

32. JACKSON        Gender: Masculine

From a surname which means "son of JACK".

33. JANE        Gender: Feminine

English form of Jehanne, an Old French feminine form of Johannes (see JOHN). Jane Austen was the British novelist who wrote 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Pride and Prejudice' among other works. Also, the central character in Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' bears this name.

34. JASMINE       Gender: Feminine

From Persian Yasmin, the name of a climbing plant with fragrant flowers which is used for making perfumes.

35. KATHERINE     Gender: Feminine

From the Greek name (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name  (Hekaterine), which came from (Hekateros) "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess HECATE; it could be related to Greek  (aikia) "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". The Romans associated it with Greek  (katharos) "pure" and changed their spelling from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this. The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on the famous Catherine wheel. Another saint by this name was Catherine of Siena, a 14th-century mystic. This name was also borne by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great, and by three of Henry VIII's wives.

36 . LAURENCE             Gender: Masculine

From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "of Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor.

37. LAWRENCE       Gender: Masculine

Variant of LAURENCE. This was the surname of the author and poet D. H. Lawrence, as well as the revolutionary T. E. Lawrence, who was known as Lawrence of Arabia.

38. MARGARET       Gender: Feminine

Derived from Greek (margarites) meaning "pearl". Saint Margaret was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. She is the patron saint of expectant mothers. Another famous bearer was Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. The name was also borne by Margaret Mitchell, author of 'Gone with the Wind'.

39. NICHOLAS    Gender: Masculine

From the Greek name (Nikolaos) which meant "victory of the people" from Greek (nike) "victory" and  (laos) "people". Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is also known as Santa Claus (from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, and Greece and Russia. Nicholas was also the name of two czars of Russia and five popes.

40. OSCAR         Gender: Masculine

Means "deer lover", derived from Gaelic os "deer" combined cara "lover". In Irish legend Oscar was the son of the poet Oisin and the grandson of the hero Fionn mac Cumhail. Famous bearers of this name include a 19th-century king of Sweden and the Irish writer and humourist Oscar Wilde. The name Oscar could also represent a revival of an Old English name (meaning "god spear" from Old English os "god" and gar "spear").

41. OSBORN     Gender: Masculine

Derived from the Old English element os "god" combined with beorn "bear". After the Norman conquest this name was rarely used.

42. PHILIP          Gender: Masculine

From the Greek name (Philippos) which means "friend of horses", composed of the elements φιλο? (philos) "friend" and (Hippos) "horse". Saint Philip was an apostle in the New Testament. This was also the name of an early figure in the Christian church spoken of in Acts in the New Testament. The name was borne by five kings of Spain, six kings of France, and five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great.

43. QUEEN    Gender: Feminine

From an old nickname which was derived from the Old English word cwen meaning "woman, wife".

44. REBECCA    Gender: Feminine

From the Hebrew name(Rivqah), possibly meaning "a snare" in Hebrew, or perhaps derived from an Aramaic name. This was the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob in the Old Testament.

45. ROBERT        Gender: Masculine

Means "bright fame", derived from the Germanic elements hrod "fame" and beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to Britain. It belonged to three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce who restored the independence of Scotland from England in the 14th century. The author Robert Browning and poets Robert Burns and Robert Frost are famous literary bearers of this name. Also, Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate army during the American Civil War.

46. SAMUEL            Gender: Masculine

From the Hebrew name (Shemu'el) which could mean either "name of God" or "God has heard". Samuel was the last of the ruling judges in the Old Testament. He anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and later anointed David. A famous bearer was the American author Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain.

47. SIGMUND        Gender: Masculine

Derived from the Germanic elements sige "victory" and mund "protector" (or in the case of the Scandinavian cognate, from the Old Norse elements sigr "victory" and mundr "protector"). A notable bearer of this name was the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud, the creator of the revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis.

48. SIMON         Gender: Masculine

From the Greek form of the Hebrew name (Shim'on) which meant "hearkening" or "listening". The New Testament presents Simon, also known as Peter (a name given to him by Jesus), as the most important of the apostles. This is also the name of several other characters in the Bible, including the man who carried the cross for Jesus.

49. SOPHIA          Gender: Feminine

Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred.

50. THOMAS          Gender: Masculine

Greek form of the Aramaic name Te'oma which meant "twin". In the New Testament he was the apostle who doubted the resurrected Jesus. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Famous bearers of this name include philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas, philosopher Thomas Hobbes, inventor Thomas Edison, American president Thomas Jefferson, and novelist Thomas Hardy.

51. ULYSSES           Gender: Masculine

Latin form of ODYSSEUS. Ulysses Grant was the commander of the Union forces during the American Civil War, and was later an American president.

52. VERGIL      Gender: Masculine

Variant of VIRGIL . VIRGIL  Gender: Masculine

From the Roman family name Vergilius which is of unknown meaning. This was the name of a Roman poet, the writer of the 'Aeneid'. 

53. WALDO           Gender: Masculine

Short form of Germanic names containing the element wald which means "rule". Ralph Waldo Emerson was a 19th-century American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.

54. WALLACE          Gender: Masculine

From a surname which originally meant "Welsh" or "foreigner" in Old French. Sir William Wallace was the Scottish hero who briefly expelled the rule of England from Scotland in the 13th century.

55. XERXES           Gender: Masculine

Greek form of the Persian name Khshayarsha which meant "ruler over heroes". This was a 5th-century BC king of Persia, the son of Darius the Great. He attempted an invasion of Greece, which ended unsuccessfully at the battle of Salamis.

56. YASMIN            Gender: Feminine

Persian form of JASMINE . JASMINE  Gender: Feminine

From Persian Yasmin, the name of a climbing plant with fragrant flowers which is used for making perfumes.

57. YORK           Gender: Masculine

From a surname, which was derived from York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally Eburacon, meaning "yew" in British, but it was altered by association with Old English Eoforwic, meaning "pig farm".

58. YSABEL               Gender: Feminine              Variant of ISABEL 

Most likely a medieval Spanish form of ELIZABETH, although some theories state that Isabel actually derives from an old Semitic name meaning "daughter of BA'AL". Queens of Castile and Portugal and a queen of England have borne this name.

59.  ZACHARY             Gender: Masculine

Usual English form of ZECHARIAH

ZECHARIAH 

From the Hebrew name (Zekaryah) which meant "YAHWEH remembers". Zechariah was a minor prophet of the Old Testament, author of the Book of Zechariah. This is also the name of the father of John the Baptist in the New Testament, who was temporarily made dumb because of his disbelief.

60. ZAK               Gender: Masculine

Short form of ZACHARY or ISAAC . ZACHARY 

Usual English form of ZECHARIAH

ZECHARIAH 

From the Hebrew name (Zekaryah) which meant "YAHWEH remembers". Zechariah was a minor prophet of the Old Testament, author of the Book of Zechariah. This is also the name of the father of John the Baptist in the New Testament, who was temporarily made dumb because of his disbelief.

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