joli_dans_titre1's Personal Name List


Gender: Feminine

Usage: German, French, English, Greek, Ancient Greek

Other Scripts: Αλεξης (Greek), Αλεξις (Ancient Greek)

Pronounced: ah-LEK-sis (German), al-ek-SEE (French), ə-LEK-sis (English)

Personal note: Alex



Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, German

Pronounced: sə-SEE-lee-ə (English), sə-SEEL-yə (English), che-CHEE-lyah (Italian), the-THEE-lyah (Spanish), se-SEE-lyah (Latin American Spanish), SE-see-lee-ah (Finnish)

Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd- or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily - the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.


Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Irish

Pronounced: ER-in

Personal note: No nickname I can think of

Anglicized form of EIREANN. It has been used as a given name since the middle of the 20th century.


Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: ə-VAN-jə-leen

Personal note: Eva

Means "good news" from Greek ευ "good" and αγγελμα (angelma) "news, message". It was (first?) used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his epic poem 'Evangeline' (1847). It also appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' (1852) as the full name of the character Eva.


Gender: Feminine

Usage: Italian, German, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Romanian

Pronounced: ee-zah-BEL-lah (Italian), iz-ə-BEL-ə (English)

Personal note: Bella

Latinate form of ISABEL. This name was borne by many medieval royals, including queen consorts of England, France, Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary, as well as the powerful ruling queen Isabella of Castile (properly called Isabel).


Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Personal note: Iz

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


Gender: Masculine & Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: RIE-lee

Personal note: Riles

From a surname which comes from two distinct sources. As an Irish surname it is a variant of REILLY. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English.


Gender: Feminine

Usage: Greek Mythology, Greek

Other Scripts: Σεληνη (Greek)

Pronounced: sə-LEE-nee (English)

Personal note: No Nickname I can think of

Means "moon" in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, sometimes identified with the goddess Artemis.


Gender: Feminine

Usage: English (Modern)

Pronounced: sə-REN-i-tee

Personal note: Sera

From the English word meaning "serenity, tranquility", ultimately from Latin serenus meaning "clear, calm".


Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Greek, German, Ancient Greek

Other Scripts: Σοφια (Greek)

Pronounced: so-FEE-ə (English), so-FIE-ə (British English), zo-FEE-ah (German)

Personal note: Please, do not call anyone with this name Sophie

Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which was the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.

This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels 'Tom Jones' (1749) by Henry Fielding and 'The Vicar of Wakefield' (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith.

Copyright © Mike Campbell 1996-2014.