Barbara f English, Italian, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Ancient Roman [1] [2] Derived from Latin
barbarus meaning
"foreign, savage, strange", originally from Greek
[3] [4] [5] . According to legend, Saint Barbara was a young woman killed by her father Dioscorus, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen. Because of her renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. In England it became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century. Gary m English From an English surname that was derived from a Norman given name, which was itself originally a short form of names beginning with the Old German element
ger meaning
"spear" [1] [2] [3] . This name was popularized in the late 1920s by the American actor Gary Cooper (1901-1961), who took his stage name from the city of Gary in Indiana where his agent was born
[4] . It was especially popular in the 1940s and 50s, breaking into the American top ten in 1950, though it has since waned.
Janice f English Elaborated form of
Jane, created by Paul Leicester Ford for his novel
Janice Meredith (1899).
Jimmy m English Diminutive of
James. This was the usual name of American actor James Stewart (1908-1997). It was also used by the American president Jimmy Carter (1924-2024).
Joyce f & m English From the medieval masculine name
Josse, which was derived from the earlier
Iudocus, which was a Latinized form of the Breton name
Judoc meaning
"lord" [1] . The name belonged to a 7th-century Breton saint, and Breton settlers introduced it to England after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the 14th century, but was later revived as a feminine name, perhaps because of similarity to the Middle English word
joise "to rejoice". This given name also became a surname, as in the case of the Irish novelist James Joyce (1882-1941).
Judith f English, Jewish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, French, Biblical From the Hebrew name
יְהוּדִית (Yehuḏiṯ) meaning
"Jewish woman", feminine of
יְהוּדִי (yehuḏi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of
Judah [1] [2] . In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of
Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.
... [more] Linda f English, German, Dutch, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, French, Latvian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Germanic Originally a medieval short form of Germanic names containing the element
lind meaning
"soft, flexible, tender" (Proto-Germanic *
linþaz )
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . It also coincides with the Spanish and Portuguese word
linda meaning
"beautiful". In the English-speaking world this name experienced a spike in popularity beginning in the 1930s, peaking in the late 1940s, and declining shortly after that. It was the most popular name for girls in the United States from 1947 to 1952.
Nancy f English, Spanish (Latin American) Previously a medieval diminutive of
Annis, though since the 18th century it has been a diminutive of
Ann [1] . It is now usually regarded as an independent name. During the 20th century it became very popular in the United States. A city in the Lorraine region of France bears this name, though it derives from a different source. Famous bearers include the American first lady Nancy Reagan (1921-2016), and the fictional teen detective Nancy Drew, first appearing in books beginning 1930.
Richard m English, French, German, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Germanic [1] Means
"brave ruler", derived from the Old German elements
rih "ruler, king" and
hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy"
[1] [2] [3] . This was the name of three early dukes of Normandy. The Normans introduced it to England when they invaded in the 11th century, and it has been very common there since that time
[4] . It was borne by three kings of England including the 12th-century Richard I the Lionheart, one of the leaders of the Third Crusade.
... [more] Robert m English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Catalan, Germanic [1] From the Germanic name
Hrodebert meaning
"bright fame", derived from the elements
hruod "fame" and
beraht "bright"
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . The Normans introduced this name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English cognate
Hreodbeorht. It has been consistently among the most common English names from the 13th to 20th century. In the United States it was the most popular name for boys between 1924 and 1939 (and again in 1953).
... [more] Rosemary f English Combination of
Rose and
Mary. This name can also be given in reference to the herb, which gets its name from Latin
ros marinus meaning "dew of the sea". It came into use as a given name in the 19th century.
Sandra f Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Czech, Romanian Short form of
Alessandra. It was introduced to the English-speaking world (where it is usually used independently of
Alexandra) by author George Meredith, who used it for the heroine in his novel
Emilia in England (1864) and the reissued version
Sandra Belloni (1887)
[1] . A famous bearer is the American actress Sandra Bullock (1964-).
Sharon f & m English, Hebrew From an Old Testament place name, in Hebrew
שָׁרוֹן (Sharon) meaning
"plain" [1] , referring to a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel. This is also the name of a flowering plant in the Bible, the rose of Sharon, a term now used to refer to several different species of flowers.
... [more] Susan f English English variant of
Susanna. This has been most common spelling since the 18th century
[1] . It was especially popular both in the United States and the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1960s. A notable bearer was the American feminist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906).