Pomona f Roman Mythology From Latin
pomus "fruit tree". This was the name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees.
Raleigh m & f English From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning either "red clearing" or "roe deer clearing" in Old English. A city in North Carolina bears this name, after the English courtier, poet and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618).
Regina f English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Ancient Roman [1] Means
"queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin
Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.
Rio 1 m & f Various Means
"river" in Spanish or Portuguese. A city in Brazil bears this name. Its full name is Rio de Janeiro, which means "river of January", so named because the first explorers came to the harbour in January and mistakenly thought it was a river mouth.
Rochelle f English From the name of the French city
La Rochelle, meaning
"little rock". It first became commonly used as a given name in America in the 1930s, probably due to the fame of actress Rochelle Hudson (1914-1972) and because of the similarity to the name
Rachel .
Roma 2 f Various From the Italian name of the Italian capital city, called
Rome in English.
Romulus m Roman Mythology, Romanian From
Roma, the Latin name of the city of
Rome, combined with a diminutive suffix. In Roman legend Romulus and
Remus were the twin sons of Rhea Silvia and the god
Mars. Romulus killed his brother when they argued about where to found Rome. According to the tale he gave the city its name, though in reality it was likely the other way around.
Ryan m English From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of
Ó Riain [1] . This patronymic derives from the given name
Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean
"little king", from Irish
rí "king"
[2] combined with a diminutive suffix.
... [more] Sacramento f & m Spanish Means
"sacrament" in Spanish. In Christianity the sacraments are sacred rites, such as baptism. The word is derived from Latin
sacramentum, a derivative of
sacro meaning "to make sacred, to consecrate".
Samara f English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian) Possibly derived from the name of the city of
Samarra (in Iraq) or
Samara (in Russia). The former appears in the title of the novel
Appointment in Samarra (1934) by John O'Hara, which refers to an ancient Babylonian legend about a man trying to evade death. Alternatively, this name could be derived from the word for the winged seeds that grow on trees such as maples and elms.
... [more] Sanaa f Arabic Means
"brilliance, radiance, splendour" in Arabic, derived from the root
سنا (sanā) meaning "to gleam, to shine"
[1] .
Santiago m Spanish, Portuguese Means
"Saint James", derived from Spanish
santo "saint" combined with
Yago, an old Spanish form of
James, the patron saint of Spain
[1] . It is the name of the main character in the novella
The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Savannah f English From the English word for the large grassy plain, ultimately deriving from the Taíno (Native American) word
sabana. It came into use as a given name in America in the 19th century. It was revived in the 1980s by the movie
Savannah Smiles (1982).
Sela f English (Rare) From the name of a city, the capital of Edom, which appears in the Old Testament. It means "rock" in Hebrew.
Shahrazad f Persian (Rare), Arabic Possibly means
"noble lineage" from Persian
چهر (chehr) meaning "lineage, origin" and
آزاد (āzād) meaning "free, noble"
[1] . Alternatively, it might mean
"child of the city" from
شهر (shahr) meaning "city, land" combined with the suffix
زاد (zād) meaning "child of". This is the name of the fictional storyteller in
The 1001 Nights. She tells a story to her husband the king every night for 1001 nights in order to delay her execution.
Sidonius m Late Roman Latin name meaning
"of Sidon". Sidon was an ancient Phoenician city corresponding to modern-day Saida in Lebanon. This name was borne by the 5th-century saint Sidonius Apollinaris, a 5th-century bishop of Clermont.
Sienna f English (Modern) From the English word meaning
"orange-red". It is ultimately from the name of the city of
Siena in Italy, because of the colour of the clay there.
Sofia f Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian Form of
Sophia used in various languages.
Sterling m English From a Scots surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word
sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
Sydney f & m English From a surname that was a variant of the surname
Sidney. This is the name of the largest city in Australia, which was named for Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney in 1788. Formerly used by both genders, since the 1980s this spelling of the name has been mostly feminine.
Tekoa m Biblical Possibly means either
"stockade" or
"horn, trumpet" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a both a city and a son of Ashhur.
Terrell m English, African American From an English surname that was probably derived from the Norman French nickname
tirel "to pull", referring to a stubborn person. It may sometimes be given in honour of civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954). It was common in the African-American community from the 1970s to the 1990s, typically stressed on the second syllable. A famous bearer is American football player Terrell Owens (1973-).
Trent m English From an English surname that originally denoted someone who lived by the River
Trent. A famous bearer is the American musician Trent Reznor (1965-).
... [more] Trenton m English From the name of a New Jersey city established in the 17th century by William Trent. It means "
Trent's town".
Troy m English Originally from a surname that denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France. It is now more likely used in reference to the ancient city of Troy that was besieged by the Greeks in
Homer's
Iliad. The city's name, from Greek
Τρώς (Tros), but is more likely of Luwian or Hittite origin. This name was popularized in the 1960s by the actor Troy Donahue (1936-2001)
[1] , who took his stage name from that of the ancient city.
Turin m Literature Means
"victory mood" in the fictional language Sindarin. In the
Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Turin was a cursed hero, the slayer of the dragon Glaurung. He was also called Turambar, Mormegil, and other names. This is also the Anglicized name of the city of Torino in Italy.
Tye m English From a surname meaning
"pasture" in Middle English.
Tyler m English From the English surname
Tyler meaning
"tiler of roofs" [1] [2] , derived from Old English
tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
Valencia f Various From the name of cities in Spain and Venezuela, both derived from Latin
valentia meaning "strength, vigour".
Vega 1 f Spanish Means
"meadow, plain" in Spanish. It is taken from a title of the Virgin
Mary,
La Virgen de la Vega, meaning "The Virgin of the Meadow". She is the patron saint of several Spanish municipalities, such as Salamanca.
Venetia f English (Rare), Greek From the Latin name of the Italian region of Veneto and the city of Venice (see the place name
Venetia). This name was borne by the celebrated English beauty Venetia Stanley (1600-1633), though in her case the name may have been a Latinized form of the Welsh name
Gwynedd [1] . Benjamin Disraeli used it for the heroine of his novel
Venetia (1837).
Verona f Various From the name of the city in Italy, which is itself of uncertain meaning, possibly from the Celtic roots *
wernā "alder" and *
magos "field, plain".
Victoria f English, Spanish, Romanian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Ancient Roman [1] [2] , Roman Mythology Means
"victory" in Latin
[3] , being borne by the Roman goddess of victory
[4] [5] . It is also a feminine form of
Victor and
Victorius. This name was borne by a 4th-century saint and martyr from North Africa.
... [more] Vratislav m Czech, Slovak Derived from the Slavic elements
vortiti (Czech
vrátit) meaning "to return" and
slava meaning "glory"
[1] [2] . This was the name of two dukes of Bohemia (the second later a king).
Washington m English, Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian) From a surname that was originally derived from the name of an English town, itself meaning
"settlement belonging to Wassa's people". The given name is usually given in honour of George Washington (1732-1799), commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States.
Wellington m Portuguese (Brazilian), English Used in honour of the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), who commanded the forces that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. For the meaning of the name, see the place name
Wellington.
Winona f English, Sioux Means
"firstborn daughter" in Dakota or Lakota. According to folklore, this was the name of a daughter of a Dakota chief (possibly
Wapasha III) who leapt from a cliff to her death rather than marry a man she hated. Numerous places in the United States have been named after her. The actress Winona Ryder (1971-) was named after the city in Minnesota where she was born.
York m English From an English surname that was derived from
York, the name of a city in northern England. The city name was originally
Eburacon, Latinized as
Eboracum, meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to
Eoforwic, as if from Old English
eofor "boar" and
wic "village". This was rendered as
Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to
York.