Khulan f Mongolian Means
"onager, wild donkey" in Mongolian. This was the name of a wife of Genghis Khan.
Leah f English, Hebrew, Biblical From the Hebrew name
לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word
לָאָה (laʾa) meaning
"weary, grieved" [1] [2] [3] . Alternatively it might be related to Akkadian
littu meaning
"cow". In the Old Testament Leah is the first wife of
Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Jacob's other wife was Leah's younger sister
Rachel, whom he preferred. Leah later offered Jacob her handmaid
Zilpah in order for him to conceive more children.
... [more] Leonidas m Greek, Ancient Greek [1] Derived from Greek
leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix
ides) [2] [3] . Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.
Leopold m German, Dutch, English, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Polish Derived from the Old German elements
liut "people" and
bald "bold, brave"
[1] [2] [3] . The spelling was altered due to association with Latin
leo "lion"
[4] . This name was common among German royalty, first with the Babenbergs and then the Habsburgs. Saint Leopold was a 12th-century Babenberg margrave of Austria, who is now considered the patron of that country. It was also borne by two Habsburg Holy Roman emperors, as well as three kings of Belgium. Since the 19th century this name has been occasionally used in England, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's uncle, a king of Belgium, after whom she named one of her sons. It was later used by James Joyce for the main character, Leopold Bloom, in his novel
Ulysses (1922).
Leukippos m Ancient Greek [1] , Greek Mythology Means
"white horse", derived from Greek
leukos) meaning "white, bright" and
hippos) meaning "horse"
[2] [3] . This name was borne by a 5th-century BC Greek philosopher, as well as by several characters in Greek mythology, including a young woman who was transformed into a man by
Leto.
Loup m French French form of the Roman name
Lupus meaning
"wolf" [1] . Lupus was the name of several early saints, including a 5th-century bishop of Troyes who apparently convinced
Attila to spare the city.
Lowell m English From an English surname that was derived from a Norman French nickname, from
lou "wolf" and a diminutive suffix. The surname was borne by American poet and satirist James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).
Lyall m English (Rare) From a Scottish surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
Liulfr (which was derived in part from
úlfr "wolf").
Lyonesse f Arthurian Cycle Means
"lioness" in Middle English. In Thomas Malory's 15th-century tale
Le Morte d'Arthur this is the name of a woman trapped in a castle by the Red Knight. Her sister
Lynet gains the help of the knight
Gareth in order to save her.
Lyonors f Arthurian Cycle Probably from Middle English
lyon meaning
"lion". It appears in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends
Le Morte d'Arthur, belonging to a woman who had a child with Arthur
[1] . Alfred Tennyson used the name in his poem
Gareth and Lynette (1872) for the sister of
Lynette (this character is called
Lyonesse in Malory's version of the story).
Math m Welsh Mythology Possibly from the old Celtic root *
matus meaning
"bear". According to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi [1] , Math ap Mathonwy was a king of Gwynedd and a magician. Whenever he was not at war, it was required that he rest his feet in the lap of a virgin. He was the uncle of the hero
Gwydion, with whom he shared most of his adventures.
Mathgamain m Old Irish [1] Means
"bear" in Old Irish, a compound of
math , itself meaning "bear", and
gamuin meaning "calf". This was the name of a brother of the Irish king
Brian Boru.
Melissa f English, Dutch, Ancient Greek [1] , Greek Mythology Means
"bee" in Greek
[2] . In Greek mythology this was the name of a daughter of Procles, as well as an epithet of various Greek nymphs and priestesses. According to the early Christian writer Lactantius
[3] this was the name of the sister of the nymph
Amalthea, with whom she cared for the young
Zeus. Later it appears in Ludovico Ariosto's 1532 poem
Orlando Furioso [4] belonging to the fairy who helps
Ruggiero escape from the witch
Alcina. As an English given name,
Melissa has been used since the 18th century.
Merle m & f English, Estonian From the English word
merle or the French surname
Merle, which both mean
"blackbird" (from Latin
merula). It was borne by the devious character Madame Merle (in fact her surname) in Henry James' novel
The Portrait of a Lady (1880).
... [more] Moray m Scottish From the name of the area of Moray in Scotland or the surname derived from it (see
Moray).
Nastaran f Persian Means
"dog rose" in Persian, referring to the plant species Rosa canina.
Oisín m Irish, Irish Mythology Means
"little deer", derived from Old Irish
oss "deer, stag" combined with a diminutive suffix. In Irish legend Oisín was a warrior hero and a poet, the son of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and the narrator in many of his tales.
Ombeline f French Feminine form of
Humbelin, a medieval diminutive of
Humbert. The Blessed Humbeline (known as Hombeline or Ombeline in French) was a 12th-century nun, the sister of Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux.
Ophrah m Biblical Means
"fawn" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of both a man mentioned in genealogies and a city in Manasseh.
Osborn m English Derived from the Old English elements
os "god" and
beorn "warrior, man". During the Anglo-Saxon period there was also a Norse cognate
Ásbjǫrn used in England, and after the Norman Conquest the Norman cognate
Osbern was introduced. It was occasionally revived in the 19th century, in part from a surname that was derived from the given name.
Ossian m Literature Variant of
Oisín used by James Macpherson in his 18th-century poems, which he claimed to have based on early Irish legends. In the poems Ossian is the son of
Fingal, and serves as the narrator.
Peishan f & m Chinese From Chinese
佩 (pèi) meaning "to respect, to wear" and
珊 (shān) meaning "coral". Other combinations of characters can also form this name.
Peregrine m English (Rare) From the Latin name
Peregrinus, which meant
"traveller". This was the name of several early saints.
Periboia f Greek Mythology From Greek
peri) meaning "around, exceedingly" and
bous) meaning "ox, cow". This is the name of several minor characters in Greek mythology, including the mother of
Ajax Telamonian.
Philip m English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Biblical From the Greek name
[1] [2] [3] [4] , composed of the elements philos) meaning "friend, lover" and hippos) meaning "horse" [5] [6] . This was the name of five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great. The name appears in the New Testament belonging to two people who are regarded as saints. First, one of the twelve apostles, and second, an early figure in the Christian church known as Philip the Deacon.... [more] Philomel f Literature From an English word meaning
"nightingale" (ultimately from
Philomela). It has been used frequently in poetry to denote the bird.
Phinehas m Biblical Probably means
"Nubian" from the Egyptian name
Panhsj, though some believe it means
"serpent's mouth" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Phinehas is a grandson of
Aaron who kills an Israelite because he is intimate with a Midianite woman, thus stopping a plague sent by God. Also in the Bible this is the son of
Eli, killed in battle with the Philistines.
Quetzalcoatl m Aztec and Toltec Mythology Means
"feathered snake" in Nahuatl, derived from
quetzalli "quetzal feather, precious thing" and
cōātl "snake"
[1] . In Aztec and other Mesoamerican mythology he was the god of the sky, wind, and knowledge, also associated with the morning star. According to one legend he created the humans of this age using the bones of humans from the previous age and adding his own blood.
Rachel f English, Hebrew, French, Dutch, German, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Hebrew [1] From the Hebrew name
רָחֵל (Raḥel) meaning
"ewe" [1] [2] . In the Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of
Jacob. Her father
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister
Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid
Bilhah to Jacob to bear him children. Eventually she was herself able to conceive, becoming the mother of
Joseph and
Benjamin.
... [more] Rafe m English Variant of
Ralph. This form became common during the 17th century, reflecting the usual pronunciation.
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).
Ralph m English, German, Swedish Contracted form of the Old Norse name
Ráðúlfr (or its Norman form
Radulf). Scandinavian settlers introduced it to England before the Norman Conquest, though afterwards it was bolstered by Norman influence. In the Middle Ages it was variously spelled
Rauf,
Rafe or
Ralf reflecting the usual pronunciation. The
Ralph spelling became more common in the 18th century. A famous bearer of the name was Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American poet and author who wrote on transcendentalism.
Randolf m English From the Old German elements
rant meaning "rim (of a shield)" and
wolf meaning "wolf"
[1] [2] [3] . The Normans brought this name to England, where there existed already an Old Norse cognate
Randúlfr, which had been introduced by Scandinavian settlers.
Randolf became rare after the Middle Ages, though it was revived in the 18th century (usually in the spelling
Randolph).