Baby names, their meanings and histories

A name’s language of use and its derivation tell different parts of its story. Choose either or both.

Ada to Ibrahim.

1. Ada

   Girl

   Ada and a place in the family. In some Igbo communities, Ada names an honoured first-daughter role and can also be used to address women of the community. That family connection may be the part you want to carry forward.†

   † The role and forms of address vary by community; the name does not establish a bearer’s birth order or duties.

   The Igbo meaning. Ada can mean a first daughter, or more broadly a daughter. It is also used as a feminine given name and a term of address in Igbo.†

   † The first-daughter sense and the broader use for a daughter belong to different contexts.

   † This is the Igbo name; other names spelled Ada have different histories.

2. Alexander

   Boy

   From Alexandros to Alexander. Alexander is the Latinized form of the Greek name Alexandros.

   Defender of men. Its Greek parts bring together “defend” or “protect” and the word for “man”, giving the sense “defender of men”.

3. Ali

   Boy

   A name with a place in Islamic history. Ali has a close historical connection to Muhammad’s family: Ali ibn Abi Talib was his cousin and son-in-law, and an early Muslim caliph. That association may matter alongside the sound of the name.

   Lofty or exalted. In Arabic, Ali (عليّ) means “lofty” or “exalted”. It comes from a root meaning “to be high”.†

   † This meaning belongs to the Arabic masculine name عليّ; other names spelled Ali have separate histories.

4. Aria

   Gender-neutral

   Which Aria story feels yours?. Aria has separate English and Persian histories. You might be drawn to its Italian musical sense or to a Persian family connection.

   The musical Aria. The modern English feminine name comes from Italian aria: “air”, and also a musical composition.†

   † The Italian word and its musical sense belong to the English name's history; they are not the meaning of Persian Aria.

   The Persian history. Persian Aria is a masculine given name, written آریا. Its history connects to arya, an ancient term Iranian peoples used for themselves.†

   † The ancient Iranian element is a historical self-designation, not a modern character trait.

5. Arthur

   Boy

   A place in the Arthurian stories. Arthur carries a connection with the legendary King Arthur and the medieval stories told around him.

   Is Arthur a bear name?. Celtic bear roots are one proposed explanation; the Roman family name Artorius is another. You can enjoy the bear connection while keeping that uncertainty in mind.†

   † These are proposed derivations, not settled translations.

   A glimpse of Arthur in 1534. Arthur appears in a Coventry record from 1534. If you like a name with a long English history, that is a small glimpse of it in use.

6. Athena

   Girl

   Wisdom with a practical side. In Greek myth, Athena brings together wisdom, practical skills and prudent warfare.

   A story, rather than a translation. Athena’s literal meaning is unknown. If wisdom is what draws you to the name, that connection comes through the goddess.†

   † The goddess’s associations with wisdom and skills are not a literal translation of the name.

   From Greek myth to a given name. Athena is an ancient Greek divine name. It is also used as a feminine given name in English.

7. Aurora

   Girl

   Dawn in Latin and Roman myth. Aurora means “dawn” in Latin. In Roman mythology, Aurora is also the goddess of dawn.

8. Ayla

   Girl

   A ring of light around the moon. In Turkish, Ayla is a word for a halo, such as the ring of light that can circle the moon.†

   † A lunar halo is one recorded sense; the Turkish word can also describe other halos.

   † This is the Turkish name's history; other names spelled Ayla have separate accounts.

9. Boaz

   Boy

   Boaz has a place in Ruth's story. In biblical tradition, Boaz is Ruth's husband. The name also belongs to one of the pillars before Solomon's Temple.

   A Hebrew name with an uncertain meaning. Boaz comes from Hebrew and is written בֹּעַז. One proposed meaning is “swiftness” or “quickness”.†

   † “Swiftness” or “quickness” is a questioned proposal, not an established literal meaning.

10. Cormac

    Boy

    Cormac has a place in Irish legend. Cormac mac Airt is a high king in Irish legend. Outside the stories, Cormac is used as a given name in both Irish and English.†

    † Accounts of Cormac mac Airt belong to legend; dates given for his reign are uncertain.

    An Irish name with an unsettled meaning. Cormac comes through Old Irish Cormac or Corbmac. Its final element means “son”; proposed first elements include “chariot” or “wagon”, and “defilement” or “corruption”.†

    † These are alternative proposals, not established translations. Woulfe also records “son of Corb”.

11. Dylan

    Boy

    Dylan’s sea connection begins with a story. In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Dylan is Arianrhod’s son, who enters the sea soon after birth.†

    † This is an episode of legend, not history.

    One proposed reading of Dylan. One proposed reading joins Welsh dy, “to” or “toward”, with llanw, “tide” or “flow”.†

    † The sea story is a literary association; this etymological proposal is not a settled translation.

12. Ellis

    Gender-neutral

    Ellis has more than one history. Ellis can come through English surnames derived from Elis or Elias, or through Welsh Elisedd.†

    † These are two documented routes, not a complete list of every Ellis history or evidence of a child’s ancestry.

    The Welsh connection with kindness. On the Welsh Elisedd branch, the root elus is explained as “kind” or “benevolent”.†

    † “Kind” or “benevolent” belongs to the Welsh Elisedd branch; it is not a meaning shared by every Ellis.

13. Elodie

    Girl

    Elodie, Élodie and Alodia. English Elodie comes from French Élodie, which goes back to the older name Alodia. French Catholic naming tradition also records the unaccented spelling Elodie.

    Different explanations for Alodia. One explanation of Alodia points to a possible Visigothic name. A French saints’ reference instead connects it with Latin alodis, “property”. Neither account gives Elodie a certain one-word meaning.†

    † The possible Visigothic explanation rests on uncertain name elements.

14. Enzo

    Boy

    Several name families. Enzo can be short for Vincenzo or Lorenzo. Other proposed origins are Heinz, a short form of Heinrich, and the Germanic name Anzo.†

    † There is no settled meaning for Enzo; as a short form, it takes the longer name’s meaning.

15. Ezra

    Boy

    A name with a scribe's story. In Jewish tradition, Ezra is the priest and scribe who led exiles back to Jerusalem and helped restore public Torah observance. That gives a family a particular story to pass on with the name.

    The short meaning is help. Ezra means “help” in Hebrew. It is a small word to carry into a very large undertaking: raising a person.

    A possible longer form. Ezra is probably an abbreviated form of Azaryahu, “God helps”. The short name is written עֶזְרָא in Hebrew.†

    † The longer form is a probable explanation, not a settled expansion of Ezra.

16. Fatima

    Girl

    A family and faith connection. Fatima was the daughter of Muhammad and the wife of Ali. Her place in Muslim history, especially in Shiʿi tradition, gives the name an association you may value for reasons of faith or family.

    The word behind Fatima. Fatima comes from the Arabic verb faṭama, “to wean”. The Arabic form Fāṭima belongs to that word family; the name’s historical association is a separate part of its appeal.

17. Felix

    Boy

    A fortunate Latin name. Felix comes from the Latin word felix, meaning “happy” or “fortunate.” It was also a Roman personal name.

18. Finn

    Boy

    Finn and the stories of Fionn. Finn has an Irish link with the legendary hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. Kuno Meyer’s English translation of The Boyish Exploits of Finn calls him Finn mac Cumaill.†

    † Finn mac Cumaill is the translator’s English spelling, not a claim about the exact spelling in an Irish manuscript.

    The Irish history of Finn. Finn is an Old Irish form and an English anglicization of Fionn, connected with the Irish word for “white”. Finn is also used as an English given name.†

    † The word meaning belongs to the Irish tradition. It describes neither a modern bearer’s appearance nor every name spelled Finn.

    † The Norse Finn comes from Finnr and has a separate history from the Irish name.

19. Freya

    Girl

    The Old Norse connection. Freya comes from Old Norse Freyja, the name of a goddess in Norse mythology.

    Lady. The Old Norse word freyja means “lady.”

20. Hamish

    Boy

    Hamish comes from addressing James in Gaelic. Seumas is the Scottish Gaelic form of James. Address someone named Seumas in Gaelic and you say “a Sheumais”; Hamish is an anglicized form of Sheumais.†

    † Sheumais is a grammatical form used in direct address, not a modern nickname for Seumas.

    † Hamish belongs to James’s name family rather than having a separate word meaning of its own.

21. Harvey

    Boy

    A Breton name family. Harvey comes from an older Breton name, also found in French as Hervé.

    More than one reading. One reading is “battle-worthy.” Another joins “iron” or “battle” with “eager,” “keen” or “fiery.”†

    † The Breton elements have no single agreed interpretation.

22. Hazel

    Girl

    A name from the hazel tree. Hazel takes its name from the nut-bearing tree. The English word goes back to Old English hæsel.

23. Hugo

    Boy

    Hugo and Hugh. Hugo and Hugh belong to the same Germanic name family.

    Mind and thought. The old Germanic element behind Hugo carries the sense of “mind” or “thought.”

24. Ibrahim

    Boy

    The Abraham connection. Ibrahim is an Arabic form of Abraham, written إبراهيم.

    A traditional interpretation. Abraham’s Hebrew name is traditionally read as “father of a multitude,” though its exact derivation is uncertain.†

    † This explains the Hebrew name Abraham; it is not a translation of Ibrahim from Arabic.