Given name
Encyclopedia
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name
Personal name
A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...

 that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...

 (surname). A given name is purposefully given, usually by a child's parents at or near birth, in contrast to an inherited one such as a family name.

In most European (and Europe-derived) cultures, the given name usually comes before the family name (though generally not in lists and catalogs), and so is known as a forename or first name; but the family name traditionally comes first in Hungary, parts of Africa and most of East Asia (e.g. China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam). In East Asia, even part of the given name
Generation name
Generation name, variously zibei or banci, is one of the characters in a traditional Chinese name, and is so called because each member of a generation share that character, unlike surnames or given names...

 may be shared among all members of a given generation in a family and the family's extensions, to differentiate those generations from other generations.

Under the common Western naming convention, people generally have one or more forenames (either given or acquired). If more than one, there is usually a main forename (for everyday use) and one or more supplementary forenames; but sometimes two or more carry equal weight. Beyond preceding the surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 there is no particular ordering rule for forenames. Often the main forename is at the beginning, resulting in a first name and one or more middle names, but other arrangements are quite common.

Given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is used instead, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...

 "on a first-name basis" (or "on first-name terms") alludes to the familiarity of addressing another by a given name.

The western style of having both a family name (surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

) and a given name (Christian name or forename) is far from universal. In many countries it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or Mononym.

Legality

A child's given name or names are usually assigned around the time of birth. In most jurisdictions, the name at birth
Name at birth
The name at birth is the name a child is given by his or her parents, according to a generally universal custom, and legal requirement. What happens subsequently about this name has a substantial cultural component....

 is a matter of public record, inscribed on the birth certificate
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...

 or equivalent. In some jurisdictions, mainly civil-law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

 jurisdictions such as France, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, the Netherlands or Germany, the functionary whose job it is to record acts of birth may act to prevent parents from giving the child a name that may cause him or her harm (in France, by referring the case to a local judge). Even spell-checking of the name is done.

Men born in one country who immigrate to another with different naming conventions may have their names legally changed accordingly. If the name is not assigned at birth it may be assigned at a naming ceremony
Naming ceremony
A naming ceremony is the event at which an infant is given a name or names. They can occur anywhere from mere days after birth to several months afterwards. Some of these ceremonies have religious or cultural significance. In Christianity the process is often connected with Christening.- Hinduism...

 with families and friends attending.

In 1991, in protest of Swedish naming laws, two parents attempted to name their child Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, claiming that it was "a pregnant, expressionistic development that we see as an artistic creation."

Origin of given names

Given names most often derive from the following categories:
  • Aspiring personal traits (external and internal). For example, the name Clement means "merciful". English examples include Faith
    Faith
    Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...

    , Prudence
    Prudence
    Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four Cardinal virtues .The word comes from Old French prudence , from Latin...

     and August.
  • Occupations, for example George
    George (given name)
    George, from the Greek word γεωργός , "farmer" or "earth-worker", which became a name in Greek: Γεώργιος , and Latin: Georgius. The word γεωργός is a compound word, formed by the words ge , "earth", "soil" and ergon , "work"...

     means "farmer".
  • Circumstances of birth, for example Thomas
    Thomas (name)
    Thomas is a masculine given name. It is based on the Biblical Greek , which is itself a transcription of the Aramaic "twin", the Hebrew cognate being...

     meaning "twin" or the Latin name Quintus, which was traditionally given to the fifth male child.
  • Objects, for example Peter means "rock" and Edgar
    Edgar
    Edgar is a common name from Old English words ead + gar . Literally meaning "prosperity-spear" or "prosperous spearman." It may refer to:-Historical:...

     means "rich spear".
  • Physical characteristics, for example Calvin
    Calvin (name)
    A few famous people named Calvin include:*Calvin Klein, fashion designer.*Calvin Harris, Scottish electro artist*The main character from Calvin and Hobbes, a retired comic strip.*Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States....

     means "bald".
  • Variations on another name, especially to change the sex of the name (Pauline
    Pauline (name)
    Pauline is a female given name. It was originally the French form of Paulina, a female version of Paulinus, a variant of Paulus meaning the little, hence the younger....

    , Georgia) or to translate from another language (for instance, the names Francis
    Francis
    Francis is a French and English first name and a surname of Latin origin.Francis is a name that has many derivatives in most European languages. The female version of the name in English is Frances, and Francine...

     or Francisco
    Francisco
    Francisco is a Spanish and Portuguese male name form of the name "Francis".In Spanish, people with the name Francisco sometimes are nicknamed "Paco": San Francisco de Asís was known as Pater Comunitatis when he founded the Franciscan order, "Paco" is a short form of "Pater Comunitatis"...

     that come from the name Franciscus
    Franciscus
    Franciscus is a given name or surname, and may refer to:*Francis of Assisi *Franciscus Henri*Franciscus Accursius*Franciscus Gomarus*Franciscus Donders*Franciscus Patricius*James Franciscus...

     meaning "Frenchman").
  • Surnames, for example Winston, Harrison
    Harrison (name)
    Harrison is a common patronymic surname of English origin. It may also be spelled Harrisson, Harryson or Harrysson. Harrison means "son of Harry". Early records suggest that the surnames Harrison and Harris were used interchangeably by some families. It is likely that to this day there are some...

    , and Ross
    Ross (name)
    Ross can be used as a given name, typically for males, but is also a typical family name for people of Scottish descent . In this case the name is of Scottish origin. The family name can also be of German origin . Ross is the name of many people, such as:- Family name Ross :*Aaron Ross Ross can be...

    . Such names often come from families that are frequently intermarried with the family bearing the individual's surname.
  • Places, for example Brittany
    Brittany
    Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

     and Lorraine.
  • Time of birth, for example day of the week, as in Kofi Annan
    Kofi Annan
    Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...

    , whose given name means "born on Friday", or the holiday on which one was born, for example, the name Natalie
    Natalie (given name)
    Natalie is a female given name, found in many languages but especially common in French and Russian speaking countries. Popular variants are Nathalie and Natalia...

     meaning "[born on] Christmas
    Christmas
    Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

     day" in Latin.
  • Combination of the above, for example the Armenian
    Armenian language
    The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...

     name Sirvart means "love rose."
  • Names of unknown or disputed etymology, for example Mary
    Mary (given name)
    Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Both New Testament names were forms of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam.The usual meaning given by various...

    .


In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....

 or those who are particularly admired, resulting in a limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...

.

The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints'
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

 names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions—Haile Selassie, "power of the Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary"—as the most conspicuous exception). However, the name Jesus is considered taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...

 or sacrilegious
Sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things...

 in some parts of the Christian world, though this taboo does not extend to the cognate Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...

 or related forms which are common in many languages even among Christians.

Similarly, the name Mary, now popular if not ubiquitous among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, was considered too holy for secular use until about the 12th century. In countries that particularly venerated Mary, this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie.

Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin:

  • Hebrew name
    Hebrew name
    Hebrew names are names that have a Hebrew language origin, classically from the Hebrew Bible. They are mostly used by people living in Jewish or Christian parts of the world, but some are also adapted to the Islamic world, particularly if a Hebrew name is mentioned in the Qur'an. When...

    s
    , most often from the Bible, are very common in—or are elements of names used in—the historically Christian countries. Some have elements meaning "God", especially "El". Examples: Michael
    Michael
    Michael is a given name that comes from the , derived from the Hebrew question מי כמו אלוהים? meaning "Who is like God?" In English, it is sometimes shortened to Mike, Mikey, or, especially in Ireland, Mick...

    , Joshua
    Joshua
    Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...

    , Daniel
    Daniel
    Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...

    , Joseph
    Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
    Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....

    , David
    David
    David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

    , Adam
    Adam (name)
    -People with the given name Adam:* Adam of Ebrach , German abbot and historian* Adam , Spanish churchman* Adam , stage name of Mohd Aizam Mat Saman...

    , Elizabeth
    Elizabeth (given name)
    Elizabeth is a feminine given name derived from the Greek Elisávet , which is a form of the Hebrew name Elisheva , meaning "My God is an oath" or"My God is abundance."...

    , Hannah
    Hannah (given name)
    Hannah is a personal name, also spelt Hanna, Hana, or Chana, deriving from the Hebrew language חַנָּה , meaning "He has favoured me/favours me ", or "gracious". The name is biblical as it is the name of the mother of the prophet Samuel...

     and Mary
    Mary (given name)
    Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Both New Testament names were forms of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam.The usual meaning given by various...

    . There are also a handful of names in use derived from the Aramaic
    Aramaic language
    Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...

    , particularly the names of prominent figures in the New Testament—such as Thomas
    Thomas the Apostle
    Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...

    , Martha
    Martha
    Martha of Bethany is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem...

     and Bartholomew
    Bartholomew
    Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified as Nathaniel . He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip, another of the twelve apostles as per , where the name Nathaniel first appears. He is also mentioned as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee” in...

    .
    • All of the Semitic peoples
      Semitic
      In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...

       of history and the present day use at least some names constructed like these in Hebrew (and the ancient Hebrews used names not constructed like these—such as Moses
      Moses
      Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

      , probably an Egyptian name related to the names of Pharaoh
      Pharaoh
      Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...

      s like Thutmose and Ahmose). The Muslim world is the best-known example (with names like Saif-al-din, "sword of the faith", or Abd-Allah, "servant of God"), but even the Carthagenians had similar names: cf. Hannibal, "the grace of god" (in this case not the Abrahamic deity God, but the deity—probably Marduk
      Marduk
      Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...

      —whose title is normally left untranslated, as Baal
      Baal
      Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...

      ).
  • Germanic names are characteristically warlike; roots with meanings like "glory", "strength", and "will" are common. The "-bert" element common in many such names comes from beraht, which means "bright". Examples: Robert
    Robert
    The name Robert is a Germanic given name, from hrod "fame" and beraht "bright". It is also in use as a surname.After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form Robert, where an Old English cognate form had existed before the Norman Conquest...

    , Edward
    Edward
    Edward is an English given name. It is derived from Old English words ead and weard...

    , Roger
    Roger
    Roger is primarily a common first name of English, French and Catalan usage, from the Germanic elements hrod and ger meaning "famous with the spear." The Latin form of the name is Rogerius, as used by a few medieval figures.The name Roger was transmitted to England by the Normans after the...

    , Richard
    Richard
    The first or given name Richard derives from German, French, and English "ric" and "hard" , therefore it means 'powerful leader' as well as 'King's Court'...

    , Albert, Carl, Alfred, Rosalind, Emma, Eric and Matilda
    Matilda (name)
    Matilda is a female name, of Teutonic derivation, derived from words meaning "might, strength" and "battle."...

    .
  • French forms of Germanic
    Germanic languages
    The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...

    names. Since the Norman conquest of England
    Norman conquest of England
    The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

    , many English given names of Germanic
    Germanic languages
    The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...

     origin are used in their French forms. Examples: Robert
    Robert
    The name Robert is a Germanic given name, from hrod "fame" and beraht "bright". It is also in use as a surname.After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form Robert, where an Old English cognate form had existed before the Norman Conquest...

    , Charles
    Charles
    Charles is a given name for males and is borrowed from the French form of the Latin Carolus Charles is a given name for males and is borrowed from the French form of the Latin Carolus...

    , Henry
    Henry (given name)
    Henry is an English male given name and a surname, from the Old French Henry , derived itself from the Germanic name Haimric , which was derived from the word elements haim, meaning "home" and ric, meaning "power, ruler". Harry, its English short form, was considered the "spoken form" of Henry in...

    , William
    William (name)
    William is a popular given name of old Germanic origin. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era...

    , Albert.

  • Slavic names are often of a peaceful character, the compounds being derived from word roots
    Root (linguistics)
    The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family , which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....

     meaning "to protect", "to love", "peace", "to praise [gods]", "to give". Examples: Milena
    Milena (name)
    Milena is a popular female given name of Slavic origin derived from word "mil" meaning "gracious", or, alternatively, "dear". It is the feminine form of the male name Milan. It is currently the most popular name for baby girls born in Armenia...

    , Vesna
    Vesna (name)
    Vesna is a popular South Slavic female name derived from the name of Vesna, an ancient Slavic goddess of spring. It means "spring" in some Slavic languages...

    , Bohumil
    Bohumil
    Bohumil is a Slavic male given name. Means "favoured by God" from the Slavic elements bog god and mil favour. Pronounced baw-huw-MIL. Nicknames are Bob, Bobby, Bohouš, Bohoušek, Bohuš, Mila, Milek, Bogie, Boga, Bozha. Another forms are Bogumił, Bogomil, Bogolyub. Feminine version is Bohumila,...

    , Dobromir
    Dobromir (given name)
    Dobromir - is a Slavic origin given name built of two elements: dobro "good" + mir "prestige, peace". Feminine form is: Dobromira.Notable bearers:*Dobromir Chrysos, was a leader of the Vlachs...

    , Svetlana
    Svetlana
    Svetlana is a common Slavic female name, deriving from the Russian word свет svet, which translates into English as "light", "shining", "pure", or "holy", depending upon context. The name was coined by Alexander Vostokov and popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky in his eponymous ballade, first published...

    , Vlastimil
    Vlastimil
    Vlastimil - is a common Slavic origin given name originating from roots: vlast and mil . Another variant of that name is Vlastislav and Latin form is Patrick. The Czech name days are 17 March and 28 April . The Slovak name day is 13 March...

    . The names have also warlike character and are built of words meaning "fighter", "war", "anger". Examples : Casimir
    Casimir
    Casimir – is an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz, derived from the Slavic elements: kazić "to destroy" and mir "peace, prestige, world". It is originally a warlike name and may mean "someone who destroys opponent's prestige/glory during battle". Also, some researches...

    , Sambor, Wojciech
    Wojciech
    Wojciech a Slavic root pertaining to war and "Ciech" meaning joy, with the resulting combination meaning "The joy of war" or "smiling warrior"...

     and Zbigniew
    Zbigniew
    Zbigniew is a Polish masculine given name, originally Zbygniew . This Slavic name is derived from the Polish elements Zby- and gniew, meaning "anger"...

    . Many of them consist of word "slava" - glory: Bolesław, Miroslav
    Miroslav (given name)
    Miroslav is a Slavic name meaning "peace and glory".-List of people with the given name Miroslav:*Miroslav of Croatia, king of Croatia*Miroslav of Hum, Serbian king of Zahumlje*Miroslav of Podgoria, Serbian Zupan of Podgorica...

    , Vladislav
    Vladislav
    Vladislav is a Slavic male given name, sometimes confused with/treated as the same as Ladislav...

    , Radoslav and Stanisław
    Stanislav (given name)
    Stanislav or Stanislaus is a very old Slavic origin given name, meaning someone who achieves glory or fame. It is most often given in the Slavic countries of Central and South Eastern Europe. The name has spread to many non-Slavic languages as well, such as French , German and others...

    .
  • Celtic
    Celtic languages
    The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

    names are sometimes anglicised
    Anglicisation
    Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...

     versions of Celtic forms, but the original form may also be used. Examples: Alan
    Alan (name)
    Alan is a masculine given name in the English language. There are numerous differing etymologies attributed to the name. The name was first introduced into England by Bretons who took part in the Norman Invasion in the 11th century. Today there are numerous variations of Alan, a short form, and...

    , Brian
    Brian
    Brian is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meaning "high" or "noble". For example the element bre means "hill"; which could be transferred...

    , Brigid
    Brigid
    In Irish mythology, Brigit or Brighid was the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She was the wife of Bres of the Fomorians, with whom she had a son, Ruadán....

    , Mórag, Logan
    Logan
    Logan was a Native American leader.Logan may also refer to:- Australia :* Logan City, a local government area in Queensland* Electoral district of Logan, an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly...

    , Ciarán
    Ciarán
    Ciarán , Ciaran in Scottish Gaelic, Ceiran, Kieran, Keeran, Kyran, Kiaran, Keiran, Kieren, Kieron, Keiron or Kiernan , is a personal name meaning "small dark one". Ciarán comes from the Irish word "Ciar" which means black or dark. Ciar can be linked back to Ciar, son of Fergus, King of Ulster...

    , Jennifer
    Jennifer (given name)
    Jennifer is a female given name; it became a common first name for females in English-speaking countries during the 20th century. The name Jennifer is a Cornish variant of Guinevere, meaning The White Fay or White Ghost...

    , and Seán. These names often have origins in Celtic words, as Celtic versions of the names of internationally known Christian
    Christian
    A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

     saint
    Saint
    A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

    s, as names of Celtic mythological figures
    Celtic mythology
    Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...

    , or simply as long-standing names whose ultimate etymology is unclear.
  • Greek names can be derived from the Greco-Roman gods, or may have other meanings. Some may be derived from the New Testament
    New Testament
    The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

     and early Christian traditions. Some of the names are often, but not always, anglicised. Examples: Eleanor
    Eleanor
    Eleanor is a female given name....

    , Stephen
    Stephen
    Stephen or Steven is a masculine first name, derived from the Greek name Στέφανος meaning "crown, garland", in turn from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath, crown, honour, reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses". In ancient Greece a wreath was given to the winner of a...

    , Alexander
    Alexander
    Alexander is a common male first name, and less common surname. The most famous is Alexander the Great, the King of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.- Origin :...

    , Andrew
    Andrew
    Andrew is the English form of a given name and surname common in many countries. Alternatives include André, Andrey, Andrei, Andrej, András, Andrés, Andreas, Andreu, Anders and Endrew. ‘Andrew’ is a common name in English-speaking countries. In the 1990s it was among the top ten most popular names...

    , Peter, Gregory, George
    George (given name)
    George, from the Greek word γεωργός , "farmer" or "earth-worker", which became a name in Greek: Γεώργιος , and Latin: Georgius. The word γεωργός is a compound word, formed by the words ge , "earth", "soil" and ergon , "work"...

    , Christopher
    Christopher (name)
    Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the greek name Χριστόφορος . The constituent parts are Χριστός, "Christ" and φέρειν , "bear": the "Christ bearer" or "the one who bears Christ ". The name originates in the Christian legend of St...

    , Melissa
    Melissa
    Melissa is a given name for a female child. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα , "honey bee" and from μέλι , "honey". Compare Hittite melit, "honey"....

    , Margaret
    Margaret (name)
    Margaret is a female first name, derived from the Greek word margarites meaning "pearl." It may have originally been derived from the Sanskrit word मञ्यरी mañjarī....

    , Nicholas
    Nicholas
    Nicholas or Nikolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος , a combination of the words for "victory" and "people" . The name can be understood to mean victory of the people or "power of the people"...

    , Jason
    Jason (name)
    Jason is a common given name for a male. It comes from Greek Ἰάσων , meaning "healer", from the verb ἰάομαι "heal, cure", cogn...

    , Timothy
    Timothy (name)
    Timothy is a masculine given name. It comes from the Greek name meaning "honoring God" or "honored by God". It is a common name in several countries, including non-English speaking ones....

    , Chloe
    Chloe
    Chloe is a first or given name for girls, especially popular in England. The name comes from the Greek , meaning "young green shoot" and is one of the many names of the Greek goddess Demeter...

     and Zoë
    Zoe (name)
    Zoe is a feminine first name, which came from ancient Greece and means "life" in Greek.-People:*Zoë , English pop star *Zoey, J-Pop singer *Zoe of Rome Zoe (and variants) is a feminine first name, which came from ancient Greece and means "life" in Greek.-People:*Zoë (singer), English pop star...

    .
  • Latin names
    Latin
    Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

    can also be adopted unchanged, or modified; in particular, the inflected element can be dropped, as often happens in borrowings from Latin to English. Examples: Laura, Victoria
    Victoria (name)
    -Origin, meaning and forms:Victoria is the Latin word for 'victory' and is used as the feminine form corresponding to the name Victor. Hence, Victoria Salvador means 'victory to the savior'...

    , Marcus
    Marcus (name)
    Marcus is a masculine given name of Ancient Roman pre-Christian origin derived probably from Etruscan Marce of unknown meaning, or referring to the mythological figure Mars...

    , Justin
    Justin (name)
    Anglicized form of the Latin given name Justinus, a derivative of Justus. Justinus was the name borne by various early saints, notably a 2nd-century Christian apologist and a boy martyr of the 3rd century...

    , Paul (from Lat. "Paulus"), Julius, Cecilia, Felix, Julia, Trent, Pascal
    Pascal (name)
    Pascal is a common masculine Francophone given name, cognate of Italian name Pasquale, Spanish name Pascual, Catalan name Pasqual. Pascal is common in French-speaking countries, Germany and Netherlands. The correct feminine form is Pascale, Pascalle or Pascalina...

     (not a traditional-type Latin name, but the adjective-turned-name paschalis, "relating to the Pascha"—English "Easter").
  • Word names come from English vocabulary words. Feminine names of this sort—in more languages than English, and more cultures than Europe alone—frequently derive from nature, flower, birds, colors, or gemstone
    Gemstone
    A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...

    s. Examples include Jasmine
    Jasmine
    Jasminum , commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family . It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World...

    , Lavender
    Lavender
    The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...

    , Dawn
    Dawn
    Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon...

    , Daisy
    Asteraceae
    The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

    , Rose
    Rose
    A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

    , Iris
    Iris (plant)
    Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...

    , Petunia
    Petunia
    Petunia is a widely cultivated genus of flowering plants of South American origin, closely related with tobacco, cape gooseberries, tomatoes, deadly nightshades, potatoes and chili peppers; in the family Solanaceae. The popular flower derived its name from French, which took the word petun, meaning...

    , Rowan
    Rowan
    The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...

    , and Violet
    Violet (plant)
    Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with around 400–500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, viola species are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in...

    . Male names of this sort are less common—sometimes names like Bronco
    Bronco
    Bronco, or bronc is a term used in the United States, northern Mexico and Canada to refer to an untrained horse or one that habitually bucks. It may refer to a feral horse that has lived in the wild its entire life, but is also used to refer to domestic horses not yet fully trained to saddle, and...

     and Wolf associated with strong or dangerous animals. (This is more common in some other languages, such as Northern Germanic and Turkish).
  • Trait names most conspicuously include the Christian virtues, mentioned above, and normally used as feminine names (such as the three Christian virtues
    Theological virtues
    Theological virtues - in theology and Christian philosophy, are the character qualities associated with salvation, resulting from the grace of God, which enlightens human mind.- In the Bible :The three theological virtues are:...

    Faith
    Faith in Christianity
    Faith, in Christianity, has been most commonly defined by the biblical formulation in the Letter to the Hebrews as "'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". Most of the definitions in the history of Christian theology have followed this biblical formulation...

    , Hope
    Hope (virtue)
    Hope is one of the three theological virtues in Christian tradition. Hope being a combination of the desire for something and expectation of receiving it, the virtue is hoping for Divine union and so eternal happiness...

    , and Charity
    Charity (virtue)
    In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...

    ).
  • Diminutive
    Diminutive
    In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...

    s
    are sometimes used to distinguish between two or more people with the same given name, and are often used by children. In English, Robert
    Robert
    The name Robert is a Germanic given name, from hrod "fame" and beraht "bright". It is also in use as a surname.After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form Robert, where an Old English cognate form had existed before the Norman Conquest...

     may be changed to "Robby" or Daniel changed to "Danny". In German the names Hänsel and Gretel (as in the famous fairy tale) are the diminutive forms of Johann and Margarete. Examples: Vicky
    Victoria (name)
    -Origin, meaning and forms:Victoria is the Latin word for 'victory' and is used as the feminine form corresponding to the name Victor. Hence, Victoria Salvador means 'victory to the savior'...

    , Danny, Abby
    Abigail
    Abigail was the wife of Nabal; she became a wife of David after Nabal's death .In the passage, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David, and Abigail attempts to placate David in order to stop him taking revenge...

    , Ali
    Alison (name)
    Alison is a female given name. It was originally a medieval Norman nickname for Alice, meaning "truth" or "noble". Variations include Alisson, Allison, Allyson, Alyson, Alysson, Alicen and Alycen, with nicknames Allie, Alley, Ali, Ally, Aly, and Alli....

    .
  • Shortened Names (see nickname
    Nickname
    A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

    ) are generally nicknames of a longer name, but they are instead given as a person's entire given name. For example, a man may simply be named "Jim", and it is not short for James
    James (name)
    The name James is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning "Supplanter" ....

    . Examples: Beth, Dan, Max, Pete, Steve.
  • Feminine variations Many masculine names have feminine variations, often multiple ones. Examples: Charlotte, Stephanie
    Stephanie
    Stephanie or Stefanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the Italian Stefania, the Portuguese Estefânia, and the Spanish Estefanía...

    , Victoria
    Victoria (name)
    -Origin, meaning and forms:Victoria is the Latin word for 'victory' and is used as the feminine form corresponding to the name Victor. Hence, Victoria Salvador means 'victory to the savior'...

    , Philippa
    Philippa
    Philippa is a given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include Filippa, Phillipa and, less often, Phillippa. It is the feminine form of the masculine name Philip...

    , Jane
    Jane (given name)
    Jane is a feminine given name. It is the English form of the Old French name Jehanne, which was an old feminine form of the male name Johannes or Ioannes , a Latin form of the Greek name , which is derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן , a short form of the name יְהוֹחָנָן , meaning "Yahweh is...

    , Jacqueline
    Jacqueline (name)
    Jacqueline or Jacquelyn is a female given name. It has spelling variations and slight variants in both spelling and pronunciation have come into use, such as: Jacquelyn, Jaclyn, Jacklyn, Jaklin, Jacqlyn, Jacquelin, Jackeline and Jacklin...

    , Josephine
    Josephine (name)
    Josephine is a female given name. It is the English version of the French name Joséphine. This is the feminine form of the name Joseph, which is taken from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning The Lord increases.-Variations:...

    , Danielle
    Danielle
    Danielle is the French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. The name appears in the Bible, where Daniel survives a night in a den of lions. The more common feminine version is "Daniella" or "Daniela" which is used in English, German, Italian and...

    , Paula
    Paula (given name)
    Paula is a common female given name . Notable people with this name include:*Paula Abdul, 1980s and 1990s pop singer and former American Idol judge*Paula Berry, American javelin thrower....

    , Pauline
    Pauline (name)
    Pauline is a female given name. It was originally the French form of Paulina, a female version of Paulinus, a variant of Paulus meaning the little, hence the younger....

    , Patricia
    Patricia (disambiguation)
    Patricia is a common given name. It may also refer to:* Patricia , a song written by Benny Davis, recorded by Perry Como* Princess Patricia of Connaught, a member of the British Royal Family and granddaughter of Queen Victoria...

     and Francesca
    Francesca
    Francesca or Franchesca is a female given name, derived from the Latin male name Franciscus meaning 'free'. It is widely used in most romance languages, including Italian, French and Catalan, and etymologists are unsure as to the place of its origin...

    .


Frequently, a given name has versions in many different languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna
Susanna (disciple)
Susanna is one of the women associated with the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. She is among the women listed in the Gospel of Luke at the beginning of Chapter 8 as being one of the Myrrhbearers.-See also:*Myrrhbearers...

also occurs in its original biblical Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew language
Biblical Hebrew , also called Classical Hebrew , is the archaic form of the Hebrew language, a Canaanite Semitic language spoken in the area known as Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through...

 version, Shoshannah, its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana, and its French version, Suzanne, and its Polish version, Zuzanna.

East Asia

Chinese given name
Chinese given name
Chinese given names are generally made up of one or two characters, and are written after the family name, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be read "Smith John-Paul". Chinese names can consist of any character and contain almost any meaning...

s are often unique, because meaningful Han characters can be combined extensively. But Korean names and Vietnamese names are usually simply vernacularized conventions derived from their Chinese counterparts.
However, some parents recycle popular given names as well. The names of famous and successful people are also reused occasionally.
Nevertheless, many Chinese and Korean parents invest tremendous effort in considering the names of their children before birth, often with comprehensive dictionaries or with religious guides, formal or informal. Sometimes, especially in traditional families, paternal grandparents are the name-givers.

Unlike European languages, the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 does not have a particular set of words reserved for given names; any combination of Chinese characters theoretically can be used as a given name. This fact sometimes makes Chinese people think that there may be more English-speaking people sharing identical full names than Chinese. This is not the case, because English has a much larger variety of family names.

In many Westernized Asian locations, many Asians also use a Western (often English) given name, which may be official or not, in addition to their Asian given name. This is also true for Asian students at colleges in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, and people who wish to do business internationally—both as means to ease communication with people who cannot properly pronounce the names in their official languages. It's also interesting to note that when Chinese immigrants or students give themselves English given names, they tend to pick one that closely matches their original name if possible. For example, a Chinese man named "Ah Dar" might become "Arthur
Arthur
Arthur is a common masculine given name. Its etymology is disputed, but its popularity derives from its being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur....

" if he emigrates to the United States, or a Vietnamese man named "Khanh" might become "Ken
Ken (name)
Ken is a masculine given name. It is used either as a given name or as a short form of names starting with "Ken"...

" if he moves to an English-speaking country.

Many female Japanese name
Japanese name
in modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. "Middle names" are not generally used.Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation...

s, such as Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...

's, end in ko (子), which means "child". This has caused some confusion among westerners, because in some Romance languages, masculine names often end in o, and feminine names often end in a. People used to names like Tino/Tina are surprised that Mariko or Yoko is female.

Gender

Most names in English are specifically masculine or feminine, but there are many unisex name
Unisex name
A unisex name, also known as an epicene name, is a given name that is often given to either a boy or a girl. Some countries, however, require that a given name be gender-specific or have enough names with male and female versions...

s as well, such as Jordan
Jordan (name)
The name Jordan can refer to several things. As a name, it comes from the Aramaic Yarden, meaning "one who descends", and assimilated into Latin as Jordanus . In Arabic it is Urdunn, in Italian Giordano, in Spanish Jordán, in Dutch Jordaan, in French Jourdain, in Irish Iordáin, in Romanian...

, Jamie
Jamie
Jamie, Jaime, Jaimee, Jamee, Ja'mie, Jamey, Jaymie or Jaymee is a name derived as a pet form of James. However, it has been used as an independent given name in English speaking countries for several generations...

, Jesse, Alex
Alex
Alex is a common English name, usually a nickname of the male given name Alexander, its female equivalent Alexandra. The East European male name Alexey sometime is also nicknamed as Alex.-People whose names are Alex:...

, Ashley
Ashley (name)
The name "Ashley" is of English origin, from a place name and surname from the Old English words 'æsc' and 'lēah' ....

, Chris
Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, Crissie and others. Unlike these names, however, it does not indicate the person's gender although it is much more common for males to have this name than it is for females. It is the preferred form of...

, Hilary/Hillary, Kim
Kim (given name)
Kim is a male or female given name. It is also used as a diminutive or nickname for Kimberly, Kimberley, Kimball, Kimiko and Joakim.A notable use of the name was the fictional street urchin Kimball O'Hara in Rudyard Kipling's book Kim. From the early 1900s till the 1960s the name Kim was used in...

, Leslie/Lesley, Joe
Joseph (name)
Joseph is a name originating from Hebrew, recorded in the Hebrew Bible, as יוֹסֵף, Standard Hebrew Yosef, Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic Yôsēp̄. In Arabic, including in the Qur'an, the name is spelled يوسف or Yūsuf. The name can be translated from Hebrew יהוה להוסיף Yihoh Lhosif as signifying "YHWH...

/Jo, Jackie, Pat, Sam. Often, one gender is predominant; often a particular spelling is more common for each of the two genders, even when the pronunciation is the same.

Many culture groups, past and present, did not or do not gender names strongly, so that many or all of their names are unisex. On the other hand, in many languages including most Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...

 (but not English), gender is inherent in the grammar.

Christian name

The term Christian name is often used as a general synonym for given name. Strictly speaking, the term applies to a name formally given to a child at an infant baptism
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or...

 or "christening".

Popularity distribution of given names

The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows a power law distribution.

Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively. In contrast, the corresponding statistics for in England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favor in the English speaking world, also the overall distribution of names has changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names.

Influence of pop culture

Popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...

 appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" respectively became the 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...

. In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson
Colby Donaldson
Colby Donaldson is an American television actor, best known as the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback and as the host for the show Top Shot.-Personal life:...

 was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback
Survivor: The Australian Outback
Survivor: The Australian Outback is the second season of the United States reality show Survivor. Filming took place at Goshen Station in northern Queensland during 2000 and aired from January 28, 2001 to May 3, 2001 on CBS...

. Also, the female name "Miley" which before was not in the top 1000 was 278th most popular in 2007, following the rise to fame of singer-actress Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....

 (who was named Destiny at birth).

Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla
Kayla
Kayla is one of the names of the Beta Israel community among their neighbours, after which the Kayla language is named. Yona Bogale claimed that the name stems from the Tigrinya word for artisans, and on the broader sense excommunicated people...

 was used for a character
Kayla Brady
Dr. Kayla Caroline Johnson is a fictional character on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of our Lives. She made her first on-screen appearance on in 1982. Kayla was created by Pat Falken Smith as one of the original members of the Brady family. The role was originated in 1982 by actress Catherine...

 on the American soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

, the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy
Tammy (given name)
Tammy is a feminine given name. It can be a short form of the names Taimur, Tamsin, Thomasina, or Tamara. Tamsin and Thomasina are feminine versions of the name Thomas, a Greek form of the Aramaic name Te'oma, meaning twin. Tamara is a Russian form of the Hebrew name Tamar, which means "palm tree."...

, and the related Tamara
Tamara (name)
Tamara is a female given name in various languages. In Arabic, Georgian, Hebrew, Russian and other Slavic languages, Italian, Armenian and other European languages, Tamara is derived from the Biblical name "Tamar", meaning palm tree. The name also occurs in Sanskrit meaning spice...

 became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor
Tammy and the Bachelor
Tammy and the Bachelor is a 1957 romantic comedy film and is the first of the four Tammy films. It stars Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent...

came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Jessica
Jessica (given name)
Jessica is a female given name.The oldest written record of the name with its current spelling is found as the name of a character in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock...

, a name created by William Shakespeare in his play "The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...

", Vanessa
Vanessa (name)
The name Vanessa was invented by the Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh, whom Swift had met in 1708 and whom he tutored. The name was created by taking "Van" from Vanhomrigh's last name and adding "Essa", the pet form of Esther. Swift may have also derived the name from the...

, created by Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...

; Fiona
Fiona
Fiona is a feminine given name. The name Fiona was invented, and first used, by the Scottish poet James Macpherson , author of the Ossian poems, which he claimed were translations from ancient Gaelic sources...

, a character from James Macpherson
James Macpherson
James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...

's spurious cycle of Ossian
Ossian
Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the Scots Gaelic. He is based on Oisín, son of Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill, anglicised to Finn McCool, a character from Irish mythology...

 poems; and Wendy
Wendy
Wendy is a given name generally given to females in English-speaking countries.The name is found in United States records from the 19th century; Wendy Gram, a female resident of Ohio, was born in 1828, and the name Wendy appeared over twenty times in the U.S. Census of 1880...

, an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...

 in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; and Madison
Madison (name)
Originally, Madison, commonly spelled Maddison in Northeastern England, was only used as a surname, a variant of Mathieson meaning son of Matthew, although possibly occasionally standing for son of Maddy, where Maddy is a pet form of Maud.Madison has become a rather popular female given name in...

, a character from the movie Splash
Splash (film)
Splash is a 1984 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge...

. Lara
Lara (name)
Lara can be a given name or a surname in several languages. In Ukrainian, and Russian other languages, the given name is a short form for Larissa. In Hindi, the given name is a short form for Laranya, which means graceful...

 and Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...

 were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago (1965 film)
Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 epic drama-romance-war film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak...

,
and have become fairly common since.

Songs can influence the naming of children. Jude jumped from 814th most popular male name in 1968 to 668th in 1969, following the release of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

's "Hey Jude
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...

". Similarly, Layla
Layla
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...

 charted as 969th most popular in 1972 after the Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

 song. It had not been in the top 1,000 before.

Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...

. Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released "Kayleigh
Kayleigh
"Kayleigh" was a number two UK hit for British neo-progressive rock band Marillion in 1985. It remains the group's most successful single in terms of chart position. The single was kept from the UK Number 1 spot by charity single "You'll Never Walk Alone" by supergroup The Crowd in the summer of...

".

Popular culture figures need not be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came in to the top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (film)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a 1992 American thriller about a vengeful nanny out to destroy a naïve woman and steal her family. The film was directed by Curtis Hanson, starring Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, and Matt McCoy...

. On the other hand, for example, Adolf
Adolf
Adolf, also spelled Adolph and sometimes Latinised to Adolphus, is a given name used in German-speaking countries, in Scandinavia, in the Netherlands and Flanders and to a lesser extent in various Central European countries...

 has fallen out of use since the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Twin names

In some cultures, twins may be given distinctive pairs of names. Twin names are sometimes similar in sound, for example boy/girl twins named Christian and Christina, or twin girls named Sudha and Subha in India, or Ojor and Omon in Nigeria. The names may have a thematic similarity such as Jesse
Jesse
Jesse, Eshai or Yishai, is the father of the David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ....

 (or Jessica) and James (after the American outlaw Jesse James), or Matthew and Mark (the first two books of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

), or Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux or Polydeuces were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri . Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who visited Leda in the guise of a swan...

 (semi-divine twins in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

), or Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...

 (the mythical founders of Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

).

The oldest ever female twins, who both died in 2000 and 2001, were named Kin Narita and Gin Kanie
Kinsan Ginsan
“Kinsan Ginsan” was the affectionate name given to twin sisters from Japan who were record-setting in terms of their longevity. They were and . Their maiden name was...

, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 respectively in Japanese.

For more possible origins, see the article List of twins.

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By language

Indo-European
  • Baltic
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       (list)
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       (list)

  • Germanic names
    • Dutch name
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  • Greek
    • Greek name
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  • Indian
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  • Persian
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  • French
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  • Italian
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  • Portuguese
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  • Slavic names
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    • Czech names
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    • Russian name
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Central Asia, Altaic, Finno-Ugric
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  • Hungarian name
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  • Mongolian name
  • Names in Russian Empire, Soviet Union and CIS countries
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  • Tatar name
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  • Turkish name
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Middle East
  • Arabic name
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  • Hebrew name
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East Asia
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  • Indonesian name
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    • Javanese name
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  • Korean name
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  • Malaysian name
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  • Philippine name
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    Thai name
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  • Tibetan name
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  • Vietnamese name
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Africa
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External links

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