Gender: Masculine
Origin: Hebrew
In the Hebrew Calendar Nissan (
) is the name of the first month of the Hebrew Calendar, it is the month of spring and passover and as a result, it is usually given as a name to males borne on this month or on passover.
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Gender: Masculine
Origin: German
Meaning: “man; free man”
The name is derived from a Germanic root word describing someone who is of the farm or peasant class. It corresponds with the Anglo-Saxon term ceorl (churl) and the Old German word karl. Both words were used to describe a male member of society who came from the lowest ranks but was not considered a servant or thrall. It is believed that its Old High German counterpart, karal, was originally used to describe any man. Interestingly enough, in the Poetic Edda, the progenitor of the peasant class is named Karl.
Its usage as a given name seems to have begun with the Frankish King and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles the Great also known as Charlemagne. As a result, the name became extremely common among French royalty and was later introduced to the British Royal Line when Mary Queen of Scots named her son Charles, later known as Charles I Stuart. Since Mary of Scots grew up in France, it is believed that her naming choices may have been influenced by her early habitation among French royalty.
The name was also extremely common among Swedish, German and Spanish Royalty.
It has also been borne by several saints.
Charles remains a fairly prevalent name throughout the Western World. In the English-speaking world, Charles’ rankings are as follows (vernacular forms are italicized):
Its diminutive form of Charlie is often used as an independent given name, sometimes ranking even higher on the charts than its formal counterpart. His rankings are as follows:
Other forms of the name include:
Czech diminutives: Karlík, Karlíček.
English diminutives: Charlie, Chas, Chaz, Chip, Chuck, Chuckie
French diminutives: Charlie, Charlot
Hungarian diminutives: Karcsi
Italian diminutives: Carletto, Carluccio
Polish diminutives: Karolek, Lolek
Portuguese/Spanish diminutives: Carlito, Carlitos
Its feminine offshoot of Caroline is a French borrowing. Pronounced (kare-uh-LINE) in English, it has always been a common name. She is currently the 94th most popular female name in the United States, (2008), her rankings in other countries are as follows: (vernacular forms are italicized)
Its more elaborate versions of Carolina/Karolina are also fairly prevalent in other countries. Carolina has had a history of usage among English-speakers as well, but among Americans, the name is usually associated with the States, both of which were named in honour of Charles I.
Currently, Carolina is the 355th most popular female name in the United States, (2008). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:
Charlotte (see Charlotte entry for more info)
Carla/Karla
Other feminine forms include:
Their bearers are too numerous to list. Its designated name-days are: March 2 (France), November 4 (France).
For Caroline and her variations, May 9 (Poland), May 20 (Sweden), June 3 (Slovakia), July 5 (Lithuania/Poland), July 18 (Poland), August 6 (Lithuania) and February 2 (Hungary).
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Estonian
Meaning: “frosty.”
(HARE-mee)
The name is possibly derived from the Estonian, härmas, meaning “frosty.”
It may also be a variation of Irmgard.
The designated name-day is March 31.
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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Finnish
Meaning: “faith.”
(OOS-ko)
The name comes directly from the Finnish word for “faith.”
Its designated name-day is March 30.
Short forms include: Uki, Ukki, Uskali and Uski.
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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Hungarian
Meaning: uncertain
(zo-LAHN)
The name is of debated origin and meaning, it was first brought to the public’s attention via Mihály Vörösmarty’s 1825 epic poem, Zalán Futása.
There are a few possible sources for this name, one is that it is from the name of a place in Hungary, Szalánkemén. Other sources have suggested that it is from a Turkic element, zala, meaning, “throwing, hitting.”
In Hungary, the designated name-days are March 30, July 14, September 10 and December 30.
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Lithuanian
Meaning: “mourning fish.”
(ged-GOH-dahs)
The name is composed of the Lithuanian elements, ged (gedėti) meaning “mourn” and gaud(gaudyti) meaning “fish.”
The name is of ancient origins and its true euphemism is not known.
The feminine form is Gedgaudė.
The designated name-day is March 22.
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Gender: Feminine
Origin: English/French
The name was originally a Norman form of the Germanic name Rohese/Roese, which was composed of the elements hrod meaning “fame” and heid meaning “kind, sort, type.”
The name was revived in the 19th-century by which time it was associated with the flower. In the floral case, the word is derived from the Latin rosa.
Consequently, it is also the word for pink in several European languages.
In the United States, Rose is probably one of the most common middle names given to baby girls, but as a first name, it is rather unusual. Currently, Rose only ranked as the #343rd most popular female name, (2008).
Her rankings in other countries are as follows:
In the Netherlands, Rosa was the 89th most popular female name (2008); and in Ireland, its vernacular form of Róisin ranked in as the 28th most popular female name, (2008).
Other forms of the name include:
Common Italian compound names include: Annarosa, Mariarosa, Rosangela, Rosanna and Rosamaria.
Common English/French compounds are: Rosanne, Rosemary and Rosemarie.
A common English pet form is Rosie.
Italian masculine forms include: Roso, Rosello, Rosino and Rosetto.
Vernacular forms
These are names found in other languages that literally mean “rose” but which are also not related to the Latin/Germanic form of Rose/Rosa.
An Armenian masculine form is Vartan.
The name is also borne by a few Catholic saints.
The designated name-days are: August 23 (France), July 2 (Sweden).
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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Estonian/Finnish
Meaning: “dear; darling.”
(AHR-mahs)
The name comes directly from the literary/poetic Estonian and Finnish term of endearment.
Its designated name-day in both Estonia and Finland is March 28.
Other Estonian forms include Arm, Armo and Kallis (the latter which means the same thing).
Finnish forms include Arkka, Armias, Arpas and Arska.
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Frankish
Meaning: “war raven.”
The name is composed of the Germanic elements, gund, meaning “war” and hramn, meaning “raven.”
The name was borne by a 6th-century Frankish king.
Other forms include:
In France and Austria, its designated name-day is March 28.
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Italian/Catalan
Meaning: “gem”
It (JEM-mah)
The name was originally used as a nickname in Medieval Italy, but gradually became an independent given name over the centuries.
Its earliest notable bearer was the wife of the 13th-century Italian poet, Dante Alighieri.
The name has been borne by at least four Catholic Saints, the most notable being St. Gemma Galgani, nee Maria Gemma Umberta Pia Galgani (1878-1903) . She was an Italian mystic who died in her 20s from Tuberculosis. Her cult became especially popular in Italy, Latin America and in Ireland after she had been canonized in 1940. In the 1950s, the name suddenly became mainstream in Ireland, no doubt due to the popularity of the recently canonized saint. Its usage in Ireland may have spread to the other British Isles. In the case of England, Scotland and Australia, the name probably became common due to its transparent meaning. The name was quite popular in Great Britain between the 70s, 80s and 90s, but has suddenly fallen out of favor.
Currently, Gemma is the 888th most popular female name in the United States, in fact, she just entered the top 1000 this past year (2008). She is the 75th most popular female name in Australia (2008).
The name has sometimes been anglicized to Jemma.
Other forms of the name include:
A few obscure masculine versions are Gemmino and Gemmo.
Gemma is also the name of a star.
Other notable bearers include: Gemma Atkinson, Gemma Craven, Gemma Hayes, Gemma Jones and Gemma Ward.
The designated name-day is April 11 (Italy).
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