Category Archives: Assyrian Names

Jamal

Posted on by
Reply

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic جمال
Meaning: “beautiful”
(juh-MALL)

The name comes directly from the Arabic word for beautiful.

Currently, it is the 610th most popular male name in the United States, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

Djemal (Albanian)
Camal (Azeri)
Ćemal (Bosian)
Džemal (Bosnian)
Gamal (Egyptian)
Djamal (Indonesian)
Hamal” Гамаль (Kazakh/Chechen/Tatar)
Jamaal (Somalian)
Cemal (Turkish/Azeri)

The name was borne by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970).

Source

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/jamal

Elisha

Posted on by
Reply

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Hebrew אֱלִישַׁע
Meaning: “my God is salvation”
Eng (ee-LIE-shah)

The name comes from the Hebrew (Elishu’a)  אֱלִישׁוּעַ and is found in the Old Testament and in the Quran as the name of a prophet and successor to Elijah.

In the English-speaking world, the name did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation.

Currently, Elisha is the 656th most popular male name in the United States, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

Elyasa  الْيَسَع‎ (Arabic)
Eliseu (Catalan/Portuguese)
Elíša (Czech)
Elisa (Dutch/Finnish/Swedish: obscure)
Élisée (French)
Elise ელისე (Georgian)
Elischa (German)
Elisäus (German)
Elisaίos Ελισαίος (Greek: modern)
Eliseo (Italian/Spanish)
Eliseus (Latin)
Eliziejus (Lithuanian)
Elisie Елисие (Macedonian)
Elisja (Norwegian)
Elizeusz (Polish)
Elisei (Romanian)
Elisej Елисей (Russian)
Elizeus (Slovene)
Jelisej Јелисеј (Serbian)
Elyesa (Turkish)
Yelyséj Єлисе́й (Ukrainian)

The designated name day is June 14.

Source

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/elisha

Rashad

Posted on by
Reply

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic  رشاد
Meaning: “good sense; good guidance.”

The name comes from the Arabic meaning, “good sense; good guidance.”

It is currently the 619th most popular male name in the United States, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

Rashad (Albanian/Azeri)
Rachad (Algerian/Moroccan/Tunisian)
Rašad (Bosnian)
Reşad (Turkish)

Source

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/rashad

 

Amina

Posted on by
Reply

Origin: Arabic  أمن
Gender: Feminine
Meaning: “feel safe” or “truthful.”
(ah-MEE-nah)

Depending on its original Arabic script, the name could be of two different meanings and derivatives. If derived from the Arabic word  أمن(Amina) then it means “to feel safe.” In this case, it was borne by the mother of the Prophet Mohammed. If it is spelled  أمينة then it is derived from the Arabic word  امين(amin) meaning “truthful.”

Both names can  be transliterated as Aminah. 

As of 2010, Amina was the most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, while its Slavicized variation of Emina was the 6th most popular. Its rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 92 (Slovenia, 2010)
#166 (France, 2009)
# 224 (the Netherlands, 2010)
# 707 (the United States, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

Amina Амина (Albanian/Algerian/Amharic/Arabic/Bosnian/Chechen/Farsi/Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Tunisian/Russian/Tatar)
Aminat Aманат (Chechen/Kazakh)
Emina Эмина (Azeri/Bosnian)
Yamina (Berber)
Aminata (Swahili)

Amine (Turkish)

Source

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/amina

Holiday Season Names

Posted on by
1

Originally this post was entitled Christmas names, but I decided to change the topic to Holiday season names in general. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Devali, Hanukkah, Yuletide, Kwanzaa or even Yalda, below are a list of names that have a seasonal feel. Enjoy!

Have a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!

Female

  • Adoración (from the Spanish meaning, “adoration”, the name is usually given in reference to the Adoration of the Magi on January 6th. Adora is another variation)
  • Atiya (an Arabic name, it is a feminine form of Ata, meaning, “gift.”)
  • Amjalina (from the Belarusian word for “mistletoe”, it is also the name of a village in Brest. ahm-yah-LEE-nah)
  • Aoi (from the Japanese 葵 ” meaning “holly.”)
  • Božica (from the Serbian and Croatian word for Christmas and often used on girls born during the Christmas season. boh-ZHEET-sah)
  • Chipo (the name is from the Shona word for “gift”, perhaps a good option for a little girl born during Kwanzaa).
  • Cinnamon
  • Epiphany (January 6th marks the epiphany and traditionally the official end of the Christmas season)
  • Eudora (this option is never listed on the Christmas themed list I see on the baby name blogs. From the Greek, meaning “good gift”, this would make a beautiful and unique choice for a little girl born during the Holiday season).
  • Eve (For a Christmas Eve baby)
  • Ginger
  • Godiva (Godiva Chocolates are occassionally given as a gift during the Holiday season, plus it is from the Anglo-Saxon meaning, “god’s gift.”)
  • Hadiyya (another easily pronounceable Arabic choice meaning “gift.”)
  • Hestia (from the Greek meaning “hearth; fireside.”)
  • Inbal (from the Hebrew meaning “tongue of a bell.” Also would make a great Hanukkah names)
  • Ling (from the Chinese meaning “bell chime”)
  • Metrodora (from the Greek meaning, “mother’s gift”)
  • Mjata (from the Belarusian nature name meaning “mint.” MYAH-tah)
  • Nadzieja (from the Polish and Belarusian word meaning “hope.” nod-JAY-yah)
  • Nina (although often viewed as a form of Anne, this is also a Quecha name meaning, “fire.”)
  • Rei (from the Japanese meaning “bell.”)
  • Saffron (traditionally used in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden, as a holiday spice, especially to flavor the famous lussekatte (St. Lucy buns)
  • Sterre (from the Dutch word for star and currently a very trendy female name in the Netherlands. STER-reh)
  • Suzu (another Japanese name meaning “bell.”)
  • Tisa (from the name of the Slovene river which also coincides with the word for the yew tree. TEE-sah)
  • Tuyet (from the Vietnamese meaning “snow.”)
  • Wigilia (pronounced vee-GEEL-yah, this is the Polish word for Christmas Eve although rare, it is occassionally used as a given name)
  • Yalda (name of the Persian holiday which celebrates the Winter Solstice, it is also a very common female name in Iran).
  • Zavjeja (from the Belarusian nature name meaning “blizzard” zah-VYAY-yah)
  • Zhuravina (from the Belarusian nature name meaning “cranberry.” zhoo-rah-VEE-nah)
Male
  • Aputsiag (from the Greenlandic meaning, “snowflake.”)
  • Ata (from the Arabic, meaning, “gift.”)
  • Bor (from the South Slavic word for “pine tree.”)
  • Bożydar (from the Polish literally meaning “god’s gift.”)
  • Csaba (bonus: it is a Hungarian name that can meaning either shepherd or gift. It is pronounced CHAH-baw and it is currently a very trendy name for Hungarian baby boys).
  • Celyn (from the Welsh meaning “holly” KEL-in)
  • Darko (a South Slavic name literally meaning “little gift.”)
  • Doron (from the Hebrew meaning “gift” this name would also make a great Hanukkah choice.)
  • Edur (from the Basque meaning, “snow.”)
  • Hurik (from the Armenian meaning, “small fire.”)
  • Iker (from the Basque meaning “adoration”, used in reference to the Adoration of the Magi which occurs on January 6th).
  • Ivor (from the Old Norse meaning, “yew tree.”)
  • Joash (from the Biblical Hebrew meaning, “fire of Yahweh”).
  • Kirabo (from the Lagunda meaning, “gift”, the name is also reminiscent of the animal name, Caribou. This may make an interesting choice for a Kwanzaa baby).
  • Mattan (from the Old Hebrew name meaning simply, “gift,” a cool and more unusual alternative to Matthew).
  • Milad (from the Arabic meaning, “Christmas”, the name is sometimes used among Coptic and Arabic Christians as a male given name).
  • Neo (another cool African name meaning “gift” in Tswana, bonus, it also means “new” in Greek, it would also make a great name for a New Years baby.)
  • Oren (from the modern Hebrew meaning, “pine tree.“)
  • Plamen (from the Bulgarian meaning, “flame; fire.“)
  • Pyry (from the Finnish meaning “snowstorm; blizzard.”)
  • Shai (from the Hebrew meaning, “gift”, pronounced as SHY)
  • Yule

Alia

Posted on by
Reply

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic  علياء
Meaning: “loftiness; sky; heaven”
(AH-lee-yah)

The name is derived from the Arabic meaning “loftiness, sky, heaven.”

The name is currently the 730th most popular female name in the United States (2010), spelled Alya it is the 259th most popular female name in France (2008).

The name was borne by Aliya bint Ali (1911-1951), the former queen consort of Iraq. The late queen of Jordan, Alia Baha Ad-Din Touqan (1948-1977)

In Russian, Alya is also used as a diminutive form of Alisa or Aleksandra.

Another form of the name is the Bosnian, Alja. A form used among Russian Muslims is Aliya Алия and the Turkish form is Aliye.

Sources

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/alia
  2. http://imehrvatsko.net/namepages/view/first_name/Alja

Hamza

Posted on by
2

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic حمزة
Meaning: “strong; steadfast.”

The name is believed to be derived from the Arabic word, hamuza, meaning “strong; steadfast.” The name was borne by the uncle of the Prophet Mohammed, an early convert known for his bravery in battle.

Currently, Hamza 12th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010). His rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 97 (Belgium, 2010)
#125 (France, 2008)
#198 (the Netherlands, 2010)
# 757 (United States, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

Həmzə (Azeri)
Ḥamza Х̣амза (Chechen/Kazakh/Tatar/Russian/Uzbek)

Source

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/hamza

 

Samir

Posted on by
Reply

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic; Sanskrit  سمير : समीर)
Meaning: “companion in evening talk”; “soft wind.”
(suh-MEER)

The name could be of either two origins, it could be from the Arabic meaning “night companion” or “evening talk” or it could be from the Sanskrit meaning “soft wind.”

The title of samir was the highest title that a sultan could give a grand vizier, it was somewhat the equivalent of a confidant.

Currently, Samir is the 810th most popular male name in the United States (2010).

The Bosnian and Turkish form is Semir.

The feminine form is Samira or Semira (Bosnian/Turkish).

Source

  1. http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samir
  2. http://www.behindthename.com/name/samir

Daniel, Danielle

Posted on by
2

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Biblical Hebrew
Meaning: “God is my Judge.”

If you are like me, you probably think Daniel is dull and overused. Then there is the other camp who might think this is a wonderful classic. It has the youthful nickname options of Dan and Danny and its used in just about every European country with such variants as the Italian Daniele and the Czech and Polish diminutive forms of Danek. Another plus is that, while the name has religious connotations, its doesn’t adhere to a specific denomination. It is fair game for both Jewish and Christian parents alike, Catholic and Protestant. It is even used among Muslims.

The name Daniel is found in the Old Testament, (it has its own book), composed of the Hebrew elements dan meaning “judge” and the 1st person possessive singular suffix of i plus El which was a reference to God.

As for the Biblical Daniel himself, according to the Bible, he was a Jewish boy who was captured by the Babylonians and employed as a sort of dream-reader, (sounds like a pretty cool job). Daniel was so good at his job that he eventually became famous, even among his Persian and Babylonian captives. Due to his prestige and influence, Daniel was also able to persuade his captors to release the Jews back to their homeland. There is far more to the Biblical Daniel’s story than I will write here, but he is probably most noted for his steadfast loyalty to his faith and people as well as his miraculous survival after being thrown in a den of lions.

In the United States, Daniel has been steadfast in its popularity. He currently comes in at # 5. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, he comes in at # 7. In Scotland at # 3. In Ireland # 4. While in Spain he comes in at a whopping # 2.

This forms is also used in the Czech Republic, Finland, French-speaking countries, German-speaking countries, Poland, Portuguese-speaking countries, Romania,  Scandinavia, Slovakia and Spanish-speaking countries

Other forms include :

  • Dana (Afrikaans)
  • Danieli (Albanian)
  • Danyal دانيال (Arabic)
  • Taniel (Armenian)
  • Danel (Basque)
  • Danilo (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian)
  • Deniel (Breton)
  • Danail Данаил (Bulgarian)
  • Danelu (Corsican/Sardinian/Sicilian)
  • Daan (Dutch/Limburgish)
  • Daniël (Dutch)
  • Daaniel/Taaniel (Estonian)
  • Tanel/Tani (Estonian)
  • Taano/Tanno (Estonian)
  • Taneli/Tatu (Finnish)
  • Dāniyyêl דָּנִיֵּאל (Hebrew: Modern)
  • Dániel (Hungarian)
  • Daniló (Hungarian)
  • Dános (Hungarian)
  • Daniele (Italian: dahn-YAY-lay)
  • Daniello (Italian: an archaic version which died out in the 17th-century)
  • Danilo/Danilio (Italian: obscure)
  • Danielius (Lithuanian)
  • Daniilu Данїилъ (Old Church Slavonic)
  • Dani داني (Persian)
  • Daniyal دانيال (Persian)
  • Danil/Dănuṭ (Romanian: duh-NOOTS)
  • Daniil Даниил (Russian)
  • Daniele/Danijel (Slovene)
  • Dani/Däne/Dänu/Danü (Swiss-German: Bern dialect)
  • Danyal/Danyel(Turkish)
  • Deiniol (Welsh)

Czech diminutives are: Dan, Daník, Daneček, Danoušek, Danny, Dandýsek, Dady, Danda, Dáda, Danda, Dannys, Danušík and Dandýsek, Italian diminutive forms are: Nilo, Danio, Danino and Nilio.

Danya Даня is a common Russian and Ukrainian diminutive form.

Let us not forget its feminine versions of Daniella, Daniela and Danielle. As of 2010, its Spanish and Slavic diminutive form of Dania reached the top 1000, coming in as the 999th most popular female name in the United States.

The French Danielle, does not have the same staying power as its masculine counterpart. Though always more common as a middle name, Danielle is one of the quintessential names of the 1980s. In 1987, she came close to reaching the top 10 by hitting # 14. In the last popularity census, Danielle still comes in rather high at # 144.  Its Latinate counterpart of Daniela comes in a tad bit higher at # 121, while the Italian Daniella is all the way down at # 303.

Other forms are:

  • Danijela (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Danaila (Bulgarian)
  • Daniela (Czech/German/Polish/Portuguese/Romanian/Scandinavian/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Danielle (English)
  • Danièle (French)
  • Danelia (Italian: obscure)
  • Daniella (Italian)
  • Danila/Danilla (Italian: obscure)

Italian feminine diminutives are : Dana, Dania and Nila.

Designated name-days are: July 21 (Germany/Hungary/Slovakia), December 10 (Poland/Lithuanian), December 11 (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Norway, Sweden), December 17 (Greec/Czech Republic)

Peter

Posted on by
2

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “rock.”
Eng (PEE-ter)

The name is derived from the Greek Πετρος (Petros) meaning, “rock.”

The name is found in the New Testament as a vernacular translation for the Aramaic Cephas (rock) a nickname designated to the Apostle Simon Bar-Jonah by Jesus. He is known as St. Peter, and Catholics traditionally attribute him as being the first Pope.  Among other denominations, he is considered to be one of Christ’s most prominent apostles.

Due to the associations with the apostle, Peter became an extremely prevalent male name throughout the Christian world.

The name seems to have been in usage in England since early times, but became especially popular after the Norman invasion. During this period, the form of Piers was preferred, being gradually replaced in popularity by Peter over the centuries.

Currently, Peter is 191st most popular male name in the United States, (2009). He has been steadily declining in the United States for the past 10 years, in 2000 he ranked in at # 125. His rankings in other countries, however, has not faltered. His rankings including his vernacular forms are as follows:

  • # 7 Pedro (Brazil, 2009)
  • # 9 Petar (Bulgaria, 2008)
  • # 15 Petr (Czech Republic, 2009)
  • #38 Pierre (France, 2006)
  • # 3 (Greenland, 2003-2004)
  • # 8 (Hungary, 2008)
  • # 33 Petur (Iceland, 2008)
  • # 70 (Ireland, 2008)
  • # 25 Pietro (Italy, 2007)
  • # 8 Pēteris (Latvia, 2005)
  • # 9 Petar (Macedonia, 2006)
  • # 10 Piotr (Poland, 2008)
  • # 3 (Slovakia, 2004)
  • # 59 (Slovenia, 2005)
  • # 50 Pedro (Spain, 2008)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Petrus (Afrikaans/Dutch/German/Indonesian/Latin/Limburgish/Plattdeutsch/Swedish)
  • Pieter (Afrikaans)
  • Pjetër/Pjetri (Albanian)
  • Ṗeṭros ጴጥሮስ (Amharic/Ethiopian)
  • Pero (Aragonese)
  • Bedros/Pedros Պետրոս (Armenian)
  • Botros/Boutros/Butros بطرس (Arabic/Coptic)
  • Pedru (Asturian/Konkoni)
  • Pyotr (Azeri)
  • Betiri (Basque)
  • Kepa (Basque)
  • Peio (Basque)
  • Peru (Basque)
  • Petri (Basque)
  • Piatro Пятро (Belarusian)
  • Piotr Пётр (Belarusian/Polish)
  • Pêr (Breton)
  • Pierrick (Breton)
  • Penko Пенко (Bulgarian)
  • Petar Петар (Bulgarian/Croatian/Macedonian/Serbian)
  • Pere (Catalan)
  • Peder (Cornish/Danish/Lombard/Norwegian)
  • Petru (Corsican/Romanian/Sicilian)
  • Pyè (Creole)
  • Pero (Croatian/Serbian)
  • Petar Петар (Croatian/Macedonian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Petr (Czech)
  • Pelle (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish: originally a diminutive, now occasionally used as an independent given name. PEL-le)
  • Peer (Danish/Dutch/German)
  • Per (Danish/Faroese/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Peter (Danish/Dutch/English/German/Luxembourgish/Norwegian/Slovak/Swedish)
  • Peeter (Estonian)
  • Peiru (Extramadura)
  • Pætur/Petur (Faroese)
  • Patras پطرس (Farsi)
  • Pekka (Finnish)
  • Petteri (Finnish)
  • Petri (Finnish)
  • Pietari (Finnish)
  • Pierre (French)
  • Piter/Pier/Pit (Frisian)
  • P’et’re პეტრე (Georgian)
  • Petros Πέτρος (Greek)
  • Pathros (Hindi)
  • Péter (Hungarian)
  • Petres (Hungarian)
  • Peto (Hungarian)
  • Pétur (Icelandic)
  • Peadar (Irish-Gaelic)
  • Pietro (Italian/Albanian)
  • Petronius (Latin)
  • Pēteris (Latvian)
  • Petras (Lithuanian)
  • Pir (Luxembourgish)
  • Petre Петре (Macedonian/Romanian)
  • Pathrose (Malayalam)
  • Pietru (Maltese)
  • Peddyr (Manx)
  • Petera (Maori)
  • Petter (Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Pèir/Pèire/Pèr (Occitanian)
  • Pedro (Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Pêro (Portuguese: archaic)
  • Pidru (Quecha)
  • Peadar/Peader/Peder/Peidar/Peider (Romansch)
  • Pyotr Пётр (Russian)
  • Pedru/Perdu/Pretu (Sardinian)
  • Peadar/Peadair (Scottish-Gaelic)
  • Pyjter/Piter (Silesian)
  • Pětr (Sorbian)
  • Petero (Swahili)
  • Pär (Swedish)
  • Pethuru (Tamil)
  • Raayappar (Tamil)
  • Petro Петро (Ukrainian)
  • Piter (Uzbek)
  • Piero (Venetian)
  • Piitre (Vöro: an Eastern Estonian dialect)
  • Pedr (Welsh)

In French, Pierre is used in a number of compound names. Some of the most common include:

Some common Italian compound names include: Piergiuseppe, Pietropaolo, Pierpaolo, Pietrantonio, Pierantonio, Pierluigi , Piergiorgio , Pietrangelo, Pierangelo, Pierce, Pierfrancesco, Piermaria and Piersilvio

Its feminine form of Petra was once a very popular name in German-speaking countries, but is now considered rather dated. Throughout Central Europe, however, she is experiencing a strong trend. Her current rankings are as follows:

  • # 46 (Czech Republic, 2009)
  • # 9 (Hungary, 2008)
  • # 46(Slovenia, 2005)

Feminine forms include:

  • Peta (Afrikaans/English)
  • Penka Пенка (Bulgarian)
  • Petra(Bulgarian/Croatian/Czech/Dutch/Finnish/German/Greek/Hungarian/Scandinavian/Serbian/Slovak/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Petrina (Croatian/German)
  • Pernille (Danish/Norwegian)
  • Petrea (Danish)
  • Petrine (Danish/German/Norwegian)
  • Petronella (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Pietronella (Dutch)
  • Parnel/Pernel (English: archaic)
  • Peronel (English: archaic)
  • Petronel (English: archaic)
  • Petriina (Finnish)
  • Pernelle (French)
  • Pernette (French)
  • Péroline (French)
  • Péronelle (French)
  • Perrenotte (French)
  • Perrette (French)
  • Perrine (French)
  • Pétronelle (French)
  • Peyronne (French)
  • Pierrine/Pierrette (French)
  • Pétronille (French)
  • Peekje (Frisian)
  • Peterke (Frisian)
  • Petje (Frisian)
  • Petke (Frisian)
  • Pierke/Pierkje (Frisian)
  • Pieterke (Frisian)
  • Pietje/Piertje (Frisian)
  • Petrónia (Hungarian)
  • Petronia (Italian/Latin/Polish)
  • Petronilla (Italian/Latin)
  • Piera/Pierina (Italian)
  • Pieretta (Italian)
  • Pieruccia (Italian)
  • Pietra/Pietrina (Italian)
  • Pietruccia (Italian)
  • Petronela (Polish/Romanian)
  • Petrona (Spanish)
  • Pernilla (Swedish)

Italian female compound forms include: Pierangela and Pieranna.

Common German pet forms are: Pedi, Petzi and Pezi

The designated name-days are: April 29 (Hungary) and June 29 (Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden).

Sources