Rudy, Rudolph, Rolf

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Sebastiane

200px-Rudolf_IV

Origin: German
Meaning: “famous wolf.”
Gender: Masculine

The name is derived from the Germanic Hrodulf, which is composed of the elements hrod (fame) and wulf (wolf). The name was borne by several European rulers.

In England, it has been in use since Anglo-Saxon times, its Anglo-Saxon form of Hroðulf was usurped by the Norman Rudolph and Rodolph in the 11th-century.

In the English-speaking world, the name has come to be associated with the Christmas folk hero, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, based on a children’s book written by Robert L. May in 1939.

Rudolf appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1887-1932, and peaked at # 715 in 1916. He appeared 3 times in the French Top 1000 in 1914, 1931 and again in 1933, peaking at #454 in 1934. He was in the German Top 20 between 1893 and 1936, peaking at #11 in 1899 and in 1916.

In France, it’s native form of Rodolphe appeared in the Top 1000 between 1900 and 2001 and peaked at #79 in 1970.

Its contracted form of Rolf has been in occasional use in England since the 11th-century. It was a favorite in German-speaking countries in the 1920s-50s, peaking at #11 in 1947. In Norway, it peaked at #14 in 1945. Rolf has also appeared in the American and French charts, though not very high. Rolf peaked at #210 in France in 1943 and #772 in 1960 in the U.S.

It his diminutive form of Rudy, often used as an independent given-name, is the one which has gained some traction in recent years. Rudy appeared in the French Top 100 between 1979-1984, and peaked at #76 in 1980. Rudy’s current rankings in the popularity charts are as follows:

#271 (England & Wales, 2018)
#822 (U.S.A., 2018)

Rudolf is used in Albanian, Armenian, Czech-Slovak, Dutch, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, the Scandinavian languages and Russian.

Other forms include:

Hroðulf, Hrothulf (Anglo-Saxon)
Roel, Roelof, Ruud (Dutch)
Rodolf (Catalan)
Rolph (English)
Rudo, Ruudo, Ruudolf (Estonian)
Róðolvur (Faroese)
Ruuto, Ruutolffi, Ruutolhvi, Ruutolppi (Finnish)
Rodolphe (French)
Roele, Roelef, Roelf, Rolef, Rolof, Roloff, Roluf, Roolof (Frisian)
Rudolp რუდოლფ (Georgian)
Roff (German)
Rudi (German, Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian)
Rudo (German)
Rul (German)
Rûtulfe, Ruutuulfi (Greenlandic)
Rhodólphos Ροδόλφος (Greek)
Rúdólf (Icelandic)
Rodolfino (Italian)
Rodolfo (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
Ridolfo (Italian)
Rudolphus (Latin)
Rūdolfs, Rūdis (Latvian)
Rudolfas, Rudas (Lithuanian)
Doffen (Norwegian)
Roffe (Norwegian, Swedish)
Hróðólfr, Hrólfr (Old Norse)
Rudulf (Polish, archaic)
Duff, Dusch, Riedi, Ruosch (Romansch)
Ruedi (Swiss-German, diminutive form, occasionally used as an independent form)

Feminine forms include:

Rudolfia (Danish, Norwegian)
Rodolphine (French)
Rudolfine (German, Scandinavian)
Rodolfa, Rodolfina (Italian, Spanish)
Rodolfetta (Italian)
Rudolfa (Polish, Scandinavian)
Rudolfina (Hungarian, Polish, Scandinavian)

Sources

Cassius

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Sebastiane

Cassius

The name is of uncertain origin or meaning, it has been linked with the Latin cassus, meaning “hollow, empty, vain,” and the Latin cassis (metal helmet). It has also been suggested to be of Etruscan origins. It was the name of a Roman gens, which produced such Roman notables as Gaius Cassius Longinus (died 42 C.E.) who was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar; and Roman historian Cassius Dio (died 235 C.E). The Via Cassia is a namesake of the same clan.

The name was subsequently borne by several early saints, including Cassius of Clermont (3rd-Century C.E.) and Cassius of Narni (d. 558 C.E.). Its feminine forms of Cassia & Cassiana are also borne by several female saints.

A more recent notable bearer is Cassius Clay (1942-2016), which was the birth name of the American Boxer, Muhammed Ali, who was in turn named for his father who was named after the American abolitionist and politician Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr (1810-1903).

Cassius has been in and out of the U.S. Top 1000 since 1880, between 1880-1895, it was among the Top 1000 and peaked at #425 in 1880. Between 1896-1964, the name did not appear in the U.S. Top 1000. He made a brief appearance in 1964 coming in as the 859th most popular male name. His sudden appearance in 1964 may be due to Muhammed Ali winning the world heavyweight championship of the same year. Between 1964-2008, Cassius was once again expelled from the top 1000. As of 2018, Cassius was 595th Most Popular Male Name in the United States. In England & Wales, he ranks in at #333.

Traditionally pronounced CASH-es in English, it is often shortened to Cash. Another form is Cassian (KASH-en).

Other forms include:

Kasi (Basque)
Kasian (Breton)
Cassi, Cássius (Catalan)
Kasije (Croatian, Serbian)
Kasián (Czech)
Cassianus (Dutch, Latin)
Cassius, Kassius (Dutch, German)
Cassian (German, Occitanian)
Kassian (German)
Cassie, Cassien (French)
Cassiano, Cassio (Italian)
Casiano, Casio (Spanish)
Kasiani (Kiswahili)
Kasijus (Lithuanian)
Kasjusz, Kasjan (Polish)
Cássiano, Cássio (Portuguese)
Kassij Кассий, Кассій (Russian, Ukrainian)

Feminine forms include:

Cássia, Cássiana (Catalan, Portuguese)
Kasija (Croatian, Lithuanian, Serbian)
Cassia, Cassiana (English CASH-uh, Italian, Occitanian)
Cassiane, Cassienne, Cassie (French)
Kasja, Kasjana (Polish)
Kassija (Russian, Ukrainian)
Casia, Casiana (Spanish)

Sources

Nora, Nour

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Sebastiane

1024px-Dawn._Buryatia,_Russia

This multicultural name has recently experienced a revival. In European countries, the name stems from any name ending in the -nora element, such as Honora & Eleanora. In Arabic, Nora is a variant transliteration of Nurah, which is a strictly feminine version of the unisex Arabic name, Nur (light). Nur is used as one of the 99 attributes of Allah, al-Nur (the light).

The name was used by Henrik Ibsen for his main character in his play, A Doll’s House (1878).

Outside of East Asia, there isn’t a counry where Nora is unhead of or is not in use. Nora has been in out of the U.S. Top 100 since 1880! She currently ranks in as the 30th Most Popular Female Name in the United States. Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

#2 (Norway, 2018)
#10 (Netherlands, 2018)
#11 (Hungary, 2018)
#14 (Switzerland, 2018)
#15 (Denmark, 2018)
#20 (Belgium, 2018)
#23 (Austria, 2018)
#26 (Catalonia, Spain, 2018)
#28 (Sweden, 2018)
#38 (Canada, BC, 2018)
#47 (Spain, 2018)
#64 (Norah, Netherlands, 2018)
#79 (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2018)
#84 (Norah, Canada, BC, 2018)
#85 (Italy, 2018)
#119 (France, 2018)
#140 (Norah, United States, 2018)
#184 (Norah, France, 2018)
#197 (England & Wales, 2018)
#283 (Norah, England & Wales, 2018)

Its Dutch version of Noor also ranks high in several popularity charts. This name is also used by Muslim families as a variation of Nur. Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

#10 (Netherlands, 2018)
#25 (Belgium, 2018)
#279 (England & Wales, 2018)
#311 (France, 2018)

Noortje is another Dutch version which currently ranks in as the 203rd Most Popular Female Name in the Netherlands.

Other forms of its European version include:

Nora Нора Νόρα (Bulgarian, Greek)
Noera (Dutch)
Noor (Dutch)
Noortje (Dutch)
Norah (Dutch, English, French)
Nonie (English)
Noreen (English, Irish)
Noora (Estonian, Finnish)
Nóra Но́ра (Faroese, Hungarian, Irish, Russian)
Nuura (Finnish, Scandinavian)
Nóirín (Gaelic)
Norina (Italian, Provençal, Romansch)
Norá (Sami)
Norea (Scandinavian)
Norena (Scandinavian)
Noria (Scandinavian)
Norita (Spanish, Scandinavian)

The Arabic Nur is traditionally a unisex name which is popularly used in many Islamic countries. Its Maghrebi form of Nour currently ranks in the following popularity charts for girls:

#40 (Belgium, 2018)
#48 (Catalonia, Spain, 2018)
#48 (France, 2018)
#76 (Spain, 2018)
#137 (Italy, 2018)
#197 (Netherlands, 2018)

Nur is currently the 87th Most Popular Female Name in Bosnia & Herzegovina (2018).

Other forms of the Arabic version include:

Noora, Nura (Arabic, strictly feminine)
Noura (Maghrebi Arabic, strictly feminine)
Núria (Catalan)
Nor (Malay, unisex)
Nuru (Swahili, strictly feminine)

Sources

Albert, Alberta

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Sebastiane

Albert is a Norman contracted form of Adalbert that was introduced into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Though there is an Anglo-Saxon form of Æðelberht, it was completely usurped by its Norman version.

The name fell out of use in England by the end of the 13th-century but was revived in the 19th-century when Queen Victoria of England chose a German prince by the name of Albert to be her husband. Speaking of which, Albert was a much-loved name among German royalty.

Between 1880-1967, Albert remained in the Top 100 Most Popular Male Names. He peaked at #14 in 1910. As of 2018, he currently ranks in as the 452nd Most Popular Male Name.

Albert is currently quite popular in Europe. These are his rankings in the following countries:

#37 (Denmark, 2018)
#55 (England & Wales, 2018)
#84 (Norway, 2018)
#422 (Netherlands, 2018)

Albert is used in Albanian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Slovenian & Ukrainian.

Other forms include:

Alberzh (Breton)
Aalt (Dutch)
Aalbert (Dutch)
Aalbertus (Dutch)
Aelbrecht (Dutch)
Albercht (Dutch)
Alberd (Dutch)
Albertus (Dutch, Late Latin)
Appe (Dutch)
Brecht (Dutch)
Elbert (Dutch, German)
Ethelbert (English)
Alpertti (Finnish)
Albertin (French)
Aubert (French)
Aubertin (French)
Abbe, Abe (Frisian)
Ailbeart (Gaelic)
Alberte (Galician)
Albertos (Galician)
Alberti ალბერტი (Georgian)
Albrecht (German)
Albertinello (Italian)
Albertino (Italian)
Alberto (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
Alperto (Italian)
Ulberto, Ulperto (Italian)
Albaer (Limburgish)
Baer, Bèr (Limburgish)
Alberts (Latvian)
Albertas (Lithuanian)
Albertet (Occitanian)
Olbracht (Polish)

Its feminine for of Alberta was borne by Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), daughter of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert. The Canadian province was named in her honour.

Alberta is used in Albanian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish & Ukrainian.

Alberte is currently the 12th Most Popular Female Name in Denmark. Alberte (ahl-BARE-teh) is also used in French, but pronounced differently from its Danish counterpart (AHL-BAIRT). Other feminine forms include:

Alberthe, Albertha (Danish, Swedish)
Albertina (Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
Brechtje (Dutch)
Bertina (English, Hungarian, Italian)
Albertine (French, German, Danish, Norwegian)
Auberte (French)
Aubertine (French)
Bertine (French)
Abelke (Frisian)
Albertin (Hungarian)

Sources

Sixtus, Sixtine, Sistine

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Sebastiane

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Sixtus is a Latin corruption of the Greek Ξυστος (Xystos) meaning “polished.” It has often been confused with the Latin, Sextus (the sixth). The name was borne by 5 Roman Catholic Popes, (3 of whom are saints), several notable bishops and most recently in history, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (1886-1934); Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma (b. 1940) also bears the name.

In 2017, British Conservative Politician, Jacob Reese-Mogg chose this name for his son.

The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican gets its name from Pope Sixtus IV (1477-1480_, who was responsible for revamping the apostolic chapel.

Its female form of Sixtine has been in the French Top 500 Most Popular Female Names since 1991, which was also the same year it peaked the highest in its popularity, coming in at #286. It currently ranks in at #376 (2018).

In 1998, actor Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin bestowed this name Sistine on their daughter, which is perhaps a watered-down version of the Italian, Sistina.

Other forms of the name include

Male

Sistu (Asturian/Sicialian)
Sixt (Catalan/German)
Siksto (Croatian)
Sixtinus (Dutch/German/Latin)
Sixtus (Dutch/English/German/Latin/Scandinavian)
Sixte (French)
Sixtin (French)
Sisto (Galician/Italian/Portuguese)
Xykstus (German)
Sixtos Σίξτος (Greek)
Sziktusz (Hungarian)
Sükösd (Hungarian)
Sistino (Italian)
Siksts (Latvian)
Sikstas (Lithuanian)
Sykstus/Sykst (Polish)
Sixto (Spanish)

Female forms include

Sixta (Dutch/German/Latin/Spanish)
Sixtina (Dutch/German/Latin/Spanish)
Sista/Sistina (Italian)
Szixtin/Szixtina (Hungarian)
Sykstyna (Polish)

Sources

Zara

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Sebastiane

The name has recently become a success in several countries, from England to Turkey, it has several possible derivatives and meanings.

Its English use may have been inspired by the Voltaire play, Zara (1732) (Zaïre in French) which may have been a French corruption of the Arabic female name, Zahra. The play recounts the exploits of a Christian woman named Zara or Zaïre, who is enslaved by Muslims. The name became extremely popular in the U.K. after Princess Anne chose this name for her daughter, Zara Phillips (b.1981).

Alternately, the name has recently become popular in many Slavic countries. It is probably a borrowing from the Bulgarian hypochoristic form of Zaharina (a feminine form of Zachary) or it may be from an Old Slavonic element, žar (fervor, ardor, ember).

Zara currently ranks in several countries’ top female names. Her rankings across the world are as follows:

#11 (Malaysia, 2016)
#22 (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2016)
#23 (Australia, 2017)
#38 (New Zealand, 2016)
#40 (Scotland, 2016)
#46 (Slovenia, 2016)
#56 (Ireland, 2016)
#68 (England/Wales, 2016)
#197 (Netherlands, 2016)
#318 (United States, 2016)

Zara is also the name of a clothing store.

Sources

Majd, Majda

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Sebastiane

Majd Origin: Arabic مجد
Meaning: exaltation; glory
Arab (MADGE); Serbo-Cro/Slov. (MYE-dah)

Majd is a traditional unisex Arabic name meaning “glory; exaltation.”

Majd is the acronym for the Algerian political party Mouvement Algérien pour la Justice et le Développement. Majd is also the name of a Lebanese political party.

Majda is also used among Bosnian Muslims as a Slavonic exclusive feminine form of the Arabic Majd; it is also used by Serbian, Croatians and Slovenes as a contracted form of Magdalena.

Another transliteration is Magd.

Sources

Sharbel, Charbel

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Sebastiane

Sharbel, Charbel Origin: Aramaic
Meaning: uncertain
Gender: Masculine
(shar-BEL)

A traditional Aramaic male name, many sources erroneously list this name as Arabic. Its meaning is illusive, but what is known is that the second element of the name is either from the Aramaic el (God) or Ba’al, meaning “master; lord.”

This is a very common name among Assyrian Christians as it was borne by an early Christian martyr and saint of Syria (known to Western Christians as St. Sarbelius). St. Sarbelius was martyred under the Roman Emperor Trajan.

In the 19th-century, the name was borne by a Lebanese mystic and monk, St. Charbel Makhlouf (1828-1898).

The name is sometimes transliterated as Šarbel or Šarbil.

Since this is the name of a saint venerated among Roman Catholics and Eastern Christians, there are equivalents that appear on several Christian calendars across the world, however, the following names are not necessarily in common use in said languages:

Xàrbel (Catalan)
Šarbel (Croatian/Czech)
Charbel (French, used among French-speakers of Lebanese or Assyrian descent)
Scharbel (German)
Sarbelius (Latin)
Chárbel (Spanish, used among Spanish-speakers of Lebanese descent, especially in Mexico where there is a large Lebanese-Mexican community)
Szarbel (Polish: not in use, but appears on the Catholic Saint calendar)

Sources

Myron

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Sebastiane

Origin: Greek
Meaning: “myrrh; perfume”
Gender: Masculine
Eng. (MY-ron); GRK (MEE-rone)

The name comes from the Greek meaning “myrrh; perfume.” It was borne by a 5th-century B.C.E Greek sculptor as well as several Christian saints.

In the United States, especially at the turn of the century, it was used among Jewish families as a form of the Hebrew Meir.

Myron is also the name of a genus of snakes.

For 100 years, between 1900-2000, it was in the U.S. Top 1000 Most popular male name. Myron peaked in 1931 when it was the 192nd most popular male name.

Other forms of the name include:

Mirón (Asturian/Galician/Portuguese/Spanish)
Miran Міран (Belarussian)
Miron Ми́рон (Bulgarian/Croatian/Romanian/Russian/Serbian/Slovenian/Ukrainian)
Miró (Catalan)
Myrón (Czech)
Myron (Dutch/English/French/German/Polish)
Mürón (Hungarian)
Mýron (Icelandic)
Mirone (Italian)
Mironi მირონი (Georgian)
Mironas (Lithuanian)

A feminine form is Myra.

Sources

Vuk

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Sebastiane

Vuk Origin: Serbo-Croatian
Meaning: “wolf”
Gender: Masculine
(VOOK)

The name comes directly from the Serbo-Croatian word for “wolf” and has been in use since at least the 13th-century. According to tradition, the name was used on a child who had been born after multiple infant deaths, it was used as a sort of token against evil spirits.

The name was borne by several Medieval Serbian rulers and military leaders.

Vuk is also the name a novel and of the title character in the Hungarian children’s novella by István Fekete (1965).

Medieval feminine forms include: Vlkava and Vlčenka.

Sources

Legitimate Baby Names

names that are not made up and have had a history

Category Archives: Croatian Names

Rudy, Rudolph, Rolf

Cassius

Nora, Nour

Albert, Alberta

Sixtus, Sixtine, Sistine

Zara

Majd, Majda

Sharbel, Charbel

Myron

Vuk