Category Archives: Dutch Names

Henry, Harry, Harriet, Henrietta

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Origin: English/Germanic
Meaning: home ruler

Henry, an age old classic male name, is an anglicized version of the Germanic Heimric, which is composed of the elements heim meaning “home” and ric meaning “ruler.” The name evolved into the modern German Heinrich, the Scandinavian Henrik, the Polish Henryk, the French Henri, the Spanish Enrique and the Italian Enzo.

Henry has a lot of staying power in virtually most European countries. Like many of the other classic English names, this name came to England not through any Anglo-Saxon Germanic connections but through the conquering French Normans. It is has been a very popular choice among British and German royalty alike. It has been borne by the infamous Henry VIII all the way to our very present, Prince Henry, (aka Prince Harry), of England.

Henry has given to the world its diminutive form of Harry, which in many respects, is seen as an independent name in its own right. In Medieval England, Harry was considered the vulgar or everyday form of the name, most of England’s King Henrys were known affectionately as Harry. At one time, the name Henry was so common in the English speaking world, that the phrase, “Every Tom, Dick and Harry,” arose.

Harry is the title character of J.K. Rowling’s wizardry series, Harry Potter and again most the world knows the charming prince by his nickname versus his full name, given it a new appeal to young parents. Once seen as a stodgy and stuffy old man name, it is now seen as a classy and chic choice. Harry has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Currently, Harry sits at # 644 in the 2008 most popular male names of the United States, while Henry comes in at # 76, and seems to be rising. Meanwhile, in Great Britain, Harry came in at a whopping # 5, while Henry at # 34. In France’s top male names of 2006, Henri came in at # 330, while its Italian version of Enzo, seems to be the more preferred version in recent years, Enzo came in as the # 1 most popular male name of France!

Other popular nicknames are Hal and Hank.

It also has feminine forms of Harriet and Henrietta, from both female versions the nicknames Hattie, Hettie and Etta came about. There is also the French form of Henriette, and the Italian feminine form of Enza.

Likes its male counterpart, Harriet seems to be enjoying a recent surge in popularity. In Britain and Wales’ top 100 female names of 2008, she came in at # 73, while in the United States, she still has some ways to go, in fact, she has not been in the top 1000 for at least 9 years. The name was borne by Harriet Beacher Stowe.

The designated name day for all forms of this name is July 13.

Other forms include:

  • Hanrí هنري (Arabic: primarily used among Arab Christians)
  • Endika (Basque)
  • Enric (Catalan)
  • Henrik (Croatian/German/Hungarian/Scandinavian/Slovene)
  • Jindřich (Czech)
  • Hynek (Czech: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Henderik (Danish)
  • Henning (Danish/German/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Driek/Dricus (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Dries (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Hein (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Heino (Dutch/Estonian)
  • Hendrik (Dutch/Estonian/German)
  • Henk (Dutch/Limburgish: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Hal (English: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Hank (English: originally a diminutive form, now used exclusively as an independent given name)
  • Enrico (Estonian)
  • Harri (Finnish/Welsh)
  • Heikki (Finnish)
  • Henrikki (Finnish)
  • Henri (French)
  • Haio (Frisian)
  • Aiko/Eiko/Haiko/Heiko (Frisian)
  • Heink (Frisian)
  • Henner (Frisian)
  • Hinrich (Frisian)
  • Hainrixi ჰაინრიხი (Georgian)
  • Heimo (German)
  • Heiner (German: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Heinrich (German)
  • Heinz (German: diminutive form occasionally used as an independent given name)
  • Errikos (Greek)
  • Hinrik (Icelandic)
  • Anraí/Einrí (Irish-Gaelic)
  • Anrico (Italian)
  • Arrigo/Errigo (Italian)
  • Enrichetto (Italian)
  • Enrico (Italian)
  • Enzo/Enzio (Italian)
  • Richetto (Italian)
  • Rico (Italian: contracted form)
  • Rigo (Italian)
  • Henricus (Latin)
  • Indriķis (Latvian)
  • Herkus (Latvian)
  • Endrikis (Lithuanian)
  • Henrikas (Lithuanian)
  • Heng/Hari (Lexumbourgish)
  • Henno (Low German)
  • Hinderk/Hinnerk (Low German)
  • Jendrik (Low German)
  • Heimrich (Old German)
  • Hinnerk (Plattdeutsch)
  • Henryk (Polish)
  • Henrique (Portuguese/Galician)
  • Henric (Romanian)
  • Andri/Andrin (Romansch)
  • Gendrich/Genrich (Russian)
  • Eanraig (Scottish-Gaelic)
  • Hendry (Scottish)
  • Heinri/Heiri (Swiss-German: dialectical form)
  • Henrich (Slovak)
  • Hendrich (Sorbian)
  • Enrique (Spanish)
  • Hersh (Yiddish)

Female forms include:

  • Drika (Dutch)
  • Heintje (Dutch)
  • Hendrika/Hendrikje (Dutch)
  • Henriëtte (Dutch)
  • Jetta/Jette (Dutch/German: Originally diminutive forms, now used exclusively as independent given names)
  • Etta (English: contracted form)
  • Harriet (English)
  • Hattie (English: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Henrietta (English)
  • Hettie (English: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Henna (Finnish)
  • Henriikka (Finnish)
  • Henriette (French)
  • Hinriette (Frisian)
  • Heinriette (German: obscure)
  • Heinrike (German)
  • Henrike (German/Danish/Norwegian)
  • Enrica (Italian)
  • Enrichetta (Italian)
  • Enza (Italian)
  • Errichetta (Italian)
  • Rica (Italian)
  • Henryka (Polish)
  • Andrina (Romansch)
  • Henrika (Swedish)

Olga

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Russian
Meaning: “holy”
(OLE-gah).

This harsh and rather under appreciated Russian classic is actually a Slavicized form of the equally unpopular Scandinavian name, Helga, which means, “holy.”

The name was first introduced into Eastern Europe around the 10th-century, thanks in part, to St. Olga of Kiev, (d. July 11 969).

St. Olga was a Russian woman of Viking descent who married Duke Igor of Kiev. When her husband died and her son Svytoslav was too young to rule, she was designated regent of the duchy. Olga was not a force to be reckoned with, when she first assumed the throne, she spent several years finding the killers of her husband and executing them. She is known for performing the first political reform in Eastern European history by changing the system of tribute gathering.

As an old woman, Olga had converted to Christianity and became one of the first Russian rulers to take on the new religion. She was known for her proselytizing and her hard work in converting her grandson, Vladimir of Kiev and some of her subjects. In fact, the Orthodox Church had proclaimed her an Equal-to-the-Apostles and her feast day is July 11.

The name is still popular throughout Eastern Europe.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Vol’ha Вольга (Belarusian)
  • Olga Ольга(Bulgarian/Croatian-Serbian/Czech/German/Hungarian/Macedonian/Polish/Portuguese/Romanian/Russian/Scandinavian/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Helle (Danish)
  • Helka (Finnish)
  • Oili (Finnish)
  • Olja (Finnish)
  • Helga (German/Danish/Icelandic/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Hella (German/Scandinavian)
  • Ólgha Όλγα (Greek)
  • Elga (Italian)
  • Hege (Norwegian)
  • Helgi (Old Norse)
  • Áile (Sami)
  • Láilá (Sami)
  • Ol’ga (Slovakian)
  • Ol’ha Ольга (Ukrainian)

Olya is the common Russian diminutive form.

Damian

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “to tame.”

The name is derived from the Greek Damianos ,which, in turn, is derived from the Greek word, damao, meaning, “to tame.”

The name is borne by the twin brother of St. Cosmo. They were martyred together in 4th century Greek Syria.

The designated feast day is July 1st in the Greek Orthodox calender.

In recent years, Damian has risen increasingly in popularity coming in at # 133 most popular male name in the United States. Its French counterpart of Damien comes in at # 189. The name is also quite popular in Poland. The feminine offshoot is Damiana and there is also the rare French female name of Damienne.

Other forms include:

  • Damyan Дамян (Bulgarian)
  • Damjan Дамјан (Croatian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Damiaan (Dutch)
  • Damian (English/German/Polish)
  • Damien (French)
  • Damio (Italian)
  • Damiano (Italian)
  • Damianos Δαμιανος (Greek)
  • Damianus (Latin)
  • Damião (Portuguese)
  • Demyan Демьян (Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Damijan (Slovene)
  • Damián (Spanish)

Feminine forms include:

  • Damienne (French)
  • Damia (Greek)
  • Damiana (Italian/Spanish)
  • Damijana (Slovene)

Thomas

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Aramaic
Meaning: “twin”
(TOM-us)

The Latinized form of the Aramaic Tau’ma which is derived from the word T’oma (תאומא) meaning “twin.” The name was introduced to the world via St. Thomas the Apostle, a character that plays a prominent role in the New Testament. He is best known for his disbelief when he first heard that Christ had resurrected from the dead, hence the saying “doubting Thomas.”

Tau’ma was a nickname given to him to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot, (Thomas’ real name being Judas or Jude). He is also known as Didymos, (the Greek word for twin), and Jude. His evangelization was attributed to the area of Persia and India. Thomas is a very popular name among Indian Christians and Persian Christians. His feast is celebrated on July 3rd. The name was introduced into the English speaking world via the Normans after they had conquered England. Since that time Thomas has been a relatively popular male name.

  • Tomas (Albanian)
  • Touma توما‎, (Arabic)
  • Tovmas (Armenian)
  • Foma (Azeri/Russian)
  • Tomás (Aragonese/Asturian/Spanish)
  • Tomas (Basque)
  • Dammerl (Baverian)
  • Tòmas (Bearnais)
  • Tamaš Тамаш (Belarusian)
  • Toma Тома (Bosnian/Bulgarian/Georgian)
  • Tomaz (Breton)
  • 多馬 Duoma (Chinese Biblical)
  • 湯瑪斯 Tangmasi, 湯瑪士 Tangmashi, 托馬斯 Tuomasi, (Chinese General Translation)
  • Tumasgiu (Corsican)
  • Tomo/Tome (Croatian: occassionally Tomislav is used as a translation, though technically it has no etymological relation to Thomas)
  • Tomáš (Czech)
  • Thomas (Danish/Dutch/English/French/German/Indonesian/Latin/Luxemborgish/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Maas (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, sometimes used as an independent given name)
  • Toomas (Estonian)
  • Tummas (Faroese)
  • Tuomas/Tuomo (Finnish)
  • Maes (Flemmish)
  • Tomas (Filipino/Tagalog)
  • Theumis (Frisian)
  • Tomé (Galician)
  • Thōmâs Θωμᾶς/Thomás Θωμάς/Didymos Δίδυμος (Greek: Modern)
  • Teom (Hebrew)
  • Tamás (Hungarian)
  • Tómas (Icelandic)
  • Tomás (Irish)
  • Tommasso (Italian)
  • Tommassino (Italian)
  • Tomasiello/Tommasuccio (Italian: obscure)
  • トーマス Tomasu (Japanese)
  • Tomas (Karakalpak: a Turkic language spoken in Uzbekistan)
  • 도마 Doma /Toma (Korean Biblical)
  • 토머스 Tomeoseu/T’omŏsŭ (Korean: General Translation)
  • Thomasê (Kurdish)
  • Toms (Latvian)
  • Tomas (Lithuanian)
  • Томислав, Τоми, Томо, Томас, Τоме (Macedonian)
  • Thoma/Thommen/Oummen/Thommy (Malayalam)
  • Tamihana (Maori)
  • Tumas (Maltese)
  • Tuami (Moroccan-Arabic)
  • Thomé (Occitanian)
  • توماس Tomasp (Persian)
  • Tomasz (Polish: Tomek is a popular diminutive, equivalent to Tommy or Tom)
  • Tomás, Tomé (Portuguese)
  • Tomašis/Tomerdos (Romani: language of the Roma people)
  • Tumasch (Romansch)
  • Tuoms (Saimogaitian: a dialect of Lithuanian)
  • Tomasi (Samoan)
  • Tomasso (Sardinian)
  • Tam/Tòmas (Scottish)
  • Тома Toma (Serbian)
  • Tomáš (Slovakian)
  • Tomaž (Slovene)
  • Tomás (Spanish)
  • Thoma (Swahili)
  • Tāmas தாமஸ்/Tōmā தோமா (Tamil)
  • To-mus โทมัส (Thai)
  • Choma (Ukrainian)
  • Tomaš (Upper Sorbian)
  • Tomaxo (Venetian)
  • Tomos/Twm (Welsh)
  • Teomo (Yiddish)

 

  • Thomasina, Thomasine, Thomazina and Tammy, Tamsin. Popular nicknames include Tom and Tommy.

The Julian Clan

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Julius, Julia, Julie, Juliette, Julilla we go into the name Julius lets remained focused on Julus/Iulus, (the names were rendered in Latin as Iulus, Iulius, Iulia and Iulilla). In Roman legend he was sometimes known as Ascanius and some sources have him down as the son of Aeneas and Creusa. He fled with his parents to the area of Rome to escape the raging war between Troy and Greece. In Virgil’s Aeneid, it mentions that Iulus had a role in founding the city of Rome. Other legendary sources, however, proclaim that Iulus was actually the son of Aeneas and Lavinia and that he was born in Lazio Italy, (the region in which Rome is situated), and he grew up to found the little city state of Alba Longa. His grandson was Aeneas Silvus. Supposedly, Julus grandmother was Venus. The origins of Julus/Iulus are not definite, but many sources believe that it is derived from the Greek Ioulos meaning “downy-bearded.” If this meaning is accurate it would suggest that the name was originally used to describe a pubescent boy who shows the first budding signs of facial hair. In that case, the name would be used in reference to someone who looked youthful

Flash forward to the Roman Republic and we have the well known Julius Caesar. He is most notable for his revolutionary move of transforming the Republic into an Empire and thus proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome. Julius Caesar had both a daughter and sister named Julia. His sister was known as Julia while his daughter was known as Julia Caesaris Minor.
In Christian legend, Julia is also borne by the early Martyr Saint Julia of Carthage. Julia was a Carthaginian noble woman but as a little girl, she was kidnapped and sold as a slave to a Roman master. Legend has it that she came from a Christian family, while her master was a follower of the old Roman gods. When her master had taken her to the Isle of Corsica, he tried to force her to participate in a local pagan festival. Julia refused to join in the festivities, however, and since she was not a Roman citizen, she had to die the undignified way of crucifixion. She is now considered the patron saint of Corsica and her feast is held on May 23rd.
Julilla is a Latin diminutive off shoot of the name and might make an interesting twist on both Julia and the currently popular Lily. Julia is a very popular name throughout Europe, while Julie (ZHEW-LEE) is its French counterpart. In most of mainland Europe, though, Julia is pronounced (YOOL-yah); in Spain and South America as (HOO-lee-ah) and in Italy where its rendered as Giulia (JOO-lee-ah).

From the French we get the diminutive spin off of Juliette, now considered a full fledged name in France and the Italian Giulietta, also considered an independent name in its own right. This is where we run into the anglicized Juliet.

Juliet
his particular spelling is an Anglicization of the Italian Giulietta. The name was first introduced into the English speaking world by William Shakespeare for his character in his star-crossed play, Romeo & Juliet (1596). Shakespeare based his play off of an Italian romance which had been translated into English by Arthur Brooke in 1562. The original tale was set in Siena and was written in 1467 by Masiuccio Salernitano who insisted it was based off of a true story. The character names, however, are a little different, they are named Mariotto (a diminutive form of Mario) and Gianozza a diminutive form of Giovanna. In 1530, another Italian author by the name of Luigi da Porto, took the same tale and changed the characters names to Romeo and Giulietta and reset the story in the city of his hometown Verona. It is from this version that Shakespeare’s inspiration had come.

Julian, Julien, Juliane, Juliana, Julienne
Julian is just an offshoot of Julius. Julian and Julien were born by several early Christian saints, as well as Julien the Hospotelier and Julian the Apostate. Juliana was born by several Italian saints throughout the ages, though rendered in its native language as Giuliana. Julienne is a French feminine form of Julien.

Julitta
Probably another ancient diminutive form of Julia, though some sources insist it is a Latin form of Judith, the name was borne by an early Christian martyr, who, when she refused to give up her religion was punished by watching her infant son get bludgeoned.

Júlírós
An Icelandic Smush, the name is appears on the approved list of Icelandic female names. Pronounced as (YOO-lih-ROSE), the name literally means “July Rose.”

Other forms of the name include:

Male Versions

  • Julen (Basque)
  • Jolyon (English)
  • Julien/Jules (French)
  • Julian (German/Polish/English)
  • Gyula (Hungarian)
  • Giulio/Giuliano (Italian)
  • Juliusz (Polish)
  • Iuliu/Iulian (Romanian)
  • Juli (Romansch)
  • Yulian (Russian/Bulgarian)
  • Yuli (Russian)
  • Július (Slovakian)
  • Julij (Slovenian)
  • Julián (Spanish)
  • Julio (Spanish/Portuguese)
  • Yuliy (Ukrainian)

Female Versions

  • Xhulia/Xhuliana (Albanian)
  • Iulia (Bulgarian/Romanian)
  • Yuliana (Bulgarian)
  • Julija (Croatian/Lithuanian/Slovene)
  • Juliana (Dutch/English/German/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Jula/Jule (German)
  • Juli (German)
  • Juliane (German/French)
  • Ioula/Ioulía (Greek Modern)
  • Gillian (English)
  • Julia (English, German, Polish)
  • Juliet (English)
  • Juulia (Estonian)
  • Julie/Julienne (French)
  • Juliette (French)
  • Julina/Juline (German)
  • Juli/Júlia/Julinka/Juliska (Hungarian)
  • Julianna (Hungarian/Polish)
  • Júlía (Icelandic)
  • Iúile (Irish)
  • Giulia/Giuliana/Giulietta (Italian)
  • Julitta (Latin/Dutch/Romansch)
  • Džūliaja (Latvian)
  • Jūlija (Latvian)
  • Julita (Polish)
  • Iuliana (Romanian)
  • Iulscha (Romansch)
  • Geletta (Romansch)
  • Gelgia (Romansch)
  • Uliana (Russian)
  • Yulia (Russian)
  • Julijana (Slovenian)
  • Julieta (Spanish)
  • Yuliya (Ukrainian/Bulgarian)
  • Ulyana (Ukrainian)

Dúfa

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Old Norse/Icelandic
Meaning: “pitching one; pigeon; dove.”
(DOO-vah).

In old Norse the name means “pitching one.” It was the name of one of the nine daughters of the sea goddess Rán. In modern Icelandic, the name is interchangeable with the word for dove or pigeon. It is still a common female first name in Iceland.

Another offshoot of the original old Norse form is the Frisian Dufina (doo-FEE-nah) and the Dutch Dyveke.

Ham

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Biblical/Hebrew
Meaning: “hot.”

The name is born in the Old Testament by one of the 3 sons of Noah. Noah cursed Ham after Ham had seen Noah naked while drunk. He is said to be the forefather of the Egyptians and Canaanites.

Other forms include: (NOTE: all these forms exists, but are scarcely used in their home countries)

  • Cham حام (Arabic)
  • Cam (Catalan/Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Chám (Czech)
  • Cham (Dutch/Polish)
  • Ham (English/French/German)
  • Haam (Estonian/Finnish)
  • Ham חָם (Hebrew: Modern)
  • Kám (Hungarian)
  • Chamas (Lithuanian)
  • Kam (Norwegian)
  • Xham (Walon)

Dylan

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Welsh
Eng (DIL-en); WEL (DULL-en).

The name’s origin is up in the air. Some sources believe that it is composed of the Welsh elements dy meaning “great” and llanw meaning “tide; sea; flow,” while others contend that it is made up of the proto-Celtic elements *di meaning “away” and llanw (same as above).

It is also suggested that the name may be derived from the Welsh word dylanw meaning “influence.”

The name was borne in Welsh mythology by the god of the sea. He was the son of Aranrhod and was accidently slain by his uncle Gavannon. When he died, it was said that the waves of the sea wept.

It also was borne by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-53). The name became extremely popular outside of Wales around the 1960s.

Currently, Dylan ranked in as the 31st most popular male name in the United States. The highest he ranked was in 2004 at # 19.

His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 28 (Australia, 2007)
  • # 53 (Belgium, 2006)
  • # 25 (Canada, B.C., 2008)
  • # 71 (Chile, 2006)
  • # 17 (England/Wales, 2008)
  • # 46 (France, 2006)
  • # 11 (Ireland, 2007)
  • # 27 (the Netherlands, 2008)
  • # 12 (Scotland, 2008)

Abigail

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Biblical/Hebrew
Meaning: “her father’s joy” or “fountain of joy.”
(AB-ih-GALE)

In the Old Testament, the name is borne by the wife of King David and the mother of Amasa. The name sometimes appears in the Bible as Abagal and in, modern Hebrew, the name is rendered as Avigáyil (אֲבִיגַיִל)

Abigail did not become popular in the English speaking world til after the Reformation. It was a very popular choice among Puritans and early Americans. It was borne by the second First Lady of the United States, Abigail Adams (1744-1818), wife of President John Adams. It was also borne by their daughter who was known as Nabby Adams Smith (1765-1813).

In the 16th century, Abigail became a generic term for a servant woman or maid, thanks, in part, to Beaumont and Fletcher’s The Scornful Maid (1616). The name was ironically borne by the lady in waiting to Queen Anne, who was born quite a few years after the name was used to describe a servant woman (b. 1670).

In modern American culture, the name has become extremely popular for newborns. It started rising up the charts in the late 90s making it all the way up to # 4 by 2005. In 2008, it dropped back down to # 8.

Popular English nicknames include Abby, Nabby, & Gail.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Abigaïl (Dutch)
  • Abigaël/Abigaïl (French)
  • Abigaia Αβιγαια (Greek: Biblical)
  • Apikalia (Hawaiian)
  • Abigél (Hungarian)
  • Abigaille (Italian: very rare, pronounced, ah-bee-GUILE-ley)
  • Abigaili (Kiswahili)
  • Abigaíl (Spanish)

Didier, Desiderius

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: French
Meaning: “longing; desire.”
(DEE-dyay)

The name is an old French form of Desiderius, which is from the Latin desiderium, meaning, “longing; desire.”

The name was borne by a 6th century French Bishop, who later resigned his seat and lived a life of poverty as a hermit. He founded a monastery in Vosges and his feast day is celebrated on June 19th.

Popular French nicknames include Die and Didi.

Other forms include:

  • Dider (Breton)
  • Dezsér (Hungarian)
  • Dezsider (Hungarian)
  • Dezső (Hungarian)
  • Dero/Derio (Italian)
  • Derino (Italian)
  • Desiderio (Italian)
  • Desio (Italian)
  • Desiderius (Latin/Dutch/German)
  • Dezydery (Polish)
  • Desidério (Portuguese)
  • Dezideriu (Romanian)
  • Dezider (Slovene)

Feminine forms include:

  • Didière (French)
  • Desideria (Italian/Spanish)
  • Desidera (Italian)
  • Dera/Derina (Italian)
  • Desia (Italian)
  • Dezyderia (Polish)
  • Desidéria (Portuguese)

The name Desirée is related but has a slightly different etymology, hence, I shall have a separate entry.