Gender: Masculine
Origin: Scandinavian
(LAHS-seh)
The name is from a Swedish and Norwegian diminutive form of Lars, now commonly used as an independent given name throughout Scandinavia, Finland and Germany.
It is currently the 86th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Another form is the Finnish, Lassi.
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “blessed.”
The name comes directly from the Late Latin name Benedictus meaning “blessed.” The name was borne by a 6th-centuy Italian monk and saint who credited for being the founder of the Order of the Benedictines.
The name was very common throughout Medieval Europe, being borne by 16 popes, it was fairly popular in England, in the form of Bennett.
The name was also commonly used among German-Jews, being used as a cognate of the Hebrew male name Baruch בָּרוּךְ (blessed).
In the United States, the name became taboo to use due to its associations with Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) a famous American deserter and traitor to the British.
The name recently skyrocketed in Germany after the succession of the German born Pope Benedict XVI. It is currently the 93rd most popular male name in Germany, (2011). It is especially popular in Bavaria.
His rankings in other countries are as follows:
Other forms of the name include:
Feminine forms include:
Gender: Masculine
Origin: German
Meaning: “bold people.”
The name is composed of the Old High German elements, liut (people) and pold (bold, brave).
It was initially popularized by a 10th-century Austrian saint, who is now considered the patron saint of Austria. The name became extremely popular with German and Austrian royalty. It was borne by two Holy Roman Emperors.
It was introduced into the English-speaking world in the 19th-century, popularized after Queen Victoria named her son Leopold in honour of her Belgian uncle, King Leopold of Belgium. Irish author, James Joyce used the name for a character in his 1920 novel Ulysses.
In late 19th-century America, the name may have been popular due to the sudden influx of German and Austrian immigrants. The highest he ever ranked in U.S. naming history was in 1895, when he came in as the 580th most popular male name.
Long considered dated in contemporary Germany and Austria, the name has recently been experiencing a revival. He is currently the 122nd most popular male name in Germany, (2011), and is the 280th most popular male name in France, (2009).
Other forms of the name include:
A common Bavarian short form is Poldi and a common English short form is Leo.
Feminine forms include:
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Frisian/German
(TIL)
The name is of Frisian origin and could either be a diminutive form of Dietrich or come directly from the Frisian word til meaning, “good; hard.”
The name was borne by a medieval German folk hero, Till Eulenspiegel, a famous 13th-century prankster who appears in several medieval pamphlets.
It is currently borne by Rammstein singer, Till Lindemann, (b.1960).
Currently, Till is the 48th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Another form is Dil/Dyl.
Gender: Masculine
Origin: German
(FRAHNTZ)
The name could either be a German form of Francis or it may come directly from the Old High German word for “free.”
The name was borne by two Holy Roman Emperors and by Franz Joseph I of Austria.
Other notable bearers include Franz Kafka and Franz Liszt.
The name was very popular in Germany all the way up till the middle of the 20th-century, but fell out of usage, being considered rather dated, it has recently caught on again and is currently the 141st most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Masculine
Origin: English/Gaelic
Eng (KAHL-in); Fre (KOLE-lahn)
The name could be of two origins. The first is that it is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Cailean meaning “puppy” or it could be from an archaic French and English diminutive form of Nicolas.
It was borne by a 9th-century Scots king and has been a common name in Scotland and Ireland since Medieval times.
The name’s popularity outside of Celtic and English-speaking countries may be due to several recent famous personages who have brought the name to the spotlight, including former Secretary of State of the United States and General, Colin Powell (b.1937), British actor Colin Firth (b.1960) and Irish actor, Colin Farrell (b.1976)
Currently, Col(l)in is the 56th most popular male name in Germany, (2011). His rankings in other countries are as follows:
Despite Colin Powell’s unusual pronunciation of the name (KOLE-in); the name is usually pronounced (KAHL-in) in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
A French feminine form is Coline.
The name could be of several different origins and meaning depending on the bearer of the name.
In Romanian, it is derived from the verb meaning “to sooth”. It even boasts its own masculine version: Alin.
It could also be a German and Dutch contraction of Adelina.
Other sources have popularly attributed it to be a form of the Arabic, Alia (lofty; sublime). In this case, the name appears in One Thousand and One Nights as the name of a beautiful princess.
In Belarusian, it is a name of pre-Christian origins, being derived from the old Slavic word алы (aly) meaning “scarlet.” In Russian, it has been linked with the names Albina, Aleksandra and Akulina, considered contracted forms. While in Bulgarian, it is considered a contracted form of Angelina.
In Italy, it is viewed as a contracted form of Rosalina or Pasqualina, the name can be typically found in Northern and Central Italy.
In Polish and Lithuanian, it has been suggested that the name may be derived from Alna, the Lithuanian name of a river which runs through northern Poland and Kaliningrad, (known in Polish as Łyna). Alna is from a medieval Baltic word meaning, “doe; female deer”, (compare modern Lithuanian elnias). Famed Polish playwright, Juliusz Słowacki seems to have popularized the name via his 1839 play, Balladyna. Alina is murdered by her jealous sister Balladyna as they are picking raspberries.
It has also been suggested to be related to Halina, a Polish form of Galina.
Currently, Alina is the 4th most popular female name in German-speaking Switzerland, (2010). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:
Other forms of the name include:
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Uncertain
Eng (teh-REE-sah; teh-REESE); Spanish (teh-REY-sah); German/Polish (teh-REH-zah); French (teh-HREZ).
The name was first recorded in the 4th century as Therasia. It was borne by the wife of the ex-Roman senator turned Christian Bishop, St. Paulinus of Nola. Therasia had hailed from the Northern Region of Spain, and the name took off as Teresa in both Spain and Portugal.
Its origins are most popularly attributed to the Greek, therizo, meaning, “to harvest” or “to reap.” However, some sources believe that it might be from the Greek word theros meaning “summer” or that it is derived from the name of one of the Santorini islands. It could also very well be an old Iberian name of uncertain etymology. What is certain is that the name’s usage was confined to the Iberian Peninsula up until the 16th-century when it was made famous throughout Europe by St. Teresa of Avila, a Roman Catholic nun and mystic. She is revered as a Doctor of the Church.
In the German-speaking world, it was popularized by Habsburg, Maria Theresa (1717-1780), Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
It is also borne by a 19th-century French nun, St. Thérèse de Lisieux. She is also revered as a great theologian and Doctor of the Church.
Currently, Teresa/Theresa is the 31st most popular female name in Austria, (2010), the 65th most popular in Germany (2011) and the 100th most popular in Spain, (2010). While in the United States, she comes in at a lowly # 936 (2010).
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “rival.”
The name is derived from the Roman cognomen, Aemilianus, which is derived from the Latin, aemulus, meaning “rival.”
Emilian is currently the 146th most popular male name in Germany, (2011) while Émilien is the 174th most popular male name in France, (2009).
Other forms of the name include:
Feminine forms include:
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Turkish
Meaning: “soul; life.”
(DJAHN)
The name is derived from an Old Persian source used to describe the soul. In addition to being used in Turkey, it is also commonly used throughout Central Asia.
Currently, Can is the 144th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
The Kazakh form is Жан (Zhan)