Plamen Пламен (Bulgarian & Serbian) is primarily South Slavic in the contemporary world, but comes from a pan-Slavic word meaning, “flame.” The feminine form is Plamena.
It was potentially Płomień in Medieval Polish. Płamen (male) and Płamena (female) are also modern Polish transliterations of the Bulgarian.
In Bulgaria, the designated name-day is November 8th.
Sources
The name is composed of the Old Polish elements, sławo (glory, fame, prestige) and mir (peace, serenity, world). It is the reverse form of Mirosław.
Its Germanic form of Sclaomir was borne by the brother of Drasco, an Obrodite prince who acted as a vassal for the Franks in the 9th-century.
Its Czech form of Slavomír was borne by a 9th-century Moravian duke who was known for leading a revolt against the Franks.
Designated name-days in Poland are May 17th, November 5th and December 23rd.
A common short form is Sławek.
The feminine form is Sławomira, with the diminutives Sława and Sławka.
Medieval Polish feminine forms found in 14th-century records are Sławna, Sławnica, Sławomirz, Sławomirza and Sławocha.
Other masculine forms include:
Feminine forms in other languages are Slavomíra (Czech & Slovak) and Slavomira (Bosnian, Croatian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian)
Sources
Amabilis is a Late Latin unisex name derived from the Latin word for “lovable.” It was used throughout Medieval Western Europe on both males and females, and was borne by a St. Amabilis of Riom (a 5th-century male French saint known in his native language as Amable) and St. Amabilis of Rouen, a 7th-century female French saint.
Amable, Amabel, Mabel have been used exclusively on females in England since Medieval times and was introduced by the Anglo-Normans in the 11th-century. They have gone in and out of popularity since the 11th-century, especially Mabel.
Between 1880-1922, Mabel was among the top 100 most popular female names, peaking at #15 in 1891 and is currently the 435th most popular female name (2018).
In England & Wales, Mabel is currently the 104th most popular female name (2018).
in Ireland, it was often used as an anglicized form of Maeve and it is often speculated that Annabel is an offshoot.
Mabel is the name of a character in C.M. Yonge’s 1854 novel, The Heir of Radclyffe.
Mabel is also used in Dutch, Czech & Slovak, Galician, German & Spanish.
It was borne by several early Anglo-Norman countesses and other notable bearers include: 13th-century English embroiderer, Mable of Bury St. Edmund; Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau (b. 1968); and British pop-singer Mabel (b. 1996).
Other forms include:
Amable & Aimable are male names in France, while Amabile is an Italian unisex form. Caradec or Karadeg are Breton masculine forms that is directly translated from the Latin.
Sources
The name is borne by St. Barnabas, a companion of St. Paul who was instrumental in converting gentiles to the new Christian faith. St. Barnabas was believed to be a Cypriot Jew whose true name was Joseph but he is referred to as Barnabas in Acts 4:36, which describes the name to mean “son of consolation,” possibly being linked with the Aramaic בר נחמה, bar neḥmā of the same meaning. Many linguists contradict this meaning and claim that the latter part of the name might actually be derived from the Hebrew nabī נביא meaning “prophet.”
St. Barnabas is considered an early apostle and the founder of the Christian Church in Cyprus who was eventually stoned to death by an angry mob in Syria. He is considered the patron saint of Cyprus and his feast day is June 11th.
As a given-name, Barnaby has been the preferred form in England since medieval times. Its usage spread to the rest of the English-speaking world through colonialism. It spawned the diminutive off-shoot of Barney, which has been used as an independent given-name in its own right.
To millennials, Barney is often associated with the beloved purple dinosaur of their childhood. However, he appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1880-1976. Never a huge hit, the highest he ever ranked in the U.S. Charts was #201 in 1887. He hasn’t been seen in the charts since 1976, but in England & Wales he currently ranks in as the #492nd Most Popular Males Name (2018).
Barnaby is currently the 251st Most Popular Male Name in England & Wales (2018). Whereas Barnabás is currently the 32nd Most Popular Male Name in Hungary (2018).
Other forms include:
An obscure Spanish feminine form is Bernabea.
Sources
From one of the most common Roman praenomen, its origin and meaning is uncertain. A popular etymology is that it relates to Mars, others suggest it may be from the Etruscan Marce, which may come from mar (to harvest). It is said the name was originally bestowed on those who were born in March.
Marcellus and the name of the month of March likely shares the same etymological root.
It was borne by several notable Romans, including Mark Antony, Marcus Aurelius & Cicero.
It was the name of one of the Evangelists who authored the eponymous Gospel, known as St. Mark in the Christian world, he is revered as the founder of Christianity in Africa and is traditionally believed to have founded the Church in Alexandria. Coptic Christians hold him in high regard. His bones were smuggled out of Egypt in a barrel of pork fat by Venetian merchants from Alexandria when Egypt fell under Islamic rule and were transported back to Venice where they were eventually installed and dedicated in the Basilica of San Marco.
The name was borne by a 2nd-century pope as well.
Marcus, Mark and Marc have been quite popular in several countries. Marcus was in the U.S. Top 100 between 1970-2000, Sweden’s between 1998-2008, New Zealand’s between 2008-2014, England & Wales between 1996-2003, and in Denmark’s between 1994-2006. Currently, his rankings in other countries are as follows:
Its latinate form of Marco, which started off as a mainly Italian form, became widespread across the continent. His rankings in the following countries are as follows:
It’s English form of Mark appears in the legend of Tristan & Isolde as the name of the King of Cornwall, supposedly the name was not common in the English-speaking world until the 19th-century, but became a hit by the Mid-1900s. Mark appeared in the U.S. Top 100 between 1944-2002, which is quite a long stretch. Mark peaked the highest in popularity between 1955-1970, peaking at #6, six years in a row between 1959-1964. Marks’s rankings in other countries are as follows:
Marc is the French, Catalan & Welsh form and has been popularly used in the English-speaking world, it is currently the most popular male name in Catalonia, 2018 and between 1968-1976 it was in the U.S. Top 100. Marc’s rankings in the popularity charts are as follows
Other forms of the name include:
It’s feminine forms include Marca but and sometimes Marcia was used as a feminine form, though it is more the feminine equivalent of Marcius.
Other feminine forms include:
Sources
King William II
The name comes directly from the Latin word meaning “red-headed.” It was a common Roman cognomen and was borne by a man who is referenced in Romans 16:13 and another who is referenced in Mark 15:21. According to Eastern Orthodox tradition, the aforementioned are one and the same person and is venerated as one of the Seventy Disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. He is also popularly believed to be the son of Simon of Cyrene.
The name is borne by several other saints.
It was the nickname of King William II of England, known as William Rufus III on account of his red-hair.
The name appeared in the U.S. Top 100 2 times, in 1880 & 1882, peaking at #88 in 1880. It remained in the Top 1000 1988.
In England & Wales, the name was the 264th Most Popular Male Name in 2018.
Rufus is used in Dutch, Czech, English, Finnish, German, Latvian, Polish & the Scandinavian languages.
Other forms include:
Its feminine form of Rufina was borne by a couple of early saints, one of whom was from Seville, she was a pottery maker who refused to sell her wares for a pagan festival.
Feminine forms include
Sources
Ingvar is the modern Scandinavian form of the Old Norse, Yngvarr, meaning “Ing’s warrior.” It was introduced into Russia in the 10th-century by the Varangians, which gave the world the Igor form. The latter was borne by 2 Grand Princes of Kiev and has been a favorite in several Slavic countries since.
Currently, Igor is the 19th Most Popular Male Name in Poland (2018) and the 48th Most Popular in Moscow, Russia (2018), while in England he currently ranks quite low at #497 (2018).
Igor is used in Bulgarian, Czech-Slovak, Dutch, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Macedonian, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, all modern Scandinavian languages, Slovene, & Spanish
Other forms of the name include:
Sources
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:
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:
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:
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:
Nur is currently the 87th Most Popular Female Name in Bosnia & Herzegovina (2018).
Other forms of the Arabic version include:
Sources
The name is either derived from the Old Norse fríðr (beautiful; loved) or the German fried (peace, joy), (which is also the same case in Yiddish). In modern Swedish, Danish & Norwegian, the name may also be associated with the word frid, which also means peace.
The name has been imported into several cultures. It is not only used in Northern Europe, but has experienced usage in Anglophone, Francophone & Hispanophone countries. A notable bearer from the latter was Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).
It is currently the 7th Most Popular Female Name in Norway & the 19th Most Popular in Denmark (2018).
In the United States, it currently comes in as the 693rd Most Popular Female Name.
The Frida form is used in the following languages: Danish, Dutch, Czech/Slovak, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, Hungarian, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish
Other forms include:
Sources
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:
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:
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:
Sources