Gender: Feminine
Origin: German
(frhahn-ZIS-kah)
The name is a German feminine form of Francis.
The name has always been very popular in the German-speaking world, she is currently the 46th most popular female name in Austria, (2010) and the 66th most popular in Germany, (2011).
The name is currently borne by two German pop singers.
A common nickname is Franzi.
Gender: Feminine
Origin: German
(kah-tah-HREE-nah)
The name is a German and Scandinavian form of Catherine.
It has been one of the most consistently popular female names in Germany for the last 100 years.
She is currently the 11th most popular female name in Austria (2010) and the 51st most popular in Germany, (2011).
In German history, the name was borne by several famous women, one of the most notable being Katharina von Bora (1499-1552) a Catholic nun who left the Catholic Church and became one of the earliest converts to Lutheranism, later becoming the wife of German reformer, Martin Luther. In the American Lutheran Church, she appears in the Calendar of Saints.
Another notable and more contemporary bearer was Katharina Staritz (1903-1953) a German theologian who was one of the first women to be ordained a minister. She is known for her help and aid to many Jews during the Second World War.
The name is also borne by German Olympic Gold Medal Figure Skater, Katarina Witt (b.1965)
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Eng (an-TOH-nee-ah; AN-tuh-NEE-ah)
The name is a feminine form of Antonius. In Roman times, this name was used for the female offspring of the Antonii clan.
It was borne by several famous Roman matrons, including the daughter of Marc Antony (50 BCE-?).
Currently, Antonia is the 58th most popular female name in Germany, (2011) and the 72nd most popular in Croatia, (2010).
Other forms of the name include:
Gender: Feminine
Origin: German
Meaning: debated
(FIN-yah)
The name may be a borrowing from the Russian diminutive name, Finya, which is a Russian short form of Rufina.
It may also be a feminine form of the Gaelic Fionn (white; fair) or the Old Norse Finn (Finnish).
It could also be a Frisian form of Frieda, (peace).
Currently, it is the 36th most popular female name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Italian/Galician/German
(LEE-ah)
The name could either be from the Italian and Galician form of Leah or it could be a German contraction of Rosalia or Julia or any name that ends in -lia.
Currently, it is the 34th most popular female name in Germany, (2011). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:
The name is borne by German Opera Soprano, Lia Hanus.
The name could be of several different origins and meanings depending on the bearer of the name. Generally, the name is mostly used in reference to its Biblical origins, when Naomi takes the name of Mara(h) (Ruth 1:20), (which in Hebrew means “bitter”) as a way to express her grief over losing her husband and sons. The same name also appears in the Exodus as the name of one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites.
It could also be from Latvian mythology, spelled Māra, being the name of the supreme goddess who was associated with all feminine aspects of life. She is sometimes believed to be one and the same as Laima.
The name also appears in Slavic mythology as another name of the goddess Marzanna, the goddess of death and winter. Interestingly, it is also the name of the goddess of death in Hinduism. The two deities may have a distant connection.
In German the name is ultimately derived from a proto-Indo European source meaning “to harm” or “to rub away.” In folklore, mara were wraiths who pressed on the chests of sleeping victims, this is where the word nightmare is believed to have derived.
It is interesting to note that the name appears in the top 100 most popular female names in Germany, where it is currently the 55th most popular female name, (2011). It is doubtful, however, that the name is used in reference to its Germanic folklore origins, but is more likely used in reference to its Biblical connections.
The name could also be from the Syriac and modern Maltese meaning, “woman.”
In Hungarian and Croatian, it is used as a form of Marija.
Her rankings in other countries are as follows:
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)