Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “pious; dutiful.”
Germ (PEE-oos)
The name is derived from the Late Latin, meaning “pious; dutiful.” It was borne by twelve popes, and the name has been especially common in German-speaking countries, particularly among Catholic families.
Currently, it the 386th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Other forms of the name include:
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic سنان
Meaning: “spearhead.”
(see-NAHN)
The name comes from an early Arabic and Aramaic source meaning “spearhead.” Its earliest bearer may have been Sinan ibn Thabit, a famous Mandean physician who eventually converted to Islam.
The name’s usage has been more common in South Eastern Europe and Central Asia than it was in the Middle East.
It was also borne by Sinan Pasha (d.1553) an Ottoman admiral, Albanian Grand Vizier and Statesman, Sinan Pasha (1506-1596), Sinan Hasani (1922-2010) president of the former Yugoslavia, Sinan Antoon (b.1967) an Iraqi poet and novelist.
Currently, Sinan is the 393rd most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Swedish
(KAHL-leh)
The name is a Swedish and Norwegian diminutive form of Karl, but has been used as an independent given name in Scandinavia and Germany.
In Swedish, Donald Duck is Kalle Anka.
Kalle Blomqvist is a fictional character created by Astrid Lindgren known in English as Bill Bergson.
Currently, Kalle is the 370th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Quirin is a German form of the Latin, Quirinus, which was borne by a Sabine god who was later absorbed into the general Roman pantheon. He was sometimes associated as the deified form of Romulus or as a counterpart of Mars. The Qurinal Hill in Rome was named in his honour.
Most agree that the name is derived from the Latin quirus (spear), others have suggested that it is from the name of a Sabine town, Cures, or that it is related to curia.
It was also borne by several early Christian saints. Most notably, St. Quirin of Neuss, a Roman martyr whose body was eventually interred in Neuss Germany.
Another notable bearer is Quirin Kuhlmann (1651-1689) a German poet and mystic.
Currently, Quirin is the 387th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Other forms of the name include:
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Turkish/Kurdish
Meaning: “rain.”
(BAH-rahn)
The name comes directly from the Kurdish and Turkish word for rain.
It is currently the 39th most popular male name in Turkey, (2008) and the 376th most popular male name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “clear; bright; brilliant.”
Eng (kluh-RIS-sah); Germ (klah-HRIS-sah)
The name is possibly a modern English form of Clarice, which is an Anglo-French form of the Latin Claritia, a derivative of Clara.
Clarice was introduced into the English-speaking world through the Normans and was a fairly popular female name in Medieval England. It fell out of usage during the Reformation, and was revived in the 18th-century in the form of Clarissa. This may have been due to the eponymous novel by Samuel Richardson (1748), a tragic novel which recounts the unfortunate circumstances of a nouveau-riche girl by the name of Clarissa Harlowe.
It was borne by Clara Barton, née Clarissa Harlowe Barton, (1821-1912), foundress of the American Red Cross.
It is also borne by Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon (b.1920) and American poet, Clarissa Pinkola Estés (b.1945).
In the early 90s, the name was brought to the spotlight via the Nickelodean sit-com, Clarissa Explains It All.
In Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway (1925), it is the first name of the heroine.
Currently, Clarissa is the 396th most popular female name in Germany, (2011).
Other forms of the name include:
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Kurdish
Meaning: “summer.”
(HAH-veen)
The name comes directly from the Kurdish word for summer. It is currently the 398th most popular female name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Italian
Meaning: “cheerful; happy.”
Eng (uh-LAY-grah); (uh-LEG-rah); It (ahl-LAY-grah)
Allegra first appeared in Medieval Italy and was used as an auspicious name. It was especially common among Italian-Jewish families and more common in Central and Northern Italy.
It was introduced into the English-speaking world through Clara Allegra Byron (1817-1822), the short lived daughter of Lord Byron and Claire Clairmont. It was also borne by Anne Allegra Longfellow (1855-1934), the daughter of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who is mentioned in the 1860 poem The Children’s Hour.
It is currently borne by Allegra Versace (b.1986), heiress to the Versace fashion house.
Allegra is also the Romansch word for hello and is used by Romansch-speakers as a given name.
Another Italian form is Allegrina. A Spanish and Ladino cognate is Alegría.
Allegra is the 413th most popular female name in Germany, (2011).
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Turkish
Meaning: “Nile moon.”
(NEE-lie)
The name is composed of the word Nil (literally, the River Nile) and ay (moon). It is currently the 406th most popular female name in Germany, (2011).