The Ancient Egyptian word and name Heka (transliterated ḥkꜣ, later Hkȝ) literally means “magic,” “sorcery,” or “divine power.” It derives from the root ḥk — “to work magic” — and the ending ꜣ (the Egyptian aleph) which functions as a nominal element.
In Egyptian cosmology, heka was not mere illusion or trickery, but a primordial creative force — the divine energy that allowed both gods and humans to act, heal, and give life. The term is thus best understood as “creative power made manifest,” and shares a root with the Ancient Egyptian ka, roughly translating to “soul.”
Heka was also deified as a god embodying magic itself. He appears as a male deity in Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts (c. 2500 BCE) and remained important through the Greco-Roman period.
In theology, Heka was said to have existed before all other gods — the power through which even the creator gods shaped the universe. The Coffin Texts describe him as:
“I am Heka, the magic, the child of Atum… before the gods came into being, I was.”
In later periods, he was depicted as a man holding two entwined serpents, sometimes accompanying deities such as Khnum and Neith, and invoked by priests and physicians in medical papyri. His power was integral to Egyptian medicine and ritual; magic (heka) was considered a sacred technology given by the gods for healing and protection.
The Coptic form is Hik, it is not used as a name among contemporary Copts but may make an interesting revival.
It is speculated that Hecate’s name and cult may have its roots in the Ancient Egyptian god.
Derived from the ancient Greek male name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), which in turn comes from πτόλεμος (ptólemos), meaning “war” or “battle.”
The word ptólemos is an older Aeolic dialectal form of πόλεμος (pólemos), the standard Classical Greek word for “war,” sharing the same root with the English word, “polemic.”
Ptolemy I Soter (367–283 BCE) was a general of Alexander the Great and later became Pharaoh of Egypt, founding the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323–30 BCE). This dynasty ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries and ended with Cleopatra VII, the most famous bearer of the family’s legacy.
Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) (2nd century CE) was the famed Greek astronomer, mathematician, and geographer of Alexandria, whose Almagest shaped Western astronomy for over a millennium.
According to the Book of 1 Maccabees (135/4 BC), Ptolemy of Jericho betrayed his father-in-law, Simon the High Priest, by murdering him and his two sons while they slept as guests under his roof. This act of treachery is used in Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno, in which the ninth circle of Hell is called Ptolomea after him, a frozen realm reserved for those who betray their guests.
Ptolomy is also the name of an early Christian saint.
In the English-speaking world, Ptolomy has been used on and off since the 18th-century. It appeared in the U.K’s top 500 boys’ names in 2004, ranking in at #906.
A modern bearer is American author, Ptolemy Tompkins. Celebrity couple Gretchen Mol and Tod Williams bestowed this on their son in 2007.
Common English short forms include: Tollie, Tolly, and Tal.
Meaning: “the most beautiful one; the beautiful one has come.”
Gender: Female
Eng pron: (NEF-er-TAH-ree)
The name comes from the Ancient Egyptian elements, nfrt-jrj. The first element nfrt means “beautiful,” the second element jry means, “the one who is near.”
Nefertari was most famously borne by Queen Nefertari Meritmut, the beloved Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramses II (19th Dynasty, 13th century BCE). Her elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Queens is among the best-preserved monuments of the New Kingdom.
After the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, Egyptian high culture became heavily Hellenized. Names like Cleopatra, Arsinoe, and Berenike (Greek) dominated the elite. With the rise of Christianity and later Islam, names shifted almost entirely to Biblical (Greek, Hebrew, Latin) Arabic. As a result, “Nefertari” remained locked in the Pharaonic past, only rediscovered in the 19th century by archaeologists.
In the 1980s, the name started to be used sporadically by African Americans. In 2024, at least 3 baby girls in the U.K were bestowed this ancient gem as a given-name.
In Coptic, this name would be rendered as ⲛⲉⲫⲣⲧⲁⲣⲓ (Nephrtari). In modern Egyptian Arabic, it is نفرتاري (Nifirtārī).
This may be due for a comeback, especially if you are of Egyptian descent.
The name is from the classical Greek, related toApollo. It was borne by several early Christian saints. The most notable being St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, a Syrian Christian missionary to Ravenna who was martyred there and thereafter became the city’s patron saint.
The French form Apollinaire is linked to the Franco-Polish poet, Guillaume Apollinaire. He lived from 1880 to 1918. He was born Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki.
Apolinary was common in Poland during the late 19th-century and early 20th-centuries, it is now obsolete. Diminutives include: Apolinek, Apollinek, Apolin, Apollin, Polin, Polinary, Polinarek, Polinaruś, Poli, and Polik.
In Italy, Apollinare was mainly used in the Romagna region due to it being the name of their patrion saint, but it has since fallen out of use.
Apollinaire sporadically appeared in the French Top 1000 between 1900 and 1926 and peaked at #403 in 1923. In 2024, 5 babies were given this name.
Neither its masculine form nor its feminine form had much usage in the English-speaking world. It was mostly used in families of Greek or Eastern European background during the late 19th-century.
Designated name-days include July 20th, July 23rd, and September 12th
A traditional feminine diminutive form in Russian is Polina. Polish diminutives include: Apollinka, Apollina, Apolinka, Apolla, Apola, Pola, Polka, Polcia, Polina, and Polinka. Modern Greek diminutives include: Nαρία (Naría), Πόλλα (Pólla), or Λίνα (Lina). Potential English short forms would include: Apple, Pollie, Polly, and Narey, or Narie.
From the name of the Ancient Egyptian God of the dead, the afterlife and resurrection, its exact etymology is unknown and debated amongst Egyptologists. The most popular theories is that it either derives from the wsr (the mighty one) or jrt (eye). It is often vocalized as Asar,Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, modern Coptic forms are Usir and Usire. Among Copts, it is sometimes Arabized as Uzair, which has a similar sound, but different etymology. However, it has been suggested by linguists that the two names are actually related.
In the United States, it recently entered the U.S. Top 1000 Male Names, it is currently the 976th most popular male names.
Potamiana is a latinized form of the Demotic Tꜣ-pꜣ-ym, ultimately derived from the Coptic Tapiam ⲧⲁⲡⲓⲁⲙ meaning “of the sea; of the lake.” It later evolved into the Greek Taphomis Ταπιωμις, and further hellenized as Potamiana.
Butamina and Butamiyana بُوطَامِيانَا are it’s Arabized forms.
The name was borne by a 3rd-century AD Egyptian saint who was martyred for her Christianity.
Menas is a popular male name among Eastern Christians, it is of uncertain meaning, it may derive from the Greek μήνη (mene) meaning, “moon,” or the ancient Egyptian Menes, which is the name of a 3rd-century BCE Egyptian pharaoh, in which case, the name derives from the ancient Egyptian, mnj (he who endures). It may also be related to the ancient Egyptian divinity name, Min, which is of uncertain meaning. However, according to Coptic tradition, the name means “amen.”
It is the name of a popular 2nd-century Coptic saint and martyr, known as Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲙⲏⲛⲁ (Abba Mina). According to legend, St. Menas’ parents were devout Christians who were having a hard time having children. His mother prayed to the Virgin Mary for a child, and she heard a response saying “amen,” this is where the name Menas supposedly derives from. It is speculated by some that the Western St. Christopher and the Eastern St. Menas are one and the same person. It is also borne by an Ethiopian saint of the 6th-century (CE) and a 16th-century CE Ethiopian emperor.
It was the name of 1st-century CE Roman admiral who features in Shakespeares, Antony & Cleopatra.
