First Name Meanings

Names are an important part of our identity and it is important to know the meaning of our names. It relates us to our name and if it means something good which most of the times it does, it boosts our self-confidence and esteem. We eventually try to live up to our names. Here we would discuss about the meanings of some common first names.

Meanings of First Names

• Addison is a very common first name for males. It means the son of Adam.
• Abigail is a common name for females and it has a biblical allusion behind it. It is taken from the Hebrew name "Avigayil" which means, "my father is joy". In the old testament of Bible Abigail is the name of Nabal’s wife. She becomes Davis’s third wife after Nabal is killed.
• Catherine is a feminine name and the other variant for the same name is Katherine.There are debates over the origin of this name and it is this that it might have been derived from the Greek name "Aikaterine" or "Hekaterine" which means " each of the two". The origin of the latter lies in Greek mythology related to Goddess Hecate or the Greek word "aikia" menaing "torture". It can also mean the "pure" and can be associated with Romans who have a similar sounding word "katharos" meaning pure.
• Adelene is derived from "Adele" and the usage of this name is mostly for girls. "Adele" refers to Saint Adela who was a princess but established a monastery at Pfazel in France.
• Barbara is a feminine name, which is derived from the Greek word "barbaros". "Brabaros" means foreign. There is an allusion attached to this name as well according to which Saint Barbara was a young woman who was killed by her father Dioscorus who was then killed by a bolt of lightening. Saint Barbara is the patron of architects, geologists and artillerymen.
• Florence is primarily a masculine name but men also have such names though seldom. It is derived from the Roman name Florentine which in Latin means "prosperous and flourishing".
• Isabella is a feminine name that is derived from the name "Isabel". It means the "daughter of the king or lord".
• Edward is a masculine name which means " rich guard" and has its roots in the Old English language in which "ead" meant "rich and blessed" and "weard" meant guard.
• Azure is a common and beautiful name for girls and it means "sky blue".
• Barney is a common name for men, which is derived from Barnabas or Bernard. Barnabas means " son of the prophet" in Armaic. It has a Biblical allusion as well, which is that Joseph, who accompanied Paul on most of his missionary journeys, was given the name Barnabas. The Bernard is taken from the Germanic languages and it means "bear" which implies "someone who is brave and strong".
• Davis is a popular masculine name, which is taken from the surname "David". David on the other hand means "beloved" in Hebrew.
• Harold is a masculine name and it means " the leader of the army".
• Jane is a feminine name, which is derived form the masculine name "John" meaning gracious.
• Another popular masculine name Barry is the anglicized form of the Irish name "Bairre" which is the pet form of the name "Fionnbharr" which means "someone who is fair-haired". It is derived from the Gaelic word "fionn" meaning white and fair. On the other hand "barr" means head.
• Cameron is both a masculine and feminine name, which has English and Scottish origins. It is derived from a Scottish surname which means crooked nose, which is again taken from the Gaelic "cam" mening, crooked and "sron" meaning nose. Camerons was the name of a fighting tribe also.