Gala

Gala is a Spanish female name, a feminine form of Gallus, an Ancient Roman name meaning “rooster, cock” which ultimately derives from a PIE root word; the male form of Gala would be Galo. Gala is also a Russian diminutive of Galina, the Russian and Bulgarian feminine form of Galenus, the Latin form of Ancient Greek Galenos meaning “calm, tranquil”. In Greek mythology, Galene is a…

Nico

Nico is often used as a short form of Nicholas or its feminine form Nicole, or Nicodemus or any named beginning (or ending) with Nico- Nicholas is the English form of Nikolaos meaning “victory of the people”, made up from Ancient Greek elements nike (victory) and laos (people). Nicodemus is the Latinized form of Ancient Greek Nikodemos meaning “victory of the people”. Nico is also an Italian surname, likely…

Eldlilja

Eldlilja is an Icelandic female name, a combination of Old Norse elements eldr (fire) and lilja (lily)- it’s the Icelandic name for the orange lily (Lilium bulbiferum), also known as the tiger lily or fire lily. Origin: Proto-Indo-European, Egyptian  

Hallr

Hallr is an Ancient Scandinavian name which comes from Old Norse hallr meaning “rock, stone; slope, hill”. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Halle (Norwegian) Halli (Ancient Scandinavian)  

Xiomara

Xiomara is a Spanish female name, the Spanish form of Guiomar, a Spanish and Portuguese name possibly deriving from Wigmar, a Germanic name meaning “famous in battle” made up from wig (war, battle) and māri (famous, renowned). It was the name of a male cousin of Guinevere‘s in the Vulgate cycle who becomes the lover of Morgan le Fay. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Female forms: Guiomar…

Yuval

Yuval is a Hebrew unisex name, the Hebrew form of Jubal, a Hebrew male name meaning “stream” though it could also be related to a word meaning “ram” or “ram’s horn trumpet”. In the Old Testament, Jubal was a descendant of Cain and the first person to be a musician. Origin: Hebrew Male forms: Jubal (Hebrew) Ioubal (Biblical…

Colleen

Colleen is an English female name meaning “girl” from the Irish word cailín (girl). However, despite its origin, Colleen is not used as a given name in Ireland, likely originating as a given name from Irish families who immigrated to North America. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Coleen (English) Colene (English) Kolleen (English)  

Vogel

Vogel comes from a German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning “bird”, which comes from Old High German fogal (bird) which ultimately derives from a PIE root word. Vogel is also the Dutch and German word for “bird”. Origin: Proto-Indo-European    

Sorella

Sorella is an Italian word meaning “sister”, both as in a sibling and as a nun. Sorella is also an Italian surname, likely originating from the word. Sorella also seems to have had some use as a Finnish female name- I came across Sorella Englund, a Finnish ballerina though I couldn’t find a concrete origin behind…

Elyan

Elyan the White is the name of a knight of the Round Table (also known as Helyan le Blanc in French). It’s possible that it’s a variant of Eilian, a Welsh unisex name which I’ve seen listed as meaning “second, moment (in time)”. I’ve also Eilian listed as the Welsh form of Aelian, a variant of Aelianus, itself a derivative of Aelius,…

Magali

Magali is an Occitan and French female name, the Occitan form of Magdalene, a female given name which was originally a title meaning “of Magdala” in reference to someone who came from the town or village of Magdala, originally located at the Sea of Galilee. Magdala comes from Hebrew migdal meaning “tower”. Origin: Hebrew Variants: Magalie (French)    

Delaware

Delaware is the name of a U.S. state as well as several other places in the U.S. as well as the name of a Native American tribe (also known as the Lenape). The name comes from Thomas West, the 3rd Baron of De La Warr. The name De La Warr is an English surname (of Norman origin),…

Justina

Justina is the feminine form of Justin which comes from Latin Justus  meaning “just, lawful, righteous”, derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- (justice, law) from the root word *h₂ey- (vital force, life age, eternity). Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Iustina (Late Roman) Justine (French, English, Dutch, German) Justýna (Czech) Giustina (Italian) Justyna (Polish) Ustinya (Russian) Yustina (Russian) Justína (Slovak) Justinia (English) Justa (Late Roman, Spanish)   Male…

Zuma

Zuma is the name of a popular beach in Malibu, California. The name seems to come from a Chumashan word meaning “abundance” (which was originally spelled Sumo), likely in reference to the abundance of nature. The Chumash are a Native American people who originally lived along the California coast before the arrival of the first…