Chantilly

Chantilly is the name of a town located in the north of France. The name comes from a Gallo-Roman name, Cantilius, which I’ve seen means “white” combined with a diminutive suffix. Chantilly lace is the name of a type of a delicate kind of bobbin lace that was named after the town, first introduced in…

Morven

Morven is a variant of Morvern, the name of a peninsula and district in western Scotland. It’s the anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic A’ Mhorbhairne meaning “the big gap”, made up from Scottish Gaelic mòr (big, large, great) and beàrn (gap; space, opening; notch). However, I’ve seen other sites list the first element as meaning…

Minetta

Minetta is the name of Minetta Creek, an underground stream in New York City that was covered over between 1808 and 1828. The name apparently comes from the Lenape Unami language Manette or Manetta which may be related to Manitou, a general term among Alongquian Native Americans referring to a spiritual power or life force…

Benham

Benham comes from an English surname, a habitational name for any of several places called Benham, in England. The second part of the name comes from Old English hamm meaning “enclosure, piece of land enclosed (especially by a river or marsh)” or hām “home; property, farm”; while the first part of the name is uncertain….

Kephissos

Kephissos is the name of an Ancient Greek river god, either associated with the river Cephisus in Attica or the river Cephisus in Boeotia. Kephissos is the son of Pontus and Thalassa and, among his many offspring, is listed as the father of Narcissus by the naiad Liriope. The origin and meaning behind the name…

Aitana

Aitana is a Spanish female name which comes from the name of a mountain range in Valencia, Spain. The origin of the name is not known, though one theory is that the name derives from the Edetani tribe who lived in the area, an ancient Iberian people, believed to have spoken a form of the…

Everest

Everest is the name of the world’s highest mountain, located on the border of Nepal, Tibet, and China. It was named after British surveyor George Everest, who objected to having the mountain named after him, preferring to have a native name used, but the geographical team seemed to have trouble finding a common native name…

Alaska

Alaska is the name of a U.S. state. The name comes from Aleut alaxsxaq meaning “the object toward which the action of the sea is directed”. Origin: Aleut Meaning: “the object toward which the action of the sea is directed” Usage: English (as a given name)

Laken

Laken is a modern American name, an elaboration of Lake meaning, obviously, “lake”. It descends from Old English lacu (pool, pond; expanse of water; lake) which ultimately derives from PIE root word *leg- (to leak). Laken (also spelled Laeken) is also the name of a Belgian municipality near Brussels, derived from Proto-West Germanic *laku (stream;…

Leodis

Leodis is a rare given name which seems to derive from an English surname, itself an Old English form of Latin *Lādenses, which may have been adapted from the name of a nearby river of Proto-Celtic origin; the suffix is from Latin -ēnsis (of or from a place) while the first element is from a…

Dania

Dania دانية is an Arabic female name meaning “close, near”, used in the Quran when used to to refer to the fruits of Paradise always being within reach. Dania could also be used as a contracted form of Daniela, the feminine form of Daniel meaning “god is my judge” or “judge of god”. Dania is…

Shirley

Shirley comes from an English surname, a habitational name for any of several places in England called Shirley. The name is made up of Old English adjective sċīr (bright, shining) and lēah (clearing; meadow), the name meaning “bright clearing” or “bright meadow”. The Old English noun sċīr means “office, district, shire”. Like most English surnames,…

Abbas

Abbas عبّاس is an Arabic male name meaning “austere, grim, sullen, stern”. It also seems to have gained the meaning of “lion”. Abbas is also a surname originating from the given name. Abbas was the name of an uncle of the prophet Muhammed and the ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty. Abbas is also the name…

Shalimar

Shalimar is the name of three historic royal gardens of the Mughal Empire located in India and Pakistan. The most famous one is the one in Lahore, Pakistan, first constructed in 1641-2 during the reign of Shah Jahan. In 1981 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because it was considered the height…