Behind the Name - A to Z of First Names Quiz

Answer: Alexis

Alexis is a female variant of the name Alexius, from the Greek Alexios, meaning 'helper or defender'. Abigail is a Biblical name from the Hebrew Abigayil, meaning 'my father is joy'. Anne is the English variant of the name Hannah, from the Hebrew name Channah, meaning 'favour or grace'. Ashley is from a surname meaning 'ash tree clearing' in Old English.

Answer: Brandon

Purportedly the most popular boys name beginning with 'B' in the USA in 2002 was Brandon, an Old English name, sometimes used as a variant of Brendan which is from Brendanus, the Latin form of the Irish name Bréanainn, derived from a Welsh word meaning, 'prince'. Benjamin is from the Hebrew name Binyamin, meaning 'son of the south' or 'son of the right hand'. Blake is from a surname meaning either 'black' or 'pale' in Old English. Bailey is from a surname from the Middle English for 'bailiff'.

Answer: Chloe

Chloe means, 'green shoot', in Greek. Caitlin is the Irish form of Cateline, the Old French form of Katherine from either the Greek name Aikaterine, derived from hekateros meaning 'each of the two' or 'from the goddess Hecate'; or, it could be from the Greek aikia, meaning 'torture'; or, it could be from a Coptic name meaning, 'my consecration of your name'. Charlotte is the French feminine pet form of Charles, from the Germanic name Karl, derived from a Germanic word meaning, 'man'. Chelsea is from the name of a district in London meaning, 'landing place for chalk' in Old English.

Answer: David

Purportedly the most popular boys' name in Ireland in 2000, David was the second and greatest of the Kings of Israel. Daniel is from the Hebrew name Daniyel, meaning 'God is my judge'. Daniel was a Hebrew prophet. Dylan means 'sea' in Welsh and in Welsh mythology Dylan was a god of the sea. Darragh is an Irish name meaning 'oak tree'.

Answer: Ella

Ella, the most popular girls' name in Australia in 2002, is the short form of Germanic names containing the element ali, meaning, 'other' and is also used as a short form of Ellen, which is the Medieval English form of Helen, possibly from either the Greek helene, meaning 'torch' or from the Greek selene, meaning 'moon'. Emily is the Medieval feminine form of Aemilius, from the Roman family name Aemilius, derived from the Latin aemulus, meaning 'rival'. Emma is derived from the Germanic ermen, meaning 'whole' or 'universal'. Ebony means what it says and is from the English word for the black wood which comes from the ebony tree!

Answer: Frank

In the USA in the 1800s, purportedly, Frank was the seventh most popular name for either a boy or girl beginning with 'F'. Florence was the eighth most popular girls' name in the 1890s and is from the masculine Roman name Florentius which was derived from the Latin florens, meaning 'prosperous' or 'flourishing'. Frances did not come into popularity in the USA until the 1930s and is the feminine form of Francis, from the Late Latin name Franciscus which meant 'Frenchman'. Faith was not popular until the 1990s and simply means what it says, and is from the English!

Answer: Gavin

Gavin is a late medieval form of Gawain, possibly from the Welsh name Gwalchgwyn meaning, white hawk. George is from the Greek name Georgios which was derived from the Greek word 'georgos', meaning farmer or earthworker. Gilbert means, bright pledge, and is derived from the Germanic elements 'gisel', meaning pledge or hostage and 'beraht' meaning bright.

It was introduced to Britain by the Normans. Gordon is from a Scottish surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning great hill.

Answer: Hannah

In Australia in 2003, purportedly, Hannah was the most popular name for either a boy or girl beginning with 'H'. The Latin version of this name is Anna. Holly means what it says and is from the name of the tree. Hayley is from a surname which was originally derived from the name of a town in England meaning, 'hay clearing', from the Old English heg, meaning 'hay' and leah, meaning 'clearing'. Harrison is from a surname meaning 'son of Harry' which is the Medieval English form of Henry, from the Germanic name Heimerich meaning 'home ruler', composed of the elements heim, meaning 'home, and ric, meaning 'power' or 'ruler'.

Answer: Irving

In a top 1,000 list the name Irving came in at 114 and is derived from a Scottish surname which was in turn derived from a Scottish place name. Ira means 'watchful' in Hebrew. Irvin is either a form of Irving or Irwin which is a variant of Erwin, derived from the Germanic elements eber, meaning 'wild boar' and win, meaning 'friend'. Isaac is from the Hebrew name Yitschaq meaning 'he laughs'.

Answer: Jack

Purportedly in Scotland, Jack was the most popular boys' name in 2000. James is the English form of the late Latin Jacomus which was derived from Iakobos, the New Testament Greek form of Ya'aqob or Jacob meaning 'holder of the heel' or 'supplanter'. Jamie is the Scottish pet form of James. Jordan is from the name of a river flowing between Jordan and Israel.

The river's name in Hebrew is Yarden and it is derived from yarad, meaning 'descend' or 'flow down'.

Answer: Kelly

Kelly could be related to the first name Ceallach or the surname derived from it, Ó Ceallaigh, or alternatively, related to a word meaning 'wood' or 'holly'. Kassandra is the Ancient Greek form of Cassandra, meaning 'shining upon man' and is derived from the Greek, kekasmai, meaning 'to shine' and aner, meaning 'man'.

In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess. Katherine is from the Greek name Aikaterine. Kayla is a variant of Kayley, from the Irish surname Ó Caollaidhe meaning 'descendant of Caollaidhe'.

The given name Caollaidhe derives from the Gaelic word caol, meaning 'slender'.

Answer: Laura

In Belgium in 1999, Laura was purportedly the most popular name beginning with 'L'. Lisa is a short form of Elizabeth, from Elisabet, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Elisheba meaning 'God is my oath'. This is the name of the mother of John the Baptist. Louis is the French form of Ludwig from the Germanic name Hludwig meaning, 'famous warrior' composed of the elements hlud, meaning 'fame' and wig, meaning 'warrior'. Lucas is the Latin form of Loukas, meaning 'from Lucania' which is a region in Italy.

Answer: Matthew

Matthew is the English form of Matthaios, which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name Mattithyahu meaning 'gift of Yahweh'. Megan is a Welsh pet form of Margaret, derived from the Greek margarites, meaning 'pearl'. Michael is from the Hebrew name Miyka'el meaning 'who is like God'. Mark is a form of Marcus, which was probably derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, possibly related to the Latin, mas, meaning 'male'.

Answer: Nadine

Purportedly Nadine was the most popular girls' name in Switzerland in 1997. Nicole is the French feminine form of Nicholas, from the Greek name Nikolaos meaning 'victory of the people' from the Greek nike, meaning 'victory' and laos, meaning 'people'. Nina is from the Spanish, meaning 'little girl'. Nathalie is from the late Latin name Natalia, meaning 'Christmas Day', from the Latin natale domini.

Answer: Oscar

Oscar means 'deer lover' and is derived from the Gaelic, os, meaning 'deer' combined with cara meaning, 'lover'. Océane is the French form of the English word, ocean, meaning 'a large body of water'. Ophélie is the French form of the name derived from the Greek ophelos, meaning 'help'. Oliver is the Norman French form of a Germanic name, possibly the name Alfihar meaning 'elf army'.

The spelling was altered by association with the Latin oliva, meaning 'olive tree'.

Answer: Patrick

Purportedly, Patrick was the most popular boys' name in Ireland in 2002. St Patrick the 5th Century Saint and Patron Saint of Ireland, adopted this name - his birth name was Sucat. Paul is from the Roman family name Paulus, meaning 'small' or 'humble' in Latin. Peter is derived from the Greek petros, meaning 'stone'.

In the New Testament Jesus gave the apostle Simon the name Cephas meaning 'stone' which in Aramaic was translated to Peter in the Bible. Patterson wasn't in the list, but is an Irish variant meaning 'son of Pat' from the Celtic language.

Answer: Rose

Rose means 'rose' from the word for the fragrant flower! Rachel means 'ewe' in Hebrew. Rebecca is from the Hebrew name Ribqah, possibly meaning 'a snare' in Hebrew or may be from an Aramaic name. Roxanne is the French and English form of the name Roxana, which is the Latin form of a Persian name meaning 'dawn'. This was the name of the wife of Alexander the Great.

Answer: Robin

In Belgium in 1999, purportedly, Robin was the most popular boys' name beginning with 'R'. Robin is a pet or short form of Robert. Ruben is a variant of the name Reuben, meaning 'behold a son' in Hebrew. Romain is the French form of Roman, from Romanus meaning 'Roman' in Latin.

Answer: Sophie

Sophie is the French form of Sophia meaning 'wisdom' in Greek. Sarah means 'lady' or 'princess' in Hebrew. Stephanie is the feminine form of Stephen which is from the Greek name Stephanos meaning 'crown'. Samuel is from the Hebrew name Shemu'el meaning either, 'name of God' or 'God has heard'.

Answer: Thomas

Thomas was purportedly the most popular name in England and Wales in 1998 beginning with 'T' Tyler is from an occupational surname meaning 'tiler of roofs' in Old English. Toby is the short masculine form of Tobias which is the Greek form of Tobiah, from the Hebrew name Tobiyah meaning 'Yahweh is good'. Tia means 'aunt' in Spanish or Portuguese.

Answer: Tilda

Tilda is the short form of Matilda meaning 'strength in battle' from the Germanic, maht, meaning 'might' or 'strength' and hild, meaning 'battle'. This was the name of the wife of William the Conqueror. Thea is the short form of Dorothea which is the feminine form of the Late Latin name Dorotheus, from the Greek Dorotheos meaning 'gift of God', doron, meaning 'gift', and theos, meaning 'god'. Tindra means 'sparkle'.

Answer: Viktor

Purportedly, Viktor was the most popular name for a boy or a girl beginning with the letter 'V' in Sweden in 2002? Victoria is the feminine form of Victor. Vendela is a name originating from Scandinavia. Vincent is from the Roman name Vincentius, which was from the Latin vincere, meaning 'to conquer'.

Answer: William

William is from the Germanic name Wilhelm, which was composed of the elements wil, meaning 'will' or 'desire' and, helm, meaning 'helmet' or 'protection'. The name was introduced to Britain by the Normans. Wilson is from a surname meaning 'son of William'. Wyatt means 'brave in war' and is derived from the Old English for war and brave or hardy. Wyatt Earp was an American lawman and gunfighter involved in the famous shootout at the OK Corral. Wayne is from an occupational surname meaning 'wagon maker' derived from the Old English for wagon.

Answer: Yvette

In Belgium, purportedly, the most popular name beginning with 'Y' for girls in 1999 was Yvette, a feminine form of Yves. Yasmine is the Persian form of Jasmine, a climbing plant with fragrant flowers, used for making perfume which ranked fifty ninth in the top one hundred in Belgium in 1999.

The meaning of Yolanda is not certain, but it is possibly connected to the French name Violante meaning 'violet flower', from the Greek, ion, meaning 'violet' and anthos, meaning 'flower'. Yvonne is a feminine form of Yves.

Answer: Zachary

Zachary is the English form of Zechariah from the Hebrew name Zekaryah meaning 'Yahweh remembers'. Zechariah was a minor prophet of the Old Testament and was also the given name of the father of John the Baptist. Zander is a shortened form of the name Alexander, from the Greek name Alexandros meaning 'defending men' from the Greek alexein, meaning 'to defend' or 'to help' and aner, meaning 'man'. Zane is Hebrew for "gracious gift from God!" Zavier is a variant of Xavier, derived from the Basque place name Etxabier meaning 'the new house'. Saint Francis Xavier popularised the name - he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.