A Cast of Names Both Old and New
Emmaus is the name of a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament in which Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Its location is unknown though various locations have been suggested. Emmaus is the Latinized form of Hebrew Hammath meaning "hot spring", derived from a …
Elgin comes from a Scottish surname, originating from a place called Elgin, Moray, in Scotland. The meaning behind the name is a little murky. I've seen it listed as meaning "high-minded" or "intelligent", but I've also seen it listed as meaning "little Ireland", made up from Ealg, Eilg, an early Gaelic name for Ireland, combined with a …
Étienne is a French male name, the French form of Stephen which comes from Greek Stephanos meaning “crown, wreath” and more literally “that which surrounds or encompasses” which ultimately derives from a PIE root word. The word was used in Ancient Greece for a crown of a winner in games or war. Étienne is also a French surname originating …
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, …
Elvis is an English male name of uncertain meaning. It could be a variant of Alvis, an anglicized spelling of Alvíss, the name of a dwarf in Norse mythology. He was supposed to marry Thrud, the daughter of the Norse god Thor. However, Thor wasn’t too pleased with the arrangement so he came up with a trick requiring the dwarf to prove …
Endrit is an Albanian male name meaning "light" which comes from dritë (light) derived from a PIE root word. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Female forms: Drita (Albanian)
Ebenezer is a male given name which comes from Hebrew meaning "stone of help", and is famously associated with author Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol (1843). It depicts the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge as a coldhearted, miserly man who despises Christmas; he is visited by three spirits in the night on Christmas Eve who eventually show …
Erebos is the personification of the primordial darkness in Greek mythology. His name means "darkness". He was born from Chaos and with his sister Nyx had several children, including Aether (ether) and Hemera (goddess of the day). Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Erebus (Latinized Ancient Greek)
Enda is an Irish male name, an anglicized form of Énna which may mean "birdlike", from Old Irish én (bird) via Proto-Celtic *ɸetnos (bird) derived from a PIE root word. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Énna (Irish) Éanna (Irish)
Earl is the name of an English aristocratic title. It comes from Old English eorl meaning "brave man, warrior" via Proto-Germanic *erlaz (man, nobleman) which seems to derive from an uncertain origin. Earl is also an English surname originating from the title. Origin: Proto-Germanic Variants: Earle (English) Erle (English) Female forms: Earline (English) Earleen (English) Earlene …
Ennis comes from an Irish surname with two possible meanings behind it. The first is that it derives from Irish inis meaning "island" via Proto-Celtic *enistī (island) derived from a PIE root word. The second is that it derives from Angus, an anglicized form of Aonghus, a Scottish Gaelic name meaning “either one strength” or “one choice”, made up from Old Irish óen …
Ellis comes from an English patronymic surname, a medieval English form of Elijah, a Hebrew male name meaning “my God is Yahweh”. As a Welsh surname, it's the anglicized form of Welsh Elisedd meaning "kind, benevolent". Origin: Hebrew, Proto-Indo-European
