A Cast of Names Both Old and New
Terence is an English male name, the English form of Roman cognomen Terentius which is of uncertain meaning though it could be derived from Latin terens meaning “rubbing, wearing away” via terere (to rub, to wear out); it might also be related to Sabine terenus meaning “soft”. In some cases, Terence has also been used as an anglicized spelling of Toirdhealbhach (also anglicized as Turlough), …
Arwa is an Arabic female name which apparently refers to a female ibex (a type of mountain goat) and thus conveys meanings of "softness", "lightness", "agility", "beauty", and "liveliness", in reference to the ibex's grace and beauty. Arwa al-Sulayhi was a powerful queen of Yemen who ruled for over 50 years during the eleventh or twelfth …
Aleah is a variant spelling of Alia, an Arabic female name, the feminine form of Ali meaning "high, exalted, lofty, sublime". Alia is also an Ancient Germanic form of Ella, the Norman form of Germanic element alja meaning “other, another, foreign”. Aleah could also be a variant form of Leah with the a- prefix. The name itself is of uncertain meaning. It’s often been interpreted …
Leah is the name of the first wife of Jacob in the Old Testament, and the older sister of Rachel. The name itself is of uncertain meaning. It's often been interpreted as meaning "weary, languid, tired" or even "tender, soft, gentle", which could refer to someone who was gentle in manner. Leah has also been linked …
Liana is the name of a type of long-stemmed wooded vines that grows in the jungle, derived from Middle French lien (to bind) via Latin ligo (to bind) which derives from PIE root word *leyǵ- (to bind, tie). Liana is also derived as a short form of names ending in -liana such as Eliana (a possibly a variant of Aeliana, the feminine form …
Delinda is a female given name which seems to be a modern coinage, probably a combination of the prefix De- combined with Linda, originally a short form of Germanic element linde or lindi meaning “soft, tender” or “linden tree, lime tree” though it could also be associated with Germanic lind meaning “serpent, dragon, snake”. It's also possible that it rose up as a shortened …
Belina was the name of a 12th century French saint who died protecting her virginity. It's seems the name is a Gascon diminutive of Isabel, the medieval Occitan form of Elizabeth, the English form of Hebrew ‘Elisheva meaning “my God is an oath” or “my God is abundance”. Belina is also a Croatian, Slovene, and Serbian word meaning "whiteness". It's also …
Torrence comes from a Scottish surname derived from a place name derived from Gaelic torran meaning "hillock" or "mound". It may also have derived from an Irish surname, Ó Toráin meaning "descendant of Torán", the latter an Irish male name meaning "little lord" or "little hero, champion" from Irish tor (lord, hero, champion) and the diminutive suffix -án. It's also possible …
Liyana is an Arabic female name meaning "soft, tender, gentle, delicate" from Arabic root word l-y-n (to become soft, tender). It's also a Zulu female name derived from a word meaning "it is raining/it's raining". I've also seen it listed as a Chinese female name meaning "beautiful + elegant, graceful, refined + graceful, elegant" with the Chinese …
Celinda is a female given name, probably a blend of Celia (which either means "heaven, sky" from Latin Caelia or from a shortened form of Cecelia meaning "blind) and Linda, originally a short form of Germanic element linde or lindi meaning “soft, tender” or “linden tree, lime tree” though it could also be associated with Germanic lind meaning “serpent, dragon, snake”. It's also possible that it's a variant form …
Lena originally started out as a short form of names ending in -lena such as Helena (derived from Ancient Greek possibly meaning "torch" or "corposant" though it may also be deirved from Greek selene meaning "moon"), Madgalena (which means "of Magdala" from the name of a village, Magdala deriving from Hebrew migdal meaning "tower"), Abilena (a variant of Abilene, the name of an ancient place in Syria, also known …
Belinda is a female given name of uncertain origin and meaning. Though the first part of the name is often associated with Italian bella meaning "beautiful" (which comes from Latin bellus "beautiful, pretty, handsome"), the name has an older Germanic source, Betlindis, so it seems more likely that the first element is Germanic in origin. While the second …
