A Cast of Names Both Old and New
Uma is another name for Parvati, a Hindu goddess of fertility, love, devotion, and power. The name means "flax; linseed" as well as "light; splendor; fame; tranquility; night". It's also possible that Uma comes from an expression, u mā "oh, don't", because Parvati wanted to practice self-denial in order to gain Shiva's attention and her mother tried to dissuade …
Karen is the Danish shortened form of Katherine, which is the English form of Greek Aikaterine though the etymology behind the name is not certain. It could be derived from another Greek name, Hekaterine from hekateros meaning “each of the two” or from Hecate, the name of the Greek goddess of witchcraft, the underworld, and crossroads. Though her name is of uncertain meaning it’s …
Bryce is an English male name, a variant spelling of Brice which comes from Latin Bricius which seems to be an anglicized form of a Gaulish name meaning "speckled, mottled" derived from Proto-Celtic *brikkos (speckled). Bryce is also a surname originating from the given name, though as a Welsh surname it could be an anglicized form of ap Rhys meaning "son …
Shika is a Japanese female name with a variety of meanings depending on the kanji used: shika 鹿 "deer" (it's also a Japanese surname); shi 史 "history, chronicle" + ka "can; passable, allowed" (史可); shi 志 "purpose, will; aspire; resolve; motives; plans" + ka 佳 "excellent; beautiful, good" (志佳); shi 紫 "purple, violet" + ka 佳 "excellent; beautiful, good" (紫佳); shi 詩 "poem, poetry" + 夏 "summer" (詩夏). I've also seen …
Aglaonice (pr. a-glay-o-NI-see or a-glay-o-NIE-kee) is an Ancient Greek female name meaning "splendid victory" or "bright victory" made up from Ancient Greek elements aglaos (brilliant, shining; splendid, shining) and nike (victory). There was a female astronomer named Aglaonice who lived in either the 1st or 2nd century BCE and was well-known during her time, believed to be the first recorded female astronomer. She …
Yuka is a Japanese female name with a variety of meanings depending on the kanji used: yu 由 "wherefore; reason, cause" + ka 香 "incense, smell, perfume" (由香); yu 由 "wherefore; reason, cause" + ka 華 "splendor, flower, petal" (由華); yu 由 "wherefore; reason, cause" + ka 佳 "beautiful, good; excellent" (由佳); yu 結 "tie, fasten, join, organize; end, conclude" + ka 花 "flower" (結花); yu 有 "exist; have; possess" …
Meredith is the anglicized form of Welsh Maredudd or Meredydd, a name of uncertain meaning. The second part of the name comes from iudd meaning "lord, prince" while the first part of the name is uncertain though it could be related to mor meaning "sea, ocean" or maur, mawr meaning "great, splendor, pomp" so the name either means "sea lord" …
Karin (pr. kah-rin, ka-reen, or kare-en) is a Swedish short form of Katherine, the English form of Greek Aikaterine though the etymology behind the name is not certain. It could be derived from another Greek name, Hekaterine from hekateros meaning “each of the two” or from Hecate, the name of the Greek goddess of witchcraft, the underworld, and crossroads, from hekas possibly meaning “far off” though another …
Zia is an Arabic male name, a variant transcription of Ziya derived from Arabic diya (ضياء) meaning "splendor, light, glow" and is also an Arabic surname derived from the given name. Zia is also an Italian word meaning "aunt" which comes from Late Latin thia (aunt) via Ancient Greek theíā (aunt) derived from a PIE root word. Zia is also a Hebrew …
Rika is a Swedish and Dutch short form of Fredrika (the Swedish and Finnish feminine form of Frederick meaning "peaceful ruler") and Henrika (the Swedish feminine form of Henry meaning "home ruler") and any names ending in rika. Rika is also a Japanese female name with a variety of meanings depending on the kanji used: ri 理 "reason, logic; arrangement; justice; truth" + ka 香 "incense; smell; fragrance" …
Dia is an Ancient Greek female name and the name of several figures in Greek mythology. It means "heavenly, divine" derived from PIE root word *dyew- (bright; sky, heaven). There is also a Roman goddess called Dea Dia which means "divine goddess", who was associated with growth and fertility in Ancient Roman religion. Dia is also a Spanish and …
Kaya is a given name with a variety of meanings and origins such as: it's a Malay word meaning "wealthy" and "rich, affluent"; Kaya is a Turkish male name meaning "rock" as well as a Turkish surname derived from the same origin as the given name; Kaya could also be an elaborate form of Kay, either …
