Etymology & Meaning of Names

Name etymology is the study of the history of names and their meanings. Various fields such as philology, anthropology, and linguistics are used to infer the root words from which names are derived. Often, the root words can be traced back to ancient sources such as the Indo-European languages.

Etymology of Baby Boy Names

182 of the most common elements in baby boy names are compiled here. Name elements could be taken from place names, such as tun, religious elements like el and yahweh, popular attributes such as berht and hart, and militaristic terms like heri and fridu. The literal meaning of an element gives rise to the etymology or meaning of the derivative name. Click on the relevant boy name for more information.

tun - "town, settlement, homestead"
Germanic origin - Barrington
Old English origin - Alton, Arlington, Ashton, Barton, Branton, Braxton, Brenton, Burton, Carlton, Claxton, Clayton, Clifton, Clinton, Colton, Dalton, Dayton, Denton, Easton, Elton, Houston, Keaton, Kelton, Kenton, Milton, Morton, Peyton, Preston, Remington, Royston, Weston, Wharton, Winston, Winton

el - "God, powerful"
Hebrew origin - Abdiel, Adiel, Ariel, Azariah, Azriel, Daniel, Eli, Elias, Eliezer, Elijah, Elisha, Elizabeth, Elkanah, Ezekiel, Gabriel, Ishmael, Israel, Joel, Lazarus, Manuel, Michael, Misael, Mishael, Nathaniel, Raphael, Samuel, Uriah, Uriel

hart - "brave, hardy"
Germanic origin - Abelard, Bernard, Burkhard, Christhard, Diethard, Eckhard, Erhard, Everard, Gebhard, Gerard, Gotthard, Harding, Hardy, Hartmut, Hartwig, Leonard, Liebhard, Medardo, Neidhard, Reynard, Richard, Sieghard, Volkhard, Wighard, Wilhard, Wolfhard

leah - "wood, clearing, meadow"
Old English origin - Aberle, Ansley, Arlie, Ashley, Bailey, Barclay, Berkeley, Berkley, Beverly, Bradley, Briley, Dudley, Early, Harley, Kimberley, Lee, Presley, Ridley, Riley, Spreckley, Stanley, Wesley, Worley

berht - "bright, famous"
Germanic origin - Adalbert, Albert, Bert, Berthold, Bertram, Bertrand, Dagobert, Eckbert, Engelbert, Filibert, Gilbert, Herbert, Hubert, Humbert, Kunibert, Lambert, Mombert, Norbert, Rigoberto, Robert, Siegbert, Wigbert, Wilbert

slav - "fame, glory, Slav"
Polish origin - Zdeslav
Slavonic origin - Boguslaw, Boleslav, Borislav, Branislav, Bratislav, Dobroslav, Dragoslav, Jaroslav, Ludoslav, Mieczyslaw, Miloslav, Miroslav, Mstislav, Przbyslaw, Radoslaw, Rostislav, Slavko, Stanislav, Tomislav, Veleslav, Vladislav, Wenceslas

yahweh - "name of God"
Hebrew origin - Achaz, Elias, Elijah, Isaiah, Jacob, Jebediah, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Joachim, Joah, Joash, Joel, John, Jonathan, Josaphat, Joshua, Josiah, Matthew, Micaiah, Tobias, Zachary

meri - "great, famous"
Germanic origin - Adelmar, Dankmar, Dietmar, Helmer, Hildemar, Ingmar, Ottmar, Ramiro, Siegmar, Volkmar, Waldemar, Wilmer
Old English origin - Aylmer
Slavonic origin - Casimir, Dobromierz, Dragomir, Lubomir, Miroslav, Radzimierz, Vladimír

adal - "noble, honorable"
Germanic origin - Abelard, Adal, Adalbero, Adalbert, Adalrich, Adelmar, Adolar, Adolf, Alaric, Albert, Aldo, Aldous, Alice, Alicio, Alwin, Auberon, Etzel
Gothic origin - Alfonso
Old English origin - Aylmer

wine - "friend"
Germanic origin - Alwin, Baldwin, Erwin, Gerwin, Ortwin, Winfred
Old English origin - Alden, Alvin, Darwin, Edwin, Gladwin, Godwin, Irwin, Melvin, Oswin, Winston, Wynne, Wyn

fridu - "peace, protection, safety"
Germanic origin - Arnfried, Bernfried, Erfried, Frederick, Friedemann, Friedhelm, Friedwart, Geoffrey, Gerfried, Godfrey, Humphrey, Manfred, Ottfried, Siegfried, Walfried, Wilfred, Winfred
Gothic origin - Ferdinand

ric - "rich, powerful, ruler"
Celtic origin - Kendrick
Germanic origin - Alaric, Alberich, Aldrich, Aubrey, Baldric, Emery, Emmerich, Frederick, Henry, Imre, Richard, Rigoberto, Roderick, Ulrich
Old English origin - Ulric

heri - "army, warrior"
Germanic origin - Adolar, Dieter, Erwin, Günther, Harald, Herbert, Herman, Herwig, Lothar, Luther, Oliver, Rayner, Volker, Walter, Werner

wulf - "wolf"
Germanic origin - Adolf, Gundolf, Ingolf, Landolf, Meinolf, Ralph, Randolph, Rudolph, Wolf, Wolfgang, Wolfhard, Wolfram
Old English origin - Beowulf, Ulric

wald - "to rule"
Germanic origin - Arnold, Berthold, Ewald, Gerald, Harald, Malte, Oswald, Reynold, Romuald, Waldemar, Walfried, Walo, Walter

Chi - "God"
African-Igbo origin - Chi, Chidi, Chijioke, Chike, Chikere, Chima, Chimaijem, Chinelo, Chineze, Chinua, Chukwubuikem, Chukwudi, Chukwuma

ger - "spear"
English origin - Jarvis
Germanic origin - Gerald, Gerard, Gerfried, Gernot, Gerwig, Gerwin, Luitger, Notker, Roger
Old English origin - Gary
Old French origin - Gervaise

fionn - "white, fair"
Celtic origin - Barry, Finbar, Fingal, Finlay, Finnian, Fionn, Fionnbharr, Fionnghall, Fionnlagh, Fionntán
Various origin - Finn

waell - "pool, stream, spring, well"
Old English origin - Bramwell, Caldwell, Carswell, Cromwell, Halwell, Hartwell, Howell, Maxwell, Rockwell, Roswell, Sewell

mir - "peace"
Slavonic origin - Branimir, Casimir, Dragomir, Jaromir, Kresimir, Lubomir, Miroslav, Radzimierz, Tihomir, Vladimír, Zvonimir

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