BABETTE (f) Pet form of Barbara.
BAHMAN (m) "good mind" (Persian)
BAILEY (m) "bailiff" (Old English). From a surname that originally denoted one who was a bailiff.
BAKR (m) "young camel" (Arabic). Abu Bakr was the father-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the first caliph of the Muslim world.
BALDWIN (m) "bold friend" (Teutonic). This was the name of one of the leaders of the First Crusade, a nobleman from Flanders. After the crusaders conquered Jerusalem, he was crowned as the king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
BALFOUR (m) "village pasture" (Gaelic), from a surname.
BALTAZAR (m) "Baal protect the king" (Phoenician). Baal is a Phoenician deity. Baltazar is the name traditionally given to one of the three wise men of the New Testament.
BAMBI (f) "young girl" from Italian bambina. This was the name of a deer in a cartoon by Walt Disney.
BARBARA (f) "foreign" from Greek barbaros. Saint Barbara was a woman killed by her father, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen.
BARNABAS (m) "son of consolation" or "son of the prophet" (Aramaic). In the New Testament he was a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys.
BARNABY (m) Teutonic form of Barnabas
BARNEY (m) Short form of Barnabas, Bernaby.
BARRET (m) "dispute" (Middle English). From a surname which was from a nickname.
BARRY (m) Either "spear" or "fair hair" (Gaelic) or from the name of the Barry Islands. The Barry Islands are off Wales and were named after a resident named Barruch.
BART (m) Short form of Bartholomew
BARTHOLOMEW (m) "son of Tolmai" (Aramaic). Tolmai is a Hebrew name that apparently means "abounding in furrows". Bartholomew was an apostle in the New Testament who was also known as Nathaniel.
BARTLOMIEJ (m) Polish form of Bartholomew
BARTOSZ (m) Vernacular Polish form of Bartholomew.
BARUCH (m) "blessed" (Hebrew). In the Old Testament he was a companion of the prophet Jeremiah. The apocryphal Book of Baruch was supposedly written by him. Baruch Spinoza was a Dutch-Jewish rationalist philosopher.
BASIL (m) "king" (Greek). Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop who was one of the fathers of the early Christian church. This was also the name of two Byzantine emperors.
BEA (f) Short form of Beatrice.
BEATE (f) German short form of Beatrice.
BEATRICE (f) "happy" from Latin beatrix. Beatrice is Dante's guide through paradise in his poem 'The Divine Comedy'.
BEAU (m) "beautiful" (French)
BEAUMONT (m) "beautiful mountain" (French). From a surname.
BEAUREGARD (m) "beautiful outlook" (French). From a surname.
BECCA (f) Short form of Rebecca.
BECKY (f) Pet form of Rebecca.
BEDELIA (f) Irish variant of Bridget.
BEHRAM (m) "victory" (Persian)
BELA (m) Hungarian; meaning unknown. Possibly either "white" (Slavic) or "inner part" (Hungarian) or "distinguished" (Turkish). This was the name of several Hungarian kings.
BELINDA (f) "beautiful snake" (Teutonic). The snake signifies wisdom.
BELLA (f) "beautiful" (Italian)
BELLE (f) "beautiful" (French). Belle Starr was an outlaw of the American west in the 19th century.
BEN (m) Short form of Benjamin or "son" (Hebrew). Ben Jonson was a 17th-century poet and playwright from England.
BENEDETTO (m) Italian form of Benedict.
BENEDICT (m) "blessed" (Latin). Saint Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictines in the 6th century. This was also the name of several popes.
BENGT (m) Swedish and Danish form of Benedict.
BENITO (m) Spanish form of Benedict. Benito Mussolini was the fascist dictator of Italy during World War II.
BENJAMIN (m) "son of the south" or "son of the right hand" (Hebrew). Benjamin in the Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob, and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. Also, Benjamin Franklin was an American statesman, inventor, scientist and philosopher.
BENJAMINE (f) French feminine form of Benjamin.
BENNO (m) Short form of German names containing the element bern "bear".
BENOIT (m) French form of Benedict.
BENOITE (f) French feminine form of Benedict.
BENSON (m) "descendent of Benedict.(Old English). From a surname.
BERNADETTE (f) Feminine form of Bernard. Saint Bernadette was the young woman from Lourdes in France who claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary. She later became a nun.
BERNARD (m) "bear brave" (Teutonic). Saint Bernard of Menthon built hospices in the Swiss Alps in the 10th century. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was a theologian and Doctor of the Church in the 12th century. George Bernard Shaw was a playwright and essayist from Ireland.
BERNARDINE (f) Feminine form of Bernard.
BERNARDO (m) Italian, Spanish or Portuguese form of Bernard.
BERND (m) Short form of Bernhard.
BERNHARD (m) German form of Bernard.
BERNICE (f) "bringing victory" (Greek). This name originated in the royal house of Macedon in Alexander the Great's time.
BERRY (f,m) Either "berry" from the English word referring to the small fruit (feminine), or a variant of Barry (masculine).
BERT (m) Short form of names ending in bert
BERTHA (f) "bright" or "famous" (Old English)
BERTHE (f) French form of Bertha.
BERTHOLD (m) "bright ruler" (Teutonic)
BERTINA (f) Feminine form of Bert.
BERTRAM (m) "bright raven" from Teutonic beraht, combined with hraban. The raven signifies wisdom.
BERWYN (m) "white head" from Welsh barr "head" and wyn "white".
BERYL (f) "beryl" (Sanskrit), from the name of the pale green precious stone.
BETH (f) Short form of Elizabeth or Bethany
BETHANY (f) "house of figs" (Hebrew), from a biblical place name. In the New Testament Bethany was the town where Lazarus lived.
BETSY (f) Pet form of Elizabeth
BETTINA (f) Latinate form of Betty.
BETTY (f) Pet form of Elizabeth.
BEULAH (f) "married" (Hebrew). The name is used in the Old Testament to refer to the land of Israel (Isaiah 62:4).
BEVERLY (f) "beaver stream" (Old English). From a place name or a surname.
BHARAT (m) "being maintained" (Sanskrit). One of the names of Agni, the Hindu god of fire. This is also the name of the brother of Rama in Hindu legend. The official name of the country of India, Bharat, derives from him.
BIANCA (f) Italian form of Blanche. Shakespeare uses characters named Bianca in 'The Taming of the Shrew' and 'Othello'.
BILL (m) Short form of William.
BIRGIT (f) Scandinavian form of Bridget.
BIRGITTA (f) Scandinavian form of Bridget. Saint Birgitta was the 14th-century founder of the Bridgettine nuns. She is the patron saint of Sweden.
BJOERN (m) "bear" (Scandinavian)
BJORNE (m) Form of Bjoerne.
BLAINE (m) From a surname meaning "servant of Blaan". Blaan was a Scottish saint.
BLAIR (m,f) "a plain" (Celtic). From a surname.
BLAISE (m) "lisp" (Latin). Blaise Pascal was a mathematician and philosopher from France.
BLAKE (m) Either "black" or "pale" (Old English), from a surname. This was the last name of the poet and artist William Blake.
BLANCHE (f) "white" or "fair" (French)
BLAZEJ (m) Polish form of Blaise.
BOB (m) Short form of Robert.
BOBBY (m,f) Short form of Robert, Barbara.. Hockey greats Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull have borne this name.
BOGDAN (m) "gift from God" from Slavic bog "god" and dan "gift".
BOGDANA (m) Polish feminine form of Bogdam
BOGUMIL (m) "favoured by God" from Slavic bog "god" and mil "favour".
BOGUSLAW (m) "glory of God" from Slavic bog "god" and slav "glory".
BOHDAN (m) Czech form of Bogdam.
BOLESLAW (m) "great glory" from Slavic bole "large" and slav "glory". This was the name of kings of Poland, including Boleslaw the Brave, the first Polish king.
BONITA (f) "pretty" (Spanish)
BONNIE (f) Either "good" (Latin) or "pretty" (Celtic)
BORGHILD (f) "fortress battle" (Old Norse)
BORIS (m) "battle" (Slavic) or short form of Borislav. This was the name of a 10th-century Russian saint. Also, czars of Russia and Bulgaria have borne this name, including Boris I of Bulgaria who converted his country to Christianity, and Boris Godunov of Russia who was later the subject of a play by Alexander Pushkin.
BORISLAV (m) "fame in battle" from Slavic bor "battle" and slava "glory".
BOZYDAR (m) "devine gift" (Polish)
BRAD (m) Short form of Bradford or Bradley.
BRADFORD (m) "broad ford" (Old English), from a place name or a surname.
BRADLEY (m) "broad clearing" (Old English), from a place name or a surname.
BRAM (m) Short form of Abraham. Bram Stoker was the author who wrote 'Dracula'.
BRAN (m) "raven" (Gaelic). A character in Celtic legend who was killed attacking Ireland.
BRAND (m) "sword" from Old Norse brandr.
BRANDE (f) Variant of Brandy.BRANDI
BRANDON (m) "hill covered with broom" from an Old English surname, which was originally from a place name. It is sometimes also used as a variant of Brendam.
BRANDT (m) Form of Brand.
BRANDY (f) "brandy" (English), from the alcoholic drink.
BRANISLAV (m) Czech form of Bronislaw.
BRANKA (f) Feminine short form of Branislav.
BRANKO (m) Short form of Branislav.
BRANNON (m) Either a form of Brandon, or from the Irish surname Mac Branain, which means "descendent of Bran.
BRATUMIL (m) "favoured by a brother" from the Slavic elements bratu "brother" and mil "favour".
BRENDA (f) "sword" from Old Norse brandr. Sometimes used as a feminine form of Brendam.
BRENDAN (m) "prince" from the Irish name Breanainn. Saint Brendan was a 6th-century Irish abbot. According to legend he and 17 other monks crossed the Atlantic and reached North America.
BRENNA (f) "raven" (Welsh) or possibly a form of Brenda.
BRENT (m) "of Brent" (Celtic), from a surname. Brent is an English place name meaning "hill" in Celtic.
BRETT (m) "a Breton" from a Middle English surname.
BRIAN (m) The meaning of this name is not known for certain but there are several theories including: "hill" from Celtic bruaich; "high" or "noble" from Celtic brigh; or "strong" from Celtic bri. Brian Boru was an Irish king who thwarted Viking attempts to conquer Ireland in the 11th century. He was victorious in the Battle of Clontraf, but he himself was slain.
BRIANNA (f) Feminine form of Brian
BRIANNE (f) Feminine form of Brian.
BRICE (m) "speckled" (Celtic). The successor of Saint Martin of Tours.
BRIDGER (m) "one who builds bridges" from an Old English surname.
BRIDGET (f) "high goddess" from the Irish name Brighid. In Irish mythology she was the goddess of poetry and wisdom, the daughter of the fire god. Saint Bridget of Kildare is a patron saint of Ireland who established a convent at Kildare in the 5th century.
BRIGITTE (f) French form of Bridget.
BRISTOL (m) From the name of the city in southwest England.
BRITTA (f) Swedish short form of Birgitta.
BRITTANY (f) "from Brittany" (French). Brittany is a region in the northwest of France.
BRITTNEY (f) Variant of Brittany.
BRITTON (m) "of Britain" (Middle English), from a surname.
BROCK (m) "badger" from Old English brocc. This was originally a surname.
BRONISLAW (m) "protection glory" from Slavic bron "protection" and slav "glory". A famous Polish anthropologist, Bronislaw Malinowski, has borne this name.
BRONTE (m) Either "thunder" (Greek) or "bestower" (Gaelic). The Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily, and Anne - were novelists from England.
BRONWEN (f) "fair breast" from Welsh bron "breast" and gwen "fair".
BROOK (m,f) "brook" (English), from a surname which denoted one who lived near a brook.
BROOKE (m,f) Form of Brook.
BRUCE (m) "of Brieuse" (French) from a Norman surname. Brieuse was a place name in France. The name was borne by Robert the Bruce, a Scottish hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland.
BRUNETTE (f) Feminine pet form of Bruno.
BRUNHILDE (f) "armour battle" from Teutonic brun "armour" or "protection" and hild "battle". In the Germanic legend the 'Nibelungenlied', Brunhilde was the queen of the Valkyries and the wife of Gunther.
BRUNO (m) "brown" (Teutonic). Saint Bruno of Cologne was a German monk of the 11th century who founded the Carthusian Order. The surname has belonged Giordano Bruno, a philosopher burned at the stake by the Inquisition.
BRYAN (m) Variant form of Brian.BRYANT
BRYCE (m) Variant of Brice.
BRYN (m) "hill" or "mound" (Welsh)
BUA (f) "amulet" (Vietnamese)
BUCK (m) "male deer" from Old English bucc. Originally a nickname.
BUD (m) "friend" (English). From a nickname.
BURGUNDY (f) "burgundy" (English). From either the region in France, the wine, or the colour.
BURKHARD (m) "protection brave" (Teutonic). Saint Burkhard was a bishop who founded several monasteries in Germany in the 8th century.
BURT (m) Short form of Burton.
BURTON (m) "fortified town" (Old English). From a surname which was from a place name. Sir Richard Burton was an explorer of Africa in the 19th century.
BYRNE (m) "coat of mail" (Old English)
BYRON (m) "place of the cow sheds" (Old English). From a surname which was from a place name. This was the surname of the romantic poet Lord Byron, the writer of 'Don Juan' and many other works.