By Origin
Baby names by cultural origin
Every naming tradition tells its own story. Explore names by the language and culture they come from.
Hebrew
Hebrew names carry layered meaning drawn from scripture, Torah tradition, and the rhythm of ancient Semitic language. Many travel into English through the Bible.
Greek
Greek names reach back to myth, philosophy, and the Aegean coast — names born of gods, heroes, and the natural world.
Latin
Latin names come from the Roman world: virtues, family lines, and words the Empire carried across Europe.
Arabic
Arabic names honor faith, beauty, and desert poetry — often built from a single root that carries meaning across the language.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit names come from India's oldest sacred texts, carrying meanings tied to light, wisdom, and the divine.
Old English
Old English names date to Anglo-Saxon England — compound words like Edward or Alfred that describe traits, weapons, or lineage.
Old Norse
Old Norse names come from the Viking world: strength, storms, and the old northern gods.
Japanese
Japanese names carry meaning through kanji — nature, virtue, seasons, and the specific characters a family chooses.
Chinese
Chinese names combine characters chosen for meaning, sound, and family tradition, often expressing hope for a child's future.
Korean
Korean names typically pair a family name with a two-syllable given name, each syllable chosen for its meaning.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese names carry meaning through carefully chosen syllables, often expressing beauty, virtue, or nature.
Yoruba
Yoruba names from Nigeria and West Africa tell a story: the day, the circumstances of birth, or a hope for the child.
Swahili
Swahili names blend Bantu, Arabic, and coastal African tradition, carrying meaning tied to family, faith, and place.
Zulu
Zulu names from Southern Africa often carry a message about the family, community, or the moment of a child's birth.
Irish
Irish names come from Gaelic tradition — saints, warriors, and words for the land, sea, and sky.
Scottish
Scottish names blend Gaelic roots with clan history: names of glens, kings, and the Highland tradition.
Welsh
Welsh names come from one of Europe's oldest living Celtic languages, rich with sounds and meanings unique to Wales.
French
French names run from medieval saints to modern style — soft, romantic, and widely used across the world.
Italian
Italian names carry the music of the language: saints, Renaissance figures, and warm familial tradition.
Spanish
Spanish names span saints, royalty, and the wide Spanish-speaking world from Andalusia to the Americas.
Portuguese
Portuguese names come from Iberian, Catholic, and Atlantic tradition — used across Portugal, Brazil, and beyond.
German
German names carry strong meanings drawn from Old High German and Germanic tradition — many became English classics.
Dutch
Dutch names come from the Low Countries: sturdy, often short forms of longer Germanic or Biblical originals.
Russian
Russian names blend Slavic roots with Orthodox Christian tradition — every classic name has a warm familiar form.
Polish
Polish names carry Slavic roots and Catholic tradition, often with meanings tied to glory, peace, or grace.
Persian
Persian names come from Iran's poetic tradition — rich with meaning drawn from nature, virtue, and epic poetry.
Turkish
Turkish names combine Turkic, Arabic, and Persian roots — often expressing strength, beauty, or nature.
Native American
Native American names come from many distinct nations and languages, each with its own naming tradition and meaning.
Māori
Māori names from Aotearoa (New Zealand) carry meaning tied to ancestors, the natural world, and Polynesian tradition.
Hawaiian
Hawaiian names honor family, land, and the ocean — every syllable chosen with care in the Hawaiian language.
Modern American
Modern American names are recent inventions or reinventions — often surnames used as first names, or new coinages.
Modern English
Modern English names span vocabulary words, nature words, and reinventions of older classics.