International Names, Part IIb (girls)

In our increasingly global society, finding a name that can be pronounced easily in many languages is important to more parents than ever. I've already done a post on names that are used in many countries, so here are names that could be used with little/no alteration in most languages that use the Latin alphabet. (and of course, again, definitely not a complete list!)

The boys' list is here. 

Girls:

• Adara (ah-dah-rah)
• Akiko (ah-kee-koh)
• Alba (AHL-bah)
• Alda (AHL-dah)
• Alis (AL-is, AH-lees)
• Amara (ah-MAH-rah)
• Amira (ah-MEER-ah)
• Annora (an-NOH-rah)
• Aria (AH-ree-ah)
• Ariadna (ah-ree-AHD-nah)
• Armida (ahr-MEE-dah)
• Barbara (BAR-bar-ah, bar-BAH-rah)
• Basira (bah-SEE-rah)
• Bedisa (beh-dee-sah)
• Bettina (beh-TEE-nah)
• Bianka/Bianca (bee-AHN-kah)
• Bluma (BLOO-mah)
• Briana (bree-AH-nah)
• Britta (BRIT-tah)
• Dafna (DAF-nah, DAHF-nah)
• Dania (DAHN-yah)
• Dara (DAH-rah)
• Desta (DEH-stah)
• Donata (doh-NAH-tah)
• Dorina (doh-REE-nah)
• Elektra (eh-LEK-trah)
• Eliana (eh-lee-AH-nah)
• Eris (EH-ris, EH-rees)
• Esmeralda (es-meh-RAHL-dah)
• Ilana (ee-lah-nah)
• Ilma (EEL-mah, IL-mah)
• Ilsa (IL-sah)
• Imelda (ee-MEL-dah, im-EL-dah)
• Iolana (eeoh-LAH-nah, yoh-LAH-nah)
• Ionela (eeoh-NEH-lah, yoh-NEH-lah)
• Isabel (IZ-ah-bel, ee-sah-BEL)
• Iskra (EES-krah)
• Kala (KAH-lah)
• Kalina (kah-LEE-nah)
• Karima (kah-REE-mah)
• Karita/Carita (kah-REE-tah)
• Kelda (KEL-dah)
• Kerensa (keh-REN-sah)
• Kira (KEER-ah)
• Kora/Cora (KOH-rah)
• Lalita (lah-LEE-tah)
• Larisa (lah-REE-sah)
• Lenora (leh-NOH-rah)
• Liana (lee-AH-nah)
• Luana (loo-AH-nah)
• Malika (mah-LEE-kah)
• Malina (mah-LEE-nah)
• Miranda (meer-AN-dah, meer-AHN-dah)
• Mirela/Mirella (meer-EH-lah)
• Mirna (MEER-nah)
• Miruna (mee-ROO-nah)
• Munira (moo-NEER-ah)
• Nadira (nah-DEER-ah)
• Nerina (neh-REE-nah)
• Nia (NEE-ah)
• Nika (NEE-kah)
• Nuan (noo-ahn)
• Nuria (NOOR-ee-ah)
• Odessa (oh-DES-sah)
• Onora (oh-NOH-rah)
• Orla (OR-lah)
• Parisa (pah-REE-sah)
• Priska/Prisca (PREES-kah, PRIS-kah)
• Rina (REE-nah)
• Runa (ROO-nah)
• Sabela (sah-BEH-lah)
• Sabrina (sah-BREE-nah)
• Sakina (sah-kee-nah)
• Sakura (sah-koo-rah)
• Samia (sah-MEE-ah)
• Seffora (sef-FOH-rah)
• Seren (SEH-ren)
• Sora (soh-rah)
• Sorina (soh-REE-nah)
• Stana (STAH-nah)
• Sunita (soo-NEE-tah)
• Tesni (TES-nee)
• Tessa (TES-sah)
• Tora (TOH-rah)

Same Name?!?--Mini Grab Bag II (girls)

• Clara/Klara (KLEHR-ah, KLAH-rah)
• Claire (KLEHR, French)
• Chiara (KYAH-rah, Italian)
• Clarisse (klah-REES, French)
• Emma (EM-mah)
• Erma (UR-mah, English)
• Irma (EER-mah, German, Italian, Portuguese, Scandinavian)
• Imke (IM-keh, Dutch, German)
• Gertrude (GER-trood, English, gehr-TROO-deh, German)
• Geltrude (jel-TROO-deh, Italian)
• Gertrudis (jehr-TROO-dees, Spanish)
• Kerttu (KEHRT-too, Finnish)
• Roxanne (roks-AN, English)
• Roshanak (roh-shan-AK, Persian)
• Rossana (rohs-SAN-nah, Italian)
• Ruxandra (rewks-AN-drah, Romanian)

International Names, Part IIa (boys)

A long, long time ago, I did a couple posts on International Names (boys; girls)--names that were in use in many languages & cultures. Many have history/namesakes to account for their popularity, but many just seem to have a nice sound, easy to say in many languages.
So, I've tried to sort of narrow down what makes a name multi-lingual. In most languages that use Latin characters, letters almost always make the same sounds (vowels are the most variable). But, certain letters can vary greatly, as can certain vowel combinations (and it's usually English that messes those up).
Eliminating names with those letters/combinations results in a list of names with generally only one pronunciation. Thus, these are names that could become international names--they can be pronounced easily in different languages with little/no change.
 (of course, this is nowhere near a complete list, but rather one that fits in with current American trends)

Boys:

• Abbán (AB-ahn)
• Abbas (AB-as, AHB-bas)
• Abner (AB-ner)
• Aksel/Axel (AK-sel, AHK-sel)
• Alban (AL-ban, AHL-bahn)
• Alden (AHL-den)
• Arlo (AHR-loh)
• Armas (AHR-mahs)
• Barrett (BEHR-ret, BAHR-ret)
• Basil (BAZ-il, BAH-sil)
• Bennett (BEN-net)
• Benno (BEH-noh)
• Brendan (BREN-dan)
• Derek (DEH-rek)
• Dimitri (dee-MEE-tree)
• Elliot (EL-lee-ot)
• Emmett (EM-met)
• Finnian (FIN-ee-an)
• Ian (EE-an)
• Idris (EED-rees, ID-ris)
• Karsten (KAHR-sten)
• Kasper (KAHS-per)
• Kian (KEE-an)
• Killian/Kilian (KIL-lee-an, KEEL-lee-an)
• Kolman/Colman (KOHL-mahn)
• Konrad/Conrad (KAWN-raht, KAWN-rad)
• Korbin/Corbin (KOHR-bin, KOHR-been)
• Larkin (LAHR-kin)
• Lennart (LEN-ahrt)
• Lennon (LEN-non)
• Linden (LIN-den)
• Marek (MAH-rek)
• Matias/Mattias (mah-TEE-as)
• Niko/Nico (NEE-koh)
• Paskal/Pascal (pas-KAHL)
• Preston (PRES-ton)
• Rémi/Remi (ray-MEE, REH-mee)
• Salman (SAHL-man)
• Tobin (TOH-bin)
• Torin (TOH-rin)
• Torsten (TOR-sten)
• Truman (TROO-man)
• Tulio/Tullio (TOOL-ee-oh)

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Cam

Cam is one of the few nicknames I can easily see on either gender. Whether sort for Cameron and Camden for boys, or Cameron and Camilla (or more recently, Cambria) for girls, it's quite versatile.

(there is a surprisingly high number of coincident names in this post--names of different origins that are spelled/pronounced alike. Apparently 'kam' is a common construction in many languages!)

Boys:

• Camillo (kah-MEEL-loh, Italian)
• Kamal (kah-MAHL, Arabic, Hindi)--"perfection" [Arabic]; "lotus" [Hindi]
• Kambiz (kahm-BEEZ, Persian)
• Kamen (KAH-men, Bulgarian)--"stone"
• Kamik (kah-meek, Greenlandic, Bengali)
• Kamil (KAH-meel, Arabic, Polish)--"perfect" [Arabic] or form of Camillo [Polish]

Girls:

• Camellia (kah-MEL-yah, kah-MEE-lee-ah, English)
• Kamala (KAM-ah-lah, Hindi)--feminine of Kamal, "lotus"
• Kamaria (kah-mah-REE-ah, Swahili)--from Arabic, "moon"
• Kamarina (kah-mah-REE-nah, [Ancient] Greek)--nymph of the Sicilian city Kamarina. Also spelled Camarina.
• Kamini (kah-MEE-nee, Hindi)
• Kamma (KAHM-mah, Danish)

Unisex:

• Camlin (KAM-lin, English)--from English, "camel-cloth seller", or Irish, "crooked line"
• Kamea (kah-meh-ah, Hawaiian)
• Kamon (kah-MOHN, Thai)--"heart" or "lily"

Ideals & Imagery

While doing my virtue-names post a while back, I came across many names with meanings that weren't quite virtues. While naming your daughter Beauty would probably be seen as presumptuous (not to mention a bit too Disney), there are plenty of names that mean 'beauty', as well as many other poetic inspirations.

Boys:

• Argi (ahr-gee, Basque)--"light"
• Argider (ahr-gee-dehr, Basque)--"beautiful light"
• Arman (ahr-MAHN, Kazakh)--"dream"
• Asher (ASH-er, English)--from Hebrew, "blessed"
• Ayman (AY-man, Arabic)--"blessed, lucky"
• Barak (bah-RAHK, Arabic)--"blessing"
• Benedict (BEN-eh-dikt, English)--from Latin, "blessed"
• Bhaskar (BHAHS-kar, Hindi)--"shining"
• Cemal (jem-AHL, Turkish)--"beauty"
• Daiki (dah-ee-kee, Japanese)--"great radiance" or "great & noble"
• Enver (en-VEHR, Turkish, Albanian)--"radiance"
• Eyal (eh-YAHL, Hebrew)--"strength"
• Jamal (jah-MAHL, Arabic)--"beauty"
• Kallias (KAHL-lee-as, Greek)--"beauty"
• Kibwe (KEE-bweh, Swahili)--"blessed"
• Krešimir (KRESH-ih-meer, Croatian)--"bringer of peace"
• Macario (mah-KAHR-yoh, Spanish)--from Greek, "blessed"
• Prakash (prah-KAHSH, Hindi)--"light"
• Roshan (roh-SHAN, Persian)--"light"
• Sisu (SEE-soo, Finnish)--"strength, willpower"
• Taiki (tah-ee-kee, Japanese)--"great radiance"

Girls:

• Abha (ahb-hah, Hindi)--"splendor"
• Aditi (ah-DEE-tee, Hindi)--"freedom"
• Aiman (eye-MAHN, Kazakh)--"beauty of the moon"
• Áine (AW-nyeh, Irish)--"radiance"
• Aisling (AHSH-leeng, Irish)--"dream"
• Aoibhe (EE-vah, Irish)--"beauty"
• Argiñe (ahr-gee-nyeh, Basque)--"light"
• Audrey (AW-dree, English)--"noble strength"
• Beata (beh-AH-tah, Latin)--"blessed"
• Bracha (BRAH-khah, Hebrew)--"blessing"
• Caoimhe (KWEE-vah, Irish)--"beauty". Anglicized to Keeva.
• Carwen (KAHR-wen, Welsh)--"pure love"
• Daina (DAY-nah, Lithuanian; DYE-nah, Latvian)--"song"
• Dipika (dee-PEE-kah, Hindi)--"light"
• Duana (DOO-an-ah, Irish)--"poem, song"
• Feray (feh-RYE, Turkish)--"radiance of the moon"
• Fotini (foh-tee-NEE, Greek)--"light"
• Gita (GEE-tah, Hindi)--"song"
• Hikari (hee-kah-ree, Japanese)--"light"
• Indira (IN-dih-rah, Hindi)--"beauty"
• Jyoti (jyot-EE, Hindi)--"light"
• Kanti (KAHN-tee, Hindi)--"beauty"
• Kavita (KAH-vee-tah, Hindi)--"poem, poetry"
• Keren (keh-rehn, Hebrew)--"ray of light"
• Lesedi (leh-seh-DEE, Tswana)--"light"
• Lucy (LOO-see, English)--from Latin, "light". Other forms include Lucia, Luce, Lucille, Lucette, Lux, Luz, and Luzia.
• Luule (LOO-leh, Estonian)--"poetry"
• Masego (mah-seh-hoh, Tswana)--"blessing"
• Megumi (meh-goo-mee, Japanese)--"blessing"
• Mele (meh-leh, Hawaiian)--"song"
• Nadra (NAH-drah, Arabic)--"radiance"
• Nima (NEE-mah, Arabic)--"blessing"
• Noya (no-yah, Hebrew)--"beauty"
• Nur (NOOR, Arabic)--"light". Other forms include Nuru (NOO-roo, Swahili).
• Säde (SAD-eh, Finnish)--"ray of light"
• Sana (SAH-nah, Arabic)--"brilliance"
• Saoirse (SEER-shah, Irish)--"freedom"
• Sanja (SAHN-yah, Croatian, Serbian)--"dream"
• Shira (shee-rah, Hebrew)--"poetry"
• Solveig (SOHL-vay, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "strength of the sun"
• Svajonė (svah-YOH-nyeh, Lithuanian)--"dream"
• Svatava (svah-tah-VAH, Czech)--"light" or "world". Another form is Svetlana (Russian, Slavic)
• Thi (TEE, Vietnamese)--"poem"
• Treasa (TRAH-sah, Irish)--"strength"

Unisex:

• Amets (ah-mehts, Basque)--"dream"
• Li (LEE, Chinese)--"reason" or "strength" [several other meanings possible depending on the characters]
• Liron (lee-rohn, Hebrew)--"my song"
• Noa (noh-ah, Hawaiian)--"freedom"
• Ori (oh-ree, Hebrew)--"my light"
• Shir (SHEER, Hebrew)--"song"

Modern but Not (girls)

Girls' name-trends are more nickname-driven apparently, and shorten to Addy, Maddy, Emma, Bella, Ella, or Lily (mostly skipping these, as they're covered in other posts). Girls' names are also more likely to start with A, K, Z; contain H, K, X, Y, Z, ; and end in 'lee' [and to a lesser extent, 'ee' in general], 'aya', or 'ia'.

• Abigaia (ah-bee-GYE-ah, Greek [Biblical])--form of Abigail
• Acacia (ah-KAY-shah, English)
• Adannaya (ah-dah-NAH-yah, Igbo)--"her father's daughter"
• Alaia (ah-lah-yah, Basque)--"happy"
• Antheia (an-THAY-ah, Greek)--original form of Anthea
• Araceli (ah-rah-SEH-lee, Spanish)
• Arlie (AR-lee, English)
• Atalia (ah-TAHL-yah, Hebrew)
• Aviya (ah-vee-YAH, Hebrew)
• Aya (ah-yah, Japanese, Hebrew, Arabic)
• Caelia (SAY-lee-ah, English; CHAY-lee-ah or KYE-lee-ah, Latin)--"heaven"
• Clelia (CLEHL-yah, Italian)
• Deòiridh (JOR-ee, Scottish)
• Eilidh (AY-lee, Scottish)--form of Helen or Eleanor
• Evelia (eh-VEH-lee-ah, Spanish)
• Freya (FRAY-ah, English)--from Norse, "lady"
• Gioia (JOY-ah, Italian)
• Idriya (ee-dree-ah, Hebrew)
• Iole (ee-OH-lee, EYE-ah-lee, Greek)--"violet"
• Junia (JOO-nee-ah, Latin)
• Kamaria (kah-mah-REE-ah, Swahili)--from Arabic, "moon"
• Keziah (keh-ZYE-ah, English)--from Hebrew "cassia spice"
• Kyveli (kih-VEL-ee, Greek)
• Laelia (LAY-lee-ah, English; LYE-lee-ah, Latin)
• Lígia (LEE-zhee-ah, Portuguese)
• Magali (mah-gah-LEE, French)--form of Magdalene/Madeline. Also spelled Magalie.
• Mahalia (mah-HAY-lee-ah, English)--from Hebrew, "lyre"
• Marsaili (MAR-sah-lee, Scottish)
• Melia (MEL-ee-ah, Greek)--"honey"
• Micaiah (mee-kah-yah, Hebrew)
• Minali (MEE-nah-lee, Hindi)
• Mireia (mee-RAY-ah, Spanish)--also spelled Mireya.
• Nephele (NEF-el-ee, Greek)
• Noya (noh-yah, Hebrew)--"beauty"
• Priya (PREE-ah, Hindi)--"beloved"
• Rheia (RAY-ah, Greek)--original form of Rhea.
• Riya (REE-ah, Hindi)--"singer"
• Suraya (soo-RAH-yah, Arabic)
• Tacey (TAY-see, English)--from Latin, "quiet"
• Taisiya (tah-EE-see-ah, Russian)
• Thulile (too-lee-leh, Zulu)--"quiet"
• Velia (VEHL-yah, Italian)

Same Name?!?--Sarah

Sweet, classical Sarah. Thanks to the Biblical matriarch (and probably her meaning as well--"princess"), she's been common for generations. Her spike in the 80s means she's usually stereotyped as an "our generation" name, like Jessica or Heather, but surprisingly, she's still in the top 50.
Fairly simple in sound, Sarah/Sara is used throughout the world with very little alteration. Her diversity lies mainly in diminutives, many of which are now in use as given names.

Original Hebrew form: Sarah [שָׂרָה] (sah-RAH)

Other forms:

• Kala (KAH-lah, Hawaiian)
• Sadie (SAY-dee, English)
• Saija (SYE-ah, Finnish)
• Sally (SAL-lee, English)
• Sari (SAH-ree, Finnish, Hungarian)
• Sarit (sah-REET, Hebrew)
• Sassa (SAHS-sah, Scandinavian) [also a form of Alexandra or Astrid]
• Suri (SOO-ree, Yiddish)
• Tzeitel (tZYE-tel, Yiddish)