Names That Mean Powerful

An fearsome old Norse name with a long history in Scandinavia. It's gotten a boost in the States from popularity of the History Channel drama "Vikings," in which the protagonist is named Ragnar. Ragnar Lodbrok (meaning "shaggy pants") was a legendary warrior whose story was told in the Viking sagas. Ragnar also recalls name of the Norse Judgment Day, Ragnarök.

Aziza is a zippy palindromic choice that is the female variation of Aziz and is found in several Middle Eastern and African languages and cultures. All in all, an attractive and interesting option; a Turkish variation is Azize. In African mythology, the Azizi are a supernatural race of forest dwellers who give practical and spiritual advice.

A name used in the Caribbean, taken from the Rastafarian term that translates best to "positive and powerful." Rastas often greet each other by saying, "Are you feeling Irie today?"

in 2021, Katharine McPhee and David Foster named their son Rennie David Foster, a family name on Foster's side. Rennie has a history of use as nickname for the French Rene, as well as other names with the ren element, such as Warren and Ren itself, which has Japanese origins.

A tip-top word name—literally, Zenith means the top or apex. Zen makes a cute nickname.

Associated with Reynard the cunning fox in medieval European animal tales. Reynard can make an unusual yet historic choice for a modern boy, a modern day Richard or Robert.

This short and strong Swahili name shares lots of sounds with trending Ezra and Enzo, and has a great meaning too.

Irie is an upbeat and modern name that originated as a Rastafarian term for "positive and powerful."

Riker gets relatively little use as a variation of Ryker, likely because of the connection to Riker's Island, the New York City prison. It was named after NYC magistrate Richard Riker, whose ancestor Abraham Rycken first purchased the island.

This traditional Arabic name, found throughout several other Middle Eastern and African languages and cultures, is one of the 99 names of Allah. Colorful and energetic, it was brought into the realm of crossover possibility via the lively personality of Aziz Ansari, stand-up comic and star of "Master of None" as well as a featured actor on "Parks and Recreation," playing cocky Tom Haverford (born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani).

An Indian boy's name with a powerful meaning.

This name has considerable meaning in the Islamic world, as Hamzah the brave was the uncle and protector of the Prophet of Islam. A more contemporary Hamzah is the eldest son of the late King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan. More commonly encountered in English-speaking countries as Hamza.

Aza's similarity to the biblical name Asa makes it ripe for adaptation. If you want something more elaborate, you might consider Azariah. Something simpler? It doesn't get much simpler and that is the beauty of Aza (or Asa).

Qadir is a classic Muslim name that represents one of the ninety-nine attributes of Allah. Since the initial Q is pronounced as K, this handsome name is sometimes Anglicized as Kadir.

Aza is an excellent Arabic choice: elegant and simple. Too simple for you? Consider Aziza.

The daughter of the sun god Ra, Sekhmet is an Egyptian goddess of the hot desert sun, plague, chaos, war, and healing. It is said that she was created from the fire of the sun god Ra's eye when he looked upon Earth.

A strong modern word name with both spiritual and secular significance.

Serious surname choices, the latter form known via award-winning author Reynolds Price.

An ancient Germanic name that's so clunky and contrarian it's actually brilliant. One famous Hermelinda was a medieval queen of the Lombards; another was a Belgian saint.

A truly gender-neutral surname name used equally between the sexes.