Names That Mean Ancient
- Prisca
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"ancient"Description:
The rarer long form of Priscilla, which comes from the Roman name Priscus, meaning "ancient".
- Ciannait
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"ancient"Description:
Feminine form of Cian, a name from Irish legend.
- Epic
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"grand, heroic, monumental in scale; a long poem derived from ancient oral tradition"Description:
Literature and poetry lovers might use Epic as a word name — an epic is a long narrative poem, typically the story of a hero. But epic has taken on a contemporary meaning of "impressive," which makes it somewhat of a virtue name as well.
- Keenen
Origin:
Variation of KeenanMeaning:
"ancient"Description:
Energetic name that's keen to please.
- Qadim
Origin:
ArabicMeaning:
"ancient"Description:
More frequently seen with the Kadeem spelling, as in actor Kadeem Hardison.
- Nen
Origin:
EgyptianMeaning:
"ancient waters"Description:
Couldn't be simpler...or more worldly — though it could lead to some head-scratching.
- Donar
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"ancient thunder god"Description:
Futuristic, in a 1930s kind of way.
- Kennon
Origin:
Scottish and IrishMeaning:
"ancient"Description:
This is one of several similar sounding Gaelic surname names that would make perfectly acceptable choices--others are Kennan, Keenan and Kenyon. Another possible meaning is "descendant of the fair ones," referring to the Norse invaders.
- Traian
Origin:
Romanian variation of Ancient Roman Traianus, meaning unknownDescription:
Traian derives from Traianus, a Roman emperor and military genius who conquered ancient Dacia, which corresponds to modern-day Romania and Moldova. Popular a generation ago, Traian is best known throughout the wider world via the presidency of Traian Basescu.
- Jerusalema
Origin:
Variation of Jerusalem, HebrewMeaning:
"city of the ancient god Shalem"Description:
Jerusalema is the name of a viral song released by Master KG, a South African DJ, in 2019. The #JerusalemaChallenge was an international sensation during Summer 2020, and in 2021, Jerusalema debuted on the baby name charts when it was given to six baby girls.
- Jerusalem
Origin:
Place nameMeaning:
"city of the ancient god Shalem"Description:
Transferred from the geographical name, Jerusalem is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year in the US.
- Lindus
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"Ancient Greek place name"Description:
Lindus or Lindos was one of the most important towns in ancient Rhodes. Lindus also was the native place of Cleobulus, one of the Seven Sages of Greece.
- Lindos
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"Ancient Greek place name"Description:
Variant of Lindus
- Aniceta
Origin:
Latinized feminine form of Ancient GreekMeaning:
"unconquerable"Description:
A delicate name with strong roots, Aniceta is most often used in contemporary Spain. Saint Anicetus was an ancient pope and martyr.
- Priscillia
Origin:
Variation of PriscillaMeaning:
"ancient"Description:
Fanciful variation of already extravagant name. You might recognize it as the name of Swiss Olympian Priscillia Annen.
Introducing the Nameberry App

Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.
- Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
- Names you match on are saved to your shared list
- Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
- Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
- Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Sign up to be notified when the app launches and to receive a discount on full access.

