Names That Mean Dance
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About this list
The names
Mai
Japanese, French, Welsh, Vietnamese, Navajo
"dance; May; cherry blossom; coyote"
Cross-cultural winner.
Minuet
French, dance term
Minuet is delicate, dancey, and lacy, with a Masterpiece Theatre feel. Is Minuet a real name? Not really, though similar-sounding French names such as Minette and Manette are.
Tango
Spanish
"touch"
A South American dance style whose name derives from Latin tangere "touch". It's also a popular orange-flavored fizzy drink in the UK, as well as the word for the letter T in the NATO phonetic…
Allemande
Word name
"German Dance"
An Allemande is a renaissance musical form meaning 'German dance" - Handel composed many famous allemandes. As a name, Allemande has the advantages of being unusual whilst still having a history, and…
Havilah
Hebrew
"to dance"
Old Testament male name and biblical place name.
Fei
Chinese
"to dance in the air"
Fei would make a great way to honor Chinese roots in the US, thanks to its similarity to the fast-rising Faye.
Fei
Chinese
"to dance in the air"
A unisex name in China, but better suited for girls in the US due to the similarities to sound-alike Faye.
Ceilidh
Scottish Gaelic
"social gathering, dance party"
From a Scottish Gaelic word meaning "visit", a ceilidh today usually means a gathering with traditional Scottish or Irish music and dances. The spelling could be an issue, depending on where you…
Prochorus
Latin from Greek
"leader of the dance"
Prochorus may be a big name for a child to wear, but it has a lively meaning and a New Testament connection.
Prokhor
Russian variation of Prochorus, Latin from Greek
"leader of the dance"
The use of Prokhor in Russia was in part inspired by St. Prochorus, a deacon in the New Testament.
Maiko
Japanese
"dance child"
Commonly borne by Gen X women in Japan.
Jive
English
"dance"
Sundance
English
"sun dance"
Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name…
Jive
English
"dance"
Baila
Yiddish
"white; bashful"
Also written as Bayla, Baila is reminiscent of the Spanish word for "dance". Its meaning is debated: it may come from the Slavic root word for "white", or it may be a form of Bilhah, one of the four…
Sundance
English
"sun dance"
Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name…
