Updated November 2023
Across 10 pages
of 10
Turkish from Arabic
"light to read by"
A compound of the names İkra and Nur, common in Turkey. Ikra Nur, as a double-barreled first name, also makes the Turkish Top 100.
"light of the women"
Hungarian variation of Nora, Irish, Greek
"light"
Breton and French
This beautiful Breton saint's name peaked at #127 in France in 2006. It's still in the Top 500 there today, but remains almost unknown outside of France.
Occitan
"Light of the World"
Esclarmonde de Foix was an Occitan countess and an important figure in Catharism, a medieval Christian movement, which allowed women and men to both hold church offices. Her tale inspired an opera by…
Irish
Pronounced lee-sha, Laoise is the feminine form of the Irish mythological names Lugh and Lugus, which means light. Lugus was the Celtic god of commerce and craftsmanship, the equivalent of the Roman…
Basque
"beautiful light"
Argider is a somewhat used boys' name in Basque-speaking parts of Spain.
This name may mean light but is likely to be heavy to wear outside of Spain.
Mongolian
Greek
"light of man"
Cassander is the masculine form of Cassandra, and the name of an ancient king of Macedon from the 3rd century BC. It could make a nice alternative to Alexander or a refreshing way to honour a female…
Finnish form of Helena
"bright, shining light"
Finnish variation of Helena
Variation of Lucian
It's pronunciation is identical to that of Lucian, but this spelling makes it appear to rhyme with "cushion," so we suggest sticking with the original.
English word name
"signal light"
This word name shines bright and comes with the nickname Bea.
Indonesian
"resin; light"
This gender-neutral Indonesian name feels familiar but unique.
Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian
"light or of Magdala"
A pretty and lively Slavic diminutive of Helena or Magdalena, long used as a standalone. In Czechia, it was a Top 10 choice from 1960 to 1991, and it still ranks highly there today.
Faroese
"ray of light"
The Faroese term for "ray of light", seen as a feminine name on the Faroe Islands.
Hebrew
This unisex Hebrew name has held rather steady for boys while falling for girls in Israel.
Variation of Azenor, Breton
The origins of Senara, the name of a Cornish saint who is patron of the village of Zennor, are not so straightforward. Some say she was the same person as Azenor, a legendary Breton princess whose…
"an obscuring of light when one celestial body passes over another"
An evocative word name denoting a rare celestial phenomenon when the sun and moon are aligned so that the moon casts a shadow over the Earth (a solar eclipse), or when the moon is right in front of…
English
A rare but historic English name bestowed upon girls in the 19th century. Fairlight seems to have been particularly popular among baby girls in the Appalachian region of the US. It appeared as a…