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Arabic yet english/american names
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The names
Elias
Greek variation of Elijah, Hebrew
"Yahweh is God"
Strong, charismatic, and sleek, Elias has followed in the footsteps of Elijah and Eli to become a popular choice among parents today. While it may sound cool and fresh, Elias is a name with history…
Aria
Italian and Hebrew
"air; song or melody; lion"
Aria is a multi-cultural name with two extremely popular versions: this more word-like one along with Arya, the spelling used for the feisty young heroine of Game of Thrones . There were about 6400…
Layla
Variation of Leila, Arabic
"night"
A lovely musical name (remember the old Eric Clapton-Derek & the Dominos song?), Layla's seen a significant surge in popularity, partly partly all names with a double L are stylish, and partly…
Adam
Hebrew
"son of the red earth"
Adam -- a primal Old Testament name -- was revived as a 1960s cowboy name. Adam is not as popular as it once was and feels ready for a respite, replaced by newer A names like Aidan/Aiden, Avery and…
Savannah
Spanish
"flat tropical grassland"
A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , which was set in…
Summer
Word name
The temperature is definitely rising for this popular seasonal name, which began being used in the seventies, and has been heard consistently ever since. Summers have popped up all over the big and…
Samara
Hebrew, Arabic
"under God's rule, companion in night conversation"
Alluring and lovely — and much more distinctive now than Samantha or Tamara. Samara is a city in western Russia, a winged seed like the whirlygigs that fall from maple trees, as well as a bona fide…
Ebba
Feminization of Ebbe, Swedish and Danish, or variation of Old English Æbbe
"bear god; brave boar"
Ebba, the feminine version of Ebbe (a diminutive of Eberhard or Asbjorn) and also a form of an old English name, is in the Swedish Top 10 but virtually unknown in the US. However, with the rise of…
Michel
French form and German short form of Michael, Hebrew
"who is like God"
While the (male) French form is pronounced in English like the girls' name Michelle and the German form had a hard k-like sound in the middle, this variation of Michael is distinguished by being used…
Janna
Dutch contraction of Johanna
Could run into pronunciation confusion.
May
Diminutive of Margaret and Mary; month name
May is a sweet old-fashioned name that hasn't been on the national charts in several decades, but is definitely sounding fresh and springlike. Parents are beginning to see it once more as one of the…
Dana
English, Slavic, Persian, Arabic
"from Denmark, gift, or wise"
This name found in both Celtic and Scandinavian mythology has gone from all-boy to almost all-girl, retaining a strong, unisex quality. However, it has dropped following its three-decade heyday from…
Dina
Hebrew variation of Dinah or Adinah
"judged or delicate"
Dina is a 20th century version of either Dinah or Adinah, two Old Testament names not related to each other. Dinah was the beautiful daughter of Jacob and Leah, while Adinah or Adina was a male…
Sammy
Hebrew
"god has heard"
Short for Samuel or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.
Donna
Italian
"lady"
Literally meaning "lady" in Italian, Donna was the perfect ladylike housewife mom name on The Donna Reed Show in the fifties and sixties. And there were plenty of namesakes: Donna was in the Top 10…
Jana
International feminine variation of Jan
A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.
Fay
English
"fairy"
Fay, also spelled Faye, who had been napping quietly since the 1930's, has, like cousins May/Mae and Ray/Rae, sat up and started rubbing her eyes, ready for a mini-comeback, especially as a middle…
Basil
Greek
"royal"
Although Greek in origin--in the fourth century, a bishop by that name established the principles of the Greek Orthodox Church--Basil for years took on the aura of aquiline-nosed upper-class…
Faris
Arabic
"rider, knight"
A great uncommon English-Arabic crossover choice, easily pronounceable internationally.
Meera
Hindi, Sanskrit
"light, saintly woman; prosperous"
Meera Bai, also spelled Mirabai, was a great female Hindu mystical poet whose works are popular throughout India. She was a fifteenth-sixteenth century Indian princess who devoted her life to writing…