Holiday Season Names

Originally this post was entitled Christmas names, but I decided to change the topic to Holiday season names in general. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Devali, Hanukkah, Yuletide, Kwanzaa or even Yalda, below are a list of names that have a seasonal feel. Enjoy!

Have a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!

Female

• Adoración (from the Spanish meaning, “adoration”, the name is usually given in reference to the Adoration of the Magi on January 6th. Adora is another variation)
• Atiya (an Arabic name, it is a feminine form of Ata, meaning, “gift.”)
• Amjalina (from the Belarusian word for “mistletoe”, it is also the name of a village in Brest. ahm-yah-LEE-nah)
• Aoi (from the Japanese 葵 ” meaning “holly.”)
• Božica (from the Serbian and Croatian word for Christmas and often used on girls born during the Christmas season. boh-ZHEET-sah)
• Chipo (the name is from the Shona word for “gift”, perhaps a good option for a little girl born during Kwanzaa).
• Cinnamon
• Epiphany (January 6th marks the epiphany and traditionally the official end of the Christmas season)
• Eudora (this option is never listed on the Christmas themed list I see on the baby name blogs. From the Greek, meaning “good gift”, this would make a beautiful and unique choice for a little girl born during the Holiday season).
• Eve (For a Christmas Eve baby)
• Ginger
• Godiva (Godiva Chocolates are occassionally given as a gift during the Holiday season, plus it is from the Anglo-Saxon meaning, “god’s gift.”)
• Hadiyya (another easily pronounceable Arabic choice meaning “gift.”)
• Hestia (from the Greek meaning “hearth; fireside.”)
• Inbal (from the Hebrew meaning “tongue of a bell.” Also would make a great Hanukkah names)
• Ling (from the Chinese meaning “bell chime”)
• Metrodora (from the Greek meaning, “mother’s gift”)
• Mjata (from the Belarusian nature name meaning “mint.” MYAH-tah)
• Nadzieja (from the Polish and Belarusian word meaning “hope.” nod-JAY-yah)
• Nina (although often viewed as a form of Anne, this is also a Quecha name meaning, “fire.”)
• Rei (from the Japanese meaning “bell.”)
• Saffron (traditionally used in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden, as a holiday spice, especially to flavor the famous lussekatte (St. Lucy buns)
• Sterre (from the Dutch word for star and currently a very trendy female name in the Netherlands. STER-reh)
• Suzu (another Japanese name meaning “bell.”)
• Tisa (from the name of the Slovene river which also coincides with the word for the yew tree. TEE-sah)
• Tuyet (from the Vietnamese meaning “snow.”)
• Wigilia (pronounced vee-GEEL-yah, this is the Polish word for Christmas Eve although rare, it is occassionally used as a given name)
• Yalda (name of the Persian holiday which celebrates the Winter Solstice, it is also a very common female name in Iran).
• Zavjeja (from the Belarusian nature name meaning “blizzard” zah-VYAY-yah)
• Zhuravina (from the Belarusian nature name meaning “cranberry.” zhoo-rah-VEE-nah)

Male

• Aputsiag (from the Greenlandic meaning, “snowflake.”)
• Ata (from the Arabic, meaning, “gift.”)
• Bor (from the South Slavic word for “pine tree.”)
• Bożydar (from the Polish literally meaning “god’s gift.”)
• Csaba (bonus: it is a Hungarian name that can meaning either shepherd or gift. It is pronounced CHAH-baw and it is currently a very trendy name for Hungarian baby boys).
• Celyn (from the Welsh meaning “holly” KEL-in)
• Darko (a South Slavic name literally meaning “little gift.”)
• Doron (from the Hebrew meaning “gift” this name would also make a great Hanukkah choice.)
• Edur (from the Basque meaning, “snow.”)
• Hurik (from the Armenian meaning, “small fire.”)
• Iker (from the Basque meaning “adoration”, used in reference to the Adoration of the Magi which occurs on January 6th).
• Ivor (from the Old Norse meaning, “yew tree.”)
• Joash (from the Biblical Hebrew meaning, “fire of Yahweh”).
• Kirabo (from the Lagunda meaning, “gift”, the name is also reminiscent of the animal name, Caribou. This may make an interesting choice for a Kwanzaa baby).
• Mattan (from the Old Hebrew name meaning simply, “gift,” a cool and more unusual alternative to Matthew).
• Milad (from the Arabic meaning, “Christmas”, the name is sometimes used among Coptic and Arabic Christians as a male given name).
• Neo (another cool African name meaning “gift” in Tswana, bonus, it also means “new” in Greek, it would also make a great name for a New Years baby.)
• Oren (from the modern Hebrew meaning, “pine tree.“)
• Plamen (from the Bulgarian meaning, “flame; fire.“)
• Pyry (from the Finnish meaning “snowstorm; blizzard.”)
• Shai (from the Hebrew meaning, “gift”, pronounced as SHY)
• Yule