Origin: Arabic تَسْنِيْم
Meaning: “falling water”
Gender: Unisex
(tus-NEEM)
The name is derived from the Arabic meaning “falling water,” and according to Islamic tradition, this is the name of a river in Paradise.
Tasnim is currently the 301st most popular female name in France (2016).
The name is also used on males.
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Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “direction; path; tendency; trend; approach”
Gender: Feminine
(MUN-hah)
The name comes directly from the Arabic word مَنْحًى (manhaa) meaning “direction; path; tendency; trend; approach.”
Manha appeared in the Top 500 Most popular female names in England and Wales between 2012 and 2013, peaking at #442.
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Origin: Arabic قاسم
Meaning: “one who distributes; one who shares.”
Gender: Masculine
(KAH-seem)
The name is derived from the Arabic root Q-S-M قسم (qasama) “to share or to divide.” The name was borne by one of the infant sons of the Prophet Muhammed, Qasim ibn Muhammed (d. 605).
In the UK, the name appeared in the Top 500 between 1996 and 2005 and peaked at #318 in 1997.
Other forms of the name include:
Other transliterations from the Arabic include: Quasim, Casim, Cassim, Kacem, Kasem, Kassem, Kassim, Qasem, Kasim, Qassim, Ghasem, Kassam, Kaseem, Kasseem, Qaseem, and Kasim.
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Gender: Feminine
Meaning: “happiness; bliss”
Origin: Arabic هانية
(huh-NEE-yah)
The name is from the Arabic root h-n-HAMZ meaning “bliss” or “happiness.”
Other forms include Hania, Haniyah and Haniya.
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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Farsi/Persian
Meaning: “meriting; rewarding; worthy”
شایان
Per. (SHOY-ahn) Arab (SHY-ahn)
The name is a traditional Persian male name which is also used occasionally in the Arabic-speaking world as well as in India and Pakistan.
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This name is one of the ultimate cross-cultural names, it has various meanings and legitimate origins from Europe, to Asia and to the Middle East.
The name has been recorded in use in Northern Europe since Medieval Times, possibly being a contracted form of Adalheidis, its offshoots of Talea and Talina have experienced minor recent resurgence in Germany. Tala also been used in most Scandinavian countries, though today, it is considered very archaic.
Tala appears in a 14th-century Swedish folk ballad Herr Holger (which is the subject of a 1996 song by the Swedish band, Gamarna). The ballad recounts the exploits of a greedy tax official who steals tax money for himself. He is caught by King Christian and beheaded. He is condemned to hell, but is able to return to warn his wife, Fru Tala (Lady Tala). He pleads with Tala to return all the wealth she inherited from him, (which in turn was the result of his stolen money), to its rightful owner or else she will experience a similar fate. Tala refuses, as she would rather condemn herself to hell than give up her wealth.
Its Finnish and Estonian form is Taala and Taali, and a Scandinavian masculine version is Tale.
Tala is also the name of a Tagalog goddess of the morning and evening star. In one legend, she is the daughter of the sun god Arao and the moon goddess, Buan. Arao and Buan had a large number of star-children, the eldest being Tala. Arao was afraid his heat would burn up his star-children, so he and Buan decided to destroy them, but Buan reneged on her promise and hid her children behind clouds. Arao got wind of Buan’s secret and, according to legend, continues to try and destroy her, which explains the phenomenon of eclipses. Each morning, Buan runs to hide her children behind the clouds, her eldest Tala being the lookout before dawn, being the personification of the morning star.
In another Tagalog legend, Tala is the daughter of the god Bathala. She is the sister of Hanan (the goddess of the morning) and Mayari, another moon goddess.
In Tagalog, tala means “star; planet; celestial body.”
Tala was recently a hit song by Filipina singer, Sarah Geronimo (2016).
In Indian classical music, Tala is the term used to describe musical meter and rhythm. It literally means “clapping; tapping.”
Tala can also be Arabic تالة (Tala) meaning “Turmeric tree; turmeric spice” or a “small potted palm.”
In Amazigh, one of the languages of the Berber people, Tala means “source; spring or fountain.”
Tala is also Farsi and means “gold.”
In Italy and Romania, Tala is used as a diminutive form of Natalia, a la Romanian actress, Tala Birell (1907-1958).
Tala is the name of a type of decidous tree native to tropical and subtropical South America. Its scientific name is celtis tala.
Other meanings include:
What the name is not:
Many baby name sources have dubiously listed this name as meaning “wolf” in “Native American,” (which is not a language by the way), while other sources have listed this as being Cherokee or Iroquois for “wolf hunter,” but there are no legitimate Cherokee or Iroquois sources collaborating this information. In fact, Native Languages of the Americas has written a fabulous list pertaining to faux Native American baby names and Tala made the list.
As a closing to this post, I recommend this blog post written by a mother explaining the reason why she chose this name for her daughter. It is from 2006, but still a wonderful read D-Log: The Many Meanings of Tala.
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The name is derived from an Arabic honorific title حكيم that can have several different meanings. The name roughly translates as “sage” or “wise” but it can also mean “physician” or “philosopher” and is often used to denote a doctor, judge or someone highly educated in a particular scientific field in the Arabic world.
It is also used as a given name in most of the Islamic world,as in Islam, Al-Hakim is one of the 99 names of Allah.
As of 2016, Hakeem 905th most popular male name. Hakeem first entered the U.S. top 1000 in 1989 when it peaked at its highest in popularity, coming in as the 586th most popular male name. Hakim has only appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 one time in 1976, when it was the 881st most popular male name.
In France, Hakim appeared in the Top 1000 between 1961 and 2008 and peaked in popularity in 1981 when it was the 161st most popular male name in France.
Another form is
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Origin: Hebrew גַבְרִיאֵל Γαβριηλ
Meaning: “strong man of God.”
Eng (GABE-ree-el); (gah-bree-EL-ah); Fre (gah-bree-EL); Germ (GAHP-ree-el); Pol (GAHP-ryel)
The name is derived from the Biblical Hebrew, גַבְרִיאֵל (Gavri-el) meaning, “strong man of God.”
In Judeo-Christian religions, it is the name of a powerful archangel, who is often viewed as a messenger of God. He appears several times in the Old and New Testaments.
Among Christians, one of his most important messages was relayed to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. Islamic tradition also believes the same, and in Islam, it was the angel Gabriel who revealed the Qu’ran, (through God), to Mohammed.
In Mormon theology, Gabriel is believed to be the embodiment of Noah in the afterlife.
Gabriel is a fairly common name among Christians, Jews and Muslims, making him an extremely cross-cultural portable name.
Currently, in the United States, his popularity has been rising. He is the 24th most popular male name, (2011). In other countries, his rankings in all his various forms are as follows:
Other forms of the name include:
English short form is Gabe.
Its feminine form of Gabriella/Gabriela is also rising in popularity. Currently, Gabriella is the 34th most popular female name in the United States, (2011). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:
Other feminine forms include:
Czech diminutives are: Gába, Gabika, Gábina, Gabrina and Gabby.
A Polish diminutive is Gabrysia (gah-BRIH-shah).
English short forms are: Gabby and Ella.
Designated name-days are: February 10/27 (Poland), February 19 (Sweden), March 24 (Czech/Finland/Poland/Slovakia/Sweden), September 29 (France/Germany), December 12 (Hungary)
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Hebrew רָפָאֵל Ραφαηλ
Meaning: “God is healer.”
Fre (ra-fa-EL); Eng (RAF-ee-el; RAY-fee-əl)
The name is found in Judeo-Christian and Islamic legend as the name of a major archangel. In the Bible, he is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is considered canonical in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican tradition. Due to Raphael’s deliverance of Sarah from the demon Asmodeus (who killed every husband she married before consumation), Raphael has been invoked as a matchmaker by Catholics.
Raphael also appears in the non-canonical Book of Enoch in which he is responsible for binding the fallen angel Azazel
In Islamic tradition, he is known as Israfel/Israfil and it is believed that he will blow the trumpet on Judgement Day.
It is interesting to note that the modern Hebrew word for a medical doctor is דוֹקטוֹר (rophe), compare to the first element of Raphael.
Raphael is currently a trend across Europe, in France, Raphaël is the 11th most popular male name, (2010). His rankings in his various forms are as follows:
Its feminine form of Rafaela is currently the 8th most popular female name in Brazil, (2010), while the French form of Raphaëlle ranked in as the 273rd most popular female name in France, (2010).
Other forms of the masculine include:
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Persian نسرین
Meaning: “wild rose.”
(nahz-REEN)
The name comes from the Persian word for the wild rose, and is used throughout the former Persian Empire.
As of 2010, its Maghrebin form of Nesrine was the 248th most popular female name in France.
Other forms of the name include:
