Names Categorized "mythology"

Etymology Narayana is derived from the Sanskrit elements nara ('man') and ayana ('path', 'abode'), literally meaning 'path of man' or 'abode of man'. The Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) explains the name as one who rests on th...

Neamhain is the modern Irish form of Nemain, the name of a Celtic goddess or spirit of war. The name derives from the Proto-Celtic root *nemo, meaning "poison," or possibly from a root meaning "to take" or "to seize," re...

Neasa is a feminine name of Irish origin, derived from the Old Irish name Ness, meaning "uncertain" (possibly a short form of a longer name). In Irish mythology, Neasa is better known as Nessa or Ness, a princess of the...

Nechtan is a male given name of Irish origin with uncertain meaning, possibly from a Celtic root meaning "damp", and is considered a cognate with the name Neptune. In Irish mythology, Nechtan was the husband of Boann, th...

Neifion is the Welsh form of Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea. The name Neptune itself derives from the Latin Neptūnus, a name of uncertain origin possibly related to the Indo-European root *nebh-, meanin...

Neith (also spelled Nit, Net, or Neit) is the Greek form of an ancient Egyptian name, possibly derived from nt meaning "water" or nrw meaning "fear, dread." This name was borne by one of the earliest Egyptian deities, a...

EtymologyNemain is an Irish name derived from a goddess or spirit of battle frenzy in Celtic mythology. The name likely originates from the Celtic root nemo meaning "poison", or a root meaning "to take, to seize", reflec...

Nemesis is the Greek goddess who personifies retribution for the sin of hubris, the arrogance before the gods. Her name means "distribution of what is due, righteous anger" in Greek (from νέμειν, meaning "to give what is...

Nephele is a name from Greek mythology, derived from the Greek word nephos meaning "cloud." In legend, Nephele was a cloud nymph created by Zeus from a cloud shaped to resemble his wife Hera, in order to expose the morta...

Nephthys is the Greek name of an ancient Egyptian goddess, derived from Egyptian nbt-ḥwt (Nebet-Hut), meaning "lady of the house". This enigmatic epithet likely refers to her role as a protective deity associated with te...

Neptune is a masculine name of Latin origin, derived from Neptunus. The exact meaning of the name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Indo-European root *nebh- meaning "wet, damp, clouds," reflecting its associati...

Neptunus is the Latin form of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. The name itself is derived from the Latin Neptūnus, whose etymology is uncertain but may be connected to the Indo-European root *nebh- meaning "wet," "damp...

Nereus is a masculine name with roots in ancient Greek mythology and early Christian history. Derived from the Greek word νηρός (neros) meaning "water," the name is intimately connected to the sea.Etymology and Mythologi...

Ness is the Old Irish form of Neasa, a name from Irish mythology. The name's ultimate root is Ness, an uncertain element possibly related to “not gentle.” According to legend, Ness (also known as Neasa) was the daughter...

Netuno is a Brazilian Portuguese form of Neptune, ultimately derived via Latin Neptunus. The Latin name is of uncertain etymology, but it is often linked to the Proto-Indo-European root *nebh- meaning “wet, damp, clouds,...

Niamh (Irish: [n̠ʲiəw]) is an Irish feminine given name meaning 'bright' or 'radiant'. It derives from Old Irish Niaṁ and has been anglicized as Neve, Nieve, Neave, Neavh, or Neeve. The name has deep roots in Irish mytho...

EtymologyNicte is a feminine name of Mayan origin, derived from the Yucatec Maya word nikte', meaning "flower" or more specifically "plumeria flower." The name is composed of two Classic Maya elements: nich meaning "flow...

Nijolė is a Lithuanian feminine given name of uncertain etymology. It is considered a pseudomythological name, invented in the 19th century by Polish-Lithuanian historian and writer Teodor Narbutt for his reconstruction...

Nikephoros is a Greek masculine given name meaning "carrying victory" or "bringer of victory," derived from the elements nike (victory) and phero (to carry, to bear). In ancient Greek religion, the name was also used as...

EtymologyNingal is a Sumerian name meaning "great lady" or "great queen". It is composed of the nin ("lady") and gal ("big, great") elements. In cuneiform, the name was written as dNIN.GAL.MythologyNingal was a goddess o...

Ninhursag is the Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, whose name means "lady of the (sacred) mountain" from the Sumerian elements nin ("lady") and hursaĝ ("mountain" or sacred mountain mountain). She was one of the...

Ninlil is a name of Sumerian origin, derived from the elements nin meaning "lady" and lil meaning "wind." In Sumerian mythology, she was a major goddess worshipped from the late 3rd millennium BCE onward. As the consort...

Ninsun is a Sumerian mythological figure whose name derives from the Sumerian elements nin meaning "lady" and the genitive form of sumun meaning "wild cow", giving the overall meaning "lady of the wild cow". The name is...

Ninurta (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁, DNIN.URTA), also known as Ningirsu (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒄈𒋢), is an ancient Mesopotamian deity whose name derives from Sumerian elements: nin meaning "lord" and urta meaning "ear of barley," thus "Lord o...

Niobe is a name of ancient Greek origin, primarily known from mythology. Its etymology remains unknown, though the name has endured through literature and art for millennia, serving as a cautionary symbol of pride and gr...

Nit is a variant of Neith, a name rooted in ancient Egyptian mythology. Neith (also spelled Nit, Neit) was a goddess of weaving, hunting, and war, often depicted with a shield and arrows. Her name may derive from the Egy...

Nokomis originates from the Ojibwe term nookomis meaning "my grandmother". In Anishinaabe legend, Nokomis is the grandmother of the trickster spirit Nanabozho, a central figure in traditional stories. The name gained bro...

Nona is a feminine given name of Latin origin, derived from nonus, meaning "ninth." In ancient Roman religion, Nona was a goddess of pregnancy, specifically associated with the ninth month of gestation. Her name directly...

Noor 1 is a variant transcription and the most common English spelling of the Arabic and Urdu نور (Nūr, from the root Nur), as well as the Bengali নূর (Nur). It is also used as a Malay and Indonesian variant. Meaning "li...

Nour is an alternate transcription of the Arabic نور (see Nur), meaning "light." In Islamic tradition, al-Nūr (النور) is one of the 99 names of Allah, the "Light of the heavens and the earth" (Quran 24:35). The name thus...

Nuha is the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess of the sun, whose exact meaning remains unknown. She was identified with the goddess Shams, whose name means "sun" in Arabic, and was also associated with the Mesopotamia...

Numitor is a name of obscure etymology from Roman mythology, most famously borne by the king of Alba Longa and maternal grandfather of Rome's founder, Romulus, and his twin brother Remus. According to legend, Numitor was...

Nur (also spelled Noor or Nour) is a unisex given name meaning "light" in Arabic, derived from the root n-w-r (ن و ر). In Islamic theology, النور (al-Nūr), "the Light", is one of the 99 names of Allah, emphasizing divine...

Nyx is the personification of the night in Greek mythology. Her name derives from the Ancient Greek word nyx (νύξ), meaning "night.” In Hesiod’s Theogony, she is the offspring of Khaos (Chaos) and the wife of Erebus (Dar...

Odin is the Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Óðinn, derived from óðr meaning “frenzied, furious, inspired.” The name ultimately comes from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz, often translated as “lord of frenzy” or “leader of...

EtymologyOdysseus is a legendary Greek hero whose name is perhaps derived from the Greek verb ὀδύσσομαι (odyssomai), meaning "to hate." This etymology is fitting for a figure who endured the wrath of several gods, partic...

Oedipus is the Latinized form of the Greek name Οἰδίπους (Oidipous), which literally means "swollen foot" — derived from οἰδέω (oideo) "to swell" and πούς (pous) "foot". This etymology refers to the infant Oedipus's ankl...

Oenone is a name from Greek mythology, Latinized from the Greek Οἰνώνη (Oinone), which derives from οἶνος (oinos), meaning "wine". In myth, Oenone was a mountain nymph (nymph) on Mount Ida in Phrygia, associated with the...

Oinone is the Greek form of Oenone, which traces back through the Latinized name to the Ancient Greek Oinone. The name is derived from the Greek word oinos, meaning "wine", making Oinone a poetic reference to wine. In Gr...

Etymology and OriginOissíne is the Old Irish form of Oisín, a name that means "little deer" (from Old Irish oss "deer, stag" plus a diminutive suffix). The name appears in early Irish manuscripts as the original spelling...

Ōkuninushi is a central kami (deity) in Japanese mythology, one of the principal figures recorded in the ancient chronicles Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE). His name means "master of the great country" — deri...

Olympiodoros is an ancient Greek masculine name meaning "gift of Olympus," derived from Olympos, the mountain home of the Greek deities, combined with the Greek element doron ("gift"). The name thus belongs to a class of...

Orestes is a Greek name derived from the elements ὄρος (oros), meaning "mountain," and ἵστημι (histemi), meaning "to stand," giving it the meaning "of the mountains" or "one who stands on a mountain." In Greek mythology,...

Orion is a male given name from Greek mythology, most famously borne by a legendary hunter who was placed among the stars as the Orion constellation. The name's meaning is uncertain, but it may be related to Greek ὅριον...

EtymologyOrpheus is a name of Greek origin, possibly deriving from the Greek word ὄρφνη (orphne), meaning "the darkness of night." This etymology aligns with the mythological theme of journeying into the underworld, whic...

Orvar (also spelled Örvar) is a Nordic male given name deriving from the Old Norse word for "arrow." The name is most famously associated with Ǫrvar-Oddr, a legendary hero from the 13th-century Icelandic Örvar-Odds saga....

Osiris is the Greek form of the ancient Egyptian name wsjr (reconstructed as Asar, Usir, and other forms), whose meaning remains uncertain. Proposed etymologies link it to wsr meaning "mighty" or to jrt meaning "eye," bu...

Ourania is a Greek female name derived from οὐράνιος (ouranios), meaning "heavenly." In Greek mythology, it belongs to one of the nine Muses, the goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. Ourania (also known as...

Yang is a Chinese given name that can be either masculine or feminine, though it is more commonly masculine. The name is written with characters such as 洋 (yáng) meaning "ocean" or 阳 (yáng) meaning "light, sun, male" —...