Mordecai

Meaning: (Warrior, Little Man, from "Mara Dachya" meaning "Pure Myrrh", the aromatic resin which was used in incense.)

Origin: (Biblical, Hebrew, Persian, Aramaic)

Pronunciation: (MOHR-də-kiy, mor-də-KIE, MAWR-də-kie (English), mor'-de-ki, mor-de-ka'-I, mordekhay)

Gender: Male

I am so surprised I haven’t added this very nice strong Biblical name before. A relatively new friend Cameron *see on list of posts* told me that if he ever has a son in the future he would want to name him Mordecai. Mordecai in the Bible was the cousin of Esther *see on list of posts* and many years ago we had a Biblical drama about Esther and Mordecai at one of our religious conventions. I like the strong meanings of this name and the whole general look of the name is very nice.

I think Mordecai would do well in a historical fiction novel as it has a strong biblical history.  If used in a historical fiction novel and dealing with sensitive topics of the past it would do well on a character thats perhaps down and out, but comes back strong. Though also it seems like it would do well in a science fiction / fantasy novel set in space as it would be interesting to have that very old name be set in the future on a character. A cute nickname could be Mordy. 

Maureen

Meaning: (Dark, Black, Bitter, Anglicized form of Máirín, a pet form of Máire, which is the Irish cognate of Mary, which is in turn derived from the Hebrew Miriam. It may also be a feminine form of Maurice.)

Origin: (Irish, English, Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (maw-REEN, MAWR-een, moh-REEN)

Gender: Female

A friend of a friend of mines name is Maureen and the funny thing is she is married to a man named Charlton *see on list of posts*. Both their names are also names of famous older actor and actress from classic movies, Maureen O’Hara and Charlton Heston! Maureen is a nice older classic name with decent meanings! I do think of an old classic Hollywood type when I hear and see this name as I do think of actress Maureen O’Hara! I can see a historical fiction novel surrounding a country girl who moves to Hollywood or Manhattan looking to break into the 1920’s – 1940’s screen or stage scene!

Noam

Meaning: ("Pleasantness, Sweetness, My Delight" and while started as the male version of the female No'omi — (English: "Naomi" or "Noemi") today it is a very common Hebrew name for both males and females alike.)

Origin: (Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (Noe-ahm, NOHM, NOH-əm, NOW-aeM)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I think I saw this as a wrestlers ring name some time ago but I can’t remember but wherever I saw it I instantly liked it. The look is unique and definitely rare and the meanings are very lovely but it has a strong look about it as well. I wouldn’t have thought it were a Hebrew name when I saw it as it looks to me as more of an Irish, Scottish or Welsh name to me. But all in all I like the look and meanings a lot and it is short and has different variant pronunciations to choose from which may help readers and authors alike.

Galia

Meaning: (God Shall Redeem, Calm, Single, My Father Rejoices, Joy of My Father, Variant of Gal which means Wave.)

Origin: (Hebrew, Old Greek, Old Norse)

Pronunciation: (GAHL-yah, GAH-lee-ah, gah-lyah, Gaa-LIY-aa, GAA-LYaa)

Gender: Female

I totally forget where I saw this name but I really liked it when I saw it. The meanings are really great and it’s a beautiful name that seems very ancient but also a bit of out of this world. The look is simple and is seemingly easily pronounceable. It’s just lovely and elegant and seems a very ancient Lady or Princesses name. I think it would look awesome if paired with an ancient name like Aristides *see on list of posts*! Like Galia Aristides!

Ava

Meaning: (A variation of Eve. May be from the Latin "Avis," meaning "Bird." It could also be a short form of the name Chava ("Life" or "Living One"), the Hebrew form of Eve. Saint Ava was a 9th-century princess, daughter of Pepin II of Aquitaine. Ava was also the name of a medieval German woman poet. This name is the origin of the Norman French name of Aveline, which in turn gave rise to the English given name of Evelyn.

As evidence for the name is lacking between the later medieval and the modern period, the Oxford Dictionary of First Names supposes that it was coined anew as a modern innovation, presumably as a variant of Eva or (like Eva) used as an Anglicization of the Irish name Aoife.

Beautiful, Radiant, and Joyful. Known as the greatest woman warrior in the world, Aoife was the mother of Cuchulainn’s only son, Connlach. Aoife Dearg (“Red Aoife”) was a daughter of a king of Connacht who had her marriage arranged by St. Patrick himself. In 2003 Aoife was the third most popular Irish girls name for babies in Ireland.)

Origin: (Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Germanic, French, English, Irish)

Pronunciation: (AY-və, A-və, Ah-vah)

Gender: Female

I was in a nursing home visiting two friends who are of the same religion that I am and when walking to their rooms I was looking at the tags of names on the outside of the doors and saw Ava and said you know I’m not usually one for short common names but maybe others are and the name Ava has a lot to offer an author for their character. It has great meanings and is easily recognized and pronounceable. It has a great history of use and such a long history that it could be used in just about any era.

It says that Eva which Ava comes from is an Anglicization of Aoife *see on list of posts* which I had forgotten about which is surprising as Aoife is one of my favorite Irish names and I think I’ve used it before in one of my novels but can't remember. Anyway Ava would be great as a first or middle name or it could maybe be in a double-barrel name like Ava Marie or Ava Belle or Ava Kelly.

Adara

Meaning: (One who is Beautiful, a Virgin, Fire, and Noble)

Origin: (Old Greek, Arabic, Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (ah-dah-rah, a-DAH-rah)

Gender: Female

I forget where I saw this one but I love the meanings a lot! The name is short and beautiful and not at all common. I can see a beautiful adventurous woman in ancient times on a balcony overlooking the sea with a hint of mischievousness in her eyes and who is ahead of her time in all she does. However though I like it I can’t see using it anytime soon and I’m afraid this may be a name I soon forget about and it falls to the back of my mind.

Zara / Zahra

Meaning: (Seed, which appears to predate the Arabic and Russian meanings. In Arabic, Zara means Star or Flower, and is sometimes spelled Zahra. In Russian, Zara means Princess. Some people believe that Zara is a form of Sarah. Eastern Splendor, Blossoming Flower, Dawn, and Lady.

It was first introduced to English speakers via literature, used by William Congreve for the name of an African queen in his tragedy The Mourning Bride (1697). It appeared again shortly after, as the title of the play Zara (1735), Aaron Hill's translation of Volaire's tragedy Zaïre (1733). The first name was however rarely used till the mid-20th century. It was later chosen by Princess Anne and Mark Philips for their daughter Zara Philips (1981-); the departure from royalty naming convention generated much discussion then. Their choice of the name did not boost its popularity until Zara Philips became famous in her own right in recent times. The trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara (1975-) could have also increased the adoption of the name.)

Origin: (Arabic, Russian, Hebrew, Literature)

Pronunciation: (ZAHRaa)

Gender: Female

I was listening to singer Zara Larsson song the other day and realized I’ve heard this name a lot in recent years but have been on the fence about adding it but I said whether I like it or not some other author might find it to be perfect so I’ll add it and so here I am. I think it looks like it's trying to be a new age version of the plainer Sara or something. However the name has been around a long time and could be used in many different eras but my thought still goes to my earlier thought of people using Zara to spice up Sara. The meanings are lovely and very feminine! I’m still on the fence if I like it or not but at least its short and recognizable and pronounced easily enough by most people so that is a plus for an author. It also gives off an attractive foreign vibe so that’s interesting!

Efah

Meaning: (Chastity, Modesty, Virtuous, Pious, God Fearing, Devoted to God, Darkness, Gloomy)

Origin: (Hebrew, Muslim, Islamic, Arabic)

Pronunciation: (EH-Faa)

Gender: Female

I was looking for names that mean darkness and saw this one but I went a different way entirely with the name however I liked Efah so I decided to add it to my blog list. The name looks and sounds a bit like Effie to me which isn’t a bad thing as I like and have used the name Effie before but as a nickname with the full name Euphemia *see on list of posts*.

I like the meanings but the last two meanings of Darkness and Gloomy seems completely different then the previous more light and airy glorious meanings. I think I prefer the meanings of Chastity, Modesty, Virtuous, Pious, God Fearing and Devoted to God which are all very beautiful meanings for a very interesting pretty name. The meanings relating to Virtue would fit well in my current novel in progress as Virtues are very important to that society.

Joanne

Meaning: (God is Gracious, Joanne (alternate spellings Joann, Jo Ann, Johann, Johanne, Jo-Ann, Jo-Anne) is a common given name for females, being a variant of Joanna, the feminine form of John; derived from the Latin name Johanna with the meaning in Hebrew of "God is gracious". In Northern Ireland of 1975, "Joanne" was the most frequently used name for female newborns, though by the early years of the 21st Century, the name had declined in popularity so that it could not be counted among the twenty most frequently used.

Sometimes in modern English Joanne is reinterpreted as a compound of the two names Jo and Anne, and therefore given a spelling like JoAnne, Jo-Anne, or Jo Anne. However, the original name Joanna in ancient Greek and Latin is a single unit, not a compound. The names Hannah, Anna, Anne, Ann are etymologically related to Joanne just the same: they are derived from Hebrew חַנָּה Ḥannāh 'grace' from the same verbal root meaning 'to be gracious'.

In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1970s, when it was frequently among the 10 most popular female names. However, by the 1980s it had fallen out of the top 10 and by 1994 it wasn't even in the top 100.)

Origin: (Ancient Greek, Latin, English, French, Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (Joh-AN, Jo-AN (English), zho-AN (French))

Gender: Female           

I have used this name as the name of a governess of my main character before in one of my Historical Fiction Novellas. I also came to like it in the Hunger Games movies. The meaning is very nice and it has a long history of use and many different spelling options. Though a common name by most people it has fallen out of use in the recent era so you are probably not liable to hear of a lot of kids in school with this name if you’re thinking of this as a baby name. As for a character name it is very nice but I still see this as a secondary characters name but it would do well no matter how prominent the characters role is in their story.

Mahanaim

Meaning: (Two Camps, A site E of the Jordan where Jacob, after parting from Laban, encountered a company of angels. Jacob then called the place “Mahanaim.” (Ge 32:1, 2) The meaning of the name (“Two Camps”) may allude to “the camp of God,” as represented by his angels, and to the camp of Jacob. Apparently sometime later a city was built on the site. In the 15th century B.C.E., this city was first assigned to the Gadites and then to the Levite Merarites.—Jos 13:24, 26; 21:34, 38. *information taken from Insight Book Volume 2 Published by Jehovah’s Witnesses*)

Origin: (Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (MAHHHAHNEYihM)

Gender: Male

I was reading my bible a few weeks ago and came across this name. It is one of those biblical names I kind of really like but am not sure how it could used on a character as it’s not exactly a breeze to say and having to write it over and over would be a pain for an author. Plus seeing it written could be a pain for the reader as it will slow up the story having to say the name but if maybe it were given a nickname or something it may make it easier.

The meaning is decent and the long history of use is great for it can be used in pretty much any era. I think this name is just waiting for the right author and character to come along to make it really great in a story, well great in a book besides the Bible.

Aijalon

Meaning: (Deer Place, Deer Field, a Stag, Place of the Stag, Place of Gazelles, A Chain, Strength, Place of the Hind)

Origin: (Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (EYE-juh-lon, I-juh-lon, ay-JAH-lon, AY-juh
-lon, AY-juh-lahn)

Gender: Male, Possibly Uni-Sex

So the other day I was doing some bible reading and one of the hundreds of Hebrew biblical names I read in the book of Joshua was this name Aijalon. This wound up being one of the only ones I could properly pronounce and one of the only ones I really liked the look of. The meanings are really great and the name itself looks modern but is also ancient so it’s a plus for different genres and eras.

However because of the look I am sure many people would think it was a made up name rather than an old biblical name. I’ve showed an old name like this and asked about it on Yahoo Answers many years ago and a few people said it was a white trash made up name by some teenage mother, which was so stupid given the long varied use of that particular name. So many people reason that they know everything about names and none of us do. Names are so varied between cultures that a name we think is made up could very well be thousands of years old. So I often get upset when people down a name they have no idea about. Sorry I’ve gotten off on a bit of a rant, lol!

Anyway this seems a nice strong older name that I like a great deal.

Canaan

Meaning: (Merchant, Trader, or That Humbles and Subdues, Merchant Land, Land of the Tradesman, Land of Reeds, Clergyman, The fourth-listed son of Ham and grandson of Noah. (Ge 9:18; 10:6; 1Ch 1:8) He was the progenitor of 11 tribes who eventually inhabited the region along the eastern Mediterranean between Egypt and Syria, thereby giving it the name “the land of Canaan.”—Ge 10:15-19; 1Ch 16:18.)

Origin: (Biblical, Hebrew, English)

Pronunciation: (KAY-nən, Kaa-NAA-N)

Gender: Male

I was listening to a country music channel on TV the other day and one of the artist’s first names was Canaan which I had not heard of it being used on anyone before. I knew of it only from the bible but didn’t know people actually named their kids this. The meanings are pretty good and it of course is a nice older name what with it being biblical, the grandson of Noah, so of course it could be used in many different genres and eras.

Jano

Meaning: (Yahweh is Gracious; Yahweh is Merciful, Well Born, Noble, a form of the name John.)

Origin: (Hungarian, Czech, Hebrew, Old Greek)

Pronunciation: (YAANow, YAH-no, jay-no)

Gender: Uni-Sex

My list is backed up for a while so I am finally getting to these names. Back during NaNoWriMo 2015 I had posted about it and a fellow blogger Apolla 13 commented about her experience with it and then told me a bit about the story she chose to write about. So for all of my posts for March I will be doing some of the names of her characters for the story she wrote for NaNoWriMo 2015 as I really like many of these names and have yet to add them so I am adding them now.

The meanings are lovely and beautiful. When I see this name I do want to pronounced it more jay-no but that is because I see it through an English speakers eyes. It is a decent name but I am not in love with it because the spelling for some reason doesn’t appeal to me as it seems like someone was trying to spell another name and just stopped short of the end. However the meanings do appeal to me and I wouldn’t be put off if I saw this name in a novel.

Avi

Meaning: (Short for Aviel, which means God is My Father, or Avrum, which is a form of Abraham, and means Highest Father. My Father is Exalted. It is also a diminutive of AVRAHAM or AVIRAM.)

Origin: (Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (AH-vee, aa-VIY)

Gender: Uni-Sex

My list is backed up for a while so I am finally getting to these names. Back during NaNoWriMo 2015 I had posted about it and a fellow blogger Apolla 13 commented about her experience with it and then told me a bit about the story she chose to write about. So for all of my posts for March I will be doing some of the names of her characters for the story she wrote for NaNoWriMo 2015 as I really like many of these names and have yet to add them so I am adding them now.

This name has very nice meanings. When I see it I think of a female name but from the names it comes from it is male but I still think it could be used for a female character so I settled for Uni-Sex. Prince Avi would bring an old middle eastern feel which seems kind of cool for a story set in the past in a desert surrounded by intrigue and spies and gold and an oasis, oh the possibilities, lol. Or maybe Princess Avi.

I think it would be a cute nickname for Aviel which to me looks like a noble like name. Avielle with an added LLE at the end could make this name seem more female if you care to play with the spelling a bit.

Though Aviel and Avielle when said sounds like you are trying to say Arielle which might throw some off when they are reading it. They may see R instead of V and be mispronouncing it but truthfully that might not happen that much so it’s worth the risk in my opinion.

Avi is a decent name and is short which is a plus with many writers as writing a characters name over and over often times feels tedious but if the name is shorter then it seems quicker and you don’t loose focus and can stay in the thick of the story. It is easy enough to pronounce as well.

Elysande

Meaning: (Ely: Jehovah is God, High, Ascent, Name of a river in South Wales and a cathedral and town in Cambridgeshire, England. Also possibly a variant of Eli. Sande: Defender of Men, Protector of Mankind, Shining Upon Man, Sand, Sandy Plain, and Sande is a variant form of Alexandra (Greek): Latinate feminine version of Alexander. Sande is also a derivative of Cassandra (Greek).)

Origin: (German, Hebrew, English, Greek, Norwegian)

Pronunciation: (Ely: EE-liy, IYLay Sande: SAEND Elysande: EE-liy-SAEND, IYLay-SAEND)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I forget where I saw this name but when I saw it I really liked it but like a lot of names now I had to break up the parts of the names to get the meanings. This reminds me of names I’ve seen ending in Sande as well like Melisande *see on list of posts*. The meanings are nice and strong. The pronunciation is pretty good and easy enough.

I think it is a nice name but I am not enamored with it but I do think it is pretty and reminds me of a Goddesses name or maybe someone from Greek Mythology.

Meadowmere

Meaning: (Meadow: Grassy Field, Field of Grass of Vegetation Mere: Maori form of Mary. Sea of Bitterness, Rebelliousness, Wished for Child, To Swell, Lake, Pond)

Origin: (English, Maori, Hebrew, French)

Pronunciation: (Meadow: MEH-doh Mere: MIHR, Meh-reh, merr-eh Meadowmere: MEH-doh-MIHR, MEH-do-Meh-reh, MEH-doh-merr-eh)

Gender: Female

This is the name of a street I saw last summer when going to a religious convention. I thought oh wow that’s kind of cool and a tad pretty. So I put it on my list and as my list is always backed up for months and months I am just now getting to this name.

Ok so this name when I looked it up had no known meaning so I had to break up the two parts of the name, Meadow and Mere, and get meanings for them and then you can get a sense of what the name means when put together as a whole, Meadowmere. The meanings are generally good and pretty. My preferred pronunciation is MEH-doh-MIHR for some reason. Though often I still pronounce it MEH-doh-meer.

Know I think this is an interesting way to lengthen the name Meadow *see on list of posts*. Though Meadow is sweet and cute Meadowmere gives it a fantasy foreign beauty.

Hamish

Meaning: (Supplanter, Yahweh May Protect, Holder of Heel, Anglicized form of a Sheumias, the vocative case of Seumas, a Scottish form of James. The name was adopted by English speakers in the Mid-19th Century.)

Origin: (Scottish, English, Gaelic, Hebrew)

Pronunciation: (HAY-mish, HHEY-Mih-SH)

Gender: Male

This was one of the triplet little brothers of Princess Merida *see on list of posts* from Pixars Brave. The other two are Hubert *see on list of posts* and Harris. This is another really great Scottish name. It has nice meanings and would make a great alternative to its form James. 

Eldar

Meaning: (Dweller Near the Elder Trees, God Resides, Possessor, Warrior who Fights with Fire"(Eld+ar (ar=Harjar)) Eld=fire, It is also a name meaning “Ruler” in the Turkic language. "El" means state or country in Turkic language, dar is a suffix from Persian language. It is also the word for “Fire” in the Icelandic, Swedish (eld) and Norwegian (ild) language. It is also a common first name among the Tatars, the Crimean Tatars, the Azerbaijanis, the Georgians and the Bashkirs.)

Origin: (Hebrew, English, Norse, Turkish, Persian, Icelandic, Swedish, Azerbaijani)

Pronunciation: (EHLD-R, EHL-dar)

Gender: Male

I used this name as the name of an Island in one of my short stories I intend to enter into a writing contest. I think I first heard this in The Hobbit movie; it was used by the Elves I think. The meanings are beautiful and strong and nature related. It has an interesting use as to its origins and I really like it. It seems to me to be similar to Elder and so it makes me think this would be cool on a wise character but it also has a youthful appearance as well.

Elfaeryn / Elfarin

Meaning: (Spring, Arin: Mountain of Strength, Enlightened, High Mountain, Exalted)

Origin: (Latin, Hebrew, Old Norse)

Pronunciation: (EL-FAYR-in, Elf: ELF Arin: AARIHN Elfarin: ELF-AARIHN)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

I don’t know where I first saw this name but when I saw Elfarin I thought to make the spelling Elfaeryn to be an alternative spelling. I had hard time finding information on this name so I am not sure how popular this name is. I think this would be cool if used on a medieval character because many names then started with Elf. I like the meanings and the look is interesting.

Aila

Meaning: (Oak Tree, From the Strong Place, Hazelnut, Bird, Bringer of Light, Bright One, Shining One, Variant of Ayla, Aila/Ayla is also a Turkish/Farsi name that means halo around the moon, and more generally it means moonlight.)

Origin: (Hebrew, Scottish, Old French, Old Greek, Finnish, Turkish)

Pronunciation:  (EYE-la, AY-Lah)

Gender: Female

I was looking on the internet at costumes or something and I think this was the name of one off the costumes. It has nice strong meanings and they are beautiful as well, especially the moonlight and halo around the moon meanings. I like this name a lot and it is short which is nice but the pronunciation would put most readers off as it has two pronunciations that don’t always looks like it is spelled.

I would however go with AY-Lah versus EYE-la if I were to see this name in a novel. Or I might even wind up saying it as AY-EYE-lah which looks more like it is spelled to me.