Pronunciation | beh-lah |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Language(s) | Italian, English |
Origin | |
Meaning | "beauty" |
Region of origin | Italy, Spain, Greece |
Other names | |
Anglicisation(s) | Belle |
Derivative(s) | Isabella, Isabelle, Bella, Belle, Annabella, Annabelle, Bellalina |
Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. Bella is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, and to the name Belle, meaning beautiful in French. [1] [2]
It increased in usage following the publication of the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer. [3] It is also known for being a nickname to Isabella, Annabella or Arabella.
Alexandra is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander. Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν and ἀνήρ. Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "protector of man". The name Alexandra was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alexandra and its masculine equivalent, Alexander, are both common names in Greece as well as countries where Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages are spoken.
Fanny is a feminine given name. Its origins include diminutives of the French name Frances meaning "free one", and of the name "Estefanía", a Spanish version of Stephanie, meaning "crown".
Maria is a feminine given name. It is given in many languages influenced by Christianity.
Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both.
'Isabel' is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of Elisabeth. Arising in the 12th century, it became popular in England in the 13th century following the marriage of Isabella of Angoulême to the king of England. Today it is sometimes abbreviated to Isa.
Lina is an international feminine given name, mostly the short form of a variety of names ending in -lina including Adelina, Angelina, Carmelina, Carolina, Catalina, Emelina, Evangelina, Evelina, Karolina, Italina, Marcelina, Melina, Nikolina, Paulina, Rosalina, and Žaklina.
Eva is a female given name, the Latinate counterpart of English Eve, which is derived from the Hebrew חַוָּה (Chava/Hava), meaning "life" or "living one", the name of the first woman according to the Hebrew Bible. It can also mean full of life or mother of life. It is the standard biblical form of Eve in many European languages. Evita is a diminutive form, in Spanish.
Olga is a female name of Slavic origins. It is the equivalent of Helga, and derived from the Old Norse adjective heilagr. The name was brought to Eastern Europe in the 9th century, by the Scandinavian settlers who founded Kievan Rus'.
Agnes is a feminine given name derived from the Greek Ἁγνή Hagnḗ, meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as Agnese, to French as Agnès, to Portuguese as Inês, and to Spanish as Inés. It is also written as Agness. The name is descended from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-, meaning 'to sacrifice; to worship,' from which is also the Vedic term yajña. It is mostly used in Greece and countries that speak Germanic languages.
Hannah, also spelled Hanna, Hana, Hanah, or Chana, is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It is derived from the root ḥ-n-n, meaning "favour" or "grace". A Dictionary of First Names attributes the name to a word meaning 'He (God) has favoured me with a child'. Anne, Ana, Ann, and other variants of the name derive from the Hellenized Hebrew: Anna (Ἅννα)
Edna is a feminine given name originating from several languages. In Hebrew, it means "pleasure, delight". The name appears in the Biblical apocryphal Book of Tobit as the mother of Sarah and stepmother of Tobias. In Ireland, the name has been used as an Anglicized form of the Irish name Eithne. It is etymologically related to the name Eden. It has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s, when it was often spelled Ednah. The name was particularly well-used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but has since declined in use.
Grace is a female name from the Latin gratia. It is often given in reference to the Christian concept of divine grace and used as a virtue name.
Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Greek: Ἄννα and the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "favour" or "grace".
Elizabeth is a feminine given name, a variation of the Hebrew name Elisheva (אֱלִישֶׁבַע), meaning "My God is an oath" or "My God is abundance", as rendered in the Septuagint.
Martha is a feminine given name. Patti, Patsy, and Patty were in use in Colonial America as English rhyming diminutives of the diminutive Mattie. Molly has been used as a diminutive of Martha since the 1700s.
Vera is a female given name of Slavic origin, and by folk etymology it has also been explained as Latin vera meaning "true". In Slavic languages, Vera means faith. The name Vera has been used in the English speaking world since the 19th century and was popular in the early 20th century. In Turkish Vera means piety.
Clara or Klara is a female given name. It is the feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus which meant "clear, bright, famous". Various early male Christian saints were named Clarus; the feminine form became popular after the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi, one of the followers of Saint Francis, who renounced her privileged background and founded the order of Poor Clares.
Alicia is a feminine given name. It is a variant of Alice, which comes from the Germanic name Adalheidis (Adelaide), meaning "noble natured".
Veronica is a female given name, a Latin alteration of the Greek name Berenice (Βερενίκη), which in turn is derived from the Macedonian form of the Athenian Φερενίκη, Phereníkē, or Φερονίκη, Pheroníkē, from φέρειν, phérein, to bring, and νίκη, níkê, "victory", i.e. "she who brings victory".
Rita is a female name, often a name in its own right, but mostly a shortened version of Margarita. The feast day of Rita is generally celebrated on May 22 in honor of Saint Rita of Cascia.