Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard from a Germanic source similar to Old High German *Hugihard "heart-brave", or *Hoh-ward, literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probably in some cases a confusion with the Old Norse cognate Haward (Hávarðr), which means "high guard" and as a surname also with the unrelated Hayward. In some rare cases it is from the Old English eowu hierde "ewe herd". In Anglo-Norman the French digram -ou- was often rendered as -ow- such as tour → tower, flour → flower, etc.. A diminutive is "Howie" and its shortened form is "Ward". Between 1900 and 1960, Howard ranked in the U.S. Top 200; between 1960 and 1990, it ranked in the U.S. Top 400; between 1990 and 2004, it ranked in the U.S. Top 600. People with the given name Howard or its variants include:
Kaylee is a given name, most often for females. The name is a modern English combination of the name elements Kay and Lee.
Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion". As a surname, Neil is traced back to Niall of the Nine Hostages who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred. Most authorities cite the meaning of Neil in the context of a surname as meaning "champion".
Nigel is an English masculine given name.
Jack is a given name, a diminutive of John or Jackson; alternatively, it may be derived from Jacques, the French form of James or Jacob. Since the late 20th century, Jack has become one of the most common names for boys in many English-speaking countries. Jack is also used to a lesser extent as a female given name, often as a shortened version of Jacqueline.
Brian is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name יוֹחָנָן and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename Iain. It is a popular name in Scotland, where it originated, as well as other English-speaking countries.
Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from the Gaelic surname meaning ‘great’, but is also linked to a Welsh mountain named Moel Darren. It is also believed to be a variant of Darrell, which originated from the French surname D'Airelle, meaning "of Airelle". The common spelling of Darren is found in the Welsh language, meaning "edge": Black Darren and Red Darren are found on the eastern side of the Hatterrall Ridge, west of Long Town. In New Zealand, the Darran Mountains exist as a spur of the Southern Alps in the south of the country. Darren has several spelling variations including Daren, Darin, Daryn, Darrin, Darran and Darryn.
Barry is both a given name and an Irish surname. The given name can be an Anglicised form of some Irish personal names or shortened form of Barrington, while the surname has numerous etymological origins, and is derived from both place names and personal names.
Julie is a popular Latin first name which originally comes from the Latin Julia which could mean youthful, soft-haired, beautiful or vivacious. It is the feminine form of Julius, and can be a pet form of Julia, Yulie, or Juliette.
Colin is an English-language masculine given name. It has two distinct origins:
- A diminutive form of "Colle", itself an Old French short form of the name Nicolas (Nicholas). This name, but not the anglicized Gaelic name, is also found in the spelling Collin. This name is formed by the Old French diminutive -in also found in Robin.
- An anglicized form of the Gaelic name Cuilen, Cailean, modern Irish spelling Coileáin, meaning "whelp, cub". The Old Irish word for "whelp", is cuilén. The Scottish Gaelic name is recorded in the spelling Colin from as early as the 14th century. MacCailean was a patronymic used by Clan Campbell, after Cailean Mór.
Cameron is a given name in the English language. It is a popular unisex name in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Cameron is ranked as a top 50 name for boys in Scotland.
Alexis is a given name of Greek origin. It is derived from several saints venerated by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, including Saint Alexius of Rome. Like the name Alexander, Alexis derives from the Greek verb ἀλέξειν. The ending "-is" points at its belonging to the masculine gender ; however, many women have this name. The Russian equivalent of the name is Alexey or Alexei. Many European languages, including Greek, use the female variant Alexia.
Landon is a personal name of English origin that means "long hill". It is a variant of Langdon. Landon became popular in the United States in the 1990s, and by 2010 had become the 32nd most popular name for boys.
Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Caoimhín. It is composed of caomh "dear; noble"; Old Irish cóem and -gin.
Brendan is an Irish masculine given name in the English language. It is derived from the Gaelic name Breandán, which is in turn derived from the earlier Old Irish Brénainn. The Old Welsh breenhin is the root of the name, meaning prince or king. The mediaeval Latin form of the name, Brendanus, has also influenced the modern English and Irish forms. Variant spellings are Brendon and Brenden. In some cases it is possible that the given name Brandon is also a variant of Brendan. A variant spelling of the Irish Breandán is Breanndán.
Kelly is an English-language given name, derived from the Irish surname Kelly. Kelly is historically a male-only name, but has been used as a female given name since the 1960s, though with a significant minority usage as a masculine name, especially within Celtic families.
Aidan is the anglicised version of the Irish male given name Aodhán. Phonetic variants such as Aiden have become widespread. The Irish language female equivalent is Aodhnait.
Lindy is a unisex given name and a nickname. As a female given name, it is a variant of names like Linda, Belinda, and Melinda, and the meaning of Lindy is "beautiful; pretty; sweet." As a male name, it is a variant of names such as Lindsay and Lyndon, and the meaning is "linden tree mountain; Lincoln's marsh; island of linden trees; linden tree hill."
Connor is a Goidelic Celtic male given name, anglicised from the compound Irish word "Conchobhar", meaning "Lover of wolves” or "master of hounds" and sometimes taken to mean "hunter". The most prominent person with this name in medieval Ireland was the Irish king Conchobar mac Nessa, a semi-legendary king in Ulster described in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, and the name was probably first anglicised to 'Connor' by the Hiberno-Normans. The modern Irish often anglicise it with one 'n' to Conor.
