CLAS224 Word Elements. Monmouth College Monmouth, Illinois
Instructor: Thomas J. Sienkewicz (toms@monm.edu)
Personal Names based on Greek Roots
English Meaning (with Greek base)
Acme tip, highest point (ACME)
Agatha good, noble, brave (AGATH-)
Agnes chaste, pure (AGN-)
Alexander; Alexandra a defender of men (ANDR-;Alex=help, defend)
Alexis help (ALEX-)
Alice, Alicia truth
Althea a healer
Ambrose immortal
Anastasia of the Resurrection (STA-)
Andrew; Andrea strong, manly (ANDR-)
Angela, Angelica, Angelina, lovely, angelic (ANGEL=messenger)
Angelique
Anthea a flower (ANTH-)
Aphrodite from the goddess of love & beauty (born from the foam APHROS)
Ariadne holy (from the Cretan heroine)
Aspasia welcome
Athena from the goddess of wisdom
Barbara a foreigner, stranger (BARBAR-)
Basil a king; royal
Berenice bearer of victory (NIKE)
Catherine, Katharine, pure (CATHAR-; KATHAR)
Kathleen, Karen
Cassandra, Cassie from one Trojan priestess Cassandra
Charissa, Charis grace (CHARIS)
Chloe young, green shoot; herb (related to CHLOR-)
Christian; Christina; one who is like Christ (CHRISTOS)
Kirsten
Christopher the Christ-bearer (CHRIST-PHER)
Cleone glory, fame (KLE-)
Cleopatra glory of her country (or father; family) (KLE-, CLE-; PATR-)/
Cora, Corinna, Corrine maiden, girl (KORE, COR-)
Cynthia from the title of the moon goddess Artemis or from Mt. Cynthus/
Cyril lordly
Daphne laurel; the laurel tree
Delia girl from the island of Delos
Denis, Dennis; Denise belonging to Dionysus (Bacchus)
Doris, Dora gift (DO-)
Dorothy, Dorothea; Theodora gift of God (DO-; THE-)
Eudora generous; good gift (EU-; DO-)
Eugene, Gene; Eugenia well-born (EU-; GEN-)
Eunice happy victory (EU- NIKE)
Euphemia of good report (EU-; PHE-)
Eustace; Eustacia well-established; firm (EU-; STA-)
Evadne fortunate, lucky (EU-; EV-)
Evangeline; Evangelina bringing good news (EV-; ANGEL-)
George; Georgia, Georgina a farmer; belonging to the earth (GE-)
Gregory vigilant; watchful
Hector holding fast (from the great Trojan hero)
Helen, Helene, Eelena, Ellen,
Elena (Old French; Elaine) from Helen of Troy
Hera from the queen of the gods (HERE- feminine of Hero/
Ione a girl from Ionia (referring to Greek cities along the West coast of Turkey)/
Irene peace (EIRENE)
Iris rainbow; goddess of the rainbow
Isidore; Isadora gift of Isis (DO-)
Jason healer (related to JATR--physician, medicine)
Jerome bearing a holy name (HIER-ONYM)
Leonidas, Leon strong or brave as a lion (cf. Latin--LEO)
Lillian, Lily a lily (also in Latin)
Lydia a woman from Lydia (country in what is now Turkey)
Lois desireable (?)
Marguerite, Margaret, Rita a pearl
Melanie black, dark (MELAN-)
Melissa a bee
Myrtle the myrtle tree
Nicholas, Nick a victorious army of people (NIKE)
Olympia heavenly (related to Mt. Olympus, the home of the gods)
Ophelia helpful
Penelope, Penny a weaver (related to the wife of Odysseus)
Peter a rock (PETR-)
Philemon loving (PHIL-)
Philip; Philippa lover of horses (PHIL-; HIPP-)
Phoebe shining (also used of the moon goddess)
Phyllis a green leaf (PHYLL-)
Rhoda a rose (RHOD-)
Sebastian honored, holy (SEBAST-)
Sibyl a prophetess
Sophia, Sophie;
(Russ.-Sonia) wisdom (SOPHIA)
Stephen, Steven; Stephanie a crown (STEPHAN-)
Thea a goddess (THE-)
Theodore, Ted a gift of God (THE-; DO-)
Theophilus dear to the gods or God (THE-; PHIL-)
Timothy, Tim God-honoring (TIM-)
Titus
Ulysses a hater or a sufferer (?) (Latin form of Odysseus)
Urania heavenly (URAN-)
Vanessa
Zoe life (ZO-)