In an attempt to add to our very eclectic list, I’d love to know some of your favorite multicultural names and what the meanings are. We are especially loving the letters O, P, T, N, and R for our baby girl, but we’d love to look at names starting with anything that are uncommon and have roots in various cultures.
What are your favorites?
[name_f]Freya[/name_f] - lady
[name_f]Sakura[/name_f] - cherry
[name_f]Clara[/name_f] - bright
[name_f]Phaedra[/name_f] - bright
[name_f]Anwen[/name_f] - very beautiful
Teuta - queen
Those are all beautiful names, thank you!
Any others?
[name_u]Nakia[/name_u] - pure (arabic)
[name_f]Nahla[/name_f] - a drink of water (arabic)
[name_f]Neala[/name_f] - cloud (irish)
[name_f]Nascha[/name_f] - owl (navajo)
[name_f]Nova[/name_f] - chases butterflies (hopi)
[name_f]Naoko[/name_f] - docile child/esteemed child (japanese)
Natsumi - summer beauty (japanese)
[name_f]Reiko[/name_f] - lovely child (japanese)
Onawa - wide awake (native american)
Ogin - wild rose (native american)
Posala - farewell to spring flowers (miwok)
[name_f]Tala[/name_f] - wolf (native american)
Tayanita - young beaver (cherokee)
Tiva - dance (hopi)
Alaqua - sweet gum tree (native american)
Aquene - peace (native american)
Aponi - butterfly (native american)
Catori - spirit (hopi)
Chenoa - dove (native american)
Elu - beautiful (zuni)
Helki - to touch (miwok)
Honovi - strong deer (hopi)
Leotie - flower of the prairie (native american)
Lomasi - pretty flower (native american)
Miakoda - power of the moon (native american)
Sisika - bird (native american)
Radha - a vision (irish), prosperity (sanskrit)
[name_f]Pania[/name_f] - a sea maiden in a Maori myth (maori)
[name_f]Nyree[/name_f] - fair-haired (maori)
Nalini - lotus (sanskrit)
[name_f]Priya[/name_f] - beloved (sanskrit)
[name_f]Moana[/name_f] - lake (maori), ocean (hawaiian)
[name_f]Rajani[/name_f] - dark (sanskrit)
Wow, there’s a lot of really great names here. I love Tiva, Lomasi, Leotie, and many others! I’d love names from all other cultures, too. Other suggestions please?
[name_f]Pomeline[/name_f]- ‘apple’ ([name_m]French[/name_m]- [name_f]Grace[/name_f] [name_u]Kelly[/name_u]'s granddaughters name)
[name_f]Provence[/name_f]- ‘place name’ ([name_m]French[/name_m])
[name_f]Nan[/name_f]ée- One who is graced with God’s favor (derived from [name_f]Anne[/name_f])
[name_u]Nouvel[/name_u]- ‘[name_m]New[/name_m]’ (french
[name_m]Natal[/name_m]ène- ‘born on christmas’ from natalie ([name_m]French[/name_m])
[name_f]Dulcibella[/name_f]- (italian) 'sweet and pretty)
[name_f]Iolani[/name_f]- (Hawaiian) ‘[name_m]Hawk[/name_m] of royalty’
I have a whole list of names like this, pretty and underused… Mostly multicultural. Here is the full list if you are interested : Pretty & Unusual Girls Names | Nameberry
A sampling:
[name_f]Solana[/name_f]- sunshine
[name_f]Parisa[/name_f]- like a fairy
[name_f]Olwen[/name_f]- white footprint
[name_f]Penina[/name_f]- pearl
[name_f]Perla[/name_f]- pearl
[name_f]Galatea[/name_f]- white as milk
[name_f]Nyssa[/name_f]- goal
[name_f]Niva[/name_f]- talk, expression
[name_f]Mazarine[/name_f]- a dark blue color
[name_f]Najila[/name_f]- bright eyes
[name_f]Izara[/name_f]- section of tree
This is one of my favorite categories for names! Some of mine:
Madelief (Dutch, “daisy”)
[name_f]Eleni[/name_f] (Greek, “torch, reed, shoot”)
[name_f]Helene[/name_f] (Danish “heh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-neh”, see [name_f]Eleni[/name_f])
Hélène ([name_m]French[/name_m], “ay-[name_m]LEN[/name_m]”, see [name_f]Eleni[/name_f])
[name_f]Odilia[/name_f] ([name_m]German[/name_m], “wealth/fortune”)
[name_f]Odette[/name_f]/[name_f]Odile[/name_f] ([name_m]French[/name_m], see [name_f]Odilia[/name_f])
[name_f]Mireya[/name_f] (Spanish, “admired”)
[name_f]Anahi[/name_f] (Spanish “ah-nah-EE”, “grace/favor”)
Beatriu (Catalan “bee-ah-troo”, “she who brings happiness”)
[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] (Dutch, see Beatriu)
Lærke (Danish “lair-keh”, “lark”)
[name_u]Mio[/name_u] (Japanese, “beautiful” or “cherry”)
[name_f]Hana[/name_f] (Japanese, “flower/blossom”)
[name_f]Ayelet[/name_f] (Hebrew, “morning star/deer, gazelle”)
[name_f]Tallulah[/name_f]/[name_f]Talullah[/name_f] (Choctaw/Irish, several meanings)
[name_f]Aislinn[/name_f] (Irish, “dream”)
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f]/[name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f] (Russian, “hope”)
[name_f]Anouk[/name_f] ([name_m]French[/name_m]/Dutch, “grace/favor”)
[name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] ([name_m]German[/name_m], “horse protection”)
Aurélie ([name_m]French[/name_m], “golden”)
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f]/[name_f]Aurore[/name_f] (Italian/[name_m]French[/name_m], “dawn”)
Amélie ([name_m]French[/name_m], “work” [I think!])
[name_f]Maddalena[/name_f] (Italian, “high tower/from [name_f]Magdala[/name_f]”)
I’m sure there are many I’m forgetting, but I don’t have access to my “international names” list right now. 
ETA: I also love the international spellings of [name_f]Lydia[/name_f]! I love that it’s [name_f]Lydie[/name_f] in [name_m]French[/name_m], [name_f]Lidia[/name_f] in Italian, [name_f]Lidiya[/name_f] when transposed from Russian… I just think it’s fantastic, and they’re all more interesting than the traditional English [name_f]Lydia[/name_f]!
Thank you all so much! It’s taking me awhile to go through some of the names, but I love [name_f]Pomeline[/name_f], [name_f]Iolani[/name_f], [name_f]Solana[/name_f], [name_f]Niva[/name_f], [name_f]Mazarine[/name_f], [name_f]Mireya[/name_f], [name_f]Ayelet[/name_f], and [name_f]Anouk[/name_f] and so many others. I’ve got a bunch to take to my fiancée as choices. Thank you!
Any other suggestions?
Most of my suggestions are going to be from countries I or my family have been.
A few may be a outdated (even medieval), because I also trawl historical articles for names.
Suzuran: Japanese; “[name_f]Lily[/name_f]-of-the-valley” (the name of the flower literally translates as “bell orchid”)
[name_f]Palma[/name_f]: Italian; “Palm Tree”
Ageha: Japanese; “[name_f]Butterfly[/name_f] wing”
Yuzuki: Japanese; “[name_f]Evening[/name_f] [name_f]Moon[/name_f]” (though most Japanese names have multiple possible meanings, depending on the characters used; another definition I’ve seen is “Yuzu” (a type of citrus fruit) + “[name_f]Moon[/name_f]”)
Chinelo: Igbo; From what I can gather, the name means something along the lines of “God has a plan”
Kleanthi: Greek; “[name_f]Glory[/name_f]” + “[name_f]Flower[/name_f]”
Vinca: Italian; “Periwinkle”
Chrysoula: Greek; “[name_u]Golden[/name_u]”
Pasqualina: Italian; “[name_f]Easter[/name_f]”
Piruza: Persian; “[name_f]Turquoise[/name_f]” - I also came across this name in a list of names used in medieval [name_f]Italy[/name_f], but I can’t find an Italian meaning to the name
[name_f]Orsa[/name_f], [name_f]Orsola[/name_f] and Orsolina: Italian; these are forms of [name_f]Ursula[/name_f], which means “bear”
Pocobella: Italian; “[name_m]Little[/name_m] Beauty”
Temperana: Italian; “[name_f]Temperance[/name_f]”
Oxana or [name_f]Oksana[/name_f]: Russian; “Hospitable”
[name_f]Ourania[/name_f]: Greek; “[name_f]Celestial[/name_f]”/"[name_f]Heavenly[/name_f]"
I don’t know if anyone’s still reading this thread, but just thought I’d toss a note of caution out there: I love multicultural names too, and there are so many gorgeous choices, but you should always, always, always research the name thoroughly before you decide on it to make sure it actually does come from the language or culture it’s supposed to. At least half of the names listed under “Native American” don’t mean what they’re said to mean. [name_f]Nova[/name_f], for example, doesn’t mean “chases butterflies;” [name_f]Kimana[/name_f] is not the [name_f]Shoshone[/name_f] word for butterfly; [name_f]Kaya[/name_f] does not mean “my older sister” in Hopi; [name_f]Tala[/name_f] does not mean “wolf” in any Native American language to the best of my knowledge; [name_f]Aiyana[/name_f] does not mean ‘Eternally blooming;’ and Miakoda, exotic as it sounds, is a complete fabrication. As a general rule of thumb, words in Native American languages tend to be much longer than their English counterparts.
I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s much better to double-check with a dictionary or a linguist than for your daughter to go looking in fifteen years and discover that her name actually came from a fifty-year-old science fiction novel or was just completely made up for the sake of adding interest to a baby name book.
That’s actually a really good advice!!!
Aldara (german origins): noble
Azaroa: it’s not even a name, it’s november in basque, but I love how it sounds
[name_f]Noor[/name_f]: i’m not sure about it’s origins despite NB’s page of this name
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f]: (russian) hope according to NB
[name_f]Laia[/name_f]: same as [name_f]Eulalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Elina[/name_f]: same as [name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f]: apparently, oak tree in hebrew and moonlight in turkish
[name_f]Dalia[/name_f]: it’s a flower
[name_f]Maia[/name_f]: basque’s form of [name_f]Maria[/name_f] and a sanskrit’s goddess name that means illusion
[name_f]Talia[/name_f]: greek, to blossom
[name_f]Leda[/name_f]: greek, happy
[name_f]Alma[/name_f]: spanish, soul