Names starting with M

Bitter; beloved; wished-for child

A river in southwestern Western Australia, presumed named for a cousin of John Garrett Bussell, founder of Busselton

Popular from the 1960s to the 1990s

Melissa is a feminine given name

Maria is a feminine given name

The sister of Lazarus and Mary in the New Testament

The Marie, equivalent of Mary; also an Early New English spelling of Mary, from Marie

Popular since 1984 when it appeared as the name of a mermaid in the film Splash

Mine; bitter, beloved

Variant of Margery, a medieval vernacular form of Margaret

From Mélanie, from Melania, the name of two Roman fifth century saints, from μέλας

From Mŏnĭca, name of the mother of St

Of Magdala; tower

Or, less often, Margaret

of MacKenȝie with the letter ⟨ȝ⟩ confused with ⟨z⟩

A variant of Marion, a medieval derivation of Mary, often also interpreted as a contraction of Mary and Ann, or as a variant of Mariana

Coined in the eighteenth century from names such as Melanie and

Borrowed from - in early 20th century

A contraction of Maria Lisa or Maria Luisa, though sometimes regarded as a re-interpretation of the name Melissa as a homophone in another European language

Illusion; water; good mother

From מִרְיָם, possibly from מרים, from a root מר (m-r) meaning "to be bitter"

An English feminine form of Max coined at the end of the nineteenth century

Borrowed from Marguerite in the 1860s

Gracious; dear

First used by the poet Fulke Greville, possibly as an anagram of Mary

Latinate feminine form of Michael, first appearing as an anglicisation of the Micaela and Micaela

From May, Mai, from mai, from Maius, from Maia, a Roman earth goddess

Means "Mercy"

Mona is a female, and sometimes male, given name and a surname of multiple origins

Latinized form of Marian, ultimately from Mary or Mary + Ann

Borrowed from the - and Margarita

Name of an early virgin martyr venerated in the Orthodox Church, Marīna, probably a feminine form of Marīnus, from marīnus, or a variant of Marīa

From Matilda, from Mathilde, from Mahthilt, Mehthilt, from Mahtihild, from Mahtihildiz; compare, t=Matilda

Borrowed from Malia and in some cases from Mālia

From Maritza, a diminutive of: María, from Marīa, from Μαρίᾱ, from t=rebellion; and Marta, from Martha, from Μάρθα, from t=lady, mistress, ruler, female counterpart of t=lord, master, ruler

Either Máire and Màiri, or from Maura

Melisa is a common feminine Turkish given name

Usually interpreted as the feminine form of the saints' name Martin, though there was an identical Roman name, likewise derived from Martinus

"Beloved; exalted

From 𒈠𒌷𒆠, from Mer, an ancient storm/ of Mesopotamia and Syria

In Slavic languages, it means 'peace' and is often used as part of a longer name, such as Miroslava, Mirjana, or Sławomira

The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus — the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur'an (34 times)

Used since the Middle Ages

From mercy in the 17th century; one of the less common Puritan virtue names

Mary Magdalene, a disciple of Jesus

Mai is a feminine Arabic given name

Malika is the Arabic word for 'queen' and the feminine form of the name Malik

Derived from the Slavic element mir, Mirna means "peaceful

"Angel

Marwa or Marwah is an Arabic female given name derived from the word marū/maruw (مرو) with the meaning of either minerals, 'flint(-stone)', 'quartz' or 'a hard stone of nearly pure silica'

Who is like God? A rhetorical name honoring the archangel

One of the twelve Apostles

Also called John Mark, the first patriarch of Alexandria, credited with the authorship of the Gospel of Mark

Stoneworker; one who works with stone

Originally given in honor of a fourth century soldier-saint

From Merfyn, probably from mer + myn

Variant of the Scottish surname Melville, from a place name Malleville in Normandy, from mala + ville

Marcus is a masculine given name of Ancient Roman pre-Christian origin derived either from Etruscan Marce of unknown meaning or referring to the god Mars

A name of Portuguese/Spanish origin

diminutive of Maximilian in the 19th century, later also used as a nickname for Maxwell

and Mario, both of which coming from Marius

Means "Morris"

A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh

The English place names are from mylen or middel + tun

Soldier; merciful

Gift of God

Means "Mark"

A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh

"King, sovereign, owner

The pharaonic patriarch who led the enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt, the brother of Aaron and Miriam described in the Book of Exodus and the Quran

Borrowed from Moises and Moisés

Scottish surname derived from the place name Moray in northeastern Scotland, from Moravia, Morauia, from Moireibh, Moireabh, Moreb, ultimately from mori + trebā

Borrowed from Marcel, from Marcellus, diminutive of Marcus

"The praised one

"The praised one, worthy of praise

From Maximilian, ultimately of - origin

sometimes conjectured to derive from msj, a common element in Egyptian names of the form ‘[name of deity] is the one who bore him’

A wizard in the Arthurian legend

Rare spelling variant of Marcus

"The chosen one, the selected

Bernard Montgomery (Monty), a British army officer

taken from the title of Carolus Magnus "Charlemagne" by an eleventh century king of Norway, and brought to Scotland in medieval times

An alternative form of Meir

"Drawn out of the water

The city of Manchester, traditionally within the county of Lancashire, England or used more generally referring to the area surrounding, Greater Manchester

From Marius, a Roman family name probably derived from Mars

Mahir is an Arabic given name meaning "skilled" or "expert"

Marwan, Merwan or Marwen or Mervan is an Arabic male given name derived from the word maruww (مرو) with the meaning of either minerals, 'flint(-stone)', 'quartz"' or 'hard stone of nearly pure silica'

Murad or Mourad is an Arabic name