Names That Mean Dance

  1. Mai
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "coyote"
    • Description:

      Cross-cultural winner.
  2. Minuet
    • Origin:

      French, dance term
    • Description:

      Minuet is delicate, dancey, and lacy, with a Masterpiece Theatre feel. Is Minuet a real name? Not really, though similar-sounding French names such as Minette and Manette are.
  3. Fei
    • Origin:

      Chinese
    • Meaning:

      "to dance in the air"
    • Description:

      Fei would make a great way to honor Chinese roots in the US, thanks to its similarity to the fast-rising Faye.
  4. Tango
    • Origin:

      Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "touch"
    • Description:

      A South American dance style whose name derives from Latin tangere "touch". It's also a popular orange-flavored fizzy drink in the UK, as well as the word for the letter T in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
  5. Sundance
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "sun dance"
    • Description:

      Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name Sundance was taken from the sun dance ceremony practiced by local Native American tribes.
  6. Baila
    • Origin:

      Yiddish
    • Meaning:

      "white; bashful"
    • Description:

      Also written as Bayla, Baila is reminiscent of the Spanish word for "dance". Its meaning is debated: it may come from the Slavic root word for "white", or it may be a form of Bilhah, one of the four women who gave birth to the tribes of Israel. An offbeat approach to Bella.
  7. Havilah
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "to dance"
    • Description:

      Old Testament male name and biblical place name.
  8. Allemande
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "German Dance"
    • Description:

      An Allemande is a renaissance musical form meaning 'German dance" - Handel composed many famous allemandes. As a name, Allemande has the advantages of being unusual whilst still having a history, and pretty while still having gravitas. It also has great potential for nicknames, with Ally, Lemmi and Mandy being the most obvious.
  9. Fei
    • Origin:

      Chinese
    • Meaning:

      "to dance in the air"
    • Description:

      A unisex name in China, but better suited for girls in the US due to the similarities to sound-alike Faye.
  10. Ceilidh
    • Origin:

      Gaelic
    • Meaning:

      "social gathering, dance party"
    • Description:

      From a Scottish Gaelic word meaning "visit", a ceilidh today usually means a gathering with traditional Scottish or Irish music and dances. The spelling could be an issue, depending on where you live... but everyone called Cayley, Kailee and Kayleigh has to spell their name out too.
  11. Sundance
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "sun dance"
    • Description:

      Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name Sundance was taken from the sun dance ceremony practiced by local Native American tribes.
  12. Jive
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "dance"
  13. Maiko
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "dance child"
    • Description:

      Commonly borne by Gen X women in Japan.
  14. Prochorus
    • Origin:

      Latin from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "leader of the dance"
    • Description:

      Prochorus may be a big name for a child to wear, but it has a lively meaning and a New Testament connection.
  15. Jive
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "dance"
  16. Prokhor
    • Origin:

      Russian variation of Prochorus, Latin from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "leader of the dance"
    • Description:

      The use of Prokhor in Russia was in part inspired by St. Prochorus, a deacon in the New Testament.