Names That Mean Battle

The name of an ancient Irish saint is in the contemporary Irish Top 50. While it's one of the rare Irish names for boys that hasn't immigrated to the U.S., it may follow brothers Aidan and Declan to our shores. The t is not pronounced.

Actor Mark Ruffalo honed this surname down to its basics when he chose it for his son. A more usable expansion might be the Irish surname Keenan/Keenen.

Variant of Brunhild, still clad in heavy armor. Though the heroine Brunhilda of Quentin Tarantino's recent film Django Unchained may have given this version of the name new appeal.

Kincaid originated as a Scottish Clan name — the Kincaids descended from the Earl of Lennox in the 13th century and were supposedly named after the territory they resided on. The name Kincaid may derive from the Scottish-Gaelic ceann-cadha, meaning "steep pass" or "head of the rock." Another theory conjectures that Kincaid came from ceann-catha, meaning "at the head of the battle."

This surname borne by several early Welsh leaders has a lot of energy.

A rare and warmer version of Clotilde, in combination with the Greek name Cleo. The first recorded use of Cleotilde was in 1894. It peaked in 1924 when 16 baby girls were named Cleotilde.

Truncated form of Marylouise.

Cadan is an attractive Cornish name that rhymes with Madden. Despite its modern appearance and the recent history of many Cornish names, Cadan is actually one of the older Cornish names in use today.

Swam into style and quickly out again, on Chad's fish- er, coat-tails.

Rarely heard, and all too likely to be confused with Kevin.

The Italian form of Hilda is rarer but sweeter than its mother name, which still isn't ready for revival in the US.

Andromache is a name found scattered throughout ancient literature. She was Hector's long-suffering wife in The Iliad and The Odyssey, featured in The Trojan Women and Andromache by Euripides, then later appeared in Shakepeare's Troilus and Cressida, and Jean Racine's 1667 play Andromaque. It is not likely to make many appearances in the modern world.

Pronounced klo-TEELD, this name is well used in France, but rarely heard here; it has a chic and sophisticated air.

A rare Welsh name with a wonderful meaning, Cadfael is the name of the detective monk character in Ellis Peters' medieval murder mysteries. It's usually pronounced CAD-vyle in Welsh, although Peters intended the character's name to be pronounced CAD-vel.

Anglicized form of Cadoc, a Welsh saint's name.

Although it's now used mainly as an independent name in the Netherlands, Hidde began as a short form of heavy Germanic names Hildebrand and Hildebert.

An ancient name belonging to "the most beautiful of all women" in Germanic mythology, whose tragic story features in many northern European legends. The daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, her jealous husband had her murdered after she was accused of infidelity, and was then himself killed by Swanhild's brothers.

Difficult name familiar here mainly via D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love.

The M and the R add welcome strength.

Seventies comic-book-heroine-style name.