Names with Military Meanings

  1. Donahue
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "dark fighter"
    • Description:

      This genial Irish surname feels much more current than Donald.
  2. Mace
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "heavy club"
    • Description:

      Has a slight aura of danger, from its being two types of weapons and a looming character in the Star Wars films. Best left as a nickname for Mason.
  3. Pele
    • Origin:

      Hawaiian goddess of fire
    • Description:

      Pele is a female name in Hawaiian culture that could make a provocative choice for a modern girls. Others might think you named your daughter after the all-time great soccer player, but the simple, rare, and lovely name Pele has mythological roots.
  4. Patton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "fighter's town"
    • Description:

      Patton is an attractive name in the fashionable Haden-Peyton mold, though there is that association with the severe wartime general.
  5. Aloisia
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "famous fighter"
    • Description:

      Inventive female form of Aloysius.
  6. Cadman
    • Origin:

      Anglo-Saxon
    • Meaning:

      "warrior"
    • Description:

      Caedmon is considered the first English poet -- a nice literary tie-in to the streamlined version.
  7. Kavan
    • Origin:

      Breton
    • Meaning:

      "battle"
    • Description:

      Rarely heard, and all too likely to be confused with Kevin.
  8. Shad
    • Origin:

      Fish name; variation of Chad
    • Meaning:

      "battle warrior"
    • Description:

      Swam into style and quickly out again, on Chad's fish- er, coat-tails.
  9. Hemingway
    • Origin:

      English place name
    • Description:

      No matter how much you love the novels of Papa H., don't saddle your son with this unwieldy appellation.
  10. Andromache
    • Origin:

      Greek,"battle of man"
    • Meaning:

      "battle of man"
    • Description:

      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.
  11. Levent
    • Origin:

      Turkish
    • Meaning:

      "naval soldier"
    • Description:

      Levent is a common name in Turkey, derived from Ottoman Turkish levend — a soldier in the Ottoman navy. The name also has connections to the Venetian navy in renaissance times.
  12. Tanguy
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "warrior"
    • Description:

      his engaging French saint's name, pronounced like tangy, with a hard 'g,' also has a creative connection to French surrealist painter Yves Tanguy.
  13. Clothilde
    • Origin:

      French from German
    • Meaning:

      "famous in battle"
    • Description:

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

      German
    • Meaning:

      "little bright warrior"
    • Description:

      A possible new entry in the Hayden-Corbin two-syllable boys' name club.
  15. Werther
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "worthy warrior"
    • Description:

      In literature identified with The Sorrows of Young Werther -- not much to wish on a child.
  16. Alala
    • Origin:

      Greek mythology name
    • Meaning:

      "war cry"
    • Description:

      This name of the mythological sister of Mars might be used for a girl born under one of the signs ruled by the planet Mars--Aries or Scorpio. She is the personification of the war cry.
  17. Shamara
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "ready for battle"
    • Description:

      The M and the R add welcome strength.
  18. Army
    • Origin:

      Word name or variation of Armie, English from French
    • Meaning:

      "military land force; soldier"
    • Description:

      A patriotic spin on Armie, with roughly the same meaning whether you consider it a variation or a totally separate word name.
  19. Swanhild
    • Origin:

      Saxon
    • Meaning:

      "battle swan"
    • Description:

      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.
  20. Valda
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "battle heroine"
    • Description:

      Seventies comic-book-heroine-style name.