Names

From the Gothic name Alareiks, which meant “ruler of all”, derived from the Germanic element ala “all” combined with ric “ruler”. This was the name of a king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century.

Variant of Adalhard.

Irish form of Aloysius.

Variant of Alanis.

Variant of Alana. It has been influenced by the affectionate Anglo-Irish word alannah, from the Irish Gaelic phrase a leanbh meaning “O child”.

Feminine form of Alan.

Feminine form of Alan. Canadian musician Alanis Morissette (1974-) was named after her father Alan. Her parents apparently decided to use this particular spelling after seeing this word in a Greek newspaper.

Possibly a variant of Alana, or possibly from Hawaiian ʻalani meaning “orange (tree or fruit)”.

Feminine form of Alan.

The meaning of this name is not known for certain. It was used in Brittany at least as early as the 6th century, and it possibly means either “little rock” or “handsome” in Breton. Alternatively, it may derive from the tribal name of the Alans, an Iranian people who migrated into Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries.This was the name of several dukes of Brittany, and Breton settlers introduced it to England after the Norman Conquest. Famous modern bearers include Alan Shepard (1923-1998), the first American in space and the fifth man to walk on the moon, and Alan Turing (1912-1954), a British mathematician and computer scientist.