What Is My Name? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lara

Lara is a diminutive, or short form, of the name Larisa, which is the name of a city in Thessaly, Greece (also spelled Larissa). The name became popular due to the character Lara Antipova in Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel "Doctor Zhivago", and is used in many languages other than Russian and English, including German, French, Slovenian, Dutch, and Hungarian. The video game character played by Angelina Jolie is Lara Croft, protagonist of the "Tomb Raider" games, the first release of which was in 1996.

Lara is a surname as well as a first name, and the name is also given to a state of Venezuela and a language (Lara') spoken on Borneo. Varieties mainly include other spellings of Larisa, such as Larissa and Larysa.

Answer: Zbigniew

The approximate pronunciation of Zbigniew is "Zbeeg-nyef", and it is derived from the Slavic elements "zby" ("to dispel"), and "gnev" ("anger"); in Polish, these elements are "zbyć" and "gniew". This spelling is Polish, but a Czech cognate (Zbygněv) does exist.

Zbigniew of Poland was a duke who reigned in the twelfth century, and fought over the throne with his brother Bolesław III, who eventually blinded him and was excommunicated for this crime, but was pardoned by Zbigniew. Zbigniew Preisner is a film composer, born in 1955, who has often composed soundtracks for films by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski, including "A Short Film About Killing" (1988) and "A Short Film About Love" (1988).

A well-known Zbigniew in the English-speaking world is Zbigniew Brzeziński, a Polish American political scientist, US National Security Adviser to President Carter (1977-1981).

Answer: Hannibal

The name Hannibal combines the Phoenician "hann" ("grace") with the name of various Near Eastern deities "Ba'al". The most famous example is possibly the Carthigian commander mentioned in the question, Hannibal Barca, one of the most famous military commanders ever, who fought in the Second Punic War (218-203 BC). His father, Hamilcar Barca, was also a commander, in the First Punic War (264-241 BC).

The best-known modern example is likely fictional character Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal created by author Thomas Harris, who was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in films including "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Hannibal Hamlin was Abraham Lincoln's first vice-president, and the first Republican vice-president. Hamlin and Lincoln did not meet until after Lincoln's election to president.

Hannibal, Missouri, is a small city in Marion and Ralls counties. It is known as the setting of Mark Twain's novels "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884) and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876), in which it is fictionalized as St. Petersburg, Missouri, as well as being the author's birthplace. The original Mark Twain Memorial Bridge was opened here in 1936, and another bridge with the name opened in 2000.

Other forms include Annibale and Anibal.

Answer: Tobias

Tobias is the Greek form of Tobiah, which in turn is derived from the Hebrew "Toviyyah", meaning "Yahweh is good". The story of Tobias, or Tobit, is told in the Book of Tobit (also called the Book of Tobias). After being blinded by bird droppings, he begs for death. The archangel Raphael sends him to free a woman named Sarah from the demon who has murdered seven of her husbands on their wedding nights. His son, also called Tobias (or Tobiah), marries Sarah, and later cures his father's blindness with the bile of a fish that attacked him.

Tobias Asser, born 1838, shared the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize with Alfred Fried for their work in the creation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, after the first Hague Peace Conference.

The name is used in various languages, including German and Swedish, and its short forms include Toby, Tobi, and Tobbe.

Answer: Isabel

Isabel is the Occitan form of the name Elizabeth, which derives from the Hebrew "Elisheva", meaning "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance". It was used by many royals of Spain, France, and Portugal in the 12th century, and became popular in England after two English kings married Isabels.

As well as royals such as Isabella of England, Princess Isabel of Brazil, and Isabella of Aragon, famous examples include Chilean author Isabel Allende, Saint Isabelle of France, and Argentinian president Isabel Martinez de Peron.

Forms of the name include Bella, Sabela (Galician), Ysabel (Spanish), and Isa (German).

Answer: Bethany

Bethany is thought to derive from the Hebrew "beit-te'enah", meaning "house of figs", and was mainly used as a given name to honor Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus in the Bible, who all lived in the town of Bethany. Bethany became more popular in English-speaking countries from about the 1950s onwards.

The surfer who survived a shark attack was Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm at thirteen. She returned to surfing less than a year later! Other famous Bethanys include American opera singer Bethany Beardslee, and singer and actress Bethany Joy Lenz. Towns named Bethany can be found in the USA as well as Namibia (Bethanie), Canada and the UK.

Other forms of the name include the nickname Beth, alternative spelling Bethanie, and the biblical Bethania.

Answer: Selena

Selena is the Latinized form of the Greek "selene", meaning "moon". The Greek goddess Selene is sometimes regarded as a separate deity from the more well-known moon goddess Artemis, but some sources equate the two. The Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez went by the mononym Selena, and was tragically killed at the age of 23. Actress-singer Selena Gomez is known for her role in TV show "Wizards of Waverly Place" and her band Selena Gomez and the Scene.

Other famous Selenas include Selena Sloan Butler, who was the founder of the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers Association, and Hong Kong actress Selena Li. It is also the name of a genus of moths.

Alternative versions of the name mostly include different spellings, such as Selina or Celina, or versions of Selene, such as Celine.

Answer: Gabriel

Gabriel is derived from the Hebrew "Gavri'el", meaning "strong man of God". The archangel Gabriel appears in both Testaments of the Christian Bible, and dictated the Koran to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The popularity of the name peaked in England in the 20th century although it had been used prior to that.

As well as actor Gabriel Byrne and Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, famous Gabriels include two Patriarchs of Constantinople, French writer Gabriel Chevallier, and Mexican-American comedian Gabriel Iglesias.

Other forms of the name include Gavril, Jibril, Gabor, and the feminine Gabrielle.

Answer: Aisha

"'Aisha" is an Arabic name meaning "alive". It was the name of the prophet Muhammad's third wife, who was the daughter of Abu Bakr, and became popular in the USA in the 1970s; in 1975, musician Stevie Wonder gave the name to his daughter. Other famous Aishas include Princess Aisha of Jordan, American actress Aisha Tyler; Aisha is the stage name of both a British reggae singer and Latvian singer.

As Aisha is originally Arabic, many spelling variations exist in the Latin alphabet, including Ayesha, Aicha, Iesha, and Aysha; the latter is also the name of a genus of spiders.

Answer: Sebastian

The Greek word "sebastos", a translation of the Latin title of the Roman emperors "Augustus", means "venerable" and gave the town of Sebaste its name. The Latin name Sebastianus in turn meant someone from Sebaste. Sebastian became a popular name in medieval Spain and France in honor of Saint Sebastian, who was martyred.

As well as racing driver Sebastian Vettel, famous bearers include Sebastian I of Portugal, both a French and Danish musician going by the mononym Sebastian, and British athlete Sebastian Coe.

Variations include the nicknames Bastian (German) and Seppo (Finnish), as well as Sebastijan (Croatian), Sebastiao (Portuguese), and Bostjan (Slovenian).