Online Etymology Dictionary

Kleenex (n.): 1924, proprietary name, registered by Cellucotton Products Company, Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S.; later Kimberly-Clark Corp. An arbitrary alteration of clean + brand-name suffix -ex.
Jasper: masc. proper name, English form of Caspar or of Gaspar, the traditional name of one of the Three Kings. Said by Klein to be of Persian origin and meaning literally "treasure-holder." Used from 1896 for "a rustic simpleton."
magnolia (n.): plant genus, 1748, from Magnolius, Latinized name of Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), French physician and botanist, professor of botany at Montpellier, + abstract noun ending -ia. As the name of a color, by 1931.
Lancelot: masc. proper name, Old French, a double-diminutive of Frankish Lanzo, itself a shortened pet-name (hypocoristic) of one of the many Germanic names in Land- (compare Old English Landbeorht "land-bright;" see Lambert).
Naaman: masc. proper name, biblical name of Aramean general cured of leprosy by Elisha, from Hebrew Na'aman, literally "pleasantness," from stem of na'em "was pleasant or lovely." Compare Naomi.
Natalie: fem. proper name, from French Natalie, from Church Latin Natalia, from Latin (dies) natalis "birthday," in Church Latin, "Christmas Day," so probably originally a name for one born on Christmas.
Julius: masc. proper name, from Latin Iulius (Spanish Julio, Italian Giulio), name of a Roman gens, perhaps a contraction of *Iovilios "pertaining to or descended from Jove," from PIE *iou-li-, from root *dyeu- (see Zeus).
catnip (n.): 1712, American English, from cat (n.) + nip, from Old English nepte "catnip," from Latin nepta, name of an aromatic herb. The older name is Middle English catmint (mid-13c.).
Malachi: masc. proper name, Old Testament name of the last in order of the Twelve Prophets, from Hebrew Mal'akhi, literally "my messenger," from mal'akh "messenger," from Semitic base l-'-k (compare Arabic la'aka "he sent").
Xanthippe: also (incorrectly) Xantippe, late 16c., spouse of Socrates (5c. B.C.E.), the prototype of the quarrelsome, nagging wife. The name is related to the masc. proper name Xanthippos, a compound of xanthos "yellow" (see xantho-) + hippos "horse" (see equine).
Adolph: masc. proper name, from Old High German Athalwolf "noble wolf," from athal "noble" (see atheling) + wolf (see wolf (n.)). The -ph is from the Latinized form of the name.
Manchester: Mameceastre (1086), from Mamucio (4c.), the original Celtic name, perhaps from *mamm "breast, breast-like hill" + Old English ceaster "Roman town" (see Chester). Adjective Mancunian is from the Medieval Latin form of the place-name, Mancunium.
manganese (n.): 1670s as the name of a mineral, oxide of manganese, from French manganèse (16c.), from Italian manganese, alteration or corruption of Medieval Latin magnesia (see magnesia). From 1783 in English as the name of an element.
Nembutal: type of barbiturate, 1930, proprietary name of pentobarbitone sodium, formed from letters and syllables from N(a) "sodium" + full chemical name 5-ethyl-5-1-methylbutyl barbiturate.
Belgium: c. 1600, "Low Germany and the Netherlands," from the Latin name of the territory near here occupied by the Belgæ, a Celtic tribe. Adopted 1830 as the name of a new nation formed from the southern part of the former United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Cedric: masc. proper name, modern, apparently introduced by Sir Walter Scott (Cedric the Saxon is a character in "Ivanhoe"); apparently a mistake for Old English name Cerdic.
Vincent: masc. proper name, from French, shortened from Latin Vincentius, from vincentem (nominative vincens) "conquering," from vincere "to overcome" (see victor). The name of a 3c. martyr, it was introduced in England c. 1200.
Vitus: from Latinized form of Svanto-vit, name of a Slavic god worshiped with ecstatic dances on the Baltic island of Rügen, transferred by Christian missionaries to Saint Vitus. The Italian form of the name is Guido.
Agatha: fem. proper name, from Latin, from Greek Agathe, fem. of agathos "good," which is of unknown origin. Never a popular name in U.S., and all but unused there since 1940.
Alan: masc. proper name, 1066, from Old Breton Alan, name of a popular Welsh and Breton saint; brought to England by the large contingent of Bretons who fought alongside William the Conqueror.
dingus (n.): "any unspecified or unspecifiable object; something one does not know the name of or does not wish to name," 1876, U.S. slang, from Dutch dinges, literally "thing" (see thing).
Goshen: Biblical name of the fertile land settled by the Israelites in Egypt; light shone there during the plague of darkness [Gen. xxxxv:10]. The name is of unknown origin.
Amanda: fem. proper name, literally "worthy to be loved," fem. of Latin amandus "pleasing," gerundive of amare "to love" (see Amy). A top 10 list name for girls born in U.S. between 1976 and 1995.
amontillado (n.): a variety of sherry wine, 1825, from Spanish amontillado, from a "from" (from Latin ad; see ad-) + Montilla, name of a town in the province of Cordova. Formerly the name of a regional wine, now of a type of sherry.
Erin: ancient name of Ireland, from Old English Erinn, dative of Eriu "Ireland" (see Irish (n.)). As a girl's name in U.S., rare before 1954, popular 1976-1985.
forsythia (n.): 1814, coined 1805 in Modern Latin as a genus name in honor of William Forsyth (1737-1804), Scottish horticulturalist who brought the shrub from China. The family name is from Gaelic Fearsithe "man of peace."
Isaiah: masc. proper name, name of a biblical prophet and of the book credited to him, from Hebrew Yesha'yah, abbreviated form of Yesha'yahu, literally "salvation of the Lord," from yesha, yeshua "salvation, deliverance." Related: Isaian
Ivan: masc. proper name, from Russian, literally "John," from Greek Ioannes (see John). As the personification of Russia, or the typical name for a Russian man (originally a Russian soldier), attested from 1870 (Ivanovitch).
pere: 1610s, "a French priest," from French père "father," from Latin patrem (nominative pater); see father (n.). Attached to a name, to distinguish father from son of the same name, from 1802.
dobbin (n.): "farm horse," 1596 (in "Merchant of Venice"), probably from diminutive form of Dob (early 13c.), common Middle English familiar form of masc. proper name Robin or Robert; personal name applied to a horse.
gutta-percha (n.): 1845, from Malay getah percha, literally "the gum of percha," the name of the tree; the form of the word was influenced by Latin gutta "drop." As the name of the tree itself, from 1860.
Dominican (1): "Black friar," 1630s, from Latin form of the name of Domingo de Guzman (Santo Domingo), founder of the order of preaching friars. His name, like Italian form Dominic, is from Latin dominicus "pertaining to a lord."
Freon (n.): 1932, proprietary name in U.S. for fluorocarbons used in refrigeration technology. "The name was apparently constructed from fre(eze) + -on used as an arbitrary suffix" [Flood].
tokay (n.): 1710, rich sweet wine from the region of Tokay (Hungarian Tokaj) a town in Hungary. The name is perhaps Slavic, from tok "current," or Hungarian, from a Turkic personal name.
Phoebe: fem. proper name, late 14c., originally a name of Artemis as the goddess of the moon, from Latin Phoebe, from Greek phoibos "bright, pure," of unknown origin. The fem. form of Phoebus, an epithet of Apollo as sun-god.
Aphra: fem. proper name, apparently from a misunderstanding of Hebrew bebheth 'Aphrah "in the house of Aphrah" (Mi. i:10), in which Aphrah probably is the name of a town, not a person. [Klein]
Michael: masc. proper name, name of an archangel, from Late Latin Michael (source of French Michel, Spanish Miguel), from Greek Mikhael, from Hebrew Mikha-el, literally "Who is like God?"
Hussite (n.): 1530s, follower of John Huss, Bohemian religious reformer burnt in 1415. His name is said to be an abbreviation of the name of his native village, Husinec, literally "goose-pen."
Boyd: in many cases, the family name represents Gaelic or Irish buidhe "yellow," suggesting blond hair, compare Manx name Mac Giolla Buidhe (c. 1100).
Minnesota: originally the name of the river, from Dakota (Siouan) mnisota, literally "cloudy water, milky water," from mni "river, stream" + sota "slightly clouded." As the name of a U.S. territory from 1849 (admitted as a state 1858). Related: Minnesotan.
tulle (n.): fine silk bobbin-net, 1817, from Tulle, town in central France, where the fabric was first manufactured. The place name is Medieval Latin Tutelae, said to be from Tutela, name of a pagan god.
Brie (n.): type of soft cheese, 1848, from name of district in department Seine-et-Marne, southeast of Paris, famous for its cheeses. The name is from Gaulish briga "hill, height."
mister: as a title of courtesy before a man's Christian name, mid-15c., unaccented variant of master. As a form of address, without a name and with a tinge of rudeness, from 1760.
Avicenna: Latinization of name of Ibn Sina (980-1037), Persian philosopher and physician. Full name Abū 'Alī al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā al-Balkhī.
Tethys: name for the sea that anciently lay between Eurasia and Africa-Arabia, coined 1893 by German geologist Eduard Suess (1831-1914), from Tethys, name of a Greek sea goddess, sister and consort of Oceanus.
Star Wars (n.): name of a popular science fiction film released in 1977; also the informal name for a space-based missile defense system proposed in 1983 by U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
Sheila: fem. proper name, Irish equivalent of Celia, shortened form of Cecilia, the fem. form of Cecil. A standard type of an Irish women's name since 1828; slang for "girlfriend, young woman" dates from 1839.
Silas: masc. proper name, from Late Latin, from Greek Silas, contraction of Silouanos, transliteration of Latin Silvanus, a name that literally means "living in the woods," from silva "wood" (see sylvan).
Steven: masc. proper name, Englished form of Stephen (q.v.). A top 20 name for boys born in the U.S. between 1949 and 1976; the -ph- form was the more popular in U.S. until 1960s.
Tony: masc. proper name, short for Anthony. Tony Curtis, style of men's haircut (usually with a D.A. at the back), is from 1956, from screen name of U.S. film star Bernard Schwarz (1925-2010).