Names That Mean Child

After decades of disuse, soft and feminine Evelyn has returned to the baby name stage in a huge way. It reached the Top 10 for the first time in 2017. Evelyn has now surpassed its former heights, joining a legion of contemporary little Evas, Avas, Eves, Evies, and Evelines.

The oldest-known form of Mary, serious and solemn Miriam has been a particular favorite of observant Jewish parents. But we can see it extending beyond that sphere into the next wave of Old Testament names post-Rachel, Rebecca, Sarah, Hannah, and Leah. Miriam is currently the Number 1 girls' name in Israel.

As a highly popular girls’ name in all Spanish-speaking countries, this saintly Latin variation of Mary retains a timeless beauty. Through the centuries, Maria remains one of the most widely-used girl names starting with M.

A variation of Greek Dionysius, itself derived from the name of the god of wine, revelry, and dance, Dion gives a nod to mythology while also having historical ties to a student of Plato, to a Greek mathematician and to 1st century writer and historian.

As a contemporary name, it came into popular use in the late 1950s and remained in the Top 1000 until 2006. It has dipped in and out of the charts since then, and is still given to a not insignificant 200 boys each year.

Aiko is a very common Japanese name with a lovely meaning that is rarely heard outside the Asian community.

This demon name from the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, was one of the highest debuts of 2021, when it was given to 20 baby girls. It rose to 29 girls in 2022.

Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, well known in the U. S. , might inspire some namesakes.

Although the sound is pretty, "my" is too common of an English word for My to be usable as a baby name in Anglophone countries.

One of those names with a wide array of meanings across different cultures; it's the Lithuanian form of Anna, for instance, and William Blake used it as the name of one of his mysterious, godlike characters. But it's found major popularity in Spain, where it's just outside the Top 50. It makes the Top 10 in Catalonia, being both a diminutive of Mariona and the word for "wave".

As a feminine name, Kiko is Japanese in origin. One possible meaning is "hope child," but different kanji combinations will yield alternate meanings.

This popular Japanese name has many various meanings (bright, clear, autumn), depending on the combination of kanji used to spell it. The final element is the character ko, meaning "child", which features in many Japanese feminine names. Akiko is one of the best unique names for autumn babies.

Distinctive and intriguing relative of Rae.

Japanese classic with optimistic meaning.

Hanako has a delicate sound and quaint meaning -- but there's a catch. According to widespread urban legend in Japan, Hanako is the name of the ghost of a little girl who haunts school bathrooms, who sometimes answers if you call her name.

Naoko is a common Japanese name with an admirable meaning, which, depending on how it's written, can translate to obedient, straight, honest, or green child. Naoko can also be spelled Nahoko.

Dainty and doll-like.

A feminization of Adam with several sweet nickname options — Addie, Ada, Minnie, or Mina being a few.

Sachiko was one of the first Japanese names familiar to Americans when it was used in the 1950s by actress Shirley Maclaine for her daughter, called the adorable short form Sachi. While Sachiko does not rank on the US Social Security baby names list, Sachi was given to 25 girls in the most recent year counted.

Popular choice for female anime characters.

Little-known name from the Old Testament.