Names That Mean Dove

There was an eighties cartoon queen named Jem (& The Holograms), and this is as likely to be a full name as a short form – deriving from Jemma, Jemima or Jameela.

While the original Irish St. Columba was male, the modern Irish variation Colm or Scottish Callum would be more appropriate for a contemporary boy. We can, however, imagine Columba as a rhythmic and contemporary-sounding girl's name.

Grandmas will remember the old TV detective show; playmates won't. This is a name that has many variations in different cultures, from Columbus to Columba to Colum to Colm.

A beautiful English and French flower name deriving from the Latin word for dove. Sadly, in America this name is now forever linked with a tragic terrorist attack on a Colorado high school.

A peaceful Dutch name that many English speakers will find tough to pronounce.

Dyveke is related to the Frisian word düveke, which means "dove", as well as to the name Dietlinde.

Pronounced ko-LUM, this sophisticated name associated with the symbol of peace, was borne by several French saints and martyrs.

Mima was once a common nickname for the biblical Jemima.

Azerbaijani and alternative Arabic spelling of Yunus, from Jonah "dove".

The feminine form, Paloma, is more popular, but this has potential.

More popular in Turkey than either Yunus or Emre independently, this double-barreled first name is given in reference to the influential 13th- and 14th-century Turkish poet. Yunus Emre was a Sufi mystic and Sunni Muslim and was one of the earliest Turkish poets to write in Turkish rather than Arabic or Persian.

Gorgeous and definitely wearable for a Western baby girl.

Unlikely to catch on the way the male original has, though it may appeal to some parents as a more formal version of Nina.

Lovely and peaceful Cherokee option for a baby girl.

This spelling used in Italy and Spain shares the peaceful meaning of dove with the more familiar Columba. It's a Top 35 name in Chile.

A variation of Jemima, without all the baggage.

A feminization of Yonah, the Hebrew form of Jonah.