Names That Mean Good

In the US, Rashad is one of the most popular and best-known Arabic names, through several sports and entertainment celebrities.

Ventura started life as a shortening of Bonaventura, Spanish for good luck or good fortune, but now stands on its own. It has a pleasant sound and the stylish 'V' ending, but Angelenos would associate it with the Valley's main stem--Ventura Boulevard, and others might think of Ace or Jesse Ventura.

The strong and unusual name of a medieval (male) saint and a contemporary (female) novelist, Benilde Little.

Sunita is an easily-translated name brought to the American lexicon by astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams, who holds the record for most spacewalks by a woman.

In the Bible this was the name of a midwife who helped deliver Moses.

Hebrew form of Tobiah, also used as a feminine form.

While Tobin is technically a variation of the Biblical Tobias and so a male name, it's a newfangled version that's been drafted for the girls' team by Olympic soccer star Tobin Heath, who plays for the U.S. women's national professional soccer team.

A little-known Sam name with a lovely evocative meaning.

A virtuous and optimistic name whose most famous bearer is the former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan.

Variation of Eudoxia.

An old-lady name in Scandinavia today, but Eivor may get a fresh start in the US, where it is associated with Assassain's Creed character Eivor Varinsdottir. Interestingly, the video game inspired several sets of parents to use the name for their sons in 2021 — the first year Eivor was ever recorded — but it has never made the charts for girls.

A pretty Irish name with a wonderful meaning.

Peyami is of Turkish origin stemming from the Persian word peyam, and as an upbeat meaning.

An unusual and melodious New Testament name

The Olympic gymnast Sunisa "Suni" Lee was named after her mother's favorite Thai actress.

In Roman mythology. Felicitas was the deity of good luck.

Think the letter X is always cool in names? Meet Eudoxia. An ancient name with a great meaning, associated with a number of saints and Byzantine royals, Eudoxia nonetheless sounds, to modern ears, more like the name of a skin disease or industrial solvent than a cute little girl. If you love it for some reason, variant spelling Eudocia might be a better bet.

Tuvia is the Hebrew cognate of Tobias or Tobiah, found in the Bible and used in this form in Israel. The film "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" included a character named Tuvia, who was female, pointing to the biggest downside of this name to the English-speaking ear: It sounds quite feminine.

If Angel is too popular for you, this super-rare related name might appeal, never given to more then 6 boys per year in the US.

Aimo was most common in Finland and Scandinavian during the first half of the 20th century.