Dog Names That Mean Love

A modern invented name, taken directly from the French phrase "J'adore", meaning "I love".

Top 100 choice in Italy.

Variant of Maricela

In the Zulu and Xhosa languages of Southern Africa, Phila is a unisex name pronounced "PEE-la" and means "to live of life" It's also the feminine version of the ancient Greek name Philo, pronounced "FEE-la", meaning friend or lover and present in several contemporary names and words used throughout the Western World. The name Philip, for instance, means lover of horses, while the city name Philadelphia means "brotherly love" and philosophy means "love of wisdom".

Popular in Hawaii in the first decades of the 20th century, this name also means "rock" in Māori.

Variant of Annemarie

Once a common girl name in Hawaii, today Leialoha is virtually unheard of.

Karita and Karitas are the Icelandic spins on Charity, also found as Carita and Caritas throughout Scandinavian. While to the English speakers these names may feel like a Latinate endearment, they are popular names in their own right.

A Spanish term of endearment that first appeared on the charts in 2005, and is slowly gaining traction.

An attractive and worldly name for a cherished baby son.

This simple but alluring name — some might associate it with the Kama Sutra — was chosen by heavy metal rocker Sammy Hagar for his daughter.

Derived from Welsh caru meaning "to love".

This cutesy nickname made it onto the Top 1000 in 1883.

A modern (and very rare) form of Jedidah, the mother of the biblical king Josiah.

A North African choice, particularly popular in Tunisia and Syria.

Kama is the winged Hindu god of love, son of Lakshmi. His proper name is Kamadeva.

The Turkish word for "love" is a Gen X name in its country of origin, but is a fresh option in the US. It debuted on the charts in 2021 thanks to the Turkish soap opera Adı Sevgi (Its Name's Love), which is also broadcast in Spanish.

Diminutive of names beginning with the element liob "dear, beloved".

A simple gender-neutral name.

A cognate of the Finnish unisex name Lemmitty, although Lembit is only used as a masculine name. Famous bearers include a 13th century king and military leader, and British former MP Lembit Opik.