Names That Mean Hope

A whimsical and serene feeling word name, bestowed to reflect the joy and perfection parents might find in their children and the ambitions they have for them. Once a fantastical and celebrity-only feeling option, Dream came into popular usage after Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna chose it for their daughter in 2016.

Less electric and melodramatic, more serene, than Electra. Isabella Rossellini's daughter (and Ingrid Bernman's granddaughter) is named Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann.

Amal is an attractive name with a wonderful meaning that has long been used in many Middle Eastern countries, especially Lebanon (and migrant communities). It is of course getting a lot more coverage now since the fame of international human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, who's singlehandedly made this one of the best-known Arabic names for girls.

Popular in India and among Indo-Americans, this name of the hero of a famous Hindu epic has an extremely pleasing sound.

This jazzy old name could make a comeback, the way Josephine and Ella have. In England the name was popularized by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, after whom her governor general of Canada husband named the North American province. Jazz singer Alberta Hunter was a noted bearer.

Hope is one meaning of the name Amil, which sounds similar to the German Emil; it can also mean unattainable in the sense of being so exalted as in royalty as to be out of reach. While Amil may not be familiar in the Western world, it's accessible and appealing.

If you’re a fan of the annual animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you’ll recognize the name of Rudolph’s beautiful doe sweetheart, pronounced cla-REES—uncomfortably close to the Silence of the Lambs pronunciation. Clarice was the name of the wife of Lorenzo de' Medici, and Clarice Cliff was a famed British ceramics artist. Though a Top 300 name from 1906 to 1934, modern parents might prefer the more delicate Clarissa.

Favored by first-generation Jewish families from the affluent Guggenheims to criminal-producing Lanskys; now Meyer is pretty much relegated to poolside gin games in Boca.

Lush and unusual.

A handful of years ago, a judge in Tennessee ruled that parents could not name their son Messiah, "because there's only one." That decision has since been overturned and the name no longer looks out of place besides the growing number of Saints and Chosens.

This lovely, rhythmic Hindu nature name relates to the mythical Kalinda Mountains, from which a sacred river flows.

Nadezhda is more familiar in the English-speaking world by its short forms, Nadia or Nadya. Well-used through the Slavic countries and Russia, Nadezhda was the name of Lenin's wife. Viewers of The Americans learned that this was the original Russian name of the spy known as Elizabeth Jennings, played by Keri Russell.

A pretty Kazakh name derived from Turkish ayla, meaning "moonlight". The Hawaiian name 'Ailana (with the 'okina mark) means "loving".

Colorful, yes, but also probably among the hippiest of hippie names. Holly Madison recently chose it for her little girl.

Zariza is a unique name sure to appeal to Z lovers.

English speakers might want to pronounce this lovely name like the familiar Mary or Merry, but the correct Persian pronunciation includes the h -- meh-ree.

Lainie is a nickname for Elaine that has been in the public eye via Lainie Kazan (that was her full given name), who was a popular singer in the 1960s and 1970s (she was Barbra Streisand's understudy in "Funny Girl"), and then became a motherly character actress. We still find Lainie a bit flimsy for a full first name.

Lumen is a Latin word meaning "light", and the term used for the measurement of light output (making it an attractive choice for science-buffs).

Has a nice fresh, early morning meaning, but not the most mellifluous of sounds. Also spelled Arpineh.

An epithet of the sun and the Hindu god Shiva, also borne by a 12th century Indian astronomer. Bhaskar, a common Indian surname, is related.