Names with Good Meanings

More often spelled VERENA, this name is attached to a third century Swiss saint. But the "virtue" name VERITY, is more appealing and comes more directly to the point.

An inspirational and aspirational word name that evokes ideas of loyalty, faith, honesty, and accuracy, True is a unisex name, which is just slightly more popular for boys. Like an updated form of Trudy and Prue and with the virtuous feel of Grace, Faith, and Hope, True was given to around 200 girls in 2023.

Commonly heard in its native country, and might get a boost here too, now that Alanis Morrissette has used it for her son Ever's middle name.

Putting the emphasis on the "elle" softens a name that seems at once futuristic and medieval.

Malu is a charming Hawaiian name chosen by ex-Talking Head David Byrne for his daughter. Malu might also be an abbreviated form of Malou, which is an abbreviated form of Mary Louise. Malu or Malou might be a retro-chic nickname for a child given the family names of Mary and/or Louise.

So airy, it's almost not there.

Mirela is a name used in Romania and Croatia and is related to popular Mira.

Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

Anglicized spelling of the difficult-to-decipher Gaelic Aoibheann, the name of several Irish princesses, this name rhymes with Steven. Eavan Boland is a distinguished Irish poet who teaches at Stanford University.

Alika is a multicultural choice that's far off the beaten track.

An eider is a sea duck with extra soft feathers as well as a Basque name with a lovely meaning. Eider is one of the fastest-rising boys' names below the Top 1000. Though theoretically unisex, no baby girls were given the name in 2023.

Related to Frida but with a softer sound, this name is Old Norse for "fair, beautiful"

This Hindi word which is used in prayer is one of the prime names that mean peace, always a nice message to impart to a child. Nick Nolte used it for his daughter.

This name of the goddess of peace creates a lovely ideal.

Alafia is a Yoruba name for peace and is used as a name for both men and women in Nigeria.

Kazuko is a Japanese feminine name that combines the character kazu ("harmony") with ko ("child"), creating a name that in total symbolises a child of peace. In Japan, names ending in ‘ko’ are rarely used as they now sound oldfashioned. More ‘trendy’ names are Kazumi (which means beautiful peace and can me used on both boys and girls), Kazuki (a masculine name meaning hope of peace) and Kazuo (also a masculine name meaning man of peace). The emphasis is on the first syllable, so it is said "KA-zoo-ko".

Supermodel Shalom Harlow glamorized this name, which is heard as a greeting every day in Israel.

A possible Born Again name -- Amen -- in the same class as the still-popular Nevaeh (that's Heaven spelled backwards) and Trinity.

Acting couple Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof chose this Sanskrit word meaning, literally, "truth vehicle" for their daughter. It has a melodic sound and strong meaning. Think of it as rhyming with the Russian Tatiana.

Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry Potter character., a witch who worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was a celebrated Headmistress of Hogwarts School..