Names That Mean Thankful or Gratitude

  1. Dumi
    • Origin:

      African
    • Meaning:

      "praise"
    • Description:

      Short form of Dumisani
  2. Athalie
    • Origin:

      Hebrew and French
    • Meaning:

      "God is praised"
    • Description:

      An interesting cousin of Natalie (the 'h' is silent) found in the Louisiana Cajun community, Athalie is the name of a tragedy by classic French playwright Racine.
  3. Sami
    • Origin:

      Hebrew, diminutive of Samantha, or Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "praised"
    • Description:

      Sami is cute if overused in its more familiar Sammy form.
  4. Teboho
    • Origin:

      Sotho
    • Meaning:

      "gratitude"
    • Description:

      Teboho comes from the Sotho language native to southern Africa. It's most commonly used as a name in Lesotho and South Africa.
  5. Yoshi
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "good, respectful"
    • Description:

      Popular name in Japan, wouldn't work too well outside that culture.
  6. Tendai
    • Origin:

      Shona
    • Meaning:

      "be thankful"
  7. Praise
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Generally used in conjunction with another name to form a religious phrase -- for instance the daughter of rapper DMX is called Praise Mary Ella.
  8. Ahman
    • Origin:

      American, possible variant of Arabic Ahmed
    • Meaning:

      "commendable, praiseworthy"
    • Description:

      Football fans just might want to honor star footballer Ahman Green, whose name can be seen as a variation of AHMED or AHMAD.
  9. Ahmad
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "greatly praised"
    • Description:

      One of the five hundred plus variations on Muhammad, this is a favorite Muslim choice.
  10. Joab
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "praise Jehovah"
    • Description:

      Joab is the biblical name of an advisor of David, who led many military victories, and is surely much more usable than the burdened Job. A similar option is Joah, a possible replacement for Jonah or Noah.
  11. Hallel
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "praise"
    • Description:

      Hallel is derived from the Hebrew word halall, meaning "praise."
  12. Juda
    • Origin:

      Arabic or Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "excellence, praised"
    • Description:

      A cross-cultural name which derives either from the Arabic jada "excellence" or from the Hebrew name Yehudah/Judah, meaning "praised".
  13. Mawgan
    • Origin:

      Cornish
    • Meaning:

      "praise"
    • Description:

      In its native Cornwall, Mawgan is identical in pronunciation to Morgan, a Welsh name of separate origins. Mawgan comes from the Old Welsh mawl, meaning "praise," and is the name of a Cornish saint.
  14. Anej
    • Origin:

      Slovene variation of Aeneas, Greek
    • Meaning:

      "the praised one"
    • Description:

      Top 50 pick in Slovenia, where it is a form of Aeneas, the mythological son of Venus. Anej peaked in Slovenia in 2007, when it ranked Number 15.
  15. Admire
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "regard with respect"
    • Description:

      One of the newest virtue names, given to only a handful of baby girls in the most recent year on record.
  16. Mehmet
    • Origin:

      Turkish variation of Muhammad, Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "praiseworthy"
    • Description:

      A common form of Muhammad in Turkey, where the spelling Muhammed is also used. In the US, Mehmet is commonly known as the first name of Dr. Oz.
  17. Hadar
    • Origin:

      Israeli place name or Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "fruit or glory"
    • Description:

      Also a city near Tel Aviv, Hadar is a name found primarily in Israel. There is also a citrus fruit associated with the holiday of Sukkat the Torah calls the "hadar fruit".
  18. Itta
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Yehudit, Variation of Ita, Yiddish, Irish
    • Meaning:

      "He will be praised; woman from Judea; thrist"
    • Description:

      Itta is a cute old-fashioned name that arose parallelly as a nickname for Yehudit, used among Ashkenazi Jews, and a variation of Ita, an Irish name.
  19. Akbar
    • Origin:

      Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "praised"
    • Description:

      Name of a great Indian Mogul king, a Matt Groening cartoon character, and many Indian restaurants.
  20. Odeya
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "I will thank God"
    • Description:

      Derived from a Hebrew phrase: ode "I will thank, praise" combined with yah "Yahweh". A famous bearer is Israeli-American actress Odeya Rush.