Virtues and Concepts

  1. Amity
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "friendship"
    • Description:

      Amity--what nicer gift to give your little girl than a name that signifies friendship and harmony? This virtue name is also more rhythmic and feminine than the single-syllable Hope, Faith, and Grace.
  2. Ardent
    • Blythe
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "happy, carefree"
      • Description:

        Blythe is Nameberry gem — one of those names that visitors to the site are often searching for, despite the fact it's never ranked in the US charts as a given name.
    • Calm
      • Origin:

        Word name
      • Description:

        A modern virtue name, particularly desirable in this pressure-cooker world.
    • Clemency
      • Origin:

        English feminine variation of Clement, Latin
      • Meaning:

        "mild, merciful"
      • Description:

        One of the rarest of virtue names, Clemency could come back along with the more familiar Puritan virtue names such as Hope and Faith. It has a rhythmic three-syllable sound, and offers a more virtuous alternative to the more popular Clementine.
    • Comfort
      • Origin:

        Word name
      • Description:

        This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.
    • Dream
      • Origin:

        Word name, English
      • Meaning:

        "cherished ambition or hope; thoughts and images experienced during sleep; ideal"
      • Description:

        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.
    • Defy
      • Faith
        • Origin:

          Virtue name
        • Description:

          Faith is one of the most straightforward of the virtue names popularized by the Puritans in the seventeenth century, many parents still choosing it as an indicator of their religious conviction. Faith peaked in 2002 at Number 48.
      • Fortune
        • Origin:

          Latin
        • Meaning:

          "luck, fate, wealth"
        • Description:

          A contemporary sounding word name with an ancient history, widely used in the Roman Empire, and based on the mythic goddess of good luck and fertility.
      • Free
        • Origin:

          Word name
        • Meaning:

          "free"
        • Description:

          One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.
      • Freedom
        • Origin:

          English word name
        • Meaning:

          "the quality or state of being free"
        • Description:

          Like Justice and Peace, this word name makes a very strong statement. Ving Rhames chose it for his boy.
      • Glory
        • Origin:

          Word name
        • Description:

          Glory sounds fresh and uplifting and a lot more modern than Gloria (which is definitely feeling the stirrings of a revival, though some might still view it as a terminal Old Lady name). Glory, as in "Glory Be" and "Old Glory," has both a religious and a patriotic flavor.
      • Harvest
        • Heart
          • Loyal
            • Origin:

              English
            • Meaning:

              "faithful, loyal"
            • Description:

              Loyal is one of the few virtue names suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.
          • Marvel
            • Origin:

              English word name
            • Description:

              Marvel, now a character name in The Hunger Games series, was a miracle name of yesterday, on the girls' Social Security list until 1941 and reaching a high of 487 at the turn of the last century, when Marva was also in style.
          • Mercy
            • Origin:

              English word name
            • Meaning:

              "compassion"
            • Description:

              The quality of mercy makes this lovely Puritan virtue name a quiet favorite today. Although it was most popular in the late nineteenth century, Mercy is on its way to a comeback -- it rose 143 spots between 2012 and 2013, making it one of the year's fastest-rising names. Right now, it's still stylish and distinctive, a rare and wonderful combination.
          • Noble
            • Origin:

              Latin
            • Meaning:

              "aristocratic"
            • Description:

              With parents beginning to show an interest in virtue names for boys, this Puritan favorite just might be revived, for what could be more admirable than nobility in terms of having strength of character, dignity, and high moral ideals?
          • Patience
            • Origin:

              Latin virtue name
            • Meaning:

              "ability to accept or tolerate inconveniences, and suffering without anxiety or anger"
            • Description:

              Patience is a passive virtue turned engaging name, fresher than Hope, Faith, or even Charity. Its resemblance to the trendy Payton may be one reason that it returned to the US charts back in the 90's and 2000s, having been absent for a century.