Names by Meaning

Pick a name for what it says, not only how it sounds. These lists gather names by their meaning, with the origin of each one.

Yağız
Brown, chestnut (Turkish)
BoyTurkish
Chirag
Lamp, light (Persian)
BoyIndian
Amit
Boundless, infinite (Sanskrit). No. 8,296 in the US in 2025, 9 babies.
BoyIndian
Amalaberga
Brave protection (Gothic)
GirlGerman
Sonny
Son (English). No. 298 in the US in 2025, 1,137 babies. Given to both: 5% girls.
BoyEnglishRising
Himeko
Princess child (depends on characters) (Japanese)
GirlJapanese
Concepción
Conception (Latin). No. 15,431 in the US in 2025, 5 babies.
GirlSpanish
Lindiwe
The awaited one (Zulu)
GirlAfrican
Kajetan
From Gaeta (Latin)
BoyPolish
Alon
Oak tree (Hebrew). No. 5,216 in the US in 2025, 18 babies.
BoyHebrew
Adair
From a surname derived from Edgar (English). No. 2,145 in the US in 2025, 90 babies. Given to both: 26% girls.
UnisexPortuguese
Sepideh
Dawn, daybreak (Persian)
GirlPersian

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All 18 by meaning lists, A to Z

Names by meaning

Names grouped by what they mean, from our database of names with checked meanings.

Names that mean moon
- Aykut: moon and good fortune (Turkish)
- Ayla: halo of the moon (Turkish)
- Aylin: moon halo, moonlight (Turkish)
- Badr: full moon (Arabic)
- Günay: sun and moon (Turkish)
- Jacira: moon and honey (Tupi)
- Kutay: lucky moon (Turkish)
- Mahtab: light of the moon (Persian)
- Mahyar: friend of the moon (Persian)
- Mitsuki: beautiful moon (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Selena: the moon (Greek)
- Shashank: the moon, literally hare-marked (Sanskrit)
Names that mean sun
- Asahi: morning sun, written 朝日 (Japanese)
- Chaoyang: morning sun, written 朝阳 (Chinese)
- Dinkar: day-maker, the sun (Hindi)
- Divakar: day-maker, the sun (Sanskrit)
- Donguk: rising sun in the east (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Heliodoro: gift of the sun (Greek)
- Inti: sun (Quechua)
- Langa: the sun (Zulu)
- Marinalva: a blend of Marina and alva, dawn (Portuguese)
- Prabhat: dawn, morning light (Sanskrit)
- Suryakant: beloved of the sun (Sanskrit)
- Zora: dawn (Slavic)
Names that mean star
- Akhtar: a star (Persian)
- Asteria: starry (Greek)
- Astra: a star (Greek)
- Danica: morning star (Slavic)
- Estela: star (Latin)
- Esther: possibly star (Persian)
- Izar: a star (Basque)
- Kokeb: a star (Amharic)
- Nkanyezi: a star (Zulu)
- Nthanda: a star (Tumbuka)
- Starla: a star (English)
- Tarak: star, protector (Sanskrit)
Names that mean light
- Albert: noble and bright (Germanic)
- Ana Lucía: grace and light (Hebrew and Latin)
- Fotini: light, radiant (Greek)
- Kunibert: bright clan (Germanic)
- Luis Alberto: famous warrior, noble and bright (Germanic)
- Muireall: bright sea (Scottish Gaelic)
- Noor: light, radiance (Arabic)
- Ori: my light (Hebrew)
- Prabha: light, radiance (Sanskrit)
- Sayaka: clear fragrance; clear, bright (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Sveta: short form of Svetlana, light (Slavic)
- Ziya: light, splendor, glow (Arabic)
Names that mean fire
- Agni: fire (Sanskrit)
- Ayden: variant of Aidan, little fire (Irish Gaelic)
- Brand: sword, fire, torch (Old Norse)
- Koray: ember moon (Turkish)
- Lasair: flame (Irish Gaelic)
- Phlegon: burning (Greek)
- Pyrrha: flame-colored, red (Greek)
- Sandip: burning brightly, kindled (Sanskrit)
- Séraphine: fiery ones (Hebrew)
- Shula: flame (Arabic)
- Sirius: burning, scorching (Greek)
- Şule: flame (Turkish)
Names that mean water or sea
- Aysu: moon water (Turkish)
- Brooke: small stream (Old English)
- Delmar: of the sea (Spanish)
- Irving: green water (Brythonic)
- Lwandle: ocean (Zulu)
- Muirgheal: bright sea (Irish Gaelic)
- Murdo: sea warrior (Irish Gaelic)
- Nahla: a drink of water (Arabic)
- Pınar: spring, water source (Turkish)
- Rain: rain (Old English)
- Sagarika: of the ocean (Sanskrit)
- Umi: the sea (Japanese)
Names that mean love
- Aziza: respected, beloved (Arabic)
- Cerys: love, beloved (Welsh)
- Chikondi: love (Chichewa)
- Filomena: to be loved (Greek)
- Lubanzi: it is wide, from a phrase meaning love is wide (Xhosa)
- Maite: beloved (Basque)
- Mary: from Hebrew Miryam; uncertain, perhaps Egyptian beloved or love (Hebrew)
- Milan: gracious, dear; a short form of Slavic Mil- names (Slavic)
- Phila: beloved, friend (Greek)
- Priti: love, joy (Sanskrit)
- Ren: lotus; love (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Yedida: beloved, friend (Hebrew)
Names that mean strong
- Ander: manly, brave (Greek)
- Angus: one strength (Scottish Gaelic)
- Archie: genuinely bold (Germanic)
- Berkay: strong moon (Turkish)
- Dimosthenis: strength of the people (Greek)
- Gerda: spear and brave (Germanic)
- Lenny: brave lion (Germanic)
- Leonardo: brave lion (Germanic)
- Maitilde: mighty in battle (Germanic)
- Moataz: proud, mighty (Arabic)
- Ozias: my power is Yahweh (Hebrew)
- Wolfhard: wolf and brave (Germanic)
Names that mean peace
- Casimir: destroyer of peace (Slavic)
- Fadrique: peaceful ruler (Germanic)
- Ieyasu: house and peace (Japanese)
- Irina: peace, from Greek Eirene (Greek)
- Irini: peace (Greek)
- Jaromir: fierce peace (Slavic)
- Jian: wisdom and peace (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Mira: peace, from Slavic Mir- names; in Sanskrit, sea (Slavic)
- Salomé: peace (Aramaic)
- Süleyman: peaceful, man of peace (Hebrew)
- Tangwystl: peace pledge (Welsh)
- Wilfred: desiring peace (Old English)
Names that mean gift
- Eadgifu: rich gift (Old English)
- Feodora: gift of God (Greek)
- Gerasimos: honor, gift (Greek)
- Makana: a gift (Hawaiian)
- Matan: gift (Hebrew)
- Matteo: gift of God (Hebrew)
- Matthijs: gift of God (Hebrew)
- Mphatso: a gift (Chichewa)
- Natanael: God has given (Hebrew)
- Nathaniel: God has given (Hebrew)
- Neo: a gift (Tswana)
- Theodosia: gift of God (Greek)
Names that mean grace
- Ana Paula: grace and humility (Hebrew and Latin)
- Eunho: grace and vastness (depends on characters) (Korean)
- Giovanni: God is gracious (Hebrew)
- Grace: grace, divine favor (Latin)
- Hans-Peter: God is gracious plus stone (Hebrew and Greek)
- Jean: God is gracious (Hebrew)
- Jean-François: God is gracious, plus Frenchman (Hebrew and Latin)
- Juan Camilo: God is gracious, young religious attendant (Hebrew and Latin)
- Juan Pablo: God is gracious, small (Hebrew and Latin)
- Juan Ramón: God is gracious, counsel protector (Hebrew and Germanic)
- Rosana: rose and grace (Latin and Hebrew)
- Siubhan: God is gracious (Hebrew)
Names that mean wisdom
- Cheol: wise; iron (depends on characters) (Korean)
- Farzaneh: wise, learned (Persian)
- Jia: wise and elegant (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Jiahui: fine and wise (depends on characters) (Chinese)
- Jihyeon: wise and virtuous (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Jiyeong: wisdom and glory (depends on characters) (Korean)
- Michiko: beautiful wise child (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Minho: clever and great (depends on characters) (Korean)
- Minhyeok: clever and glorious (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Minjae: clever and talented (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Tomomi: wisdom and beauty (Japanese)
- Yeji: insight, wisdom (Korean)
Names that mean flower
- Bláthnat: little flower (Irish Gaelic)
- Ghoncheh: flower bud (Persian)
- Gol: flower, rose (Persian)
- Gul: flower, rose (Persian)
- Lilac: lilac flower (Persian)
- Lilly: variant of Lily, the flower (English)
- Melia: plumeria flower (Hawaiian)
- Ren: lotus; love (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Susi: lily (Hebrew)
- Thalía: to blossom (Greek)
- Vered: rose (Hebrew)
- Ying: flower; clever (depends on characters) (Chinese)
Names that mean joy
- Anand: bliss, happiness (Sanskrit)
- Beata: blessed, happy (Latin)
- Beate: blessed, happy (Latin)
- Euterpe: delight (Greek)
- Funmilayo: give me joy (Yoruba)
- Furaha: joy, happiness (Swahili)
- Hilario: cheerful (Latin)
- Hürrem: happy, cheerful (Persian)
- Mehrnaz: love, delight (Persian)
- Oshrat: happiness (Hebrew)
- Preeti: love, joy, pleasure (Sanskrit)
- Yevfrosiniya: joy, mirth (Greek)
Names that mean warrior
- Donnchadh: brown warrior (Scottish Gaelic)
- Efstratios: good army (Greek)
- Hermine: army man (Germanic)
- Igor: warrior of the god Ing (Old Norse)
- Joar: horse warrior (Old Norse)
- Jorge Luis: farmer, famous warrior (Greek and Germanic)
- Lou: famous warrior (Germanic)
- Lovisa: famous warrior (Germanic)
- Luigi: famous warrior (Germanic)
- Luis Fernando: famous warrior, brave journey (Germanic)
- Ryder: mounted warrior (Old English)
- Wyatt: brave in war (Old English)
Names that mean hope
- Chiyembekezo: hope (Chewa)
- Elpida: hope, expectation (Greek)
- Itxaro: hope, waiting (Basque)
- Khayr ad-Din: goodness of the faith (Arabic)
- Maki: true hope, written 真希 (Japanese)
- Nadia: hope (Slavic)
- Nozomi: hope, wish (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Omid: hope, expectation (Persian)
- Raja: hope (Arabic)
- Tariro: hope (Shona)
- Tshepo: hope, trust (Sotho)
- Tsholofelo: hope, expectation (Tswana)
Names that mean life
- Aisha: alive, living (Arabic)
- Allegra: cheerful, lively (Italian)
- Ava: variant of Eve, life; in Persian, voice (Hebrew)
- Chaim: life, living (Hebrew)
- Eubh: living, life (Hebrew)
- Eve: living, life (Hebrew)
- Evita: pet form of Eva, life (Spanish)
- Keola: the life (Hawaiian)
- Macbeth: son of life (Scottish Gaelic)
- Ndubuisi: life is foremost (Igbo)
- Veit: life (Latin)
- Zoya: life, from Greek zoe (Greek)
Names that mean king or queen
- Abdulmalik: servant of the King (Arabic)
- Aubrey: elf ruler (Germanic)
- Cyneburh: royal fortress (Old English)
- Donal: world ruler (Irish Gaelic)
- Emery: Norman form of Emmerich, whose second part means ruler (Germanic)
- Euric: eternal ruler (Gothic)
- Federica: peaceful ruler (Germanic)
- Freya: lady, noblewoman (Old Norse)
- Henrique: home ruler (Germanic)
- Jeonghui: faithful lady (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Murdoch: lord, master (Scottish Gaelic)
- Rurik: famous ruler (Old Norse)
Nature names
- Berkeley: birch wood (Old English)
- Collen: hazel tree (Welsh)
- Ebony: black wood (English)
- Georges: farmer, earth worker (Greek)
- Georgia: farmer, earth worker (Greek)
- Holden: from a surname and place name meaning deep valley (Old English)
- Ilanit: tree (Hebrew)
- Labhra: laurel (Latin)
- Laurel: bay tree, a symbol of victory (Latin)
- Linden: lime tree (Old English)
- Prithvi: earth (Sanskrit)
- Sheldon: valley with steep sides (Old English)
Names that mean gift of God
- Anselmo: divine protection (Germanic)
- Benito: blessed (Latin)
- Carwyn: blessed love (Welsh)
- Chika: God is supreme (Igbo)
- Chinyere: God gave (Igbo)
- Giampiero: God is gracious and rock (Hebrew and Greek)
- Giancarlo: God is gracious and free man (Hebrew and Germanic)
- Matthew: gift of God (Hebrew)
- Mattias: gift of God (Hebrew)
- Micaela: who is like God? (Hebrew)
- Nanni: God is gracious (Hebrew)
- Yechezkel: God will strengthen (Hebrew)
Names that mean spring, summer, autumn or winter
- Fuyuki: winter tree (Japanese)
- Gaeul: autumn, a native Korean word (Korean)
- Haruki: spring tree; shining sun (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Haruna: spring greens (Japanese)
- Hayeon: summer and beautiful (depends on hanja) (Korean)
- Izumi: spring, fountain (Japanese)
- Natsuki: summer hope (depends on characters) (Japanese)
- Pınar: spring, water source (Turkish)
- Sharad: autumn (Sanskrit)
- Somhairle: summer traveler (Old Norse)
- Tasnim: a spring in paradise (Arabic)
- Yeoreum: summer, a native Korean word (Korean)

Names by Meaning: common questions

How can I find a name by its meaning?

Browse the themes on this page or search a word such as moon, light or brave. Search checks the meaning of every name in our database.

What name means moon?

Luna (Latin), Selene (Greek) and Chandra (Sanskrit) all mean moon. The moon theme on this page lists more.

What name means light?

Lucia and Lucy (Latin), Nora (often linked to light) and Noor (Arabic) are popular choices. See the light theme for the full set.

Are name meanings reliable?

Meanings vary between sources. We list the accepted etymology and leave out names whose meaning is disputed or unknown.

Names by Meaning

Most popular by meaning lists

All 18 by meaning lists, A to Z

Names by meaning

Names that mean moon

Names that mean sun

Names that mean star

Names that mean light

Names that mean fire

Names that mean water or sea

Names that mean love

Names that mean strong

Names that mean peace

Names that mean gift

Names that mean grace

Names that mean wisdom

Names that mean flower

Names that mean joy

Names that mean warrior

Names that mean hope

Names that mean life

Names that mean king or queen

Nature names

Names that mean gift of God

Names that mean spring, summer, autumn or winter

Names by Meaning: common questions

How can I find a name by its meaning?

What name means moon?

What name means light?

Are name meanings reliable?

Every other kind of name