Names That Mean Dear
Across 2 pages
of 2
The names
Mila
Slavic, Russian
"gracious; dear"
Mila is a popular name that took a 125 year nap, ranking in the Top 1000 in 1881 and then not ranking again until 2006, after actress Mila Kunis appeared on That 70s Show . Ukrainian-born Kunis was…
Milan
Italian place name, Slavic, Sanskrit
"middle of the plain; gracious, dear; union"
Effortlessly stylish with an international feel, Milan re-entered the US charts back in 2013 after a 55 year hiatus. It has been powering up the charts ever since, following in the footsteps of sweet…
Milan
Italian place name or Slavic
"the middle of the plain; gracious, dear; union"
In many Slavic and other European countries, Milan is purely a boys’ name , but in the US, it's also popular for girls – no doubt inspired by the fashionable Italian city. It entered the Top 1000 for…
Darrell
English from Norman French
"dear one, beloved"
Beach boy name of the 1960s, Darrell is still a presence on the charts and may graduate into a stately surname name.
Levin
German
"dear friend"
Levin, known in the U.S. mostly as a surname, is a Top 100 boys' name in Germany. There have been saints with variations of this name, whose meaning relates to love.
Caro
Diminuitve of Carol or Caroline, English, French ,"free man"
"free man"
Upper-crusty nickname occasionally used in Britain, particularly in 1930s novels featuring significant garden party scenes, but eclipsed here by Carrie et al.
Carina
Italian
"dear little one"
Carina is a pretty delicately feminine name whose fall from popularity is not helped by its similarity to hurricane name Katrina or slang victim Karen.
Darwin
English
"dear friend"
Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear…
Derwin
English
"dear friend"
A twist on Darwin with the same friendly meaning. Its lovable-nerd feel is given a cool edge by several football players with the name.
Drury
French
"dear one, sweetheart"
Rhythmic and energetic, Drury is of French origin, with the wonderful meaning of "dear one, sweetheart."
Sherie
English variation of Cherie, French
"dear"
A cross between Cherie and Sherry, neither of which have crossed into the 21st century.
Ossin
Irish, variation of Ossian
"little dear"
This name relates to Oisin, a famous ancient Irish poet, the son of Finn MacCool.
Farquahar
Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Fearchar
"dear man"
Definitely a far stretch for any child.
Darrell
English from Norman French
"dear one, beloved"
Once exclusively male name, Daryl Hannah made the Darrell spelling just as appropriate for girls -- and maybe even more feminine than masculine these days.
Caro
Italian
"dear"
The meaning is endearing, but it also feels uncomfortably like a short form for Caroline. Its artistic reference is British sculptor Anthony Caro.
Dariel
Feminine variation of Darrell, French
"dear one, beloved"
Dariel is one of many similar forms and variations of different names—Dara, Dariela, Daria and Darya—that are all unusual and pretty if not quite authentic-feeling.
Mileva
Serbian; Macedonian
"gracious, dear"
Albert Einstein's first wife was Mileva Marić, a Serbian student and his classmate at the Zurich Polytechnic (her childhood nickname was Mitza.) With the newfound popularity of Mila, this obscure Old…
Darling
English surname, English word name
"dear"
Darling has history as an English surname, but it would most likely be read as a quirky and loving word name, a la Sweetheart or Honey.
Nicêhis
Cree
"my little heart, my dear heart"
Lleucu
Welsh
"dear light"
Lleucu is often considered the Welsh equivalent of Lucy, as it shares the same meaning of "light", and a similar sound. (Lwsi and Liwsi are the phonetic Welsh spellings of Lucy.) It's a statement…
