Names That Mean God

Nigerian-born supermodel Oluchi Orlandi brought this little-known (to non-Nigerians), lovely choice into the lexicon.

Oluchi

Elizabeth is a name of hundreds of variations, but this <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/493/german-names-for-girls">German name for girls</a>, redolent of the Olde Country, is unfamiliar in the U.S. and likely to remain so.

Elske

Wesley Snipes chose this distinctive East African name for his son.

Alimayu

MacKay is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" in Gaelic. Aodh is the origin of names such as Aidan and Hugh, making McKay a subtle way to honor people with those names. It could also work as an alternative for of Mackayla, derived from Michael, or to honor a Kay. 

Mackay

Strong but sparky, Ivančica is a Croatian name, that can be interpreted as a variation on Ivana and Ivanka, both international, feminine forms of John, or as a botanical name, derived from the Croatian word for "daisy". 
 
Ivančica is also the name of a mountain in northern Croatia, though its name might also be written as Ivanščica.

Ivančica

An alternative spelling of Layomi, a Yoruba name meaning "God is my joy" or a respelling of Laomi, a Romani form of Biblical Salome. Associated with joy and peace, it entered the US stats for the first time in 2024.

Layomie

Zsanka is a lively diminutive of either Zsanett, the Hungarian form of Jeanette, or Zsuzsanna, the Hungarian form of Susanna. Initially a nickname, it's also used on its own nowadays. The Zs beginning may take a second to get used to, but the name has a fun and bouncy sound that could work outside of Hungary.

Zsanka

This botanical Hebrew name is predominantly used on girls, however it is traditionally a unisex name that is used on boys too.

Neta

As a Choctaw name, Issi is an animal inspired choice, in which the double S is pronounced with a pause between like in "dress suit."
 
As an English name, it is a short form of Isabella or Isabelle, or maybe Isidora, Melissa, and similar.

Issi

A Portuguese classic. Many members of the Portuguese royal family were named João, and today it’s associated with a number of Portuguese and Brazilian footballers.

João

A rare Biblical name borne by two figures in the Old Testament, Paltiel combines the elements palas with el to mean "God is my deliverance" or "rescued by God". The name may also appear as Palti or Phaltiel,
 
The name is notably borne by Paltiel-hay Jacoby, a Israeli-American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed in the folk-pop duo, Ilana & Palti.

Paltiel

Obadias, with its appealing 's' ending, could be an even fresher way to spin the biblical Obadiah.

Obadias

Eliasz

Lisa was one of the first names to spawn a range of variations, and this is one, sometimes pronounced lee-sha.  The original is simpler and prettier.

Lesia

Tanel

While Nathan, Nat, and Nate are familiar nicknames to Nathaniel, and also used as stand alone options, Thaniel is a rarer choice. It is borne by a character in the popular novel The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley.

Thaniel

While Liesa is the German short form of mother name Elizabeth, Leisa is a spelling variation and is pronounced just like Lisa, though some people say it Lee-sha.

Leisa

A bit too elephantine for a modern child.

Eliphalet

Lem is a corn-cob pipe-smoking, back porch-rocking nickname name.  But we predict as Sam and Gus become ho-hum, more parents will look to Lem.

Jothan or Jotham was both a son of Gideon and a king of Judah in the Bible.  One of the biblical boys' names that's still obscure -- though like so many others in this class, it could be rediscovered.

Jothan

Names that mean God are plentiful, as God and all things related to a supreme power are at the root of the creation of many names.

Isabella, a variation of Elizabeth, is the top girl name meaning God. Along with Isabella, 

girl names in the US Top 1000 meaning God

 include Elizabeth, Danielle, Gabrielle, Samantha, Michaela, and Jane.



Elizabeth and Jane have dozens of popular variations that also mean God, including Elsie, Eliza, Elise, Janet, Jean, and Joan.



Elijah is the most popular boy name that means God. Along with Elijah, other 

 include Daniel, Matthew, Jack, Jeremy, Nathaniel, Caleb, Samuel, Oscar, and Shane.



John and Michael, two of the most widely-used male names of the last several centuries in the Western World, have God in their meanings.



Here is our full roster of names that mean God, ordered by current popularity on Nameberry.

Baby names for girls and boys that mean god or names that have meanings related to God, with meanings, origins, and popularity. (Page 62)

873+ Names That Mean God