Names That Mean Beautiful

Astrid has been a Scandinavian royal name since the tenth century, and many people associated it with the Swedish author of the Pippi Longstocking stories, Astrid Lindgren. Astrid is derived from the name Ástríðr, which is made up of the Old Norse elements that mean "god" and "beautiful."

The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid would be assumed to be of Scandinavian ancestry, signaling the name has never been fully integrated into the English lexicon the way other European choices from the same era like Danielle or Kathleen have.

Alina has been drifting up the US popularity charts since the early 1980s, and now sits in in the Top 200. But Alina's real strength is in its international flexibility: The name ranks highly in a wide range of European, English speaking, and Latin American countries.

As 90s and early 2000s favorite Allie is starting to fall, Callie is feeling extra fresh. Callie is a nickname name that is currently more popular on its own than any of its longer versions.

Melodic and beautiful but with a touch of sass, Calliope is the name of the muse of epic poetry — and perhaps less glamorously, the musical instrument on the merry-go-round. Bold and creative, it debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016, and in more recent year, IT appeared in the Top 500.

Also spelled as Kalliope — the more traditional Greek transliteration — Calliope means "beautiful voice", making this a musical and poetic choice. It was rarely heard in the US until the 2000s when Calliope "Callie" Torres from the show Grey's Anatomy helped introduce it to a wider audience.

Tove is a modern variation of an Old Norse name for which there are no letters on the twenty-first century keyboard (Þórfríðr, for those interested.) Surviving and thriving in modern Scandinavia in the form of Tove, Tuva, and Tova, it is originally related to the name Thor and means "beautiful, beloved."

Mika is a sparky and stylish Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. Also used as a Slovene and Hebrew diminutive for Mihaela and Michaela, as an alternative spelling to the Biblical Micah, and as a Greek diminutive of Dimitra (via Mimika), it is a truly multi-cultural choice.

Everything ella, from Ella to Bella to Arabella, is red hot right now. Bella is one of the most, well, beautiful girl names starting with B. It carried a hint of a nice Old World grandmotherly veneer, until it became attached to Twilight's Bella Swan.

Calla is a botanical name that is much more distinctive than popular Lily or similar Callie. Rarely heard today, it did appear in the popularity lists in the last decades of the nineteenth century.

Caoimhe, pronounced (more properly) kwee-va or kee-va, is a pretty and distinctive Gaelic name but one that could well lead to no end of confusion outside the Irish community. Even in its native habitat, it is sometimes spelled Keeva.

Belle has nothing but positive associations, from "belle of the ball" to "Southern belle" to the heroine of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As if this weren't enough good things, Belle is also one of the most familiar and usable names that mean beautiful. Though it has been overshadowed by the Twilight-influenced Bella and longer forms like Isabella and Annabella, Belle has its own Southern charm and would make a pretty choice as a first or middle name.

Spelled with either one 'l' or two, Calista came to the fore in 1997 when Calista Flockhart hit it big as Ally McBeal. Flockhart, who bears her mother's middle name, didn't just introduce a name, she introduced a whole sensibility. Pretty and delicate, Calista is definitely worthy of consideration, especially for parents with Greek roots.

In Japanese this name may be written with the characters for "pure; purify; cleanse" (Kiyo/Keo) and "beauty; beautiful" (mi). Like most Japanese names, this is a name that translates well into Anglophone countries, where sweet short names are becoming increasingly popular.

In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into non-literary use in the 1840's, peaking in the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s: Melinda was a Top 100 name from 1967 to 1980. It began to fade as nickname Mindy ascended. Nowadays, however, Melinda feels more contemporary than cousins Melissa, Mindy, Belinda and Linda.

A place name with plenty of history, Memphis is associated with the place in Ancient Egypt where many of the pyramids were built, and with the bluesy US city that was named after it. With its lovely meaning and cool, musical vibe, it is currently in the US Top 500 names for boys.

Deriving from the Greek form of the Egyptian name Men-nefer, Memphis has been notably borne by rapper Memphis Bleek and by Dutch footballer, known mononymously as Memphis (who likely inspired its brief appearance in The Netherlands Top 1000 in 2015). In the US, it is a unisex name, however, it is used three times more often for boys, with 484 receiving the name in 2024.

Zuri migrated, at least to American sensibilities, to the feminine side when an Ohio zoo used it for a female giraffe. For either gender, Zuri is an attractive name with the usual Z-initial zest.

In the past this was seen as a jokey Southern colonel name, but we have heard of some parents considering it as a path to the likeable Beau.

Homophonous with Mae and May, the beautiful (literally) Mei is poised to climb the charts. The hero of the 2022 Disney/Pixar film Turning Red is a Chinese-Canadian teen named Meilin "Mei" Lee, which may boost the name ever further.

Created by Sarah J. Maas for the heroine of her Court of Thorns and Roses series of YA novels. The name was based on the Old English word for "fair" or "beautiful" and has an ethereal charm.

Literally meaning "beautiful lady" in Italian, Belladonna is the name of a poisonous flower also known as nightshade. This connection gives an otherwise flowery name a darker, more dramatic edge.