Names That Mean Good

A kindly, virtue-adjacent name, it appears in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, borne by the peacemaker friend who persuades Romeo to go to the party where he meets Juliet. Alas. A bold choice but with familiar nicknames Ben, Lio, and Bo.

There are many in Japan, but for most Americans there's only one Yoko.

A variation of Tobit in Hebrew and a form of Tobias in Belarusian, Tovi ultimately comes from the Hebrew meaning "good".

A simple, international name extremely popular in India. The word, meaning "song", also appears in the name of the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu sacred text. Geeta is a spelling variant.

Vanina is a name that is, at first glance, miles apart from its origin. But once you say it aloud and look for it, you can see the direct line from Evangelina to Vanina. Vanina could also be a good alternative for people who like the sound of Vanille or Vanilla, but can't bring themselves to use a flavor as a name.

Kai is one of the hottest names out there in recent years, climbing quickly into the Top 100. This combined with a surge of Japanese names gaining popularity in the US, like Kenji, Raiden, and Kenzo, and you've got a hit. Kaizen is of Japanese origin meaning "good change" — a term used for the Japanese business practice of continuous improvement in performance. It entered the US charts for the first time in 2022, and was among the fastest-rising names in 2023 as well.

French form of Euphrasia. This was the real name of Cosette in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. It was popular in French up to and around the turn of the 20th century, but fell out of the French Top 500 in 1943, just over 80 years after the publication of the novel.

A little-known Sam name with a lovely evocative meaning.

A beautiful Yoruban name associated with honor and good fortune. Both fy-o-la and fay-OH-luh are used as pronunciations.

Ventura started life as a shortening of Bonaventura, Spanish for good luck or good fortune, but now stands on its own. It has a pleasant sound and the stylish 'V' ending, but Angelenos would associate it with the Valley's main stem--Ventura Boulevard, and others might think of Ace or Jesse Ventura.

Sunita is an easily-translated name brought to the American lexicon by astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams, who holds the record for most spacewalks by a woman.

Ventura started life as a shortening of Bonaventura, Spanish for good luck or good fortune, but now stands on its own. It has a pleasant sound and the stylish 'V' ending, but Angelenos would associate it with the Valley's main stem--Ventura Boulevard, and others might think of Ace or Jesse Ventura.

A rare alternative to Tobias, with a lesser-known Biblical story.

This is a rarely heard multi-cultural name, related to a 14th century Jewish scholar named Kalonymous ben Kalonymous, who translated important texts from Arabic to Hebrew. It is also a Hungarian derivative of Colman, via the Latin Columba, meaning dove, and was the name of a 12th century king of Hungary. Its modern sound make it an interesting option.

While Tobin is technically a variation of the Biblical Tobias and so a male name, it's a newfangled version that's been drafted for the girls' team by Olympic soccer star Tobin Heath, who plays for the U.S. women's national professional soccer team.

A jaunty surname, best known from British actress Helena Bonham Carter, that parents have started to use in small numbers in the last two decades.

A bright, celestial sounding choice with a lucky meaning. Violinist Maimuna Murashko and actress Maimuna Memon are notable bearers.

Used both as a given name and as a surname, Bashir is a familiar but still unusual choice in the USA and UK, even among Muslim families. In 2014, only 25 boys were named Bashir in the US. One reason for its low usage could be a connection to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes, including genocide, in Darfur.

Tashi is a Tibetan word meaning "good fortune," and is also used as a given name and surname in Tibet and Bhutan.

Ultimately from the Arabic ni'ma, this Swahili name celebrates the blessing of a baby. Also used as a masculine name, Neema is notably borne by film director Neema Barnette and activist Neema Namadamu.