Names That Mean Brave

A more modern variation of Rǫskva, a Norse mythological name derived from rǫskr, "brave".

Røskva

Rhisiart

Yudai

Derived from the Old German elements ekka "edge, blade" and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". Eckhart Tolle is a German writer, and it is also found as a surname.

Eckhart

Scottish Gaelic form of Richard, also found as Risteard.

Ruiseart

Boudewijn

Allard

Form of the striking Sikh name Zorawar on the rise in Canada, which has a substantial Sikh population.

Zoraver

An Indian boy name most commonly used amongst Sikh families — also spelled Harwinder.

Harvinder

An Indian boy name most commonly used amongst Sikh families — also spelled Harvinder.

Harwinder

An auspicious name for a first-born son with Japanese heritage. Some may be familiar with the name Yuichi from the anime series Kanon.

Yuichi

Old-school nicknames for boys are back, and Lenn is a great candidate for revival. Single-N Len may not be as cool as this Dutch version, originally a nickname for Lennart.

Lenn

Bernie is an old school unisex nickname name, on the order of Bobbie or Willie. But with Billie and her tomboyish crew coming back, it's time to get Bernie on your radar! Bernie has a certain vintage charm and is boosted by the funky clunky Bernadette long form. 
 
Politician Bernie Sanders (temporarily) boosted this name for boys but Bernie has not been used as a given name for girls since 1975.

Bernie

Famously the father of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Dynasty. Ertuğrul is derived from the Turkish elements er, meaning "brave man," and tuğrul, a mythical falcon-like bird in Turkish and Hungarian legend, also known as a turul.

Ertuğrul

Deceptively close to Bernardo, but suaver.

Bernado

Léopold

Back in the day, Con was a nickname for Cornelius and Conrad. Today it feels like a pet form of Connor.

Valiant is an inspirational word name that can work for a child of any gender, though the six babies given this name last year were all boys.

Valiant

You’re unlikely to hear Howardena on a baby girl today, but art lovers may recognize it as the name of Howardena Pindell, an American painter and mixed media artist.

Howardena

One of the top debuts to the US charts in 2025, Eraya has a variety of different sources, including: the English and Italian Aria ("song, melody, air"), the Persian, Hindi, and Thai Arya ("noble"), the Turkish Eray ("brave moon"), the Hebrew Uriah ("Yahweh is my light"), the Ethiopian or Eritrean Araya ("leader by example"), or the multicultural Raya ("queen").
 
Eraya following in the footsteps of names like Elaya, Elara, annd Soraya.