Names That Mean Wise, Intelligent, and Smart

Hugh plus.

Tanya with a G.

Unusual alternative to Roman, chosen for his son by Matthew Modine.

A Navajo nature name with a cool, fresh sound.

This pretty African girls' name has not one but two admirable meanings.

The name of several legendary Danish kings, including one who declared universal peace.

This name of a famous ancient Roman jurist is sometimes heard in the Hispanic community.

Truly offbeat, but just on the brink of outré.

This name has been off the USA Top 1000 list since before 1900, but it has some great musical credentials: consider American blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander and country music legend Pat Alger.

Aariv is connected to the Hindu god Krisha, who represents wisdom.

Aatos is currently popular among baby boys in Finland.

A bit too self-congratulatory and, understandably, exceedingly rare. Still, if you're looking for a modern virtue name for your daughter, this may be one of the best qualities to exemplify.

Almost unknown in the western world, Gyan comes from a Sanskrit word for knowledge. It may appeal to parents looking for a name influenced by eastern philosophy, like Bodhi or Zen.

Hutchings, rarely heard as a first name, is a semi-patronymic denoting 'son of Hugh'. What it's got going for it is cute nickname Hutch, a cousin of Hitch and Huck.

Zariza is a unique name sure to appeal to Z lovers.

Sophina is an English elaboration on the internationally popular Sophia, borne by American actress Sophina Brown.

A pretty Arabic possibility which would work well in many languages.

Magee became one of the first gender-bending Irish surname names so popular today thanks to New York television newswoman Magee Hickey. In case you don't know, the g is hard, as in Maggie, but with the opposite emphasis.

Rakeem is a masculine name with Arabic origins, derived from the word "rakeem" meaning "wise" or "intelligent" in Arabic. It is also associated with "Al-Rakeem," which appears in the Quran referring to a tablet or inscription.

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.