149 Names That Mean Love
Updated Mon Sep 04 2023
Names that mean love are especially, well, beloved by parents right now, with such stylish names as Esme, Cordelia, Amias, Amara, and Lennon all having meanings related to love.
A love-related meaning fits in among Valentine's Day names or might be the perfect choice for a baby conceived on a honeymoon. Of course, names with love meanings can also work for any child welcomed into the world with love.
Love is always a wonderful meaning for a name, and there are baby names meaning love for baby girls and boys in every language and style, including the Welsh names Rhys and Carys and the African Obi, the classic David and the new word name, Love itself.
Along with Esme and Amara, other top girl names that mean love include Mila, Amy, Amanda, Mabel, and Philippa. Top boy names that mean love include Rhys, Philip, Lev, and Hart. Names that mean love or beloved in languages other than English include Carys, Querida, Rudo, and Sajan.
If you're looking for baby names that mean love, you can include names with a range of meanings related to love and names that reference different kinds of love, from charitable love to romantic love to spiritual love. Included here are names that mean loving, names that mean beloved, names that mean desire, names that mean heart, and even names that mean lovely.
This list includes all Nameberry's names that mean love for both baby boys and girls, ordered by their current popularity among visitors to the website.
RELATED:
- Cordelia
Origin:
Latin; CelticMeaning:
"heart; daughter of the sea"Description:
Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both style and substance along with its Shakespearean pedigree.
- Mabel
Origin:
Diminutive of Amabel, LatinMeaning:
"lovable"Description:
Mabel is a saucy Victorian favorite rising in popularity in the US over the past decade, after a 50-year nap If you love offbeat old-fashioned names like Violet or Josephine, only sassier, Mabel is one for you to consider.
- Amara
Origin:
Igbo, Sanskrit, ArabicMeaning:
"grace, immortal, tribe"Description:
Strong, attractive, and stylish, Amara is a true multicultural choice enjoying some popularity in both the US and the UK. In the US Top 1000 since the turn of this century, Amara has been holding steady in the rankings between overly popular and obscure.
- Rhys
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"ardor"Description:
There's Rhys and there's Reese (now more popular for girls) and there's Reece, and we particularly like the traditional Welsh spelling, which entered the list in 2004, possibly influenced by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, of The Tudors, and Welsh-born actor Rhys Ifans.
- Amias
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"loved"Description:
Amias or Amyas is a unique name with an attractive sound and feel and a lovely meaning. Though it might sound like a Biblical name, it is not, but is a surname that may be related to Amadeus or even be a male version of Amy--which would make it one of the few boys' names to be derived from a girls'.
- Mila
Origin:
Slavic, RussianMeaning:
"gracious; dear"Description:
Mila is a given name with Russian and Slavic provenance. It began as the diminutive form for names such as Ludmila, Milena, and Milica. Mila can be a nickname for any name containing the element mil, meaning "gracious" or "dear."
- Philip
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"lover of horses"Description:
Philip, the name of one of the 12 apostles, is still favored by parents in search of a solid boys' classic that is less neutral than Robert or John and more distinctive than Daniel or Matthew and has many historic, royal ties.
- Lev
Origin:
Hebrew, RussianMeaning:
"heart; lion"Description:
This concise one-syllable name, has two possible derivations and two positive meanings associated with it. In Hebrew, it means "heart", while in Russian it means "lion". So strong and simple Lev has both a soft and a fierce side.
- Ines
Origin:
Italian, Portuguese, Slovene and Croatian variation of AgnesMeaning:
"pure, virginal"Description:
This form of Agnes, Ines has always been popular since the true story of the thwarted lovers Queen Ines of Castro and King Peter of Portugal. This has to be one of the most heartbreaking and bloody true romances in history!
- Amy
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"beloved"Description:
Amy is the English variation of the Old French name Amée—Aimée in modern French. Amée was a translation of the Latin name Amata, which derived from amatus, meaning "beloved." Other spelling variations include Amie and Ami.
- Esme
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"beloved"Description:
Esmé comes from the past participle of the Old French verb esmer, meaing "to esteem" or "to love." It can also be considered a derivative of the Spanish name Esmeralda, which means "emerald".
- Amadeus
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"lover of God"Description:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's middle name could make an interesting pick for music-loving parents--if only in middle place. Amadeus is the title of a Peter Shaffer play which became an award-winning film in 1984.
- Pippa
Origin:
English, diminutive of PhilippaMeaning:
"lover of horses"Description:
Pippa, a peppy condensation of Philippa that turns it from serious to sprightly, has come into the public eye in a big way via the former Kate Middleton's sister. Heard far more in the UK (where it's currently just outside the Top 100) than the US, Pippa has been used on its own since the nineteenth century, popularized by Robert Browning's dramatic poem, Pippa Passes. A recent book and film was titled The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
- Suki
Origin:
JapaneseMeaning:
"loved one"Description:
One of the most familiar and usable Asian names.
- David
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"beloved"Description:
David is derived from the Hebrew name Dawid, which evolved from the element dod, meaning "beloved." It is the name of the Old Testament second king of Israel who, as a boy, slew the giant Philistine Goliath with his slingshot. He grew up to become a wise and highly cultivated leader who enjoyed music and was a poet, later providing inspiration to such great sculptors as Michelangelo and Donatello.
- Maryam
Origin:
Hebrew, Arabic, IranianMeaning:
"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"Description:
As Mary falls further out of favor, her variations become more appealing, whether you're honoring an ancestral Mary or Marie or Miriam or simply love the tradition of the name.
- Cerys
Origin:
WelshMeaning:
"love"Description:
Common name in Wales that's all but unknown in the U.S. Certainly an attractive choice ripe for export. In the UK it sits at Number 330.
- Annabelle
Origin:
Combination of Anna and Belle or French form of AmabelMeaning:
"loving"Description:
This is a charming name that rose steeply along with other-belle names, such as Isabelle, until the horror film Annabelle and its sequels knocked it out of favor. Made famous by the Edgar Allen Poe poem Annabel Lee. Annabelle is saucy and stylish, a tad upscale, has a sense of humor, is melodious and lively, but is unfortunately off its peak.
- Eros
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"desire"Description:
The name of the Greek winged god of sexual love may seem a lot to live up to, but like other deity names, it's on the rise. He appears in DC comics as an ally of Wonder Woman, and is the alias of Marvel's Starfox character. Eros is also the name of an asteroid in our solar system. The name is more popular in Italy, where it's been in the Top 200 in recent years,
- Milena
Origin:
CzechMeaning:
"love, warmth, grace"Description:
This popular name in various Slavic countries and in Italy holds considerable Continental appeal. It is the full name of Ukranian-born actress Mila Kunis, most noted for her award-winning role in the film Black Swan. Another actress bearing the name is Milena Govitch, of Law & Order.