Baby Name Meanings
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 12 pages
of 12
Italian word name
"lighthouse"
Names ending with O are popular, but this one is almost unheard-of. Faro has the advantages of being easy to spell and pronounce (unless it's confused with Pharaoh), and a bright meaning. Ultimately…
Mongolian
"light"
Finnish, Estonian diminutive of Helena, Greek
"torch; shining light"
More modern than Helen or Helena, and an interesting alternative to Hayley and Hallie. By coincidence, heli also means "saltwater" in Welsh.
Irish
Pronounced lee-sha, Laoise is the feminine form of the Irish mythological names Lugh and Lugus, which means light. Lugus was the Celtic god of commerce and craftsmanship, the equivalent of the Roman…
English
"pure light"
Lucasta was invented by seventeenth century poet Richard Lovelace for a collection of poems dedicated to a lover named Lucy, and is familiar through the Eugene O'Neill play and film Anna Lucasta .…
Hebrew
"a light"
A little-known Hebrew name which ranks in the Top 100 in Israel.
"cultured and enlightened"
Certainly qualities desired for our sons.
"candle, light"
Because of its meaning, this is a symbolic name given to girls born on Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.
Combination of Nora and Belle
"beautiful light"
Blended name sometimes heard in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Swahili
"born in daylight"
Evocative African choice.
A bit blunt.
Hindi
"light, lantern"
One of the more familiar Hindu choices, with built-in depth and a suggestion of enlightenment.
"bright forest"
Unfashionable surname, best left in the forest with Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
Spanish from Persian
"sun-bright, glowing"
Would undoubtedly be confused with the geographical Syria.
Vietnamese
"bright blue; brilliant"
A common Vietnamese name heard evenly for boys and girls in the U.S. Sounds like tahn or tong, depending on what part of Vietnam you come from.
Variation of Azenor, Breton
The origins of Senara, the name of a Cornish saint who is patron of the village of Zennor, are not so straightforward. Some say she was the same person as Azenor, a legendary Breton princess whose…
"spark, ray of light"
The viv syllable adds vitality.
Bulgarian
"bright, light"
A radiant Slavic name with an easily accessible sound. While it is reminiscent of the more familiar Svetlana, Svetla actually originates from the Bulgarian word svetal , meaning bright .
Literary name
"Daughter of the twilight / nightingale"
Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is…
"pure, bright"
