Names That Mean Grace

A chief member of the tribe of Benjamin, and another obscure Old Testament name that few parents, even those tired of Aaron and Zachary, would consider. But with a pronunciation that rhymes with Gannon, it has the strong, straightforward, two-syllable sound that's in step with modern style.

Simple and pretty and user-friendly, the Welsh Sian was used by U2's Dave "the Edge" Evans for his daughter. In Welsh, it is also spelled Siân.

Pronounced just like Jean in the English-speaking world, but as the more unusual zhahn in France, this has sailed away with the first wave of French favorites: Denise, Michelle, et soeurs.

An Old World name that might have a chance to rise again with other ancient and worldly forms. Be sure to say yo-HAHN-es.

Variation of Channah and Hannah making multiple appearances in the US popularity charts during the latter portion of the twentieth century, Chana has now remained in the Top 1000 since 2008.

Anglicized form of Seònaid, the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of Janet. It has historically been quite popular in Scotland, although it hasn't ranked in the Top 100 there since 1995.

Caris is either a variation of the Carys, a modern Welsh name meaning "love", or a spin on the Greek Charis, meaning "grace, kindness", and used to describe the Three Graces collectively. It briefly made the England and Wales Top 1000 in the late 90s.

Animated Gaelic name popularized by singer Sheena Easton, also brings to mind Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, the Amazonian comic book and TV series heroine. Sine is considered to be and English equivalent of Jane or Jean.

It feels like a slenderized modern version, but Jennet actually has deep roots. Could this plucky name rescue Janet and Jenny from their datedness?

Shawn is one name that's become less unisex and more distinctly male over time in all its spellings, given to only 14 baby girls and over 500 boys in the US in the most recent year counted. But at its peak in the early 1970s, it was a Top 200 baby name for girls in the US, given to nearly 2000 baby girls... and 12,000 boys in this spelling alone.

Zayna is a simplified spelling of Zaynab, the name of the eldest daughter of Muhammad, and also the feminine version of Zayn. Zaina is a widely-used spelling variation. Zainabu is another form of the name, also found in Swahili.

Anice and Annis are variations of Agnes that have fallen from use, perhaps because of pronunciation issues. Neither spelling was used for any baby girls in the US in the most recent year counted, though a century ago about 100 girls were called Annis or Anice. Potential pronunciation issues ay keep parents away.

Those "Where's Gretel?" jokes will get old pretty fast.

The mononymous Colombian-born singer inspired a popularity blip in the 90s and early 00s.

This Grayson-soundalike has a long and distinguished pedigree, having belonged to both a Roman emperor and a 4th century Catholic saint who founded the see of Tours in central France. It would make a fabulous namesake for an important Grace in the family.

Soft and appealing, with a whiff of vanilla.

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.

Grace, meet Grayson. The stylish classic girls' name Grace -- it's in the Top 20 -- and the trendy boys' name Grayson or Greyson, a member of the Jason-Mason-Cason club, combine to create the girls' name Gracen. For a little girl, we'd stop at Grace.

Another spelling of JANNIK, a John form that has a terminally Olde Worlde sound to the American ear.

Nansi is a phonetic Welsh spelling of Nancy that is currently popular in Wales.