Baby Name Meanings
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 10 pages
of 10
German
"famous army"
Lothar is cloddish, till you add a dashing io to the end...
"elf warrior"
This name woould be hard to picture in a contemporary kindergarten, though it does have some cultural cred via Finnish architect and furniture designer Alvar Aalto. Aalto would actually make a more…
Variation of Armina
"army man"
This Frenchified variation softens and prettifies the harsh original.
Turkish
"naval soldier"
Levent is a common name in Turkey, derived from Ottoman Turkish levend — a soldier in the Ottoman navy. The name also has connections to the Venetian navy in renaissance times.
Diminutive of Harvey; French
"battle worthy"
Short form of Harvey, variation of Harve.
Germanic
"battle"
Derived from the Germanic element badu "battle" combined with Old Norse hildr "battle", this name belonged to a 7th-century English saint who became queen of the Franks after being sold to them as a…
Danish
"desiring battle"
From the land that brought us Viggo, we now have Villads. Not as punchy as the romantic sounding Viggo, but infinitely better than the name it derives from: Willehadus.
Variation of Clotilde
"famous in battle"
This variation removes the d from the original spelling, making it even rarer. Clotilde may not see much usage in the US, but it is currently Number 431 in France.
Scandinavian
"war/battle"
While Americans may be more familiar with the male form of this name, thanks to actor Viggo Mortensen, Vigga is a popular name in contemporary Denmark and prime for wider export. It's a name with a a…
Dutch
"travel to battle"
This Dutch name derives from the old Germanic name, Farahild. It is quite common in the Netherlands.
Greek
"battle of man"
Andromache is a name found scattered throughout ancient literature. She was Hector's long-suffering wife in The Iliad and The Odyssey , featured in The Trojan Women and Andromache by Euripides, then…
Irish
"little battler"
Cathan is one Irish boys' name that remains underused and would be an intriguing way to honor an ancestral Catherine. It is related to Cain and, theoretically, the nouveau Cayden.
French diminutive of Ottilie
"prospers in battle"
This name, more often spelled Ottoline, is curiously appealing, in a hoop-skirted, wasp-waisted way; heard more often in novels than real life, though that is showing some signs of change.
French from German
"battle fortress"
Creative surname choice, associated with the great French postimpressionist Edouard Villard.
French
Hervé was a legendary French saint, patron of the blind, who performed many miracles -- it's a lot more sophisticated than the English Harvey.
"courageous in battle"
Baby-naming rule #984: forget any name that contains the syllable wig.
"battle rule"
The name of an ancient Irish saint is in the contemporary Irish Top 50. While it's one of the rare Irish names for boys that hasn't immigrated to the U.S., it may follow brothers Aidan and Declan to…
Welsh
"honor in battle"
This surname borne by several early Welsh leaders has a lot of energy.
St Cadoc was an early Welsh churchman, who gave his name to several villages in Wales, and according to his Life knew King Arthur. Less popular than other C__C names like Cormac and Cedric, Cadoc…
"battle heroine"
Seventies comic-book-heroine-style name.
