Names That Mean Faith

Zayah is more famous in the US in its Zaya spelling, thanks to the elder daughter of basketball great Dwyane Wade. Either way you spell it, Zayah is a name that's both unique and simple, a great combination.

Classic Irish surname with a lot of character and some interesting associations: the title character of a Samuel Beckett novel and basketball great Karl Malone. Malone is a popular name for baby boys in France.

With its gentle sound but edgy vibe, Tru ticks the boxes for several modern trends: one syllable boy names (see Brooks), alternatively spelled word names (see Chozen), word names with spiritual undertones (see Shepherd), and nickname style choices (see Bo). Currently in the Top 1000 for girls and boys, it is joined in the rankings by Truett and True

Popular with Muslim and African-American parents, this virtue name also fits in with the trendy i ending names being seen at the moment. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1996.

With the rise of both international names and those that start with the letter V, this sharp alternative to Vera may become more familiar in the English-speaking world.

A happy combination of several desirable genres: it's a word name, it has a foreign accent, and it has a highly virtuous meaning. And few other parents will be bold enough to choose it.

Zinedine Zidane is France's biggest soccer star, spawning a legion of little Zinedines in that country.

An inspirational and aspirational word name that evokes ideas of loyalty, faith, honesty, and accuracy, True is a unisex name, which is just slightly more popular for boys. Like an updated form of Trudy and Prue and with the virtuous feel of Grace, Faith, and Hope, True was given to around 200 girls in 2023.

One of the ultimate teasable names, an Irish saint's name now associated with the oversized comic-strip dog. Scottish adventurer Bear (born Edward) Grylls took up the challenge when he used it for his son.

A sweet and sparky modern Swedish name, derived from the word for "little" plus the suffix vi, which may mean "devoted, dedicated". An intriguing alternative to the popular Lily family of names.

Loyal is one of the few virtue names suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.

Alika is a multicultural choice that's far off the beaten track.

Foppish name with a distinguished forebear, French general Marquis de Lafayette, who fought in the American Revolution. It accounts for the L in L. Ron Hubbard. Old-time short form: Fayette or Fate.

Kaleb is one of several boys' names starting with k that started life as a classic C name, Caleb. Kevin Federline named his boy Kaleb Michael Jackson.

This elaboration of the Arabic amīn, meaning "trustworthy" or "to feel safe" was a fast riser in 2022, but has yet to crack the Top 1000. Latvian musical artist Aminata Savadogo's 2021 song "It's Written in the Heavens (Milky Way)" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2022 Latvian Music Recording Awards, potentially bringing the name into the spotlight.

A masculine name from the Old Testament, but would likely be confused for Amy.

Looks like a pared-down Emmett, but it actually derives from a difference source.

In the Old Testament, Asenath was the wife of Joseph and mother of Manesseh and Ephraim.

The usage of this Arabic name has been increasing in the US, joining the Top 1000 for the first time in 2015. Aminah bint Wahb was the mother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

With both the Dillon and Dylan spellings, usage of this gender-neutral names runs about ten to one boys to girls. But Dylan is used about 20 times as often as Dillon for both genders. Which might be a vote in favor of Dillon, though for better or worse, this spellings distances the name from singer Bob and poet Thomas.