Names That Mean Faith

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

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.

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.

More often spelled VERENA, this name is attached to a third century Swiss saint. But the "virtue" name VERITY, is more appealing and comes more directly to the point.

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.

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

Many parents seeking a return to more basic values and a simpler lifestyle are turning to such virtuous girls' names as Grace, Faith, and Hope, but there are a handful that work just as well on boys, including True.

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.

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.

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

For better or worse, this name is still firmly attached to the TV series Gilmore Girls. It's one of a number of Scottish and Irish surname names beginning with Gil, meaning "servant". In this case, it's "servant of Mary", making it a subtle male Marian name.

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.

In the 18th century, Lafe was the common short form of the French surname name Lafayette. A notable bearer was Lafe McKee, who acted in over 400 films during the first half of the 19th century.

Briefly in the US Top 1000 in the late 19th century, Fate likely emerged as a short form for the old French name, Lafayette. In the contemporary landscape however, it may well be perceived as a word name among English speakers, akin to Destiny, Chance, Blessing, and Chosen. Around six boys are given the name Fate each year in the US, though 2023 saw it rise a little, with ten babies receiving the name.

Common in Wales, but would really stand out here. One of the middle names of Stella McCartney's daughter Reiley; Dilys Powell was a well-known British film critic, Professor Dilys Derwent a Harry Potter character., a witch who worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was a celebrated Headmistress of Hogwarts School..

A cute, upbeat name with a covetable meaning.

A Welsh name passed down from ancient history: the first known Coel was a leader in Romano-British times, who became a figure of medieval legend. Coel Hen (Coel the Old) was the name of a king in Ayr, and he is believed to have inspired the rhyme Old King Cole (where Cole is likely an anglicised spelling of Coel).

Frenchified name rarely used in France. And perhaps even more rarely used in the US -- there were NO baby girls given the name on the official records of 2021.

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

This name of an Albanian supermodel is a short form of many Slavic choices but is an intriguing alternative to Emma on its own.