Names That Mean Faith

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.

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

Short form of the name Anglicized as Saladin, very popular throughout the Arab world.

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).

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

Lem is a corn-cob pipe-smoking, back porch-rocking nickname name. But we predict as Sam and Gus become ho-hum, more parents will look to Lem.

Unusual but appealing nickname that could really be used for any name starting with Im-, although most commonly Imena.

Emmett has had an interesting and unusual gender history. A long-obscure masculinization of Emma, Emmett is now rising as a boys' name as a companion to the very popular Emma and Emily. And at the same time, Emmett itself is seen by a handful of parents as a new spin for girls on those uber-popular choices.

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

Amin is a simple but strong name with a solid meaning. It was borne by the sixth Abbasid caliph, a ruler of the Abbasid Muslim Empire in the 9th century, a descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.

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.

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.

Form of Emet

Too close to baloney.

Frequently found in all three forms: Sadik, Sadiki, and Sadiq.

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.

Satya can be either a feminine or masculine name. It is strongly connected to the virtue, and in order to represent "satya" one must be truthful not only in words, but also in actions and thoughts. Satya is a great name for those in the West who have Indian roots or are looking for a discreet virtue name.

Acting couple Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof chose this Sanskrit word meaning, literally, "truth vehicle" for their daughter. It has a melodic sound and strong meaning. Think of it as rhyming with the Russian Tatiana.

While it might sound like a purely mathematical option, Trig is considered an Anglicized form of the Old Norse name, Trygve (pronounced TRUYG-vuh or TREEG-vuh, depending on region), which means "trustworthy" — a quality many parents would value. Also written as Trigg and Tryg, international variants include the Icelandic Tryggvi (TRIK-vee) and the Swedish Tryggve.

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.