Baby Name Meanings
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
Hawaiian
"peace"
Malu is a charming Hawaiian name chosen by ex-Talking Head David Byrne for his daughter. Malu might also be an abbreviated form of Malou, which is an abbreviated form of Mary Louise. Malu or Malou…
Hindi, Sanskrit
A gentle Hindi name, ultimately from the Sanskrit śāntī , Shanti may equally refer to a state of mental and physical peace, maintained despite any stresses or difficulties and Hindu prayers for…
Hungarian, from German
"strength"
Commonly heard in its native country, and might get a boost here too, now that Alanis Morrissette has used it for her son Ever's middle name.
Welsh
"very fair, beautiful"
Anwen is one of the simplest and best of the classic Welsh girls' names, more unusual than Bronwen but with the same serene feel.
Italian, feminine variation of Frederick, German
"peaceful ruler"
Federica is the Latin version of Frederica, one of those formerly stuffy female names -- think Josephine and Eleanor -- that feels fresh and elegant again. And Federica has more energy without that…
Short form of Veronica, Latin
"true image"
More often spelled Nika, this is a well-used diminutive for the Eastern European Veronika, and there's no reason that the same principle can't apply in the West. It makes a venerated saint's name…
Hebrew
Shulamit--which has a variety of different spellings--is a serious-sounding Old Testament name that appears in the Song of Songs. Its common nickname is Shula, which is sometimes used on its own.…
French surname
"noble strength"
Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the…
Slavic
"peace, world"
Mirela is a name used in Romania and Croatia and is related to popular Mira.
Word name
"sincerity, truth"
A Puritan-virtue type name that could possibly work for a modern baby with its rhythmic four-syllable sound and admirable meaning.
French feminine form of Axel
"father of peace"
Putting the emphasis on the "elle" softens a name that seems at once futuristic and medieval.
Latin
"true"
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.
French word name
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.
A cool name, representing the Roman goddess of peace and offering a positive message to bestow upon a child. Pax is one of the most stylish new names that mean peace .
Many parents these days are responding to names meaning peace , and this is one of the more unusual ones (more often heard as a surname). Pronounced PACH-ee-a, it relates to such other peaceful names…
Chinese
"beautiful, elegant, mind, soul, joyous"
A lovely name with many possible meanings depending on the characters used. A common feature of Chinese names for both sexes.
Arabic via Urdu
"beautiful"
Ultimately a feminization of the very fashionable boys' name Zayn, Zoyna and its ilk, such as Zaina and Zoya, are fairly popular Arabic names for girls in Pakistan and among Muslims in India.
Arabic
An occasionally heard African name, hobbled by a zoolike sound.
Japanese
"beautiful peace"
Kazumi can be used both as a masculine and feminine name. It is related to names like Kazuko, Kazuo and Kazuki.
"child of peace"
Kazuko is a Japanese feminine name that combines the character kazu ("harmony") with ko ("child"), creating a name that in total symbolises a child of peace. In Japan, names ending in ‘ko’ are rarely…
