Names with Good Meanings

Mirela is a name used in Romania and Croatia and is related to popular Mira.

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

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 fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

A joyous (if a little rowdy) word name that's still relatively undiscovered by parents, being given to about 10 babies of each sex per year. Glee actor Matthew Morrison named his son Revel in 2017.

So airy, it's almost not there.

Anglicized spelling of the difficult-to-decipher Gaelic Aoibheann, the name of several Irish princesses, this name rhymes with Steven. Eavan Boland is a distinguished Irish poet who teaches at Stanford University.

Hip-swayingly evocative.

Related to Frida but with a softer sound, this name is Old Norse for "fair, beautiful"

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 might be a retro-chic nickname for a child given the family names of Mary and/or Louise.

In Buddhism, Dharma embodies the basic principles of cosmic existence--making it a fitting name for the hippyish character on the sitcom Dharma and Greg, whose middle name was Freedom.

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..

This Hindi word which is used in prayer is one of the prime names that mean peace, always a nice message to impart to a child. Nick Nolte used it for his daughter.

This obscure but simple name is related to a Latinized form of an ancient Greek appellation that receives a mention in both Plato's Dialogues and the New Testament. Timmea and Timmia have also been found.

This name of the goddess of peace creates a lovely ideal.

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 first r.

Justice is a fashionable word name, used for both girls and boys. Justice has the distinction of being a virtue name without the religious implications of Faith or Grace. It still feels more male than female, perhaps partly due to the classic Roman name Justus, but Justice has become a more common pick for girls in recent years.

Soft and appealing, with a whiff of vanilla.

Alafia is a Yoruba name for peace and is used as a name for both men and women in Nigeria.

Kazumi can be used both as a masculine and feminine name. It is related to names like Kazuko, Kazuo and Kazuki.

A possible Born Again name -- Amen -- in the same class as the still-popular Nevaeh (that's Heaven spelled backwards) and Trinity.