Virtue Names

If you love Puritan virtue names and want to move beyond Hope and Faith and Grace, this is a wonderful choice, both for its meaning and its sound. A rare find here, though occasionally heard in England. It was used in Winston Graham's Poldark novels, was Madonna's name as James Bond's fencing instructor in Die Another Day, and made a brief appearance in Harry Potter. Not to mention being a fixture on British and Australian soaps. Verity also appears in one of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries.

Peaceful, calm, and untroubled: these are qualities parents may be hoping for, either on their parenting journey or in their child’s life. The name Serenity encapsulates these hopes, conjuring up a sense of balance, composure, and ease.

Less common than other virtue names, Liberty is nonetheless a name with a long American heritage.

No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.

In France, pronounced PRO-spare, Prosper is a fairly common name; here it presents a worthy aspirational message for a child.

A Puritan-virtue type name that could possibly work for a modern baby with its rhythmic four-syllable sound and admirable meaning.

Promise is one of those word names with an uplifting meaning that is making inroads as a girls' name, like sisters Dream and Serenity. How promising is Promise as a first name? Our try at cleverness illustrates perhaps the biggest problem with naming your baby girl Promise: It will be difficult for people to resist making bad puns on the name. We promise (argh) you'll be tired of hearing them well before your baby Promise's first birthday.

A bold choice, encompassing ideas of eternal love between parents and children, of promises kept, and infinite time, Forever may also have spiritual or religious ties for some. Grounded by its similarity to the likes of Ever, Everly, Flora, and Heaven, it was chosen for 41 girls and 9 boys in a recent year.