Baby Names That Mean Love

Every baby is born from love and into love, making names that mean "love" some of the most meaningful choices a parent can make. From ancient languages to modern traditions, cultures around the world have created beautiful names expressing love, affection, devotion, and the beloved. This collection gathers the best of them.

Girl Names Meaning Love

Classic Love Names

• Amanda — Latin for "worthy of love." One of the most direct love-meaning names. Amanda has been beloved for centuries and carries warmth and approachability.
• Amy — French origin, meaning "beloved." Short, sweet, and timeless. Amy has a simplicity that makes the love connection feel genuine rather than grand.
• Cara — Italian for "dear" or "beloved." Cara is elegant, international, and carries the warmth of Italian endearment.
• Cheryl — French-derived, meaning "darling" or "dear one." A name that literally wraps the concept of endearment into its syllables.
• Mabel — Latin for "lovable." A vintage revival name that is climbing rapidly, Mabel radiates warmth and old-fashioned charm.

International Love Names

• Aiko — Japanese for "love child." Aiko is the name of the Japanese Imperial Princess, giving it both cultural depth and royal elegance.
• Anwen — Welsh for "very beautiful" or "blessed love." Melodic and rare in English-speaking countries.
• Esme — Old French for "esteemed" or "loved." Esme has literary connections (J.D. Salinger, Twilight) and a sophisticated brevity.
• Kalila — Arabic for "dearly loved." Rich and exotic-sounding with genuine cultural roots.
• Priya — Sanskrit for "beloved." Widely used across South Asia, Priya carries millennia of love meaning.
• Suki — Japanese for "loved one." Short, playful, and cross-culturally accessible.
• Milena — Slavic for "love" or "gracious." Milena is used across Eastern Europe and has a gentle, flowing quality.

Mythological Love Names

• Venus — Roman goddess of love and beauty. The ultimate love name, Venus is bold, mythological, and unmistakable in its meaning.
• Aphrodite — Greek goddess of love. More dramatic than Venus, Aphrodite is for parents who want full mythological grandeur.
• Freya — Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Freya is currently one of the most popular mythology names, balancing love and strength.

Boy Names Meaning Love

• David — Hebrew for "beloved." One of the most enduring names in Western civilization, David carries biblical gravity and universal appeal.
• Levi — Hebrew for "joined in harmony" or "pledged." Levi has risen dramatically in popularity while maintaining its depth of meaning.
• Amadeus — Latin for "lover of God." Made famous by Mozart, Amadeus combines divine love with artistic brilliance.
• Erasmus — Greek for "beloved." A scholar's name with deep intellectual associations and the fun nickname Raz.
• Habib — Arabic for "beloved" or "darling." One of the most common endearment terms across the Arabic-speaking world.
• Connell — Irish for "strong as love." A name that unites strength and love in a single meaning.
• Philip — Greek for "lover of horses," but broadly meaning "loving." Royal, classical, and distinguished.
• Kama — Sanskrit for "love" or "desire." The name of the Hindu god of love (Kamadeva), equivalent to Cupid.

Gender-Neutral Names Meaning Love

• Love — The word itself as a name. Direct, powerful, and increasingly used as a given name for all genders.
• Amor — Spanish and Latin for "love." Simple, beautiful, and internationally understood.
• Valentine — Latin for "strong" and "healthy," but inseparable from its love associations. Works beautifully for any gender.
• Lennon — Irish for "dear one." Musical associations (John Lennon) add a peace-and-love dimension.
• Carys — Welsh for "love." Pronounced KA-riss. Elegant and rare.

Names Meaning "Heart" and "Soul"

These names do not directly mean love but connect to the heart and soul, the seats of love:

• Cordelia — Latin for "heart." Shakespeare's most loving daughter in King Lear. A name of extraordinary literary and emotional depth.
• Alma — Latin for "nourishing soul." Alma carries gentle, maternal love in its very sound.
• Enid — Welsh for "soul" or "life." A vintage name with deep spiritual meaning.
• Anima — Latin for "soul" or "spirit." Rare and deeply meaningful.

Names Meaning "Joy" and "Happiness"

Love and joy are inseparable, and these names capture the happiness that love brings:

• Felix — Latin for "happy" and "lucky." A vintage charmer experiencing a major revival.
• Joy — English virtue name. Pure, direct, and timeless.
• Beatrice — Latin for "she who brings happiness." Dante's divine beloved and a name of literary romance.
• Asher — Hebrew for "happy" and "blessed." One of the fastest-rising boy names of the past decade.
• Bliss — English, meaning complete happiness. Rare but beautiful as a given name.

Choosing a Love Name

Love-meaning names work beautifully in any position:

• As a first name: Direct and daily. Your child carries love's meaning with them everywhere.
• As a middle name: A hidden treasure of meaning. Many parents use love-meaning names as middle names to add depth without the name being the primary identifier.
• As a combination: Pair a love-meaning name with a strength-meaning name for beautiful balance: Valentina Grace, David Liam, Mabel Joy.

Explore more names with specific meanings using our name generator, or browse our complete girl names and boy names collections.