Names That Mean Love

Names meaning love, beloved, dear or darling. The commonest theme in European naming by a wide margin, and the one where a literal translation is most often too flat — several come from words closer to "the one who is cherished" than to the noun.

Every name here has a researched page whose stated meaning carries this sense.

Rankings for

40 names, most popular first in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
Boy Hebrew #35 in US
Mila Mila is a girl's name with two independent origins.
Girl Slavic #43 in US
Molly Molly is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, a pet form of Mary whose meaning has never been settled — the candidates are "bitter" and "beloved."
Girl Hebrew #196 in US
Mabel Mabel is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "lovable."
Girl Latin #201 in US
Lennon Lennon is a unisex name of Irish origin, an anglicized form of the surname Ó Leannáin.
Unisex Irish #214 in US
Milan Milan is a unisex name of Slavic origin meaning "gracious" or "dear," from the element mil.
Unisex Slavic #242 in US
Amora Amora is a girl's name built from the Latin amor, love.
Girl Latin #247 in US
Amy Amy is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "beloved," and unusually the name is a past participle — someone who has been loved rather than someone lovable.
Girl English #257 in US
Nayeli Nayeli is a girl's name used widely in Mexico and among Mexican-American families, usually given as Zapotec for "I love you".
Girl Zapotec #270 in US
Esme Esme is a girl's name of Old French origin meaning "esteemed" or "beloved."
Girl French #298 in US
Annabelle Annabelle is a girl's name of disputed origin.
Girl Latin #344 in US
Malia Malia is a girl's name of Hawaiian origin, the Hawaiian form of Mary.
Girl Hawaiian #350 in US
Astrid Astrid is a girl's name of Old Norse origin meaning "divinely beautiful".
Girl Old Norse #376 in US
Amanda Amanda is a girl's name from the Latin for she who must be loved, and one of the few names on this site that can be dated to a specific literary invention — Colley Cibber used it for a character in his 1696 play Love's Last Shift.
Girl Latin #493 in US
Mariam Mariam is a girl's name of Hebrew origin and a spelling of Maryam, the Arabic and Aramaic form of Miriam.
Girl Hebrew #506 in US
Karina Karina means pure or beloved depending on which parent it takes, and neither has a settled meaning — Catherine's Greek original was never derived, and the Latin route gives a different sense entirely.
Girl Scandinavian #749 in US
Marilyn Marilyn is a girl's name usually read as a blend of Mary and Lyn.
Girl English #760 in US
Honey Honey is a girl's name of Old English origin taken from the word itself, from hunig.
Girl English #847 in US
Darla Darla is a girl's name coined in twentieth-century America from the word darling.
Girl English #942 in US
Kara Kara means beloved, from the Italian and Latin for dear — and a separate Norse Kara exists as the name of a valkyrie, so the same spelling covers two entirely unrelated names.
Girl Italian #1,075 in US
Anas Anas is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "friendliness" or "companionship," borne by one of the closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Boy Arabic #1,294 in US
Cara Cara is a girl's name with two independent sources: the Italian cara, meaning "dear" or "beloved," and the Irish cara, meaning "friend."
Girl Irish #1,329 in US
Aimee Aimee means beloved, and it is grammatically passive — the French past participle of aimer, to love, so the name says she who is loved rather than she who loves.
Girl French #1,586 in US
Mylan Mylan is a boy's name of Slavic origin meaning "dear" or "gracious," a French respelling of Milan.
Boy French #1,829 in US
Darlene Darlene is a girl's name built from the English word darling, and it is one of a small group of American twentieth-century coinages that used the -ene ending.
Girl English #1,846 in US
Marion Marion is a French diminutive of Mary that has crossed sexes twice over — it is 81 percent female in our records, yet its most famous bearer was John Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison.
Unisex French #2,044 in US
Polly Polly is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, a pet form of Mary whose meaning has never been settled.
Girl Hebrew #2,302 in US
Dave Dave ranks 2217th in England and Wales and 2469th in the United States, so the short form outranks its American peak market in a country that never recorded more than fifteen in a year.
Boy Hebrew #2,469 in US
Esmée Esmée is a girl's name of Old French origin meaning "esteemed" or "beloved," from the past participle of esmer.
Girl French #3,308 in US
Cheryl Cheryl is a girl's name coined in twentieth-century America, probably by blending Cherie with Beryl.
Girl English #4,386 in US
Mandy Mandy means she who must be loved, and the grammar matters — Amanda is a Latin gerundive, a form expressing obligation, so the name is closer to an instruction than a description.
Girl English #4,488 in US
Sherry Sherry is a girl's name that appears to have been taken from the wine, whose own name is a corruption of the Spanish town Jerez.
Girl English #5,486 in US
Aimé Aimé means beloved, and it is a past participle rather than an adjective — literally the one who has been loved, which is a completed act rather than a description of someone lovable.
Boy French #7,339 in US
Sherri Sherri looks French and is not — it respells Cherie, meaning darling, but Cherie is not a traditional French given name at all, so the name is an English invention wearing French clothes.
Girl American #8,777 in US
Sheri Sheri means darling, and it is French by way of a misreading — English took the adjective chérie as though it were a name, which is why it has no history as one in France itself.
Girl American #13,527 in US
Karine Karine peaked at 11,665 French births in 1972 — the largest single-year figure of any name in this group — and now ranks 7381st.
Girl French #14,865 in US
Amandine Amandine means worthy of love, and the grammar is unusual — the Latin is a gerundive, a form expressing obligation, so the name means one who must be loved rather than one who happens to be.
Girl French 96,616 births
Carine Carine set the largest peak in this group — 4,230 French births in 1973 — and now charts in one market on five, which is about as complete a collapse as our records show.
Girl French 46,893 births
Milann Milann is a boy's name of Slavic origin meaning "dear" or "gracious," a French respelling of Milan with a doubled consonant.
Boy French 4,488 births
Mylann Mylann is a boy's name of Slavic origin meaning "dear" or "gracious," the third French respelling of Milan in our charts.
Boy French 2,995 births

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