Names with Inspirational Meanings

Kiaria is pretty but sure to prove confusing given all the more familiar Kiara and Keira variations out there.

Short form of Adebayo

Fane, used as a nickname in the Middle Ages for someone with a cheerful disposition, is one of the more offbeat members of the Zane-Kane family.

Sweet multicultural name.

Frenchified name rarely used in France. And perhaps even more rarely used in the US -- there were NO baby girls given the name on the official records of 2021.

Provocative word name that may strike the right chord for an adventurous baby namer.

Keefe is an energetic Irish surname occasionally used as a first. Only caveat: Will people think your little Keefe is a Keith with enunciation problems?

Mirembe is a feminine Ugandan name stemming from the Luganda word "emirembe" meaning peace, quiet. In Luganda, Rs are pronounced similar to Ls, so mill-EM-beh is an approximate pronunciation.

Shreya is an Indian name with several positive meanings--beautiful, fortunate, auspicious, favorable--and ties to the goddess Lakshmi.

A strong, masculine name hardly heard outside the Hebrew-speaking community.

Coolly attractive African name, with distinguished representatives in sports and literature. Jabari has been on the rise recently, returning to the US Top 1000 in 2023.

Resonant and unusual.

Among the children named Heaven are the daughters of TV personality Brooke Burke and rap singer Lil' Mo, who also has a daughter named God'iss Love. Some parents have taken to using Nevaeh instead—Heaven spelled backwards.

This name of the Hindu god of the sun and of friendship sounds feminine enough to work for a girl.

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

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

Too close to "payola."

The popular Dutch name Lieke is one of those diminutives, like Lena, that can be short for a range of names ending in its sound -- which, by the way, is the two-syllable LEE-ka. Despite its versatility, we don't see Lieke's popularity translating to English-speaking cultures.

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.