75+ Baby Names That Mean Love (With Meanings & Origins)

What could be more fitting for a new baby than a name that literally means love? From the very first moment you hold your child, every feeling you have is wrapped up in that one word. Giving them a name that carries love inside its meaning is one of the most tender and intentional things a parent can do, a quiet declaration that travels with them through every stage of their life.

Names meaning love come from every corner of the world and every era of human history. The ancient Romans celebrated love through Venus and Amara. The Celts wove it into names like Cara and Caron. Arabic tradition gave us names like Habib and Aisha that carry love and life together. Japanese names like Ai and Ren bring the concept of love into the most beautiful minimal sounds imaginable. Love, it turns out, has always been something humans wanted to name their children after.

Whether you are looking for something classic and familiar or rare and distinctive, this list covers more than 75 baby names meaning love for girls, boys, and everything in between, with full meanings, origins, and SSA popularity rankings to guide your search. Popularity rankings are based on the most recent Social Security Administration (SSA) data.

Quick Info: Names ranked >1000 on the SSA database are considered truly rare and unique. Names closer to 1 are among the most popular in the US today.

Popular Girl Names

Amara

• Origin: Latin/African
• Meaning: Eternal love, grace
• Popularity: #114

Warm, modern, and carrying a meaning of love that stretches across both Latin and African traditions, Amara has been rising steadily and now sits comfortably in the top 150 girl names.

Amy

• Origin: French/Latin
• Meaning: Beloved, dearly loved
• Popularity: #201

Rooted in the Old French word aimee meaning beloved, Amy is a name that carries its loving meaning with the kind of easy, warm confidence that never goes out of style.

Cara

• Origin: Italian/Celtic
• Meaning: Beloved, dear, friend
• Popularity: >1000

The Italian word for dear used as a name, Cara is warm, simple, and carries a tenderness in its meaning that makes it feel like a permanent term of endearment.

Caris

• Origin: Welsh/Greek
• Meaning: Love, grace
• Popularity: >1000

A rare Welsh name rooted in the word for love, Caris has a clean, modern sound and a deeply affectionate meaning that makes it a genuinely beautiful and underused choice.

Davina

• Origin: Hebrew/Scottish
• Meaning: Beloved, cherished
• Popularity: >1000

The Scottish feminine form of David, carrying the Hebrew meaning of beloved, Davina has a warm, slightly old-fashioned elegance and a deeply affectionate meaning rooted in one of the Bible’s greatest love stories.

Esme

• Origin: French/Persian
• Meaning: Beloved, esteemed, emerald
• Popularity: #267

Soft and sophisticated, Esme carries the French meaning of beloved inside one of the most quietly elegant short names available to modern parents, sitting beautifully in the top 300.

Lena

• Origin: Greek/Latin
• Meaning: Alluring, beloved, bright
• Popularity: #236

Clean and bright, Lena has a warm European elegance and a loving meaning that crosses multiple traditions while always feeling simple, timeless, and deeply appealing.

Mila

• Origin: Slavic
• Meaning: Gracious, dear, loved by the people
• Popularity: #18

One of the great Slavic love names, Mila carries the meaning of being dear and beloved inside a short, warm sound that has made it one of the fastest-rising girl names in America.

Nadia

• Origin: Slavic/Arabic
• Meaning: Hope, tender, loving
• Popularity: #250

Carrying warmth and tenderness in its Eastern European and Arabic roots, Nadia has a soft, romantic quality and a loving energy that has kept it consistently popular across decades.

Vida

• Origin: Spanish/Hebrew
• Meaning: Life, beloved, dearest
• Popularity: >1000

Crisp and warm, Vida carries the Spanish word for life alongside a Hebrew meaning of beloved, making it a name that packs both love and vitality into a single beautiful syllable.

Rare and Elegant Girl Names

Amadea

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Love of God, loved by God
• Popularity: >1000

The feminine form of Amadeus, the name meaning love of God made famous by Mozart, Amadea is rare, deeply beautiful, and carries a divine love in its very roots.

Amabilis

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Lovable, worthy of love
• Popularity: >1000

An ancient Latin name meaning lovable and worthy of love, Amabilis is extraordinary in its rarity and its meaning, a name from the earliest centuries of Christian tradition.

Carita

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Charity, beloved, dear
• Popularity: >1000

From the Latin word caritas meaning love and charity, Carita carries one of the most profound forms of love in its meaning and a warm, flowing sound that is quietly beautiful.

Cherish

• Origin: English/French
• Meaning: To hold dear, to love tenderly
• Popularity: >1000

One of the most directly loving names in the English language, Cherish is warm, tender, and carries its meaning so openly that it feels less like a name and more like a promise.

Darlene

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Darling, dearly beloved
• Popularity: >1000

A mid-century American classic rooted in the word darling, Darlene has a retro warmth and a genuinely affectionate meaning that makes it feel like it is ready for a quiet comeback.

Eirene

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Peace, love and harmony
• Popularity: >1000

The Greek goddess of peace, Eirene carries a loving, harmonious meaning and a beautifully rare sound that makes it one of the most distinctive classical names available to modern parents.

Fiala

• Origin: Czech/Slavic
• Meaning: Violet, beloved little one
• Popularity: >1000

A Czech name carrying the tenderness of a beloved little one alongside the imagery of the violet flower, Fiala is breathtakingly rare outside Central Europe and deeply beautiful in its sound.

Kalila

• Origin: Arabic
• Meaning: Beloved, dearest friend
• Popularity: >1000

Rooted in the Arabic word for beloved and dear friend, Kalila has a warm, flowing sound and a deeply affectionate meaning that makes it one of the most beautiful rare Arabic girl names.

Leila

• Origin: Arabic/Persian
• Meaning: Night, dark beauty, beloved
• Popularity: #274

Associated with the great Persian love story of Leila and Majnun, one of the world’s oldest and most celebrated tales of romantic love, Leila carries centuries of poetic devotion.

Priya

• Origin: Sanskrit
• Meaning: Beloved, dear, loved one
• Popularity: >1000

One of the most widely used names across India and the South Asian diaspora, Priya carries the Sanskrit meaning of beloved in a warm, simple sound that is both familiar and distinctive.

Classic and Timeless Girl Names

Amanda

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Worthy of love, lovable
• Popularity: #358

A Latin gerundive meaning she who must be loved, Amanda is a name that carries its loving meaning as a kind of destiny, one of the great classic girl names of the 20th century.

Amelia

• Origin: Germanic/Latin
• Meaning: Work, love, industrious
• Popularity: #8

One of the great names of this generation, Amelia sits in the top ten and carries a warm, loving energy alongside a strong industrious meaning that suits a girl destined to make her mark.

Chloe

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Blooming, tender shoot, beloved
• Popularity: #38

Fresh and bright with a spring-like energy, Chloe carries a loving tenderness in its Greek meaning and has been a consistent top-fifty name for girls across the past two decades.

Davida

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Beloved, cherished
• Popularity: >1000

The feminine form of David carrying the deeply personal Hebrew meaning of beloved, Davida is rare, warm, and carries one of the most intimately loving meanings in biblical tradition.

Fiona

• Origin: Scottish Gaelic
• Meaning: White, fair, beloved
• Popularity: #211

A Scottish Gaelic name carrying fairness and a beloved quality, Fiona has a cool, clean elegance and a warm Celtic spirit that has made it consistently popular across English-speaking countries.

Mabel

• Origin: English/Latin
• Meaning: Lovable, dear
• Popularity: #417

A Victorian classic rooted in the Latin word amabilis meaning lovable, Mabel has made a warm and charming comeback and now carries both vintage sweetness and a modern freshness.

Philippa

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Lover of horses
• Popularity: >1000

Carrying love for horses in its ancient Greek root, Philippa is a name of genuine elegance and old-world charm, rare in the US but deeply beloved in the British naming tradition.

Rowena

• Origin: Welsh/Germanic
• Meaning: White spear, fame and joy, beloved
• Popularity: >1000

Associated with Sir Walter Scott’s beloved heroine and carrying a warm Celtic meaning, Rowena is a name of quiet romantic beauty and genuine rarity that deserves far more attention.

Short and Sweet Girl Names

Ai

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Love, affection
• Popularity: >1000

The Japanese word for love used directly as a name, Ai is perhaps the most minimal expression of the concept on this entire list, a single syllable carrying one of the world’s most profound feelings.

Ama

• Origin: African/Japanese
• Meaning: Born on Saturday, beloved, love
• Popularity: >1000

Used across West African cultures as a name for girls born on Saturday and carrying a loving warmth in its Japanese reading, Ama is a short, beautiful cross-cultural treasure.

Caro

• Origin: Italian/Spanish
• Meaning: Dear, beloved
• Popularity: >1000

The Italian and Spanish word for dear used as a standalone name, Caro is minimal, warm, and carries a tenderness in its meaning that makes it feel like an intimate term of love.

Cher

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Beloved, dear
• Popularity: >1000

The French word for beloved, Cher carries its loving meaning in the most compact possible French package and has a cool, understated elegance beyond its most famous bearer.

Mia

• Origin: Italian/Scandinavian
• Meaning: Mine, beloved
• Popularity: #7

One of the most universally loved short names in the world, Mia carries a possessive tenderness in its meaning that makes it feel both intimate and deeply loving on any child.

Nia

• Origin: Welsh/Swahili
• Meaning: Bright, beautiful, purpose, beloved
• Popularity: #344

Used across Wales and Africa with warm and luminous meanings, Nia is a beautifully cross-cultural name that carries a loving brightness and a clean, modern simplicity.

Rei

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Lovely, love, zero, bell
• Popularity: >1000

A Japanese name carrying beauty and love in its most common reading, Rei is minimal, graceful, and deeply rooted in Japanese aesthetic tradition.

Popular Boy Names

Aiden

• Origin: Irish Gaelic
• Meaning: Little fire, warm and loving
• Popularity: #18

While primarily known for its fiery meaning, Aiden carries a warm, loving energy in the Irish tradition that has made it one of the most enduringly popular boy names in America.

David

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Beloved, cherished
• Popularity: #27

One of the great names of Western civilization, David carries the Hebrew meaning of beloved with a timeless dignity and strength that has kept it in the top thirty for generations.

Desmond

• Origin: Irish Gaelic
• Meaning: From south Munster, gracious defender, loving
• Popularity: #462

Warm and slightly old-fashioned in the very best way, Desmond has a gentle, loving quality and a deep Irish heritage that makes it feel both distinguished and quietly charming.

Eldad

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Beloved of God, God has loved
• Popularity: >1000

A rare biblical name appearing in the Book of Numbers, Eldad carries a profound divine love in its meaning and an ancient, distinguished character that is virtually unheard of on modern birth certificates.

Erasmus

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Beloved, desired
• Popularity: >1000

The name of the great Renaissance humanist scholar, Erasmus carries the Greek meaning of beloved and desired inside a name of extraordinary intellectual legacy and genuine rarity.

Jedidiah

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Beloved of God, friend of God
• Popularity: >1000

The name given to King Solomon by the prophet Nathan meaning beloved of God, Jedidiah is a rare and deeply meaningful biblical name with the warm nickname Jed.

Kevin

• Origin: Irish Gaelic
• Meaning: Handsome, beloved
• Popularity: #213

Rooted in the Irish Caoimhin carrying the meaning of beloved, Kevin has been a trusted classic across generations and carries its loving meaning with a comfortable, familiar warmth.

Lennox

• Origin: Scottish Gaelic
• Meaning: Elm grove, beloved one
• Popularity: #213

Cool, strong, and carrying a loving warmth in its Gaelic roots, Lennox has a modern edge and a Scottish nobility that has made it one of the most stylish rising boy names today.

Philip

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Lover of horses
• Popularity: #297

A name rooted in the Greek word for love, Philip carries its loving meaning through one of the most enduringly classic and distinguished names in the Western tradition.

Romeo

• Origin: Italian/Latin
• Meaning: Pilgrim to Rome, romantic love
• Popularity: #249

Forever associated with Shakespeare’s greatest romantic hero, Romeo carries the weight of the world’s most famous love story in a name that has become genuinely usable and warmly appealing.

Rare and Strong Boy Names

Amadeus

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Love of God
• Popularity: >1000

Made immortal by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this name carries divine love in its very structure and an extraordinary musical and intellectual legacy that makes it one of the most powerful rare names available.

Caron

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: Love, to love
• Popularity: >1000

Rooted directly in the Welsh word for love, Caron is a rare and genuinely beautiful name that carries its meaning in the most direct possible way while remaining completely distinctive.

Caius

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Rejoice, beloved
• Popularity: >1000

An ancient Roman name carrying joy and a beloved quality, Caius has a crisp, classical elegance and a rare, distinguished character that has barely been touched by modern naming trends.

Habib

• Origin: Arabic
• Meaning: Beloved, dear friend
• Popularity: >1000

One of the most direct Arabic names meaning beloved, Habib carries a warm, deeply affectionate meaning and is widely used across the Arab world and Muslim communities globally.

Jedediah

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Beloved of Jehovah
• Popularity: >1000

A richly biblical name carrying divine love in its meaning, Jedediah has a warm, slightly rustic American character and the wonderful short form Jed that makes it feel both historic and wearable.

Leif

• Origin: Scandinavian
• Meaning: Heir, beloved, descendant
• Popularity: >1000

The Norse meaning of beloved heir carried by the great Viking explorer Leif Erikson, this name has a fresh natural energy and a cool Scandinavian simplicity that is deeply appealing.

Lennart

• Origin: Scandinavian/Germanic
• Meaning: Brave lion, strong and beloved
• Popularity: >1000

The Scandinavian form of Leonard carries a beloved strength and a cool Nordic character that is virtually unheard of in the English-speaking world but carries enormous quiet appeal.

Obi

• Origin: Igbo/African
• Meaning: Heart, beloved one
• Popularity: >1000

A name from the Igbo tradition of Nigeria meaning heart and beloved, Obi is short, warm, and carries a deep affectionate meaning in the most compact and memorable possible package.

Short and Punchy Boy Names

Beau

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Beautiful, beloved, handsome
• Popularity: #151

The French word for handsome and beloved, Beau carries its loving meaning with a laid-back Southern confidence that has made it a consistent American favorite across generations.

Cai

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: Beloved, rejoice
• Popularity: >1000

The Welsh form of Caius, Cai is a minimal, crisp name carrying a beloved meaning in the oldest layers of Welsh tradition, rare, clean, and genuinely distinctive on a modern boy.

Dai

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: Beloved, to shine
• Popularity: >1000

A traditional Welsh name carrying the meaning of beloved and shining, Dai is one syllable of pure warmth that is virtually unknown outside Wales and carries a genuine quiet beauty.

Ren

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Love, lotus, water lily
• Popularity: >1000

A beloved Japanese name combining the meanings of love and the lotus flower, Ren is minimal, meditative, and deeply beautiful in its simplicity, working naturally across genders.

Zain

• Origin: Arabic
• Meaning: Beauty, grace, beloved
• Popularity: #462

Sleek, modern, and carrying a loving grace in its Arabic roots, Zain is one of the most stylish short names meaning beloved available to parents today.

Gender Neutral Names

Amani

• Origin: Swahili/Arabic
• Meaning: Peace, wishes, beloved
• Popularity: >1000

Used freely across genders in East Africa and the Arab world, Amani carries peace and loving wishes in a warm, flowing sound that is equally beautiful on a boy or a girl.

Cari

• Origin: Welsh/Italian
• Meaning: Love, beloved, dear
• Popularity: >1000

Rooted in the Welsh word for love and carrying the Italian warmth of cara meaning dear, Cari is a gentle, affectionate name that sits naturally across genders with a quiet and loving simplicity.

Davi

• Origin: Hebrew/Portuguese
• Meaning: Beloved, cherished
• Popularity: >1000

A short form of David used across genders in Brazil and increasingly in the English-speaking world, Davi carries the beloved meaning of its Hebrew root in a modern, open, genderless package.

Liev

• Origin: Hebrew/Yiddish
• Meaning: Heart, beloved
• Popularity: >1000

Rooted in the Hebrew and Yiddish word for heart, Liev is a rare and deeply warm name that carries love literally at its core and works beautifully across genders.

Seren

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: Star, beloved light
• Popularity: >1000

One of Wales’s most beautiful modern names, Seren carries a starry celestial love in its meaning and crosses genders with an effortless grace that few names can match.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the most popular baby name meaning love right now? A: According to the most recent SSA data, Mila and Amara are among the most popular girl names with meanings rooted in love and being beloved. For boys, David remains the most enduringly popular name with the direct meaning of beloved, sitting consistently in the top thirty. Esme and Amy are also popular choices carrying loving meanings.

Q: Are there any one-syllable baby names that mean love? A: Yes, there are several beautiful one-syllable options. Ai is the Japanese word for love used directly as a name. Ren means love in Japanese. Cai is the Welsh name meaning beloved. Dai is the Welsh name meaning beloved and shining. Cher is the French word for beloved. All of these carry their loving meaning in the most economical possible package.

Q: What are the rarest baby names meaning love on this list? A: The rarest choices include Amabilis, Carita, Fiala, Eldad, Caron, and Amadea, all of which rank well above 1000 in SSA data. These names carry beautiful loving meanings from Latin, Welsh, Czech, Hebrew, and Italian traditions while being virtually unknown on modern birth certificates.

Q: Do names meaning beloved and names meaning love count as love names? A: Absolutely. The concept of love in names spans a wide range of related meanings including beloved, dear, cherished, lovable, and worthy of love. All of these are expressions of the same fundamental human feeling, and names carrying any of these meanings belong firmly in the love names category.

Q: What is a good middle name meaning love to pair with a more common first name? A: Short love names make wonderful middle names. Consider Esme, Mia, Ren, Caro, Ai, or Beau for a middle name position where a compact loving gem can shine between a longer first and last name. Slightly longer options like Amara, Leila, or Romeo also work beautifully as middle names when paired with a shorter first name.

Conclusion

A name that means love is not just a name, it is a lifelong gift, a quiet reminder carried in every introduction and every signature that this child came into the world wrapped in something extraordinary. Whether you choose a timeless classic like David or Amanda, a rare gem like Amadeus or Kalila, or a short and perfect choice like Mia or Ren, you are giving your child a name that celebrates the most fundamental human experience there is. Take your time, trust your heart, and let love lead you to the right choice.