Baby Names That Mean Love: Sourced Picks for Girls and Boys

Parents who want a name that means love are usually chasing one of three words: love itself, beloved, or dear. Darling, lovable, and heart show up in the same search, and they are different captions.

Every meaning below comes from our name database, and every name links to its source page. Spellings we cannot confirm sit in their own section. See also baby names that mean light and baby names that mean moon. Valentina ("strong, healthy") is in baby names that mean strong. Valentine uses that same root, not love.

Girls' names that mean love

Carys ("Love," Welsh) was given to 32 girls in 2025, rank #4,375, down from 82 girls in 2015 (rank #2,280) and from 196 girls in 2006. Cerys is the same name. It was under five girls in 2025, so the table says "Not ranked," after 12 girls in 2015.

Lyubov ("love," Russian) peaked at 6 girls in 2002 and was under five babies in 2025.

Amanda ("to love," Latin) prints as a verb, so a card that says only "love" has shortened it. It ranked #493 in 2025 with 601 girls, down from 1,034 in 2015 (rank #313) and from 41,786 girls in 1987. Mandy had 31 girls in 2025, rank #4,514, against 3,110 in 1978. Manda and Amandah were under five girls in 2025.

Amadea means "love" plus "goddess." Ten girls received it in 2025, rank #9,491. Keep both words on a print.

Girls' names that mean beloved

Beloved is a different caption from the noun love: it names someone who is loved.

Aimee ("beloved," French) had 133 girls in 2025, rank #1,581, down from 301 in 2015 (rank #911) and from 2,288 in 1977. Amata ("loved, beloved," Latin) was under five girls in 2025. Its high in the file is 6 girls, in 2016.

Carina ("beloved," Latin) had 134 girls in 2025, rank #1,572, down from a 1995 peak of 689 girls and 5 boys.

Davina, a feminine form of David, ranked #749 in 2025 with 363 girls, up from 215 in 2015 (rank #1,173) and down from 541 in 2022. Philomena ("beloved," Ancient Greek) had 101 girls in 2025, rank #1,920, up from 78 in 2015, with a high of 111 in 2024.

Myrna ("beloved," Irish) had 1,471 girls in 1940, the first year of this file and its highest count there. Eight girls received it in 2024. In 2025 it was under five, so the table says "Not ranked."

Priya shows "Beloved" on the short line, with Sanskrit as the origin. The etymology note is "beloved of ________," with a blank where another name would sit. Use that whole note on a card. Priya had 99 girls in 2025, rank #1,956, down from 171 in 2015.

Lovable, dear, and darling

These are neighboring words. The caption should use the one the name page gives.

Mabel ("Lovable," Latin) is the climber here. It ranked #201 in 2025 with 1,522 girls, the highest girls' count in the SSA file, up from 529 in 2015 (rank #578) and 53 in 1995. Mable had 73 girls in 2025, rank #2,450. Mabelle had 12 girls.

Milena means "dear, kind." Keep both words. It ranked #950 in 2025 with 271 girls, down from 372 in 2015 and from a 2019 peak of 428.

Cherie, Sherry, and Cheri mean darling, from French. Sherry fell from 9,223 girls in 1962 to 23 in 2025, rank #5,532. Cherie fell from 1,002 girls in 1970 to 12. Cheri had 6 girls. Sharee was under five girls in 2025. Tehani means "the" plus "darling," from Tahitian, so print both parts. Twenty-two girls received it in 2025, rank #5,700.

Boys' names that mean beloved

One Hebrew name still accounts for most of these births. The other spellings, and one Arabic name, are quieter.

David ("Beloved," Hebrew) ranked #35 in 2025 with 6,794 boys and 7 girls. In 2015 it ranked #18 with 11,838 boys. The peak in the file is 86,306 boys in 1955, plus 148 girls that year. It is still inside the top 40.

Dovid is the spelling still rising: 167 boys in 2025, rank #1,213, its highest count, up from 125 in 2015. Dawud had 38 boys in 2025 and Dawood 25. Dave had 55 boys, down from 3,308 in 1959. Davey was 34 boys and 31 girls in 2025, and Davy was 20 girls and 19 boys. One rank follows the sex with more babies, so a near-even name is easy to misread.

Jedidiah means "beloved of Yahweh." Beloved alone drops the second half. In 2025 it was given to 274 boys and 5 girls, boys' rank #876, down from 343 boys in 2015. Jedediah had 45 boys. Jed had 76, the same boys' count as in 2015.

Habib ("beloved," Arabic) had 29 boys in 2025, rank #3,790.

Boys' names that mean love or dear

Amadeus means "love" plus "god." Both words belong on a card. It ranked #1,634 in 2025 with 103 boys, up from 67 in 2015 and down from a 2024 high of 154.

Prem ("love, affection") had 12 boys in 2025, rank #7,091. Pranay ("love, affection, romance") had 10, rank #8,082. Preet ("love, affection, fondness") was under five in 2025, after 7 boys in 2015. Anurag means "a higher love, as of music or art." Print that whole phrase. It was under five boys in 2025.

Aziz ("dear," Arabic) had 75 boys in 2025, rank #2,008, down from 95 in 2024 and up from 55 in 2015. Darwin means "dear" plus "friend," and the friend is half the name. Darwin had 241 boys in 2025, rank #961. The peak in the file is 418 boys in 1958.

Kevon ("dear birth/person") had 41 boys in 2025, rank #3,021, down from 649 in 2000. Kevyn had 6 boys, and Kevan was under five. Kevin is the familiar spelling, and the short line on his page is "Kind, gentle birth." The etymology note says literally "dear birth/person." A card should follow the short line unless you explain the longer note. Kevin had 1,628 boys in 2025, rank #221, down from 5,184 in 2015 (rank #79) and from 30,613 in 1963.

Heart, and names that only look like love

Heart, and "lover of" a particular thing, are different captions from love.

Hugh means "heart, mind," the old Germanic pair, not a synonym for love. It ranked #732 in 2025 with 360 boys, up from 265 in 2015. Huey had 42 boys, and Hughie had 7.

Connor means "Lover of hounds." In 2025 it was given to 2,211 boys and 14 girls, boys' rank #166, down from 6,772 boys in 2015. Conor had 292 boys, and Konner and Konnor carry the same gloss. Lover by itself drops the hounds. Philip means "fond of horses," a different phrase from love: 568 boys in 2025, rank #528. Phil had 10.

Lennon needs the whole note. The short line is "Lover, sweetheart." The etymology gives two Irish ancestor names and does not choose between them: descendant of Lover (Leannán), and descendant of Blackbird (Lonán). Love does not belong on a Lennon card. In 2025 it was given to 1,421 girls and 308 boys, girls' rank #214, up from 606 girls in 2015.

Spellings we will not call love

These are popular. The page either marks the origin debated or gives a different word. A love gloss stays off the announcement.

Amy is the spelling people expect to mean beloved. The origin is marked debated, so this article gives Amy no meaning. In 2025 it ranked #257 with 1,200 girls, down from 2,043 in 2015 and from 32,254 in 1975. When the meaning is the reason, Aimee is the spelling we can source.

Mary, Miriam, and Molly are debated too. The theory is "beloved, or bitter," two ideas, and the page does not pick one. In 2025 Mary had 2,230 girls (rank #125), Miriam 1,262 (rank #246), and Molly 1,601 (rank #196).

Mila ranked #43 in 2025 with 4,796 girls and 6 boys. A gracious-or-dear theory is common, and the page does not state it as fact. Annabelle is debated as well, and the theory includes lovable. Annabelle had 891 girls in 2025, rank #343. Mabel is the lovable name we can source.

Esme is the correction to make before a print. The meaning on the name page is "emerald," a diminutive of Esmeralda, so this article does not call Esme loved. Esme ranked #298 in 2025 with 1,032 girls, up from 419 in 2015, with a high of 1,053 in 2022.

Oscar, Caleb, Cordelia, and Thaddeus are debated too. A deer-lover story circulates for Oscar, a devoted or whole-hearted theory for Caleb, and heart theories for Cordelia and Thaddeus. None of those pages states a love meaning as fact. In 2025 Oscar had 1,620 boys, Caleb 5,217, Cordelia 258 girls, and Thaddeus 314 boys.

Love, beloved, and dear names by the numbers

Boys and girls are added together for the 37 names in the love, beloved, darling, and dear tables above. Hugh, Connor, Philip, Lennon, Kevin, and the debated spellings are left out. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is missing from the SSA file, so rare names add nothing in those years and the true total is a little higher.

In 1995, David (23,114) and Amanda (16,386) were 39,500 of the 42,741. In 2025, David (6,801) and Amanda (601) were 7,402 of the 11,417. Those 11,417 babies were about 1 in 290 of the 3,315,343 babies in the 2025 SSA file (1,708,076 boys and 1,607,267 girls). David accounts for 575 of the 868-baby drop from 2024, from 7,376 babies to 6,801.

How to choose a love name you will still like next year

Five checks before you print the meaning:

1. Keep the birthday and the name separate. David, Mabel, and Amanda do not announce a date. In U.S. births from 1994 to 2014, February 14 ranks 63rd of 366 days, with 1 as the most common. An average February 14 had about 11,686 births, against about 11,175 on an average day. Check any date on the birthday tool.
2. Print the whole gloss. Jedidiah, Priya, Tehani, Amadeus, Amadea, Milena, Darwin, Anurag, Connor, and Lennon each lose part of the meaning if the card keeps only "love." The headings here sort the list. The caption should match the name page.
3. Match the spelling to the meaning you want. Aimee is sourced as beloved, and Amy is debated. Mabel is sourced as lovable, and Annabelle is debated. Esme's sourced meaning is emerald. Kevin's short line is "kind, gentle birth," while Kevon, Kevyn, and Kevan say "dear birth/person." Then hear the full name in the full name tester.
4. Say Lyubov, Amata, Philomena, Tehani, and Jedidiah out loud before you commit. If the love name works better in the middle, the middle-name guide covers rhythm and initials. Nora Priya, James Habib, and Elena Amata are the shape to test.
5. Read the curve. David is #35 and still common. Mabel is #201 and at its highest count in the file. Amanda sits outside the top 100. Carys, Prem, and Habib are unlikely to be shared with a classmate. Every name page has the SSA history.

A name bracket compares two finalists, a shortlist lets family vote by link, and a partner match keeps the overlap. The name generator suggests more names in the same style. For a due date, including one near February 14, the due date calculator gives the date and the trimester marks.

Putting the meaning on the welcome

A sourced gloss is a useful extra line when you would actually say it:

• Wall art: "David: beloved," "Carys: love," or "Mabel: lovable." Skip the caption when the gloss is a phrase you would not want shortened.
• Announcements: name, date, and a meaning only when the name page states one. The wording guide has the rest of the card.
• Middle names: Priya, Habib, or Amata behind a more familiar first name.

The Baby Kit puts the name, the meaning, and the origin on the announcements and the wall art together, in one style and palette.

Sources

• Meanings: our name database. Entries marked "Wiktionary" are adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Each name page links its source, and our sources page explains the method. Debated origins are labeled on the name page and are not stated as fact here.
• Popularity: U.S. Social Security Administration baby name data, 1940 to 2025. Group totals sum the 37 names in the love, beloved, darling, and dear tables, boys and girls together. Counts under five babies per sex per year are absent from the file. The 2025 file total is the sum of published counts that year, 1,708,076 boys and 1,607,267 girls.
• Birthdays: U.S. births by date, 1994 to 2014, compiled by FiveThirtyEight from CDC/NCHS (1994–1999) and SSA (2000–2014). February 14's rank is the figure behind our birthday tool. Rank 1 is the most common day.