Baby Names That Mean Love

Of all the meanings parents search for, love might be the most universal. A name that means "beloved" or "dear" is a quiet message your child carries for life: you were wanted, you are cherished.

The names below are curated from the love collection in our name library — names whose documented meaning, symbolism, or story connects them to love. Some carry it in their etymology (David, Mila, Cara), some through legendary romances (Juliet, Layla), and some through the flowers and saints that became shorthand for love itself. You can browse the full collection on our names that mean Love list page.

Girl Names That Mean Love

• Mila (Slavic) — From the Slavic root mil-, meaning dear, gracious, beloved. Short, warm, and internationally easy to say.
• Cara (Italian/Latin) — Dear, beloved. In Italian, cara is literally the word you call someone you love.
• Amara (Igbo) — Grace, mercy. Its sound also echoes amore and amor, which is part of why so many parents read love into it.
• Annabelle (English/French) — Usually traced back through Amabel to the Latin amabilis — lovable. Vintage charm with a built-in meaning.
• Valentina (Latin) — Strictly speaking, the root valens means strong and healthy. But after centuries of St. Valentine and his holiday, the Valentine family of names has become synonymous with love — strength and romance in one.
• Grace (Latin) — From gratia: favor and kindness freely given. In many traditions, grace is the word for love expressed as generosity.
• Juliet (English/French) — Half of literature's most famous love story. Few names say "romance" this directly while still feeling wearable.
• Julia (Latin) — An ancient Roman classic. Its romantic glow owes a great deal to its most famous form, Juliet, but Julia stands gracefully on its own.
• Layla (Arabic) — Night. The heroine of Layla and Majnun, the centuries-old romance beloved across the Middle East — and the title of one of rock's great love songs.
• Leila (Arabic/Persian) — A softer spelling of the same storied name, popular across Europe.
• Rose (Latin/English) — The flower that has symbolized love in Western culture for as long as anyone has been giving flowers. Simple, classic, and quietly powerful.
• Pippa (Greek/English) — A pet form of Philippa, "friend of horses" in Greek. The love is in the first element, philos — loving, dear. Cheerful and distinctive.

Curious how one of these pairs with your surname? Our Surname Compatibility tool checks rhythm, flow, and initials in seconds.

Boy Names That Mean Love

• David (Hebrew) — Beloved. One of the oldest and most widely recognized "love" names in existence, carried by kings, artists, and everyday heroes for three thousand years.
• Milo (Slavic/Germanic) — Its origin is debated, but one strong line traces it to the Slavic mil- root — dear, beloved. Friendly, vintage, and firmly back in style.
• Connor (Irish) — From Conchobhar, traditionally interpreted as "lover of hounds." Love of a loyal, outdoorsy kind.
• Oscar (Irish) — One traditional Irish reading combines os (deer) and cara (friend, loved one) — a gentle-hearted meaning behind a strong, popular name.
• Valentin (Latin) — The classic masculine form used across France, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Slavic world. Same strong root, same saint, same association with the day of love.
• Milesko (Slavic) — A true rarity, commonly linked to the same Slavic mil- "dear" root family as Mila and Milo.

Unisex Picks and the Jasmine Family

Some love names cross gender lines depending on where in the world you are — and one flower gave rise to a whole family of them.

• Valentine (Latin) — The name most literally tied to the holiday of love. Masculine in the English-speaking tradition (after the saint), feminine in France — genuinely wearable either way.
• Jasmin (Persian/Bosnian) — The jasmine flower has long been associated with love and sweetness in Persian poetry and the Victorian language of flowers. This spelling is masculine in Bosnia and much of the Balkans, and feminine in German-speaking countries.
• Jasmine (Persian/English) — The most familiar English form of the flower name, kept in the spotlight by Disney's Aladdin.
• Yasmin (Arabic/Persian) — The form closest to the original yasamin, widely used across the Arabic-speaking world.
• Yasmine (Arabic/French) — A French-influenced spelling, common in North Africa and France.
• Jessamine (English) — The antique English form of jasmine, plucked straight from old poetry. Rare, lyrical, and ripe for rediscovery.

Choosing a Love Name That Fits

A beautiful meaning is a wonderful starting point — but the name still has to work in daily life. A quick checklist:

1. Shortlist 3–5 names from above that make you feel something.
2. Read the full story — every name here links to a detail page with origin, popularity, and nicknames, and the complete collection lives on the names that mean Love list.
3. Say it out loud with your surname — or let the Surname Compatibility tool do the analysis for you.
4. Revisit your finalists in our Name Library — browse the full collection and return to each name's detail page as often as you need.

And if none of these is quite the one, tell our AI Name Generator that you want a name meaning love — along with your family background, languages, and style — and it will suggest options tailored to your family, not just a list.