Names That Mean Love

What sweeter meaning could a name carry than love? Across every culture and every age, love has been the quality parents most wished for their children, and the names that mean it are some of the warmest and most enduring there are. Many come from the Latin amare, “to love” (Amanda, Amias, Amora); others from the Welsh caru (Carys, Cerys), the Sanskrit for beloved (Priya) and the Arabic for cherished (Habib, Habiba). A whole set belong to the gods and goddesses of love themselves — the Norse Freya, the Roman Venus, the Greek Aphrodite and Eros. Love names range from the tenderly simple (Amy, “beloved”) to the divine, and they suit a child you want wrapped in that sentiment from the very first day. Here are real baby names that mean love, beloved or dearly cherished, gathered from languages around the world, each with its genuine meaning and origin.