Names › Origins & themes › Names Meaning Love, Grace, Hope, Joy & Peace
Names Meaning Love, Grace, Hope, Joy & Peace
Names whose traditional meaning is love, grace, hope, joy, peace or “gift of God”. We list only names where the meaning is well established; names with disputed meanings such as Mary or Miriam (sometimes glossed “beloved”) are left out. Many “grace” names come from Hebrew hanan, “to be gracious” — including every form of John.
Love & “beloved” (4)
- David — “beloved” (Hebrew) · Hebrew dawid
- Amy — “beloved” (French (from Latin)) · Old French amee, “beloved”
- Esme — “esteemed, loved” (French) · Old French esmé, “esteemed, loved”
- Mila — “gracious, dear” (Slavic) · Slavic mil, “gracious, dear”
Grace & favour (13)
- Grace — “grace, goodwill” (Latin / English) · Latin gratia
- Gracie — “grace” (English)
- Hannah — “grace, favour” (Hebrew) · Hebrew hanan, “to be gracious”
- Anna — “grace, favour (from Hannah)” (Hebrew)
- Annie — “grace (diminutive of Anna)” (English)
- John — “God is gracious” (Hebrew) · Hebrew Yohanan, “Yahweh is gracious”
- Jack — “God is gracious (from John)” (English)
- Jane — “God is gracious” (Hebrew (via French))
- Ian — “God is gracious (form of John)” (Scottish Gaelic)
- Evan — “God is gracious (form of John)” (Welsh)
- Ivan — “God is gracious (Slavic John)” (Hebrew (via Slavic))
- Giovanni — “God is gracious (Italian John)” (Hebrew (via Italian))
- Gianna — “God is gracious (from Giovanna)” (Italian)
Hope, faith & trust (4)
- Hope — “hope” (English)
- Faith — “faith, trust” (English)
- Nadia — “hope” (Russian) · Slavic nadezhda, “hope”
- Vera — “faith (Russian); true (Latin)” (Russian / Latin)
Joy, happiness & blessing (7)
- Joy — “joy” (English (from Latin))
- Felicity — “happiness, good fortune” (Latin)
- Felix — “lucky, happy” (Latin)
- Beatrice — “she who brings happiness; blessed” (Latin)
- Abigail — “my father is joy” (Hebrew)
- Asher — “happy, blessed” (Hebrew)
- Bennett — “blessed (from Benedict)” (Latin (via English))
Peace & calm (5)
- Solomon — “peace” (Hebrew) · Hebrew shalom
- Frederick — “peaceful ruler” (Germanic) · Germanic frid, “peace”
- Freddie — “peaceful ruler (from Frederick)” (Germanic)
- Axel — “father of peace (from Absalom)” (Scandinavian)
- Serenity — “calm, peacefulness” (English)
“Gift of God” & “God has given” (7)
- Theodore — “gift of God” (Greek) · Greek
- Mateo — “gift of God” (Spanish / Hebrew) · Spanish form of Matthew
- Matthew — “gift of God” (Hebrew) · Hebrew
- Jonathan — “God has given” (Hebrew)
- Nathaniel — “God has given” (Hebrew)
- Nathan — “he gave” (Hebrew) · Hebrew, “he gave”
- Jesse — “gift” (Hebrew)
More lists: Names meaning love, grace & hope · Biblical names · Royal names · Names meaning light · Nature names · Names meaning strength · names by origin
Sources: the Bible (book and chapter given where useful), standard royal histories, and name references such as Behind the Name and the Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Only names with full pages on this site are listed.