Girl names that MEAN virtues or gifts?

Girl Names
1

Hey, Berries!

Here’s the background: I have an ongoing “baby name queue” of names I’d like to give future children. Before today it looked like this, meanings included (I’ll explain why later)…

BOYS
[name]Charles[/name] [name]Theophilus[/name] (free man, loving God)
[name]Marcus[/name] [name]Ebenezer[/name] (warlike, stone of help - referring to a Biblical memorial that was set up to remember God’s aid)
[name]Walter[/name] [name]Cornelius[/name] (powerful warrior, horn)
[name]Blaise[/name] [name]Nicodemus[/name] (stutters, victory of the people) - Although I’m not spelling it this way, I’m thinking more of “[name]Blaze[/name]” (fire) as the meaning for this first name

GIRLS
[name]Cora[/name] [name]Melisande[/name] (maiden, industrious)
[name]Sylvia[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] (of the forest, Jehovah increases)
[name]Alice[/name] [name]Theodosia[/name] (noble, giving to God)

I want all my children’s names to point toward a hope I have for them. For some of these, the meaning is fairly clear (i.e. I hope [name]Cora[/name] will grow up to be an industrious maiden). Others I hadn’t thought out at the time, and only put together for the sound and style.

So today when I found that [name]Sylvia[/name] meant “of the forest”, I wasn’t impressed. Hubby has vetoed “[name]Sylvia[/name]” anyway, so I figured I’d stop clinging to it and look around for an alternative that could signify something more meaningful with [name]Josephine[/name]. “Jehovah increases”…what? I don’t want a straight, classic virtue name ([name]Hope[/name], [name]Patience[/name], [name]Mercy[/name], etc.). But a virtue-type name would be nice.

Off the top of my head, I can think of:
[name]Felicity[/name] (joy)
[name]Sonia[/name] (wisdom) - odd for the sibset? - but I’ve always loved this name

And of course my husband has vetoed those in the past too (and [name]Alice[/name]). :smiley: But I still have hope…

Can anyone else think of girl names that mean virtues or good qualities, or blessings, or other things I’d want God to increase in my daughter’s character or her life?

Thanks for the help!
– Trustedwriter

2

[name]Eve[/name] - [name]Eve[/name] meaning “life.”
[name]Hannah[/name] - [name]Hannah[/name] meaning “grace”
[name]Katherine[/name], [name]Katia[/name]/[name]Katya[/name], [name]Katarina[/name], etc - “pure/purity”
[name]Sophronia[/name] - an old-fashioned variant of [name]Sophia[/name], which shares the “wisdom” meaning with [name]Sonia[/name] but sounds softer/more flowing with [name]Melisande[/name], etc.
[name]Verity[/name]
[name]Gabrielle[/name]/[name]Gabriella[/name] - Strength of G-d.
[name]Vivienne[/name], [name]Viveca[/name] - “life”

3

[name]Lori[/name] - Thanks! I’ll have to try that. Those are some beautiful combos you’ve put together.

Stripedsocks - Ooh, I kind of like [name]Eve[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] or [name]Vivian[/name] [name]Josephine[/name]. “Jehovah increases life”. Very nice! I love [name]Sophronia[/name], but I highly doubt my husband would…but I’d use it for a middle name, not a first, so perhaps that’s a good one to tuck away for the future. :slight_smile:

4

First of all, most of your meanings are accurate, but you have to be really careful when picking a baby name based off of its meaning. Many name sites (not this one) list inaccurate meanings. I have seen many books and site list [name]Ashley[/name] as meaning: “ash tree meadow of God” when in actuality it just means, “ash meadow.” Same as [name]Vanessa[/name] is often listed as Slavic for butterly, when it is actually an English literary creation. There is a genus of butterfly called [name]Vanessa[/name] but this was named for the name, so to speak. Sorry for my long schpiel. Anyway, here are some names with nice meanings:

A
[name]Adele[/name] (noble)
[name]Agatha[/name] (good)
[name]Agnes[/name] (lamb; represents purity)
[name]Alethea[/name] (truth)
[name]Allegra[/name] (cheerful; lively)
[name]Amity[/name]
Anima (soul; spirit)
[name]Anna[/name]/[name]Hannah[/name] (grace)
[name]Aretha[/name] (virtue)
[name]Ariella[/name]/[name]Arielle[/name] (lion of God)
[name]Augusta[/name] (revered; august)

B
[name]Bernadette[/name] (strong as a bear)
[name]Bethel[/name] (house of God)
[name]Bridget[/name] (high one; exalted one)

C
[name]Catherine[/name]/[name]Katherine[/name] (pure)
[name]Charmian[/name] (joy)
[name]Christina[/name] (annointed)
[name]Clementine[/name] (clement)

D
[name]Dora[/name] (gift)
[name]Dorothy[/name] (gift of God)

E
[name]Elizabeth[/name] (my God is an oath)
[name]Emma[/name] (whole; universal)
[name]Epiphany[/name] (manifestation)
Ermintrude (all strength)
Esmee (esteemed)
[name]Ethel[/name] (noble)
[name]Evangeline[/name] (good news)

F
[name]Frieda[/name]/[name]Frida[/name] (peace)

G
[name]Gloria[/name] (glory)

H
[name]Honora[/name] (honor)

I
[name]Irene[/name] (peace)

J
[name]Justina[/name]/[name]Justine[/name] (just)

L
[name]Lucy[/name] (light)

5

Shaymin2 - I think I checked all my meanings on Nameberry. :slight_smile:

That’s a great list! Thanks! I love [name]Adele[/name], [name]Alethea[/name], [name]Aretha[/name], [name]Frieda[/name], [name]Irene[/name], and [name]Lucy[/name] (well, actually I like [name]Lucia[/name], but they mean the same thing).

6

Meanings are important to me too. A few names we’re considering for our second child:

[name]Josephine[/name] [name]Abigail[/name] (“Jehovah increases father’s joy”), [name]Helen[/name] [name]Irene[/name] (“torch (of) peace”), and [name]Florence[/name] [name]Irene[/name] (“flourishing peace”)

7

Lyricmom - Those names are beautiful! :slight_smile:

8

Well, there are names that mean Gift of God, if that’s okay.
[name]Natania[/name] is one of them. [name]Dorothy[/name], and [name]Mattea[/name] are others.

I know [name]Ivana[/name] means something like “God is [name]Gracious[/name]”.
[name]Jane[/name], [name]Joanna[/name] are the same I believe.

I’d double check the meanings on here, too. I’ve found a few that are inaccurate, or only partially accurate.
Behindthename is a great place to check.