I’m searching for a boy name that means courage or courageous. I’ve looked at several name sites and have found some different options. On here I have found [name]Riley[/name] and [name]Reilly[/name], which I love. On some sites it lists courageous as the meaning for [name]Riley[/name]/[name]Reilly[/name], but on some other sites (which I consider reliable, one being behindthename.com) it has a different meaning. So how do I know which one is the real meaning? What sites do you consider reliable for the meanings of names? Also, any suggestions for boy names that mean courage or something similar to that?
I usually trust behindthename.com, babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com, and sometimes Nameberry. I don’t know how you’re ever completely sure… I’ve been wondering that myself lately. Some names are fairly obvious because of their obvious connection to a certain language ([name]Lily[/name], of course, means “lily”, haha), but others aren’t so obvious and they can possibly have ties to multiple names and languages.
BNW listed [name]Riley[/name]'s meaning to be “rye clearing” which makes sense to me since the -ley ending often denotes “clearing/meadow/field/etc.”, and the “ri” part is pretty obvious. As far as I know, [name]Ashley[/name] means “ash tree meadow” which follows the same logic as [name]Riley[/name] would…
If you’re looking for a courageous name, [name]Valor[/name] and Eyal seem to be the best bets to me, anyway. I think [name]Norman[/name] is also related to courage, too.
You can never be completely sure, but I generally trust behindthename.com the most, then I usually go to babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com. I don’t trust Nameberry all that much, simply because there are some names (more specifically the Greek ones since that’s what I’m very well versed in and especially the mythological names) that have wrong meanings or wrong descriptions.
Some courageous names from sites I trust. I’ll put the meaning from the site next to it because nameberry might have a different one listed. I’ll put “brave” meanings too if you don’t mind:
Balder – courageous army
[name]Brainard[/name] – courageous raven
[name]Ellard[/name] – noble and courageous
Hardwin – courageous friend
[name]Konrad[/name] – courageous advice
[name]Albern[/name] – noble courage
[name]Devlin[/name] – fierce courage
[name]Farrell[/name] – man of courage
[name]Archibald[/name] – genuine courage
Baldric – brave,bold
[name]Baldwin[/name] – brave friend
[name]Bernard[/name] – brave as a bear
Erol – brave
[name]Taddeo[/name] – courageous and large hearted
[name]Thaddeus[/name] – courageous and large hearted
[name]Tybalt[/name] – people-bold
[name]Do[/name] you like any of those?
Thank you SO much ladies, I appreciate the info! I really like [name]Archibald[/name] and [name]Thaddeus[/name]. I’ll most likely use a name meaning courage as a middle name (unless I find one that I love and works well with my other boys names). [name]Archibald[/name] and [name]Thaddeus[/name] aren’t something I’d consider as a first name, but they would make pretty cool middle names!
Also, what sites did you find those meanings at? I’d be interested in looking at them!