Want To Call Your Kid Something Lovely? Consider These 85+ Names With Heart
*HEART EYES*
The minute most mamas and dads find out they’re pregnant, they know their hearts are forever changed and no longer theirs. As a parent, you want to pour all your love into that tiny human coming into your life. You have big dreams that they’ll be earth-lovers, change-makers, and lifesavers. When we name our kids Eloise, Matilda, or Anne (with an “e”), we want those characters’ personality traits to be prominent for our own daughters. And just about anyone who has named their boy Max has no doubt considered the wild and lovable creature from Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. But if precociousness, magic, or stubbornness don’t appeal to you, what are your options? You can live with the idea of your babe growing up to be anything they want… as long as it’s kind and gentle. Enter: heart names.
Giving your child a name with heart or a name that means “heart” might feel like your first step in nudging them in the right direction. From choosing a middle name that is literally “heart” in a beloved native language to picking a first name that means “kind-hearted” or “gentle-hearted,” heart names are a lovely choice. There’s even something rather romantic about them. And, as it turns out, there are a ton of really great choices.
Best Baby Names With Heart
Names That Mean Gentle, Sweet, or Tender-Hearted
Gentle kids are the ones who bring home stunned baby birds who fell from the nest and who worry about hurting their dolls’ feelings. They’re the ones that would never say a sharp word to anyone, would give their last dollar to the stranger in front of Kroger, and would do anything to make their mamas happy. These boy and girl names all have meanings along the lines of “gentle-hearted,” “sweet-natured,” or “tender.” Bonus: They span a ton of cultures, so you can find something that works perfectly no matter where you come from or how you identify.
For Girls
- Adina: noble, gentle, delicate
- Anana: soft
- Atubah: soft, gentle, delicate
- Clementine: merciful, mild
- Dahlia: Dahl’s flower
- Damara: gentle girl
- Eztia: sweet, gentle, pleasant
- Hamila: gentle or mild-mannered
- Hella: sun ray
- Malinda: sweet
- Mayu: true, full, gentle
- Melosa: sweet as honey
- Mildred: gentle strength
- Miliani: gentle caress
- Mridula: soft, delicate, gentle
- Nariko: gentle child
- Nasima: gentle breeze
- Nermin: soft, gentle
- Sanjana: gentle, patient
- Shu: good, pure, virtuous, charming
- Tirion: kind or gentle
- Wan: gentle, gracious
- Yuko: gentle child
For Boys
- Abab: the softness and gracefulness of youth
- Adiv: polite, considerate
- Arudra: gentle
- Blandon: mild
- Bonner: gentle
- Caoimhghin: noble, gentle, handsome
- Clement: merciful
- Cliamon: gentle
- Damario: gentle
- Damone: tame
- Gareth: gentle
- Hamlin: little home-lover
- Kelemen: gentle
- Rafiq: companion, comrade
Heart Names That Mean Kind, Good-Natured, or Merciful
Names that mean “heart” come with many nuances. This collection of heart names leans more toward kindness or mercifulness. We imagine these names could be the names of benevolent leaders across the globe that come together to save humanity. Or, at least that’s what we’re hoping for our Anisas and Evanders.
Girls Names
- Anisa: pleasant companion
- Caron: pure
- Ebele: mercy, kindness
- Ellis: benevolent
- Hiroko: tolerant child
- Lateefa: gentle, subtly kind, pleasant
- Mehri: kind, lovable, sunny
- Miyeon: beautiful and kind-hearted
- Yein: kind, gentle
Boys Names
- Benigno: kindly, good, benign
- Evander: good man
- Kapono: righteous, good
- Lateef: gentle or kind
- Lutfi: kind and friendly
- Rahim: merciful, compassionate
- Yasashiku: gentle, polite
“Heart” in Different Languages
Looking for something a little more literal? We use words as names all the time, with Faith, Love, and Charity being just a few examples. Why not use the word “heart”? Or, if you hail from a particular culture and want to honor your heritage, consider choosing the word that means heart in the language of your family or ancestors. These are just some of the thousands of ways to say “heart” across the planet.
- Afrikaans: hart
- Albanian: zemra
- Catalan: cor
- Cebuano: kasingkasing
- Danish: hjerte
- Dutch: hart-
- Esperanto: koro
- Estonian: süda
- Finnish: sydän
- French: cœur
- German: Herz
- Haitian Creole: kè
- Hawaiian: Puʻuwai
- Hmong: plawv
- Hungarian: szív
- Icelandic: hjarta
- Indonesian: jantung
- Irish: chroí
- Italian: cuore
- Polish: serce
- Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil): coração
- Romanian: inima
- Samoan: fatu
- Scots Gaelic: cridhe
- Somali: wadnaha
- Spanish: corazón
- Sundanese: haté
- Swahili: moyo
- Swedish: hjärta
- Tagalog (Filipino): puso
- Uzbek: yurak
- Vietnamese: time
- Welsh: gallon
- Xhosa: Intliziyo
- Yoruba: okan
- Zulu: inhliziyo
Need even more options for names that mean “heart?” Consider who you think is the kindest, sweetest, or most caring person in your life. That person has heart. Name your babe after that person and hope they turn out as profoundly wonderful as them.
This article was originally published on