Names That Mean Beautiful: 140 Girl, Boy and Unisex Names With Checked Meanings

Names that mean beautiful include Bella, Belle, Bonnie, Aoife, Jamila, Zuri, Nava, Mei and Anwen for girls, Jamil, Hasan and Zayn for boys, and Beau and Bellamy for any baby, and this list gives a checked origin and meaning for each one.

Names that mean beautiful are some of the most searched baby names, and for good reason: almost every language has one. Some come straight from the word for beautiful (Zuri in Swahili, Nava in Hebrew, Güzel in Turkish), some from a word for beauty (Aoife, Jamal, Nani), and some from a compound such as “beautiful flower” or “beautiful soul”.

We grouped the names into girl names, boy names that mean beautiful or handsome, gender-neutral names, names from other languages, Japanese and Chinese names (where the characters decide the meaning), names that mean lovely, pretty or graceful, and compound meanings. Every meaning was checked against the name’s own Behind the Name entry, and we also flag popular names that are often said to mean beautiful but do not.

Names That Mean Beautiful at a Glance

Every origin label and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning uncertain or only possible, we print it that way, and a section near the end lists popular names that are often said to mean beautiful but do not.

These ten are the names most people find first when they search for a name that means beautiful. They are short, easy to say in English, and each one has a clear link to a word for beauty in its own language. Two of them (Bella and Belle) began as short forms of Isabella, which ranked No. 7 for girls born in the United States in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA); the beautiful meaning came along with the Italian and French words they match.

A quick note on how to read the tables: the Origin column uses the usage labels from each entry (the languages and places where the name is actually used), and the Meaning column follows the entry’s own wording. When a name means beautiful only in one possible spelling or one set of characters, we say so. For thousands more ideas in every style, see our main baby girl names and baby boy names lists.

Girl Names That Mean Beautiful

Most girl names that mean beautiful come from a handful of word families. The Latin and Romance family gives us bella and belle, and English took the ending bel and used it to build names such as Christabel and Rosabel. Greek gives us kalos (“beautiful”) and kallos (“beauty”), the root of Calista, Kallisto and Calla. Welsh uses teg (“beautiful, pretty”) and gwen (“white, blessed”), and Irish uses aoibh (“beauty”).

Some patterns worth knowing before you choose. The bel names (Annabel, Christabel, Rosabel, Dulcibella) were built in English, so their beauty meaning is real but comes from a suffix rather than a full word. Annabel is a good example: the reference explains that it began as a variant of Amabel and was later spelled as if it combined Anna and belle. Calista and Kallisto both trace back to the Greek for “most beautiful”, and the reference notes that a moon of Jupiter carries the Latinized form of Kallisto, which makes it a nice fit with our space names.

Aoife and Aoibhe are Irish names built on the same root, and their spelling and sound (roughly EE-fa and EE-va) are worth practicing if you are not from an Irish-speaking family. For more names in that tradition, see Irish girl names. Meinwen means “slender and beautiful maiden” in Welsh, while Tegwen joins teg and gwen into one soft name created in the 19th century.

Boy Names That Mean Beautiful or Handsome

Boy names that mean beautiful usually come with “handsome” in the entry, since many languages use the same root for both. Arabic has the richest set: Jamil and Jamal share a root meaning “to be beautiful”, and Hasan, Ahsan and Husni share another that means “to be beautiful, to be good”. Every name below has “beautiful”, “beauty”, “handsome” or “pretty” in its entry.

A few of these deserve a closer look. Kenneth is an Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic Coinneach (“handsome, beautiful, good”), but the reference notes that it also Anglicizes another, unrelated Scottish name, so its beauty meaning applies to only one of its roots. Kaloyan is a lovely story: it began as a nickname, “handsome John”, for a 13th-century Bulgarian emperor.

If you want a beautiful-meaning name that is easy for English speakers, Jamal, Hasan, Zayn, Kenneth and Beau (in the next table) are already familiar in the United States. For more boy ideas with strong meanings, try our strong boy names and unique boy names lists.

Gender-Neutral Names That Mean Beautiful

These names are listed for both genders on their Behind the Name entries. The Origin column shows both genders in the order the entry lists them. Several of the Zulu and Xhosa names share the root hle, “beautiful”.

Beau is a good example of how usage changes from place to place: the entry says it is given to girls as well as boys in Britain and the Netherlands but is more often used for boys in America, and that it is not commonly used as a name in France itself. Bellamy, from an old surname meaning “beautiful friend”, has a friendly sound that works for any child. For a longer list of unisex picks, see our gender-neutral names guide.

Names That Mean Beautiful in Other Languages

Almost every language has a name that means beautiful. Below we group them by region and language family. Each name is used in the language shown, so if you choose one, it is kind to learn how it is said there and a little about the culture it comes from.

Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Yiddish. Arabic names built on jamal (“beauty”) and husn (“beauty, excellence, goodness”) are used across many countries, which is why Jamila has Arabic, Urdu and Hausa usage labels. Hebrew offers Yafa and Nava, both “beautiful”, and Noya and Linoy, built on noi (“beauty, ornament”). Shiphrah is a biblical name, and Shayna comes from the Yiddish word for beautiful.

Hawaiian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Turkic, Basque and Scandinavian. Hawaiian names use nani (“beauty, glory”), Indonesian has Indah and Ayu, and Tagalog has Marikit. Sanskrit-based names such as Kalyani, Indira and Lavanya are used in several Indian languages. The Old Norse element fríðr, “beautiful, beloved”, sits inside familiar Scandinavian names such as Ingrid, Sigrid and Astrid, so those names are partly about beauty, even though most people do not know it.

Two notes on this table. Selin’s meaning is uncertain, and the reference gives “clean, pure, beautiful” as one of several possible sources, so we list it that way. Frida is two different names: the Scandinavian Frida comes from fríðr (“beautiful, beloved”), while the German Frida, borne by the painter Frida Kahlo, comes from a word for “peace”. If you like the Indian names here, our Indian girl names and Indian boy names lists go deeper.

Japanese and Chinese Names That Mean Beautiful

Japanese and Chinese names work differently from most names on this page. The meaning depends on the characters chosen, not on the sound alone. In Japanese, 美 (mi) means “beautiful”, so names such as Emi, Miki and Natsumi mean beautiful only when they are written with that character. The same sound can be written with other characters and carry a completely different meaning: Yumi, for example, can be written 弓, “archery bow”.

The table gives the example characters from each entry. If you choose one of these names, the characters you pick (and how your family writes them) are what make it mean beautiful.

Chinese 美 (měi) is the same character, which is why Mei and Meilin share the beautiful meaning, and Vietnamese Mỹ comes from the same character through Sino-Vietnamese. Two Japanese names here (Naomi and Hiromi) are listed for both genders, and the reference notes that Naomi’s beautiful spelling is usually the feminine one. Our Japanese girl names and Japanese boy names pages explain more about kanji choices.

Names That Mean Lovely, Pretty or Graceful

If “beautiful” feels like a big word for a tiny baby, names that mean lovely, pretty or graceful have the same warmth with a softer touch. Every name in this table has “lovely”, “pretty” or “graceful” (or a close compound of them) in its entry.

Tegan is a nice middle ground: the entry gives its meaning as “darling”, from a diminutive of the Welsh word for beautiful and pretty, and it has a modern English use as well. Erato and Erastus are Greek names with a “lovely” meaning; Erastus appears in the New Testament as an assistant of Paul, so they also suit families looking at biblical boy names. Ghada and Zarifa are Arabic names whose meanings center on grace and elegance.

Names That Mean Beautiful Flower, Beautiful Soul or Beautiful Gift

Some names pair beautiful with a second idea: a flower, a soul, a voice, the moon or a gift. We print each compound exactly as the entry gives it. Where the meaning is uncertain (Ayanna) or comes only from an old spelling influence (Rosalind), the table says so.

Searches for a name that means “beautiful flower” usually land on Calanthe, Puanani and Mbalenhle, and all three have that meaning in their entries. Misaki joins beautiful with blossom, and Mio can join beautiful with cherry blossom. Arujan is the clearest “beautiful soul” name we found. For a “beautiful gift”, the closest verified match is Hidaya, which the entry gives as “gift, precious, beautiful” in Swahili. If you love the flower idea, our flower names list has many more, and moon lovers can pair Aiaru with ideas from our names that mean moon guide.

Popular Names Often Said to Mean Beautiful (and What They Really Mean)

Many baby name lists say these names mean beautiful. According to their Behind the Name entries, most of them do not, or only partly do. We include them because you may have seen the claim elsewhere and deserve the full story before you choose.

This does not make any of these names a bad choice. Linda really does match the Spanish and Portuguese word for beautiful, even though it began as a Germanic short form. Bella and Belle are connected to beautiful words, but they began as short forms of Isabella, which goes back to Elizabeth. Fiona, Gwen and Blanche are often described as “fair”, and in the reference that word means white or light-colored (fair-haired, fair-skinned), not pretty. If you love names tied to light, brightness and the sun, those live on our separate names that mean light guide. If a name’s meaning matters to you, read its full entry before you print it on an announcement.

How to Choose a Name That Means Beautiful

Once you have a shortlist of names that mean beautiful, a few quick checks can help you decide:

• Say it out loud with your last name: listen for rhythm and for sounds that run together. Short names like Bella or Zuri balance a long last name; longer names like Annabella or Calliope suit a short one.
• Learn the pronunciation in its home language: Aoife, Uʻilani and Nizhóní have sounds and marks that English spelling does not show. A family member, a language teacher or the entry’s pronunciation guide can help.
• Respect the culture: a name from a language you do not speak can still be a beautiful choice. Learn what it means there, how it is said, and whether it has religious meaning (Kanti and Indira are names of a Hindu goddess, for example).
• Check the characters: for Japanese and Chinese names, the meaning lives in the characters. Decide on the characters, not only the sound.
• Think about spelling and accents: several names here carry diacritics (Tuấn, Mỹ, Güzel, Nizhóní) or the Hawaiian ʻokina (Uʻilani). U.S. paperwork does not always carry accent marks or special characters, so decide early how you will write the name.
• Look up popularity: the SSA’s popular baby names site shows how names have been used over time. Within the 2025 top 10, only Isabella (No. 7 for girls) is closely connected to this page, through Bella and Belle, so most of these names will feel distinctive.

Middle names are a gentle place to use a beautiful meaning. A familiar first name with a meaningful middle (or the reverse) gives you both: Olivia Nani, Henry Jamil, Charlotte Aoife, Theodore Beau, Emma Calla or Mateo Eder. Our middle names guide covers rhythm and flow, and our unique girl names list is full of rare finds.

Nicknames and Sibling Sets

Longer names that mean beautiful often come with a built-in short form. Annabella and Annabelle can shorten to Bella or Belle. Calista shortens easily to Callie, and Calliope to Cal or Callie. These nicknames are just everyday sounds; the meaning stays with the full name.

Sibling sets. Matching by meaning is a sweet idea for twins or siblings: Bella and Beau (Italian and French), Jamila and Jamil (Arabic), Nani and Kanani (Hawaiian), Aoife and Cadhla (Irish), Tegwen and Delwyn (Welsh), Ingrid and Sigrid (Old Norse), or Calista and Callistus (Latin and Greek). Our twin names guide has more pairing ideas.

Related Betteroo Guides

• Flower names
• Names that mean light
• Names that mean moon
• Gender-neutral names
• Japanese girl names
• Irish girl names

The Bottom Line

Names that mean beautiful come from nearly every language: Bella, Belle and Bonnie in English, Aoife in Irish, Anwen in Welsh, Jamila and Jamil in Arabic, Nava and Yafa in Hebrew, Zuri in Swahili, Nani in Hawaiian, and Japanese names written with 美. Shortlist three to five, read each meaning in full, say each one with your last name, and choose the one that still makes you smile a week later.

Ready to share the news? Our pregnancy announcement ideas have plenty of sweet options.

Frequently Asked Questions

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