Warm Your Heart With 10 Sweet Baby Names That Mean 'Love'

Choosing a baby name that means "love" is an incredibly sweet way for you to show your child, from their earliest days, just how much you adore them. Plus, there are many "love" name options to choose from, coming from various cultures and languages, allowing you to easily acknowledge your family's heritage or a place that holds great meaning to you.

As a bonus, if your baby is due near Valentine's Day, choosing a love-adjacent name can be a subtle nod to their birthday. So, with this in mind, we've rounded up 10 beautiful names that are attached to this meaningful emotion.

The name Suki is of Japanese origin, and is through to mean "beloved" or"loved one." However, it's also come to be a sweet nickname for names like Susan or Susanne. Often linked to actress and singer Suki Waterhouse, the name has been growing in popularity in the United States over the past few years, but still hasn't managed to become super trendy just yet.

For a boy's name that means "heart," the symbol of love, Thaddeus is a strong choice – especially because it also means "courageous" and "brave." Derived from the Aramaic name Taddai, Thaddeus also carries roots in Greek culture, as well as in Christianity, giving it a classic feel. After seeing a small dip in popularity in recent years, it's been slowly climbing the charts once again.

As a name with both Slavic and Spanish origins, Mila has a few charming meanings that can all be linked back to love or affection. In Slavic cultures, it means "gracious" or "dear," while its Spanish ties have Mila more closely connected to "miracles." It's beautiful on its own, but also works as a nickname for Camila or Emilia and can also be spelled as Milla.

If you're looking for a traditional and meaningful Arabic boy's name that can mean love, Aziz is a significant and storied choice. Popular in the Middle East and parts of Africa, Al-Aziz appears in the Qur'an as one of 99 names for Allah. Along with "powerful" and "respected," the name also means "beloved." 

Esme is a beautiful name with French, Portuguese, and Spanish origins that directly translates to "esteemed" as well as "loved." It can also be spelled as Esmé, with an accent on the final E, and while it's perfectly adorable as is, potential nicknames include Essie, Emmy, and Mae. It also works if treated as a nickname for Esmeralda.

With a variety of alternative spellings, including Daryl and Darrelle, the name Darrel means "beloved" or "dear one" and saw its peak popularity in the U.S. as a boys' name in the '40s and '50s. Though it's become more known as a masculine name, Darrel — especially when spelled Darrell or Daryl — does have some crossover as a girls' name, as well.

More commonly spelled Imogen, which itself means "maiden" or "innocent," the name Emogen means "beloved child" and is suspected to be a typo from an Elizabethan-era printer who misspelled the name Innogen. With Scottish and Irish origins, Emogen is a beautiful option if you're looking for a classic with a twist.

For a strong Greek name that literally translates to "love," you can't go wrong with Eros — the god of love and son of Aphrodite. His Roman counterpart is, of course, Cupid, linking him also to the lovestruck bow and arrow. Eros is a name slowly rising in popularity in the U.S., and it's been on a steady incline over the past twenty years or so. 

Deriving from the Latin word "caritas," the name Carita means "love," "affection," and "esteem," and also has Spanish and Swedish origins. It hasn't been seen much in recent years in the U.S., however, so it's an excellent choice if you're looking for a truly unique option for your baby.

With both Hebrew and Arabic origins, the name Zane doesn't directly translate to "love," but it carries important themes that are strongly linked to the emotion — including "beauty," "grace," and "God is Gracious." After a small dip in popularity in the U.S. in the early 2000s, Zane has been back on the rise in recent years, and alternate spellings include Zayn and Zayne.