Baby names, their meanings and histories

A name’s language of use and its derivation tell different parts of its story. Choose either or both.

Lara to Luna.

1. Lara

   Girl

   Four letters, several family connections. Lara can shorten Russian Larisa. In Finnish, it can also be a form of Laura or Clara.

   Which connection feels like yours?. There is no single meaning shared by all of Lara’s traditions; the longer name you have in mind helps explain the connection.†

   † The deeper origin of Russian Larisa is uncertain.

   A way to honour Larisa. In Russian, Lara (Лара) is a short form of Larisa. If there is a Larisa in your family, Lara offers a shorter way to carry that connection.

2. Levi

   Boy

   Levi has a biblical family story. In biblical tradition, Levi is the third son of Jacob and Leah and an ancestor of the Levites. A family may choose the name for that story, for its sound, or for a connection of their own.†

   † This is a biblical genealogy, not a claim about any modern family's ancestry or religion.

   Often connected with joined or attached. Levi is a Hebrew masculine name passed on through biblical tradition. “Joined” or “attached” is a familiar interpretation of its meaning.†

   † “Joined” or “attached” is a conventional interpretation; the ancient etymology has competing explanations.

3. Louis

   Boy

   Louis and the Ludwig family. Louis is a French form in the Ludwig family of names, probably through the Latinized name Ludovicus.

   Fame and battle. The older Germanic name combines elements for fame and war or battle, giving the familiar interpretation “famous in battle.”

4. Luca

   Boy

   An Italian member of the Luke family. Luca is an Italian form of Lucas, in the same name family as Luke.

   A possible place connection. The older name probably meant “from Lucania,” a region of southern Italy.†

   † A link with Lucius is another possibility.

5. Luna

   Girl

   The moon in Latin. Luna means “moon” in Latin. It is also the name of the moon goddess in Roman mythology.