40 short, beautiful and meaningful names for boys and girls

If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, chances are you’re thinking of something your child will carry with them for life: their name. Our name identifies us and is part of who we are, because that’s how most people refer to us.

When choosing a baby name, it is very common to spend hours and hours researching the origins and meanings of our favorite options, looking for a name that sounds good and has a strong and beautiful reference behind it.

In recent years, compound names have been a big trend – see Ana Beatriz and Maria Laura and João Vítor and Pedro Henrique. Of course, longer names are beautiful and strong, but there are parents who prefer shorter names.

short names for girls

In alphabetical order, learn about the origins and meanings of 20 short names for girls:

Ana: comes from the Hebrew and means “favor” or “grace”;
Eve: from the Hebrew Hayya, which means “life” or “breath”;
Clara: means “bright”, “luminous” and “illustrious”;
Dara: comes from the Hebrew and means “pearl of wisdom”;
Elis: means “God is salvation” in Hebrew;
Eloah: comes from the Hebrew name of God, “Eloah”;
Esther Biblical name meaning “star”, “she that shines”;
Iara: with Tupi origin, it means “lady”;
Inaê: comes from Yoruba with the meaning of “mother” and is another name attributed to Iemanjá, the queen of the waters;
Iris: comes from the Greek “iris” and means “messenger by the word”, also related to the rainbow;
Isis: goddess of Egyptian mythology who represents the ideal mother;
Jade: is a gemstone with healing powers;
Julia: means “cute”, “soft”, “fluffy”, “young” or “daughter of Jupiter”;
Laís: ancient city in Palestine or “place of lions”;
Lara: mythological figure representing the mother of homes, protector of homes;
Lia: in Latin, it has the meaning of “lioness”;
Livia: means “pale”, “livid” or “clear”;
Sarah: means “daughter of the king”, “princess”, “lady” or “maiden”;
Sofia: comes from the Greek and literally means “wisdom”;
Taís: comes from the Greek and means “the one to be contemplated” or “contemplated with admiration”.

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short names for boys

Among biblical and Greek names, discover the full force of these 20 short names for boys:

Alan: in Old French, it meant “beautiful”;
Gaius: comes from the Latin gaius and means “joyful”, “content”, “happy”;
Cauã: is a reference to “hawk”, “falcão”;
Cauê: comes from the Tupi language and means “kind man” or “intelligent”;
David: name of a king of Israel, meaning “beloved”, “dear”, “favorite” with origin in Hebrew;
Enzo: means “lord of the home”, “prince of the home”, “giant”, “one who wins”, “victor”;
Henry: is “the one who runs the house”;
Iago: variation of James, meaning “he who comes from the heel” or “may God protect him”;
Ian: Scottish form of “John” and Hebrew “Yochanan”, meaning “God is gracious”, “gift of God”, “grace of God”;
Igor: has Archaic Norse origin and means “bow” or “army”;
Ivan: Slavic form of “John” and the Hebrew “Yochanan”, meaning “God is gracious”, “gift of God”, “grace of God”;
Jean: French variation of John, meaning “God is gracious”;
John: comes from the Hebrew “Yochanan” and means “God is gracious”; “God is full of grace,” “graced of God”;
Joseph: comes from the Hebrew Yosef and means “God will add” or “he who adds”;
Luan: in Albanian it means “lion”, while in Gaelic it means “warrior”;
Luiz: comes from the German Ludwig, which means “famous warrior”;
Noah: comes from the Hebrew word “noach”, which means “comfort”, “rest”;
Otto: it is the modern form of the Germanic name Odo, which means “wealth”, “fortune”;
Theo: from the Greek “Theos”, which means God, and “doron”, which means “gift”;
Yuri: comes from Slavic languages and means “one who works in the land”, “farmer”.