In a world where novel names are becoming the norm, sometimes you just want to get back to basics. What better way to do that than to give your baby a name that has a deep meaning? Fortunately, we feel the same, which is exactly why we’ve compiled a long list of names that mean understanding. These names are definitely a league or two deeper than oddities like Fanta and Apple.
Two sleek, sophisticated girl names we love are Maven and Kendra. The former comes from the Hebrew for ‘one who understands,’ whereas the latter is of English origin and means ‘knowing.’ Maven has yet to catch on with American parents of baby girls; as of 2024, it was the 2250th most popular name for baby girls. In contrast, Kendra enjoyed its heyday back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it ranked in the top 10% of the most popular girl names here in the U.S.
Of course, understanding isn’t just limited to girls–boys can get in on the fun, too. A name we love in particular is Favian, which has actually been a pretty popular choice for Latino babies since the late 1950s. The name comes from the Latin for ‘man of knowing,’ so its popularity comes as no surprise. After all, who doesn’t want to know a man who knows?
For more cool and interesting names that mean understanding, check out our list below; we guarantee you’ll love what we’ve got.
Ariivu
Meaning: Wise understanding woman
Origin: Tamil
Gender: Girl
Arivolli
Meaning: Knowledgeable man, light of understanding
Origin: Tamil
Gender: Boy
Aurang
Meaning: Wisdom, beauty, a throne, watercolour
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Binah
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Hebrew
Gender: Boy
Bodha
Meaning: Understanding, knowledge, intelligent
Origin: Sanskrit
Gender: Boy
Bunah
Meaning: Building, understanding
Origin: Biblical
Gender: Boy
Canga
Meaning: Wise, river, understanding
Origin: Sanskrit
Gender: Boy
Conception
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Fahhaam
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Fahhaamat
Meaning: Extremely sympathetic, very understanding
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Girl
Fahmee’b
Meaning: Variant of Fahmi’b; wise, understanding
Origin: Muslim
Gender: Girl
Fahmi
Meaning: Understanding, intelligent, my intellect, discerning
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Fahmi’b
Meaning: Wise, understanding
Origin: Muslim
Gender: Girl
Faqid
Meaning: One who knows law and divinity, understanding, judicious, intelligent
Origin: Hindi
Gender: Boy
Favian
Meaning: Understanding, a name given several roman emperors and 16 saints, man of wisdom, meaning
Origin: Latin
Gender: Boy
Fazon
Meaning: An Understanding Man
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Fehime
Meaning: Intelligence understanding
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Girl
Felipedejesus
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Spanish
Gender: Boy
Gati
Meaning: destiny course, gait, progressive, speed
Origin: Sanskrit
Gender: Boy/girl
Kendrie
Meaning: The fire of births, understanding, cene which means bold keen, knowing
Origin: Welsh
Gender: Girl
Kener
Meaning: understanding, knowledge, family ruler, prophetess, knowing
Origin: Germanic
Gender: Boy
Kenjuan
Meaning: Understanding, knowledge, family ruler, prophetess, knowing
Origin: Native American
Gender: Boy
Kenlynn
Meaning: Understanding, knowledge, family ruler, prophetess, knowing
Origin: English
Gender: Girl
Kenslea
Meaning: Understanding, knowledge, family ruler, prophetess, knowing
Origin: English
Gender: Girl
Kiandra
Meaning: Understanding, ancient
Origin: Irish
Gender: Girl
Kobain
Meaning: Understanding, knowledge, family ruler, prophetess, knowing
Origin: Native American
Gender: Boy
Kobina
Meaning: Understanding, knowledge, family ruler, prophetess, knowing
Origin: Western African Akan
Gender: Boy
Labeeb
Meaning: Understanding, sensible, intelligent
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Labibah
Meaning: Sensible, understanding, brilliant, wise
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Girl
Lavetta
Meaning: Writing of the aryans, understanding, wisdom and knowledge, pious
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Maasila
Meaning: Flawless, great understanding person
Origin: Tamil
Gender: Girl
Mebunnai
Meaning: Son, building, understanding
Origin: Biblical
Gender: Boy
Okan
Meaning: Understanding, resembling a horse
Origin: Turkish
Gender: Boy
Orang
Meaning: Wisdom, understanding, beauty, a throne
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Pallas
Meaning: To wield a weapon, understanding, wisdom
Origin: Greek
Gender: Boy/girl
Pratiti
Meaning: Understanding, faith
Origin: Hindu
Gender: Girl
Shaalabbim
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Biblical
Gender: Boy
Shimushi
Meaning: Intellect, understanding
Origin: Hindi
Gender: Girl
Sirivedya
Meaning: Supreme understanding
Origin: Indian
Gender: Girl
Tafheem
Meaning: Knowledge, know-how, understanding
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Veda
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Sanskrit
Gender: Girl
Veleda
Meaning: Knowledge, writing of the aryans, pious, understanding
Origin: Celtic
Gender: Girl
Veronicia
Meaning: Little female bear, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and knowledge
Origin: Greek
Gender: Girl
Vinyette
Meaning: Little female bear, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and knowledge
Origin: French
Gender: Girl
Yavin
Meaning: Understanding
Origin: Hebrew
Gender: Boy
