A rainbow baby is a little one born after the loss of a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. The rainbow signifies the beauty and hope that follows the storm. Typically when naming your baby, you want there to be a special meaning behind the name, and this is especially true for a rainbow baby.
Naming Your Rainbow Baby
Since rainbows are rare and beautiful occurrences, there are different approaches you can take when naming a rainbow baby. This list of girls' and boys' names can also include some form of the name listed or using it as a middle name as well.
Happiness and Joy
These names indicate the happiness and overwhelming joy of the pregnancy.
Girls
- Aida - happy
- Alisa - great happiness
- Annabella - joy
- Beatrice, Bea, Beatrix, Trixie - she who bring joy and happiness
- Bliss - extreme joy and happiness
- Felicity - happy
- Joy, Jovie, Joyce - joyful
- Luana - happy
- Maeve - great joy
Boys
- Asher - happy or fortunate
- Felix - happy
- Gil - happiness
- Isaac - laughter and joy
- Tate - happy
- Winston - joy
Hope, Faith and Light
These names exude the hope, faith, and light of the pregnancy and the arrival of the baby.
Girls
- Aurora - light/dawn
- Danika - light
- Ellie - shining light
- Faith - faith
- Hope - hope
- Imani - faith
- Laelynn - flower of hope
- Minette - faithful defender
- Nadia - hopeful
- Suki/Saki - blossom and hope
- Violet - faith
Boys
- Amil - hope
- Dillon - ray of hope
- Kit - hope
- Lucas/Luke/Lucian - light
- Truman - faithful one
- Von - hope
Blessings, Grace, Miracle, Gift From God
These names are how you actually feel about your impending arrival.
Girls
- Annelise - full of grace
- Genevieve - blessing
- Grace/Graziella - blessing
- Micaela - gift from God
- Mikelle, Mirielle - miracle
- Mira/Miracle - miracle
- Nessa - miracle
Boys
- Aaron - miracle
- Bennett/Benedict/Ben - blessed
- Ethan - gift
- Jesse - gift
- Karsten - blessed
- Matthew - gift from God
- Micah - gift from God
- Milagro - miracle
- Nathanial - gift from God
- Theodore - gift
- Zane - gift
Thankful for or Wished For
These names show how grateful you are for your little one.
Girls
- Gianna - thankful
- Jayden - thankful for
- Mia or Mila - wished for
Boys
- Gianni - thankful
- Saul - wished for and desired
- Samuel - God has heard
- Simon - God has heard
Beloved, Dear, Precious, Priceless
These names describe what your baby means to you.
Girls
- Aimee/Amy - beloved
- Carina - dear one
- Maisie - pearl
- Nina - priceless
- Pearl - precious (or any precious gem stone)
- Priya - beloved
Boys
- Anthony - priceless
- Darrell - beloved
- David/Davis - beloved
- Jasper - precious
- Tristan/Tris - beloved
Life and Strength
These baby names demonstrate the overall life and strength of the expected baby.
Girls
- Avita - life
- Bree/Briana - strength
- Bridget - strength
- Evie - life
- Kayleigh - keeper of keys, pure
- Matilda - power
- Raine - strength
- Trudy - universal strength
- Vida - life
Boys
- Bernard - strong as bear
- Duke - leader
- Emory - leader
- Everett - strength
- Guy - warrior
- Joshua - leader
- Liam - strong-will warrior
- Oscar - divine strength
- Remo - strength
- Wyatt - little warrior
Additional Name Ideas for Rainbow Babies
The following unique names are suggestions that include some actual colors of a rainbow, flowers that grow from the rain, and even characters associated with the movie that "starred" a rainbow, The Wizard of Oz.
Girls
- Violet - purple
- Indigo - blue
- Olive - green
- Hazel - green
- Lily - flower
- Jasmine - flower
- Rose - flower
- Iris - flower and means rainbow (Greek)
- Poppy - flower and Wizard of Oz related
- Dorothy - means gift from God and Wizard of Oz related
- Glinda - means good as in the good witch in the Wizard of Oz
Boys
These powerful rainbow baby boy names should also be mentioned:
- Gabriel - hero of God
- Beau - beautiful and for rain'bow'
- Maximillian - greatest
- Noah - long-lived
- Raphael - God has healed
The Big Decision
As parents, the reason behind the name you choose for your rainbow baby is personal. You may decide to share this information with family and friends or keep it private. Either way you handle it is completely acceptable. If you are having trouble deciding on a name, you can be reassured that when the right name does come along, your gut will tell you. You will sense instinctually which name feels right. It is only then you will know what name will be the most fitting for your rainbow baby.
