Love is the most direct name a parent can give a child: a one-syllable English word that means exactly what it says, used without metaphor or transformation. With 4,527 SSA records and a peak in 2022, it's finding an audience among parents who want the most transparent possible declaration of how they feel about their child.
Old English to Modern Name
Love as an English word descends from Old English lufu, from Proto-Germanic *lubō, related to the same root as Latin lubere (to please) and Sanskrit lubhyati (he desires). As a given name, Love has Scandinavian precedent: it's a traditional Swedish and Norwegian name (usually male, pronounced LOO-veh) with Old Norse roots. In American use, it's primarily a feminine vocabulary name in the Hope-Joy-Faith tradition. English vocabulary virtue names with one syllable (Grace, Hope, Joy, Faith, Love) have a particular directness that more complex names don't achieve.
The One-Syllable Virtue Tradition
Love sits at the end of the classic English one-syllable virtue name spectrum, alongside Faith, Hope, and Joy. What distinguishes Love from those names is that it's a relational noun: love exists between people, rather than being a standalone quality. Choosing Love says something specific about the relationship between parent and child. That relational dimension gives it a warmth that solitary virtues don't quite capture in the same way.
The Counter-Reading: When the Name Is Also a Verb
Love is unusual among noun names in that it's also very commonly used as a verb and a term of endearment, which means a child named Love will navigate being called Love in contexts that are both personal (her name) and generic (a form of address). That's a specific social dynamic that most names don't create. Against Joy, Love is more relationally charged; Joy is more self-contained. Amara (meaning eternal love in various traditions) covers similar semantic ground with more syllables for families who want the concept with more elaboration.