How to say it
FAITH
/feɪθ/
Feminine
Faith
Faith, trust
What it means
An English virtue name from Latin fides ('trust, belief'). One of the classic Puritan virtues, alongside Hope and Charity.
Faith arrived with 17th-century English Puritans, who named children for qualities they hoped to instill: Faith, Hope, Charity, Patience. It traces to Latin fides, 'trust.' Of the virtue set it has aged the best, staying in easy modern use while the others feel more dated. Country singer Faith Hill kept it visible through the late 1990s and 2000s, and it still reads sincere rather than old-fashioned.
Popularity over time
peaked at #48 in 2002, currently #254 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
A virtue name in the Puritan tradition (Faith, Hope, Charity); it has worn the years better than its siblings.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Faith Hill American country-pop singer, late-1990s breakout
- Faith Evans R&B singer and songwriter
- Faith the rogue Slayer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Names with the same feeling
See Faith from another angle
By meaning
By style