Names That Mean Dream
A name that means “dream” says something lovely about how a child was hoped for. The Irish Aisling (ASH-ling) means “dream” or “vision” and was a whole genre of Irish poetry; Japanese parents choose Yume, Persian parents Roya, Turkish parents Rüya and Hayal, and in India Swapna and Sapna are long-standing favorites.
There aren’t endless names that literally translate as “dream,” so we’ve organized this list honestly: first the true dream names, then the gods and spirits of dreams, names meaning wish, vision or imagination, and finally famous dreamers from scripture and stories. For related themes, see names that mean hope and names that mean night, or browse every theme in our name meanings hub.
Names that literally mean dream
These names translate directly as “dream.” Chinese and Japanese names built on 梦 / 夢 are often combined with a second character for extra meaning. Find more in our Irish girl names and Japanese girl names.
| Name | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Aisling | Dream, vision (pronounced ASH-ling) | Irish |
| Aislinn | Dream, vision | Irish |
| Ashlyn | American form influenced by Aisling | English / Irish |
| Yume | Dream (夢) | Japanese |
| Yumeko | Dream child (夢子) | Japanese |
| Yumeka | Dream flower (夢花) | Japanese |
| Yumeji | Second dream (夢二) | Japanese |
| Meng | Dream (梦) | Chinese |
| Mengqi | Dream + fine jade (梦琪) | Chinese |
| Mengyao | Dream + precious jade (梦瑶) | Chinese |
| Mengjie | Pure dream (梦洁) | Chinese |
| Mộng | Dream (夢) | Vietnamese |
| Mơ | Dream | Vietnamese |
| Swapna | Dream | Sanskrit |
| Sapna | Dream | Hindi |
| Swapnil | Dreamy, seen in a dream | Marathi / Sanskrit |
| Swapno | Dream | Bengali |
| Ahlam | Dreams | Arabic |
| Roya | Dream, vision | Persian |
| Rüya | Dream (from Arabic ruʾyā) | Turkish |
| Hayal | Dream, imagination | Turkish |
| Yeraz | Dream | Armenian |
| Reverie | Daydream | English / French |
Gods, spirits and legends of dreams
The Greeks had a whole family of dream gods — the Oneiroi, sons of Sleep. Celtic and Japanese legend added dream-lovers and a creature that eats nightmares. See our Greek god names for the wider pantheon.
| Name | Who they are | Tradition |
|---|---|---|
| Morpheus | God of dreams who takes human form; name from morphē, “shape” | Greek |
| Oneiros | Dream; personification of dreams | Greek |
| Phantasos | Dream god of objects and illusions | Greek |
| Phobetor | Dream god of nightmares, also called Icelus | Greek |
| Hypnos | God of sleep, father of the dream gods | Greek |
| Pasithea | Goddess of relaxation, wife of Hypnos | Greek |
| Somnus | Roman god of sleep | Roman |
| Nyx | Night; mother of Sleep and Dreams | Greek |
| Nidra | Sleep; goddess Yoga Nidra | Hindu |
| Mab | Queen Mab, fairy midwife of dreams (Romeo and Juliet) | English folklore |
| Endymion | Shepherd granted eternal dreaming sleep | Greek |
| Selene | Moon goddess who visits the sleeping Endymion | Greek |
| Aengus | God who fell in love in a dream (The Dream of Aengus) | Irish |
| Caer | Swan maiden Aengus saw in his dream | Irish |
| Macsen | Emperor who dreamed of his bride (The Dream of Macsen Wledig) | Welsh |
| Baku | Spirit creature that devours nightmares | Japanese |
| Ninsun | Wise goddess who interprets Gilgamesh’s dreams | Sumerian |
Names that mean wish, desire or aspiration
In many languages the same word covers “dream” and “wish.” Kazakh arman means both, as does Turkish arzu. For close cousins, see names that mean miracle.
| Name | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Amani | Wishes, aspirations | Arabic |
| Umniya | Wish, desire | Arabic |
| Muna | Wishes, desires | Arabic |
| Maram | Aspiration, wish | Arabic |
| Murad | Wish, desire, goal | Arabic |
| Murat | Wish, desire | Turkish |
| Arzu | Wish, longing | Turkish |
| Irada | Will, wish | Arabic / Azerbaijani |
| Arezoo | Wish, desire | Persian |
| Arman | Dream, aspiration (Kazakh); wish (Persian) | Persian / Kazakh |
| Tamanna | Wish, desire | Urdu / Hindi |
| Kamna | Wish, desire | Hindi |
| Chahat | Desire, longing | Hindi |
| Ichha | Wish | Sanskrit |
| Asha | Hope, wish | Sanskrit |
| Nozomi | Hope, wish (望) | Japanese |
| Nozomu | To wish, to hope (望) | Japanese |
| Kanae | A wish granted (叶) | Japanese |
| Desiree | Desired, longed for | French |
| Désiré | Desired | French |
| Desiderio | Desire | Italian / Spanish |
| Didier | Desired | French |
Names meaning vision and imagination
Dreams and visions blur together in many cultures. These names celebrate imagination and inner sight.
| Name | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Kalpana | Imagination, fantasy | Sanskrit |
| Kalpit | Imagined, created | Sanskrit |
| Khayal | Imagination, thought | Urdu / Arabic |
| Fantasia | Imagination | Italian / Greek |
| Drishti | Vision, sight | Sanskrit |
| Darshan | Vision of the divine | Sanskrit |
| Darshana | Vision, sight | Sanskrit |
Famous dreamers from scripture and stories
These names don’t mean “dream,” but each belongs to someone famous for dreaming. Many are classic biblical names or literary picks.
| Name | Dream connection | Name meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph | “The dreamer” who interprets Pharaoh’s dreams (Genesis 37–41) | He will add (Hebrew) |
| Jacob | Dreams of a ladder to heaven (Genesis 28) | Supplanter (Hebrew) |
| Daniel | Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams (Daniel 2) | God is my judge (Hebrew) |
| Solomon | God appears to him in a dream (1 Kings 3:5) | Peace (Hebrew) |
| Gideon | Hears a dream that foretells his victory (Judges 7) | Hewer, feller (Hebrew) |
| Penelope | Dreams of an eagle and geese in the Odyssey | Possibly “weaver” (Greek) |
| Calpurnia | Dreamed of Julius Caesar’s death | Roman family name |
| Alice | Wonderland turns out to be a dream | Noble (Germanic) |
| Dorothy | Travels to Oz in a dream-like journey | Gift of God (Greek) |
| Wendy | Flies to Neverland at night | Coined by J.M. Barrie |
| Titania | Fairy queen in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Of the Titans (Greek) |
| Oberon | Fairy king in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Elf ruler (Germanic) |
| Puck | Mischievous sprite in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Sprite, goblin (Old English) |
| Hermia | Young lover in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | From Hermes (Greek) |
| Lysander | Hermia’s beloved in A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Liberator (Greek) |
| Aurora | Sleeping Beauty’s name in Tchaikovsky and Disney | Dawn (Latin) |
| Nemo | Hero of the comic Little Nemo in Slumberland | Nobody (Latin) |
| Max | Sails to Where the Wild Things Are | Greatest (Latin) |
| Walter | Walter Mitty, literature’s great daydreamer | Army ruler (Germanic) |
| Martin | Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” | Of Mars (Latin) |
| Ella | Cinderella sings “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” | All, completely (Germanic) |
Choosing a dreamy name
- Go literal or go symbolic. Aisling, Yume and Roya mean “dream” outright; Joseph or Titania tell a dream story instead.
- Check pronunciation. Aisling is ASH-ling, not AYZ-ling; Rüya is ROO-yah. Decide whether you’re happy to spell and explain.
- Pair it with a grounded middle name. Dream names float; balance them with something earthy from our names that mean earth.
- Think about a sibling set. Luna and Yume, or Nyx and Morpheus, make charming matched names for twins; see our twin names for more pairs.
- Mind the myth. Phobetor is the god of nightmares — great for a black cat, less so for a newborn.
Frequently asked questions
What girl name means dream?
Aisling (Irish), Yume (Japanese), Roya (Persian), Rüya and Hayal (Turkish), Swapna and Sapna (Indian), Ahlam (Arabic) and Yeraz (Armenian) all mean “dream.”
What boy name means dream?
Swapnil (Marathi), Swapno (Bengali), Arman (Kazakh and Persian) and Yumeji (Japanese) carry the meaning. Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, is another bold choice.
What does Aisling mean?
Aisling is an Irish name meaning “dream” or “vision.” It’s also the name of an 18th-century Irish poetic genre in which Ireland appears to the poet as a woman in a dream.
Who is the god of dreams?
In Greek mythology Morpheus is the god of dreams, one of the Oneiroi, sons of Hypnos (Sleep). His brothers Phobetor and Phantasos shape nightmares and dreams of objects.
What Japanese name means dream?
Yume (夢) means dream. It also appears in names like Yumeko (“dream child”) and Yumeka (“dream flower”).