50 Unforgettable Names That Mean Bitter

Have you ever tasted a bitter gourd? What does it taste like? Did you like it? Bitter gourd is a plant that is said to have gotten its name from its taste. However, the bitterness that you taste when you are eating this vegetable plays a role in lowering blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. It is rich in vitamin C and is responsible for healing wounds. It is also crucial for development and growth.

Having a baby is not always sweet and savory. The things that a mother experience is like all the tastes combined. Morning sicknesses. Weird cravings. Failures. Disappointments. Pressure. Fear. These are bitterness felt by a mother for nine consecutive months. However, just like a bitter gourd, the bitterness that a mother experience is nothing compared to the happiness and security that her child brings. Listed below are 50 bitter-related names that will forever remind you of your selfless sacrifices as a loving mother.

Girl Names That Mean Bitter

Here are some flavorful names that mean bitter, which will fit your adventurous daughter.

1. Maureen

Of Irish origin, Maureen is a female name meaning “bitter” or “star of the sea”. One notable character who uses the name is Maureen Wroblewitz, a 24-year-old Filipino actress, beauty queen, and model. She is best known for being the first Filipina to be Asia’s Next Top  Model, winning the title in the show’s fifth season.

2. Anne-Marie

The French name Anne-Marie is a creative combination of the names, Anne, which means “grace”, and Marie, meaning “drop of the sea”, “bitter”, or “beloved”. It translates to “God has favored me” in Hebrew. Anne-Marie is the name used by one of the UK’s most exciting and breakthrough British popstars of recent years, known for writing remarkable songs like “Rockabye”, “Friends”, and “2002”.

3. Marielle

Marielle is a feminine name of Dutch and French origins, signifying “drop of the sea”, “bitter”, or “beloved”. Marielle Benitez, a Filipino football legend who formerly played in the midfield position for the Philippine women’s national football team, possesses the name.

4. Eleri

Eleri is a girl’s name of Welsh origin that stands for “greatly bitter”. It is said to be derived from Afon Leri, a river that can be found in Ceredigion, Wales.

5. Rosemarie

Another artistic compound name is Rosemarie, the names Rose and Mary combined. It is a French name that translates to “rose flower”, and “drop of the sea”, “bitter”, or “beloved”.

6. Malia

Malia is a beautiful name commonly used by girls, which means “bitter” or “of the sea”. It is the Hawaiian equivalent of Mary. This name is borne by Malia Ann Obama, the 24-year-old daughter of the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama.

7. Amorite

Amorite is a biblical female name that signifies “bitter”, “rebel”, or “babbler”. The term Amorite was used in the Bible to refer to a member of an ancient Semitic-speaking people, particularly highland mountaineers, who inhabited the land of Canaan.

8. Marisha

Primarily a feminine name, Marisha is a name of Hebrew origin meaning “bitter” or “drop of the sea”. Marisha Ray is a producer and voice actor based out of Los Angeles best known for her roles in video games and animations, as well as the massively famous hit show and media brand, Critical Role, wherein she serves as the creative director.

9. Yanamarie

Yanamarie is a Spanish name preferably for girls, which translates to “bitter grace”. One of the perks of having a compound name is the fact that you can use a lot of nicknames. For Yanamarie, you can use Yana, Marie, or Yanie as a nickname.

10. Mitzi

Mitzi, a German-originated name suitable for girls, implies “star of the sea” or “bitter”.

11. Amara

Amara is an elegant girl’s name of multiple origins. In Italian, it means “bitter”. In the Igbo language, it stands for “grace”. It implies “deathless” or “immortal” in Sanskrit. In the third episode of the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries, a persistent character named Amara appeared. She was the first immortal woman in the world.

12. Moira

Of Irish origin, Moira is a female name meaning “bitter”, “beloved”, or “drop of the sea”. In Greek, it refers to “destiny” or “fate”. Moira Dela Torre is a popular Filipina singer-songwriter who remains to be the most streamed Filipina singer on Spotify Philippines in recent years.

13. Imrah

The biblical name, Imrah, is a name usually given to girls, which signifies “a rebel”, “waxing bitter”, or “changing”.

14. Marian

Marian is a French name for girls, translating to “drop of the sea”, “beloved”, or “bitter”. Marian Anderson was an American contralto who received a lot of “firsts” that lead to her fame, including the first scholarship awarded by the National Association of Negro Musicians, and being the first to perform solo at the Lincoln Memorial.

15. Mia

Of Scandinavian and Italian origins, Mia is a three-letter feminine name that stands for “mine” or “bitter”. It is said to be a shortened version of Maria.

16. Polly

Polly is an adorable and friendly girl’s name with Hebrew roots, implying “star of the sea”, “rebellion”, or “bitter”.

17. Masha

The Russian name Masha is a name suitable for your cute little girl that translates to “bitter”. In Latin, it means “star of the sea”, or “beloved”. It was used by a character in the Russian preschool comedy computer-animated series, Masha and the Bear.

18. Maeryn

Maeryn is a female name of English and Celtic origins, referring to “one who is bitter”, “enduring”, or “from the sea”.

19. Maria

Maria is a Latin name common to women, which means “beloved”, “bitter”, “of the sea”, or “rebellious”. In the Bible, Maria was the Jewish mother of Jesus, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen.

20. Annemette

The classy name Annemette is of Danish origin translating to “bitter pearl”. Nicknames available for this name are Anne or Anette.

21. Mae

The three-letter Mae is an English feminine name that exudes simplicity. It stands for “bitter” or “pearl”. It also signifies the month of May.

22. Mareike

Pronounced as Ma-RYE-Keh, Mareike is a name of German origin meaning “bitter”. Rye could be a stylish nickname for this name. 

23. Annemie

Of Dutch origin, Annemie is a girl’s name implying “God has favored me”. It also stands for “grace”, “sea of bitterness”, “rebel”, or “exalted one”.

24. Mada

Mada is a unique name of multiple origins. In Polish, it means “bitter”. In Arabic, it signifies “furthest point”. And in Hebrew, it refers to “woman from Magdala” – derived from the Christian Bible’s Mary Magdalene, a saint and one of the followers of Jesus who witnessed His crucifixion and resurrection.

25. Miriam

Miriam is a female-given name with Hebrew and Egyptian roots. It translates to “bitter”. Dr. Miriam Defensor Santiago is a globally-known Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government. She was a legally brilliant and courageous example in fighting corruption.

26. Molly

The Hebrew name, Molly, is a cute feminine name for your daughter that signifies “bitter”. In Irish, it means “star of the sea”.

27. Mara

Pronounced as MAHR-ah, Mara is a girl’s name of Hebrew origin meaning “bitter”. A notable character who holds the name is Mara Wilson, an American actress, and writer who rose to fame as a child for playing Natalie Hillard in the film, Mrs. Doubtfire.

28. Maliah

A Hawaiian variation of Malia is Maliah. It also translates to “bitter”, “rebel”, “beloved”, or “exalted one”.

29. Mary

Of multiple origins, Mary is a name commonly used by girls, which means “bitter”, “beloved”, “rebelliousness”, “wished-for-child”, “marine”, or “drop of the sea”. Mary was the name of Joseph’s wife and the mother of Jesus mentioned in the Christian Bible.

30. Mairi

Widely used in Scotland, Mairi is a Gaelic name suitable for girls, which stands for “bitter” or “star of the sea”. It is an alternative form of Mary.

31. Meike

Meike is a female name of German origin translated to “bitter”. Mei would be an adorable nickname for this.

32. Maliyah

Another Hawaiian form of Malia is Maliyah, which implies “bitter”, “rebel”, “beloved”, or “exalted one”. This version can be considered the most appealing one – giving off that rocker chic vibes.

33. Marie

Marie is a common French feminine name signifying “bitter” or “star of the sea”. It was the name of the last queen of France before the French Revolution.

34. Mariel

Of multiple origins, Mariel is a girl’s name that means “drop of the sea”, “bitter”, or “beloved”. Mariel Rodriguez is a Filipino-born American commercial model, endorser, host, and actress who uses the name.

35. Mhairi

The Hebrew name, Mhairim is of Scottish origin, which stands for “bitterness” or “longed for a child”. The name was borne by a Scottish National Party politician, serving as the deputy leader in the House of Commons since December 2022, Mhairi Black.

Boy Names That Mean Bitter

These are some pleasant bitter-related names for your sweet little boy.

1. Nimrah

Nimrah is a biblical name suitable for boys, implying “leopard” “bitterness”, or “rebellion”. It is a name commonly used in the Muslim region.

2. Manon

Manon is a masculine name of French origin that stands for “bitter”, “of the sea”, or “beautiful queen”.

3. Mieke

The Dutch male name, Mieke, translates to “bitterness”, “drop of the sea”, “rebelliousness”, “exalted one”, “wished-for-child”, or “star of the sea”.

4. Maire

Of Irish origin, Maire is a boy’s name meaning “bitter” or “star of the sea”.

5. Tadmor

The biblical name,  Tadmor, is a masculine name that means “palm tree” or “bitterness”. It was the name of an ancient military outpost, trading center, and customs station located in the Syrian desert.

6. Mariam

Mariam is a male-given name of multiple origins. It signifies “drop of the sea”, “bitter”, or “beloved”. It may sound feminine but it is a rare name for boys.

7. Mo

The two-letter, Mo, is a gender-neutral name of Irish and Hebrew origins, meaning “bitter”. Additionally, it is the shortened form of Moses, which stands for “savior”.

8. Jambres

Jambres is a biblical boy’s name translating to “poverty”, “bitter”, or “rebel”. Jam can make a great alias for this name.

9. Maeron

Considered the masculine form of Maeryn, the Hindi name Maeron is of Celtic origin referring to “one who is bitter”.

10. Maurya

Maurya is a name preferably for boys that means “bitter”. It was used to name the first empire to encompass most of the Indian subcontinent – the Maurya Empire.

11. Maikki

Of Finnish origin, Maikki is an unusual male-given name that stands for “bitter”. A different spelling like Mickee or Mikki can be used if you want to add a little spice.

12. Merari

Merari is a biblical gender-neutral name of Hebrew origin that translates to “bitter”, “sad”, or “strong”. It was the name of the third son of Levi in the Christian Bible.

13. Molli

Considered the masculine version of Molly, the Irish name Molli implies “bitter”, “rebellious”, or “beloved”.

14. Maiju

Maiju is an uncommon boy’s name of Finnish origin meaning “pearl” or “bitter”.

15. Moriah

Moriah is an endearing Hebrew male name that signifies “bitterness of the Lord”, “the hill country”, or “the Lord is my teacher”. In the Christian Bible, it was the name given to the mountainous region in the Book of Genesis, wherein the binding of Isaac by Abraham took place.

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