Jazzy Baby Names: Miles, Mose & Mabel
There’s something undeniably cool and, well, jazzy, about the names of jazz musicians. Take the ultimate example, the personification of cool –Miles Davis– who imparted a silky, seductive veneer to his name, as Quincy Jones did to his.
The inimitable Ella Fitzgerald gave hers a jazzy edge long before Ella was anywhere near the pop lists. Names like Ray and Roy, Cecil and Percy and Dexter all take on an appealing funkiness and rise to another level when looked at in the context of jazz.
And then there are the great unique appellations—Bix, Django, Eubie, Mercer—that could appeal to the intrepid jazz aficionado baby namer.
Jazz immortals’ surnames are another possiblity,as chosen by a few celebs—model Helena Christensen called her son Mingus, and Woody Allen used Bechet, the name of one of his musical heroes, Sidney Bechet.
Here, some of the jazziest choices:
GIRLS
- ABBEY Lincoln
- ALBERTA Hunter
- ANITA O’Day
- BESSIE Smith
- BLOSSOM Dearie
- CARMEN McRae
- CASSANDRA Wilson
- CLEA Bradford
- CLEO Laine
- DAKOTA Staton
- DELLA Reese
- DINAH Washington
- DOROTHY Donegan
- ELLA Fitzgerald
- ERNESTINE Anderson
- ETTA James
- HAZEL Scott
- IVY Anderson
- JUNE Christy
- LIL Armstrong
- LOREZ Alexandria
- MABEL Mercer
- MORGANAKing
- NINA Simone
- REGINA Carter
- SABLE Winters
- TIERNEY Sutton
BOYS
- ARNETT Cobb
- ARCHIE Shepp
- BARNEY Kessel
- BIX (Leon) Beiderbeck
- BOOKER Ervin, Little
- BOYD Raeburn
- CABELL (Cab) Calloway
- CECIL Taylor
- CHET (Chesney) Baker
- CHICO (Forestorn) Hamilton
- CHRISTIAN McBRIDE
- CLARK Terry
- CLAUDE Thornhill
- CLIFFORD Brown
- COLEMAN Hawkins
- COLERIDGE Goode
- CURTIS Fuller
- DJANGO Reinhardt
- DEXTER Gordon
- ELLIS Larkins
- ELMO Hope
- ERROLL Garner
- EUBIE Blake
- FLETCHER Henderson
- GILDO Mahones
- GUS Mancuso
- HAMPTON Hawes
- HORACE Silver
- HUMPHREY Littleton
- IKE Quebec
- ILLINOIS (Jean Baptiste) Jacquet
- JULIAN (Cannonball) Adderley
- KAI Winding
- LARS Gullin
- LIONEL Hampton
- LOUIS Armstrong
- MAX Roach
- McCOY Tyner
- MEADE Lux Lewis
- MERCER Ellington
- MILES Davis
- MONGO Santamaria
- MOSE Allison
- ORNETTE Coleman
- OSCAR Peterson, Pettiford
- PEPPER (born PARK) Adams
- PERCY Heath
- PHINEAS Newborn, Jr.
- QUINCY Jones
- RAMSEY Lewis
- RAY Charles
- REX Stewart
- ROY Eldridge
- CONTE (born Secondo) Candoli
- STEPHANE Grapelli
- TADD Dameron
- TAFT Jordan
- THADDEUS/THAD Jones
- THELONIOUS Monk
- VIDO Musso
- ZIGGY (Harry) Elman
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pippa Says:
Kelly Says:
my cousin is pregnant with a little boy. they are planning on calling him Miles….don’t know why though.
Meryl Says:
I gave my son two middle names Thelonius (after monk) and Lightning (after lightnin’ Hopkins. I am not a huge Jazz fan but I respect these men and their music. I like this blog as we are TTC and I would like to have another musicians name but in my future babies middle spot. I like MIles but it feels too common. I like HAwkins, etta and sable or winters! great topic.
- Meryl
PS I would love to see a similar topic about painters!
Linelei Says:
How about Billie Holiday? Her birth-name was Eleanora, and her nickname was Lady Day. All fabulous choices. 
linda Says:
Can’t believe I left her out!
Kelly Says:
My 10 week old daughter is named Tierney. Tierney Sutton definitely was a positive, though not the original reason we chose the name!
Jen Says:
Why not add Maceo? Love that name!!
Foodie Says:
I’m from Bix Biederbeck’s hometown in Iowa. Every year we have a race called the Bix, the accompanies a jazz festival in his honor.
Kalikeli Says:
Ah, you’ve left off one of the greatest, coolest names ever – (John) Coltrane. My husband’s a huge Coltrane fan and we considered it for #1. With the popularity of the nn Cole (not to mention how cool is Trane as a nn?) it may be on the table for #2 on the way.
DH thinks it’s too hipster/cooler than thou to actually use it…
Cleeeeeo Says:
I was meant to be called Billie but “didn’t look like one” so they called Cle0 (a name I love a lot more!). I think the jazz singer associations were a bonus for my dad, but it was just a case of them liking the names really!
I always wanted to play trumpet when I was small but ended up being the singer of my school jazz band instead!
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Ah, a subject dear to my heart! My husband and I are jazz musicians and longtime aficionados. I admit that it did irk a bit when friends recently named their son Hawkins, after the great saxophonist Coleman Hawkins–despite having zero interest in his music, or jazz in general. They just “liked the sound.” It rang a bit of a false note. (No pun intended!) However I realize I am being oversensitive! Love the list.