In this week’s Nameberry 9, Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain demonstrates the endless ingenuity there is out there in coming up with creative baby names.

This week’s baby name news was dominated by tales of a mom who has agreed to let the general public name her baby in exchange for $5,000. It turned out to be a hoax, but it raises the question: Would you ever let another person name your child?

It’s an unthinkable transaction for most of us. We have extensive lists of baby names carefully assembled and edited over the years. I like to think that I could blissfully name eight more children, each with two middles.

Or could I?

Creative freedom in baby naming is here to stay. Even parents who say they prefer the mainstream often choose names like Chloe and Noah, Avery and Jayden, possibilities that would have been quite surprising a few decades back.

Top 10 Names You’re Going To Have To Explain To Grandma

Baby Names 2012: What's Hot Now

Aussie Names: Big there, not here

The 12 Best Bond Girl Names

Word Baby Names: New Noun names from Haven to Holiday

Baby Names That Mean Light

Posted January 31st, 2013

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Meanings of Baby Names

Name Image

Nameberry Picks

Nature, Place and Word Names

If there’s anything we crave at this time of year, it’s light: Sunlight, daylight, the light at the end of the long dark winter tunnel.Light is also an inspiring meaning for a baby name, appropriate for a midwinter baby – or one due to arrive in spring or summer. Our favorite baby names with meanings relating to light include:

The Mary Month of May

Top Girls' Names: Transformed!

The Hottest Baby Names of 2011

Celebrity Baby Names: The hottest and the nottest

Christmas Names: From Anya Claus to Zuzu Bailey

Baby Names 2013: 14 top trend predictions

Posted November 16th, 2012

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Baby Names Popularity

Celebrity Names

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Names from the Arts & Pop Culture

Nature, Place and Word Names

Nicknames

Trends and Predictions

Unusual Baby Names

Baby names are changing faster than ever, influenced by celebrities and pop culture, ancient religions and modern catastrophes. The major trends for 2013 draw from the names of Roman gods and the wilder side of nature, tap new international name sources and include a surprising taste for secrecy.

Nameberry’s predictions for baby names 2013:

Classic Girls' Names: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

The Nameberry Nine: Embracing the Modern

Baby Names That Mean Light

Unisex Baby Names: Emerson, Everly and more

The Top Ten Baby Name Problems: And how to solve them

Creative Baby Names: The best dancers’ names from Allegra to Merce

Posted October 18th, 2012

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Celebrity Names

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Name Image

Names from the Arts & Pop Culture

Coincidentally or not, many dancers have names that aptly project an image of lightness and grace. And this cuts across many disciplines of dance, from toe to tap, and across generations as well. As with all artistic children, we have to wonder how much influence the parents who chose their creative baby names had on their offspring’s vocations. Is it serendipitous that ballerina Allegra Kent was given a name that projects such a quintessentially dancer-like image? But hold on–before we jump to conclusions, you’ll see that half of the dancers shown chose their own terpsichorean names.
Here are the Nameberry Picks of best dancers’ names.

When Mom Hates Your Baby's Name

What To Name Your Autumn Baby

Mermaid Names: Beyond Madison and Ariel

Camryn Manheim never felt like a Debi

Your Hero Name!

Names a la Mode: Fashion icon names

Posted August 16th, 2012

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Cool Baby Names

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International Baby Names

Names from the Arts & Pop Culture

Want to give your baby a name that truly telegraphs a sense of style? One way is by going directly to the world of high fashion: representing several different cultures, the names of many twentieth century fashion design icons prove to be exceptionally distinctive, diverse, creative and inspirational. Here are the Nameberry picks of best designer names:

International Names: From the Catalan culture

Baby Name News: Milo, London, and the rest of the Nameberry 9

Black History Baby Names: African-American artists

Unusual Boys' Names Ready To Pop

Baby Names Hot in the UK, Not in the US