Coolest Baby Names That Aren't Really Names
Updated Tue Jan 21 2025
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The coolest baby names sometimes aren't names at all, as the mostly unisex names on this list attest. Words as names are a relatively recent yet very hot trend, with Navy, Seven, and Legacy among the fastest-rising baby names of the moment.
Along with Navy and Seven, other baby names that aren’t really names in the US Top 1000 include Blessing, Creed, Crew, Dash, Forest, Halo, Journey, and Winter. The Kardashians are especially talented at turning words into hit baby names — Dream, Reign, Saint, and True made incredible leaps in popularity after being endorsed by the famous family.
There are an uncountable number of words turned cool baby names, beyond the scope of any one source. The only limits are your reference books, your imagination, and your taste.
Here are some of the coolest and most evocative of the group, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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WILDCARD:
- Juniper
Origin:
Latin tree nameMeaning:
"young"Description:
Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name -- it's a small evergreen shrub -- with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia, and Willow.
- Zephyr
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"west wind"Description:
If you're looking for a name that's light and breezy, this could be it. A name from mythology: Zephyrus/Zephyr was the Greek god of the west wind, and with its similarity in sound to the likes of Stefan or Seth, its zippy Z initial and cool Y, it is primed to rise up the US charts.
- Wren
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small bird"Description:
Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular English names for girls.
- Moon
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
The original oddball celebrity baby name, via Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit, who claims she's always liked it.
- Scout
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"one who gathers information covertly"Description:
Scout, a character nickname from To Kill a Mockingbird (her real name was Jean Louise), became a real-life possibility when Bruce Willis and Demi Moore used it for their now-grown middle daughter, followed by Tom Berenger a few years later.
- Crew
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"a band or force of armed men"Description:
Crew is yet another word name that was added to the baby name lexicon when this one was chosen by The Young and the Restless star Joshua Morrow for his son. It debuted on the Top 1000 in 2010. We've also heard spelling variations Cru and Crue.
- Onyx
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"gem stone; claw, nail"Description:
Unlike Pearl and Ruby and more like Jasper, this gem name works well as a boys name. With its strong final X, it feels similar to Alex, Phoenix, Jax, and Rex, while the shiny black quality of the stone feels reminiscent of Orion. Chosen by musician Iggy Azalea for her son in 2020, it has accelerated up the charts and now sits just outside the Top 300.
- Haven
Origin:
Word name, EnglishMeaning:
"a place of safety"Description:
Haven is a recently invented safe-harbor name that appeals to an increasing number of parents who don't want to voyage quite as far as Heaven.
- Lark
Origin:
English bird nameDescription:
Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.
- Creed
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"I believe; statement of belief"Description:
Cool, solid, and often spiritual, Creed derives from the Latin word credo meaning "I believe". It appeared sporadically in the US Top 1000 back in the late 19th century, but remained only quietly used the 2000s. By 2016 it was back in the charts, and in a recent year more than 460 boys were given the name, placing it in the Top 700.
- Cedar
Origin:
English and French from Latin tree nameMeaning:
"cedar tree"Description:
Cedar is, like Ash, Oak, Pine and Ebony, one of the new tree/wood names that parents are starting to consider; this one is particularly aromatic with a similar feel to more classic options like Cedric, Edgar, Reed, and Sawyer.
- Echo
Origin:
Greek mythology nameMeaning:
"echo or sound"Description:
Echo, the pretty, resonant name of a legendary nymph, was the heroine of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Dollhouse. Nick Hexum, of the band 311, named his daughter Echo Love.
- Quill
Origin:
Irish, diminutive of Quillan or Quiller; also English word nameMeaning:
"lion, scribe, writer with a quill pen"Description:
Quill is a unique possibility for the child of writers -- even if they do use computers rather than pens; could also serve as a rhyming tribute to an ancestor named Gil, Phil, or Bill (or Jill).
- Emerald
Origin:
Gem name; PersianMeaning:
"green"Description:
Emerald is the intriguing color and jewel name of the deep green stone treasured as far back as ancient Egypt — it's supposed to open one's heart to wisdom and to love and be good for strengthening relationships — which could make for an interesting, unusual name, particularly with the popularity of so many Em-starting names.
- Cadence
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"rhythm, beat"Description:
The musical word name Cadence, seemed to come out of nowhere to zoom up the charts; it rose over 700 spots between 2002 and 2004, and showed up in the Top 200 in 2007. It's gone down in the popular names list since then, though. Some might see it as a feminine relative of the popular Caden. Kadence and Kaydence are also rising.
- Bean
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"an edible seed, typically kidney-shaped"Description:
Bean is a unisex word name with a cute and quirky feel. Early reader series Ivy and Bean features a young girl named Bean, short for Bernice Blue. It has appeal as a casual nickname or middle name, but it's harder to imagine as a given name.
- Dash
Origin:
Diminutive of Dashiell, meaning unknownDescription:
Dash is a nickname that can stand on its own and sounds, well, dashing. Connected these days with Kardashian enterprises.
- Posey
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"a bunch of flowers"Description:
Posey is fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is only starting to be heard here.
- Winter
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
Fresher, brisker and, yes, cooler than Summer or Autumn or Spring, Winter is now a full-fledged female choice, especially since Nicole Richie and Joel Madden used it for daughter Harlow's middle name, and Gretchen Mol picked it as her daughter's first, as did media mogul Sean Parker. Winter continues to be the preferred spelling and has risen in popularity significantly over the past few years.
- Seven
Origin:
English word and number nameDescription:
This number name first came to public attention when Erykah Badu and Andre 3000 chose if for their son, Seven Sirius Benjamin, born in 1997. Over a decade later, David and Victoria Beckham used it as their daughter's middle name, and now in these days of unisex word names, it's rising for both sexes. It's certainly one of the most name-like numbers: after all, it's only a letter away from Steven.
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