Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 4 pages
of 4
English
"strip of clearing in the woods"
With its surname-style, literary feel, and similarity in sound to Finley, Juniper, Pippa, Riley, and Presley, Ripley is an unexpected choice that was given to more than 200 girls in each recent year.…
German and Swedish
"secret"
Name with connotations both mystical and tragic, newly popular in Europe. For English speakers, though, this name might be ruined by its homonym ruin.
Astrological name; Latin
"scorpion"
Scorpius is the constellation that the Scorpio zodiac sign originates from. It was given its venomous name due to the constellation's resemblance to a scorpion's tail.
Hebrew
"rock"
Sela is a Biblical place name, the original term for the city of Petra, which is finding new life through actress Sela Ward, star of several TV series. The young daughter of singer Lauryn Hill is…
Turkish variation of Salim, Arabic
"safe"
Italian, Portuguese and Catalan
"ridge"
This topographical name, more suited to a girl than a boy--though it would inevitably be confused with SARAH--has some distinguished bearers: famous Spanish missionary to Mexico Father Junipero…
Tali is a masculine name with multiple cultural origins and meanings. In Hebrew, it means 'dew from heaven' or 'my dew,' suggesting divine blessing and refreshment. In Finnish, it relates to…
French word name
"large claw of a bird of prey"
Rough and rugged, Talon is often associated with birds of prey, though more generally, it refers to any large claw, whether that's physical, metaphorical, or fantastical. The name has appeared in the…
Talyn is a gender-neutral name that has gained usage primarily as a masculine name in recent decades. It has several possible origins: it may be a variant of the Welsh name Telyn meaning 'harp,' a…
Diminutive of Natasha
See NATASHA.
Japanese
"wise man"
Obscure Japanese pick, recognizable to fans of the 1989 Japanese science fiction horror film Tetsuo: The Iron Man .
Scottish
"clan chieftain"
This early Scottish title -- known to us via Shakespeare's Macbeth -- has recently surfaced as a baby name possibility, familiar sounding through its similarity to names like Zane and Wayne.
Diminutive of Tucker, English
"fabric pleater"
Sharp and preppy. Parents of young children may recognize it as the name of the turtle from the television show Wonder Pets .
Spelling variation of Terrell, English
"to pull, stubborn; land"
Tyrell is kind of part Tyrone and Tyler, part Terrell, though it has never made the US Top 1000. As a form of Terrell it means "to pull", from the French tirel and from here, it gets the additional…
Diminutive of Lodewikus, Afrikaans
Short form of the Afrikaans name Lodewikus.
Word name
The girls have dibs on Spring, Summer, and Autumn, leaving this name evocative of snowy landscapes as the one possible seasonal choice for boys. And naturally, it's one of the most obvious names for…
Diminutive of Zedekiah
Newer than Zac, cooler than Ed, Ned, or Ted.
Zhora is a masculine name with diverse cultural origins. In Russian contexts, it functions as a diminutive of names like Georgy, meaning 'farmer' or 'earth-worker.' In Armenian usage, it can be…
Berber, Tamazight
"moonlight"
Attractive but uncommon name which has been used as a character name in several movies, including The Lion King II and Planet of the Apes . Ziri and Tiziri are variants.
Literature
"starlight seen for the last time"
A whimsical choice from the 1923 sci-fi novel Aelita by Aleksey Tolstoy, the name belongs to a Martian princess who lives on Mars in an advanced yet divided society. In the book (and its subsequent…
