Wonderful Word Names for Babies

Though some forward-looking parents are now choosing wood-related names like Oak, Pine, and Ash, this generic option would be even more avant garde.

Brings to mind the qualities of the fabric: hardworking, cool and versatile. Singer Toni Braxton chose this name for her son in 2001, and parents have been using it for boys and girls ever since.

There are many fire-related names, from Aidan to Fiammetta, but the Flame isn't one that's often found on birth certificates. It's a highly symbolic word: flames can represent faith, passion and cleansing, for example, as well as straightforward heat and light.

Sheikh, the Arabic royal title turned name, is among the Top 1000 boys' names in the UK though undiscovered in the US. With the ascendance of such royal names as King and Reign, Sheikh is sure to become more acceptable as a first name, even (dare we say?) chic.

Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.

Previously known only as the nickname of Waylon "Shooter" Jennings, Jr., who's married to Sopranos star Drea DeMatteo, the violent Shooter recently became a proper name when painter Julian Schnabel used it for his newborn son with gallerist May Andersen: The little boy is named Shooter Sandhed Julian Schnabel, Jr. Does this mean that Schnabel's own first name is really Shooter? We're not buying that and see Shooter as a too-cool addition to such trendy badass baby names as Breaker and Rebel.

Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson for the Dodgers. Like Leaf, Branch makes a nice, not-so-obvious, addition to the tree category.

A grassy place with trees is a nice image to attach to a name.

Heavily perfumed word name that peaked a few years ago.

An implied spiritual meaning makes this a plausible new name.

Evocative word name that's refreshingly straightforward. Overtones of Christianity and penalty. More subtle option: Cruz.

Gambit means ploy or trick, which makes it an appropriate name for a little player. Eight boys were named Gambit in the US in one recent year.

This evocative term for a stone or shell carved in relief could make a striking first name for a girl, though she would have a starring role in her story, rather than a cameo.

A recently popular spiritual name that entered the Top 500 in 2003.

Though it sounds like a modern invention, Champ actually has a long history as a first name. It hit the Top 1000 several times just before and after the turn of the 20th Century.

Gauge is the dictionary spelling, but Gage is the far more popular choice, ranking at Number 281 in 2016.

Name that makes a dramatic musical statement.

Journey is one of the hot new spiritual names. Although Journey was given in 2015 to over 1100 baby girls and fewer than 100 baby boys, it's more visible on the celebrity baby scene as a boys' name: Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green just chose the name for their third son, who also has the unisex middle name River.

Stark is an ancient surname derived from the Old English word stearc, meaning firm and unyielding. In modern parlance, stark means severe or plain. But Stark's use as a first name -- 15 boys were named Stark in the US in 2017 -- stems from its prominence in Game of Thrones, which has inspired so many new baby names. House Stark is a ruling family on GoT; its motto is fittingly "Winter is coming," so Stark and other names from the show might make creative names for winter babies.

Fey, for middle name purposes, could be thought of as a fey spelling of Fay. These days, however, Fey would be considered by most people to be honoring comedian Tina.