Wonderful Word Names for Babies

If Viola is a credible girl's name, why not the mellow Cello for a boy.

A bold word name choice for the intrepid baby namer who hopes her son will face the world with a sense of discovery.

Striker is one of the new gang of boys' names that have two syllables, end in -er, spring from words, and have a macho, even aggressive meaning and image. Other examples include Breaker, Heller, and Wilder. Do the world a favor and desist.

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.

A mathematical possibility, but the odds are against it.

Like Silver, Golden is a shimmering metallic color name, almost too dazzling perhaps. Nevertheless, Golden could be an unexpected route to the vintage nickname Goldie or a less floral alternative to Marigold. Former soccer player and team owner, Brittany Mahomes, chose the name Golden (middle name Raye) for her second daughter in 2025, sister to Sterling Skye and Patrick "Bronze" Lavon.

An ambitious geographical name, associated with mountains and success. In the UK, however, this is a slang term, meaning "bad, disappointing".

We call Savvy a Modern Virtue Name, a contemporary version of the Puritan's Hope and Charity, extolling the virtue of shrewdness. And who doesn't want their daughter to grow up to be Savvy in the ways of the world? So far, this name has been used only for girls, perhaps because some parents remember the women's magazine called Savvy.

Eloquence feels right at home with names like Cadence and Rhapsody.

Gage we get. Cade we get. But Cage? Not really, and yet, it was given to about two dozen baby boys in one recent year.

Early is a word-turned-name, pleasantly suggesting the start of a bright new day. Of the new word and day names, Early is one of the best. Early James is the stage name of singer-songwriter Fredrick James Mullis Jr.

Marvel, now a character name in The Hunger Games series, was a miracle name of yesterday, on the girls' Social Security list until 1941 and reaching a high of 487 at the turn of the last century, when Marva was also in style.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple has opened the world of botanical names beyond flowers to trees, herbs, fruits, and — why not — nuts. Cayley and Brandon Jenner have a daughter named Joan Almond.

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.

Seinfeld's George threatened to name his future child Seven, and then singer Erykah Badu actually did it.

Eternal--or eternally pretentious?

While nature names, even those of fierce animals and mountain peaks, are used for children these days, architectural features like this somehow seem a bit cold.

Experience is a word name used by the New England Puritans but probably too joke-worthy for a modern child...or teenager. It does not have as direct a biblical reference as most Puritan names.

Zio is a pet form for names ending with 'zio', such as Maurizio, Marzio and Tiburzio. As a full name in Italian, though it wouldl be like naming your son Uncle Uncle.

An offbeat word name referring to the speed of a piece of music.