Wonderful Word Names for Babies

Talk about pressure! Too much name for any little girl to bear.

Forget Patience and Charity: Here's a Colonial name (and sentiment) that seems perfect for modern times.

Along the same lines as Fable or Madrigal, Parable is a cute choice for literary families. It might also be considered as a pseudo-biblical name, given the fame of the Biblical parables.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

Promise is one of those word names with an uplifting meaning that is making inroads as a girls' name, like sisters Dream and Serenity. How promising is Promise as a first name? Our try at cleverness illustrates perhaps the biggest problem with naming your baby girl Promise: It will be difficult for people to resist making bad puns on the name. We promise (argh) you'll be tired of hearing them well before your baby Promise's first birthday.

Rhymer feels right at home with names like Ryder, Ryker and Riley, but brings an artsy edge to this group of names.

March has never been popular as a month name, possibly because of its slightly abrupt sound. But with all kinds of month (and season, day, and holiday) names, from January to December, Sunday to Easter, Winter to Midnight, coming to the fore, March is beginning to seem eminently baby-ready.

Holder, part occupational name and part Holden, is a rare word name. It brings to mind holding onto someone or something, which itself suggests a love for or connection to whatever is being held on to.

Gruff is a name that gets used on a handful of boys each year, in both the US and the UK.

If you don't want to limit yourself to one month of the year, this unique baby name offers the plus of the friendly nickname, Cal.

It's a beautiful burnished metal -- but also slang for policeman.

North's image and gender status was irrevocably changed when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their newborn daughter. But why not? West is firmly established as a name, Easton is coming up strong, and North has a nice solid sound as well -- certainly as appropriate for either gender. South, though, not so much.

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

A bold choice, encompassing ideas of eternal love between parents and children, of promises kept, and infinite time, Forever may also have spiritual or religious ties for some. Grounded by its similarity to the likes of Ever, Everly, Flora, and Heaven, it was chosen for 41 girls and 9 boys in a recent year.

Moroccan is a name newly minted by Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon for their newborn twin son. Meaning a person who lives in Morocco, Moroccan was used by the couple as a nod to the Moroccan Room in Carey's Manhattan apartment, where Cannon proposed to the singer. Place-name Morocco is another choice for either sex, as is music name Maraca.

Spaniards use Pax and Paz, Hebrew speakers Shalom, for Greeks it's Irene, so why can't we make the English word Peace a name? Peace Adzo Medie is the author of the novel His Only Wife.

Loyal has history as a boy name—most popular in the late 19th century, later falling off the charts in 1948. This was back when loyalty suggested faithfulness to one's country, rather than fidelity to others. Today it would likely be interpreted as the latter.

Modern virtue names are rapidly rising in popularity—could Loyal be the next True?

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Names rising precipitously for babies in recent years, used last year for nearly 300 children, about 85 percent of them girls. Loyalty may also owe some of its popularity to trendy sibling name Royalty.

This cute-as-a-button name conjures playful lion and bear cubs rolling around in long grass. If cute baby names are what you're after, Cub should be on your list.

Far-fetched, but friends can always call him Phil.