Wonderful Word Names for Babies

One of the new literalist religious names, like Blessing, Heavenly and Neveah. More male than female, but essentially unisex.

If you like the idea of King and Prince but find them too regal, too royalist, this might be the name for you. Eight boys were called Boss in a recent year, and while it may feel like a totally modern choice, it has been appearing in the US stats since the late 19th century.

The lead character of the Captain America movies, played by Chris Evans, is occasionally called Cap, short for "captain," but even he has a real name. (Steve Rogers, ICYC)

A (male) character in Toni Morrison's great Song of Solomon, but also plays for a girl.

Prince rose to its highest ranking in a century in 2015, and the tragic death of its most famous bearer in April 2016 propelled it even higher. The Purple Rain legend isn't its only tie to pop royalty: Michael Jackson chose it for not one but two of his sons. Royal names such as King and Prince, once thought of as canine, have begun to be used by human non-royals for their sons.

We'd prefer to stick with the more-familiar Cadence and avoid the overly trendy Kay- prefix.

Garland is fragrant and celebratory, and also has a celebrity-tribute tie to the star of The Wizard of Oz.

Broadening your horizons when choosing a name for your baby may lead you here. Horizon feels like the cousin of names like Meridian, Geo and Stellar - scientific spins on nature names. Rize is the usual nickname for this choice.

An admirable quality to impart; Pleasant was used by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and in modern times is known via American Girl dolls creator Pleasant Rowland.

Upstanding to a fault.

Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.

Sleek color name, though a bit flinty for a little girl.

Honesty is one of the modern virtue names, which along with Justice and Destiny are picking up where Faith, Hope, and Charity left off. Is Honesty the most appealing name ever? No, and it's also sure to spark lots of tiresome jokes. Still, Honesty is a positive quality and a lot more appealing than negative word names such as Pistol and Rehab (which both, yes, were given to five baby girls in the US last year).

Intriguing, when seen as a water name a la River and Ocean; less appropriate if used as a reference to the Creek tribe of Native Americans. Other downsides are its resemblance to creak, as in creaky bones or floorboards, and to unappealing words like creep and reak.

Believe it or not, this was a fairly common appellation in early New England, interpreted not in the sexual sense, but more in terms of desiring salvation. In modern times, the French name Desiree, pronounced dehz-ih-ray, would be more acceptable.

Full-hearted new virtue choice, though five syllables is a lot to handle.

A few boys have adopted fabrics like Denim and Suede; here's a singular one for the girls, with a distinctively silky sheen.

Trying to imbue your child with charisma at birth involves a certain degree of chutzpah. It was brought into the mix by ex. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Charisma Carpenter, who was named after an Avon perfume.

One of the more unusual nature names, Maize is given to a dozen or so boys and girls each year and is almost completely unisex in terms of usage. Disclaimer: potential for "corny" jokes.

Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in 2021. In kids' minds, this might be overly associated with Sesame Street.