Names for Math Geeks

Newton

English

"new town"

Named after Isaac. Or Wayne.

Pascal

French; English

"of the Passover; Easter"

The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday. Pascal has a number of notable…

Ptolemy

Greek

"aggressive, warlike"

Pronounced "TAHL-a-mee," this was the name of one of Alexander the Great's generals and several Greco-Egyptian rulers, as well as the name of a famous Greek astronomer. Actress Gretchen Mol brought…

Rene

French

"reborn"

Though it's used for boys, most non-French people would hear it as a girls’ name . Most would be surprised to learn that Rene has always charted in the US Top 1000 for boys.

Trig

English form of Trygve, Norse

"trustworthy"

While it might sound like a purely mathematical option, Trig is considered an Anglicized form of the Old Norse name, Trygve (pronounced TRUYG-vuh or TREEG-vuh, depending on region), which means…

Venn

English, Irish

"from the marsh or fen; fair"

No, not Ben (you'll say a million times), not Van -- Venn. John Venn was a British logician and philosopher famous for introducing the Venn diagram, which is used in several fields, including logic,…

Zero

Italian from Arabic and Sanskrit

"void"

Zero has been documented as a given name before, but it's largely familiar as a stage name (such as Zero Mostel, born Samuel Joel Mostel) and comic book and anime characters. Seven boys were called…

Zeno

Anglicized form of Greek Zenon, related to Zeus, king of the gods

Zeno, the name of two ancient philosophers, has a muscular dynamism that's lightened by its cheerful final vowel, resulting in a kind of offbeat sci-fi feel. Zeno of Citium was the founder of the…