Names That Mean Power

Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at Wimbledon.

A strong, attractive surname name with a mix of possible origins: either from the Welsh first name Meuric,which is a form of Maurice, and contains Germanic elements meaning fame and power, or from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning a fork in a river or a road, which led to the name of several places named Merrick in Scotland. The Supreme Court saga of Justice Merrick Garland almost certainly caused the bump in popularity that propelled Merrick to its US Top 1000 debut in 2016.

Despite its ancient history, Merrick these days sounds more modern than the somewhat tired Derek.

This image of this distinguished Anglo-Scottish surname, drawn from the French place name of the ancient castle of Saint Foi de Montgomery, is rapidly shifting from fusty and formal to cool. And dashing short form Monty (or Monte) nudges it to cute.

Now seen as the chap in the smoking jacket in a 1930s drawing-room comedy, Reginald has actually been on the US popularity list every year since 1880.

A name popular both in France (where it's Number 405) and within the Cajun population, it's more substantial than Eric, and occurs twice in the Harry Potter series.

Despite the success of so many O-starting boys names--Oliver, Owen, Otis, Oscar--Oswald has not yet shown any signs of resurrection, though he does have the animating nicknames Ozzie/Ozzy and Oz. The name has some literary cred--in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's King Lear and a novel by H. G.Wells--and there was early cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Old time nickname that's starting to sound fresh again, à la Alfie and Freddie.

Monte, pronounced with two syllables as brother Monty, is an old-fashioned nickname-name that's reclaiming a certain amount of dash and charm. It was recently chosen by actor Guy Pearce--which may signal a comeback.

Friendlier french form of ancient Germanic royal name Amalric or Emmerich.

Most famous as one of the many middle names of Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter, Wulfric is an earlier form of the medieval English name Ulric. It has also belonged to an 11th- century Earl of Mercia and a 12th-century saint.

Godric is one of the unique baby names that has found more exposure since J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe came into our lives. Godric Gryffindor is an important historical figure in the series. In real life, Godric was a name popular in middle England, with many saints and sheriffs of the 11th century bearing the name. Godric, like other old English names Arthur, Edwin and Oswald, has potential to make a comeback as an easily-recognizable but creative choice for parents looking for names that are unique without being too challenging.

Also related to the word for wolf, this name has a first syllable that's not appealing to the American ear. Better ic-ending choices: Dominic, Frederic, Eric.

Cyrene was a mythical nymph and huntress who was beloved by Apollo. An ancient city in Libya was named after her.

Ikenna's meaning makes it a subtle way to honor a father or grandfather. Ikenna is the name of a popular YouTube star.

Sovereign is a new addition to the baby name lexicon, recently used by such celebrity parents as Cam Newton and Usher for their daughters. But don't mistake it for an exclusively feminine name — part of Sovereign's appeal is its gender-neutral status, as it's given to roughly equal numbers of girls and boys each yera.

The name of the mother of Aethelred the Unready was once common among the Anglo-Saxon nobility, and was briefly revived during the 19th century, only to be lost once again to history.

Shakti is the female equivalent of the god Shiva in Hinduism. A sacred name sometimes used in a secular way.

This Hawaiian name gracefully celebrates the force of nature, paying tribute to the ocean. If you're looking for unique names that mean ocean, this should be on your short list.

An attractive Finnish name with the potential to cross borders.

Sovereign is one of those names only a celebrity could introduce, much like Saint or Sir who came before it. It was actually football player Cam Newton who first used the name for his daughter, Sovereign-Dior Cambella (sister to Camidas, Cashmere, and Chosen) in 2017. But more notably, it's the name Usher chose for his baby girl, Sovereign Bo, in 2020.