Names That Mean Name

Tatjana is an interesting twist on an already uncommon name, borne by German-born supermodel Tatjana Patitz. Note that as j is pronounced as y in German, the name is spoken just like sisters Tatiana and Tatyana.

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.

With the rising use of Eugenie and Eulalia, could literary Euphony make a debut? It certainly has a pleasant meaning and is euphonic itself.

A new addition to the name pool in 2020, along with Kurrency.

A pagoda, a tiered tower for religious use found in Asia, is admittedly a very unlikely source of inspiration for a baby name. However, Pagoda was used as a character name in Wes Anderson's 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums.

It looks like an alternative spelling of Izzy/Issy (and may well have been used as such), but Issey is actually a Cornish place and saint's name.

Made familiar as a baby name via Tiger Woods, whose birth name is Eldrick. The golf star has made it a viable option for baby boys, and a handful of girls are also given the name each year in the US.

This cheerful name would be a fun seasonal choice of middle name for a child born around the holidays — or as a pet name for a dog or cat adopted during the Christmas season.

Ptarmigan is the common English name for the genus Lagopus, in the grouse family of birds. The name is derived from the Scottish word for the bird, tàrmachan (meaning unknown), with the initial P- added by erroneous association with the Greek pteron ("wing").

You can call your baby "babe," but don't name her that.

Nicandra is the name of a plant known as apple-of-peru and also shoo-fly plant. It's also the feminine form of Nicander, an ancient Greek poet, physician, and grammarian.

"May" is a hot sound in girl names — just look at the rise of Maeve — which makes it ripe for creative new inventions. This cheerful, breezy number has been low-key on the US charts since 2011.

Zeppelin is a fast-rising Z name for both sexes — a cool choice that evokes aviation and classic rock. Nick Cannon used it as the middle name for his 11th child, daughter Beautiful Zeppelin.

The name of a port town in Maine, named after the birthplace of one of its founders Alexander Shapleigh, of Kittery Court, Devon, England.

Alternate spelling of Lupin

This English word name derives from the name of the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas, by way of Latin borealis "northern". A fictional bearer is Lord Boreal from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

One of several fascinating names used in Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas books and the NBC adaptation thereof, Fiji is a pleasingly quirky place name that's been little used for babies. Though it has been used quite a lot for fancy bottled water, we don't think it quite qualifies as a water name.

Aire is a poetic spelling of the word "air", once widely used in Middle English. Today, it's a brand new baby name, introduced to wider audiences when Kylie Jenner revealed it as the new name of her son (the baby previously known as Wolf). Aire is an exciting new choice in nature names and unisex names — one that is decidedly less materialistic than the homophone name Heir.