Names That Mean Name

Authentically spelled Luíseach (with Luighsech as a variant), this obscure saint's name is thought to derive from the mythological figure Lugh, perhaps a reflex of an older god. Luíseach is sometimes considered the Irish version of Lucy. In fact, they are historically separate names, but if Lugh derives from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "shining" then they are very distant cousins.

Luiseach

A preppy surname and place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Ælfweard "elf guardian" + the -by suffix, meaning "village, homestead". Ellerby feels like a quirkier Ellery or Emery.

Ellerby

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.

 The exact figure which the place name of St Issey references is not entirely clear. One possibility is that it is St Ita (or Itha, Ida, Ide), a 6th century Irish nun and abbess who remains one of Ireland's most venerated female saints. Another possibility is that it is St Yse (or Ysy), one of the many children of the 4th century Welsh saint and king St Brychan. St Yse is considered female in some sources, and male in others.

 Issey may also be a variant form of Iseult/Isolde, which is of unknown meaning – possibly "ice ruler", from Germanic origins, but perhaps more likely of uncertain Celtic origins.

Issey

Mariner

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

December

A Hebrew name also used for girls, with many variations to choose from. Hadara is another version. The name is associated with the holiday of Sukkot.

Hadar

The name of a French abbot and saint who founded several monasteries in the 8th century.

Evermund

November is one of a growing list of month names that can work for a baby boy, and is also one of the ideal <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/605/names-for-november-babies">names for November babies</a>.

November

Antiquated nickname for Cecilia and Cecily — these days Cece is much preferred.

Sissie

A bold new word name that conjures up images of peg-legs and eyepatches. It was brought to national attention by pop musician Billie Eilish, whose full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell.
 
The word "pirate" is English, derived from the Latin pirata, which ultimately came from the Greek peira, meaning "an attempt."

Pirate

Also spelled Fyfe, this zippy sounding name would make a great middle name choice for music lovers or those with Scottish roots. The name has a double meaning: it is both a Scottish place name, likely derived from fiamh meaning "path", and also the name of an instrument, which takes its name from the German Pfeife and the French fifre meaning "pipe".

Fife

Kal-El is Superman's Kryptonian name, invented by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the birth name of the superhero. Some theorize that it relates to Hebrew characters with the meaning "voice of God", while others give the meaning as "son" or "Earth one". 

At least one Earthling baby has received the name: the son of actor Nicolas Cage.

Kal-el

The name of a small songbird, similar to a Lark – but far less commonly used as a name. Could give you the adorable nickname Pip.

Pipit

The campion is a pretty woodland plant with pink or red flowers, whose common name derives from Old French champion "champion". The plant is so called because in classical times, the rose campion was fitted in garlands used to crown victors.

 

As a given name, Campion may be derived directly from the name of the flower, or from the Old English occupational surname Campion, from the same etymological root. A real-life bearer of the name is the American writer and film director Campion Murphy, and a notable fictional namesake is Captain Campion, a rabbit in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down.

 Campion is also sometimes used in Catholic communities in honor of St Edmund Campion, an English Catholic Jesuit priest who was martyred in 1581.

Campion

A patriotic spin on Armie, with roughly the same meaning whether you consider it a variation or a totally separate word name.