Names That Mean Intellect

Hugo, the Latin form of Hugh, has more heft and energy than the original -- and of course we love names that end (or begin, for that matter) with an o. This one is especially appealing because it's backed up by lots of solid history and European style.

Patrician to the core, Hugh was firmly in the Top 100 until 1903. It's never achieved those heights again, though it has always managed to remain in the Top 1000, scraping bottom at literally Number 1000 in 2006 before reversing course and heading back upwards.

Minerva is the long-neglected name of the Roman goddess of wisdom and invention, the arts and martial strength, one of the mythology names for girls that might appeal to adventurous feminist parents. With Juno and Jupiter, she made the Capitoline triad, whose worship was at the very center of Roman religion.

Minnie was wildly popular at the turn of the last century — it was the fifth or sixth most popular name throughout the 1880s — but is completely obscure in the US today. Blame Mickey's girlfriend. Regardless, it's possible that the up and coming trend toward old-fashioned nickname-names — think Maisie, Mamie, Millie — may give Minnie (all on its own, not as a short form of anything) a new moment in the sun.

A name that sounds so old-fashioned some parents out there might conceivably find it quirky enough for a comeback, along with other one-time fuddie-duddies like Oscar and Homer.

Once upon a time, in the 1930s, Huey (yes, just Huey) was a Top 250 name. Could the 100-Year Rule bring it back?

A cool and straightforward Vietnamese name, which resembles the increasingly popular Hawaiian name Koa.

Ugo is very common in Italy, but here it might call to mind that little Yugoslavian car.

A rare Catalan name that may be too cuddly for English speakers.

Variation of Hubert.

Hutchings, rarely heard as a first name, is a semi-patronymic denoting 'son of Hugh'. What it's got going for it is cute nickname Hutch, a cousin of Hitch and Huck.