Names That Mean English

Right in between Hitch (as in the Will Smith movie) and Hudson, Hutchin is a surname and nickname name that has an outside chance of working as a first name for boys. If you're naming your son for an ancestral Hugh, Hutchin -- or Hutch -- can make a cute, original nickname.

Hutchin

The translation of Katarina and Katherine used in Finland and Estonia.

Katariina

Derby might be considered a word name or a surname-name. In England, it would be pronounced darby, causing confusion with that similar name.

Derby

Energy

Maybell could be a fanciful spelling of Mabel, which could encourage people to pronounce the last syllable to rhyme with Belle rather than bull, but it is also one of the common names for the lily-of-the-valley flower. Also called the Maylily, it is the birth flower of the month of May. 




Maybell

Salesia is a feminine form of surname Sales, notably associated with the Roman Catholic saint, Francis de Sales who was commended for his deep faith and mild approach to religious divides. A rare choice, it has zippy and intriguing sounds and a nature-inspired meaning.

Salesia

Spelling it with a K doesn't do much to separate Kaliber from Caliber's violent image.

Kaliber

Corsica, the picturesque Mediterrean island birthplace of Napoleon, makes an easy switch from atlas to baby name book, with its delicate, feminine ending. Just don't consider neighboring island Sardinia. 

Corsica

Eccentricity

We can't get past the odd part of this name.

Oddie

Prudy

Although Chet is the more popular spelling, Chett with a double T somehow feels more complete, in line with Rhett.

Chett

Fredo is a masculine name that originated as a diminutive form of the Italian names Alfredo or Federico. The name gained cultural recognition through its use in 'The Godfather' novels and films for the tragic character Fredo Corleone, giving it associations with Italian-American culture. 

While not extremely common as a formal given name, Fredo has been used both as a nickname and as a standalone name throughout Italian communities and beyond. The name has a friendly, approachable quality with its short form and ending in 'o,' characteristic of many Italian male names, but your son may not appreciate being named after a less-than-noble character.

Fredo

This multicultural name is a sweet but solid sounding pet form of Hebrew and Yiddish origin, used as a nickname for Rhoda, Rosa, or Rada. It can also be considered an English surname, derived from either the given names Rudolf or Ridel meaning "fame wolf" and "ride" or from the place name Ryedale meaning "rye valley".

Rudel

Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of her infant brother's pronunciation of the word moon as 'nuna' and a character in a book her father was reading, Prince Djalma, and so he "put the Dj onto the 'una'." Result: the silent-D pronunciation (as in Django) of JOON-a.
 Fellow writer Anais Nin adopted the name for a character in her 1950 novel The Four Chambered Heart, and Woody Allen had a young girl called Djuna in his 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You — nicknamed DJ.
 All in an, an attractive and intriguing possibility, that could be associated with the names Junia or Una, or to the word "moon".

Djuna

Unique and fluid river name with the lilt of a Viennese waltz. 

Danube

With the tide coming in on a new wave of word names, this one just might catch on, especially for parents who relish sun, sand, and surf. Forest lovers can spell it Beech, like the tree. 