Names That Mean Sleep

Unusual word names with a strong, sometimes last-name feel are on the rise, from Chosen to Valor, to Wilder, Ford, and Ledger. With similar sounds to Jake and Waylon, and with a stirring meaning, could Wake be one more parents turn to in coming years?
 
Deriving from the Old English wōc and wacian, Wake is associated with rising from sleep, with gaining awareness, and with rousing or stirring something up in another person. This could give it subtle spiritual ties or feel symbolic of gaining knowledge and understanding.
 
As a name, Wake could come from Waca, an Old English nickname given to someone who was watchful and vigilant, or someone who had to be on watch and keep an eye on danger.
 
A perhaps more morbid association is that Wake also evokes the party after a funeral or a vigil kept by the body of the dead. This may well put people off from using it, or it could lend it a slightly darker edge.
 
Given to 16 boys in a recent year, Wake is rare but quietly used.

Wake

One of the most familiar Vietnamese names, yet still hard on the Western tongue. 

Nguyen

Though you may pray to the god of sleep for your baby to slumber through the night, a drowsy image is not the greatest one to inflict on your little boy. 

Morpheus

This gender-neutral Tahitian name has a peaceful meaning.

Moerani

Moerani is a gender-neutral Tahitian name that might be translated as sleep heaven or sleep sky, perhaps reflecting a wish for a peaceful baby.

Names That Mean Sleep

The names

Wake

Nguyen

Morpheus

Moerani

Moerani