By Brynn McKeon · Updated September 2026
Across 34 pages
of 34
French from German
"noble, ready for battle"
Rarely used, and for good reason. Alonzo is a preferable choice. Alphonse does have a mixed bag of notable namesakes—French novelist Alphonse Daudet, painter Alphonse Mucha, and it was the birth name…
Japanese
"bright"
Dazzling Japanese name featured in the 2021 reboot of Gossip Girl as the given name of Aki Menzies.
Greek, first letter of the alphabet
Over 50 baby boys were named Alpha last year, along with eight baby girls. Expect a lifetime of "alpha male" jokes, which could prove daunting or confidence-building for your own little Alpha.
The first letter of the Greek alphabet ande the brightest star in every constellation, this would make an interesting choice for a first daughter, though it does give off some spectral sci-fi…
Norse
"ocean"
Ægir was the Norse god of the sea, honored and feared by sailors, who believed he would sometimes take ships from the surface down to his home at the bottom of the ocean.
word name; Turkish
"hero"
This name has two possible derivations - in Turkish it means hero, in English it is used as a reference to mountains. Either offer a soaring option for a little boy.
French
"lark"
Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette .
"light; vermilion"
Akari is a gender-neutral Japanese name used fairly evenly between the sexes in the US. There are several well-known female singers and actors named Akira in Japan, and Akira Watanabe is a popular…
Hawaiian variant of Adam
The Hawaiian version of ultra-classic Adam could make a cool choice for parents seeking something that feels fresh but still has roots in tradition. It also means "to blush" in Japanese.
Yoruba, Nigerian
"much loved"
A beautiful African name which can also lead to the always-wearable "Addy" nickname.
Hebrew
"my brother is pleasant"
Variant of Ahinoam
English from Hebrew
"grass"
Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D.…
Hindi
"first ray of sun"
A fiery Indian name used enough in the US to make it onto the Top 1000 list in 2010 and 2015.
German
"famous fighter"
Inventive female form of Aloysius.
Tamil
"love"
Despite its attractive meaning, this name is very rare in the States: it has only appeared twice in the US charts, in 2006 and 2020. Akam is a genre of Classical Tamil poetry, and the ring name of…
German variation of Louisa
"renowned warrior"
Obscure form of an old-fashioned favorite that's poised to make a comeback. This version, which owes as much to Alison as to Louisa, has a stylish A beginning and a multi-syllabic feminine grace.
Arabic
"the victorious"
Introduced to the lexicon by the husband of Little House on the Prairie writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, most scholars agree that this unusual name comes from the Arabic El-Mansur.
"red"
The color red was considered to have magical properties in early Japanese culture, with the power to cure blood and other illnesses. Pronounced ah-kah-ko.
Short form of Adriana, Adrienne, or Adrian, Latin
"man from Adria"
Adrian is an ancient gender-neutral name and Adri is its pan-European short form. Adriana is the most popular feminine form of the name in the US, followed by Adrianna, Adrienne, and then the unisex…
English word name or variation of Almund or Aleman, German
"almond; noble strength; German"
Almond may seem like a hippy modern name, but its use for American boys goes right back to the mid-nineteenth century. In these cases, it was either a variation of Almund, meaning "noble strength,"…
