Updated October 2024
Across 10 pages
of 10
English word name
"bird"
The name of the teenaged son on the dear departed television show "Huff."
English surname name
"friendly"
The surname of enterprising journalist Nellie Bly and poet Robert Bly makes a simple, modern, and upbeat sounding choice for either a boy or a girl.
English
"den of the boar"
A neglected surname name that could substitute for the more common Gordon, which has in the past associated with the milk company and Elsie the Cow.
English "barley valley"
"barley valley"
Rarely heard last-name-first choice with nice gardenlike feel.
English and Scottish
"where birches grow"
Americans may not realize Barclay is the phonetic spelling of the British Berkeley -- though both sound like old-fashioned butler names.
"field of beans, dweller near the bean farm"
An upper-crusty-sounding name with humble origins, Bancroft is a surname and a place name that may appeal to those who like Banks and Banner but prefer something rarer (or who've found Bancroft in…
"son of Barbara"
Only if he actually is.
One of the aggressive new boys' names, ala Tracker and Heller, that have become fashionable among parents who are courting trouble.
"flood plain"
Rarely heard name that could sub for Graham.
Flower name, from English
"yellow wildflower"
Though Buttercup is most often reserved for cows (and pets of other kinds), this humble flower name was given to the princess in "The Princess Bride" and to one of The Power Puff Girls . Yet to rank…
Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.
English, diminutive of Elizabeth
"pledged to God"
Yes, it's a word name, but Busy is also a rare pet form of Elizabeth. And yes, actress Busy Philipps was christened Elizabeth--she was given the nickname because she was such an active child. She…
English place-name and surname
"dark wolf's wood or clearing"
Blakesley is the name of a village in England, also sometimes found as a surname along with Blakely and Blakeley, turned into a first name for their daughter by reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter.…
English or Irish
"broad hill or salmon"
One in the currently modish aden family of boys' names beginning to be used for girls as well as boys. The name Brayden was given to 15 baby girls in the US last year....and over 5000 baby boys, so…
"an immature bean pod used as a vegetable"
The unisex word name Bean, distant cousin of the infamous Apple, was used for the name of a child in Louise Penny's novel "A Rule Against Murder." A cute choice, it's likely best reserved for a…
"broad hill"
One of several trendy boys' names now being adopted for girls with feminized spellings.
Word name or nickname
Boo as a first name first achieved notoriety as the name of the child-man in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Arthur "Boo" Radley was meant to be frightening, but only in a simple, non-threatening…
Boo may have started out as a nickname for the male character Arthur "Boo" Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird and these days may be closely associated with another male Boo, the "world's cutest dog" or…
Flower name from English
"blue bell"
Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous — some might say outlandish —…
One of the rare cases where spelling a name with a y makes it less rather than more feminine. Birdie might be the freshest choice in this aviary.