Updated October 2024
Across 5 pages
of 5
English
"son of Peter"
Patterson is an upscale name worth considering if you're looking to continue a line of Peters, but soundalike Paterson is a downscale city in New Jersey.
"trick, craft"
In British slang, a "prat" is an idiot -- enough said.
"apprentice"
Long-used surname name that's up for promotion to greater popularity.
English occupational name
"clergyman"
The name Parson might have seemed ridiculous even a few years ago, but when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe named their son Deacon, they opened up a whole new field of ecclesiastical cool.…
English diminutive of Patricia
"patrician"
Long one of the most popular girls' names starting with P , Patti replaced Patsy as the midcentury's popular, peppy babysitter but has now joined her in the retirement home.
"peacock"
Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe. As a first name, it's radically underused, given last year in the US to only five…
"a bunch of flowers"
A sweet, nostalgic nosegay kind of name, Posy has been long fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is still rarely heard in the US, though it could be…
"having the body of a gnat"
Peabody is a quintessentially Waspy surname that your child won't thank you for -- either the pea part or the body part, or the meaning part.
"from the country, countryman"
Writer Anne Tyler gave this apt name to the hippie child in her novel Amateur Marriage , but she wasn't the first -- it was also used by the Puritans. Today it would be quite a loaded choice.
English word name
"pointed top of the mountain; highest point of achievement"
An ambitious geographical name, associated with mountains and success. In the UK, however, this is a slang term, meaning "bad, disappointing".
"bell ringer"
A child named Peale may have to endure more than a few banana jokes, but the Peales were a distinguished family of artists.
"tower, stockade"
Peel may seem at first like a cool name, until you consider the inevitable teasing. A peel was a tower that sheltered humans and animals against attack, though these days it's better known as the…
English, diminutive of Page
A masculine way to honor a feminine Page -- although that ett ending is typically found in girls' names.
English flower name from French
"thought"
Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.
"tannery town"
Pelham, a place-name surname, could work well as a first, despite its slightly arrogant air. It's what the P in P.G. Wodehouse stands for.
"dealer in furs"
Pell makes an unusual middle name choice. And if grandpa Seymour was a fur trader, you might do better to honor him by naming the baby Pell.
"bluff, headland"
Better suited to a stuffy school than a little boy, but it nevertheless has a preppy air that may appeal to some.
"overhanging settlement"
Pembroke's brother.
"enclosed meadow"
And if it's triplets: Pembroke, Pendleton, and Penley.
Diminutive of Pamela, English
"all honey"
This mild-mannered short form was Queen of the Prom in the fifties and sixties, but today is mostly heard on TV's The Office (and of course as one of the founders of Nameberry). While about 100 baby…