By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 31 pages
of 31
Latin
"snake"
English word name
"reserved, timid"
Not the most aspirational word names you could give to a child, although it does work as a nickname. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's daughter Chicago is often called Chi, pronounced "shy."
"deity; supreme being"
We can get behind Divine, Saint, and even Messiah. But God? It's too loaded for us to recommend in good faith.
French/Breton form of Matthew
"gift of God"
A gallicized spelling of Mazhe, itself a Breton version of Matthew, which is currently popular for baby boys in France. In the English-speaking world, where the é accent is not always recognized,…
Slovene diminutive of Jakob
"supplanter"
One of three diminutives of Jakob in the Slovenian Top 100, in addition to Jaka and Jaša.
Pål is a Scandinavian male name, the Norwegian and Danish equivalent of the name Paul. Derived from the Latin name 'Paulus,' meaning 'small' or 'humble,' it has ancient roots dating back to Biblical…
Bird name
Professional surfer Craig Elmer Chapman went by the avian nickname Owl. We could see it working as a given name, a la Hawk and Dove.
Slavic variation of Vitus, Latin
"life"
In Slavic cultures, Saint Vitus is called Sveti Vid, making this a saintly appellation.
Diminutive of Emil, Latin
"rival"
Super-short names are popular with Dutch-speaking parents, and this shortened form has come a long way from the original Aemilianus. Mil is in the Top 100 in Belgium.
Arabic
"eye; precious"
Japanese
"great field"
Diminutive of Jozef, Dutch
"Jehovah increases"
Sef is a rising short form of Jozef in the Netherlands, where it outranks its parent form.
Dutch diminutive of Jozef
This zippy nickname would make an interesting update to Joseph.
Spanish, diminutive of JosÉ
Strongly associated with Cuban revolutionary Guevara.
Slovene invented name, meaning unknown
A recently-created Slovene name with no etymological roots. Naj debuted in the Slovenian Top 100 in 2019, when it was given to 23 baby boys. However, based on the use of Naja in Slovenia as a…
Irish
"red"
Anglicized form of Ruadh
Estonian
"joy; noble"
Ülo was derived from the ancient Finnic name Ilo, meaning "joy," although today it is associated with the modern Estonian word ülev , "noble."
Slovene, diminutive of Črtomir
"hatred + peace"
This name, which sounds a little like "churt", is commonly used in Slovenia but could pose pronunciation problems in the anglo world.
Qué is an uncommon masculine name that appears to be derived from the Spanish word "qué," meaning "what." As a name, it may have emerged as a modern, unique choice or possibly as a shortened form of…
Diminutive of Tomaz, Spanish "twin"
"twin"
Maz is occasionally used as an independent name, as is the case for Maz Quinn, New Zealand surfer. It can also be used as a nickname for any name containing M, A, and Z. Tomaz is perhaps the most…
