Updated October 2026
Across 105 pages
of 105
English spelling variation of Auberon
"noble, bearlike"
The name of the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream ; could work just as well for your little sprite.
Combination of Nora and Belle
"beautiful light"
Blended name sometimes heard in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Scottish, poetic place-name
"the big gap"
In the Ossianic poems written by James Macpherson in the 1760s, Morven is the name of the Fingal's kingdom, Fingal being the hero, likely inspired by Fionn mac Cumhaill of early Gaelic legend. It…
English
"island of linden trees"
Lindsay is one of the few truly unisex names (rather than being a name that has changed genders). Over time the ey ending was usually reserved for women and the ay ending reserved for men, although…
English literary name
Pretty and distinctive choice for poetry lovers.
"flax settlement"
In Wuthering Heights, Cathy's milquetoast husband; Heath is so much more appealing.
"settlement on the hill"
Slightly less stiff and small if spelled Lytton.
English, combination of Merry and Lynn
All the names ending in-lyn seem sadly dated.
"shelter"
This English surname offers an interesting mix of images: it sounds upper-crusty yet macho, and also conjures up the coziness of a wintery ski lodge. As a surname it is associated with the…
English, word name or combination of Mary and Lee, or Scottish place-name
Merilee and Merrilee were early respelled or word names, ahead of their time in some ways. Merrilee hit the Top 1000 for a couple of years in the 1940s, but last year no baby girls were given either…
"tall one"
Longfellow is the first name of the eponymous hero of the classic 1936 film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town , later remade with Adam Sandler. But it's hard to imagine a modern parent using it except as a…
"ruler's hill"
Rarely heard surname name that lacks the lightness of other o-ending names.
"from the meadow"
Sounds like an authentic upper-crust family name -- not necessarily a bad thing.
Bulgarian, English
"raspberry; little warrior"
An international and unisex choice, Malin is a rare northern English name associated with the city of Sheffield. In this case, it would mean "little warrior". As a Bulgarian choice, it is a masculine…
"shared wood"
Not manly enough.
English, feminine variation of Mason
"worker in stone"
Rather than going with a yooneek spelling like Macen (or Maysen or Masyn), we'd suggest sticking with the original Mason, as Kelsey Grammer did for his daughter.
Diminutive of Margaret, Greek
"pearl"
Peg is a nostalgic turn-of-the-last-century nickname, sociable but slight. Like near-identical twin Peggy, Peg is in mothballs.
English, Scottish, and French place-name
Some definite downsides: Massive, Messy.
Short form of Margaret, Greek
Marge used to be as common as Maggie or Megan, ranking on its own in the girls' Top 1000 from 1900 until right after World War II, when so many Old School names fell off the list in favor of a new…
Undiscovered single-syllable surname option, a friendly alternative to Reed.