Updated October 2026
Across 8 pages
of 8
Place name
With its trendy -o ending and connotations of luxury, we think the name of one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in the world has rich baby name potential.
Modern invented name
A number of parents took up the name of the TV talk show host in the early nineties, but it now seems to have lost momentum.
African place-name
Morocco is an attractive and rhythmic name, evocative of such fabled cities as Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakesh, in a country whose unique landscape and rich culture attracted such twentieth century…
French variation of Marcel
"little warrior"
Mime Marcel Marceau actually had two versions of the same name. Marcel, Marceau, Marcella, Marcus, Mark -- all are variation of the Roman mythological name Mars, the god of war.
Latin
"Roman messenger god"
Adventurous parents are starting to look back to names of ancient gods like Mercury, Zeus, and Apollo. This one is also a planet and a metallic element, and has a friendly nickname, Merc. The Roman…
English, diminutive of Moses
"delivered"
If Gus and Max have made it, why not Moe? Can it be the lingering Three Stooges effect? We think that Moe, like Joe, is one of the friendliest and most open of regular guy nickname names and should…
Danish
"son of Mads"
Would often be confused with Madison.
Irish version of Malachi, Hebrew, or Secundus, Latin
"my messenger; second"
This spelling, which came to the attention of readers of the best-selling Angela's Ashes as the name of author Frank McCourt's father and brother, the latter of whom wrote a bestseller of his own,…
Diminutive of Maurice
"dark skinned"
Old-man name, soft as a fraying gray cashmere cardigan, that would be even cuter for a girl.
German form of Maurice
"dark-skinned"
The unusual-to-the-English-ear Moritz is a Top 25 name in Austria and a form of Maurice or Morris, which are modern variations of the ancient Roman Maurus. There were several early saints named…
Hebrew
"decrease"
Not ready to go all the way to Malachi? Then take this Biblical shortcut name, with the second syllable rhyming with eye.
English nature name
Soft and mellifluous nature-surname name, situated miles away from the dated Marshall.
Scottish
"mariner"
Murdoch and its more popular modern variant Murdo are traditional given names in Scotland, although they are almost exclusively encountered as surnames outside of their native country. Famous bearers…
Marble is an unusual male given name derived from the English word for the smooth, hard metamorphic rock used in sculpture and architecture. As a name, it falls into the category of object or…
Literary and nickname name
Moby, the nickname of musician Richard Melville Hall, was thanks to his ancestor Herman Melville, creator of the infamous whale. You can imagine calling a child Moby as a cute nickname in honor of a…
"who is like God?"
Also written as Michaiah, this name is used for several Biblical characters both male and female. Makes a fresh and distinctive twist on Michael, Michelle, or Micaela. Antiquated yet modern-sounding…
Music name
Woody Allen named his second adopted daughter with Soon-Yi Previn Manzie Tio, after two jazz musicians he idolized: Manzie Johnson and Lorenzo Tio. Cute but not destined for widespread consumption,…
Irish
"son of the beige one"
Although Maguire is such a prominent Irish surname —it ranks in the Top 40 in the Emerald Isle —this lively and cheerful family name has rarely been used as a first, unlike more familiar…
Scottish nickname
"my pet"
Mungo is one of the most classic Scottish names but perhaps also among the most difficult names to carry. There is a St. Mungo whose proper name was Kentigern; he is the patron saint of Glasgow. It…
English
"Mac's field"
This name may be related to the Latin Maximus, which means "the greatest," or to a British landowner's name, but for most modern parents, it's one of several ways to get to short form Max. Probably…