Names That Mean Strength

Gerard is currently in style limbo, after reaching peak popularity in the 1950s. With its strong meaning and gentle sound, it may be back in a generation or two. But for now, a boy called Gerard will likely be the only one in his class...unless you live in Catalonia, where it was recently in the Top 10.

This name of an influential Old Testament king of Judah is one that would challenge even the most adventurous biblical name-seeker, but it does have the modernizing short forms Zeke or Kiah.

Audrina is a name that owes its fame to overnight reality TV sensation Audrina Partridge, one of the original cast of the MTV reality series The Hills.

Asta as a boy's name is inspired by the Wizard King character in the anime series Black Clover. He is a human who triumphs in a world of superheroes --an inspirational figure.

Swap two letters of Birdie and you get Bridie, a traditional diminutive of Bridget. Bridie fits perfectly with the trend for standalone vintage nicknames like Betty and Sadie, but is surprisingly rare.

Gabriel is given to a small but consistent number of girls each year. Whether it’s used as an equivalent to the masculine Gabriel or as a variant of Gabrielle is up to the parents’ discretion.

This strong yet graceful feminine form of Gabriel is a modern favorite. The double L spelling is given to more than three times as many girls as the Gabriela version.

Loose, lean, and lanky cowboy-sounding names have become a recent trend, but how about the name of a real one--the Singing Cowboy Gene. Autry might be thought of as a masculine spin on the fashionable Audrey or a fresher version of Austin or Auden.

Some other cowboy surnames from the Golden Age of movie and TV westerns: Boone, Boyd, Cody, Corrigan, Gibson, Hart, Holt, Houston, McCoy and Renaldo.

Othniel is mentioned in the Bible and Tanakh (in the Book of Judges) where he is the first of the biblical judges mentioned. Othniel was related to Caleb, which might make these two names a nice biblically themed sib-set.

A Top 30 name in Sweden, derived from Eberhard (brave boar) or Esben (god bear) – either way, a strong meaning.

Brida, which may also be spelled Breda, is one of the many variations, Irish and otherwise, of the ancient saintly name Brighid. It's virtually unknown in the US, given to fewer than five baby girls in the most recent year counted.

Brigitte is the French version of the ancient Irish Brighid long associated with 1950s sex symbol Brigitte Bardot. If you want to pronounce Brigitte the French way, it's brih-ZHEET.

Traditional African name made cartoonish by the Disney character in The Lion King. In Shona it means "strength".

If you have an aversion to Briella, you can shorten it even further to this.

There are a surprising number of baby boys named Barrett each year in the US -- nearly 1800 -- along with 30 baby girls. Which is more than many people might guess.

Drawn from old record books, Kiah is an antiquated nickname that feels perfectly appropriate for modern times -- maybe more so than father name Hezekiah.

With Azariah and Azriel in the Top 1000, and Ezra, Josiah, and Isaiah in the Top 100, it makes sense that this lesser known Hebrew choice is being revived in the US. Most likely deriving from Uzziah or Azaziah, Azaiah, it was a fast rising choice in 2024 when it rose more than 350 places, entering the Top 1000 for the first time.

The surname Benz derived from the personal name Berthold and was used as a short form of Bernhard and Benedict as well. A small number of American boys are given Benz as a first name each year, likely in homage to the luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz. The company was named after Karl Benz, inventor of the world's first practical automobile.

Peaked in the Czech Republic in 1939.

The name of two Biblical figures, one a supporter of St. Paul and the other a Corinthian ruler. Virtually unknown in the U.S. but used in the form Sosthene in modern France.