13 Super September Baby Names for Now

by Linda Rosenkrantz

September baby names offer many rich options for baby name seekers. There are the flower and gem names directly associated with the month, names related the fall harvest, a few international choices and a number of notable namesakes.

Here are 13 of the best.

AGATHA—Agatha Christie, author of 66 detective novels and creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, was a September baby, born on the 15th in 1890. Saintly, royal, literary Agatha has had a tough time making a 21st century comeback. Once a Top 400 name, it’s been off the charts since 1940. But Agatha does have the cute nickname Aggie, a possible successor to Maggie and just needs one celeb choice, a la Agnes, to bring it back.

ANONA/ANONNA—If you’re looking for an unusual September-related A–a name, this could be it. Anona is the name of the Roman goddess of the harvest.

ASHOUN—Another international September baby name possibility is this Armenian name meaning ‘autumn’. It shares the rich sound of somewhat more familiar Armenian girls’ names like Caroun and Anoush.

ASTER—One of the three flower names of September, Aster is a fresh new addition to the floral category, first noticed when Gilbert Gottfried used it for his daughter’s middle. We predict a blooming future for it.

BARTHOLOMEW—When the Mayflower set forth on its trans-Atlantic voyage on September 6, 1620, there were 102 passengers aboard, most with common classic names like John, William, Mary and Elizabeth. But there were a few that were more noteworthy, such as that of Bartholomew Allerton. An apostle’s name used by Dickens and Dr. Seuss, its old nickname Tolly could make an appealing replacement for Bart. Also onboard the Mayflower: PEREGRINE and REMEMBER.

BILLIE—Tennis icon Billie Jean King, a. pioneer fighter for gender equality, defeated Bobby Riggs in “the Battle of the Sexes” on September 20, 1973. Vintage tomboy nickname name Billie, newly associated with young singer/songwriter Billie Eilish, is currently in the Top 100 in Australia and New Zealand.

GRETA—Early movie superstar Greta Garbo was born in Stockholm on September 18, 1905 and her fame transported her name, a diminutive of Margarethe, to this country, bringing it to #318 in 1932, when her career was at its peak. Greta—now probably more associated with actress/director Greta Gerwig, returned to the Top 1000 in 1999, and is now #587, #8 in Italy, 88 in Sweden, and 177 on Nameberry.

IONE—Actress, children’s book author and painter Ione Skye has a September 4th birthday. Her pretty Greek mythological, flower, and color name has the NB seal of approval, ranking at #488.

LINCOLN—Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. More than 150 years after his death, the name Lincoln reached the Top 50 for the first time, and it’s now at #40, its highest ever. It’s also #35 in New Zealand and 46 in Australia. Lincoln has been an appealing character on TV’s Broad City; Kristen Bell and Dax Shepherd gender-bent it when they named one of their daughters Lincoln.

NONA—Since September is the ninth month of the year, Nona makes a logical—and distinctive—choice, as an alternative to Nina. Popular in the early years of the 20th century, Nona was a goddess of destiny in Roman mythology. Two noted bearers have been singers Nona Gaye (daughter of Marvin) and Nona Hendryx.

ROALD—Roald is the Norse name of Roald Dahl, born September 13th in Wales, the author of many children’s classics, including Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His Norwegian parents named him in honor of famed Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

SAPPHIRE—The gemstone of the month of September is the neglected jewel name Sapphire, a sparkling alternative to the mega-popular Pearl and Ruby; it’s already at 361 in England. And nickname Saphie makes a nice alternative to Sophie.

TRUMAN—Truman Capote was another September baby. The flamboyant author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood bore this strong, righteous, almost-virtue, Presidential name that is currently #731 on Nameberry.

Would you pick any of these for a September babe?

Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on trends and celebrity naming, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry Twitter and Facebook accounts. You can follow her personally at Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel Talk and a number of other books.