Car Names: Test Drive These For Your Baby
Guest blogger ERIN FREEMAN finds baby-naming inspiration on the used car lot.
Two weeks ago I had my first experience shopping for a car. While in high school, I had been given a 1992 Dodge Dynasty by an uncle, and after I graduated and was pregnant with my oldest son, my grandparents gave me their 1995 Ford Taurus. My Taurus finally gave out on me two weeks ago, so my father, my husband and I set out to find me a car.
While walking around the used car lot, it struck me just how unique some of the names of these cars were. Some were unique in a way that just seemed far-fetched. Some were unique in a way that could be considered daring, but at the same time up-and-coming or trendy. And then there were some that years ago would have been a stretch, but now seem commonplace. Much like baby names.
Naturally, being the name enthusiast I am, this led to me researching car names as soon as I got home with my newly-purchased 2008 Dodge Caliber. What I didn’t expect was how many options there were beyond the standard car brands like Ford, Lincoln, Mercedes, Porsche and Romeo, all names we’ve heard before. Branching out into the models issued by individual car brands, I found so many options, and many trends I did not expect.
Here, for instance, are car names that were used for babies first:
AURELIA
BRANDON
CARLO
CARLSSON
CATALINA
CATHERINA
CLIO
CRUZ
DACIA
ELISABETH
FELICIA
FLEUR
GENESIS
GIULIA
GIULIETTA
JACK
JAKOB
JIMMY
LAURA
LAURIN
LIANA
LOGAN
MARGARETE
MARK
MIRA
PHEDRA
PHILIP
ROSALIE
ROSE
SHELBY
SIENNA
SIERRA
STELLA
STIRLING
THALIA
THOMAS
VANESSA
VERA
VICTORIA
WILLY
ZOE
Then there are the car names that are similar to up-and-coming baby names, and might provide a fresh twist on too-trendy choices:
ALHAMBRA (ALESSANDRA)ALTEA (ALTHEA)AROSA (ROSA)BERLINA (BERLIN)CLARITY (CHASTITY)COLT (COLTEN)CRUISER (CRUZ)DEX (DAX, DEXTER)DUSTER (DUSTY, DUSTIN)FORESTER (FOREST)GAMMA (GEMMA)ISETTA (ISABELLE, VIOLETTA)JETTA (JENNA)KAISER (CASEY)LANCER (LANCE)LIBERTY (LIBBY)MAGNUM (MAGNUS)MATRIX (MADDOX)MAXIMA (MAXINE)RAIDER (RYDER)TITAN (TITUS)
There are lots of car model names derived from place names, and some of these are used for babies as well. Others – Daytona? Denali? – might make fresh options.
ACADIAACADIANASPEN
CANYON
CAPRI
CAPRICE
CAYMAN
COLORADO
DAKOTADAYTONADENALI
GENEVA
HOLLAND
MARBELLA
MILAN
MONTANA
PARIS
SAVANA
SEQUOIA
SONOMASTREAMSURREYTACOMATIBURONTUSCONVERONA
WEST
Another car-naming trend that dovetails with people naming: Word names. We’ve hjeard of babies named Baron, Blue, Echo, and Indigo. But Cougar? Not yet.
ARIA
BARON
BLUE
COBALT
COUGARDIESELDREAM
ECHO
GYPSY
INDIGO
JOURNEYLEGACYLEGENDMARINERMAVERICKODYSSEYPHOENIX
PILOT
RANGER
RIDGE
ROCKET
ROGUE
SABLESOLSTICESONATASONETTSTARSUMOTAURUS
TULIPVISTAWRANGLER
Other car model names might not fit so easily into one of the above categories, but may work just as well for a child.
AZERABERETTABRERACAMRYCHEVELLEDAUPHINEELANTRAFABIAFLORIOGALANTGHIAINTEGRALINEALYBRAMAGELLANMCLARENMEHARIMERIVANOVA
THETA
VEGAVENZAZAFIRA
ZETA
ERIN FREEMAN lives in Massachusetts with her husband Chad, who is her high school sweetheart. They have two boys, Cody Ryan, 5, and Logan John Whitman, almost 2. Erin has been an avid name-enthusiast since high school. In her family’s spare time, they love taking the boys to the beach and the park, and spending time with their very large extended family.