Forever Geeky Names
Updated Wed Aug 30 2023
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Some baby names seem irredeemably geeky — though we've learned in the world of baby naming, to paraphrase Heidi Klum, one day you're out, and the next day you may be very very in.
While all of these nerdy names sit outside the realm of fashion, some have their geekiness enhanced by a connection to a particularly dorky character from pop culture. Among them, Elmer, Velma, Cletus, Barney, Dwight, Kermit, Dilbert, and Waldo. You can give one of these names to your child…if you dare. Will they be lost to time or eventually make a comeback? Some are moving from geek to chic already, but others are forever geeky.
- Wilbur
Origin:
English, GermanMeaning:
"wild boar"Description:
Clunky yet cuddly, Wilbur is a stylish name in the UK where it currently sits in the Top 600, as cool as Rupert or Wilfred. Its merits are starting to be rediscovered in the US, where it was last truly popular more than a century ago. A recent year saw it given to 42 boys.
- Ernest
Origin:
English from GermanMeaning:
"serious, resolute"Description:
Ernest is one of those sober, so-far-out-they're-beginning-to-be-reconsidered Great Uncle names. Ernest recently received a big style boost when Britain's Princess Eugenie chose it for her second son.
- Virgil
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"staff bearer"Description:
The name of the greatest Roman poet and an early Irish saint who believed the earth was round, Virgil is heard most notably today as the name of designer Virgil Abloh of Off-White.
- Clarence
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"bright"Description:
The name of the guardian angel in It's a Wonderful Life is rarely heard the rest of the year because of its studious, near-nerdy image, but this could change in the current naming climate.
- Seymour
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"marshy land near the sea"Description:
Out playing shuffleboard at his condo and not expected back for several generations -- unless it morphs into a girls' name, a la Sydney.
- Wanda
Origin:
Slavic or GermanMeaning:
"shepherdess; wanderer"Description:
Rarely heard, and when it is, usually attached to a witch. Historically, though, Wanda was a legendary eighth century queen of Poland, and in literature it is the central character of Ouida's eponymous novel Wanda. A musical namesake is the great Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska.
- Cyril
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"lordly"Description:
A British-accented Greek name with an intellectual image that has been off the U.S. charts since 1966, but was a Top 300 name at the turn of the last century. We have the feeling Cyril's ready for a comeback.
- Gilbert
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"shining pledge"Description:
Considered ultra debonair in the silent-movie era, Gilbert then went through a nerdy phase, a la Gilbert Gottfried. Now though, like Albert and Alfred and Walter and Frank, it could be in for a style revival.
- Mortimer
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"dead sea"Description:
Other kids might see a teasible connection to mortician or mortuary. Mortimer is an English family name used a few generations ago as an Anglicization of Moses; it was Walt Disney's original choice for the name of his mouse, until his wife talked him out of it.
- Gladys
Origin:
Possibly a form or Claudia or WelshMeaning:
"land, nation"Description:
Hard as it might be to believe, Gladys was the Harper of 1900, emerging almost out of nowhere to take the naming world by storm. It became a favorite among parents — and writers of romantic Edwardian novels, seen as alluring and unusual. One impetus was the 1870 Ouida novel Puck, whose heroine was the idealized beauty, Gladys Gerant.
- Elwood
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"elder tree forest"Description:
The "el-" sound is red-hot these days, and a myriad of place names and surnames give this name a wealth of possible namesakes. The main drawback is its kinship to the name of the hero of the Legally Blond series, Elle Woods, though that will fade with time.
- Phyllis
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"green bough"Description:
Phyllis has been used by classical poets for the idealized pastoral maiden. A Greek mythological name of a woman who was turned into an almond tree, Phyllis was in the Top 100 from 1916 to 1958, reaching #24 in 1929, and has the (remote) possibility of joining other revived s-ending names like Iris. In the 'St Clare' book series by Enid Blyton Phyllis is nicknamed Fizz. Just a thought. Phyllida is a variation that sounds at once more old-fashioned and more stylish.
- Gertrude
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"strength of a spear"Description:
Could cute nickname Gertie, remembered as cute five-year-old Drew Barrymore in E.T., revive the long shunned Gertrude?
- Dorcas
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"doe, gazelle"Description:
Classic name used by the Romans, the Puritans, and the Bard, but pretty much taboo today due to the objectionable connotations of both its front and back ends.
- Marion
Origin:
French derivative of MaryMeaning:
"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"Description:
Fun fact: Marion was the birth name of movie star John Wayne. Although commonly thought of as a female name today, it was actually more popular for boys until the late 19th century, and was given to roughly equal numbers of boys and girls throughout the 1970s-2000s.
- Beulah
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"married"Description:
In the Bible, Beulah is a place, not a person, applied to the land of Israel by the prophet Isaiah. The land of Beulah has sometimes been considered a reference to heaven. Beulah began to be used as a given name in England at the time of the Reformation and was used by the seventeenth century Puritans.
- Kermit
Origin:
Irish, variant of Diarmaid/DermotMeaning:
"without injunction, without envy"Description:
Kermit was a Top 500 name until the 1960s, not coincidentally the decade in which Kermit the Frog made it a one-person (well, one-frog) name.
- Dudley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"Dudda's meadow"Description:
It's easy to love a name that rhymes with "cuddly" and is also attached to the surname Do-Right -- once you ignore the "dud" connection.
- Olga
Origin:
Slavic variation of Helga, NorseMeaning:
"holy"Description:
This Slavic form of the Norse name Helga is a classic in many Slavic countries, including Russia and Poland, where it currently ranks within the Top 100 girl names. It has historically ranked among the most popular names in countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Spain, France, Serbia, Greece, the US, and many more. Olga is a common name even in Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden and Norway, despite Helga being a more traditional choice. Olha is the uniquely Ukrainian variation.
- Wendell
Origin:
German, EnglishMeaning:
"wanderer; to travel, to proceed"Description:
This name has hardly been used since Wendell Willkie ran for president in 1940, and it may not quite be ready for revival yet. Still, clunky grandpa names like Lionel, Douglas, Benedict, Carl, and Melvin have received more attention in recent years, so Wendell can't be ruled out just yet.