Dog Names That Mean Blue

Bardo has a poetic beginning and upbeat ending, with roots in several diverse cultures. It may be most familiar today via George Saunders' novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which refers to the Tibetan Buddhist state of suspension between one life and the next, resembling the Christian idea of Limbo. Bardo is also an ancient saint's name: Saint Bardo was the eleventh century bishop of Mainz, in Germany. Actress Sandra Bullock chose Bardo as her son's middle.

Popular choice for female anime characters.

Typically a male name in Japan, however, Toru was used for the female character Toru Hagakure in the anime series My Hero Academia.

Diminutive of Welsh Maredudd, the original (masculine) form of Meredith.

Brad in a Brooks Brothers suit.

Cute but substantial short form, deriving from Maria. The meaning of Maria is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

Variant of Marilla

An addition to the collection of gemstone names — a category that's currently rising in popularity.

In Slovenia, Maca is more common as an independent name than its parent name Marija.

Sweet and soft but outdoorsy too, Pasha could make an interesting alternative to Sasha. Typically used as a diminutive for Russian male names like Pavel, it has also been used for the feminine name Praskovya.

A fresh nature name — Bluet is a dainty, low-growing plant with small, light blue flowers — that feels like a mix of jazzy word-name Blue and trendy surname Truett.

In the 2006 film Pan's Labyrinth, Moanna is the name of a Spanish princess, but it's the Moana spelling that has become more famous of late, thanks to the eponymous Disney heroine.

Variant of Marian

Variant of Maris

Sirje is a uniquely Estonian name of unconfirmed origins, although the story goes that it was created and offered up by Julius Mägiste, a linguist, in 1929. He derived it from the word sinisirje, meaning "blue-feathered" and tied to a mythical bird creature in the Kalevipoeg, Estonia's national epic. Eugen Kapp used Sirje for one of the characters in his 1945 opera Tasuleegid, which roughly translates to "The Flames of Fame."