Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
Science and Technology Names
Across 16 pages
of 16
Golden
Word name
"gold colored"
Like Silver, Golden is a shimmering, metallic color name, similar enough to the likes of Arden, Eden, and Gwendolyn that it might not over dazzle. It could work as an unexpected route to the vintage…
Golden
Word name
Like Silver, a shimmering metallic color name, that may lean too dazzling for some, but more grounded for others, thanks to its similarity of Alden, Auden, Elden and Gordon. Given to 100 babies in a…
Gottfried
Gottfried is a traditional Germanic masculine name composed of the elements "gott" meaning "god" and "fried" meaning "peace," thus translating to "God's peace" or "divine protection." The name has…
Gravity
Word name
Spacey. Gravity will probably be too heavy and grave -- sorry -- for most parents. But one possible exception might be big fans of Alfonso Cuaron's 2013 movie Gravity . And astrophysicists.
Gregor
Scottish form of Gregory
"vigilant, a watchman"
Two prominent literary namesakes make Gregor a somewhat risky choice. On the highbrow side, there's Gregor Samsa, the Kafka character who woke up one day to find himself turned into a cockroach. And…
Guido
Italian
"guide, leader"
Guido was very popular in Renaissance Italy, with many namesakes including painter Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro) and mathematician Guido Fubini. Guy Fawkes, of gunpowder plot fame, sometimes…
Guifré
Catalan form of Wilfred
"desires peace"
You'd be forgiven for thinking this is the Catalan form of Geoffrey, but it actually comes from a slightly different Germanic name — also with a peaceful meaning. It's a historical choice, belonging…
Halley
Scottish and English
"hall or woodland clearing"
The Halley version of this popular name family hit the Top 1000 only once, in 1986, inspired by Halley's Comet, named for astronomer Edmund Halley. Today, Halley is still used -- it was given to 50…
Halley
Scottish and English
"hall or woodland clearing"
While this has a distinguished male namesake -- astronomer Edmund Halley and his comet -- it still strays too close to the superpopular feminine Hailey family to work for some parents for a boy.…
Havelock
Scandinavian
"sea competition"
A name from medieval romance with an endearingly clunky sound, à la Sherlock. The most famous modern wearer was twentieth-century psychologist/sexologist Havelock (born Henry) Ellis.
Hedy
Diminutive of Hedwig
Linked to one of the great screen beauties, but has never appealed much to Americans.
Helix
English word name
"a curve in three-dimensional space"
A scientific word name that would work wonderfully as a given name, given its similarity to Felix.
Henrietta
Feminine variation of Henry, German
"estate ruler"
Despite a return to such feminizations of male names as Josephine, Clementine, and Theodora, starchy Henrietta has not made it into that group. Still, if you look hard enough, you'll see that…
Hideki
Japanese
"bright tree"
As well as Japanese physicist Hideki Yukawa, two Yankees ballplayers, Hideki Irabu and Hideki Matsui, made this name familiar to Americans.
Hildegard
German
"comrade in arms; battle enclosure, battle ground"
Hildegard is an ancient name that sounds it, but it does have sweet short forms Hildie and Hilda to recommend it, as well as several illustrious historical bearers. Strong and striking, it would make…
Hopper
English or Dutch
"leaper, dancer; hop grower"
With a fun, lively sound and a great namesake in programming pioneer, computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper, this is one of the coolest new surname names for girls.
Hopper
English or Dutch
"leaper, dancer; hop grower"
Sean and Robin Wright Penn chose this name for their son to honor their friend Dennis Hopper; others might associate it with the painter Edward. Couldn't be more spirited.
Horizon
Word name
A name with vision.
Hubble
Hubble is an uncommon masculine name derived from an Old English surname, which originally referred to someone who lived near a small hill or mound (from 'hob' or 'hub'). The name gained significant…
Hutton
English, Scottish surname
"ridge enclosure"
A natural successor to Hunter, Hudson, and Huxley, Hutton is an unexpected yet on-trend unisex name. Associated with Scottish geologist James Hutton, and as a first name with designer Hutton…