Nameberry Favorites · Nature, Place and Word Names
Nameberry's Favorite Word Names
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About this list
Nameberry's favorite nicknames are taken from the set of names that rank inside the Nameberry Top 1000 but outside the US Top 1000.
They're rare in real life but have garnered attention from our style-conscious Berries. As much as we love choices like Haven and Brooks, they're too mainstream for this list.
The best word names are unusual but eminently usable. They include virtue names like Reverie and Valor, artistic words such as Story and Quill, and word names that convey a sense of adventure, like Arrow, Cove, and Zenith.
RELATED:
The names
Honey
Word name
Honey entered the US Top 1000 for the first time ever in 2024, following the lead of parents in England, who've elevated this nickname-name to the Top 300 girls' names in the UK. Honey's popularity…
Sunday
Day name, English from Latin
"day of the Sun"
Sunday is among the most usable of the day names with its sunny first syllable, its sweet sound, and its potential to be both a sassy or a spiritual choice. The name initially made headlines in 2008…
Arson
Word name
"deliberately setting fire to property"
Sure, Arson is a crime, but anecdotally, many of the parents who choose this name do so because Arson = "our son."
Ash
Diminutive of Asher, English
"ash tree"
Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or…
Azure
English color name, Persian
"sky blue; lapis lazuli"
Azure is a colorful gender-neutral choice, currently used equally for baby girls and boys in the US. It refers to a specific shade of blue seen in a cloudless sky. Elon Musk revealed Azure to be the…
Blessing
English word name
"God's favor and protection"
This spiritual word name is rising for girls and boys.
Blue
Color name
Blue suddenly came into the spotlight, as the unusual color name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy. Blue is also a starbaby middle name du jour, used for both sexes in…
Echo
Greek mythology name
"echo or sound"
Echo, the pretty, resonant name of a legendary nymph, was the heroine of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Dollhouse . Nick Hexum, of the band 311, named his daughter Echo Love. In the Greek myth, Echo was…
Blythe
English
"happy, carefree"
Blythe is Nameberry gem — one of those names that visitors to the site are often searching for, despite the fact it's never ranked in the US charts as a given name. The name is derived the Old…
Coral
English word name
"a rock like substance formed by sea creatures; pinkish-red; gemstone"
A color name, a gemstone name, and an ocean-inspired choice, Coral has a lot going for it with its sharp C sounds yet sweet vintage feel. Unlike Scarlett or Violet, however, it is only quietly used…
Cove
English
"small bay"
Cove is an up-and-coming nature name whose cool sound and peaceful image saw it rising for both sexes... until COVID-19 hit. It remained steady in use for boys in 2021, but actually increased for…
Cyan
English
"greenish blue color"
Cyan is a highly unusual blue-green color name, a classmate of Celadon and Cerulean. It does come with the homey nickname Cy.
Danger
English word name
"exposure to injury, pain, harm, or loss"
Prime example of the aggressive word names that are an off-the-grid branch of the new macho names. Makes Cannon, Maverick, and Ranger feel almost soft and sensitive by comparison.
Dawn
English word name
"dawn, sunrise"
Associated with the first light of the day, and more figuratively with new beginnings and fresh starts, Dawn's heyday came in the 1960s and 70s in the US, Canada and the UK. It had been in the charts…
Ebony
English
An attractive and now underused nature name belonging to a tree whose wood is prized for its dark color and dense texture, which shines when polished. Ebony joined the most popular girl names list in…
Blossom
English
"to bloom"
Now that parents have picked virtually every name in the garden, from the common Rose to the captivating Zinnia, some are reconsidering the old, more generic names like Flora and Posy and Blossom —…
Eclipse
English word name
"an obscuring of light when one celestial body passes over another"
An evocative word name denoting a rare celestial phenomenon when the sun and moon are aligned so that the moon casts a shadow over the Earth (a solar eclipse), or when the moon is right in front of…
Eleven
English word name
"eleven"
If Erykah Badu can name her son Seven, why can't you name your daughter (or son) this? Eleven has recently gotten a lot of attention via the character on the TV show Stranger Things .
Ember
Word name
"ember, glowing coal or wood"
A contemporary word name that's been popular for girls in recent years, Ember refers to the still-glowing parts of a fire once much of it has gone out. Connected with hope, rekindling, and light in…
Art
Diminutive of Arthur
"noble one; bear man"
Though short and brisk, no nickname name could have a more creative image. Comic actor Chris O'Dowd named his son Art, as in his native Ireland it's used as a name on its own, separate from Arthur.,…