Science Cat Names

What better namesake for a baby girl than Ada Lovelace (or, to use her full title: Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace), the brilliant 19th-century writer, mathematician and early computer pioneer? Not to mention, her name has a lovely, delicate, vintagesque charm.

This shimmery Age of Aquarius unisex flower child name is making a comeback, along with metal and gem names like Steel, Jade, and Ruby.

Theon, an ancient name attached to a noted Greek teacher of mathematics and astronomy, also father to the first woman mathematician, might appeal to parents in this field. You can think of Theon as Theo with something a little extra.

While this is usually thought of as a girls' name because of the Bond Girl connection, its sound is masculine and there's no reason it couldn't work for boys.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

Forget the oil. It's one of the twins that make up the constellation Gemini, and a mythological name on the cutting-edge of fashion; used by Metallica's James Hetfield.

Erasmus has long retained the image of the bearded and bespectacled Dutch philosopher, but could be one that the audacious baby namer just might dare to dust off.

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.

What with the resurgence of W names like Weston and Walter, the prominence of high profile actress Emma and golfer Bubba, and even the attention paid to Watson, the IBM computer on "Jeopardy" (named for IBM's founder, Thomas Watson) this name could be in line for a revival of its own.

Sky may be a bit hippie-ish, but it's bright and sunny nonetheless. Sky rejoined the Top 1000 in 2013 after spending many years off the list. Sky was the choice of magician David Copperfield for his daughter, born in 2010.

Even among the range of blue names on the current baby naming palette -- Blue itself, Azure, Cerulean, Teal, Aqua, Cyan, Indigo -- Cobalt remains the most unusual, not to mention the most masculine.

A cup-shaped flowerhead in botany, which could lead to the super cool nickname Cal.

A scientific word name that would work wonderfully as a given name, given its similarity to Felix.

Jupiter's partner Juno has entered the mainstream, so it's possible that her divine mate could follow. But not necessarily for boys — Jupiter is currently mostly female in the US, thanks to its similarity to Juniper. Stars including Ed Sheeran and Ashley Tisdale recently welcomed daughters named Jupiter, which could shift the balance even more towards the girls.

Though the plays by Sophocles and Eugene O'Neill and via the "Electra Complex" proposed by psychoanalyst Carl Jung, this name has, unfortunately, become associated with incest and murder.

Enough parents have found naturalist Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, a worthy hero to keep Darwin relatively consistently in the Top 1000 (it dropped off in 2021 but is back in 2022)—though some might just like its trendy two-syllable sound. It has a lovely meaning too—"dear friend."

This super-charged variation of Jett is on the rise -- along with the unlikely newcomer Jetson.

Zenon is a relative of Zeno, which is a form of Zeus, used in both ancient Greece and modern Poland. With the new rise of all names mythological, this one may deserve a fresh look.

Adventurous parents are starting to look back to names of ancient gods like Mercury, Zeus, and Apollo. This one is also a planet and a metallic element, and has a friendly nickname, Merc. The Roman god Mercury, which derives from the Latin words for trade or wages, is the patron of tradesmen and travelers and the fastest-moving planet in the solar system. Mercury is the planet associated with the sign of Virgo, so this is one of the prime names for Virgo babies.

Delta is an unusual vintage option with a lazy-day-down-by-the-river feel. Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet and also the geographical name given to an island formed at the mouth of a river.