Classic Baby Names · Middle Names, Surnames, and Nicknames
Telegraph Baby Names
Across 24 pages
of 24
Clover
Flower name, from Old English
"key"
Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson…
Skye
Scottish place-name
The e-addition takes the name from slightly hippie-ish nature name to the place name of a picturesque island off the coast of Scotland, and for baby namers it's by far the more popular spelling. Skye…
Nellie
Diminutive of Helen, Ellen, and Eleanor, English, Swedish
"light, shining torch"
This sweet nickname name has seen a recent revival in the US, breaking the Top 1000 in 2019 for the first time in 40 years. By 2024, it became one of the fastest rising girl names, chasing sister…
Phoenix
Arizona place name and Greek
"dark red"
Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one…
Bruce
Scottish, English, French
"from the brushwood thicket"
Bruce is a Norman place name made famous by the Scottish king Robert the Bruce, who won Scotland's independence from England in the fourteenth century. Hugely popular in the 40s and 50s, it has since…
Ozzy
Pet form of Oswald, Osborn, Osmond or Oscar, English
"divine; deer"
Cute but cool, fresh but familiar, Ozzy was one of the fastest-rising boy names of 2021 and has continued to rise in the US and the UK ever since. While hard-core rocker Ozzy Osbourne might not be…
Ledger
English surname
"people's spear; book of recordings"
Ledger, another surname-turned-first name, carries associations of the great and late Australian actor Heath Ledger. It appeared on the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2017, perhaps bolstered by…
Estelle
French
"star"
Maybe it's because she shares that winning -elle sound with Isabel and Bella, but Estelle is no longer seen as a muumuu-wearing canasta player of a certain age (think George Costanza's mother on…
Cleo
Greek
"glory"
Cleo, one of the few girls' names to boast the cool-yet-lively o ending, is of course short for Cleopatra, the name of one of the most powerful women in history. Cleo was most popular in the early…
Mara
Hebrew
"bitter"
Mara is the evocative ancient root of Mary, appearing in the Book of Ruth, in which Naomi, devastated after the death of her two sons, says "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara." It's one of the girl…
Marigold
Flower name, from English
"golden flower"
Marigold, once found almost exclusively in English novels and aristocratic nurseries, is beginning to be talked about and considered here. It has a sweet, sunny, quirky feel. The marigold was the…
Marina
Latin
"from the sea"
This pretty sea-born name was used to dramatic effect by Shakespeare in his play Pericles for the virtuous princess who says she is "Call'd Marina, for I was born at sea." Marina was an epithet of…
Flora
Latin
"flower"
Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names that's making a big comeback. Short and sweet, it joins…
Aya
Japanese, Hebrew, Danish, Arabic
"colorful, design; honey buzzard, bird; rock, lull, happiness; sign, verse"
Aya, barely more than a breath, is an international favorite, with origins in several languages and cultures. Popular throughout Europe, it ranks in the US Top 1000 and was chosen for nearly 470…
Lochlan
Spelling variation of Lachlan
Lochlan and Lachlan are running neck and neck and both rising into the Top 1000. Which spelling you use is purely a matter of taste.
Thalia
Greek
"to flourish"
Thalia was one of the Three Graces in Greek mythology, and also the Muse of comedy and pastoral poetry, making this a Hellenic choice worthy of consideration. In the Rick Riordan series Percy Jackson…
Otis
Variation of Otto, German
"wealthy"
Otis has real appeal for parents attracted to its catchy O initial and combination of strength and spunk. The appealing hero of the British TV show Sex Education has done much to propel Otis into the…
Lionel
Latin
"young lion"
Lionel is one leonine name that hasn't taken off as cousins Leo and Leonardo have, though it did reenter the Top 1000 in 2010 after several years away; it was at its highest point in the 1920s and…
Birdie
English
"bird"
Birdie was until recently a middle-aged Ladies' Club member wearing a bird-decorated hat --but now it's just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into…
Georgina
English, feminine variation of George
"farmer"
Now more popular than Georgiana in Britain, this elegant Dickens. Jane Austen name deserves attention. Most American parents prefer Georgia to Georgina or any other feminization of George.