Popular Names and Name Trends · Name Image
Croc Names
Across 7 pages
of 7
Enid
Welsh
"life, spirit"
This Celtic goddess and Arthurian name may sound terminally old-ladyish to many ears--but so did names like Ella and Etta not so long ago. So Enid is yet another forgotten four-letter E-possibility:…
Gilda
English
"covered with gold"
Gilda, although related to the words gold and gilded, has definitely tarnished. It once shimmered with the seductive image of Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda, then was associated with the beloved…
Gladys
Possibly a form or Claudia or Welsh
"land, nation"
Hard as it might be to believe, Gladys was the Harper of 1900, emerging almost out of nowhere to take the naming world by storm. It became a favorite among parents — and writers of romantic Edwardian…
Golda
English, Yiddish
"gold"
A name with an obvious meaning, for a long time associated with Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Nickname Goldie seems to be catching on in the celebrity community.
Earnest
Earnest is a masculine name of English origin that developed from the word 'earnest,' meaning 'serious,' 'sincere,' or 'determined.' The name gained popularity during the Victorian era when virtue…
Hester
Medieval variation of Esther, Persian
"star"
The disgraced heroine of The Scarlet Letter 's name, after long neglect, just might have a chance at revival, following in the wake of sister-name Esther. We've characterized her elsewhere as an…
Gilbert
German
"shining pledge"
Considered ultra debonair in the silent-movie era, Gilbert then went through a nerdy phase, a la Gilbert Gottfried. Now though, like Albert and Alfred and Walter and Frank, it could be in for a style…
Howie
Diminutive of Howard, English, Germanic, Norse
"high guardian; brave heart"
Old school Howard has fallen out of fashion in recent years, having been a Top 100 choice in the US from the 1880s until the 1960s. Short form Howie, however, might have more potential, with its…
Francine
French diminutive pet form of Francoise
"from France or free man"
With the advent of Pope Francis, all forms of this ancient and saintly name came up for a fresh look. Along with most other -een and -ine (when pronounced like -een) names for girls, Francine has a…
Isidore
Greek
"gift of Isis"
Isabel, Theodore, and Isadora are back: could it now be time for a more widespread revival of Isidore? Yet to see any big moves up the charts, Isidore was given to more than 30 boys in a recent year:…
Linus
Greek
"flax"
Can Linus lose its metaphorical security blanket and move from the Peanuts page onto the birth certificate? We think it has enough charm and other positive elements going for it for the answer to be…
Agnes
Greek
"pure, virginal"
Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos , meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as…
Ernest
English from German
"serious, resolute"
Ernest is one of those sober, so-far-out-they're-beginning-to-be-reconsidered Great Uncle names. Ernest recently received a big style boost when Britain's Princess Eugenie chose it for her second…
Murray
Scottish
"settlement by the sea"
Murray, you may be surprised to discover, is a Scottish surname name --that of an ancient noble clan--with a sea-swept meaning, and just could be in the next wave of reevaluated grandpa names.…
Morris
English variation of Maurice
"dark-skinned"
Morris is as quiet and comfortable as a Morris chair, and has the same vintage feel. Once a Top 100 name in the early 1900s, Morris fell completely off the roster in 1995, probably due to lingering…
Wilfred
English
"desires peace"
Wilfred is one of those Old Man Names that still sounds fusty in the US but is fashionable in the UK. It comes with readymade short forms Will, Wilf, or Fred and might make an adventurous alternative…
Oswald
English
"divine power"
Despite the success of so many O-starting boys names --Oliver, Owen, Otis, Oscar--Oswald has not yet shown any signs of resurrection, though he does have the animating nicknames Ozzie/Ozzy and Oz.…
Pauline
French, feminine variation of Paul
"small"
Pauline had its moment of glory a century ago, when movie audiences were thrilling to the silent serial The Perils of Pauline , released in 1914. A Top 50 name in the US between 1908 and 1930, it…
Rita
Spanish, Hindi
"pearl; truth, order"
One of the glamour girl names of the Rita Hayworth 1940s, Rita was once a Top 50 name and stayed on the SSA list until 2002. The name Rita still has enough Latin zip to be a lively, revivable short…
Millicent
German
"strong in work"
Combining the mild and the innocent, this sweet and feminine name is worthy of a comeback, in the mode of Madeline and Cecilia. Its original, also attractive form is Melisende, which came from…