Athletic Baby Names

Dominican-born New York Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera has brought this name into the spotlight. Many parents might find it too milky--in fact, Cabrera's nickname is "Leche"--Spanish for "milk."

An extreme example of the newly possible ecclesiastical brotherhood that includes Deacon and Bishop. This one might work better in the middle spot.

Could be used as a hero tribute by tennis fans to honor Australian champ Rod, considered by many to be the greatest male player of all time.

Scottish and Irish Mac and Mc surnames are definitely up for consideration, and this one has sports cred via its link to tennis champ John. It was one of the fastest-rising names on Nameberry in early 2018, though this hasn't translated into real-life use yet. We still think it's one of the coolest undiscovered Scottish names for boys.

The name of the Brazilian-born soccer great (whose name at birth was Edson) is popular in France and could make it here too.

An old surname with an intriguing sound an uncertain origin, although it may derive from a French word for "lantern" – perhaps referring originally to one who made or lit lanterns.

Kikkan Randall, the American cross-country skier who won a Gold Medal at the 2018 Olympics, made her invented name famous. The name Kikkan was a compromise between Megan and Kikki, the name her father wanted to give her to honor skier Kiki Cutter. While we don't expect Kikkan to win any medals as a baby name, it's undeniably cute and original and also honors an inspirational female athlete.

This unusual name belonging to three generations of Deltha Lee O'Neals, the third being a football cornerback for the New England Patriots, could equally--or better--be used for a girl.