Color Names for Babies

Dark, woody name that's brings to mind rich panelling, beautiful colors and luxury.

Turquoise is similar in hue to Aqua, which is one of the cool new color names on the palette. Other blue-hued options: Cerulean, Cyan, Indigo, or Blue itself.

A plausible color name, it was chosen by the singer Sting as a middle name for his daughter, after a character in the Gormenghast fantasy trilogy, of which he's a big fan.

Leathery, masculine image, complete with user-friendly short form.

Extremely attractive color name chosen by some African-American families for its reference to the West African Ivory Coast; more commonly used for girls.

Magenta is a vivid Crayola color name, that could make a vivid, colorful choice. It was named in 1859 after the Napoleonic Battle of Magenta, a town in Northern Italy.

Cool, serene name of the Egyptian river can make a fresh choice for a girl. The origin of river name Nile relates to the Arabic and ancient Hebrew word for dark blue or indigo; in ancient Egyptian, its literal meaning is river.

A Gallic twist on a word or nature name, which has a nice lemony feel. 

This name of both a grayish-greenish-blue color and a kind of wild duck can be used for both boys and girls.

Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber.

Middle name possibility for a nature-loving family -- Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke used it for their son's middle name.

This vivid reddish orange color name is an undiscovered possibility -- kind of a female equivalent of Cerulean for boys.

Rich purplish red color choice that may gain favor along with Claire, though the wine connection can't be ignored.

Viridis is a medieval Italian name which is also the Latin word for green. This name is a beautiful option for parents looking for an unusual name that conveys freshness, youth, springtime and nature.

Reddish dye that sounds as if it could be a real name — of the outdated, Old World, Yetta-Hedda variety.

There's a whole quarry of rocky names parents are now considering: Slate, Flint, etc. , but this one is particularly hard-edged and problematic.

Most color names, like Scarlet and Violet, are definitely female, but not this one. Brown is as rich and warm as the tone it denotes, though we must admit the Italian version Bruno has more spark and substance.

This Japanese color name is not bestowed upon baby girls, but it's been used for many fictional characters.

Extreme cool possibilities in either of these modern categories, like a postmodern Linc.

A creative choice, suggesting the Venetian Renaissance painter (born Tiziano), and the brownish orange red hue that was featured on his palette. But try explaining to the boys in seventh grade that it's pronounced tee-shun.