Day Names for Babies

Verna may mean "springtime," but May or Spring is fresher.

Part-April, part-Felicity, but with the wonderfully whimsical feel of Serendipity. Apricity debuted in the US charts for the first time in 2022.

This royal Danish name has long been used across Scandinavia, Germany and Slavic countries and somewhat in the US around the turn of the last century --it was #622 in 1888. There were two notable silent screen stars named Dagmar, one with Polish, the other with Danish roots.

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

One of the rarer names to come from the Bible, Cherith has a fresh and modern sound despite its ancient roots. Cherith was the name of the stream that kept Elijah alive during the three years' drought which he announced to King Ahab. In English, Cherith pleasingly reminds one of the word cherish which is another plus to this underused girls' name.

Thursday is named after the god Thor, itself becoming a popular baby name (who would have thought?). So why not Thursday?

Strongly associated with the city of Tel Aviv. For girls, may be lengthened to Aviva; for boys, might be better abbreviated to Avi.

Diminutive for all the Slavic names that start with Jar-. If for family or cultural reasons you're seeking such a name, then this is a reasonable short form.

Sweet and springy Japanese name.

Junius is one of those names that's growing on us, along with many of its Roman countrymen such as Julius and Atticus. We once thought it was a combination of the least attractive elements of Junior and Julius but now we think...well, we think it's okay. Not great, but okay.

Commonly heard in Hispanic cultures, a rhythmic possibility here.

Friday became famous as a name via the sidekick character in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, morphing into a generic term for an all-around professional assistant, as in "girl Friday." As a word for the day of the week, Friday is associated with the old English goddess Frigg and the Roman goddess Venus, though the character makes Friday more of a male name.

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy.

Hesperos or Hesperus is the personification of the evening star in Greek mythology; in Roman myth, that role is held by Venus. There's a Longfellow poem called "The Wreck of the Hesperus" about a tragic ship voyage.

A name better left where it is, embroidered on a fifties poodle skirt.

The Ashantis of Ghana traditionally use this animated name for boys born on Monday. The girls' equivalent is Adwoa, pronounced ahj-wa.

This Danielle/Monique hybrid offers a new twist on an old favorite.

An early day name worthy of consideration today for someone seeking a truly unusual name.