Cool Baby Names That Start with P

Prescott is one of several distinguished, upper-crusty surnames beginning with P.

Puck was Shakespeare's mischievous pixie who'a had a few television incarnations in more recent years. A popular name in The Netherlands but nowhere else, from what we can tell.

This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.

Primo is number one among the Latin birth-order names--Octavius et al--and the one most likely to be used in these days of smaller families. It has that jaunty 'o' ending and Italian flavor that many modern parents like so much. And what little boy wouldn't appreciate being prime?

More stylish than either Paula or Pauline, it was given a glamour gloss by model Paulina Porizkova in the nineties.

Parents seeking a distinctive New Testament name might consider this one. Adopted by some Puritans in the seventeenth century, Persis was used in the William Dean Howells novel The Rise of Silas Lapham for the wife of the protagonist.

Philippe, pronounced fill-EEP, is Philip with Gallic flair.

Peace may be an admirable sentiment to convey in a child's name, but the translated and thus more subtle versions, like Pax or Placido, might work better as first names.

Relaxed male name occasionally used for girls; sounds novel compared to such former favorites as Kerry and Sherry.

This Hindu goddess name is very popular in India. The goddess of love, fertility and devotion, representing female force, Parvati is the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesh. There is a Harry Potter character named Parvati Patil, a twin sister of Padma..

Calm, straightforward, patrician sounding: Pace is one new-style name that's well-grounded.

Petronella, and its shorter sister Petra, are both feminizations of Peter. While Petronella is a name with deep history, it's extremely rare. It was given to no baby girls on record in the US last year.

A grassy place with trees is a nice image to attach to a name.

This sassy, spunky name was used for the mostly Irish jump-roping pigtailed girls of the thirties and forties -- and some Irish and Italian boys as well. Its most noted bearer was iconic country music singer Patsy Cline (born Virginia), and was sighted most recently in the Ab Fab movie. After reaching Number 52 in the late thirties, it dropped off the list completely in 1970--and we're not anticipating a return.

A handful of baby girls were named Poem in the US in the most recent year, along with Poet and Poetry. But of course, these word names can work for boys too.

This Dutch name stems from the Greek root word "philos" meaning "love". It is relatively common in the Netherlands.

The name Parson might have seemed ridiculous even a few years ago, but when Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe named their son Deacon, they opened up a whole new field of ecclesiastical cool. Bishop, Priest, and Pastor are other possibilities.

The power of the popular ella sound is sapped in this cross-cultural choice.

A lyrical choice.