Name Image · Cool Baby Names
Badass Baby Names
Across 9 pages
of 9
Vladimir
Slavic
"great ruler, peaceful ruler, ruler of the world"
Vladimir is a cultured and deep-rooted Slavic name associated in this country with cultural figures including piano virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz and the author of Lolita , Vladimir Nabokov. The name…
Elvis
Meaning unknown
When the King was alive, and for years afterwards, few people (except Declan McManus who became Elvis Costello) dared use his singular name, but now it's very much up for grabs. The name Elvis is…
Memphis
Greek and Coptic place-name
"Enduring and beautiful"
Tied to the bluesy southern city and to the world heritage cite in Egypt after which it was named, Memphis is a modern choice with ancient history. Currently significantly more popular for boys in…
Sativa
Word name
If you live in a state where marijuana is legal (or maybe even if you don't), you might know that Sativa is one of the major strains of weed. And yes, 10 baby girls were named Sativa in the US in one…
Storm
Word name
The name of one of the most powerful Marvel superheroes — and the first major black female comic book heroine — is certainly a big one to live up to! Portrayed in the live-action X-Men movies first…
Xanthe
Greek
"golden, yellow"
X marks the spot in names these days, usually at the middles or ends of names, but here is one that puts it squarely up front. This extravagant name, which, like many Greek names beginning with X, is…
Draven
Modern invented name
Inspired by Brandon Lee's character in The Crow and Cuba Gooding Jr.'s in In the Shadows , this name, with its Wiccan feel, was used by a member of Linkin Park. It has ranked in the US Top 1000 since…
Jezebel
Hebrew
"not exalted"
Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad girl reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a…
Blaze
English word name
"fire"
A hot name, though perhaps not in the sense you want for your baby. About 20 times as many boys as girls were named Blaze in one recent year, perhaps because it can be seen as a spelling variation of…
Paine
Latin
"villager, country-dweller"
While patriot Thomas Paine is a worthy honoree, the mere association with the word 'pain' knocks this name out of bounds.
Dagger
Word name
Dagger is one of the new badass baby names , a sharp and scary choice that some parents may feel arm their child for battle in a cruel modern world.
Electra
Greek
"amber, shining, bright"
Though the plays by Sophocles and Eugene O'Neill and via the "Electra Complex" proposed by psychoanalyst Carl Jung, this name has, unfortunately, become associated with incest and murder.…
Shooter
Word name
"person who fires a gun; member of a sports team who scores goals"
More than 300 babies have been named Shooter in the US since 2002, which, depending on who you ask, is arguably about 300 too many. One of the violent names for boys that have gained traction in…
Hurricane
Spanish from Native American word name
"hurricane"
Hurricane is a storm, but it's also an American name , thanks to rising tennis star Hurricane Black -- whose sister's name is Tornado. There's no reason this tempestuous choice can't work for boys…
Loki
Norse mythological name
"lock"
Loki is the shape-shifting, gender-bending god of mischief in Norse mythology. Taking several animal forms, from a salmon to a seal to a fly, Loki is alternately friend and foe of the gods.
Tornado
Spanish word name
"tornado"
Tornado first meant thunderstorm and only later came to mean whirlwind, the common modern meaning. More recently, Tornado is the first name of a tennis-playing teen whose sister is called the equally…
Zeus
Greek mythology name
The supreme Olympian god represents a mighty image for a little fella to live up to, but more and more parents are beginning to consider it seriously. The Roman equivalent Jupiter has also come down…
Vesper
Latin
"evening star"
This Latin word used for evening spiritual services was introduced to baby namers by the Eva Greene character Vesper Lynd in the modern James Bond film Casino Royale in 2006, based on the Ian Fleming…
Django
Romani
"I awake"
Django — the D is silent as most everyone now knows — the nickname of the great Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django (originally Jean Baptiste) Reinhardt, makes a dynamic musical choice for…
Djuna
Invented name, variation of Juna, English from Latin
"born in June; young; moon"
Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of…