Baby Name Meanings · Name Image
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
French surname
"shadow outline"
Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician, gave his name to this portraiture technique – although, strangely, no one knows why.
English place-name and surname
"dark wolf's wood or clearing"
Blakesley is the name of a village in England, also sometimes found as a surname along with Blakely and Blakeley, turned into a first name for their daughter by reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter.…
English
"black well or stream"
Dark.
African
"dark tree"
Would you really want to name your child after a Japanese anime movie called Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space.
Nature name
Actress Jaime King gave her son Leo the middle name Thames, for the famous London river where she and her husband Kyle Newman were married. Thames is pronounced tehms, not necessarily common…
Literary name
"Daughter of the twilight / nightingale"
Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is…
Latin
"shadow"
"one in the shadow"
Pretty French sound, but there might be a lot of "umbrella" cracks.
Swahili place name from Persian
"black coast"
Zanzibar is an island region off the coast of Tanzania. It's never been recorded as a baby name, but for those with a connection to Zanzibar, it's an intriguing and unique option chock full of zesty…
Hebrew
Although this Old Testament name is soft and delicate, it runs the risk of conjuring up the monstrous Godzilla.
Ancient Greek
"to withstand the night; nocturnal"
In Greek mythology, Nyctimene was pursued by her own father, and therefore fled to find safety in the shadows of the woods. She was later transformed into an owl by the goddess Athena, out of…
French
"dark brown"
This fabric word name would be a one-of-a-kind.
Hindi, Indian, Sanskrit
"shadow, shade"
Not to be confused with the Hebrew name, Chhaya (also spelled Chaya) is a name of Indian origin, derived from Sanskrit chāyā , meaning "shadow, light, reflection". The personification of the Hindu…
French form of Saturnina, Latin, English word name
"Saturn; dark and gloomy"
On one hand, Saturnine is a bright and golden French name, ultimately derived from the Roman God Saturn, associating it with agriculture, renewal, time, and abundance, along with the planet. On the…
Basque
"Shadow"
The Basque name, meaning shadow, has the virtue of having both an interesting meaning and an obvious pronunciation.
English occupational name
"blacksmith, metalworker"
Farrar has two separate origins: an occupational name meaning "smith", and a Scottish river name, from a Pictish word meaning "to wind". Barely ever recorded as a first name, Farrar is a blank slate…
"dark stone"
A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin.
Sanskrit
"kohl, eyeliner"
Variation of Kajal, Sanskrit
Kajol and kajal are terms for the kohl that was used as eyeliner in ancient India. Indian actress Kajol Devgn is the most notable bearer.
Irish
"swarthy"
Dugan is an open, friendly, and cheery Irish surname that would be suited to a dark-haired boy.
