Birthday Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 17 pages
of 17
Greek
"the sea"
The name of several early saints, including one, Pelagia the Penitent, a beautiful and licentious dancing girl who repented, then, disguised as a man, spent the rest of her life living alone in a…
Flower name, from French
"marked with points"
This very unusual botanical name refers to flowers that have a second color around the edges, commonly found in tulips and carnations. Thomas Hardy named a character Picotee in his novel The Hand of…
Pacifico is a masculine name of Latin and Italian origin meaning 'peaceful' or 'bringing peace.' Derived from the Latin 'pacificus,' it shares roots with words like 'pacific' and 'pacify.' This name…
Breton
"white flower"
Bleuenn is virtually unknown in the English-speaking world, while in France, it is a rare choice, given to a handful of girls. Bleuenn's origins are in Brittany, in the north of France, and it's…
"thunder"
This lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name, makes a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . While the original name took an umlaut over…
English word name
One of the aggressive new boys' names, ala Tracker and Heller, that have become fashionable among parents who are courting trouble.
Latin
"little wave"
Mythological spirit of the waters; spelled Undine, she was an Edith Wharton heroine.
"cotton cloth imported from India; a blotched or spotted animal"
A word name with fashionable o -ending that has associations with both the homespun fabric and the mottled cat. Alice Cooper named his daughter Calico decades ago, while it was selected more recently…
Greek, English
"pale yellow"
Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the nineteenth century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay…
Cree
"summer"
Greek; Aboriginial
"sea nymph, mermaid; red waterlily"
This is one of the more unusual examples of a group of Greek names connected to the sea, which makes sense for a nation of coastline and islands. The Nereids or water nymphs were the daughters of sea…
Navarre is a masculine name derived from a historical region that spans parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. With Basque origins, some scholars suggest it may derive from 'nabar' meaning…
Persian
"wild rose"
Nasrin has a strong sound and lovely floral meaning. International variants include the Turkish Nesrin and Egyptian Nesreen.
A pretty, rarely used Greek name, Thalassa is the ancient personification of the sea, particularly the Mediterranean, who is sometimes considered the mother of Aphrodite. In 1991, a newly discovered…
Irish
"descendant of Muiris"
When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice, with the nice three-syllable lilt of…
English from Greek
"bend in a river"
French
"optical illusion"
An attractive optical illusion where heat causes light to reflect in the air as if off a body of water. It was used as a character name in the 2004 animated film The Incredibles .
Occupational name from Latin
"sea-farer"
Spanish word name, or diminutive of Concepciòn, Latin
"shell; conception"
The Spanish word for "shell" is a new addition to the quickly growing list of ocean-inspired nature names.
Welsh
Llyr is a name with a great meaning and a lovely sound, but that sound is going to be next to impossible to get non-Welsh speaking people to pronounce (google the double L sound in Welsh). If you are…
