Names from the Arts and Pop Culture · Name Image
Gothic Baby Names
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Amethyst
Gem and Color name
As flower names become more unique, so can gem names move beyond Ruby and Pearl to names like Topaz, Sapphire, and Peridot. Amethyst, the purple birthstone for February, has never been in the Top…
Amoret
Literary name
This lovely name from Spenser's The Faerie Queene is borne by a character who represents married love. A related unusual-yet-usable choice: Amabel.
Arch
Diminutive of Archibald, Teutonic
"truly brave"
Arch can be used as a nickname for Archibald or a stand-alone word name — perhaps for the child of an architect.
Ash
Diminutive of Asher, English
"ash tree"
Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or…
Ajax
Greek mythology name
"mourner, earth land"
Ajax is the name of two Greek heroes, both who fought in the Trojan war and feature in Homer's "Iliad". Distinctive yet familiar in sound, thanks to similar choices like Jack, Asa, and Ajay, Ajax is…
Bela
Czech
"white"
Despite the light, pretty sound of Bella for a girl, the boys' name Bela has dark and mysterious undertones, thanks to Dracula actor Bela Lugosi. Béla is also the first name of composer Bartók.
Bellatrix
Latin
"female warrior"
J.K. Rowling is a modern master of naming who brought a whole constellation of ancient and celestial names to modern parents. Bellatrix, of one of the stars of Orion, combines fashionable names Bella…
Belladonna
English from Italian
"nightshade, beautiful lady"
Literally meaning "beautiful lady" in Italian, Belladonna is the name of a poisonous flower also known as nightshade. This connection gives an otherwise flowery name a darker, more dramatic edge.
Blackwell
English
"black well or stream"
Dark.
Blade
Word name
One of the new crop of boys' names that manage to be unconventional and macho at the same time — though Blade verges on the threatening.
Bowie
Scottish
"blond, yellow"
Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn put this name in play as a first name, but David Bowie (born with the considerably less marketable moniker of David Robert Jones) gave it charisma. He changed his…
Bram
Dutch variation of Abraham, Hebrew
"father of multitudes"
Bram has an unusual measure of character and charm for a one-syllable name; it started as a hipper-than-Abe diminutive of the biblical Abraham, but is also an independent Irish and Dutch name, made…
Bronte
Greek
"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…
Burton
English
"fortified enclosure"
Burton originated as a habitation surname that now feels like a appropriate first. Actor Richard Burton, two-time husband of Elizabeth Taylor, was the most famous bearer. Burtie makes an adorable…
Circe
Greek
"bird, hawk"
In Greek myth, Circe, daughter of Helios, the sun, was a sorceress living on the island of Aeaea (or Aiaia) who could turn men into animals with her magic wand, which is just what she did to…
Crimson
Color name
"rich deep red"
Crimson could be a possible competitor for Scarlett's success, though it's lacking that Johansson charm. Crimson tends to be disproportionately popular in Alabama — the University of Alabama's…
Cross
English word name
"cross"
Evocative word name that's refreshingly straightforward. Overtones of Christianity and penalty. More subtle option: Cruz.
Crow
Bird name
From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore , the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.
Denis
French from Greek
"god of Nysa"
While Dennis may be more familiar to English speakers, Denis, or sometimes Denys, were the original medieval French forms of the name. Ultimately derived from Dionysius, the Greek god of wine and…
Desdemona
Greek
"ill-starred"
Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time,…