Name Image
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Word name
"gold colored"
Like Silver, Golden is a shimmering, metallic color name, similar enough to the likes of Arden, Eden, and Gwendolyn that it might not over dazzle. It could work as an unexpected route to the vintage…
"rebel"
Asking for trouble. Rebel Wilson is female, but this name is truly gender neutral, though hardly neutral in any other way. Rebel is undoubtedly one of the edgiest boys' names starting with the letter…
Word name or surname name, English
"free man"
Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.
English word name
"victory"
A winning unisex word name, fresher than Victoria or Victor. While Victory ranked only once on the US Top 1000, in 1918 at the end of World War I, it's a Top 25 name for girls in France.
Dutch
"rose field"
Presidential surname adopted as a first by numbers of midcentury African-American parents.
Wright is a masculine name that originated as an English occupational surname referring to a craftsman or builder—specifically a woodworker or carpenter (from the Old English "wyrhta," meaning…
Color name
Blue suddenly came into the spotlight, as the unusual color name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy. Blue is also a starbaby middle name du jour, used for both sexes in…
" a supernatural being or essence"
Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the…
German
"powerful protector"
Richmond is a place-name — it's the capital of Virginia, US, and a town in London, UK — that makes a fresh way to honor an ancestral Richard.
Place-name
Juneau, the name of the city in Alaska, has rightfully taken a back seat as a name to the classic Juno. Most famous reference: When the pregnant teenager is introduced in the movie "Juno," the…
Virtue name
This one's cutting right to the chase, but with such names as Justice and Peace on the rise, why not? And we guarantee your seven-year-old son will love it, though your 17-year-old, maybe not so…
"the quality or state of being free"
Like Justice and Peace, this word name makes a very strong statement. Ving Rhames chose it for his boy.
"month name"
Most things Jul-related – from the month of July to popular modern names Julia and Julian – originate with Roman emperor Julius Caesar, and the month name July is no exception. Fifteen girls and…
American Word Name
"rousing, uplifting song"
A musical word name with a lot of strength behind it, Anthem is used to describe both an uplifting song connected to a particular belief or group, or a form of a religious text, performed by a church…
Native American, Cherokee, place-name
"bend in the river or meeting place"
When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size. Reese Witherspoon…
American place name, Algonquin
"wild garlic"
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have done it again for their third child: Chosen a name that feels iconic yet strangely inevitable. They named North and Saint's younger sister Chicago, after Kanye's…
North's image and gender status was irrevocably changed when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their newborn daughter. But why not? West is firmly established as a name,…
"showing courage"
A striking word name for either gender. It's a safer choice when used as a middle name. Sixteen baby girls were named Brave in the US last year, the same number as were named Breezy.
English
"divine protection or care"
A Puritanical virtue name and also a place name, belonging to the state capital of Rhode Island and several other towns and cities in the US.
Word Name
The only of the four cardinal direction names to not have caught on. But if North can work, why not South?
