Middle Names with Meaning
- Ocean
Origin:
English, nature nameDescription:
Ocean is a nature name that comes right out and states its meaning and association. Full of power and depth, Ocean is one of the fastest-rising baby names for both girls and boys, making the US Top 1000 for both genders in 2021. Oceane, the version that's trendy in France, was used for only 11 baby girls in the US in the same year. Ocean-lovers who want to be less obvious can choose such subtler names that mean ocean as Jennifer or Marissa, but coming right out and using Ocean is a perfectly valid way to go.
- Quay
Origin:
French word nameMeaning:
"wharf"Description:
A name that looks intriguing and masculine on paper, but is, unfortunately, a homonym for a girl's name.
- Saint
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"saint"Description:
Saint as a descriptive word name was first chosen by rocker Pete Wentz for his younger son (baby brother is Bronx), and now Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have catapulted the name into the celebrity stratosphere by choosing it for their baby boy. The couple called their baby "Saint" throughout the pregnancy because his conception had been so difficult. Saint was named in our predictions for the top baby name trends of 2015, on descriptive word names which also include Royal and Noble, King and Rogue. Saint is moving beyond the group of names that are only celebrity baby names and into the general lexicon.
- Saga
Origin:
Swedish word nameMeaning:
"story; seeress"Description:
Apt name for a little drama queen with a long future ahead of her. Saga is a Top 30 girls' name in Sweden.
- Rogue
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"independent, uncontrolled"Description:
Now that names like Cannon and Gunner, fit for comic book heroes, are rising up, Rogue may fit right in.
- Justice
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"the quality of being just, impartial, or fair"Description:
Justice, one of the rare virtue names for boys, entered the popularity ranks in 1992, and remained in the charts until the 2020s. While it has fallen out of favor in more recent years, it remains a fresh but solid feeling option.
- Jazz
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
Jazz as a full name is used slightly more often for boys than girls and has a distinctive, well, jazzy feel. Jazz is also occasionally used as a nickname for Jasper, much more often for Jasmine or Jazlyn. Could work as a middle name.
- Banjo
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"string instrument"Description:
When Australian actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention, but noted Australian poet and writer of Waltzing Matilda, Banjo Patterson, is known by this name. Sprightly and musical, it could blend in with Bruno, Benjamin and Joey.
- Free
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"free"Description:
One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.
- Lyric
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"of the lyre; songlike; a personal, emotive poem"Description:
Associated with poetry, pop music, and the Greek lyre, Lyric has a light and zippy sound to it and joins the likes of Melody, Harmony, Cadence, and Aria as musical names that have become baby names. A unisex name, it is currently three times more popular for girls in the US where it sits in the Top 600. It has declined in use since its 2014 peak, but was still given to around 560 girls in a recent year.
- Sky
Origin:
Nature nameDescription:
Sky is an ambigender nature name that was first legitimized as the character of Sky Masterson in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, played in the film version by Marlon Brando. It's a name we appreciate for its clear, wide-open feel, less hippyish than others like Rainbow and Starlight, and makes an appealing middle name possibility.
- Moon
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
The original oddball celebrity baby name, via Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit, who claims she's always liked it.
- West
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
West is the most fashionable of what you might call the direction names, with North and East (or Easton and Easter) coming up behind, and South not yet on the map.
- Bliss
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"great joy"Description:
A sweet, uplifting and still fairly uncommon modern virtue name. Its single syllable makes it especially good as a middle name, but it would also make a big impact in the first spot; in fact, nearly 90 girls in the US were called Bliss in a recent year.
- Chance
Origin:
French variation of ChaunceyDescription:
Once a cavalier Mississippi gambler type name, Chance has entered the mainstream since being endorsed by such celebrity dads as Larry King and Paul Hogan. Chance the Rapper has also boosted the name's popularity.
- Whimsy
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"whimsical or fanciful"Description:
Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.
- Petal
Origin:
English from GreekMeaning:
"leaf"Description:
Petal is the soft and sweet-smelling name of a character in the novel and film, The Shipping News. With the rise of such flower names as Poppy and Posy, we believe Petal — down-to-earth yet romantic — has its own appealingly distinctive style.
- Liberty
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
Less common than other virtue names, Liberty is nonetheless a name with a long American heritage.
- Jet
Origin:
Mineral and word nameDescription:
This super-charged variation of Jett is on the rise -- along with the unlikely newcomer Jetson.
- Zen
Origin:
JapaneseMeaning:
"meditation"Description:
A spiritual word name used by actor Zoe Saldana for her son as well as more recently Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott for their late son. Zen has been trending in recent years along with other spiritual names such as Bodhi and Zion, and recently entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.
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