Middle Names with Meaning

Asking for trouble.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

Some parents are hoping to bestow good karma on their children with this name, derived from the Sanskrit word for "fate". Associated with the Hindu and Buddhist belief that someone's actions in this life (and their previous ones) decide their future existences, it is more informally used in the Western world to refer to good or bad luck.

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera that was transmogrified into the modern play Rent. Boheme means a literary or artistic person who lives outside conventional society.

This evocative term for a stone or shell carved in relief could make a striking first name for a girl, though she would have a starring role in her story, rather than a cameo.

This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.

Among the children named Heaven are the daughters of TV personality Brooke Burke and rap singer Lil' Mo, who also has a daughter named God'iss Love. Some parents have taken to using Nevaeh instead—Heaven spelled backwards.

Alternative to Princess or Queenie.

Evocative word name that's refreshingly straightforward. Overtones of Christianity and penalty. More subtle option: Cruz.

An ubercool and mysterious name, brought to you by director M. Night Shyamalan.

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.

A bold choice, encompassing ideas of eternal love between parents and children, of promises kept, and infinite time, Forever may also have spiritual or religious ties for some. Grounded by its similarity to the likes of Ever, Everly, Flora, and Heaven, it was chosen for 41 girls and 9 boys in a recent year.

Cedric the Entertainer chose this for his daughter, but most other parents would find it, though optimistic, not exactly substantial.

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 much. Could be used as a middle name, as Talisa Soto and Benjamin Bratt did.

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

A fun and confident choice, Holiday is a celebratory name, particularly associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year, and with rest, leisure, and vacations more generally. Fitting for a winter baby, but totally sunny too, it comes from the Old English hāligdæg meaning "holy day" as it was originally used to mark religious festivals and celebrations.

A beyond-bold shooting-star name choice, sure to raise some relatives' eyebrows.

These days, it's more likely you'd call your daughter the popular Belle or Bella.

A name that looks intriguing and masculine on paper, but is, unfortunately, a homonym for a girl's name.

Glimmer is shimmery but a little too showy, as is Glitter, a character on a TV sitcom-- while Glimmer appears in The Hunger Games.