English Word Names

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

Asking for trouble. Rebel Wilson is a hilarious Australian actress who puts a female spin on this contemporary badass baby name. Still, we think this name is truly gender neutral – though hardly neutral in any other way. Rebel is undoubtedly one of the edgiest girls' names starting with the letter R.

Hard and shiny, Steel projects an image that's smooth, macho...and cold to the touch.

If you live in a state where marijuana is legal (or maybe even if you don't), you might know that Sativa is one of the major strains of weed. And yes, 12 baby girls were named Sativa in the US in one recent year, versus 29 for Indica, the other strain. Sativa is said to produce a more energetic and creative effect, while Indica makes you feel calm and dreamy. Sativa is not a name you would choose if you envisioned your daughter going into law enforcement.

Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in boys' names starting with R, you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and Racer) to your list.

Inspired by Taylor Swift's 2020 album Evermore, seven sets of parents chose this name for their daughters in 2022. With a poetic meaning of "forever" or "always", this is one that we could see gaining traction outside of the Swiftiverse. Accessible nicknames Ever and Evie are always an option if Evermore feels too bold for everyday use.

Sweet, modern descriptive name, but perhaps a little too cute for its own good.

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

Knowledge is a word name that's on an upward trend for boys, in 2021 hovering just below the Top 1000 in the US. And if Maverick, Legend, and Justice can be popular baby names, why not Knowledge? It's an important quality for any child to possess, via their name as well as their brain.

Drummer entered the baby name lexicon thanks to blogger No Big Dill, who chose it for her newborn son, who joins five older sisters. Drummer is right in step with other occupational names in vogue now, from Archer to Gardener. Let's just hope Drummer doesn't prefer to play the piano.

Glory sounds fresh and uplifting and a lot more modern than Gloria (which is definitely feeling the stirrings of a revival, though some might still view it as a terminal Old Lady name). Glory, as in "Glory Be" and "Old Glory," has both a religious and a patriotic flavor.

A recently popular spiritual name that entered the Top 500 in 2003.

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.

The calming variety of marijuana, used as a baby name every year since 1992.

One of the aggressive new boys' names, ala Tracker and Heller, that have become fashionable among parents who are courting trouble.

Journey is one of the hot new spiritual names. Although Journey was given in 2015 to over 1100 baby girls and fewer than 100 baby boys, it's more visible on the celebrity baby scene as a boys' name: Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green just chose the name for their third son, who also has the unisex middle name River.

Poet is a new entry in both the trendy word and occupational categories as well as a member of the growing group of gender neutral names. A handful of baby boys received the name in the US last year. A perfect choice, especially in the middle, for the child of writers or those with a poetic bent. And Po is an adorable nickname for either gender.

Asking for trouble.

Clarity is one of the lightest of the newly rediscovered virtue names, with a bit of three-syllable sparkle, old-fashioned charm and a clear vision for the future. Clarity is a very desirable quality in this confusing world and it also, unlike some other newly coined word names, has real meaning and history as a name.

No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.