Celebrity Names · Nature, Place and Word Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 8 pages
of 8
Word name
"to glow, radiate, excel"
A quietly though not insubstantially used option for boys, Shine ticks a number of boxes. It's an unexpected word name with the familiar sounds of Shiloh or Shane; it fits in among ambitious virtue…
Nature name
"sparrow, a bird"
With related choices such as Lark and Phoenix gaining popularity, why not Sparrow? Though it's usually thought of as a female name, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden chose it for their son.
English word name
"small Christian church"
Spiritual word names are a hot trend and ever-expanding category of baby names. Chapel was notably used in 2020 by Josh Brolin for his daughter. He said of her name, "Chapel Grace is, to us, a…
Variation of Cove, word name
"small bay"
Kove has the beachy feel of Ocean, Kai, and Koa, but unlike its more traditionally spelled counterpart, it looks less visually similar to Covid, at least. Associated with nooks and crannies, but…
English, nickname name
Until recently it was rarely used as a proper name; Buddy Holly, for example, was christened Charles, and Salinger's Buddy Glass was born Webb. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver did name his fourth child…
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…
"that is to be"
A forward-looking word name.
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…
"air"
Aire is a bygone spelling of "air", now reserved for poetic uses and in Kylie Jenner's case, baby names. Jenner originally announced her son's name to be Wolf, but quickly changed her mind and left…
Roman
"god of war; male; red planet"
Men may be from Mars as the saying goes, and the name may derive from the Latin maris meaning male, but soul singer Erykah Badu and Workaholics star Blake Anderson have given it potential as a unisex…
English slang
"aggressive energy, know-how"
Like Penn Jillette, you can have your own little brash babe.
Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta.
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…
English word name or short form of Abigail
Abbey might sound exactly like the popular Abigail nickname Abby or Abbie, but spelled this way it is also a churchy word name with a Gothic feel. But hearing it, no one will know the difference.
"one who wins"
Winner is an uplifting word name that can work for girls or boys. It was recently chosen by rapper Nya Lee for her daughter.
"literary form with distinctive style, rhythm, and line breaks; as beautiful as a poem"
A lyrical choice with a similar feel to Story and Posy and a similar sound to Penelope. It might refer to either a work of poetry, a collection of poems, or something that is comparable to the beauty…
Marvel, now a character name in The Hunger Games series, was a miracle name of yesterday, on the girls' Social Security list until 1941 and reaching a high of 487 at the turn of the last century,…
English
"rainbow"
Colorful, yes, but also probably among the hippiest of hippie names. Holly Madison recently chose it for her little girl.
Spice name
"orange-yellow color; a type of crocus"
Spice names are increasingly appealing to the senses of prospective parents; this one, belonging to a precious spice derived from the crocus has a vaguely orange-scented-incense sixties feel. English…
"an account of incidents or events"
A new unisex word name with a lot of charm, especially appropriate for the child of writers. Soleil Moon Frye named her second baby boy Story and Jenna Elfman called her son Story Elias.
