Birthday Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
Turkish; Ethiopian, Amharic
"clever, intelligent; pure"
This mini name is more spunky than Zack or Zeke, but shares those well-loved sounds. In Ethiopia, Zeki means "pure", and is pronounced "zeh-KEE", with emphasis on the second syllable. With the rise…
English
"peacock"
Hip new middle-name choice, conjuring up the gothic tales of Edgar Allan, and current single-named pop singer Poe. As a first name, it's radically underused, given last year in the US to only five…
Welsh
"snowdrop"
This ethereal Welsh word name has a sound as pretty and delicate as its floral namesake. Pronounced with a bright IRE sound like in Iris or an AYR sound like in air, depending on region, Eirlys…
Sanskrit
"silver"
Related to the Indian word and currency "rupee', Rupa derives its meaning from the ancient Sanskrit language, and can mean both silver and beautiful. Rupa also has strong historical and literary…
English, French
"reddish brown"
Rustic and cosy, Russet is a color name, associated with the reddish-brown hues of earth and autumn, with homespun cloth, apples, and perhaps less appealingly, potatoes. While it has never featured…
Persian
"lote tree, sidr tree"
Also appearing as Sidra, this botanical name has roots in Persian, and holds multiple levels of spiritual significance. It refers to the Ziziphus spina-christi , a spikey, evergreen plant, also known…
Indian,"pond covered in lotuses"
"pond covered in lotuses"
This lovely Indian name could spruce up Sarah. It has at least two distinguished bearers — Sarojini Naidu (freedom fighter and poet) and Sarojini Sahoo, a modern Indian feminist writer and journalist.
Egyptian
"God of the earth"
This name, more recognized as a short form of Sebastian, is perfectly usable a cool full name, and, in fact, ranks on the UK popularity list. Seb is getting lot of attention as the nickname name of…
Diminutive of Bartholomew, Hebrew, "son of the earth"
"son of the earth"
This one may well be an undiscovered choice for many parents - it has a fabulous meaning, a sturdy surname-name appeal that is very on trend right now and several great namesakes including the…
Snowdrop is a delicate nature-inspired feminine name derived from the early-blooming white flower that often emerges while snow still covers the ground. This botanical name symbolizes hope, purity,…
Hebrew
"wild goat, silly old fool"
A biblical name -- he was the father of Abraham -- but the father's name is much less appealing than the son's, in both sound and meaning.
French
"dark brown"
This fabric word name would be a one-of-a-kind.
Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele
"trust, hope"
Themba is a common male name in southern African countries such as Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini.
Sanskrit, Hindi
This colorful Sanskrit name belongs to the Hindu god Aruna, the charioteer who drives the sun god Surya across the sky. Aruna can also be masculinized to Arun. It can also be a female name in…
Finnish, Estonian
"hope"
This name was on the U.S. Top 1000 in the early 20th century, when recent immigrants frequently chose native names that have since died out for American babies. But if you're of Finnish or Estonian…
"woman of silver"
Spelling variant of Arianwen. Note that in Welsh, the -wyn suffix is usually masculine.
"silver + yellow; silver + shining"
This early Welsh saint's name is unusual and lovely, waiting to be discovered. Saint Arianell was a member of the Welsh royal family who was possessed by a spirit which was exorcised by Saint Dyfrig,…
"Turkish stone"
Turquoise is similar in hue to Aqua, which is one of the cool new color names on the palette. Other blue-hued options: Cerulean, Cyan, Indigo, or Blue itself.
Color name
Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber.
Latin
"silvery"
A more distinctive alternative to Angelo.
