Birthday Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
Welsh
"fertile upland"
An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan , Yale Pollack is…
Israeli
"amber"
Fashionable choice in modern Israel, also a place-name there, not likely to succeed here.
Greek
"young goat"
Often found as a brand name in the hi-tech and industrial worlds.
Hindi
"earth lord"
Ilesha is an unusual choice that will undoubtedly be confused with similar and far more common names such as Alicia and Elissa.
"a lotus"
Intriguing, if a bit vowel-heavy.
French word name
"January"
Used in France as a male name, this would make an appealing and unusual choice, as would two other Gallic month names, Avril and Mai.
English surname
"goat estate"
Although it's more commonly seen as a surname, Haviland is occasionally used as a first name, particularly for girls. The hircine meaning makes Haviland an appropriate name for a baby Capricorn.
French
"brown-haired one"
The best-known bearer of this name by far is basketball superstar LeBron James. While LeBron James is a great athlete and American hero, only 19 baby boys were named LeBron or Lebron in 2021.
American, Greek
"chosen, elected; amber"
An early American name inspired by the word spiritual word "elect" and by a passage in the New Testament in which the Christian Church is referred to as "The Elect Lady and Her Children". Used in the…
"silver, bright, brilliant, snow"
A modern, unisex Welsh name with a shiny feel, Eirian can mean "silver" (from Welsh arian ) or "snow, brilliant, bright" (from eira ). It may appeal to those who like rising star Eira, but want…
"violet-colored"
Mauve is an offbeat color name whose soft and sentimental Victorian spirit is conveyed by the name. One of the newer color names like Blue, Gray and Plum that are increasingly being used as novel…
English
"earth"
Used by the Puritans but off the US charts completely since the mid-1990s, Eartha is best known today as the name of American singer Eartha Kitt, as well as of the philanthropist and humanitarian…
Dutch, diminutive of Bartholomeus
"son of the earth"
Apt choice for an architect's child, honoring German-born Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a central figure in modern design, and universally referred to as Mies.
Irish
"small brown-haired child"
This Irish saint's name makes an attractive alternative for Dylan or Donald.
Astronomy, Arabic
"tail"
A rare, astronomical choice, Deneb is a blue supergiant star in the "tail" of the Cygnus constellation. Derived from the Arabic dhanab , it is borne by Deneb Karentz, a Biology professor in the US.
Slovak, Macedonian
"brown-haired"
Morena is the goddess of seasonal rites and rebirth worshipped in Central Europe.
"earth mother"
Demeter, the Greek goddess of grain, agriculture, and the harvest, growth and nourishment, was Zeus's sister and Persephone's mother. Variation Demetria is the full name of actress Demi Moore. Though…
Greenlandic, Arabic or Navajo
"boy's younger sister; success; or silver hands"
One of several similar feminine names often found in the Muslim world but also a Native American name. And in Greenlandic, Naja means "a boy's younger sister", which could be a sweet connection to a…
Kamba
"billy goat"
In Akamba culture, children were historically given names with animal meanings if their mother's first pregnancy was a stillbirth. It was thought that these names promoted survival and kept the bad…
Persian
"lotus, water lily"
Niloufar is a gorgeous Persian name used in Iran, Turkey (as Nilüfer), and Azerbaijan. It has many alternate spellings including Nilofar, which is used by Urdu speakers.
