Birthday Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Swahili
"first born child"
Traditional Swahili choice for the eldest child.
English
"female goat"
Cheever has a nice, cheery sound, literary ties to novelist and short writer John Cheever and also, sideways, to the Edward Arlington Robinson narrative poem "Miniver Cheevy," as well as a subliminal…
Arabic
"breeze, fresh air"
Associated with a spring festival, this name is used by both Muslims and Christians.
French
"new"
Shot to fame as the middle name of Brangelina's daughter Shiloh Nouvel, after French architect Jean Nouvel.
Short form of Caitlin
"pure"
Cait, pronounced like more popular sister Kate, is the form used when shortening Caitlin or any of the other Irish and Gaelic Cait-starting variations of Catherine.
Esan
"first born of twins"
Strong name from the Esan language of Nigeria, with a satisfyingly specific meaning for a child's place in the family.
English diminutive
This Victorian pen name is the childish version of the novelist's real name, Louisa, but it has managed to gain a sophisticated image. Ouisa is a similar childhood nickname name.
Bulgarian and Romanian
"first"
An almost unknown member of the cool two-syllable, n-ending group of boy names.
Greek
"thunder"
This lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name, makes a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . While the original name took an umlaut over…
Latin
Will assure your daughter she's numero uno.
Hebrew
A possible alternative to the better-known Shoshona.
"one who comes in first"
Sabik, a star in Ophiuchus, makes for a rather harsh-sounding name. If you're looking skyward for a baby name, you'd do better with Orion or Jupiter. But if you are searching for names that mean new…
Scandinavian
"new victory"
Signy — also spelled Signe — would make another distinctively offbeat alternative to Sydney. Signy appears in Norse mythology as the twin sister of Sigmund.
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,…
Hindi
"the beginning, or, happy"
Rhythmic and enchanting.
African, Kiswahili
"hope"
The raja sequence of sounds gives it a regal feel.
Filipino
"rain"
Ulan is a gentle, intriguing nature name used in the Philippines, though it might also be a Kazakh name meaning "young man", a Ghanaian name referring to a first born twin, or a Russian name, from…
"first leap"
Alula, the palindromic name of the first double star to be identified as physically related to its twin, would make the perfect name for a first-born twin. Ideas (we're only half joking) for the…
Czech
"green"
A Czech surname derived from the word for "green", which has a certain spark.
"to arise; dawn"
The Biblical Zerah is etymologically related to such names as Zora, which also means dawn. While the vowel sound at the end of the name does not sound as feminine to our modern ear as it once did,…
