Birthday Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
English word name
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…
Nature name
Arbor is an original unisex tree-related choice we're sure to hear more of. Highly unusual now, Arbor takes its place alongside other new arborial names ranging from the mighty Oak (or Oakley) to the…
English from Italian
"little song"
Could there be a more poetic name than Sonnet? Actor Forest Whitaker was inspired to choose it for his daughter. The word sonnet derives from the Italian sonetto , meaning 'little song.' And although…
Word name
Spring doesn't sound half as contemporary as Winter, which has become the cool season name.
Irish
"white fire or white bull"
Fintan is an ancient Irish saints' name that in legend is also the name of the only person to survive The Flood. Popular in modern Ireland, Fintan is ripe for export to the US where it is rarely used…
Italian or Persian; Greek
"little girl; seeker"
A thirteenth-century Tuscan saint, patron of homemakers, Zita is the kind of name that sounded really creative in an earlier era.
Hebrew
"rain, dew"
A unisex Hebrew name often found in combination with others, as in Tal-El and Tal-Or.
English
"dweller in open country"
An uncommon surname name with that energetic -er ending. Might appeal especially to baseball fans.
African, Arabic mythological name; diminutive of Melissa, Greek
"honeybee"
Lissa might be an abbreviation of Melissa, but it's more substantial in its own right: Lissa is the name of a supreme mother goddess in African mythology and an Arabic symbol of rebirth.
Greek
"gold"
Cressida is a golden, mythological, and Shakespearean name, much better known in Britain than it is in the US. Given to just 11 American girls in a recent year — though still the highest number on…
"flowery"
This unjustly neglected floral name is smart and crisp, with a touch of Athena, Anna, and Cynthia about it. It also has that stylish Greek mythological heritage: Anthea is an epithet of Hera, the…
"fourth born"
Tied to country singer/sitcom star Reba McEntire.
Spelling variation of Shoshana, Hebrew
"lily"
Shoshanna is a variation of one of the best-known original Hebrew baby names for girls , the original of Susanna. This is the spelling used by Shoshanna Lonstein, a designer who creates the Shoshanna…
Indian
"the God tree"
This evocative name of a dramatic tropical Indian fig tree is ready to move west.
"peace"
Shulamit--which has a variety of different spellings--is a serious-sounding Old Testament name that appears in the Song of Songs. Its common nickname is Shula, which is sometimes used on its own.…
Danish
"earth"
Kaj is a name that looks great on paper, but while it's pronounced with to rhyme with rye, it is sure to be pronounced by most people to rhyme with "raj" or, much worse, "Madge".
Nisan is a masculine name with Hebrew origins, carrying significant cultural and seasonal importance. The name refers to the first month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar, occurring…
"ford where barley grows"
Upper-crusty hotelish surname.
"eggs"
Biblical family with 323 children. That's a lot of eggs.
"four"
Tetra is a Greek numeral prefix meaning "four", so it could make a fitting choice for a fourth child or for an IV. There is a female character by the name in the Legend of Zelda video game franchise;…
