May Baby Names

The sources that do list this name give it as a boys' name, but Woody Harrelson chose it for his daughter, and it does have a feminine lilt.

Makani

An anagram of Mama, in tune with its Tamil meaning.
 Amma is also a Ghanaian name. The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. Most Ghanaians have a name using this system (think Kofi Annan, whose name means born on a Friday). Amma is the name for girls born on a Saturday.
 
Amma is borne by a character in Bernadine Evaristo's award winning novel, Girl, Woman, Other.

Amma

Shoshanna is a variation of one of the best-known original <a href"https://nameberry.com/baby-names/158/hebrew-names"> Hebrew baby names</a> for girls , the original of Susanna. This is the spelling used by Shoshanna Lonstein, a designer who creates the Shoshanna clothing line and also the name of one of the four leading characters on the TV show Girls, Shoshanna Shapiro.

Shoshanna

Guthrie, one of the most attractive <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/428/scottish-baby-names">Scottish names</a> that's also a surname, has a particularly romantic, windswept aura, with a touch of the buckaroo thrown in.
 Guthrie's folkie quality is tied to the father and son pair of singers Woody (born Woodrow Wilson) and Arlo. Other Guthries: Guthrie McClintic, a major figure in the Broadway theatre world of the early twentieth century, and Guthrie Govan, a guitarist with Asia and other bands.

Guthrie

Birch is a rarely used nature name that calls to mind the lovely image of the tall, strong but graceful white-barked tree. 
 The best known bearer of the name is former high-ranking Democratic Senator Birch Evans Bayh, who carried the name of his father and was the principal Senate sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment.
 The birch tree has many notable qualities and uses &mdash; including the making of furniture, paper, canoes, and drums, is considered the national tree of Russia (where it used to be worshiped as a goddess), the state tree of New Hampshire, and has spiritual significance in several cultures.

Birch

Medora is a Greek name much less common here than, say, Melanie or Melissa.  It has some literary references, including as the beautiful and passionate heroine of Lord Byron's poem The Corsair, and in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, there is a character named Marchioness Melora Manson.

Medora

Phyllis has been used by classical poets for the idealized pastoral maiden. A Greek mythological name of a woman who was turned into an almond tree, Phyllis was in the Top 100 from 1916 to 1958, reaching #24 in 1929, and has the (remote) possibility of joining other revived s-ending names like Iris. In the 'St Clare' book series by Enid Blyton Phyllis is nicknamed Fizz.  Just a thought.
Phyllida is a variation that sounds at once more old-fashioned and more stylish.

Phyllis

An evocative ancient word that's used as a first name in the New Testament, among other places. It's also the name of an eagle-shaped constellation. 
That said, contemporary interest in the name Aquila probably stems from its use as the name of Facebook's secretive drone project. If that takes off, and its name doesn't change, Aquila could take a hit, like Siri and Alexa before it.

Aquila

Made cool by that final X (as seen in Felix, Lennox, and Rex), Pollux is the Romanized form of Polydeukes, the half-twin of Castor, and the son of Zeus and Leda. Associated with the Gemini constellation, the name means "very sweet".
 
While Castor is held back by the oil, parents may be put off Pollux by its similarity to words like pollock, polyps, pollution, and pox — and with its almost rhyme, beginning with B. 
 
If you can look past that, as a handful of parents in the US have been doing since at least 2008, it could make an unexpected way to honor a Paul or a Polly and a way to nicknames Lux and Lockie.

Pollux

The spoiled only son of the richest family in town in a fifties movie. 

Quigley

There are many variations of Clare and Clara, but this might be one of the simplest and most surprising. Clary can be a diminutive of the Latin name Clara, meaning 'bright' or 'clear,' or it might derive from the herb clary sage, giving it botanical associations. \

In literature, the name gained some recognition through Cassandra Clare's 'The Mortal Instruments' series featuring a character named Clary Fray. The name has a bright, crisp sound with its short syllables and clear pronunciation. While never achieving mainstream popularity, Clary has maintained consistent if uncommon usage throughout the years. It appeals to parents seeking a short, distinctive name with both historical roots and contemporary appeal.

Clary

Astrological sign with enough rhythm to make a plausible astral name. 

Gemini

Moa was among the Top 100 <a href="https://nameberry.com//baby-names/190/swedish-names">Swedish baby names</a> throughout the 2000s and 2010s, though it has since declined in use. Pronounced as MOO-ah in Sweden, it is virtually unknown in the US.
 
Could Moa make an interesting alternative to Maya or Mia — or would it always be pronounced to rhyme with Noah outside of a Swedish- speaking context? Possibly, but it nevertheless makes a sweet, succinct choice.
 
Swedish author Moa Martinson is a notable bearer of the name, while in Maori, it is used as the word for birds.

African-American and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth was born as Isabelle into enslavement.  She adopted her new name when she began traveling and preaching abolition in 1843.  Sojourner is a heroine name that may, with the rise of spiritual word names such as Journey and Genesis, finally be ready for prime time.

Sojourner

A poetic feeling name of Albanian origin, Mariglen is possibly associated with the Virgin Mary or with marigold flowers, however other sources suggest it could also mean "pleasant valley". Used exclusively as a masculine name in Albania, elsewhere it might lean more unisex.
 
A notable bearer is singer Mariglen Hazizaj.

Mariglen

One of the more unusual <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/325/mythological-baby-names-for-girls">mythology names for girls</a>, Neith is the name of the Egyptian goddess of home and femininity.

Neith

Charming nature name made even more appealing by the connection to iconic nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale.

Nightingale

Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the nineteenth century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay coloured with iron oxide) and sounds similar to fashionable Oakley. A strong earthy nature name that is both unusual and evocative.


Ochre

Strong name from the Esan language of Nigeria, with a satisfyingly specific meaning for a child's place in the family.

Odion

This Irish saint's name sounds like a lopped-off Lorna. 

Orna

Names for babies born in May include names relating to the symbols, holidays, and weather of the beautiful month of May.

, related to the zodiac signs of the month. Names connected to May's birthstone, emerald, also work, as do those related to the birth flowers, Lily of the Valley and Hawthorn.

 include Audrey, Florence, Ivy, and Zoe. 

 include Crosby, Gabriel, Malcolm, and Walter.

 such as Mason and Hunter, which are related to the Memorial Day holiday.

are fitting for a May baby. Notable namesakes connected to May are also a possibility.

You may want to add these names to your list if you are naming a baby in May.

May names include names for springtime such as Poppy, Asher, and Marigold, with popular names for May babies and names related to the flowers and symbols of the month of May, with meanings, origins, and popularity. (Page 7)

May Names