Baby Name Meanings
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Diminutive of Carol, English, or Caroline, French"free man"
"free man"
Carrie lives on mainly on the screen, as the new/old antiheroine of Stephen King's classic Carrie , as turn-of-the-21st-century diva Carrie Bradshaw of Sex & The City , and as Claire Danes'…
Word name or surname name, English
Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.
Italian variation of Charlotte, French diminutive of Charles
Carlotta has a large measure of finger-snapping charm and substance — despite being a not too pleasant character in The Little Mermaid . Carlotta is also the diva/prima donna in The Phantom of the…
Persian
"free, noble"
An undiscovered Persian gem that's zippy, short and sweet. It is used in Iran and neighboring countries as a first name and a family name. The British actress Afshan Azad played Parvati Patil in the…
Spanish, from the Greek
"liberator"
A more distinctive alternative to Alejandro.
English
"Charles' town"
A surname name, most popularly associated with actor Heston, has a blue-blooded ring to it. Charlton is also a more unusual pathway to evergreen nickname Charlie.
Diminutive of Frances, English from Latin
"from France; free man"
As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.
Norse
"from the deer estate"
Spirited and bubbly, but handsome and preppy too, Darby is a surname style choice that fits in well with the likes of Alby and Lennox. Derived ultimately from Old Norse, as a surname, it likely…
"freezing"
Long heard as a last name, as in venerable poet Robert, U.K. talk show host David, British actress Sadie and old Jack Frost, Frost has suddenly entered the scene as a possible first, along with other…
Sanskrit
"liberation"
With Bodhi one of the fastest-rising names, could other concepts from Eastern religions catch on as names too? Moksha can refer to various types of freedom and release, such as from ignorance and…
African
This name from the Igbo language of Africa, which feels like the more-familiar Arabic Ahmad, might be an original and attractive choice.
"dweller in open country"
An uncommon surname name with that energetic -er ending. Might appeal especially to baseball fans.
Diminutive of Charles
So far out it's almost ready to be let back in.
Greek
This name is the feminization of mythological name Lysander, which is best known to English-speakers as a character in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream .
Diminutive of Frances
Old fashioned nickname that some girls just might be able to pull off. You'd just have to be sure your little Fancy was one of them.
Diminutive of Spanish Francisco
"Frenchman or free man"
Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.
Diminutive of Francis
While Franklin and Frankie might feel familiar in the US, Fran may feel like an unlikely choice for a boy today, however, it is currently one of several cool one syllable names of the Slovene Top…
Irish, variant of Diarmaid/Dermot
"without injunction, without envy"
Kermit was a Top 500 name until the 1960s, not coincidentally the decade in which Kermit the Frog made it a one-person (well, one-frog) name. Derived from the Irish surname Mac Diamada, itself from…
"free"
Eleftheria is derived from the male saint's name Eleutherios/Eleftherios. The national motto of Greece is Eleftheria i thanatos , "freedom or death".
Turkish and Uzbek
"free, independent"
Erkin is an Uzbek vocabulary word from Old Turkic, and is widely used as a unisex name in Turkey. In English-speaking countries, it is unknown but straightforward and with a great meaning.
