910+ Middle Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

  1. Calamity
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Description:

      Although this name literally means disaster, the use of Calamity as a descriptor of Martha Jane Cannery, aka Calamity Jane, was meant to signal that she was a good person to have in troubled times. Calamity Jane was well regarded as a frontierswoman and nurse, someone who was said to be extremely generous and compassionate to the sick and troubled.. Calamity's connection to the American West gives this a roguish name a sort of windswept charm about it. Indeed, the most controversial aspect of this name is its connection to the frontier wars that led to the dispossession of Native American peoples.
  2. Destiny
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      If Destiny is your daughter's destiny, she probably won't be the only one in her school: until 2009, Destiny was in the Top 50, with three of its alternate spellings in hot pursuit. It has since dipped a bit in popularity but is still widely used. Destiny Hope was the birth name of Miley Cyrus and Destiny Jones is the daughter or rapper Nas.
  3. Denim
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "sturdy cotton"
    • Description:

      With Levi in vogue and country names on trend, Denim could fit in among the Waylons, Walkers, Coltons, and Rhetts. As a boys name, it brings to mind the qualities of the fabric: hardworking, cool and versatile. Singer Toni Braxton chose this name for her son in 2001, and parents have been using it for boys and girls ever since.
  4. Rebel
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "rebel"
    • Description:

      Asking for trouble. Rebel Wilson is female, but this name is truly gender neutral, though hardly neutral in any other way. Rebel is undoubtedly one of the edgiest boys' names starting with the letter R.
  5. Halo
    • Origin:

      American word name
    • Description:

      Being a modern word, Halo didn’t become used as a name until around the nineteenth century. Halo is now mostly given to girls, and has become more common since the Halo video game series was released in 2001, in which Halo rings are huge structures used as weapons, but do have a religious connection. A space age virtue name and possible honour name for Gloria.
  6. Birch
    • Origin:

      Tree name
    • Description:

      Birch is a rarely used nature name that calls to mind the lovely image of the tall, strong but graceful white-barked tree.
  7. Cloud
    • Origin:

      Nature name
    • Description:

      Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar. It's similarity of Clyde and Claude help to ground it.
  8. Nature
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Description:

      Lots of parents choose nature names, but only a few choose Nature as a name each year. It is equally used for boys and girls in the USA.
  9. Ocean
    • Origin:

      English, nature name
    • Description:

      Ocean is a nature name that comes right out and states its meaning and association. Full of power and depth, Ocean is one of the fastest-rising baby names for both girls and boys, making the US Top 1000 for both genders in 2021. Oceane, the version that's trendy in France, was used for only 11 baby girls in the US in the same year. Ocean-lovers who want to be less obvious can choose such subtler names that mean ocean as Jennifer or Marissa, but coming right out and using Ocean is a perfectly valid way to go.
  10. Calico
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "cotton cloth imported from India; a blotched or spotted animal"
    • Description:

      A word name with fashionable o-ending that has associations with both the homespun fabric and the mottled cat. Alice Cooper named his daughter Calico decades ago.
  11. Loveday
    • Origin:

      Cornish, English
    • Meaning:

      "beloved day"
    • Description:

      A loveday in medieval England was a day when people engaged in a dispute would come together and try to resolve their differences amicably. The name was sometimes given to babies, male or female, who were born on such a day. The etymology of Loveday is English, yet historical use was mainly relegated to Cornwall, and it is considered a traditional Cornish name. However, Loveday is rarely used today, however, when it is, it is typically used for baby girls.
  12. Karma
    • Origin:

      Hindi, Sanskrit "destiny, spiritual force; deed, fate"
    • Meaning:

      "destiny, spiritual force; deed, fate"
    • Description:

      Some parents are hoping to bestow good karma on their children with this name, derived from the Sanskrit word for "fate". Associated with the Hindu and Buddhist belief that someone's actions in this life (and their previous ones) decide their future existences, it is more informally used in the Western world to refer to good or bad luck.
  13. Polo
    • Origin:

      Tibetan
    • Meaning:

      "brave wanderer"
    • Description:

      If Portia can become Porsche, then Apollo can morph into Polo -- the imprint of designer Ralph Lauren.
  14. Valley
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "valley"
    • Description:

      A natural phenomenon that makes a stylish baby name. Teen Mom's Kailyn Lowry used it for her daughter, twin to Verse.
  15. Christian
    • Origin:

      Greek from Latin
    • Meaning:

      "follower of Christ"
    • Description:

      Long used as a masculine name, when you think about it there is no reason this word name can't be used on a daughter as well as a son. Only about 1 percent of the baby Christians born today are girls, but the name is not unknown for baby girls.
  16. True
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "true"
    • Description:

      Many parents seeking a return to more basic values and a simpler lifestyle are turning to such virtuous girls' names as Grace, Faith, and Hope, but there are a handful that work just as well on boys, including True.
  17. Honor
    • Origin:

      English word, virtue name
    • Meaning:

      "honor"
    • Description:

      A classic virtue name for girls stretching back to the Pilgrim times, in more recent years, Honor has become one of the unisex baby names with a near-even gender split. Rarely used on boys before the 2010s, it has nearly doubled in use over the last decade.
  18. March
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "month name"
    • Description:

      Along with August, March is one of the month names perfectly suited to boys. This brisk single-syllable name – which derives from the name of Mars, the Roman god of war – is worth considering as either a first or middle option. As a surname, it brings warm memories of the girls of Little Women, and of twentieth century actor Fredric.
  19. Lucky
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Cedric the Entertainer chose this for his daughter, but most other parents would find it, though optimistic, not exactly substantial.
  20. Monday
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Not most people's favorite day, but a pretty name.