Middle Names, Surnames, and Nicknames
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 46 pages
of 46
English word name
"champion"
Though it sounds like a modern invention, Champ actually has a long history as a first name. It hit the Top 1000 several times just before and after the turn of the 20th Century. Champ Bailey was an…
English
"greenish blue color"
Cyan is a highly unusual blue-green color name, a classmate of Celadon and Cerulean. It does come with the homey nickname Cy.
"rejoice"
A joyous (if a little rowdy) word name that's still relatively undiscovered by parents, being given to about 10 babies of each sex per year. Glee actor Matthew Morrison named his son Revel in 2017.
Word name
Cedric the Entertainer chose this for his daughter, but most other parents would find it, though optimistic, not exactly substantial.
"always, eternal, continually"
A bold choice, encompassing ideas of eternal love between parents and children, of promises kept, and infinite time, Forever may also have spiritual or religious ties for some. Grounded by its…
English bird name
Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.…
Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Names on the rise for both genders, but in this case mainly girls. About 85 percent of the babies named Loyalty are female and 15 percent male, but there's no…
English variation of Lee
"pasture, meadow"
This spelling adds a little more femininity to the neutral Lee. Leigh and sister Lee were quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s among the first cool wave of unisex names for girls, but now have…
Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in boys' names starting with R , you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and…
"kindness, benefit; approval, support"
A warm-sounding word and virtue name used by the Puritans and still popular in parts of Africa, especially with the Favour spelling. It might be used as a nickname for the longer, perhaps even bolder…
"that is to be"
A forward-looking word name.
Talk about pressure! Too much name for any little girl to bear.
Sweet but sharp, Lemon was given to a surprising 50 girls back in 2021, while in a more recent year, it was given to just shy of 30. Some parents may find it summery and refreshing, while others may…
For basketball fans, in honor of Magic Johnson. Or anyone who believes in magic.
Color name
Blue suddenly came into the spotlight, as the unusual color name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy. Blue is also a starbaby middle name du jour, used for both sexes in…
Infinity is a name that could have a long, bright future ahead of it, with its bold meaning and fashionable sound. It's an awful lot of name to pull off, but if Destiny can do it...
"secret"
Runes are symbols in ancient Germanic alphabets. They are often viewed as mysterious and therefore as a name, Rune imparts a feeling of folkloric mystery. As intriguing as that might be, the homonym…
English word name, Swedish variation of Louis
"fondness, beloved; renowned warrior"
In the Anglophone world, Love is more likely to be perceived and pronounced as an English word name than the Swedish form of Louis, which is pronounced LOO-veh. Nevertheless, Love is a popular name…
Poet is a new entry in both the trendy word and occupational categories as well as a member of the growing group of gender neutral names . A handful of baby boys received the name in the US last…
