Middle Names, Surnames, and Nicknames
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 46 pages
of 46
French, English
"to stay a while"
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…
English word name
"whimsical or fanciful"
Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers'…
English
"democracy, of the people"
A big, bold, ultra-rare virtue name. Could it follow in the footsteps of Justice and Liberty?
Word name
Trey or Trip or even Deuce, yes; Deux is tougher.
Strictly for a Vegas baby.
In the Capability Brown vein -- not a choice to be made lightly.
Adventurous word choice, but still quite a burden for a child to bear.
"discovery"
A lot to handle, but it does give a sense of openness, joy, and awe.
Baby name as political statement.
Word name, English from Latin
"diversity, variety"
As a name, a bit too p. c.
"to make known as a determination"
A word name in the Puritan vein, à la Remember or Experience, which a few daring namers are beginning to consider.
"tenth month"
Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.
"enclosed area of water in a port for ships to load and unload"
A sailing and sea-related choice, which also feels connected to the reparative powers of nature (via dock leaves) and to doctors generally, Dock made the Top 1000 in the first half of the 20th…
Doctor is an honorific used as a name, somewhat like names such as Bishop, King, and Princess. Banned in New Zealand, Doctor can lead to the kind of confusion you may feel would be only positive for…
This old-time name for a sofa would not be comfortable as a baby name.
Cool, musical modern choice, especially as a middle name.
"dune"
Dune is a haunting and evocative sandy-beach name, which also has sci-fi connections. Dune is a science fiction franchise that was launched by Frank Herbert's 1965 novel. Some interesting Dune…
For a boy, Dash is usually short for Dashiell, but as a girl's name it just stands for energetic--and also the stores run by the Kardashian sisters..
