Middle Names, Surnames, and Nicknames
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 46 pages
of 46
Word name
"poetry"
This old-fashioned word for poetry has some antiquated charm but doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
English from Greek
"leaf"
Petal is the soft and sweet-smelling name of a character in the novel and film, The Shipping News . With the rise of such flower names as Poppy and Posy, we believe Petal — down-to-earth yet romantic…
English
"royal residence"
Royal names are on the rise. Along with names such as King, Prince, and Royal, why not Palace? Why not indeed.
The Shakespearean Portia may be a real name, but Porsche is now and forever a car, not a little girl.
A very distinctive musical choice, but be aware that many people will think you've named your child Oprah.
The singular version sounds more contemporary.
English, word name
A mystical word name, most often reserved for black cats, Midnight conjures up darkness and the liminal space between the end of one day and the beginning of the next. It has seen some use as a baby…
A beyond-bold shooting-star name choice, sure to raise some relatives' eyebrows.
Nature name
The nature boy version of the Scandinavian Leif, which actually means "heir". In the creative-naming Phoenix family, Leaf is the former name of the actor we know as Joaquin.
English word name
"to form a mental image"
If you like such uplifting New Age word names as Peace and Justice, the evocative and pretty Imagine should definitely be on your short list.
Forget Patience and Charity: Here's a Colonial name (and sentiment) that seems perfect for modern times.
Spiritually resonant, but will definitely raise grandparents' eyebrows.
The term Quarto comes to us from the Latin for "four", but it is used as a term in literature to describe a book from the early days of printing that was a particular size. An obscure and potentially…
In literary circles, this name will be immediately recognized as a reference to the poetic stanza; outside such circles, this name may cause confusion for names like Coltrane or Cobain.
"free"
One of the classic hippie word names. In the 1970s, actors Barbara Hershey and David Carradine gave this name to their son...who later changed it to Tom.
Sounds pretty. But pretentious.
New, fast, cool, and chosen by director Robert Rodriguez, whose other sons are Rebel, Rocket, and Rogue, all somewhat risky options. Lara Bingle and Sam Worthington are also parents to sons named…
Place-name
This geographic name has lots of Gallic elan. France Nuyen is a French-Vietnamese actress who starred in the Broadway hit The World of Suzie Wong .
Short form of Lafayette, French, English word name
"faith; predestined, destiny, chance"
Briefly in the US Top 1000 in the late 19th century, Fate likely emerged as a short form for the old French name, Lafayette. In the contemporary landscape however, it may well be perceived as a word…
Word name, English from Greek
"energy"
Better than Synergy.
