Pet Names

Ragnar

Norse

"powerful army; wise warrior; counsel from the army"

An fearsome old Norse name with a long history in Scandinavia. It's gotten a boost in the States from popularity of the History Channel drama "Vikings," in which the protagonist is named Ragnar.…

Rufus

Latin

"red-head"

Rufus is a rumpled, redheaded (it was the nickname for red-haired King William) ancient Roman name popular with saints and singers (e.g. Rufus Wainwright); now, Rufus is on the cutting edge of cool.…

Scout

Word name

Chosen for their daughter by Bruce and Demi (inspired by the To Kill a Mockingbird character), and for her son by Tai Babilonia, an interesting choice for either sex, with overtones of a "good scout"…

Socrates

Greek

"safe power, healthy and strong, whole and powerful"

Associated with the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates (often spelled Sokratis) is quite common in traditional Greek families, but for others, we think Plato (the name of his pupil) might be easier…

Sully

French or English

"stain or from the south meadow"

A jaunty offshoot of Sullivan, Sully will be associated by kids with the beloved character in the Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc . Some notable real-life namesakes are French poet and essayist…

Solstice

English from Latin

"when the sun stands still"

Solstice graduated from word to official first name when author Lionel Shriver used it for a character in her novel Big Brother . But of course, there were people named Solstice before: 16 baby girls…

Titan

Greek

"defender"

This name comes from Greek mythology, where the Titans were a band of immortal, powerful giants. Popular movie of 2000 Remember the Titans may be partly responsible for this name's ranking in the Top…

Waldon

Waldon is a masculine name of Germanic and English origin, derived from elements meaning "power" and "ruler" or "forest ruler." It's related to names like Walden and Baldwin, carrying similar…

Wally

English, diminutive of Walter or Wallace

A Leave It to Beaver/old comic-strip name, vacationing for years with the Griswolds in WallyWorld, but now back as WALL-E?

Willoughby

English

"farm near the willows; willow town"

Energetic Willoughby is a familiar last name, but, as yet, makes for a unique choice in the first spot. An unexpected way to get to popular short forms Will and Billy, Willoughby could make an…

Zephyr

Greek

"west wind"

If you're looking for a name that's light and breezy, this could be it. A name from mythology: Zephyrus/Zephyr was the Greek god of the west wind, and with its similarity in sound to the likes of…

Vesper

Latin

"evening star"

While this is usually thought of as a girls' name because of the Bond Girl connection, its sound is masculine and there's no reason it couldn't work for boys.

Lux

Latin

"light"

Lux, one of the light-filled names that include Lucy and Lucian, broke onto the scene as a girls' name but now it's decidedly gender neutral. In fact, at the last count there were slightly more boys…