User-created list
By peaseblossom · Updated May 2023
Across 9 pages
of 9
Latin
"applelike fruit"
The girls have Apple, Plum, Peaches, Cherry, and Berry: here's one variety of fruit suitable for a boy.
English from Persian
"jasmine"
Jessamine, a charming name occasionally heard in England, is just beginning to be appreciated in the U.S. as a possible successor to all the Jess names of the past. It's also spelled Jessamyn, as in…
Nature name
Name of the licorice plant, this spice comes in the shape of a star, giving this name an extra level of sweetness.
Norse
"poetry"
This Old Norse girl name has a lovely meaning and a familiar yet distinctive sound.
English
"lighthearted, happy"
She'd better be. Merry is one of the classic names for Christmas babies .
English and Scottish occupational name
"ringer of the bell"
These days, it's more likely you'd call your daughter the popular Belle or Bella.
Greek
"sea-green jewel"
Dated British favorite that never caught on in this country, where Jade remains the green gem of choice. Interesting namesakes: British writer Beryl Bainbridge and British aviatrix Beryl Markham.
Jewel name, for the French
"pomegranate"
One of the jewel names in use a hundred years ago, for both boys and girls, due for revival along with sisters Ruby and Pearl. But interestingly, Garnet means pomegranate, the fruit who shares a deep…
"divine bear; divine warrior"
A surname style choice that could get you nicknames Bear and Ozzy, which is pretty cool. It comes from the Old English variant of the Old Norse Ásbjǫrn, which was introduced to England after the…
Botanical name, English
"rough stream"
Highly unusual as a baby name for either gender, Yarrow is an herb that grows wild and has long been used for its medicinal property. It's named for the mythical Achilles, who was said to carry…
Word name and literary name
Everybody knows Huckleberry Finn, the Mark Twain character named, Twain said, for the 19th century slang term for "humble." A few modern parents have put it on a birth certificate, including "Man Vs.…
Variation of Pepin
"awe-inspiring"
Super-sweet name that was the title of a Broadway play -- but best known as a type of apple. The Dutch variation is Pepijn is finding some popularity in that country, where short nickname names are…
Flower name; Latin
"healing"
One of the rarest of the floral names, though not without some teasing potential. Peony is a historical 1948 novel by Pearl S. Buck.
"a bunch of flowers"
A sweet, nostalgic nosegay kind of name, Posy has been long fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is still rarely heard in the US, though it could be…
"gold flower"
One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation. One of the rare flower names counted among names for autumn…
"woman of honor"
This is an eighteenth century elaboration of Honor found in Charles Dickens ( Bleak House ) but rarely heard here and now.
Flower name; Greek
"daughter of the wind"
Anemone is a floral name that relates to the ancient Greek myth of the famous love story of Aphrodite and Adonis, in which Aphrodite transforms her wounded lover's blood into a flower, the crimson…
Short form of Bardolph or Aboriginal
"water"
Bardo has a poetic beginning and upbeat ending, with roots in several diverse cultures. It may be most familiar today via George Saunders' novel Lincoln in the Bardo , which refers to the Tibetan…
French form of Bartholomew
While Barthelemy does not garner much attention these days, it has a storied history in French-speaking countries. Notable bearers include geologist and explorer Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond,…
French
"russet-haired"
An old English redhead name -- one of the few that doesn't begin with the letter r -- with references both to a famous French knight and a magical horse. Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin is a…
