User-created list
By sas8107 · Updated May 2023
Across 10 pages
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English and Scottish
"hilltop town, rocky place"
One instance where a phonetic spelling might be better.
Spanish place-name
"covered in snow"
Named for its snowcapped mountains, Nevada is a state name which, unlike Carolina, Montana, and Dakota, has been relatively undiscovered. Warning: today's unvisited place-name could become tomorrow's…
Word name or surname name, English
"free man"
Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.
English
"noble maiden"
Ethel is a name we once declared as 'So Far Out They'll Probably Always Be Out,' but with the return of other names on that list and with its new starbaby cred via Lily Allen, its soft sound and…
English place-name and surname
A rarely-used place name (probably because of the last three letters), Essex was the ancient kingdom of the East Saxons and is now a county in England. The singer David Essex used it as his stage…
"shield-wolf"
Randolph is a timeworn classic that had its last hurrah in the 1940s, when Randolph (born George) Scott was starring in westerns, but then was probably done in by its tricky nickname Randy (which,…
Feminine form of Oliver, French, Latin
"olive tree"
A feminine form of Oliver and a diminutive of Olive, Olivette could make an interesting choice for those who love Colette and Violette, but also Olivia. It was used in the 19th century French opera…
Hebrew, Irish, Scottish
"light, song, little green one"
A calm and gentle multicultural choice. Oran is popular in Ireland, where its Gaelic form is Odhrán, meaning "little green one". In Scottish Gaelic, the name means "song", and in Hebrew, it's a…
Italian place-name
Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of ....
Place name, word name, French
"corner, district, township"
More accessible than some of the more distant names in the atlas, Canton fits into the category of the no-nonsense, new-sounding boys' names many parents are looking at. There are multiple places…
Variation of Rhea
Short but substantial.
Irish
"searcher"
Upper crust-y surname Sheridan gains some energy when used for a girl.
English occupational name
"summoner"
Billionaire Sumner Redstone, the nonagenarian owner of CBS and Viacom, practically has a monopoly on his first name — for now. But Hunter, Asher, and Ryder have ushered in a major vogue "-er" names,…
Latin surname and Native American
"people of the standing rock"
Seneca's distinguished heritage as the name of the ancient Roman philosopher-playwright who tutored Nero, and of an Iroquois tribe makes this an interesting choice for either sex.
Greek
"region offering peace and contentment"
Arcadia, a name for an unspoiled paradise, makes an attractive secular alternative to Nevaeh or Eden. For parents who want an unusual name with a friendlier nickname, Arcadia has the advantage of…
Lamonte is a masculine given name that combines the prefix "La-" (meaning "the" in French and Spanish) with "monte," which derives from Latin and Romance languages meaning "mountain." The name may…
French variation of Taylor
"tailor"
Thayer is an affable, less-common alternative to Taylor, with a much more indirect connection to its occupational source. Actor Thayer David (born David Thayer: Thayer was his father's first name)…
English surname
"son of Job"
Used as a first name for a handful of girls every year, Joplin could be seen as a distant cousin of other -lin names, like Caitlin, Brooklyn and Braelynn. We think it works even better as a musical…
"someone who lives in a hollow; strong and hearty"
This name projects a sense of well-being, as in "hale and hearty", while also having a nature-adjacent meaning, referring to someone who lives near a hollow, a nook, or a remote area of land. Rhyming…
"marsh town"
Fenton is the kind of surname name that's starting to sound almost like a normal first name these days. While it made a brief appearance on the Top 1000 in the late 1800s, today it's distinctive but…
