User-created list
By AngelRose · Updated May 2023
Across 3 pages
of 3
English word name
"compassion"
The quality of mercy makes this lovely Puritan virtue name a quiet favorite today. Although it was most popular in the late nineteenth century, Mercy is on its way to a comeback -- it rose 143 spots…
English tree name from Latin
"maple tree; tree of the Acer genus"
Maple is one of those sweet-spot word names that sounds so almost name-like that it doesn't feel outlandish or strange, despite its relative newness as a given name. Just as Juniper is adjacent to…
Chinese; Hawaiian
"beautiful; plum"
Homophonous with Mae and May, the beautiful (literally) Mei is poised to climb the charts. The hero of the 2022 Disney/Pixar film Turning Red is a Chinese-Canadian teen named Meilin "Mei" Lee, which…
Italian, Spanish, Scandinavian, Slavic
"lady"
Sharper and steelier than Martha, but with the same underused vintage appeal.
Arabic
"praiseworthy"
Historic name commonly found in the Arab world.
English and French diminutive of Matilda, German
"battle-mighty"
Maude, also spelled Maud, is a lacy, mauve-tinted name that was wildly popular a hundred years ago, but has been rarely heard in the past fifty. Some stylish parents are starting to choose it again,…
Maori, Samoan
"deep ocean, sea"
This Maori name, often heard in New Zealand, is an attractive, evocative choice for lovers of the ocean made famous – perhaps too famous – by the Disney heroine. Moana was also an alternate name for…
Variation of Matilda
The addition of the h makes it more Old World, which is not the direction you want to push Matilda in.
Mathieu is the French form of Matthew, a masculine name with biblical origins derived from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, meaning 'gift of God' or 'gift from Yahweh.' This elegant French spelling…
Mikolaj is the Polish form of Nicholas, a masculine name with Greek origins meaning 'victory of the people.' This name is particularly popular in Poland, where it has strong cultural and religious…
French; Norwegian; Danish; Dutch; German, variation of Matilda
Mathilde is even more popular in France than Matilda, a hipster favorite thanks to Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger, is here. And the French pronunciation, while confusing to English speakers,…
Akkadian
"who is what Aku is?"
Derived from Aku, the name of the Babylonian god of the moon. In the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament this is the Babylonian name of Mishael, one of the three men cast into a furnace but saved by…
German form of Maurice
"dark-skinned"
The unusual-to-the-English-ear Moritz is a Top 25 name in Austria and a form of Maurice or Morris, which are modern variations of the ancient Roman Maurus. There were several early saints named…
Dutch variation of Martina
Like Martina, this Dutch variation is related to Mars, the Roman God of war.
Latin
"song for unaccompanied voices"
Madrigal might be a pretty and highly distinctive choice for a child of a musical family--or for the parent looking for a less conventional path to the nickname Maddie than Madeline or Madison .…
Diminutive of Mae
Maeby sprang into the modern consciousness via the cult TV favorite Arrested Development , in which the appealing teen character Maeby's name is a nickname for Mae. It's also a homonym for Maybe,…
African surname
An African family name ripe for adoption in honor of Nelson Mandela, the South African activist imprisoned for almost thirty years for his antiapartheid activities.
Dutch from Hebrew
"city of the king; king of light"
The least used of the Three Wise Men's names, but a strong option for bold namers to consider. The exact origins of Melchior are unknown, but it is speculated that it derived from either the Hebrew…
Word name
There are many lovely day/month/seasonal names -- and this is one of the most intriguing.
