good names for children

The unisex word name Bean, distant cousin of the infamous Apple, was used for the name of a child of mysterious gender in Louise Penny's novel "A Rule Against Murder." While we can imagine Bean as a cute nickname for a yet-unnamed and unborn baby, we don't recommend it for real life.

A name best for pets.

Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.

Dodo is one of the few names of the cute repeating-sounds genre that is not alas so cute, being a slang word for someone brainless as well as the name of the infamous extinct bird. Dot, Dottie, Dory, or Thea are all preferable.

Maybe if you're planning to have only one child -- and iffy even then.

Along with Shem and Japheth, a son of Noah with a name that's almost never used -- for more obvious reasons than those of his brothers.

Not unless you want your son to grow up to be just like a wacky Jack Black character.

Peabody is a quintessentially Waspy surname that your child won't thank you for -- either the pea part or the body part, or the meaning part.

Actress Shannyn Sossamon used this as the middle name for her son Audio; one of the most do-not-try-this-at-home combos we've heard.

Not only did rocker John Mellencamp name his son Speck, but he appended the middle name Wildhorse to it.

An unusual kind of place-name, going beyond a country, state, or city, it was used by actress Elisabeth Shue as a middle name for her daughter Stella.

Some sources connect Tata to. variety of origins and meanings, most often "father", but as a name in English-speaking countries it might be a nickname for Tatiana or something similar.

Configuration coined by troubled former NBA star Jayson Williams for his daughter.

Funky choice with za-za-zoom. Zaza could be used as a nickname for almost any name with the "za" cluster, including Elizabeth and Esperanza.