User-created list
Names With Heavy Associations (Good and Bad)
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The names
Aurora
Latin
"dawn"
The goddess name Aurora has consistently been on the US popularity list since the nineteenth century, but has really taken off in the past 30 years. Aurora also enjoys remarkable international…
Scarlett
English
"scarlet, red"
Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most…
Jasmine
Flower name, from Persian
"gift from God"
Jasmine was derived from the Persian word yasmin , referring to the jasmine flower. Scented oil was made from the plant, and it was used as a perfume throughout the Persian Empire. Variants include…
Juliet
English from Latin
"youthful or sky father"
One of the most romantic names, the lovely and stylish Juliet seems finally to have shaken off her limiting link to Romeo. In Shakespeare's play, it was Juliet who said "What's in a name?" Juliet…
Romeo
Italian
"pilgrim to Rome, Roman"
It wasn't so long ago that Romeo was considered as outre for an American baby as Casanova or Cupid. But that really changed when David and Victoria Beckham chose it for their second son in 2002, a…
Ariel
Hebrew
"lion of God"
Ariel is a male Biblical name, seen there as the messenger of Ezra, and also used as a symbolic name for the city of Jerusalem, while Shakespeare used it for a (male) sprite in The Tempest . For…
Dexter
Latin
"dyer, right-handed"
The jazzy, ultra-cool Dexter, like most names with an "x," has a lot of energy and dynamism. Over the years, it's been attached to a number of diverse real and fictional personalities—C. K. Dexter…
Benedict
Latin
"blessed"
Parents who like Ben and Benjamin but find those forms too popular sometimes consider Benedict as a more distinctive choice. Unlike the Old Testament Benjamin, Benedict is the name of the saint who…
Casper
Dutch form of Jasper, Persian
"bringer of treasure"
This ancient name, also spelled Caspar, is finally shedding its ghostly image and moving into the 21st century. Popular in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, where it's sometimes shortened to Cas,…
Elmo
Italian from German
"protector"
Elmo, like fellow Sesame Street characters Kermit and Grover, has a hard time being taken seriously. (It isn't easy being red either.) But Elmo also calls to mind the image of St. Elmo's fire--the…
Barney
Variation of Barnabas
"son of comfort"
The name Barney is hot among hip Londoners and it has been above the Top 500 in the UK since 2012. You can see why - it's got a friendly happy sound and a lovely meaning and is more easily worn than…
Kermit
Irish, variant of Diarmaid/Dermot
"without injunction, without envy"
Kermit was a Top 500 name until the 1960s, not coincidentally the decade in which Kermit the Frog made it a one-person (well, one-frog) name. Derived from the Irish surname Mac Diamada, itself from…
Adolf
German
"noble wolf"
Adolf may have been a Swedish royal name but the terrible dictatorship of Adolf Hitler has ruled out this name Adolf for any sensible parent. In the US last year, there were more than 100 boys' given…
Dora
Diminutive of Theodora and Isidora, Greek
"gift"
Dora is poised for a comeback, right behind Laura, Nora, Cora, and Flora. First-time parents who haven't watched cartoons in a couple of decades should be aware of the Dora the Explorer connection,…
Madonna
Latin
"my lady"
There's only one. Okay, two.
Ebenezer
Hebrew
"stone of help"
Ebenezer is the name of a biblical place --the stone set up by Samuel to mark his victory over the Philistines--rather than a person. It was adopted by the British Puritans as a first name and then…
Jemima
Hebrew
"dove; daytime"
Jemima, the name of a strong and beautiful Biblical daughter of Job, has long been among the chicest choices of aristocratic Brits, and has since shifted to be used more generally too, replacing…
Rudolph
German
"famous wolf"
Sure, he'd probably get a certain amount of red-nosed teasing around the holiday, but a boy named Rudolph could probably take it. Besides, he's got other, more distinguished namesakes -- the great…
Belle
Short form of Isabelle or French
"beautiful"
Belle has nothing but positive associations, from "belle of the ball" to "Southern belle" to the heroine of Disney's Beauty and the Beast . As if this weren't enough good things, Belle is also one of…
Nemo
Greek
"nobody"
One of the best known early Nemos was the captain in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea , while the more familiar modern one is the animated little orange fish in the Disney movie. Unusual name…