Daring Middle Names for Girls
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Be daring. Be dashing. Scare grandma. From overly stuffy Victorian to outrageous nature names, follow your heart in the middle spot. Nobody will notice anyway.
If not, some fun choices for your cat.
- Arwen
Origin:
Literature, Sindarin, WelshMeaning:
"noble maiden; fair, blessed"Description:
Best known as the princess of the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Arwen is a fantasy-inspired choice that feels perfectly down to earth. In 2022, it entered the UK Top 400, making it one of the fastest rising names, more than doubling in use from the previous year.
- Moon
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
The original oddball celebrity baby name, via Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit, who claims she's always liked it.
- Flora
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"flower"Description:
Flora, the name of the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, who enjoyed eternal youth, is one of the gently old-fashioned girls' flower names that's making a big comeback. Short and sweet, it joins Cora, Florence, Iris, and Ivy in the charts.
- Marigold
Origin:
Flower name, from EnglishMeaning:
"golden flower"Description:
Marigold, once found almost exclusively in English novels and aristocratic nurseries, is beginning to be talked about and considered here. It has a sweet, sunny, quirky feel. The marigold was the symbol of the Virgin Mary.
- Clover
Origin:
Flower name, from Old EnglishMeaning:
"key"Description:
Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.
- Lavinia
Origin:
Latin, from ancient place name LaviniumDescription:
Lavinia is a charmingly prim and proper Victorian-sounding name which actually dates back to classical mythology, where it was the name of the wife of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who was considered the mother of the Roman people.
- Araminta
Origin:
Literature, compound of Arabella and Aminta, GreekMeaning:
"loveable; unyielding + defender; unfading"Description:
Araminta is a poetic and enchanting eighteenth-century invention with plenty of elegance and a touch of old-fashioned clunkiness. It first appeared in William Congreve's 17th century comedy The Old Bachelor and then again in 1705 when it was used by architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh in his play The Confederacy.
- Bernadette
Origin:
GermanMeaning:
"brave as a bear"Description:
Although feminizations ending in "ette" are not particularly popular now, Bernadette is a pleasant, feminine, but strong name that doesn't feel prohibitively dated. And though strongly associated with the saint who saw visions of the Virgin Mary—Saint Bernadette of Lourdes—it is now no longer strictly inhabiting the Catholic diocese.
- Gaia
Origin:
Greek and LatinMeaning:
"earth mother; rejoicing"Description:
Floral, bright, and subtly powerful, Gaia is a name with two separate origins. In Greek mythology, it is the name of the earth goddess and the universal mother, who takes her epithet from the Ancient Greek word for land or ground. It was this ecological element that led actress Emma Thompson to choose it for her daughter back in 1999, and it could hold similar appeal to green minded parents today.
- Bronte
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"thunder"Description:
This lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name, makes a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. While the original name took an umlaut over the e, modern English speakers may find that more trouble than it's worth (though big fans of the Brontës may well disagree).
- Dolly
Origin:
English, diminutive of DorothyMeaning:
"gift of God"Description:
Sweet and cosy with a touch of sass, this nickname-y choice was a familiar option up until the sixties in the US. Then, for a while, it was a bit of a one-person name, associated with singer Dolly Parton, but more recently, it's been singing a fashionable note again along with sisters Dottie and Millie.
- Soleil
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"sun"Description:
An attractive French word name known here via former child TV star Soleil Moon Frye, aka Punky Brewster. It started to be lightly used in the U.S. in the 1920s and is now attracting some attention as both a sunny nature and an international word name. It's currently in the Nameberry Top 500.
- Meadow
Origin:
Nature nameDescription:
Meadow's upward popularity trajectory certainly suggests that the name has transcended its connection to The Sopranos.. In the US, more than 750 baby girls were named Meadow last year, a number we expect to keep rising.
- Reverie
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"pleasant, dreamlike state"Description:
With strong sounds but a whimsical feel, Reverie is a word name associated with being in a dreamy, ethereal state, of being lost in a daydream, or coming up with a pleasant fantasy for the future. Similar in cadence to popularly Everly, it was given to around 80 girls in a recent year.
- Fable
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"a legendary story of supernatural happenings"Description:
Fable, like Story, is a word name with real potential, combining enchanted tale-telling with a moral edge. And soundwise, it would fit right in with the likes of Abel and Mabel.
- Luella
Origin:
Spelling variation of LouellaMeaning:
"battle famous fairy maiden"Description:
Luella is a sleeker spelling variant of the girls' name Louella and is now more popular than the original. Sweet, but lively, it was a popular name in the the early 19th century, but fell out of favor in the 50s. Now, after a 60 year absence, it's back in the charts, in the US and the UK.
- Ember
Origin:
Word name, English from FrenchMeaning:
"ember"Description:
Unlike Amber, which is in decline, this name still has a bit of a glow left — though confusions between the two will inevitably arise.
- Lavender
Origin:
English color and flower nameMeaning:
"purple flower"Description:
Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names like Clementine and Marigold. In fact, 2024 saw it enter the US Top 1000 for the first time, when it was given to nearly 260 girls.
- Paisley
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"church, cemetery"Description:
For a name related to a Scottish town, a patterned Indian fabric, and a country singer named Brad, Paisley has seen remarkable success. After appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, it is now an American favorite.
- Ginger
Origin:
English diminutiveDescription:
Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.
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