Gemstone & Metal Names

This may be a bit quirky to make it as a name, especially in first place. If you love it, you might try it in the middle.

Ruby, vibrant red, sassy and sultry, outshines other revived vintage gem names, with its sparkling resume of cultural references. Ruby is proof of the 100 Year Rule, trending again for the first time since its last heyday in the 1920s.

Naming babies after precious gems as a protection against evil spirits is an ancient Japanese tradition.

Sapphira is a lovely name which unfortunately has an unsavory Biblical history. The New Testament Sapphira was killed by God for lying about a tax payment.

Sapphire goes waaaaay beyond Ruby and Pearl. This September birthstone, occasionally used a century ago, might be worth a reappraisal, perhaps as a Sophie/Sophia alternative. Sapphire is the pseudonym of Romona Lofton, who wrote the book Push, which was turned into the movie Precious. Sapphire entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022, and is proving to be one of the freshest gem names for girls. Another intriguing variation is the lovely Sapphira.

Slate, Stone and Steel are on the rise, so why not Shale?

Among the first wave of word names used in the hippie era, it actually is a legitimate girl's name with a lot of luster.

One of the more unusual of the current crop of strong, single-syllable boys' names, evoking the images of both old-fashioned blackboards and modern stepping-stones and countertops.

Hard and shiny, Steel projects an image that's smooth, macho...and cold to the touch.

If you're tired of Oliver, you might consider this energetic three-syllable surname instead, so you could have a little Tolly instead of an Ollie.

As a name, Topaz is sophisticated and sultry; as a golden gem, it's said to have healing and energizing properties and also to bring good luck-- and being the birthstone for November it's one of the perfect names for November babies, with that final 'z' giving it some extra sizzle.

X marks the spot in names these days, usually at the middles or ends of names, but here is one that puts it squarely up front.

This alternate name for Apollo has a noble sound and can always be shortened to Xan.

Zariza is a unique name sure to appeal to Z lovers.

Extreme cool possibilities in either of these modern categories, like a postmodern Linc.