User-created list
By Cate Juhl · Updated May 2023
Across 4 pages
of 4
English word name
"accomplishment"
A conceptual word name that is currently unisex, although girls hold the lead in gender distribution.
English and German surname
"son of Willa; son of Wille"
Likely to be construed as a virtue name (a nice one, at that!), even though Willing is a traditional surname with both English and German roots. As an English name, Willing is a patronymic form of…
Virtue name, English from Latin
"chastity, pure"
One of the original so-weird-it's-cruel celebrity baby names doesn't sound quite so impossible with the resurgence of virtue names. But be charitable and choose Charity instead.
"an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger"
One of the more unusual word names used by Plymouth pilgrims for their children. Fear Brewster is an example of the usage of this name. Definitely one of the historic pilgrim names best left in the…
Word name
Fidelity is an admirable virtue, yes, but as a name it tends to sound like a financial institution. Faith, Honor, or Patience would be easier to live with than Fidelity.
"marked by kindness and courtesy"
A warm and positive English word name, used by the Puritans for both sexes but now given to only around a dozen baby girls each year.
Illumination is a many-syllabled entrant in the new-fashioned virtue name group, but doesn't stand much chance of rivaling shorter choices like Hope and Faith.
Pretty sound, provocative meaning, but a little over-the-top.
An admirable quality to impart; Pleasant was used by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and in modern times is known via American Girl dolls creator Pleasant Rowland.
Virtue name
"relief"
Relief was a name used by the Puritans in reference to the relief of Christ. Leafy was the common nickname.
Literary and word name
Remarkable Pettibone was a self-important housekeeper in James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers . Such names were not uncommon in early America, with such choices as Remember and Experience showing up…
No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.
"kept from knowledge or view"
Mysterious. In 2016, 13 baby girls in the United States were given this unusual word name -- at least according to the Social Security Administration. We can't help but suspect that some of those…
The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.
English
"persistence"
A rare virtue-style name, associated with determination and dedication to a particular cause or goal, with having a strong grip, and with an enduring existence. This could be spun positively and…
"conscious of benefit received"
In the Plymouth Colony of the seventeenth century, Thankful was the third most popular of the abstract word names. It disappeared after 1700 and has virtually no chance of returning.
Warm and open, but way too much teasing potential.
