User-created list
By celattin · Updated June 2023
Across 16 pages
of 16
Color and nature name
Even among the range of blue names on the current baby naming palette -- Blue itself, Azure, Cerulean, Teal, Aqua, Cyan, Indigo -- Cobalt remains the most unusual, not to mention the most masculine.
River name
Some parents are turning to rivers and other bodies of water in the search for undiscovered place-names, and this has the feel of a Viennese waltz.
French
"of the sea"
An undiscovered gem with clunky, buttoned-up appeal and a literary feel thanks to poet Delmore Schwartz.
Gaelic
"water"
The name Esca appears in Rosemary Sutcliff's 1954 historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth , which is set in 2nd century Roman Britain. Esca is the name of a freed slave who accompanies his…
Scottish nature name
"estuary or arm of the sea"
Highly unusual water name -- and actor Colin surname -- with a Scottish burr. Firth derives from the Old Norse word fjord.
Tibetan
"ocean"
Gyatso is a highly meaningful name in Tibetan Buddhism. It is added to the name of each Dalai Lama — the current one is Tenzin Gyatso. It is a translation of the title Dalai, which means "ocean" or…
Greek
"the sea"
Like others in this vein, problematic due to the feminine Hailey connection.
Tahitian
"crown of the ocean"
A combination of hei "crown" and moana "ocean".
Irish
"sea tide"
Hurley is a possibility as a unisex surname-name ending with the "lee" sound. It is perhaps most associated with British actress Elizabeth Hurley, and is much rarer than Harley, because the "ur"…
Welsh
"bright water"
Occult name for babies born under water signs -- Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio.
Maori
"Pacific ocean"
Kiwa, one of the most popular Maori names for boys in New Zealand, is the name of several ocean guardians in Maori mythology. It's part of a poetic name for the Pacific ocean. Some sources cite a…
Nordic
"sea warrior"
A short form of Mýrkjartan, an Old Norse name derived from the Irish Muircheartach "sea warrior". It is also a Nordic form of the Old Irish name Certán, possibly meaning "humming sound".
Llyr is a name with a great meaning and a lovely sound, but that sound is going to be next to impossible to get non-Welsh speaking people to pronounce (google the double L sound in Welsh). If you are…
Occupational name from Latin
"sea-farer"
"sea hill"
Terminally outmoded.
Russian variation of Moses
"delivered from the water"
Russian translation of Moses.
"sea taboo"
When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice.
Egyptian
"ancient waters"
Couldn't be simpler...or more worldly — though it could lead to some head-scratching.
Place-name
This geographical name with Iroquois roots has a lot going for it: a strong sound, a vigorous o ending, and -- a quality prized today -- rarity.
English surname
"the branch of the river"
Most closely associated with famed English novelist George Orwell (whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair), this English surname is now occasionally sported as a literary first name. Given its…
