User-created list
By alyshadragonfriend · Updated July 2023
Across 18 pages
of 18
Arizona place-name and Greek
"dark red"
Effortlessly cool with a hint of the mystical, Phoenix rolls a lot of trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the stylish letter x, it's got in-built nicknames, and it's unisex…
Latin, meaning unknown, possibly "title of honour"
"title of honour"
Titus, once seen as a slightly forbidding Roman, New Testament, and Shakespearean name, was brought back to contemporary life in the USA by the TV series Titus 2000 , increasing in popularity along…
English
"house steward, dispenser of provisions"
Spencer is a name that has everything: it's both distinguished sounding and accessible, dignified but Spencer Tracy-like friendly. Picked by several celebrities (a couple of times even for a girl),…
Hebrew
"God has healed"
Raphael is a romantic archangel name that sounds both artistic and powerful. Raphael is also a great cross-cultural choice, with significance for people with both Latinate and Jewish roots, plus…
German
"wise protector"
Now that the show has gone into reruns, does anybody still love Raymond? Though it's been long dormant, some parents, including Jack Nicholson, are finding its cool name component, largely through…
French from Latin
"oarsman"
Remy is one of the hottest names today for both boys and girls, sometimes spelled Remi. . It entered the popularity list in 2009 and has quickly become one of the fastest-rising names on the list.…
English and Irish
"Rye land"
Parents seeking alternatives to popular Ryan have flocked to this soundalike name, which peaked at #146 in 2011. Blending in elements of Nolan and Riley too, it remains in the US Top 500, and is…
"peace"
Solomon, a name that evokes wisdom and peace, is an Old Testament name that, along with other patriarchal classics, is finally beginning to shed its long white beard and step from the pages of the…
Japanese, English invented name
The name of the Japanese god of thunder makes an assertive choice, very much at home in the Western world. Because of the name's similarity to popular baby names Aiden and Jayden, most people will…
Danish, Norwegian
"stern"
This gentle Scandinavian name, soft and sensitive, is being discovered in a major way by parents in the US. It's most closely identified with the nineteenth century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, but…
English word name
"royal"
Even less subtle than Duke or Earl, this name shot up the popularity charts in 2013, the same year young Prince George was born and the craze for all things royal (and Royal) began. Today, it's a…
"sun"
With the prevailing popularity of Samuel, some parents are considering this more (literally) powerful biblical name, which shares the desirable nickname of Sam. Samson was, of course, the…
Dutch; German; French; Italian, Polish; Swedish; Norwegian; Danish; Armenian, from Hebrew
"behold, a son"
The streamlined Ruben is much more popular than the original Biblical Hebrew version in the US. Ruben is definitely a simpler and more intuitive spelling of this rich attractive name. Ruben and Ruby…
Greek
"lover of horses"
Philip, the name of one of the 12 apostles, is still favored by parents in search of a solid boys' classic that is less neutral than Robert or John and more distinctive than Daniel or Matthew and has…
"from Scotland"
A cool, windswept, surfer babe-magnet in 1965, a nice dad -- or even granddad -- today.
English from French occupational name
"doorkeeper or carrier"
It may surprise you to know that surname name Porter was fairly popular in the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries, then went underground for 40 years only to reemerge at the turn of this century…
"where roses grow"
This is a name we've seen the potential of for some time now — A Greek island and a prestigious scholarship make for a preppy first name with the uber-stylish S ending. Needless to say we were not…
"famous throughout the land"
Roland is a chivalrous old name made famous by the supposedly eight-foot-tall romantic hero and nephew of Charlemagne, celebrated in medieval poetry and song. It is more widely heard in the US now in…
Anglicized variation of Sean
"God is gracious"
Shane ambled into the picture via the 1953 movie, adding a cowboy twist to its Irish essence. A variation of Sean with a hint of Shay and Zane, it is a popular choice in Ireland. Singer Siobhan…
English, diminutive of Samuel
"told by God"
Sam has long been used on its own for boys, as accepted standing by itself as it is as a short form of Samuel. Straightforward and down-to-earth, Sam is the name of the son of the co-stars of The…
