From the Past
- Hartley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"stag meadow"Description:
Smart and preppy, but with plenty of heart, Hartley is a surname style name that could work as an alternative to the popular Harley, Harlowe, Harper, and Hadley. Quietly used for boys throughout the 20th century, Hartley took off for girls in 2010 after both Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath and baseball player Matt Cain used the name for their daughters.
- Merrit
Origin:
English surnameMeaning:
"boundary gate"Description:
This unusual unisex surname name is pretty evenly divided between the sexes these days than it was in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when it was almost entirely male.
- Devorah
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"bee"Description:
The Biblical name of a great prophet and judge who helped organize an army and effect a major victory over the Canaanites. Sounds much fresher than the Anglicized Deborah.
- Unity
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"oneness"Description:
Like Verity and Amity, this inclusive virtue name used by the colorful British literary Mitford family is ready to join its more popular peers Hope, Faith, and Grace.
- Clarity
Origin:
English virtue name from LatinMeaning:
"the quality of being clear"Description:
Clarity is one of the lightest of the newly rediscovered virtue names, with a bit of three-syllable sparkle, old-fashioned charm and a clear vision for the future. Clarity is a very desirable quality in this confusing world and it also, unlike some other newly coined word names, has real meaning and history as a name.
- Sincerity
Origin:
Word nameMeaning:
"sincerity, truth"Description:
A Puritan-virtue type name that could possibly work for a modern baby with its rhythmic four-syllable sound and admirable meaning.
- Phila
Origin:
Greek, Zulu, XhosaMeaning:
"lover, friend; to live of life"Description:
In the Zulu and Xhosa languages of Southern Africa, Phila is a unisex name pronounced "PEE-la" and means "to live of life" It's also the feminine version of the ancient Greek name Philo, pronounced "FEE-la", meaning friend or lover and present in several contemporary names and words used throughout the Western World. The name Philip, for instance, means lover of horses, while the city name Philadelphia means "brotherly love" and philosophy means "love of wisdom".
- Pleasant
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
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.
The Nameberry App Is Live

Find your perfect baby name together in our app, now available on the App Store and Google Play.
- Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
- Names you match on are saved to your shared list
- Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
- Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
- Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.


