User-created list
By Netta5187 · Updated April 2023
Across 4 pages
of 4
French
"brisk, high-spirited"
Best left on the old southern plantation, sipping his mint julep.
Latin
"of the garden"
Hortense is actually the French feminine form of Hortensia, the name of a strong, politically active early Roman woman. Hortense began to be used in the English-speaking world in the nineteenth…
Diminutive of Richard
"dominant ruler"
Dick was a once-common short form of Richard; replaced by Rick or Richie, and finally by the full name itself. Rude meaning -- make that two rude meanings -- pretty much knocks this one out of…
English occupational name
"shepherd's hook"
fuhgeddaboutit.
Word name or diminutive of Barbara
You can call your baby "babe," but don't name her that.
English word name
"an optical instrument used to capture and store images or videos"
The late tennis great Arthur Ashe (whose wife was a photographer) pioneered word names when he used this for his daughter. It would make an interesting first or middle name possibility for parents…
Word name, English from Spanish and Portuguese
"banana"
Banana is one fruity name we wouldn't recommend. Pick Plum instead. There is a Japanese novelist whose pen name is Banana Yoshimoto--birth name Mahoko.
"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…
Word name
The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.
Spanish
"liquor distilled from the agave plant"
Mexican national drink, not to be served as a name to a baby.
French, a dry white wine
If you're actually considering this as a name for your child, you must have had a glass too many. But it's an awesome name for a white cat .
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.
Nature name
Several animal names, from Fox to Wolf and even to Tiger, ccan work, but Cougar should stay in its cage. Even John Mellencamp has dropped it.
Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.
Glimmer is shimmery but a little too showy, as is Glitter, a character on a TV sitcom-- while Glimmer appears in The Hunger Games .
An adorable nickname for a smiley baby, but not suggested as a legal name.
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.
German
"noble wolf"
World War II stamped a permanent verboten on Adolph.
Hebrew
"we shall rise up, we shall rebel"
As a Biblical name, Nimrod appears in the Old Testament as a great-grandson of Noah, a founder of Babylon, and a famous hunter. In popular culture, its image was altered after the dopey Looney Tunes…
"little ash-girl"
One familiar name never used for real people, for obvious reasons. Read more about Cinderella and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.
