User-created list
By JJWay · Updated April 2023
Across 8 pages
of 8
Greek
"royal"
Although Greek in origin--in the fourth century, a bishop by that name established the principles of the Greek Orthodox Church--Basil for years took on the aura of aquiline-nosed upper-class…
Word name, English from Greek
"diamond"
Diamond sparkled all through the nineties--reaching as high as Number 150 in 1999. Although its shine has diminished quite a bit, it remains in use. Followers of the British royal family may know…
Scottish
"a narrow valley"
Former cool-boy name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents.
Word name
Windswept and dramatic, but perhaps asking for trouble. Quite popular in Denmark and Sweden, where it derives from Stromr, which is a fairly common surname. Storm Thorgerson is a famous bearer of the…
English word name
"dawn, sunrise"
Associated with the first light of the day, and more figuratively with new beginnings and fresh starts, Dawn's heyday came in the 1960s and 70s in the US, Canada and the UK. It had been in the charts…
English
"born near outcrop of flint"
Flint is one of the new macho names on the rise today, part old-school tough guy, part rebel. You won't find a tougher, steelier-sounding name; it's part of a genre on the rise along with cousins…
English tree name
"tree from the genus Quercus"
Oak, a symbol of solidity, strength, and longevity, is joining Cedar and Pine as a viable name, one that would work especially well in the middle. If you'd prefer to take the longer route to the…
Latin
"earth"
A video-game import (Final Fantasy VI) for a character with green hair and a name that brings the outmoded Terry and Tara into the postmodern age. In ancient Rome, Terra was also a minor goddess and…
"to sparkle"
If you love both unique baby names and flower names for girls, Amaryllis might be a perfect choice for you. A showier flower name than Lily, but in the same botanical family, Amaryllis is not as…
French variation of Margaret; also a flower name
"pearl; daisy"
Marguerite is a classic French name with a remnant of old-fashioned Gallic charm; and is also a variety of daisy. Chic again in Paris, it's definitely ripe for revival here. Another reason you might…
Topographical name or short form of Clifford or Clifton
Cliff is a familiar, timeless short form -- never too popular, yet widely known -- that you might also think of as a geographical name ala Vale or Field.
Sunshine was seen as a quintessential hippie name of the 70s, reaching as high as Number 536 in 1975. Now such names are making a bit of a retro comeback, seen, for example, as a character on Glee .
Nature name
Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar. It's similarity of Clyde and Claude help to ground it.
Persian
"splendid"
Associated with the ancient Rosetta stone, this is also the pretty Italian pet form of Rosa.
English diminutive
Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.
"traveler, pilgrim"
Peregrine is considered to be an elegantly aristocratic name in England, but has never made it to the U.S., where it has been seen as extravagantly eccentric. In the new naming climate, though, it's…
Irish, English
"lion; scribe, writer with a quill pen"
First appearing in the US stats back in 2013, this wordy choice fits in with the likes of Sonnet, Poetry, Fable, and Story as a literary option for writers, fans of classic literature, and those who…
" a metallic chemical element with atomic number 47"
Among the first wave of word names used in the hippie era, it actually is a legitimate girl's name with a lot of luster.
Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color…
While the most famous Dusty, Dusty Springfield, might be female, Dusty as a boys' name is derived directly from Dustin. And there are about twice as many baby boys named Dusty as baby girls -- 33 to…
