User-created list
The Names I Love
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Alaska
Native American
"great land"
State name Alaska stems from an Aleutian word for the land mass itself. The number of baby girls named Alaska has doubled in the past five years, and is sure to continue increasing as more place…
Arizona
Place-name from Papago Indian
"little springs"
We usually think of place-names as a modern invention, but in fact Arizona ranked on the US Top 1000 from its inception in 1880 until 1911, when it vanished below the surface. It peaked at Number 510…
Bay
English word, Old English
"an inlet of the sea where the land curves inward; berry"
One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. It's gentle, slightly whimsical, but grounded by its similarity to May…
Baze
Contemporary nickname, Armenian
"king; falcon, hawk"
Baze is a nouveau nickname that originated on the TV show "Life Unexpected," as the short form consistently used for the character Nathaniel (Nate) Bazile. Its similarity to the name Blaise lends it…
Bosley
English
"meadow near the woods"
Another servile surname, this one connected to the go-between character in "Charlie's Angels."
Boyer
English and French
"bow-maker, cattle herder"
Two completely different images come from its national pronunciations -- BOY-err or boy-AY -- the latter giving it an effete French accent.
Brio
Italian
"vivacity, zest"
Brio is a musical term with great verve and energy, with possibilities as a first name on the heels of such choices as Cadence, Allegra, and Rio.
Callaway
English from Latin
"pebbly place"
A surname-style choice with jazzy ties to Cab Calloway and a more sporty association leant to it by a golfing company, Callaway has seen moderate gains in the US since the 2000s. In a recent year, 67…
Calloway
English from Latin
"pebbly place"
Calloway is one of those irresistibly jaunty, animated three-syllable surnames, like Sullivan, Rafferty and Finnegan — but this one has the added attraction of jazzy ties to the immortal "Dean of…
Dash
Diminutive of Dashiell, meaning unknown
Dash is a nickname that can stand on its own and sounds, well, dashing. Connected these days with Kardashian enterprises. Dash can stand on its own—as is evidenced by its entry into the US Top 1000…
Dolly
English, diminutive of Dorothy
"gift of God"
Sweet and cosy with a touch of sass, this nickname-y choice was a familiar option up until the sixties in the US. Then, for a while, it was a bit of a one-person name, associated with singer Dolly…
Ireland
Place name
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the…
Joplin
English surname
"son of Job"
Used as a first name for a handful of girls every year, Joplin could be seen as a distant cousin of other -lin names, like Caitlin, Brooklyn and Braelynn. We think it works even better as a musical…
Keller
German occupational name
"cellar master"
Keller is a German surname that originated as an occupational name for a cellar or store master, which seems to be the background of several of the most stylish new German names for boys . One of the…
Kitt
Variation of Kit, diminutive of Christopher and Katherine
The extra 'T' makes this nickname name a little more substantial.
Lavender
English color and flower name
"purple flower"
Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names…
Lux
Latin
"light"
This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides , originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in…
Malina
Feminine form of Malcolm or spelling variation of Melina or Polish, Bulgarian, Serbian
"raspberry"
Malina is a synthetic-feeling name that may be a feminization of the Scottish Malcolm or a spelling twist on the Greek Melina and that also has a fruit meaning in several Eastern European languages.…
Mick
English, diminutive of Michael
Most often associated with Rolling Stone Jagger, Mick is also used as a generic, and derogatory, term for an Irishman.
Mickey
Diminutive of Michelle or Michaela
Mickey is a nickname-name redolent of the mid-20th century and best-known as a mouse name. While this spelling works for either gender, the girls' version is more often spelled Micki.