Name List: Favorites

▾ Standard view
Name M/F Remark Rating
Alex m / f 94/06; Greek "defending men"; see Alexander
Alexander m Greek "defending men"; family name; A. Fleming, disc'd penicillin, I wouldn't've been born w/o it; A. Graham Bell, inv'd telephone; A. Volta, inv'd batteries; peaked at just 1% in 1993; 4-233
Alexandra f Greek "defending men"; variant of family name; nn Xandra & Xanna; peaked 0.5% in 1993
Amaryllis f Greek "to sparkle"; never listed
Amelia f German "work", Amelia Earhart, pilot; Amelia Bloomer, feminist; most popular now
Apollonia f C05; nn Apple & Pony
Arden m / f 60/40; sounds similar to "ardent" and "garden"; forested areas in England and France; local placename; Mary Arden was the mother of Shakespeare
Artemisia f Greek "safe" or "butcher"; goddess of moon and hunting; medicinal herb; Renaissance feminist painter, nn's Mizzy, Aria, Artsy, Temmy, Mimi; never ranked
Arthur m most likely meaning is from Celtic "bear king", possibly related to Arcturus, the brightest star in Ursa Major, or a Roman name possibly meaning "plowman" (though not likely); peaked 1.4% in 1880's
August m Latin "great, venerable"; peaked 0.2% in 1882, rising now
Augustine 1 m / f 65/35; C03
Beatrix f Beatrix Potter, naturalist; means "traveler" or "happy"; nn Bea & Trixie
Carmen f Hebrew "garden" and Latin "song"; peaked 0.1% in 1968
Carmine m derived from Hebrew "garden", Latin "song", and Persian "red", ultimately from Sanskrit "worm"
Clara f C 3
Clémentine f Latin "merciful, gentle"; peaked at 0.2% in 1880's, rising now
Cole m Old English "charcoal", also short for Nicholas; peaked 0.3% in 2002
Douglas m David Douglas, local botanist; Frederick Douglass, abolitionist & suffragist; means "dark water"
Emma f German "whole, universal"; Emmy Noether, mathematician; Emma Darwin, wife of Charles Darwin; Emmeline Pankhurst, suffragist; peak of 2% in 1880, currently just over 1%
Evander 1 m Greek "good man"; briefly ranked 1895
Fae f means "fairy", from Latin "fate", from PIE "speech". Fae Zephyrine
Felicity f Latin "happiness"; actress in Good Neighbors; nn Liz, Filly, Fizzy; most popular now
Felix m means "Lucky"; Felix Hoffman, inventor of Aspirin; groundbreaking animation
Fern f From English word ult. from Sanskrit "feather"; peaked 0.2% in 1916
Flora f
Gideon m Hebrew "feller, hewer"; more popular now than ever
Gilbert m
Greta f D1
Grey m / f
Hugo m
Hypatia f Greek "highest, supreme"; never ranked
Iris f means "rainbow"; flower; color of eyes; goddess of the rainbow; last peaked at 0.08% in 1929.
Isaac m Hebrew "he will laugh"; Isaac Newton; most popular now
Jasper m Chaldean "treasurer", Hebrew "to polish"; old birthstone for March; nn Jazzy; also a name for wasps, from Old French guespe, ultimately from PIE *webh, to weave or move fast
Jessamine f Persian "Jasmine", nn Jem, never ranked
Jethro m
Joy f From English word, ult. from Latin; Peaked 0.2% in 1974
Juniper f / m From English word, ult. from Latin "ever youthful"; most popular now
Kai 3 m / f 89/11; Latin "rejoice", Hawaiian "sea", Japanese "forerunner", Chinese "triumphant", Navajo "willow" (unisex); short for Nicholas or Katherine; most popular now
Lance m
Laurence 1 m D01
Leo m Latin "lion"; constellation; peaked 0.5% in 1903, rising again
Liana f
Linnéa f
Maia 2 f C05; means "grow"; goddess of spring; star in Pleiades
Margaret f Greek "Pearl"; variant of family name; Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood; Margaret Haley, teacher union leader; nn Greta; peaked at 2.3% in 1916
May f Latin "great", goddess of spring; family name; peaked >0.5% before 1880
Melissa f Greek "honeybee"; name of herb lemon balm; nn Meli & Liz; peaked at 2% in 1979
Mira 2 f Slavic "peace", Sanskrit "ocean", Spanish "look" or "myrrh", Catalan "notable", Albanian "good", Japanese "mirror"; Miriam Makeba, civil rights; star in Cetus; most popular now
Mirabel f means "wonderful", older spelling; alt spelling Mirabelle
Mirabelle f means "wonderful"; variety of plum
Morgan 1 m / f 10/90; Welsh "sea circle"; peaked 0.6% for girls and 0.06% for boys in 1995
Nicholas m Greek "victory of the people"; Nicholas Copernicus, astronomer; Nicholas Culpeper, herbalist; nn Nicky & Cole; peaked at 1.4% in 1995, low #203
Ocean m / f 55/45; 70% of the earth's surface; Ocean Augustus, Ocean Meriwether, Ocean Socrates
Opal f rainbow/firey gemstone; Opal Seraphine
Penelope f Greek "thread, weft"+"face, eye"; most popular now
Peter m Greek "stone", peaked at 0.5% in 1957.
Ravenna f
River m / f 63/37
Robert m Germanic "bright fame"; nn Robin; Robert Bunsen, inventor of chemical spectroscopy; Robert Hooke, microbiology and gravity; peaked at 5.7% in 1937, low #63 2015
Robin m / f 10/90; Germanic "bright fame"; peaked 0.8% in 1961 for girls, now rising for boys
Ruby f Latin "red"; family name; Ruby Beach on Olympic peninsula; Ruby Bradley, nurse; peaked 0.8% in 1912
Sage m / f 32/68; the plant ultimately derives from "safe, whole" and the wise meaning ultimately derives from "good taste, nectar"; most popular now
Silas m Latin "forest"; most popular now
Sky m / f 00/100
Solomon m Hebrew "peace"; nn Sol; Solomon the Wise King; peaked 0.05% in 1911, rising now
Stella 1 f Latin "star"; Stellaria is chickweed; peaked 0.5% in 1889, rising now
Sterling m
Susannah f Hebrew "lily" from Egyptian "lotus"; nn's Suzie & Sunshine; Susan B. Anthony, suffragette; Susanna peaked 0.03% in 1886
Sylvester m
Sylvia f Latin "forest", nn Sylvie; peaked 0.4% in 1937
Thalia f Greek "to blossom"; peaked 0.04% in 1993
Timothy m Greek "honoring God"; Peaked 1.6% in 1967
Tycho m nn Tyke; Tycho Brahe, astronomer
Valerian m means "strength"; name of medicinal herb
Vera 1 f Latin "true", Russian "faith", Albanian "summer"; peak 0.3% in 1900's
Verity f English "truth"; nn Vera; ranked in UK but never in US
Xanthe f
Zephyr m / f 76/24*; means "wind"
Zipporah f