Names That Mean Mountain

This short form is ubiquitous in its native Catalonia, but barely used elsewhere. However, we can see it appealing to parents who want to honor a Montserrat with something shorter and cuter.

A sharp and interesting Kurdish name derived from the name of a river and mountain in the region.

A cross-cultural possibility, but a bit heavy and somber.

Evocative of the sand dunes at the beach, Doone is a relatively rare surname found in Scotland, Ireland and England. It was recently used with this spelling by Olympic medalist Amanda Beard; photographer Diane Arbus named her daughter Doon, inspired, yes, by walks along the sand dunes during her pregnancy.

Variation of Jael.

A unisex Chinese name with a range of meanings, depending on the characters used. As a Chinese female name, "orchid" and "elegant" are two main meanings. In Vietnamese, it means "orchid".

Monty Burns, on The Simpsons, smashed to pieces any goodwill for his first name leftover from Monty Python. But if you drop the "y," you're left with a distinctly Gallic sounding nickname name. If it feels to slight for the birth certificate, there are tons of ways to get to it as a nickname: Montgomery, Montana, Montreal, even Montmorency.

Mendoza has great potential to move from a surname to a first name for either sex. It is derived from the Basque words mendi, meaning "mountain," and hotz, "cold."

Tahoma was the original name of Mount Ranier, used by the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.

The original Cornish name for the town better known today as Tintagel. With its Arthurian heritage, this makes a good choice for those fond of the legends of Lancelot, Guinevere and King Arthur.

Abraham's brother in the Old Testament.

Mendoza is a common Basque surname derived from the words mendi, meaning "mountain," and hotz, "cold." As a given name, it could easily be worn on a girl or a boy. Notable people who have carried the name include Cristóbal Mendoza, the first President of Venezuela, and baseball player Carlos Mendoza.

A short and simple Arabic girl's name typically used in Muslim families.

Few Scandinavian names make the journey to America...and this one shows you why. Still, names such as Freya and Odin are making an unlikely comeback, so we wouldn't count any of the Scandinavian baby names out forever.

The Native name of Washington State's Mount Ranier.