Names That Mean Name

March has never been popular as a month name, possibly because of its slightly abrupt sound. But with all kinds of month (and season, day, and holiday) names, from January to December, Sunday to Easter, Winter to Midnight, coming to the fore, March is beginning to seem eminently baby-ready.

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.

Take modern virtue Brave, add the trendy -n ending, and voilà! A cool new word-meets-surname name which feels bang on trend right now.

An elegy is a poem lamenting a deceased person. As a name, it could be used by parents in remembrance of a recently deceased person or as a euphonic and unusual literary name. The original Greek could also work.

Roselyn was a frequent member of the US Top 1000 in the early twentieth century until it dropped off the charts in 1954. It didn't return until 2003.

Kal-El is Superman's Kryptonian name, invented by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the birth name of the superhero. Some theorize that it relates to Hebrew characters with the meaning "voice of God", while others give the meaning as "son" or "Earth one".

Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work. A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a short-brimmed fedora of the kind recently revived by hipsters. Du Maurier's character Trilby fell under the hypnotic power of Svengali: not the best choice for an independent and self-determining daughter. Still, if you want a unisex name that moves far beyond the usual Taylor and Morgan and has energy and feminine verve, Trilby might well be your girl.

Ellaria Sand is a slightly obscure character in HBO's Game of Thrones, part of the notoriously half-baked Dorne plot that bedeviled later seasons of the show. She was paramour to Oberyn Martell, mother to several of the so-called "Sand Snakes" and murderer of Myrcella Baratheon. Not exactly a primo namesake, despite a fine performance from Indira Varma.

Aravis was the name of a female character in C.S. Lewis's A Horse and His Boy, and is also the name of a mountain range in southern France. With the rise of Ava, Avery, and indeed seemingly all names that start with A, Aravis may finally reach a wider audience.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus appears to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus after his death, burial and resurrection.

Did you really mean to name your child Channel, as in the body of water? Like, you know, the English Channel? Or were you going for the last name of the French designer Chanel, with a soft "sh" sound at the beginning and the emphasis on the last syllable? If so, we recommend sticking with the Chanel spelling.

The capital of Peru makes a rare but attractive girl name.

Ravello is an Italian town on the Amalfi Coast. It's a popular travel destination and was a favorite spot for many notable creatives, including Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, and Tennessee Williams.

Rust is one of the few color names for boys, sometimes short for Russell. As a diminutive for Russell, it's much more modern and cooler than Rusty. Whether you use it as a nickname or it stands on its own, the meaning refers to the color red.

Actress Seychelle Gabriel is named after the Seychelles, an archipelagic island nation in the Indian Ocean. The islands were named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV's Minister of Finance.

This unusual English botanical name would make an interesting update to 80s and 90s favorite Bethany. It belongs to a minty-smelling, flowering herb (also called bishopwort), which has been used since medieval times to treat various ailments.

In Pierre Benoit's novel, Antinea is a beautiful and charming queen with a hideous secret: She has a cave wall with 120 niches carved into it, one for each of her lovers. Only 53 have been filled; when all 120 have been filled, Antinea will sit atop a throne in the centre of the cave and rest forever.

Zanzibar is an island region off the coast of Tanzania. It's never been recorded as a baby name, but for those with a connection to Zanzibar, it's an intriguing and unique option chock full of zesty Zs.

This Scottish surname and Scottish and Australian place name has a pleasant airy and breezy sound to it. Camden mayor Lara Symkowiak chose the name for her daughter born in 2016.

Romantic Italian choice.