Names That Mean Name
- Kal-el
Origin:
Invented nameDescription:
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".
- Boo
Origin:
Word name or nicknameDescription:
Boo as a first name first achieved notoriety as the name of the child-man in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Arthur "Boo" Radley was meant to be frightening, but only in a simple, non-threatening way. More recently, Boo has been used as the middle name of one of chef Jamie Oliver's children and the nickname in the middle of television's Honey Boo Boo. Boo is also the name of the world's cutest dog and of the adorable little girl in Monsters Inc. In a more basic way, Boo is a term of endearment.
- Hendrix
Origin:
Dutch and German, from first name HendrikMeaning:
"estate ruler"Description:
Hendrix is an improbably trendy first name rising in honor of guitar great Jimi.
- Forty
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"number name"Description:
A quirky character name from the Netflix series You, twin brother to the equally quirky Love.
- Wolf
Origin:
Animal name or diminutive of WolfgangMeaning:
"traveling Wolf"Description:
Notable Wolfs like Blitzer, Mankowitz, and Kahn give this name a masculine bent, but nature names are inherently unisex, so we see no reason why Wolf can't be used on a baby girl.Historically Wolf has been more common among German (where it's pronounced Vulf) and Jewish families, occasionally as a nickname for Wolfgang.
The nickname Wolfie softens and feminizes Wolf, while Wolfe turns it into a surname.
- Almond
Origin:
English word name or variation of Almund or Aleman, GermanMeaning:
"almond; noble strength; German"Description:
Almond may seem like a hippy modern name, but its use for American boys goes right back to the mid-nineteenth century. In these cases, it was either a variation of Almund, meaning "noble strength," or the surname Aleman, meaning "German."
- September
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"month name"Description:
Parents are beginning to turn away from springtime months like April and June and are moving toward the cooler and crisper three-syllable September, October, November, and December.
- Sethe
Origin:
Egyptian mythological name or variation of Seth, HebrewMeaning:
"appointed, placed"Description:
Author Toni Morrison is an acknowledged master of naming, and Sethe, the name of one of the main characters of Beloved, which can be pronounced as Seth or Seth-eh, relates to the male biblical name Seth but is also the name of the Egyptian god of confusion.
- Luiseach
Origin:
Irish, from the deity name LughDescription:
Authentically spelled Luíseach (with Luighsech as a variant), this obscure saint's name is thought to derive from the mythological figure Lugh, perhaps a reflex of an older god. Luíseach is sometimes considered the Irish version of Lucy. In fact, they are historically separate names, but if Lugh derives from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "shining" then they are very distant cousins.
- Caris
Origin:
Welsh, GreekMeaning:
"love; grace, kindness"Description:
Beautiful meanings no matter which origin you want to go with. But either way, it rhymes with Paris.
- Chrysalis
Origin:
Nature name, English word nameMeaning:
"a quiescent insect pupa, of a butterfly or moth"Description:
Chrysalis is a girls' baby name derived from the state of a butterfly or moth between larva and adult. A chrysalis is a hard-shelled pupa in which the transition of the butterfly or moth takes place. As a baby name, Chrysalis came to the fore as the rumored name of the baby girl of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, who reportedly love butterflies. Chrysalis does certainly have potential as a new word name or nature name for babies, with the simple familiar nickname Chrys.
- Antinea
Origin:
French after the Greek name for the Queen of AtlantisDescription:
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.
- Fife
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"place name"Description:
Great middle name choice for music lovers or those with Scottish roots, also spelled Fyfe.
- Shem
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"name"Description:
This down-to-earth Bible name is surprisingly little-used, considering the popularity of other Old Testament names. Shem was Noah's eldest son, and is the origin of the term Semitic (as in the language family).
- Historia
Origin:
Spanish word name or GreekMeaning:
"history"Description:
Historia originated as a Greek term and is the basis for the word "history" in many languages, including English and Spanish. It is used as a name for the character Historia Reiss in the anime series Attack on Titan.
- Belphoebe
Origin:
Invented literary nameMeaning:
"beautiful shining one"Description:
The name of the character in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" whom the poet intended as a representation of Queen Elizabeth I. While it will no doubt thrill your daughter's English professor, the addition of the "Bel" to already great Phoebe is on the fussy side.
- March
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"month name"Description:
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.
- Lakelyn
Origin:
American invented name or variation of LachlanDescription:
Baby girl names ending in lyn seem to become more numerous all the time, and this choice combining the pretty nature suffix Lake with lyn is destined for more widespread use. Lakelyn and her sister spelling Lakelynn both entered the US charts for the first time in 2022, and are sure to continue to rise.
- Mosley
Origin:
English place name and surnameMeaning:
"peat bog, mouse clearing"Description:
Mosley, former best known as the surname of author Walter, has been put in play as a first name for girls by football great Peyton Manning, who used the name for his twin daughter, sister of Marshall. Alternate spellings are Moseley and Mosely and the first syllable rhymes with Rose.
- Jet
Origin:
Mineral and word nameDescription:
Though this may be thought of as a short form of the legitimate name Jetta, that one's gone to the cars. This sounds more modern if a bit supersonic. In the Netherlands, it's in the Top 100, originating as a short form of -ette ending names such as Henriette and Mariette.