Names That Mean Man

How often do you see a name from Madagascar that is so wearable in English? Kendry has a great meaning to boot and is possibly a great name for a Christmas baby. What's not to love?

Slim may be too on-the-nose for the child of two beautiful models, but it's the name Nara Pellman and Lucky Blue Smith chose for their son, Slim Easy. Smith, who has daughters named Gravity Blue and Rumble Honey, is known for choosing outrageous word names. But Slim — when pronounced as "SLEEM" — can also be a short form of the Arabic name Slimane. This origin is shared with Pellman's middle name, Aziza.

Francie is one of the most neglected nicknames for Frances, despite having more style value than Franny and Fanny and being more unique than Frankie. We'd love to see it get more use, whether as a Frances short form or as an independent name.

Kazuo is a boys' name well-used in Japan though not well-known in the U.S. Kazuo Ishiguro is the author of Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. The emphasis is on the first syllable.

A popular spelling variation of Adriana.

Outmoded comic book choice.

Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.

Charlie in all its forms has been a popular gender neutral name since the early 2000s and is now given almost equally to girls and boys. While it did once lean more (statistically) masculine, it has been used on girls too since the before the 20th century.

The double Ts are pronounced with a slight pause between them like in "nighttime."

Cosmo's Finnish cousin.

Seems like a redundant name for a lad.

Though this is traditionally a male name, it can work for a girl in our culture. Might also be considered a short form of the Italian Amadea.

Andromache is a name found scattered throughout ancient literature. She was Hector's long-suffering wife in The Iliad and The Odyssey, featured in The Trojan Women and Andromache by Euripides, then later appeared in Shakepeare's Troilus and Cressida, and Jean Racine's 1667 play Andromaque. It is not likely to make many appearances in the modern world.

One of the many rising variations of Luca.

If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.

Androgeus was a Cretan prince—the son of King Minos. He is known for being murdered in Athens, although the way in which he died is contested.

This name is unusual enough that the spelling variation won't be too much of a further complication. While the Biblical cognate Cain may be more classic, this removes the name from any negative associations.

An example of the traditional French/Catholic style of double names starting with Jean: in this case, two Gospel writers. Star Trek, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is from 24th-century France, where the French language is almost extinct, but parents apparently still give their children classic French names.

The name of Hercules' third wife in Greek mythology, who unwittingly killed her demigod husband by giving him a poisoned shirt. Hence the meaning. Dayanara -- as in "Orange is the New Black" character Diaz and Puerto Rican beauty Torres -- may be a distant relation.

This name from the Igbo language of Africa, which feels like the more-familiar Arabic Ahmad, might be an original and attractive choice.