Fish Names

Moby, the nickname of musician Richard Melville Hall, was thanks to his ancestor Herman Melville, creator of the infamous whale. You can imagine calling a child Moby as a cute nickname in honor of a grandfatherly Richard or Dick, but the ghost of a Dick would always follow the name around. In Melville's classic book, Moby was an invented word whose meaning has never been firmly established, though the best scholarship calls it a fictional place name that, in the custom of whaling ships of the time, helped identify the whale called Dick.

Reef is an uncommon nature name with mainstream potential. Its laidback, beach-y vibe makes it a perfect choice for ocean lovers.

Like Marvin and Melvin, Sheldon has been perceived as about as far out as you can get, though there are very pretty towns in Devon and Derbyshire that inspired it. Sheldon Lee Cooper is the lead nerd character on the TV hit The Big Bang Theory, giving the name a brainy image. Nickname Shel (as in Shel Silverstein, author of Where the Sidewalk Ends) could, in the modern world of nature name love, be seen as beach evoking.

Water names are a cool category these days, and this one of the famous Egyptian river is no exception. It streamlines the fussier Niles and also may be thought of as a color name, meaning dark blue or indigo.

Evocative modern unisex choice brought into the spotlight by actress Lake Bell.

An old-fashioned nickname in the Bud/Buzz/Biff mold; this one's kind of belligerent. Michelle Hicks and Jonny Lee Miller moved outside the box when they used it for their son--given the safer middle name of Timothy.

One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation. One of the rare flower names counted among names for autumn babies, Chrysanthemum is also one of the most unusual nature-themed girl names starting with C.

An approachable mini name that could go on the birth certificate, but may work best as a nickname. Full name options include Thaddeus, Theodore, and Thomas, which was the given name of Abe's son Tad Lincoln. Taddy is a rare alternative to Teddy.

Oceane (oh-see-EN) has been one of the chicest names in France for several years, ranking in the French Top 50. This is a sophisticated name that could easily cross the ocean, and is much more stylish than the English Ocean or Oceana.

If you're a lover of the beach and sea, and want a name that relates to the largest body of water, there are several variations you could consider.

Loch is a watery word that sounds more like a name because it's one step removed from its English form. Pronounced as "lock," it's also a short form of the variously-spelled Lachlan.

Ama is a day name used by the Akan people of Ghana for girls born on Saturday. Names that reference a baby's birth by day of the week, time of day, or season of the year are common in many African cultures. Ama is one that can be used happily by parents who live in English-speaking countries.

Unlike the other fruit names that are just coming onto the baby name menu, Peaches is an old-timey nickname previously reserved for spangled showgirls, and now would be considered an outrageous -- verging on hip -- choice.

One of the best known early Nemos was the captain in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, while the more familiar modern one is the animated little orange fish in the Disney movie. Unusual name well worth considering. By the way, there is also a Shakespearean Nemo and one in Dickens's Bleak House. An enchanting early comic strip by Winsor McCay was called Little Nemo.

Lir is the Irish god of the sea, the equivalent of the Welsh Llyr which some equate with Shakespeare's King Lear. This is one of those rare names that is simple and has a deep history with an appealing meeting and yet is completely unused in the modern world -- no baby boys were recorded as receiving the name Lir in the US last year. Maybe because it sounds like the unappealing leer?

Though as a formal name Rusty is a little, well, rusty, it spent half a century among the Top 1000, departing only in 1995. Only 45 baby boys received the name in the US in one recent year and it's difficult to imagine it as the winning choice of many modern parents. Whether you want an informal name or a spin on a traditional name or even a word name or a name that means red, there are simply too many better options.

The field of nature names is constantly expanding to include all species of flowers and trees and animals and birds and even fish. In addition to its appeal for anglers, Pike recalls Zebulon Pike, the explorer who discovered and gave his name to Pike's Peak.

When actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention. But a noted Australian poet (Griffiths is an Aussie) is known by this name.

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name.