Adjective Names

In the nineties there was a "One Life to Live" soap opera character named Suede, but few fans picked up on it; might be more appealing to today's generation of parents.

A name with some sterling qualities, most associated with the British currency and silver markets. Sterling is more commonly a male name or surname, but is occasionally used for girls as well.

Show, don't tell.

This cosmological name is given to a handful of boys and girls each year in the USA. Likely to get confused with Stella or Stellan.

Dusty first became popular as a girl's name thanks to singer Dusty Springfield - born Mary. She used her childhood nickname professionally, and many parents embraced Dusty as a name for their daughters, especially in the 1970s.

Solo is a singular word name with special meaning for Star Wars fans. Equally appropriate for girls and boys, it works especially well in the middle.

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.

Though rarely heard now, Coy has been around for a century and was not an uncommon name a hundred years ago. There have been a couple of NFL players named Coy, Coy Bowles is in the Zac Brown band, and of course there was Coy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard. Due to the flirty connotations of the word "coy", McCoy is a more popular and recommended choice today.

Long used as a masculine name, when you think about it there is no reason this word name can't be used on a daughter as well as a son. Only about 1 percent of the baby Christians born today are girls, but the name is not unknown for baby girls.

Y-ending color adjectives like Tawny and Rusty are nowhere near as stylish as the more sophisticated Lilacs and Violets.

Hardy is a spirited and durable un-Germanic German surname that is starting to be used in this country.

Actor Mark Ruffalo honed this surname down to its basics when he chose it for his son. A more usable expansion might be the Irish surname Keenan/Keenen.

This bold choice soared in popularity from 2008 to 2013, and now seems to have plateaued. But watch out—the character Major Major Major Major in the classic absurdist novel Catch-22 had a terrible time.

Asking for trouble.

Innocent, the name of thirteen popes, is rarely heard in a secular setting, where its loaded meaning could open the door to ridicule.

An inspirational and aspirational word name that evokes ideas of loyalty, faith, honesty, and accuracy, True is a unisex name, which is just slightly more popular for boys. Like an updated form of Trudy and Prue and with the virtuous feel of Grace, Faith, and Hope, True was given to around 200 girls in 2023.

A shimmering day name, with a bit of hippie residue.

Hallow is a word meaning sacred or holy. As the root word for Halloween (orginally All Hallows' Eve), this name might be an evocative choice for a baby born on or near October 31st. It could work well for either a boy or a girl and offers the nicknames Hal and Halley.