Science and Technology Names

One of the least attractive names to come out of the pantheon of Nobel-laureates (via Polykarp Kusch), Polykarp (also spelled Polycarp) is an early Christian saint name from Smyrna. We suggest you look elsewhere for either scientific or religious-inspired names.

Actress Shannyn Sossamon used this as the middle name for her son Audio; one of the most do-not-try-this-at-home combos we've heard.

Queensland's Daintree Rainforest is a part of the largest continuous rainforest in Australia. Its namesake is geologist and photographer Richard Daintree, the first government geologist in Queensland. His surname is derived from the Middle English word for "valley," dene.

This Swedish surname is a a great name for those looking for a quiet nod to arachnids. Tamerlan Thorell was a notable arachnologist who described over 1,000 species of spiders and gave his name to the genus of Orb-weaver spiders.

A jaunty, traditional name in Sweden's Top 100. Famous bearers include actor Svante Thunberg (Greta's father) and the father of physical chemistry Svante August Arrhenius. The name Svante is short for Svantepolk, the name of a Slavic nobleman who settled in Sweden in the 14th century.

A scientific name, Kardashianized.

Usain Bolt chose Lightning as the middle name for his daughter — Olympia Lightning Bolt. Mainstream parents have taken a liking to Lightning as a boy name — it debuted on the charts in 2021, and was given to five baby boys in 2022.

Sir William Osler was a Canadian physician, often referred to as the "father of modern medicine". He was one of the four founders of the John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, MD, and he also founded the History of Medicine Society at the Royal Society of Medicine, London.

Atari debuted for girls in 1980, a year after it appeared on the charts for boys. It's not a Japanese given name, instead, the name was influenced by the video game company. Atari named themselves after a Japanese phrase, atari, used in the ancient Chinese game Go. It means, roughly, "I am about to win," and is said in a similar context to which one would say "checkmate" in chess.

In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and approximately U-shaped. Its name derives from a Greek word meaning "I place side by side".

While this has a distinguished male namesake -- astronomer Edmund Halley and his comet -- it still strays too close to the superpopular feminine Hailey family to work for some parents for a boy. Fewer than five baby boys were given the name last year, but that could change as formerly-female names become more acceptable for boys.

Better than Synergy.

A variant of Jameson or Jamison, borne by the first Black woman in space, former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison.

This common Swedish name gains science connections from bearer Manne Siegbahn who won the Nobel prize for his work on X-ray spectroscopy.

Although it may be better suited for a robot, Grimes and Elon Musk used Mechanicus as the middle name for their son Techno.

The name Lamarr could be a great choice for those looking for a name that has both brains and beauty in its pedigree. The extraordinary Hedy Lamarr was not only a gorgeous and talented film actress but also the inventor of the technology eventually used in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology.

A highly unusual Euro-chic virtue name, borne by Canadian cell biologist Dr Pleasantine Mill and American building design writer Pleasantine Drake. There is also a novel called Aunt Pleasantine by American author Ruth Doan MacDougall.

Wave is used as a name in its own right, but on girls, it's most often seen as a nickname for Waverly. It lends a beachy, bohemian air to the classy English surname.