Science and Technology Names

In geography, a meridian is a line drawn around the curve of the Earth between the North and South Poles. The term comes from Latin meridianus, meaning "pertaining to midday", and the association with midday has led to the word gaining an added figurative meaning of "pinnacle; culmination".

Edison's middle name is a fabulous option for parents looking for something with history and a soft sound. This could be the name you're looking for if you like Tesla's scientific pedigree but think that it has become too corporate with the advent of Elon Musk's company.

Zenon is a relative of Zeno, which is a form of Zeus, used in both ancient Greece and modern Poland. With the new rise of all names mythological, this one may deserve a fresh look.

The astronomical Polaris is better known as the North Star, the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation. It's also the name of a character in the Marvel Universe, as the daughter of Magneto. A handful of girls have been given the name in recent years.

Guido was very popular in Renaissance Italy, with many namesakes including painter Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro) and mathematician Guido Fubini. Guy Fawkes, of gunpowder plot fame, sometimes used this version. Nowadays it's unfairly overlooked, but in the current trend for snappy international names ending in -o, this cultured gem deserves more use.

Ursa might be a good choice if you're looking for a bear name for your daughter but want to avoid the She Witch curse placed on Ursula by Disney's The Little Mermaid. Too bad, because Ursula is a classic and lovely name, but Ursa has less baggage.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

Despite its modern sound, Blaise has plenty of history as a given name (for boys), from a Christian martyr to Arthurian legends. Today Blaise feels like the cool and edgy Blaze with a French accent.

Meaning bard, this is an original choice with poetic and melodic undertones. Bard itself has also come into consideration, both names bringing to mind Shakespeare and other literary lights.

The Scottish surname Baird's most notable bearer was John Logie Baird, the Scottish engineer and inventor of the televisor, the world's first practical television system in 1926, and also the world's first fully electronic color TV tube two years later. Some might also remember puppeteers Bil and Cora Baird.

Hypatia, an ancient Greek name, has a distinguished namesake: Hypatia of Alexandria was an early philosopher and scholar of mathematics and astronomy--as well as inventor of several scientific instruments.

A mathematical possibility, but the odds are against it.

Nikola is generally masculine in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Macedonia, while in Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia and the Czech Republic it is usually feminine.

A natural successor to Hunter, Hudson, and Huxley, Hutton is an unexpected yet on-trend unisex name. Associated with Scottish geologist James Hutton, and as a first name with designer Hutton Wilkinson.

Tau, rhyming with cow, is a simple straightforward name with roots in two languages and cultures, the Kaurna language spoken by indigenous Australian people or the African Tswana language, a Bantu language spoken by five million people.

Solar is a new gender-neutral word name used nearly evenly for boys and girls. With both a weather and a heavenly bent, it's a name that's just warming up.

The Halley version of this popular name family hit the Top 1000 only once, in 1986, inspired by Halley's Comet, named for astronomer Edmund Halley.

It's a car brand, a planet, and the messenger of the gods -- but it's questionable whether it works as a little girl's name.

The Roman god of the underworld, the former ninth planet, a cartoon dog...but not a baby.

A cup-shaped flowerhead in botany, which could lead to the super cool nickname Cal.

Jupiter may be known as the father of all the gods, but it's baby girls who have claimed his name for their own. Mythological and celestial baby names are hot across the board, so Jupiter was bound to rise in popularity. But the reason it's currently mostly female in the US is thanks to its similarities to the trendy feminine name Juniper.