Science and Technology Names

Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.

Charming nature name made even more appealing by the connection to iconic nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale.

Soaring astral name has a great gender-free feel. It also has a pleasing christmas connotation, courtesy of the reindeer listed in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Colorful, yes, but also probably among the hippiest of hippie names. Holly Madison recently chose it for her little girl.

Five is a number name introduced to the lexicon by famous crazy baby namers The Novogratz Family. Five is, yes, their fifth child, who happens to be a boy, but there's no reason Five -- and Seven and Eleven -- can be unisex baby names.

What better namesake for a baby girl than Ada Lovelace (or, to use her full title: Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace), the brilliant 19th-century writer, mathematician and early computer pioneer? Not to mention, her name has a lovely, delicate, vintagesque charm.

Gives middle-aged Neil a new lease on life.

This Roman mythology (and planet) name would be very hard to handle. It derives from a root meaning cloud.

No, not Ben (you'll say a million times), not Van -- Venn. John Venn was a British logician and philosopher famous for introducing the Venn diagram, which is used in several fields, including logic, statistics, and computer science.

Tesla, the surname of Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla that has more recently been used as the brand name for an electric car, is gaining some use as a first name for girls. Exactly 100 girls were named Tesla in the U.S. last year. You might think of the name as a Tessa/Isla hybrid, though with Tesla the s is not silent. There was also a rock band named Tesla.

Penrose – an ancient place-name and surname derived from several villages in Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border country of England – would make for an even more unexpected alternative to quirky nature name Primrose. Intuitive nicknames Penny or Rosie make it feel more wearable.

Lumen is a Latin word meaning "light", and the term used for the measurement of light output (making it an attractive choice for science-buffs).

The brightest star in Ursa Major, this is one of the major navigational stars used by ships.

Even is a popular boys' name in Norway, derived from the Old Norse Eivindr. Another popular variation is Eivind, which is pronounced like Ivan.

The most famous bearer of this striking name is Ada Lovelace, the brilliant 19th-century writer, mathematician and early computer pioneer.

The modern Tyge -- also found in other European countries as Tygo and Tyko -- is a spin on the ancient Greek Tycho or Tychon. A famous 16th century Danish astrologer was Tycho Brahe. Tyge may also be thought of as a short form of Tyger, a spelling variation of Tiger.

Seventeenth-century German polymath Johannes Kepler discovered the laws of planetary notion, along with the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. A handful of parents use his last name for their sons every year -- with good reason. It's a solid-feeling but unique name with a great, aspirational namesake.

Could be the next Nova, now that celestial baby names are in the ascendent.

An epithet of the sun and the Hindu god Shiva, also borne by a 12th century Indian astronomer. Bhaskar, a common Indian surname, is related.