Wonderful Word Names for Babies

Tao is the Chinese word for the underlying harmony of the universe, combining both yin and yang. Extreme kayaker Tao Berman made this one of the spiritual names prime for adoption. Tao rhymes with cow.

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.

Show, don't tell.

A recently entered name on the roster, Poet was used for her daughter by Soleil Moon (Punky Brewster) Frye, who obviously appreciates the advantages of an unusual name. This is a possible middle name choice for verse-loving parents who want to skip specifics like Auden or Poe or Keats or Tennyson and go with the generic.

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

If you like names that are not really names -- some say, the wave of the future -- Harbor has an attractive sound as well as an appealing meaning and image.

A new unisex word name with a lot of charm, especially appropriate for the child of writers. Soleil Moon Frye named her second baby boy Story and Jenna Elfman called her son Story Elias.

Though Genesis is a Top 100 girls' name in the US, it's by all rights a unisex choice.

If you're going to choose a noble word name, why not aim higher and pick Duke, Prince...or King. The Donald Trumps picked the Barron spelling for their little princeling.

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.

A musical name that's more popular for girls, but has been hovering just inside the Top 1000 for boys since 2007.

This steely surname has a macho image that might feel more appropriate for a romance novel than a baby. But on the upside, it's also sleek and modern, familiar yet unusual, given to only around 100 boys per year in the US.

While Ivy Blue has made the color a more popular choice for girls, Blues — as in the musical style — could feel more masculine. While some may find it a sad and gloomy choice, thanks to the phrase "having the blues", the musical connection gives it greater potential. It could make for a laid-back name that oozes cool and works as an alternative for those wanting to avoid more obvious choices like Indigo or Hendrix.

The unisex word name Bean, distant cousin of the infamous Apple, was used for the name of a child of mysterious gender in Louise Penny's novel "A Rule Against Murder." While we can imagine Bean as a cute nickname for a yet-unnamed and unborn baby, we don't recommend it for real life.

This began as a nickname, usually for someone who was a "third," as in William III. But in an age where any noun goes, this could be thought of as representing a little voyager -- hopefully not into psychedelic realms.

A classic virtue name for girls stretching back to the Pilgrim times, in more recent years, Honor has become one of the unisex baby names with a near-even gender split. Rarely used on boys before the 2010s, it has nearly doubled in use over the last decade.

Dagger is one of the new badass baby names, a sharp and scary choice that some parents may feel arm their child for battle in a cruel modern world.

A once trendy name for girls but that's now in decline, this musical option has actually been slowly and quietly on the rise as a masculine option. Given to 115 boys in 2023, compared to 75 in 2017, it could be an alternative to Caleb or Caiden with a hint of creative flair about it.

Petal is the soft and sweet-smelling name of a character in the novel and film, The Shipping News. With the rise of such flower names as Poppy and Posy, we believe Petal — down-to-earth yet romantic — has its own appealingly distinctive style.

A whimsical and serene feeling word name, bestowed to reflect the joy and perfection parents might find in their children and the ambitions they have for them. Once a fantastical and celebrity-only feeling option, Dream came into popular usage after Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna chose it for their daughter in 2016.