Wonderful Word Names for Babies

Harvest has been occasionally used as a name since the eighteenth century, originally as evenly unisex, though it tips a bit in the girls' direction in the contemporary US. Given the rise of such popular baby names as Harper and August, plus new word names from Heaven to True, Harvest sounds more possible now than ever.

Revere is a word name (meaning to admire or esteem) whose meaning alone has enough to recommend it. In the USA, however, Revere attracts further connotation as the surname of Paul Revere, one of the celebrated patriots of the American Revolution.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

Names that have not historically been names are not intrinsically gendered, so though we originally pinned Arrow as a boys' name, both starbaby Arrows that have been born recently have been girls. And with Arrow given to 60 girls in the US in 2015 and 94 boys, we call that a pretty decidedly gender neutral name. With its forward-moving, true-landing imagery, Arrow is one of the new inspirational names.

Ballad could be the masculine answer to Aria. An obvious and cute nickname is Lad or Laddie.

Knowledge is a word name that's on an upward trend for boys, in 2021 hovering just below the Top 1000 in the US. And if Maverick, Legend, and Justice can be popular baby names, why not Knowledge? It's an important quality for any child to possess, via their name as well as their brain.

"Rose" names are big right now, as are spiritual names, so this rare option could fit the bill for Catholic parents looking for an overtly religious choice. The Rosary is a form of prayer in the Catholic Church, using a string of beads also called a rosary.

Divine seems more proper a name with the rise of Heaven and its turned-around twin Nevaeh. Though superlative names like Divine -- Unique, say, or Precious -- sometimes seems as if they're trying to hard and protesting too much.

Heavenly, the word that's become a name, has been flirting with the bottom of the Top 1000 for a handful of years now. Heaven and cousins like Nevaeh have been well-used so adding the popular -ly suffix, ala Everly, seems like a natural progression.

Gambit means ploy or trick, which makes it an appropriate name for a little player. Eight boys were named Gambit in the US in one recent year.

Pretty sound, provocative meaning, but a little over-the-top.

Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in boys' names starting with R, you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and Racer) to your list.

Though many might find it too syrupy, hundreds of parents each year choose this name for their daughters to make them feel special. Precious Ramotswe is the engaging African sleuth in the popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

This recently coined respelling of Cole darkens its image.

Weapon-related names like Saber have been on the rise in recent years. In 2014, ten baby boys in the US were named Saber and five Sabre. The name may also relate to the Arabic Sabir, though to contemporary English-speakers, the reference will more likely be the sword.

Yes, nature lovers are starting to name their children after all forms of life, including fish, but consider carefully before you cast your line into these tease-infested waters.

This cute-as-a-button name conjures playful lion and bear cubs rolling around in long grass. If cute baby names are what you're after, Cub should be on your list.

Sounds pretty. But pretentious.

A patriotic spin on Armie, with roughly the same meaning whether you consider it a variation or a totally separate word name.

Fey, for middle name purposes, could be thought of as a fey spelling of Fay. These days, however, Fey would be considered by most people to be honoring comedian Tina.