Wonderful Word Names for Babies

North's image and gender status was irrevocably changed when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their newborn daughter. But why not? West is firmly established as a name, Easton is coming up strong, and North has a nice solid sound as well -- certainly as appropriate for either gender. South, though, not so much.

An intriguing but challenging choice, because of possible confusion with all the Terry-type names.

Stark is an ancient surname derived from the Old English word stearc, meaning firm and unyielding. In modern parlance, stark means severe or plain. But Stark's use as a first name -- 15 boys were named Stark in the US in 2017 -- stems from its prominence in Game of Thrones, which has inspired so many new baby names. House Stark is a ruling family on GoT; its motto is fittingly "Winter is coming," so Stark and other names from the show might make creative names for winter babies.

Early is a word-turned-name, pleasantly suggesting the start of a bright new day. Of the new word and day names, Early is one of the best.

A modern virtue name, particularly desirable in this pressure-cooker world.

A warm-sounding word and virtue name used by the Puritans and still popular in parts of Africa, especially in the Favour spelling.

Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.

An early day name worthy of consideration today for someone seeking a truly unusual name.

The late tennis great Arthur Ashe (whose wife was a photographer) pioneered word names when he used this for his daughter. It would make an interesting first or middle name possibility for parents involved with photography.

Many virtue names have long been in style or have seen a resurgence in recent years. Happy, however joyous, seems unlikely to join this trend. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to Joy or Hope) and because it's such a familiarly used word in day to day life (unlike Verity or Felicity).

Seinfeld's George threatened to name his future child Seven, and then singer Erykah Badu actually did it.

Used in France as a male name, this would make an appealing and unusual choice, as would two other Gallic month names, Avril and Mai.

Brother for Heaven or Nevaeh.

Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the name of the horse in the kids' TV show Spirit.

Better for a perfume.

Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.

Prince rose to its highest ranking in a century in 2015, and the tragic death of its most famous bearer in April 2016 propelled it even higher. The Purple Rain legend isn't its only tie to pop royalty: Michael Jackson chose it for not one but two of his sons. Royal names such as King and Prince, once thought of as canine, have begun to be used by human non-royals for their sons.

"Saturday Night Live" cast member Finesse Mitchell often mocks his own and similar names when portraying the character Starkeisha on the show.

Spicy but insubstantial nickname name.

New is a middle name name with meaning: Your baby, after all, is new to the world and you may hope will continue to approach life and experience as if everything is new and exciting.