Wonderful Word Names for Babies

Sister is an old-timey nickname-name for girls, ranking in the Top 1000 as a proper name for girls until the beginning of the 20th century. But more often, Sister was used as a nickname in the truest sense of the word, not a short form ala Kathy but a nickname in the way that Chip and Bud are. Or maybe Junior is a more appropriate name analogy: Sister was sometimes the nickname given to the only girl in a family of boys, so literally a descriptive word name like Junior.

Ode could be part of the extended Otto/Otis family, or it might be a literary term, referring to an elaborate lyric poem.

Smooth and evocative, but not very namelike.

In the US this is likely to conjure zebras, lions and elephants on the Serengeti, but its original meaning "journey" broadens its wearability. Safari is a name common in Africa for babies born while their parents were on a journey.

We call Savvy a Modern Virtue Name, a contemporary version of the Puritan's Hope and Charity, extolling the virtue of shrewdness. And who doesn't want their daughter to grow up to be Savvy in the ways of the world? So far, this name has been used only for girls, perhaps because some parents remember the women's magazine called Savvy.

Royalty was the hottest name of 2016, moving furthest up the ladder to enter the Top 1000, and is also arguably the trendiest name of the past decade, used a whopping 71 times as often in 2017 as it was ten years earlier. Royalty represents the convergence of two important trends: word names and superlative names such as Legend and King. This is one we'll hear a lot of for a while.

If you like the idea of King and Prince but find them too sophisticated, this might be the name for you.

Legend joins cousins Story, Saga and Fable in the baby name pantheon of narrative words. Unlike Story and Fable, however, Legend comes with additional weight, being used for fame ("living legend") and to denote a person who is fantastic "what a legend"). Who can live up to that?

African-American and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth was born as Isabelle into enslavement. She adopted her new name when she began traveling and preaching abolition in 1843. Sojourner is a heroine name that may, with the rise of spiritual word names such as Journey and Genesis, finally be ready for prime time.

Spicy.

Like True, a virtuous word name, but a little more awkward. In Trust we trust.

As the former stage name of TLC founder Perri Reid and the name of the youngest member of the animated Flintstones clan, it's got some pop culture cache. But it'll be too cutesy by half for most parents.

For basketball fans, in honor of Magic Johnson. Or anyone who believes in magic.

Not even for Brandy's twin brother.

Sociable middle name choice with a Quaker feel.

Believe it or not, this was a fairly common appellation in early New England, interpreted not in the sexual sense, but more in terms of desiring salvation. In modern times, the French name Desiree, pronounced dehz-ih-ray, would be more acceptable.

This old-time name for a sofa would not be comfortable as a baby name.

Very occasionally given to boys born on that day; Noel is a more common name for Christmas babies.

Toni Morrison, the modern master of literary names, made this one famous as the title character of a novel. But things didn't work out so well for that Beloved.

Sound contradicts its meaning.