Wonderful Word Names for Babies

A bit too cunning.

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.

Not even for Brandy's twin brother.

Sound contradicts its meaning.

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

A name that's appeared out of thin air, in the same vein as such mystical favorites as Destiny and Nevaeh.

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

An offbeat word name referring to the speed of a piece of music.

Like Justice and Peace, this word name makes a very strong statement. Ving Rhames chose it for his boy.

A lyrical choice.

Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in 2021. In kids' minds, this might be overly associated with Sesame Street.

Anyone who's seen "The Book of Mormon" or visited Utah knows this as the title taken by male Mormon missionaries during their term of service. We'd advise anyone who lives somewhere with any significant Mormon population to avoid it for that reason.

This nature name hasn't escaped the hippie dippy air of others like River or Sky.

Sabbath is a faith-inspired word name, like Sunday or Faith, that is attracting some notice since heavy metal musician Zakk Wylde chose it for his son. But then there's the band Black Sabbath, which gives the name a more devilish twist. While there's nothing intrinsically male or female about Sabbath as a first name, it squeaked onto the Social Security roster for five boys in 2012, but was not recorded for girls. Sabbath comes from the word for "day of rest" in many ancient cultures.

One of the more unusual word names used by Plymouth pilgrims for their children. Fear Brewster is an example of the usage of this name. Definitely one of the historic pilgrim names best left in the past.

More a concept than a place -- or a name.

Tornado first meant thunderstorm and only later came to mean whirlwind, the common modern meaning. More recently, Tornado is the first name of a tennis-playing teen whose sister is called the equally attention-getting Hurricane. Both names work for either gender, if you think you can withstand the storm jokes.

Christmas is a day name long and quietly used as a name for babies born at Christmas. Prettier and more modern than Noel or Noelle.

We'd prefer to stick with the more-familiar Cadence and avoid the overly trendy Kay- prefix.