Wonderful Word Names for Babies

An appealing Hawaiian name which belongs to a town, river and bay on Kauaʻi island in Hawaii. The two possible meanings of the name, "crescent bay" or "garland (lei) valley" both describe the beauty of the place.

Nobility names like Duke and Count seem to be forming a minitrend: actor Danny Bonaduce named his son Count Dante Jean-Michel Valentino. Beat that. Or wait: don't.

There are many lovely day/month/seasonal names -- and this is one of the most intriguing.

Adventurous word choice, but still quite a burden for a child to bear.

The French word for "twin," often used to refer to items found in pairs. Its plural form, jumelles, is the word for binoculars.

Power is one of the new crop -- Justice, Liberty, Peace -- of strong, clear-cut, declarative choices, though this one carries more assertiveness than virtue.

Actor French Stewart introduced this one to the lexicon. French is part word name, part place name, and part surname-name, reminiscent of celebrity baby names that reference a nationality rather than simply a place, such as Moroccan.

Alternative to Princess or Queenie.

Honesty is one of the modern virtue names, which along with Justice and Destiny are picking up where Faith, Hope, and Charity left off. Is Honesty the most appealing name ever? No, and it's also sure to spark lots of tiresome jokes. Still, Honesty is a positive quality and a lot more appealing than negative word names such as Pistol and Rehab (which both, yes, were given to five baby girls in the US last year).

Alternative to Prince, Duke, King, or Earl, but not an improvement on them.

Winner is a positive word name that entered the lexicon thanks to rapper Nya Lee, who chose it for her baby girl. But this name is a unisex winner with the cute nicknames Winnie or Win.

One of the simplest, most down-to-earth yet evocative of the word names, which could work — especially as a middle.

Aviator is equally appropriate for a girl, of course, but lovers of Beatrix and Bellatrix might appreciate the spiky sound of this unique occupational name.

Trying to imbue your child with charisma at birth involves a certain degree of chutzpah. It was brought into the mix by ex. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Charisma Carpenter, who was named after an Avon perfume.

Eighties star Judge Reinhold (born Edward Jr. , he was given this nickname at the age of two weeks) made this possible, but it could cause a lot of confusion.

If you don't want to limit yourself to one month of the year, this unique baby name offers the plus of the friendly nickname, Cal.

Spiritually resonant, but will definitely raise grandparents' eyebrows.

Broadening your horizons when choosing a name for your baby may lead you here. Horizon feels like the cousin of names like Meridian, Geo and Stellar - scientific spins on nature names. Rize is the usual nickname for this choice.

A word name that's appealing when applied to a person boogying or doing ballet; a different story in the context of Santa's reindeer.

Experience is a word name used by the New England Puritans but probably too joke-worthy for a modern child...or teenager. It does not have as direct a biblical reference as most Puritan names.