Wonderful Word Names for Babies

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

One of the new literalist religious names, like Blessing, Heavenly and Neveah. More male than female, but essentially unisex.

A big, bold, ultra-rare virtue name. Could it follow in the footsteps of Justice and Liberty?

Spiritually resonant, but will definitely raise grandparents' eyebrows.

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.

All-inclusive word name.

Alternative to Princess or Queenie.

It's a beautiful burnished metal -- but also slang for policeman.

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.

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