Wonderful Word Names for Babies

This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.

Ambitious geographical name.

Why did 5 sets of parents chose to name their sons Dock in 2016? We may never know.

Fortitude is the kind of virtue name the Puritans favored, but would not be easy for a modern boy to carry. Stick with something a little simpler than Fortitude, like Justice or True.

Although still small in numbers, children named Legendary have increased dramatically over the years. It's one of the ultimate aspirational word names. Nick Cannon and Bre Tiesi used it for their son in 2022.

All names connected with royalty have become increasingly popular in recent years, and King variation Kyng is no exception. Some parents may feel that the Kyng spelling makes it more of a name and less of a royal title, but both names sound the same and have identical meanings, so why endlessly complicate spelling and pronunciation?

A musical name without much rhythm or harmony.

This cosmological name is given to a handful of boys and girls each year in the USA. Likely to get confused with Stella, but definitely edgier and likely to start a conversation.

Ikea is a down-market version of the Chanel/Tiffany/Porsche brand-name-as-first idea.

Is there any boys' name more loaded than Stonewall? It evokes, in two syllables, both the Stonewall riots of 1969, the foundational moment of the gay rights movement, and Stonewall Jackson, second in fame only to Robert E. Lee among Confederate generals.

Winner is an uplifting word name that can work for girls or boys. It was recently chosen by rapper Nya Lee for her daughter.

Like Silver, Golden is a shimmering metallic color name, almost too dazzling for an ordinary girl.

Beware: extremely high pressure, high-expectation name.

A handful of baby girls were named Poem in the US in the most recent year, along with Poet and Poetry. But of course, these word names can work for boys too.

One way to encourage some cheers for your little one, but not recommended.

Kaidence is a newly-introduced variation of musical, rhythmic Cadence. Kaidence entered the Top 1000 in 2013, the same year it was rumored to be the frontrunner for Kim and Kanye's daughter. (It was wrong, of course - Kim and Kanye named their daughter North.)

Epic feels like it could be the boys' version of Saga. Epic poetry tells some of our most celebrated stories - from Beowulf and the Odyssey, to the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. Despite being short, Epic is a lot of name, so it might be a choice for an adventurous middle name.

Pistol is one of the new names that entered the lexicon in the US in 2013, when it was given to nine babies of each gender. Call it an equal-opportunity badass baby name with an unfortunately violent image.

Booker and Author are being used as names (the former is best known care of Booker T Washington), so why not Reader? Reader certainly fits in with both these and other "doing" names like Ryder, Brewer, Fifer, Miller and Cooper.

More common as a surname, a handful of boys get this bovine equivalent of Shepherd each year in the US. It may gain more exposure as one of the occupational names that are one of the most popular classes of English names for boys.