Wonderful Word Names for Babies

Fidelity is an admirable virtue, yes, but as a name it tends to sound like a financial institution. Faith, Honor, or Patience would be easier to live with than Fidelity.

Experience was used by the Puritans but probably too joke-worthy for a modern child...or teenager.

Wildly optimistic -- and unrealistic -- choice.

Hallow is a word meaning sacred or holy. As the root word for Halloween (orginally All Hallows' Eve), this name might be an evocative choice for a baby born on or near October 31st. It could work well for either a boy or a girl and offers the nicknames Hal and Halley.

Armistice is an unusual word name with a meaning that's both militaristic and peaceful: It refers to a ceasefire, temporary or permanent, by agreement in wartime. Armistice Day commemorates the end of World War I.

Lots of parents choose nature names, but only a few choose Nature as a name each year. It is equally used for boys and girls in the USA.

Legacy is proof that any attractive-sounding word can be turned into a name, and this one has the added attractions of an inspirational meaning and a cool creative namesake -- hot young artist Legacy Russell.

If Fable, Story and Saga are getting a look in, why not Allegory? Allegory offers the cute nickname Ally.

In the Plymouth Colony of the seventeenth century, Thankful was the third most popular of the abstract word names. It disappeared after 1700 and has virtually no chance of returning.

Actress Shannyn Sossamon used this as the middle name for her son Audio; one of the most do-not-try-this-at-home combos we've heard.

The part of the ship that gives it stability. A short, sweet, Old Englishy type name that has gone almost completely unused so far.

Wishful thinking.

A sixties-style name that might work best as a middle.

Royal names are on the rise. Along with names such as King, Prince, and Royal, why not Palace? Why not indeed.

Moroccan is a name newly minted by Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon for their newborn twin son. Meaning a person who lives in Morocco, Moroccan was used by the couple as a nod to the Moroccan Room in Carey's Manhattan apartment, where Cannon proposed to the singer. Place-name Morocco is another choice for either sex, as is music name Maraca.

An admirable quality to impart; Pleasant was used by Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend and in modern times is known via American Girl dolls creator Pleasant Rowland.

In 2014, six little girls in the US were given the name Starlit. Starlit has a sweeter meaning than the similar Starlet, and a better ring than Starlight.

Lyric is a name given to over 1000 boys and girls each year in the US. Could the more feminine Lyrical (given to only 20 girls each year) become more popular as parents look to find less common alternatives to this musical name?

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Nameson the rise for both genders, but in this case mainly girls. About 85 percent of the babies named Loyalty are female and 15 percent male, but there's no reason this upstanding name can't work equally well for both.