Disney Baby Names

This Maori name, often heard in New Zealand, is an attractive, evocative choice for lovers of the ocean made famous – perhaps too famous – by the Disney heroine. Moana was also an alternate name for the heroine Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth. Moana may also be a color name for a deep ocean blue ("lanu moana"). Moana and other Disney Princess Names are the subject of a featured blog.

In Greek mythology, Megara was the first wife of Heracles (Hercules); the character of Megara "Meg" in the Disney film is loosely based on her. It’s also a place name in Greece and Sicily. Read more about Megara and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Only if you're an aviation buff or seriously addicted to popcorn.

This simplified spelling is a bit too polyester, though this is also the authentic Slavic version of an Old Testament name that's being rediscovered.

Iago, the villain of Shakespeare's Othello, was so treacherously evil that his name has hardly ever been heard offstage. Try the much-more-benign Inigo.

Fiery but slight middle name choice; much more apt to be a redhead's nickname.

If you like the idea of Tadhg but don't feel like the spelling works where you are, Teague might work as an alternative. It could also fit the bill if you're seeking a unique single-syllable first or middle name for your son.

This bold choice soared in popularity from 2008 to 2013, and now seems to have plateaued. But watch out—the character Major Major Major Major in the classic absurdist novel Catch-22 had a terrible time.

Spelling variation of Philip. Exactly as many baby boys were named with the single 'l' spelling in 2017.

Olaf, though sainted and regal in Norway, is slightly oafish here. It is one of those names that has become completely familiar in the U.S. without ever becoming assimilated. Now that he's a comical character in Disney's Frozen, he might get some more attention.

Any boy with this name, a synonym for power via the Greek mythology figure, better be strong of body, and of psyche.

The name of the young hero of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, who was raised by wolves (really) and becomes a genius hunter and trapper, was chosen as a middle name for their son Bronx (really, again) by rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz. Kipling invented the name, whose first syllable rhymes with cow.

A name better left where it is, embroidered on a fifties poodle skirt.

A combination name that might be dismissed as a clown and cow name. The sounds are nevertheless pretty and the meaning is good - though spellings Claribel or Clarabel might help distance it from the cow association.

A Leave It to Beaver/old comic-strip name, vacationing for years with the Griswolds in WallyWorld, but now back as WALL-E?

Depending on your cultural references, you may think of Phantom of the Opera author Gaston Leroux, or the macho villain of Beauty and the Beast. While he's hardly a role model (unless you too use antlers in all of your decorating), his name was likely chosen because it's a classic in France. It's been used there since the middle ages, partly in honor of the Frankish bishop St Gaston. It went out of style in France mid-century, but now it's having a revival, entering the Top 300 in 2017.

Kids would be more likely to associate this name with the hyperactive meercat in "The Lion King" than with the ancient Greek philosopher or Shakespearean character, which could cause playground problems.

Darling has history as an English surname, but it would most likely be read as a quirky and loving word name, a la Sweetheart or Honey.

Baby names that started off as diminutives -- Ena, Ita, Etta -- seem too insubstantial for a modern female.

Traditional African name made cartoonish by the Disney character in The Lion King. In Shona it means "strength".