Names That Mean Freedom

Manly almost to the point of macho.

An Asian favorite.

Both Karla and Carla are sliding down the ranks, though Karla remains far more popular in the USA than Carla.

This authentic form of the name of an Irish mythological hero with the power to make women fall instantly in love with him would work far better here as the Anglicized Dermot.

Charley is, at this point, an old-fashioned spelling for the most popular short form of Charles, better known these days as Charlie. But Charley is a classic and relates more directly to Charles.

Corliss, eccentric yet well-established, has an independent and artistic air.

Scheherazade -- or Sheherazade --is a legendary Persian queen immortalized as the narrator of all one thousand stories in the One Thousand and One Nights. Her story is even more remarkable than the tales she tells.

This short form has been pretty much replaced by Frankie, however, it could fit in with other clunky but charming names, like Peggy, Bess, and Enid.

This unique baby name is stronger, more distinctive than April or Avril.

While Franklin and Frankie might feel familiar in the US, Fran may feel like an unlikely choice for a boy today, however, it is currently one of several cool one syllable names of the Slovene Top 100. Also borne by football great Fran Tarkenton, it could make an alternative to Finn or Dan, and fit in with softer or gender neutral leaning options like Rowan, Jay, Beau, and Ozzie.

Frisco is a frisky, roguish semi-place-name (San Francisco natives never call it that) that could make a lively, unusual o-ending choice.

An Arabic name with a powerful and alluring meaning, in Islamic tradition, Isra refers to one part of the Night Journey that the Prophet Muhammad, in which he led other prophets such as Ibrahim, Isa, and Musa in prayer. Popular in Belgium, the UK, and the Netherlands, it is climbing the US charts.

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.

This name is the feminization of mythological name Lysander, which is best known to English-speakers as a character in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Shortening Francisco somehow makes it sound even cooler. Cisco is also the name of a digital security company.

Eleftheria is derived from the male saint's name Eleutherios/Eleftherios. The national motto of Greece is Eleftheria i thanatos, "freedom or death".

An uncommon surname name with that energetic -er ending. Might appeal especially to baseball fans.

Charlie in all its forms has been a popular gender neutral name since the early 2000s and is now given almost equally to girls and boys. While it did once lean more (statistically) masculine, it has been used on girls too since the before the 20th century.

If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.

If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.