910+ Middle Names

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi," which translates to "cold water." Nairobi is popularly known as the Green City.

A musical name that is undeniably cool and, well, rhythmic. Its biggest challenge may be the spelling. Well, maybe not the biggest challenge. Save this one for a middle name.

A musical name that is undeniably cool and, well, rhythmic. Its biggest challenge may be the spelling. Well, maybe not the biggest challenge. Save this one for a middle name.

Harvest has been occasionally used as a name since the eighteenth century, originally as evenly unisex, though it tips a bit in the girls' direction in the contemporary US. Given the rise of such popular baby names as Harper and August, plus new word names from Heaven to True, Harvest sounds more possible now than ever.

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.

Hurricane is a storm, but it's also an American name, thanks to rising tennis star Hurricane Black -- whose sister's name is Tornado. There's no reason this tempestuous choice can't work for boys too, inasfar as the name can work for any child. As a name, Hurricane is definitely original and attention-getting, but is it a name you'd want to carry around for life?

We've got Saint, we've got King, we've got Prince Duke Bishop Deacon and Messiah. So why not Sir? The name of Beyonce and Jay-Z's newborn son, Sir is an honorific and a word name that fits right in with current trends. And it does guarantee your son will be addressed with respect, at least nominally.

Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.

Could be a sister to Trinity, Genesis, or Heaven.

Leaf is a hippieish choice that, for girls, still retains an evergreen quality.

Divine seems more proper a name with the rise of Heaven and its turned-around twin Nevaeh. Though superlative names like Divine -- Unique, say, or Precious -- sometimes seems as if they're trying to hard and protesting too much.

A forward-looking word name.

Pretty sound, provocative meaning, but a little over-the-top.

Revere is a word name (meaning to admire or esteem) whose meaning alone has enough to recommend it. In the USA, however, Revere attracts further connotation as the surname of Paul Revere, one of the celebrated patriots of the American Revolution.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.

Names that have not historically been names are not intrinsically gendered, so though we originally pinned Arrow as a boys' name, both starbaby Arrows that have been born recently have been girls. And with Arrow given to 60 girls in the US in 2015 and 94 boys, we call that a pretty decidedly gender neutral name. With its forward-moving, true-landing imagery, Arrow is one of the new inspirational names.

Plausible word name, denoting strength and stability.

Gambit means ploy or trick, which makes it an appropriate name for a little player. Eight boys were named Gambit in the US in one recent year.

Ballad could be the masculine answer to Aria. An obvious and cute nickname is Lad or Laddie.