910+ Middle Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Another meaningful word name that actually dates back to pre-Emancipation days.

An early day name worthy of consideration today for someone seeking a truly unusual name.

Authentic, melodic place-name for the adventurous, chosen by rapper LL Cool J for his daughter and given to nearly 80 baby girls in the US last year. Italia of course is what the Italians call Italy.

The late tennis great Arthur Ashe (whose wife was a photographer) pioneered word names when he used this for his daughter. It would make an interesting first or middle name possibility for parents involved with photography.

Many virtue names have long been in style or have seen a resurgence in recent years. Happy, however joyous, seems unlikely to join this trend. This could be because it doesn't have a solid history of being popularly used (in comparison to Joy or Hope) and because it's such a familiarly used word in day to day life (unlike Verity or Felicity).

Seinfeld's George threatened to name his future child Seven, and then singer Erykah Badu actually did it.

Used in France as a male name, this would make an appealing and unusual choice, as would two other Gallic month names, Avril and Mai.

Brother for Heaven or Nevaeh.

Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the name of the horse in the kids' TV show Spirit.

With the tide coming in on a new wave of word names, this one just might catch on, especially for parents who relish sun, sand, and surf. Forest lovers can spell it Beech, like the tree.

Better for a perfume.

This might be a better choice than the similarly pronounced Jan, to avoid gender confusion.

Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.

Prince rose to its highest ranking in a century in 2015, and the tragic death of its most famous bearer in April 2016 propelled it even higher. The Purple Rain legend isn't its only tie to pop royalty: Michael Jackson chose it for not one but two of his sons. Royal names such as King and Prince, once thought of as canine, have begun to be used by human non-royals for their sons.

With the growing popularity of Celia and Cecilia, this vintage canasta-playing nickname name could be due for a comeback.

"Saturday Night Live" cast member Finesse Mitchell often mocks his own and similar names when portraying the character Starkeisha on the show.

Spicy but insubstantial nickname name.

New is a middle name name with meaning: Your baby, after all, is new to the world and you may hope will continue to approach life and experience as if everything is new and exciting.

No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.

New, fast, cool, and chosen by director Robert Rodriguez, whose other sons are Rebel, Rocket, and Rogue, all somewhat risky options.