Baby Names Sure to Shock Grandma

Though distinguished former Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill was known as Tip, it's usually best to leave names like Skip, Flip, Kip, Pip, Rip, and Tip to the pets of the household.

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

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

A bouncy midcentury TV nickname name.

BloodRayne is a series of action-adventure video games, but the heroine's name is actually Rayne, a much more usable appellation for a non-vampire, non-animated child. We hope no-one uses this for their child.

First century queen who led her Brittonic Iceni tribe in revolution against the Romans occupying England. Also found as Boudica, Boadicea (as in bodacious) and in Welsh as Buddug, the historic namesake was defeated and committed suicide, but is still celebrated in England as intelligent and brave. One ancient name that, while unheard these days, could be revived along with such choices as Atticus and Cassius.

The water, period.

A pretty word, but laced with violent imagery.

Somehow a "y" got stuck in a glass of apple juice.

The singer known as Pink (born Alecia) brought this hue onto the name-possibility palette, especially as a middle choice. Could Pink be the next Blue?

A few boys have adopted fabrics like Denim and Suede; here's a singular one for the girls, with a distinctively silky sheen.

This upbeat, friendly surname name has appeared on television's Battlestar Galactica a handful of cartoons, and on a literary note, a character in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Sports fans might think of Boomer Esiason, the NFL quarterback turned color commentator. He's not the only athlete to answer to the upbeat nickname.

Selphie Tilmitt is a character in the popular video game Final Fantasy VIII. An orphan like the other main characters, she's described as upbeat, friendly, and energetic....though she wields a mean nunchuk. Given the name's resemblance to the photo term "selfie," this one is off the table, even for enthusiastic gamers.

Frostine, best known in the U.S. as the name of the Candyland queen, is newly fashionable in France and is certainly a choice that any little girl the world over would love. Fanciful, if over-the-top, but a perfect name for a winter baby girl.

Royalty was the hottest name of 2016, moving furthest up the ladder to enter the Top 1000, and is also arguably the trendiest name of the past decade, used a whopping 71 times as often in 2017 as it was ten years earlier. Royalty represents the convergence of two important trends: word names and superlative names such as Legend and King. This is one we'll hear a lot of for a while.

A sweet French word name possibility, but with unsavory teasing potential.

Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in 2021. In kids' minds, this might be overly associated with Sesame Street.

An adorable nickname for a smiley baby, but not suggested as a legal name.

Modern variant spelling of Anniston

Doctor is an honorific used as a name, somewhat like names such as Bishop, King, and Princess. Banned in New Zealand, Doctor can lead to the kind of confusion you may feel would be only positive for your child -- a bona fide Doctor before he even gets to kindergarten. At its zenith in 1884, Doctor was used for 12 boys, but last year it didn't even clear the five-baby minimum to make it onto the Social Security extended list.