Colour names

Teal is one of the prettiest and most straightforward of the new color names -- an ideal middle name choice.

The thistle is the botanical emblem of Scotland and would make a good if unusual patriotic choice for people with Scottish heritage. One of the few flower names that could be worn by a boy with as much ease as a girl.

A creative choice, suggesting the Venetian Renaissance painter (born Tiziano), and the brownish orange red hue that was featured on his palette. But try explaining to the boys in seventh grade that it's pronounced tee-shun.

Turquoise is similar in hue to Aqua, which is one of the cool new color names on the palette. Other blue-hued options: Cerulean, Cyan, Indigo, or Blue itself.

Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber.

A rich brown hue, but can be misheard as Amber, said with a pretentious accent.

Commonly heard in Israel, but here it could be an unusual way to honor Grandma Rose.

Verde is an uncommon color name with a Latinate accent, perfect for a spring baby.

Related to the Arabic Warda, Vered is a strong sounding nature name with a sweet floral meaing.

This vivid reddish orange color name is an undiscovered possibility -- kind of a female equivalent of Cerulean for boys.

Now that Violet is becoming more popular, parents are starting to explore same-but-different options such as the French Violette, which would properly be pronounced with a long e sound in the first syllable and three syllables -- vee-oh-let -- as well as the Spanish Violeta — both of which were among the fastest-rising girl names of 2023.

Unusual and beautiful blue green color and name possibility, a la Cerulean.

With the rise of all those other popular feminine W names, like Winnie, Willa and Winona, why not consider the lovely Winika? Win and Winnie are likely nicknames and it is associated with a dainty Pacific orchid that blossoms at Christmas time. If you're looking for international names for Christmas babies, this is one for the short list.

A frilly southern-accented flower name yet to be planted on many birth certificates. In the language of flowers, the wisteria is a symbol of devotion. It is named for American horticulturalist John Caspar Wister.

A yellowish chemical compound that produces fluorescent dyes ranging from bright yellow to hot pink to flaming red -- but as a name sounds glaringly sci-fi.

This is a Hebrew word name, created from the word zahav, meaning gold.

Zariza is a unique name sure to appeal to Z lovers.