Apocalyptic Names

One part nature name, one part surname name. Oakes gives you the best of both worlds.

Mellow and musical.

The Greek mythological hunter who was turned into a constellation is much more often used for boys.

A cool Biblical option that currently sits just outside the US Top 1000, Ozias gets extra points for its user-friendly nicknames Oz and Ozzie. Given to around 200 boys in 2023, it has quadrupled in use since 2013.

Deriving from the Hebrew Uzziah, Ozias is the name of several minor figures in the Greek and Latin Bible, most notably the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. It also has a literary connection in the form of the wonderfully named Ozias Midwinter from Wilkie Collins' 19th century sensationalist novel Armadale. Several characters in the novel describe the name as 'horrible', claiming that 'no sane human being would assume such a name as Ozias', but we - and a growing number of parents - would disagree.

Writer Anne Tyler gave this apt name to the hippie child in her novel Amateur Marriage, but she wasn't the first -- it was also used by the Puritans. Today it would be quite a loaded choice.

Sophisticated, stylish feminine form of Pascal especially appropriate for girls born around Easter or Passover.

Pastor might be a brother for Parson and Deacon.

Paxton stands out from a lot of other two-syllable surname names for two reasons: the dynamic letter X in the middle, and its admirable peace association, providing the great nickname Pax.

This simple, elegant name offers something for many kinds of parents, from writers and history buffs to photographers to Pennsylvania dwellers. Most famous bearers are comedian Penn Jillette and Gossip Girl hottie Penn Badgley, both of whom were given this distinctive name at birth. Long obscure, Penn seems destined for greater usage.

Peyton is a unisex surname that rose to fame in the 90s, with parents drawing inspiration from football star, Peyton Manning, and, oddly enough, from "Peyton Flanders", the villainess of the 1992 film, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. Combining gentle sounds with contemporary style and the naughtiness of Peyton Place, the name remains a popular choice in the US today.

Piper is a bright, musical name that entered the list in 1999, one year after the debut of the TV series Charmed, which featured a Piper, and it's been a consistent riser since. Piper Kerman is the memoirist whose prison experiences provided the basis for the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.

It may surprise you to know that surname name Porter was fairly popular in the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries, then went underground for 40 years only to reemerge at the turn of this century and climb the ladder again.

Presley is a much more popular name for little girls than you might think, entering the charts as a girls' name in 1998 and hovering around Number 200 for the last decade.

With the new fashion for occupational names, we may hear more of this one.

The girls have Apple, Plum, Peaches, Cherry, and Berry: here's one variety of fruit suitable for a boy.

Quinn is an engaging Celtic surname that is still on the rise for girls but beginning to flag for boys. As a female name, Quinn is in the Top 100, used for over 3000 baby girls last year, but toward the bottom of the Top 500 for boys, given to 700 baby boys.

The name of the Japanese god of thunder makes an assertive choice, very much at home in the Western world. Because of the name's similarity to popular baby names Aiden and Jayden, most people will pronounce it RAY-den, but it's more properly RYE-den.

Rainer is one of those baby names that is still under-the-radar but has been quietly gaining traction: The number of boys who've received the name has doubled in the past decade, to just under 50. Part nature name and part traditional German name for boys, Rainer can claim a place among the two-syllable r-ending baby names so fashionable for boys today.

Attractive North Carolina place-name and surname of explorer Sir Walter Raleigh. Distinctive, classy-but-approachable choice for either sex.