Adagio

Part-April, part-Felicity, but with the wonderfully whimsical feel of Serendipity. Apricity debuted in the US charts for the first time in 2022.

Apricity

The name of the character in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" whom the poet intended as a representation of Queen Elizabeth I. While it will no doubt thrill your daughter's English professor, the addition of the "Bel" to already great Phoebe is on the fussy side. 

Belphoebe

Birch is a rarely used nature name that calls to mind the lovely image of the tall, strong but graceful white-barked tree. 
 The best known bearer of the name is former high-ranking Democratic Senator Birch Evans Bayh, who carried the name of his father and was the principal Senate sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment.
 The birch tree has many notable qualities and uses &mdash; including the making of furniture, paper, canoes, and drums, is considered the national tree of Russia (where it used to be worshiped as a goddess), the state tree of New Hampshire, and has spiritual significance in several cultures.

Birch

One for the truly adventurous baby namers, or perhaps an unexpected middle name to liven up a more traditional first. But on trend short form Bo does make it feel a little more accessible.

Bonaventure

Ballad

Butterfly

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy.


December

The Elysian Fields of Greek mythology was the home of the afterlife for the blessed. As spiritual names and mythological names continue to rise, Elysian is a name to watch.

Elysian

Epiphany is based on the ancient Greek word for a feeling or realization that comes upon you suddenly. It often relates to the divine, as in the realization that Christ is the son of God. The Feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus, takes place on January 6, ranking Epiphany among the unique <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/629/71-wonderful-names-for-january-babies">January baby names</a>. 

As word names and <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/254/spiritual-baby-names">spiritual names</a> become more popular, the attractive Epiphany becomes a more viable choice.

Epiphany

Epoch

Eutony

Evermore

Glory sounds fresh and uplifting and a lot more modern than Gloria (which is definitely feeling the stirrings of a revival, though some might still view it as a terminal Old Lady name).  Glory, as in "Glory Be" and "Old Glory," has both a religious and a patriotic flavor.

Glory

Gossamer

More distinctive than Grace and more creative than Presley, Graceland is a contemporary name that could catch on with parents searching for a unique honorific.
 
Graceland is famously the name of Elvis Presley's estate in Memphis, Tennessee.

Graceland

Heaven, Peace, Serenity: parents seem especially attracted to word names that signal paradise, but Halcyon sounds quite feminine, and might conjure up the sleeping pill Halcion. 

Halcyon

Ivy is in the Top 50 for girls, but actually had some usage for boys for several decades. As more parents consider botanical choices for boys as well, Ivy could get some more love on both sides.

Cooler than the older month names like April and May, and a highly unusual and eye-catching choice. The most famous real-life January is female – January Jones – but the month is named for the Roman god Janus, who presided over doors and new beginnings.

January

Most things Jul-related – from the month of July to popular modern names Julia and Julian – originate with Roman emperor Julius Caesar, and the month name July is no exception. Fifteen girls and seven boys were named July in 2013, putting this month name into the class of <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">gender neutral names</a>.

 In the 21st century, July feels – literally and figuratively – hotter than June.

July

The next Destiny? Kismet seems like it might be fated for increased use. 

Kismet

Japanese city name not yet on the map for babies, but why not?

Kyoto

In one recent year there were 60 baby girls in the US named Lark....and only eight baby boys. But there's no reason this bird name can't also be masculine, especially given that Robin is making a comeback for boys and Sparrow is a notable starbaby boy (he's Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's son).

If you need further convincing Girl Names for Boys was one of our hottest <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/baby-name-trends-2024">baby name trends</a> of the year.

Lark

Lagoon

Limerence

Madelief is an <a href="https://nameberry.com/lists/category/unusual-names">uncommon name</a> but not unheard of in the Netherlands, where 123 girls were called Madelief in one recent year. With its soft sounds and similarities to all those "Madeleine" type names as well as names ending in "eef/eev" sounds (Aoife, Eve, Genevieve), Madelief has potential in English-speaking countries to be a fresh and pleasant change from Daisy, Margaret and Madeleine.

Madelief

Meraki is one of those untranslatable words that only exist in a single language. It's the Greek concept of putting your whole heart into something. NPR says, "Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table."
 
Meraki is rare as a name, but several instances have been recorded.

Meraki

The African tradition of day naming—giving a child a name inspired by the day, time, or season in which they were born—has become attractive to Western parents as word names increase in use. Midnight is a relatively new addition to the pool—it was used as a middle name by Nicole Richie and Joel Madden for their son in 2009. 

Midnight

The original oddball celebrity baby name, via Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit, who claims she's always liked it. 

Moon

There are many lovely day/month/seasonal names -- and this is one of the most intriguing. 

Morning

Printemps

Quintessence

Modern surfer boy. Just don't call him Reefer. 

Reef

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.

Remember

Reverie is a strong-sounding word for an ethereal, dreamlike state -- a perfect contrast and meaning for a word that intends to become a first name. Popular mommy blogger Rebecca Woolf of Girls Gone Child named one of her twin daughters Reverie, setting off a groundswell of interest.

Reverie

River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named his son with actress Rooney Mara after his brother River.

River's popularity is rising for boy genders, but it's still predominantly given to baby boys. Last year nearly 3500 boys were named River vs. about 1900 baby girls.

Keri Russell and the Taylor Hansons both have sons named River, Natasha Henstridge used it as the middle name of her boy Tristan, and Jason Schwartzman pluralized it for daughter Marlowe Rivers.

River

Botanical choice that can work for either gender. Simple and straightforward. Caveats: rue means "regret" in English, and "street" in French.

Riptide

Sisu is a Finnish word meaning courage, guts, grit, and determination. Sisu may be familiar to the younger crowd as the loveable, hilarious water dragon in the Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon.

Sisu

A neologism coined for the 2012 Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which aims to come up with new terms for emotions that currently lack words

Sonder

Sunshine was seen as a quintessential hippie name of the 70s, reaching as high as Number 536 in 1975. Now such names are making a bit of a retro comeback, seen, for example, as a character on Glee.

Sunshine

One of the many variations of Silvanus, the name of the Roman forest god, and a little-used member of the freshly stylish Sylv- family of names. Silvan is the sleek German and Dutch form. Given to less than 100 boys each year in the US, it's nevertheless in the Nameberry Top 500.

Sylvan

Syzygy

Tempest is one of those names that could go either way. Cool, evocative modern word name? Or asking for trouble?  Your call, but if you decide the former image is dominant, be warned that some people will see it as the latter.


Tempest

Valentine is an attractive Shakespearean name with romantic associations, but those very ties to the saint and the sentimental holiday have sent it into a decline, one which we think may be about to turn around.
The name's best known bearer is the third century martyr St. Valentine, whose feast day of February 14 coincided with the pagan fertility festival of the goddess Juno, all of which led to the modern Valentine's Day. This makes Valentine one of the most perfect <a href="https:///list/630/70-lovely-names-for-february-babies">names for February babies</a>.
There are two Shakespearean characters named Valentine: one in Twelfth Night, and the other belonging to one of the two gentlemen in Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
Valentine was the name of the father of James Bond-creator Ian Fleming, the young Humphrey Bogart played a dashing con artist named Valentine Corliss in an early film, The Bad Sister, and Kevin Bacon was Valentine McKee in the 1990 sci fi movie Tremors. Valentine Michael Smith is a major character in Robert Heinlein's classic, Stranger in a Strange Land.
Though Valentine hasn't been in the U.S. Top 1000 for over half a century, it's currently in the Top 100 in France and Belgium.
Ricky Martin chose the even more romantic Latin Valentino for one of his twins, and the feminine Valentina was given to the daughters of Salma Hayek, Adriana Lima and Lolita Davidovich. And trivia tidbit: Valentine was the middle name of writer Henry Miller.

Valentine

Vellichor

The final -e takes this from a daring word name to a literary honor name, for the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, infamous for his wit and flamboyance. English model Lily Cole used the Wylde spelling for her daughter, born in 2015.

Wilde

Wildflower may be the ultimate hippie name, added to the lexicon by Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden when they chose it as one of their daughter's middle names. It's generic in the way that Flora and River are, as opposed to Iris and Nile, say. But it has a certain free and creative charm.

Wildflower

Waterfall

Whimsy

moon.lark's list "nora's mostly gp middle ideas" of 50 great name ideas: Adagio - Whimsy!

nora's mostly gp middle ideas

word names, consider (most of) them gender neutral but i have just the genders i like them better on in here bc i'm lazy