Car Baby Names

Has an upscale aura, perhaps due to the luxury James Bond Aston Martin car.

Bentley, a somewhat stuffy British surname, previously associated primarily with an incredibly expensive English car, has had a recent surge in popularity, thanks largely to the reality TV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, with Bentley being the name of the son of breakout star Maci (another new favorite) Bookout.

Colt is the kind of unconventionally macho name that is so trendy right now, because of or in spite of its association with horses and guns.

The genial yet upscale and preppy Cooper was one of the first occupational last names to catch on -- and Cooper remains a pleasing option.

An early and still one of the most popular unisex names, also a place name and name of a Native American people in the northern Mississippi valley, which makes it a controversial baby name choice. While the popularity of Dakota is trending downward for both genders, it's one of those rare genuinely gender-neutral names that is used for nearly equal numbers of boys and girls.

Diesel, which you can think of as a word name for the fuel or as a German surname that derives from a pet form of Matthew or Mathias, is a new entry to the American name lexicon thanks to celebrities Jennie Finch and Casey Daigle, who chose it for their son, baby brother of Ace. Diesel might also be thought of as one of the neo-macho names, joining such bros as Harley, Ranger, and Breaker.

Elise is one of those golden names that stylish but not TOO popular. Its appeal is due in large part to its French flair and to the love for El-names in general.

The long association to the Ford Motor Company doesn't stand in the way of this being a strong, independent, single-syllable name.

Kia is a sweet, simple name that is now, unfortunately, associated with a Korean car label. Better today: Nia, Thea, or Keira.

Lexus, an automotive newcomer, has recently entered the Top 1000 -- more because of its association, we fear, with the status symbol car than its relation to the name Alexis. If you love this name, do your child a favor and make it Alexis or at least spell it Lexis.

Less common than other virtue names, Liberty is nonetheless a name with a long American heritage.

Lincoln cracked the Top 50 for boys' names for the first time in 2016, more than 150 years after the death of its most famous bearer. This is especially remarkable because, as crazy as it seems now, Lincoln was deeply out of fashion as recently as the late 90s, consistently hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000.

Nova has the feel of both newness, from its meaning, and great energy as an astronomical term for a star that increases suddenly in brightness before fading.

The Shakespearean Portia may be a real name, but Porsche is now and forever a car, not a little girl.

The list of occupational boys' names continues to expand, and this is one of the latest to ride onto the range. With a hint of cowboy and Western, a sprinkle of preppy surname, an outdoorsy, nature-connected vibe, and a soft-but-strong sound, Ranger has a lot going for it. More than doubling in use over the last decade, it was given to around 120 boys in 2023.