December Baby Names

The old word name Temple has gained some recent notice as a girls' name via admired autistic writer and inventor Dr. Temple Grandin (born Mary Temple), subject of an acclaimed biopic, in which she was played by Claire Danes.

Sounds like and is often confused with Asia, though it has an air of retro cool via the seminal Steely Dan album. Or, pronounced eye-ah, it can be an alternate spelling of the international favorite Aya.

Capella, the eleventh brightest star in the sky, carries much mythological and astrological significance. In Roman mythology, Capella represented the goat that suckled Jupiter, whose horn became the Cornucopia or horn of plenty. In Hindu mythology, Capella is called the heart of Brahma, while English legend calls it the shepherd's star.

Perfect for that winter baby, when Snow isn't subtle enough. The feminine version is Edurne.

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.

North's image and gender status was irrevocably changed when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their newborn daughter. But why not? West is firmly established as a name, Easton is coming up strong, and North has a nice solid sound as well -- certainly as appropriate for either gender. South, though, not so much.

Surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options.

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.

A Blaise/Blaze hybrid that maintains neither the history of Blaise nor the wordiness of Blaze.

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

Diminutive form of Tholf

While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.

Very occasionally given to boys born on that day; Noel is a more common name for Christmas babies.

Magi, as in the Three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus, is a new word name appropriate for Christmas babies. It might also be a way to spell Maggie, but you can see the problems that's going to cause.

A word name that's appealing when applied to a person boogying or doing ballet; a different story in the context of Santa's reindeer.

Although it's more commonly seen as a surname, Haviland is occasionally used as a first name, particularly for girls.

Bowman has a lot of winning ingredients: an occupational surname, a cool "Bo" sound, and an archery-related meaning.

Asella is ultimately derived from the Latin word asinus, meaning "donkey." As a word, asella would have been used to refer to a small female donkey.

Two completely different images come from its national pronunciations -- BOY-err or boy-AY -- the latter giving it an effete French accent.