I'm not sure when names became a special interest of mine, but at some point I made a nameberry account and I frequent both their blog and their forums. I'm also a big fan of behind the name, which has more accurate and in depth name etymology than nameberry does. If you're also a berry you can find me on the forums as jeeps
My current favorite names are:
- Amalia: A latinized form of the Germanic name Amala, meaning "work". I love the way this name feels in my mouth.
- August: Perhaps my favorite gender neutral name. I almost used it for my middle name when I changed my name. It means majestic.
- Aracelia: It's a variation of Araceli, which is a Spanish name meaning "altar of the sky." Another variation is Aracelis, which is the name of one of my favorite poets, Aracelis Girmay.
- Arden: It's either derived from a celtic word meaning "high" or from english meaning "Valley of the Eagle." It was the name of a magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It.
- Arlo: It's meaning is uncertain, but I love the way it sounds. It was perhaps inspired by the fictional place name Arlo Hill from the poem The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser. Spenser probably got Arlo by altering the real Irish place name Aherlow, which is Gaelic meaning "between two highlands".
- Astrid: A Scandanavian name meaning "beloved god" or "divinely beautiful" (which I think it is.)
- Briony/Bryony: The name of a Eurasian Vine.
- Camden: A Scottish name derived from a place name. It possibly means "enclosed or winding valley."
- Carson: Another Scottish name, this one is derived from a last name and may mean "son of the marsh dwellers." It's the name of early 20th century novelist and lesbian Carson McCullers , who wrote much about loneliness.
- Ceridwen: This is a Welsh name meaning either bent woman or beautiful poem. According to medieval Welsh legend this was the name of a sorceress or goddess who created a potion that would grant wisdom to her son Morfan. The potion was instead consumed by her servant Gwion Bach, who was subsequently reborn as the renowned bard Taliesin.
- Claire: The French form of Clara, it means clear or bright. Despite the fiasco that was the beginning of the 16th season of the Bachelorette, I still really love this name.
- Cleo: Often a nickname for Cleopatra and other names. This greek name means "glory" and I think it's glorious.
- Clover: From the English word for the plant, I like this name so much that I named a character in my novel this - though she mostly goes by Chloe.
- Corvin: Derived from Corvus, this name means "raven'.
- Darby: An English name that comes from the town of Derby, which means "deer town."
- Elio: This is the Italian form of Aelius or Helios, which means sun.
- Ephraim: This is one of my favorite biblical names. It comes from hebrew and means fruitful. In the Old Testament Ephraim is a son of Joseph and Asenath and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Estrela: Derived from Galacian, this name means star.
- Elsavetta: This is a very rare name, possibly derived from Elizabeth which means "my god is an oath." Though it might also just be a mash up of Elsa and Vetta. I don't think it's a particularly usable name, especially with Frozen being the franchise that it is but I really love the way it sounds.
- Ferelith: It is the anglicized version of Forbflaith, which means "true sovereignty."
- Fiametta/Fiammetta:an Italian name that means "little flame." I just think it's cute and has many good nicknames.
- Finnick: Suzanne Collins made this up for the character Finnick Odair in the Hunger Games. It reminds me of the word finicky as well as other Fin names like Finley and Fionn.
- Florian: When I was choosing my name, this one made it into the top 10 that I considered, though I went with a different Saint instead. It's a Roman name meaning flower.
- Freya: The English version of the Norse Goddess Freyja/Freja. She was the goddess of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claimed half of the heroes who were slain in battle and brought them to her realm of Fólkvangr, which I personally think is pretty badass.
- Gene: When I worked at an Episcopal Church my favorite old man was named Gene. This is the short form of the name Eugene, which is actually a common middle name for men in my family. Eugene is an English name meaning "well born."
- Gideon: In Hebrew this name means "hewer" or "woodcutter". Gideon is a hero and judge of the Old Testament. He led the vastly outnumbered Israelites against the Midianites, defeated them, and killed their two kings. In the English-speaking world, Gideon has been used as a given name since the Protestant Reformation, and it was popular among the Puritans. I just like the way it sounds.
- Heloise: Scandanavian and German by way of French by way of English by way of Germanic and possibly Old French and maybe Greek. Basically just very European. It means healthy.
- Henry: This is the name of my favorite harpsichord player/builder. It's just a good solid name meaning "home ruler."
- Joan: Yet another name I considered for myself and that I still love. This name just sounds especially gay and strong, despite being the feminine form of John (which does not.) It means "God is gracious."
- Josephine: I considered making this my middle name in honor of my Great Grandma Josie, whose 66th birthday I was born on, though her name wasn't short for anything. I really like the way Josephine sounds. It means "Jehovah Increases."
- Jude: This is a variation of Judith/Judah and it means "praise."
- Julien: Hey! That's my name! This is the French, and superior, spelling of Julian. It means "youthful" or "soft haired" and is shared with both St. Julian the Hospitaller and St. Julian of Norwich. The Hospitaller is the patron saint of Boatmen, carnival workers, childless people, circus workers, clowns, ferrymen, fiddlers, fiddle players, hospitallers, hospitality ministers, hotel-keepers, hunters, innkeepers, jugglers, knights, murderers, pilgrims, shepherds, to obtain lodging while traveling, and travelers - a very busy guy. Julian of Norwich was a Christian anchoress and mystic. She wrote the earliest surviving book by a woman in English, Revelations of Divine Love
- Juliet: From the same origins as Julien, this also means youthful.
- Julitta: Same as Juliet, except Dutch.
- Larkin: This is either a medieval variation of Laurence or an Irish surname meaning "rough, fierce."
- Leocadia: A Spanish name meaning "Splendid Lightness." Something about this name reminds me of the word "Lepidoptera," which is the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths and which I think is absolutely beautiful.
- Lyndon/Linden: This is a type of tree!
- Luca: The Italian and Romania form of Lucas, which means "light."
- Magdalene: Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala - a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered Madeline, while Magdalene or Magdalen is the learned form.
- Magnolia: A type of flowering tree named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
- Marcella: An Italian name meaning "warlike."
- Mateo: The Spanish form of Matthew, which means "Gift of God."
- Matthias: The same as Mateo but Greek.
- Niamh: Pronounced Neve, this is an Irish name meaning "bright." Niamh was the daughter of the sea god in Irish legends.
- Osiris: Greek form of the Egyptian wsjr (reconstructed as Asar, Usir and other forms), which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to wsr "mighty" or jrt "eye". In Egyptian mythology Osiris was the god of the dead and the judge of the underworld. He was slain by his brother Seth, but revived by his wife Isis. This is also the name of the janitor at my work, who is a delightful woman.
- Quincy: Derived from a surname which was derived from a place name. This potentially means "from the estate of the 5th son."
- Reverie: As a noun, it has been used since 1325 and is Middle English meaning "daydream" or, more literally, "fanciful musing", from Old French reverie which was derived from rever meaning "to speak wildly." As a name, there are some instances of usage in the mid to late 1800s, but it is still relatively rare, with 7 babies named Reverie in 2012.
- Sadira: This is the Persian form of Sidra, which means "order or sequence."
- Spencer: It comes from the middle English word for "pantry", which makes me think it's a good name for someone with a lot of snacks.
- Stella: This means "star" in latin.
- Sunniva: A Norwegian name meaning "sun gift."
- Theodore: An English name with roots in greek. It means "gift of god." I love the nickname Theo, especially on women.
- Tobias: This is a Hebrew name meaning "God is good." This has been a favorite of mine since I was a young child, due to the animorphs series.
- Violet: One of my favorite flowers, I have a tattoo of this due to it's symbolism in lesbian and bisexual culture. I also think it's just a beautiful name.
