Aaron |
Hebrew for "shining light" or
"high mountain" and Arabic for "messenger."
Aaron was Moses' brother. This name has been
the surprise hit of the 1980s. |
Abby |
Latin for "head of a monastery."
A nickname for Abigail, but also nice on its
own terms. |
Abraham |
From the Hebrew for "father of
a multitude." Almost a guarantee that your child
will grow up to be very wise. Bram is a nice
nickname that works well on its own. |
Ada |
From the Hebrew for "adorned"
and Latin for "of noble birth." A short, sweet
palindromic name. |
Adam |
From the Hebrew for "earth." This
is it, the original boy's name. Extremely popular
in the nineteenth century; peaked again in the
1970's. |
Adena |
From the Hebrew for "delicate."
Relatives: Adina, Adinna, Adenna. |
Adolph |
German for "noble wolf." For obvious
reasons, its post-World War II use has been
limited. Adolphus is a possibility, with Dolph
the preferred nickname. |
Adrian |
A variation of "Hadrian," Greek
for "rich" and Latin for "dark one." Very popular
among popes. Sylvester Stallone gave it a seemingly
permanent prefix with the line "Yo, Adrienne"
in the ROCKY movies. |
Agatha |
Greek for "good." Agatha was a
thrid-century saint. The French spelling. Agethe,
livens this one up, but may present pronunciation
problems. |
Agnes |
Latin for "lamb." Agnes was an
extremely popular saint in the third century.
John Keats wrote a very sensual poem of the
same name in the nineteenth century. |
Aida |
Old English for "joyful." A grand
opera by Verdi; the elephants come on stage
for this one. |
Alan |
Gaelic for "handsome." The feminine
form, Alana, is currently in vogue. The "y"
variations are also an interesting choice for
a girl. |
Alaister |
A Scottish version of Alexander.
Conventionally a boy's name, occasionally used
for a girl. |
Albert |
A German compound of "noble" and
"bright." Extremely popular at the turn of the
century both in this country and abroad, perhaps
because of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince
Albert. |
Alexander |
Greek for "protector of mankind."
Extremely popular in all its forms, especially
in royal circles. |
Alfred |
Old English for "wise cousel."
Seldom used these days despite some terrific
antecedents. |
Alice |
From the Old German for "noble"
and Greek for "truth." It was Lewis Carroll's
"Alice" who journeyed through Wonderland and
also stepped through the looking glass. |
Amber |
Arabic for "yellow-brown." Making
a deserved comeback, and a nice middle name,
too. |
Ambrose |
From the Greek for "immortal."
Ambrosia was the mythical drink of the gods
and was thought to bring immortality to anyone
who tasted it. |
Amy |
Latin for "beloved." One of the
great names, conventional but not plain, popular
but not trendy. |
Anastasia |
Greek for "resurrection." A very
rhythmic name that conjures up images of old
Russia. |
Andre |
French variation of "Andrew."
An apropos choice if you have French antecedents,
and becoming popular even among those who don't. |
Anthony |
From the Latin for "priceless"
and Greek for "flourishing." The classic for
an Italian-Ameican boy; Antonia for a girl is
much less common and quite nice. |
April |
From the Latin for "blooming"
and the spring month. |
Ariel |
From the Hebrew for "lion of God"
and Shakespeare's sprite from THE TEMPEST. Yours
will not be the only Ariel in the playground. |
Arthur |
Welsh for "bear hero" and shrouded
in the mists of British history. A name that
deserves to be more popular than it is currently. |
Ashley |
Old English for "ash-tree." Almost
exclusively used for girls these days. |