Nova

Inspired by our list of The Very Best N Names for Boys and Girls, I present the name Nova.

Nova comes from the Latin word novus which means "new". A nova is also a space term for when there is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion on a white dwarf planet. It causes a sudden brightening of the star. A nova is slightly different than a supernova which is a stellar explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy with as much energy as the sun before fading.

As a name, Nova has been in use for girls since 1885 in the US but it was never popular until it exploded within the past 5 years. It ranked below the Top 1000 at #1133 in 2010. By 2013 it was up to #529. As of 2014 Nova ranked way up at #287 with 1,121 births for the year. It also ranks well in the Netherlands and Sweden.

Nova has recently spiked for boys, too. It has always been given to males here in the US but not regularly until 1996. In 2014 there were 102 boys named Nova for a rank of #1553. Do you like this name more for a boy or a girl?

Nova is an interesting celestial name that's gaining more popularity today than ever before. It's short and sweet with a vivid letter V. It's quirky and cool for a modern girl. If you're considering using Nova, here are a few ideas for sibling names and middle names:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters:  Amara, Celeste, Estelle, Lila, Sidonie, Vella, Zoey
Brothers: Evander, Griffin, Hale,  Jules, Merritt, Orion, Xander

Middle Name Ideas:
Nova Beatrice
Nova Helene
Nova Juliet
Nova Leonie
Nova Scarlett

As a Middle Name:
Charlotte Nova
Elizabeth Nova
Josephine Nova
Margaret Nova
Penelope Nova

What middle names would you pair with Nova for a boy?

The Very Best N Names for Boys and Girls

The letter N kicks off the 2nd half of the alphabet and the names are noticeably a bit more difficult to choose and narrow down. The tail end of the alphabet tends to contain more difficult letters. However, I did happen to find some of the very best options available that start with N!

There seems to be a few solid names that start with this letter and many unusual options that don't rank very high on the popularity charts. Compiling this list was tricky, but I've put together the 25 best girl names that start with the letter N, and 25 names for boys too!

Is N one of your favorite letters for names or do you have a hard time with it like I do? Take a look at the names I've picked and let me know if there are any great ones that I missed.

Nadia                Nadine Naima Nancy Naomi Natalia Natalie Natasha Nellie Neve Nia Niamh Nicole Nicolette Nikita Nila Nina Noa Noe Noelle Noemi Nola Nora Nova Nyx

Nash Nathan Nathaniel Naveen Neal Ned Nehemiah Neil Nevin Newman Niall Nicholas Nico Nigel Nikolai Niles Nixon Noah Noam Noble Noel Nolan Norman Norris Nyle

What are your favorite names that start with this letter? Perhaps you have more favorites than I do. Share your thoughts in the comments below!  And be sure to use the following links to browse more names!

<-- The Very Best M Names for Boys and Girls ||| The Very Best O Names for Boys and Girls -->

Whimsical Names for Baby Girls

When something is "whimsical" it is defined as "playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way."

When applied to names, I would consider these to be names that are a bit out of the ordinary. Something that you don't quite hear everyday but when you do hear it, you can't help but feel drawn to it.

Many of these might only make it as far as your "guilty pleasure" list but you may find yourself falling for one enough to at least sneak it in the middle name spot.

If you happen to be a bold namer, you're sure to love this list! Which of these do you like the most?

Aerith                         Alaska Allifair Allure Alouette Amethyst Amity Anais Apolline Arianwen Astoria Atalanta Athalia Ayelet Belladonna Bliss Boheme Briar Bronwyn Calantha Calixta Celandine Ceridwen Charis Chrysanthemum Clemence Clover Corisande Cressida Daenerys December Éire Eirwen Elendra Ellowen

Elula                       Evienne Fable Fawn Ferelith Galaxy Galilea Gwynne Hypatia Illyria Indica Iridessa Ismay Jemima Jovia Junia Juniper Juno Karenina Kismet Lavender Loire Lolita Lothira Lotus Lumina Luneth Maebry Maisie Medea Miette Mireille Nymeria Orchid Oriane

Ottoline Peridot Persis Petal Pommeline Posy Prairie Quintessa Reverie Rogue Sabine Sable Sailor Salome Sansa Satine Selah Sincerity Sparrow Sybil Tamsin Theodosia Thisbe Thora Tigerlily Topanga Valeska Valkyrie Vella Verona Vianne Waverly Whisper Winsome Zosia

How many names could you add to this list? Share your favorite whimsical names in the comments below!  You may also enjoy our similar list of Unusual and Quirky Middle Names for Girls.

Whimsical Names for Baby Boys

When something is "whimsical" it is defined as "playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way."

When applied to names, I would consider these to be names that are a bit out of the ordinary. Something that you don't quite hear everyday but when you do hear it, you can't help but feel drawn to it.

Many of these might only make it as far as your "guilty pleasure" list but you may find yourself falling for one enough to at least sneak it in the middle name spot.

Or perhaps you're a bold namer and you're already adding many of these to your first names list.

Whatever the case may be, surely you'll enjoy browsing this list:

Adler                       Alchemy Alfric Ambrose Atlas Atreyu Auberon Bane Barclay Basil Beau Bingham Bravery Breccan Bromley Cadwallader Caius Caldwell Caspian Cassius Castor Cato Chauncey Cobalt Creed Crosby Cuthbert Dempsey Digby Draco Dresden Duvall Eben Emery Éos

Euan                     Everest Fabian Feivel Fielding Finch Fischer Frost Gable Hayes Hemlock Huckleberry Icarus Idris Indigo Isidore Kit Lachlan Loki Lórien Lysander Madden Mahogany Merrick Merritt Midnight Napoleon Noble Orchard Orrin Payson Percival Peregrine Pippin Psyche

Quade Quill Rafe Rafferty Ragnar Ransom Rigby Rohan Rudyard Rumor Sayer Seven Socrates Soren Spiro Sterling Sutton Tennyson Thackeray Thane Theodoric Thor Thorin Timber Tolliver Tomlin Toulouse Valentine Viggo Whistler Wilder Wiley Willoughby Wolfram Zeus

Which do you like most? Can you think of any others that could be added?
You may also enjoy our similar list of Unusual and Quirky Middle Names for Boys.

Milo

Our featured boy name is Milo. It comes to us from our previous article that featured The Very Best M Names for Boys and Girls.

The origin of the name Milo is not fully known. Milo has been listed as being both Latin and Old Germanic. Sometimes it is said that it is a form of Miles, but it seems more likely that Milo came first.

According to Behind the Name, it's possible that Milo came from the Medieval Slavic name Milu from which names like Milan, Milena, Ludmila, and Miloslav come. It makes sense that Milo would be related to these names but apparently it isn't certain.

What we do know is that the name Miles came from the Germanic name Milo which was introduced to England by the Normans. The confusing part is that Milo is listed as the "Old Germanic form of Miles as well as the Latinized form." So according to Behind the Name, Milo gave rise to Miles which gave rise to Milo.

Either way, this name dates back to the Middle Ages where it was found being used in official documents. If it does indeed come from the Slavic name Milu, then it would mean "gracious". If it is associated with the Latin word "miles" then Milo would mean "soldier".

These days, Milo is a favorite among celebrities and the Nameberry community. It ranked as the 11th most popular name according to Nameberry's list they generate based on their pageviews.

In the US, though, Milo isn't quite that popular yet. Milo has been in consistent usage since records were first kept in 1880. It had a popularity boost from roughly 1913 thru the mid-1930s before it declined a bit.

Only recently has it started rocketing up the charts, joining the Top 1000 names in 2001. Now by 2014, Milo ranks at #311 with 1,109 male births. There were even 10 females births.

If you're interested in using this name, here are some sibling name ideas and middle name ideas for you:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Adele, Emily, Lily, Matilda, Rosalie, Sadie, Zoey
Brothers: August, Ezra, Henry, Julian, Lucas, Oliver, Zane

Middle Name Ideas:
Milo Alexander
Milo Carter
Milo James
Milo Nathaniel
Milo Sebastian
Milo Vaughn

As a Middle Name:
Barnaby Milo
Dominic Milo
Jasper Milo
Robert Milo
Thaddeus Milo
Vincent Milo

What are your favorite name pairings with Milo?

The Very Best M Names for Boys and Girls

The letter M seems to be regarded as one of the more favored letters when it comes to baby names.

After browsing the list below, you'll understand why people like it!

There are so many great options available in this letter that it was difficult to narrow down the choices to just 25 names for girls and 25 names for boys!

If you know you love M names but you haven't yet chosen the perfect name for your child, perhaps you'll find it here!

Put down that baby name book and close out those other tabs. It's been a long search but, finally, the name you want is below!

Mabel                        Madeline Maeve Magnolia Maisie Margaret Margot Maria Marley Mary Matilda Maude May McKenzie Megan Meredith Mia Michaela Mila Minerva Mirabelle Miranda Miriam Molly Morgan

Maddox Magnus Malachi Malcolm Marcus Marlon Marshall Martin Mason Matthew Matthias Maverick Maximilian Maximus Maxwell Merrick Merritt Micah Michael Miles Milo Mitchell Morgan Moses Murphy

Which M name is your favorite? Did it make the list? If you had to remove one from the above list and replace it with something else, which name would you choose?

<-- The Very Best L Names for Boys and Girls ||| The Very Best N Names for Boys and Girls -->