Musical Baby Names

If music is your passion, take inspiration from this list of musical baby names! Many of these are derived from Latin or Italian terms found throughout music, some are names of famous musicians and composers.

Girls:

Allegra
Aria
Boheme
Cadence
Cadenza
Calypso
Carol
Celeste
Ceridwen
Chantal
Collet
Casella
Chantry
Clementi
Corisande
Echo
Hadley
Harmony
Harper
Hymn
Kalliope
Lyre
Lyric
Madrigal
Melody
Minuet
Musette
Octavia
Opera
Piper
Rhapsody
Rossini
Sonatina
Scarlatti
Sempre
Senza
Serenade
Siciliana
Sinfonia
Sonata
Song
Toccata
Viola

Boys:
Adagio
Amadeus
Apollo
Artemy
Bach
Barret
Brahm
Bran
Brio
Bryant
Cadeo
Cello
Dorian
Elegy
Florian
Hymn
Kohler
Landler
Larsen
Lyric
Mandolin
Mozart
Muzio
Olivier
Ottorino
Rhapsody
Reed
Rock
Rowley
Rossini
Rhythm
Sebestian
Wolfgang

The above lists included musical terms and classical musicians. The following list is a little more modern. This includes the names of many influential artists of the past century that may be interesting choices for big fans to choose. Some of these names are firsts, some are surnames. Some of these are from individuals and some are based on band names.  Some even cross genders, for example, the great Tina Turner could be honored by a boy named Turner. How many more can you think of that could be added?

Modern options based on famous musicians:

Girls:
Aaliyah
Abba
Adele
Alanis
Alessia
Aretha
Ariana
Ashanti
Audra
Avril
Beyonce
Billie
Björk
Britney
Camila
Carrie
Celine
Chaka
Cher
Ciara
Christina
Collins
Cyndi
Diana
Eartha
Enya
Etta
Everly
Faith
Gwen
Halen
Halsey
Holly
Jewel
Joni
Joplin
Joss
Journey
Jovi
Katy
Kelly
Lennox
Macy
Madonna
Mariah
Marley
Nirvana
Pearl
Presley
Queen
Reba
Rihanna
Sade
Santana
Selena
Shakira
Shania
Sia
Sinéad
Stefani
Stevie
Taylor
Trisha
Tori
Whitney

Boys:
Allman
Angus
Autry
Axl
Beck
Bing
Blake
Billy
Bono
Bowie
Bruce
Bruno
Buddy
Cash
Chance
Chesney
Chester
Clapton
Cobain
Coltrane
Cooper
Crosby
Cyrus
Dean
Denver
Dierks
Domino
Drake
Dre
Duran
Dylan
Elton
Elvis
Floyd
Garth
Grohl
Hank
Hendrix
Iggy
Jackson
Jagger
Joel
Judas
Lennon
Levine
Lionel
Lynyrd
Madden
Marley
McCartney
Mercury
Morrison
Morrissey
Neil
Nelly
Niall
Ozzy
Perry
Prince
Quincy
Ramone
Ray
Reznor
Sabbath
Simon
Smokey
Stevie
Stone
Swift
Turner
Tyler
Urban
Usher
Van
Vedder
Wayne
Wyclef
Zayn
Zedd
Zeppelin

Melody

Taken straight from our list of names that end with the letters -dy, is the lovely Melody.

This name is also an English word with which you're no doubt already familiar. Melody is derived from the Greek melos meaning "song" and combined with aeido meaning "to sing", which forms the name Melodia. Via Late Latin and Old French, you get the name Mélodie. After that, it winds up as the English word and name Melody.  Google defines it as "mel·o·dy -ˈmelədē. noun: a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying."

This musical name has been around in the US on record since 1914, but it wasn't until 1942 that the name arrived on the scene. It joined the Top 1000 in that year and continued to climb in popularity until it peaked in 1960 at #153 with 2,757 births. Its numbers declined a bit through the 1980s and 1990s, but since the start of the aughts, Melody has started climbing up the charts again.  In 2015, there were 2,168 girls given that name for a popularity ranking of #148.

Could this name continue to linger within the Top 200 or could it eventually break into the Top 100 for the first time? What do you think of Melody?

If this is a name you are pondering for a daughter, here are some middle name ideas and sibling name ideas that all go nicely together:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Adriana, Danielle, Hazel, Laurel, Olivia, Sienna, Tabitha, Violet
Brothers: Blake, Casey, Everett, Gavin, Jackson, Owen, Ryan, Teagan

Middle Name Ideas:
Melody Charlotte
Melody Grace
Melody Katherine
Melody Rose
Melody Victoria
Melody Wren

As a Middle Name:
Alice Melody
Joanna Melody
Lila Melody
Nora Melody
Rebecca Melody
Sophia Melody

Melody is a bit difficult to pair with. Which names would you choose?

Viola

One of The Very Best V Names around is Viola, of course! Taken from our previous article, this name is still a rarity but could potentially gain popularity in the coming years.

The name Viola means "violet" in Latin. If Violet is too popular for you (it ranked #67 in 2014), try Viola. It is very similar in sound but it is ranking well below the Top 1000 chart.

As you may know, the viola is a bowed string instrument. Wikipedia says that "it is slightly larger than a violin in size and has a lower and deeper sound than a violin. Since the 18th century it has been the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello."  This would be a great name choice for musical parents, specifically ones who may actually play this instrument.

The Viola is also a genus of flowering plants within the violet family of Violaceae. The name Viola would please not only musical parents, but those with an appreciation for nature. Additionally, literature lovers would recognize that Viola is the name of the heroine in Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night" (1602).

On top of all that, Viola can also be considered a vintage name since it was well-used a century ago and has the potential to come back into fashion again in the next few years if it can catch a ride on Violet's coattails.

What's not to love? She's a musical, literary, vintage nature name that happens to still be flying under the radar popularity-wise! Hollywood has an Emmy Award winning actress by the name of Viola Davis who has been helping to increase exposure to the name in the entertainment world recently.

Do you think Viola may start climbing the charts for modern babies soon? Viola has been in use in the US since 1880 when records began. It isn't very popular now but it once peaked even higher than the name Violet did. In 1918, there were 4,331 girls named Viola for a ranking of #59 (while Violet ranked at #83 in the same year.)

Since the 1920s, though, Viola has declined in popularity straight down the charts and out of the Top 1000 by 1973. While Viola remains uncommon, it is starting to inch its way back up. There were 192 girls given this name in 2014 for a rank of #1250.

Here are some sibling and middle name ideas for Viola:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Cecily, Coraline, Grace, Imogen, Lenore, Lucille, Rosalie
Brothers: Ambrose, Barnaby, Curtis, Henry, Leonard, Marcus, Thomas

Middle Name Ideas:
Viola Camille
Viola Genevieve
Viola Hettienne
Viola Maren
Viola Rose

As a Middle Name:
Alice Viola
Belle Viola
Julianne Viola
Louise Viola
Tess Viola

What do you think of the name Viola? Or do you prefer Violet? What about Violetta?

Lennon

I came up with a short list of unisex names to potentially feature and it was hard for me to decide between them, so I took the question to the wonderful people on Instagram! The first poll narrowed the list to three names, but the voting was very close on the final three. It came down to Finley, Lennon or Phoenix. In the end, I tallied all of the votes from both polls together and Lennon was the winner!

Upon hearing the name Lennon, the first thought that may come to many peoples' minds is that of the late John Lennon of super rock group The Beatles. Beyond the musical connection, which is probably a huge reason parents choose the name, Lennon actually comes from an Irish surname. It has been anglicized from Ó Leannáin which is basically a patronymic name meaning "descendant of Leannán". Leannán itself is said to mean "lover" in Gaelic.

Lennon is now considered a unisex name. Originally, it was only given to boys from 1913 to 1980 in the US. Girls were slowly given the name starting in 1981 and it has quickly caught up to the same ranks as the boys. In 2013, there were 273 girls named Lennon and 289 boys which makes this name nearly even for both genders because of its 51/49 split.

It has only gained this boost of popularity for girls in the past year. The birth split for 2012 was 33% girl and 67% boy. Before that, the difference was even greater.  If you're wondering, as of 2013, the boy Lennon ranks at #769 and the girl Lennon ranks at #923, joining the Top 1000 for the first time ever. It will be interesting to see if this iconic surname of a male rock star will eventually be turned into a name that's favored by females.

As a baby name choice, like I mentioned, Lennon is a musical honor name. It joins the ranks of others such as Hendrix, Jagger, Marley and Presley. As far as nicknames go, the most obvious would be Len or Lenny. However, nicknames aren't very necessary when the name's only 2 syllables long.

What do you think of the name Lennon? What sort of middle names or sibling names would you pair with it? Names of other celebrities? Other surnames? Other unisex names? There's plenty of routes to take. Here are a few ideas I came up with:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Auden, Hadley, Lucy, Marlow, Monroe, Rowan, Tatum
Brothers: Arlo, Harrison, Jude, Madden, Parker, Rowan, Sawyer

Male Middle Name Ideas:
Lennon Alexander
Lennon James
Lennon Oliver
Lennon Theodore

As a Middle Name:
Charles Lennon
Michael Lennon
Seth Lennon
Zachary Lennon

Female Middle Name Ideas:
Lennon Charlotte
Lennon Isabella
Lennon Kate
Lennon Victoria

As a Middle Name:
Audrey Lennon
Ivy Lennon
Maisie Lennon
Tabitha Lennon

Share your name pairing ideas in the comment section below or on Facebook!