The Art of Naming

Greek names are fascinating, however, many of them are too wrapped up in archaic spellings to be considered usable today. But over the centuries, some of those names developed diminutives or were passed through a process of modernization to make them easier on our ears today.  Here are some of the most usable Greek boy names around! Which do you enjoy most? Alexander Andrew Apollo Atlas Calix Christopher Damian Demetrius Erasmus Evander Flavian George Gregory Hector Isidore Jason Jericho Leander Leonidas Lucas Lysander Maximos Memphis Nicholas Odysseus Orion Peter Phillip Phoenix Sebastian Stephen Thaddeus Theodore Theon Thomas Timothy Titus Troy Xander Zacchaeus Zander Zephyr Are there any other traditionally Greek names that you could consider using on a modern boy?

Loading... Thank you for voting! If you'd like to submit your own favorite name combinations to be used in future Names of the Month polls,  go to this page and enter them!    Check  Facebook ,  Twitter  or  Instagram  on May 1st to see which names won.

Congratulations on the little girl you're expecting in the near to distant future!  I couldn't be happier for you!  Not pregnant? No problem. If you're looking for an unusual name for a book character, pet, or simulated video game character, I'm happy that you've also stumbled across this page. Below are ten interesting names that have either had their heyday in your grandparents era, or have never quite taken off.  Either way, these names deserve consideration if you're into the uncommon. Go on, browse a bit, then be sure to check out the other six parts of this series  for even more ideas! Damaris (161 births - #1,428) Damaris was a woman in the New Testament who was converted to Christianity by Saint Paul. It is a Greek name from the word δαμαλις ( damalis ) which possibly means "calf, heifer, girl". The meaning is a little unusual but the biblical association makes up for it. Damaris has been used for girls in the US since 1916. It also ga...

Ahhh! Part Seven! Here we are! The series just keeps chugging along with another 10 boy names to choose from! These barely-used names do not rank within 2015's Top 1000 chart. Take a look at the names on this list, pick your favorite(s) and pair them with a great middle name in the comment section below! Cordell (129 births - #1342) Cordell is an interesting surname name taken from Middle English usage referring to the maker or seller of cord. Cordell actually first appeared in 1903 for females, and 1904 for males. However, over the years, it gained more traction for boys, despite being given to a handful of girls here and there until 1937. For boys, Cordell has ranked on and off in the Top 1000, doing the best in the late 1990s.  Now it has fallen off the charts again but still earns a decent amount of births per year. Is this a name that you'd consider? Middle Name Ideas:  Cordell William, Cordell Elijah, Cordell Frost, Cordell Thomas, Cordell Ryan, Cordell S...

We previously explored some of the most unusual boy names from the 1910s . Now it is time to take a look at some interesting names given to females from 1910-1919. Now, there were so very many names to browse through and I'm sure there are dozens more that could be added to this list, but these are some of the top choices I could find.  All of these had either 5, 6 or 7 births for the year within the decade of the 1910s. The names came straight from the US Social Security Administration's data. Let's get started! While some aren't quite as unusual as others, browse slowly and try to imagine what it would be like to live with one of these names: Albirdia Allien Almeter Alphild Amparo Appie Areather Arloene Bannie Beedie Bernetha Binnie Birchie Bird Birdella Blandina Bleeker Blossie Bonzie Boots Borgny Brooxie Brownie Bular California Casilda Cellie Clatie Clesta Clevie Cliffie Clister Clova Cozy Creasie Cumi Dar...

Today we are zooming in on the decade of the 1910s to discover some of the most unusual names given to boys at the time. I analyzed the data from the Social Security Administration and looked at the names at the very bottom for each year from 1910-1919. I pulled interesting names that only had 5-7 births per year, and I did so for each of those years. Take a look at this list and try to remember that these were once names given to baby boys. Some of the boy names that I found within the far-reaches of the data were straight up words. Here are some of the most interesting ones: Admiral Battle Bland Boss Boots Carless Castle Champion Chief Choice Colon Coma Commodore Concetto Converse Doctor Doll Dunk English Fess Flake Fleet Fort Friend Gentle Glee Happy Hooker Jolly Math Method Normal Orange Other Perfecto Precious President Press Seaborn Shade Smiley Speed Square Swift Tiny Tip Watt Welcome White Worthy Here are even ...

This featured name is pulled from the list of names that end with the letters "-ly". This list is one of the longest ones in this series so far. It was full of great options, but I decided to highlight Molly. Not many people will realize that Molly comes from the name Mary. It developed as a diminutive based on Malle and Molle over time. Polly is in the same boat. Now, Mary ultimately comes from the Greek Mariam and Maria , which were from the Hebrew Miryam . The meaning of Mary has never been absolutely certain, but meanings such as "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," and "wished for child" have been thrown about as possibilities. It's also likely that Mary was originally an Egyptian name derived from mry meaning "beloved". So by association, Molly and all of Mary's other forms, variants and translations, mean the same thing. In the US, Molly has always fared well as a stand-alone name. Since 1880, it has ...