Baby Naming Inspiration articles

Blue is the color of serenity and calmness; crystalline seas and clear skies. It’s also a color that can provide plenty of baby name inspiration! Still haven’t picked out a name yet for your soon-to-be-here bundle? Don’t be getting blue! Pick from any one of these blue names instead: Neel – so much cooler, more stream-lined and exotic than the identical sounding Neil, Neel is a Hindi name meaning ‘sapphire blue’. It is a girl’s name, however, given that similarity to Neil we think it could easily be used as a unisex name here in the States.

America loves Irish names right now: Liam, Aiden, Connor, they’ve been some of the biggest breakaway stars of the 21st century. But what about the girls? For some reason we don’t have quite the same appetite for Irish girls’ names… This can be partly put down to some of the frankly perplexing spelling and pronunciation quirks of the Irish language – Dearbhail is pronounced der-vul?! And where would most Americans even start with a name like Caoimhe?! Even still: there are plenty of pretty (and easy to pronounce!) girls’ names available

Place names as given names are so in right now and we’re always on the lookout for a new name and some new inspiration. So fasten your seat belts! We’re traveling around the world to find the best river names. The Mira River in Ecuador and Colombia provides us with our first – and maybe best! – name. As a girl’s name, Mira is a multicultural superstar. It means ‘admirable’ in Latin, ‘peace’ from its Slavic roots, ‘female ruler’ from Arabic, and ‘ocean’ from Sanskrit. It first entered the US top 1000 in 2015, and last year was #546.

It’s official: Harry Potter is 20! Which, yeah, makes us feel old too! But it also means that children (like us!) who grew up with this magical world are now full grown muggles (ugh!) with babies of our own! Harry Potter is not to get old any time soon, and many of the names J.K. Rowling used in her 7 books are now so iconic that they’re ripe for the plucking! Here are our top 20 for the 20th anniversary: Ron – for the first name, we have to go for Harry’s best friend, Ron, but we’re not sure how popular this name will prove in the US today.

Fireworks, bonfires, celebrations late into the night, family, friends and patriotism: we LOVE the 4th of July. And if you’re lucky enough to have your due date in or around our national celebration day, you may wish to honor and commemorate it with one of these fantastic America-inspired names. An old-fashioned name, with old-fashioned charm, Betsy is a very pretty nickname for Elizabeth, but can be used as a name in its own right. Most people won’t automatically make the 4th of July connection – Betsy Ross made the first independent American flag – so it could be a much more subtle option for your little girl.

Still looking for that perfect name for your perfect little arrival this month? No fear! We have compiled our favorite names with a July theme, starting with the simplest: Julius – July is named for the Roman general, Julius Caesar, so what better way to celebrate your little July baby than with this historically hefty name? Julius means ‘youthful’ in its original Latin, and definitely has lighter, more modern feel than the more popular alternative, Julian. Caesar too is an option, though it is rarely used by those outside of Latino families.

Some of us read a lot all year round, but a lot of us get especially excited about summer reading. We pick our beach and vacation reads way ahead of time, excitedly reading through lists and reviews to find the perfect book. We want something relaxing, engaging and a little suspenseful. Or maybe you want something sweet and romantic? Either way, picking out your summer books are fun, and a lot less stressful than picking out your baby’s name. But that’s fun too! It’s exciting to think about the child and then adult your baby will grow up to be and what the perfect name for them will be.

Benjamin, Hannah, Sarah and Elijah: we love Old Testament Names here in the States, and that's before we even mention Noah! Given that we're always on the lookout for something a little new or unique, we thought it would be interesting today to have a look through Israel's top names and see if we can spot a new breakthrough name-star!

Whether you're hoping for your son or daughter to be the next Yo-Yo Ma or a Mozart in the making; whether you love music or simply just on the lookout for a name full of rhythm and resonance, we have the names for you! Here are some of our favorite names inspired by music that should soon have you singing. This Greek name meaning 'song' is sweet, strong and sensuous. It sounds way more fashionable than the traditionally more popular Melanie, and its forceful final consonant makes it a powerful contender. Dee would be a suitable nickname, but we can't imagine you'll want to cut down this beautiful name!

One of the major struggles when it comes to picking a name for your little one is trying to strike a balance between a name that's unique and personal with one that carries the family, cultural or societal meaning and significance you want it to. With the amount of pressure sometimes in place to choose the right one, we've come up with 10 not too outlandish alternatives to 10 of the most common names.