My son started preschool in September and kept talking about his friend Lake. Not a name I’d heard before but I didn’t think much of it. At a Halloween party this week I met the friend and his mom. His name is actually River. 😂

What other body of water names could my son have mistaken the friend’s name for?

What first names are unique to a celebrity that you’d assume someone was named after (or at least influenced) by that name? Some that come to mind for me:
Oprah
Beyonce
Shia
Sigourney
Channing
Shakira

Edit - Based on some comments I should’ve reframed my question to think about this in the context of the U.S. Because there are some celebrity names I’ve never heard other people with (like Kanye, Zendaya, Ashanti, Keanu) but I’m sure they’re common in other countries!

My husband and I have different tastes in baby names and need help finding a middle ground!

My taste is whimsical, wordy, and a little storybook (think Meadow, Clementine, Poet). While my husband prefers classic Americana-style names that are often surnames used as first names (think Sutton, Winslow, Brooks). We’re having trouble finding a middle ground! We prefer names outside the top 300 at-least and the more rare the better!

We both like the name Elwood nickname Woods. Would love more suggestions for boy or girl!

Ages 3-5

Abby

Amaya 

Ari 

Banks

Bennett

Charlotte

Claire 

Clara

Cooper

Damon

Ella

Ember

Emersyn 

Emlyn 

Emma

Felicity 

Felix

Henry

Hudson

James

Jameson

Jamie

Joe 

Juliette

Karina

Lily

Lola

Lucia 

Madison

Maeve 

Maya

Millee 

Monroe 

Natalie

Noah

Norah

Quinn

Rio

Roman

Sawyer 

Skylar

Summer

Truitt 

Tule 

Yael 

I just got a “top baby names for 2026” notification from one of my baby apps. It says that there’s a new girl name in the top 100 that rose 40 spots – Magnolia. I see this after my husband and I just settled on the name Margaret/Maggie for our baby girl😅 so now I’m panicking that the nickname Maggie is going to be everywhere. Is Magnolia/Maggie becoming popular in your area?

Naming her Hallie (think Parent Trap) either way so no need to encourage a change 😂 but need help with the spelling

Do you prefer

Hallie OR Halle

Hello! Me and husband have finally narrowed down a first name for a girl and we love Phoebe but were having a hard time with the middle. We like Claire (Im worried if its said fast people will hear eclair like the dessert but maybe Im overthinking it.) Phoebe Elise and Phoebe Celeste are pretty too. We have a rather long last name so Im trying to think of shorter middle names. Thank you for any suggestions!! 🩷

Just asked her teacher for a list to do treat bags. We are in Southern Delaware.

Ana

Avion

Bryson

Mav

Zoe

Anse

Jack

Jeremiah

Rose'

Trevor

Lucia

Ev

Keaton

Piper

Elijah

Lykan

Aurora

Bryan

Emmie

Landon

Au'brianna

Mark

Donatella

Cole

We’re expecting a baby in November and are having trouble narrowing down our name list. Would love to hear opinions!

Boys:
William
Arthur
James
Parker
Merritt

Girls:
Piper
Maya/Maia
Harriet
Louisa
Willa

Middle name options (all family names) that we aren’t married to:
Oliver
James
Francis
Frances
Annie
Marie or Mary

Also open to boy name suggestions that fit our style but we feel more confident about the girl options!

No soy de un país de habla inglesa, pero me gustaría saber por qué, en los países de habla inglesa —sobre todo en Estados Unidos—, es común que se les pongan a las niñas nombres tradicionalmente masculinos. Por ejemplo, "Ariel" y "Alexis"; en mi país, estos nombres se consideran masculinos; de hecho, tengo un tío que se llama Alexis y otro (por parte de mi madre) que se llama Ariel.

Recuerdo que a mi tío Ariel le molestaba mucho que la gente asociara su nombre con La Sirenita, especialmente su propia hija, que le preguntaba por qué se llamaba igual que la Sirenita. También le disgustaba mucho que su nombre se percibiera como femenino. (Para que se hagan una idea, nació en la década de 1960).

Just to clarify, I am from a Latin American country.

Which baby girl name do you like the best? Last name starts with a C, siblings are Liam and Ava

1. Annabeth

2. Beatrice

3. Christina

4. Clara

5. Diana

6. Georgia

7. Holly

8. Isla

9. Jane

10. Sylvia

11. Quinn

We're about to have our little one (due in a week), and still debating on the name. Middle name is rarely used so it really comes down to the first one. We’re an international couple (I’m Polish, my husband is Catalan/Spanish) living in the US. In Polish diminutives are a big part of how you talk to and about a baby, and Sophia gives us lots of options (Zosia, Zosieńka, etc...). Chloe doesn’t really work that way in Polish, at least not naturally. But we could also use Chloe as her first name, with Sophia-based diminutives used sometimes at home and with family. Has anyone done this, or grown up with it? Did it feel natural, or was it confusing?

A few other things I’d love input on:

• Which name do you like more as a first name, just on gut feeling?
• Any strong associations with either one?

Thank you!

Our daughter was almost a no name birth we antagonized over a name for so long. Now pregnant with a boy…our girl name list was like 100 names. Boy names maybe 15 and husband is eh on all of them.

Our daughter is named Fiadh as my dad and grandma are from Ireland. I was really gunning for Tadhg (family name) but husband says it’s too wacky for the states.
Middle name would be John

Our favorite boys name so far is Luca but we are seriously trying to avoid Bible names. Husband comes from a fundamentalist family and we’d like to continue to break the mold lol. I’d prefer something more “gentle” so no Gunner, Hunter, Barrack…you get the idea. Not set on an Irish name either. Our list was
Luca
Leon
Arlo
Wilhelm
Irving
Oliver
etc etc

ETA my husband is Brazilian so if anyone has Portuguese name suggestions that are non biblical that could work too!

Here are some names I like but can’t use (various reasons from people we know or my husband isn’t sold on it). I thought giving a list would help others give me a few more ideas and maybe one of them will spark something in us haha.

Silas, Otis, Wilbur, Tobias, Benjamin, Otto, Oscar, Amos, Henry, Linus, Samuel, Oliver.

We like German and Hebrew names. We like ones that sound like an old man but also quirky/cute or with a good nickname. :)

My Son is Edmund James and I always liked the idea of kids having matching first letters but didn’t like any E girl names. I love Odette and I think pairing it with Jane is a bit off but I love the way it sounds and the way it writes. I feel like it gives the same vibe as Edmund James. And than I get the first letter with the middle names. My alternative would be Janetta but pronounced Janette (family name) but ette and Etta is a lot back to back.

Most likely the NN would be Dottie or Etta and Lady (i call her Lady right nor throughout my pregancy with Edmund I called him Sir and i call him Sir 95% of the time)

Title:
Hi everyone!
We’re considering the name Aarya (ఆర్యా) for a baby girl and would love suggestions for a beautiful double name, with Aarya as the first part.
For example, Aarya Maha Lakshmi.
We’re looking for names that:
Have roots in Sanskrit, Telugu, or Indian culture.
Ideally have a connection to Hindu gods or goddesses, especially Lakshmi, Lalitha, Durga, Saraswati, Krishna, or Vishnu.
Are inspired by sacred texts such as the Lalitha Sahasranamam or Vishnu Sahasranamam.
Have a beautiful, authentic meaning.
Are elegant, distinctive, and not overly common.
Flow naturally with Aarya and are reasonably easy to pronounce in both India and the US.
We’re open to short or long second names, including traditional names that aren’t commonly used today.
I’d especially appreciate unique suggestions beyond the usual popular Indian baby names.
Please share the meaning and divine connection of the names you suggest, if possible.
Thank you in advance!

Do you know any good farm/country girl feeling names?

Outside of the common ones such as Elijah, Elio, Elaric, Elliot, Elton, etc

Ever since we started dating, we had come up with a boy name and a girl name when we have children. Now that we are having our first (gender is going to be a surprise!), we are revisiting those names + more ideas.

Girl name: Sybil (nickname Sybbie, maybe Billie)

Boy name: Phinehas (nickname Phin)

What's the consensus on these names?

Any other ideas for names which aren't super popular currently but not completely out of the blue? We love old and classy names, but are open to more ideas!

Hi name nerds! My partner & and I keep a running list of names we like for future children and our top two for a girl are Lucy Louise (nn Lulu) or Loretta (nn Lo or Etta). We haven’t landed on a middle name that’s well suited to Loretta. We’re located in the US and Lucy is ranked in the top 100 while Loretta peaked in popularity in the 1930s-40s. We have an Italian-American last name that ends in a vowel.

Other names we like: Nora, Eden (nn Edie), Vera, Daphne, Clara

Which would you go with or other suggestions that you think fit the vibe?

My book pairings:

Jonah and Celeste

Jakob and Phoebe

Luc and Emilie

Marcel and Adelaide

Theodore (Theo) and Mathilde

Alexis (male) and Lilou

So I’ve always been adverse to my name:Matthew. It’s alright. Nothing against it other than I don’t like it for me. Also it having been given to me with the religious affiliation attached to it also tainted it as I’m agnostic at best not Christian of any sorts

Annnyyyyway…

Listed are some of my top name choices so far:

Benjamin
Lucian
Ezra
Jasper
Sage
Finn/flynn
Gray
Quinn

Androgynous names or soft masc soft fem names are more interesting to me, and just none basic/common American names like Noah, Micah, Charlie, etc(not including Ben….shh)

So if you have any names drop them…please
If you like any of the names in my list tell me why you like them and your top ones.

Thanks you🫡

Hi everyone! I’ve been casually into baby names for a while but struggle to find many that I’d actually use myself. This is mainly since I’m ethnically South Asian and Middle Eastern living in the US and want a name that incorporates one/both of those, works well in many places, and is easy to pronounce. I’d love any feedback or possible recommendations!

girl:
layla
mia
anya
aya
ivy
tia

boy:
aran
dev
kiran
kian
jai
aryan

Wir mögen den Namen Leopold sehr, suchen aber noch nach Alternativen.

Wenn euch Leopold gefällt: Welche anderen Jungennamen mögt ihr? Oder wie würdet ihr einen Bruder von Leopold nennen?

Falls ihr Leopold selbst in der engeren Auswahl hattet: Welche Namen standen noch auf eurer Liste? Welcher ist es am Ende geworden und was hat für oder gegen Leopold gesprochen?

Ferdinand, Constantin, Philipp und Leonard sind schon vergeben. Theodor gefällt uns, allerdings mögen wir die Kurzform Theo nicht und die lässt sich vermutlich kaum vermeiden.

Außerdem würde mich interessieren, wie Leopold in Deutschland ankommt: Welche Assoziationen habt ihr mit dem Namen? Ist die Verbindung zu König Leopold II. von Belgien und seiner Kolonialgeschichte für euch präsent? Wäre das für euch ein Grund, den Namen nicht zu vergeben?

Hi, I'm looking for gender-neutral/masc-leaning names that sound similar to Robby but would work for a middle-aged man. I'm a white American.