To add to your list:
[name_f]Hope[/name_f]
[name_f]Charity[/name_f]
[name_f]Liberty[/name_f]
[name_f]Unity[/name_f]
[name_f]Sonata[/name_f]
[name_f]Sonatina[/name_f]
Symphonia
Philharmonia
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]
Violina
[name_u]Harper[/name_u] (meaning “harpist”)
[name_u]Piper[/name_u] (meaning “pipe organist”)
Should you have twin girls, [name_f]Melody[/name_f] and [name_u]Harmony[/name_u] might work.
Some of your suggestions might not be taken as you intended. For example, “Varsity” will be associated with volleyball and other sports teams, and “Sagacity” will be ridiculed for sounding like “saggy.” “Prominence” will be perceived as haughty.
If you like “Sagacity,” you should try “[name_u]Sage[/name_u],” as it means “wisdom.” “[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]” also means “wisdom” in Greek.
Have you considered the names of female scientists, or the feminizations of male scientists’ names? For example, [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie, [name_f]Tesla[/name_f], Darwina?
You asked what our experiences were with girls sharing the names on your list. I unfortunately do not know anyone with virtue names except [name_f]Faith[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f], and other Puritan-type names that are distinctly religious.
This is a super interesting concept to go about it! Honestly, ANY of these names could work, as long as YOU love them. Sure, some of them may be [name_m]WAY[/name_m] out there, but you’ll never have to worry about your daughter sharing a name with someone else. The only thing I would caution against are names like [name_f]Fantasy[/name_f], Delicacy, [name_f]Mystery[/name_f], and the likes, as they can sound a bit… coy? To put it less delicately, I think of a stripper before I think of a child. However, some of them I really liked because they were both unique and not TOO out there:
Also, [name_u]Rebel[/name_u] [name_m]Wilson[/name_m] (a popular Australian actress) came to mind when I saw the non-virtuous names. There’s [name_u]Rebel[/name_u], and her siblings’ names are [name_f]Liberty[/name_f], Ryot (the Riot spelling is preferable [name_f]IMO[/name_f]), and Annachi (which, when said with an Australian accent, sounds like “Anarchy”)
As for more science related names, a couple come to mind:
[name_f]Gravity[/name_f]
Parallax ([name_m]WAY[/name_m] out there, but I actually really like it)
Absolute
Matrix
Stability
Rationality
Modernity
Activity
Duality
And as a last thought, maybe try to think about nicknames? When you said you want things that were more related towards science, I immediately thought about my friend [name_u]Silver[/name_u]. She’s not actually named silver though. Her name is [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f], initials A.G. = [name_u]Silver[/name_u] on the periodic table. I don’t know what the situation is between you and your SO but if they are more inclined towards “traditional” names you could always take that route.
Let us know if you pick something suggested in the forum!!
I love the name [name_f]Clarity[/name_f]! It has been on my list since I read about it on Appellation Mountain, another name nerd site (Clara, Clarity, and Clarion: Claire Names - Appellation Mountain). You might also be interested in [name_f]Clarion[/name_f], which was mentioned in the same post.
Of the names you listed, I find the following particularly usable:
[name_f]Essence[/name_f]
[name_f]Eternity[/name_f]
[name_f]Fidelity[/name_f] (also [name_f]Fidelia[/name_f])
Valence
[name_f]Clemence[/name_f]
[name_f]Legacy[/name_f] (I like the sound of it, but it’s a little on the nose for a baby name)
[name_m]Prosperity[/name_m] (I also like [name_m]Prosper[/name_m]; it’s a bit [name_m]Vulcan[/name_m], which may or may not be your bag)
Vitality
[name_f]Endeavor[/name_f], which was mentioned in a previous post, is a great suggestion.
I notice nearly all the names I like have -ity and -ence endings, probably because they are reminiscent of more established virtue names and therefore feel more usable.
Wow! your poor wife!!!
An interesting discussion yes, but do remember when it actually comes time to name your child to just relax and enjoy, it should be a special time between the two of you. Personally I dislike a lot of word names, and why? Well the best example I can give is that I am a musician, and names like [name_f]Melody[/name_f] and [name_f]Symphony[/name_f] sound very put on to me, they are really things, tools used every day, much like a bunsen burner or a test tube.
From your short list I find [name_u]Harmony[/name_u] (although I would be advised that you might hear the nickname [name_m]Harm[/name_m]) and [name_f]Clarity[/name_f] to be tasteful. The only reason I think [name_f]Clarity[/name_f] is worth considering is how close it sounds to an already socially acceptable name and the lovely option of [name_f]Claire[/name_f] as a nickname.
I think it would be interesting to see your short list as a poll. I think [name_f]Clarity[/name_f] would win by a landslide.
Reverie
Plum
Hallow
Vrai -truth in French
Meridian
Viridiana -Spanish girls name that comes from the color veridian
Story
Aerie -an eagles nest or a tower m
Mercy
Gracen
Pax
Valor
Cyan -the shade of blue used in screen printing
Cassia
Eira
Kirrily
Elara
Aviana
Cataleya
Eliane
the sun
Lynae
Linnea, Linné, Linnaea; a genus of plants related to honeysuckle & lime
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus; scientist & founder of current scientific naming systems
Galilei
after inventor Galileo Galilei
Edison
Thomas Edison
Kirlian
an image that forms when an electrical current is run through an item
Moraea
a genus of flowers
Iridaceae
a family of plants
Lilia
scientific name for lilies
Andromeda
a constellation & galaxy
Jett
a color & black stone
Jasper
a color & green stone
Nova
space name
Ayela
halo around the moon
Juniper
plant name
Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Ellison
first name of an astronaut
Darwin
name-wise not one of my faves but fits the category
I was thinking about this thread after I posted, and have a couple more thoughts. First, although they’re noun names and not quite what you’re looking for, I want to put forward [name_f]Nova[/name_f] and [name_u]Vega[/name_u] as names that might be a compromise between your style and what your wife might like.
My second thought is that you should keep in mind your location, and the location of those responding to this thread, when considering the reception of these names. Not everyone has their location public, but some do, and I think it’s an important variable. There is truth to the idea that people in large metropolitan areas are more accepting of a variety of names than those in more rural locales. Based on your work, I imagine you at least live near, if not in, a large city, which means the reactions of your peers might differ vastly from some of the more negative responses in this thread.
You have a thoughtful and meaningful approach to naming a little girl- I adore your fortitude and passion! I have diligently gone through all 10 pages of this forum and here are my comments.
I worked with a woman named [name_f]Mystery[/name_f]. She never directly said she loved it or hated it. I do think she drew a sense of pride from its uniqueness. Though I thought it was a bit too much, I appreciated it’s robust air.
I think [name_f]Jubilee[/name_f] is stunning, and Jubilance is a really interesting form! Radiance is quite unique and wearable. I think Logic is very cool, though I think it would fit more as a MN. I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] CALYX AND [name_f]REVERIE[/name_f]. These are really attractive. Eloquence is insanely gorgeous (I’ve come across it before as a FN).
I also really enjoy Helicity, Parity, [name_f]Clarity[/name_f], [name_f]Clemency[/name_f], and Vitality (though this last one also might be difficult to wear).
I love the idea of Curiosity, [name_f]Infinity[/name_f], Reality, and Resonance. I think they’re quite wearable with a bit of confidence!
@dreamingoffireflies recommended Euphem and Iridescence, which are both very pretty. I personally love [name_f]Lux[/name_f], though many other folks on NB have dismissed it.
@mommyofsage recommended [name_u]Discovery[/name_u] and Medley, which are very interesting.
This made me laugh: “I am willing to admit that Entropy was not my best idea.”
@cleasimone recommended Parallax, which I’ve also been considering. I think it’s got nice potential.
I will keep my ears and eyes open for updates from you on this topic! All the best.
This is a fun thread – as a kid I always kept a list of “words that would be great names if they weren’t already words,” like Felony and Machete. I also like the idea of scientific naming; I’ve been trying a data-driven approach to assessing popularity of names on our short list.
That said, I think a lot of people here are reacting negatively to how impersonal this approach feels. Rather than Puritan virtue names, the best corollary might be the extreme “hippie” names of the 1960s and '70s – it seems like parents using their child to make a statement about themselves. I also think there’s a lot to unpack about why this approach is appropriate for daughters but not for sons. I don’t know the full history of that, but the concept of naming girls after values and objects seems very much related to the idea of women as controllable property.
A practical risk of these names is that they’re more likely to become co-opted as names for future tech companies, prescription drugs, car models, etc.
I find this notion upsetting. I don’t know of any evidence that concept-driven baby naming has any sexism behind it. I very sincerely hope that you are wrong and I will attempt now to prove it.
Boy word-names are rare, but that could just be because there’s no convention for what a boy word name should sound like. There are prototypes for girl names that help with rapid construction and acceptance of new girl names. We have inherited our constructive grammar from [name_m]French[/name_m], an explicitly gender-typed language. Many of our ‘abstract nouns’ whose roots are adjectives and verbs, are promoted to nouns by adding suffixes to them; these suffixes, in french, are typically female - for no reason other than that they end in the letter e. This sense of which words are female has persisted in english names, even though the nouns themselves have lost that grammar element. If you wanted to find abstract nouns with masculine sounds, you would have to look outside the french suffix system. The potential word pool is therefore smaller, and has no distinct pattern. This makes it harder to find abstract nouns that sound masculine.
Puritans sometimes named their boys after values and objects, and I would too. For example, I would consider naming a boy after the concept [name_f]Victory[/name_f], but the -y ending makes it sound like a girl name to me. Yes, I know [name_m]Victor[/name_m] is a boy’s name - but [name_m]Victor[/name_m] is a concrete noun, not an abstract one. The french suffix system severely limits my choices. So instead I might look for a [name_m]German[/name_m] or Latin root word meaning victory; the decent choices are Triumph and Conquest. [name_f]Do[/name_f] they sound like names? Not really.
All names have their roots in some language and translate to an object or concept. The only difference between [name_m]John[/name_m] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f] is that most people don’t know [name_m]John[/name_m] means ‘god is gracious’. We haven’t updated our boy names in a long time, I claim, because we don’t have a prototype for making new boy names. I don’t think naming a child after something the parents find intrinsically good, has ever been an act of hate.
DISCLAIMER. I would never name my daughter anything I thought would make her the target of oppression.
I love your idea and method of naming for girls. I’m passionate about math and science and would love to find a name along these lines when I’m in the position to name children, which is still a long way off. [name_m]Just[/name_m] a thought- maybe to compromise with your wife, you could find a name of a scientist or even a science-fiction character that holds significance to you, but appears more typical in everyday life. I also like the name [name_f]Clarity[/name_f], and I think it is definitely usable.
Scientific
[name_f]Affinity[/name_f]
Ambience
Brilliance
Conscience
Curiosity
[name_f]Essence[/name_f]
[name_f]Eternity[/name_f]
[name_f]Infinity[/name_f]
Memory - I know a woman named this she likes it as far as I know but she spells it Memri.
Radiance
Sequence
This thread has really taken off and much of what I wanted to say has already been said, but I just thought I’d mention that most of us are looking at these names with a very Western/Developed World bias.
In many parts of the world, [name_f]Africa[/name_f] being the example I know best, people don’t give children a name because they like the sound but because it means something.
Sometimes it’s to do with the circumstances of the child’s birth, like a Rwandan boy I met called Dieudonné - God-given - because he was born during the genocide and his mum saw her beautiful new son as a gift during a very difficult time.
Sometimes names are chosen because of the parents’ aspirations for their child, for example a girl born in wartime who is named [name_u]Peace[/name_u] or a poor family naming their son [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f] because they hope he will own one when he is older and richer.
I also met a boy called [name_m]Prince[/name_m]-of-[name_u]Peace[/name_u] and lots of girls with virtue names like [name_f]Patience[/name_f], Kindness, Joyful and of course the timeless [name_f]Grace[/name_f] and [name_f]Hope[/name_f].
Side note, just because I love this story: I also met a little girl (yes, girl) called [name_m]Obama[/name_m] because her parents were so excited about President [name_m]Obama[/name_m]'s inauguration that they decided to have another child and name it in his honour.
What about [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_f]Patience[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Ivy[/name_f], [name_f]Holly[/name_f]? All word names that would have fallen into these categories at one time or another. All fit what he is asking for, albeit on the more conservative end and not a single one would raise an eyebrow. That being said, other than eventually school, most of the people a child will be exposed to well be family, friends of parents, & parents co-workers, all of which would get it. I would however recommend maybe using a first of a strong woman in science and using the noun as a middle in case she chooses a drastically different field of study as an adult as a more professional look on an application. I love the word names and, since my kids are named for family we have lost, many of the names on my list are for similar meanings/sounds/roots as to avoid copy-cat names. For example [name_u]Vrai[/name_u] (truth) and Verline (faith) or [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] [name_f]Maria[/name_f] and [name_u]Romy[/name_u].
This is one of the most fascinating threads I’ve read on NB. Pretty much anything that I would have said has been covered, so I’ll just pipe in on a few things:
My favorite from the original list is (like many others here) [name_f]Clarity[/name_f]. I love the nn [name_f]Clary[/name_f], & there are lots of names that would work as mns w/[name_f]Clarity[/name_f]…[name_f]Jane[/name_f] (I think Calamity [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is far enough in the past that kids won’t think of it & tease her), [name_f]Marie[/name_f] (after [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie), Irène (after Irène Curie-Joliot), [name_u]Ren[/name_u]ée, [name_f]Rose[/name_f], etc.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] for fun, I looked up the passenger manifest for the Mayflower (Mayflower Passenger List — MayflowerHistory.com). Here are the unusual names, some of which are virtue names:
[name_f]Remember[/name_f]
[name_u]Love[/name_u]
Wrestling
Humility
Resolved
Desire
Here’s a list of some of the names that Puritans used. It’s full of word(y) names:
Finally, a little levity: When my daughter was around 10 or so, she told me that she had heard a word that she thought would be a pretty name. When I asked her what it was, she replied, “Alimony.”
This is one of the most fascinating threads I’ve read on NB. Pretty much anything that I would have said has been covered, so I’ll just pipe in on a few things:
My favorite from the original list is (like many others here) [name_f]Clarity[/name_f]. I love the nn [name_f]Clary[/name_f], & there are lots of names that would work as mns w/[name_f]Clarity[/name_f]…[name_f]Jane[/name_f] (I think Calamity [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is far enough in the past that kids won’t think of it & tease her), [name_f]Marie[/name_f] (after [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie), Irène (after Irène Curie-Joliot), [name_u]Ren[/name_u]ée, [name_f]Rose[/name_f], etc.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] for fun, I looked up the passenger manifest for the Mayflower (Mayflower Passenger List — MayflowerHistory.com). Here are the unusual names, some of which are virtue names:
[name_f]Remember[/name_f]
[name_u]Love[/name_u]
Wrestling
Humility
Resolved
Desire
Here’s a list of some of the names that Puritans used. It’s full of word(y) names:
Finally, a little levity: When my daughter was around 10 or so, she told me that she had heard a word that she thought would be a pretty name. When I asked her what it was, she replied, “Alimony.”
