Brainstorming names

General Name Discussion
1

Please suggest 10ish criteria for baby names to help me brainstorm and not get stuck in a rut. Examples: one syllable, classic & strong, nature inspired but not unisex

Really interested in some creative categories/criteria! Feel free to give your favorite for each category too!

Thanks!

2

I’ll just list some that are inspiring me lately …

  • nature inspired, but not wordy names (e.g. Pomeline)
  • short vintage classics (e.g. Otto)
  • irish surnames (e.g. Tully)
  • longer versions of common names (e.g. Augustine)
  • vintage nicknames ready for revival (e.g. Hal) vs. vintage nicknames popular again (e.g. Theo)
  • surname names ending in s (e.g. Wells)
  • 20s/30s names (e.g. Ernest, Pauline)
  • cute diminutive forms (e.g. Minna)
  • typically feminine names for boys (e.g. Piper)

eta: oh and another one I found

  • names with a vowel/consonant/vowel/consonant pattern, e.g. Basil, Elowen
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3

[name_f]Pomeline[/name_f], [name_m]Otto[/name_m], [name_m]Hal[/name_m] and [name_f]Minna[/name_f] omg :heart_eyes:

4

How about…

  • Non-European royalty names (like Liliuokalani or Tereru)
  • Uncommon and obvious feminizations (like [name_f]Benjamina[/name_f], [name_f]Ronaldine[/name_f], or Calvinetta)
  • International variants of top 10 names (like [name_m]Iskander[/name_m] or Alzbeta)
  • One syllable but 5+ letters long (like [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] or Blake)
  • Uncommon boys’ names ending in ‘ah’ (like Abijah)
  • 6+ syllable girls’ names (like Maximiliana)
  • Word names that are not nature, virtue, or occupation names (like [name_f]Poem[/name_f] or Cardigan)
  • Uncommon vintage nicknames ending in ‘ie’ (like Sallie)
  • One syllable names ending in double letters (like [name_m]Ross[/name_m] or Will)
  • Palindromes (like [name_f]Aviva[/name_f] or Asa)
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  • Names inspired by music. This could be in a lot of ways: composers, music terms, music related meaning, etc.
  • ‘Meaningless’ names. By this I mean names with uncertain etymology and names like [name_f]Nell[/name_f] which is just a nickname.
  • Names taken from the scientific names of plants
  • Names with a(n ultimately) Persian origin
  • Names with only letters from the first half of the alphabet
  • Names with only letters from the second half of the alphabet
  • Names strongly tied to one person. This could be a historical figure, a modern age celebrity or even a character.
  • Accidental word names. So names that are also words but the name doesn’t originate from that word, like [name_m]Bill[/name_m].
  • Cozy, warm, friendly names
  • Names that you can spell using the symbols from the periodic table of elements. Example: [name_f]Nina[/name_f] (Nickel Ni, Sodium Na).
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6

Hmmm

  • Names spelled backwards to make another name (like Nomar from Ramon)
  • Unusual animal names (like Turtledove, Panda, or Lemur)
  • Names associated with the four elements (like [name_f]Eartha[/name_f] and Fiora)
  • [name_u]Unique[/name_u] names ending in R - so not [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] or [name_u]Tyler[/name_u]
  • Names with two common letters in them - like z and x, or q and x
  • Names that make you think of the color orange
  • Names that would work super well in a song
  • Names that make you think of each of the [name_m]Major[/name_m] [name_f]Arcana[/name_f] tarot cards (So, Fool, Magician, etc)
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7

Old-fashioned names that haven’t been revived e.g. [name_u]Basil[/name_u], [name_m]Clement[/name_m].
Uncommon but never out of the US top 1000 names e.g. [name_m]Conrad[/name_m], [name_f]Corinne[/name_f].
Obscure Biblical names e.g. [name_m]Onesimus[/name_m], [name_f]Apphia[/name_f].
Unusual saints’ names e.g. [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m], [name_f]Verena[/name_f].
[name_f]Ye[/name_f] olde Irish names of yesteryear e.g. [name_m]Cornelius[/name_m], [name_f]Bridget[/name_f].
Names of [name_m]Roman[/name_m] emperors and their wives e.g. [name_m]Tiberius[/name_m], [name_f]Octavia[/name_f].
[name_u]French[/name_u] forms of [name_f]English[/name_f] classic names e.g. [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f], [name_u]Antoine[/name_u].

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8

[name_u]Love[/name_u] these, very creative! I’m going to have fun thinking up names. Thanks!

9

Cool idea!

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