Usable College Names (i.e. Baylor)

[name]Hi[/name] Berries,
I noticed in today’s blog that the name [name]Baylor[/name] was featured on the list (inspired by [name]Baylor[/name] University). That got me thinking, there are actually quite a few college names that would make great baby names. Granted, some of these are also place names, which is such a popular category these days. Here are my favorites (and avoiding those that might sound too pretentious, like [name]Harvard[/name] or [name]Princeton[/name]…although those could work too).

[name]Baylor[/name]
[name]Berkeley[/name]
[name]Boston[/name]
[name]Cal[/name]
[name]Clark[/name]
[name]Cornell[/name]
[name]Davis[/name]
[name]Dayton[/name]
Drexel
[name]Duke[/name]
[name]Emory[/name]
[name]Penn[/name]
Poly
[name]Rochester[/name]
[name]Temple[/name]
Tulane

Would any of these NOT work this day in age? What are your favorites in the group? Did I miss any good ones?

There are A LOT of colleges and universities that are named after people and nearly any of those could work. I know a little boy named [name]Baylor[/name], although he was not named for the school.

I think Tulane is a stretch. Same with [name]Boston[/name], although it is a bona fide human name as well. [name]Berkeley[/name] is the name of many an alum’s dog. Since many colleges were named for people, I’ve tried to list some less-thought of ?? options: ([[name]George[/name]] [name]Mason[/name]; [name]Randolph[/name] [[name]Macon[/name]]; [name]Xavier[/name]; [name]Reed[/name]; [name]Davidson[/name]; [name]Dickinson[/name] (?); [[name]Sarah[/name]] [name]Lawrence[/name]; [name]Russell[/name] [name]Sage[/name]; McGill; [name]Bentley[/name]; [name]Brandeis[/name]; [name]Emerson[/name]; [name]Kenyon[/name]; [name]Wellesley[/name]; [Johns] Hopkins; [name]Stanford[/name]; Wesleyan, etc. I think my favorites are [name]Bryn[/name] [Mawr] and [name]Kenyon[/name] (actually know a little boy named this whose parents did NOT go there–never even heard of it!!). Here’s some names friends have used [for their dogs, but apparently we’re crossing over those lines now, too]: Bowden (after FSU’s [name]Bobby[/name], not Bowdoin College), [name]Aggie[/name], Raider (TX Tech alum), Boomer, [name]Bama[/name], Rippi (for RPI - upstate NY), Hoya, G-Dub, [name]Wash[/name] ([name]Washington[/name] U.)–actually if you’re a Firefly fan this works as a human name as well.

There’s a [name]Christian[/name] college called [name]Evangel[/name], pronounced EHV-an-gel (short “a”), and I’ve always thought that would make a lovely name.

Here are some I think might be usable

[name]Auburn[/name] - nickname Aubie
Clemson (ok maybe a stretch)
[name]Agnes[/name] [name]Scott[/name] (all girls college in [name]Georgia[/name])
[name]Penn[/name] (as in [name]Penn[/name] State)
Vanderbilt ( maybe as middle name but the nickname Vandy would be cute)
[name]Berry[/name] College

** I think [name]Troy[/name] Aikmen was named [name]Troy[/name] after the USC Trojans but might be mistaken ***

[name]Yael[/name] is a fairly common Israeli girl’s name (pronounced the same as the school [name]Yale[/name]). I like it a lot. [name]Glad[/name] to see [name]Reed[/name] mentioned above, as it’s my alma mater and a favorite name of mine!

I know a girl (not personally) named [name]Berkeley[/name]. [name]Clark[/name] has always been around, and I didn’t even know that it was a name of a college! [name]Cal[/name] would definitely work. [name]Cornell[/name] is common in my area, and the same with [name]Cornelius[/name], or any form of Corn/[name]Corny[/name]. But it’s only the Mennonite families that use these variations in my area. (Not being derogatory; just taking a note). [name]Davis[/name] works as a good middle name or last name, but I prefer [name]David[/name] for boys. However, [name]David[/name] is commonly used – maybe [name]Davis[/name] is the new “big next”? [name]Dayton[/name] reminds me of [name]Layton[/name] and Daytona. Drexel is new, but for someone adventurous, it could work. Brother [name]Dexter[/name] and sister [name]Drusilla[/name]? :wink: [name]Duke[/name] is a name that I’ve always loved. I’ve never known if it has a long form, but it’s good by itself. It also reminds me of a dog, though. Or firefighters. [name]Emory[/name] could work. It reminds me of amorous, though. [name]Emory[/name] also reminds me of [name]Emerson[/name], which I like for a girl, despite it being that I once met a little girl who often called “[name]Emerson[/name]!” in a high-pitched voice after her brother. [name]Emory[/name] also seems like [name]Emerson[/name] and [name]Emily[/name] mixed. [name]Penn[/name] reminds me of [name]Penn[/name] Badgley. Coincidentally, his name is [name]Penn[/name] [name]Dayton[/name]Badgley. Hmm? :wink: But, I like short names that end in double N’s like [name]Finn[/name] and [name]Penn[/name]. Most of them are too out there for me to use, though. And what if that kid went to that college? LOL, some teasing might ensue, but all harmless of course.

I like [name]Wellesley[/name]!