Priming your baby to be the coolest kid on the block? Want them to be top of the popularity stakes in school? Giving them a cool name is a must.
Of course, cool is subjective and changes with the seasons and trends. Nevertheless, we’ve picked out a few names that achieve the perfect balance — they’re quirky without being weird and they stand out without trying too hard.
Luca is an Italian name that’s just similar enough to conventional names like Lucas and Luke to be recognizable and pronounceable, yet just different enough to be cool.
Axel is a Scandinavian (or possibly German) name that means “father of peace” and dates back to the medieval era. It’s growing in popularity in the US, but still hasn’t become quite popular enough to stop it being cool.
Kai means “sea” in Hawaiian, and it also has various meanings in Japanese, including “shell” and “ocean.” Yet, it has origins and meanings in an even wider number of countries and cultures. Pretty cool, right? It’s fast becoming a somewhat popular name for both genders.
As for the girls, Anais is such a cool name that nobody is quite sure where it comes from — although the most likely answer is France or Catalonia. It was probably popularized by the American-Cuban-French writer Anais Nin, and Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher named his daughter Anais.
Finally, Zia is a girl’s name that means “light” in Arabic and also has Latin origin. It’s simple and pretty, yet a little different.
Ada
Meaning: Noble
Origin: German
Gender: Girl
Addison
Meaning: Son of Adam
Origin: English
Gender: Boy
Adrianna
Meaning: From Hadria
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Aiden
Meaning: Fire
Origin: Gaelic
Gender: Boy
Aislin
Meaning: Dream, vision
Origin: Irish
Gender: Girl
Alden
Meaning: Old friend
Origin: English
Gender: Boy
Alma
Meaning: Nourishing, kind; soul; young woman; learned
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Anais
Meaning: Variant of Ana. Also form of Agnes
Origin: France
Gender: Girl
Annika
Meaning: Sweet-faced
Origin: Hebrew
Gender: Girl
Archer
Meaning: Bowman
Origin: Latin
Gender: Boy
Arlo
Meaning: Barberry tree
Origin: Spanish
Gender: Boy
Audrey
Meaning: Noble strength
Origin: English
Gender: Girl
Axel
Meaning: Father of peace
Origin: Scandinavian
Gender: Boy
Bailey
Meaning: Berry clearing; bailiff; city fortification
Origin: English
Gender: Girl
Baker
Meaning: Occupational name used as surname
Origin: British
Gender: Boy
Beckett
Meaning: Beehive or bee cottage
Origin: British
Gender: Boy
Braxton
Meaning: Brock’s town
Origin: Old English
Gender: Boy
Brendan
Meaning: Prince
Origin: Irish
Gender: Boy
Bryn
Meaning: Hill, mount
Origin: Welsh
Gender: Unisex
Caiden
Meaning: Companion
Origin: Arabic
Gender: Boy
Caitlin
Meaning: Pure
Origin: Greek
Gender: Girl
Caleb
Meaning: Faith, devotion, whole hearted
Origin: Hebrew
Gender: Boy
Cameron
Meaning: Crooked nose
Origin: Scottish
Gender: Unisex
Candice
Meaning: Clarity, whiteness
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Casey
Meaning: Alert, watchful
Origin: Irish
Gender: Unisex
Colbert
Meaning: Composed of the elements col, possibly meaning ‘cool’, and beraht: ‘bright’
Origin: Old German
Gender: Boy
Dallas
Meaning: From the dales, the valley meadows
Origin: Scottish
Gender: Boy
Dexter
Meaning: Right-handed, fortunate; one who dyes
Origin: Latin
Gender: Boy
Duncan
Meaning: Dark warrior; brown fighter
Origin: Scottish
Gender: Boy
Eddison
Meaning: Son of Edward
Origin: English
Gender: Boy
Elyse
Meaning: God’s promise
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Evie
Meaning: Life
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Felix
Meaning: Happy, fortunate
Origin: Latin
Gender: Boy
Flynn
Meaning: Ruddy-complected
Origin: Irish
Gender: Boy
Greyson
Meaning: Son of the gray-haired man
Origin: English
Gender: Boy
Harley
Meaning: Hare meadow; the long field
Origin: English
Gender: Unisex
Harper
Meaning: Harpist, minstrel
Origin: English
Gender: Unisex
Hazel
Meaning: The hazel tree
Origin: English
Gender: Unisex
Holden
Meaning: Deep valley
Origin: English
Gender: Boy
Hugo
Meaning: Soul, mind, intellect
Origin: Latin
Gender: Boy
Isla
Meaning: Of the river Islay
Origin: Scottish
Gender: Girl
Jacob
Meaning: He who supplants
Origin: Hebrew
Gender: Boy
Jade
Meaning: Precious stone
Origin: English
Gender: Unisex
Jolie
Meaning: Pretty
Origin: French
Gender: Girl
Kai
Meaning: Sea in Hawaiian, and it also has various meanings in Japanese, including “shell” and “ocean.”
Origin: Scandinavian, Japanese
Gender: Boy
Lola
Meaning: Sorrows
Origin: Spanish
Gender: Girl
Luca
Meaning: Ferived from the Latin name Lucas, which itself is derived from the Latin word “lux” (light)
Origin: Italian
Gender: Boy
Nella
Meaning: Horn
Origin: Latin
Gender: Girl
Reizo
Meaning: Cool; calm; well-groomed
Origin: Japanese
Gender: Boy
Zia
Meaning: Light
Origin: Arabic, Latin
Gender: Girl
