~~ Due to extensive studying this year I regret to inform readers that Baby Name Rant will not be updated as regularly as I would like. Everyone is welcome to email me privately at the email below, or look through archives at the top of the right bar. I apologize for any inconveniences. ~~

"We do what we must, and call it by the best names."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Friday, January 11, 2008

Naming after... Colors

There's a post I did quite early on, about naming your child after countries.
I've decided to follow on, and do a "naming after..." series.

A lot of people think choosing a random thing to name your child after is wrong, stupid or tacky. Personally, I'm not saying its either right or wrong, but it's certainly very interesting. Any name can be okay, as long as your sensible in choosing in it.

This post is going to be about naming your child after colors, some color names, such as Scarlet(t), are becoming quite popular, so this may be a popular path in the future. I think that using a color as a middle name is pretty neat, especially if it has special meaning, for example, an elder siblings favorite color, or if a child has blonde hair, a name with a meaning of 'yellow' or 'golden' can be sweet.

So, I'll get on with it ;)
For boys..
Category one: Names which aren't actually colors, but have meanings which are colors.
Adrian, meaning "black" in Latin.
Alban, meaning "white" in Latin.
Aurelius, meaning "golden" in Latin.
Blaine, meaning "yellow" in Gaelic.
Blake, a combination of the Old English words for "black" and "white".
Denver, meaning "green" in French.
Flannon, meaning "blood red" in Irish.
Galvin, meaning "brilliant white" in Gaelic.
Graham, meaning "grey" in Old English.
Gray, meaning "grey" in Old English.
Ivor, meaning "Ivory" in Latin.
Irvin, meaning "green" in Welsh.
Kamal, meaning "pale red" in Sanskrit.
Kane, meaning "golden" in Japanese.
Lloyd, meaning "brown, grey" in Welsh.
Oran, meaning "grey-brown" in Irish.
Osbert, meaning "gold" in Old English.
Roy, meaning "red" in Gaelic.


Category two: Unusual but usable. Names which are fairly unique, but can be used in normal situations without too much trouble.
Ash
Cobalt, "Cobe", "Coby"
Denim, "Denny"
Flint, "Flin/Flynn"
Grey
Harvest, "Harvey"
Hunter
Ivory, "Ivor"
Jet
Loden
Russet, "Russ"
Rusty, "Russ"
Sandy
Slate
Tyrian
Vermilion (This ones pretty strange, but it reminds me of the 'normal' name Maximilian)

Category three: Totally out there. These one's are ones which should be treated with a fair bit of caution, they're pretty out there and have no "regular" nicknames for your child to fall back on.
Almond
Blue, or the French spelling Bleu.
Caesar, meaning "Blue-grey" in Latin.
Citron
Copper
Cyan
Forest
Indigo
Navy
Onyx
Viridian

And now onto the Girls!
Category one: Names which aren't actually colors, but have meanings which are colors.
Ariana, meaning "silver" in Welsh.
Bianca, meaning "white" in Italian.
Chloe, derived from the word "green" in Greek.
Dee, meaning "black" in Welsh.
Flavia, meaning "yellow, golden" in Latin.
Gina, meaning "silvery" in Japanese.
Hina, meaning "red" or "black" in Hindu.
Ianthe, meaning "violet" in Greek. (i-ann-thee)
Lavern, meaning "the green one" in Old French.
Melanie, meaning "black" in Greek.
Midori, meaning "green" in Japanese.
Verdi, meaning "to be green" in Latin.

Category two: Color names which are commonly used on girls.
Amber
Ebony
Hazel
Jade
Kelly
Ruby
Rose
Scarlet
Sienna
Sky
Violet

Category three: Unusual but usable. Names which are fairly unique, but can be used in normal situations without too much trouble.
Auburn, "Aubrey"
Carmine, "Cara", "Carrie", "Carma"
Cerise, "Reese"
Cinder, "Cindy"
Claret, "Clare", "Clara", "Rhett" (if she's a tomboy)
Clove, "Chloe", "Lo", "Lola"
Clover, "Chloe, "Lo", "Lola"
Coral, "Corrie", "Corey", "Cora"
Denim, "Deni"
Emerald, "Em", "Emmy", "Emma"
Garnet
Goldie/ Golda/ Goldina
Henna
Indigo, "Indie"
Ivory, "Iva", "Ivy"
Lavender
Lilac, "Lila/Lyla", "Isla"
Magenta, "Madge", "Maggie", "Gen/Jen", "Jenny" (this isn't the right color, but theres not one closer, its a bright pinkish color)
Maize, "May", "Maizy"
Olive, "Ollie", "Liv", "Livvy"
Pearl
Poppy
Rosy (Rosie)
Saffron

Sandy
Silver, "Silvie", "Silvia"

Category four: Totally out there. These one's are ones which should be treated with a fair bit of caution, they're pretty out there and have no "regular" nicknames for your child to fall back on.
Aqua
Azure
Bleu, the French spelling for Blue.
Caramel, "Carrie", "Cara", "Carra", "Mel", "Mellie" (this one has normal nicknames, but... just seems very strange as a name)
Carnelian, "Carrie" (This one too can be shortened, but I just find it a little too much)
Honey
Maroon
Mauve
Navy
Onyx
Opal
Peach
Sorrel
Teal
Viridian

Got some other color names? Any you really like or dislike? Do you know anyone named after a color? Comment below!

Any suggestions for Annie-Kate? Comments on or requests for the blog? Want some advice naming your child? Email me at anni.ekate@yahoo.com.au

7 comments:

Peeved Michelle said...

Your blog would have been a great find for me last year when my husband and I absolutely could not agree on a baby boy name. Fortunately, we had a girl. We named her Kenna.

Thanks for including the Peevery among your choices for the best group blog!

AK said...

My pleasure. Very cute name, by the way. :)

Anonymous said...

I am a god father to a boy in England call Isidore Brown.
Polish name I think, the combination isnt great, "is a door Brown or is it Blue"
What do you think

AK said...

Yeah, that combination probably isn't the best!

That said, Isidore is a pretty neat name and I'd rather it to something overly common or something crazily mis-spelled (think Jaymze for James).

Annnd, I've heard some pretty bad combinations with PG+ meanings (real life people that I've met) which make Isidore Brown look pretty tame!

But yeah, certainly a bit more thought could have gone into it ;)

Anonymous said...

My mother named me after her favorite color when I was born: Teal.

I honestly have to say that I love my name and the fact that it isn't one typically heard!

The only downside was that whenever I would introduce myself to my peers when I was younger, they tended not to believe me at first due to the names obscurity. Friends, though, would tease me and call me by a new color every week. I was called everything from "Maroon" to "Orange".

I love my name very much and can't honestly think of any other name that would suit me.

On another note, I enjoyed your list. I love to see other name-worthy colors such as these!

Anonymous said...

My best friends name is Burgendy

Unknown said...

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