Shakespearean Names

Ben Didier via Dribbble

There's a reason everyone likes Shakespearean names--they signify class, romanticism, and intelligence, (most) without sounding too pompous or proper. If you're looking for one of these names for your son or daughter, I've compiled this list of the ones I deem most usable.

Girls
Adriana
Aemilia
Alice
Aliena
Angelica
Anne
Audrey
Beatrice
Bianca
Blanche
Calphurnia
Cassandra
Celia
Cleopatra
Constance
Cordelia
Cressida
Desdemona
Diana
Dionyza
Doll
Dorcas
Eleanor
Elizabeth
Emilia
Francisca
Gertrude
Helen
Helena
Hermia
Hermione
Hero
Imogen
Iris
Isabella
Jane
Jessica
Joan
Julia
Juliet
Juno
Kate
Katharine
Katherine
Lavinia
Leonine
Luce
Lucetta
Luciana
Margaret
Maria
Marianna
Marina
Meg
Miranda
Nan
Nell
Nerissa
Octavia
Olivia
Ophelia
Patience
Paulina
Perdita
Phebe
Portia
Regan
Rosalind
Rosaline
Silvia
Tamora
Thaisa
Thisbe
Timandra
Titania
Valeria
Viola
Virgilia
Volumnia

Boys
Aaron
Abraham
Adam
Adrian
Andrew
Ajax
Alexander
Alexas
Alonso
Angelo
Angus
Anthony
Antonio
Ariel
Arthur
Balthasar
Barnardo
Benedick
Benvolio
Berkeley
Bertram
Brandon
Caesar
Caius
Camillo
Cassio
Cassius
Cato
Charles
Christopher
Cicero
Cinna
Clarence
Claudio
Claudius
Cleomines
Cleon
Clifford
Clitus
Cloten
Corin
Cornelius
Curan
Curio
Curtis
Cymbeline
Davy
Demetrius
Denny
Dick
Dion
Duncan
Edgar
Edmund
Edward
Egeon
Emmanuel
Fabian
Fenton
Ferdinand
Flavius
Ford
Francis
Francisco
Frederick
Gardiner
George
Gerald
Gregory
Grey
Griffith
Harry
Hector
Henry
Horatio
Hubert
Hugh
Humphrey
Iago
Isidore
Jachimo
Jack
Jaques
James
Jamy
John
Joseph
Jourdain
Julius
Junius
Jupiter
Lennox
Leonardo
Leonato
Leonatus
Leontes
Lewis
Lorenzo
Louis
Lovell
Lucentio
Lucilius
Lucio
Lucius
Lysander
Macmorris
Malcolm
Marcellus
Marcus
Mark
Martius
Matthew
Mercutio
Michael
Montano
Morgan
Mortimer
Morton
Nathaniel
Ned
Nicholas
Nick
Nym
Oberon
Octavius
Oliver
Orlando
Orsino
Osrick
Oswald
Othello
Owen
Paris
Pedro
Percy
Peter
Peto
Philip
Philario
Philo
Polonius
Puck
Quince
Quintus
Reynaldo
Richard
Robert
Robin
Roderigo
Romeo
Ross
Sampson
Sebastian
Silvius
Simon
Smith
Stanley
Stephano
Taurus
Thomas
Timon
Timothy
Titus
Toby
Tom
Tranio
Travers
Troy
Valentine
Valerius
Varro
Vernon
Vincentio
Walter
Will
Williams
Willoughby

Broadway Names

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Love musical theater? Why not give your baby a Broadway worthy name? All of the following come from the titles of Broadway musicals, past and present.

Abner--Lil' Abner
Adele--Adele
Aida--Aida
Allegro--Allegro
Alma--Alma, Where Do You Live?
Annie--Annie; Annie Get Your Gun
Anya--Anya
Babette--Babette
Beatrice--An Evening with Beatrice Lillie
Bess--Porgy and Bess
Billie--Billie
Billy--Billy Elliot
Birdie--Bring Back Birdie; Bye Bye Birdie
Brooklyn--Brooklyn
Carmelina--Carmelina
Carmen--Carmen Jones
Caroline--Caroline, or Change
Carrie--Carrie
Charity--Sweet Charity
Charley--Where's Charley?
Chris--Chris and the Wonderful Lamp
Christine--Christine; Marie Christine
Coco--Coco
David--King David
Dolly--Hello, Dolly!
Eddie--Very Good, Eddie
Edwin--The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Eileen--Eileen
Elsie--Elsie
Evangeline--Evangeline, or the Belle of Arcadia
Fanny--Fanny
Finian--Finian's Rainbow
Flora--Flora the Red Menace
George--George M.!; Sunday in the Park with George
Giovanni--Bravo Giovanni
Hattie--Panama Hattie
Hazel--Hazel Flagg
Henry--Henry, Sweet Henry; John Henry
Illya--Illya Darling
Irene--Irene
Jamie--Three Wishes for Jamie
Jane--Jane Eyre
Jerome--Jerome Robbins' Birthday
Jerry--Jerry's Girls
Jersey--Jersey Boys
Joey--Pal Joey
John--John Henry
Johnny--Johnny Johnson; Little Johnny Jones
Juan--Juan Darien
Jubilee--Jubilee
Juliet--Me and Juliet
Juno--Juno
Kate--Kiss Me, Kate
Kay--Oh, Kay!
Kean--Kean
Kelly--Kelly
Lennon--Lennon
Liberty--Miss Liberty
Lillie--An Evening with Beatrice Lillie
Mabel--Mack & Mabel
Mack--Mack & Mabel
Maddox--Red, White, and Maddox
Marie--Marie Christine
Marinka--Marinka
Memphis--Memphis
Merlin--Merlin
Millie--Thoroughly Modern Millie
Molly--The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Monty--The Full Monty
Nanette--No, No, Nanette
Paris--Paris
Peter--Peter Pan
Pippin--Pippin
Rex--Rex
Roberta--Roberta
Rocky--Rocky the Musical
Rosalie--Rosalie
Rose-Marie--Rose-Marie
Sadie--Sadie Thompson
Sally--Sally
Sammy--What Makes Sammy Run?
Sarafina--Sarafina!
Sawyer--The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Sweeney--Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tiffany--Breakfast at Tiffany's
Todd--Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tom--The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Tommy--The Who's Tommy
Venus--One Touch of Venus
Victor--Victor/Victoria
Victoria--Victor/Victoria
Will--The Will Rogers Follies

Long Middle Names: Girls

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Long middle names can sound quite fantastical on girls, especially when paired with a long first name. But even if the first name is relatively short, the long middle name always does a nice job of balancing it out. I have 100 three syllable names that make lovely middle names for you to look at today. Of course, there are many more that did not make this list, so tell me--on this list or otherwise--what's your favorite long middle name for a girl?

Abigail
Alaska
Alouette
Alyssa
Amandine
Amelie
Anais
Annabel
Anneliese
Ariel
Augusta
Aurora
Beatrice
Bonita
Cameo
Carissa
Carmela
Cassandra
Cecilia
Celestine
Clarissa
Claudia
Clementine
Coralie
Dahlia
Dominique
Elena
Eloise
Emily
Eulalie
Francesca
Gabrielle
Geneva
Genevieve
Gloria
Helena
Hollister
Imogen
Isabeau
Joanna
Josephine
Jubilee
Juliette
Juniper
Kerensa
Keziah
Lavender
Leona
Liatris
Lilia
Linnea
Lolita
Louisa
Lucinda
Madigan
Margaret
Maria
Marigold
Marina
Marisol
Melody
Meredith
Mignonette
Mirabel
Naomi
Nigella
Ottilie
Paloma
Peridot
Pomeline
Querida
Quintessa
Reverie
Romilly
Rosalie
Rosemary
Salome
Santana
Saskia
Sienna
Sierra
Simona
Sophia
Umbria
Verity
Veronique
Vienna
Viola
Violet
Virginia
Vivian
Ximena
Zahara
Zinnia

10 L Name You Never Thought of Using: Girls

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L is a super popular letter for names right now. Lily, Layla, Lucy, and Leah are some of the most popular ones, which definitely shows a trend. We like L names that are two syllables, have a strong vowel sound, and preferably a "Y" in there somewhere. The names on this list might not meet all that criterion, but they have something else going for them--their popularity. None of these L names are in the top 1000, so you don't need to worry that your daughter will go by "Leonie F." in school.

Lake- I have a feeling actress Lake Bell will give this one a boost (will we see her in next year's top 1000?) but she still won't be that popular. Lake is a great nature name that works for both genders, but now swings female.

Larkin- A unisex surname that has one of the sweetest nicknames--Lark.

Leatrice- Is Beatrice too popular for you? (she ranks at 593, so I doubt it). Try Leatrice, which is almost the same name, but with an L.

Leonie- Pronounce her however you like (is it LAY-oh-nie, lay-OH-nie, LEE-oh-nie, or lee-OH-nie?) but you can't really go wrong. She's a super cute name, and an excellent way to honor all the Leonas and Leos in your life.

Libra- I've talked about Libra a lot in the past, she's one of the best star sign names out there. Libby would be a nice nickname.

Lilias- She's one of the few full forms of Lily that hasn't become very popular. I think she's the most gorgeous of the bunch; I would choose her over Lillian or Liliana any day.

Lilo- I adore Lilo, she's much more spunky than Lily. But the Disney character has turned me off to her, I wonder if other Lilo lovers feel the same.

Linden- A unisex tree name that I prefer for girls. Linden would make a great modern way to honor a Lindsay.

Lolita- I know why everyone doesn't want to name their daughter Lolita. But gosh, she's such a pretty name. Any brave parents out there?

Lotus- So many nature names this week! Lotus is a lovely, almost ethereal, flower name, perfect for your beautiful, mellow baby girl.

Lucienne- A very sophisticated and French way to get to Lucy. She's much prettier than Lucille, in my opinion.

10 B Names You Never Thought of Using: Girls

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Time for the latest installment of this Wednesday series. Today we are looking at B names for girls. The most popular ones are Brooklyn, Bella, Bailey, and Brianna, which I consider overused. There are so many great options out there, so lets take a look.

Beah- She sounds like Leah with a B, and makes a great nickname for Beatrice or Beatrix.

Bergen- Many consider this a boy name, but the Bergen I know is a girl, and she wears it well.

Beryl- I fell in love with Beryl after reading A Taxonomy of Barnacles (I know it doesn't sound like it, but it's a novel). Slightly old-fashioned, but full of charm.

Bijou- One of the best water related names, along with Bay.

Bird- Super fun. Use it as the first name and call her Birdie, or stick it in the middle to make a more popular name spunky.

Blanca- She would make a great sister to Sofia.

Boheme- Girls Gone Child's Rebecca Woolf gave this name to one of her twins. She goes by Bo, which is super cute on a girl.

Bonita- Bonita means pretty in Spanish. She's a great choice if you want a girly name with a tomboyish nickname.

Britta- Bridget feels slightly dated, but Britta would be perfect for a baby.

Bronte- A gorgeous literary name, she would sound wonderful as a first or middle.

Nicknames for Beatrice

Beatrice is a super cool name for a little girl. She has many different nickname options, one for each personality. Here is a list if you are looking for the perfect nickname.

Expected:
Bea
Bee

Unique:
Bebe
Trixie

Unheard of:
Beah (Rhymes with Leah)
Tris

Full Names for Bee

Bee is a such a sweet nickname. For full names, you can really use any name that starts with B, but here are the names I think work very well.

Beatrice
Beatrix
Beatriz
Beeja
Beverly
Birdie
Delbe
Elizabeth
Phoebe
Selby
Shelby

Fashionable Old Lady Names

Fashionable Old Lady Names: Edith, Elsa, Esther, Betty, Eve, Beatrice, Etta, Pearl, Theodora, Ruth, Iris, Mabel, Martha, Myrtle, Helen, Georgina, Mildred, Imogene, Peggy, Polly, Agnes, Addie, Gertrude, Leona, Murielle, Irene, Angela, Andrea, Donna