The Brilliant Book of Baby Names: What’s best, what’s hot and what’s not. Linda Rosenkrantz

Indonesia.

      

BALDWIN. German, ‘brave friend’. Writer James Baldwin could make this an inspirational choice for a child of either sex. Baldwen, Baldwinne, Baldwyn, Baldwynne.

      BALLENCIA. Variation of VALENCIA, Spanish place name. Might sound as if your child had the sniffles every time she said her name.

      

BALLOU. French, ‘from Bellou’. Unusual surname name with rowdy quality. Bailou, Balou.

      BAMBALINA. Italian, ‘little girl’. Better saved for a doll.

      BAMBI. Italian, ‘child,’ diminutive for BAMBINA, ‘baby girl’. Although Disney’s cute deer was a male, Bambi’s always been used for girls, but it sounds far too flimsy to face the modern world. Bambee, Bambie.

      

BAO. Chinese, ‘adorable’ or ‘creative’. Name introduced via Chinese cinema, it has middleplace potential.

      BAPTISTA. Latin, ‘the baptised one’. Probably too evangelical for mass importation. International: Baptiste (French), Batista (Italian), Bautista (Spanish).

      BARA. Hebrew, ‘to select’. Gently appealing. Barah, Bari, Barra, Barrie.

      

BARAKA. Kiswahili, ‘blessings’. Its resonant rhythm and positive connotations have led to some popularity with parents of African heritage, though it tends to have a masculine feel.

      BARBARA. Latin, ‘foreign woman’. Fashionable from the 1920s through to the 50s, it’s very much a grey-haired name now. Bab, Baba, Babba, Babbie, Babs, Bar, Barb, Barbe, Barbee, Barbi, Barbie, Barby, Barra, Bobbee, Bobbi, Bobbie, Bobby. International: Barbary (English, earlier form), Baírbre, Baibín (Irish Gaelic), Barabal (Scottish Gaelic), Babette (French), Barbarella (Italian), Barbro (Swedish), Barbica, Barbika (Nordic), Basha, Basia (Polish), Borbála, (Hungarian), Varvara, Varenka, Varinka, Vary, Varyusha (Russian), Babara (Hawaiian).

      BARBIE. Diminutive of BARBARA. Despite the voluptuous doll’s various career choices, from astronaut to doctor, her name still remains a euphemism for ‘bimbo’.

      BARBRO. Scandinavian variation of BARBARA. A more upbeat, modern-sounding version of a gereatric name.

      

BARCELONA. Place name. This is an attractive but somewhat unwieldy place-name name. Lona.

      BARIAH. Arabic, ‘does well’. A name to consider when seeking an offbeat substitute for the more familiar Mariah.

      

BARRETT. German, ‘ bear strength’. Masculine sounding surname. Baret, Barett, Barit, Baritt, Barret, Barrit, Barritt, Barryt, Baryt, Barytt.

      

BARRY, BARRIE. Irish ‘spear’. Out of date for a boy, innovative for a girl. Bari, Barree, Barrey, Barri, Barry.

      BASHA. Polish, ‘stranger’. Sounds a bit like other newly popular Slavic names Sasha and Mischa, but also a bit like ‘basher’. Basia, Basja, Bashya, Batia, Batya.

      BASILIA. Greek, feminine variation of BASIL. Rare but attractive female form of Basil. Basilie, Bassilly.

      BATHSHEBA. Hebrew, ‘daughter of the oath’ or ‘seventh daughter’. Popular with the Puritans, this name of the shrewd and beautiful wife of King David would be a heavy load for a modern girl to carry. Bat-Sheba, Bat-Sheva, Bathseva, Bathshua, Bathsua, Batsheba, Batsheva, Batshua, Batya, Bethsabee, Bethsheba, Sheba, Sheva.

      BATHSHIRA. Arabian, ‘seventh daughter’. The short form Shira is more manageable. Shira.

      BATYA. Hebrew, ‘daughter of God’. With Katya catching on, this sound-related name could too, though there is the Batgirl association. Basha, Basya, Batyah, Bitya, Peshe, Pessel (Yiddish).

      

BAY. Vietnamese, ‘seventh child,’ nature name. One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. Bae, Baye. International: Baie, Baye (French), Bahia, Estera (Spanish), Selka (Finnish), Zaliv (Russian), Bandar (Persian), Floi (Icelandic).

      BAYA. Spanish, ‘berry’. Maya is exotic, Baya is singular.

      BAYLEE. See BAILEY.

      

BAYLOR. English, ‘horse trainer’. Possible alternative to the tired Taylor. Bailer, Bailor, Bayler.

      

BAYO. African, Nigerian, Yoruba, ‘joy has found us’. Conjures up a Harry Belafonte-ish calypso beat.

      BEA. Diminutive of BEATRICE. Former old lady name gets cute again as a short form – but too brief to stand on its own.

      BEAH. Short form of BEATRICE. A rarely seen member of the Beatrice clan.

      BEATA. Swedish, Italian, ‘blessed’; Italian version pronounced bay-AH-tah. Playground alert: apt to be mispronounced Beeta – or ‘beat her’. Bea, Beatta.

      BEATHA. (BEH-tha) Irish, ‘life, livelihood’. Another candidate for mispronunciation. Betha.

      Water Names

Aqua	Lake
Aquarius	Loire
Arno	Lucerne
Bay	Marina
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