12 Surprising Ways to Honor Loved Ones with Baby Names

Creative honor names blend the best of two impulses.

Family names are deeply meaningful. Limiting your list to names already worn by relatives creates an instant short list. The reasons go on and on.

Except sometimes? A loved one’s first name isn’t terribly appealing.

You adore your only great aunt, and would love to name your daughter in her honor. Except you cannot imagine a baby named Beulah.

Or your father is Herbert, and while you like the antique vibe, your dad hates his name, has always answered to Hank, and has forbidden you from saddling another generation with a name he considers burdensome.

Then again, you might have classic names on your family tree. But Elizabeth and John feel a little too flat and ordinary to your ear. Plus, maybe there are already three other Elizabeths and two Johns.

Some will insist that the only way to name a child after a loved one is to use the actual name. Fair enough. And family names aren’t for everyone. But if you like the idea of honoring a loved one, and you’re open to some creative name-storming, there are lots of ways to name your baby after someone – without using actually using their name.

Read on for a dozen great ways to find creative honor names for your children.

12. USE ANOTHER FORM OF THE HONOREE’S NAME

Consider shorter forms and elaborations, international variations, and traditional nicknames. Try looking up the name’s family tree on Behind the Name. (Enter the name. Most pages include a section for related names, and a link to the name’s family tree, before you reach the popularity statistics. Not every name has a tree, but many do.) You might be surprised by some of the possibilities.

Carol or Carl could become Caroline or Charlie. Elizabeth becomes the Italian Elisabetta or the trim, vintage Bess. William is reinvented as Willem or Liam. Margaret might become Greta, Maisie, or Margot.

This might be especially powerful if you can find a heritage choice. If you have Cornish heritage and a grandpa named George, Jory is a thoroughly modern possibility that incorporates both.

Of course, the opposite is true, too. MacArthur might feel a little forced if you’re not Scottish, no matter how many loved ones are named Arthur.

11. USE ANOTHER PART OF YOUR LOVED ONE’S NAME

So Great Aunt Beulah’s name doesn’t have any variant forms. But how ’bout Beulah’s middle name, maiden name, or last name? Was her maiden name Sloane? Maybe she chose Rose for her baptismal name. There could be plenty of promising options besides Beulah.

Let’s pause for a minute here and talk about something occasionally controversial. If you’re naming a daughter, there’s no reason to avoid family surnames. Girls are just as deserving as boys of carrying on family names.

Some might argue that naming a girl Parker or Jameson is stealing from the boys. That’s a decision their families can make … but it doesn’t mean you have to feel limited. A growing number of children – boys and girls – answer to names that don’t clearly announce their gender.

10. USE A NICKNAME

There’s more than one way to think about nicknames.

• You might honor your grandma Elizabeth with a daughter named Eliza, Libby, or Beth – a nickname for her given name, even if it’s one she never used personally.
• Herbert prefers Hank, so why not name your baby Hank? It might be a nickname, but it was his name. You might even use Henry – the formal name traditionally associated with Hank.
• Maybe Beulah’s sisters called her Birdie, which could open up a long list of avian-inspired names. Or Elizabeth was known as Sunny, which suggests Summer or even a bold sun-related name like Soleil.

Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter and granddaughter of former presidents, is a master of creative honor names. Her second child, daughter Poppy Louise, took her name from Jenna’s grandfather, George Herbert Bush. He was called “Poppy” as a child and by his extended family. (His son, Jenna’s dad, is George Herbert Walker Bush, so family names are clearly a well-established tradition. Jenna was named for her maternal grandmother.)

9. USE A NAME FROM THE SAME CATEGORY

In 2023, Paris Hilton announced that she’d named her son Phoenix – another prominent city name. Only a few weeks earlier, Ireland Baldwin proclaimed that her new daughter would be Holland.

Whether you love place names or not, it illustrates another possible path to finding creative honor names: choose another name from the same category.

Honor your grandmother Opal by naming your daughter Ruby or Pearl, or another gem-inspired choice.

8. USE A NAME THAT SHARES SOUNDS or LETTERS

Plenty of unrelated names share sounds. This works really well when it’s the first syllable, like Willow Smith, named for dad Will.

But it’s not limited to first syllables. Imagine a Lawrence with a granddaughter called Wren. Or a Lauren with a niece by the same name. Ronald might become Ronan.

Another spin on sharing sounds? If you’re honoring someone known by his or her initials, you might be able to simply repeat the initials in the next generation. Backstreet Boys member A.J. MacLean was born Alexander James. His daughter is Ava Jaymes – a name that clearly nods to dad, both with the middle and the shared initials.

And, of course, some families believe that using the same first initial is the most appropriate way to link names. Ashton Kutcher explained that Wyatt Isabelle’s middle was a nod to Mila’s grandfather, Yitzhak – Isaac.

Or maybe an anagram of a name would work. Reader Christina pointed out that Lisa’s granddaughter might be Isla. Your honor names might not be so easily rearranged, but it’s worth a try!

7. EXTEND A NAME

Making your own name longer might be another option. When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first son, the pair named him Archie Harrison – the middle literally meaning “son of Harry.”

A grandmother called Jo could easily be honored with a granddaughter named Josephine. And even names like Grace can become Graciela or Gracelyn.

6. BLEND TOGETHER TWO NAMES

Mash-up names can be challenging … or charming!

Grandparents named Dave and Serena might be honored with a granddaughter Davina. Or a best friend named Emily Katherine might lead to a baby Emmeline.

5. USE A NAME THAT SHARES MEANING

Some of the most interesting possibilities come from names with a shared meaning.

Arnold means eagle, and there’s a long list of possible names that share that meaning, but have a more contemporary sound.

Margaret could have a great-niece called Daisy or Pearl.

In Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits, Clara’s daughter is Blanca, and Blanca’s daughter is Alba. All three names relate light or white.

4. USE A HERO NAME

Is your loved one a lifelong fan of a sports team? A singer?

The Joe Lewis Arena is where the Red Wings played for decades, and so Detroit superfans could name a child Joseph as a very subtle nod.

Maybe Aldous Huxley was your dad’s favorite author, or maybe Nathaniel brings to mind Nat King Cole, a grandparent’s favorite singer. Lennon might nod to the way your mom sang “Imagine” as a lullaby, or Audrey could recall the old Hollywood movies you used to watch with your grandmother.

Hero names are everywhere.

3. USE A NAME RELATED TO THEIR BIRTH MONTH

Your mom Geraldine was born in May? May or even Mae might be a subtle honor name.

Every month has associated gemstones and flowers, many of which make great names, especially for girls – though not exclusively.

Astrological signs can suggest name possibilities, too. If your early August-born grandmother was also the picture of a fierce Leo, naming your son Leo or Leopold or Leonidas could be a powerful way to connect their names.

It’s not just months or seasons, either. If your loved one was born on a holiday or a day with historic significance, that might also provide inspiration.

2. USE A NAME RELATED TO THEIR PLACE OF BIRTH OR RESIDENCE

Place names from your family’s past could be a great source of inspiration. What was the street name of their family home? The village where they came from in Europe? The town your mom lived in her whole life?

Catholic families – or those with Catholic heritage – might also consider the patron saints associated with some of those places. Genevieve is the patron saint of Paris. Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of Sudan, Sebastian is the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro.

1. USE A FAVORITE COLOR, FLOWER, SONG, OR ANYTHING THAT BRINGS THEM TO MIND

A classic cars enthusiast might be delighted with a grandson called Ford. Maybe Beulah’s favorite color was purple and she loved violets. Violet might not have anything to do with Beulah’s name, but it can evoke her memory just as powerfully.

Have you considered creative honor names?

First published on June 19, 2015, this post was revised on August 15, 2022; February 24, 2023; and March 25, 2025.