Looking for an unusual nature name for a boy? Here’s one that fits the bill.
Thanks to SJ for suggesting Cove as our Baby Name of the Day.
Boys answer to River and both genders have some claim to Ocean and Bay. Suddenly other bodies of water and related terms seem like possibilities. Sea, maybe? Harbor?
Or how about Cove? A cove is an inlet, more sheltered than a bay, and sometimes little more than a protected recess. Even a small creek can be considered a cove. There’s a second use of the term, to describe a small valley, used primarily along the Appalachian Trail, presumably evolved from the original sense.
As for the origins of cove, it comes from the Old English cofa – chamber – via an older word meaning tent or hut. Meet someone with the surname, and he’s likely someone who lived near a cofa.
Of course, cove has a second meaning – like bloke or dude or fellow or chap, he’s also slang used to refer to a man. The story is that it comes from a Gypsy word. I can’t find the word, but then, Romani languages are rich and varied. Perhaps it was misunderstand or whispered down the alley, but in any case, cove is a sort of English slang to refer to a guy.
All that is fine and well, but should you name a child Cove?
It would be easy to argue that he’d fit right in. From the current US Top 100:
- He shares the long -o sound of Noah, Logan, Owen, Colton, and Brody.
- Then there’s that high-Scrabble-value letter v, huge in the girl ‘verse, but no slouch in the sons department, as in Evan and Levi.
- And, of course, he’s just one letter removed from the stylish Cole, currently ranked #89.
Like Cole, Cove would be a member of the single-syllable club, a category that feels quite powerful these days. From traditional appellations like Luke and Jack to twenty-first centuries innovations like Chase, it is a deep pool, with additions at a rapid rate, from Roc to Cree.
Is anyone actually using Cove? Sixteen newborn boys received the name in 2010, which is rare – but not completely unknown. Men called Cove appear in the US Census records, too, suggesting that the name had some appeal long before we all turned to Mother Nature and the dictionary for baby name inspiration.
If you’re looking for a daring nature name and are frustrated that everyone else is using River, he’s a sharp, masculine option that could wear well.
My little girl is 2 and half and her name is Cove, i never heard of it before and only after id had her did i realise that it was more used as a boys name! My daughter really suits her name and although i do get the odd look when people ask me her name, i love it just as much as the day i choose to name her it!
I named my son Cove in 2008. I thought he was the only one until I read this! I just love the name. My daughter is named Ever. Cove and Ever. They go really well together and they really suit my children as they both have fantastic and quirky personalities.
My son’s name is Cove, he was born in 2011, his full name is Cove Linden Lockhart. We call him Covey most of the time. My husband is Australian, and we loved that his name had ties to his childhood growing up on the ocean. We were inspired when we met another boy about 5 years ago called “Covell” but they called him Cove for short. By absolute chance, and friend of a friend of my husband’s had a baby boy in Australia within 24 hours of my sons birth, and named him Cove as well. It was pretty crazy, and they have many mutual friends, but have never met, and we did not let anyone know our name choices before he was born.
I love his name, and I will always love it, it just fits him so well, and it’s calming and mystical all at once. The only downside is the ugly face old people make when they hear it (stupid old people…) and I have to spell it for people otherwise they think I’m saying Cobe (Cobe… that’s a dumb name) or Cole, or Cody.
GREAT name, Karalyn! And having to repeat is one of the downsides of unusual names – but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth the occasional hassle.
Our son was born Oct. 2006 and we named him Cove Robert Allen (two middle names in honor of family member.) When we shared his name prior to his birth people either loved it or hated it. I usually get “Wow. I love that name!” i’m glad our son is not alone in his unique name. 🙂
My first son is named Cove and we absolutely love the name. It suits him very well, was easy for him to learn to write, and is distinct without being weird.
Coming to this a bit late, but my 7 month old son is called Cobh (Irish for “Cove”). It is also a place name here in Ireland and happens to be the last port of call of the Titanic. Since my husband’s dad worked in the shipyard where the Titanic was built it seemed a fitting choice in this centenary year! We’ve had positive reactions to the name. He really suits it. There is also an Irish name Cobhan (pronounced cov-ann) meaning dweller of the hillside hollow.
Cool story – and what a great name! Thanks for sharing, JCB.
I like the name Cove but not sure my husband would go for it. I know a little girl named Harbor and my cousin (boy) is named Bay. Love both those names!
Cove is cool and fresh!
Cove (boy) and Harbor (girl) would be an amazing sibset. Maybe too matchy-matchy, but somehow I still love it.
Thank you for doing this pleasant review on Cove. It was a name suggestion from my sister and made the short list for our son that came two days before this review. Since I was partial to more than one name for our selection, it was my husbands true love for Elwood that won for first name. We named him Elwood Cove Nelson, brother to Oakley Scott and Georgia Lea. He has both an old and new nature name that I hope he will like. We are in the early days of getting used to our final selection, receiving mostly positive, intrigued or neutral feedback. He’s beautiful, healthy and we are thrilled to have him join our family.
I have enjoyed reading this blog for the last several months and think I have formed a new name fascination and slight addiction…thank you, you’re writing is that good : ). Looking forward to reading more in the days and months to come.
I love the name of your son!!! I have been keeping my eye on the name Elwood for a while and after I read about Cove it was one of my new favorite names too. Congrats!!
Thank you! I wonder how many other things we would have in common based on our name preferences?!
Your children have beautiful names 🙂