Musical Baby Names

With its musical allusions, a harmonious possibility.

Fifer is a musical name that fits in seamlessly with the likes of Harper and Piper, but is much more unusual. It's also a Scottish demonym, referring to an inhabitant of the historic Scottish county of Fife.

Piper's rising popularity for girls makes it an unlikely masculine choice.

When actress Rachel Griffiths chose this highly unusual name for her son, many assumed it was a bizarre invention. But a noted Australian poet (Griffiths is an Aussie) is known by this name.

Word name with an appealing sound but a trivializing meaning.

Rock definitely has a macho image, if a somewhat caricatured one, ala The Rock. But with the rise of word names and also of tough guy names, Rock feels more plausible than it did a generation ago.

Drummer entered the baby name lexicon thanks to blogger No Big Dill, who chose it for her newborn son, who joins five older sisters. Drummer is right in step with other occupational names in vogue now, from Archer to Gardener. Let's just hope Drummer doesn't prefer to play the piano.

The literal meaning of Adagio is 'at ease.' Adagio's use for a slow musical passage or ballet is contradicted by its lively sound and feel.

These days, it's more likely you'd call your daughter the popular Belle or Bella.

Once unique to the Zappa family, now you can have your own little prima donna.

Undiscovered musical form melodious enough to be a hit on the name charts.

The name of a small yellow bird that hasn't taken off in the way that some of its avian sisters – like Robin, Wren or Lark – have.

Ramon is a common Latin male name, but Ramone would clearly be in tribute to the early punk rock group--each of whose members took on the last name Ramone.

Minuet is delicate, dancey, and lacy, with a Masterpiece Theatre feel. Is Minuet a real name? Not really, though similar-sounding French names such as Minette and Manette are.

Name that makes a dramatic musical statement.

Cadenza takes the popular CADENCE and gives it a more operatic flourish.

Great middle name choice for music lovers or those with Scottish roots, also spelled Fyfe.

Could be seen as extravagantly ecstatic for a baby name, though feel free to rhapsodize about your little girl, whatever her name.

Long associated with jazz great Ornette Coleman, this name's main problem is that almost all other ette-ending names -- from Annette to Paulette -- are unequivocally feminine.

Tuneful variation on the Claire names.