Are you looking for the perfect name for your baby due in December? Maybe you would like to choose a festive name in honour of their Christmas birthday, or something to remind you of the beautiful, wintry season in which they were born. Perhaps you'd like a religious name found in the Christmas story or something to remind you of your favourite Christmas carol.
As a newborn photographer I always feel that there's something magical about having a new baby at Christmas. The lights, the sparkle, the feeling of love and hope for the future. A new beginning. So if you're expecting a December baby this year, or even one due on Christmas day, we've put together an amazing list of December baby names to celebrate the beautiful season of your baby's birth!
If you're looking for a beautiful and special name for your December baby, we've put together a show-stopping list for you to choose from!
Top 10 December Girls Names
1. Holly - Inspired by the beautiful Holly plant with it's glossy green leaves and bright red berries. The name Holly also means resilience and eternal life.
2. Ivy - From the popular Christmas carol, The Holly and the Ivy. The ivy plant represents eternity and fidelity.
3. Mary - From the Christmas story. Mary the mother of Jesus who according to the bible gave birth to her son Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem. It is an ancient Hebrew name which means 'beloved'.
4. Robin / Robyn - After the little bird so often found on Christmas cards, it's red breast showing up brightly against the winter snow. The name Robin means 'shining', 'bright' and 'famed'. Perfect for your little star!
5. Gabrielle - A female version of the name Gabriel, the archangel who told Mary that she would give birth to baby Jesus in the Christmas story. The name means 'God is my strength'.
6. Eve - A beautiful, festive name perfect for little girls born at Christmas time! As well as referring to Christmas Eve of course, the Latin name means 'mother of life'.
7. Noelle - Possibly the most Christmassy name ever! The female version of Noel, which some from the old French word for Christmas 'Noel' which also means 'birthday'. It is familiar to many through the popular Christmas carol The First Noel.
8. Angelica - Referring to the angels which feature in the Christmas story. Angelica is a heavenly name which comes from the Latin 'angelicus' meaning 'angelic'. It's the perfect name for a Christmas born baby girl!
9. Stella - Coming from the Latin word for star, the name Stella has been popular in many countries since the 1580s. Famous Stella's include fashion designer Stella McCartney.
10. Meredith - A welsh name meaning 'great Lord' and 'light and grace'. It's a sweet sounding name which can be shortened to 'Merry' or Merri' which is perfect for babies born during the merry Christmas season.
Top 10 December Boys Names
1. Nicholas - St Nicholas is the origin of the modern Santa Claus tradition and a lovely way to give your baby boy a subtly Christmassy name while still being quite mainstream and traditional. The name Nicholas means 'victory of the people' in Greek.
2. Joseph - Mary's carpenter husband in the Christmas story. Joseph is a Hebrew name meaning 'God will give' and is common in the Bible.
3. Angel - As everyone who's been to a nativity play knows, angels play a big part in the Christmas story. Angel is a Greek name meaning 'messenger from God' and is sometimes pronounced AN-kel rather than as the English pronunciation of angel.
4. Noel - Synonymous with Christmas and the French Christmas greeting 'Joyeux Noel', Noel is about as Christmassy as a name can get! It means birthday in Latin and has been adopted as meaning 'the birthday of Christ'.
5. Emmanuel - An ancient Hebrew name meaning ' God is with us' which is often used to refer to Jesus in the bible. During Advent, the well know hymn 'Oh come, oh come Emmanuel' is sung as part of looking forward to the Christmas period.
6. Caspar - A persian name meaning 'Keeper of treasure'. Caspar was of course one of the 3 wise men who travelled to bring gifts to the baby Jesus.
7. Gabriel - After the archangel Gabriel in the Christmas story. Gabriel has grown in popularity in recent years and means ' God is my strength' in Hebrew.
8. Jesus - What could be more appropriate for a Christmas baby than naming them after the baby Jesus of the Christmas story! A popular modern name in Hispanic countries where it is pronounced 'hay-SOOS'.
9. Kris - meaning simply 'follower of Christ', it's a sweet and Scandinavian sounding name perfect for Christmas born babies. Just that little bit more unusual than the more traditional Christopher or Chris.
10. Winter - An apt name for little boys (or girls) born in the Winter months, as well as being a little bit unusual. The word comes from a German phrase meaning 'time of water'.
So that's our top 10 list of Christmas and December baby names! I hope you're found something to inspire you. Let me know in the comments if you have chosen one from our list or if you have more suggestions!
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you've found our blog useful and infomative. I'm Rachel, a specialist maternity and newborn photographer based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. If you would like to find out more about our maternity and newborn photoshoots visit our main website.