Names that mean a color
Color names often began as descriptions of hair or complexion: Reid and Russell for someone red-haired, Kieran ("little dark one") and Donovan in Irish, Fiona ("fair, white") in Scottish Gaelic. Melanie is Greek for "dark" and Bianca Italian for "white".
Girl names (21)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melanie | dark, black | Greek | #142 |
| Sienna | Siena (Italian city); reddish-brown | Italian | #94 |
| Fiona | fair, white | Scottish | #470 |
| Gwendolyn | white or blessed ring (Welsh) | Welsh | #360 |
| Aurelia | golden (probable) | Latin | #290 |
| Bianca | white | Italian | #500 |
| Jennifer | Cornish form of Guinevere ('white phantom') | Celtic | #586 |
| Keira | modern feminine of Kieran, from ciar 'dark' | Irish | #622 |
| Winnie | pet form of Winifred (and others) | Welsh | #475 |
| Whitley | white clearing (English place name) | English | #677 |
| Goldie | golden (English pet name) | English | #621 |
| Indigo | indigo (dye and color) | English | #854 |
| Rowyn | variant of Rowan | Irish | #699 |
| Gwen | white, fair, blessed (Welsh) | Welsh | #725 |
| Guinevere | white, fair + uncertain element (Welsh) | Welsh | #899 |
| Whitney | white island | English | #1,046 |
| Winifred | Welsh "white/blessed" + uncertain element | Welsh | #923 |
| Ciara | "dark-haired" | Irish | #1,408 |
| Blanca | "white" | Spanish | #1,857 |
| Ebony | ebony, the black wood | English | #5,452 |
| Blanche | white | French | #6,892 |
Boy names (19)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowan | little red one (Irish) | Irish | #59 |
| Rory | red king | Irish | #199 |
| Finley | fair warrior (from Gaelic Fionnlagh) | Scottish | #333 |
| Reid | red (red-haired) | English | #293 |
| Russell | little red one (red-haired) | French | #345 |
| Kieran | little dark one (Irish Ciarán) | Irish | #389 |
| Donovan | descendant of the dark-brown one (Irish) | Irish | #496 |
| Arjun | white, bright (Sanskrit) | Sanskrit | #490 |
| Bruno | brown (Germanic) | Germanic | #740 |
| Grey | grey (color); also surname | English | #1,014 |
| Douglas | black stream | Scottish | #807 |
| Kyren | variant of Kieran (probable) | Irish | #584 |
| Aurelius | golden | Latin | #991 |
| Dwayne | variant of Duane; "dark" | Irish | #1,565 |
| Barry | fair-haired (Irish Fionnbharr) | Irish | #1,520 |
| Lloyd | gray, gray-haired | Welsh | #1,549 |
| Floyd | gray-haired (variant of Lloyd) | Welsh | #2,237 |
| Dewayne | variant of Duane; "dark" | Irish | #2,457 |
| Rufus | "red, red-haired" | Latin | #4,019 |
How names get on this list
Our editors read each name's documented etymology and tag a theme only when the roots of the name carry that meaning. Popular explanations without support (folk etymologies) don't count, and names whose origin is uncertain are left out unless every explanation agrees. The list covers the roughly 2,000 most used names we have researched so far, ordered by the number of US babies in the last five years. How we research meanings.