I couldn’t resist the final name on our Baby Name Advent for the 24th of December – Klaus! Actually my kids suggested this name in part because they are big fans of the book (and TV) series A Series of Unfortunate Events in which one of the protagonists, a clever and introspective boy, is called Klaus. Apart from that reason of course, this name makes the winter-inspired baby name list, because of our beloved jolly man in red – Santa Claus! The name Klaus is of German origin and is originally a diminutive form of Nicklaus.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Baby Name Advent series! I had lots of fun making all the name photos for this series – the write-ups were a little more work than I’d anticipated! If I’m feeling ambitious perhaps I’ll be back with a second list for next year – though there are only so many winter-inspired names to go around, so might have to think of a different theme to try!

To view all 24 winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

Victory of the people

pronunciation

KL(ows)

origin

German, Dutch, Scandanavian

popularity

Klaus does not rank within the top 1000 in the US or Canada and is more commonly used in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

nicknames

I didn’t come across any short forms or nicknames for Klaus, so another good choice if you’d like a name that won’t be shortened!

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Klaus Schwab (born 1938) – German professor who founded the World Economic Forum

Klaus Tennstedt (1926–1998), German conductor

Klaus Baudelaire – the middle child and one of the main protagonists of the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

babynames.com

I had to go with at least one traditional winter-inspired name for our Baby Name Advent, one of my personal all-time favourites – Ivy! Short, simple, and very sweet, this classic name has been given to many a baby girl born around the winter holidays. The bright green leaves of the ivy plant were used to bring brightness and life into homes at Christmastime and remain a stallwart of decorations today.

The ivy plant has been steeped in cultural meaning for thousands of years, dating back even to ancient Greece when young couples were presented with ivy bouquets representing everlasting life, devotion, fidelity and loyalty. The use of ivy as a Christmas decoration in European homes dates back even to the middle ages and was much-loved in Victorian times too.

A simple name but one with an abundance of history and meaning!

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

Ivy; botanical name

pronunciation

AI-vee

origin

Old English

popularity

The popularity of the name Ivy has grown again in recent years after many of the floral-inspired names fell out of favour for some time. In England in 2020, Ivy took spot #6; in Australia #14, Canada #51 and the US #58.

nicknames

Ive, Ives, Vee

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Ivy Williams (1877–1966) – first woman to be called to the English bar in 1922

Ivy Wallace (1915–2006) – British artist, actress and author, best known for writing the Pookie series of illustrated children’s stories

Ivy Frances Klein (1895–1972) -British composer

Ivy Campany (1901–2008) – at age 107, the second from last World War I female army veteran of any country

Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884–1969) – English writer

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

National Records of Scotland

As we creep closer to the end of the Baby Name Advent, I thought the name Marley would be a great addition as a winter-inspired name, as this one always makes me think of A Christmas Carol‘s Jacob Marley, and what are the holidays without at least one viewing of the good old black and white 1951 version of the ghostly Victorian Christmas classic? This unisex name was first used in the 12th century and is derived from a combination of the Old English words ‘marten’ and ‘leah’. A marten is a small woodland animal and ‘leah’ meant ‘woodland’ or ‘wood clearing’.

Of course, there is also the connection to Bob Marley too, which mustn’t be overlooked!

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

Pleasant seaside meadow

pronunciation

MAR-lee

origin

English

popularity

In 2020, Marley was the 211th most popular girl’s name in the US, and the 939th most popular boy’s name.

nicknames

Mar, Lele, Lee

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Marley Dias (born 2005) – African-American activist and feminist

Marley Shelton (born 1974) – American actress

Marley Zarcone (born 1983) – Canadian comic book artist

Marley Aké (born 2001) – French footballer

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

Wiktionary

thebump.com

A most obvious choice for a winter baby name list but an often overlooked name, the 21st day of the Baby Name Advent brings us Winter! I always thought this was such a pretty name, but have only really met one person named Winter that I can recall, back in high school in the mid-nineties. According to Namberry it has been used as a name since the early 17th century and entered the U.S. top 1000 in 1978.

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

Winter

pronunciation

WIN-tur

origin

Old English; Germanic origin

popularity

Winter ranked at number 315 in the US in 2020.

nicknames

Win, Winnie

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Winter Hall (1872-1947) – New Zealand actor

Winter Ave Zoli (born 1980) – American actress and model

Winter Vinecki (born 1998) – American marathon runner

Winter Charles Renouf (1868–1954) – British philatelist

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

I first came across Yarrow used as a name for a little girl on a family blog I used to read – which one I can’t remember as it was quite a few years ago now! But this sweet name stuck with me and I thought it was so pretty and much more rarely used than many other flower-derived names. It came back to me as I was making a winter wreath for our front door and found some dried cream-coloured yarrow that looked so lovely amongst the dried berries and other bits I was using for the wreath. Just as lovely a winter name as Holly or Ivy, I would say!

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

‘rough stream’; the flower is a symbol of enduring love

pronunciation

YEH-row

origin

English; botanical name

popularity

Yarrow is quite unusual and rare and doesn’t seem to appear in many baby name lists. More popular in the sixties and seventies as many botanical names were.

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

meaning

The 19th day of the Baby Name Advent brings us the name Julian! One bearer of this lovely name was Saint Julian, who is the patron saint of hospitality and “was invoked as the patron of hospitality by travelers on a journey and far from home pray hoping to find safe lodging”. Since the winter holidays are a time when many of us are travelling and also welcoming and hosting family and friends into our homes, I thought that this would be a perfect winter-themed name to include.

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

pronunciation

JOO-lee-un

Meaning

youthful; downy-bearded; shiny

origin

Latin

popularity

Julian has been in the top 50 in the US for about the last decade. In Canada in 2020, Julian placed 73rd.

nicknames

Jules, Juju, Jude

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Julian (emperor) (331–363) – Roman emperor from 361 to 363

Saint Julian – several Christian saints

Julian Lennon – English musician, son of John and Cynthia Lennon

Julian Barratt – English actor, comedian, and musician

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

The 18th day of the Baby Name Advent brings us a name most will be familiar with – Ruby! This sweet name has always been one of my favourites and I think it fits in well with the wintery/holiday theme as the beautiful ruby-red hue is ubiquitous at this time of year!

To see more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

deep red precious stone

pronunciation

ROO-bee

origin

Latin

popularity

Ruby is currently quite a popular name in many English-speaking countries – particularly the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. A lovely vintage name that has made a comeback!

nicknames

Rube, Roo

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Ruby Bridges (born 1954) – American activist, first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana in the 20th century

Ruby Murray (1935–1996) – Northern Irish singer

Ruby Winters (1942–2016) – American soul singer

Ruby Rose (born 1986) – Australian MTV VJ

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

The 17th day of the Baby Name Advent brings us a name that you might never have heard of – a lovely name from the land of fire and ice – the Icelandic name Fannar, meaning ‘snow drift’!

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

snow drift

pronunciation

fahn-narr

origin

Icelandic

popularity

The popularity of Fannar is mostly within Iceland.

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Fannar Ólafsson (born 1978) – Icelandic basketball analyst 

Andri Fannar Baldursson (born 2002) – Icelandic professional football midfielder

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

theculturetrip.com

guidetoiceland.is

The 16th day of the Baby Name Advent brings us a lovely name meaning ‘snow’ – Yukio! Other meanings for this Japanese name are ‘snow boy’ or ‘child of snow’.

For more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

snow; snow boy

pronunciation

YOO-Kee-oh

origin

Japanese

popularity

Although this name is popular mostly as a male name for babies born in winter, it is currently not in the top 1000 baby names for Japan. It is quite a rare name outside of Japan.

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTERS

Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫, 1925-1970) – Japanese writer

Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山 由紀夫, b. 1947) – Japanese Prime Minister

Yukio Akagariyama (赤狩山 幸男, born 1975) – Japanese pocket billiards player

Yukio Endō (遠藤 幸雄, 1937 – 2009) – Japanese gymnast

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia

babynamespedia.com

The 15th day of the Baby Name Advent brings us the lovely name, Jonas, meaning ‘dove’. The dove features prominently in imagery we see around the winter holidays, representing peace. I also had this one on my (very) long list of names to consider for each of my babies – such a lovely, classic name!

To see more winter-inspired baby names, please visit the Baby Name Advent page!

meaning

Dove; peaceful being

pronunciation

JOH-nis

origin

Greek; Hebrew

popularity

Jonas is used frequently in Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Flanders and Scandinavia. It is the most common name in Lithuania! In the US, Jonas ranked #486 in 2020. In the UK in 2019 it is listed at #481.

nicknames

Jo, Jojo, Joney

NOTABLE PEOPLE & CHARACTacters

Jonas – father of Simon Peter; written as “John” or “Jonah” in some translations of the Bible

Jonas Björkman (born 1972) – Swedish tennis player

Jonas Basanavičius (1851-1927) – an activist and a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania

Jonas Gustavsson (born 1984) – NHL goaltender

In song – ‘My Name is Jonas’ by Weezer (1994)

sources

Nameberry

Wikipedia