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Cardinal

Today's name: Cardinal
You know, the red bird most visible in winter against the white backdrop of snow. And although I see no reason why this name should be limited to males, know that the male bird is the brightly colored red, and females are a brown. However, you could also be talking about cardinal north or the senior ecclesiastical official in Catholicism or cardinal numbers, among a few other possibilities.


Pronunciation: CAR-din-al

Potential nicknames: Card, Cardy

Origin: The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardinalis, meaning "chief, principal, pivotal." The bird was named for its resemblance to the cardinal's robes.

Popularity: Although there were 21 baby boys named Cardin (a variant of Carden, meaning "wood carder") in 2010, and 17 in 2011, there were none or less than five named Cardinal both years. I'm surprised there aren't any babies named for the St. Louis Cardinals.
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Comments

  1. eponymiaDecember 19, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    I think Cardinal's a great name -- works nice in the middle name spot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SebastianeDecember 20, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    You know, this would actually make a cool male name.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CristinaDecember 20, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    I think Cardinal and Coriander could make cute twin names.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownSeptember 12, 2016 at 11:32 AM

    Cardinal is a great name for a baby boy! My husband went to Stanford- Stanford Cardinals! It also sounds very important... a person with great significance/importance and has a powerful authority by the way it sounds and looks. I want to name or son Cardinal!!

    ReplyDelete

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