Ah, how well I remember the morning my daughter was born: what I was wearing, what the weather was like, the first glimpse into her curious face. I also recall thinking how cool it was that she was born on a Friday. She entered the world already ready to start the weekend! And though I love the name we chose for her, sometimes I wish I had given her a name appropriate for a baby born on Friday.
Friday babies have reason to be proud of their birth day. According to the old children's poem, "Friday's child is loving and giving." (As a "full of woe" Wednesday child, I always envied the Friday bunch.) According to the Power of Positivity website, people born on Friday are creative, intuitive, sensitive, and harmony-seeking. They also get to soak up all the good vibes that go along with the day. Friday is full of hope and sweet anticipation, a time when everyone in the workplace gets a little giddy and mellow. There's a reason no one ever has a Casual Monday or says, "TGIW."
If you want to honor the occasion by giving your child a Friday-themed name, there are plenty of choices out there if you do a little research. Some names are literally associated with the day itself, while others call to mind some of our favorite Friday-based movies and TV shows. See which ones resonate with you as you make your name list.
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Freya
The word Friday comes from the Norse for "Frigg's day," referring to the goddess wife of Odin, according to the Norse Mythology website. But if Frigg is a little too out-there for your taste, then the similar-sounding Freya, which means "noble woman" and honors the Norse goddess of love and beauty, per Nameberry, would be a great second choice.
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Jason
The Greek name for "healer," according to Baby Names, Jason is a solid name that will grow with your child. It's also perfect if you're a horror movie fan, though you might not want to confess to the relatives that you're naming your child after the Friday the 13th villain.
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Rosalind
If you're devoted to classic movies, you probably know and love the Cary Grant comedy His Girl Friday, about a female newspaper reporter whose boss is also her ex-husband. Unfortunately, the names of the characters haven't stood the test of time — Hildy and Walter aren't exactly trendy right now. But you could name a Friday-born girl after star Rosalind Russell. Baby Name Wizard explained that the name has Germanic origins and comes from the words for "horse," "fame," and "gentle."
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Ellie
Then there's the most recent Freaky Friday remake, which recently debuted on the Disney Channel. There, the rebellious daughter is renamed Ellie, which is a cool and very 21st-century choice. Baby Names noted that it's from the Greek, and commonly a nickname for Eleanor.
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Annabel
Mary Rodgers' wonderful book Freaky Friday is about a mom and daughter who switch bodies and learn what it's like on the other side of the relationship. It's been put into movie form a number of times, with a variety of character name changes. The original 1976 movie maintained the name Annabel for the daughter, and it's a great choice for a Friday baby, even 40 years later. Nameberry explained that it's from the Scottish for "loving."
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Afua
If you're looking to honor your ancestry as well as your baby's birth day, look no farther than this lovely African girl's name, which means "born on Friday," according to the website Madame Noire.
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Kofi
Expecting a boy and want the male equivalent of Afua? This Ghanian name also means "born on Friday," per The Bump.
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Kyle
Do you miss Friday Night Lights as much as I do? You can keep the memory going by naming your child after one of the actors or characters. Kyle (as in Chandler) is a strong and still-fresh-sounding name that means "narrow" or "straight" in Gaelic, explained The Bump.
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Dillon
The name of the fictional town where Friday Night Lights is set would also be a terrific name for a Friday child. An Irish name meaning "loyal," Dillon works just as well for a girl as a boy, said Nameberry.
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Topanga
If your childhood Friday nights were spent watching the sweet adventures of Boy Meets World (and if you currently sneak a peek at Girl Meets World when no one is looking), you could honor those memories by naming your Friday baby after one of the characters. Cory, Shawn, Eric, and Morgan are possibilities, but the most identifiable name is Danielle Fishel's character, Topanga. It's both the name of a canyon in California and a Native American name meaning "where the mountain meets the sea," according to Nameberry. The show was one of the ABC "TGIF" lineup back in the '90s, according to Entertainment Weekly, so you could also take name inspiration from other Friday faves, such as Full House and Family Matters. (Urkel, anyone? Hmm... maybe not.)
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Vanessa
Did you do a fist-pump when Fox revived Last Man Standing after ABC cancelled it? Then your Friday nights are once again made, and you have a batch of solid name choices to pick from if you're hoping for a Friday baby. There's Tim Allen's lead character's name, Mike, along with Kyle, Ed, Kristin, Chuck, and Ryan. Then there's Vanessa, a name invented by the writer Jonathan Swift in 1712. According to The Bump, Swift did a mashup of the letters in the name of his girlfriend, Esther Vanhomrigh.
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Marcia
If you're into retro TV, you might be interested to know that everyone's favorite blended family sitcom, The Brady Bunch, used to air on Fridays, as Woman's World confirms. With that in mind, you have a (ahem) bunch of names to choose from: Greg, Jan, Bobby, Cindy, Peter, Mike, Carol, and Alice. But the name most associated with the classic show is, of course, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. The Bump explained that this Latin name means "dedicated to Mars," as in the god of war. Just make sure your little one doesn't have any unfortunate encounters with a football.
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