Car names as baby names

Mazda Miata
Mazda Miata

Love cars? Here are some car-related names that have been used as baby names:

  • Allante, from Cadillac Allante.
  • Aston, from Aston Martin. Inspired by Aston Hill in England.
  • Audi, German manufacturer. The name is a Latin translation of Horch, surname of founder August Horch.
  • Avanti, from Studebaker Avanti. The word avanti means “forward” in Italian.
  • Bentley, British manufacturer. Named after founder W. O. Bentley.
  • Camry, from Toyota Camry. The name is based on kanmuri, which means “crown” in Japanese. (Here’s a baby Camryn, born inside a Camry.)
  • Capri, from Lincoln Capri.
  • Caprice, from Chevrolet Caprice. Named after a New York City restaurant.
  • Catera, from Cadillac Catera.
  • Celica, from Toyota Celica. The name is based on caelica, which means “celestial” in Latin.
  • Chevelle, from Chevrolet Chevelle.
  • Chevy, nickname for Chevrolet.
  • Cooper, from MINI Cooper. Named after auto racer John Cooper.
  • Cressida, from Toyota Cressida.
  • DeLorean, from DMC DeLorean.
  • Diamante, from Mitsubishi Diamante.
  • Dino, from Fiat Dino or Ferrari Dino. Both named after V6 engine designer Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari.
  • Dodge, a division of Chrysler. (I know of two babies named after Dodge pickup trucks specifically.)
  • Elantra, from Hyundai Elantra.
  • Elise, from Lotus Elise. Named after Elisa Artioli, granddaughter of Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli.
  • Elva, British manufacturer. The name is based on elle va, which means “she goes” in French.
  • Florian, from Isuzu Florian. Named after the fictional horse in Florian, the Emperor’s Stallion by Felix Salten.
  • Ford, American manufacturer. Named after founder Henry Ford. (I know of two babies named after Fords.)
  • Hudson, American manufacturer.
  • Jazz, from Honda Jazz.
  • Jeep, a division of Chrysler.
  • Jetta, from Volkswagen Jetta. The name is based on the phrase “jet stream.”
  • Jimmy, from GMC Jimmy.
  • Kia, South Korean manufacturer. (Here’s a baby Kia, born inside a Kia.)
  • Lexus, a division of Toyota. The name has no specific meaning, according to the company.
  • Lincoln, a division of Ford. Named after former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.
  • Martin, from Aston Martin. Named after founder Lionel Martin.
  • Mercedes, from Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. Named after Mercedes Jellinek, daughter of Austrian entrepreneur Emil Jellinek.
  • Miata, from Mazda Miata. Possibly means “reward” in Old High German.
  • Millenia, from Mazda Millenia.
  • Mondeo, from Ford Mondeo. The name is based on mundus, which means “world” in Latin.
  • Morgan, British manufacturer.
  • Porsche, German manufacturer. Named after founder Ferdinand Porsche.
  • Reatta, from Buick Reatta.
  • Renault, French manufacturer.
  • Royce, from Rolls-Royce. Named after founder Henry Royce.
  • Scion, a Toyota marque.
  • Shelby, from Shelby American. Named for founder Carroll Hall Shelby.
  • Torino, from Ford Torino.
  • Toyota, Japanese manufacturer. Named for founder Kiichiro Toyoda.
  • VW, short for Volkswagen.

Blog readers have also told me about babies named Riviera (after the Buick Riviera) and Axel (because of its similarity to the word axle).

Update, 2016 – Here’s a baby whose middle name, Megan, was inspired by a Renault Megane.

Know any babies that were named for automobiles?

[Psst! Were you looking for a post about giving a name to your car?]

55 thoughts on “Car names as baby names

  1. Hm…Wikipedia is telling me that Lexus was inspired by Alexis, but has no specific meaning. (The page cites a book called The Lexus Story by Jonathan Mahler.)

  2. Lance could be cool for a boy, after the Mitsubishi Lancer. For a girl, Silvia after the Nissan Silvia S15. Coby for the Chevrolet Cobalt. Rogue for Nissan Rogue. Solstice after Pontiac Solstice might be cool.

  3. I can’t think of any other names, but I just wanted to share my family’s list of names – My husband’s name is Ford Lincoln (no kidding) – my first son is named Harley (not a car, but a vehicle nonetheless) & my second son is Colt. Our daughter was almost named Lexus – but it changed to Madison. We are currently expecting our fourth child (not sure of the sex yet) and if it is a boy, we will continue our “vehicular” names – if it’s a girl – well, no car names for our girls. If you have any suggestions for a boy, We’d appreciate it. Thanks.

  4. Edsel. Supposedly it’s old germanic meaning “noble.” Wiki has an interesting article regarding Edsel Bryant Ford. The Edsel division of Ford was started over 10yrs after his death. Talk about besmirching his name….

  5. I think it might be interesting to pick a car’s name, some of them actually sound good like Kia and Lexus but one of the ‘biggest’ downside at least for me is, etc is that it has no meaning. Anyway take care.

  6. I don’t know if this counts but my sister has a GMC Sierra and there are many Sierras at my sons Holden and Theo’s day care.

  7. my girl is Shelby after the mustang i’m looking for the next babies name was thinking like Ghia after the ford falcon ghia.

  8. Hi there, We just found out were pregnant with baby # 2 … our daughters name is Dakota not after the dodge Dakota but now with her name we are thinking of going with the same theme for the next :)

  9. Got 9 weeks left if itz a boy im gona call him kieran after his dad… but i love cars exp toyota and was wonderin if anyone thot callin a little girl that would b mad …. ???

  10. I have named a group of siblings in one of my books Chryslir, Mercedes, Cheevey, Lexus, Porsha, Bentley, Aston, and Ford. 

  11. How about something like Devon, after the Devon GTX. Also Wald might be suiting after the Wald Mercedes-Benz E-Class for example…

  12. my daughter is shelby after the shelby mustang as my husband loves cars and i got my own way in call our son harley as my dad loved bikes and it kind of rubbed off on me but now we r stuck we r having another baby next year bt we r keeping the sex a surprise and we are having a problem on names will it be after a bike or a car???

  13. My daughter is Kieran Sequoia, people tease us because my hubby and I both drive Toyotas. I have a LandCruiser he has a pickup, but apparently there is an SUV called Toyota Sequoia.

  14. My son’s name is Tucker Aston. Tucker after a Tucker Torpedo and Aston for Aston Martin. Tucker is great because it’s a rare, cool old car and it’s a unique name (not common) and everyone knows how to spell it and pronounce it!

  15. I have a cousin named Shelby but she was named for the role Julia Roberts played in Steel Magnolias. If I did this, I might choose the name Aston for a boy or Camri for a girl but I doubt I would name my child after a car.

  16. My husband and I named our youngest son (almost 9), Scout, after the Innternational Scout II. We/ he gets lots of compliments on his name.

  17. We have a Steeda, Aston, Hudson. We also have a Quentin, heaven, and Hayven which are not after cars. Now expecting number 7 and cannot decide on a boy name. Thinking Maverick or Torino. Any other ideas?

  18. My son is named Diesel Scot, and my daughter was named chevelle wray. We love the names we picked unique!

  19. My Husband and I met at a truck stop where we both worked. We tried to get married 10/4, but it ended up being 10/5. Our 3 children are named Cooper (mini Cooper/Cooper tires), Dekon (Manza) and Driver. All boys, I had a son from a previous relationship his name is Tayeshun Kendall (found out there is an oil named Kendall!)

  20. i can’t believe Bentley didn’t make the list…and royce is a great name too.

  21. I named my daughter chevelle after the car but spelt it Shavelle just for uniquness, chevelle is also the spanish for of isabelle

  22. My bf is a car fanatIc and we’re expecting we’ve decided on Silvia for a girl but we want a name for a boy after the Nissan skyline…..any ideas that sound girl?

  23. We have a baby boy named Martin. I’m glad to find his name is ranked 262 as the most popular boy’s names in US 2012. Our oldest 12 years old daughter named Audi. It’s a beautiful name, isn’t it?

  24. I have two girls and I’m expecting another girl my oldest is Mercedes my other daughter is Audi and I have decided to name my baby Lexis….

  25. we named my son CAYENNE from PORSCHE CAYENNE.. and we are thinking of naming our 3 baby MCLAREN ENZO, mclaren is from Formula 1 and the enzo is from Ferrari Enzo.

  26. My fiancee and I are expecting our first.
    For a girl, he wants to name her Lexus Aurora and for a boy he wants Bentley Cooper!

    I however love the names Sequoia and I also love Sienna.
    We’re both Toyota fanatics, however he also loves Lexus and Scions lol go figure, both related to Toyota :P

  27. Many of our car names in Australia are different from elsewhere. But names that I have heard due to cars/ motor sport include;
    Corolla (a Toyota hatch)
    Commodore (a GM local model)
    Riley (as in Riley elf)
    Brock (Peter Brock, late car racing champion)
    Vate (yes, after V8)
    Aston, Nissan, Saab, Michelin, Musso, Suburu
    But my fave car name story is that of my old friend, Dom’s parents; coming to Australia as refugees from Poland after WWII, at a time of official assimilationism, Mrs Puschcavich disliked being called Mrs P., or Mrs Push, and when the children were born the family changed their name to Holden; “a Good Aussie name” after a local car maker, the Holden Car Company, a subsidiary of GM! They still gave all the children Polish forenames!

  28. Our son is Kayleb, daughter is Lexus. Thinking Bentley for next baby, boy or girl :)

  29. What a great list! I love seeing some of the inspiration behind some of our the favorite models that we carry. Things such as the Camry this is an awesome post I can’t wait to share it with our customers when they come in.

  30. I have a friend and her name is Cheyenne after the Chevy Cheyenne truck and my other friends name is Axel James (AJ for short)

  31. My daughter’s name is Lexus, and my son’s name is Cooper. Lexus comes from Alexis, meaning Protector of Mankind.

  32. My son’s name is Aiiden Audi and my youngest boys name is Armani Bentley looove their names

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.