Destiny

Destiny is the word you might murmur about a life still being written. From the Old French destinee, itself from the Latin destinare, "to determine," the English word entered first-name territory in the 1970s and rose quickly, peaking in the late 1990s and 2000s. The R&B group Destiny's Child, featuring a young Beyonce, further cemented its presence. It now sits at 481, softened slightly from its peak but still broadly loved. Three syllables move briskly, a sharp opening D and a bright -y close. Destiny reads as hopeful and cinematic, a name that leans forward into whatever comes next.