Asher

Asher -- an excellent, soft and sensitive Old Testament choice -- is definitely on the rise, climbing more than sixty places in the last two years, and a nameberry biblical favorite. Asher's ascent is especially amazing given that it took a hundred-year hiatus from the Top 1000, from the 1890s until reappearing in the 1990s. And now Asher is close to breaking into the Top 100.

In the Bible, Asher was one of Jacob's twelve sons who gave their names to the tribes of Israel.

Asher has been chosen for their sons by TV newswoman Campbell Brown and actress Embeth Davidtz. Its image was somewhat rejuvenated by an appearance as a character on "Gossip Girl," and the rapper Asher Roth.

The novel My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok is the story of a New York Hasidic Jewish boy with artistic aspirations.

Oh--and another plus for Asher: the handsome diminutive Ash.