When Henry was chosen as the #1 favorite boy’s name on the collective 5-star lists of the nameberry community, I was somewhat surprised and yet somewhat not.  Because in many ways Henry is the perfect boy’s name—as classic and historic as James and John and William –yet with a quirkier edge that makes it seem modern, and even hip.

Henry has a lot going for it.  Let us count the ways:

HENRY IS POPULAR, WELL-LIKED, BUT NOT EPIDEMICALLY TRENDY.

At #78 on the Social Security list last year, Henry was given to fewer than 4,000 boys across the country.  It was much more commonly heard in the past, having been #10 in 1900, 12 in the 1910s, 18 in the twenties, 25 in the thirties, then dipping to a low of 146 in 1994, after which it started its edge back up.

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It’s a curious thing that, even when people prefer quirky or unusual names, they often prefer the same quirky or unusual names. Why is Clementine such a darling, for instance, while brother name Clement languishes? Why are Nora, Cora, and even Florence hot, while the equally lovely Flora is ignored?

In the nameberry spirit of promoting great unusual, underrated, unappreciated names, we bring you the latest in a series of names nobody’s using…..but should be.

CAIO – Variation of an ancient Latin name that means “rejoice”, Caio – pronounced not kay-oh or chow but kye-oh – takes the trendy Kai one step further. Contemporary artist Caio Fonseca is a noted bearer.

CALANDRA – One of the Cal- family of Greek girls’ names popularized by Calista Flockhart, Calandra means “lark” and has a formal, elegant feel.

COLETTE – The new movie Cheri with Michelle Pfeiffer may at least bring this name of the scandalous French writer back into contemporary consciousness. Out of the Top 1000 for more than two decades, Colette is derived from Nicholas.

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As reported in the not always reliable Star magazine, Nicole Richie, mother of Harlow Winter Kate, has at the top of her list of names for her baby-to-be Baron, inspired by Donald Trump’s little Barron.  (Her other two published possibilities being Kypher and Martavious, about which I’ll restrain my comments).  This is the latest evidence of a disturbing trendlet among celebs–Hollywood royalty taking their status literally and bestowing noble titles on their offspring.

So who are these little peers and peeresses of the realm?

At the top of the ranks would be King.  Discounting Kingston Rossdale, whose nickname might be King, there is the son of rapper Jayceon (The Game) Taylor. Since The Game’s other nicknames include The California King and King of the West, what could be more logical than to have named his second son King Justice?

Next in line to the throne would be a Prince.  Michael Jackson liked the idea of starting a royal line so much that he named both his sons Prince Michael Jackson–I born in 1997 and II (aka Blanket) in 2002. Not to be outdone, British model Katie Price (aka Jordan) and pop star husband Peter Andre called their little princess Princess (“Princess because she is our little princess”) Tiaamii, with Mum expressing ing her intention of commemorating the regal birth by getting a Princess and crown tattoo on her neck.

Both Diane Keaton and Justine Bateman have sons named Duke, but somehow this name doesn’t project the same air of entitlement or pretension to royalty the others do, probably because Duke has long been used as a laid-back nickname name, and because it was so much associated with anything-but-aristocratic John Wayne–who got his nickname from  the family dog  that used to follow him around: the dog was known as “Big Duke” and young Marion Morrison as “Little Duke.”

A couple of celebs have used variations on the title Marquis.  Rapper 50 Cent chose the Marquise version; David Caruso used Marquez–the surname of his son’s mother.

Though the British don’t have the rank of Count (it’s equivalent to an earl, and somehow My Name is Earl doesn’t have much of a royal ring)–show biz does. Never one to hide his light under a bushel, Danny Bonaduce has a son named Count Dante Jean-Michel Valentine and a daughter called Countess Isabella Michaela.

How much have other parents been picking up on this noble-name trend?   Well, King, Prince, Princess, Baron, and three different spellings of Marquis are all on the current popularity list, but pretty near the bottom, each with under 500 anointed babies nationwide.  And, personally–it would be fine with me if they didn’t rise any higher.

The other day we talked about Princess Names, but what if the royal baby in your family is male?  Then you might need one of the Prince Names, and Charming is probably not going to cut it.

There are a handful of appealing names that mean “prince.”  Brendan is Irish, Mael is Breton, while Vladimir is Slavic for “renowned prince.”  Armel, the name of a Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany, means “stone prince” in French, while Adhit is an Indonesian name with that meaning.

Prince itself is of course also a name, chosen by Michael Jackson for his son — though if you choose it, you’d have to put up with an awful lot of “formerly known as” jokes.  Better bets: King, Duke, or maybe even Earl.

Fictional princes who might prove inspirational include:

Caspian – Prince who is the rightful king in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Edvard “Eddie” – Danish prince posing as Wisconsin exchange student in deathless 2004 classic “The Prince and Me.”

Erik – The Prince in The Little Mermaid.

Moses – Biblical baby raised as a prince.

Paris – The Trojan prince who wooed the beautiful Helen, though a certain modern female Paris may knock this ancient royal name out of the running for boys.

Phillip – Sleeping Beauty’s paramour.

William “Will” — The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

And then there are the little princes born to actual royal families over the past decade or so, with William.html”>prince names equally imposing as those of their princess counterparts.  I’m especially intrigued by Aymeric, Valdemar, Casimir, Marius, Emmanuel, Froilan, Felix, Baudouin, and Sverre.

Achilleas Andreas — Greece

Aristide Stavros – Greece

Aymeric Auguste Marie — Belgium

Carlos — Spain

Christian Valdemar Henri John – Denmark

Claus-Casimir Bernhard Marius Max — Netherlands

Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie – Belgium

Felipe Juan Froilan — Spain

Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian –Denmark

Friedrich Richard Oscar Jefferson — Denmark

Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie — Belgium

Hisahito — Japan

James Alexander Philip Theo – Great Britain

Juan Valentín — Spain

Konstantinos Alexios — Greece

Lucas Maurits Pieter Henri — Netherlands

Miguel – Spain

Nicolas Casimir Marie – Belgium

Nikolai William Alexander Frederik — Denmark

Odysseas Kimon — Greece

Pablo Nicolas – Spain

Samuel “Sam” Bernhard Louis — Netherlands

Sverre Magnus — Norway

One of my embarrassing little obsessions is princess names.  The whole idea of royalty, in these modern times, is kind of embarrassing.  And then there’s the issue of encouraging your daughter to aspire to be a princess rather than, say, a doctor or an astronaut.  For more on this, check out Peggy Orenstein’s great piece from the New York Times, “What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”

The fact, in our experience, is that most little girls go through a phase of wanting to be princesses whether you encourage them to or not.  And there’s a lot of great name inspiration to be found in the world of royalty.

The most obvious place to start is with names that mean princess — for the most part limited to Sarah and her variations.  Sara, Sera, Sarai, Sadie, Soraya, and Zadie are all possibilities.  A British “glamour model” named her daughter Princess, though we don’t recommend this.

Another source for Ad52JB”>princess names is fictional: fairy tales, legends, and the art of Walt Disney.  Some ideas:

Ariel — The Little Mermaid, princess of an undersea world, has already inspired many namesakes.

Aurora — One of the “real” names of Sleeping Beauty.

Fiona — The princess from Shrek, a great role model though a little girl might feel ambivalent about carrying her name.

Giselle — The heroine played by Amy Adams in Enchanted.

Jasmine — The name of the princess in Aladdin gave rise to a generation of real-life girls named Jasmine (and Jazmyn, Yasmina, et al)

Kilala — A Japanese fantasy/romance manga princess whose story plays out against her Disney counterparts.

Odette — The Swan Princess.

Sasami — Japanese anime character who is a princess of Jurai.

Signy — Princess heroine of an Icelandic fairy tale who lives inside a giant oak tree.

Tiana — Disney’s first black princess.

Vasilissa — Meaning “queen” in Greek, Vasilissa is the heroine of a Russian fairy tale who starts out as a poor girl and ends up marrying the king.

Zelda — Princess in the popular Legend of Zelda video game.

Better inspiration might be found via the real little princesses of the world, with their string of four or five names for some poor future spouse to stumble over at the royal wedding.   A selection of those born over the past decade or so:

Aiko — Japan

Alexandra Charlotte Ulrike Maryam Virginia — Hanover

Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien — Netherlands

Amelia — Greece

Ana María — Greece

Anastasia “Anna” Margriet Josephine – Netherlands

Ariane Wilhelmina Maxima Ines — Netherlands

Arrietta — Greece

Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria – Netherlands

Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène of Belgium

Eleonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie – Belgium

Eloise Sophie Beatrix Laurence — Netherlands

Emma Luana Ninette Sophie (Luana) — Netherlands

Emma Talullah – Norway

Felicia Juliana Benedicte Barbara — Netherlands

Ingrid Alexandra – Norway

Ingrid Alexandra Irma Astrid Benedikte — Denmark

Irene — Spain

Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe — Denmark

Isabella Lily Juliana – Netherlands

Joanna Zaria Nicoline Milou (Zaria) — Netherlands

Laetitia Maria – Belgium

Laila Khadija – Morocco

Leah Isadora — Norway

Leonor — Spain

Leonore Marie Irene Enrica — Netherlands

Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary— Great Britain

Louise Sophie Mary — Belgium

Magali Margriet Eleonoor — Netherlands

Maria Olympia — Greece

Maud Angelica — Norway

Sofia – Spain

Victoria Federica – Spain

What’s your favorite?  What are some princess-worthy names and combinations that haven’t yet been attached to real royal babies?  Let us know!