The Clique Characters

Currently gender-neutral in the US, although boys have the edge, as they do with Lane. The Y spelling makes it a bit more feminine.

Chris is a long-running nickname used almost equally for boys and girls. While past its prime, Chris stands out as sounding completely appropriate for both sexes, perhaps because of its widespread use as a short form of both the popular Christopher and Christine. Chris manages to retain its crisp appeal even though its fashion moment is over.

This variation of Corey has a Kardashian-style spelling update -- which might be why it's experiencing a boost in popularity of late. Kori is also a Kikuyu name meaning lamb, one of the many names from that African culture with animal meanings, and a short form of Koral, the Hebrew form of Coral.

Derek is one of those names that, in its heyday, spawned lots of variations, all trendy. Last year, about 300 baby boys were named Derrick and about 1350 were named Derek.

Cameron is still more popular as a boy's name than a girls and this simple, snappy short form works well for either sex.

Another entry in the fruit name category, this one borne by writer Strawberry Saroyan, granddaughter of William, so named by her hippie parents. While fruit names may become more familiar, they'll never pass without comment -- but maybe that's what you're looking for.

Dune is a name of several layers. It's a modern nature name, like Ocean, Bay and Reef, although rarer, conjuring up images of breezy sand dunes on summer beach days.