Abel, the name of Adam and Eve's unfortunate younger son, compensates with positive connotations: capable, competent, ready and willing. 
 Abel has literary connections to the novels of Dickens and Trollope, and is also one of the few well-known Old Testament names not plagued by overuse. Having been chosen for their second son by Amy Pohler and Will Arnett could give it a real popularity bounce.
 Abel's namesakes include two movie directors, Abel Gance and Abel Ferrara, and a pop singer, Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd.

Abel

Rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz put a new baby name on the map when they chose this downscale New York borough name for their son.  The Bronx, the place, was named for early Dutch settler Jonas Bronck.  Might Bronx become the next Brooklyn?  We'd be surprised if it did.

Bronx

Whether it's due to its economic connotations, or its link to American legend Johnny Cash, this name is widely used, and has been used by several celebrities including Annabeth Gish and Joshua Morrow.

Cash

Once a cavalier Mississippi gambler type name, Chance has entered the mainstream since being endorsed by such celebrity dads as Larry King and Paul Hogan. Chance the Rapper has also boosted the name's popularity.

Chance

For a single-syllable Latino surname, this new popular kid on the block packs a lot of energy and charm and is one of the most stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/496/spanish-names-for-boys">Spanish names for boys</a> in general use today. Victoria and David Beckham named their third son Cruz, following Brooklyn and Romeo, and it was also picked up on by tennis star Lleyton Hewitt for his son. Other parents may prize its Christian associations.
 Cruz is very much a unisex name in the Spanish culture, and is also a common surname, as in Penelope and Celia.

Cruz

Dane is a more masculine Dana alternative, with added style edge. Dane has been on the US Top 1000 for more than seventy years, having entered the list in 1945.
 Dane makes a great middle name, as evidenced by January Jones' use of it for son Xander Dane.

Dane

Dean may sound to some like a retro surfer boy name, but it is once again climbing up the popularity chart in the USA. For decades it was associated with Dean (born Dino) Martin; more recent representatives include Dean Cain, Dean McDermott and Dean Koontz -- not to mention Jared Padalecki's dreamy Dean Forester in Gilmore Girls.

Dean

Although this is traditionally seen as a female name, via the classical mythological nymph who pined away for Narcissus until all that remained of her was a disembodied voice — it can also be used for boys. Remember that old song, 'Little sir echo, how do you do?'
 
Amanda Knox has a son named Echo and a daughter named Eureka.

Echo

The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Gray (or Grey), is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative--if slightly somber-- choice, especially in the middle. Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney recently named their son Leo Grey.
 A common surname, Gray/Grey is still an unusual first name choice--it hasn't made it into the Top 1000 in this century--while longer forms Grayson and Greyson are climbing rapidly, with Grayson at Number 97, and his twin at 200.
 The best known bearer of the name, former Governor Gray Davis of California, was born Joseph Graham Davis, Jr, and others with Gray names include Graydon Carter (born Edward Graydon), editor of "Vanity Fair," and Grayer, the child in "The Nanny Diaries."

Gray

Jean Harlow (born Harlean Carpenter), the original platinum blonde bombshell, was a symbol of 1930s glamour, a factor that first Patricia Arquette and then Nicole Richie and Joel Madden probably had in mind when they gave their daughters the distinctive surname name Harlow. 
 It hit the Top 1000 for the first time in 2009, one year after the arrival of Ms. Madden. Harlow would fit right in with contemporaries Arlo and Marlow(e).

Harlow

Heart

James for a girl? Believe it or not, this is one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy names for girls"</a> gaining a lot of attention these days, since Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds shocked the world by choosing it for their eldest daughter in 2014 (after his late father).
 
Since then, it's become something of a celebrity baby middle name du jour, with high-profile parents including Coco Rocha, Kristin Cavallari, Nev Schulman and Brandon Jenner all having daughters with James in the middle spot.

James

Actor Joaquin Phoenix (brother of River, Rain, Liberty and Summer) highlighted this one, then Kelly Ripa began talking about younger son Joaquin on her daily TV show, and presto—it's now one of the hottest and most appealing multicultural <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">baby boy names</a>.
 Joaquin is currently enjoying high popularity in South America, especially in Argentina and Chile.
 Colorful poet Joaquin (born Cincinnatus) Miller was known as the "Byron of the Rockies." There is a teenage character in Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls named Joaquin, and San Joaquín is the Spanish version of Saint Joachim, the traditional name for the father of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Joaquin

A name of multiple identities: a somewhat soap-operatic single-syllable surname, a homonym for the biblical bad boy Cain, and, when found in Japan and Hawaii, it transforms into the two syllable KA-neh. 

Kane also has multiple meanings: in Welsh, it's "beautiful"; in Japanese, "golden"; and in Hawaiian, "man of the Eastern sky."

Kane

Some parents, including rapper Ludacris, are literally bestowing good karma on their children; it could just join the new spiritual name congregation. 

Karma

King is a name that sends a mixed message. While some might think of it as more fitting for a canine, others see it as a strong name with offbeat style and a full court of rich associations, from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Elvis. 

King Vidor was an important early Hollywood director; King Camp Gillette invented the safety razor.

If it's <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/505/names-with-royal-meanings">king names</a> you're after that aren't King itself, see our list of Names with Royal Meanings or other lists and blogs on royal names.

King

Kingsley is a sophisticated Harry Potter name that entered the US Top 1000 in 2013.
 Writer Kingsley Amis is its most famous bearer. Cousin Kingston is also rising in popularity, thanks to Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's little boy.

Kingsley

Chosen for their first son by musical couple Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, this Jamaican place and elegant British surname also boasts the more regal yet user-friendly short form, King. 
 Kingston offers clear evidence of the starbaby effect: it arrived on the popularity list in 2006, the year little Kingston Rossdale was born, and has risen since.

Kingston

Knox is an old Scottish surname that Brad Pitt (whose great-great-grandfather was named Hal Knox Hillhouse) and Angelina Jolie took out of the back cupboard, dusted off, and elevated to coolness--to the point where it entered the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular baby names</a> list in 2009. Knox now ranks among the most influential <a href="https://nameberry.com/fameberry">celebrity baby names</a>.
 With Knox, the Jolie-Pitts established their own tradition: instead of their sons bearing the same first inital, they share the final letter 'x'--Maddox, Pax and Knox-- as well as a final 'n' for their <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle names</a>. It's celebrity shine has made the formerly obscure Knox one of the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/473/scottish-names-for-boys">Scottish names for boys</a>. 
 The surname Knox dates back at least to the thirteenth century, and John Knox was the priest who brought about the Reformation in Scotland.

Knox

Love makes an endearing middle name, as in Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, more parents are considering Love as a first name — enough for it to enter the charts for the first time in 2022 as one of the fastest-rising names of the year. Other love-related alternatives include Juliet, Valentina, and Amor.

Love

Loyal is one of the few <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/373/virtue-names">virtue names</a> suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.
 Loyal was a mid-list name at the end of the nineteenth century, reaching Number 555 in 1890. It has been on hiatus since 1948--and this might be the moment to bring it back as an unusual but usable choice with real meaning. Loyal probably originally signified devotion to country rather than person, but in either case, fidelity is a great attribute to impart to a child. And who knows?--maybe Loy could be the new Roy.

Loyal

This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides, originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in the League of Legends games. Luz is the Spanish version.

Noelle is the feminine variation of Noël, a masculine given name derived from the French word for "Christmas." As a word, Noël originated as a variant of nael, which evolved from the Latin natalis, meaning "birth." Noelle and Noel have traditionally been given to children born around Christmastime, particularly in the Middle ages.
 
Feminissima, with a French gloss. Noelle and her usually-male counterpart Noel can make perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for December babies</a> and of course are also traditional <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/412/christmas-baby-names">names for Christmas babies</a>. For extra French flair, add the diaeresis over the first E to get Noëlle.

Noelle

Nature names like Ocean and River are flowing back into favor, especially with nature lovers and green-oriented parents. 
 Forest Whitaker, an inspired child namer (his other kids are called Sonnet and True), has a son named Ocean Alexander.
 Variations include Oceanus, the name of the child who was born during the voyage of the Mayflower, and Oceane, a wildly popular girls' name in France.

Ocean

Though greatly overshadowed by the trendy Olivia, Olive has a quiet, subtle appeal of its own -- and is now enjoying a remarkable comeback. Olive is one of only four <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/o">girl names starting with O</a> on the US Top 1000. Cool couple Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen chose it for their daughter, reviving the name to stylishness, and now Drew Barrymore has a little Olive too, as has country singer Jake Owen. 
Olive has positive associations to the olive branch as a symbol of peace and the ancient olive wreath that celebrated success.
 Olive was the name of the adorable Abigail Breslin character in the popular movie Little Miss Sunshine. Olive Chancellor is a major character in Henry James's The Bostonians and Olive Kitteridge is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Elizabeth Strout novel that was adapted into a TV miniseries in 2014. Kids might be familiar with Olive the Other Reindeer.
 Olive came into fashion at the end of the nineteenth century along with other botanical names, when it had a run in the Top 100.

Olive

Director Ridley Scott made this one known, but few parents would get beyond the negative first syllable. 

Ridley

Rock definitely has a macho image, if a somewhat caricatured one, ala The Rock. But with the rise of word names and also of tough guy names, Rock feels more plausible than it did a generation ago.

Rock

Ryder, one of the current favorite er-ending <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ names</a>, has been in the spotlight since Kate Hudson and her rocker husband Chris Robinson chose it for their son in 2004. Very popular in several provinces of Canada, Ryder was chosen by John Leguzamo for his son and adorns Boy Meets World star Ryder Strong.
 In the past, Ryder was much more prevalent as a surname, as in American Old Master painter Albert Pinkham Ryder and Brideshead Revisited protagonist Charles Ryder. Not all came by it legitimately, however--Winona Ryder was born Winona Horowitz.
Trivia note: The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf tournament with competing teams from Europe and the US.

Ryder

Riot

Rumor

Slater has a more genial, friendly feel than most trade names. Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance used it for one of their twins. 
 On the nineties TV show Saved by the Bell, the character A.C. Slater, played by Mario Lopez, was usually referred to by his surname. Christian Slater is a well-known real life bearer--though he was born Christian Hawkins.

Slater

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.  

Valentine

Vital and vivacious, Vita is stirring back to life along with many of her V-themed sisters -- Vivian, Vivica -- and is becoming a new celebrity baby favorite. 

Vita Sackville-West was a British author and garden designer in the early 20th century, most famous as the friend and lover of Virginia Woolf.

Vita

Fresher, brisker and, yes, cooler than Summer or Autumn or Spring, Winter is now a full-fledged female choice, especially since Nicole Richie and Joel Madden used it for daughter Harlow's middle name, and Gretchen Mol picked it as her daughter's first, as did media mogul Sean Parker. Winter continues to be the preferred spelling and has risen in popularity significantly over the past few years.
 Although Winter entered the U.S. Top 1000 in 1978, it was been used as a first name as early as the seventeenth century.
 Some interesting international words for winter: Aeneva (Cheyenne, Native American), Cole (Chinook, Native American), Hima (Sanskrit), Jara (Hindi), Saradi (Hindi), Vandi (Kashmiri), Zaya (Old Persian) and Zima (Russian, Bulgarian). Here's a more complete look at <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/89/winter-baby-names">winter baby names</a>.

Winter

boymom11's list "Middle Names" of 34 great name ideas: Abel - Winter!