Cool Names To Consider

Adelaide is now heading straight uphill on the coattails of such newly popular sisters as Ava, Ada, and Audrey, and in the company of Adeline and Amelia. It was chosen by actress Katherine Heigl for the name of her second daughter.

Astrid is derived from the name Ástríðr, which is made up of the Old Norse elements that mean "god" and "beautiful." Astrid has been a Scandinavian royal name since the tenth century, and many people associated it with the Swedish author of the Pippi Longstocking stories, Astrid Lindgren. Related names include Asta, a diminutive used throughout Scandinavia, and Astride, the French form. Despite their similarities, Astrid is unrelated to Astra, a Latin name meaning "of the stars."

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

Charlie derives, of course, from the classic name Charles which, in turn, comes from a German word meaning "free man." Charles became very popular in France during the Middle Ages due to the fame of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. Charley is an alternate spelling.

Although this month name was used only for girls in a recent year, there's no reason it can't work for both genders. For a holiday baby, more original than Noel and more universal than Christmas.

Melodic and lively, Delilah has cut itself (mostly) free from its treacherous past to become a contemporary favorite.

Fey, for middle name purposes, could be thought of as a fey spelling of Fay. These days, however, Fey would be considered by most people to be honoring comedian Tina.

Flynn, a charming Irish surname, is still used only quietly, despite its easygoing, casual cowboy charm, unlike Finn which is a star of this genre. Flynn was the choice of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr for their baby boy, and is also the middle name -- used as his first -- of a son of Miranda's fellow supermodel Elle Macpherson, of Gary Oldman's son Gulliver and Marley Shelton's daughter West.

Forrest is one of the earliest appealingly sylvan, outdoorsy choices, borne by newsman Sawyer, actor Whitaker, and football Hall of Famer Gregg. Forrest Gates was a character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Lilo is the name of the spunky little Hawaiian girl character in the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch-- and is also Lindsay Lohan's nickname. Multi-cultural, it can be found in Hawaiian, German and Hebrew nomenclature.

Mabel is a saucy Victorian favorite rising in popularity in the US over the past decade, after a 50-year nap If you love offbeat old-fashioned names like Violet or Josephine, only sassier, Mabel is one for you to consider.

With the success of all names Max, from Max itself to Maxwell to Maxfield to Maximilian, it's just possible that Maxine could be lured away from her mah-jongg game at the clubhouse and into the nursery. She's already been chosen by hip musician Nick Hexum for his daughter, sister to Echo.

As sturdy as Oak, with deeper roots. It's been on the rise for both boys and girls in recent years, with the name comfortably in the top 500 for boys and nearing the Top 100 for girls.

Most people will assoicate it with the well-known children's singer.

Fiery but slight middle name choice; much more apt to be a redhead's nickname. Instead, check out other names that mean red: Rory, Rowan, Ruby.