User-created list
By hayleysim · Updated July 2022
Across 10 pages
of 10
Place name, English
"landing place for chalk or limestone"
Chelsea is still being used, with about 400 baby girls named Chelsea in the US last year. But it was much more popular a few decades ago, peaking at Number 15 in 1992. Chelsea first entered the…
Variation of Aspen, tree name and place name
Divorces Aspen from its nature and ski resort associations. Aspyn first broke into the Top 1000 in 2020.
Welsh
"blessed peacemaking"
One of the few remaining unrestored vintage gems, with a choice of two winning nicknames--the girlish Winnie and the tomboyish Freddie. Winifred, the name of a legendary Welsh saint, was a Top 200…
Diminutive of Kimberley
This diminutive of Kimberley is gaining momentum as a standalone name. For our part, we're stumped by its rise.
Choctaw, Irish
"leaping water, lady of abundance"
This hauntingly euphonious Choctaw name has re-entered the public domain, as memories of the outrageous actress Tallulah Bankhead have faded. For years, Tallulah was a name associated only with…
Swedish diminutive of Anna
"grace"
Annika is a surprise hit of recent years, inspired by golfer Sorenstam; for Trekkies, it was also the name of a 'Star Trek:Voyager' character. Some people's first memory of it might be as Pippi…
Word name
"one who gathers information covertly"
Scout, a character nickname from To Kill a Mockingbird (her real name was Jean Louise), became a real-life possibility when Bruce Willis and Demi Moore used it for their now-grown middle daughter,…
Greek
"moon goddess; woman from Kynthos"
Sleek and serious, yet bright and energetic at the same time, Cynthia appears in classic mythology as an epithet for Artemis or Diana. While it is now a more neglected choice, it was once hugely…
"pure, virginal"
Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos , meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as…
Scottish variation of Margery, diminutive of Margaret
"pearl"
Scottish Marjorie and her English twin Margery were early twentieth century favorites that date back to medieval times, when it was popular among the royals. They were at their height in the 1920s,…
English variation of French Henriette
"estate ruler"
Harriet has long been considered a stylish, upscale name in England, but it's still waiting to be revived in the US—though some parents seeking a solid, serious semi-classic are beginning to consider…
Irish
"liberty"
Before the young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan made her mark in the films Ladybird and The Lovely Bones , few of us had heard this name, let alone known how to pronounce it. But now it is slowly way…
Feminine variation of Claude
"lame; enclosure"
Claudia is a classic name with ancient Roman roots. Never truly in or truly out, Claudia feels like a strong, modern choice that hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual.. Claudia was…
Diminutive of Elizabeth, Hebrew
"pledged to God"
Combine the popularity of Betty White and Mad Men 's glamorous Betty Draper Francis, with the residual sweetness of Ugly Betty 's Betty Suarez, and the result is an impending return of the name. It's…
Celtic
"maiden"
Imogen has long been fashionable in England and is gaining favor in the US among stylish parents. Pronounced the British way — the initial i is short as in Kim, as is the final E as in Ken — Imogen…
"divine queen"
Strong and outdoorsy, yet pretty and queenly, Rhiannon was a once obscure Welsh name, brought into the mainstream in 1976, following Fleetwood Mac's flash hit song of the same title. It stormed into…
Norse
"fair; Ing is beautiful"
The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid…
Russian diminutive of Natalya
"birthday of the Lord"
Natasha, an appealing, still unusual name, entered the American mainstream post-Cold War but seems to have peaked in the eighties, replaced by the more straightforward Natalie. As is common for…
English
"plant name"
Of all the botanicals, Fern has been one of the slowest to move back from the front parlor into the nursery, despite the appealing girl character in the children's classic Charlotte's Web . Fern was…
Diminutive of Margaret and Mary; month name
May is a sweet old-fashioned name that hasn't been on the national charts in several decades, but is definitely sounding fresh and springlike. Parents are beginning to see it once more as one of the…
