Polish Family Tree

Adam -- a primal Old Testament name -- was revived as a 1960s cowboy name. Adam is not as popular as it once was and feels ready for a respite, replaced by newer A names like Aidan/Aiden, Avery and Axel. Its most prominent current bearers include Adams Sandler, Levine, Brody and Driver -- who plays a character named Adam on Girls.

Will any English speaker spell your son Aleksander's name right on the first try? Nyet.

Polish form of Alice and Alicia

Anna has become the dominant form of the Ann family, offering a touch of the international to English speakers and a bit more style than the oversimplified Ann or Anne.

Despite the popularity of Anthony and its masculine variants, female derivatives of its source – the Roman family name Antonius, of unknown meaning – have never caught on in the same way. Sister name Antonia peaked at #336 in the US way back in 1882, while Antonina itself has never ranked higher than #865 (in 1915). It has been outside of the Top 1000 ever since.

The Arthur variation preferred in Portugal and across much of Eastern Europe. It’s a truly international name, and one that would be easy to wear in the US as well.

Unlike perennials William, John and James, Edward is a classic that moves in and out of fashion. This royal Anglo-Saxon standard has benefited in recent years from the popularity of the hot hero of the vampire sensation Twilight — Edward Cullen — who has given his name a new infusion of cool.