Names to ponder because life

This saintly name--she was the mother of St. Augustine--plummeted after the double whammy of Lewinsky and the demise of Friends.

Cedar is, like Ash, Oak, Pine and Ebony, one of the new tree/wood names that parents are starting to consider; this one is particularly aromatic.

Wilson is a substantive presidential choice far less prevalent than Taylor or Tyler, and with the advantage of being a new route to friendly nickname Will. We see Wilson growing in popularity as an alternative to William; and as a patronymic, it would make a conceivable (if possibly confusing) choice for a son of William.

Makes the jaunty Remy a little more nicknamey and feminine. Remi is on the rise for both girls and boys, having entered the Top 1000 for boys in 2019.

Justine is a French name that's never reached the popularity we think it deserves. Like its far-more-common brother Justin, Justine is sleek, and sophisticated, but still user-friendly.

Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.

No, the pronunciation--ro-SHEEN--isn't immediately obvious to the non-Gaelic viewer, but the sound of this shiny Irish version of Rose is pretty enough to make it worth considering. Very popular in its native Ireland, it's one of many Irish girl names finding a wider audience. Earlier generations Anglicized at as Rosaleen, but we stay stick to the original.

One of the first luxury brand names and the quintessential Booming Eighties status-conscious moniker; used by Donald Trump for his daughter, Tiffany has plummeted far from its high in the Top 25.

Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.

Midcentury Irish-American favorite, never used in Ireland itself, being the generic word for "girl"; rarely given today.

Blue suddenly came into the spotlight, as the unusual color name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy. Blue is also a starbaby middle name du jour, used for both sexes in different spellings and forms, from John Travolta and Kelly Preston's Ella Bleu to Alicia Silverstone's Bear Blu. Dave 'The Edge' Evans named his daughter Blue Angel back in 1989.

Fig was the unlikely name of a beautiful character in Curtis Sittenfeld's Man of My Dreams. Better bets: Plum, Quince, or even Apple. Still, you might consider Fig as an unusual nickname for any more formal F-starting name, from Frances to Fiona.

This variation is actually more popular in the United States than the original Spanish Reina.

Updates Allison—which everyone will misunderstand it as. But it's definitely a fresh spin on the Ellie names, and a rising surname name choice for girls.

An undiscovered surname possibility with upscale overtones, could be enlivened with nickname Ingo.

A sweet, modern descriptive name, with a wholesome and winning feel, Winsome means "appealing, fresh, simple, innocent" or "cheerful and lighthearted." Some may find it a little too cutesy, but with Dolly, Birdie, Sunny, and Blessing on the rise, it could fit right in. Nicknames Winnie and Winn are an added bonus.

Glimmer is shimmery but a little too showy, as is Glitter, a character on a TV sitcom-- while Glimmer appears in The Hunger Games.

The familiar Irish city and bay is one place-name that seems distinctly masculine.