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A favorite in England and Wales where nicknames as given names are very much the norm, Tilly has the potential to catch on in the US, given its similarity to the popular Lily and Ellie and the rising stars Millie, Billie, Kallie, and Nellie.

Floral, bright, and subtly powerful, Gaia is a name with two separate origins. In Greek mythology, it is the name of the earth goddess and the universal mother, who takes her epithet from the Ancient Greek word for land or ground. It was this ecological element that led actress Emma Thompson to choose it for her daughter back in 1999, and it could hold similar appeal to green minded parents today.

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 most popular from the turn of the last century through the 1940s, reaching a high of #152 in 1916. We can certainly see her rejoining the long list of popular greenery names.

The multicultural Yara is a sweet but substantial choice that could make a more unusual take on Sara and also work in multiple languages Popular in Portugal, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, familiar in the UK and France, it entered the US Top 1000 in 2017 and has been climbing the charts ever since.

The unisex Blake, which indeed has two conflicting meanings, has a briskly efficient image when used for a girl.

One of those names that's suddenly on the map because of a celebrity's influence, Leighton Meester of the TV show Gossip Girl. She pronounces it LAY-ton but some will intuitively say LEE-ton.

Goldie is a shimmering new addition to the nickname name lineup, and became one of the fastest rising girl names in 2023. After peaking at Number 114 in 1904-1905, Goldie slid off the list completely in 1958. She re-entered the US Top 1000 again in 2021.

Logan, with its appealing Scottish burr, is a very hot boys' name—it's in the national Top 10 and heading for Number 1 in some states—and can also make a rich and resonant choice for a girl. Jason and Jordan Mewes have a daughter named Logan Lee.

Once a common boy name in Ireland, the dynamic Darby now has a definite unisex feel. A bit like a mash up between Darcy and Ruby, it appeared in the US Top 1000 in the 90s, peaking in 1995 when it reached #499. It's likely this sudden interest in Darby was owing to the 90s book and film, The Pelican Brief, starring Julia Roberts as a law student called Darby.

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

While the Rowan spelling is in the Top 1000 for both boys and girls, this spelling is much more unusual though maintains the same gender split at nearly four boy Rowens for every girl.

She was queen of the Greek gods, both sister and wife to Zeus, but the name of her Roman counterpart Juno has become much more fashionable these days. That said, we think Hera has possibilities today too, as so many ancient goddess names rise to prominence.

Extreme makeover: Brooklyn has gone from jokey Borough Boy name in the 1990s to a leading girls' name starting with B. The status of New York's Brooklyn as hipster heaven is ironic as few bona fide Brooklyn hipsters would choose this name.

Iconic folk singer Joni Mitchell lends this vintage nickname a cool, bohemian feel, while the streamlined spelling feels more contemporary and confident than the sweeter, cosier Joanie. While it may have disappeared from the US charts back in the 1980s, over in the nicknaming-loving UK, Joni has ranked in the Top 500 in recent years.

A unique combination of a surname feel and dainty femininity. It's currently associated with actress Lacey Chambert.

Another astral name, this one relating to one of the largest and brightest stars in the heavens, is popular in Scandinavia and Spain, where it ranks among the Top 50 girls' names. Although still very rare in the US, we think it has serious potential to follow the likes of Luna and Lyra up the charts.

Taryn is an offshoot of Tara that has a variety of meanings in a variety of cultures. In 1953, Taryn was presented to the public as an invention by actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian for their daughter's name, at which point it gained a short spurt of popularity. Taryn returned to the Top 1000 in 1974, peaked in the 1980s, then disappeared from the charts back in the 2010s.

Alyssa was in the Top 20 from 1997-2010 and peaked as the 11th most popular girls’ name in 1998 and 1999 but has become less popular in recent years. It's related to the flower alyssum as well as to the classic Alice and variants. Alyssa Milano helped give it a bounce back when she was still a child sitcom star.

Cece, all by itself, gained notice as the nickname of Jim and Pam's baby on television's The Office. On the show as in real life, Cece is often short for Cecelia or even Cecilia, but it can also be a short form of just about any C name. Cece -- or, less elegantly, CeCe -- can also be a stylish nickname name used all by itself, ala Coco and Lulu. If you really love girl names starting with C, this is one way to express your devotion every time you say your daughter's name!

A short form for a whole variety of names, this short form has been used across Europe as a stand-alone since the 1920s. It spiked in popularity in the 1950s, owing to the fame of Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida but faded out of use in the 2000s.