Awesome Names

Innocent, sincere, and bright-eyed, and as outdated as its mother name, Gertrude.

Inspirational, aspirational word name that would work especially well as a middle name; it was used by Forest Whitaker for his daughter, and more recently by Khloe Kardashian.

True has become an accepted first and middle name; Truth makes an even stronger statement. And with nearly 150 baby boys named Truth in the US in the most recent year counted, as many as were named Ross, the word name is edging up on the Top 1000.

Really offbeat, upbeat multi-cultural name with light sound and meaning. Valo might make a more unique spin on Milo.

An ancient tree that figures in literature from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and is believed to possess magical powers, Willow is a lovely name, as graceful as its inspiration.

Fresher, brisker and, yes, cooler than Summer or Autumn or Spring, Winter is now a full-fledged female choice, especially since Nicole Richie and Joel Madden used it for daughter Harlow's middle name, and Gretchen Mol picked it as her daughter's first, as did media mogul Sean Parker. Winter continues to be the preferred spelling and has risen in popularity significantly over the past few years.

Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. It makes a particularly pleasing middle name choice, as does her newly discovered cousin Lark. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular English names for girls.

Zee-ifying Bailey.

In the Bible, Joram and "all his chariots" pass over Zair.

A name that is rarely heard and might be worth considering as a way of zipping up a namesake Sandra. It has long been associated with iconoclastic British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.

Western novelist Zane (born Pearl!) Grey made this name famous. Now, it's in tune with the style of our times, retaining that appealing cowboy image.

As a nickname for one of the longer Z-starting choices, maybe, but not as a name unto itself.

A city in Benjamin's territory that makes a perfect first name.

The late great singer-songwriter Warren Zevon would make a worthy namesake.

Zion has taken off in recent years, especially after singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son in 1997 and incorporated the name into a hit song. It combines a user-friendly Ryan-Brian sound with the gravitas of religious significance. The Hebrew pronunciation is 'tzeeyon'.

Zoey is a modern spelling variation of Zoe, the Greek Jewish translation of Eve. For a few years, it was even more popular than the original Zoe, but has now dropped back to the second ranked spelling.

Readers who remember J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey have probably forgotten that the character was male (nee Zachary). Nowadays the somewhat loopy spin on Zoe is associated with actress Zooey Deschanel.

Zorah, the Old Testament home of Samson, is both soft and substantial.