Names from 2050

Despite its somewhat menacing meaning, this name has been widely used in recent years, probably due to the appeal of its trendy on ending.

Rose and Briar are popular, and Hawthorn is cool – so why not the equally prickly Thorn? Add an E to give it a surnamey spin.

Though some forward-looking parents are now choosing wood-related names like Oak, Pine, and Ash, this generic option would be even more avant garde.

A 1970s beach boy surfing buddy of Scott, Brad, and Chad, Todd is given to relatively few babies these days.

Vale is part place name, part nature name -- a poetic term for a type of valley. Today Show coanchor Savannah Guthrie put Vale on the baby name map when she chose it for her daughter, but there's no reason the name can't work equally well for a boy. Vale might also be a short form for Valentine or a spelling variation of the city name Vail.

Walden is a recent entrant to the en-ending boys' names trend, a name that summons up placid images of Thoreau's two-year stay contemplating nature near Walden Pond.

Wren may not be as time-honored a bird name choice as Robin or even Lark, but it's more fashionable and fresh, with a gentle and earthy vibe.

Ziola is a Zoe relative via Zoila, the feminine form of the Ancient Greek name Zoilos or Zoilus, borne by a 4th century BC cynic philosopher. Zoilos adopted a name meaning "Homer whipper" for himself.