Black American Babies

Variant of Aisha. In the 19th century novel She, Ayesha is a beautiful 2000-year-old queen of a lost city, and is known as "she who must be obeyed."

Ben, the diminutive of Benjamin or Benedict, can easily stand on its own as a simple, strong, nice-guy choice, though it's somewhat attenuated. Ben is this generation's Bob or Bill.

Bianca, the livelier Italian and Shakespearean version of Blanche, has been chosen by many American parents since the 1990s, just as Blanca is a favorite in the Spanish-speaking community. Its meaning of white relates to snow, making it one of the prime names for winter babies.

Brianna's popularity in the US came later than father name Brian's, peaking in the 1990s, two decades after Brian's Top 10 reign of the 1970s.

Brittany first arrived on the US popularity list in 1971, and rapidly zoomed up the charts, in the Top 100 a decade later. By 1986 it had entered the Top 10, becoming the third most popular girls’ name in the country by 1989. After such immense popularity, there has been a steep decline, but it remains a name evocative of one of the most beautiful and culturally interesting areas of France -- and much preferable to the contracted Britney. Brittany evolved as a modern coinage from the ancient French duchy Bretagne. Celtic Bretons emigrated from France to become the Bretons of English; later the name Britain came to signify the country.

Candace, an ancient title of a dynasty of Ethiopian queens mentioned in the New Testament, is associated both with actress Candice Bergen and Sex and the City writer Candace Bushnell. Both spellings were most popular in the 1980s, but are rarely used for babies today, perhaps due to the sticky sweetness of nickname Candy.

The name of the tragic mythological Trojan princess who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but was condemned never to be believed, Cassandra has been used for striking characters in movies and soap operas. Ethereal and delicate, Cassandra was in the Top 70 throughout the 1990s but is now descending in popularity.

Fans of the classic French designer would now more fashionably choose Coco.

Though associated with a French saint noted for her holiness and strength of character, this name is somewhat dated and it might be better to look to one of the more modern names popular for little girls in France today: Oceane, Lea, Manon.

So sweet it makes our teeth hurt. It has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year since 2006, though it dropped a significant 136 places from 2014 to 2015, and kept dropping to Number 974 in 2016.

This is a variation of Cheyenne that is slipping in the popularity list toward obscurity..

Ciara is very popular in Ireland, more familiar here as the Anglicized Kiera or Keira. The uninitiated will tend to pronounce Ciara as the Italian Chiara, a form of Claire—kee-AHR-a or even see-AHR-a, like the American singer-songwriter Ciara. In the US, Ciara peaked in 2005, when it was the Number 150 name; it's since fallen down to Number 882.

Clark seemed to have been Gone with the Wind, but parents looking for a short, strong boy's name are now beginning to appreciate its cool combination of Gable charm with Superman power.

Even though in the past Clyde may have been identified as half of the infamous outlaw duo with partner Bonnie Parker—especially after the 1967 movie in which he was played by Warren Beatty—Clyde has always had an element of jazzy cool that could overcome all the rest.

Constance is one of the more subtle of the virtue baby names, but still has quite a prim and proper image. One impediment to its revival has been the decidedly dated nickname Connie, though modern parents might well opt for using the strong and dignified name in full.

First used during the Victorian craze for jewel names; it could rise again, along with Ruby and Pearl, though it doesn't have as much luster.

Former teen idol name, now middle-aged. This name has been on a steady decline since the early-1990s.

An intriguing mythological name whose one challenge might be pronunciation questions.

Daniel is one of only a handful of male names that sounds both classic and modern, strong yet approachable, and popular but not cliched. It also has a solid Old Testament pedigree. The only real downside: There are about 10,000 Daniels named each year, making it a less than distinctive choice.

Along with Daniela, Michelle, Nicole, and Denise, Danielle was a big hit from the 1960s to the nineties, sitting comfortably in the Top 20 for several years. Parents then responded to its chic, sophisticated Gallic image, and though it has lost some of its sheen, it's still a widely used choice. Novelist Danielle Steele is its most well-known bearer; it's also the name of Elvis's granddaughter.