Alternatives to Autumn

The goddess name Aurora has consistently been on the US popularity list since the nineteenth century, but has really taken off in the past 30 years. Aurora also enjoys remarkable international popularity, ranking in the Top 100 throughout the English-speaking world as well as in Italy, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, and several other European and Latin American countries.

While Austin is a popular boys' name, this spelling, honoring novelist Jane, nudges the name toward gender-neutral, chosen last year for 67 baby boys and 57 girls.

So many occupations have been adopted as names that nothing seems strange any more. Author is a truly unique choice, appearing on neither side of the extended popularity list. Author might prove to be an inspirational choice for a baby girl or baby boy born into a family of writers.

A fresh take on the fashionable Audrey and Aubrey, or another novel surname name which seems fitting for either sex.

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina-- makes a heavenly first name. Actress Rena Sofer and British musician Julian Cope used it for their daughters.

Azalea is one of the fresher flower names, along with Zinnia and Lilac, that are new to the name bouquet — in fact, it entered the Social Security list for the first time in 2012. So if Lily and Rose are too tame for you, consider this brilliant pink springtime blossom with a touch of the unusual that has been growing in popularity.

Belle has nothing but positive associations, from "belle of the ball" to "Southern belle" to the heroine of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As if this weren't enough good things, Belle is also one of the most familiar and usable names that mean beautiful. Though it has been overshadowed by the Twilight-influenced Bella and longer forms like Isabella and Annabella, Belle has its own Southern charm and would make a pretty choice as a first or middle name.

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.

Callum is virtually unused for girls in the US, but we could easily see it fitting in with other boy names for girls such as Elliot, Asher, and August.

Maybe if you really love Autumn.

A sweet and rare spice name, which made its first and only appearance on the US baby name charts in 1969 – the year Neil Young's song "Cinnamon Girl" was released.

Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

Dawn's heyday in the US, Canada and the UK came in the 1960s and 70s. It peaked at #14 in the US in 1971, but has since sunk from sight to be eclipsed by other names with the same meaning, such as Aurora, Roxana or Zariah.

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy.

Unlike Amber, which is in decline, this name still has a bit of a glow left -- though confusions between the two will inevitably arise.