Personal favorites during teenage years.

Monroe is a presidential surname which feels fresher than Jackson, Lincoln and Taylor. Marilyn Monroe is a famous female namesake, but her smart Scottish surname feels equally usable for either sex. Plus, we think old man nickname Moe would sound both cool and adorable on a baby boy today!

The super-success of Adele, both the singer and the name, has brought attention to all her cousins — Adela, Adeline, Adelina — and the lovely Adelia. An undiscovered gem just waiting to be discovered.

Creative choice, evoking the high-kicking can-can girls and other colorful figures in the works of Toulouse-Lautrec.

A charming Welsh name with a great meaning, borne by E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web.

Brinley was a surprise entrant to the US Top 1000 in 2009, however, in 2023, it doesn't feel surprising at all. In fact, alternative spellings Brynleigh and Brynlee also rank in the Top 1000, with Brynley not too far behind.

Ancient name, near obsolete now, but could make a good alternative to Owen for the adventurous baby namer.

Updates Allison—which everyone will misunderstand it as. But it's definitely a fresh spin on the Ellie names, and a rising surname name choice for girls.

Shakespeare's moor has exclusive ownership of this name.

Saint Eulalia was born in Spain and is the patron saint of Barcelona, so her name and its derivatives are popular throughout the land — especially in her native Catalonia.

A charming multicultural choice with a daring yet grounded sound, Adara is a both a Hebrew name with a noble meaning, and an Arabic name with ties to astronomy. Popular in Puerto Rico and Spain, it is also on the rise in the US.

Unseen in the USA since 1901, Boston rocketed back into the Top 1000 in 2004 and, like other place-names such as Brooklyn, London and Paris, is now a reliable presence on the list.

Olwen is a Welsh favorite, the name of a legendary princess in what is believed to have been the earliest Arthurian romance, and in fact one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose.

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

Is Merrin a real name or a melodic invention? Singer Bo Bice brought this merry name to the public's attention when he chose it for his daughter, but most reliable baby name sources don't list it. But there is a Cornish saint's name Merryn, thought to be a variation of the Irish names for girls Mirin and Mirren, and so we're going to call Merrin another twist on that ancient group of names.

Keaton is an engaging surname with warmth, energy and a sense of humor, identified with silent comedian Buster Keaton and contemporary actors Michael and Diane Keaton. Given to around 290 boys in a recent year, it currently sits within the latter end of the US Top 1000.

Why does Mairi (rhymes with Harry) seem so much cooler than Mary? This Irish form of Mary was not used before the seventeenth century, as it was considered too sacred. The vocative case of the name, Mhairi (pronounced VAH-ree), is also used as a given name in Scotland.

Ever since singer Michelle Branch gave it to her daughter in 2005, Owen has started to be used for a small number of girls each year as well. Just 39 baby girls received the name in 2021, compared with over 8700 boys.

The French Miley? This trendy choice from Brittany, which is pronounced either as Miley or May-lee, is related to the traditional (male) saint's name Mael, traditionally feminized as Maelle.

An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.

Celtic goddess of poetry, though less-than-poetic name.