Ellar Coltrane, the star of Richard Linklater's acclaimed 2014 movie "Boyhood," is an outlier, namewise. Most others with his first name are girls, and there aren't even many of them -- the last time the Social Security Administration registered the name at all was in 1956, when six girls were named Ellar. Still, with Gaelic names being trendy, and the "El-" sound on the rise, it has some potential.

Hilaria, the ancient Roman form of Hilary also given to joyous festivals, is still used in Spain and Poland, while the intriguing Italian version is Ilaria. A notable current bearer is fitness expert and wife of Alec, Hilaria Baldwin, who was born Hillary.

The addition of the letter "y" gives this a nice, rhythmic Russian feel.

Allena may feel like a somewhat antiquated feminization, though Allen itself is a tad old-fashioned. In many ways, Allena -- pronounced ah-LEN-ah -- feels more appealing that Alana or ah-LAH-ah.