Cooper would be a more engaging C-starting occupational choice.

Place name and surname that sounds a tad snooty.

Has a fresh occupational name feel, combined with old-fashioned Currier & Ives charm.

Merrill, once fairly common for males, is rarely used for girls (or boys either, for that matter) with this spelling. Chef Emeril Lagasse dropped the initial E from his name and called his daughter Meril.

The cake company pretty much knocked this otherwise-pretty compilation name out of consideration for most parents.

Lively, friendly surname that might appeal to basketball fans.

Tay is occasionally used on its own, or as a nickname for the now fading Taylor.

Today's Veronicas would be called Veronica.

Stylish surname way to go if you want to name a girl after a James, and is more substantial than the passé Jamie; it was chosen for their daughter by Chynna Phillips and Billy Baldwin.

Yeats, the strong name of the great Irish poet, would work better for a boy. Also has possible pronunciation problem with people who might think it rhymes with Keats. Yeats rhymes with the word from which it's derived: gates.

Does not improve on the pretty but overused favorite.

One of those feminizations that came over shortly after the Mayflower but has been lost at sea ever since.

Twiggy was the working name of English international supermodel and original 'mod squad' girl Lesley Lawson. While the name conjures images of cool 60s parties and glamour, be warned that this could be a hard name to wear as a teenager, particularly if you're not stick thin. Perhaps best to keep this one as a middle name or nickname.