Names That Mean Meadow

New York socialite Tinsley Mortimer introduced this one to the hoi polloi. Its similarity to the trendy Kinsley boosts its profile. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016.

Perfect example of how your perception of a name can change when you apply it to the opposite gender: when used for a girl, Stanley suddenly becomes an attractive, upper-crusty name ala Ansley or Finley.

It's easy to love a name that rhymes with "cuddly" and is also attached to the surname Do-Right -- once you ignore the "dud" connection.

The combined inspiration of reggae master Bob and the dog-loving romp "Marley and Me" catapulted this name up the chart in recent years. But what goes up....

More universal than Elvis...and more conventionally attractive, too. Cindy Crawford used it for her son, though it's on the rise mainly for girls. The last time Presley ranked in the Top 1000 for boys was 1903, 120 years ago. Today, it's used for girls 14 times as often as for boys, mainly because of the -ley ending.

With the sprightly "Ren" and "Wren" currently in fashion, and "ley" a productive suffix to create new names, this combination was inevitable, and is chirpy and appealing. Renley has been on the US charts for girls since 2012, and for boys since 2013. It probably got a boost from the Game of Thrones character Renly Baratheon, albeit with a slightly different spelling.

This striking name has a lot going for it: it's a self-confident Spanish surname, it identifies one of the most brilliant stars in the sky, and it has a musical reference to singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega.

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

A unisex name, Rylan plays on many popular baby names, including Ryan and Riley. For boys, the trendy Rylan rose from its entry to the US Top 1000 in 1997 all the way up to Number 146 in 2011, though it has since declined. For girls, the name is a more recent entrant, debuting on the list in 2009.

Abbreviated form of Harley that might also be spelled, for girls, Arleigh or Arlee.

A modern choice for girls riffing on the popular unisex name Quinn, with an extra syllable to add substance and formality. And Quinn is still available as a nickname!

Acker is a surname name that has not seen much use to date, but given it's lush nature meaning (and the fact that it also means "friend" in Somerset slang) this could be a cute choice for parents looking for something fresh. An added bonus its link to English "Master of the Clarinet" Acker Bilk. The Dutch version, Akker, is also an option.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

Lleyton is the novel spelling publicized by Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt. Other double 'L's are found in such Welsh names as LLOYD and LLEWELLYN. VARIATIONS: LAYTON, LEYTON

This name will tick a lot of boxes for many parents: unisex; trendy sound; pretty instinctive to pronounce; and some great namesakes including British chef Ainsley Harriott and American footballer Ainsley Battles.

Mama's boy.

In an earlier time Shirley was used primarily for boys, but the tide turned with the publication of Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley in 1849, the story of a character whose parents had selected the name for a boy child, then decided to use it anyway when he turned out to be a she.

Kimberly is a variation of the South African (and Australian) place name Kimberley, named after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley. The name comes from a Norfolk earldom (first spelled Chineburlai) and references the meadow or woodland clearing of a medieval Lady called Cyneburga.

One of the old-school nicknames -- think Ray, Vince, Frank -- that's on the brink of coming back into style. Name him Stanislav or Constantine and he'll have a groovier long form to fall back on.

This rare vintage name can be an alternative spelling of Abilene, a Biblical place name. It is also a Spanish and German feminine form of Abel.