Top Names That Mean Clearing

Everly originated as a toponymic surname derived from the Old English roots eofor, meaning "boar," and leah, "clearing." It is related to the Germanic name Eberhard, meaning "brave as a wild boar," from which popular name Everett also derived. Wild boars represented strength and courage to ancient Germanic peoples, who often took on names with animal meanings.

Blakely, along with Blakeley, Blakelee and Blakeleigh, is one of the post-Ashley surname names that end with the lee sound so stylish today. Reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter named their daughter Blakesley. These surname-names are among the most stylish English names for girls.

The Annie Oakley connection makes this a bit more girl-appropriate. Oakley has the dubious honor of belonging to the 'brand' names baby club- after the Oakley sunglasses. This name made it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, one of only four girl names starting with O to rank that high. We're definitely keeping an eye on this chart-climbing choice.

As sturdy as Oak, with deeper roots. For males, it's been on the rise in recent years.

Although Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire personified brute force, most Stanleys have been portrayed as meek milquetoasts. It could be a Sydney-like girls' choice.-Bette Davis once played a character named Stanley, and it was the name of President Obama's mother (named for her father)--or possibly could be revived down the line a la Walter and Arthur.

You can ride one, you can use it as a baby name – or, as is often the case, both! Harley is currently trending up for girls and down for boys in the US, although it remains predominantly masculine in the UK. A lesser-used -ley ending choice for boys, Harley has a current sound but an old-school biker appeal.

Rodney peaked at Number 33 in 1965 and has been on a steady decline ever since. As its popularity history indicates, this name is more fitting for someone born in the mid-twentieth century instead of the twenty-first century. It's likely this name will continue trending downward for another generation or two before it has its chance to turn back around.

Ashley alternative climbing up the baby names charts, probably due to the trendy ley/leigh ending and its similar-but-different status to the more popular Ainsley.