Cat Names That Mean Curious

The combination of Emily and Emma's popularity -- and the fact that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher's daughter is named Emerson -- have put this formerly strictly boys’ name, embodying the gravitas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the limelight for girls.

The name of the greatest Roman poet and an early Irish saint who believed the earth was round, Virgil is heard most notably today as the name of designer Virgil Abloh of Off-White.

Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.

Rainer is one of those baby names that is still under-the-radar but has been quietly gaining traction: The number of boys who've received the name has doubled in the past decade, to just under 50. Part nature name and part traditional German name for boys, Rainer can claim a place among the two-syllable r-ending baby names so fashionable for boys today.

A sassy, spunky name for the bold parent who doesn't remember Mrs. Ed Norton on The Honeymooners or who's into the nicknames-as-given-names trend sweeping the UK and returning to the US.

European royal name, and to Americans a place-name evoking the majestic mountain in Washington state.

Seneca's distinguished heritage as the name of the ancient Roman philosopher-playwright who tutored Nero, and of an Iroquois tribe makes this an interesting choice for either sex.

As a member of two trendy name categories, animal and occupational, this name broke into the Top 1000 in 2004 and would make a nice tribute to an angler Grandpa.

An interesting unisex possibility, with an air of mystery connected to the Delphic Oracle, the most important oracle in ancient Greece; it was also a major site for the worship of the god Apollo.

Kendall, as used for a girl, was initially propelled up the popularity ladder by a soap opera character (Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kendall Hart in All My Children) but now is more closely associated with supermodel Kardashian sister Kendall Jenner.

A predominantly male name in the US until the late 1950s, the name continued to rise for both sexes for both sexes for a further decade, before starting to decline for boys. Despite dropping out of the boys' Top 1000 in 2002, Kelly retains a rugged Irish charm.

Irish place-name -- it's a river, a town, and an airport -- once popular but now supplanted by such newer immigrants as Saoirse and Seanan.

The French-accented Pascal was historically used for sons born at Easter, and can make an interesting choice for a boy with Gallic roots arriving around that holiday.

A strong and stylish alternative to the super-fashionable Luna, with a double background as a Scandinavian and Japanese name. It's the female form of the Nordic male name Rune, meaning "secret lore", and also a Japanese name meaning "moon" – making this an undiscovered celestial choice.

Usually adding an e to the end of a name makes it more feminine, but Locke is at most recent count used only for baby boys. Still, this stylishly strong one-syllable name is theoretically gender-neutral.

The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories.

Ellery is a rhythmic three-syllable boy's name that is familiar and yet rarely used--and just waiting to be discovered. It's long been identified with Ellery Queen--which was both the pen name of two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, and the detective they created.

Zeno, the name of two ancient philosophers, has a muscular dynamism that's lightened by its cheerful final vowel, resulting in a kind of offbeat sci-fi feel. Zeno of Citium was the founder of the Stoic school of thought, Zeno of Elea was another early, original Greek thinker, famed for his Paradoxes.

Noam is an underused modern Hebrew name with any number of attractive attributes attached to its meaning; it doesn't have the biblical weight of Noah, but could make a more distinctive alternative to that popular choice. Noam is a Top 10 boys' name in Israel.

Extravagant virtue name which is notably the first name of the British TV detective Inspector Morse.