Sophisticated French choice. Or toxic petrochemical, as Ross on Friends famously joked when Rachel suggested it for their fictional daughter.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.

A trendy name in France, sometimes also spelled Ysaline, that's related to both Isabelle and Iseult. To the American ear, it freshens up Isabelle without really improving on it.

This is the spelling that old-time film star Katharine Hepburn used, and it's still favored by fans wanting to reference her classic strength and beauty. But in general, it's losing ground to Katherine and even Ms. Hepburn's own favorite short form, Kate.

There are much chicer versions of this name today, such as Claudie, Claudia, or Claude itself. Claudine is a name wobbling on the edge of extinction.

Sunshine was seen as a quintessential hippie name of the 70s, reaching as high as Number 536 in 1975. Now such names are making a bit of a retro comeback, seen, for example, as a character on Glee.

The Gwendoline form may introduce pronunciation confusion -- does that last syllable rhyme with wine or win or when? We vote Gwendolen as not only the most proper but the clearest spelling, followed by Gwendolyn, with Gwendoline a distant third.

A sophisticated girls' name for those attracted to Leona, Leonie and Leonore.

Zephyr may not be a name often heard in the U.S., but its variations are used throughout Europe. Zephyrine, a cousin in sound and feel if not in fact to such lovely names as Severine and Seraphina, has distinctive possibilities.

An elaborate and shiny choice.

Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D. Eisenhower spent his boyhood. Abilene is a much more untrodden path to the nickname Abbie/Abbie than the Top 10 Abigail.

Noreen's in limbo, especially now that Nora has made a comeback.

Lupine (spelled Lupin outside of North America) is a flower related to sweetpeas. It was given its wolfish meaning because the plant was said to deplete the soil. Comedian Jenny Slate used it as a middle name for her daughter Ida in 2020.

An elaborate form of the stylish Vesper, taken from the Latin vespertinus meaning "evening". It may work for those who want to step away from the religious connotations of Vespers.

This regal French name is a descendant of the Latin Regina, as is the Spanish Reina. Reine is also a male name in Scandinavia.

Ilene might be a phonetic way to spell Aileen or Eileen, though in the end people may have more luck pronouncing the original.

Cesarine is the French femininer version of Casear. It is used occasionally in French-speaking countries, including Belgium, Switzerland and Jersey.

An old name, with a history separate from Emily and Emma and a different kind of vintage feel, that's a possible alternative to top-of-the-pops names. More common spelling is Emmeline.

Aline may have originated as a short form of Adeline in the Middle Ages, but it may also be a variation of the Irish Aileen or Scottish Eileen. Aline dropped off the Top 1000 in the 1950s. Fewer than 40 baby girls were named Aline in the US last year.

This Top 100 girls' name in The Netherlands is unlikely to translate to the U.S., where it would undoubtedly pronounced fee-line and mistaken for the adjective that means cat-like. While the name Feline -- and Felina and Felinus -- do have the same root, the considerably more charming pronunciation in modern-day Europe is fee-LEEN-ah. Some websites mistakenly relate it to Felix and give its meaning as happy or fortunate.