Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

Sunday is among the most usable of the day names with its sunny first syllable, its sweet sound, and its potential to be both a sassy or a spiritual choice. The name initially made headlines in 2008 when Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban chose it for their daughter, Sunday Rose. Although it had been widely written that Kidman and Urban named their baby after art patron Sunday Reed, Kidman says this was a myth, they just liked the name.

Unlike Pearl and Ruby and more like Jasper, this gem name works well as a boys name. With its strong final X, it feels similar to Alex, Phoenix, Jax, and Rex, while the shiny black quality of the stone feels reminiscent of Orion. Chosen by musician Iggy Azalea for her son in 2020, it has accelerated up the charts and now sits just outside the Top 300.

Maple is one of those sweet-spot word names that sounds so almost name-like that it doesn't feel outlandish or strange, despite its relative newness as a given name. Just as Juniper is adjacent to June or Pippa, Clover like Chloe or Clara and Ember like Emma or Ebba, Maple is enough like Mabel, Maisie and Mae that it blends in well and has a touch of borrowed vintage charm.

Ledger, another surname-turned-first name, carries associations of the great and late Australian actor Heath Ledger. It appeared on the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2017, perhaps bolstered by the potential of Lej and Edge as nicknames, and its similarity to Legend.

A whimsical and serene feeling word name, bestowed to reflect the joy and perfection parents might find in their children and the ambitions they have for them. Once a fantastical and celebrity-only feeling option, Dream came into popular usage after Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna chose it for their daughter in 2016.

Meadow's upward popularity trajectory certainly suggests that the name has transcended its connection to The Sopranos.. In the US, more than 750 baby girls were named Meadow last year, a number we expect to keep rising.

This is a fresh new addition to the botanical list; comedian Gilbert Gottfried made it a real bouquet when he named his daughter Lily Aster. And the name of the little girl on television's Dexter sounds like Aster, but is actually spelled Astor, which brings it more high society name. Aster relates to the Greek word for star. In Ethiopia, Aster is pronounced "ah-STAIR", and is the Amharic variation of Biblical Esther.

Fox is one animal name backed by a longish tradition, and then popularized via the lead character Fox Mulder on X Files. Fox is simple, sleek, and a little bit wild, and could make an interesting middle name.

Rough and rugged, Talon is often associated with birds of prey, though more generally, it refers to any large claw, whether that's physical, metaphorical, or fantastical. The name has appeared in the video games League of Legends and The Legend of Zelda, in DC Comics' Teen Titans, in the Star Wars franchise (twice), and in the movies Transformers and Ratatouille.

Could Lilac be the next Lila or Lily or Violet? It certainly has a lot going for it--those lilting double 'l's, the fabulous fragrance it exudes, and the fact that it's a color name as well, providing a ready made nursery theme. In addition, the lilac is symbolic of first love.

Though some may find such names rather harsh and severe, increasing numbers of parents are gravitating toward this kind of flinty, steely, stony single-syllable name.

With strong sounds but a whimsical feel, Reverie is a word name associated with being in a dreamy, ethereal state, of being lost in a daydream, or coming up with a pleasant fantasy for the future. Similar in cadence to popularly Everly, it was given to around 80 girls in a recent year.

A brisk and beachy word name, conjuring up rugged shorelines and sandy, summery holidays. While Cove seems to have bounced back from its negative (Covid) associations, Coast might be an obvious alternative. In fact, the two names saw a similar amount of use in a recent year, when 184 boys were called Coast and 167 were called Cove.

Chosen is officially a baby name thanks to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who chose (can't resist) the word as the name of his newborn son.

An imaginative choice with an uptempo Cory/Rory/Tori sound, perfect for the child of a writer — or anyone with a good story to tell. Story has been finding some appreciation among celebs like Minnie Driver and others as a middle name. This is just one of the literary word names that have recently entered the realm of possibility, such as Fable, Sonnet and Poem.

A joyous (if a little rowdy) word name that's still relatively undiscovered by parents, being given to about 10 babies of each sex per year. Glee actor Matthew Morrison named his son Revel in 2017.

Fable, like Story, is a word name with real potential, combining enchanted tale-telling with a moral edge. And soundwise, it would fit right in with the likes of Abel and Mabel.

This number name first came to public attention when Erykah Badu and Andre 3000 chose if for their son, Seven Sirius Benjamin, born in 1997. Over a decade later, David and Victoria Beckham used it as their daughter's middle name, and now in these days of unisex word names, it's rising for both sexes. It's certainly one of the most name-like numbers: after all, it's only a letter away from Steven.

Quill is a unique possibility for the child of writers -- even if they do use computers rather than pens; could also serve as a rhyming tribute to an ancestor named Gil, Phil, or Bill (or Jill).