Quincy is a Presidential surname name that actually sounds both cute and strong when used for a girl. For the first time ever, Quincy joined the Top 1000 roster for girls in 2023, given to over 250 baby girls that year.

While Larkin takes this name from bird to surname, there are actually more female Larkins these days than male, and it's a name that works as well for either gender. It has the literary connection to poet Philip Larkin too.

This simple yet evocative French word name was chosen for her daughter by model Niki Taylor. While Ciel may be pronounced in French with two syllables, many will pronounce it as "seal" and there may be confusion with Celia and sister Ceil.

Perry fits right in with rising boyish nicknames for girls and cool picks like Frankie and Scottie. This relaxed name sounds novel compared to such former favorites as Kerry and Sherry.

Attractive entry into the tree name genre, joining Ash, Oak, and Juniper. Over 110 baby boys were named Cypress in the US last year, along with 70 baby girls.

This name projects a sense of well-being, as in "hale and hearty", while also having a nature-adjacent meaning, referring to someone who lives near a hollow, a nook, or a remote area of land. Rhyming word hail adds a hint of storminess to the name too.

Among the coolest of the cool color names, particularly popular with celebs as a unisex middle name. While most famous as the name of Beyonce and Jay-Z's daughter Blue Ivy, more than 60 percent of the babies named Blue are boys.

Heaven, Peace, Serenity: parents seem especially attracted to word names that signal paradise, but Halcyon sounds quite feminine, and might conjure up the sleeping pill Halcion.

Short, concise, and cheerful, Merit is a name with several possible roots. From its English origins, it could be viewed as a virtue name, celebrating commendable good behaviour. Equally, it could be seen as a streamlined form of Merritt, an Old English surname meaning "boundary". Rising in the US, albeit slowly, Merit may be given to more babies in coming years, due to the recent interest in unusual virtue names, last names as first names, and for word names.

Dune is a name of several layers. It's a modern nature name, like Ocean, Bay and Reef, although rarer, conjuring up images of breezy sand dunes on summer beach days.

Music legend David Bowie lends his adopted surname considerable charisma to this stylish Scottish name for girls and boys. Born David Robert Jones, he changed his name to avoid confusion with The Monkees' Davy Jones.

Bryn is an up-and-coming gentle, yet substantial, Welsh name that would also be effective in the middle spot. In Wales it's a traditional boys' name, but it's far more popular for girls now in the US.

Sasha in all its forms -- which include Sacha and Sascha -- is rising in popularity for both boys and girls, especially with the Sasha spelling attached to one of the First Daughters. Sacha with this spelling is a Top 20 name for baby boys in France.

A rare unisex word/virtue name that is currently given to around 10 babies of each gender per year in the US. It could make for an unexpected route to bright, easygoing nickname Sol (or trendy nickname Ace).

Halo is a glowing word name that's both cosmic and spiritual, and with its shiny imagery and bright sounds, it was one of the fasted rising names in 2023.

Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and Indie/Indy/Indi is one of the hottest nickname names for girls right now.

Puck was Shakespeare's mischievous pixie who'a had a few television incarnations in more recent years. A popular name in The Netherlands but nowhere else, from what we can tell.

Words are not always easy to translate into baby names, but the implications of being straight and swift lend this one great potential as a name. It also has the popular o-sound ending, which brings it further into the realm of possibility. Rising rock star Aja Volkman pulled a gender switch when she named her daughter Arrow Eve.

Jubilee has a joyous and jubilant aura, but it wouldn't be an easy name to carry, what with all that pressure to be a living, breathing, 24-7 party. Jubilee was the name selected by television's Duggars for their miscarried child.

Kona is strongly associated with the Kona coffee of Hawaii. The Hawaiian word kona means "leeward" or "dry side of the island," and Kona districts are where Kona coffee is grown. It's a unisex name in Hawaii, with an appealing simple, strong sound.