When R & B singer Nivea made this highly original choice for her daughter's name back in 2005, she claimed to have thought of it in terms of the color and not the seagoing armed service. As a word with multiple meanings, however, it could easily work as a nod to a naval officer in the family or to someone who enjoys sailing.

For a name related to a Scottish town, a patterned Indian fabric, and a country singer named Brad, Paisley has seen remarkable success. After appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, it is now an American favorite.

Peaceful, calm, and untroubled: these are qualities parents may be hoping for, either on their parenting journey or in their child’s life. The name Serenity encapsulates these hopes, conjuring up a sense of balance, composure, and ease.

Malia rose up the charts back in 2009 when it was brought into the spotlight as the name of the Obama's eldest daughter. It leapt into the US Top 200, and while it hasn't reached that level of popularity again, it now sees steady usage, and is given to around 1100 girls every year.

A widely used name, Kaylee pulls together something from Kayla and something from Hailey, yet somehow loses something in the process. It has surpassed cousin Kayla on the charts and is one of three girls' names starting with Kthat ranks in the US Top 100.

Taken from the first five letters of the alphabet, Abcde is a rare and polarizing invention. It made headlines in 2018, when a Southwest Airlines employee took a photo of five-year-old Abcde Redford's name and posted it on social media, mocking the name.

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.

One-time overnight success name, thanks to Hannah Montana actress and singer Miley Cyrus, Miley fell just as quickly from her peak of Number 127 in 2008 as the star entered her rebellious era.

Tula is a multicultural name, linked to the names Tallulah, Gertrude, and Tullia, a mountain range in Antarctica, and to the Greek Toula, used for the heroine of the hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

A Native American tribe name which is found in the names of two US states, Dakota was one of the first trendy nineties place names, but is now flagging a little in popularity. The cultural question around using a Native American tribe name as a baby name may be partly to blame.

Extreme makeover: Brooklyn has gone from jokey Borough Boy name in the 1990s to a leading girls' name starting with B. The status of New York's Brooklyn as hipster heaven is ironic as few bona fide Brooklyn hipsters would choose this name.

Jolie is as pretty as its literal meaning; nowadays it is also seen as a girls’ name, via Angelina for whom Jolie was originally her middle name.

A child will find this name is neat, easy to pronounce, and able to fit in with the crowd.

Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Presley is a much more popular name for little girls than you might think, entering the charts as a girls' name in 1998 and hovering around Number 200 for the last decade.

Associated with poetry, pop music, and the Greek lyre, Lyric has a light and zippy sound to it and joins the likes of Melody, Harmony, Cadence, and Aria as musical names that have become baby names. A unisex name, it is currently three times more popular for girls in the US where it sits in the Top 600. It has declined in use since its 2014 peak, but was still given to around 560 girls in a recent year.

Romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent. A popular choice in Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and Italy, it recently entered the US Top 500.

A name with a double animal connection via two distinct origins, one Native American and the other Hebrew and Biblical. Yona is rare in the US but not unknown: It was given to a dozen baby girls in 2021.

There's definitely a cold front of names for winter babies moving in, with Summer, Spring and Autumn giving way to Winter--plus North, January, Frost--and Snow. This name feels brisk, fresh, pure, evocative -- and magical. A haunting middle name choice.