Notably borne by baseball star Shohei Ohtani, Shohei can also be transcribed as Shōhei or Shouhei. As with many Japanese names, the meaning varies depending on what kanji combinations are used, but "soaring peace" or "gliding evenly" are those used by the baseball player. "Respect" and "prosperity" are other options.

Judah is the strong, resonant Old Testament name of the son of Jacob who was the ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel, and from whom the word Jew is derived. Some of the names' popularity might be attributable to the similarly named Jude Law.

Ever since the enormous German cannon was dubbed by Allied soldiers "Big Bertha" in World War I, this name hasn't worked for a sweet little baby girl. But this was not always so. Hard as it might be to imagine now, Bertha was a Top 100 name until the 1930s, and in the 1880s was the seventh most popular name in the land--the equal of Joseph.

You'll probably be hearing more of this name thanks to the newest Pixar film, featuring Princess Merida, the first Pixar princess--a feisty, athletic, independent medieval Scottish girl with wild red hair. Her name, however, is not Scottish, but a Spanish place name found in both Spain and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

The one-named singer clarified the confusing pronunciation on this one (in her case, it's shah-DAY), but a number of parents have looked for more phonetic spellings. The Finnish version means "rain."

Verena is pleasant but old-fashioned. Whether that's the outdated kind of old-fashioned or the so-out-it's-in-again kind is your call.

This is the French version of Alcides, birth name of the Greek mythological Heracles (Hercules). You're more likely to recognize it as the name of the hot True Blood werewolf, Alcide Herveaux.

Spelled this way, Briana was coined by Edmund Spenser for his great literary work, The Faerie Queene, which gives the now-overexposed name a far classier pedigree than it's usually credited with.

A pretty name that may pose pronunciation problems for non-French speakers or those who've never encountered it, but it is worth the effort. Pronounced meer-AY (or closer to MEE-RAY in French), it comes from the Occitan word mirar meaning "to admire".

Popular in its own right in Germany and definitely makes a more intriguing and grownup short form of the classic Timothy than Timmy or even Tim.

Annora is a noble name, a distinctive twist on its most essential form: Honor. Other variations to explore include Honora and Nora.

Rare and distinctive name with intimations of antiquity, also a Shakespearean character.

A pretty and unusual path to the nickname Mira. Mira is the main character in Nobel Prize-winner Federico Mistral's poem of the same name. Mireya Moscoso was Panama's first female president.

Ukrainian figure-skating champion Oksana Baiul made it known here.

Keilani is among the fastest rising girls' names in some US states, a once-unusual name perhaps popularized by its similarity to both Leilani and Kayla. Its rhythmic appeal cannot be denied.

This variation of Muhammed is not as popular as some, but it still is a widely used choice.

Timaeus is an ancient name that appears in both Plato's Dialogues and in the New Testament. Might make a so-old-it's-new-again version of Timothy. The feminine variation is Timea.

This unusual and spunky biblical name was one of the Kings of Israel as well as one of Judah's grandsons and has a wonderful meaning. We'd like to see Zimri being used more, and we think it has potential — "traveling lite" names, or 2 syllable names ending in -i, such as Zuri, Ezri, and Rafi are red-hot right now.

Kids would be more likely to associate this name with the hyperactive meercat in "The Lion King" than with the ancient Greek philosopher or Shakespearean character, which could cause playground problems.

Sami is cute if overused in its more familiar Sammy form.