Beach Baby Names

Different origin from the Welsh Dylan, but increasingly used as a variant spelling to honor Bob Dylan or Dylan Thomas. Still, the Dylan spelling is found 20 times as often as Dillon.

Pretty feminissima name that never became as overused as cousin Melissa. The more streamlined Maris is a more modern sounding option.

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.

Apt name for a little drama queen with a long future ahead of her. Saga is a Top 30 girls' name in Sweden.

Modern surfer boy. Just don't call him Reefer.

This highly unusual name -- the Halycyone was a mythic bird who could calm the seas -- conjures up images of utter peace and tranquility because of the phrase "Halycon days"...and the sleeping pill.

This name's similarity to Kalani and pretty Hawaiian origin helped catapult it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013.

Llyr is a name with a great meaning and a lovely sound, but that sound is going to be next to impossible to get non-Welsh speaking people to pronounce (google the double L sound in Welsh). If you are outside Wales, you may wish to consider the Irish alternative Lir, which has the same meaning and an easier sound.

Marvin has been neglected for so long that it's hard to believe that it has windswept Welsh roots. It also has some strong namesakes going for it -- singer Marvin Gaye, composer Marvin Hamlisch and boxer Marvin Hagler. It's the real name of both Neil Simon and Meatloaf. And let's not forget mention Marvin Gardens on Monopoly.

As a member of two trendy name categories, animal and occupational, this name broke into the Top 1000 in 2004 and would make a nice tribute to an angler Grandpa.

Once a poetic Celtic name, that of the angel who governs the month of June, Muriel became the mom or grandma on TV sitcoms. She does have literary cred via Edinburgh-born author Muriel Spark, author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and also appears as a character in Anne of Green Gables. Muriel was a Top 200 name from 1912 to 1933.

The lovely Sereia is the Portuguese word for mermaid but can also be used as a name. English speakers may shy away from the name because of pronunciation questions and indeed, any little Sereia growing up in London or Chicago will encounter many questions and mispronunciations. But it's not difficult to say once you know it and Sereia pay countervailing dividends with its beauty.

Ula is among the unusual U names that may have a range of origins and meanings, from the Celtic one given here to its possibilities as a short form of Eulalia or Ursula. Ulla is a Scandinavian name usually an abbreviation of Ursula or Ulrika.

One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position.

A pretty, rarely used Greek name, Thalassa is the ancient personification of the sea, particularly the Mediterranean, who is sometimes considered the mother of Aphrodite. In 1991, a newly discovered moon of Neptune was dubbed Thalassa.

A simple but unusual name with roots in disparate cultures, Neri appears in the Bible as a male name and is still sometimes used for boys as well as girls. The appeal of Neri are its deep roots combined with its simple, upbeat, modern feel, ala Peri and Rory.

Anahita is the name of the water goddess who rules, among other things, fertility and wisdom. Associated with Venue, Anahita is a stylish Iranian name for girls.

A name from medieval romance with an endearingly clunky sound, à la Sherlock. The most famous modern wearer was twentieth-century psychologist/sexologist Havelock (born Henry) Ellis.

This is one of the more unusual examples of a group of Greek names connected to the sea, which makes sense for a nation of coastline and islands. The Nereids or water nymphs were the daughters of sea god Nereus.

This Roman mythology (and planet) name would be very hard to handle. It derives from a root meaning cloud.