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A winning unisex word name, fresher than Victoria or Victor. While Victory ranked only once on the US Top 1000, in 1918 at the end of World War I, it …

A winning last-name-first Celtic choice, Flynn is still mostly used for boys, such as the son of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr. Though Flynn is definitely one of …

A winning, gold locket nickname name of the turn of the last century, though also a common nickname for Vincent.

Yet another winning international form of Peter.

Cross-cultural winner.

With Win and Winner gracing birth certificates, why not Champion? Champion was first used all the way back in 1914, only to fall off the charts two years later until …

Name of the winning young heroine of Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye.

Brennan is a winning Irish surname name, more modern than Brian or Brendan, more unusual than Conor and Aidan. The only possible problem with Brennan: people might think you're …

National Book Award-winning novelist Jesmyn Ward brought this uncommon spelling of a lovely name into the public eye. Jasmine is the flower-y version, and Jessamine the genteel British …

Credit the award-winning single-named British singer for taking the girls’ name Adele from a quiet semi-retirement back into currency. Adele reentered the US Top 1000 popular baby …

… in our opinion comes closest. *********************************** FLASH!!! THE CONTEST RESULTS ARE IN AND WE HAVE TWO WINNERS! It’s a tie! We have two winners who came closest to predicting the …

The name of prize-winning American architect Robert Venturi would make a somewhat awkward first.

Unusual and simple: a winning combination. But it was the name of a fifteen-thousand-ton monster in a midcentury "Godzilla" movie.

Straightforward yet intriguing, a winning combination.

An unusual route to the winning nickname Win.

Bowman has a lot of winning ingredients: an occupational surname, a cool "Bo" sound, and an archery-related meaning. Given to around 40 boys in the US in a recent …

Classic Indian name with a winning meaning — literally.

Would be an obscure but winning entry in this category, except for its similarity to the word brassiere, which would certainly arouse unwanted attention in grade school.

Simple plus unusual is a winning combination.

Evocative of the great Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, real last name Basoalito, who took on the surname Neruda to honor a Czech poet of that name. One of …

Maybe it's because she shares that winning -elle sound with Isabel and Bella, but Estelle is no longer seen as a muumuu-wearing canasta player of a certain age …

Extremely simple and extremely distinctive -- a winning combination. Sound-alike Calla is a Greek (and botanical) name that means beautiful.

The sassy, steel magnolia appeal of Oscar-winning Reese (born Laura Jeanne—Reese is her mother's maiden name) Witherspoon has single-handedly propelled this formerly boys’ name into girls …

A unisex name from Ethiopia with a prize-winning meaning.

Josie is jaunty and friendly: among the most winning of all nickname names. She's been on the Social Security list since records began being kept. Josie and the Pussycats …

Contemporary without feeling overtly modern, Elora is a winning mix of elements and sounds. It's got the popular El-prefix of Eleanor, Eloise, and Elliana, the -ora ending ef …

Emmy-award winning actress and activist Camryn Manheim shares the story of  how and why she changed her name in this excerpt adapted from her memoir, “Wake Up, I’m …

Made most familiar in English-speaking countries by prize-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chimamanda has a wonderful meaning and can be shortened to Chima or the spunky Chi. In …

Serious surname choices, the latter form known via award-winning author Reynolds Price.

This international variation deserves its own listing for a winning combination of distinctiveness and simplicity.

Variation of Michaela often used in Scandinavian countries. Oscar-winning actress Mikey Madison's formal name is Mkaela, spelled this way. Mikaela is a Top 20 name in Puerto Rico.

This fairly obscure saint's name was chosen by Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden for one of her twins.

Names from, or inspired by, the award winning Cruel Prince series by author Holly Black.

Best-selling, prize-winning mystery writer JEFF ABBOTT takes us inside his character-naming process in part one of a two-part guest blog.  Today he describes his methodology, tomorrow …

By Abby Sandel Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman suggested that she missed the 89th Academy Awards ceremony because she was due any day with her second child. Turns out that …

This spunky variation of the placid Cecilia might be a winner for those looking for a rare international version of a traditional name.

Sutton is a habitational surname propelled to popularity by Tony-winning Broadway actress Sutton Foster, who's also the star of Hulu's Younger -- based on a novel written by …

A perfectly fine Anglo surname, though we'd prefer Keaton. Oscar-winning writer-director George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street, The Country Girl) was actually born George Stenius. 

Strong meaning, sweet but strong sound, fresh and earthy: a winner.

Best-selling, prize-winning mystery writer JEFF ABBOTT takes us further inside his character-naming process in the second part of his guest blog. Today he presents concrete examples  of …

SEE THE WINNERS BELOW!!! The official list of U.S. Most Popular Names 2012 will be revealed later this week — Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, according to the Social Security …

A Maori name famously borne by NZ actress Roimata Fox. The winner of the 2015 series of New Zealand's The X Factor sang a love song about a woman …

A lovely variation of classic Margaret, worn by two Olympic medal winners — Marharyta Makhneva and Marharyta Dorozhon.

Jaslene, a reality show-related name via former America's Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez, a smoosh of Jasmine and the 'ene' ending, has dropped from Number 599 in …

Noted bearers of this surname include a metaphysical poet, a Nobel Prize winner, and a baseball Hall of Famer, so there's plenty of hero-name inspiration.

Neenah is a feminine name with Native American origins, specifically from the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) language, meaning 'water' or 'running water.' The name gained recognition partly through Neenah, Wisconsin, a …

A respelling of Bowen that gives the option of cozy nickname Wyn/Wynnie as well as Bo.

Names that mean victory or glory have a naturally winning aura, imparting an upbeat feeling to a child. Name meanings related to victory include victorious and glorious. You'll notice …

Probably most familiar to those in the west through Kaveh Rastegar, Grammy award-winning guitarist, Kaveh is an Iranian name with a long history and would translate well into English …

Riggan found fame as the first name of the hero of the Oscar-winning film Birdman, played by Michael Keaton. Riggan has the two-syllable n-ending surname feel so …