H Names

Until the beautiful actress Halle Berry inspired hundreds of parents to emulate her name, it was the diminutive Swedish families used for their sons christened Harald. Now, in a complete turnaround, it couldn't be more feminine. It is worth noting, however, that its popularity has fallen dramatically since 2002 when it reached a high of 316.

The Halley version of this popular name family hit the Top 1000 only once, in 1986, inspired by Halley's Comet, named for astronomer Edmund Halley.

Jean Harlow (born Harlean Carpenter), the original platinum blonde bombshell, was a symbol of 1930s glamour, a factor that first Patricia Arquette and then Nicole Richie and Joel Madden probably had in mind when they gave their daughters the distinctive surname name Harlow.

Hart could be the hero of a romantic novel, but on the other hand, it's short, straightforward, and strong sounding. The most famous bearer of the name was tragic poet Hart (born Harold) Crane, but it also has musical cred via Lorenz Hart, of the classic Rodgers & Hart songwriting duo and a literary tie to playwright Moss Hart.

In the USA, Hattie is one of those nicknames that is now more popular than its parent name, Harriet. In England, however, Harriet is still by far more popular than Hattie, while in Australia, Harriet is highly popular while no data exists on Hattie. In the US, we’d like to see Harriet get more usage but we’re happy to see Hattie again.

The name of the enslaved girl in Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, this literary name sounds a little like a modern invention. However, it is in fact related to another time-honored literary heroine name: Haidee from Byron's "Don Juan." Bryon was likely inspired by the Greek word aidoios meaning "modest"

For Americans, a little too he for a she.

Helen is a name that has connoted beauty since ancient times – Helen of Troy was the the mythological "face that launched a thousand ships," over whom the ten-year Trojan War was fought.

A li'l hell-raiser name in the Ryder-Rogue-Rebel vein.

The name of a British town on the Thames that hosts a famous regatta. Henley is one of the English baby names soaring in popularity for both boys and girls in the US, but is now much more popular for girls. In the UK, however, it is almost unused for girls, with just 3 female babies named Henley as recently as 2014.

A term of endearment turned cute British celebrity baby name, used by actress Kate Winslet, chef Jamie Oliver, and TV presenter Fearne Cotton, among others. Honey was given to only 40 girls in the US in 2017, but it's relatively popular across the pond, where it ranks in the current Top 500 baby names for girls.

This surname gained momentum in the 1990s, when it was particularly in vogue for males. However, it seems to be experiencing a surge for females—it was one of the fastest-rising names of 2013, jumping 266 spots back into the Top 1000.