Orange is the New Black

Suzanne

French variation of Susan

"lily"

Suzanne became popular along with Susan but has just dropped out of the Top 1,000. Wait a generation (or two) in the US, though in France Suzanne is once again tres chic.

Lolly

Diminutive of Laura, Charlotte, Dolores, Ololade, or similar

Lolly is a sweet and playful nickname, usually used for Laura or Charlotte, though other full names could be Dolores, Ololade, Lauren, Lorelei, Lorena, Elodie, Ottilie, Louella, Elora, Elowen, Olive…

Lorna

English literary name

One of those names like Pamela, Vanessa and Wendy, Lorna was invented for a particular literary character--the protagonist of the 1869 novel Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore--and then perpetuated as…

Mei

Chinese; Hawaiian

"beautiful; plum"

Homophonous with Mae and May, the beautiful (literally) Mei is poised to climb the charts. The hero of the 2022 Disney/Pixar film Turning Red is a Chinese-Canadian teen named Meilin "Mei" Lee, which…

Norma

English or Latin

"from the north; or, the pattern"

Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.

Janae

American, modern elaboration of Jane or Jan

Adds a soupcon of French flair to some old classics with the currently trendy ae ending.

Leanne

English combination of Lee and Anne

"meadow grace"

One of the quintessential midcentury combination names, Leanne was spelled any number of ways: Lianne, LeeAnn, Leigh-Anne, and so on. Like many similar combo names -- Joanne, Maryann -- they're all…