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Raven
Word and animal name
Bird name Raven, once a symbol of pride for both African-American and Wiccan parents, is finding new life as a superhero name. Raven Darkholme is the real name of Mystique, heroine of the X-Men films…
Harley
English
"the long field"
Once a macho biker name, Harley is now showing its softer side. In the UK, Harley is predominantly masculine, but it's currently more popular for girls than boys in the US. Along with Harper and…
Hayden
English place name
"hay hill; hay valley"
A newly successful name for girls, which, like Brayden and Caden, used to be strictly for the boys. Young Heroes and now Nashville star Hayden Panettiere planted it in the girls' camp.
Payton
English
"fighting man's estate"
Rarely used until the 90s, Payton rose up the charts when it was popularized by the football star, Peyton Manning, and, interestingly, by the character of "Peyton Flanders", the villainess of the…
Sage
English botanical name and Latin
"wise and knowing"
A modern, multifaceted name, Sage is short, sweet, and strong. A unisex possibility, it is also a virtuous word name associated with wisdom, and a nature name linked to a fragrant herb. Currently,…
Wynter
Spelling variation of Winter
Less month, more trendy, more times needing to spell it to people. This spelling variation entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013—and doesn't appear to be going anywhere any time soon.…
Quinn
Irish
"descendant of Conn, chief leader, intelligence"
Quinn is an engaging Celtic surname, zippy, concise and strong. While it may now lean feminine in the US, given to girls about 80% of the time, it is still given to a substantial number of boys: 615…
Skye
Scottish place-name
The e-addition takes the name from slightly hippie-ish nature name to the place name of a picturesque island off the coast of Scotland, and for baby namers it's by far the more popular spelling. Skye…
Phoenix
Arizona place name and Greek
"dark red"
Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one…
Andi
Diminutive of Andrea or Anderson, Greek or English from Scandinavian
"strong and manly, son of Anders"
Boyish nickname name that first heard in the Ricki/Terri era but finding new favor among parents who love names like Billie and Frankie, Scottie and Stevie. Sister spelling Andie has also been on the…
Lyric
Greek
"of the lyre; songlike; a personal, emotive poem"
Associated with poetry, pop music, and the Greek lyre, Lyric has a light and zippy sound to it and joins the likes of Melody, Harmony, Cadence, and Aria as musical names that have become baby names.…
Nia
Swahili; Welsh form of the Irish Niamh
"resolve; brilliance"
Short but energetic and substantial, Nia has special meaning for African-American parents, as it's one of the days of Kwanza. Nia also benefits by its similarity to (yet differentness from) the…
Jessie
Anglicized form of Teasagh or diminutive of Jessica, Hebrew
"behold or wealthy"
Jessie has never been used as much as Jennie/Jenny, partly because it's a boys’ name as well (spelled Jesse), but it does have a friendly and unpretentious pioneer feel. In Scotland, it's found as an…
Kyra
Feminine variation of Cyrus, Persian
"throne"
The girls' name Kyra sounds like the also popular Keira/Kiera, but has a different root. There are twice as many baby girls named Keira as Kyra, with Kiera in third place. Kyra now ranks at #590 and…
Zelda
Diminutive of Griselda
"gray fighting maid"
Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight…
Indigo
Greek
"Indian dye"
Indigo is one of the most appealing and evocative of the new generation of color names. Color names have joined flower and jewel names -- in a big way -- and Indigo, a deep blue-purple dye from…
Acacia
Greek
"thorny"
Acacia is an attractive, rarely used Greek flower name enhanced by its popular beginning-and-ending-with 'a'-construct, and is gradually beginning to catch on as a new member of the stylish girl…
Adi
Adi is a versatile unisex name with rich multicultural origins, though primarily used for girls in Western contexts. In Sanskrit, Adi means 'first' or 'beginning,' while in Hebrew it can mean…
Agatha
Greek
"good woman"
Agatha until recently summoned up visions of martyred saints, mauve silk dresses, and high lace collars, but now that some dauntless excavators have begun to resurrect it, we're sure more will follow…
America
Place-name
Given to children of both sexes as far back as colonial times, this carries a lot of baggage. However, parents continue to take the risk. Actress America Ferrera may be have inspired some families to…
