Favorite Names

Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: nature names and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.

Astrid has been a Scandinavian royal name since the tenth century, and many people associated it with the Swedish author of the Pippi Longstocking stories, Astrid Lindgren. Astrid is derived from the name Ástríðr, which is made up of the Old Norse elements that mean "god" and "beautiful."

The popular single-named alternative singer (born Bek) has given this cool nature-meets-surname name a new lease of life. Another notable bearer is Beck Weathers, a Texan pathologist who survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which was covered in the book and film Into Thin Air.

Bellamy is a surname name with an admirable meaning and upbeat rhythm, similar to jovial choices like Rafferty, Barnaby and Willoughby.

Benjamin is a biblical name that has enjoyed widespread favor for decades, ranking in the US Top 50 for almost half a century and the Top 10 from 2015 until 2023.

Cabot is an attractive English surname associated with the daring early Italian-born British explorer known as John Cabot; his birth name was Giovanni Caboto.

Carson is one of the most long-running popular androgynous baby names, with a dash of the Wild West via the legendary Missouri frontiersman Kit Carson. Dating back to when it was the name of Nancy Drew's Dad, Carson is still steadily in the Top 200 baby names.

Very popular surname choice — it's in the Boys' Top 100 — beginning to catch on for girls. First female association: novelist Carson McCullers.

One of the surname names for boys on its way to becoming unisex, this name broke into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013 for girls. While it sounds masculine to us, because of its two-syllable er-ending sound so trendy with boys’ names, many parents apparently disagree.

Common Asian surname also works as a first, as with the singer Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power (and born Charlyn).

Cordelia is exactly the kind of old-fashioned, grown-up name for girls that many parents are seeking for their daughters today. The name of King Lear's one sympathetic daughter, Cordelia has both style and substance along with its Shakespearean pedigree.

Delicate ballerina name with grace, charm, and heft courtesy of Jane Austen's Mr.

Like many passé boys' names, this one sounds fresh again for girls.

This rhythmic last-name-first-name projects the creativity and inventiveness of Thomas Edison. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith.

Long popular in Scotland, this attractive name is strictly-speaking the Gaelic version of Eleanor, but is also often considered part of the Helen family of names. After the Normans introduced it into the British Isles, it was transformed into Aileen or Evelyn. It has rarely been heard in the US, but it is slowly starting to be used here too.

This version softens, feminizes, and glamorizes the long-time favorite. A fresh way to honor Grandma Betty. Elizabetta is a variation.

Updates Allison—which everyone will misunderstand it as. But it's definitely a fresh spin on the Ellie names, and a rising surname name choice for girls.