Claire, luminous, simple, and strong, is one of those special names that is familiar yet distinctive, feminine but not frilly, combining historical depth with a modern edge. And though Claire is enjoying revived popularity, it will never be seen as trendy. Claire is also a great middle name choice.

Sloane is a sleek, sophisticated surname name that has gradually morphed over to the girls' side. With its distinctive and intriguing sound, Sloane has been in the US Top 1000 since 2009, and in 2022, it made its first appearance in the UK charts, jumping more than 400 places in a single year.

Lila is one of the girl names with a double l sound — Lila, Lola, Layla, Leila, Lily et al — that have caught on in a major way., Delicate yet dynamic, Lila has a slightly international flair.

Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos, meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl's name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne Brontë.

Patrick, long tied to a hyper-Irish image, is enjoying something of a renaissance as a stylish classic, as it has long been considered in England. Along with such choices as Charles and George, Patrick has escaped overuse in recent decades.

Christopher derived from the Greek Christophoros, which is composed of the elements Christos, referring to Christ, and phero, meaning "to bear."

Though ancient, Marcus now sounds more current than Mark, in tune with today's trend towards us-ending Latinate names.

Now that the show has gone into reruns, does anybody still love Raymond? Though it's been long dormant, some parents, including Jack Nicholson, are finding its cool name component, largely through the nickname Ray.

Although Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire personified brute force, most Stanleys have been portrayed as meek milquetoasts. It has a totally "old-man" or "grandpa" vibe that may appeal to those who like Walter and Rupert or Daphne and Mabel.

The energetic Diego is rising rapidly along with a lot of other authentically Spanish baby names that work perfectly well with surnames of any origin.

Pleasant but uninspired surname name somewhat connected to writers Ellison and Coben. After three decades off the US Top 1000, it reentered in 2013, maybe because it's an unusual example of the trendy class of two-syllable n-ending boys’ names. Kevin Harlan is an NFL, NBA, and college basketball announcer for TV and radio.

Now seen as the chap in the smoking jacket in a 1930s drawing-room comedy, Reginald has actually been on the US popularity list every year since 1880.

Once restricted to evangelical Protestants honoring the ecclesiastical reformer and theologian Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant revolution. In more recent times it has been favored by parents wishing to honor civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. Luther was a Top 100 name at the turn of the last century, but fell off the list in the early 1990s.
Luther Burbank was an eminent botanist and Luther Vandross was a popular R&B artist. It's the name of a main character on the Disney series Zeke and Luther. The name was given a shot of contemporary energy via Idris Elba's dynamic performance in the eponymous BBC crime drama.

Widely used here since the 50s, Allison — a derivative of Alice — has now been once again surpassed by the original Alice as parents embrace vintage revivals. Despite this, Allison's popularity has slipped only slightly.

Ben, the diminutive of Benjamin or Benedict, can easily stand on its own as a simple, strong, nice-guy choice, though it's somewhat attenuated. Ben is this generation's Bob or Bill.

Two drawbacks: some unpleasant World War II associations, and the Santa clause.

The charming vintage nature and color name Hazel has become popular for girls, but more than 30 baby boys were named Hazel in the US in a recent year. In fact, it's not a new thing for boys to be called Hazel. It ranked in the US Top 1000 from the late 1800s to the 1930s, peaking in 1891 when it briefly entered the Top 500, and again in 1920 when it was given to nearly 80 boys.

Eudora is the name of five minor goddesses of Greek mythology and a major goddess (in the person of Pulitzer Prize-winning Eudora Welty) of modern American literature. Eudora is pleasant and euphoneous and a possibility for rejuvenation.

A popular choice in the US in the early 20th-century, Lester made the Top 100 consistently for 46 years between 1886 and 1931. It then remained in the Top 500 until the mid-80s before dropping out of the charts in the late 90s. Since then, it's been given to around 100 babies each year, making it an out-of-style but not forgotten name.

Used as both a diminutive for Ivana, and as a given name in Bulgaria, Vanya has a cool sharp sound that could work internationally. It has been used from a character in the TV show and comic book The Umbrella Academy and is borne by singer and writer Vanya Shtereva and poet Vanya Petkova.