Names I've Started Liking More - January 2017

Newly fashioned but familiar and with an on trend, unisex feel, Addison seems like the perfect solution for anyone who can’t decide between Madison, Adeline, and Alison.

This lovely name from Spenser's The Faerie Queene is borne by a character who represents married love. A related unusual-yet-usable choice: Amabel.

Arabella, lovely and elegant, has long been well used in Britain and finally made it onto the American list in 2005. Its meaning may also be interpreted as "beautiful," thanks to -bella.

Ashley was a sensation in the 1980s and 1990s; it hit Number 1 in 1991. Ashley is still pretty but more and more parents are turning to newer names like Ashlyn and Aubrey, and spellings such as Ashleigh and Ashlea. If you hear the name Ashley in a playground today, it's more likely to be the mom than the little girl.

An Irish and Welsh form of Catherine, Caitlin was a boom name of the eighties, rocketing from obscurity (Americans first heard it via the wife of doomed poet Dylan Thomas) to the height of popularity in the space of a decade. The original name was gradually eclipsed by its myriad spelling variations -- Katelyn and Kaitlyn both soon topping it on the popularity lists.

Dallas is a cowhand name that perhaps surprisingly has always ranked among the Top 1000 names for boys in the US, since records began in 1880, but has only been a Top 1000 girl name for the past decade (along with brief periods in the 1990s and in 1910).

Melodic and lively, Delilah has cut itself (mostly) free from its treacherous past to become a contemporary favorite.

Eliora is a melodic name ripe with vowel sounds.

Ella is a sweet, simple name that owes much of its current popularity to the popularity of other names, from Emma to Bella to Emily to Ellie.

Eva is a simple, classic Hebrew name for girls that recently slipped out of the US Top 100 for the first time in more than a decade. Pronounced either like her more popular sister Ava or less popular sister Eve, Eva is one of the elite group of girl names that mean life.

The hurricane blew this one out of the realm of possibility.

Stylish, gentle, and rustic at the same time, Rowan is a name that falls into various categories. Unisex and cool, mystical and woodsy, with the feel of both Rose and Riley, Rowan is a fresh but familiar choice.

Sienna has been a Top 100 choice in England & Wales since 2005, the year after Sienna Miller's acting breakthrough in the hit movies Alfie and Layer Cake. In the US, it also got a big boost in the early noughties, before dropping slightly then rebounding to reach an all-time high in 2022.

Lively and rhythmic version of Vivian heard in Italy and Spain. A vivid choice.