Simple yet Beautiful

Like Joanne and Christine, middle-aged Diane has been overshadowed by the a-ending version of her name. Diane has a definite mid-century feel; it was a Top 20 name from 1946 to 1959. Though it has several distinguished bearers, including Dianes Sawyer, Keaton, von Furstenberg, Lane, Arbus, Kruger and Farr, it fell off the Top 1000 in 2004 and last year was given to about 60 baby girls, the same number as Dillon and Eugenia.

Christine was the dominant feminine variation of Christopher forty or fifty years ago, when French E-endings were preferred over As; it was a Top 20 name for several years, from 1966 to 1974. But though it still hangs in on the popularity list, today most any other version would be considered more stylish, from Kristen to Kirsten to Christina herself.

Once the most popular month names, April has been overtaken by June (for girls) and August (for boys), as well as the charmingly old-fashioned May. Literary reference: the heroine of the book and movie Revolutionary Road, and there have been Aprils on Parks and Recreation, Glee, and The Vampire Diaries. Trivia note: comedian Ralphie May named his daughter April June May.

Susannah is by far the most stylish form of the classic name now that Susan and Suzanne have retired. Susannah has biblical and musical pedigrees, is impervious to trends, and has an irresistible, flowing rhythm. It can be spelled just as properly with or without the final 'h.'

A short, breezy name with a sophisticated yet upbeat image, that doesn't betray its Irish roots. Bree first came to notice here in 1971 via the complex prostitute character in the movie Klute, which earned Jane Fonda an Oscar. More recently, it was tied to the character of Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives.

A Top 100 name from the 1930s all the way through the 1950s, it's now firmly in Mom -- or Grandma -- land and supplanted for babies by Joanna.....or even great-grandmother Josephine. In its heyday, it had a host of variations, including JoAnn and Jo-Anne.

Stuck in the shadow of the old Dolly Parton song. In spite of its dated feel, Jolene reentered the charts in 2010 and has been rising in recent years.

Lovely, authentic name -- but any Kirsten will be condemned to a lifetime of hearing "Did you say Kristen?" They're both genuine Scandinavian names but too interchangeable.

Many variations of Jessica, including Jessie and Jessa, are used on their own, but Jess is an exception, given to only a handful of baby girls last year. But Jess is certainly the name that many Jessicas are called.