Deriving from the Roman cognomen Vivianus, Vivian was originally a masculine name, with Vivien being a feminine soundalike coined by Alfred Lord Tennyson for the Lady of the Lake in his famous poetic adaptation of the legend of King Arthur. It has since become a much more popular choice for girls in the US, but retains a refined British charm which sees it cropping up occasionally for boys in the Telegraph birth announcements.

A name that seems to hail from the old Irish neighborhoods of Boston and New York, Terence actually dates back a lot further, to the time of a famous second-century poet, who started life as a North African enslaved man in the house of a Roman senator and it was also borne by several early saints.

Llewellyn/Llywelyn is a common patriotic first name in Wales, with its distinctive Welsh double LL's; in the U.S. Llewellyn would make a daring choice, though with the chance that some might find the ellen sound slightly feminine.

This image of this distinguished Anglo-Scottish surname, drawn from the French place name of the ancient castle of Saint Foi de Montgomery, is rapidly shifting from fusty and formal to cool. And dashing short form Monty (or Monte) nudges it to cute.

This is the French version of Alcides, birth name of the Greek mythological Heracles (Hercules). You're more likely to recognize it as the name of the hot True Blood werewolf, Alcide Herveaux.

Clement, the name of fourteen popes and several saints, has a pleasantly, positive, slightly antiquated feel, like the phrase "clement weather."

The name of the guardian angel in It's a Wonderful Life is rarely heard the rest of the year because of its studious, near-nerdy image, but this could change in the current naming climate.

Earl is a title name - brought to England by the vikings - that's out of fashion right now, unlike King and Duke. Its peak popularity was in the 1920s, which gives it a dusty great-grandpa feel, but there are also younger Earls in pop culture, like the reformed criminal in "My Name is Earl".

Eighties star Judge Reinhold (born Edward Jr. , he was given this nickname at the age of two weeks) made this possible, but it could cause a lot of confusion.

Actress America Ferrera, of Ugly Betty fame, has pretty much feminized this name in the US.

Name of Faulkner's great emotional villain in As I Lay Dying, Anse is not ordinarily used as a first name. It literally means cove in French, though the element ans means God in Old German and is found in names such as Ansel and Anselm.

A strong, warm name and a strong warm color. Would make an excellent alternative to August or Aubrey.

Although there are plenty of Bachs in the world besides Johann Sebastian, everyone will assume you're honoring the great composer -- and why not.

Among the coolest of the cool color names, particularly popular with celebs as a unisex middle name. While most famous as the name of Beyonce and Jay-Z's daughter Blue Ivy, more than 60 percent of the babies named Blue are boys.

A melodic choice for lullaby-lovers. Brahms might also make a trendy s-ending nickname for Abraham.

Carnelian is an ochre-colored semi-precious gemstone, named after a type of cherry.

Cerulean is just beginning to be heard as a name thanks to its distinctive sounds and the appealing electric-sky-blue it evokes. Reminiscent of Ocean, Aurelian, Cyrus, and Caspian, it was given to just 5 babies in 2024, but that could change in coming years.

A name heard in Puritan times -- Cotton Mather was a minister involved in the Salem witchcraft trials -- which really deserves modern consideration as it blends nature and softness into a really trendy and wearable masculine name.

If Holland works for a girl, why not Dutch for a boy? Well, one reason is that Holland is a place name and Dutch is used to describe someone or something from The Netherlands, but we digress. Dutch does have a name-like sound, akin to Dash, Duke, Dutton, and Dustin.