Post Labor Day Loves 2018

Adira is one of those rare names that's both little-used and simple, and crosses languages easily. Pronounced ah-DEER-ah, Adira is given to only a handful of girls in the US each year and could make a worthy substitute for such overexposed favorites as Ava and Ariana.

A form of Adelaide (and therefore related to Alice, too) used in the Netherlands. The country's first female physician was Aletta Jacobs. In the USA, Aletta is rare, but on a slight upward trend. It fits perfectly into the sweet spot of being deep-rooted and straightforward, yet barely used, and has Etta and Lettie as potential nicknames.

Alonzo is dashing and debonair, with a large measure of Latin flair.

Amelia is one of the hottest girls' names, a successor to the megapopular Emma and Emily. Amelia, which spent several years at Number 1 in England, vaulted into the US Top 10 in 2017 and continues to rise.

Annora is a noble name, a distinctive twist on its most essential form: Honor. Other variations to explore include Honora and Nora.

Beatrice is back. Stored in the attic for almost a century, the lovely Beatrice with its long literary (Shakespeare, Dante) and royal history is being looked at with fresh eyes by parents seeking a classic name with character and lots of upbeat nicknames, like Bea and Bee.

Although feminizations ending in "ette" are not particularly popular now, Bernadette is a pleasant, feminine, but strong name that doesn't feel prohibitively dated. And though strongly associated with the saint who saw visions of the Virgin Mary—Saint Bernadette of Lourdes—it is now no longer strictly inhabiting the Catholic diocese.

Bridget is the Anglicized form of Brigid, an Irish-Gaelic name that was derived from the word brígh, which means "strength."

The Spanish Camila, pronounced ka-MEE-la, is the fastest rising version of this ancient Roman name, but recent royal Camilla may have helped promote the British brand. In Roman myth, Camilla was a swift-footed huntress so fast she could run over a field without bending a blade of grass.

At one time just the sound of the name Camille could start people coughing, recalling the tragic Lady of the Camellias, the heroine played by Greta Garbo in the vintage film based on a Dumas story, but that image has faded, replaced by a sleek, chic, highly attractive one.

Cassiane, also spelled Kassiani or Kasiani, is an ancient Greek name best known as the name of a saint famous as a hymnographer. The Hymn of Cassiane, traditionally sung on Tuesday of Easter Week in the Greek Orthodox Church, is associated with fallen women. The 9th century saint Cassiane was supposed to be in love with the Emperor Theophilos, who rejected her when she proved to be more intelligent than he.

Celeste is a softly pretty and somewhat quaint name with heavenly overtones, which kids might associate with Queen Celeste of Babar's elephant kingdom. She's a light and lovely choice that's finally getting noticed.

Like the French author with whom the name is most closely associated, Colette is a chic and charming name that is being rediscovered. After disappearing for nearly 30 years, Colette rejoined the Top 1000 in 2012 at Number 659 and has continued to rise since then.

Cynthia is an attractive name -- in classical mythology an epithet for Artemis or Diana -- that was so overexposed in the middle of the twentieth century, along with its nickname Cindy, that it fell into a period of benign neglect, but now is ripe for reconsideration in its full form.

One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.

Diana, the tragic British princess, inspired many fashions, but strangely, not one for her name. For us, Diana is a gorgeous and still-underused choice.

As the song says, "Dinah, is there anyone finer?" Dinah is a charming, underused Old Testament name with a rich literary and musical resume.

Elena is at its most popular point ever in the US, thanks to its cross-cultural appeal and the overall popularity of El- names. It's more international than Ellen or Eleanor, but still accessible.

Eliora is a melodic name ripe with vowel sounds.

Elisa may be one of the most appealing of this contingent of names, but the Elizabeth variations that start with A are heading up, the E versions down. Eliza is much more stylish these days than Elisa.