My Favorite Baby Names

This variation of Brinley is currently the most popular of the plethora of alterative spellings. The Brynlee spelling has more of a clear connection to the Welsh name Bryn (or the more popular version in the US, Brynn) which peaked in 2012 and is not on its way down. Brynlee has now surpassed Brynn in popularity, and especially if combined with alternative spellings like Brinley and Brynleigh, is still up and coming.

Maybe it's because she shares that winning -elle sound with Isabel and Bella, but Estelle is no longer seen as a muumuu-wearing canasta player of a certain age (think George Costanza's mother on Seinfeld or Joey Tribbiani's talent agent in Friends). This could be in part thanks to the young Royal Couple of Sweden, who chose it for their firstborn daughter, or the single-named British R&B singer. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2012 after a nearly fifty-year absence.

Isabella has been a Top 10 name for girls in the US for two decades now. The Latinate form of Isabel, a variation of Elizabeth which originally derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, Isabella reigned as Number 1 in 2009 and 2010.

Lucas is a Top 10 boys' name with a slightly-less-popular almost-identical twin brother, Luke. Like Elijah and Elias, Lucas and Luke come from the same root and have the same meaning and so feel even more popular than they are.

Mason is an occupational surname that ranked among the Top 10 name for boys throughout the 2010s, after its choice as one of the first Kardashian baby names.

Riley -- one of the most popular unisex names -- is trendier now for girls though for boys it's a classic, ALWAYS ranking in the US Top 1000.

Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most popular girls' names starting with S, right after longtime favorites Sophia and Sofia.