Naming the rainbow

Middle name possibility for a nature-loving family -- Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke used it for their son's middle name.

A plausible color name, it was chosen by the singer Sting as a middle name for his daughter, after a character in the Gormenghast fantasy trilogy, of which he's a big fan. Another bearer is Fuchsia Voremberg, a member of the BBC Show, Antiques Roadshow who specializes in diaries and manuscripts.

One of the more unusual of the current crop of strong, single-syllable boys' names, evoking the images of both old-fashioned blackboards and modern stepping-stones and countertops.

One of the new color names that is catching on, invoking a calm, blue-green-sea feeling.

Third place on the sports field, but potentially more wearable than either Silver or Gold, Bronze feels modern and edgy.

With the popularity of Isabella, you might think of Isabelline as a further elaboration -- though it would be the definition of gilding the lily. But Isabelline is also a color, an amorphous pale yellow-gray-cream most often seen in horses' coats or birds' plumage.

Neutral color, but as a name, too much of an oddity.

It's a place. It's a wine. It's a color. -- no wonder trend-heavy Burgundy's been discovered as a name.