Back & Forth with Lily - July

Aiden in all its spelling variations is the Anglicized version of the Irish Aodhán, which was originally a pet form of the Irish name Aodh (pronounced 'ee'), who was the old Celtic god of the sun and fire. St. Aidan was a famous seventh century Irish saint, noted for his kindness and generosity and for spreading Christianity.

Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.

Surname of a noted modern Urdu poet.

The independent Alex has become a classic in its own right. One of the truest unisex names, Alex is used almost equally for both sexes. Alex is used both on its own and as a short form of formal names of both genders, such as Alexander, Alexandra, and Alexis.

Introduced to the lexicon by the husband of Little House on the Prairie writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, most scholars agree that this unusual name comes from the Arabic El-Mansur.

This unusual Belle name just might have a chance at greater visibility in this era of all names bell-related, from Queen Isabella to the upwardly mobile Belle and Annabelle to -- why not-- Amabelle.

Emily gets a Bohemian spin and a French accent when it becomes Amelie. This favorite among French girl names has been gaining notice here thanks to the charming 2001 French film Amelie; it entered the American popularity list in 2002 and is now solidly established in the Top 1000.

Melodious and unusual form of a name with an uncountable number of variations. Many will understand it as the more down-to-earth Annalee.

Arden is a gender-neutral name that's sleek and stylish but always seems to bob just below the surface of popularity, despite ticking all the boxes with its fashionable two-syllable, N-ending shape and its awesome nature-inspired meanings. In the 2021 US statistics, 41 percent of the babies named Arden were boys to 59 percent girls.

Asher—an excellent, soft and sensitive Old Testament choice—is a baby boy name on the rise, and is a Nameberry biblical favorite.

A softly poetic surname name, associated with poet W.H., Auden is enjoying quiet but marked fashion status. It was chosen for his daughter by Noah Wyle and is definitely one to watch.

Bentley, a somewhat stuffy British surname, previously associated primarily with an incredibly expensive English car, has had a recent surge in popularity, thanks largely to the reality TV shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, with Bentley being the name of the son of breakout star Maci (another new favorite) Bookout.

Bianca, the livelier Italian and Shakespearean version of Blanche, has been chosen by many American parents since the 1990s, just as Blanca is a favorite in the Spanish-speaking community. Its meaning of white relates to snow, making it one of the prime names for winter babies.

Cute kid with freckles, bouncing a Spalding ball. Cool couple Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton put the name Billy Burton on their son's birth certificate. While the classic William, name of the future king of England, may in fact be German, the nickname Billy along with such other classic short forms as Jim and Joe are authentically English names for boys.

Though it sounds so modern, Brielle is, among other things, a traditional Cajun contraction of Gabrielle, but it has now spread far beyond that community. Brielle is also the name of a historic seaport in the western Netherlands.

Trapped somewhere in the nether region between Haddie and Catie, with the added confusion of sounding like someone who works on a golf course. Caddie Woodlawn was a TV heroine of the Old West in the 1980s. Caddie had its moment, but we don't see it becoming one of the more popular girl names starting with C.

Caleb is an attractive Old Testament name that has been in the US Top 100 for nearly three decades now. Consistently popular but never too popular, Caleb feels more like a classic than a momentary trend.