Maybe baby Possibilites

Alaric is an ancient regal name that sounds modern enough to be considered. Alaric was a traditional name for the kings of the Ostrogoths, the most famous of whom was Alaric I, the King of the West Goths who sacked Rome in 410.

This and two other female forms -- AQUILA and AQUILINA -- of the Roman family name Aquilius might live on in modern times.

Calix is once-obscure name that is starting to see some use in the US, where 47 baby boys were named Calix in 2023. An indirect influence is the actress Calista Flockhart, who introduced Americans to the female version of this attractive Greek name to prominence.

Chelsea is still being used, with about 400 baby girls named Chelsea in the US last year. But it was much more popular a few decades ago, peaking at Number 15 in 1992.

Cyrus is one of those surprising names that have always ranked among the Top 1000 boy names in the US. On an upward trend since the mid-90s, Cyrus now sits in that comfortable place between too popular and too unusual.

This spelling of Electra makes this vibrant name less electric and more kinetic.

An ancient German saint's name – and most famously the name of Harry Potter's snowy owl – but the combination of "head" plus "wig" feels a little too literal in English.

The Greek form of the Hebrew Jair, Jairus appears in the Bible as the father of a girl resurrected by Jesus. Though it is the original, its Spanish variation Jairo is more popular.

Jax is the Dex-Jex-Pax type of x-ending cool -- possibly too cool -- variation of Jack or nickname for Jaxon or Jackson.

Levi, lighter and more energetic than most biblical names, with its up vowel ending, combines Old Testament gravitas with the casual flair associated with Levi Strauss jeans.

One of the fierce new animal names new to name lists, helped by its strong x-ending.

Simple and universal, Marco is a Latin classic that would make a much livelier namesake for an Uncle Mark. It was used for her son by actress Jill Hennessy and goes well with surnames of any nationality.

The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories.

A much more dynamic nickname than Nicky for any of the Nic-names. Nico was chosen by Thandiwe Newton for her daughter.

Peregrine is considered to be an elegantly aristocratic name in England, but has never made it to the US, where it has been seen as extravagantly eccentric. In the new naming climate, though, it's not beyond consideration — in fact it's already been chosen by at least one Berry.

Reverie is a strong-sounding word for an ethereal, dreamlike state -- a perfect contrast and meaning for a word that intends to become a first name. Popular mommy blogger Rebecca Woolf of Girls Gone Child named one of her twin daughters Reverie, setting off a groundswell of interest.

Familiar due to the English musician Siouxsie Sioux, singer of the 1970s-80s rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Apart from its complicated look, the inclusion of the Native American tribe name Sioux in this name feels inappropriate by today's standards. Stick with Susie or Suzie.

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.