User-created list
By sarahbearx
Across 11 pages
of 11
French
"from the province of Lorraine"
Sweet Lorraine might just be old enough to be ripe for reconsideration. This French place name has moved in and out of fashion in the few hundred years it's been used as a girls' first name, somewhat…
Hebrew, Greek, and Latin jewel name
"blue"
Sapphire goes waaaaay beyond Ruby and Pearl. This September birthstone, occasionally used a century ago, might be worth a reappraisal, perhaps as a Sophie/Sophia alternative. Sapphire is the…
English, diminutive of William
"resolute protection"
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…
English
"spearman"
When Gary cracked the Top 10 in 1950, it was one of the first nonclassic boys’ names to do so, largely due to Gary (born Frank) Cooper, who was renamed after Gary, Indiana, his agent's hometown. Now,…
English word name
"crystal, clear, ice"
Peaking at #9 in 1982, Crystal's popularity in the 70s and 80s stems from its sparkling natural namesake and several notable bearers, like country music singer Crystal Gayle and Dynasty character…
Phonetic spelling of Alicia; also Sanskrit
"protected by God"
This name has two derivations. One is as a member of the well-populated Alice/Alicia family (with an overly literal spelling), which gives it the meaning "noble"; the other is an Urdu name with the…
English, diminutive of Michael
Unlike Jake or Sam, few parents put Mike on the birth certificate.
"strip of clearing in the woods"
The "Believe It or Not" jokes will get old fast, but this surname feels fun and on-trend for both girls and boys, reminiscent of Riley, Tripp, Bridger, and Oakley. Deriving from the Old English…
Danish variation of Katherine, Japanese
"pure; lotus flower"
Karen, a once sweet Danish import, was so popular during the baby boom (Karen was Number 3 in 1960) that it's become a mem in recent years, representing a hostile white woman—one who usually wants to…
English, diminutive of Rachel, Hebrew
"ewe"
All the old ae/ay middle names for girls are back — Kay, Fay, Mae/May — and Rae is one of the coolest, used as such by celebrities as Mark Wahlberg and Daniel Baldwin. Even more popular in the…
"lives near the ford by the cliff"
Clifford is beginning to overcome a slightly stodgy intellectual image and showing signs of possible revival. Kids might or might not like the association with the big red dog. In England, the…
Variation of Lennox, Scottish
"elm grove"
Lennox is one of the hottest unisex names of recent years, and this spelling retains the appealing surname vibe and cool -x ending. This form does distance the name slightly from the literary and…
Celtic
"from Brittany"
Football great Brett Favre single-handedly kept this name in the limelight, though it continues to sink in popularity. Brett originated in the Middle Ages as an ethnic name for one of the Bretons who…
English, feminine variation of George
"farmer"
Long a popular upper-crust form in England, where it's pronounced George-ee-AH-na, Georgiana has been been neglected here. But with Georgia growing more popular and the general fashion for elaborate…
"desired, wished"
One of the original French names chosen by midcentury parents for their sophistication and je ne sais quoi , Desiree has since become completely assimilated in the US. It ranked in the Top 1000 from…
Spanish place-name; "mountainous"
"mountainous"
Relaxed western place-name that still has some masculine punch, but be warned: this whole posse of similarly trendy names, like Sierra and Dakota, will soon ride toward the sunset.
"one who pierces the valley"
There are several Percivals scattered through the Harry Potter series, which might help transform the old-fangled, fussy image it has accrued. Actually, the original Percival was the one perfectly…
English form of the Spanish Teresa
"to harvest"
The popular appeal of the strong, intelligent Saint Teresa of Avila, combined with the selfless compassion of the more recent Mother Teresa, have fused to give this second-tier classic a somewhat…
Egyptian
"throne"
Isis has gone from magical, feminist name on the rise to the forbidden list because of the extremist terror group called ISIS, an acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Unsurprisingly, Isis was…
Swiss place-name or French
"juniper tree"
Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name. Geneva was a relatively popular American name at one time: it…
