Middle names

This Scandinavian spin on Christopher gives that enduring classic a lighter, more individual twist, though many may see it as simply a kree8iv spelling.

This aristocratic, somewhat formal Germanic route to the popular Leo is a royal name: Queen Victoria used it to honor a favorite uncle, King Leopold of Belgium. Though Leopold sounds as if it might be a leonine name, it's not really a relative of such choices as Leon, and Leonard.

The eternal fiancee of Superman turned sweet gray-haired lady who's always available to babysit her grandkids turned....hot new baby name?

Marietta would make for a classy and uncommon long form for cool nickname Etta.

Marius, frequently heard in Germany and France, is a slightly fusty yet accessible name that has (Les Mis) to Anne Rice. With the rise in interest in such Latin names as Maximus and Atticus, Marius might start attracting more attention. Mario, the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese version of Marius, is much more widely used.

The quality of mercy makes this lovely Puritan virtue name a quiet favorite today. Although it was most popular in the late nineteenth century, Mercy is on its way to a comeback -- it rose 143 spots between 2012 and 2013, making it one of the year's fastest-rising names. Right now, it's still stylish and distinctive, a rare and wonderful combination.

The bright, playful Micah feels like the middle ground between the safe, solid qualities of Michael and the flair and energy of Luca. Both Biblical and stylish, Micah is proving popular among parents today.

One of the most familiar Russian names in the West, thanks to ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov and state head Mikhail Gorbachev.

Frenchified name rarely used in France. And perhaps even more rarely used in the US -- there were NO baby girls given the name on the official records of 2021.

With parents beginning to show an interest in virtue names for boys, this Puritan favorite just might be revived, for what could be more admirable than nobility in terms of having strength of character, dignity, and high moral ideals?

Makes the intriguing Olga even more so.

Short and slight, with great potential now that names like Ava, Ida and Orla are popular. Ora Beach is a tourist destination on Seram Island, Indonesia.

Oskar is to Oscar as Jakob is to Jacob: more distinctive and continental.

To the thousands of girls who screamed the name of their favorite Beatle in the 1960s, the boys' name Paul had a thrillingly unique image, but to the rest of the world, then and now, it's a name that's so simple and yet so widely diffuse that it could belong to almost anyone. Paul is an ancient name for boys -- popular in Roman and medieval times -- that's not very fashionable now, which can work in its favor, scarcity balancing simplicity.

Raul and French brother Raoul are much more appealing than flat-footed daddy Ralph. Puerto Rican actor Raul Julia, who starred in the Addams Family movies, brought fame to the name before his death in 1994.

In the Old Testament, God changed Sarai's name to Sara, so this would make a clever and legitimate honor name for an ancestral Sarah. Sarahi is another pretty variation to make the connection even more clear.

Also spelled Sigfrid, this hefty German name has an appropriately majestic meaning: "victorious peace". Fittingly, a famous bearer was the English World War I poet and pacifist Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon was named after the hero of a Wagner opera, which in turn was based on a tragic hero from German legend.

Could Simeon be the next Gideon? Parents seeking a less simple form of Simon might consider this biblical appellation that was chosen by Wynton Marsalis for his son. Simon is actually the Greek substitute for Simeon.