No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.

While some sources assign the place-name the romantic meaning "beautiful daughter of the stars," the Virginia region itself says the name is of uncertain Native American origin with many possible but no definitive meaning. No matter: Shenandoah is a lovely name that's rare but usable.

Though modern parents seeking to honor an ancestor named Thelma might opt for the airier Thea instead, Thelma is starting to make its way back onto adventurous vintage name lovers' radars. It is currently experiencing a modest revival in France, where it now ranks around the #300 mark.

Popular Spanish name that relates to the patron saint of Mexico. It could conceivably, like Soledad and Consuelo, cross the border into multicultural territory, but the name's decline since the nineties would seem to make that less likely.

Most things Jul-related – from the month of July to popular modern names Julia and Julian – originate with Roman emperor Julius Caesar, and the month name July is no exception. Fifteen girls and seven boys were named July in 2013, putting this month name into the class of gender neutral names.

We'd opt for Fiona.

A key cheerleader in the nickname game of the 1970s, Stacy is now the mom. Consider Stacia, or the original Anastasia.

Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D. Eisenhower spent his boyhood. Abilene is a much more untrodden path to the nickname Abbie/Abbie than the Top 10 Abigail.

Wisecracking waitress name stuck in the luncheonette. Started as nickname for girls named Regina -- queen in Latin -- now mostly a canine choice.

Although she declared her independence as far back as the reign of Elizabeth I — Good Queen Bess, Bess now sounds less passé than Beth or Betsy.

Madrigal might be a pretty and highly distinctive choice for a child of a musical family--or for the parent looking for a less conventional path to the nickname Maddie than Madeline or Madison . Definitely more striking than Cadence or even the increasingly popular Aria.

Will as a feminine name represents an interesting gender crossover from its traditional masculine usage. Typically a diminutive of William (meaning 'resolute protector'), Will has occasionally been embraced as a short form for feminine names like Wilhelmina, Willa, or Willow. This concise, strong name carries associations of determination and self-assurance—qualities reflected in its literal meaning. The trend of traditionally male names crossing gender boundaries has gained momentum in recent decades, with Will embodying this movement. Though still quite rare for girls, Will offers a distinctive option for parents seeking a name that's both familiar and unexpected. Its simplicity and strength make it appealing as both a given name and nickname.

This diminutive, similar to Alex or Alexis, has been yo-yoing in popularity since the turn of the 21st century.

In the 1940s, Toni began to surpass its progenitor, Antonia, but it peaked in 1960 and has since dropped back below the US Top 1000.

Sam as a name standing on its own was given to only 18 girls in 2021, versus over 400 boys. But as a short form it's appealing and down-to-earth for both sexes, and heard far more often: There were over 2500 baby girls named Samantha in the US in one recent year and more than 8500 boys named Samuel, so you will hear the name Sam a lot more often than you might guess judging by the numbers for this short form. Like the wildly popular Charlie, Sam is a nickname that works equally well as a girls' name as a boys'. All forms considered, Sam is still one of the most popular names that start with S.

With vintage names on the rise and recent data suggesting that the US is following the UK trend of nicknames-as-given-names, Ruthie joined Goldie, Daisy, and Nellie on the US Top 1000 list in 2023.

Mauve-tinted nickname with vintage charm that could just follow in the footsteps of ABBIE. More prominent now as the nickname for the Texas A&M sports teams.

Lovely, authentic name -- but any Kirsten will be condemned to a lifetime of hearing "Did you say Kristen?" They're both genuine Scandinavian names but too interchangeable.

Mickey is a nickname-name redolent of the mid-20th century and best-known as a mouse name. While this spelling works for either gender, the girls' version is more often spelled Micki.

Sharper and steelier than Martha, but with the same underused vintage appeal.