July 2014

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

A variation on the popular Colton.

As a member of two trendy name categories, animal and occupational, this name broke into the Top 1000 in 2004 and would make a nice tribute to an angler Grandpa.

Keller is a German surname that originated as an occupational name for a cellar or store master, which seems to be the background of several of the most stylish new German names for boys. One of the stylish new two-syllable -er ending names for boys, Keller is rising up the ranks heading for the Top 1000. It may be an honorific for Helen Keller.

Not quite a nature name and not quite a surname — whatever Laken is or isn't, we know it's definitely a name to watch.

Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.

While Larkin takes this name from girlish bird to boyish surname, there are actually more female Larkins these days than male, and it's a name that works as well for either gender.

Appealing way, à la Dawson, to honor an ancestral Lawrence. Lawson is also an English pop rock band. Lawson has history or use that dates far back, but it fell off of the charts in 1950. The name resurfaced in 2001 and has been climbing since. Lawson has that surname feel and -son suffix that parents are loving in recent years.

One professional surname that won't pass the Bar.

Orion is a rising star, with both mythical and celestial overtones.

Phoenix rolls a lot of cool trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the oh-so-hip letter x, and as the mythic bird that rose from the ashes, it's a symbol of immortality.

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

Most of the notable Rivers have been male, but this nature name certainly flows as well for a girl. The name River is still rising for both genders, with about 3500 baby boys receiving the name last year vs. 1900 baby girls.

Cowboyish occupational name sure to attract notice.

One of the more subtle occupational surnames, Sayer is a pleasant, open, last-name-first name, particularly apt for a family of woodworkers -- or writers. Some parents are beginning to consider Sayer as a less popular alternative to Sawyer, which it may be a variation of, or a separate occupational name for someone who recited poetry and news, or even another occupational name an for assayer, who tested metals or tasted food.

The girls have dibs on Spring, Summer, and Autumn, leaving this name evocative of snowy landscapes as the one possible seasonal choice for boys. And naturally, it's one of the most obvious names for winter babies.