Girls

Marjorie

Scottish variation of Margery, diminutive of Margaret

"pearl"

Scottish Marjorie and her English twin Margery were early twentieth century favorites that date back to medieval times, when it was popular among the royals. They were at their height in the 1920s,…

Marnie

English

"of the sea"

A retro short form of Marina, dated to the era of the Hitchcock movie that made it famous, Marnie is beginning to feel fresh again — or rather, it is in the UK. Appearing in the Top 100 there in a…

Pippa

English, diminutive of Philippa

"lover of horses"

Pippa, a peppy condensation of Philippa that turns it from serious to sprightly, has come into the public eye in a big way via the former Kate Middleton's sister. Pippa can and is given as a name in…

Roslyn

Spelling variation of Rosalind

Spelling variations abound when a name is trendy, which Rosalind is not these days. We say leave Roslyn back in the middle of the 20th century and reclaim the original Rosalind.

Sybil

Greek

"seer, prophetess"

The image of the lovely Lady Sybil, tragic youngest daughter of the Crawley family on Downton Abbey is likely to go a long way towards reviving this almost forgotten name, off the list since 1966 and…

Wendy

English, Celtic, Welsh

"friend or white"

It is popularly claimed that the name Wendy was invented by Sir James Barrie in 1904 for the big sister character in his play Peter Pan , which was followed by the classic novel in 1911. Barrie…

Cosette

French literary nickname

"little thing"

Cosette is best known as the heroine of Les Miserables . In the Victor Hugo novel, Cosette was the nickname given to the girl named Euphrasie by her mother. Although Hugo invented the name, some…

Darby

Irish, English, Norse

"free from envy; from the deer estate"

Once a common boy name in Ireland, the dynamic Darby now has a definite unisex feel. A bit like a mash up between Darcy and Ruby, it appeared in the US Top 1000 in the 90s, peaking in 1995 when it…