Brilliant B's

Balthasar was one of the biblical Three Kings who visited the infant Jesus, also used by Shakespeare and in the oil-rich Getty family; offbeat and intriguing. Balthazar is another, equally appropriate spelling.

Shakespeare's classic drunken fool. In fact, this name, carried to Britain by the Normans, was quite popular until it was brought into disrepute by the low-life character who haunts taverns with Falstaff in Shakespeare's history plays.

Like River and Lake, a cool, refreshing modern water-related choice.

Bellamy is emerging as an up-and-coming girls' name, an Irish surname-y riff on the super-popular Bella series of names. While the Bella connection makes Bellamy sound a little trendier and more popular than it really is, we see the name possibly rising through the ranks for both genders in the coming years.

Bennett is Ben with a bow tie, kind of a cross between Benjamin and Beckett. It's been trending up on the popularity charts in recent years, and its choice by The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Jane Krakowski could shoot it even higher.

Name of pastoral Vermont town and college sounds too stiff and starchy.

As modern as it sounds, Blaise is an ancient Christian martyr name. In Arthurian legend, Blaise is the name of Merlin the Magician's secretary. Its relation to the word and name Blaze gives it a fiery feel. Amanda Beard named her baby boy Blaise Ray.

Though it sounds so modern, Brielle is, among other things, a traditional Cajun contraction of Gabrielle, but it has now spread far beyond that community. Brielle is also the name of a historic seaport in the western Netherlands.

An amalgam of Brianna and Sienna that doesn't quite work.

Brian meets Riley.

Briony may be the variation and Bryony the original, but many parents will see this as the more authentic-feeling version of this attractive botanical name. Still unusual in the U.S., Briony is in the British Top 100 and may appeal to parents as a fresh spin on Briana or Brittany or an honorific for a Brian, though it bears no relationship to the male name.

If you want a pan-Scandinavian name with energy and style that could have been a winner, if not for the sound-alike water filtration company Brita.

Brogan is a cheerful Irish surname that would fit right in with the Logans and Br-starting names now trendy for boys. It's been on the pop list for the past three years, though it's sliding again. Its history includes Saint Brogan (Broccan in Gaelic), who was Saint Patrick's nephew and scribe.

Bryn is an up-and-coming gentle, yet substantial, Welsh name that would also be effective in the middle spot. In Wales it's a traditional boys' name, but it's far more popular for girls now in the US.

The simple and attractive Bryn is well used for boys in Wales, and does have a history as a male name in the US, although both Bryn and Brynn are currently far more popular for girls.

Bryony is an unusually strong plant name --the bryony is a wild climbing vine with green flowers --that caught on in the U.K. before sprouting here. The name of the young character in the Ian McEwan novel Atonement is spelled Briony, which is the variation and Bryony the original.