Unnamed List

  1. Ada
    • Origin:

      German or Turkish
    • Meaning:

      "noble, nobility, or island"
    • Description:

      Ada is one of the classic baby names for girls that is suddenly super stylish again. A favorite at the end of the nineteenth century, Ada is an alternative to the over-popular Ava. Ada is also part of the trend toward simple, old-fashioned names beginning with a vowel, like Ivy and Ella.
  2. Alois
    • Origin:

      Variation of Aloysius, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "renowned warrior"
    • Description:

      Alois and Aloysius are variation of Louis. Alois ranked in the US Top 1000 until the 1930s, and still ranks in the Top 1000 in Germany. Last year in the US, only seven baby boys were named Alois.
  3. Buckley
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "meadow of the deer"
    • Description:

      Mama's boy.
  4. Carlyle
    • Origin:

      Variation of Carlisle, English
    • Meaning:

      "from the walled city"
    • Description:

      Carlisle is more popular than Carlyle for both genders, and in both spellings more widely used for boys than for girls. It's a name we see on the rise in either spelling.
  5. Collins
    • Origin:

      Surname derived from Nicholas or Colin
    • Description:

      Though Collins makes the Top 1000 for girls, it sounds strong and handsome for boys too, kind of like the newly-stylish Brooks. The final s updates it from the 80s-ish Colin or the Twilightish Cullen. Might make an innovative honorific for a grandpa Nick.
  6. Constance
    • Origin:

      English version of Latin Constantia
    • Meaning:

      "steadfastness"
    • Description:

      Constance is one of the more subtle of the virtue baby names, but still has quite a prim and proper image. One impediment to its revival has been the decidedly dated nickname Connie, though modern parents might well opt for using the strong and dignified name in full.
  7. Eliah
    • Elmer
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "noble and renowned"
      • Description:

        Thanks to Elmer Fudd, Elmer the Cow, and even Elmer's glue, this name has become a bit of a joke -- the quintessential so-far-out-it-will-always-be-out name. But with its trendy El-beginning and popular er-ending, who knows?
    • Eveline
      • Origin:

        English or French
      • Meaning:

        "desired; or water, island"
      • Description:

        Variant of Evelyn or Aveline
    • Fanny
      • Origin:

        Diminutive of Frances
      • Meaning:

        "free man"
      • Description:

        As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now.
    • Forster
      • Origin:

        English, variation of Foster
      • Meaning:

        "scissors maker"
      • Description:

        Forster, a variation of Foster or potentially even Forester, is associated with British novelist E.M. Forster, author of A Passage to India, Howard's End, and A Room with a View. But if you choose Forster, you'd always have to force that 'r'.
    • Gilbert
      • Origin:

        German
      • Meaning:

        "shining pledge"
      • Description:

        Considered ultra debonair in the silent-movie era, Gilbert then went through a nerdy phase, a la Gilbert Gottfried. Now though, like Albert and Alfred and Walter and Frank, it could be in for a style revival.
    • Hesperus
      • Origin:

        Greek
      • Meaning:

        "evening, evening star"
      • Description:

        Hesperus or Hesperos is a figure in Greek mythology who is the personification of the Evening Star or Venus, the son of the dawn goddess Eos. There's a Longfellow poem about a tragic shipping voyage called The Wreck of the Hesperus. An archaic name that with the revival of many old mythological names might just have a chance at revival.
    • Hilaire
      • Hughes
        • Origin:

          English, Scottish, Irish surname
        • Meaning:

          "mind, intellect; son of Aodh"
        • Description:

          Part of the next generation of preppy H-beginning surnames. Once Harrison, Hudson, and Holden are no longer fresh, expect to hear more little boys being called Hughes, Hutch, and Henderson on the playground.
      • Lucy
        • Origin:

          English variation of Lucia, Latin
        • Meaning:

          "light"
        • Description:

          A versatile classic, Lucy is both sweet and solid, a saint's name, and the heroine of several great novels. First fashionable in England and Wales, Lucy is now a popular choice in the US, The Netherlands, and New Zealand.
      • Morris
        • Origin:

          English variation of Maurice
        • Meaning:

          "dark-skinned"
        • Description:

          Morris is as quiet and comfortable as a Morris chair, and has the same vintage feel. Once a Top 100 name in the early 1900s, Morris fell completely off the roster in 1995, probably due to lingering fallout from his identification with Morris the cat's ("the world's most finicky cat") 9 Lives cat food commercials.
      • Morton
        • Origin:

          English
        • Meaning:

          "town near the moor"
        • Description:

          An English family name used a few generations ago as an Anglicization of Moses, but hardly heard since th 1950s.
      • Nadine
        • Origin:

          French variation of Nadia, Russian
        • Meaning:

          "hope"
        • Description:

          Part of the vogue for French-sounding names in the 1920s and 30s, Nadine has been replaced by the Russian sound of Nadia and Natasha.
      • Newman
        • Origin:

          English
        • Meaning:

          "newcomer"
        • Description:

          Family name best used in the middle, especially since it was seen as the portly postman in Seinfeld.