Whimsy / cool names

One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.

Dimitri is a Slavic variation of the Russian Dmitriy, a name that comes from the Greek Demetrius. Demetrius was derived from Demeter, the name of the Greek goddess of fertility and farming. Among the possible spelling variations are Dmitri, Dmitrii, Dmitriy, and Dmitry.

An ancient name that's been used by the Norwegian royal family; still popular there but not likely to appeal to many American parents.

Heaven, Peace, Serenity: parents seem especially attracted to word names that signal paradise, but Halcyon sounds quite feminine, and might conjure up the sleeping pill Halcion.

Unique possibility for a girl born between September and November.

Varying the spelling of an established name or word to substitute a k for a c has become more and more kommon, oops, common. Some parents feel that using a different spelling makes the name more of a name and less of a place or a word. Kairo may seem to lend itself particularly well to this practice given that the K spelling turns the first syllable into the stylish name Kai. But we prefer the more authentic Kai or Cairo.

Levi, lighter and more energetic than most biblical names, with its up vowel ending, combines Old Testament gravitas with the casual flair associated with Levi Strauss jeans.

The related Lucas and Luke are both hugely popular boy names in the US and internationally, and now Luca has joined them on boys' popularity lists around the world.

An Old Testament name with a Gaelic lilt, Malachi entered the list in 1987.

There aren't many gemstone names that are firmly masculine but Malachite is one of these. The gemstone is a rich green colour and is often used for decorative sculptures. The name is thought to derive from the name of the Mallow plant, the leaves of which resemble the patterns on the gemstone. The name is also similar to the Hebrew name Malachi.

It's ironic that the name Maverick is not such a maverick anymore. Heard first in a 1950s James Garner western TV series, and then as the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun, Maverick symbolizes an unfettered, free spirit.

Milo is most commonly considered to be Germanic name derived from the Latin word miles, meaning "soldier." However, there is evidence to suggest it also may have independently spawned from the Slavic root milu, meaning "merciful." Milo predates brother name Miles, a variation that evolved when the name immigrated to the British Isles in the Middle Ages. Mylo is an alternate spelling.

Mordecai, although it has a noble heritage, has never caught on in this country, because of its rather weighty image.

One of the many faux-Medieval names invented by George R.R. Martin for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of books, the source of HBO's Game of Thrones. Princess Myrcella Baratheon is the daughter of Cersei Lannister and (secretly) her brother Jaime. Their younger brother Tyrion sends her to Dorne to be married to the Dornish prince Trystane Martell to seal an alliance between the two houses.

This name of a giant tree, itself named for a nineteenth-century Cherokee who invented a way to write his tribe's language, makes a strong, stately statement.

Tully is one Irish surname waiting to be adapted as a first. Cute and lively, it's got a long history and a range of possible meanings, depending on which root you use. Tully can also be a modernizing short form for the ancient Roman name Tullia.

Tully is a relaxed, rarely used Irish surname possibility. Sources disagree on the meaning, depending on what root is used. The Irish tulach means hill or mound, while tuile means flood. Other sources relate it to the Roman Tullius, most notably the name of the philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, sometimes anglicized as Tully. Statesman Alexander Hamilton used the pen name Tully when he wrote editorials denouncing the instigators of the Whiskey Rebellion.