i n t e r e s t i n g names

Less known than other Cornish beauties like Demelza, Elowen and Kerensa, Elestren is a pretty Cornish botanical name ripe for wider usage.

Rather than confusing things with Elexis, we'd stick with the original Alexis version.

Elva is the anglicized version of Ailbhe, growing more popular in Ireland.

Endellion is the name of an early saint who was a daughter of King Brychan and goddaughter of King Arthur whose life is commemorated by the Cornish village of St. Endellion. This intriguing ancient name was brought into modern usage by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who used it as one of the middle names for his fourth child, a baby girl.

Ignatius? Good gracious! This is a name making a truly surprising return, sparked by its selection by not one but two celebrities--Cate Blanchett and Julianne Nicholson.

Ignatius, the name of several saints including the founder of the Catholic Jesuit order, was considered more apt to be borne by churches and schools than babies in the recent past, though it was not unusual from the late nineteenth century to 1930; it ranked as high as Number 602 in 1913.

This name of a small island off the coast of Scotland is trending upwards along with other I names.

Llewellyn/Llywelyn is a common patriotic first name in Wales, with its distinctive Welsh double LL's; in the U.S. Llewellyn would make a daring choice, though with the chance that some might find the ellen sound slightly feminine.

Maeve is a short and sweet name that has become one of the most stylish Irish names for girls in the modern US. Maeve would make an excellent first or middle name choice, with more heft than Mae/May and more modern charm than Mavis.

Margo and Margot sound exactly the same, so why has the Margot spelling hopped back onto the Top 1000, outpacing Margo in numbers more than two to one? (Over 350 baby girls were named Margot in the most recent year, versus 150 named Margo.)

An Asian name not widely known in the West.

Fans of versatile, rising African- American actor Mekhi Phifer have begun to adopt his unusual first name for their sons.

Unusual and lush Roman name adopted, improbably, by the Puritans.

Noreen's in limbo, especially now that Nora has made a comeback.

Onyx is one of the more masculine gemstone names but in recent years it's been a fast riser for baby boys and girls. Nick Cannon's daughter Onyx Ice may boost the name further.