Rude Baby est.2021

While theoretically unisex, this surname name has been edging up the girls’ names list, perhaps originally as an Ashley substitute. One quality in Ainsley's favor: It's remained steadily popular -- but not TOO popular -- for more than 20 years now, ranking consistently around Number 400. That makes it stylish and familiar without showing up everywhere.

Ashley alternative climbing up the baby names charts, probably due to the trendy ley/leigh ending and its similar-but-different status to the more popular Ainsley.

Archer is among the next wave of masculine-leaning occupational names rediscovered for girls.

Names that have not historically been names are not intrinsically gendered, so though we originally pinned Arrow as a boys' name, both starbaby Arrows that have been born recently have been girls. And with Arrow given to 60 girls in the US in 2015 and 94 boys, we call that a pretty decidedly gender neutral name. With its forward-moving, true-landing imagery, Arrow is one of the new inspirational names.

Asher is of course a very popular Biblical boys' name, but Australian actress Asher Keddie puts this in the girls' column too. Nearly 70 baby girls were named Asher in one recent year, about 1 percent of the total babies given the name. But if you've always loved Ashley and fear that now it's outdated, you might look to Asher as a worthy substitute.

A Top 100 name among boys, but a rare option for a girl. The French female form is Axelle (emphasis on the "elle").

A classic in its native Scandinavia, Axel has a cool rock 'n' roll flavor in the US, thanks to Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose (born William). Axel is a popular Scandinavian form of the Biblical Absalom, who was a son of King David, and is the name of the title character of William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom.

Putting the emphasis on the "elle" softens a name that seems at once futuristic and medieval.

Masculine sounding surname that kids might confuse with barrette.

Blakeley is one of the many -ley ending surnames that is being adopted as a first name, updating the 80s darlings Blake and Ashley.

A decade or two ago, we might have stopped with Blake, but today the surname Blakely or Blakeley sounds more modern as a first name.

Blakely, along with Blakeley, Blakelee and Blakeleigh, is one of the post-Ashley surname names that end with the lee sound so stylish today. Reality stars Trista and Ryan Sutter named their daughter Blakesley. These surname-names are among the most stylish English names for girls.

Vintage nickname for Roberta or Barbara, most famously borne by Roberta "Bobbie" in Edith Nesbit's classic The Railway Children.

Music legend David Bowie lends his adopted surname considerable charisma to this stylish Scottish name for girls and boys. Born David Robert Jones, he changed his name to avoid confusion with The Monkees' Davy Jones.

Very popular surname choice — it's in the Boys' Top 100 — beginning to catch on for girls. First female association: novelist Carson McCullers.

Cyane is a mythological Sicilian nymph who lived in a pool and whose name is an intriguing twist on the color name trend.

Dorothea is a flowing and romantic Victorian-sounding name which was popular in the early decades of the twentieth century, but has been off the charts since 1970. Definitely on the brink of a revival!

In the 1930s, Dorothy left Kansas and landed in the Land of Oz; by the '80s she had become a Golden Girl, living in Miami with roommates Blanche and Rose, giving her a decidedly older image. But parents today seeking a quiet classic are bringing Dorothy back—she reentered the Top 1000 in 2011 after almost completely disappearing.