Maybe Baby

This undiscovered unisex name has lots of flair. It was first noticed as a girl's name, starting in the 1980's, on the long-running daytime drama Search for Tomorrow, with the character Adair McCleary, who had ahead-of-their-time brothers named brothers Hogan, Cagney and Quinn. But since Adair has yet to find many takers, it would make a fresh and appealing choice.

Adelina is back in the Top 1000 after an absence of nearly a century, thanks to the meteoric rise of her sister name Adeline -- along with Adelaide, Adele, and Ada. Some parents choose Adelina because they want to get to cute vintage nickname Addie, but others favor it as a slightly more unusual form of this sweet vintage girls' name. A lot of attention was focused on it recently via the women's figure skating gold medal winner at the Sochi winter olympics--Adelina Sotnikova.

While Adeline is usually pronounced in the U.S. with a long i in the last syllable, to rhyme with mine, Adelina is pronounced with the long e sound at the end, as in 'lee-na'.

A whole raft of names that start with Adel are coming back into fashion, from Adele to Adelaide to Adeline to Adelina, and so Adelisa -- a hybrid of the Adel sound and the isa suffix -- was given to a handful of girls last year. While still a quiet variation, we predict we'll see more of Adelisa in the coming years, and as hybrid names go, it's quite charming.

Agatha until recently summoned up visions of martyred saints, mauve silk dresses, and high lace collars, but now that some dauntless excavators have begun to resurrect it, we're sure more will follow their lead. Actor Thomas Gibson used it for his daughter in 2004.

Alair is a lighter, more unusual form of Hilary.

Aliz is a Top 50 name in Hungary and puts a zippy spin, thanks to that final z, on the classic Alice. Its similarity to names such as Elise may cause some confusion, but its simplicity makes it a winner.

Alouette is a sweet Gallic twist in the stylish bird name genre made familiar via the charming French children's song, Alouette, gentile alouette.

This lovely name from Spenser's The Faerie Queene is borne by a character who represents married love. A related unusual-yet-usable choice: Amabel.

Attractive place-name, of a beautiful resort region of Turkey.

Long more associated with the New York Waldorf- hotel and the neighborhood in Queens than as a baby name, Astoria is finally beginning to emerge from their shadow and find favor with parents looking to move beyond Brooklyn. The name Astoria is drawn from the surname of titan of industry John Jacob Astor, theorized to mean "hawk."

Atticus, with its trendy Roman feel combined with the upstanding, noble image of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a real winner among boy names. Atticus entered the US Top 1000 in 2004 and is a firm Nameberry favorite.

Audrey is one of the girls' names that have been rising due to their connection to Old Hollywood glamour—in this case the eternally chic and radiant Audrey Hepburn. Audrey has another very different appeal as one of the elite group of girl names that mean strong, brave, or powerful.

A less common relic of the Claudette-Paulette-Annette era.

Gently appealing, a floral choice in Japanese.

In the past this was seen as a jokey Southern colonel name, but we have heard of some parents considering it as a path to the likeable Beau.

Calista Flockhart may have made her variation of this beautiful Greek name familiar to modern Americans, but the even-edgier x version was the name of an earlier feminist heroine: a character in Kate Chopin's The Storm.

Calliope is the name of the muse of epic poetry -- and also the musical instrument on the merry-go-round. Bold and creative, it would not be the easiest name for a girl lacking such qualities. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. While Americans usually pronounce this name with a long I sound and the emphasis on the second syllables, Greeks pronounce it with the emphasis on the third syllable -- ka-lee-OH-pee.