Stripper Names

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.

While the traditional Darcy spelling is solidly gender-neutral, the -ie ending of Darcie gives this name unabashedly feminine flair. Darcie is a Top 100 choice in England and Scotland, and briefly ranked in the US from 1967-1977, along with 1980 and 1984.

Cooler than April, May, or June, but also a tad icy.

Diamond sparkled all through the nineties--reaching as high as Number 150 in 1999. Although its shine has diminished quite a bit, it remains in use.

Emerald is the intriguing color and jewel name of the deep green stone treasured as far back as ancient Egypt — it's supposed to open one's heart to wisdom and to love and be good for strengthening relationships — which could make for an interesting, unusual name, particularly with the popularity of so many Em-starting names.

Long a nickname for all the Em-names, as well as an annual award, Emmy is now being given on its own, as are soundalikes Emme and Emmi. Might be too identified with the TV awards--though that doesn't seem to have hurt Oscar or Tony. We think Emmy is a little too cutesey, and is probably best kept as a nickname for something that ages a little better.

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

A term of endearment turned cute British celebrity baby name, used by actress Kate Winslet, chef Jamie Oliver, and TV presenter Fearne Cotton, among others. Honey was given to only 40 girls in the US in 2017, but it's relatively popular across the pond, where it ranks in the current Top 500 baby names for girls.

With Isabel getting so popular, parents are searching for new varieties of the name, and Isabeau is one that makes a lovely French twist.

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

Long before the Jennifer Era, Jennie was a fashionable pet form of several names, and was also used independently -- in 1875 it was in the Top 20. Jennie was replaced by the Jenny spelling in the 1960s, and is rarely seen today.

Supermodel Karlie Kloss lends this spelling variation some style. Having appeared in the US Top 1000 since 1991, it was in trouble of dropping off completely when it ranked Number 992 in 2009. Since then, however, it has made modest strides back up the list.