Obnoxious Names

Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple has opened the world of botanical names beyond flowers to trees, herbs, fruits, and -- why not. -- nuts.

Angel is one of those names that has a very different trajectory for girls and boys. As a female name, it was most popular in the US from the 1970s until the turn of this century, almost breaking into the Top 100 at its peak in 2001 but then beginning a long slide down the list.

Although Disney's cute deer was a male, Bambi has always been used for girls. It first appeared on the charts in 1943, the year after the Disney movie was released. Bambi featured in the Top 1000 from 1954-1964 — a decade where girl names ending in I, like Lori and Teri, were big — and again from 1977-1982.

With the recent arrival of fruit names like Apple and Plum, this more traditional example, symbolic of fertility, might rise in popularity. Photographer Berry Berenson was born Berinthia.

Birdie was until recently a middle-aged Ladies' Club member wearing a bird-decorated hat --but now it's just the kind of vintage nickname (think Hattie, Josie, Mamie, Millie) that's coming back into style in a big way. Actress Busy Philipps named her baby Birdie (inspired by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson), as did soap star Maura West.

A sweet, uplifting and still fairly uncommon modern virtue name. Its single syllable makes it especially good as a middle name, but it would also make a big impact in the first spot.

Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous -- some might say outlandish -- choice. Distinctive and charming? Or better suited to a farmyard animal? Your call.

Boo may have started out as a nickname for the male character Arthur "Boo" Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird and these days may be closely associated with another male Boo, the "world's cutest dog" or with the adorable little girl in Monsters, Inc.

Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta.

Bunny may be adorable, but is it really enough of a name for your daughter? Plus if Buffy is fluffy, what would that make Bunny? Still, Bunny as a baby name is in the spotlight since Bryan Adams named his little girl Mirabella Bunny.

Though most Buttercups are of the bovine persuasian, this humble flower name was given to the lovely princess in "The Princess Bride." If Buttercup still feels too lowly for you, you might consider Clover, Daffodil, or Daisy.

Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.

Too sugary sweet and inconsequential for a modern girl.

With other fruity names like Clementine, Olive and Plum ripe for the picking, sweet Cherry remains remarkably underused: just 27 baby girls received the name in 2017, down from 343 at its peak in 1948. The unsavory slang meaning no doubt goes a long way towards explaining its fall from grace.

A sweet and rare spice name, which made its first and only appearance on the US baby name charts in 1969 – the year Neil Young's song "Cinnamon Girl" was released.

This kind of plainspoken nature name (think River and Sunshine) may still carry a whiff of the hippie, but this one has a nice, airy feel.

Yes, though it seems so extreme, girls were actually sometimes given this name a century ago; now it is so uncommon it would make a strong springtime statement. Biggest obstacle: the nickname Daffy.

Again, the trendy -ee ending.