Guilty Pleasures

One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.

Persephone is the esoteric name of the Greek mythological daughter of Zeus by Demeter, the queen of the harvest. After she was kidnapped by Hades to be Queen of the Underworld, it was decreed by Zeus that she would spend six months of the year with her mother, allowing crops to grow, and six in mourning, thus accounting for the seasons.

Quinn is one of the first popular Irish unisex surnames, a strong and attractive choice on the rise for girls but still popular for boys. Quinn was used for about 3000 baby girls and 700 boys in the US last year.

Can one prominent character affect the gender identity of a name? Definitely, as has supernatural bad girl Ridley Duchannes of the Beautiful Creatures series-turned-movie, played by the gorgeous Emmy Rossum. Before Duchannes, director Ridley Scott all but owned this unusual surname and so gave it a male spin, but it feels girl-appropriate too. And the trendy -ley ending, as in Hadley and Ashley, helps.

Douglas Adams invented this name for a character (aka Tricia) in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It has a nice, trilly sound, and is accessible via its kinship with Gillian/Jillian.