Names that end in y

Minty isn't a fresh word name — it's an old-fashioned nickname for Araminta, the romantic smoosh name coined by playwright William Congreve in 1693.

British last name that, though rather gentle, feels like a sharper, sleeker Shelby. Todd Selby, known primarily by his last name, is a hip photographer of interiors.

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

Siggy can be a short form of any name that starts with Sig-. Most Sig- names have Germanic origins, like the Scandinavian names Signe and Sigrid. In this context, Siggy means "victory".

Musician Ry Cooder brought this short form into the lexicon -- his full name is Ryland -- and it feels more familiar now that more Ry- beginning names such as Ryder and Riley are, ahem, riding up the ranks. The Rye spelling makes it more of a word or a nature name and less of a nickname.

Another old-school nickname getting new attention thanks to TV's Mad Men. Names like Fred, Pete, and George have been out so long it's time for them to come back in. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015 following a two-year absence from the list. It currently ranks Number 199 in England and Wales.

Transferred use of the surname Vianney, in reference to French saint Jean-Marie Vianney. It is generally masculine in France, Belgium and French-speaking Africa, but in Latin America it is mainly feminine and sometimes spelt Vianey.

Regal Kingsley seems like an all-boy name, but a growing number of parents have bestowed this name on a girl. Credit the ever-trendier -ley suffix.

There are lots of Kathy moms and grandmas but very few babies, most of whom are now called Kate or Katie.

A Leave It to Beaver/old comic-strip name, vacationing for years with the Griswolds in WallyWorld, but now back as WALL-E?

This British last-name-first-name could make a more masculine alternative to Shelby.

Loyalty is one of the Modern Virtue Names rising precipitously for babies in recent years, used last year for nearly 200 children, about 85 percent of them girls. Loyalty may also owe some of its popularity to trendy sister name Royalty.

A name that looks intriguing and masculine on paper, but is, unfortunately, a homonym for a girl's name.

The Halley version of this popular name family hit the Top 1000 only once, in 1986, inspired by Halley's Comet, named for astronomer Edmund Halley.

A name halfway between its old milquetoast image and a more jovial Irish-sounding contemporary one.

Zuly is the spunky short form of Zulma, and is commonly used on its own, often in the Latino community.

One of the most feminine of surname names, calling to mind dresses and doilies.

A Dorothy nickname name with a measure of nostalgic charm. Kids will associate it with the funny fish character voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in the Pixar animated instant classic Finding Nemo.

There are many more appealing Irish surnames than Foley, and certainly more positive meanings. If Foley is a genuine family name, this would be all right in the middle.