Names that end in y

This name of the glamorous mean girl in "High School Musical" is a euphonic spin on the dog breed Shar Pei, a brilliant name joke skewering the practice of picking a name for its sound without considering what it means. Other examples: Cliche, Hooker.

Name that makes a dramatic musical statement.

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".

Grey is the more common spelling in Britain and Australia. This color name has a softness and ambiguity which makes it equally lovely for a boy or a girl.

Naming a child Cornelius or Nelson feels increasingly ahead of the curve in today's vintage name-loving climate. But keep Nelly for a nickname (even the rap star was christened Cornell).

Sóley is the Icelandic word for the buttercup flower, derived from the words meaning "sun" and "island." It is also used on the Faroe Islands as a short form of Sólja.

Transferred use of the surname Vianney, in reference 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.

Flann variation that's most familiar as the name of writer Flannery O'Connor. It derives from the Irish surname Ó Flannghaile, meaning "descendant of Flannghal".

The Shirley of the 1950s. Shelley Winters was born a Shirley.

Although it looks like an English placename, the surname Crowley is an anglicization of the Irish O Cruadhlaoich. A famous bearer was the occultist Aleister Crowley, and it also appears on characters in Supernatural and The Walking Dead. It has started to get a little use in recent years, as part of the new wave of names ending in -ley.

Somewhat light and silly on its own.

Alvie is the spelling parents tend to prefer, and may rise along with Archie, Alfie, and Albie. The Alvy variation is strongly associated with Alvy Singer, Woody Allen's character in Annie Hall.

Montgomery is an increasingly popular name for boys, especially in the UK, and now it's being used for girls as well in the US, where more than 50 baby girls were named Montgomery last year.

A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.

This variation adds a second n to the more popular Finley, presumably to provide a more direct link to nickname Finn. Both spellings create a distinctly unisex name. The Finnley version, however, entered the US Top 1000 for boys in 2014, and it remains unranked for girls.

Nickname name in the era of Grease. Sandy fits well in the era of boyish nicknames for girls - a la Scottie and Stevie - or as an alternative to the rapidly rising Goldie. While it peaked in 1960, Sandy is still given to about 60 baby girls each year.

This color name, spelled either Gray or Grey is rapidly catching on. Actress Jenny von Oy recently called her daughter Gray Audrey.

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