Names that end in y

If January, April and August are useable and fashionable, why not February? February as a word derives from the Latin februa, which was the name of a purification feast coming at the end of winter, to prepare for the coming spring.

While the most famous Dusty, Dusty Springfield, might be female, Dusty as a boys' name is derived directly from Dustin. And there are about twice as many baby boys named Dusty as baby girls -- 33 to 14 last year, so a fairly rare name for either sex.

Before there was esteemed actress Anne Hathaway, there was Anne Hathaway, wife of Shakespeare — the former being named after the latter.

Has the energetic-Irish-slightly-boyish image that many modern parents love.

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.

Even if you'd like your daughter to attend the venerable women's college, don't saddle her with this pretentious British surname.

Could be seen as extravagantly ecstatic for a baby name, though feel free to rhapsodize about your little girl, whatever her name.

With the sprightly "Ren" and "Wren" currently in fashion, and "ley" a productive suffix to create new names, this combination was inevitable, and is chirpy and appealing. Renley has been on the US charts for girls since 2012, and for boys since 2013. It probably got a boost from the Game of Thrones character Renly Baratheon, albeit with a slightly different spelling.

Much stronger than Dale for a boy.

Pushes it across the girls' line.

Connelly is a rollicking and rare example of the popular surname genre that may work even better for girls. A huge update on Colleen.

If Frances and Fran are too serious for you, and Fanny too saucy, you might like Franny, still identified by some with J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories.

One of the cool new surname-names for girls, likely influenced by the stardom of Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy).

Similar to Kinsley, this modern choice has become much more popular in recent years; it first entered the Top 1000 in 2011. Part of its appeal might be that it sounds reminiscent of the overly-popular McKenzie.

A diminutive of the (male) name Dafydd, the Welsh form of David. In the US, it's strongly associated with the candy.

Gentle and easy going, but with an undertone of edginess, Lemmy could be a diminutive of the Hebrew Lemuel or borrowed from musician, songwriter, and founder of the band Motorhead, Lemmy (Ian Fraser) Kilmister. From the Hebrew, it means "for God", while from its pop cultural origins, it is supposedly derived from the phase "lemmy (lend me) a quid 'til Friday".

Nicky is a forever-cute short form of Nicholas once used as a full name but now relegated to nickname (no pun intended) status.

Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.

Gennady is derived from an early saint's name (Gennadius) and shares the same Greek root word as the English word generous. It is a familiar if still uncommon boys' name in Russia. If you're looking for unique boy names you might want to put this one on your list.

Cagney is one of the spunkiest Irish surnames around, and could make a lively and fresher successor to the tired Casey.