Names that end in y

This musical surname, associated with Bing Crosby and David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, & Nash could easily be used for girls, as names like Jagger and Bowie have been.

The Wylie spelling (with that feminine Y) is much more common among girls than Wiley, but both have been climbing the ranks. Could Wiley be the next Riley?

The Brits say BARK-lee, but we pronounce it the same as the name of the California college: either way it's quite pretentious and of another era.

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.

Little-known outside the Isle of Man (between Britain and Ireland), Orry is a Manx form of Godfrey. So while it looks as friendly and casual as a nickname, it's a complete name in itself, and may appeal as an unusual alternative to names like Harry and Ari. It reached the US via Patrick Swayze, who played Orry Main in the 1985 TV series North and South.

Josie and Josey read as feminine names, but a handful of boys are given this form as a first name each year. Josey is also heard as a pet name for Joseph.

One of the more subtle of the names with a royal meaning, Delroy has a vintage flavor and would be a distinctive choice today.

Similar to Brielle and Riley, this name lags quite far behind these more common variations. It peaked at Number 622 in 2009 in the US, but it is now descending the ranks.

Holloway is a habitational surname, meaning if this is a last name on your family tree, your ancestors once lived in an English town by the name. As a first name, it's relatively undiscovered — Holloway charted for the first time in 2020, and only for girls. It would work well on a child of either sex, although the intuitive Holly nickname will likely keep the distribution skewed toward the feminine.

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

Short for Samuel or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.

These days Finney is most likely a pet form of Finn, but it was once a standard nickname for the biblical Phineas.

The J spelling of this nickname name has always skewed more masculine, perhaps because it relates directly to Jerome but not to Geraldine. But supermodel Jerry Hall, whose full name is Jerry and who has a twin sister named Terry, pulls it off in glamorous style.

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

King Joffrey Baratheon, the petulant biological son of siblings Cersei and Jaime Lannisters, is perhaps the most notorious villain in the entire Game of Thrones canon. His name is practically a byword for sadism among fans of the show and George R.R. Martin's books. As such, we think it's probably a name best avoided IRL.

Romany is a melodious name referring to the Roma or Romani community and their culture, which makes it a potentially controversial choice for a baby not of that heritage. Romany Malco is an actor who appeared on the television show "Weeds." Other similar ideas: Roman, Romano, or Romeo.

Toby is an early unisex name with a Shakespearean pedigree; when used for a girl it retains its tomboyish quality.