Names That Mean Meadow

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.

Brinley was a surprise entrant to the US Top 1000 in 2009, however, in 2023, it doesn't feel surprising at all. In fact, alternative spellings Brynleigh and Brynlee also rank in the Top 1000, with Brynley not too far behind.

More universal than Elvis...and more conventionally attractive, too. Cindy Crawford used it for her son, though it's on the rise mainly for girls. The last time Presley ranked in the Top 1000 for boys was 1903, 120 years ago. Today, it's used for girls 14 times as often as for boys, mainly because of the -ley ending.

This name will tick a lot of boxes for many parents: unisex; trendy sound; pretty instinctive to pronounce; and some great namesakes including British chef Ainsley Harriott and American footballer Ainsley Battles.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

The name of a British town on the Thames that hosts a famous regatta, so it could be an appropriate middle name for the son of boat-lovers.

Abbreviated form of Harley that might also be spelled, for girls, Arleigh or Arlee.

It's easy to love a name that rhymes with "cuddly" and is also attached to the surname Do-Right -- once you ignore the "dud" connection.

Young actor Haley Joel Osment to the contrary, this name in all its variations has become too popular for girls to survive as a boys' choice. Hailey, Haily Halley, Hallie, Hayley.

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.

More popular in its Layton spelling, Leighton is rising in popularity in the US for both sexes simultaneously, although this spelling remains more popular for girls for now – no doubt helped by actress Leighton Meester. Lleyton – as in Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt – is another, even more complicated, variant spelling.

A unisex surname now seeing some use for girls, as it fits right in with such trendy crossover girls' names as Everly. Ellery and Emery, and others with the popular ly/leigh/lea ending

One of the old-school nicknames -- think Ray, Vince, Frank -- that's on the brink of coming back into style. Name him Stanislav or Constantine and he'll have a groovier long form to fall back on.

The combined inspiration of reggae master Bob and the dog-loving romp "Marley and Me" catapulted this name up the chart in recent years. But what goes up....

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Actor Farley Granger set it in motion, now could be a gentler alternative to Harley.

Waverly, with its literary resonance and lilting three-syllable sound, could well become the next generation's successor to Kimberly. Although, like Kimberly, it's overwhelmingly catching on for girls. Its cool, bohemian surname feel places it among the new stylish English names for girls, successors to Ashley and Whitney.

A modern choice for girls riffing on the popular unisex name Quinn, with an extra syllable to add substance and formality. And Quinn is still available as a nickname!

An eighties favorite back on the rise for girls. It's used for boys approximately fifteen percent of the time.

Cheerful and distinctive.