Names That Mean Blond

This can be a short form of any Greek girls' name starting with 'Ef', such as Efstraria or Efrosini. It has also been suggested as a possible nickname for Elizabeth.

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

This name woould be hard to picture in a contemporary kindergarten, though it does have some cultural cred via Finnish architect and furniture designer Alvar Aalto. Aalto would actually make a more interesting choice.

More appealing than the English version, Aubin might be seen as a fresher and more decidedly masculine twist on Aubrey. This handsome discovery is now ranked at Number 311 in its native France.

The delicate and haunting Welsh Rhonwen is still a rarity in the U.S., where her English version Rowena is better known, but would be a lovely choice for any parent in search of a name that was both unusual and traditional, classically feminine yet strong.

If you're looking for an unusual alternative to all those Rose names, Rhoswen might be a good choice. This name has the soft sounds we've come to love from the Welsh language but is still not as familiar as Bronwen and Rhiannon.

Variation of Isolde, the name of a great Celtic heroine. The mononymous French singer Yseult is the most notable bearer today.

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 traditional Irish girl's name Bevin – an Anglicization of Bébhinn – is rarely heard outside the Emerald Isle, but could make an fresh and fashionable namesake for an Aunt Beverly.

The Gwendoline form may introduce pronunciation confusion -- does that last syllable rhyme with wine or win or when? We vote Gwendolen as not only the most proper but the clearest spelling, followed by Gwendolyn, with Gwendoline a distant third.

Although the accent in Linnet is on the first syllable, it could be confused with the dated Lynette.

Pretty and unusual, Livana may find a lot more fans as parents look for alternatives to Number 1 Olivia. Livana was used for only seven baby girls in the US last year.

A Latin clan name that may rise again along with other things Roman.

Popular in India and among Indo-Americans, this name of the hero of a famous Hindu epic has an extremely pleasing sound.

Despite the light, pretty sound of Bella for a girl, the boys' name Bela has dark and mysterious undertones, thanks to Dracula actor Bela Lugosi. Béla is also the first name of composer Bartók.

This presidential name is in style limbo today - or, some might say, in the the sweet spot of familiar but little-used.

Vintage surname that's fallen out of use, but perhaps deserves a revival.

Tegwen is nowhere near as pretty as its meaning. Other -wen names -- Anwen, Bronwen, Rhonwen -- have more appeal.

Haitian-born rap superstar and humanitarian Wyclef ("Fugees") Jean has lent this name a powerful musical beat.

No, not Ben (you'll say a million times), not Van -- Venn. John Venn was a British logician and philosopher famous for introducing the Venn diagram, which is used in several fields, including logic, statistics, and computer science.