Summer Baby Names

The name of several early saints, including one, Pelagia the Penitent, a beautiful and licentious dancing girl who repented, then, disguised as a man, spent the rest of her life living alone in a cave on the Mount of Olives. Because of her early vocation, she is the patron saint of actresses.

Junot, which sounds like the goddess and indie movie name "Juno" and the Alaskan place name Juneau, is actually someting completely different. The literati will recognize the unusual name of writer Junot Diaz.

The name of the second-biggest (and third-most populous) island in Hawaii was one of the fastest-rising boys' names of 2017. A major factor was surely Dwayne Johnson's character in Moana, the Polynesian demigod named Maui, a mythological trickster who slowed the sun to create the days. (It fell back to normal levels in the following years.)

This evocative name of a dramatic tropical Indian fig tree is ready to move west.

Wave made, well, waves when it was revealed to be the name of Cardi B and Offset's son. Evocative of crashing waves at the beach, large surfing barrels, and tumultuous and stormy seas, Wave is a name with a lot of personalities.

Kalindi is a lovely, rhythmic name refers to one of the seven sacred rivers of India.

Related to the Arabic Warda, Vered is a strong sounding nature name with a sweet floral meaing.

Wildflower may be the ultimate hippie name, added to the lexicon by Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden when they chose it as one of their daughter's middle names. It's generic in the way that Flora and River are, as opposed to Iris and Nile, say. But it has a certain free and creative charm.

When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice, with the nice three-syllable lilt of of such other Irish surnames as Finnegan and Flanagan. It can also be spelled Morrisey.

A super popular nature name in its native Turkey, currently Top 50 for both boys and girls there.

Evokes picture-postcard image of colorful Indonesia. Bali Barret is a Paris fashion insider who oversees women's style for Hermes. Bali rhymes with tally or galley.

An attractive optical illusion where heat causes light to reflect in the air as if off a body of water. It was used as a character name in the 2004 animated film The Incredibles.

Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the nineteenth century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay coloured with iron oxide) and sounds similar to fashionable Oakley. A strong earthy nature name that is both unusual and evocative.

With the tide coming in on a new wave of word names, this one just might catch on, especially for parents who relish sun, sand, and surf. Forest lovers can spell it Beech, like the tree.

Ravello is an Italian town on the Amalfi Coast. It's a popular travel destination and was a favorite spot for many notable creatives, including Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, and Tennessee Williams.

Flamenco dancer.

This very unusual botanical name refers to flowers that have a second color around the edges, commonly found in tulips and carnations. Thomas Hardy named a character Picotee in his novel The Hand of Ethelberta.

This unisex Israeli name, which rhymes with ball, is sure to receive more serious international attention now that actress Gal Gadot is the new Wonder Woman.

"Girls Gone Child" blogger Rebecca Woolf made Boheme a first name when she gave it to one of her twin daughters (the other one's name is Reverie). La Boheme -- "The Bohemian" -- is a Puccini opera that was transmogrified into the modern play Rent. Boheme means a literary or artistic person who lives outside conventional society.

Flowing, melodic boy name with a sun-drenched meaning.