Traveling Lite Baby Names

Joan was the perfect name choice for one of the leading characters on Mad Men, being a quintessential girls' name of the period. A Top 10 name in the 30s, a Top 50 name from the 40s through the early 60s, it was the fifth most popular name in the country for three years running and ranks as one of the most common names for girls in the 20th century. But alas, Joan hasn't even appeared in the Top 1000 for a dozen years, and these days it's primarily associated with Joans of the generation of Joan Crawford, Joan Collins and Joan Rivers--just a few of the noted Joans whose ranks also include the singers Joan Sutherland, Joan Baez, Joan Armatrading and Joan Jett. But it's possible that modern parents who are reviving Jane might move on to Joan, inspired by Joan Hollaway Harris.

Popular in Croatia, Spain, New Zealand, and Slovenia, Niko has also been rising up the US popularity charts for boys since the late 2000s. Fresher than Nicholas, spikier than Nico, it currently ranks just outside the US Top 300.

Like high-kicking amies Coco and Fifi, Gigi has a lot of Gallic spunk but lacks substance. Was chosen for her daughter by designer Cynthia Rowley. While some parents might fashionably use Gigi on its own, we'd recommend lengthening it on the birth certificate to something like Georgiana or Gabrielle.

With its solid Thomas Hardy background, Tess has a lot more substance, strength, and style than most single-syllable names, with an efficient yet relaxed image.

Leila was popularized in the West by the poet Byron, who used it in his poem Don Juan for a ten-year-old Turkish girl. Leila also appears as a fairy in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera Iolanthe.

Margo and Margot sound exactly the same, so why has the Margot spelling hopped back onto the Top 1000, outpacing Margo in numbers more than two to one? (Over 350 baby girls were named Margot in the most recent year, versus 150 named Margo.)

A beautiful name which is well used in India, and certainly has the potential to catch on elsewhere too.

Arlo, an unexpectedly popular name for boys these days, is also finding new life as a girls' name. The first name Arlo may be rooted in the surname Arlow or the place name Aherlow, meaning "between two highlands". As a surname, it also has roots in a place name meaning "rocky hill".

Karen is a Danish diminutive of Katherine, an English name derived from the Greek Aikaterine. The etymology of Aikaterine is contested, but generally considered to have arisen from the Greek root katharos, meaning "pure." Kaja is a related name, as it is another Danish variation of Katherine.

In its three most popular spellings -- Alan along with Allen and Allan -- this midcentury favorite has tended to skew older. It was a Top 100 name from 1938 to 1971, peaking at Number 40 in 1951. Alan has had leading roles on recent TV, in shows like Two and a Half Men, 24 and Boston Legal.

Anouk, made famous by French actress Anouk Aimée, is a singular name with a lovely sound and a Bohemian feel. Anouk Aimée was born as Francoise, but adopted the first name of the character she played in her debut film.

Lars is a perfect candidate for a cross-cultural passport: it has been heard often enough here to sound familiar and friendly, yet retains the charisma of a charming foreigner.

Simple and universal, Marco is a Latin classic that would make a much livelier namesake for an Uncle Mark. It was used for her son by actress Jill Hennessy and goes well with surnames of any nationality.

A foreign nickname name that has never been widely used here — possibly because of its similarity to the outdated male Lenny — it was chosen for her daughter by high-profile German supermodel Heidi Klum.

Japanese name that would have no trouble assimilating — though many would associate it with the dried seaweed used to wrap sushi. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West use Nori as a nickname for their daughter North.

An medieval English form of Helen, the sensitive but clear-eyed Ellen has swung in and out of style for centuries, often alternating with the parent name. Ellen was the more common in medieval England, until after the Renaissance, when Helen overtook her. In Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, set at the end of the nineteenth century, one character wonders why another has not changed her "ugly" given name to something prettier, like Elaine—a statement few would make today.

Lost in limbo for decades and decades, Elsa now stands a good chance of following along in the progression from Emma to Ella to Etta, thanks to the ice queen heroine who "Let It Go" in the wildly popular Disney movie Frozen. The name shot all the up to Number 286 (its highest ranking since the 1890s) in the year after the release of the movie, though it's now dropped back down the list in the US.

Mack, when "formalized" with the final k, makes an engagingly amiable choice, a far more uncommon alternative to the ubiquitous Max and Jack, with a nice, every-guy feel. Mack entered the popularity list in 2009 for the first time since 1989 and continues to climb. However, it's still far from its peak — it was a Top 100 name in 1900.

Elvis naming his daughter Lisa Marie and Nat King Cole's hit song "Mona Lisa" conspired to catapult one of Elizabeth's many offshoots to a high of #4 in 1970.

Sam has long been used on its own for boys, as accepted standing by itself as it is as a short form of Samuel. Straightforward and down-to-earth, Sam is the name of the son of the co-stars of The Americans, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. Sam is one of the most popular names that start with S in the Western world, ranking higher in several European countries than it does in the US, where it's trended downward since the 19th century, though it's always been in the Top 1000.