Traveling Lite Baby Names

Cute, nickname-y, and international, à la Romy or Demi. Spelling it Orly turns it into a busy French airport.

The first name of Ethiopian supermodel Liya (pronounced like Leah) Kebede is also a Russian variation of Lia and Lily. Rather than using Liya, English speakers will do better to call a child Leah or Lia.

A traditional Nordic name, Helga was extremely popular throughout Scandinavia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Germany, it was a Top 10 pick from 1924 to 1943. And it still ranks in the Icelandic Top 50 today.

Long an extremely popular name in Spain, Iker (usually pronounced EE-kuhr in the English speaking world) is the rare Basque name that's starting to make it big in the States also, thanks to soccer player Iker Casillas. Indeed, it's been one of the fastest growing boys' names of the decade.

The heroic movie figure Indiana Jones was often called Indy, as in the equally testosterone-laden Indy 500 car race. It could also be short for Indigo or Indio, or just use it as is.

Properly spelled Luã, this is a light and bright alternative to mega-popular Luna, with the same celestial meaning. Lua is also an attractive choice for tech-heads, with Lua being a popular programming language.

Rafa is an adorable short form introduced to the world by actors Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, who used the name for their second son. Rafael is the Latin cognate of the Hebrew boys' name Raphael, but you don't need to be a Rafael to be a Rafa.

The classic strong-yet-friendly nickname name, much used for charming movie characters.

The African name Ayan was first seen on the US Top 1000 for boys in 2014. It's both simple and distinctive, a winning combination.

Lavi is a rare member of the trendy leonine group of names in the US, but in Israel it's among the Top 10 boy names. It makes a good alternative to Levi.

This Anglicized form of the Irish Ruadh is traditionally male, but has a unisex feel — in fact, Rua was given to a handful of girls in recent years, but not enough boys to make the charts.

Ebba, the feminine version of Eberhard and also a form of an old English name, is in the Swedish Top 10 but virtually unknown in the US. However, with the rise of Emma, Ella, Ada, and similar simple-yet-traditional names, Ebba may enjoy more widespread popularity.

A bright-sounding name with multicultural appeal, used regularly as a first name in Japan, Scandinavia, Latvia, and Spain.

Taj is a cool-sounding name reflecting the magnificence of the seventeenth-century Indian Taj Mahal, chosen by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for his son.

Now that Zoe is getting wildly popular in the U.S. and the U.K. -- one poll puts it at number one in Wales -- parents may start hunting down fresh twists like this.

Singular, strong, and rare outside East Africa.

One of the best-known African names in the Western World because of the Somali-born model and wife of the late David Bowie.

One of those names with a wide array of meanings across different cultures; it's the Lithuanian form of Anna, for instance, and William Blake used it as the name of one of his mysterious, godlike characters. But it's found major popularity in Spain, where it's just outside the Top 50. It makes the Top 10 in Catalonia, being both a diminutive of Mariona and the word for "wave".

Subtract the last two letters of Arnold, and you're left with a much more modern-sounding name. Arno is also the name of the main river in Florence, upon which sits the famed Ponte Vecchio. The Italian river name means "flowing water".