Traveling Lite Baby Names

Edison's middle name is a fabulous option for parents looking for something with history and a soft sound. This could be the name you're looking for if you like Tesla's scientific pedigree but think that it has become too corporate with the advent of Elon Musk's company.

The French spelling of Lucy feels particularly light and shimmery.

Mavi is a gender-neutral Turkish name with a colorful meaning and a trendy feel, that is also the name of a jeans company, and a Spanish short form of the double name, Maria Victoria. This is one we expect to hear more of as an alternative to Maeve.

One of the most popular names in Scandinavia, Freja--or Freyja--was a major deity of Norse paganism. Beautiful, blonde and blue-eyed, she was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. In the US, the name is most likely spelled Freya.

Accessible and attractive Tibetan name used for both sexes.

Amal is an attractive name with a wonderful meaning that has long been used in many Middle Eastern countries, especially Lebanon (and migrant communities). It is of course getting a lot more coverage now since the fame of international human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, who's singlehandedly made this one of the best-known Arabic names for girls.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

A thirteenth-century Tuscan saint, patron of homemakers, Zita is the kind of name that sounded really creative in an earlier era.

Val Kilmer is so macho, you almost forget he bears this slight girls' nickname.

The pronunciation may be slightly different—toe-MAHS—though some parents use this as a phonetic spelling of Thomas.

A sweet way—literally—to honor a Melissa or a Pamela.

Enticing modern nickname name possibility.

A modernization of the Hebrew Rivka, which doesn't sound so modern anymore.

Tove is a modern variation of an Old Norse name, related to Thor. Tuva is a form of the name popular in modern Scandinavia.

Could be confused with the much less captivating Leanne.

A name that's unknown in the US and Britain but is popular as a nature name in Finland. May also be known as a Hungarian variation of Amelia and a Spanish form of Wilhelmina.

Turkish and Bosnian form of the Arabic name Asma, with the powerful meaning of "supreme".

Both Karla and Carla are sliding down the ranks, though Karla remains far more popular in the USA than Carla.

Nela is a pretty if slight name that ranks among the Top 1000 for girls in the UK. It is commonly used throughout Europe as a short form for any range of names ending in -nela including Cornelia and Fenella, though it is widely used on its own.