Traveling Lite Baby Names

Occasionally used as an independent name, but why.

Short form of Oliver or Olivier.

Seen across Europe as both an independent name and a short form of names such as Antoni and Anton. In the US, however, this is considered to be the feminine spelling.

A popular Israeli baby name inspired by Mount Arbel in the north, which overlooks the Sea of Galilee.

Reef is a rare gender-neutral word name in the stylish ocean category. There were a handful of baby girls named Reef last years, and 60 baby boys — a not inconsiderable number.

Also a city near Tel Aviv, Hadar is a name found primarily in Israel. There is also a citrus fruit associated with the holiday of Sukkat the Torah calls the "hadar fruit".

Klea was not used in ancient times, but can probably be connected to the Ancient Greek name Kleio, one of the nine Muses in mythology, and of couse also to Cleo. Meaning "glory", these names are distantly related to the Latin Clara.

A popular name for both sexes in Israel, in the Top 10 for boys and Top 100 for girls.

Hasan is a significant Muslim historical figure — he was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the son of Ali and Fatimah. Shia Muslims consider Hasan a martyr — he died after being poisoned by his wife.

The German, Scandinavian and Czech variant of Joseph, borne by several notable European artists and athletes, as well as the brutal Soviet dictator Josef (or Iosif) Stalin.

Turkish cognate of the name River among English-speakers. However, unlike River, Nehir is an exclusively feminine name in Turkey.

Hila is a name that has grown in popularity in recent years, placing it firmly within Israel's Top 20 for girls. It is sometimes written as Hilla or Hilah. In Pashto, it means "hope" and is also spelled Heela.

Short for Indiana or Indio... or just use it on its own. Indi makes a cool and punchy option for either sex.

Hilma is heard in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, and sometimes used as a shortening of Wilhelmina--though there are more appealing German names for girls. to be found. Hilma Wolitzer is an American novelist and the mother of author Meg Wolitzer.