Bonds Babies 2015 - Unusual Ks

The Hawaiian form of Gina or Tina (as well as the word for the country China), or in Swedish, a short form of Katharina or Kristina.

A Scottish surname name, more popular as the Presidential McKinley, meaning "son of the fair hero".

The name Kiri was made famous by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, whose original name was Claire. Cute but slight, Kiri is close to several other names from Kiriah to Keira to Kyra and its diminutive Kyrie.

Kitana is the name of a character in Mortal Kombat II -- she's a princess who looks young but is actually 10,000 years old. It may be related to the male Persian name Katana, which means honorable, or even more likely to the Japanese word katana which means sword.

This endearing nickname name is one Katherine pet form that predates all the Kathys and Katies, having been fairly common in the eighteenth century. With the current mini-craze for animal-related names, Kitty is sounding cute and cuddly again—she's already jumped back onto the U.K. list, at number 199.

German, Slavic and Scandinavian form of Clara, which is a Top 100 girl name in multiple European countries, including Austria, Croatia, Iceland and Poland.

Derived from the Latin Constantinus, this is the Greek form of Constantine or Constans. Conjuring up ideas of endurance and steadiness, Konstantinos has been borne by numerous Greek prime ministers and by film maker Konstantinos Gavras. Kostis, Kostas, and Dino are sometimes used as nicknames.

Corbin joined the US Top 1000 during the latter half of the 20th century, first introduced to parents through actor Corbin Bernsen. It reached a peak in 2014 at number 203 and has been making a steady decline ever since.

Corey was always the most popular form of this Irish name, with Cory (as in New Jersey Senator Booker) in second place and Kory riding caboose. Kory et al were in the first wave of unisex names that began to be used in the late 1960s and 1970s, fading now as fresher names such as Rory or Rowan rise.

Many European cultures spell Christopher with a K and thus the short form Kris. There were about 35 baby boys named Kris, just Kris, in the US last year, and only a handful of baby girls -- this after the name ranking in the Top 1000 for both genders from the late 1940s through the 1970s. However you spell it, it's an appealing name that's in a slump right now because of overexposure. It's also one of the original gender neutral names, paving the way for a new way of thinking about names and gender.

Kristen may be somewhat past its fashion high point, but it remains forever crystalline clear. Possible problem: confusion with the similar Scandinavian names Kristin, Kirsten, Kirstie, et al.

See CRISTIANA.

Christine was one of the first megapopular C-to-K baby names, from Scandinavian variations such as Kristine and Kirsten to Kris, Kristy, and Kristy. While Kristine retains its krisply lovely sound, it's lost much of its kool.

Kristofer and all his cousins (and kousins) is an ancient name that was hugely popular from the 1970s through the 1990s, spawning a wide number of variations. Americans will be familiar with this phonetic spelling with an exotic spin.

This Scandinavian spin on Christopher gives that enduring classic a lighter, more individual twist, though many may see it as simply a kree8iv spelling.

Not as familiar and easy as Christopher, not as unusual and interesting as Christoph or Krzysztof.