Guilty Pleasures

In France, this would be like naming your child Star.

Velvet is a name that couldn't possibly be softer or more luxuriant. Many people have fond memories of it via the character of Velvet Brown, played by the young Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, an intrepid young woman willing to masquerade as a boy to race her horse in a dangerous steeplechase.

This name of one of the most romantic cities in the world could easily find its way onto an American baby girl's birth certificate.

Vienna is one of the more popular of the European place-names, with a particularly pleasant sound, evoking elegant images of the Blue Danube, of castles and cafes, sweets and sausages and Strauss waltzes—and Sigmund Freud. It could be a possible substitute for the popular Sienna.

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.

With Willow and Willa becoming more popular for girls, surname-name Willoughby could be a more unusual alternative. Its full form sounds appropriate for both genders, but can be shortened for girls to Willow, Willa, or even Bee.

Fresher, brisker and, yes, cooler than Summer or Autumn or Spring, Winter is now a full-fledged female choice, especially since Nicole Richie and Joel Madden used it for daughter Harlow's middle name, and Gretchen Mol picked it as her daughter's first, as did media mogul Sean Parker. Winter continues to be the preferred spelling and has risen in popularity significantly over the past few years.

A bit too self-congratulatory and, understandably, exceedingly rare. Still, if you're looking for a modern virtue name for your daughter, this may be one of the best qualities to exemplify.

Chef Wolfgang Puck has helped soften this thunderous Germanic name; music-lovers will appreciate its association with Mozart, though the composer's middle name Amadeus is more appealing.

A yellowish chemical compound that produces fluorescent dyes ranging from bright yellow to hot pink to flaming red -- but as a name sounds glaringly sci-fi.

Xochitl is a Nahuatl or Aztec floral name used in southern Mexico and pronounced SO-chee-tl or SHO-chee-tl, although sometimes the "tl" at the end is not pronounced. Internet entrepreneur Xochi Birch is probably the best-known bearer in the US – except for the Xochitl brand tortilla chips. Definitely among the most intriguing international flower names and a beautiful choice for those looking to honor Nahuatl heritage.

Too close to yenta.

The evocative name of one of our most beautiful national parks -- yes, but also the bombastic cartoon character, Yosemite Sam.

Zayd (or its most common variant Zaid), an old and still well used Arabic name, was a enslaved man whom Muhammad adopted as his son.

Funky choice with za-za-zoom. Zaza could be used as a nickname for almost any name with the "za" cluster, including Elizabeth and Esperanza.

Zendaya has propelled her unusual African name into the spotlight and up the popularity charts. Zendaya is one of the major baby name influencers of our era.