Bones

John reigned as the most popular of all boys' Christian names for 400 years, from the time the first Crusaders carried it back to Britain until the 1950s. Then American baby namers finally seemed to tire of this straight-arrow, almost anonymous John Doe of names, replacing it with fancier forms like Jonathan and the imported Sean and Ian.

Jonathan was derived from the Hebrew name Yehonatan, eventually contracted to the modern Yonatan, meaning "gift of Jehovah." It comes from the elements yeho, in reference to God, and natan, meaning "to give." In the Old Testament, Jonathan was the valiant eldest son of King Saul, and it was his friendship with brother-in-law David that gave rise to the expression "Jonathan and David" to describe devoted, steadfast friends.

Joseph is one of the most classic names in American nomenclature, popular with parents from many ethnic backgrounds and having dual-religious appeal.

Joy is from an older generation of word names, which also included Merry, Bliss, and Glory -- all of which exert a certain amount of personality pressure on a child. However, Joy, like Grace, Hope, and Rose, has crossed more into name-territory than other word choices, which lightens some of that pressure.

Cool and charming, with plenty of flair and sophistication, Julian manages to strike the balance between being a sensible classic and contemporary choice. Appealingly international, it is no wonder Julian is a rising star.

Wildly popular in the 1960s and '70s, Julie is no longer anywhere near as stylish as the name's longer forms. Try Juliet, Juliana, or even the more grownup Julia.

Variation of Katherine.

A lively boys' name that works well for girls.

Once the quintessential bouncy teenager name, Kelly helped launch the trend of unisex Irish names . But it now takes a backseat to more substantial surname names like Kennedy.

Kent is a no-nonsense, brief, brisk one-syllable name, almost as curt as Kurt.

Kyle is still appreciated by thousands of parents each year for its combination of simplicity, strength, and style; it was in the Top 20 for most of the nineties. As a Scottish surname, it dates back to the fifteenth century.

Though the fuller Lancelot has for the most part been shunned as a 'too-much-name' name, the short form Lance has been consistently in or around the Top 500 since 1938, climbing as high as Number 76 in 1970. It was used as a character name by Walter Scott as far back as 1823. Lance is also the name of a medieval weapon, making this name all boy.

Laura is a hauntingly evocative perennial, never trendy, never dated, feminine without being fussy, with literary links stretching back to Dante. All this makes Laura a more solid choice than any of its more decorative counterparts and one of the most classic girl names starting with L.

Liam is the top boys' name in the US, holding the Number 1 spot for the past seven years and also ranking as one of the most popular boys' names around the western world.

Elvis naming his daughter Lisa Marie and Nat King Cole's hit song "Mona Lisa" conspired to catapult one of Elizabeth's many offshoots to a high of #4 in 1970.

A variant form of Laurence or Lawrence which ranked in the #200s in the US from the 1900s through to the 1960s. It didn't fall off the boys' Top 1000 until the late 1990s, following the huge popularity of Lauren for girls.

Luke is a cool-yet-strong Biblical name with a relaxed cowboy feel, which has been on the rise since the advent of Luke Skywalker.

Lynn arrived in the 1940s, spinning off from the wildly popular Linda, to become a top midcentury middle name. Now, Lynn's in limbo.

The y makes it seem more like a name and less like an animal, but it's still not as appealing as several Leo choices.

Though ancient, Marcus now sounds more current than Mark, in tune with today's trend towards us-ending Latinate names.