Young Adult Fiction Character Names

Adelina is back in the Top 1000 after an absence of nearly a century, thanks to the meteoric rise of her sister name Adeline -- along with Adelaide, Adele, and Ada.

State name Alaska stems from an Aleutian word for the land mass itself. The number of baby girls named Alaska has doubled in the past five years, and is sure to continue increasing as more place names are annexed as baby names. Wilder but as habitable as Dakota or Cheyenne, Alaska is a girls' name choice for the future.

The great philosopher's name is commonly used in Greek families, and is one that could work for daring, philosophy inclined American ones.

Though short and brisk, no nickname name could have a more creative image. Comic actor Chris O'Dowd named his son Art, as in his native Ireland it's used as a name on its own, separate from Arthur., coming from an ancient word for ""a bear,"" and used in the sense of ""outstanding warrior"" or ""champion."" A pagan High King of Ireland, Art’s rule was so honest that two angels hovered over him in battle.

Parents are beginning to look at imposing, somewhat fusty-sounding names like this one with fresh eyes: they definitely make a strong statement.

Austin is one of the most attractive city names for babies, with an appealing southwestern feel and place-name panache.

Reese Witherspoon's Deacon has opened this churchy direction for occupational names. It reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

The musical word name Cadence, seemed to come out of nowhere to zoom up the charts; it rose over 700 spots between 2002 and 2004, and showed up in the Top 200 in 2007. It's gone down in the popular names list since then, though. Some might see it as a feminine relative of the popular Caden. Kadence and Kaydence are also rising.

Celia, splendidly sleek and feminine, is a name that was scattered throughout Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature, but still manages to feel totally modern.

Clancy, one of the original crossover Irish surname names, is as energetic and appealing as ever — full of moxie, more distinctive than Casey, and also one of the less obvious of the red-headed names.

Craig is a single-syllable baby-boomer name, still common in its native Scotland, but most modern Americans would prefer something like Kyle.

Daniel is one of only a handful of male names that sounds both classic and modern, strong yet approachable, and popular but not cliched. It also has a solid Old Testament pedigree. The only real downside: There are about 10,000 Daniels named each year, making it a less than distinctive choice.

Though closely associated with the great medieval Florentine poet Dante Alighieri -- who's so famous most people skip the last name -- it's not as much of a one-man name as you might think. Heck, it's not even a one-poet name, thanks to British pre-Rapahaelite Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Though especially well used in the Italian-American community, it would make a striking name for any little boy.

This old short form might be seen as a little dubious by some, though it could make for a fun pet name or an update on Roger.

The Dorians were an ancient Greek tribe, one of the three major pre-Spartan tribes. It literally means "of Doris," a Greek district, or "of Doros," referring to the son of Helen of Sparta. Dorian derives from the Greek doron, meaning "gift," along with related names such as Dorothy and Dora.