Land or Sea

Long heard as a last name, as in venerable poet Robert, U.K. talk show host David, British actress Sadie and old Jack Frost, Frost has suddenly entered the scene as a possible first, along with other seasonal weather names like Winter and Snow.

Gale for boys is more a storm name than a short form of Abigail. Since Gale has resurfaced as the name of Liam Hemsworth's daring character in The Hunger Games, it has new force for boys.

Shady, leafy nature-boy name.

Former cool-boy name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents.

There's a whole quarry of rocky names parents are now considering: Slate, Flint, etc. , but this one is particularly hard-edged and problematic.

If you find Grover too fusty and furry, this is a much cooler-sounding alternative.

We've seen Haven take off as a nouveau girls' name; Harbor could follow in its wake.

Like Harbor, one of the new generation of word names with appealing meanings, though (female) memoirist Haven Kimmel has tipped it decidedly toward the girls' side.

Rugged and outdoorsy, Heath was an obscure choice until the 1960s when it was used in the television series, The Big Valley for character Heath Barkley. It peaked in the 70s when it reached the Top 200, but has since been in decline, dropping out of the Top 1000 in 2023.

Has that blunt masculine feel -- à la Cole and Kyle -- that many modern parents are drawn to.