Middle Names Only

Everest has an attractive enough sound and lofty enough meaning to come into style, à la Sierra. George Lucas bestowed this aspirational name on his baby daughter in 2013 and it has been climbing up the charts ever since. Currently in the US Top 1000 for boys, it was also given to around 100 girls in a recent year.

Felicity is as accessible a virtue name as Hope and Faith, but much more feminine -- and dare we say, happier. The hit TV show did a lot to soften and modernize the once buttoned-up image of Felicity, and it got further notice as the red-haired Colonial doll, Felicity Merriman, in the American Girl series. A current bearer is actress Felicity Huffman.

Great middle name choice for music lovers or those with Scottish roots, also spelled Fyfe.

For die-hard Fleetwood Mac fans, though Fleet is definitely a cool short form.

If Flora and Florence have returned full force, Florian, with its trendy Latinate ending, could also have a chance. Popular in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and France, St Florian was the venerated patron saint of those in danger from water and the patron saint of firefighters.

Flynn, a charming Irish surname, is still used only quietly, despite its easygoing, casual cowboy charm, unlike Finn which is a star of this genre. Flynn was the choice of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr for their baby boy, and is also the middle name -- used as his first -- of a son of Miranda's fellow supermodel Elle Macpherson, of Gary Oldman's son Gulliver and Marley Shelton's daughter West.

Forrest is one of the earliest appealingly sylvan, outdoorsy choices, borne by newsman Sawyer, actor Whitaker, and football Hall of Famer Gregg. Forrest Gates was a character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Variant spelling of Fife, borne by English musician Fyfe Dangerfield and Scottish journalist and reporter Fyfe Robertson.

Greta is an Old World name long tied to the iconic Garbo, but now synonymous with environmental activism.

Grey is the more common spelling in Britain and Australia. This color name has a softness and ambiguity which makes it equally lovely for a boy or a girl.

Haven is a recently invented safe-harbor name that appeals to an increasing number of parents who don't want to voyage quite as far as Heaven.

Free and fun name if you don't want to be pinned down to Noelle, Pasqua, or Valentine.

Hollis is a surname-name used quietly for both genders. At last count, it was given to over 200 baby boys and 160 baby girls in the US. Now a Top 1000 name for boys, it could well break into the charts for girls too in the coming years.

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

Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava.

A phonetic variant of the gorgeous Greek name Ione, and one that was used by model Coco Rocha for her daughter in 2015.

A name used in the Caribbean, taken from the Rastafarian term that translates best to "positive and powerful." Rastas often greet each other by saying, "Are you feeling Irie today?"

Jacoby, a surname spin on Jacob shot up the charts in the middle of the 2000's, thanks largely to the popularity of Jacoby Ellsbury, the first Native American of Navajo descent in the Major Leagues, but has been dropping steadily since it peaked at Number 423 in 2008. As of 2022, it dropped out of the US Top 1000 and is given to around 170 boys each year.