What About?

This attractive Scottish surname choice, has a certain amount of glamour thanks to feisty British-born red-haired forties Academy Award winner Greer Garson, who was born Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson--Greer was her Irish mother's maiden name). Greer was chosen much more recently by Kelsey Grammer for his daughter and by Brooke Shields in the Grier form. As a surname, it's associated with feminist writer/activist Germaine Greer.

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

Popular Spanish name that relates to the patron saint of Mexico. It could conceivably, like Soledad and Consuelo, cross the border into multicultural territory, but the name's decline since the nineties would seem to make that less likely.

Gulliver is an obscure Gaelic surname known almost solely through its literary Travels until actor Gary Oldman used it for his son, instantly transforming it into a lively option. British actors Damian Lewis, of Homeland, and Helen McCrory also have a son named Gulliver.

One spelling variation that's more popular than the original, this somewhat old-fashioned name might be in honor of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win a Pulitzer prize for poetry, or may be a way to get to the modern short form Gwen.

An unusual Gwyn name with a lovely meaning, this compound name pairs Gwyn with the name Eira, meaning "snow". A relatively modern creation, it remains very rare.

This is a Muslim female name particularly popular in Somalia and North Africa.

This Hebrew name of Queen Esther is well used in Israel (especially for girls born around the holiday of Purim), and in the US is the name of a Zionist women's philanthropic organization. Formerly shunned as hyper-religious, this name entered the Top 1000 in 2007 and has since climbed into the Top 700. Nickname Haddie feels like a natural companion for Addie and Maddie.

You might think of Harper as the hottest name of the last decade, jumping from obscurity to the Top 10, where it remained until last year.

Hereswith is a rare name that comes to us from the dark ages. She was a Northumbrian saint, whose more famous sister, Hilda, was the Abbess at Whitby and patron of the first English poet, Caedmon. The name has a soft, lispy sound that is more wearable than its spelling would suggest.

Hestia is the name of the Greek goddess of the hearth, home and chastity. Though Hestia has been long dormant as a name, it's a possibility for the parent in search of a classic name with deep roots that's also unusual. It's one of the Greek goddess namesthat's both familiar and distinctive.

Journalist Hiawatha Bray is a singular contemporary bearer of this name of a Native-American leader immortalized in a Longfellow poem.

Commonly used in Japanese families.

Holly ranks just in British Top 50, but it's been out of favor here since the 1970s Era of Nickname Names. Still, the name may be on her way back as a rejuvenated nature pick.

Has the fusty charm of recently excavated ancient Roman male names like Augustus and Magnus, which might just appeal to the fearless baby namer.

Iberia, the name of the Spanish-Portuguese peninsula, makes an attractive, unusual first name.

Idony is the Norse goddess of springtime and eternal youth, and this variation is both rare and straightforward, a winning combination.

Idra is one of the less obvious botanical names. In ancient times, a fig tree was a symbol of learning, peace, and prosperity.

Ieuan is a Scrabble-rack full of impossible vowels. Consider Ewan, Ian, or Owen instead.