Not gender neutral... Yet

  1. Carmelo
    • Origin:

      Spanish and Italian from Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "garden"
    • Description:

      Carmelo is a well-used Hispanic name associated with Mt. Carmel, home of the prophet Elijah and the location of the convent for the order of Carmelites. Carmelo is also a saint's name and — in modern times — tied to basketball player Carmelo Anthony.
  2. Caspian
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Meaning:

      "white"
    • Description:

      One of the most romantic of appellations, Caspian is a geographical name referring to the large salty sea between Asia and Europe. It's also the name of the hero of C.S. Lewis's beloved Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian.
  3. Celyn
    • Origin:

      Welsh
    • Meaning:

      "holly"
    • Description:

      Celyn, which starts with the hard K sound and rhymes with Helen, is a Top 100 name in Wales although largely unknown outside that tiny, beautiful country. It is usually a masculine name.
  4. Cerys
    • Origin:

      Welsh
    • Meaning:

      "love"
    • Description:

      Common name in Wales that's all but unknown in the U.S. Certainly an attractive choice ripe for export. In the UK it sits at Number 330.
  5. Chaim
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "life"
    • Description:

      Despite being one of the rare boy names that mean life, Chaim barely survived early Jewish immigration, being watered down to Hyman and Hymie. Today, the original seems like the most promising form of the name, familiar thanks to bestselling author Chaim Potok.
  6. Chance
    • Origin:

      French variation of Chauncey
    • Description:

      Once a cavalier Mississippi gambler type name, Chance has entered the mainstream since being endorsed by such celebrity dads as Larry King and Paul Hogan. Chance the Rapper has also boosted the name's popularity.
  7. Charis
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "grace"
    • Description:

      Reference to the mythological Three Graces of womanly charm, this one representing charity. Pronounced in Greek as starting with a back-of-the-throat H sound, most English-speakers would translate that to something closer to KAR-is. It's also the name of a girl who lived in Atlantis in the novel Taliesin, and appears in the Margaret Atwood novel The Robber Bride.
  8. Chessie
    • Cimarron
      • Origin:

        Spanish, English
      • Meaning:

        "wild, untamed"
      • Description:

        Cimarron is a Great Plains city and river name used by Edna Ferber as the title of a popular novel. The Cimarron people of Panama were previously enslaved Africans who had escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together in defiance of colonial rule. In the 1570s, they allied with Francis Drake of England to defeat the Spanish conquest.
    • Clay
      • Origin:

        English word name; diminutive of Clayton
      • Description:

        Clay is a rich, earthy one-syllable name with a southern-inflected handsome-rogue image, featured on soap operas and reality TV. Its longer forms are Clayton and Clayborne.
    • Clover
      • Origin:

        Flower name, from Old English
      • Meaning:

        "key"
      • Description:

        Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.
    • Coe
      • Origin:

        English surname
      • Meaning:

        "jackdaw"
      • Description:

        In keeping with other short names like PO/POE and BO, Coe is a surname that could easily move into first place. It has a sports hero factor as well, in Olympic runner Sebastian Coe--who later became a Member of Parliament.
    • Comet
      • Origin:

        Nature name
      • Description:

        Soaring astral name has a great gender-free feel. It also has a pleasing christmas connotation, courtesy of the reindeer listed in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
    • Constance
      • Origin:

        English version of Latin Constantia
      • Meaning:

        "steadfastness"
      • Description:

        Constance is one of the more subtle of the virtue baby names, but still has quite a prim and proper image. One impediment to its revival has been the decidedly dated nickname Connie, though modern parents might well opt for using the strong and dignified name in full.
    • Cordis
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "of the heart"
      • Description:

        Cordis is an unusual and substantial unisex choice.
    • Cressie
      • Crimson
        • Origin:

          Color name
        • Meaning:

          "rich deep red"
        • Description:

          Crimson could be a possible competitor for Scarlett's success, though it's lacking that Johansson charm.
      • Darcel
        • Daveen
          • Dawn
            • Origin:

              English
            • Meaning:

              "dawn, sunrise"
            • Description:

              Dawn's heyday in the US, Canada and the UK came in the 1960s and 70s. It peaked at #14 in the US in 1971, but has since sunk from sight to be eclipsed by other names with the same meaning, such as Aurora, Roxana or Zariah.