Not gender neutral... Yet

Garland is fragrant and celebratory, and also has a celebrity-tribute tie to the star of The Wizard of Oz.

Iconoclasts though we may be, we like Fred, we like Frank, and we like George, which was among the Top 10 from 1830 to 1950, when the number of little Georges started to decline. Solid, strong, royal and saintly, yet friendly and unpretentious, we think that George is in prime position for a comeback, especially since it was chosen by Britain's royal couple.

Gert is an old school nickname for one of the oldest school names, Gertrude. Only the most adventurous, so-far-out-it's-in baby namers will choose Gertrude or Gert today, but it's definitely geek chic.

Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.

While this version of the name has never made it into the US Top 1000, it is nonetheless slowly on the rise. In 2015, 162 girls were given this name. The related Hattie is the highest it's ever been, currently at Number 488. This spelling could also supply an accessible nickname to the rising Jewish appellation Hadassah.

An alternative to the formerly male Ariel, which is now in the grasp of "The Little Mermaid."

A pretty and substantial German smoosh name, a combination of Hanne and Eleonore. Most popular in Germany from the 1930s to the 1950s. Former German Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt both had wives named Hannelore.

Hazel has a pleasantly hazy, brownish-green-eyed, old-fashioned image that more and more parents are choosing to share. Former Old Lady name Hazel reentered the popularity lists in 1998 and now is near the top of the charts.

This flower name was one of the most popular in her class in the seventies and eighties (in the 1989 movie Heathers, every snobby girl in the high school clique bore that name). Now, though still pretty and evocative of the Scottish moors, it has faded in favor of other purplish blooms, having fallen out of the Top 1000 after having been as high as Number 3 in 1975, when it was given to close to 25,000 girls.

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.

Can a name as virtuous as Hope be cool and trendy? Strangely enough -- yes. But though this optimistic Puritan favorite is experiencing substantial popularity, Hope is too pure and elegant to be corrupted, a lovely classic that deserves all the attention it's getting.

Looking for a Texas name more distinctive than Austin and Dallas? Houston is a lanky, roguish place-name, right in style with its Texas accent and cowboy image.

Diminutive of Imogen, rarely given as a standalone even in the UK, where Imogen is a Top 50 pick.

The rural Imo State in southeast Nigeria is named after the Imo River, which runs through it. An obscure but intriguing possibility as a first name.