Masia: The Lumasians

The musical word name Cadence, seemed to come out of nowhere to zoom up the charts; it rose over 700 spots between 2002 and 2004, and showed up in the Top 200 in 2007. It's gone down in the popular names list since then, though. Some might see it as a feminine relative of the popular Caden. Kadence and Kaydence are also rising.

Shakespeare seems to have coined this name for the Prince of Bohemia in his late tragicomedy The Winter's Tale. It's rarely been used as a name for a real person, but we think it has potential. The flowery flor sound will appeal to parents looking for less conventionally masculine boys names, but the "Z" gives it an edge and cool factor lacking in, say, Florian. Plus, the Shakespeare connection obviously gives it a lot of literary cred.

Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as one of the twin sons (the other being Lorcan) of Luna Lovegood, whom we learn about in the Harry Potter epilogue.

An offbeat possible replacement for the overused Melissa and Marisa, Nerissa was used by Shakespeare for Portia's witty confidante in The Merchant of Venice. Queen Elizabeth has a cousin named Nerissa.

Pax, one of the variations of names meaning peace that are newly popular in these less-than-peaceful times, got a lot of publicity when chosen by Brad & Angelina for their Vietnamese-born son. Parents attracted to Pax may also want to consider Paz, the unisex Spanish version, or Paxton, a growing-in-popularity surname choice that shares that magical X-factor.

Attractive name associated both with a queenly character who meets a very grisly end in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and popular teen fantasy novelist Tamora Pierce. Shakespearean puns in the name include amor for love and moor as the character was in love with a Moor, though any parent interested in the name should be aware of its tragic association.