Avatar The Last Airbender

From India, but feels like an Irish surname (and can in fact be a variation of Rowan), so a possible cross-cultural choice.

This attractive mini-name combines multiple trends: the R initial, vowel-ending boy names, and a fantastical meaning.

Sela is a Biblical place name, the original term for the city of Petra, which is finding new life through actress Sela Ward, star of several TV series. The young daughter of singer Lauryn Hill is named Selah, pronounced the same but with a different derivation and meaning. Found among early African-American enslaved people, it was sometimes spelled Cela or Cella.

Senna is a flowering bush common in the tropics, with bright yellow flowers. In herbal medicine, Senna has gained some notice as the active ingredient in so-called "dieter's teas," which works mainly as a laxative. While that is a less-than-savory association, Senna has a pretty sound and is a fresh entry in the flourishing botanical names genus.

With the current taste for last names first, this sounds a lot cooler than Shawn; it also has creative connections to the great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, novelist Irwin Shaw, and Big Band Era clarinetist/bandleader and one-time Ava Gardner husband Artie Shaw.

Most parents today would prefer the softer-sell Stella. But Star has symbolic power related to Christmas, so this could make one of the perfect names for December babies.

As a Japanese name, Suki has the sweet meaning "loved one". It's also an English diminutive of Susanna, making it a creative and modern way to honor a Susan in your life.